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GCI’s Katie Tuttle headed down to North Carolina for this year’s Green Start Academy, sponsored by John Deere and Bayer.
Here are a few observations Katie took away from the event.
Assistants want to be mentored
Don’t keep the business side under wraps. Assistants are the future of the industry, and if none of them know how to create a budget and run a business, what’s that going to mean for the future of golf courses?
Network
A lot of assistants attending the event said it was an experience they didn’t get to have often. They spend long hours on the course, meaning little time for them to get out and meet other assistants and superintendents.
Everyone’s different
At almost every panel and discussion, one of the speakers had a different opinion on something. At one of the panel discussions, the speaker said he would hire an assistant with a turf degree over an assistant with a business degree and turf experience. At the very next panel, the second speaker said he would hire the business degree. A common occurrence throughout the week was realizing there’s no one way to get a superintendent job. Everyone has a different story.
Difficult to follow and not lead
Superintendents may have different ideas than their superintendent, but are they’re unable to implement them. It doesn’t mean the superintendent is wrong, but the next time you’re working on something, check in on your assistant to see if they have a suggestion.
Learn to be uncomfortable
The more uncomfortable situations you put yourself in, the more you’ll learn. If you hate public speaking, speak more. If you hate meeting new people, go to more networking events. You’ll learn to make yourself better, and over time your fears and discomfort will diminish.