[Editorial] Opportunity knocks

In Chinese, the character for the word “problem” is the same as the character that means “opportunity.” No doubt the industry has its problems: flat play, overbuilding and pressure on budgets. But, there also are opportunities that have been created by these same circumstances – even for the often-overlooked assistant golf course superintendent.

Take Watertown (Wis.) Country Club, for example. A medium-sized club, it has 240 members, a golf course maintenance budget of $350,000 and 15 private competitors in the area. In a community of 22,000, it’s a pretty good bargain for golfers compared to other clubs in the area.

It has its challenges just like many other clubs, especially when it comes to members understanding how they achieve admirable conditions within a limited budget. Watertown is struggling to retain and increase membership, even after halting dues increases. Just as throughout the rest of the nation, socioeconomic factors and the proliferation of high-end, daily-fee courses are taking their toll.

Watertown is going through changes. It recently spent good money to hire a golf pro who doubles as the general manager. This is the first time the club has had a g.m. So, when Oscar Peterson, CGCS, the club’s well-respected superintendent for two seasons, suddenly resigned from his job to pursue another career outside the golf industry, the club was faced with the task of finding his replacement. However, partly because of the new g.m. position, there was a limit on what the club could spend on the new superintendent.

And sure enough, in a tight job market, there was no shortage of applicants, even though the club didn’t advertise the position. Based on word of mouth, there were at least 30 well-qualified candidates who submitted resumes. Even though the board of directors had plenty of solid superintendent candidates to choose from, it wanted to save money and considered hiring an assistant golf course superintendent. It also considered the candidate who wanted to work at Watertown the most.

The club’s green chairman, David Wolff, wasn’t keen on the idea and thought it wouldn’t be worth it in the long run to save $15,000 to $20,000 in salary upfront because a younger, less-experienced assistant was more likely to make a mistake or not act quickly enough when responding to a disease outbreak because he didn’t want people to think he didn’t know what he was doing. And Watertown’s maintenance budget is based on nothing going wrong.

After much discussion, the board decided to hire an assistant superintendent, Michael Upthegrove, who was working at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wis., under superintendent David Swift and director of golf Michael Lee. Peterson interviewed Upthegrove and found him to be a good guy but lacking experience. But, the club ultimately decided to give him a shot. That’s where things stand now. The rest of the story remains to be written.

There are plenty more assistant superintendents looking for a chance like this. At some point, every assistant has to have a break like this one. It’s during times like these, when facilities are forced to improve their bottom line, that opportunities open up for assistants like Upthegrove. These are times when assistants have the opportunity to step up to the plate to show they can handle aspects of the job such as quickly and correctly diagnosing a turfgrass disease; managing a budget; purchasing equipment, pesticides and supplies; hiring maintenance staff members; and dealing with golfers and board members – and all of the nonagronomic and managerial stuff their bosses deal with daily.

However, in situations like this, the fraternity of superintendents is always ready to help out the new kid on the block. Upthegrove will call on his former bosses and neighboring superintendents to help him, and they will undoubtedly respond. That’s simply the nature of the business. After all, I can’t think of a superintendent who wouldn’t want him to succeed.

So best of luck to Upthegrove in his first head superintendent position. May his talents, hard work, dedication and the help of others put him on a path to greater success. And to all the other assistant superintendents, keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities. Be aggressive and confident, but know your weaknesses and how to overcome them.

It’s a bold move for a club to hire a young person, but it’s one of the ways the industry grows, changes and improves. Here’s to making the most of opportunity. GCN