Elevating the profession (Superintendent profile)

Paul R. Latshaw’s influence ripples throughout the industry.

He not only set the bar for the superintendent profession, he raised it – several times. For some, he raised it too high. The legendary Paul R. Latshaw, who retired as a golf course superintendent in 2001, remains active in the industry. His influence ripples through the business like a stone skipping across water. An inquisitive and humble man, Latshaw learns from others as much as others learn from him. Presently, he has a consulting business, but he’s slowing down and plans to take things easier during the next few years.

During his illustrious 37-year superintendent career, Latshaw worked at some of the most prestigious clubs in America: Augusta National in Georgia; Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania; Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y.; Shaker Heights County Club in Ohio; Congressional County Club in Bethesda, Md.; Wilmington (Del.) County Club; and Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. His longest job, 11 years, was at Oakmont.

Latshaw, a 41-year member of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, is a veteran of hosting major golf tournaments. He has hosted more majors – nine – than any other superintendent: four Masters, one PGA Championship (his first major), two U.S. Opens and two Senior Opens. Two of his loves as a superintendent were hosting tournaments and solving problems.

“I love to push the grass to the peak and provide a challenging test for golfers,” he says. “Every one of the majors we hosted, except one, we reached a higher standard of maintenance than before. It started with the PGA Championship in 1978 at Oakmont in August with great green conditions. The ’83 Open at Oakmont had green speeds that were unheard of, and the rough was challenging – it was more than a foot high, which some people thought was unfair, but it was consistent.

“The only event I wasn’t proud of was the ’95 Senior Open at Congressional because we had average playing conditions,” he adds. “The membership was proud of the accomplishments, but conditions were mediocre for a championship. After that, I decided to change my method of fertilization to foliar feeding. The ’97 Open at Congressional was my proudest because it was the best-conditioned golf course I ever produced and I was fortunate to have the best staff in my entire career.”

Of all the majors Latshaw hosted, the Senior Open at Riviera in 1998 was the biggest challenge for him because he was still working at Congressional.

“Riviera contacted me, but I couldn’t go out there because I was under contract at Congressional,” he says. “But they gave me a sabbatical that allowed me to prep Riviera. So I flew across the country every week for six months to prep the course.”

Latshaw never lived in California while prepping Riviera. He stayed in the clubhouse. While he was on the West Coast, Rick Shriver and, later, Eric Greytok, took over at Congressional. This was an unusual situation that would be difficult to pull off even now.

“That was my salesmanship,” he says. “That took a few board meetings to get done. I think Congressional liked it because it was their superintendent preparing another course for a major.”

At Riviera, Latshaw credits a few strong people, including Steve Thomas, Greytok and 12 interns, for a successful tournament preparation.

“I had great support,” he says.

The consulting business

After retiring and leaving Winged Foot in 2001, Latshaw worked for Signature Controls and then started a partnership with Advanced Aer Systems. He worked for both companies at the same time, part time, while consulting. He did that for two years before easing out of working with Signature and Advanced Aer to work as a consultant full time. Latshaw says he worked for Signature because it came out with a new irrigation control system he believed had a strong future.

“I always believed in new technology,” he says. “Signature had it, and Advanced Air was getting it. But I’m more about the concept than the product.”

Some might have seen a conflict of interest when Latshaw worked for Signature and Advanced Aer while working as a consultant. However, Latshaw says he tries to be fair and open.

“A consultant shouldn’t be selling for somebody or pushing a product,” he says. “But if I see a situation in which I used a product in the past that works well, I won’t hesitate to recommend it.”

Throughout the years, Latshaw helped integrate new products into the market, including the laser leveling process used for building tees, the barrier used around greens to keep Bermudagrass from encroaching, subsurface aeration and video training tapes.

Latshaw is no stranger to visiting various golf courses throughout the country. At one point, he had about 60 clients, so he visited those clubs in addition to those with superintendents who had previously worked for or with him. During the summer when he’s busiest, he visits three or four courses a week. In 2006, he logged 170,000 air miles alone.

“I kept U.S. Airways in business,” he says jokingly.

Latshaw doesn’t conduct half-day visits and usually spends one full day with a client. Sometimes he spends more than a day with a client if he feels the need. The cost for his visits varies from client to

client, and the cost of his travel is built in to his fee.
Latshaw isn’t taking on any more clients and will ease out of his consulting business starting next year, but he’ll keep working in other ways.

“I’ll be involved in tournament prep, mostly with PGA Tour events,” he says.
Also, Latshaw has been involved with New Knoxville, Ohio-based Brookside Laboratories and its soil and water testing. Latshaw says he’ll continue to be involved at courses where his former employees are superintendents.

“I’ll be involved with them until they get tired of me,” he says.
With another so-called retirement on the horizon, Latshaw has started to phase out his overseas travel. He used to go to Europe regularly and had clients in Asia and the Caribbean, but now he just has one account in England and one in Mexico.

“Travel is more difficult than it used to be,” he says.

Like the superintendent profession, consulting has its pros and cons. One of Latshaw’s biggest frustrations is when clients ask him to help solve a problem and he lays out an agronomic program they don’t follow through with because of cost or board/committee approval. So when he goes back to the course, it’s not what he expects to see. For example, tree removal is a controversial topic because many people can’t see how a tree is the cause of a green’s downfall.

A positive aspect about the consulting business is the improvements and changes Latshaw sees as a result of his suggestions.

“I enjoy what I do,” he says. “It’s a great profession. It’s great to see all of the dedicated people in this profession. People in this industry are really enthusiastic about their jobs. You’re always working with good people, and you make a lot of friends. Once it’s in your system, it’s hard to get out.”
Now that Latshaw slowly will consult less, he’ll spend more time on his farm in Pennsylvania. He’s interested in alternative and organic food sources and different composts and teas for use on farms.
“More and more, people are realizing our food can be better,” he says.

Influence and success

Latshaw’s clout is recognized throughout the industry. If you’re a superintendent who has him as a reference on your resume, you’re often a step or two ahead of the rest when it comes to securing your next job.

“There’s a demand for my guys, but during the past few years, it’s been more difficult,” he says. “The guys in our loop – I think it’s down to four levels now – have strengths. I get criticized for having my guys get the good positions at various clubs, but they’ve proved themselves. At one point, superintendents at six of the top 10 golf courses in the country were former employees of mine. I helped develop their work ethic. I don’t accept ‘no’ for an answer. Too many times we run into a problem and say it can’t get done. That’s when I say pull out all the stops.”

Latshaw says he doesn’t advertise the guys who worked for him. He receives calls from clubs looking to hire, and he puts in a good word for his former employees.

“They’re like sons to me,” he says.

Latshaw attributes his success partly to luck.

“I was in the right place at the right time and my career blossomed,” he says. “Back in the 1970s, the PGA had a difficult time finding a course to host the Championship. I got a lot of press. I even made the front page of The Wall Street Journal. Once you get in the limelight, people seek you out. I never wanted to be in the limelight, but it just happened.”

The key to a superintendent’s success is to surround himself with good people, Latshaw says.

“I constantly recruited to find good people,” he says. “Then when I got them to work for me, I pushed them to see if they really wanted to be in the business. I worked them, and they excelled. I always had people calling me.”

A certain level of success can determine whether a superintendent is great or just average. To be great, Latshaw says one needs to have a goal and pursue it, be a good communicator, have a drive to excel and take a leadership role when dealing with people. Being a good salesman also is important.

“People always say, ‘If I had that kind of a budget, I would be able to do X,’” he says. “You need to be a good salesman and convince people they need to put more money into their golf course. When that happens, the whole club does better.

“Most of the clubs I went into were struggling,” he adds. “It all starts with a good golf course. It’s easier said than done, and it requires persistence. Slowly you can raise the budgets. Courses are realizing if they don’t keep up with the Joneses they’ll have more problems.”

Latshaw really doesn’t see himself as a teacher but rather a stickler for detail. He says every job can be done better.

“I pushed for perfection,” he says. “I surrounded myself with good people. Those people did the training because they knew what I wanted. Training was set by example. I was in the Navy for four years and use its philosophy. When you’re on a destroyer, you’re forced to learn quickly.”

Latshaw also has seen many changes throughout his career. For starters, he says superintendents have many more tools to work with today than they did in the ’60s. Education is another considerable change.
“When I entered the industry, I was in the beginning group of guys who had a college education,” he says. “Nowadays, almost every superintendent has a degree of some sort.”

Superintendents also are working with better irrigation systems.

“During my career, I put in five new irrigation systems and each one was better,” he says. “We’re able to manage water better. I think that was the key to my success because I was stingy with water.”
Latshaw definitely has left his mark on the golf course industry, and he hopes people think highly of him as a good person who has helped advance the profession. Throughout his career, he has gained the respect of superintendents and club members alike.

“I helped raise the income bracket for superintendents,” he says. “I did it by example, not by preaching to the choir. In the 1960s, there wasn’t much respect for the golf course superintendent. At that time, my wife (Phyllis, who passed away in 2004 at age 63) was a school teacher and was making more money than I did as a superintendent. My paycheck is my report card. Because my salary increased, others increased. I wasn’t afraid to move or do better. I was fortunate that people paid me what I demanded. We’ve come a long way in this industry.” GCI

Paul R. Latshaw can be reached at latshawgolf@comcast.net.