When Lee Strutt was a lad growing up in the United Kingdom, his parents, like most, told their son always to strive to be at his best in anything he did. It's safe to say that young Lee listened.
Today, at age 45, Strutt is not a kid anymore, but he's still following his parents' sage advice. As golf course manager at gWest International Resort in Perthshire, Scotland, Strutt holds a post-graduate degree in turf studies and certifications in three professional associations. Strutt, who in 2008 earned a master's degree in Sports Surface Technology from Cranfield University in England, has attained status as a master greenkeeper through the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association, certified golf course superintendent through the GCSAA and master superintendent through the Canadian Golf Superintendents Association. He is believed to be the only superintendent anywhere in the world who is certified in all three associations.
"I don't think it is necessary to have so much training to undertake the role of superintendent. However I remember growing up that my parents always encouraged me to do my best," Strutt said. "I encourage others to their best too and maximize their full potential. I guess I was fortunate and able to take it to level no had achieve before."
Strutt also is very particular about the way superintendents are perceived by others.
"I am also passionate that superintendents are shown as the true professionals and guardians of the most important asset of the business and treated as professionals," he said. "So hopefully this helps raise our profile within the golf industry."
Even with all of that training and certification in hand, Strutt says the issues he and other superintendents managing cool-season turf in the U.K. are pretty much the same as those faced by his U.S. counterparts. The most common diseases he faces, Fusarium patch, dollar spot, take-all patch and red thread, are common foes of U.S. superintendents as well. And, although the UK has fine turfgrass teaching institutions, those schools generate little turf research, so when Strutt and other European greenkeepers are looking for answers to common turf problems, they typically consult the same U.S. university research cited by superintendents in this country.
What does change is how superintendents manage those challenges.
"We are exposed to all the same cool season diseases, but again our approaches can be very different," he said.
"There are differences between warm- and cool-season management, but the greatest difference I have noticed are generated from different cultural backgrounds. Very similar to the way English is spoken in the U.K. compared with U.S. and Canada. Even though we speak the same language, expressions and tones are very different. Turf management has distinct roots on how it has been developed and expressed in our own culture. But overall I feel the U.S. market is more results driven with the use of trial data from universities, and the U.K. market is more driven by proven historic practices."
Superintendents in the U.K. also are subject to golfer scrutiny, but not to the same degree as American greenkeepers. But that trend, unfortunately for turf managers in Europe and the UK, is changing, and it's not necessarily for the better.
"There is a lot of pressure to undertake more and deliver a better standard on the golf course," he said. "Superintendents need to get away and see other courses, continue with their education, network with their peers to help improve their golf courses and businesses. Their families at times get completely excluded from their time and suffer a lot because of this time away. There have been some moves to encourage superintendents with their families to get together during events such as barbeques, etc. to help bridge the gap of time away from their families and bring the greater community together. I'm still not sure where the happy work/life balance is, but inclusion and not exclusion is the key, not only to support your family but to engage the family to support the industry and hopefully lead to this better lifestyle balance."
For example, Strutt says he believes his colleagues in Europe and the UK are more focused on prevention because chemical costs are higher in Europe and regulations governing their use typically are more restrictive.
Whatever the method, one thing superintendents on both sides of the ocean have in common, says Strutt, is a desire to "implement a good, solid management plan and maximize resources, which will help develop a better golf course for tomorrow."
If he ever decides to change careers, Strutt might have an equally successful career as a motivational speaker as he offered a tidbit of advice to fellow greenkeepers.
"Believe in yourself and your abilities," he said. "Never give up on your ambitions and dreams but be prepared to adjust your goals as you go through life. Be prepared to help others as other have helped you and to remember to go home and enjoy your family life as much as your work life."