Jim Fetterly

Bryce Alderton

To say that Jim Fetterly takes lawn care seriously would be an

understatement.

The New York native grew up on a 13-acre nonworking dairy farm and

watched as his father worked at the same country club for 50 years,

holding every job except head professional. Two of his uncles were

golf pros and his grandfather spent time as a superintendent.

Fetterly has followed their footsteps and is in his fifth year as

superintendent at Costa Mesa Golf & Country Club and loving every

minute of it.

“I enjoy the grass so much,” Fetterly said. “I treat it as if it

is the only thing I have.”

Fetterly, a San Clemente resident, is also a father and husband to

Maggie and Jane, respectively.

The Cornell graduate, who played on its golf team his junior year,

doesn’t stop with Costa Mesa. He also supervises turf care at

Strawberry Farms Golf Club in Irvine, San Juan Hills Country Club and

a driving range on the campus of Saddleback College.

He rises at 4:30 six mornings a week and his day is done about the

same time in the afternoon. Even on Sunday, his supposed day off,

Fetterly answers calls every hour from crews at the three courses and

one range he oversees, wanting to know what his plans are for the

week.

On Thursday Fetterly spent the morning at San Juan Hills and

Strawberry Farms then went to Costa Mesa in the afternoon and planned

to stop by Saddleback to aerate the greens on the way home to San

Clemente.

Four jobs for one superintendent is a rarity, Fetterly said, but

he receives “just compensation.”

“My family and I eat off these greens,” Fetterly said. “Because of

that, [his crew and him] treat them accordingly.”

With fall in full swing, Fetterly and a crew of about 24 re-seeded

the tee boxes and aerated the greens last week and will re-seed the

collars and approaches this week, using a perennial rye grass

mixture.

The cooler weather this time of year causes the kikuyu grass,

which makes up 90% of Costa Mesa’s fairways, to grow slower than in

warmer summer months. A sand-and-seed mixture is used to spurt the

turf’s growth. Bermuda grass grows laterally over divots during the

summer, negating the reliance on seed.

Kikuyu grass thrives in the cool, moist and moderate climate of

Costa Mesa, so the fairways don’t need to be aerated, Fetterly said.

That is not the case at Strawberry Farms or San Juan, where holes

tucked into canyons and ravines can see temperatures suddenly drop,

causing the grass to go brown in some spots.

“We thin the fairways in June, controlling the thatch [soft and

stemmed grass] on the tees and approaches and seed right behind it in

October,” Fetterly said. “We’re always pretty busy.”

Fetterly and crew closed the Mesa Linda course Tuesday and the Los

Lagos course Wednesday to re-seed the tees and aerate the greens.

Golfers were back on the two courses the following days.

He hopes the greens will be back to “playing shape” in two weeks,

but with Mother Nature, anything is possible, he said.

“Sometimes things go wrong, so it could be longer, like four

weeks,” Fetterly said.

Fetterly’s unyielding work ethic has benefited several courses.

For seven years he was the superintendent at the former Imperial Golf

Course in Brea before spending nine months at Irvine Coast Country

Club before it became Newport Beach Country Club. Stints at Western

Hills in Carbon Canyon and four years at Tijeras Creek Golf Club in

Rancho Santa Margarita provided Fetterly the training needed for his

current duties along with consulting at several other courses.

Regular golfers at Costa Mesa continually comment on the

turnaround since Fetterly took charge more than five years ago. The

course used to have numerous dead patches and the greens were often

bumpy.

“I cried for two weeks,” Fetterly said upon his arrival at Costa

Mesa. “Through attrition, I weeded out certain individuals and

brought in good ones. This place had a terrible turf grass

reputation. Even if we got it so-so, it wouldn’t be good enough. We

had to be better than everyone else.”

Fetterly divides the course into sections, giving an employee six

greens to care for.

“A guy learns quick that the front of one hole dries out before

the back of another,” Fetterly said. “Each person believes in that

section. I try to make sure I know what is wet, dry, yellow and

green. We talk about every little happening.

“The guys that work with me make it happen. I always compare it to

a gin rummy game where every card played works. I care about [the

course]. Sometimes I might overdo it, but I like to get involved. My

name is on it, so I have to be.”

Anyone who has played either course as Costa Mesa since Fetterly

has been in charge can attest to the care each blade of grass

receives these days.