Cody Englander
Staff Writer
The Donald Ross-designed Lake Course at the Chautauqua Golf Club needed a new path before the season opened this year. Chautauqua Golf Club Superintendent James Hayes helped pave the path, a bit over a mile long, and he looks to continue improving the golf course daily for its future, saying it “needs a facelift of modern agronomic practices.”
One of these practices is updating the irrigation system.
“At its oldest, it’s 40 (years old). At its youngest, it’s 25. It should be redone every 20, 25 years,” Hayes said.
According to Hayes, a modern irrigation system can be more efficient in watering practices while increasing turf health. Modern designs can increase a course’s lifespan while maintaining efficiency.
Hayes first came to Chautauqua when he was just 17 years old working as a grounds crew member from 2003 to 2005, transitioning to an internship role at the Chautauqua Golf Club under then-superintendent Trevor Burlingame in 2006.
Hayes received his bachelor’s degree from SUNY Delhi, where he was president of the SUNY Delhi Turf Club. He received his associate’s degree in criminal justice from Jamestown Community College, competing in golf tournaments for both colleges. Hayes has worked previously at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia; Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland; and most recently the Kahkwa Club in Erie, Pennsylvania. Since April 2024, Hayes has been the Chautauqua Golf Club Superintendent, succeeding the very person who had mentored him as an intern: Burlingame, who had held that role for 22 years.
One of Hayes’ points of emphasis is creating a culture within his staff where employees want to be a part of Chautauqua’s future. Bringing in young staffers is one of the ways he develops this culture, saying that younger employees sometimes are their best workers, although many people don’t give them the time of day. Only a few staffers are hired every year, but Hayes notes the close bonds and long tenures of staff members as one of his reasons for returning, saying he wants to “build a culture that enables them to be the best employee they can be.”
To Hayes, the history of Chautauqua Golf Club is important. A plane ferrying Amelia Earhart to a speaking engagement in the Amphitheater landed on the course in 1929, and Ben Gordon, Sam Snead and Walter Hagen golfed it. The courses had a stronger sense of history years ago, Hayes said, and he’s trying to bring it back.
