Jim Weaver hadn’t given much thought to becoming a golf course superintendent until the Center Creek Country Club was built in Sarcoxie.

“They had someone, but he didn’t stay too long,” Weaver recalled. “I was a volunteer. I didn’t know a lot about greenskeeping or keeping up a course. ... But I was given a chance. It was tough at first. I got into the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA), took some seminars and was accredited.”

That was in the early 1970s. Jim remained at Sarcoxie for seven years, rapidly building a reputation for maintaining a quality course despite difficult terrain and a lack of resources available at a larger club.

What Jim accomplished at Sarcoxie caught the eye of members at Joplin’s Twin Hills Golf and Country Club. He was offered and accepted the superintendent’s job there in 1982 and has been there since, with the exception of a short hiatus in the business world.

Being a golf course superintendent has been rewarding, said Weaver, but it is also tough.

“You’re as good as the year as you come out of,” he said. “That’s just the nature of the business. Sometimes you don’t have any control. Mother Nature makes the decisions.”

This year has seen the “Perfect Storm” — an extremely wet spring and an extraordinarily hot summer. Courses all across the Midwest and South have suffered.

“We got a lot of rain in the spring and the roots on the greens didn’t go down deep to find water,” Jim said. “Then when the summer heat hits you start losing the roots. You can get in trouble if the ground temperature gets over 85 degrees. Ours has been running in the mid- to high-90s.”

Today, at age 64, Jim is “unofficially retired.” His contract with Twin Hills runs out later this month and he has turned the job over to his assistant, Kirk Youngblood.

“He’s a very capable young man,” Weaver said. “He’s been with me a long time. Actually, he started with me at Sarcoxie when he was 13 years old. He was with me when I came to Twin Hills. Then he went to Monett for eight years as superintendent there. He’s been back here about eight years.”

So what does Jim plan to do now that he is retired?

“Play more golf,” he said, smiling.

Having an excellent amateur player as golf course superintendent has been beneficial, said Doug Adams, club manager and director of golf.

“He can see things from the player’s perspective,” Adams said. “He’s not here in that capacity any longer. But he won’t be gone. He’ll be around as a Twin Hills member.”

Actually, Weaver has been one of the area’s top players for 30 years or so, although he says he hasn’t played nearly as much as he would have liked in the last year or so.

Among a few of his golfing highlights:

 n  Playing on most Horton Smith or Ky Laffoon Cup teams for the last 27 years. His rivalry with Karl Anderson, superintendent at Hickory Hills Country Club and a regular on the Springfield Horton Smith and Ky Laffoon teams, has been ongoing for years. For the record, Weaver beat Anderson in last week’s singles at Schifferdecker Municipal Golf Course.

n Winning the Twin Hills Invitational Seniors Championship for two consecutive years, in 2009 and 2010.

n  Tying Paul Ashe for second at the Ozark Amateur, and twice finishing second in the former Loma Linda Invitational.

n Capturing the Twin Hills club championship seven times.

n Finishing third in the Missouri State Seniors Amateur at Indian Hills Country Club in Columbia, third in the state seniors at St. Charles and third in the super seniors in Kansas City.

“Those were fun times,” Weaver said with a smile.

His biggest disappointment came in trying to qualify for the U.S. Senior Open at Leawood South nearly a decade ago.

“I had a two-shot lead going into the last hole,” he said. But he ran into trouble and missed qualifying by a shot. Only two players in the 60-man field advanced.

He has compiled a pretty solid record for a guy who took up the game in his 20s only because some of his Air Force buddies encouraged him to play. He has never taken a formal lesson.

“I always had to work at it,” Jim said. “You have to change a few things. It’s a hard game.”

In looking back, Jim says that one of the most satisfying aspects of his career has been training and bringing along others who are interested in getting into the field.   

“The golf industry is a great field for young guys,” Weaver said. “I’ve had several (including Danny Endicott, now superintendent at Branson’s Pointe Royale) go on to become superintendents. That’s been rewarding.”

As for his experience at Twin Hills, Weaver said: “I’ve enjoyed every minute. I’ve made a lot of friends there.”