You need to be comfortable with change or you will always be uncomfortable. I had an owner once tell me he didn’t want me to get too comfortable, that’s why he was always changing something. Just about the time we had the routine refined, improved and cruising, along would come some type of change:
Let’s reverse the nines
Let’s do shotguns on the weekends instead of tee times
Let’s only have full-time employees
Let’s only have part-time employees.
As superintendents, I think we adapt to change well because we must deal with weather, which is always changing. But we don’t seem to change jobs as often as some of our co-workers.
A former general manager of mine told me that his chair was the closest to the highway. I found out later he didn’t mean that in a literal sense. He meant that his position was turned over faster than other department heads. Sure enough, the next season he was on his next step up the ladder and headed to a different club.
One property where I was the superintendent, I worked with five general managers in 10 years. Be prepared for your team to change, for your assistant to move on, for equipment techs and other staff members to leave for greener pastures or a different career path. We have all experienced this, and if you haven’t yet, you will at some point.
I have had the pleasure to work with some great general managers and outstanding golf professionals throughout my career. Recently, my golf professional and I received a text from our GM. Our group text thread is usually filled with relevant club information, good-natured harassment, property pictures of something that needs attention, funny memes, inspirational quotes or simply, “Hey, guys, hope you’re having a good day.” This one asked if we could meet at 7:30 the next morning. All of us replied with a thumbs up emoji.
My pro and I got together a little after 7 to compare notes and guess what was up. Our guesses weren’t even close.
Our club owner and GM were in the room as we all sat down. After telling us how great the member-guest went the past weekend and that the members thought it was the best one ever, the GM dropped the bomb. “I am resigning,” he told us. “Springdale will have a new general manager next year.”
It was a health decision and what was best for him, but my heart sank. After hearing the news, I was asked for my thoughts. “I can tell a joke or cry,” I said. “Your choice.” They picked a joke.
I had been training him for three years and now all that was lost. That was part joke and also part truth.
Buddy Lawrence is a PGA member, a former course owner and a GM with previous superintendent experience at a warm-season turfgrass property. Springdale is a cool-season facility, so it took some time and patience to develop his trust in me that I was, in fact, telling him the truth about some agronomic practices being different than what he was accustomed to. The first year was tough on both of us. It takes time and shared experiences to build trust in relationships. Buddy and I have gone through the getting-to-know-you phase, said farewells to staff leaving by their choice or ours, endured the COVID-19 pandemic and what all that has included, mourned the passing of a staff member’s wife and the passing of a staff member on property, and prepped for and cleaned up after a Biblical flood that decimated the community and parts of the golf course. We seem to have fit a decade of experiences into three short years. During this time, we improved our relationship and improved the property and product we presented.
Enjoy your team, embrace the differences, and help one another become stronger. Learn from each other, knowing you will not always be teammates.
“Change is inevitable. Growth is optional,” says leadership expert John C. Maxwell. I keep the quote in my office. It has proved to be both prophetic and helpful. Even more change awaits in 2023, I’m sure, and my hope for all would be to learn something new each day and continue to improve.
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