Tanner Coffman has found his happy place as director of turf management for TMRW Sports, the parent company of the TGL golf league, co-founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. Photos courtesy of TGL
When ESPN sportscaster Matt Barrie gave Tanner Coffman a shoutout mid-broadcast of a TGL event, Coffman, a three-year GCSAA member, barely had any advance notice.
Coffman was recognized by Barrie via a drone shot as Coffman was inserting tee boxes during a break in play at the cutting-edge indoor golf platform at SoFi Center inside Palm Beach State College in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Coffman is director of turf management for TMRW Sports, the parent company of the TGL golf league launched by co-founders Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and founder/CEO Mike McCarley.
“I was given very short notice they were doing that. Two hours after the event, I was able to check my phone, and my brother sent it to me,” Coffman says about his national TV appearance. “That’s something most greenkeepers don’t get.”
A native of Hendersonville, Tenn., Coffman developed a passion for soil chemistry that led to his current career. His collegiate experiences include Tennessee Tech University (turf and turfgrass management), University of Georgia (sports turf management) and University of Tennessee (political science and government).
About that political science and government experience … Coffman was an executive office intern a decade ago for then-President Barack Obama. At that time, Coffman was uncertain where his career was headed. “The economy wasn’t looking good. They were closing golf clubs. At that age (he’s now 31), what else can I do?” he says. “I’d watch the workers in the gardens (at the White House). It made me realize, in the back of my mind while I was in meetings, I’d rather be where they were, working outside.”
Coffman returned to Tennessee and landed a job at The Club at Gettysvue in Knoxville, where he worked three years for Jeff Dudych, the club’s director of golf course maintenance. Dudych quickly realized that Coffman was the real deal.
“Tanner was reliable, always trying to get the best out of what he did,” says Dudych, a 30-year GCSAA member. “He would offer suggestions to improve how we do things. I encourage that.”
Coffman, a three-year GCSAA member, worked at golf courses and soccer venues before coming to TMRW in 2023.
After moving on to the Double-A Tennessee Smokies baseball team as greenkeeper in Knoxville, Coffman decided to step out of his comfort zone and move across the country for a new challenge: assistant superintendent of fields and grounds for Major League Soccer team Real Salt Lake in Utah.
“I took four or five days to make the decision,” Coffman says, “and I became comfortable during that time about taking the risk. I would get more responsibility and (the fruits of his labor) would actually be on television.”
It certainly was a change of pace from the golf course. “They’ve got 2.5 acres on a soccer field and athletes running and sliding on it,” he says. “I fell in love with teams and games while still doing what I love in soil chemistry.”
Coffman later changed jobs, remaining in soccer, as assistant director of grounds for Austin FC’s team in Texas. In 2022, he was on the move again, accepting the title of director of sports turf management at Kroenke Sports & Entertainment in Colorado, overseeing the Colorado Rapids’ stadium soccer pitch, training pitch and 23 youth fields.
An email two years ago brought Coffman to today and his job with TMRW Sports. “A recruiter reached out to me. I didn’t know if it was spam or keywords to get my attention,” he says.
It wasn’t bogus, just a boost to his career. Before accepting the job, Coffman wanted to speak to one other person: Trey Rogers, Ph.D. at Michigan State University. Rogers, a professor in turfgrass management, was consulted by TGL about its decision to go with either real or synthetic grass tees (real won out). Previously, Rogers led the charge when a Detroit stadium implemented indoor grass for soccer’s World Cup in 1994. “He was so invested in this project (TGL), his belief that it could be really great,” says Coffman, who says the talk with Rogers helped cement his decision to accept the job.
Since, it’s been a whirlwind and a blast. “I love the technology. It’s data driven. The real grass, the stadium atmosphere is what I really like,” Coffman says.
The six teams that play in TGL — featuring players like Woods, Xander Schauffele and Rickie Fowler — have a playing field that’s 97 yards long and 50 feet wide. The GreenZone is the size of four basketball courts. The competitors pitch and putt on a Tahoma 31 bermudagrass blend grown outside the stadium. They hit into a giant screen simulator five stories tall.
Coffman’s staff features eight assistants, including those from Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Fla., who help on Tuesday’s match day. “They get to see something wildly different in the game of golf,” Coffman says.
The grass is atop plastic, which Coffman keeps “as long as we can.” Sod on plastic can last up to seven months. There’re numerous plugs. Aeration isn’t needed, but moisture meters are. Then there’s this unique factor. “I’m growing grass suspended in the air because it has drainage. Nobody’s growing grass suspended 10 inches in the air,” Coffman says.
This TGL thing might not be anything you’ll find in your neighborhood muni or country club. The bottom line, though, is the expectations, according to Coffman.
“GCSAA, being one of them, all of us have the same goal,” Coffman says, “and that’s giving something to the golf player, the best surfaces to play, and make it aesthetically pleasing. Playability is No. 1.”
Howard Richman is GCM’s associate editor.