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Press
Release
Greenskeeper to Director of Golf!
Shawnee Inn today announced that Steve Taggart,
the Greenskeeper, after three floods that inundated Shawnee's
27 hole PGA golf course, has been promoted to Director of
Golf for the entire resort. In his somewhat unusual move,
Steve was put in charge of all aspects of golf including the
golf professionals, the golf shop, the Tillinghast Golf Academy
and Shawnee's Nike Golf Camps.
Taggart, 35, joined Shawnee on October 2, 1995
just in time for the huge flood which devastated the course
and closed the Inn for 10 weeks. The experience he gained
restoring the golf course then came in handy in the last 12
months when 2 floods: one in September 2004 and one in April
2005, again devastated the golf course. These two floods were
both "50 year floods", Taggart joked, "We should
be good for the next 100 years now".
In the first flood ice floes as big as school
buses gouged the fairways and silt covered all of the greens;
worse it occurred in January when it was very difficult to
do any restoration. With the help of agronomist, Pete Landschoot,
from Penn State, Taggart and his crew had the golf course
open by May. This year, a flood which covered 24 of the 27
greens and over 80 sand traps was an even greater concern
because the course was about to open. USGA Agronomist, Darin
Bevard, in a recent letter to Taggart states, "The repair
and grow-in of the golf course since our April 13 th visit
is excellent." Miraculously, 18 holes were opened on
May 14 th and the full 27 holes were opened on June 3rd.
Taggart has received several awards on the golf course during
his time here:
- Pocono Mountain Chamber of Commerce : Save our
Planet Award, January 2005
- 4 Stars "Best Places to Play" Award by
Golf Digest, 2004 Season
- Voted #1 in "The Top Ten Most Influential
Tillinghast Courses" by The Golfer magazine, 2004
- "Wildlife and Habitat
Management" certification
from Audubon International,
February 2001
- "Environmental Planning" certification
from Audubon International,
May 2000
Shawnee Inn is finishing completion of a 9-hole
"short course" with greens designed by Tom Doaks,
a protégé of C. W. Tillinghast, America's first
golf course architect who designed Shawnee Inn's course. In
fact, Shawnee was Tillinghast's first course and Shawnee is
the home of the Tillinghast Society. The new short-course
will cater to teaching and is for players who wish to polish
their game from 100 yards into the green. Taggart will also
supervise the new golf shop, which has been greatly expanded
and will continue to supervise Lance Heil, whom recently was
appointed as Greenskeeper for Shawnee's 27 holes.
Steve lives with his wife, Beth, and two boys in
Pohatcong, New Jersey; has an Associates Degree in Applied Science
and a Degree in Turf Management from Rutgers University. He commented, “Our
course is now in quite good shape considering the damage that was
done and I am confident it will continue to be the premier course
in the Poconos”.
Shawnee has a lengthy golf history. In addition to the legendary
golf figures like Walter Hagan, Arnold Palmer, Jackie Gleason,
and Dwight Eisenhower, Sam Snead lost the 1938 PGA in the final
round at Shawnee. In 1967, Hale Irwin won the NCAA at Shawnee and
a host of Shawnee players have gone onto golf professional accomplishments.
Steve Taggart by the historic yearly manmade bridge
that connects to the main island golf course.
This bridge too has been a victim of the floods
that Taggart has survived.
FLOOD PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.
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