Starting over

How does one know when it’s time? That’s a question I posed to legendary golf course managers Tim Hiers and Ken Mangum back in 2016 when I hosted the Golf Course Industry Tech Conference. And Tim’s answer has lived in my memory ever since. “I don’t know, but what I do know is this: If the other opportunity doesn’t scare you, it is not worth leaving for.” Ken affirmed Tim’s words.

I first met John Cunningham in 2015 when we both attended the Syngenta Business Institute. John is now general manager at Grandfather Golf and Country Club in Linville, North Carolina, and he always says, “If you’re comfortable, you are not growing. The only way to grow is to get uncomfortable.”

By now I believe most of you know I recently changed jobs. After nearly 18 years at Carolina Golf Club, I am now at the helm of Idle Hour Country Club in Lexington, Kentucky. Uprooting your life, your family and everything you’ve established is not an easy decision.

Professional turfgrass managers make countless decisions every day. We are problem solvers and the best of us anticipate potential problems and stop them before anyone notices. But life decisions … life decisions are different.

My wife and I talked at great length throughout this recent process, and I said over and over that the easiest decision would be to remain at Carolina Golf Club. I knew the property better than the back of my hand, had long-standing relationships with the team and membership, and we were settled, living comfortably in what we described as our dream home.

Today I am now sitting uncomfortably in a new office, one without personal touches or familiarity — yet. In my first week it has rained twice, snowed and now the temperature struggles to reach 40 degrees. The golf professional texts me to say the weather has been awful since I arrived. We both chuckle.

There are some who thought this move would allow my family to get closer to home as both my wife and I grew up in rural southwestern Virginia. But this move really did not make that much difference as my hometown of Castlewood, Virginia, is 220 miles from Charlotte and 200 miles from Lexington.

Despite those weather-related challenges, my new team managed to aerify all the greens and approaches the first week. All while I was busy meeting with members, coworkers, industry representatives and realtors. I expressed my gratitude to them for being invested in the process and seeing it across the finish line.

There are many things I need to do unrelated to my new position. I need to schedule a home inspection and a termite inspection and write a check for earnest money. My mortgage lender needs a copy of my first paystub, and I don’t get paid for another week. To say things are a little chaotic would not be inaccurate.

But I find myself energized by the new challenges ahead. Creative juices once dormant are beginning to flow. And I know all the life stuff will sort itself out, hopefully before warmer temperatures arrive. Tim, Ken and John were right. In order to grow, personally and professionally, you need to get outside your comfort zone and challenge yourself in new ways.

I left behind many friends in the Carolinas GCSA, but the warm welcome expressed so far by folks here in the Kentuckiana GCSAA has been uplifting. We say it all the time, this profession, this brotherhood and sisterhood, really is the best in the world.

Our lives and our mental wellbeing are our responsibility. We cannot be good stewards of our employer’s property if our lives are in disarray. And sometimes what feels comfortable can also contribute to the imbalance we sometimes face.

Change, whether forced or chosen, is kind of like rebooting an electronic device that is not functioning properly. You are responsible for yourself and there are many people within your lives who are counting on you, your family, your team, your co-workers and your employer.

So if your creative juices are not flowing, take a deep look within yourself and your environment to see if a change of scenery is needed to restore them. Because there are people counting and depending on you to be your best version of yourself.

And when it comes time, you will know. I can’t tell you how, but you will just know.