Breaking the routine

Oxford defines routine as a noun as “a sequence of actions regularly followed; a fixed program,” and as an adjective as “performed as part of a regular procedure rather than for a special reason.” Synonyms for routine include method, formula, system, regimen, customary, accustomed, typical and everyday, just to name a few.

Hopefully you have read all the great information in this issue about routines — unless your routine is to read America’s Greenkeeper first! If that is the case, then please go read all the content by our fabulous team of writers and contributors before returning to the back page.

I don’t know about you, but one of the things I find interesting and enjoyable about golf course maintenance is the routine nature of caring for a golf course. There are numerous tasks performed on a daily or near-daily basis, including changing cups, mowing or rolling greens and mowing rough. Other tasks are routinely performed certain days of the week such as mowing tees, approaches and/or fairways.

Routines often become mundane. It’s our job as golf course managers to lead and inspire our teams to perform routine tasks with enthusiasm. If we do not manage our teams wisely, their performance can decline as a result of burnout, so it’s important to ensure team members remain engaged and you avoid falling into a trap of keeping that talented operator on the same piece of equipment too many days without a break.

Despite the routine nature of golf course maintenance, it frequently becomes anything but routine. Mother Nature is ultimately in control and any given day we can find ourselves leading our teams in unordinary circumstances.

Ironically, many emergency response plans require the team to follow a routine. Perhaps now is a good time to remind yourself of the importance of practicing those routines so if an emergency occurs, everyone on the team can follow the response plan in routine fashion.

Have you given any thought to yourself and your personal routines? Do you practice healthy habits or are you making poor choices? Workplace stress or anxiety can sometimes lead to poor choices, which can become habit forming. And these may even lead to additional poor choices. Be sure to take good care of yourself because your team depends on you.

Recently, my entire morning routine has been completely interrupted. My wife and I are continuing to settle into our new environment here in Lexington, Kentucky, and we are remodeling the house we purchased. I’m writing this column amid a full kitchen renovation. Our toaster is currently in the laundry room, the coffee maker is in the master bathroom (not a bad idea), and so is our kitchen table. We are currently sleeping in a spare bedroom upstairs.

Waking up each morning and coming downstairs to the current arrangement has taken some getting used to. And guess what? It has almost become routine. Which can only mean we are getting close to project completion and things will once again return where they belong … well, maybe not the coffee maker. But again, my morning routine will become disrupted until the new routine becomes routine.

I want to wish all my fellow golf course managers the best of luck with the summer of 2023. It has been anything but routine for us in Kentucky. June was the coolest it has been in 20 years, and we went from moderate drought status to above average rainfall year-to-date in less than two weeks. But it’s that break in the routine that is refreshing and invigorating — or perhaps it’s the cool morning temperatures. Our brains are stimulated by trying to learn new things and solve new problems rather than repeating the same old steps of yesterday.

Hopefully, you are in a good routine right now and your team is firing on all cylinders. Hopefully, Mother Nature is giving you timely rains and you do not have to battle too hard. Get out there and seize the day and make your golf course better than the day before. Raise your standards, elevate team members and establish even better routines. Your members, owners, committees and boards will thank you! Golfers will, too.

And since we are improving routines, take the time to introduce something good for you and your family. They will thank you for it. In the end, your family are the ones that will be there when the golf course is not.