Grounds Superintendent

Indian Creek Country Club
Miami, Florida

 

Indian Creek Country Club, located in Miami, Florida, is seeking a highly motivated Grounds Superintendent to join its golf and clubhouse grounds maintenance team. Originally designed by Architect William Flynn, the Club recently completed a comprehensive renovation with architect Andrew Green in 2022, thoughtfully restoring Flynn’s original design character while enhancing the overall golf experience for the membership. Indian Creek was recognized by Golf Digest as runner-up for Renovation of the Year in 2023 and is ranked #23 on its list of The Best Golf Courses in Florida.

ABOUT INDIAN CREEK COUNTRY CLUB:

Indian Creek Country Club was established in 1928 as a Private Country Club and currently has approximately 365 members. Throughout its 98-year history, Indian Creek Country Club has remained committed to preserving its traditions, culture, and integrity. With a strong emphasis on excellence in course conditioning and long-term stewardship, the Club continues to uphold the high standards established by its founding members while delivering a world-class golf experience. 

Club acreage is approximately 185 acres, and we offer the following amenities: an 18-hole golf course, 4 Har-Tru tennis courts, 2 croquet courts, a fitness center, swimming pool, and a 70,000-square-foot Mediterranean style clubhouse.

Club Mission Statement: The Club is committed to providing its geographically diverse membership with superb facilities and a dedicated and talented staff. Indian Creek Country Club is dedicated to furnishing its membership with a relaxed and family-oriented feeling of activities. The mission of Indian Creek Country Club is to be known for exceptional services, activities and facilities for all its members. Our goal is to preserve Indian Creek as a retreat from the outside world, as we resolved by the Club’s founding members 98 years ago, by maintaining an ambience of Old-World charm. Everything we do and offer is to maintain the tradition, culture and integrity of Indian Creek since its creation.

Club highlights: 

  • Golf Maintenance Budget: $5.3 million
  • Grounds Maintenance Budget: $400,000
  • Annual Golf Rounds: 15,000

THE GOLF COURSE & GROUNDS MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT INCLUDES:

·         Director of Agronomy

·         Golf Course Superintendent

·         Grounds Superintendent

·         Head Equipment Manager

·         Assistant Equipment Technician

·         Equipment Technician

·         3 Assistant Superintendents

·         1 Assistant-in-Training

·         2 Seasonal Interns

·         Administrative Assistant

·         31 Line Staff for Golf Course

·         3 Line Staff for Club Grounds

 

POSITION OVERVIEW:

The Grounds Superintendent reports directly to the Director of Agronomy (DOA). Under the direction of the DOA, the Grounds Superintendent will lead the development of a high-performing Grounds Department while overseeing the property’s landscape, trees, ornamentals and common spaces. This position will have meaningful involvement in landscape installation, plant selection, department development, and long-term horticulture planning.

SUCCESS TRAITS OF INDIVIDUAL:

  • Professionalism, punctuality, dependability.
  • Considerate, friendly, an exceptional ability to work within a team environment. 
  • Excellent communication skills are a must.
  • Positive attitude and desire to be a part of close-knit club community including long-tenured staff members ranging from 10-40 years of experience. 
  • Collaborate and willing to work closely with the Golf Maintenance leadership team, contractors, vendors, and other departments.
  • Comfortable building systems, process, and the standards from the ground up.
  • Passionate about horticulture, landscape management, and property presentation.
  • Self-motivated and comfortable taking ownership without requiring constant direction.

INITIAL PRIORITIES OF POSITION:

  • Collaborate closely with the Director of Agronomy and existing leadership to ensure consistent maintenance standards and presentation throughout the property.
  • Develop long-term horticulture management programs focused on plant health, irrigation, fertility, pest management, pruning, mulching, and seasonal color.
  • Establish clear departmental structure, expectations, and operating standards for the Grounds Department
  • Helps facilitate instruction to equipment operators on the operation and care of mowing and other equipment; supervises pesticide applications and/or operates and calibrates pesticide application equipment; supervises and participates in the operation and maintenance of pumps, and in the maintenance of irrigation and drainage systems.
  • Develop and implement daily, weekly, monthly, and seasonal maintenance programs for all landscape and common areas.
  • Assists in personnel management and evaluation, employee safety, personnel discipline and may also modify the daily work schedule based on professional interpretation.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES, SKILLS, APTITUDE AND OTHER TRAITS: 

Horticulture

  • Must be able to develop and implement basic horticulture programs using primary and secondary cultural practices with regard to drainage, soil structure, irrigation, fertility, pest control, height of cut and traffic wear.
  • Strong technical and analytical focus to ensure optimal horticulture, water, soil and environmental management programs. 
  • Collaborative with the Director of Agronomy, architects, contractors, ownership, and other stakeholders on plant selection, landscape installation, and long-term horticulture planning.
  • Consistently seeks out best-in-class conditioning methodology including tools and practices. 
  • Successful experience in similar or more challenging climates. 
  • Establishes and maintains grounds maintenance operations and facilities to help create a safe, productive, and enjoyable environment for employees, as well as golfers and onsite visitors.
  • Develop irrigation strategies for landscape areas while promoting water conservation and plant health.
  • Help establish a culture of accountability, teamwork, pride, and continuous improvement within the Grounds Department.  

Leadership

  • Humble, trustworthy, strong character, and impeccable integrity. 
  • Demonstrates creativity, flexibility, and outside-the-box thinking and assures consistent achievement of goals. 
  • Lead by example approach to setting standards of operation. 
  • Establish department expectations, operating procedures, and quality standards.
  • Develop a workplace culture reflective of top performing organizations and ensure consistent focus on motivating and retaining employees and promoting ethics and values. 
  • Collaborative in nature, and ability to work effectively with various constituents. 

Chemical and Fertility

  • Performs routine safety inspections on all spraying and fertilizer equipment.
  • Maintains chemical and fertilizer storage and mixing/filling areas in compliance with county, state, and federal regulations and is responsible for the safety and direction of chemical/fertilizer handlers and/or helpers.
  • Responsible for properly mixing and applying herbicides, fungicides, or insecticides to associated turf grasses, trees, and ornamentals.
  • Manages all spray and fertilizer applications on a daily to weekly basis and reports to the DOA.

Equipment Operation & Care

  • Strong understanding of Grounds equipment from mowers, skid-loaders, aerifiers, sprayers, and small equipment.
  • Ensures that the equipment cooling system is working at all times; refills fuel daily; cleans equipment daily, and reports equipment problems or failures to the DOA and Head Equipment Manager.
  • Responsible for training and safety. 

PREFERRED REQUIREMENTS:

  • Requires a minimum of two years of landscape or horticulture experience as an intern or post-graduate.
  • Requires working knowledge of the maintenance practices of turfgrasses and various landscape plants and ornamentals; the planting, cultivation, pruning, and caring for plants, shrubs, and trees; the characteristics and proper use of various fertilizers and soil conditioners; herbicides and pest control methods and materials; drainage control methods; and irrigation system, including wells, pumps, and automatic controls.
  • Certificate, Associate’s, or Bachelor’s degree in Horticulture, Landscape Management, Plant Science, Turfgrass Science, or a related field preferred.
  • Requires valid driver’s license.
  • Requires current state certification or licensing as a pesticide applicator within 90 days of employment.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS:

  • Salary - $90,000-$100,000
  • Health, Dental, Vision, and Voluntary Life Insurance are available. Family coverage is available. Insurance plans are available on the first of the month following date of hire. 
  • Life Insurance- Group Life Insurance provided on the first month following the date of hire.
  • Short-Term and Long-Term Disability- Provided on the first month following date of hire.
  • 401k Plan- Eligible to participate in the first month following the date of hire.
  • Meals- Employee meals are provided during Club season (November 1 – April 30).
  • Golfing privileges, uniforms provided.
  • Vacation: 1-week paid vacation for the first two years and increase as per Club Policy thereafter.
  • PTO Pay: 6 paid personal days per anniversary year (48 hours).

To apply, please submit a cover letter and resume (PDF format) to Dane Alexander, Director of Agronomy. Use the subject line “Indian Creek Country Club Grounds Superintendent – [Your Name]”.