Colbert Hills

And it was kind of helped, I guess the best way to explain it would be to kind of present doors to for opportunities for me, but I had to be the one to walk through them and take full advantage of that opportunity and prove myself.

And so I began my career attending Kansas state university, uh, pursuing golf course management, uh, worked at Colbert Hills golf course under Matt Gourlay, um, which Brian, I know, you know, Matt so well, and, uh, he's a hoot, great friends himself.

And I'm sure we'll get into a couple of stories with Matt later, but, uh, Um, and so kind of did some internships and I actually did an internship at ball to straw golf club, uh, working for Mark Coons.

He was the director of agronomy out there.

And so now I've been here working with Chris and we have a phenomenal team, RPA and Ethan, the assistants, they're top notch individuals, love working with them.

And yeah, it's, it's been a really fun ride and every, every step throughout my career has prepared me for the next one.

It's, it's something I really haven't realized probably until really like this year, you know, kind of sitting down and being able to, kind of digest it and saying like man like all those experiences I had you know at Leawood and Sand Valley and PTP and you know Lawrence and Colbert Hills is like each each trained me for the next step and so um it's pretty cool and so now I just want to you know do my best work and provide the team with the tools and resources so they can do their best work and and just help elevate this golf industry.

Cause it's a fun industry that, um, that a lot of people don't really know exist unless you're kind of diving into it.

Harken back to your hometown.

I think of that at Colbert Hills.

That could come in handy, couldn't it, Clark? Yeah.

Absolutely, yeah.

I always love to get your thoughts on offensive pass interference calls.

I remember our conversation at Colbert Hills a couple of years ago before the basketball NIL tournament when the OPI was called on Tulane down in New Orleans that ended up helping K-State win the game.

I'm curious, what was your perspective on the OPI called on Cincinnati, which I thought was as blatant as it comes, but yet Dustin Fox and Scott Satterfield, the Cincinnati head coach, where apparently their mind was blown by the call there.

Yeah, that's an obvious call.

I've known Bernie Haney for, I don't know, 30 years.

He was director of golf at Colbert Hills forever.

Good friend of Jim Colbert, mutual friends, played in dozens of golf events and tournaments that Bernie Haney's run and been around many, many, many years ago.

He had a young son named Charlie.

Charlie started playing golf at Colbert Hills as, I don't know, a three-year-old, four-year-old.

We saw him swinging plastic clubs out on the range.

Bernie was always out there with him nonstop.

So the first tee of Manhattan started many, many, many, many, many years ago.