The Oklahoma Iron Man
David Jones stands out.
In a hoard of anonymous golf spectators, his hot pink rope hat, Hawaiian-style button-down, matching hot pink shorts and colorful dress socks are easy to pick out.
This is his calling card - always matching from head to toe with prints of various foliage or assorted wildlife. If David occupied the same room with John Daly, he’d make Big John blush.
It’s his uniform. One of them, at least. He’s taking the time to meet with us just before the afternoon rounds commence in the second round of the 104th PGA Championship, but not long from now, he’ll trade this outfit for a red polo and navy ballcap and get to work filling in divots long after the sun sets.
That’s not all the 49-year-old is doing this week, though. He is at the behest of Russ Myers, the venerated superintendent of Southern Hills Country Club. Whatever Myers says, David and the 120 or so other grounds crew members do – and do well.
For David, this is what he lives for. As head superintendent at the nearby Club at Indian Springs, he manages a staff of just more than a dozen to care for the 36-hole private facility. An active member of the Oklahoma Golf Course Superintendents Association, he is as knowledgeable and connected as anyone in the business around here.
He welcomes us inside the team’s headquarters – hidden behind some greenery off the eighth tee box. One of the giant barn-sized equipment garages has been transformed into an oasis of entertainment and relaxation for the crew. On one side, dozens of couches are perched on three rows of risers. On the other, a massive screen with three different channels of live television, flanked by at least half a dozen refrigerators stocked with cold beverages. Behind a curtain, an army of air mattresses sit on the ground, most occupied with snoozing team members.
The days are long here. Working 16 hours a day is common during championship week, and sometimes more. Before the sun thinks about coming up and long after it goes away for the night, this crew is on the property, mowing, conditioning, filling divots, preparing bunkers and more.
While he has his hands full managing 36 holes at his home club and volunteering better than 120 hours of his time this week, he’s also known for something else: David is quite possibly the only person to have played all 215 of Oklahoma’s golf courses. It took him 15 years to complete the feat, and he was able to mark his final course off the list last May at Boiling Springs Golf Club in Woodward during a monthly meeting with the OKGCSA.
If that wasn’t enough, his next goal might be even more ambitious. He wants to play a golf course in all 50 states by the time he turns 50 years old later this year. He already has 40 states crossed off, including Hawaii and Alaska, so it’s achievable. But that means traveling to Nebraska, the Dakotas and much of the East Coast in the next six months, all while maintaining course conditions for his members at The Club at Indian Springs.
His ultimate goal? Celebrating his birthday by crossing off his 50th state at a certain club in Georgia. Maybe they’d give him a piece of crystal to honor the occasion.
