Does it pay to be a superintendent? Billy Lewis takes a candid look at the financial realities facing talented people who pursue a career in the industry.
It is a known fact that successful golf course superintendents could have flourished in many other professions had they chosen to. Managing staff, understanding soil science, preparing budgets, selling a bill of goods to a committee, representing the profession with class and, most important, satisfying their customers are all qualities found in the most important people in the world. I have always said that every successful golf course superintendent, no matter where they are employed, is an underachiever. I honestly believe that.
My example of that person is Steve Wright, who left our presence in 2019 due to unforeseen health challenges. Steve had reached the pinnacle of his career when he took the position as director of agronomy at the historic Pine Tree Club in Boynton Beach, Florida. While there may be more prestigious jobs in the golf industry, you cannot climb the mountain much higher. I think Steve could have been the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, senior partner at a legal firm, or the top salesperson for any product or company that he believed in. However, like most of us, he simply loved agronomy, the outdoors and people. There are many other professions, but the core essentials for success are always present in a quality golf course superintendent. Steve possessed those skills and they took him to the top.
That is what has led me to ponder the conundrum of golf course agronomy. Although Steve reached the top of his profession, there are so many other fine individuals across the country who are producing impressive results without the same resources that some of us afford. Many are working diligently at clubs in hopes of springboarding to a better position. Of course, we all know how limited those better jobs are. That’s why so many people leave the industry and why I recommend individuals start a well-planned business and work as hard as a superintendent does, and you will undoubtedly succeed. I aggressively advise young people to re-educate and achieve a better opportunity than the turf industry affords because $100,000 a year will not take you far today. And in 10 years you will not be living large at that income level if you are lucky enough to ever see it. While the top 10 percent of superintendents do well, the rest have seen little growth in wages and huge leaps in responsibility. And many of those doing well could have done even better had they chased a better dream.
There is a bit of conflicting information about the total number of golf courses in the United States. The National Golf Foundation reports the United States has 14,145 golf facilities, including 10,437 with 18 or more holes. Because of multi-course facilities, the number of businesses hiring head turf managers is lower than the above number.
If 20 percent of facilities with 18 or more holes pay above average considering the cost-of-living index for that region — I doubt it is 20 percent with consideration of the COL index — that means there are around 2,000 well-paying jobs in the industry in the entire country. Because there has never been a complete and accurate industrywide wage assessment, I estimate the average pay for those top-20-percent jobs is $200,000 annually and that is because of geographic locations like the New York City Metropolitan area that pay better. But once you remove those salaries from the number of head opportunities, I estimate the average annually salary to be no more than $50,000 to $60,000. That’s a medium of $25 to $30 an hour — provided your work week is 40 hours.
A dozer operator or a good carpenter in North Carolina can make $35 an hour and get overtime. At the end of their workday, they can forget about it all … and not work weekends. Those professions do not prepare a budget, manage staff, know chemical and fertilizer rates, hire and fire employees, deal with climate-related failure, mentor staff, and answer phone calls seven days a week. They also surely see more of their family. Quite a contrast. The superintendent position also requires a college degree and up to a decade of making less than superintendent wages.
The average superintendent salary reported by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America of $97,354 is skewed. I don’t feel it includes enough responses. However, a superintendent in Los Angeles making $350,000 a year could be equivalent to a somebody in the Carolinas making $175,000 if you consider the COL index. Those big-city wages skew the national average for golf course superintendents and are extremely limited. Many courses also are not managed by GCSAA members, so they don’t report wages and a good percent of GCSAA members don’t report wages either.
Making a great living as a superintendent is more of a mirage than an oasis. Eventually, there will be a shortage of quality individuals, which could help wages, but it needs to happen soon. While inflation is skyrocketing and other wages are making huge gains, many superintendents are not seeing a change in wages.
Now the establishment says, “Son, you need to be better than average and then you can make the big money like us!” I have been told that many times. I say, “Son, the opportunity for me to make those wages requires that I be in the top 20 percent of my profession.” What are my real chances? The average wages for an ordinary superintendent at a resort course bringing in $3 million to $4 million a year in revenue should be $100,000. The minimum salary for any golf course that is not just a field of greens should be $75,000. There are around 2,000 opportunities in the United States that allow us to make that kind of money, but we expect young people to pay for college, work 10 years on staff and hope like hell they even get a head position. They then must do an excellent job like many young people here in the Pinehurst area and hope like hell one of those big jobs falls in their lap. It is an exercise in futility for most.
The process to reach that goal is to work 12 out of every 14 days and wait patiently. The next well-paying opening will get 400 résumés and may be filled before the posting ink dries through networking.
Where do we find help for this issue? Where are our advocates for our profession? If we only acknowledge the big boys of the industry, how does the little man, the farm team player, survive long enough to fill those better jobs as people retire?
Twenty years ago, we somehow achieved a milestone when it was acknowledged that the golf course superintendent was the most important person at a golf facility. Twenty years later, we are still making the same money and have been basically left behind as I have seen that accomplishment trend the other way. I spend a lot of time mentoring young superintendents these days and my best advice is to run like hell.
We must stand up and make a change in our future or we will forever spend our lives at the maintenance shed.
Billy Lewis is the director of agronomy at Dormie Club in West End, North Carolina. This is his second Golf Course Industry contribution.
So, you are planning to attend a conference and show this winter. Before scheduling classes or meetings, think in reverse. Script your post-show plan and objectives first.
Struggling to do this? Perhaps you shouldn’t be spending your — or the club’s — time and money on registrations, memberships, flights, mileage, ground transportation, board (tip from a frequent traveler: go with a rental home or a condo over a hotel), food, drinks and forgotten toiletries.
Travel costs are inflating these days. Accounting departments possess reams of expense reports to prove it.
Those reports, though, can be justified by executing proper follow-up measures. The best conferences and shows lack definitive endings.
Think about a scholastic commencement. Is the occasion about what happened over the previous few years? Or is it about positioning yourself for the next few decades? Successful and motivated people waste nary a minute and never stop applying what they learn. They also think ahead — way ahead.
An idea introduced in a hallway conversation or educational session might not seem feasible next season. But what about three years from now? No detail is too small or too distant. Scribble it in the margins of a notebook or save it on a phone, tablet or computer file. Once or twice a year, study that notebook or file. Practical guidance ages well, so what you learned in 2022 will likely work in 2025.
Perhaps you heard a presentation or conversation about warm-season weed control while working at a cool-season course and thought, “Why should I care?” A few years from now, you might be looking for a change of scenery. Understanding different turf species and growing environments gives you a competitive advantage.
Above all else, golf is a people business. What good is solid turf if you can’t attract people to experience it? And how do you produce solid turf without surrounding yourself with a dedicated team?
You’ll meet dozens of fascinating and successful people at a conference or show. Listen and learn from their experiences. Thank them for their time at the end of a conversation — and thank them again a week or two after the event via a hand-written note (most recommended), email or text. Follow up on your conversation in the ensuing months and years.
Prolong relationships with suppliers, vendors and, yes, even editors you meet at an event. They see and hear plenty. Imagine being connected with thousands of courses instead of just one.
Suppliers and vendors are a huge part of what makes this industry special. Companies make significant investments in regional and national events. You likely have friendships and professional relationships because of something they have funded. Follow up with company representatives even if you don’t have immediate or long-term purchasing needs. They know something that will help your course and, perhaps, career.
The issue you are enjoying, the sixth annual Turfheads Take Over, was built on relationships, many of which started at industry events. Morris Johnson visited our booth at the 2020 Golf Industry Show and explained the cycle of construction, storm recovery and maintenance experienced by his River Oaks Country Club team. We profiled that demanding cycle in our October 2020 issue and Johnson shares perspective from two decades leading the maintenance efforts of a high-profile club in this issue. Richard Brown and Tyler Bloom are busy fathers of young children who still found the time to contribute articles ... again. Chad Allen, another busy father, contributed his second and third Golf Course Industry articles this month. We met Allen hanging around before and after a Zoom conference for assistant superintendents hosted by Bloom earlier this year. He followed up with us a few weeks later and he now has a national platform to help his peers.
Johnson, Brown, Bloom and Allen are just four of the 15 industry professionals who contributed Turfheads Take Over articles in 2021 and they are among the hundreds of people we have encountered at industry events over the years. They followed up with us —and we followed up with them. The results are found on these pages.
Guy Cipriano Editor-in-Chief gcipriano@gie.net
Almost normal
Departments - NOTE BOOK
The Carolinas GCSA Conference and Show resembled a family reunion when it returned to Myrtle Beach after a virtual year.
Walking out of the Myrtle Beach Convention Center last month, it was hard to think that everything about another Carolinas GCSA Conference and Show was anything other than perfect.
The weather was perfect, for a change, with highs approaching 70 and skies clear of rain. Every round of golf was perfect, no matter how any of us played. The conversations were perfect, too, because how could conversations not be perfect after nearly two years (and counting) of conversations only over the phone or on our screens?
Everything felt almost normal.
We are still in a global pandemic, of course, and we will be for a while, but we are, collectively, in a better place both physically and mentally than we were a year ago, when Myrtle Beach did not fill up with superintendents, assistants, equipment managers, technicians, marketers, sales folks, researchers, professors, students and legends. We are out and about, catching up with old friends, meeting new friends, swapping stories, celebrating the best of us.
“What was really good,” said Charles Granger, the chair of engineering technologies and golf and sports turf management, and a professor in golf and sports turf management at Horry Georgetown Technical College, “was that we finally got to do this again.”
Granger was talking specifically about the Carolinas Student Turf Bowl — which his Fighting Mole Crickets rallied to win for the 10th time since 2000 — but he might as well have been talking about the whole week. Nearly 200 companies exhibited on the trade show floor, more than 360 folks participated in either the golf outing or the sporting clays competition, nearly 400 booths filled the convention center, and more than 1,400 seats were occupied at the various education sessions. The Carolinas GCSA provided those numbers but there is no need to take them with a grain of salt. They feel accurate. They reflect a week’s worth of energy and enthusiasm.
For a change, we here at Golf Course Industry opted for a booth on the floor, which provided us with a central location for all those conversations rather than just wandering up and down aisles (though we did that, too). If you stopped by and talked with us, thank you, it was great to catch up. And if you didn’t, how about next year?
Beyond the convention center and the variety of outside events, the city of Myrtle Beach felt pretty normal, too — offseason normal, at least. Across four days, the handful of breakfast spots where we munched omelettes and French toast were staffed and open, and our dinner spots were no more affected by supply chain shortages than anywhere else. (Running out of crab makes more sense, even with the Atlantic Ocean in view, when you consider costs have tripled over the last year.) Anecdotal evidence, to be sure, but still good indicators.
Corteva’s Phil Bruner
The best indicator, though, was the camaraderie of the week. Backs were clapped, photos were snapped, smiles were exchanged. What had we all missed over the last two years? Plenty, and this was the time for catching up. From the assistants’ gathering on Sunday night all the way through trucks carting off booth displays on Wednesday afternoon — and the informal rounds and dinners that followed — it felt like old times.
The morning after he officially became the next Carolinas GCSA president, Callawassie Island director of agronomy Billy Bagwell summed up four days in just 25 words when he tweeted that “The @CarolinasGCSA is made up of many incredible people & we saw this week what happens when people work together to chase the same dream.” Bagwell included a few photos with the tweet — one of him with Carolinas GCSA executive director Tim Kreger, Smithfields Country Club superintendent Chuck Connolly and Highlands Country Club superintendent Brian Stiehler; one of him with his wife, Amanda, and their sons, Brantley and William; and one of the Myrtle Beach skyline at sunset. But what sticks with me is a couple comments beneath that tweet.
“Congratulations Billy!” Carolina Golf Club superintendent Matthew Wharton responded. “So proud of you!”
“Always there for you!” Stiehler followed.
It takes seconds to send out a tweet, of course, but for Wharton and Stiehler, the two immediate past presidents of the Carolinas GCSA, to take that moment to support their friend, to build him up even more during a career high, is indicative of the region and the industry.
It celebrates the best of us. It feels almost normal.
Matt LaWell is Golf Course Industry’s managing editor.
At Royal Mayfair Golf Club, the crew is unexpectedly bonding through books, beverages and brilliant conversations. Assistant-in-training Neal Neigel shares how it all began and how it’s going.
Interview by Lee Carr
Q: How did the book club get started?
A: Alberta (Canada) was experiencing a wave of COVID-19 that had us on lockdown. Several overwinter staff expressed an interest because reading would be a good reprieve from all of the Zoom meetings and group chats. A monthly meeting would be a social thing we could participate in remotely or in person, as restrictions allowed. We met in May, giving the seasonal staff time to settle in, and have been meeting on the last Friday of the month ever since.
A: We strongly encourage all participants to read the book but there are no requirements. We have had people with no knowledge of the book join our discussion, then read the book afterward, having been swayed by our opinions or compelling plot points. Reading is great and helps us get to know each other even better. We haven’t had any guests join us yet but we’re open to that!
Q: How many people meet?
A: We’ve had as few as six during the shoulder season and as many as 14, for a book that garnered a lot of interest from people who previously hadn’t participated in the book club. The Royal Mayfair turf department has around 30 staff in total, which includes a mix of seasonal and leadership staff, so attendance has been good.
Q: What is a typical meeting like?
A: We meet after our shift. There is usually a theme for beverages and food, related to the story and inspired by the “Finer Things” club in the TV show “The Office”. For example, a book with a winter setting had minty beverages and desserts; a book featuring a superfood salesperson and a “secret family recipe” called “Broc-o-Glop” was reflected with a vegetable spread and cranberry juice. We get creative with it. One person is in charge of directing conversation about the book and there are a lot of great resources online to help with how to do that. We start with what we like and what we don’t about the novel, what the theme might be and what it meant to us, things like that.
Q: Has there been a favorite book?
A: Our books have been “Crow” by Amy Spurway, “Fifteen Dogs” by André Alexis, “Moon of the Crusted Snow” by Waubgeshig Rice, “Hench” by Natalie Zina Walschots, “The Midnight Bargain” by C. L. Polk and “Gutter Child” by Jael Richardson. All the books have been regarded well but there isn’t a standout favorite given our very diverse opinions. That said, literary themes are often universal and, so far, our books have covered mortality, social justice, colonialism and racism. Who can’t relate to these themes? Plot points aside, no one should be excluded from these conversations and fiction is a safe way to approach them.
Q: How are the books chosen?
A: Each month, people can suggest a book for the group to read the following month. We try to read contemporary Canadian authors but leave it open in regard to themes and genres. Everyone votes anonymously on the interest they have for reading a book from the list (from “not interested at all” to “very interested”) and the book with the most interest is selected.
Q: How is the club doing?
A: With autumn and a diminishing seasonal staff, we have seen a slight decrease in participation. Several staff that have returned to school have asked to be kept informed of the book we are currently reading as well as the date of the meeting so that they can continue to participate as schedules allow.
Q: Is there anything else you want to share?
A: We were surprised at the amount of interest the book club had! We were fully prepared for it to be just the three of us that originally had the idea of reading a book each month without much fanfare. We hope this inspires others to start their own book clubs … the interest is probably there!
An assistant superintendent recaps his experience at the 2021 Green Start Academy and urges his peers to aggressively pursue opportunities the industry presents.
By Chad Allen
Imagine a place where knowledge and ideas flow freely. A place where you get to connect with industry leaders and consultants willing to grow you as a person and professional. Imagine it’s not just you there, but also 49 other high-achieving assistant superintendents similarly encouraged and excited about this opportunity. Then, have all this facilitated at one of the most iconic golf facilities in the world. Sounds impossible, doesn’t it?
Well, I’m here to tell you I have lived this dream. The event is called Green Start Academy and it’s held at the famed Pinehurst Resort. I recently completed the 2021 edition of the event and I can say, without a doubt, it represented the greatest professional development experience of my career.
Bayer Turf and Ornamental, Rain Bird and John Deere brought together superintendents, general managers, COOs and leading consultants to provide attendees with insight to stabilize and improve their business acumen. The group sharing insight with us included:
John Cunningham, Grandfather Golf and Country Club
Bob Farren, Pinehurst Resort
Matt Fauerbach, Indigo Golf Partners
Pat Finlen, Winchester Country Club
Shelia Finney, GCSAA
Lukus Harvey, Atlanta Athletic Club
Robert Hertzing, Lakeside Golf Club
John Jeffreys, Pinehurst Resort
Dan Meersman, Philadelphia Cricket Club
Seth Miller, Troon Country Club
Carol Rau, PHR Career Expert
Stephen Tucker, Four Seasons Orlando
The industry leaders discussed a variety of topics, including budgeting basics, getting the best from your team, cultivating business relationships, what they wish they had known when working as assistant superintendents, how to maximize a GCSAA membership, the digital transformation of the industry, the next five to 10 years in the business, and the importance of diversity and inclusion. A full day was devoted to career advancement led by Rau.
Presenters profoundly changed my life with insights and information they freely provided during discussion panels and individual breakout sessions. Breakout sessions featured mentor/mentee groups consisting of four or five assistant superintendents and a mentor. The small-group discussions developed into one of my favorite parts of the event. We were able to break down topics on a micro level and dive into the details of how and why these ideas and concepts worked.
My goals entering Green Start Academy consisted of increasing my networking footprint and obtaining greater insight on how top-level general managers and COOs construct and implement budgets. Tucker served as my mentor for the event and he has been amazing. He presented the “Basics of Building a Budget and Managing Large Equipment Purchase Deal” lectures that included some of the most beneficial information I received.
Having the ability to pick my mentor’s brain has already paid dividends. I told him I need to become more familiar with budgeting and how to construct a budget, and he encouraged me to format a budget and send it over to him so he could look it over. The feedback I have already received from him is priceless. His business acumen is impressive and his ability to explain and relate it to what turf mangers do is incredible. Here’s the best part: I can get this type of connection with any of the mentors/presenters who participated in the conference. They freely gave all of us their contact information, sometimes even their personal phone number. As if things couldn’t get any better, the whole experience was hosted at Pinehurst Resort. We stayed at the Holly Inn and were shuttled to the Carolina Hotel for our meetings and meals. The Pinehurst staff is first class. The level of hospitality and service is unmatched in any experience I have ever had. They treat everyone with respect and grace. You can see the passion and pride each employee takes in being part of this iconic destination. I don’t think I ever met a group of nicer people. The food was amazing. The Holly Inn and Carolina Hotel were amazing. The staff was amazing. The seminars, mentors and breakout groups were amazing.
You would think, “This can’t get any better, right?” Well, all attendees were given the opportunity to play The Cradle, the resort’s 9-hole short course. We broke down into our mentor/mentee groups and played these exhilarating holes. I think this is where the personal relationships really started to take shape. In this industry, we tend to be a quiet bunch of people. Introverts dominate, especially at the assistant superintendent position.
Sometimes we are tight-lipped and afraid to step out of our comfort zones, but something magical happens when you play golf. Those tight lips start to loosen, shoulders start to drop, scowls turn to smiles and laughter begins to permeate the air. Golf can be a great lubricator into the world of communication. Add that to the fact that this round of golf was being played at Pinehurst and you now have an unmatched melting pot of excitement and enthusiasm.
We were only there for a few days, but the relationships that were forged will last a lifetime. Before Green Start Academy, I sometimes felt like I was on an island. My passion for turf and the turf industry grows every day, and while I have people in my life who have this same passion, I sometimes feel like my drive is on a different level. I now know that I am not on an island, but part of a community of eager, driven, motived assistant superintendents who have just as much passion and commitment to the turf industry as I do. This would have never been possible without my experience at the Green Start Academy.
If you are an assistant looking to take your career to the next level, Green Start Academy is for you. This program will help separate you from the crowd and give you the tools and avenues needed to expand your turf career. Nothing is handed to you. You are still responsible for these connections and must reach out to those you meet. But if you are up to the challenge and are ready to take the next step, applying for Green Start Academy is the right choice.
Be Bold. Be intentional. Don’t wait for opportunities to come to you. Differentiate yourself from the masses and go to the opportunities. I promise, the payoff is well worth the time.
Chad Allen is an assistant superintendent at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield, Indiana. His Turfheads Take Over article is on page 34.
El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana, California, recently celebrated its official relaunch following a three-year, $10 million renovation guided by Rees Jones. The course has been lengthened to 7,019 yards, with all turfgrass replaced with a drought-tolerant hybrid Bermudagrass blend. Along with native landscaping, the new course design will use 35 percent less water and save more than 35 million gallons per year.
The Olympic Club’s board of directors approved plans to enhance golf facilities in collaboration with golf course architect Gil Hanse. Construction is expected to begin in the second half of 2022. The plans include improvements to short-game practice facilities, a San Francisco-themed Lombard Putting Course and restoration of the Lake Course.
Tripp Davis and Associates is nearing completion of its redesign work at BraeBurn Country Club in Houston, with a planned reopening of the front nine this month. Davis and his team have rebuilt and reshaped all the greens, rebuilt and shifted tees, and rebuilt bunkers in a more classic style. New Northbridge Bermudagrass was also installed along with a new irrigation system and upgraded drainage.
TPC Louisiana, host of the PGA Tour’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans, reopened after damage from Hurricane Ida forced the club to close on Aug. 31. The Category 4 hurricane resulted in the toppling and snapping of hundreds of trees, including a 105-foot Bald Cypress tree in the 11th fairway that stood 90 yards in front of the green.
Troon added a quartet of properties to its management portfolio in November: Bay Creek, which sits on the Chesapeake Bay and includes both Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus signature courses; the Tom Vardon- and Charles Ramsdell-designed Eau Claire Golf & Country Club in Altoona, Wisconsin; Bowie Golf Club, a municipal course in Bowie, Maryland; and Seminole Legacy Golf Club in Tallahassee, Florida, which hosted a 2021 NCAA men’s regional championship and recently wrapped up a $10 million renovation, all inked deals with the course management company.
Royal Golf de Marrakech, the second-oldest course in Morocco, and the Joe Lee-designed Big Canoe GC in the north Georgia mountains both recently completed bunker projects with Capillary Bunkers. Over in England, Skylark Golf & Country Club in Hampshire opted for EcoBunkers for their bunker overhaul.
Fry
Tartan Talks No. 65
Dana Fry embraces a day of the week others loathe.
“The love I have for building golf courses has never changed, and it’s to the point of an obsession,” he says. “I have never had a job in my life. I hear people say they look forward the weekends. I have always looked forward to Monday mornings because I love being on the road and building golf courses.”
Fry, a partner in Fry/Straka Global Golf Design, joined the Tartan Talks podcast to describe 38 of years of being immersed in golf course construction in the United States and beyond. Like many things involving Fry, the conversation took numerous passionate and creative turns. From stories about working with Andy Banfield, Tom Fazio, Mike Strantz, Dr. Michael Hurdzan, Jason Straka and others to candor about the competitive pressures of trying to land new course opportunities overseas, Fry seemingly has a lesson from nearly every situation a modern golf course architect might encounter. On the podcast, he also goes inside his firm’s multi-year work at Union League National, a gargantuan 27-hole project in southern New Jersey featured as part of Golf Course Industry’s November cover package. “We were fortunate to get a job of this scope and magantitude,” Fry says.
Available on the Superintendent Radio Network page of Apple Podcasts, Spotify and wherever else you listen to podcasts — as well as on the Golf Course Industry website at https://www.golfcourseindustry.com/videos/category/superintendent-radio-network/ — the conversation makes for engaging winter listening and is the ideal way to end the fifth full season of Tartan Talks.
Industry buzz
Marion Hollins, a golf industry trailblazer and one of the first female golf course architects, was named an Honorary Member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects. Honorary Membership is a rare designation seldom given to anyone besides ASGCA Donald Ross Award recipients. A 2021 World Golf Hall of Fame honoree, Hollins entered golf course development in 1923 when she and others created the Women’s National Golf & Tennis Club in Glen Head, New York. The following year she approached developer Samuel Morse with a concept for an elite private club in Pebble Beach, California. Morse reserved 150 acres and put Hollins in charge of what became Cypress Point Club. … The ASGCA also added Gary Browning, Kipp Schulties and Joel Weiman as new members. ... North Carolina State University’s Turfgrass Breeding and Genetics program, under the direction of Dr. Susana Milla-Lewis, released Lobo Zoysiagrass — experimental name XZ 14069. Lobo Zoysia will be exclusively licensed through Sod Solutions for commercial production and marketing. … Kendall Murphy was recently hired as the first director of diversity, equity and inclusion for Troon. A former PGA career consultant, PGA pro and assistant college golf coach, Murphy is the co-founder and co-chair of the Black PGA Professionals Caucus and currently serves on the PGA National Education Committee.
Jessica Lenihan is a unique figure in the turf industry: an assistant superintendent with no desire to take on a head superintendent’s role.
At the start of 2021, Lenihan was an assistant at Hayden Lake Country Club, a private facility in Hayden Lake, Idaho, just across the Washington border from Spokane. Shortly before speaking with Rick Woelfel on the Wonderful Women of Golf podcast, she made a career change, taking a position at Green Valley Turf in Platteville, Colorado, where she maintains bentgrass on the company’s turf farm.
“The main reason they brought somebody in from golf is they’re expanding their bentgrass from 10 acres up to 50,” she says. “The guys that run everything over here came from sports turf, so they’re really knowledgeable in (bluegrass), but they don’t really have a strong bent background. So, they wanted someone from golf to come in and kind of take care of all that.”
While Lenihan rarely plays golf, she grew up around the game. Her father ran outside operations at The Coeur d’Alene Resort in Idaho and she took a summer job there as a teenager. After six seasons, she moved to Hayden Lake as an assistant superintendent. Over the course of a decade, her responsibilities grew to the point where she managed a crew that swelled to 25 during the peak season. But she never aspired to head her own turf department. “Honestly, having everything fall down on you just wasn’t something that ever thrilled me,” she says.
Lenihan recalls something she was told by Jeremiah Farmer, her boss at Hayden Lake.
“He told me a longtime ago, ‘The least favorite part of my job is all the stuff you have to deal with. Your greens committee meetings, your phone calls with vendors,’” she says. “He spent so much more time in the office when what he really loved doing was being out on the golf course. That was an adjustment I really just did not feel like I was wanting to make or had any desire to make.
“I’ve been approached several times for different sales positions and it’s the same thing. I can’t give up the golf course. I can’t give up those 5 a.m. sunrises. Having all that (responsibility) fall on your shoulders was something that I had the ability to turn off as an assistant when I went home. I don’t think, as the head guy in charge, you can do that.”
Lenihan spoke to the idea that assistants should want to take on a head superintendent’s responsibilities.
“It’s like, if you’re not first, you’re last; if you’re not the head guy, you’re somehow failing at your career,” she says. “If you find yourself in a good position, where you’re working for the right club, you’re working for the right people, you’ve got a good life synergy with your staff, then I don’t think you should be considered a career failure or you’re not living up to your potential when it’s like, ‘I found a spot where I’m really successful, I enjoy it. Why would I want to give that up?’”
Some head superintendents encourage their assistants to move on after a certain amount of time. Lenihan says the dynamic varies from one club to another.
“There are some places you can go in for a few years and you can learn a lot, but it might be that you kind of expend yourself in that spot and you don’t feel like you’re really challenged anymore, so it is time to move on. So, it really varies by property. But I have always just hated all the material out there with assistants that is kind of pushing you into that next role.”
Lenihan was part of the corps of female volunteers at the U.S. Women’s Open at the Olympic Club in June. She found it a memorable experience despite some initial reservations.
“I’ve always kind of hated the whole ‘women in turf’ thing, like making it a thing. I just am of the opinion that I want to go to work to keep my job. I don’t necessarily feel like it needs to be a big deal. But this was a totally eye-opening, crazy bonding experience that I just did not really expect. I definitely created some lifelong friends from a week of just being able to hang out and share experiences in the industry with other women who do the same thing that you do.”
Superintendents are some of the most knowledgeable and articulate folks on any golf club or facility’s staff. They’re a fount of information about agronomic issues, and if you’ll give them half a chance, you’ll realize their knowledge isn’t limited to growing and maintaining grass.
So why does the word “communications” befuddle and frustrate so many of them?
Why do some feel that they have so little to say, or even feel threatened when the communications spotlight shines on them? Do they worry that one of their golfers will criticize their efforts? Or challenge their capabilities? Whatever the reason, it’s important for superintendents to remember that effective, insightful and timely communications are as much a part of their jobs as mud on their boots.
Here are a handful of tips that will make even the most reluctant superintendent a more confident and effective communicator:
You’re the expert — show it. Take an hour before year’s end to plan a 2022 editorial calendar of timely and relevant articles that can be distributed (electronically or in print) by your club or facility’s communications point person or posted on the course’s website. One article per month is a good target to shoot for, and they don’t need to be more than 300 to 400 words.
Choose any subject you think golfers need to know more about or would find interesting. Not sure what subjects to include? Ask a few players with whom you have a relationship. A few possibilities: changes they will notice in course conditions in the weeks to come, the different types of grasses used on the course and the steps your team takes to keep them healthy, and what golfers can do to contribute to healthy and sustainable course conditions. While you’re at it, get creative with easy-to-shoot-and-edit video.
Build your research library. As a natural researcher, digging for information comes easily. As you’re building out your editorial calendar, also consider a handful of topics that are of interest and for which you want to deepen your knowledge. These should be areas that represent agronomic trends, such as efficient labor utilization, low-water-use grasses and bunker reduction.
Create electronic folders where you can add and store information as you come across it. Now, when you’re ready to write about a subject for one of your monthly articles, you’re already on your way. And when management asks about a particular course of action related to one of these subjects, you can quickly prepare a memo or presentation with the industry’s latest thinking and insights.
Listen up! The best communicators are also the best listeners. Listen to what your golfers are saying about course conditions and where they would like to see changes. You might be surprised how fascinating many golfers find your insights and the extent of your knowledge. Maybe you overhear a group of golfers talking about a thin area on the eighth green or a coyote they saw crossing No. 17. Those are opportunities to talk about remedial actions you’re taking to restore the green or to discuss the range of animals that call your course home. And when you hear television broadcasters mention an agronomic or maintenance challenge a course may be having, that’s your cue to let your players know that you’re on top of the issue at their course.
Be a teacher. Most golfers do not understand the dynamics involved with golf course care and upkeep.
For example, most favor trees and the shade they provide, but they’re probably not aware of the damaging effects of shade on healthy turf. Most golfers want to avoid pesticides, but they probably don’t know how diligently you and your team use certain practices. Explain your efficient use of water. Help your golfers understand how carefully you monitor water consumption, explain your environmental stewardship commitment and educate them on the benefits that open green spaces such as golf courses provide their community.
When you stop and think about it, you really do have a lot to talk about, and no one is more qualified than you to lead the conversation.
Henry DeLozier is a partner at GGA Partners, trusted advisors and thought leaders. He is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors of Audubon International.
Guy Cipriano
Henry DeLozier
