By Angie Preziotti
Photos Courtesy of Oceana Magazine

According to Al Janis, the path to owning and managing golf courses was not one he chose to follow, but rather one he was born to follow.

Janis grew up, he says, with fairway grass and putting greens in his blood. His father, James Janis, was in the golf course building business, so the seeds of a life surrounded by bent grass and rye were sown early.

Born in Sharon, Conn., Janis moved with his family to Massachusetts and then to Wilmington, Del., where his father was helping the fabled DuPont family construct a championship golf course at the DuPont Country Club in the historic Brandywine Valley area. Today, that same course plays host to the McDonald’s LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) Championship.

Janis spent much of his teenage years caddying and hunting for golf balls at the DuPont venue, and along the way he picked up enough tips on how to play the game that he soon had the Junior Club Champion title under his belt.

After graduating high school, he went on to receive his degree in landscape architecture from North Carolina State University. From there, Janis traveled west to California.

“Back then, you were known as a gypsy when you moved around to different jobs,” he explained.

He stayed in sunny California until he received a letter from his father asking for his help on constructing a new nine-hole golf course in Newark, Del.

The younger Janis decided to take the job and made the long haul back to the East Coast, where his career in golf course development really took off.

“It’s kind of funny,” he said. “There’s something mystic about hiring help from farther away, it’s like the farther away you lived [from the golf course], the better worker you were.”

By 1973 Al had made the Eastern Shore his permanent home, or so he thought.

He began working on a new golf course called Lighthouse Sound. After completing 22 of the 36 holes slated to be built, the project fell through and Janis was left longing for a reason to stay in the Ocean City area that he had come to adore so much.

During his time working at the Lighthouse Sound, he met a nurse from Washington, D.C., named Peggy, who vacationed in Rehoboth. The couple was married shortly after.

Over the following years, Janis worked on golf courses in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, but still he searched for a way to make Ocean City his lasting home.

In 1979, Janis figured out his ticket to staying in Ocean City. He was going to build his own golf course. So he presented his marketing plan to Jerry Mason at Atlantic National Bank, and hoped for the best.

As it turned out, Mason believed in Janis’ dream to build a golf course, and he approved the loan.

“Jerry was the one who had faith in me,” recalls Janis.

In 1980, Janis began turning a piece of Eastern Shore farmland on Beauchamp (pronounced “Beech-um” by locals) Road into his first nine-hole golf course at what is now called Pine Shore North. Over the next six years, bulldozers and earth-movers continued to take the place of tractors and plows on that once-sleepy farm as his second and third nine-hole courses at Pine Shore North were completed.

And while construction techniques for any golf course are much the same, the results are not. There was one major difference between Pine Shore North and most other golf courses in the area: It was a mid-length course. Intimidating distances for the recreational golfer were replaced by scenic layouts and a faster pace of play.

With his three nine-hole golf courses, Janis offered a variety of choices for people to enjoy their game. The Pines Nine is very open with a few ponds, the Willow Nine offers lots of practice over water and the Dogwood Nine is a tight course in wooded areas.

But Janis did not just stop after Pine Shore North was finished. In 1990 he began doing construction on a course in Baltimore as a partner in Willow Springs, and in 1998 he purchased the Creek Club Golf Course and renovated it into what is currently Pine Shore South.

Over the years, the seemingly boundless energy that Janis displays has gone into constantly improving and upgrading his courses.

“I do lots of things to make the grounds nicer,” he explained. “I’ve improved the irrigation, modernized the traps and made stone cart paths for the golf carts.”

With a wink and a smile, this gregarious golf fan describes his courses as challenging, fun and well-matured with greens that are in great shape.

“We call the ninth hole at Pine Shore South ‘Gawker 9’,” said Al. “It’s because it is so beautiful that people just stand there and gawk at it.”

Golfers who have played it agree.

William Aleshive of Bowie, Md., calls it “a wonderful course for all skill levels,” and Janis is not about to argue.

Although business at the courses slows down quite a bit in the off-season, Janis says he is extremely surprised at how popular golf has become over the years.

“My friend Tom Fazio, who is an architect as well, and I marvel at what has happened to the game of golf,” said Janis. “I think a lot of it has to do with the television exposure golf gets nowadays.”

But with the increase of interest in golf, so comes an inevitable increase in the competition for golfing dollars.

Fortunately for Janis, he has, as any golfer must, a good stance and a solid grip in the form of many loyal customers who return to his Ocean Pines golf courses year after year, and have nothing but nice things to say about them.

“Pine Shore South is a great course in great condition,” said Karl Brungot of Lusby, Md. “The staff is very friendly and the service was exceptional.”

Janis nods in agreement. A helpful, friendly staff is a large part of what his customers value at all his courses.

“There are two things we have here, green grass and smiles; and we don’t always have green grass,” laughs Janis.

Some of the employees at the Pine Shore courses have been with Janis since the beginning, and he thinks of them not just as just his staff but rather as his family.

And speaking of family, the whole Janis family plays a major part in running the golf courses as well. Al’s wife, Peggy, and his youngest son James oversee the operation and maintenance of Pine Shore South.

Jolyn, the second youngest, studied graphic design at N.C. State and now lives in Dallas, Texas. She is currently in charge of maintaining the Pine Shore website and designing their ads.

Al and Peggy’s oldest son A.J. is following in his father’s footsteps. He graduated from N.C. State and received his master’s degree in architectural engineering. He now works for his dad’s friend, Tom Fazio, one of the best golf course builders in the country.

Jacki is the second oldest and she resides in Los Angeles, Calif., where she trains animals for movies and commercials.

“She’s worked on ‘Walker Texas Ranger’ and she did that Terry Bradshaw commercial too,” Janis says proudly.

Although Jacki lives across the country, she is still part of the Janis operation, as her watercolor paintings adorn the walls at the Pine Shore North golf course.

Jennifer graduated with a degree in environmental science from the University of Georgia, but spent most of her summers working at Pine Shore.

Even though Janis and his family spend a lot of time working, he enjoys taking time off to do some of the things he loves, like fishing in the Florida Everglades.

And he says that he gets on the golf course about once a year when he plays in the employee tournament.

“I play just enough to know that I should play more than once a year,” jokes Janis.

He says he also take pleasure in some of the special events that take place at his courses. Each year he has an Easter egg hunt for golfers, where he hides plastic eggs around the golf course filled with coupons for prizes such as hats, golf balls and a free round of golf.

This year Janis will also host a fund-raiser for the Community Church at Ocean Pines, Appalachia Service Project, which sends youth to poverty-stricken areas where they repair old houses.

Janis tries to get a younger generation involved in golf, too. Each year he invites students from Berlin Middle School to the golf course where he introduces them to the basics of golf.

There is also “bring your daughter to the course” week featuring free games of golf and clinics to the girls in hopes of encouraging them to take an interest in the game of golf.

But the one special that Pine Shore North runs shows off Janis’ true sense of humor.

“We have a $20 hotdog,” he laughs. “If you buy a hotdog for $20, then you get one round of golf and a cart for free on certain days.”

It is this fun and friendly atmosphere that keeps people coming back to both of the Pine Shore courses.

“It was a very enjoyable time,” said Scott Conradi of Huntersville, N.C. “I’ll be back during my next visit to the area.”

Clearly, Janis seems to enjoy people as much as they enjoy his courses.

“You grow up around this and it’s just second nature,” said Janis.

“And besides, if I didn’t do this, I’d have to be re-trained and I’m too old for that.”