Golfdom, March 2014

The What are you drinking Ill have an ice cold Dr Pepper on the rocks How did you meet your wife We met in the baby nursery when she was a newborn and I was two True story We knew we knew each other for a long time our moms are longtime friends but it wasnt until we were looking through her baby book that we saw her mom mentioned that we visited her in the nursery And you and your wife Siri have four kids Yes Gunther 9 Ingrid 7 Erick 4 and Klara 1 I dont want the best advice youve ever gotten how about the most ironic or unusual Well a superintendent once told me that a good mechanic is more valuable than a good assistant and I was his assistant at the time But I get his point As a superintendent you have the same skill set as your assistant but rarely do you have the same skill set as the mechanic You only know enough to be dangerous Who doesnt get the credit that they deserve at your place We couldnt get it done without our two superintendents Joe Marafiot and Andrew Buchholz and our two mechanics Fred Baker and Dennis Hilmas at MAIN PHOTO BY PETE SELTZER ISTOCKPHOTO SKIER SHUTTERSTOCK BACK FLIP with David J Soltvedt CGCS DIRECTOR OF AGRONOMY Giants Ridge Golf Ski Resort Biwabik Minn MEETING ANNIKA SORENSTAM AT THE GOLFDOM SUMMIT EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS BOTH HER PERSONALITY AND HER PROFESSIONALISM IVE MET ARNOLD PALMER BEFORE BUT I THINK THIS MEETING TRUMPED THAT our two courses We have one team but with two maintenance shops that are three miles apart from each other so it really is two different operations And Id be remiss if I didnt mention the corporate support we get from Troon Golf Theyre the unsung heroes they dont get credit for the passion they have Who are you taking in your bracket this year I went to Michigan State I was there when they won it all in 2000 I think they have a shot at winning it all every year Tom Izzo knows how to coach them up Final Four is a given So are you an exercise nut I saw you do a backflip while wearing cowboy boots that takes some athleticism No but I get enough workouts between the golf course and chasing my kids I do enjoy skiing and basketball How do you even get started doing backflips I wouldnt do piano lessons when I was a kid so my mom took me to gymnastics for a year I learned enough to still be doing backflips but my body is telling me to slow down I just want to be able to do a backflip for long enough that my youngest kid can remember me doing them I need to stop having children As interviewed by Seth Jones February 21st 2014 44 Golfdom January 2014 Golfdom com