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Meet the team

We share a common passion to improve playability, sustainability and economic efficiency in the golf course industry by embracing the latest research, technological advances, fresh thinking and a “can do attitude”.

John Clarkin

Passionate about Golf from a young age, John realised that he would never beat the professionals, yet still wanted to dedicate his life to the game. After graduating from Pennsylvania State University, USA in 1994, he developed Powerscourt Golf Club in Ireland.

In 1997 he founded Turfgrass® and is now entering his fifth decade in the industry! His Golf Development Company specialises in taking golf courses and projects to the next level, by delivering value and expertise. Turfgrass® have consulted on over 250 courses across the globe and are fortunate to have worked alongside the best in the business on some world class projects. With his constant travel around the world, John has developed a vast network of industry friends. If he is not behind a podium speaking at a conference, on a potential site or a golf course, he can be spotted in France with his family enjoying his passion of food and wine!

Julian Mooney

Julian was introduced to the game of golf by his father at a young age and subsequently to the principles of Turf management. This ignited his interest in the field of agronomy and shaped his studies in the numerous areas of Turfgrass Management and Science in both Europe and the US, at The Ohio State University.

Alongside managing Turfgrass’s agronomic portfolio throughout Europe and emerging markets, Julian is the principal figure for tournament preparation in advance of numerous golf championships including European staging’s of The Solheim Cup. With a diverse list of clients, countries and events, no two days are ever the same for Julian, something that he relishes. He is often on the road or on a plane, and he stays “grounded” by running wherever and whenever he can, training for marathons and he stays focused with coffee! So passionate is he about his coffee, he even trained to be a barista!

Sarah Skelton

With over 20 years’ experience in business management, Sarah runs our “engine room” and is at the heart of Turfgrass® operations. She is literally a born leader and organiser. As the eldest in a large family, she automatically took on the role of “chief organiser” and since then relishes making sure everyone and everything is streamlined, efficient and on time! All massively important skills when managing the Turfgrass® team, who are constantly on the road and in the sky, as well as supervising all business operations for this busy international business.

Sarah loves to travel, and she especially loves to share this wanderlust and discover new places with her two young daughters.

Veronica Dagge

Veronica is part of the Turfgras® Headquarters team, managing both accounts and administration. Her dedication to detail and analytical mind stem from her legal studies and subsequent roles as a legal secretary for various Law Firms.

She realised that she had a skill for account management and transitioned into this area by studying to be an account technician. Veronica’s background in both the legal and accounting domain, coupled with her conscientiousness, ensures that that all our accounting processes, budget planning and financial transactions are carefully recorded and importantly on target.

When Veronica steps away from the world of numbers, she turn to baking to relax and switch off, alongside minding her children.

Rachel Chiverton

Rachel supports the team from our Headquarters in Ireland. After nearly two decades working as a Personal Assistant supporting senior staff in various industry sectors, Rachel truly knows what is essential to the coordination and management of the Turfgrass® teams and projects across the globe.

Rachel focuses her downtime on her two young children and is a bit of a travel buff, who loves to research and plan their next big adventure. Which equally comes in quite handy with her role in planning all the travel for the Turfgrass® team!

Jonathan (JP) Pendry

Jonathan had no choice but to follow a career in golf, seeing as he is lives at “the Home of Golf” in St Andrews! He began his journey in the business in 1999 gaining his degree in Turfgrass Science, and developed his practical experience at some of the most iconic golf resorts in Scotland, as well as working at countless prestigious International and European Tour events. He then dedicated over 15 years to delivering numerous prominent multimillion Euro projects in agronomy, maintenance and construction across the globe. Now using his global reputation, knowledge and experience, he works with Turfgrass® supporting the delivery of agronomy services to a number of prestigious, world-class facilities.

When he is back in “the Home of Golf”, Jonathan enjoys spending time with his wife Victoria and his two grown up children. He loves cycling, food and drink and is a keen year-round coastal swimmer.

Craig Hanney

Craig was introduced to grass and the world of greenkeeping at a very young age by his father at a local bowling club, who explained what the greenkeeper was doing to the grass and why. His career in the world of Turf management began as an apprentice on tennis and bowls and then onto golf courses across the globe.

Craig has lived and worked in 8 countries and as a result is proficient in project management and agronomy in numerous different climates! He has led and managed many different challenging and high-profile projects for Turfgrass®, both in Northern and Southern Europe and in the Middle East.

Craig is very passionate about what he does and loves the golf course industry, which he considers a family. When he does find time to unwind, he likes to do so by road biking and spending time with his wife and son.

Anthony Fitzpatrick

Anthony Fitzpatrick is a valuable member of our team, working with us since 2016. With his expertise as a grow-in consultant, Anthony has played a vital role assisting many of our clients such as Adare Manor, Limerick, and managing our involvement with the Marlay Park Putting Green alongside Padraig Harrington. Anthony is also agronomist at Glasson Lakehouse, Westmeath and The Condor, Loury, France.

With an impressive 22 years of experience in turfgrass management, Anthony's journey began in Kilkenny and then took him to the United States for 12 years where he pursued extensive studies covering a range of subjects, including soil science, grass management, and plant pathology. Throughout his career, Anthony has served as Course Superintendent at numerous facilities most notably The Heritage Golf Resort designed by Seve Ballesteros and Jeff Howes. During his time at The Heritage, Anthony oversaw preparations for the Irish Seniors Open on the Legends Tour and the Seve Trophy on the DP World Tour.

Adam Moeller

Adam Moeller is the former director to the USGA Green Section Education and editor-in-chief of the USGA Green Section Record digital magazine. He has consulted with over 330 golf courses and collaborated with host superintendents to prepare 22 USGA national championships, including prestigious events like the U.S. Open and U.S. Women's Open.
Adam is a highly accomplished individual with a Bachelor of Science degree in Horticulture from the University of Wisconsin and a Master of Science degree in Agronomy from Purdue University.
He is widely recognized as an industry leader and authority in his field, developing educational content for golf course superintendents, course officials, and golfers.
Due to his sought-after expertise, he frequently presents on golf course maintenance topics at turfgrass conferences in both the USA and at an international level.
In his free time, Adam loves to spend time with his wife and two sons. As an avid snowboarder and golfer, he enjoys seeing his young sons become interested in these sports.