Patti Emerson, a 63-year-old mother, grandmother, and retired postal work from Seymour, Indiana, is doing a job which she never considered doing in her lifetime, but loves doing. Emerson works on the grounds crew, cutting grass on tees and fairways at Seymour’s Shadowood Golf Course, four mornings each week in the Spring, Summer and Fall. She relishes the experience of driving a riding lawnmower. “I love to mow grass. It relaxes me. It gives me time to myself and I think it is relaxing. I put my headphones on and stream my music and just mow.” Not only is Shadowood a great place to work, it’s also a wonderful place to mingle with the golfers. “Everyone on the course is so nice. They always wave at me and speak to me. I’ve met so many kind people.” Emerson’s career path to operating a mower was not conventional. “I had retired and was looking for something to do. My husband Dave started working in the Shadowood pro shop. They had an ad for high school-age cart attendants, so Dave asked Ryan Myers (Shadowood’s owner) if I could work carts. Ryan asked me to come to the golf course.” Upon arrival, she was hired. “I worked as a cart attendant the first year and then superintendent Tony Rutherford asked me if I would be interested in mowing. I said I would and the next year, I mowed two days a week and still did carts two days a week. Golf’s GrassMowing Grandma By Mike May Indiana Golf Journal
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