Style points

A golf course superintendent’s greatest asset is his knowledge. However, there are ancillary assets that serve as the icing on the cake. Take all that knowledge and put it in a sharp looking package along with proper etiquette and you will definitely find a person at the top of their game.

Look the part
In my early years, I spent time as a caddie and then worked in the rack room and pro shop. It was at that point that I marveled at the way the head pro and his assistants carried themselves with their attire. They showed up to work looking like they were ready for a cover shoot for GQ magazine. Over the years, I learned that the PGA must have instilled in their members the value of proper attire to succeed in the golf industry. If one of the pros was on the tee with members, you surely could not tell them apart.

There is a lot to be learned from what golf professionals have done for years. A decade or so ago, I was in a focus group that was discussing how to improve “public relations” for a golf course superintendent. It was back then that I offered up, “We will know our PR campaign is working when foursomes show up at the first tee with a member, pro, superintendent and club manager, and you can’t tell which one is the golf course superintendent.”

Words of wisdom always came from my father who said, “Dress for the job you want to have rather than the job you do have.” His message was to look as professional as possible at all times. For a golf course superintendent, that would most likely be with a pair of slacks and a nice golf shirt. Be prepared for the occasional surprise meeting at the clubhouse and keep a dress shirt, tie and jacket in your closet just in case you need it.

Sure there are occasions when you need to get your hands dirty and that may necessitate the use of coveralls. Also, while the dressy concept would fit most golf courses, there are exceptions. The old adage “when in Rome, do as the Romans do” fits well here. In many parts of the country, nice golf shorts are permissible during the warm months. While I wouldn’t think blue jeans would be proper attire, I attended a superintendent meeting in Texas and quickly found out that golfers and superintendents alike wore jeans as normal attire. Bottom line is wear what fits in with the players and staff at your facility.

I fondly look back at a time when I had an assistant working for me that wanted to know how to gain the respect of the members. I told him that he needed to look the part. With that, he got rid of the employee uniform shirt with his name on it, the blue jeans and the keys hanging from his belt. For a couple hundred dollars, one can buy several pairs of Dockers, some logo shirts from the pro shop and a nice club cap as well. Within a month or so, this fellow told me it made a world of difference.

Most of the younger generation is unaware of the time when superintendents had golf outings at the club and then went to a local restaurant for their meeting. Yes, there was a time when greenkeepers were not allowed in the clubhouse, even on Mondays when many clubs were closed. Best guess is that it may have been related to the dress codes and perception that the greenkeepers were just the hired help. Golf course superintendents have come a long way, but there is still a lot more to be done to be “welcome” at any type of a venue.

• Follow the club dress code which is normally printed for superintendent meetings.
• If you don’t know the dress code, then dress like the members of that club would, or better yet, ask
• Don’t wear hats inside clubhouses.
• For superintendent meetings, be sure you wear a nice cap with a generic logo or your own club logo. Don’t look like a walking billboard for an advertising agency
• Be sure to tip the club staff appropriately at the beverage cart, locker room, etc.

Respect
Respect is an important part of PR and you have to give it to get it. This is a great lesson for both young assistants and also current superintendents. Telling someone what to do rather than showing them what to do can make a huge difference. Getting into the trenches with someone can create a very positive attitude and boost employee morale. You are a leader and a manager, and successful superintendents have learned this technique early on in their careers.

Professionals show respect for their peers and their supervisors by being on time for meetings and finishing projects on time as they promised. Be known as the “Get ‘er Done” guy at your golf course. Set the standard and keep it at the top rather than doing just enough to get by.

Focus
The first thing that comes to mind in this era is to focus on the task at hand. Know what the membership wants and provide it. If you don’t know what the goals of the organization and department are, then it will be a challenge to provide it. Know your strengths and weaknesses and understand any gap that may exist, and work on strengthening areas that might need it.

Focus on people when they are speaking to you. This may be in person by making eye contact or could even be on the phone when you need to give people your full attention. All too often modern technology has enabled us to text, Skype, email and search the web all from our smartphones. This is great, but we need to know when it is appropriate and when it is not. Keeping your phone on silent or vibrate will be appreciated by golfers or people in meetings. Just shut the phone off before you go into a meeting. It is doubtful that any emergency would occur that would require your attention in the hour or less the meeting might last. Use or glancing at a phone during an important meeting sends a message but not via text. The message is that what is on your phone is more important than the meeting you are attending. Be a professional when it comes to focusing on the things that count and it will be noticed.

Treat your staff as well or better than any of your prized possessions
It would be quite rare to find any superintendent that does it all himself. We need a team to accomplish our goals. The rough and gruff approach to management seldom works. It is more important to treat your staff with respect and remember that without them you would be nowhere. Professionals spend a fair amount of time training and motivating their staff. This creates a favorable work environment. Pros know how to get the best out of their people.
“If you can hold your tongue, you can hold your job!”

This is a quote from my father, and I try to live by it and share it with those I have mentored. Once you say something, you can’t take it back. That is true of the spoken word and also the written word as well. It is a principle that works for dealing with both subordinates and also employers.

Every superintendent is going to run into situations that are enough to make your blood boil. I always like to think that what I might say at the moment I find a mower in the lake and what I might say 10 minutes later might be totally different. A few of my former employees might remember the radio calls that would say something like, “Who made the deep ruts on No. 10 fairway and left them like that without saying anything?” When someone confessed to the scenario, my next response was, “Meet me in 10 minutes at that spot.” That 10 minutes gave me time to calm down and also for that person to simmer a bit over what the consequences might be. I would always handle the matter professionally and without anger after that 10-minute cooling down period.

We don’t always have 10 minutes in how we react or respond to the general manager or the green chairman. Make sure your words are measured and often less is better in some of those conversations. Logic rules over emotion when communicating. Positive enthusiasm is fine, but anger and harsh words will often result in scars that will remain during the rest of your employment.

Texting is a quick way to send messages. It is a series of words and often does not denote the exact feeling you are trying to imply. A text is meant for a quick message or response and not meant for an in-depth dialogue. Be sure you use proper language and be sure auto correct does not embarrass you later on. Double check your message before hitting send.

Emails on touchy topics should be written and saved without sending immediately. Going back to the premise of waiting 10 minutes to speak to employees it would behoove all of us to write emails that could be sensitive and let them cool overnight. The next day we may feel a little bit differently and then we can edit any such email, and even choose to send or not send the message.

If you want to be treated like a professional, then we should act like professionals. It is about how you look, how you act, how you lead, how you present yourself and how you communicate to those you work with. Time to step up and get that respect you deserve.

Bruce Williams, CGCS, is GCI’s senior contributing editor.