BIOGRAPHY | embrey

Growing up in southern Maine, I quickly found my passion for the turfgrass industry after working a summer mowing the athletic fields at my high school. After completing my first internship at a private golf club near my parents’ house, I discovered the remarkable intricacies involved with taking care of a golf course.

I was fortunate enough to be able to complete three more summer internships while working on my bachelor’s degree in Golf Course Management from the State University of New York at Delhi. My second summer internship was at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, New Jersey where I experienced my first PGA event, the Barclays Tournament, which was the first stop of the FedEx Cup. I learned the extreme preparation and attention to detail that goes into preparing for an event like this and realized the endless possibilities in this amazing field. The following summer I went out to Park City, Utah and discovered the art of water management in the western mountains. For my final internship, I had the privilege to work at The National Golf Links of America. It was here that I expanded my education in the field even further by learning about links golf, historic golf course architecture, and the challenges of growing turfgrass in difficult summer conditions. From Maine, New Jersey, Utah, and New York, the knowledge I’ve gained working in various climates has been invaluable to my career.

Since graduating college, I have continued to build my professional career working primarily at exclusive clubs in the Northeast. I accepted my first Assistant Superintendent position at The Woodlands Club in Falmouth, Maine where I was able to work year-round and learn the inner workings of what it takes to maintain a golf course. I discovered that maintaining a golf course goes far beyond the usual summer tasks of raking bunkers, mowing, spraying, and watering turfgrass. After two years at The Woodlands, I was then offered another Assistant Superintendent position at Myopia Hunt Club in South Hamilton, Massachusetts. Here, I learned to train and lead employees, keep meticulous records, and work with the Superintendent on the operating and capital budgets. I followed this with a position at Rumson Country Club in Rumson, New Jersey, where I learned a great deal about golf course construction, restoration, and year-round projects. After getting married in 2017, my wife and I wanted to be closer to family, so we moved back to New England and I returned to my position as Assistant Superintendent at the Woodlands Club in Falmouth, Maine.

Currently, I’m living in New Hampshire with my wife, Andrea, and our two little boys and I am Superintendent of The Overlook Golf Club in Hollis, NH. The Overlook has seen an increase of rounds of over 40% since I started, and I have worked tirelessly to build an agronomy team that can handle the staggering increase in play. Since I’ve started, I have successfully designed and installed drainage on multiple holes along with in-house tree removal of over 500 trees. I have quickly proven my dedication and expertise to Friel Golf Management and have also accepted the role of Director of Agronomy for all New Hampshire properties in the Friel Golf Management portfolio. The properties include two 18-hole golf courses, Overlook Golf Club in Hollis, NH, and Souhegan Woods Golf Club in Amherst, NH. The other properties also include a 9-hole course, Whip-Poor-Will Golf Club in Hudson, NH, and a 30-acre driving range World Cup Golf Center also in Hudson, NH. In this position I manage the superintendents at each property and develop agronomic practices that will continually improve growing conditions and golfer satisfaction.