19th Hole: Patrick Joy

Photo: Golfdom Staff

Patrick Joy

Superintendent // Boot Ranch, Fredericksburg, Texas

Patrick, drinks are on me. What are you having? I’ve gotten into Yuengling Light. Especially in the summer, it’s a good light beer.

Tell me about Boot Ranch. It’s an 18-hole course with a 35-acre practice facility. It’s a really cool, unique piece of property. Hal Sutton bought this ranch in 2005 and had this huge vision for a championship golf course in the Hill Country in the middle of Texas. Twenty years later, we’ve accomplished that vision … they did a remarkable job using the lay of the land. It’s a course that you play and enjoy, but you also remember it.

What about Fredericksburg? It’s a really cool little town of German descent, over 100 years old. We’re at 2,000 feet elevation, which is nice because we’re a little more arid and not as humid as other parts of Texas. One thing I didn’t know about it until I moved here — there are about 65 wineries, so our Main Street is very popular on the weekends. Something about the climate, they can grow grapes here.

How about growing turfgrass? These last two years have been an anomaly. We’ve been really dry and set drought records a few years in a row. It’s been over 100 degrees 50 days in a row. No grass likes to grow when it’s over 100. It’s definitely been challenging, but we take it day by day.

You’re from upstate New York … how did you and Leah adapt to moving to southern Texas? We’ve absolutely fallen in love with living in Texas. We’re both outdoors people. We can go hiking, to the beach, to the lake. You can rent a boat for a day, or you can float the rivers … when it does rain and the rivers are flowing.

You’re a Bills fan. Have you found a good spot to watch the games, or did you just have to settle in with the Cowboys fans? One thing that is unique about Bills fans is that we’re everywhere, especially nowadays. There’s something called “Bills Backer-Bars,” there’s a huge list of them, they’re worldwide. There’s one about 45 minutes away in San Antonio. I’m so glad I found it. It’s raucous, they play our shout song on the PA every time we score.

Who, or what, is your archenemy? If I put my superintendent hat on, it’s Mother Nature. It hasn’t been kind to us down here for the last couple of years. If you want to go sports? It used to be the New England Patriots … but now it’s your Kansas City Chiefs.

What do you miss most from back home? I’m from a small town called Ilion, N.Y., smack dab between Albany and Syracuse. Honestly, it’s the food. Texans just haven’t figured out pizza or wings yet.