A few weeks ago, I interviewed Jim Nicol, CCGS, of Hazeltine National GC about preparing for the upcoming PGA Championship as well as his life in general as a superintendent at a big-time club.
As usual, Jim was full of great quotes and great ideas. Let's just say the man never lacks for opinions.
You can read the whole thing in the next issue of Golf Course Industry, but Jim talked about one thing that seemed really relevant as we come off of the July 4th holiday.
For as long as he's been at the facility, he's arranged for all of his full-time staff members to take a week off during the summer. And (gasp!) he does the same thing.
That's right, folks, he actually takes a vacation when he needs it most. He even had plans to squeeze in some time off as he's preparing for a major. No question he's working his butt off, but a few days of fishing and fun will recharge his batteries and get him ready for the final push to the PGA.
Nicol said he decided on the "mandatory vacation" policy while he was in turf school at Penn State. The legendary Dr. Joe Duich pointed out to his class that, with good planning and organization, there was no reason not to take a summer break like normal human beings.
As Nicol recalls, Duich asked them, "What would happen to your course if you got sick and missed a month of work? Could they survive without you?" Compared to being prepared for a big absence like an illness, setting aside some vacation time for you and the crew should be easy.
I think the days of putting in 90 hours a week during peak season will be particularly challenged as a new crop of superintendents with a decidedly Generation Y mentality about the workplace emerges.
Even if you're not overly familiar with the whole Generation Y concept (just Google it, dude, they would tell you), suffice it to say they don't necessarily buy into traditional workforce structures – like the single-minded notion that superintendents can't take a summer vacation.
In short, things are changing and will continue to change with the work culture that has endured for generations in our business. And we all need to figure out how to deal with it.
I'm curious...do you take a week off in the summer? Click here now to the GCI forum and let us know.