#ThankASuper Spotlight Series: Fred Parcells

In honor of international “Thank A Golf Course Superintendent Day,” we are proud to highlight the unsung heroes of the golf industry and KemperSports family: our incredibly hardworking and outstanding superintendents and course maintenance teams.

Fred Parcells (pictured left above with Skyway Assistant Superintendent Jim Robertson)
Golf Course Superintendent
Skyway Golf Course at Lincoln Park West (Jersey City, NJ)

# of years worked at current course: 4 years
Total years worked in the industry: 25 years

How did you get into the golf maintenance industry?
I started out as a caddie and then got a job on the maintenance crew. I fell in love with playing golf, working on the course and the early mornings.

What’s your favorite part of the job?
I enjoy working with the crew and that every day is a little different. You plan the day before and then do the morning drive around the course and things seem to change. I enjoy the planning and figuring out how we will fix any issues that come up.

What’s the most misunderstood part of the job?
That we just mow grass, which always makes me laugh. There is so much more to having nice playing conditions than just mowing the grass.

What advice would you give to your younger self or younger superintendents just starting out?
Keep it simple… go with your gut and don’t overthink the issue at hand. Come up with a plan and execute it to success.

Fred (left) pictured with KemperSports CEO Steve Skinner after winning the 2023 KemperSports Superintendent of the Year Award at the company’s 2023 Leadership Conference.

What are a few accomplishments you are most proud of at your course/in your career?
I am so proud of the hard work that was done by all the crew and staff at Skyway last year as we worked through the Audubon International Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf. The process was started at the course many years ago by a former superintendent and we were able to complete the program and have Skyway become Audubon certified. For us, being a nine-hole course in the middle of Jersey City, N.J., it means a lot that we can make the course better for our guests and nature at the same time.

What are some of the most helpful forward-thinking practices that have benefitted your facility?
With the amount of play we get as such a small course, we have changed our practice of aeration. Instead of the heavy spring and fall schedule of aeration with large holes, lots of sand and closing the course, which affects the tee sheet, we have moved to light topdressing and small, solid coring tines that we can do more often and not affect the playing conditions of our greens.

What does the game of golf mean to you and how has that helped fuel the passion you have for your career?
I fell in love with the game of golf when I was young, and honestly, I still love it. Playing it, being on the course early when no one else is and working the course to provide the best playing conditions we can for our golfers. It is always nice to hear or have someone come up and say how much they liked the course. That’s what drives me and the crew.

The Skyway course and grounds crew.

See below for our full series of #ThankASuper spotlights:

• Cody Woods, Lake of Isles (North Stonington, CT)
• Michael Bostian, Waverly Woods Golf Club (Marriottsville, MD)
• Jordan Kalasky, Heritage Shores Golf Club (Bridgeville, DE)
• Brett Niner, Blue Mash Golf Course (Laytonsville, MD)
• Drew Matera, Whiskey Creek Golf Club (Ijamsville, MD)
• Steve Kuretsky, Cantigny Golf (Wheaton, IL)
• Dave Groelle, Royal Melbourne Country Club (Long Grove, IL)