BROOKLINE – Anybody familiar with the golf business can likely point to an aspiring young person fresh out of school eager to prove themselves in the industry. They might have to work their way up through different local courses to reach their dream destination. Some might stray from that path. Then there are a few who don’t have to wait so long for their chance to shine.
The latter describes Ryan Vieira, and it’s one of the many reasons that when you meet him, you’ll be greeted with a smile every time. It’s how he was raised, he said, keeping a positive mental attitude, working hard, and showing appreciation when life-changing opportunities are presented. It’s why he was trusted to lead a team of greenskeeping volunteers at the 2022 U.S. Open at The Country Club, and a year later, he joined the team full-time at 191 Clyde St. as an assistant superintendent, all before turning 25.
“Not many people get to look at this every day,” said Vieira, referring to the sweeping views of the historic Brookline club. “You learn something new, either small or big. It’s incredible when you think about it.”
Growing up in the Southcoast town of Rochester, Vieira was all about soccer in his early years. He excelled at Old Colony High School and made the soccer team during his first year at UMass Dartmouth. But two weeks after getting his driver’s license, he received an opportunity that changed his life forever – working on the grounds team at The Kittansett Club, the tony seaside gem in Marion. Initially, he studied civil engineering, but seeing the sun rise over Buzzards Bay summer after summer for five years at Kittansett eventually gave him pause, and he thought perhaps golf offered a more promising horizon.
“I went to [superintendent] John Kelly and said, ‘How should I go about this?’” Vieira said. Kelly recommended UMass Amherst, home of the country’s first-ever turfgrass management & science program. While the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the start of his schooling, Vieira got his first championship experience when he was on the crew for the 2020 Massachusetts Amateur Championship at Kittansett. Soon after, he had the opportunity to make another change.
Kelly recommended him for an internship at The Country Club, which was preparing to host its first U.S. Open in 34 years. Upon meeting Vieira, Director of Grounds, Dave Johnson, said he was struck by Vieira’s skillset. Regardless of the task, Vieira was up for it, discovering much can be done with a pocketknife, his most trusted tool.
“I knew right away he’s our kind of person,” Johnson said. “He came here with a good knowledge base but was trustworthy and very mature for a young kid. Our golf course superintendent [Anthony Howard] took him under his wing, showed him the ropes, and ensured he was comfortable.”
Familiarizing oneself with the historic grounds of TCC may take some time, but Vieira, a self-professed kinetic learner, absorbed advice like a sponge and performed tasks with the highest attention to detail. “But even by the end of his first summer, he was far ahead of most interns,” Johnson said.
Vieira’s story also impacted course architect Gil Hanse, who visited The Country Club frequently in the leadup to the U.S. Open. Caveman Construction, the construction arm of Hanse Golf Design, offers an annual scholarship, and via Johnson’s close connection with Hanse, he had an ideal candidate in mind.
“Right away, Ryan jumped into my mind,” Johnson said. “He comes from a normal family, trying to get through school and college on his own. He’s working hard at school but also putting a lot towards learning when he can in the field simultaneously.”
With financial backing secured, Vieira earned an Associate’s Degree in Spring 2022 and graduated earlier this year with his Bachelor’s Degree in Turfgrass Science and Management. In between, he experienced national championships at his two courses, first the U.S. Open and the U.S. Senior Amateur later that summer at Kittansett. By proving himself as a student the summer prior, he became a teacher by leading an international brigade of approach and greens collar mowers with individuals from as far away as Slovenia. There wasn’t much sleep the whole week, but the payoff was beyond worth it.
“It was a good way to learn how to lead,” Vieira said. “People would always come to you and ask even if they weren’t part of your crew because we know this property.”
When the grounds crew is this fired up before a round, you know it’s going to be carnage pic.twitter.com/4JveAwd8GE
— Fore Play (@ForePlayPod) June 19, 2022
When asked about the experience, Vieira specifically recalls the final round, as he was collecting flags and tee markers behind Matt Fitzpatrick and Will Zalatoris, the final pairing battling it out for the title. With a radio earpiece in one ear and another connected to his phone, messages came flooding in when Vieira was spotted on camera behind the final group. Weaving his way through the massive gallery following along, Vieira stood ready in case extra holes were needed to determine a playoff. Instead, after Fitzpatrick’s heroic bunker shot and two-putt par to clinch the title, the words “no playoff” came over the radio, wrapping up a thrilling championship finale. Vieira gathered by the 18th green and stood behind Dave Johnson when he was surprised when he was presented with the inaugural USGA’s E.J. Marshall Platter recognizing leaders in golf course management.
During this year’s #USOpen trophy ceremony, the @USGA started a new tradition: Honoring the host site’s agronomy team with the E.J. Marshall Platter.
Congratulations to Dave Johnson, director of grounds at The Country Club 👏 pic.twitter.com/rquDnd6WLm
— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 20, 2022
Before heading back to school, Vieira received one more piece of good news – when he finished school, a job as an assistant superintendent was waiting for him.
“He was trying to be successful right out of the gate at a young age, and most kids in college, priorities are different, and I just felt like he was deserving,” Johnson said.
In some ways, the staff is still coming down from the hype of the U.S. Open 18 months prior. While the trees now lay bare and the greens have been sprayed and prepped for winter, Vieira can spend a little time reflecting on the past couple of years and prepare for what lies ahead. He’ll be working the 2024 U.S. Senior Open at Newport Country Club (RI) and continue to build his career. There’s no equivocation in his end goal: leading his own squad as a head superintendent. If trends remain the same, he won’t have to wait too long for another memorable opportunity.
“I would love to go international, even in a volunteer role,” he said. “I’d love to see how they run things overseas or in the Midwest or Florida in the winter. But at the end of the day, I love Boston. It’s my home.”
Mass Golf is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that is dedicated to advancing golf in Massachusetts by building an engaged community around the sport.
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At the forefront of junior development, Mass Golf is proud to offer programming to youth in the state through First Tee Massachusetts and subsidized rounds of golf by way of Youth on Course.
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