Preparing for pressure

Golf’s major championships now dominate the game. The world’s best players gear their schedules and preparation around the four weeks of the year when majors are contested. A win in one of the majors often changes the arc of players’ careers and even their lives. It’s no wonder that under the pressure that accompanies these events we sometimes see players come unglued.

But what about the courses chosen to host a major? How do they deal with the pressure that in many ways equals what the players feel? The answer is that they prepare. They plan, anticipate and devise contingencies to such an extent that they manage to make hosting a major tournament look almost routine.

What can superintendents and other club and facility managers learn from these battle-tested professionals? Two veterans of major championship events say there are three keys to success: advance preparation, communication, and the ability to anticipate and then deal with unexpected circumstances.

Advance Preparation

Nick Sidorakis, general manager and CEO of Southern Hills, which has hosted numerous PGA and USGA championships, including the 2022 PGA Championship, likes to say that “planning prevents poor performance.” To make sure no detail falls into a proverbial crack, Sidorakis created a 10-point preparation checklist that emphasizes coordination with tournament hosts, tournament directors, operations managers, vendors and city officials. And that’s all before he gets to the items on his list specific to the remarkable Southern Hills course itself.

Russ Myers, Southern Hills’ acclaimed golf course superintendent, keeps his own checklist, which includes:

• Achieve the objectives of the host organization and partners. At the major championship level, these are the objectives of the PGA Tour, the PGA of America and the USGA. In the case of a local or regional event, these partners would include PGA sections, corporate entities and charitable organizations, all of which have objectives and their own definitions of success.
• Do whatever it takes to eliminate ground under repair areas prior to the event, and to the extent possible avoid lift, clean and place.
• Let the golf and the golfers be the event’s main story, not the decisions made by the superintendent or the crew.
• Build infrastructure, staffing and plans that can adapt quickly to a wide range of potential challenges.

Communication

Keeping multiple affiliated parties well-informed is essential to success. Three components that drive effective communications are:

• Content: Make sure the plan includes all affiliated parties, from players to staff to those not even present at the golf course. Plan communications for each segment, detailing priorities for each audience segment in clear and concise language. Use visuals — photos and video to reinforce key messages.
• Character: Make your communications reflect your values and the club’s culture. Allow your passion, enthusiasm, and commitment to ring through.
• Cadence: Predetermine the pace of your messaging. Enable key constituencies to anticipate your next communication by establishing a disciplined communications schedule.

Agility for the Unexpected

“Not sure anything is unexpected. Everything that can happen will either happen, or at the least, needs to be prepared for,” says Myers, whose checklist reflects his experience preparing for golf’s marquee events:

• Foster a culture of anticipation and quick reaction.
• Recruit industry professionals who understand your culture and can support your goals.
• Provide the facilities, tools and opportunities for your team and volunteers to help you be successful.

Few courses and superintendents will ever host a major. But simply keeping members and customers satisfied and engaged and their course in the best condition possible is a major challenge.

Myers and Sidorakis both emphasize the need to stay flexible and to realize that even the best plans will require adjustments. Myers puts it this way: “When (the event starts), the issues you were initially concerned with will likely not be the ones you end up focusing on.”

Or as Mike Tyson famously observed: “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”