Boots Hollow Golf Club superintendent Jody Shahan has been a staple at the Bartlesville, Okla., facility since the 1980s. Photo by Andy Dossett
The grocer left Jody Shahan hanging.
As a 17-year-old, Shahan applied for his first job, which was at a grocery store in Oklahoma. He anticipated a return call to see if he would be hired. Shahan waited and waited some more. Talk about disappointment. “I never heard back,” he says. Just as well. Once he accepted his first job — which came in the golf industry — Shahan never looked back.
Talk about job tenure; Shahan personifies it.
In 1989, Shahan was hired at what is known now as Boots Hollow Golf Club in Bartlesville, Okla. Thirty-seven years later, he’s still there. Shahan is superintendent at the public facility. What has kept him there for so long? Simple.
“I never have had the desire to leave,” says Shahan, a GCSAA Class A superintendent and 20-year member. “I love it here.”
Longevity and the beginning
Shahan’s path to Oklahoma started in the Colorado town of Pagosa Springs. His parents, Joe and Aggie, moved to Oklahoma to operate a ranch. The family hadn’t been there a full year when the owner lost it all during the oil bust. Shahan, meanwhile, set aside the grocery store episode and found work at Adams Golf Course (now Boots Hollow GC).
The course, which opened in 1963, was the namesake of K.S. “Boots” Adams, a Kansas native who worked his way up at Phillips Petroleum to become company president until retiring after 44 years. Now deceased, Adams (who gained the nickname Boots for wearing them for decades) was given a parade upon his retirement, which was attended by former President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
For Shahan, his entry to golf posed questions and curiosity for him. “I didn’t know anything about golf,” he says.
That first summer there, Shahan saw the possibilities. “I enjoyed the labor part of it,” he says. “I came back that next March and would become a seasonal worker. In July 1990, they opened up a full-time spot for me. I mowed greens, tees and fairways. I loved it.”
That same year, Shahan married a Bartlesville native. Now, he and his wife, Dawn, have two children, Chloe (in college, she mowed for him at the golf course) and Carter. Meanwhile, his career blossomed. Shahan was named assistant superintendent in 1995. Eleven years later, his perseverance paid off. Then-superintendent Larry Dye departed. In September 2006, Shahan was promoted to his first superintendent title. “He (Dye) taught me a lot. He really did,” says Shahan. “He also taught me not what to do. I blended that with what to do.”
Although he didn’t receive a formal education, Shahan spent so much time at the golf course that he is confident in his knowledge. “I didn’t get a degree, but I know this golf course,” Shahan says.
Boots Hollow GC opened in 1963 in Bartlesville, Okla. Photos by Angela Roadman
Viewing the superintendent as an ace
Gary Reheis dotes over one certain hole at Boots Hollow GC. He also proudly touts Shahan.
A club member since 1966, Reheis was on the committee that decided to hire Shahan and see him earn a promotion. “He did a good job as assistant, always on time. One word to describe him? Dedicated,” says Reheis, 81.
The par-3 16th hole is about 60 yards from the Reheis home. He treats it like it’s his own. Shahan supports how Reheis cares for it. “I’ve got a hole to take care of,” Reheis says. “The par 3 is over water. I weed it when needed.”
There’s this, too. “Only par 3 of the four on the course that I don’t have an ace,” says Reheis with a chuckle.
Reheis is thrilled how Shahan and his team have overseen a major renovation that started in 2024, came to fruition summer of 2025 and was led by Heckenkemper Golf Course Design of Tulsa, Okla. It happened on the heels of bunkers that were rebuilt in 2020. Two years ago, the club’s $2-plus million renovation was off and running. It featured a full redesign of all 18 greens. Fourteen of them were original. The last time that greens were addressed: 2000.
“Those ones (the 14 original greens) didn’t drain at all, and 60% to 70% were covered in Poa (annua),” Shahan says, emphasizing how urgent the green improvement was needed. The greens were built following USGA recommendations and grassed with 007 XL bentgrass. “Now, they’re amazing. They really are. Before, they were flat, very vanilla. Now we’ve got upper tiers, false fronts. The course is fast and firm and fun. It plays completely different.”
Other improvements include an upgraded putting green and chipping area, and approximately 200 trees were removed, and there’s more of that to come. The city council also approved new E-Z-GO carts equipped with GPS and 10-inch touchscreens.
Reheis is enjoying all of the new look with an old hand like Shahan out front. “The greens are terrific and have gotten better every day,” Reheis says, “and I cannot say enough good things about Jody. And when he plays, he hits the ball pretty far.”
A major renovation was completed last year at Boots Hollow GC, including greens.
A fan of the man
Russell Tanner is a staunch Shahan supporter. He also knows when his boss needs to take a breather.
“When he’s stressed, he’s sitting on the back of the tailgate of his truck, smoking a cigar,” says Tanner, Shahan’s assistant superintendent — the first assistant Shahan hired, in November 2006.
Tanner worked for several years at O’Reilly Auto Parts before joining Shahan. Tanner’s mechanical background has been a major benefit to their efforts, fabricating equipment to his desire with Shahan’s approval. Example: In order to aid in aerification, he led the charge to turn an old 4-ton fertilizer spreader into a material handler that sits in the back of an old dump truck, allowing them to load their topdresser. With one golf hole roughly one mile from their shop, it was a major help to their cause.
“He (Shahan) and I hit it off right away. We have a good time whatever we do,” says Tanner. “We just get things done.”
Asked why he thinks Shahan has remained at the club, Tanner says, “I think he truly loves the job. He took steps to learn it. He sat down with a notebook, jotted down things, kept a journal. It’s probably why he moved up. He’s pretty sharp. If I question him about anything, it’s because I’m also trying to learn.”
Tanner also has learned this about Shahan: It’s all good. “He pulls me aside and tells me he appreciates what I do,” says Tanner.
Boots Hollow GC’s staff includes, from left, Tim Huff, Jody Shahan, Russell Tanner and Spencer Donnell. Photo by Andy Dossett
Cart paths and a path toward a career
Jerry Benedict quickly realized the club had a gem early in the Shahan era.
“He was right in there when we were laying the cart path. Tough job. He got it done,” says Benedict, who was an assistant club pro in the 1970s, long before Shahan arrived to do his thing. Benedict — who along with Reheis will step forward and defend Shahan when they feel it’s needed — also was part of the committee to hire him. “He was cooperative, helpful. As superintendent, he made it work when we had budget cuts.
“Jody’s made a life of it. He really has been excellent. He does what he needs to do.”
Shahan, 56, has no timetable on how long he will keep this up at Boots Hollow GC, which is about 45 miles north of Tulsa. Along his journey, Shahan has seen no reason to depart. “I’m a city employee. They treat me well. I get good support from the city manager and city council. I still enjoy getting up every day and coming to work. Words cannot express how much I love this place. People may not believe me, but there’s been no reason to look someplace else,” Shahan says.
The hiring manager at that grocery store decades ago may not believe this, but Shahan has shown he’s got the goods.
Howard Richman (hrichman@gcsaa.org) is GCM’s associate editor.