Combine shrinking budgets and diminishing resources with factors such as increased golfer expectations and a contracting industry and it's easy to understand why some superintendents might view the current state of their profession as a glass half empty. Still, there are those who embrace the opportunities that come with challenges, and they believe success hinges on looking at the state of the industry with a more optimistic view.Doing more with less is not a philosophy confined only to the golf turf maintenance industry. It is a reality driven by competition and economics that faces virtually every industry, and it's one superintendents must learn to embrace, says Bryan Stromme, regional agronomist for Billy Casper Golf.
"I don't understand why so many people in the industry complain about that," Stromme said. "We can't look at it as doing more with less. We have to look at it as being better at what we do. Everything is changing, and I don't think it is for the worse."
For those who find themselves wearing loafers and a tie more often than jeans and boots, Stromme says get used to it.
"If you look at people at Motorola or Apple, do you think they're not looking at how to make their products better? My next iPhone better be faster, better, stronger and lighter," he said. "Those are my expectations. We as an industry have to do the same thing."
Stromme says his employer is always seeking new ways to help its employees succeed.
Those efforts include an internal career development program that allows employees to take college level course work toward a company-sponsored certificate. BCG's focus on helping employees focus on career development has resulted in many hourly workers stepping forward in search of a career.
"We are finding a lot of people on our staffs who want a career," he said. "Careers don't come from making people mow. Careers come from giving people a purpose. If they have purpose, then it all makes sense to them. Then it becomes a career, not just a job."
Gone are the days of superintendents who try to fly under the radar. Standards for turf conditions and competition for golfers simply are too high for superintendents not to play an active and visible role in the overall management of the golf facility.
"This industry always has been one of being out-of-sight, out-of-mind, but that is a slippery slope today," said Chad Mark of The Kirtland Country Club near Cleveland. "Now, it is vital to have that face-to-face interaction with golfers. By the time they see a problem on the golf course, you've already told them about it. You can put out a lot of fires if you are a good communicator."
Matt Shaffer agrees.
Shaffer has seen a lot of changes in his 40-plus years in the business.
When he started as an assistant superintendent 43 years ago, seven-gang pull-behind units with ground-driven reels were the norm and greens were topdressed by hand with a shovel.
Nowadays, says Shaffer, top-shelf communications skills and business acumen must be as common as state-of-the-art five-plex mowers. To be successful today, superintendents have to be visible to golfers and accessible to members.
"During my career (as a superintendent), I was at various times an electrician, mechanic, hydraulic engineer, plumber, carpenter, heavy- and light-equipment operator, landscaper, councilor, accountant, teacher, author, researcher, arborist, agronomist and finally just a plain laborer. When I would try to explain this to someone, their eyes would roll. It is just what we did."
- Jon Scott, Nicklaus Design
He recalled a quote by former GCSAA chief executive officer Steve Mona, now with the World Golf Foundation, that went something like this: "Superintendents need to change their image. They do not need someone else telling the members what they accomplished. If you want to make more, then you need to have a different persona."
"That really resonated with me," said Shaffer, who went on to say if he were a younger superintendent he would develop the skills to become a general manager and would have a better golf game that the in-house PGA professional so he could play with and have an audience with members.
"I would make every single member know that I was the man to run it all," he said.
Like Shaffer, Jon Scott has been in the business for more than 40 years, including a total of 16 years with Nicklaus Design, 15 as a superintendent and almost 10 years with the PGA Tour's agronomy division.
The golf boom brought with it, he said, a tiered employment structure that included the advent of the second assistant. With the boom officially over several years ago, Scott says he sees two emerging trends: fewer second assistants and tenured superintendents being pushed out the door and replaced by the first assistant for the sake of cutting costs.
"Today, the median age of the superintendent keeps going down and so are wages and benefits," Scott said. "Fewer people are looking to enter the profession, and those that do are finding a return to the single assistant model. We have come full circle and perhaps settled into a more sustainable model for what being a superintendent is all about. The superintendent profession may have hit its high water mark some years ago."
Given that reality, success in today's leaner economy, Scott says, will superintendents to do their jobs better than ever.
"The new survival skills are going to be a willingness to be more personally hands-on with an emphasis on cross-training and multi-tasking," he said. "At all but the high-end courses, the days of the 20-person staff for 18 holes are coming to an end. Likewise, having the luxury of two assistants, two mechanics, a spray/fertilizer technician, a project foreman and even an administrative assistant is disappearing at many courses. Those jobs still exist, but they are done with fewer people having more diversified abilities. During my career (as a superintendent), I was at various times an electrician, mechanic, hydraulic engineer, plumber, carpenter, heavy- and light-equipment operator, landscaper, councilor, accountant, teacher, author, researcher, arborist, agronomist and finally just a plain laborer. When I would try to explain this to someone, their eyes would roll. It is just what we did. I am seeing a return to this philosophy in my consulting work today. I'm not sure whether to lament or embrace this regression, but it is the reality of the marketplace."
Scott's observations reinforce the philosophy that the superintendent should work to develop the reputation of being the most valued person at any golf course. That means improving business and communications skills and being accepting of change.
"If we're not moving forward that way we are stale. We have to continue to learn," Stromme said.
"You have to develop these skills to thrive. It's about getting back to viewing challenges as opportunity, developing your business side and understanding that everything you do every day is about how you utilize your resources to maximize the experience for your guest."