![\"Aerial](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/escobar1_web.jpg\")
Miguel Escobar moved to America, worked his way to the big time and became a golf course superintendent. Photo by Casey Shepherd<\/p>\n
Miguel Escobar moved to America, worked his way to the big time and became a golf course superintendent. Photo by Casey Shepherd<\/p>\n
Miguel Escobar arrived in the United States from Guatemala, learned how to speak English and grasped a dream in the golf industry.\n<\/p>\n
That was quite a while ago when his journey began. At age 12, Escobar moved to the U.S. with an uncle. Escobar stayed, aged and got busy. Others counted on him.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI started working, trying to earn money to help my parents,\u201d he says.\n<\/p>\n
Escobar since has earned a place in the golf course superintendent ranks. The 38-year-old was hired last year to oversee The Villages at Country Creek in Estero, Fla. \u201cTook me 14 years to achieve my dream,\u201d says Escobar, a six-year GCSAA member.\n<\/p>\n
Reaching this point started 18 years ago. He joined the maintenance crew at Miramar Lakes (Fla.) Golf Club. Another stop was The Landings Yacht, Golf and Tennis Club in Fort Myers, Fla. In 2017, Escobar went to work for superintendent Jeff Price at The Colony Golf & Country Club in Bonita Springs, Fla. Price is grateful that Escobar entered his world.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most important thing about Miguel is work ethic. He\u2019s smart. He\u2019s driven. I wish I had two or three more Miguels. The world would be a better place,\u201d says Price, a 28-year association member.\n<\/p>\n
Escobar, who in America earned a high school diploma, later enrolled in Penn State University’s online turfgrass science program. He also was named foreman by Price.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
In 2021, he moved to Esplanade Golf & Country Club in Naples, Fla., as an assistant superintendent. Three years later, he accepted the challenge to be a superintendent at The Villages at Country Creek, an 18-hole, par-61 executive course.\n<\/p>\n
![\"Aerial](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/escobar2_web.jpg\")
Escobar oversees The Villages at Country Creek in Estero, Fla. It\u2019s his first job as a superintendent. Photo courtesy of Miguel Escobar<\/p>\n
So far, so good. \u201cI have a lot of things on my plate. I try not to get overwhelmed,\u201d Escobar says. \u201cI worked for so many golf courses. Good thing I have learned. It may be raining, may be hot. There are tasks to do every day. Just take it easy. If something is wrong, we\u2019ll fix it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Is it important for him to be a hands-on superintendent? \u201cOf course. My message for my crew is that I am a simple employee like one of them, but different role,\u201d he says. \u201cA title doesn\u2019t change my philosophy. I gain respect through action, not just authority. Showing up early, working hard as they do, prioritizing safety and staying organized \u2014 I think that sets the standard for the team.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI make sure my message is clear of the importance of setting up the course every single day with a high aesthetic level of play and reminding them to take pride in their hard work. I always invest in their growth, learning opportunities of the industry and promote them internally before hiring externally. I give them projects and hold them accountable so I don\u2019t have to micromanage each one of them. I review their task after it\u2019s done and communicate how their job contributes to this course or the expertise they have gained.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Escobar is from the town of Aguacatan in Guatemala. He visited his parents for the first time in 20 years earlier this year. It filled him with emotions, and he relived stories of his childhood and how his parents \u201ctaught me the great values of a Christian family and the success of hard work,\u201d he says.\n<\/p>\n
Escobar, wife Martha Jacinto and son Biron have settled in nicely in Florida. \u201cComing from another country isn\u2019t easy. God carried me through all these years,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was rewarding. Members are happy, and that\u2019s amazing. We make improvements every day, little by little. How it looks makes me happy.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Howard Richman is GCM’s associate editor<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Miguel Escobar moved to America, worked his way to the big time and became a golf course superintendent.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":293571,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[443],"tags":[49,48,622,82],"class_list":["post-293570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293570"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293570\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/293571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}