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Andy Grow, Assistant Superintendent of the Valley Course at the Club, assists with all aspects of course maintenance and setup, along with a lot of hand-watering of the greens to keep them the best in the state! We connected with Grow—who also assists with the management and mentorship/training of the Valley Course greenkeeping team—to get to know him better.

Please explain a bit about your Egypt Valley journey and how you came to work at the Club!
I had grown up on a golf course working for my dad, my brother-in-law is the Director of Agronomy at Sand Valley in Wisconsin, and I've worked part time at eight different golf courses during my Coast Guard career. You could say greenkeeping runs in my family. After retiring from the Coast Guard, I had the chance to reinvent myself and do what I wanted to do, and when I saw EVCC was hiring for the ground crew, I applied. I spent my first three years on the Ridge Course, and this year as the Assistant on the Valley Course.

What’s your favorite part of your job at the Club?
I really enjoy working with the crew, leading and helping them develop during the season so they feel proud of their work each day. I also love working outdoors, especially in the fall when the shadows are long and the trees are changing. Mornings are my favorite, when I can look out over the course as the sun is rising and see the crew all doing their individual jobs with the same goal in mind. It's pretty darn cool.

What’s something surprising/interesting about you that members might not know?
I am a retired Coast Guard Chief, and served for 25 years … 17 of those years in Alaska.

When you’re not at the Club, what could you be found enjoying?
Playing hickory golf and spending time with my beautiful wife.

Anything additional you’d like to add?
I have a deep appreciation and passion for golf, specifically the historical aspect, but also in architecture and course construction. I owe all of that to my dad, who was the greenskeeper for 14 seasons at the oldest continuously played course in Michigan: Wawashkamo Golf Club on Mackinac Island. Warning: Once you get me talking about golf history, it's hard to get me to stop!