Are you investing in your team’s mental health?

Golf industry employees pursue careers that support their love of the game. However, their experience may fall short of their expectations. Many jobs are subject to long hours, minimal time off, physical strain, and unrealistic expectations of golfers and club leadership.

The stigma surrounding mental health issues has motivated employers to support employees with appropriate resources. According to the 2024 NGCOA Benefits and Compensation report, only 32 percent of private and public clubs offer Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) and mental health insurance benefits.

Global trends highlight the demands for mental health support in the workplace and companies are quick to invest in solutions, resulting in EAPs doubling in the past five years. But this growth doesn’t necessarily lead to quality support. Many large insurance companies saturated the market with EAPs that fail to address the acuity and attention to personal care often needed to navigate mental health issues.

The need to address employee wellness rings true in the golf industry. Employers and employees have expressed growing concerns since the COVID-19 pandemic with recreation and hospitality workers notoriously under-supported by their employers. Statistics show they are among the lowest percentage of employees to receive any mental health benefits or EAP support.

Collecting statistics on how mental health affects employees is challenging, largely due to stigma and employees’ lack of awareness about their own mental health. A recent Syngenta Golf survey found that more than 60 percent of greenkeepers, PGA professionals and club managers reported increased mental health challenges starting in 2021. They also lack support from employers, and only 9 percent ever connected with a mental health provider.

This is a costly problem for an industry that has seen exponential growth the past five years. There’s substantial strain on the existing workforce, challenging companies to find and retain talent. It is evident that by prioritizing healthier workplace dynamics and culture, with an emphasis on mental health and well-being, customer satisfaction will increase. Not only will this attract the best employees, it will also ease pressure on current employees, encouraging them to stay in their roles and contribute to the industry's progress.

Supporting a team with healthy, proactive solutions that directly address mental health is neither difficult nor expensive. Implementing behavioral health support for employees who are grinding through the burnout and struggling with job satisfaction can streamline the process to address these issues, offer support and educate management on how to identify problems before they impact productivity.

Finding a service that understands the need for both individualized and evidence-based practices is more difficult for companies worldwide. Most EAPs are underutilized because education and marketing strategies are not used. According to a report by Burr Consulting, approximately 97 percent of U.S. companies employing more than 5,000 workers offer EAP benefits. But utilization rates remain low, averaging less than 10 percent. The services EAPs offer are often low-touch, with minimal guidance, usually involving sending a list of providers along with three to 10 free counseling sessions.

However effective the counseling sessions are, companies who invest in internal behavioral health support can see greater benefits. Without a close look at the workplace culture, burnout is contagious and difficult to extinguish without a thorough organizational evaluation. Since the culture in the golf workplace has traditionally been to “show up and shut up,” addressing this directly leads to sustainable and healthier team dynamics.

With the popularity of golf still surging in 2025, the industry is poised to reform and develop more attractive benefits for employees. The industry can now capitalize on the paradigm shift on mental health, as it’s become a buzzword.

The impact of social media, current events and a polarizing sociopolitical landscape is clear, and the behavioral health industry has grown to fill the demand. This has made navigating the behavioral health space more difficult than ever. The normalization of telehealth has supported this growth, but providers are not regulated or supported by supervisors. Challenges persist in the behavioral health space, leading to burnout and variation from best practices.

Even with these shortcomings, when employees can access services, mental health support has proven benefits to employee performance and retention. It’s easy to justify investing in mental health support for golf industry leaders. According to a recent study by the National Safety Commission and The University of Chicago, the return on investment is high, anywhere from $4 to $10 for every $1 spent on mental health support for employees, illustrating the cultural impact and the financial benefits.

Many EAPs offer affordable options for employers to invest in services. Usually, this is available at a per employee per month rate between $3 and $10, depending on the size of the company. According to a study on case management efficacy by the Institute for Safety, Compensation and Recovery Research, increased touchpoints with case-independent consultants can provide leads to better outcomes and higher employee satisfaction.

Many agencies supporting golf employers have begun to prioritize the issues around mental health in the workplace. Industry leaders have partnered with experts to develop new strategies and services for owners and managers to address the complaints. It’s clear the golf industry is poised to develop a reformed approach to mental health treatment.

As it moves to the forefront of industry issues, developing new standards of support can catapult golf as a leader in workplace behavioral health. With the health benefits of golf, and the passion many employees have for their jobs, offering these services can progress cultural reform and reach new groups to play and work in golf.

Max Hirsh is a workplace behavioral health consultant and Licensed Clinical Social Worker. He’s worked the past six years for a renowned Employee Assistance Program, Mental Health Consultants, Inc., and recently launched his own company, Scratch Counseling and Consulting, LLC. Learn more about his services by visiting his website www.scratchlcsw.com or contacting him directly at max@scratchlcsw.com.

14th Annual Super Social Media Awards

Kaminski Award

Jayson GriffithsThe London Hunt and Country Club London, Ontario

Super Social Media Awards

Andrew Dooley The Union League Golf Club at Torresdale Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Brent Downs Otter Creek Golf Course and Harrison Lake Country Club Columbus, Indiana

Joe Gulotti The Talking Greenkeeper DuPont Country Club Wilmington, Delaware

Joselyn Kent Duke University Golf Club Durham, North Carolina

Craig Moore Marquette Golf Club Marquette, Michigan

Tyler Rae Tyler Rae Design Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Conservation Award

Joshua Kelley The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Grande Lakes Orlando,Florida

Tartan Talks 103

Logan Thompson is in the early stages of his golf course architecture career and he’s already nearing the end of a nine-phase project. Yes, nine-phase projects can be a thing for a golf course architect!

“It was originally supposed to be 10,” Thompson says of the efforts at Loudon Golf & Country Club in northern Virginia.

Thompson is the lead designer for McDonald Design Group, where the work is steady and varied. Last fall, he completed the seventh phase of the Loudon Golf & CC effort. “Loudon is an example where people are really excited to see us come out, and they are really excited about what’s on the docket for this year, what we are going to improve and how it’s going to turn out,” he says on the Tartan Talks podcast.

This year, Thompson will plot and execute projects everywhere from Maryland’s Eastern Shore to the Blue Ridge Mountains. “One of the things I love about this industry,” he says, “is that no two renovations are the same. It keeps you on your toes and it’s exciting.”

Enthusiasm permeated Thompson’s debut Tartan Talks appearance. To learn more about where he’s working and his route to becoming an ASGCA member, visit the Superintendent Radio Network page of all popular podcast distribution platforms.

Course news

The Golf Club at Crown Colony in Fort Myers, Florida, approved a $12 million master plan that includes a renovation guided by Bill Bergin of Bergin Golf Designs. Work is set to begin in 2026 and involves upgrading irrigation and drainage on all 18 holes, adding and relocating tee boxes, creating grass bunker faces, and redesigning multiple holes, including the 10th and 18th. … Tubac Golf Resort & Spa in Tubac, Arizona, completed a greens renovation on its Rancho Nine, planting Dominator bentgrass greens. With Tubac’s Otero Nine undergoing a similar greens renovation in 2023, the 27-hole property now has 18 holes with Dominator bentgrass greens. … Winnetka Golf Club in suburban Chicago earned Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary status. … Panther National, a new residential community and private golf club in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, promoted Dan Fore to director of agronomy and Ryan Beech and Ryan Gurrola to course superintendents.