Living in the club’s house

One of the first out-of-state colleagues I established a friendship with was giving Cheryl and me a tour of his club’s facilities. It was a regular stop on the PGA Tour, and the clubhouse was enormous.

“Let me show you where our apartment was,” he said as we walked up a grand staircase to the second story.

I didn’t react one way or the other because in those days superintendents frequently lived on golf course property. Although it was infrequent to literally live in the clubhouse, it wasn’t unheard of. Sometimes it was actually a requirement for the superintendent to live in the club’s house.

When I started my career, the club that hired me had a house next to the shop. The retired golf pro lived in it, but when he moved out it sat empty. It was small and needed a lot of work, and no one thought about offering it to any other club employees. We used it for storage and a few years later we had the village volunteer fire department burn it. They got practice in putting out fires; we had more room for our new shop.

I’ve wondered why golf courses took the steps to house a superintendent and his family. One reason is that farms were purchased for course construction and included buildings. It seemed natural to use the barn and other buildings for the shop and storage, and to offer the house to the greenkeeper. Another reason is that superintendents seemed to have greater longevity at a club, more than the golf pro and especially more than managers. And it might have been presumed proximity to work was more important to us.

For some superintendents, a club home’s advantages outweighed the disadvantages. When a young superintendent is hired, he doesn’t have to worry about a down payment to buy a house. The club takes care of housing needs and assumes the expenses associated with home ownership. A new roof, new carpeting, HAC maintenance, painting and dozens of other costs we tend to forget about aren’t carried by a superintendent living in a club house. And there are no property taxes to pay.

Plus, home equity today isn’t what it used to be. Living in a club home also can make moving easier – no house to sell.

Bruce Worzella and his wife Mary are retiring at year’s end, leaving the house that’s been their home for 35 years. It’s been a beautiful place to live and raise three daughters. Their family was immediately embraced and welcomed into the club family. They worked and enjoyed life together. Mary always knew what problems Bruce was facing and understood them better. They will have fond memories of West Bend Country Club.

Another family – Steve and Cheryl Schmidt – feel their club home has made their family closer. It led to a real sense of teamwork and for their son, Tim, it led to his career in turf management.

But there are plenty of downsides to living on the golf course. You never really leave work. In most cases, the resident superintendent is also the chief security officer and the first responder when an alarm goes off. There is some lack of privacy and autonomy, and sometimes conflicts arise over work that needs attention in the residence. When budgets are tight, as they have been, home improvements can take on a low priority by the club.

If a home is part of the deal, it can be difficult for a club to hire a superintendent with equity in another home. And the home a club offers might not be in the best of shape.

Serious discipline is required to build equity similar to that available through home ownership. A superintendent’s job is difficult enough without being complicated by owning rental property. There is also the possibility a member will bother a superintendent or his family, complaining about green speed or expecting help starting a car on a cold January night.

I am convinced this concept is on the decline. I see club houses now being offered to assistants or to immigrant staff. In a case I am familiar with, a general manager moved into a club’s house the newly hired superintendent wanted no part of. I know of an instance where a new hire declined the club’s house because it would have created a very long drive for his wife to and from her work.

Is club housing going the way of manual irrigation, pull behind mowers and old Ford tractors? Likely not anytime soon. Most who have had such an experience speak very favorably of it. But one thing will be true for all time – home is where the heart is, whether or not the club owns the house the superintendent lives in.

Monroe Miller retired after 36 years as superintendent at Blackhawk CC in Madison, Wis. He is a recipient of the 2004 USGA Green Section Award, the 2009 GCSAA Col. John Morley DSA Award,  and is the only superintendent in the Wisconsin Golf Hall of Fame. Reach him at groots@charter.net.