Source: San Antonio Express-News (Texas)
Brenda Hocott has grass clippings stuck to her shirt and dirt smudged on her pants, which is a typical look for the Olmos Basin head pro.
Dressed for success?
For Hocott, having a little grime on her white-collar job is the ultimate proof she is doing well professionally.
While most of her peers wear collared shirts and pressed slacks to greet their customers in the clubhouse, Hocott is waving at customers from behind the wheel of a tractor.
"A lot of people see me in work clothes," Hocott said. "It's a tough deal, but if you're going to be outside you have to get dirty, so I don't mind."
Aside from being one of the few females to serve as a course's head golf pro, Hocott is an even more select group that takes such a hands-on approach. She spends about 90 percent of her day doing maintenance work.
"I love this job," said Hocott, who earned a degree in agronomy and turf management from Texas A&M in 1978. "I really enjoy making the golf course in good shape for the players."
It's been a regular routine for Hocott since the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department hired her as the Riverside head pro in December 1999. The Golf Operations Division, which operates the city's municipal courses, transferred her to Olmos Basin in June.
Municipal golfers realize Hocott doesn't mind getting dirt under her nails.
"It shows she's interested in her job," said Alfred Cirilo, Sr., a regular Olmos Basin patron. "It's a lot better than it used to be since she started. It's gotten a lot better on the fairways."
Most club professionals do not cut their own fairways or dig weeds by hand because it's not part of their job. They must tend to the daily business operations, plus there are employees charged with maintaining the course conditions.
While Hocott simply enjoys doing maintenance work, her help has become increasingly necessary.
The Golf Operations Division has decreased its work force in the face of losing nearly $1 million in the past decade. The primary cuts at each municipal facility have come in the maintenance department.
Olmos Basin's six maintenance employees must cut the 6,900-yard course daily and also regularly clean debris washed in by flooding in the area.
Hocott defers to Olmos Basin superintendent Pete Martinez - "He's one of the best in the business" - but she still makes it a point to work alongside the course's staff.
"I'm not taking anyone's job," Hocott said. "The crews that I have worked with know that. They know I'm there to help them. I'm hoping to make their job easier."
She has done so while inspiring them.
"I've been at this course and Brackenridge for 29 years," Olmos Basin's Larry Ramirez said. "This is the first time I've seen a manager motivated so much and puts more into it and that's good."
Helping maintain the course also keeps Hocott happy.
"I really have a passion for being involved in (maintaining) the golf course," Hocott said. "I really enjoy that end of the business much more than the merchandising."
While one of Hocott's previous supervisors questioned whether a head pro should be cutting fairways, Hocott said it makes sense.
She could play the course every day - Hocott won the 1973 state title at MacArthur as Brenda Goldsmith - but being on the tractor gives her a better view of the course's needs.
"I see a lot of golfers and do a lot of customer service on the tractor," Hocott said. "I get a lot of feedback. I probably see more people out there than I do behind the counter."