Minnesota native Chris Tritabaugh has been hired to lead the grounds staff at Hazeltine National Golf Club as Golf Course Superintendent. A Minnesota native, Tritabaugh worked most recently at Northland Country Club in Duluth. He is familiar with the specific climate requirements within Minnesota, especially given the severe weather swings along the North Shore of Lake Superior, where Northland is situated.

Minnesota Native Brings Deep Expertise in Cold Climate Turf

His responsibilities include heading a staff that grows to 30 in the summer, and maintaining the course in peak condition as the club prepares to host the prestigious Ryder Cup in 2016.

“I see my job as ensuring the surfaces are in top playing condition,” says Tritabaugh. “My responsibility is more than a grass grower. I want to maintain surfaces that are firm and fast—the  kind of play that the members and our guests, worldwide, have come to expect at Hazeltine.”

Tritabaugh has been a golfer since his youth in Albany, Minnesota, and began his career at the St. Cloud Country Club. He spent several years as Assistant Golf Course Superintendent at Town & Country Club in St. Paul, Minnesota. Since 2007 he has been the Golf Course Superintendent at Northland Country Club. That course, located majestically overlooking Lake Superior, reflects Northern Minnesota’s short summer, rocky soil, and wide temperature variances from one location on the course to another. “I’ve learned so much in my time at Northland; if I can grow good grass on thin, clay soil on top of rock, and I’m looking forward to growing it on rich soil of former farmland. Hazeltine is the pinnacle of the golf world, and I’m very excited,” says Tritabaugh.

The championship course, which just marked its fifty-year anniversary, was designed by Robert Trent Jones in 1962 and remodeled by his son, Rees Jones, in 1987. Hazeltine has hosted two U.S. Opens, two PGA Championships, the U.S. Senior Open, two U.S. Women’s Opens and the U.S. Amateur Championship.

“We are delighted to have Chris as part of the Hazeltine team. Of the over 130 candidates who applied for the position, we interviewed 11 and felt Chris distinguished himself from the rest of the field. His experience with this climate, coupled with his prior track record of maintaining superb course conditions including turf practices, led us to conclude he is best suited to meet our members’ expectations,” says Jim Andersen, Green Committee Chair.

In addition to his work on the course, Tritabaugh contributes content for members and readers on a blog and on Twitter for Hazeltine @hazeltinenatlgc. He’s also active on Twitter @ct_turf.

Hazeltine National Golf Club is a private golf club located in Chaska, Minn., about 30 minutes southwest of downtown Minneapolis. The club opened in 1962 with a mission to build and maintain a golf course suitable for the conduct of national championships. Hazeltine is one of only two courses in the United States to have hosted the U.S. Open, PGA Championship, U.S. Senior Open, U.S. Women’s Open, U.S. Amateur, and Ryder Cup. Hazeltine’s meeting and event space, golf shop and specified services in the learning center are open to the public. More information about becoming a member at Hazeltine is available at www.hazeltinenational.com.