Golfdom, February 2017

Continued from page 17 BUSINESSPERSON OF THE YEAR course with the mindset that he wants to provide as good of playing conditions as possible year round while minimizing inputs People are under the impression that Shadow Creek has an unlimited budget I think people would be surprised to hear that Tim has managed his resources very sparingly Good advice Born and raised in St Louis Mo Cloninger had no interest in golf until he tore his ACL playing baseball as an 8th grader Too young to have the ligament repaired he decided to try out for the golf team because it was one sport he could still play He made the team The ACL tear led him to a passion for the game and eventually a career in the golf course industry A high school guidance counselor and friend of his moms introduced him to Missouri based golf course architect Keith Foster Foster got him his first job on a golf course working maintenance for Forest Hills CC in Chesterfield Mo Foster later recommended Cloninger go to the University of Arizona to study under David Kopec Ph D Foster was the one who told me about the golf industry and explained the different jobs Cloninger recalls He started out as a superintendent I told him the greenskeeping side is what interested me I didnt know him that well I only talked to him a couple times but I always followed his advice Cloninger says he was fortunate to work for good superintendents throughout his career guys like Dave Nichols and Scott Reynolds While at Arizona he did a three month internship in Australia He also worked with Kopec at U of As Karsten Turfgrass Research Facility Cloninger was a student who always wanted to know the why on top of the how says Kopec today Hes always impressed me with his computer skills and his ability to keep up with technologies He doesnt use them just because its there he uses it because he knows he can get a benefit Hes at the top of his game Long haul in a U Haul Upon graduation from Arizona in 2004 Cloninger began working as an assistant superintendent in Las Vegas first at Red Rock CC then Shadow Creek After four years he decided it was time to try something else a golf course had been his main place of employment since age 16 He went to graduate school at Arizona and earned two graduate certificates one in Geographic Information Science GIS mapping and the other in Water Policy I felt stagnant I needed to learn something new Cloninger says The longer I was in school the more I missed golf But Im glad I focused in precision agriculturetype applications because it all came full circle I was able to turn that into golf course management use With an advanced education and a longing to get back into golf he moved to Continued on page 20 18 Golfdom February 2017 Golfdom com PHOTO BY THE HENEBRYS 2017 HERB GRAFFIS AWARD Owned by MGM International Shadow Creek hosts high roller golfers from around the world Thats why General Manager Monte Montgomery says expectations for conditions are so high For Tims job we expect the best and he outshines every superintendent I have ever been around