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Boots Hollow Golf Club superintendent Jody Shahan has been a staple at the Bartlesville, Okla., facility since the 1980s. Photo by Andy Dossett<\/p>\n
Boots Hollow Golf Club superintendent Jody Shahan has been a staple at the Bartlesville, Okla., facility since the 1980s. Photo by Andy Dossett<\/p>\n
The grocer left Jody Shahan hanging.\n<\/p>\n
As a 17-year-old, Shahan applied for his first job, which was at a grocery store in Oklahoma. He anticipated a return call to see if he would be hired. Shahan waited and waited some more. Talk about disappointment. \u201cI never heard back,\u201d he says. Just as well. Once he accepted his first job \u2014 which came in the golf industry \u2014 Shahan never looked back.\n<\/p>\n
Talk about job tenure; Shahan personifies it.\n<\/p>\n
In 1989, Shahan was hired at what is known now as Boots Hollow Golf Club in Bartlesville, Okla. Thirty-seven years later, he\u2019s still there. Shahan is superintendent at the public facility. What has kept him there for so long? Simple.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI never have had the desire to leave,\u201d says Shahan, a GCSAA Class A superintendent and 20-year member. \u201cI love it here.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Longevity and the beginning<\/p>\n
Shahan\u2019s path to Oklahoma started in the Colorado town of Pagosa Springs. His parents, Joe and Aggie, moved to Oklahoma to operate a ranch. The family hadn\u2019t been there a full year when the owner lost it all during the oil bust. Shahan, meanwhile, set aside the grocery store episode and found work at Adams Golf Course (now Boots Hollow GC).\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
The course, which opened in 1963, was the namesake of K.S. \u201cBoots\u201d Adams, a Kansas native who worked his way up at Phillips Petroleum to become company president until retiring after 44 years. Now deceased, Adams (who gained the nickname Boots for wearing them for decades) was given a parade upon his retirement, which was attended by former President Dwight D. Eisenhower.\n<\/p>\n
For Shahan, his entry to golf posed questions and curiosity for him. \u201cI didn\u2019t know anything about golf,\u201d he says.\n<\/p>\n
That first summer there, Shahan saw the possibilities. \u201cI enjoyed the labor part of it,\u201d he says. \u201cI came back that next March and would become a seasonal worker. In July 1990, they opened up a full-time spot for me. I mowed greens, tees and fairways. I loved it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
That same year, Shahan married a Bartlesville native. Now, he and his wife, Dawn, have two children, Chloe (in college, she mowed for him at the golf course) and Carter. Meanwhile, his career blossomed. Shahan was named assistant superintendent in 1995. Eleven years later, his perseverance paid off. Then-superintendent Larry Dye departed. In September 2006, Shahan was promoted to his first superintendent title. \u201cHe (Dye) taught me a lot. He really did,\u201d says Shahan. \u201cHe also taught me not what to do. I blended that with what to do.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Although he didn\u2019t receive a formal education, Shahan spent so much time at the golf course that he is confident in his knowledge. \u201cI didn\u2019t get a degree, but I know this golf course,\u201d Shahan says.\n<\/p>\n
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Boots Hollow GC opened in 1963 in Bartlesville, Okla. Photos by Angela Roadman <\/p>\n
Viewing the superintendent as an ace<\/p>\n
Gary Reheis dotes over one certain hole at Boots Hollow GC. He also proudly touts Shahan.\n<\/p>\n
A club member since 1966, Reheis was on the committee that decided to hire Shahan and see him earn a promotion. \u201cHe did a good job as assistant, always on time. One word to describe him? Dedicated,\u201d says Reheis, 81.\n<\/p>\n
The par-3 16th hole is about 60 yards from the Reheis home. He treats it like it\u2019s his own. Shahan supports how Reheis cares for it. \u201cI\u2019ve got a hole to take care of,\u201d Reheis says. \u201cThe par 3 is over water. I weed it when needed.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
There\u2019s this, too. \u201cOnly par 3 of the four on the course that I don\u2019t have an ace,\u201d says Reheis with a chuckle.\n<\/p>\n
Reheis is thrilled how Shahan and his team have overseen a major renovation that started in 2024, came to fruition summer of 2025 and was led by Heckenkemper Golf Course Design of Tulsa, Okla. It happened on the heels of bunkers that were rebuilt in 2020. Two years ago, the club\u2019s $2-plus million renovation was off and running. It featured a full redesign of all 18 greens. Fourteen of them were original. The last time that greens were addressed: 2000.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThose ones (the 14 original greens) didn\u2019t drain at all, and 60% to 70% were covered in Poa (annua),\u201d Shahan says, emphasizing how urgent the green improvement was needed. The greens were built following USGA recommendations and grassed with 007 XL bentgrass. \u201cNow, they\u2019re amazing. They really are. Before, they were flat, very vanilla. Now we\u2019ve got upper tiers, false fronts. The course is fast and firm and fun. It plays completely different.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Other improvements include an upgraded putting green and chipping area, and approximately 200 trees were removed, and there\u2019s more of that to come. The city council also approved new E-Z-GO carts equipped with GPS and 10-inch touchscreens.\n<\/p>\n
Reheis is enjoying all of the new look with an old hand like Shahan out front. \u201cThe greens are terrific and have gotten better every day,\u201d Reheis says, \u201cand I cannot say enough good things about Jody. And when he plays, he hits the ball pretty far.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
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A major renovation was completed last year at Boots Hollow GC, including greens.<\/p>\n
A fan of the man<\/p>\n
Russell Tanner is a staunch Shahan supporter. He also knows when his boss needs to take a breather.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen he\u2019s stressed, he\u2019s sitting on the back of the tailgate of his truck, smoking a cigar,\u201d says Tanner, Shahan\u2019s assistant superintendent \u2014 the first assistant Shahan hired, in November 2006.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
Tanner worked for several years at O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts before joining Shahan. Tanner\u2019s mechanical background has been a major benefit to their efforts, fabricating equipment to his desire with Shahan\u2019s approval. Example: In order to aid in aerification, he led the charge to turn an old 4-ton fertilizer spreader into a material handler that sits in the back of an old dump truck, allowing them to load their topdresser. With one golf hole roughly one mile from their shop, it was a major help to their cause.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cHe (Shahan) and I hit it off right away. We have a good time whatever we do,\u201d says Tanner. \u201cWe just get things done.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Asked why he thinks Shahan has remained at the club, Tanner says, \u201cI think he truly loves the job. He took steps to learn it. He sat down with a notebook, jotted down things, kept a journal. It\u2019s probably why he moved up. He\u2019s pretty sharp. If I question him about anything, it\u2019s because I\u2019m also trying to learn.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Tanner also has learned this about Shahan: It\u2019s all good. \u201cHe pulls me aside and tells me he appreciates what I do,\u201d says Tanner.\n<\/p>\n
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Boots Hollow GC\u2019s staff includes, from left, Tim Huff, Jody Shahan, Russell Tanner and Spencer Donnell. Photo by Andy Dossett<\/p>\n
Cart paths and a path toward a career<\/p>\n
Jerry Benedict quickly realized the club had a gem early in the Shahan era.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was right in there when we were laying the cart path. Tough job. He got it done,\u201d says Benedict, who was an assistant club pro in the 1970s, long before Shahan arrived to do his thing. Benedict \u2014 who along with Reheis will step forward and defend Shahan when they feel it\u2019s needed \u2014 also was part of the committee to hire him. \u201cHe was cooperative, helpful. As superintendent, he made it work when we had budget cuts.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cJody\u2019s made a life of it. He really has been excellent. He does what he needs to do.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Shahan, 56, has no timetable on how long he will keep this up at Boots Hollow GC, which is about 45 miles north of Tulsa. Along his journey, Shahan has seen no reason to depart. \u201cI\u2019m a city employee. They treat me well. I get good support from the city manager and city council. I still enjoy getting up every day and coming to work. Words cannot express how much I love this place. People may not believe me, but there\u2019s been no reason to look someplace else,\u201d Shahan says.\n<\/p>\n
The hiring manager at that grocery store decades ago may not believe this, but Shahan has shown he\u2019s got the goods.\n<\/p>\n
Howard Richman (hrichman@gcsaa.org) is GCM\u2019s associate editor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Boots Hollow Golf Club superintendent Jody Shahan has been a staple at the Bartlesville, Okla., facility since the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":390647,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[443],"tags":[49,48,622,82],"class_list":["post-390646","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\/390646","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=390646"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390646\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/390647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=390646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=390646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=390646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}