Sue Spahr arrived at the Swanhills Golf Course 26 years ago to handle the grow in. The daily-fee club has been her professional home ever since.

“When I first came to this course, I intended it to be a stepping stone, just to get started and then to move on to bigger and better things,” she says. “But then I realized that this was kind of my niche, this kind of course. It’s a public golf course, we’re a very low-budget course. And I think I found that I kind of enjoy that. I enjoy being at a course that tries to make (golf) affordable, that tries to give as many people exposure to the game as they can.”

Spahr was Rick Woelfel’s guest on the inaugural edition of the Wonderful Women of Golf podcast. During their conversation, she reflected on the experience of seeing the course mature over the past quarter-century. “It was farmland before we built the golf course, so there weren’t a lot of existing trees,” she says. “So, the majority of foliage we brought in ourselves and I planted 26 years ago.

“Unfortunately, the majority of those trees were ash trees and emerald ash borer is killing all those trees. So all of those trees, 290 ash trees, we’re cutting all those down and replanting from a nursery I started years ago.”

Spahr lacks the personnel that superintendents at larger-budget facilities enjoy. She and her mechanic are the only year-round turf employees. In season, the staff includes two additional full-time employees, plus approximately 10 part-timers.

“During the week, we’re able to arrive at 6 and get ahead of the golfers,” she says. “We don’t have a great deal of early-morning play during the week. Weekends, they are out there (early) so we need to be there to get in front of them. On weekends, we just cut greens, cut holes and rake bunkers, so we’re able to get out and get that done before the golfers get there.”

When it comes to maintenance, Spahr says it’s important to set priorities.

I always say you have to get through every day with blinders on, because you can’t possibly do everything that you think needs to be done.”

“You have to get through every day with blinders on, because you can’t possibly do everything that you think needs to be done,” she adds. “You have to figure out what the golfer sees and wants. You really have to know the clientele you’re catering to and, in our case, being a public course, you have a wide variety of people, but talking to people and knowing what your clientele wants is really important.

“For me, like most golf courses, you should concentrate your efforts on the greens and the green surrounds. We have a lot of drainage issues. I spend a lot of time trying to firm up the approaches. Not just the green but the approaches, the greenside bunkers, the cart paths, all the edging and trimming. We really want to make all that look as good as possible. Fortunately, I don’t have as much pressure as some guys in the industry have as far as green speeds. I don’t have to keep them lightning fast.”

When asked what challenges she faces that one of her peers at a private club would not, Spahr immediately mentions equipment.

“Our equipment is very old,” she says. “It’s really used. It’s what other people are getting rid of because it no longer functions properly for them. That’s our new stuff. So the equipment itself makes jobs take even longer and when you don’t have much of a staff in the first place, making any jobs longer and taking more time is a big issue. Equipment and lack of staff are probably the two biggest things.”

Spahr believes that golfers have become more appreciative of the superintendent’s role.

“Certainly, since I started, golfers have become much more understanding of superintendents’ practices and what maintenance needs to be done on the golf course,” she says. “I think a lot of things have contributed to that. The PGA, for one, has contributed greatly to that.

“The (Golf Course Superintendents Association of America) is phenomenal. I got involved as soon as I became a superintendent and I can’t say enough about the GCSAA. They have helped a great deal in terms of improving the image (of the profession) and making golfers more aware.”

In a different writing life, I covered the people who competed atop manicured turf. A significant part of that job, especially the college football beat, involved speaking with coaches.

The public words and actions of successful coaches serve multiple purposes, ranging from appeasing fans and boosters to motivating players. Beneath every word and deed, they are attempting to reach the group most responsible for their long-term success: recruits.

The Dabos, Nicks and Jimbos spend more time thinking about how 16- and 17-year-olds interpret their words and behavior than how they are perceived by the adults who sign their checks. Connect with the right teenagers and the wins, job security and gigantic checks will follow. Recruiting is a nonstop, cutthroat part of the major college football business. It can rip the zest from film and formation junkies. Integrated with proper development, recruiting can separate good from great.

Nice stuff, Mr. Former Football Writer. But two quickies: Why aren’t you covering football anymore? And how does any of this relate to golf course maintenance in 2021?

We’ll tackle the second question first.

Anybody responsible for the well-being of a golf facility must recruit. You have something terrific to sell potential employees. Don’t believe it? Then you might not be in the right industry. You work outdoors providing a soothing product. The overwhelming majority of your co-workers and customers are pleasant people. On most days, the product looks and feels better than when you started your day. Vast acreage promotes more work variety than a confined cubicle or space behind a counter. As Firestone Country Club director of golf course operations Larry Napora says in our cover story (Under the water tower, page 16), “You just never get bored in this business.”

Napora’s ability to communicate the joys of golf course maintenance to others is a big reason why he has spent more than 30 years in high-level positions. He knows how to recruit, retain and develop quality employees.

Recruiting will be the most important thing you do in 2021 … and 2022 … and 2032. No matter how much you know about plant physiology, Golden Age architecture or irrigation cycles, you will never succeed in this industry simply through knowledge. You need the help of others. Good luck trying to achieve what Jim Roney, Lee Hancock and Ryan Semritc (Maintenance multiplied, page 38) accomplish on grand scales without constant recruiting and development.

Solid employees are becoming tougher to find, so you must be thinking about recruiting nearly everywhere you wander. The Club at Carlton Woods director of agronomy Tim Huber found an aspiring turf professional in a grocery store parking lot. Huber’s forward-thinking employer is currently helping a pair of young and determined workers, including the one Huber met at a Houston-area H-E-B, advance their education (A brighter, greener future, page 32).

Unfortunately, the golf industry struggles recruiting women. Perhaps that will change if more people take the time to listen to Sue Spahr, the first guest on Rick Woelfel’s Wonderful Women of Golf podcast series. You can read about Spahr this month (page 12) and we also suggest downloading the podcast on the Superintendent Radio Network. Her voice tells the story of somebody who found the ideal career fit. Success stories are often the best recruiting tools we possess. Sharing the podcast with others might inspire a young woman — and a few of her friends — to consider working on a golf course.

Relentless and enthusiastic recruiting produces a multiplier effect. Imagine a situation where the time and energy you invest into recruiting this year creates a long-term employee pipeline, giving you one less thing to fret over each season.

OK, Mr. Former Football Writer. We get it. So, why aren’t you covering football anymore?

In New Jersey, where I used to live, we all “know a guy.” Unfortunately, golf course superintendents all know similar guys, the ones who come play your courses and make your lives much more, uh, interesting. See if you know these guys, too.

Green Speed Guy. This guy carries a 16-plus handicap yet the greens are never fast enough for him … not to four-putt. Not surprisingly, he also carries a knockoff Stimpmeter and pulls it out at a moment’s notice, usually rolling balls both up and downhill on your most undulating putting greens.

Wannabe Architect Guy. You’ve seen him out there, standing in the woods, waving his arms trying to get you to understand how much better this hole would be if only you built a tee here, moved the bunkers there and lowered the green surface for his bladed 3-metal rocket approach shots from 150 yards. He regularly participates and comments “intelligently” in design and architecture chat rooms.

“At My Other Club” Guy. When they see this guy, superintendents up the throttle on their carts to get away. He’s constantly trying to chase you down to explain what “HIS” other superintendent is doing at “HIS” other club. Of course, his other club is in Florida and you are in Montana.

Wrong Hole Guy. There is no reasoning with this knucklehead, who feels he can start wherever he wants and swears he won’t bother any of your workers. He is closely related to Course Closed Guy, who feels because it’s after quitting time he can go out and play the closed course, saying, “Really, I won’t bother anyone!”

What I Saw on TV Guy. This guy always has that faraway look in his eyes — usually from watching too many Masters reruns. He searches you out to tell you what he saw, and wouldn’t it be great to do it on your course. His rants often begin with, “Did you know at Augusta National they do … ” and end with, “Why can’t we do that here?”

Financial Guy. Because he runs his company’s finance department, this chucklehead knows how you should spend, or even save, money in your department. Doesn’t help any that his foursome usually includes friends who think maintenance costs are the same today as when they joined the club … in 1974!

Apples to Oranges Guy. This guy is a regular at the club where I belong. He surfaces when two clubs with different operating budgets (among other differences) are neighbors. He has friends at the other club, where he regularly mooches for play. He then appears on the hottest day of the summer to tell you how much better turf conditions are over there.

Internet Agronomy Guy. A keen hunter. He comes across as calm and kind, seeking friendship so you won’t be offended by his vast “agronomic knowledge.” His opening salvo usually begins, “I was surfing the net for a new set of clubs when I stumbled across this Poa annua stuff.” Followed “innocently” by, “Have you ever tried … ?” Hopefully, Big Tech will cancel his account. Soon.

Member-Guest Guy. An easily agitated guy who seeks you out after playing in the member-guest at the elite club down the street where the billionaire owner chooses the members, only 5,000 annual rounds are played and everything is done for the member except (ahem) washing their balls. He’ll accost you like an angry White House reporter, demanding to know why your course can’t be in similar condition because “We’re only two miles away! It’s the same grass, water and climate!”

Thinks He’s Better Than He Is Guy. Maybe my favorite member, this guy is in complete denial of how bad he really is. And he’s bad. He annoys the GHIN System by posting a vanity handicap while blaming the course, turf conditions and your maintenance for his inability to hit a good shot. Among his regular mutterings: “No way these greens are 11 feet! If they were, I wouldn’t have missed so many footers!” and, “There’s no damn sand in this bunker. No wonder I skulled my shot!”

Tree Hugger Guy, regular partner of Granola Guy. They’re out there wearing sandals with golf spikes and cargo shorts, carrying an old leather golf bag stuffed with a sack of homemade granola and distilled water. They can be seen traipsing in your freshly-planted native areas communing with the butterflies and bees. They wrap themselves around that dead oak next to the fourth green trying to preserve the habitat for the Rump Spotted Humming Thrush.

NASCAR Guy. Last but not least, my favorite. He uses the COVID-19 single-cart rule as an excuse to turn your course into the Daytona 500. He and his buddies line up like Chase Elliott and Jimmie Johnson and come flying out of turn two like a freight train, boldly going where no carts have gone before.

This month, Game Plan kicks off a three-part series on staffing for success. First in the series is a look at how the pandemic has changed staffing needs and why superintendents and managers should consider reorganizing their teams and redefining job descriptions. In parts two and three, we will look at finding, hiring and retaining the right team members and creating the culture that inspires and motivates top performers.

“Never let a good crisis go to waste” is a quote often attributed to Winston Churchill in the days following World War II. Scholars question whether Churchill ever spoke those exact words, but as we make tentative steps to emerge from a pandemic-induced crisis of our own time, the lesson it implies — finding opportunity amidst great difficulty and challenge — rings as timely and as relevant as it would have in Churchill’s day.

In the still-churning wake of the global health pandemic of 2020, maybe the first place we should look for opportunity is with our own staffs. As COVID-19 raced through communities across America, thousands of golf clubs and facilities found themselves on either side of a dilemma. For those places where golf was booming, stretching tee sheets, golf car fleets and maintenance staffs to their limits and beyond, the question was whether to staff up to handle the surge or stay with current staff levels, figuring the wave would eventually crest and return to some semblance of normal. For places the boom never reached, the questions were How long can we manage to keep our current team intact before payroll takes too much of a bite from dwindling revenues? And among those eventually let go, who will we bring back and who no longer has a place on our team?

By now, many of those calculations and decisions have been made and the ramifications felt. But the lessons they taught should not only endure, but also inform future staffing plans. In the heat of crisis, owners and managers learned who on their teams could take on more responsibility, who had leadership potential and who had reached their ceiling. They learned where they needed additional resources and where resources might be redeployed for better coverage and results. Now it’s time to put those lessons to work with redesigned organization charts and job descriptions.

One thing is for sure: a dynamic job market has changed even more in the last 12 months with continued disruption on the horizon. “The fallout will fundamentally change recruiting and hiring practices long after the pandemic has passed,” recruiting strategist Jack Whatley recently told Forbes.com.

Another certainty is that the war for talent will continue to escalate. Top performers will be in even greater demand because as businesses reshape themselves into leaner, more efficient operations, those top performers are the best value money can buy.

“Twenty years ago, all interns had mechanical skills and no computer knowledge. Now it is just the opposite. They all know how to operate computers, but they can’t change a spark plug,” says Rick Tegtmeier, the long-tenured and highly respected golf course superintendent at Des Moines Golf & Country Club. “It sure doesn’t hurt someone to work at a lesser-budget golf course operation and learn more of the skills that help you become a more rounded superintendent.”

There will never be a better time to take all the names off your org chart and rethink the needs of the club and course, the time and talent required of each of those needs, and the right names to place in those roles. As you go through that exercise, be aware that the pandemic and its economic reverberations have also changed employees’ perspectives.

Workers have had a lot of time recently to reevaluate their careers and question their next moves. Am I in the right job in the right industry? Where could I find more happiness and greater security for me and my family? Is this a stable environment and can I count on a stable paycheck? Where will I be exposed if (or when) another crisis emerges?

“Safety and job stability are at the top of mind for the job seeker now — and that changes what they want in a job,” Whatley says. “Businesses will have to become employee-centric as well as customer-centric.”

Hopefully, you and your facility have weathered this crisis without too much damage. Now’s the time to take advantage of an opportunity it has afforded.