Survey says...

The behind-the-scenes work of publishing a magazine is a bit like maintaining a golf course. It’s not that different from keeping up with daily maintenance while also gearing up for a monthly member/guest. Just like in your world, the grind sucks, but the payoff is awesome.

And, like you, we occasionally take a break from that insanity to think, analyze and plan for the future. We recently did just that to begin setting our editorial calendar (the stories we’ll run each issue) for 2012.

To help us identify what interests you most we did something crazy: we asked you. We sent a survey out and received more than 300 responses. Here’s a few of the things we heard.

You Like Us!

Just more than 80 percent of you said you read most or all of the magazine every month. For folks as busy as you, that’s pretty good. You comments ranged from “I like the honesty” of GCI to “It’s a great counterpoint vs. GCM.” Many also noted that we focus on the business side of things beyond agronomy. One summed it up well: “You have your finger on the pulse of the whole industry…not just growing grass…and you guys tell the truth.”

You Don’t Like Ads.

When we asked what you don’t like, it was pretty clear some of you wish the ads would just go away. Ah, there’s the rub. If the ads go away, so does the information.  I’m always reminded of the superintendent who told me years ago that “this would be a great job if it wasn’t for the #$%*! golfers.” By the way, the advertisers (did I mention they’re brilliant, lovely people?) like us for the same reason you do: we create interesting useful content you’re more likely to read than, say, some rag full of boring stories about string trimmers or miracle snake oil potions.

You’re Career-Minded.

We asked you what types of articles we should do more of and, of course, you offered specific ideas about topics (foliar fertilization, disease control, etc.) but you also said clearly that you want even more articles about career development. “Planning for retirement” and “Preparing to change jobs” were specifically mentioned. You also want other non-turf articles about communicating with golfers, using social media and managing your crew. Message received and you’ll see us focusing more attention on that next year.

You Want Us to Think Small.

We really do try to cover stories about smaller-budget facilities, but you called us out for still focusing too much attention on facilities that can afford every luxury. And you’re right. The best stories are often about creative, low-budget solutions developed out of the necessity that comes from running a lean-and-mean operation.

You’re Going Beyond Turf.

A bunch of folks want even more articles about non-turf topics like balancing work and family, managing stress and alternative career paths. Looking back, I think we’ve had more feedback on those types of articles than any others. It’s not unusual for us to get letters or e-mails from spouses or family members when we do a piece on work/life balance. It’s a reminder that this profession demands a lot from those around you too.

We’re Easy!

You rated us high on being easy to read and easy to look at. You like our format and our design. You particularly like our covers (which is appropriate, since one of the big awards we won this year was for best cover design) but we seem to have hit on a layout that makes it enjoyable. So, it ain’t broke so we won’t fix it.

We’ll use the results of this survey to tweak our coverage just the way you want it. GCI will continue to be guided by superintendents, written for superintendents and, happily, largely written by superintendents. As I looked though our back issues over the last year, I realized that more than half of our articles were written by you. More than 30 different superintendent authors have contributed since January 2010. I love that.

When I took over last year as publisher and editorial director, I wrote that GCI really is your magazine. I wasn’t kidding. We listen, we learn and we lead.