Beyond their years

James Drinkard started working at Athens Country Club in Georgia in 1979, when he was a college student at the University of Georgia. Not much has changed 27 years later, except that Drinkard is now golf course superintendent.

“This is the only place I know,” says Drinkard, who became the assistant golf course superintendent in 1984 and was promoted to superintendent in 1996. “It’s the only place I’ve worked at. For many others here, it’s their one and only too.”

Drinkard is backed by a staff of seasoned veterans, some of whom have never worked at another golf course, and many of whom have been at Athens much longer than a decade. The employee with the most longevity has been there 42 years, and the seven employees who have been at the club the longest have a combined total of 193 years of Athens Country Club employment among them.

Longevity seems to be an Athens tradition. Former golf course superintendent Buzz Howell was the clubs’ second superintendent since it opened in 1926. Howell started at Athens 1964, basically as a cart mechanic at that time, Drinkard says. Soon after, he moved up to become superintendent.

Howell is still working at Athens, now as director of golf course and grounds. He left the day-to-day operations to Drinkard and focuses on the course’s future. Near retirement, Howell is thinking about starting to work on a limited basis.

Henry Haynes, who changes cups and mows the grass, is celebrating 40 years of employment at the club. Also, mechanic Dennis Flanagan has been employed there since 1977.

The two assistant superintendents have 30 combined years on the job at Athens. Bill Hunt started in 1989. He has been an assistant since Drinkard was promoted to superintendent. The other assistant, Chris Thornton, has been at Athens 13 years.

Dennis Simmons, another top crew member, has been working there since 1981.

On average, subscribers to Golf Course News have been in their current positions 13 years, according to the 2006 GCN Subscriber Survey. Howell has surpassed that by 29 years, yet he seems to be the norm at Athens.

“I guess we’re a little exception to the rule,” he says.

Drinkard guesses that one reason for the staff’s cohesiveness is that he and the assistants all pitch in to do the work so everyone’s doing work at the 27-hole course. That leadership style helps to gain respect, he says.

“I’m not a rant and rave type person,” he says. “If somebody does something wrong, I’m going to notice. But I don’t cuss them out or anything. Unless it’s pretty bad, I’m not going to say anything. The ones doing the best job will move up.”

This style results in a more laid-back work environment, which makes everyone more comfortable and lets everyone remain friends.

Their companionship extends beyond work hours.

“A lot of the fellas play golf together, go fishing together, and some of the students even live in same apartment complex,” Howell says. “We’re more of a fraternal group. Instead of just a job, we feel there’s a personal connection.”

Many of the guys get together to tailgate before UGA home football games, and even some of the away games.

“Even ex-employees call us up and ask where we’re tailgating,” Drinkard says.

The closeness helps to retain long-term employees, Howell adds.

“They know someone cares about them,” he says. “They’re not just another employee.”

Crew members not only know each other’s children’s names, they’re also on a first name basis with many of the golfers.

“I know 75 percent of the golfers,” Drinkard says. “They like when you call them by name, not just being a stone face and driving by. I don’t like thought of being at resort course where you don’t know anybody. I like being told by whoever that the course looks good.”

Yet the consistency of being at the same course and seeing the same club members year after year doesn’t get old to the crew.

“Each day’s a new challenge,” Howell says. “Where we live, we definitely have four seasons. That definitely helps to break the monotony. About the time we start to get a little bored, the weather will change and mission changes on golf course.”

Also, to keep thing interesting, a crop of college students from the University of Georgia comes to work on the course each summer.

“If you’ve got a crew that’s been there a long time, they may get burned out to the point where it’s just a job and not something they really love,” he says. “With college students, it keeps them fresh. I’ve heard many stories about the type of workers many courses have to choose from, and there have been some problems.”

The students make up about 60 percent of the crew, Drinkard says.

“The young guys, for most part, are pretty intelligent,” he says. “They’re easy to train, they listen, and they pick up on things.”

Drinkard welcomes experienced crew members, but asks them to respect the way things are done at Athens.

“One of our biggest things I tell employees is that I don’t care if you came from Augusta National or the nine-hole course down the road, everyone has to start at the bottom and work their way up,” Drinkard says. “I can remember teaching Bill about mowing tees five years ago. The first time he did it, it was just awful. I always tell that story about Bill, and he knows I’m going to tell it.”

As evidenced by Drinkard’s ribbing, the morale is relatively high at Athens.

“Everyone gets along,” Drinkard says. “If we make mistake hiring and get a bad apple, so to speak, it usually works itself out.”

Through his hiring experience, Drinkard learned that prejudging is futile – anything can happen.

“I’ve had English majors that would have been great superintendents, and I’ve had turf majors that never would have made it,” he says. “I remember when Buzz hired Bill. He was from Rhode Island and had long hair. I said, ‘What has Buzz hired now?’ He ended up being one of best members on the crew and moved up to be one of the best assistants. He and Chris – I wouldn’t trade them for anyone in the country.”

Howell has learned several lessons during his 42-year-and-running career at Athens. Being at one place his entire career has allowed him to see the many changes in maintenance techniques. He hopes to write a book about it when he scales back his hours.

“When I started, there was a small shop, now there’s an 8,000-square-foot shop,” Howell says. “There are now all the modern things such as chemical and fertilizer storage and air conditioning.

“The golf course itself reflects these improvements,” he adds. “When I started, we did the best we could, but with research and technology, there’s just no comparison of 40 years ago and today.”