AUGUST 2025 • VOLUME 5 • ISSUE 3 | | |
Talking Ocean Organics with Jesse Sutton, CGCS, Superintendent, Fox Run Golf Club, Ludlow, Vermont
The 3rd edition of our 2025 “Talking Ocean Organics” Newsletter takes us to Ludlow, VT. Our article will focus on Jesse Sutton, CGCS. Jesse has been the superintendent at Fox Run since 2021. We will explore Jesse’s personal and professional journey, the unique property he looks after, and how he has incorporated Ocean Organics’ products into his agronomic programs.
| | Fox Run Golf Club - Hole #18 leading up to the Clubhouse | | |
About Jesse
Jesse was born in Scranton, PA in 1990. Jesse’s dad Scott worked as a superintendent for an environmental construction company. Jesse’s mom Elizabeth managed an Irish Bar named “The Banshee.” For those of you not up to snuff on Irish folklore, a “Banshee” is a female spirit who heralds the death of a family member, usually by screaming, wailing, or keening. Jesse “remembers helping his mom change the kegs at the bar.” Fortunately, Jesse didn’t run into any Banshees in the bowels of his mom’s establishment.
| “I grew up outside of Scranton in a rural area... I had a great childhood. I loved the outdoors and worked at farms and landscaping. I just loved working outside. I started playing golf in the 7th grade.” | |
Jesse didn’t take a normal path in his golf course education. His first job as an intern happened before he ever attended turf school. “When I graduated high school, I applied for a job on the maintenance crew at The Glazier Club in Durango, Colorado. It had 27 holes of golf and a big staff. The course was 7,400 feet above sea level. It was my first experience working on a crew and I loved everything about it. I even fell in love with getting up at the crack of dawn to work.”
After that first internship, Jesse enrolled at Penn State University to pursue his degree in Turfgrass Management. “My second internship was back in Colorado at Cherry Hills CC,” said Jesse, “only I didn’t return to Penn State for my second year of turf school. I stayed in Colorado for the fall and winter. With spring approaching, it was time to get serious about my career again. I was fortunate to land a job on Frank Hancock’s staff at Eastward Ho CC on Cape Cod, MA. I started working for Frank in April of 2010. Frank saw potential in me and we talked about school. Frank had attended Rutgers 2-year program. Well, that was good enough for me and I enrolled at Rutgers to get my certificate.”
| “I was fortunate to land a job on Frank Hancock’s staff at Eastward Ho CC on Cape Cod, MA. I started working for Frank in April of 2010. Frank saw potential in me and we talked about school. Frank had attended Rutgers 2-year program. Well, that was good enough for me and I enrolled at Rutgers to get my certificate.” | |
Jesse’s next stop was at “The Country Club” in Brookline, MA working for Bill Spence. “I worked at The Country Club for three years as an AIT (Assistant in Training).” Jesse said, “It was a good learning experience. In 2013, they held the US Amateur. In 2014, I moved on to my first assistant’s job in Lake Tahoe at Martis Camp. Martis Camp is a surreal property. The golf course is a Tom Fazio design. Martis Camp is a 2000-acre community with 672 houses. A building lot could cost you a million dollars. The climate was arid during the summer months, absolutely no rain. In the winter, there would be lots of snow. The maintenance crew numbered 50 employees. It was made easier having my future wife Meghan with me. We spent three years in Lake Tahoe but eventually had the itch to go back East. So, next stop was Pelham CC in lower Westchester County, NY.”
“I went to work for Jeff Wentworth as his Senior Assistant in 2017,” said Jesse, “and I had some big shoes to fill following George Chavez who had just moved on to his first superintendent’s job. George had a tremendous rapport and relationship with the crew. Pelham was a tough property with the summertime heat and drainage issues throughout. I enjoyed working for Jeff and learned a lot in the three years I spent at Pelham. Especially working with Mike DeVries and his renovation of the golf course. But, it was time to move on to my first superintendent’s position at Brattleboro CC in Vermont.”
| | “...we built new tees, installed new sand in all the bunkers, painted the buildings, and renovated the clubhouse... The new owners invested over a million dollars in that first year.” | | Jesse only spent one year at Brattleboro. “It was a good first job opportunity for me. The club didn’t have a lot of money or resources. And amazingly, the opportunity at Fox Run presented itself after my first year at Brattleboro and I took it.” In 2018, Vail Resorts had purchased Okemo Mountain and Okemo Valley Golf Club (now Fox Run Golf Club). In April of 2021, a private investment company bought the golf course from Vail Resorts. And they hired Jesse to manage the property. The new owners had the resources to make significant investments to improve the property. “On the golf course we built new tees, installed new sand in all the bunkers, painted the buildings, and renovated the clubhouse,” said Jesse. “The new owners invested over a million dollars in that first year.” | | Jesse Sutton, CGCS (center) with Jose and Alfredo. | | Jesse takes care of the golf course with a crew of eight and no assistants. The workers are foreign nationals, part of the H-2B program. Two brothers on the crew, Alfredo and Jose, have great agronomic instincts and assist Jesse in dialing in great course conditions. “It’s a beautiful property in the shadows of Okemo Mountain. For years, the funds weren’t there to maintain it at a high level,” said Jesse, “we have 45 acres of fine fescue that had been neglected. After 5 years it has been restored, weed free and clean, and thinned out so golfers can hit shots out of it.” Fox Run is semi-private but, in reality, it’s a high-end public facility. The bulk of the revenue is from weekend play. To command those types of greens fees, the course must always be in exceptional condition. | | Jesse and his better half, Meghan, grew up together in the Scranton area. They reconnected at Thanksgiving on one of Jesse’s visits back to his home town. No, they didn’t meet at “The Banshee.” After living together in Lake Tahoe, Megan and Jesse tied the knot. They have two children, Penelope - 4 and Ben - 18 months, and reside in Newfane, VT. | | |
Fox Run Golf Club
Fox Run opened in 1969 as a 9-hole executive golf course located on a 150-acre dairy farm at the base of Okemo Mountain in Ludlow, VT. A local resident, Stan Johnson, designed and built the original layout. After several groups owned and operated the property, it was purchased by the Garvey family who operated the property from 1977-1997.
In 1998, Tim and Dianne Mueller purchased the property and expanded it to an 18-hole championship layout. The original course was bulldozed and Steve Durkee was hired to design and build the new course. In 1999, the first 9 holes of the new Okemo Valley Golf Club were opened and the following year the full 18-hole course officially opened.
| | Fox Run Golf Club - Hole #11 | | Between 2000-2018, Okemo Valley GC was owned and operated by the Mueller family until it was sold to Vail Resorts and subsequently, four years later, to the current ownership group. In 2021, the new owners changed Okemo Valley GC back to its original name, Fox Run GC. | | Fox Run Golf Club combines challenging greens and breathtaking scenery. The pristine beauty of Okemo Mountain with its majestic peaks create a stunning backdrop for every swing and putt. The design of the course seamlessly integrates with the terrain, preserving the natural contours of the land to enhance the overall aesthetic. The course plays 6400 yards from the championship tees. | | Fox Run Golf Club - Hole #3 | | |
Ocean Organics:
Jesse has incorporated the following products into his agronomic program at Fox Run. Jesse describes, in his own words, where the products are applied on the golf course, how he uses them, and the results he’s achieved.
Granular Fertilizer:
“I use SeaBlend 14-0-4 AS (Ammonium Sulfate) on my greens. It’s the only granular fertilizer I apply to the greens. My 1st app Is usually in late April to wake them up. My second app is in mid-October after aerification. It’s my base “N” for the year. With the short growing season and low soil temps until June, this product fits in well for me.”
“I use SeaBlend 12-4-5 on my fairways and tees. I put it out at 4/10ths of a pound three times a year. There’s no striping or flushes of growth. I love the color and the end result. I even used 12-4-5 to grow in my home lawn.”
| | “I use Nautilus on my greens and tees. I have California greens and they can dry out quickly. I like deep and infrequent irrigation cycles and then just letting it ride. The Nautilus keeps my surfaces firm and fast. We have a lot of slope and undulations on the greens. The Nautilus gives us a scary consistent VWC (volumetric water content) no matter where we take measurements. I also like using the Mariner Bio-Tabs for hand watering and keeping sod alive when necessary.” | | “I rotate an XP and Stress Rx app every other week at 3oz/1000 on my greens. We mow at .100 and roll every day. With 18,000 rounds a year there’s lots of traffic on the greens and lots of stress. The products give me nice color and healthy turf. The XP and Stress RX are, besides the two granular apps, my only nitrogen sources during the season. That amounts to about 2/10ths of a pound of N per month.” | | Thank you, Jesse, for your time in putting this article together. | | |
Superior Strategic Stress Management
Ocean Organics, The Industry Leader
45 Years in the Golf Industry
Best Seaweed Processor — The Mother Ship
All products manufactured in Waldoboro, ME
| | Visit our website for more about our products | | |
SeaBlend®
Granular Fertilizer
Stress Rx® Foliar Fertilizer
XP® Foliar Fertilizer
NuRelease®
Soil and Fertilizer Additive
| |  |
Guarantee®
Natural Seaweed Extract
Turf Surfactants
with a Difference
Helmsman® • Mariner® • Nautilus®
Privateer® • TopSail® • Windjammer®
Ocean Organics high-performance surfactants optimize nutrient and water use efficiency while helping boost plant fitness. Each formulation contains a surfactant, an infiltration agent, and a biostimulant.
| | |
“From May through Labor Day, I can sleep at night.”
– Matt Kowal
“The color is fantastic.”
– Ethan Haveman
“The recovery was great. The greens filled in and
the color was unbelievable. We were able to weather
the storm and open the course on time."
– Rob Dorsch
| | | |
Need information? Want to chat?
Email or call your local distributor
or Kevin Collins
914-621-1151
| |
Manufacturers of High-Performance, Science-Based
Plant Strengthening and Fitness Materials for Growth, Protection, Stress Tolerance and Recovery
| | | | |
