Matt DiMase has settled in nicely, overseeing The Abaco Club in the Bahamas. Photo by Demetrio Hepburn
Matt DiMase’s wife will be by his side. That may not sound like a big deal but think again.
Having family separated by a body of water more than 180 miles away is a way of life for the DiMases. Matt DiMase is the GCSAA Class A director of agronomy and landscape at The Abaco Club on Winding Bay at Marsh Harbour, Abaco, in the Bahamas. He and his team have been preparing for this month’s Korn Ferry Tour event, The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club, which runs Jan. 19-22. His wife, Kassie, will be on hand.
“Abaco is our home, and she is here for our big events. She and our family (children Reece, Kennedy and Mattingly and dog aptly named Divot) are so supportive,” says DiMase, a 14-year GCSAA member who started at the club in August 2016. “We have a Florida address (in Lecanto, Fla.) for our kids to go to school and play sports but still do the back and forth. I’m on a plane once a month. Two or three times, I’m there for four-plus weeks. It’s quality time when I’m home. We stay sane and make it work.”
If DiMase had scored just one more point on a test several years ago, perhaps none of this would have been an issue. A native of Yonkers, N.Y., DiMase had his eye on serving the public on the New York Police Department. He attended school to study criminal justice and pursued the career by taking a test with the NYPD. He recorded a solid score of 94 out of 100 and landed an interview. His score, however, didn’t match his expectations. “I wanted to score at least a 95,” he says.
DiMase had a decision to make. He determined that those two odd numbers didn’t equate to success. Perhaps it was meant to be. The résumé he showed to a police lieutenant featured his previous jobs, including golf courses and clubhouse attendant for the Tampa Bay Rays in Major League Baseball. The lieutenant posed a question to DiMase. “He said, ‘Ask your boss (at the golf course) if you’ve ever been shot at.’ That made me think,” DiMase says.
It may have been a case of kismet when he purchased a golf magazine at the airport on the way out of town and noticed an advertisement for Mundus Institute in Arizona. It was about the golf course management program the school offered. DiMase chose to give it a go. He secured a motor home and drove to the Valley of the Sun. He had a feeling how this might turn out.
“Even growing up, I took chances. I kinda go with my gut,” says DiMase, who also attended San Diego Golf Academy and completed Mundus Institute with an associate degree in its golf course management program.
He landed an internship at Arrowhead Country Club in Glendale, Ariz., and his journey was full speed ahead. “I paid attention. Every hole was different. I started watching tournaments, bought a set of clubs,” he says, “and I fell in love with the challenges. It’s still a challenge every day.”
DiMase and major golf champion Darren Clarke (left) are golfing pals and good friends at The Abaco Club. Photo courtesy of Matt DiMase
Before arriving nine years ago in the Bahamas, DiMase was director of golf course maintenance at Black Diamond Ranch in Lecanto and at Haig Point in Hilton Head Island, S.C., then on to The Abaco Club.
He was highly recommended for the position at The Abaco Club by someone DiMase had never met. Greg Sherwood, president for club developer Southworth Europe/Southworth Golf, was involved in project construction at The Abaco before DiMase was hired. “I got his (DiMase’s) name. I was told there was a young superintendent with extreme talent,” says Sherwood. “The golf course needed some work. Matt was the man with the magic, the secret sauce, whatever you want to call it. And he is good with his crew — led them. It takes a special person to work outside of the U.S. as an expat, a lot of idiosyncrasies that go along with that. It was all about he and his team. He mentored so many Bahamians. Matt’s amazing — amazing father, amazing superintendent.”
DiMase and his crew — including assistants Demetrio Hepburn, Pedro Burrows, equipment manager Darron Sands and head equipment manager Herman Hepburn — have additional motivation this month. For the first time since 2019, The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club will be televised by Golf Channel at the links-style course. “It’s big for Abaco, the island. For me, I always wanted to host a tour event, a televised event. The weather usually then is mild, upper 70s. The wind blows,” he says.
On occasion, the wind is a life-and-death factor in the Bahamas. DiMase last encountered a significant hurricane in 2019. A Category 5, Hurricane Dorian plowed through the Bahamas that August. The club suffered damaged trees, windows and roofs. The course was flooded. Who knows what 2025 will bring on the hurricane front? DiMase says, “They (hurricanes) are always on our mind. We’ll start prepping in February, take inventory of things like batteries and ponchos. Hurricanes always are on our radar. It’s the life that we lead.”
Since this past year, and now into 2025 and beyond, DiMase and his crew have been and will be active. In late 2024, a 35,000-square-foot putting course opened. Also, a 7,000-square-foot practice green opened. This year, a 3.5-acre tee conversion over a two-year span begins, featuring the transition from Sea Isle Supreme to Platinum paspalum.
As a golfer, DiMase has shown the ability to reign supreme.
His decision to purchase those clubs way back when has reaped rewards. Seven years ago, during advance week for the Bahamas Great Abaco Classic, DiMase enjoyed a mic-drop moment. He sank a 107-foot walkoff eagle putt on No. 18 to buoy the club’s victory in a match against Korn Ferry Tour rules officials and agronomist. DiMase’s team was stacked, thanks to Darren Clarke, British Open winner in 2011. He lives in the Abacos, is the club ambassador and is friends with DiMase. “D.C. almost chipped in off the green. It was down to me and him to hit our shot (in scramble format), and he was the anchor all day. Me and him decided he would go first. He played a bump-and-run, and I could get the line on him. I knew (DiMase's shot) was good and had a chance,” says DiMase, who was better than good. “It was one of the coolest sports moments I have had, especially with a golf legend like D.C. on my team.”
Clarke sounds as if it’s DiMase who shines brightest at the club. “He’s just brilliant. His work ethic is incredible, and the facility is a proper championship golf course,” says Clarke, who has played there since 2005. “I’ve seen him with his family and every side of him. He’s one of the best people I’ve ever been fortunate enough to know.”
Howard Richman is GCM's associate editor