Rising Star of Turf: Nathan McKinniss, Muirfield Village Golf Club

To say Nate McKinniss is on the career fast track would be an understatement of almost immeasurable proportions.

McKinniss, 27, is the golf course superintendent at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, where Job 1 is keeping the course what he called “Golden Bear ready.” That's a nod to Jack Nicklaus, who designed the course, has a home there and is the host of its biggest event, the PGA Tour’s Memorial Tournament. McKinniss has worked at the club in suburban Columbus since he graduated from The Ohio State University's four-year turfgrass management program in 2017.

He was promoted into the position of golf course superintendent by Muirfield director of grounds Chad Mark late in 2020.

“I started in 2017 here as an intern, and you talk about how fast things get moving, and usually how it’s been taking a longer amount of time for people, it goes to show that the program that you Chad has getting people on the fast track to that next step, and the people that were in that position before me, four people within four years, have gone on to become superintendents, I think that says a lot about Chad and the program that’s here developing guys,” McKinniss said.

McKinniss accepted a job offer from Mark in 2017 when the latter was superintendent at Inverness Club in Toledo. Between the time the offer was made and graduation day in Columbus, Mark moved on to his dream job, managing Jack Nicklaus’ Muirfield.

As a student at Ohio State, McKinniss once voiced a career goal of buying a popular daily fee course in his hometown of Findlay, Ohio. Since graduation, his focus has shifted to preparing for one of the PGA Tour’s premier events and making sure the course is ready every day for its most famous member.

“It’s all about being Golden Bear ready.”