FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 2006
Contact:
Golf Club Consulting, Inc.
Richard N. Eide, Principal
831 Westbank Road
Glenwood Springs, CO 81601
1.970.384.2069
www.golfclubconsulting.com
Keys to Being a Well-Rounded Golf Manager
Superintendents should work on nonagronomic aspects of their jobs to become more business savvy
Written by Steve and Suz Trusty
Reprinted with the
permission of Golf Course News, May 2006
Face it. Today’s Golf Course Superintendent is a business
professional. Though demands for premium conditions on
golf courses are escalating, more Superintendents’ time is
focused on the business aspect of facility operations. It’s no
longer enough to have a sound agronomic background and
excellent skills in all turf and grounds related aspects of golf
course management.
Looking at employment postings, well rounded is the
description often given by those seeking Superintendents. If
Superintendents haven’t brushed up on their business skills lately,
they’re probably falling behind. How many new products and
types of equipment are they seeing daily? Technology moves as
fast in the green industry as it does in the business world.
Know what you don’t know
The first step to become more business savvy is a hard-hitting,
honest assessment of one’s skill levels. Many employers expect
golf course Superintendent’s to have an almost complete set of
skills, according to Tommy D. Witt, CGCS, director of golf
operations for Northmoor Country Club in Highland Park, Ill.
“It extends far beyond developing an effective course
management program and hiring, and training supervising
personnel,” Witt says. “Today’s Superintendent is expected to be
competent at writing proposals, developing spreadsheets,
monitoring inventories, developing and delivering PowerPoint
presentations, addressing committees, interacting with members
and other golfers, educating green committees/employers, and
working with the media and the public. Our jobs cover the whole
matrix of communication skills, people skills and financial
management – and that might only be the beginning of the
expertise required.”
In which of these business practices are one’s skills sufficient to
allow him to hold his own in a meeting, committee or on-on-one
situation? In what areas could he use a little or a lot more
expertise? How can he gain it?
“There’s so much about the position of superintendent you can’t
teach in the classroom,” says Cleve Cleveland, CGCS, owner of
Newark Valley (N.Y.) Golf Club. I’d classify it as 90 experience
and 10 percent education. Agronomic ally, every golf course is
different in terms of conditions, grasses, microclimates and
dozens of other variables.
Many of the business aspects involved will also vary with
each position. The broader the experience Superintendents
gain in the areas of business management, the more effective
they can be for their courses.”
There are two basics concepts that relate to all
aspects of the Golf Course Superintendents’ position,
according to Richard N. Eide, CGCS, principal of
Golf Club Consulting in Glenwood Springs, Colo.
“First, think like the person you’re serving, and
second, use common sense,” Eide says. “What we do
is complex, but it’s not brain surgery. We can have
good success if we build on the fundamentals and use
common sense.”
Like a bean counter
Superintendents often manage the biggest budget within a golf
course operation, so strong financial skills are essential. Yet,
most Superintendents start their first job with little
background in this area. Because of Cleveland’s expertise in
golf course and financial management (he’s a certified public
accountant), his seminars about the financial skills
superintendents need are a good resource.
“Superintendent’s without previous background in
accounting should take a basic college-level principles of
accounting course, pick up a good book such as Accounting
for Dummies,” or tap into GCSAA’s financial seminars,” he
says. “Basic accounting will help them prepare a budget,
that’s ore consistent year to year, so they’re likely to have it
approved rather than wrangling over line items. They’ll be
better able to red a financial statement and understand why it
doesn’t match their budget figures.”
There are many areas where financially savvy
superintendents can allocate their budget budgets better and
contribute to the bottom line.
“Superintendents need to be aware of what hidden costs
figure into their labor budgets,” Cleveland says. “The
employee’s salary is just part of the picture. If employees
work more than 1,000 hours per year, they must be included
in the course’s benefits package. All related taxes and
benefits will need to be factored into the true cost of each
employee.” Superintendents also should understand leases
and why a capital lease is different than an operating lease.
They should be able to compare lease options to purchase options, choose the option that’s the most beneficial to
the course and explain why that decision was made.
Building blocks
Communication skills and people skills are significant
building blocks for all aspects of management, and
Superintendents should be able to communicate
effectively, in speech and writing, to build relationships
and get along with people. These elements come
together when special projects, such as building new
facilities or renovating existing ones, are involved.
Superintendents can easily spend 60 percent to 75
percent of their time one the business aspects of these
type projects.
Recently, Witt went through a renovation that involved
much of this time the past three years. His
responsibilities included formulating budgets, proposals
and various mediums detailing issues, challenges and
need for undertaking a major course renovation. He met
with the city council, zoning board of appeal and design
review commission. Witt also helped educate members
about the renovation to prepare them to vote on it. That
entailed explanatory tours of the golf course for
members.
“I took photos of different areas on the course to
document existing conditions,” he says. “I prepared and
delivered a series of PowerPoint presentation for five or
six different groups of our membership, such as ladies,
seniors and low handicappers. Each presentation
focused on the issues of special interest to those groups.
I also participated in town-hall meetings along with the
golf course architect and green chairman.”
Financially, Witt detailed the cost using a Band-Aid
approach to problems on the course to the overall costs
of the proposed renovations. He detailed how both
approaches would affect on-going costs immediately and
long term. He also provided comparison figures
between leading and buying equipment.
C
ontinually seeking new learning opportunities enables
superintendents to develop the business savvy to handle
projects such the one at Northmoor.
In the golf business, how one presents something can
be as important as what’s presented. No matter what
their positions, superintendents should take the time to
establish rapport and build relationships within an
organization and with those they interact with in every
facet of their work environment. It’s especially
important to establish relationships within the course
management team.
“The higher the expectations of the golfer or member,
the more imperative it is leadership at the facility is
strong and all departments are able to work with each
other to accomplish the goal of meeting the golfer
expectations,” Witt says. You can’t do it with a ‘me”
attitude.
It has to be a team attitude that comes from building strong,
healthy, secure, unencumbered relationships.”
A good support system
A superintendent who has competent people working in his
department allows him to focus his time on project
development and other business aspects of his job responsibilities.
“It’s a simple fact, you need a great staff to succeed,” Witt
says. “I try to hire and retain the best employees I can and
reward them for superior performance. It’s imperative the
superintendent build a qualified staff. You not only need to
hire good people, you also must develop an effective training
program that equips them for their current positions and
presents opportunities for them to advance within the
organization. The more they succeed, the more I succeed.
It’s a win-win situation."
But finding the right people takes skill.
“When I assess potential employees, I want to see what
they’re accomplished in their previous positions and how
dependable they’re been.’ Cleveland says. “One of the most
difficult things to evaluate is how a qualified individual is
going to function on your staff under your management
practices. A good human resources course or seminar can be
beneficial to develop the people skills needed to make a new
employee a good fit with your program. It’s the personality
of the individual and their desire to make it work.”
A place in the market
People skills impact every facet of the superintendent’s
position and because golf is primarily a service business,
superintendent’s need to understand the client, know who
they’re targeting and figure out how to give them what
they want, according to Eide.
“This is a highly competitive market,” he says. “It’s all
about getting customers and then
getting them to return.”
Much of the marketing side of
golf course management resolves
around the playing surface, which
is the basis of the Superintendent’s
job. Beautiful facilities with poor
playing conditions won’t earn
return business.
“The facilities are going to be
dramatically different from the
public course to the high-end
course, Eide says. “We’re overbuilt in lots of areas, so
your customer has many choices. You have to take a
hard look at your course, define who you are, your
potential buyer will be, and then focus on selling your
product to that buyer.”
It takes a well-rounded business professional to make
that all work.
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Phone:
808.225.9604
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