Sean Cain & Sunningdale Country Club Bring Met Area Team Championship Home
Posted on Oct. 6, 2023 / Subscribe 0
by Kevin Collins
The “Championship” was resurrected about a decade ago by industry stalwarts Andy Drohen and Blake Halderman. Superintendent associations from the Northeast & Mid-Atlantic regions gather to compete in the event. Each association sends eight players (four gross and four net players). The format is four, two-man best ball teams (gross & net) that vie for the lowest aggregate score and the top prize. Typically, 13 associations play in the event every year.
The association that comes in last normally has to sit out of next year’s tournament. There’s a lot of pride on the line. Let’s get ready to rumble!
Sean is originally from the Capital area of upstate, NY. “My dad, Terry, (who just turned 80) worked as a lineman for Niagara Mohawk Power,” Sean says. “Every time there was an ice storm or weather event, he was out the door working long overtime hours to send my two siblings and me to college. He worked as a lineman for 40 years.
“My mom, Joan, was a nurse and ran a tight ship, keeping me, my brother, and sister in line when my dad was out hard at work. I was the middle child out of three. My older brother, Tim, is a teacher and lives in New Hampshire. My younger sister, Jennifer, lives in Madrid. She raised twins in Europe while her husband bootlegged Jim Beam Whiskey throughout Europe and Asia.”
Sean became interested in turf as a teenager. “In high school, I worked for Fred Montgomery at Mohawk Country Club,” Sean recalls. “I really liked the work.”
He liked it so much, in fact, that he applied for and was accepted to URI’s turf program. His first internship, in 1988, was at The Stanwich Club, working for Scott Niven, which Sean recounts as “a great experience.”
“It didn’t take me long,” says Sean, “to know this was the profession for me.”
After graduation, Sean’s first assistant’s position was at The Apawamis Club, working for then Superintendent Jeff Scott. The five years spent at Apawamis were a turning point in Sean’s career. “Jeff tore me down and rebuilt me,” Sean laughs. “He is responsible for making me the superintendent I am today.”
In the spring of 1997, Sean was hired at Sunningdale to work as first assistant to Dominic DiMarzo. At the end of Sean’s first season, Dominic decided to retire and the club hired Sean as their superintendent.
Sean could see that the course had great potential. Convincing the membership, however, took some doing.
Sunningdale From Past to Present
Sunningdale was established in 1913 by a group of 12 men, the majority of whom worked in the clothing industry. They leased a ready-made, nine-hole Willie Dunn golf course in Mt. Vernon, which had been the second home of the Siwanoy Country Club.
Sunningdale soon felt the need for an 18-hole course and, in 1916, moved to the present 18-hole site on the western edge of Scarsdale, high above the Sprain Brook Parkway. The property had been an encampment sight during the Revolutionary War for the French Troops who had come over in 1781 to aid the American cause.
The Seth Raynor-designed course opened in 1918. The great routing and terrain make Sunningdale a precise-driving course with six tilting fairways, and now all the new greens have plenty of movement thanks to Architect Mike DeVries.
It was in 2004 that the club hired DeVries to recapture the course’s original 1917 Seth Raynor design.
“Some of the changes we were proposing weren’t an easy sell,” says Sean. “but after some tough meetings, we were able to convince the membership of the value of reestablishing lost vistas and the integrity of many of the holes. “Once we got the green light,” says Sean, “we began a slow renovation that lasted into 2017.”
Having a firm grasp on how architects from the early 1900s worked with the land and its topography, Mike DeVries was able to flawlessly recapture many of Raynor’s design features. The team built all-new greens, installed a state-of-the-art irrigation system, rebuilt all the bunkers and tees, and rerouted the last three holes (16,17, & 18).
“We removed close to 1,500 trees,” says Sean, “many that surrounded and shaded the greens. We made an effort to keep all the specimen trees. It’s transformed Sunningdale and this Seth Reynor classic into a more open course with vistas that really show off the topography of the land.”
As if all this weren’t enough, the plan included rebuilding the halfway house, putting an addition onto the clubhouse, and constructing a new tennis shop. Future projects include a new golf shop and a new maintenance facility, “for the next guy,” Sean laughs.
An important influence on Sean during his tenure at Sunningdale was his first GM, Ray Corcoran. “I worked with Ray for 17 years until he retired,” says Sean. “He had a major influence on the inner workings of the club—and on me. He was a leader and consensus team builder, which were essential in getting our work with Mike DeVries, and other undertakings throughout the property, approved and underway. I learned a lot from Ray,” adds Sean. “He was awesome.”
In addition to Sean’s positive industry relationships, the things that keep him grounded and happy are threefold. First is Erika, Sean’s partner and the love of his life. Second is Charlie, Sean’s Australian Shepherd who he claims, “has made me a better person.” And third is his house in Stowe, VT, where he enjoys his passion for skiing.
What’s in Store
Mike DeVries’ enhancements add up to a more challenging golf course that you want to play again and again!
Among the most picturesque holes are three par threes: one over a pond, another crossing a deep gulley, and a third downhill that gives the feeling of falling off the face of the Earth.
Sunningdale is a true test of golf, difficult but fair. And aesthetically, it’s stunning.
Best of success to all the participants planning to play on the 10!
Kevin Collins, a member of the Tee to Green Editorial Committee, is NE/Mid-Atlantic Territory Manager for Ocean Organics.
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