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Golf course careers are proving to be lucrative as the average salary for golf course superintendents has climbed to $121,238 annually.
The average salary and additional data come from the latest biennial Compensation and Benefits Report from the GCSAA. The latest findings are a 10.6 percent increase over the average salary of $109,621 in the 2023 report, continuing the trend of increases in every two-year period since GCSAA began tracking the data in 1993. Superintendents’ salaries have nearly tripled in the three decades since that first report, when the average salary was $44,500.
Certified golf course superintendents, those who have achieved the highest level of recognition through education, experience and service, saw an increase of 7.4 percent over 2023. Their average salary rose to $138,303.
Assistant superintendents and golf course equipment managers also saw increases in their incomes. Assistant salaries rose 10.5 percent to $62,184, and equipment managers saw a 12.5 percent increase from the average salary two years ago to climb to $68,154.
The rise in salaries in golf course management professions is outpacing the national average, which, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, rose by 8.1 percent over the last two years (4.3 percent increase in 2023 and 3.8 percent increase in 2024).
“Golf course superintendents and their teams are highly skilled professionals,” CEO Rhett Evans said. “They play an essential role in the success of golf facilities, and golf course owners increasingly understand that and are investing in them accordingly.”
The report also gives a good picture of the profile of GCSAA superintendents and their operations. The average age of a superintendent is 47.1 years, and the average number of years they have spent in the profession is 15.9 years. The average number of years a superintendent has spent in his or her current position is 9.5 years.
