From the Publisher’s Pen: ‘Incredibly intentional’

Every move of August Rocco’s career positioned him for the opportunity to lead the first golf maintenance team at coming Tennessee attraction Firefly.

Every move of August Rocco’s career positioned him for the opportunity to lead the first golf maintenance team at coming Tennessee attraction Firefly.

August Rocco describes Firefly, a new private residential golf development 35 miles south of Nashville, Tennessee, as “incredibly intentional.” His route to becoming the director of golf course maintenance of an anticipated course can be described the same way.

Firefly’s first 18 holes open later this year. The project represents the first new course designed by architect Andrew Green, whose portfolio includes restorations of Inverness Club, Oak Hill East, Scioto, Interlachen and numerous other revered courses.

Firefly melds Golden Age golf design principles with modern high-end residential concepts. The course is being constructed before any houses are completed.

“The golf course is Phase Zero for this entire thing,” Rocco says.

Firefly will eventually support more than 400 homes on its 700 acres. Homesites will occupy peripheral golf course plots. Firefly’s master plan also includes a 9-hole, Green-designed short course.

A greater Nashville native, Rocco’s career path demonstrates the movement and purpose required to land one of the industry’s most desirable jobs.

Rocco started his career as a golf maintenance troubadour. His pre-Firefly stops included influential Northeast private clubs Quaker Ridge, Bayonne and Sebonack, and metro Atlanta pillars Peachtree and Dunwoody. He met his wife in Atlanta and learned warm-season turfgrass maintenance under respected mentors Spencer Oliver and William Shirley.

Before turning 30, Rocco landed his first head superintendent job at Country Club of Columbus, a Donald Ross design near the Georgia-Alabama border.

Realizing his résumé lacked a large-scale construction and grow-in effort, he left after three years to become East Course superintendent at Fall Line, a new limited-membership club between Columbus and Augusta.

“It was a big leap of faith,” Rocco says.

A consultant connected Rocco to Firefly, a new residential course in Spring Hill, Tennessee. When Firefly officials were ready to hire a director of golf course maintenance, Rocco brought private club experience across multiple eras, warm-season turf expertise, industry connections and new construction experience.

“It was a dream come true to come back to this area,” Rocco says.

Rocco started at Firefly on January 27, 2025. At the time, initial clearing was complete, center lines were being marked, irrigation lake blasting had begun and grassing was months away.

He quickly learned that building in Tennessee differs from Georgia. Firefly sits on rocky, heavy clay soils, unlike the sandy terrain at Fall Line. Weather added challenges, including heavy rains and historic freezes.