Despite a record-tying number of victories at the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America’s national championship, Florida resident Seth Strickland has higher goals for his amateur golf career.
In late August, Strickland claimed his first Florida State Golf Association title in the Forty & Over Championship at Lakewood National Golf Club in Lakewood Ranch with a three-stroke victory over defending champion Abbie Valentine and William Dukes, which has fueled his competitive spirit.
“I’ve put in a lot of effort, and my skills are improving,” said Strickland, 49, who is the director of agronomy at Miami Beach Golf Club and Normandy Shores Golf. “There are hopes and dreams in there for some bigger accomplishments.”
Strickland, from Miami Shores, has played in dozens of GCSAA national tournaments during the association’s annual National Conference and Trade Show since diving into the golf course maintenance business in the early 1990s.
In January, he shot 6-under-par 138 for 36 holes on the Ambiente and Padre courses of Camelback Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, to win his record-tying sixth GCSAA national title, matching Emil “Mashie” Masciocchi, who also won six from 1940 to 1950. Strickland won his first three in 2005-09 and has now claimed three of the last four tournaments (2021, ’22 and ’24).
The Forty & Over win in the ultra-competitive FSGA has rewarded Strickland with exemptions next year into the Florida State Amateur, the Florida State Amateur Match Play and the Florida State Mid-Amateur.
“I was surprised the scoring wasn’t lower,” said Strickland, a self-proclaimed golf nut since age 12. “I think the golf course set up perfectly for me. I love the wide-open fairways. It was no fear off the tee, and I was hitting my irons very well. Other than a couple of sloppy three-putts, it was almost a perfect golf tournament.”
Those three FSGA championships in 2025 will test his game, but his practice plan should have him fit for the task. Strickland has a strict regimen for his workdays and an incredibly supportive wife and two children. He starts each day promptly at 5 a.m. and works for nine-plus hours.
“I won’t touch a golf club during work hours, but then after work, I put in 60 to 90 minutes practicing golf, doing something,” he said. “I play once a week religiously. The last 10 years, I have dedicated a little more time, took it more seriously. It looks like all the practice finally paid off, but it’s definitely tough to work all day in the sun and then find the time and energy for practice.”
“Mindset, dedication and taking better care of myself helps. There is a long list of things that have contributed to my improvement.” – Seth Strickland
A veteran of the golf agronomy field, including more than two decades at Miami Shores, Strickland has developed an extensive and vibrant golf network. It helps with his daily duties, including getting Miami Beach and Normandy Shores ready for the upcoming South Beach International Amateur in December. But he also has a substantive coterie of instructors who can assist when his game needs a tweak.
He leans heavily on Manny Zerman, a south Florida legend and native South African who was the runner-up in the 1990 and 1991 U.S. Amateurs.
“He’s the first person I speak to, especially for putting,” Strickland said.
A grateful man, Strickland is adamant about crediting a quartet of friends at Miami Shores where he still practices – Ricardo Ronderos, Ricardo Ronderos Jr., Austin Smith and Chris Baetzel. He quickly adds Steve Farrell, John Oyler and Alexis Garcia of Miami Beach Golf Club and Johnny LaPonzina, the founder of Professional Course Management, which operates the Miami Beach and Normandy Shores clubs, as well as PCM general manager Alberto Pozzi.
Strickland, who plays a strong all-around game, says ball-striking is his best asset.
“I feel like whenever I am on, everything is good,” he said. “I have dramatically improved my proximity to the hole with my irons, particularly from 150 yards and in. My putting comes and goes. I hit fairways in regulation, but I don’t think I hit the ball very far, which might be my biggest weakness.”
In addition to a heaping dose of confidence gained by winning the FSGA Forty & Over, Strickland thinks he is playing the best golf of his life. His focus has contributed to good things on the course.
“Mindset, dedication and taking better care of myself helps,” Strickland said. “There is a long list of things that have contributed to my improvement.”
The 2025 GCSAA national tournament on February 1-3 at Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla, California, will give Strickland the chance to defend his title and go for a record seventh win.