GCI Q&A: Refusing complacency

Dean Graves doesn’t host major tour events these days or seek the spotlight…he just tries to wake up every day and do his job better than he did it yesterday. And that’s worked out pretty well.

Why has he been so successful for so long at one of America’s great golf clubs? Here’s the bottom line: When he was playing college golf at the University of Delaware, his coach had a habit of giving his team members little one-word pieces of guidance. The idea was to give them something more than a swing thought that would get to the heart of their real problem. In Graves’ case, the coach handed him a slip of paper that simply said, "Complacency." In short, don’t take what you’ve done today for granted and try to do better tomorrow.

Graves, CGCS, took that guidance to heart in his golf game, his life and his profession. As a result, he’s been a fixture at one of America’s great facilities – Maryland’s famed Chevy Chase Club – for more than a decade. Ask the guys in the Mid-Atlantic Association of Golf Course Superintendents who "the man" is around there and they usually won’t hesitate a second before they say, "Dean."

Graves has never strayed too far from home. He grew up in Lewes, Del., not far from the D.C. area. He was the youngest in the family and his father died when he was six. As a kid, he didn’t care about having one of the best beaches in the DelMarVa peninsula almost in his backyard. Forget making sand castles or hanging out on the boardwalk. He wanted to play golf.

"I realized a few years later that I needed to get out of the house and start doing something. I didn’t want to be a burden. So, my oldest brother found me a job at Rehoboth Beach CC."

He spent the next eight years working part-time in the pro shop doing everything from cleaning clubs to schmoozing with members…an experience that would pay off big more than a decade later.

His skills with the sticks earned him a slot on the University of Delaware golf team, but his interest in a career in the business pushed him toward a bachelor’s degree in agriculture/plant science. Shortly after, in 1979 he enrolled in the Penn State two-year turf management program and encountered Dr. Joe Duich who gave him this piece of advice: You’ll get into this business to be outside and manage turf and eventually it’ll be just the opposite…you’ll be inside managing people and relationships.

Duich, as always, was right. (Graves adds: "My son, Nick, is now at Penn State and loves the turf management stuff. I told him the same thing…if you’re good, you’re not going to be doing that stuff for long.")

After school, he worked for a couple of legends: Dave Kroll at Wilmington (Del.) Country Club and Merrill Frank at Baltimore CC. ("Merrill taught me volumes about water management and what you could accomplish with a ∆-inch garden hose," he recalls.)

His first superintendent job, at Kenwood Golf & Country Club in Bethesda, Md., was a great experience with an "awesome" owner.

Next came Bethesda Country Club, a job he held and loved for 11 years. ("I learned about working at a member-owned club and got to host four LPGA Championships…what a great experience. That was also where I learned that credibility is the key to longevity.")

Then, about a decade ago, he was approached about the job at Chevy Chase, the venerable D.C. gem. Ironically, an act of integrity 30 years earlier was one of the things that put him on the short list for the job.

"I was 14 years old and working at Rehoboth Beach CC," Graves says. "I spotted a hundred-dollar bill on the ground and kind of put my foot over it. There were some members standing there, one of whom had probably lost it. So, I had a choice…but I decided it wouldn’t feel right to keep it. So, I said, ‘Does this belong to someone?’ The member checks his pocket, takes the bill, says thanks, but doesn’t give me a nickel. But, we became friends and nine years ago the phone rings and it’s the same guy asking if I’d be interested in the job at Chevy Chase. Interesting karma, huh?"

What’s the role of the superintendent in this new club economy?

I look at the superintendent as one of the most important managers at any club. We have significant budgets and capital resources available to us, but with that comes additional responsibility. We need to manage prudently, but we also need to be flexible and be efficient all while not compromising the course conditions our golfers have come to expect. I know that here our guys are busy all the time. There’s no sitting around and no goofing off. That’s the way they’ve been trained.

How do you keep employees motivated despite the fact that it’s so damned hot in D.C. in the summer?

We try to make it fun. It can be 100 degrees out and the crew is having fun because we buy a bunch of watermelons at the end of the day or we throw an impromptu barbecue. You have to show them some appreciation. One of the most enjoyable things we do is to stage an "Olympics" on Friday afternoon. We have teams and events like blowing a tennis ball around an obstacle course with a backpack blower. One person blows it across and then they change and the other guy does it. It’s a riot. We also have events with backing up a trailer through a maze and a tug of war with a Carryall. It breaks up the monotony and lets them know that it’s more than just a job.

You’ve also been the go-to guy in the Beltway for working with the EPA. Tell us about that.

When Walter Montross was the president of the Mid-Atlantic Association of Golf Course Superintendents more than a decade ago, he created a government relations position, which was a very wise thing to do. I was the first GR chairman and kind of helped to get things going. That said, we had a lobbyist and the combination really helped the chapter get a bigger voice and get more organized. The most important thing is that our clubs gave us the time to do it because they understood it was important. If there are any club presidents or green chairman reading this out there, remember that!

I’m not the GR chairman anymore, but we still do things with the federal EPA. I’ve actually become good friends with Brian Steinwand, who is EPA’s golf guy right now. Chevy Chase has hosted several events to show the EPA risk assessors the routines of what we do, how we apply products and how we make decisions. Actually, they were back again this August for another tour.

Just to tell you how high the education curve is, the second time they were out we had 30 risk assessors. These guys are top scientists. I was showing them the different grasses and explaining the different management styles we use when one of them asked, "Why isn’t there any grass over there?" I said, "That’s a sand bunker." It was evident then that providing these individuals more exposure to golf courses would be very beneficial to the long-term relationship between the EPA and the turfgrass industry.

The club was honored to host them. They realized that the EPA needed to learn about IPM and BMPs. That’s why they come here. Plus, it’s a convenient location.

When you think back on your career, who really had the most impact on who you are today?

Probably the golf pro at Rehoboth Beach CC, Ron Barrows, who cracked my shell and made me talk to people. You have to be able to communicate and he taught me that. Then, obviously, all the superintendents I’ve worked for have taught me and helped me grow. My assistants challenge me all the time, too. The teacher learns a lot from his students.

Hey, I want them to ask me questions and challenge me. Like I said, I learn from that. But sometimes I flex my baby boomer muscles and say "We’re not going to debate this, here’s what were going to do." That said, they’re incredibly smart people. Working with assistants really is one of the great parts about this job.

What words of wisdom do you try to impart?

I always try to give them individualized advice, sort of like my golf coach did when I was in school. I mean, one guy was just too intense…never took a minute off and was clearly in danger of burning himself out before he ever got started. So, I gave him a fishing rod and told him to take time for himself. It doesn’t matter whether your strength is agronomics or people skills, there’s always a flip side that you need to work on. In his case, he needed to relax and get away from work occasionally.

You do some consulting with non-golf clients...

I really enjoy doing it. Imagine doing work on grass tennis courts or one of the big estates around here. These are people with high expectations, but who don’t necessarily have the expertise to do it properly. I try not to work on other golf courses, but I’m always willing to help out friends informally. I want to avoid that perceived conflict of interest that happens when a superintendent gets into consulting. But, seeing those other courses broadens my horizons as well.

I walk nine holes every day after I get everyone organized. I take my little recorder with me and make notes about things I see along the way that could be fixed. Mostly during the day, I listen to my assistants on the radio listing priorities, changing priorities, taking necessary actions, adjusting and planning. I just listen to them and I’m so impressed. It makes me proud to hear them because they weren’t like that when they came here. Now they’re proactive and they’ve evolved from being reactionary. That’s really satisfying.

It makes my job easier and trains them. They’re smart, focused and they care. My goal is to make sure that when they leave here they have their priorities right – on and off the course.

What’s the secret to longevity at a high-end private club?

I remember hearing other superintendents say that it’s a young man’s profession…and it is if you let it be. I’m 53 but I think I’m still young. I take that to heart every day. You cannot rest on your laurels. You have to work hard every day. You have to demonstrate your worth constantly. You have to remember that they can always get somebody else, so you have to constantly demonstrate a level of experience and technical skill that reaffirms their confidence in you. You walk in every day and think, "What can I improve?"

On a nuts-and-bolts level, it’s about relationships with members, your general manager, the golf pro, your chairman and your staff. Every day’s a new day and you have to bring value.

The small stuff really matters. I believe in constant communication with the membership. We do e-mail updates on course activities to members, we have a hot line for condition updates, we do locker room/golf shop postings and we do seminars for the various golfing constituencies. Members shouldn’t be frustrated – little things really matter and that’s the value a good superintendent brings: innovation and honesty. Whenever you say something to anyone, be honest.

How do you build a reputation for integrity?

Give them choices and follow through. Say you’ve got bermudagrass in your fairways and you know you need to get rid of it. Give them choices to get rid of it. You can use Basamid, Roundup, methyl bromide, etc., and here are the consequences for each. Give them a business report on what it costs, what will happen and how it will impact their enjoyment of the course. Then, do what you say and say what you do. Your integrity is so important. If you don’t know the answer, you need to be comfortable enough to say you don’t but you will find out. If you do, tell ‘em.

I’ve been fortunate to have a job I love to go to every day. There’s never a day I say, "I don’t want to go to work." Always choose to do something you love. Follow your heart, not your wallet. It’s worked OK for me. GCI