Howdy Pebble Creek Country Club,
My name is Jeff Jowell. I am extremely excited to be your new Golf Course Superintendent beginning November 29th. In the meantime, let me tell you a little about myself before I arrive and get to meet everyone. I grew up in Longview, TX. After graduating high school, I moved to College Station to begin my college career at Texas A&M University. My high school Ag teacher helped me get a job at Prince Irrigation which turned out fortuitous for my later professional career. I began my education in Meteorology, but after a few semesters I realized it wasn’t right for me, after that I changed majors a few times, while I was searching for something that fit me and my interests. Then there was a magical week in April ’97 when Tiger Woods won The Masters. Tiger’s win sparked my interest in golf, and one day while I was playing the Campus Course, I was playing with a fellow Aggie that said he was majoring in Agronomy and wanted to be a Golf Course Superintendent. At that time, I had no idea that career even existed, but I looked into it and enrolled in some Agronomy courses. I can vividly remember an early Friday morning after a late Thursday night (I may or may not have been at the Dixie Chicken), I was listening to Dr. Murry Milford talking about “dirt”, actually it was soil, and it was incredibly fascinating. That’s when I knew I had found something for me. The last two years of school, I was fortunate enough to get a job here at Pebble Creek as an irrigation/spray tech. Following my graduation, I began my professional career as an Assistant Superintendent at Bay Oaks Country Club in Clear Lake, TX. I then became the Head Superintendent at Weston Lakes Country Club in Fulshear, TX where I earned my Class A status and eventually became a Certified Golf Course Superintendent (CGCS) through the Golf Course Superintendents Association. I have spent the last 10 years of my career at the Harris County Flood Control District, as the Turf Management Coordinator. I have been responsible for the vegetation management for more than 18,000 acres throughout Harris County which included turf establishment, herbicide applications, debris removal, tree removals, and many other duties. I also worked through the recovery of several devastating floods, most notably Hurricane Harvey in 2017. I gained a tremendous amount of experience during my time at The District, and I am excited to apply this knowledge at Pebble Creek Country Club.
In my personal life, I have been beyond lucky to have found the two loves of my life while at A&M. One is golf, but the most important love, is my wife of 21 years, Carrie. We have two beautiful daughters ages 17 and 12. My 17-year-old plans to attend Blinn and Texas A&M next Fall, and my 12-year-old is excited that she may get to drive a golf cart. I am an avid golfer. In my prime playing years, I competed in the TX State Amateur, the TX State Mid-Amateur, and the Houston City Amateur several times. I am a man of many interests and I typically have to be pretty selective of hobbies because I can’t afford them all. I am very mechanically inclined, I love to learn, and I’m always open to tinker with things.
It’s both a blessing and a curse to be starting as we are going into the dormant season. However, it will give me some time to get things organized and lined out and ready for the growing season. I already have a list of things ready to go for week 1, and I am excited to get started and look forward to meeting all of you.
See you on the Course,
Jeff