(Advancing the game) Sabbatical leave

Golf course superintendents have earned the right to negotiate access to the same world of business perks that the academic and private sectors have long enjoyed for the simple reasons of being better able to perform and enjoy their jobs.

Without question, one of the more debilitating situations facing superintendents for decades has been the tedium and resulting boredom of doing the same job at the same place for too many years. When this happens, job performance suffers along with job security. Boredom is an insidious consequence that threatens jobs, careers and, therefore, families. Left unattended, boredom can destroy lives.

It’s for this basic reason the private sector and military don’t allow management personnel to stay too long in jobs. If you can’t systematically advance on merit within business and the military, they let you go rather than allow you to sit and deteriorate in the same job. Fortunately, or unfortunately, golf isn’t structured this way. Boredom is a serious problem that many in golf don’t see coming and, therefore, don’t deal with effectively.

Superintendents and others in golf can defuse general boredom via the customary effective ways of better career planning, balancing their jobs and family lives, and a more effective use of free time. This should be encouraged. However, the industry’s employment culture and a family’s need to maintain children in school always will combine to freeze superintendents in jobs, thereby feeding the boredom syndrome.

It was for this circumstance the concept of the sabbatical leave was created – to break tedium, to recharge batteries and to help see a job and life in a new light. How difficult would it be to establish a sabbatical leave program for superintendents today? Not very. For example, eligibility criteria would be the quality of work delivered through a period of time, the number of years in the profession and the number of years of service at a sponsoring club/course.

Prefunding a sabbatical leave would be relatively simple compared with prefunding a retirement plan. Funding a sabbatical leave can be as similar as funding a one-year retirement program, i.e., the discounted expense of a replacement’s salary.

The more meaningful challenge to be addressed would be insuring a qualified individual(s) would be available to manage the maintenance program during a superintendent’s one-year absence. Several options, or a combination of options, would be available: turn the job over to a qualified assistant in which case it might be prudent to engage a qualified local superintendent or consultant to watchdog operations, or by hiring a qualified retired superintendent to manage the program directly.

Informal testing of the sabbatical leave concept has indicated to me that the majority of veteran superintendents I’ve spoken to would be somewhat fearful of applying for a sabbatical leave because of a concern about future job security, i.e., their one-year replacements might do a better job for less compensation. The immediate retort to this concern would be the caveat that the employer and the superintendent would mutually guarantee each other a two-year continuing relationship following completion of the leave year.

Granted, superintendents applying for sabbatical leave will have to be secure people closely in touch with their self-worth. Having said this, I suggest a time will come in every respected superintendent’s career when he/she will feel comfortable applying for a sabbatical leave. The window for a sabbatical leave opportunity would appear to be when superintendents are in their 40s to mid-50s. Before these years, a superintendent might not have put in sufficient service, and after these years, there might not be enough time left in a career to warrant a leave.

Within my career circle, I can name a dozen or so superintendents who clearly meet the stated eligibility and age criteria who I believe would be comfortable in applying for a sabbatical leave and where I believe their employers would welcome such applications.

Another factor to understand is that employers willing to consider giving superintendents sabbatical leaves would have to apply parity and give similar consideration to golf professionals and managers who meet similar eligibility criteria. This shouldn’t be a problem because the cost factor remains modest and potential multiple sabbatical leaves at one golf course can be readily scheduled over a few years based on service seniority within the club/course operation. It would be appropriate for the world to see the superintendent pioneering the sabbatical leave concept in golf.

The question will arise about what superintendents might do during their leave year? It really shouldn’t matter because the critical elements of getting away and recharging batteries can justify a sabbatical leave per se. However, it would be natural for employers to inquire about a stated purpose(s) for a sabbatical leave.

Appropriate sample uses of the leave year (in combination or otherwise) are: furthering education; language training; specific research; writing grant applications for programs that would benefit superintendents and/or their employers; writing; job-oriented video program production; developing a personal Web site; family travel with the opportunity to interview leading superintendents throughout the country relative to specific projects of interest; facilitating alternate site schooling for children; working as an intern at a golf course design office/development project; attending manufacturer seminars to stay ahead of the developing equipment curve; or doing whatever else to relax and bring the family closer.

While a six-month sabbatical leave can be considered, I generally recommend against it because of significantly diminished returns when compared with a full-year leave program.

During the leave year and when it’s completed, superintendents: (a) should write a quarterly summary report for their employer (generally required); (b) should keep a diary to feed a Golf Course News article; and (c) should present a written case study to the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America’s archives to help other superintendents prepare for and best use a sabbatical leave opportunity.

While every superintendent would be eligible for sabbatical leave, not every superintendent will earn the privilege. Rather, the program is recommended for use by clubs/courses looking to nourish their relationships with superintendents and to keep valued superintendents on board. It’s also recommended for superintendents who are willing to commit to the pursuit of job excellence that will earn them access to what I hope won’t be too exclusive a club. GCN

Jim McLoughlin is the founder of TMG Golf (www.TMGgolfcounsel.com), a golf course development and consulting firm, and is a former executive director of the GCSAA. He can be reached at golfguide@adelphia.net or 760-804-7339. His previous columns can be found on www.golfcoursenews.com.