Director of Agronomy

Cragun’s Legacy Courses is seeking an experienced and passionate Director of Agronomy to lead the agronomic operations of our 54-hole golf destination and help shape the future of one of Minnesota’s premier resort golf properties. This is an exciting opportunity to join Cragun’s as we enter a new era of ownership, investment, course improvement, and growth. The Director of Agronomy will be responsible for delivering exceptional playing conditions while leading a talented team and developing long-term strategies for the property. The Opportunity - Lead agronomic operation across 54 holes, including the Lehman 18-hole Championship course, Dutch Legacy 27-hole complex, par-3 course, and practice facilities. - Establish and maintain exceptional, championship-level playing conditions across greens, tees, fairways, roughs, bunkers, and practice areas. - Lead and develop a year-round leadership team and 45+ seasonal employees (12+ H2B and 10 J1 Visa workers). - Oversee approximately $2.0-$2.5 million in annual operations. - Provide strategic oversight of irrigation, drainage, water management, equipment, turf health, pest management, and course infrastructure. - Develop annual and multi-year agronomic and course improvement plans. - Partner with ownership, resort leadership, golf operations, and course architect Tom Lehman on future course improvements and capital projects. - Prepare the property for the CRMC Championship and other signature events. - Champion a culture of professionalism, teamwork, safety, accountability, and continuous improvement. - Regularly experience the courses as a golfer to evaluate conditions, playability, presentation, and the overall guest experience. Core Duties and Responsibilities - Set and maintain clear daily conditioning standards for greens, tees, fairways, roughs, bunkers, practice areas, and course preparation. - Deliver consistent, exceptional playing surfaces with the goal of being recognized as the best resort/public golf conditions in the Midwest. - Use sound agronomic judgement to balance playability, turf health, weather, traffic, labor, and long-term sustainability. - Coordinate maintenance schedules with golf operations to support pace of play, guest satisfaction, outings, tournaments, and resort demand. - Lead, coach, and hold accountable the year-round and seasonal agronomy teams. - Develop the Head Superintendents and Assistant Superintendents as future leaders and provide clear ownership of their respective areas. - Build a culture centered on pride, professionalism, communication, safety, teamwork, and continuous improvement. - Oversee seasonal recruitment, onboarding, scheduling, training, performance management, and retention, including H-2B and J-1 team members. - Develop and execute annual and multi-year agronomic plans for all golf courses and practice facilities. - Manage fertility, chemical, application, cultural practices, pest management, tree management, drainage, and water-use strategies. - Develop and oversee long-term management for ponds, wetlands, shorelines, sediment, and muck accumulation, erosion, water quality, and related environment features, including recommendations for major repairs or capital solutions when warranted. - Provide strategic oversight of irrigation systems, pump stations, controls, wells, drainage, and water management. - Develop repair, preventative maintenance, and replacement plans for agronomic infrastructure. - Develop multi-year equipment and infrastructure replacement recommendations for ownership review. - Develop and manager an annual operation budget of approximately $2.0 million to $2.5 million. - Maintain strong cost controls without compromising the primary goal of exceptional course conditions. - Forecast labor, equipment, chemical, fertilizer, irrigation and infrastructure needs - Participate and partner with ownership, resort leadership, golf leadership, and Tom Lehman on the long-range vision for the courses. - Maintain golf clubhouse grounds and resort-owned or resort-managed homes located within the golf property to a professional standard. - Coordinate effectively with Facilities, Resort Grounds, Events, Sales, Marketing and other departments when work overlaps or affects the guest experience. - Minimum 7+ years combined experience as a Golf Course Superintendent, or Assistant Golf Course Superintendent required. - Demonstrated ability to produce exceptional playing conditions at a high-quality golf facility. - Strong knowledge of northern climate turfgrass management, irrigation, plant health, soils, drainage, and pest management. - Proven experience leading full-time and seasonal teams. - Budgeting, purchasing, inventory management, and capital planning experience. - Strong communication, organization, judgement, and problem-solving skills. - A working knowledge of the game of golf and a willingness to play the courses regularly to evaluate conditions from the golfer perspective. - Ability to work the hours required by weather, seasonal operations, tournaments, and resort demand. Additional Qualifications - Current GCSAA membership expected, with demonstrated active participation in professional education, association programs, industry networking, or leadership activities strongly preferred - Experience at multi-course, resort, high-end daily-fee, or large-scale golf operation is highly valued. - Minnesota pesticide and applicator licensing preferred: candidates must have the ability to obtain required licensing within 90 days of employment. - A degree or certificate in Turfgrass Management, Agronomy, Horticulture, or a related field is preferred but not required when balanced by strong experience and demonstrated results. Salary & Benefits - Full-Time Exempt, Senior Management position. $110,000-$150,000 based on experience. - Medical, Dental, Vision Insurance- Supplemental Life Insurances, Employer Sponsored Basic Life Policy - Competitive PTO Package - 401k with employer match - Resort and Golf Course Perks~ discounted lodging, dining, merchandise, use of facilities, marina rentals - Approved Dues, Education, Licenses & Permits reimbursement with leadership approval - Relocation assistance or temporary housing potential for selected candidate Please apply online at www.craguns.com/careers/ or send your resume to kbaumann@craguns.com and kbenson@craguns.com for further information.