When it comes to confrontations, Jason VanBuskirk says he prefers avoidance over engagement, but when the topic of cell phone use by maintenance staff on golf courses came up in a seminar during a recent Golf Industry Show, he could not help himself.
While some at the seminar voiced their disdain for cell phone use on the golf course, VanBuskirk of 36-hole Stow Acres Country Club in Massachusetts, is among the growing population of superintendents who believe they have a place in day-to-day maintenance operations.
"Plenty have argued in the past that they get in the way of what we do. If your course has a policy of no cell phones, then yes, that is the reality. But if it's a superintendent who says no just to say no, that is ridiculous," Van Buskirk said. "We have to keep up with the communications standards that have been set to get the job done. It's a topic I'm passionate about.
"I am a heavy technology adopter, user and creator. I wouldn't say I see cell phones as a convenience on the golf course. I see it as a need and a necessity."
For some, the idea of employees with cell phones on the golf course might conjure thoughts of 20-something-year-old interns kicked back in a utility cart trading Tweets and texts with their friends. The reality, many say, is cell phones are replacing radios, help workers and superintendents stay connected to job boards and irrigation systems, and provide a quick and efficient way to trade photos of unexpected challenges on the golf course.
On a typical day at Lochinvar Golf Club in Houston, superintendent Kevin Cooper will 30 or more employees spread across the club's 207-acre property, and keeping in touch with everyone in a pinch would be a challenge without cell phones.
Cooper and his assistants use their smartphones to track daily readings from TDR and Pogo moisture meters.
Phones also provide a quick and easy way for any of Cooper's employees to communicate with the mechanic in an instant when something breaks down and have proven to be especially beneficial for his Spanish-speaking employees.
If an issue arises with one of his employees who speaks little or no English, they are able to call one of their colleagues who does who then can get with Cooper or his assistant.
"At first, I wasn't in favor of it, but working on a piece of property that is more than 200 acres, not everyone has a radio and cell phones are the fastest way to communicate who don't have a radio," Cooper said. "When I started seeing that, I became more lenient on cell phone usage.
"I'm still not 100 percent for it, but I'd say I'm 85 percent or 90 percent in favor of it."
Rick Tegtmeier breaks the mold of those using cell phones on the golf course. Straight out of the Baby Boomer generation, Tegtmeier once was against cell phones on the golf course entirely, but now says smartphone technology provides him and his staff with a key tool at Des Moines Golf and Country Club in Iowa.
He can manage his daily job board from his phone, meaning if someone sees something unexpected on the course that requires immediate attention, they can take a photo of it with their phone, send it to Tegtmeier or one of his superintendents who then can adjust the job board to make sure the problem is addressed in short order - all without ever returning to the shop.
"I used to be the guy on the other side of the fence. I hated them," Tegtmeier said. "We have found a lot of uses for them."
"The time in lost labor that it saves alone makes it worth having them," Tegtmeier said.
Like Cooper, he tracks daily moisture readings produced by his TDR meter as well as firmness data provided by the True Firm device.He doesn't have to run his irrigation system through his phone, but he does anyway.
"It runs through the radio," he said. "But I run it through my phone. It's easier than the radio."
With the Solheim Cup coming to Des Moines Golf and Country Club next year, Tegtmeier is able to share changes to maps that show locations of tent placement, traffic routes, infrastructure, underground wiring, firmness readings and more with LPGA officials through the DropBox app on his phone.
Even many of the apps available through Google, such as Google Translate, make it possible for workers who are not bilingual to communicate back and forth in a pinch from English to Spanish or vice-versa.
While detractors might claim cell phones inhibit productivity, Tegtmeier says the opposite is true, at least at Des Moines Golf and Country Club.
"Being connected has its advantages. If someone comes upon a downed branch on a tree, or a dead animal, or something like that that is a hazard, they can take a picture of it and send it to us and we've been able to take care of it right away," he said. "It can lead to increased productivity, or a lack of productivity depending on how it is used."
Allowing his employees to listen to music either on the golf course or in the shop, he says, has resulted in improved morale. He even has provided three Sonos speakers for use in the shop so employees can hear their music over the din of a mower or grinder.
"The simple fact of letting them listen to a little music when working makes them a happy group of people."
Tegtmeier's iPhone also helps him stay in touch with members, who also are connected 24/7, regarding issues affecting the golf course.
"The ability to put something out on Twitter helps me address something on the golf course right away with members," he said. "And they love that."
Matthew Wharton and his employees utilize mobile technology to help them manage the Carolina Golf Club near downtown Charlotte, but he also can understand why some superintendents can't or won't use cell phones on the golf course.
"Each club is its own entity with its own dynamic. There are a lot of clubs where the membership, guests and clientele not only don't want to see you on your phone, they don't want to see you period," he said.
"We make an effort to stay out of the way, but we don't hide. There is nowhere to hide here, that's why we have to be discrete. Membership is paying you to maintain and prep the golf course, not play on a phone. It's hard to get your work done out here and be invisible."
That said, cell phones have proven to be invaluable in the day-to-day operations of the course, especially if he's on the other side of the property.
"They'll take photos and send them to me. It might something as simple as a head that is weeping," he said. "They'll take a photo and text the hole number. Then I can see the yardage plate on it, so I know exactly where it is."
Van Buskirk not only uses cell phones to manage job boards, he uses them to manage job boards that he builds himself. He figures he or his assistant is going to be on the phone most of the day anyway, and says using it for things such as filling out the next day's tasks on his job board saves at least two hours each day in labor. Extrapolate that over a week, a month or a year, and it's easy to see why he is a fan of digital technology.
"Does that equate to a monetary savings? No, but it's time that is now freed up to do something else," he said.
Even those who have recognized the value of using cell phone technology for work purposes acknowledge its use comes with a certain amount of responsibility and accountability.
"We instruct everyone from Day 1 how to use them and how not to," Wharton said. "We don't have a lot of trees here, so I can spot almost anyone on the golf course from 400 yards away."
Even with the threat of a potential rule-breaker, the positives of using cell phones for on the golf course far outweigh the negatives, says Tegtmeier.
"World is changing, employers have to recognize the value something like this offers," he said. "They can lead to productivity or lack of productivity depending on how used.
"I have a big staff and now with a phone I also have a mobile office. Those who aren't embracing are missing out."