Golf consultancy Turfgrass has launched its US arm with the appointment of John Lawrence, Adam Moeller and Brad Owen. Richard Humphreys speaks with them, Turfgrass founder John Clarkin and director of agronomy Julian Mooney to find out more. From humble beginnings in the small Irish town of Newtownmountkennedy in 1997, Irish golf consultancy Turfgrass has built an enviable reputation across the world for its expertise in golf course development. Its client list reads like a who’s-who of tournament golf: Adare Manor, Chambers Bay and Wentworth, to name a few. The firm was founded by John Clarkin, whose start in the industry came as a greenkeeper at The Grange in Dublin before he set sail to America to study turfgrass science at Penn State, then returned to Ireland to oversee the grow-in of Powerscourt Golf Club. From there, he set up his consultancy and in the early 2000s was joined by another turfgrass specialist, Julian Mooney, who has been integral to the firm’s success. As tour agronomist for the Ladies European Tour, Mooney has been responsible for the turf presentation of the past five European Solheim Cup venues, and Turfgrass is now preparing for the 2026 event at Kyle Phillips’ Bernardus design in the Netherlands. “This enduring connection to the Solheim Cup is recognition of Julian and his professionalism over the last 20 years,” says Clarkin. “He defines what Turfgrass is about, and the level of excellence we are known for.” “We have an exceptional team in all corners of the business,” adds Mooney. “We have great experts in the field, but they are supported by great experts backof-house. Without this kind of team, we can’t achieve this kind of excellence.” Now, the team has got bigger… and in a big way. “The decision to expand into the US was made a while ago because a lot of American architects that we work with kept asking why we weren’t working there,” says Clarkin. “And we received similar questions from the superintendents we meet at trade shows.” That decision has prompted a string of high-profile appointments and the assembly of a big-hitting US team. First to join, as director of agronomy for North America, was Adam Moeller, formerly of the United States Golf Association (USGA), where he consulted on more than 330 golf courses and worked with superintendents to prepare 22 USGA championships. “Everyone in Turfgrass has an extremely strong background in day-to49
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