| Club Staff
Rodney Young
Director of Golf
405.325.6881
rodneyyoung@ou.edu
A native Oklahoman, Rodney has played golf for 31 years and has been a PGA Golf Professional for 17 years. He began collegiate golf at the University of Oklahoma and then finished with All-American and Academic All-American honors at Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma. After graduating Rodney worked at Oakwood Country Club in Enid Oklahoma until achieving PGA Membership and then moved to La Quinta, California to work and assist in opening Rancho La Quinta Country Club, 4 time host to The Skins Game.
In 1996 went to work at Castle Pines International and assisted with the PGA Tours International Golf Tournament before moving back to the Desert to be the Head Golf Professional at Desert Willow Golf Resort and Mission Hills Country Club and be able to assist in hosting four Frank Sinatra Celebrity Invitational’s and two Kraft Nabisco LPGA Major Championships, respectively.
In 2001 he became the General Manager/Director of Golf at Desert Willow Golf Resort in Palm Desert, California where he was able to increase facility revenues nearly 100% from $5M to $10M annually and was named by Golf Inc. in 2005 as one of the Nation’s Most Admired Operators. In 2007 Rodney moved back to his roots to join the University of Oklahoma and the Jimmie Austin Golf Club; he has overseen the 2009 APL as well as the many improvements to the course and clubhouse.
The OU Golf Club has been one of Golfweek's Best Courses You Can Play each year that Rodney has been Director of Golf.
Head Golf Professional
405.325.9031
jfjohnson@ou.edu
A native of Stroud, OK, Johnny has been playing and working in the golf industry for 39 years. He played collegiately at Central State University and in 1986, became the assistant Golf Professional at Cushing Country Club, and was promoted to Head Golf Professional six months later. In 1992 when he left to take the same position at Stroud Municipal Golf Course and later became the Head Golf Professional at Eagle Crest Golf Course in Muskogee, OK in 1996. In 2004, Johnny and his family moved to the Norman area when he became the Tournament Director at the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club.
He is now the Head Golf Professional at Jimmie Austin and has seen the course emerge as one of the best public facilities in the state. Johnny has been a Golf Professional for 24 years and a proud member of the PGA for 19 years. He has served as Tournament Director for the South Central Section and a rules official for the NCAA Championship, Nike Tour and the Big 8 Conference. He served as Golf Coach at the Special Olympic World Games held in North Carolina and was one of five Golf Professionals from the South Central Section to qualify and compete this past year in the 2009 National Senior Club Professionals Championship in Florida.
He is a certified club fitter with Ping and Titleist and is very qualified with all golf club manufacturers. He enjoys teaching, organizing, and running golf events.
Golf Professional
405.325.6716
src@ou.edu
A native of Paris, France, Sebastien has played golf for 20 years and is currently enrolled in the PGA-PGM program. Before moving to Norman he participated in the Leadbetter Golf Academy in Paris for two years to improve and learn more about the game. He then went on to manage the Callaway Golf Event for South Europe. Sebastien moved to Norman in 2006. He has been with the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club for three-and-a-half years and participated in the organization and operation of the 2009 Amateur Public Links Championship. He is a certified club fitter with Callaway, Ping, TaylorMade and Titleist and is very qualified with all golf club manufacturers. In addition to helping run the Golf Shop he also teaches lessons and clinics.
Golf Professional
405.325.6716
lancemaxwell@ou.edu
Lance, a graduate of the University of Oklahoma, is now in his fourth year as Assistant Golf Professional at Jimmie Austin. He is a native Oklahoman, born and raised in Oklahoma City, but attended high school and played most of his competitive junior golf in the Dallas area. Having played for 20 years, Lance has an extensive knowledge of the game and is devoted to developing it through instruction of both juniors and adults. He specializes in instruction improving golfer's course management and the mental aspect of the game as well as priding himself in exhaustive and thorough research of the industry's latest technology. Lance is a certified clubfitter for TaylorMade, Callaway, Titleist, and Ping.
Golf Professional
405.401.4823
woodwardt@ou.edu
Tyler is a Graduate of the University of Oklahoma, with a Business Management degree, and Marketing minor. Born in Edmond, OK Tyler has been an Assistant Golf Professional at Jimmie Austin G.C. since 2006. He has played golf for 22 years, and is a Level 2 PGA Apprentice. He enjoys teaching both Junior and Adult golf lessons, as well as operating a club repair business. Tyler stays up to date with the new clubs and equipment that come to the retail market from the different manufactures, and is a Certified Club fitter for Taylormade, Titleist, Cobra, Callaway, and Ping.
Course Superintendent
Jason.D.Faires-1@ou.edu
Born and raised in Oklahoma, Jason has been playing golf for 22 years and has 19 years of experience in the Turfgrass industry. He attended Rogers State College in Claremore, Oklahoma and majored in Turfgrass Management. During his time in college Jason worked at Forrest Ridge Golf Club in Broken Arrow and Heritage Hills Golf Club in Claremore. After two years in college he pursed a career in the lawn care industry working for two different companies over the next three-and-a-half years. Jason won two awards while working with Barefoot Grass Lawn Service that he is am very proud of: Most Lawns Treated and Highest Customer Retention in 1995. Bare Foot Grass at that time had over 100 franchises nation wide. In the spring of 1996 his hometown golf course, Drumright Golf Club, that he grew up playing called and offered him their Superintendent position. At that time he was only 23 years old and the youngest Superintendent in the state. Jason spent only one year at Drumright before accepting the Head Superintendent position at Cherry Springs Golf Club in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. In 1998 Jason was offered the Superintendent position at Shawnee Country Club and was responsible for growing in the new 9-hole addition to the club. They hosted 2 Junior College National Championships during his 5 years at Shawnee. In 2003 he became the Superintendent at Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club. During his time here, Jason has overseen and directed the greens and bunker renovation in 2007 and proudly directed the turf care staff during the 2009 APL.
Assistant Course Superintendent
eddie.roach@ou.edu
A native from Claremore, Oklahoma, Eddie has played golf for 18 years and has worked in the field of Turfgrass Management for 11 years. He got his start in the golf course industry in 1998 at Gordon Golf Course in Claremore, Oklahoma, a small, 9 hole facility where he worked throughout high school and his first two years of college. In 2006, he worked on the maintenance staff at Lakeside Golf Club in Stillwater, Oklahoma while attending school at Oklahoma State University. He later went on to work at Quail Creek Golf and Country Club in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where he completed an internship and was promoted to an Assistant in Training position. Eddie accepted the Assistant Golf Course Superintendent position at Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club in October of 2007. He has a degree in Turfgrass Management from Oklahoma State University and is a member of the Oklahoma Turf Research Foundation, Oklahoma Golf Course Superintendent’s Association and the Golf Course Superintendent’s Association of America.
Nathan Eckert
Food & Beverage Manager
405.325.8982
nathaneckert@ou.edu
Nathan Eckert is the Food and Beverage Manager at the Jimmie Austin Golf Club. He grew up in Noble, Oklahoma and graduated from Noble High School. From there he moved to Arizona to obtain a Culinary Arts Degree from Scottsdale Culinary Institute. He is a certified Le Cordon Bleu Chef who has worked at places such as the Royal Palms in Scottsdale, Arizona, the Rio Grande Club in South Fork, Colorado and Yacht Haven Grande in St. Thomas Virgin Islands, among others. Nathan began working at the OU Golf Club in March of 2009.
Retail Manager
405.325.5855
erinpatton@ou.edu
Erin grew up in Oklahoma City and began her retail career in 2002 at The Apothem on Campus Corner and graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2005. She later joined the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club in July of 2008 and enjoys buying the latest trends in golf and university spirit gear. Erin has enjoyed the opportunity to oversee the renovation of the Golf Shop and looks forward to the continued success of the club.
Sales & Marketing Manager
405.325.5420
philliprogers@ou.edu
Phillip Rogers joined the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club in May as the Sales and Marketing Manager after spending the past four years in the OU Athletics Communications Department. Rogers previously served as the sports information contact for the men’s golf and women’s gymnastics squads and earned a master’s degree from the University of Oklahoma in Intercollegiate Athletics Administration in May of 2010.
Rogers’ media guides were consistently voted among the best in the country by the Collegiate Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
In addition to his communications role, Rogers served as tournament director for multiple golf events and was the media contact for the 2008 Big 12 Women’s Gymnastics Championship and the 2008 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics South Central Regional Championship.
Prior to his time with OU Athletics, Rogers worked for the OU Alumni Outreach Program, where he raised funds for various university programs and student support services.
An avid golfer and native of Enid, Okla., Rogers earned a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism – Public Relations from OU in 2007.
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