If you are familiar with the golf business in the Eastern Shore of Maryland, then it's likely you are familiar with the name Joe Perry, CGCS at Eagles Landing Golf Course in Berlin, Md. Joe has been the superintendent at Eagles Landing for almost 25 years and was recently inducted into the Eastern Shore Golf Hall of Fame -- one of the few superintendents to ever achieve such a distinction.
Joe has been involved in the Eastern Shore Association of Golf Course Superintendents for years. The chapter is a longtime host of the annual crab feast and pig roast, which raises money for organizations such as the Wounded Warriors Project, Autism Speaks, Maryland Turfgrass Council and others. In 1998, he helped develop the silent auction to add to the pig roast, which would help raise even more money for a local charity close to Joe's heart: the Believe in Tomorrow Children's Foundation. To this day, the ESAGCS has contributed $180,000 to support the children's house by the sea in Ocean City. This year alone, the crab feast and silent auction raised a total of $29,000 to divvy out to these great causes.
So, I sat down and asked Joe a few questions about his career:
Q: How did you learn about this induction?
A: Three years ago they nominated me, and at that time I declined the nomination because there were other guys still working who had been around longer and done more. So I nominated Tom List, who had been a superintendent down here for about 30 years and probably 25 as a CGCS. So, they awarded the nomination to Tom, and he was the first superintendent inducted into the Eastern Shore Golf Hall of Fame. Through this time, they kept my nomination in play and the committee brought it back this year. I found out in September I would be inducted.
Q: Why did you get in to the GC superintendent business?
A: Probably like a lot of other guys (almost by default). I originally wanted to be in Parks and Recreation. The year I graduated there was a hiring freeze with the federal government, so the only job I could get was cutting grass at a cemetery, which bordered a golf course. Some of my buddies were working on the golf course and having a grand old time, while I'm over there bored in the cemetery. The next year I got a job on the golf course, and the rest is history.
Q: What do you like most about this business?
A: Well, you never have a boring day; that's for sure. You always have something new -- new challenges, new projects. It's the only field I know where you have to wear so many different hats and have so many lines of expertise. I think we are the jacks of all trades.
Q: If you had to choose one other career, what would it be?
A: Fishing guide in the summer and a ski instructor in the winter.
Q: Biggest lifetime accomplishment?
A: I'll call myself a successful family man. I have been married 32 years, and I have two adult kids who are successful. I think that is my biggest accomplishment.
Q: What is your advice to a student coming out aspiring to be a superintendent?
A: I have a kid working for me who is trying to find a career path. He came to me this summer and said he really liked this business. I told him it's a great business, but you have to work hard. He wanted to sign up for the Rutgers program, but I told him to go check out the three-week course. He loved it! I've told him you have to use peripheral vision on the golf course. Look at things differently and from every angle, and figure out how your'e going to be a good problem solver. Superintendents are good problem solvers.
Q: What is key to the future success of golf?
A: The key to the future of golf is affordability, playability and getting a younger population interested in the game, which circles back to affordability, playability and pace of play. If I'm an 18 handicap and I go out to the hard course and get beat up, it's not as fun. If I go to a good golf course that isn't overly difficult and the pace of play is good, it's fun! It's all part of the sustainability circle. We want people to have fun and play at a good pace.
Q: Last word?
A: Members have to get involved and take advantage of the assets that GCSAA and their local chapter have provided. I think everyone needs to get involved, because there are a lot of resources out there. Get involved in the community too, and make a difference!
Thanks for the interview, Joe. And congratulations on your achievement!
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