It is no secret that staffing issues are among the chief concerns currently facing golf course superintendents. Those staffing challenges are not limited to assistant superintendents, interns or seasonal crew, but often include mechanics, as well.
In an effort to alleviate some of the void created by a lack of qualified applicants, East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, is implementing an equipment manager apprenticeship program that golf course superintendent Charles Aubrey hopes will help the club fill its own needs in the near term, while also eventually providing long-range benefits to colleagues throughout the industry.
Ideally, the program (which admittedly is in its infancy) will provide a paid entry level position plus housing while that person learns the trade for a period of two to three years under the direction of East Lake equipment manager Chris Lewis. Upon completion of the program, that newly trained technician will be pushed out of the nest into the world to fly on his (or her) own, and the cycle will begin anew.
"We will put that person on a continuing education path to become a successful equipment manager," said Aubrey, who has worked at East Lake with director of agronomy Ralph Kepple for seven years. "In two or three years, they will be ready to be an equipment manager, and they'll be able to choose where they want to go."
Everyone is hard-up try to find someone. We want to build a program to mold people and provide them with what they need to be successful, and this program will give them the skills to do that.
Even East Lake, the site of the PGA Tour Championship and the historic home course to Bobby Jones, is not immune to staffing challenges, said Aubrey.
"Everyone is having difficulty filling positions. Period," Aubrey said. "That's not just entry level, or assistant superintendents. The last few years, when clubs around Atlanta have been trying to find a head equipment technician, no one is qualified, or no one is interested. I know places in Atlanta that have been looking for a head equipment tech for six months, and can't find anyone."
Housing is provided at a nearby apartment complex in a three-bed, two-bath unit shared with two of East Lake's assistants in training.
Lewis currently has an assistant mechanic working with him, but more help is needed throughout much of the year, especially in the run-up to the Tour Championship.
"We walk-mow everything, and we are running three fairway units a week, and we might have anywhere from seven to 20 cutting units a day that need to be checked in," Aubrey said. "Chris does all the budgeting, then you might have a unit with a flat tire, a backpack blower might not be working, sprayers need servicing. There is a constant line of equipment that needs to be checked out and checked in every day.
"Chris and his assistant stay on top of things. They do a phenomenal job. But there is a never-ending queue of maintenance needs, and Chris needs an extra hand to do that.
"We're going to get someone in here and train and educate them, and we're going to help them move along, and then we're going to start over. We want to get mechanics in here and trained and out into the industry, because God knows we need them."
Although he is anxious to get the program off the ground in its inaugural year, Aubrey said working at East Lake is not for everyone.
We will put that person on a continuing education path to become a successful equipment manager. In two or three years, they will be ready to be an equipment manager, and they'll be able to choose where they want to go.
"You have to have the right work ethic to be successful. And you have to just put your head down and do the job with the right attitude. That is what we value," he said. "If someone has to stay late, who is going to do it? If you're showing initiative and doing the extra things and want to learn something else, let's introduce that person to other aspects of the industry. This isn't just a job. We want to educate them."
A graduate of the Michigan State turfgrass program, Aubrey said he is not worried about training someone and losing them, even if they leave East Lake and land at another Atlanta-area club. In fact it is quite the opposite. Aubrey not only believes East Lake already has a well-earned reputation as an efficient training ground for up-and-coming professionals in the turf industry, he feels an obligation to educate people and send qualified professionals out into the workplace. To that end, the goal of the program is to eventually pump qualified equipment technicians into the field to help other golf operations, not just East Lake.
"Everyone is hard-up try to find someone," he said. "We want to build a program to mold people and provide them with what they need to be successful, and this program will give them the skills to do that.
"High turnover is part of what this industry is. All we can do is teach people as much as we can while they are here. And when they leave here, we hope they tell others 'if you get a chance to go to East Lake, you can't turn it down, because you will learn so much.' If we can do that, it will help our business 10-fold while also giving back to the industry."
