Rob Alonzi and Fenway Welcome MetGCSA Invitational
Posted on Oct. 4, 2023 / Subscribe 0
by Chip Lafferty
On October 5, Rob Alonzi will welcome Invitational-goers to compete on the newly renovated Fenway Golf Club. As every year, the Invitational champions are honored by having their club’s name engraved on the legendary trophy for all to see. Invitational teams are made up of two club officials, the golf professional, and the golf course superintendent from each club, making for a great combination of networking and highly competitive golf.
Fenway is a historic track with many referring to the Tillinghast design as baby Winged Foot, or Winged Foot without the length. Either way, it is one of the finest golf courses in our area and is recognized as a top 100 classic course.
If you haven’t played Fenway in a while, you’ll be treated to Architect Gil Hanse’s numerous course updates: “As part of a master plan update,” explains Rob, “we’ve expanded greens, lengthening some holes; rebuilt tees, adding forward tees; and we’ve changed fairway contour lines and added fairway drainage.”
No rest for the weary, the plan also includes rebuilding creek walls (an ongoing project) and finally, last year, renovating all the bunkers, which included all-new drainage, Better Billy Bunker, new sand, and sodding all bunker and green surrounds.
“The renovation work has been well received by the membership, giving the course a fresh look and improved bunker consistency.”
Early Beginnings
Exposed to the turf industry, as Rob says, since he was “knee-high to a grasshopper,” it was no surprise that he ended up in turfgrass management—even after a short detour into the world of accounting, when he thought he could break family tradition and pursue a career in business. He had enrolled in Iona College’s business school as an accounting major, and only after a bit of soul searching, decided to transfer to UMass and return to his roots, completing a B.S. in plant and soil science.
From a young age, Rob had spent a good deal of time with his father, Bob, at work, learning early on what goes into maintaining some of the finest courses in the area, but when it came time to intern or begin his career as an assistant, instead of pursuing a position with his dad at Winged Foot or his Uncle Joe at Westchester, Rob decided to broaden his horizons.
“I wanted to learn how other turf managers did it,” says Rob. “I felt it was important for my education and development.”
Rob interned for two summers at Caves Valley in Maryland in 1993-94, working for then Super Bruce Cadenelli. “We might only get four to eight golfers a day playing the course at Caves,” Rob remembers. “But Bruce taught me whether you did 2 or 200 rounds a day, it was important to have the course in pristine condition . . . always. It was a great experience,” adds Rob.
After graduation in ’95, Rob returned to the Met section and continued his indoctrination into the business working as first assistant with then Super Steve Renzetti at Wykagyl Country Club in New Rochelle, NY. Rob’s two years spent at Wykagyl was another piece of the puzzle he needed to succeed as a future superintendent.
“With Steve,” recalls Rob, “I was involved for the first time in managing the crew and communicating with the staff and management. I also got some great tournament experience, prepping for the LPGA JAL Classic, which was held there every year.”
Remaining in the Met area, Rob went to work for Jeff Scott in 1998 at Tamarack Country Club in Greenwich, CT. “Working for Jeff really got me ready for my first superintendent’s position,” says Rob. “I improved my ability to communicate and gained a good amount of construction experience.
In January 2001, Rob landed his first superintendent’s position at St. Andrews Golf Club in Hastings-On-Hudson, NY. “St. Andrews is a golf club. There’s no tennis, no pool, only golf,” says Rob, pointing out that though the membership was supportive, expectations were high. Charged with raising the level of playing conditions at the club, Rob rose to the challenge, leading a number of projects in his seven-year tenure to enhance both the course’s conditioning and architecture.
In May of 2008, Rob came full circle and went to work for his father, Bob, at Fenway Golf Club, an A.W. Tillinghast gem in Scarsdale, NY. When Bob retired, Rob succeeded him as superintendent.
“It’s been busy but exciting to be a part of bringing the course to a new level,” says Rob. In his 15 years as superintendent at Fenway, Rob has nothing but high praise for his staff, green committee, and the membership as a whole. “They’re a great group of people to work with and for, which makes it easy to go to work every day.”
A Committed Member
Continuing to follow in his family’s footsteps, Rob has been a more-than-active participant in association business. In 2020, after 15 years of service on the MetGCSA Board of Directors, Rob assumed the reigns as the Met’s 35th president. Rob was first appointed to the Met board in 2004 by then President Will Heintz and quickly got his feet wet as co-chair of the Communications Committee and then advertising manager of the Tee to Green. His next charge was to chair the Education Committee before assuming his board positions.
Rob joined the Executive Board 18 years ago, climbing the rungs from secretary, treasurer, vice president, and president to his final role as past president. Like his predecessors, Rob was prepared to tackle association and industry issues, but was not prepared for the challenges that laid ahead of him as our world battled the Covid pandemic. The role of president is challenging under normal circumstances, but the Covid era took it to a new level of difficult with chapter and industry events cancelled or pushed to impersonal Zoom meetings. Somehow, we all made it through, and Rob successfully navigated all the obstacles that were thrown our way. With normalcy restored, Rob welcomes his current role as immediate past president. Committed to “giving back,” he will no doubt continue to help the organization in any way he can.
Breaking Family Tradition
While working at Caves Valley, Rob met his wife of 24 years, Ann Marie, at The Rusty Scupper, a restaurant/bar located in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. After Rob graduated from UMass and began his career at Wykagyl, Ann Marie found a job and relocated to New York. They married in 1999 and have two great kids, Nicholas, 21, and Sarah, 18.
Both engaging in studies outside the world of turf. Nick is a junior at Northeastern University, studying finance/international business. And Sarah, pondering a psychology major, is in her freshman year at Iona University in New York. Ann Marie recently opened an office in Greenwich, CT, where she is a massage therapist. Lucky Rob!
Good luck to all competitors at this year’s MetGCSA Invitational!
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