Vlach runs Sawgrass his way, with Klauk's blessing

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Condon/PGA TOUR

The signature hole at TPC Sawgrass -- the par-3 17th -- must be in pristine condition come PLAYERS week.

May. 5, 2009
By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM Site Producer

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- This is where Tom Vlach is supposed to be.

"I don't want to be brash, but I remember telling a guy I'll sit in that seat one day," said Vlach, who replaced Fred Klauk as course superintendent of TPC Sawgrass after 23 years following last year's PLAYERS Championship. "In reality, though, you never know where you will be taken in life."

Where Vlach has been taken is to one of the most prestigious -- and most highly scrutinized -- positions in all of golf as the ultimate overseer of one of the game's grandest stages. And while Vlach may sound brash as if to say his position there was preordained, he is in fact a quiet family man, deeply rooted in his faith and someone who would prefer for everyone else to get all the credit and for him to get all the blame.

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Former superintendent Fred Klauk was glad to turn his course over to someone he knows and trusts.

That's if there were any blame to pass out. Klauk, the previous caretaker of Pete Dye's most prized design, spent more than two decades implementing a system to help make TPC Sawgrass one of the most recognizable courses in the country, and one of the PGA TOUR's most difficult, but also one of its fairest. "You never want to embarrass the players," says Klauk's replacement. "You want to be fair."

And when you're taking over for a guy whom you not only idolized, mentored under and worked with and for, you also don't want to screw it up. "I tried not to do anything radically different," Vlach said. "If it's not broke, don't try to fix it."

That's one of the reasons why Klauk, something of a local legend who still lives just half a mile down the road and spends his days consulting with Vlach, felt fully comfortable handing over the reins to a man, who, while never a terribly good player growing up, is someone who brings with him a wealth of experience and a deep appreciation for the game's great architects.

Vlach, a native of Chicago who first met Klauk as a 14-year-old while working at The Honda Classic at TPC Eagle Trace in Coral Springs, Fla., served as the Director of Grounds Maintenance at Greystone Golf and Country Club in Birmingham, Ala., since 1999. But Vlach was always connected to this job and this course in a six-degrees-of-separation sort of way.

"Fred started out as being more of a mentor to me and was the one who exposed me to turf management as a career," said Vlach, who interned and later served as Assistant Superintendent at TPC Sawgrass under Klauk, helping prepare the course for the 1992 PLAYERS Championship. "That later turned into a friendship. It was almost surreal to see him ride off into the sunset and now here you go, time to crank it up."

Vlach had other stops along the way, too. He oversaw Pine Tree Golf Club in Boynton Beach, Fla., and Ekana Golf and Country Club in Oviedo, Fla., but somehow this was always home for Vlach, who, when not spending his waking hours at the course overseeing every detail, spends time at home with his wife and four young daughters.

"One of my goals was to have somebody follow me that always worked at THE PLAYERS because it's such a unique course," said Klauk. "It meant a lot to me to have someone I had trained.

"We have a very good relationship and can talk about anything, anytime. He could be my son. We have such a good rapport that we can talk about things that other people normally wouldn't be able to."

Though Klauk still spends nearly every day at the golf course, make no mistake, this is Vlach's baby now, which is part of what makes their relationship unique. "If he sees things different, he doesn't take it personally, never criticizes," said Vlach. "He's not going to be here still putting his finger on the place. The day after the tournament last year, he threw me the keys and said have at it."

This year will be different for Klauk in a lot of ways. He'll get to see the tournament in a whole new light, and he'll get to watch his son, rookie Jeff Klauk, play in it for the very first time. "We've been able to watch him more than ever," says Fred Klauk, who has enjoyed having the extra time on his hands. "I still assist Tom, but I have a totally new look on THE PLAYERS."

So does Vlach, who termed his time at Greystone and his previous experience riding shotgun with Klauk as invaluable. And, perhaps not surprisingly, he hopes to follow in the same footsteps as his one-time mentor.

"Did I think I might possibly have this job one day? Yeah. But did I think I would? No," Vlach said. "If I had my druthers, this would be my last job. I came here with intention of retiring here. Whether that happens, time will tell."

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