The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America board of directors has begun a task it hasn’t had to face in 14 years. The leadership started the process to choose a replacement for c.e.o. Steve Mona, who announced he has taken the newly created position of c.e.o. of the World Golf Foundation.
Mona, 50, says he was approached in January by PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem about an executive position with the World Golf Foundation but nothing was firm because the WGF’s board didn’t determine anything at that time.
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“Nothing was solid,” he says. “I needed to learn more about the job and the challenges and issues I would face. I eventually got a better insight and understanding of the job and a better feel for what I would do. It’s a great opportunity to work in the game in a different way.”
The reaction
Mona elected to keep the job opportunity to himself until it was official. It wasn’t agreed to until two weeks ago, and he didn’t want to bring up anything speculative. Additionally, he wanted to honor the process the WGF board was going through.
“My wife was the only person who knew until I flew down to Texas and told (GCSAA president) Ricky Heine on (Sept. 23),” he says.
There seems to be a shared feeling of surprise about his move, and some call the news bittersweet.
“I was surprised, but not shocked, because it was really just a matter of time before someone was going to recognize his abilities and give him one of those job offers he couldn’t refuse,” says Chuck Borman, staff member of the Carolinas GCSA who worked with Mona when he was director of the CGCSA.
Some current and former association board members say the new position is a testament to Mona’s leadership and the strength of the association.
“Just as the GCSAA prospered under his leadership, so too will the World Golf Foundation achieve even greater accomplishments with Steve at the helm,” Heine says.
Bruce Williams, CGCS, director of golf courses and grounds at The Los Angeles Country Club, says Mona, who sat on several industry boards, will take his talents with him to his new position.
“One of this strengths and fortes is developing relationships with allied industries,” Williams says. “Quite a lot of what he’ll do in the future will deal with that.”
The Mona era
Randy Nichols was president of the GCSAA when Mona was hired as the first c.e.o. of the association. Mona replaced executive director John Schilling. The board didn’t hire an outside search firm, and it took almost a year to complete the process.
Mona came to the GCSAA after serving for 10 years as executive director of the Georgia State Golf Association. He previously held positions with the U.S. Golf Association and the Northern California Golf Association.
“Steve was respected prior to coming to the GCSAA, and he’s probably even more respected now,” Nichols says.
Williams also served on the committee that selected Mona. The fact that Mona’s tenure lasted so long is a testament to the caliber of leader he is and the board’s thoroughness in the hiring process, Williams says.
Williams doesn’t speak about an individual’s accomplishments, but rather the accomplishments of an organization during a specific era because several boards have come and gone. During Mona’s era at the GCSAA, the organization has been in good shape, he says.
“While we weren’t in a poor financial condition before Steve, he’s leaving with a very sound financial base in place for the organization,” he says. “He’s built up a reserve and there’s little or no debt. Certainly Steve and the elected leaders he worked with deserve credit for that.”
Another positive step Mona has overseen is the collaboration with the National Golf Course Owners Association and the Club Managers Association of America to form the Golf Industry show. The GCSAA trade show’s growth had fallen flat in recent years, and the new format seems to have brought new life to the show, Borman says.
Williams also cites the growth in the game of golf during the early years of Mona’s tenure and the caliber of educational programs the association offers as other accomplishments. One recent initiative is that continuing education is required to maintain Class A Superintendent status.
Mona says he doesn’t take the praise for the successes.
“I was in the c.e.o. chair, but I don’t take credit for it personally,” he says.
One specific area Mona is proud of is that the recognition golf course superintendents receive today is significantly better than 14 years ago when he first stated.
“It’s not about the institution,” he says. “It’s all about what we’re doing on behalf of the members.”
As much as Mona will be missed, it could be beneficial to bring a new perspective to the position, Williams says.
“It does allow for opportunities to bring in fresh ideas, fresh blood and fresh energy to the situation,” he says, adding he’s confident the transition will be smooth so recent initiatives will be continued into the future.
Mona’s new role
Mona has been actively involved with the World Golf Foundation and its initiatives throughout the past decade, serving on the World Golf Hall of Fame advisory board and The First Tee advisory committee since 1998 and the GOLF 20/20 executive board since 1999.
Two of the WGF’s visions are to unite the entire golf industry and encourage the growth of the game while its core values remain intact.
“It’s a broad mandate, but it’s very interesting to me,” Mona says.
More specifically, Mona will be involved with the antidoping issue, which the WGF will address, as well as with communication and public affairs on a global level, including among the different golf institutions.
“It’s a chance for me to work directly with major issues in the game of golf on a global scale,” he says. “As a representative of the GCSAA, I’m on a lot of different golf committees, but this is an entirely new role for me.”
Many in the industry see Mona’s new position and his connection to the GCSAA as an opportunity for increased networking. As GCSAA board member Jim Fitzroy put it, “it will be nice to have a friend in a high place.”
Borman works with one of Mona’s new responsibilities, The First Tee. While the CGCSA doesn’t work with the organization daily, it has a good working relationship with the junior golf groups in the Carolinas.
“Sure, (Mona) will be working with associations, but it won’t be the day-to-day interaction that he spent his last 14 years doing,” Borman says.
Reporting directly to Mona will be: Joe Louis Barrow, Jr., executive vice president of the WGF and c.e.o. of The First Tee; Jack Peter, senior vice president/c.o.o. of the World Golf Hall of Fame; Ruffin Beckwith, executive director of the GOLF 20/20 industry initiative; and Helen Atter, vice president, who oversees legal, administration and diversity for the foundation.
The next step
The selection process for a new GCSAA c.e.o. started Sept. 28, with the nine-member board making up the selection committee. The board has been participating in conference calls and will gather in the next couple of weeks to discuss criteria for the replacement, Heine says. Once the desired qualities for a c.e.o. are hammered out, a search firm will seek candidates.
“There will be a resume-receiving period and then interviews, probably by mid-December,” he says. “The goal is to have a replacement chosen before the end of the year, and, in some partial capacity by the Golf Industry Show (which begins Jan. 31).”
This is only an outline of the process and it’s subject to change, he adds.
Nichols says the association is probably in a better position now to pick a replacement than it was 13 years ago, so the process should go more smoothly this time.
Because of the new leadership format, the board was tasked with finding a c.f.o. and a c.o.o. at the same time it hired a c.e.o. and didn’t use an outside search firm, Williams says.
“The staff now is more qualified than it was 14 years ago,” Nichols says. “We’re more of a business-oriented organization than we were when Steve came.”
Ironically, one thing Mona wishes he had worked on more is a succession plan for the c.e.o. position so a clear path was established for the board to follow.
“It will be a smooth transition,” Mona says. “I might not stay on the whole six months because I might not be needed that long.”
The replacement could come from inside or outside the organization and might or might not be a golf course superintendent, depending on the qualifications of the candidates.
Even though the decision of a successor is ultimately the GCSAA boards, Mona’s own personal view is that his successor should be from within the golf industry.
“It’s important he or she understands the industry and has a passion for it,” he says. “Although I wouldn’t exclude someone from outside the industry. The person should be qualified, effective and interested in the industry.”
It’s a tall order finding a replacement for Mona, Borman says.
“Finding someone to do the day-to-day administrative duties of the c.e.o. of the GCSAA will be the easy part,” he says. “Finding a replacement of Steve’s stature, given how well thought of he is throughout the entire golf community and the impression he left when he worked with other people, will be the hard thing to find in a replacement.”
John Walsh contributed to this story.
