When I first began my career in the golf industry, I had virtually no idea of how my future would turn out or where I would end up working. I knew what my end goal was and I thought I knew what it took to get there. During my career I have been able to obtain experiences at private, semi private, resort and municipal golf courses. Each course has played an immense part in shaping my career and has helped me obtain many of my career goals to this point. The following describes a handful of lessons and experiences both good and bad about chasing down your dream in the golf course management industry.
1. Not everyone is motivated like you are!
I have always been a neat freak, my mom used to make me mad on purpose so that when I got mad enough I would clean the house. That was my way of blowing off steam. When I was younger and still in turf school, I never realized how important and valuable “Non-turf” guys were at a golf course. I distinctly remember getting outwardly frustrated and having multiple profane confrontations with staff that I just didn’t think we’re doing things as well as I thought I could. As I got older and worked at other places I began to realize that it was those same people that have had a profound positive effect on my career.
When I was 18 or 19, I remember being pulled into the superintendent’s office one afternoon and given a thorough “ass-chewing”. Earlier in the day I had had some choice words with one of the retirees that had been mowing fairways that morning. In my opinion his work was not up to snuff, and I regrettably told him so. As some of my co-workers and I were joking and laughing about my verbal altercation at lunch, I was literally yanked into the superintendent’s office and was put in my place to the point of tears during the meeting. My poor choice in judgment was explained to me in terms that virtually anyone could understand “mostly due to the level of volume it was explained in!” I have never forgotten two important lessons that were taught to me that day, If you want to thoroughly humble an employee stand there and yell at them for 20 minutes “not really” but the real and far more useful lesson I learned was, “Some guys work here because they have to, you work here because you want to, and you won’t work here much longer if you ever F…ing do that again!”
2. Education… and what you can’t do without it.
During my college years I can say with no hesitation that I was a horrible student. I was very fortunate to attend one of the finest institutions in the country in The Ohio State University, and I still am amazed that I ever made it through. I loved college, more importantly to me at the time was that I loved the idea of college. Jack Nicklaus once said that “he tried to drink up all the beer in Columbus Ohio in his freshman year but they just kept making it” I am living proof that his words are 100% accurate. The actual “school” part was tough for me, I only did well in the subjects that interested me and sometimes I didn’t do so hot in them either. As my career progresses, I look back at college and think two things about my time there. I was young and stupid! I don’t mean stupid in the sense that I couldn’t learn anything, I mean stupid in the sense that I made some poor choices and there are situations that I encounter all the time that were covered, but I failed to pay close enough attention to remember it without reference. Looking back now, I always just wanted to be on the golf course and do “hands on” learning. I thought that the education I was receiving there was plenty. Due to my distaste for the “learning” part of school I left early and went back to the golf course to work.
When the assistant superintendents job at Pinehurst #2 under the direction of Paul Jett CGCS came open, I had been the spray technician there for over a year, I had interned there a few years prior and thought that I was more than capable of doing the job. I am sure that I could have done the job and done it well but I was passed over for a colleague who had his degree. At the time I was heartbroken, I just didn’t understand why I got skipped over for someone who had never worked on #2. After I got over the heartbreak, I made the decision to go back to The Ohio State University and finish up my degree. As I get older and a little wiser I realize what a blessing in disguise that event was in both my personal life and in my career. I felt like an enormous weight was lifted off of my shoulders and that I could now be a legitimate candidate for jobs that I thought could help me get my career headed in the direction that wanted it to go. I would never say that you can’t get to where you want to go in your career without getting your degree, but it sure makes it a helluva lot harder these days.
3. Rejection…again!
Throughout the spring, summer and fall of ’10 I began interviewing for another job. I was very confident that my resume was where it needed to be at that stage in my career and that I would have no trouble finding a job. Wrong! I interviewed at 4 different golf courses during that year and didn’t get offered a job at any of them. I was shocked! I couldn’t believe that I was getting passed over again and again. I learned a great lesson from all that rejection, it’s about being the best fit for that course far more than being the person with the best resume or the most experience. I was very proactive with my rejections, I tried to learn why I didn’t get the job’s as opposed to being bitter about it, I improved my interviewing skills and really began doing my homework on the courses that I subsequently was going to interview with. Thankfully I was able to land a job last October and thus far has proven to be an exciting and educational career move.
4. Mentors…
I have been very fortunate throughout my career in that I have worked at some of the finest golf courses in the country and for some great people, who also happen to be outstanding superintendents. Any success that I have in my career is a tribute to their patience and understanding of me and my future aspirations. I recall one day when I was an intern at Pinehurst #2, I was sent out to do some grading work in one of the native areas, I got on the box blade and was doing fine until “Bang” I had just clipped an irrigation head with the blade and to this day I swear the geyser and the river of water that followed still haunt my dreams. I had to rush back to the shop and tell Paul Jett CGCS what I had done and to get the water shut off. I had never been more scared in my life on that trip back to the shop. When I got there needless to say he was less than pleased with me. The following day I was sent back out to finish grading that area. I couldn’t believe it! I thought I was going to spend the rest of my internship flymowing and string trimming “at best”. The words that he said to me before I went out that day are still vivid in my mind to this day. “Are you going to hit that head again?” “No sir” was my reply and that was the last I ever heard about the incident. I have always had great respect for Paul, perhaps none more than on that day though. He knew that I knew I had screwed up and that I wasn’t going to make the same mistake again, he didn’t need to yell, scream or punish me for my mistake. To me that is what makes a good mentor, trusting your people to do what you ask them to do, let them learn on their own. I enjoyed a great 4 years under Paul at Pinehurst #2, I learned a great deal from him about growing turf, prepping for major tournaments but most importantly I learned how to grow as a person.
5. Stress…
As everyone in golf course management knows, the amount of time away from family and friends can be difficult to say the least. During High School when I would work at the golf course in the summer time my friends would never understand why I would just go home and go to sleep after work. At that stage in my career I was doing all the grunt work and rightfully was tired. As I progress throughout my career the physical work isn’t as taxing on the body, but the stress that the body and mind handle during the day can be over whelming to say the least. When I was on the staff at Pinehurst #2 I had the privilege to work the 2005 U.S. Open. For me, days ran from 3:30am to 10:30pm. I was so high with adrenaline that the hours didn’t bother me. When the tournament was over and the stresses of keeping bentgrass greens alive in 90+ degree heat under Open conditions had concluded, I was spent come Sunday night. The following week I went through a case of “Open Withdrawal” I was so excited for the tournament to arrive and when it ended, I got a feeling that I had never had before, I didn’t want to be at work. I took some time away and recharged my batteries. Stress can kill, far fewer times in the physical sense than in the emotional sense but it is dangerous none the less. “Getting away” really helps in my opinion, it helps gain a far better appreciation for what we do and the toll it takes on the body and your loved ones.
These are just some of the experiences that I have had in my relatively short career; I felt that in sharing some of them, many of you have had similar if not identical circumstances in your life, and that by doing so sheds some light into the more personal side of our business. I have always felt that I am lucky, lucky in the sense that I have made so many poor decisions in my life and have been able to look back at them and improve myself. I love what I do. I would do it for free “if there were no bills to pay.”
About the author:
T.J Collins is the superintendent at The Club at Olde Stone in Bowling Green, Ky. You can reach him at t.j._collins@hotmail.com.
