Smart savings

Superintendents implement various cost-conscious measures to improve their budgets' bottom lines

As the high cost of maintaining golf courses continues to increase, superintendents are forced to control budgets more than ever and are asked to do more with less. The average maintenance budget of a superintendent is about $425,000, according to a Golf Course News subscriber survey of approximately 400 respondents. The cost of labor and fuel, along with cost-cutting measures, are major concerns for superintendents. Even though some superintendents enjoy an almost endless budget, the majority are being creative in their pursuit of producing a healthy track within a tight budget.

At Heritage Highlands Golf and Country Club, superintendent Dave Herman saves about $35,000 in water, seed and manpower by not overseeding out-of-play areas.

Labor costs
Labor is a large portion of any budget, but attempting to operate a golf course with a skeleton crew can be counter-productive. Getting the staff to work efficiently and remain on the same page is a vital part of keeping labor costs down. Also, having the staff on the course at the right time of day or day of the week is extremely important.

Dave Herman, CGCS, at Heritage Highlands Golf and Country Club in Tucson, Ariz., spends $678,000 on labor annually – that’s roughly 40 percent of his $1.7 million budget.

But Trent Wash, superintendent and club manager at Ellsworth Meadows Golf Club in Hudson, Ohio, has to make due with a total budget that’s roughly half of what Herman has for labor alone. The $350,000 budget allows him to keep only two full-time employees on the maintenance staff and three in the clubhouse.

“You can kill yourself with labor,” Wash says. “We limit or curb overtime as much as possible.”

Superintendent Dave Herman spends $678,000 on labor annually at Heritage Highlands.

Eliminating all (or most) overtime creates the opportunity to hire part-time help. Courses are able to hire people to work only a few hours for lower pay – with golf privileges as an incentive.

Whereas Wash contends with a shortened playing season in Northeast Ohio, Herman’s staff works 12 months a year – quite heavily during the winter season. The added four or five months must be taken into consideration when preparing a budget. Conversely, an early spring or extended winter can force superintendents in the North to adjust their budgets on the fly.

In parts of the country such as Alabama’s Gulf Coast, where rain is plentiful – and sometimes overabundant – Magnolia Grove Golf Course superintendent Scot Ribolla says weather affects his labor situation. The 54-hole facility, part of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, has a budget of $1.1 million – 65 percent of which is dedicated to labor.

“We run lean anyway,” Ribolla says. “If we get a lot of rain, instead of hanging around we go home. That saves money.”

Ribolla, who’s been with the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail for 10 years (the last six as a superintendent), says he generally has a staff of fewer than 30 people, but is currently running higher because he is preparing to host the LPGA Tournament of Champions in November.

Preordering chemicals can save superintendents up to 5 percent in their budgets.

Like Wash, Michelle Frazier, CGCS, at Boston Hills Country Club in Hudson, Ohio, has a small budget – less than $220,000. She says 60 percent of the budget is spent on labor – including her, an assistant and 16 or 17 part-time employees. To get the maximum amount of work from her staff, Frazier has implemented a very regimented schedule and doesn’t allow overtime.

Scheduling for peak hours is another aspect of managing the labor budget. It would be nice to have a full complement of workers on duty throughout the day, but it’s much more practical to load up employees in the early morning hours before a course is filled with golfers. Having half a staff on the course at 2 p.m. isn’t nearly as important as having an entire staff working at 6 a.m. By prioritizing when employees are on the clock, superintendents can maximize their work force.

Soaring fuel prices
Another aspect of the budget that’s a concern is the cost of fuel. The price of oil reached all-time highs during the summer, and gas prices were high last year. Many superintendents accounted for a little more in this season’s budget, but nobody could have predicted prices higher than $3 a gallon. Ribolla budgeted $28,000 for fuel this season, but expects to be over budget $10,000 to $15,000.

“We’re way over our budget in fuel,” he says. “It’s fuel surcharges. We can’t really pass those on to customers and say, ‘That’ll be $37 for golf and $5 for fuel.’ There’s not much you can do. You’ve still got to mow the grass.”
Ribolla learned to shop around, just like when making major equipment purchases, in search of the best fuel price.

“We’re really conscientious about where we get our fuel,” he says. “We don’t just use one company. We see who is the cheapest the day we’re going to get it.”

Ribolla says it might be only a couple pennies per gallon, but that all adds up. He says he’ll consider the higher fuel prices for next year and will probably have to take money allotted to other areas to make up the difference.
“Costs are rising on a lot of stuff,” he says. “When [the price of fuel] goes up, it all goes up.”

Herman, who has been a superintendent for 25 years (the last 10 at Heritage Highlands), is concerned about the high cost of fuel, but deals with the issue in a casual manner. He says he really hasn’t done anything to counter the high prices and just grins and bears it. His budget is relatively unaffected because he has his staff performing more efficiently with fuel costs in mind.

At Boston Hills Country Club, superintendent Michelle Frazier saves money by implementing a regimented schedule that does not allow overtime.

“It’s not been as big a hit on me because we get things done fast,” he says. “You may as well consume gas while being productive.”

Cutting costs
With little that can be done to lower fuel prices, Herman cuts costs elsewhere on his course. He saves money by not overseeding out-of-play areas. According to Herman, he saved $35,000 in water, seed and manpower by practicing this method.

Additionally, he preorders some chemicals and saves 2 percent or 3 percent on the purchase, while spreading payments over five months. Like many superintendents, he also chooses certain generic pesticides over their name-brand counterparts.

When it comes to purchasing parts for his John Deere equipment, Herman has most of what he needs at the course on consignment from Arizona Machinery. He saves money by limiting downtime and eliminating shipping costs. If a part malfunctions, it can be replaced right then and doesn’t need to be ordered, delivered, then installed. When he uses a part, he’ll call in the order, be charged for it and then will have the replacement part delivered and placed back in the shed.

“You’ve got to produce in this industry,” Herman says about his relationships with dealers. “[Being productive] is directly related to the dealership and how it can support you. Plus, they know you’re not going to go buy from someone else … and there are plenty of people to buy from.”

Herman says having parts on consignment is fairly common, but he also saves money by having chemicals on consignment from Simplot Partners. Heritage Highlands stores chemicals on-site and pays as they’re used. Simplot Partners conducts inventory on a set schedule at the course and charges for what’s been used. Herman thinks having chemicals on consignment is rare because companies worry the amount used will be argued. That’s not an issue with Herman because he says the area is under lock and key and he knows the company well.

Water management is another area where superintendents can cut costs. Frazier and her staff water greens in the morning after they’ve been mowed but don’t water the fairways – they just mow, fertilize and treat for dollar spot every now and then.

Frazier saves on chemicals by using generics and name brands – alternating between the two. To eliminate significant time spent weed-eating, Frazier uses Roundup around trees. She also preorders chemicals to save 5 percent. And before ordering, she takes bids because shopping around can make a big difference.

Alternating between generic and name brand pesticides saves superintendent Michelle Frazier money at Boston Hills.

At Boston Hills, almost everything is done in-house. Frazier says she will farm-out cart path work and every spring hire someone to deep tine the course because it costs less than doing it herself. By doing most of the mechanical repairs in-house, Frazier says she saves a lot of money.

“It saves us from having to have a full-time mechanic on staff,” she jokes.
Frazier had the choice of hiring a full-time mechanic or an assistant superintendent when she took the job, and she chose an assistant.
Ribolla cuts some costs by doubling-up staff responsibilities.

“We try to be a little more creative with mowing,” he says. “We may send out one guy to mow instead of two. Instead of just mowing tees, maybe he mows tees and collars.”

Like Frazier, Ribolla contracts-out few jobs. Most work is done in-house, with a few exceptions. Hurricane Cindy blew through Alabama this year, and Magnolia Grove lost a bridge. The repairs had to be contracted-out. Bunker renovation on the 54-hole layout also was done through an outside contractor.

Advice
Whether new to the industry or a veteran of the golf course maintenance business, Ribolla says diligence is key to maintaining a budget.

“You have to be really conscientious and shop around,” he says. “Be careful how you spend the money. Be in tune with the spending and don’t delegate the spending to anyone else.

“Shop around,” he adds. “There’s often a big difference in price.”

Herman has learned a lot in his quarter of a century manicuring golf courses and subscribes to the axiom: The early bird catches the worm.

“Get as much work done as you can before play hits,” he says. “That’s been the biggest cost savings.”

Herman also suggests setting the water budget on the average of the past five years and not on last year’s number alone.

“Don’t cut yourself short,” he says. “A budget is a guideline of what you’re going to spend … it’s not always what you will spend. Some months you’re over and some you’re under. You just hope it comes out in the end.”

Awareness of where things are and determining what can be used help Frazier maintain her budget.

“Everything has to be watched,” she says. “You can’t waste anything at all. I’m like a pack rat. If something goes down, we save it so maybe we can salvage something off it.”

Frazier says she has listened and learned from the mistakes of those who came before her.

“Listen to your elders and superintendents who’ve been there a long time,” she says. “They’ll teach you tricks of the trade that’ll save money. If you don’t listen, it’s going to cost you money.”

Like any superintendent, Frazier would like an unlimited budget, but the one she’s got serves her just fine.

“It’s a great challenge for me,” she says. “And I love the challenge.” GCN