The dynamic between the golf shop and golf course maintenance teams can sometimes be contentious. When an antagonistic relationship exists, it is often between the leaders of these departments. For brevity’s sake, these roles will be referred to as the pro and superintendent for the remainder of this article. While there are certainly times that course maintenance priorities and the golf schedule come into conflict, finding ways to work together is critical for both departments to be successful and for golfers to have the best experience possible.
The veteran superintendent that inspired this article started in the business about 30 years ago in the Northeast and now is the superintendent at a top-notch, 36-hole public facility in California. While there are many differences between those regions, the one thing that most certainly travelled was an ongoing power struggle between pros and superintendents. Early in his career, before becoming a superintendent, he vividly recalled being on the sprayer early in the morning and having the pro wave him off the fairway because he was going to give an unscheduled on-course lesson. Soon after, the superintendent and the pro were seen and heard screaming at each other about delaying the fairway application to accommodate a lesson.
This was an incident that could have been avoided with better communication. In this case the pro was out of line, but there were other examples where the superintendent instigated the conflict. Once, while my friend was riding with a fellow superintendent, they noticed a group starting six minutes before the first tee time. The host superintendent proceeded to race to the clubhouse and verbally dress down the pro. My friend could not help but wonder what the maintenance for the day was that would cause such a strong reaction. Perhaps there was a spray application that was in jeopardy of being tracked across the course, or something special like needle-tine aeration? The host superintendent said that it was nothing special, just a normal day. He commented that if he let that group out six minutes early, the next time it would be 10 minutes early and so on. That mentality of “digging your heels in” makes it hard to get anything done in a cooperative manner.
My friend thought about this interaction quite a bit and decided to take a different approach. In his initial meeting with the pro at his new position, he made a commitment that his relationship with the pro was going to be anything but antagonistic. He told the pro that they would work together, and as the superintendent he was going to be an asset to the pro’s business and vice versa. Initially, the pro was skeptical, he had heard this claim before from previous superintendents. But then this superintendent said something the pro would not forget. He said, “I am going to be the guy who says yes.” He said he would make every attempt to say yes to requests from the golf shop. Of course, the requests had to be within reason, but he promised that he would give serious thought before saying no. In return for saying yes on what amounted to 95% of requests, the understanding was that there would be no pushback on the 5% of times he had to say no.
Some superintendents reading this may scoff and vow to never give in like this in fear that the pro would “win” the relationship and the superintendent would give up control. However, saying yes resulted in quite the opposite effect. What this superintendent realized was that this approach completely opened the doors of communication. Instead of the pro letting a group out early without asking, he would send a text or call first to see if it would be OK. In turn, when the superintendent requested a back-nine start to accommodate a fairway spray, the answer was a resounding yes. “Giving in” and saying yes proved beneficial for both parties. A few years later in this superintendent’s career as he applied for a new position, that same pro wrote a letter of recommendation that spoke glowingly about the relationship and collaboration that had been fostered. After getting the job, the general manager told the superintendent that the letter of recommendation – and specifically the comment about the collaborative relationship – was a big factor in him getting hired.
Now, this not to say that there are never moments of frustration, but a few deep breaths and a reasonable conversation can usually squelch any problems that arise. For this approach to work, it needs to be a two-way street and the superintendent cannot be the only one saying yes. It is important, perhaps a few times per year, to reinvest in the “say yes” campaign and remind everyone of the benefits. It is also important to remind everyone that the golf course is the asset that brings people to the property, so it needs to be properly maintained and upgraded as needed. There will be times when maintenance is going to take priority over the golf schedule, but that is for the long-term benefit of the overall golf experience.
The “say yes” approach has been a big part of this superintendent’s success and has made his job a lot more fun and less stressful. Can it work for you? Yes, of course! It’s certainly a lot easier and less stressful than always saying no.
West Region Agronomists:
Brian Whitlark, regional director – bwhitlark@usga.org
Cory Isom, senior consulting agronomist – cisom@usga.org