Ken Kleinedler is a self-proclaimed carbon based soils guy. It might be because his course has been hit by multiple hurricanes over the past few years and the saltwater infiltration has been unreal. Ken has been the superintendent at Collier’s Reserve since March of 2017. Located in Naples Florida, a couple of miles off the Florida coastline, he has seen his fair share of hurricanes. He talked to us about some of the precautions he takes before a storm rolls in: removing irrigation controllers from the property, aerifying prior to the rains, and adding penetrant surfactants to allow the salts to flush through. Collier’s Reserve is an Arthur Hills designed course, built in 1993. It was the first course given the Audubon International Sanctuary distinction, and has since reached the Gold Audubon status. It is clear that Ken and his team are very proud of their environmental work and what it has meant to the club.  When Ken did a renovation, he interviewed other architects but ultimately made the decision to stay with the Arthur Hills group to stay consistent with the original design. Everyone was thrilled with the results. Perhaps the funniest stories of our conversation were the ones Ken told us about his grandfather, who owned a small mom & pop course. His grandfather passed his love and passion for the game onto Ken. Lots of informative and fun stuff here!

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