Face-to-face financial chatter (and fun)

A rainbow’s worth of bowling balls are hurtling down the lanes inside Bowlero Major League in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and pins are falling — six, eight, occasionally even 10 at a time. There are high fives and fist bumps and plenty of beers poured into glass mugs from tall, sweating pitchers.

Renee Geyer is pouring at least one of those beers and Sally Jones is picking up no fewer than three of those impressive strikes. A lane over, Phillip Fischer is notching mark after mark on his way to topping 170 and looking like a league regular. Geyer is the superintendent at Canterwood Golf and Country Club in Gig Harbor, Washington, Jones is the general manager and superintendent at Benson Golf Club in Benson, Minnesota, and Fischer is the assistant superintendent at Brickyard Crossing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Other superintendents and turf pros are all around them — two dozen in all, along with half a dozen or so other industry professionals — eating, drinking and, most important, sprinkling the water of life that is shared experience on new friendships.

Welcome to an after-hours night at the 14th annual Syngenta Business Institute, a four-day education experience designed for superintendents seeking to learn more about how to manage balance sheets, people and their own lives.

Introduced by Syngenta in 2009, the program has now welcomed 340 turf pros over the last 13 years — with this class the first to attend in person at Graylyn Estates, just outside the Wake Forest University campus, since 2019. Like so many other annual events, the last two editions were hosted on Zoom.

Syngenta turf market manager Stephanie Schwenke describes those virtual events as “a great opportunity for us to accommodate superintendents who likely would never have been able to make it here in person because their GMs or managers wouldn’t allow them a week away. It requires a lot of justification. But the networking was not the same.”

“I think even the attendees have noticed a difference,” says Mark LaFleur, communication lead for turf & landscapes for Syngenta, “because the number of applications that we got now versus virtually went right back up.”

Syngenta and the Wake Forest School of Business faculty who teach each three-and-a half-hour lesson have an effective formula: Interactive sessions on leading individuals and teams, leading across cultures and generations, effective negotiations, financial management, leadership and decision-making, and work-life balance, with each budgeted for about half a day — not nearly a full semester of information, but far deeper than surface level and more than enough to take back to the course to help improve operations and attitudes. The program is tweaked a bit every year, with updated data and information where needed and one new faculty member making their in-person debut this year.

Superintendents follow along in binders as thick as those that might line maintenance facility shelves and be packed with historical data about clipping yields and plant protectant applications. They will be carried back to those same shelves, where they will be referred to for years to come.

“So many takeaways to take back to my team, to my membership — to my home life, really,” says Craig Hilty, the superintendent at Rogue Valley Country Club in Medford, Oregon. “Met a lot of really great people who I would not have met. It was just a wonderful experience.”

“The biggest takeaway for me is just that each year I’m in this it’s becoming more and more about people than it is about turf,” says Jason Hollen, now the superintendent at Pete Dye Golf Club in Bridgeport, West Virginia, after a 12-year run at nearby Stonewall Resort. “And I see my role shifting more toward developing the guys who are going to take my place.”

Both Hilty and Hollen cited the session about leading across cultures and generations.

“I’ve got all four generations on my crew,” Hollen says. “I’m (Generation) X and it opened up my eyes to some of the things that I’ve seen and go, ‘Wait a second, that’s why they’re reacting the way they are.’”

“It gave us an opportunity to learn about them too,” Hilty adds.

This year also marked the first time any women attended the program since 2010, when Nancy Dickens, now the director of golf at Westin Kierland Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, traveled to North Carolina. Geyer and Jones were joined by Jill Seymour, the superintendent at Charleston Springs Golf Course in Lincroft, New Jersey. The three met in 2019 and have since formed a grass ceiling-shattering society, texting with a dozen or so other women turf pros almost every day — and meeting up on Zoom about every month — and volunteering for each of the last two U.S. Women’s Opens.

Geyer, who moved to Washington last year after a dozen years at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, calls her week at the program a “fantastic professional development (and a) great networking opportunity that I would not have had with people who are all of the like-minded and elevated level.

“You don’t always get that in a networking summit. Everybody’s at that level that we can have those higher-thought conversations.”

“We’re very excited to see three females in attendance because it shows acceptance in the golf industry,” Schwenke says. “The golf industry is evolving, there are female superintendents and GMs and they want to be at the table, they want higher education, and they would like to evolve in their profession.”

“And the thing that’s important is it’s not only that the men are evolving to be more accepting, it’s that the women are evolving to look for more opportunities,” LaFleur says. “And women are recognizing this as an opportunity and recognizing that they have every right to be here. I was excited to see three women apply — and they were some of the best applications.”

Much of this year’s class will reunite at the 2023 GCSAA Conference and Trade Show in Orlando. So will so many from the 13 other SBI classes. There will be virtual gatherings too, along with Twitter hashtags and text threads.

But nothing beats face to face.

Tartan Talks 78

Somebody doesn’t last nearly four decades at a terrific job without being a planner. And before discussing anything else on a podcast appearance — including his extended run at Rees Jones., Inc, where he’s the senior vice president — Greg Muirhead made an experience-based case for why every course should possess a master plan.

“I have come to realize over the years that having a master plan is essential, whether it’s a private club, or public course, or resort course,” he says. “I almost don’t understand how you can really operate efficiently or responsibly without a master plan that directs the future of your facility and helps you plan for expenses on the horizon.”

A solid master plan, according to Muirhead, begins with a thorough infrastructure evaluation.

“It helps you plan for the future,” he adds, “and it also helps make sure you spend the money in the right sequence and do the work logically, and you don’t put your irrigation in first and do your bunkers a year later. And if you do need to do the irrigation first, it gives you the opportunity to at least design it in a way where you’re not putting pipe where you think you might be putting a bunker one day.”

Green speeds, modernizing courses built in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and working with one of the world’s more recognizable architects are among the other topics we planned to discuss with Muirhead. Did we fully execute the podcast plan? Find out on the Superintendent Radio Network page of all popular distribution platforms.

Born by The Cradle

50 assistant superintendents gathered at Pinehurst Resort, immersing themselves in the 17th Green Start Academy to dream big and catapult their careers into new phases.

By Lee Carr

So close.

There it goes … hahaha, off the green.

Oh-oh-OHHHHH! That’s a massive roar, crescendoing for a hole in one!

It’s the middle of December. Laughter rings and smiles are as bright as the sun shining across Thistle Dhu and The Cradle at Pinehurst Resort. The music is upbeat. You can see, hear and sense lasting relationships forming across the resort. As if to illustrate the point, a tam o’shanter-topped elderly man walks gingerly arm-in-arm with his adorable lady and they pause to gaze across these adjacent courses, enjoying the action. In this fate-filled moment, infused with everything the Green Start Academy at Pinehurst is meant to be, how can these people be anything together? Built on industry bonds and supported by gracious hosts, the annual event fortifies and boosts the careers of talented assistant superintendents.

Oh sure, there was a massive power outage prior to the gathering and a few logistical hiccups.

Oh sure, some people had to change plans.

Oh sure, there were a few awkward, quiet moments before strangers became friends.

Here’s the awesome thing: the people in this industry lean on each other and embrace solving problems to find a way forward. Why else choose a career in a sport that was designed to challenge you? A sport that takes but is endlessly giving?

With a diverse group of attendees hailing from Scotland, England, Canada, and throughout the United States, 50 exceptional men and women worked hard, demonstrated potential, applied to be part of the Green Start Academy and were selected to participate from a field of more than 120 candidates. Pinehurst elegantly hosted the career-building camaraderie, with exceptional service provided by the entire staff, from the shuttle drivers (Hi, Glen! Hi, Bill!) to reception through the catering staff. Pinehurst No. 2 superintendent John Jeffreys and Pinehurst No. 4 superintendent Logan Murphy were a constant presence representing the host venue and also serving as mentors.

The mentors were involved in discussion panels and presented various sessions on the basics of creating a budget, managing course construction and team building. Alongside Jeffreys and Murphy, mentors included Desert Mountain’s Todd Bohn, Grandfather Golf & Country Club’s John Cunningham, Troon’s Matt Fauerbach, Lakeside Golf Club’s Robert Hertzing, Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Dan Meersman, Troon Country Club’s Seth Miller and Four Seasons Orlando’s Stephen Tucker. Their collective experience is remarkable, and the participants were grateful for the opportunity to learn from some of the best in the business.

Dr. Devon Carroll presented on diversity and inclusion, with a research-based focus on engaging women in the turf industry. Carol Rau led a series of sessions about career building, covering everything from tactical interview skills to understanding the hiring audience. Both women also helped moderate the panels and the event would not have been the same without them. Pinehurst director of golf course and grounds management Bob Farren delivered a meaningful address to the participants before they teed off at The Cradle.

The triumvirate sponsoring the event was John Deere, Rain Bird and Envu, represented by Kim Ehasz (respectfully referenced as the quarterback!), Tony Whelan and Porter Groves, and Mark Ford, respectively. It was clear how much care and effort went into this event, lifting the industry through guiding and investing in the next generation of superintendents.

For all the guidance given and technical know-how shared, it was also clear that succeeding in this industry is not about growing grass. It’s a given that those who can — and there are plenty who do — will figure out that part of things. Excelling in the upper echelons of golf course maintenance requires being a person who can inspire and work with others. It requires a character that is respected, a grit that is pronounced and the willingness to take responsibility. Every attendee has the potential to achieve. They now have multiple mentors ready to assist them. Let’s hope everyone enjoys, remembers and makes the most of these hard-earned fate-filled moments.

Lee Carr is a Northeast Ohio-based writer and Golf Course Industry senior contributing writer.

People news

Audubon International added Landscapes Unlimited chief development officer Jake Riekstins and Bridgestone Golf CEO Dan Murphy to its board of directors. Both will start as at-large board members. … After six years as the superintendent at Forsgate Country Club in Monroe Township, New Jersey, Don Asinksi is now the club’s director of agronomy. Brian Young is the club’s new superintendent. … After more than 20 years with Landscapes Golf Management, Chris Lewis is the company’s new director of agronomy and maintenance, overseeing more than 55 courses, clubs and resorts. … Georgia GCSA past president Scott Griffith is the association’s Superintendent of the Year. Off the course, he has advocated for the industry at Georgia Golf Day in Atlanta and National Golf Day in Washington, D.C., and has raised almost $200,000 for the GGCSA’s Legacy Scholarships through an annual fundraising tournament. … University of Florida professor Dr. J. Bryan Unruh will receive the GCSAA’s 2023 President’s Award for Environmental Stewardship. Unruh is also the associate director of the West Florida Research and Education Center. … Jacob DuBose is the new sales manager for Turf Connections, which produces turfgrass sod in the Carolinas. DuBose is a scratch golfer who has previously worked maintenance at Charwood Golf Club in West Columbia, South Carolina, and in landscape installation. … Third-generation turf pro David Latshaw is the new western territory manager for AQUA-AID Solutions. … Fred Perpall was nominated to serve as the next USGA president. A Bahamas native and Dallas resident, Perpall currently sits on the executive committee and chairs the championship committee, where he helped launch the U.S. Adaptive Open Championship.

Industry buzz

Troon awarded more than $100,000 as part of its Diversity, Equity & Inclusion scholarship program to golf and hospitality programs at Alabama, Penn State, UNLV and Maryland Eastern Shore. … The USGA joined the GCBAA and the ASGCA as a presenting sponsor of the GCSAA Conference and Trade Show, scheduled this year for February 6-9 in Orlando. … Profile Products opened its new manufacturing plant in Monticello, Georgia, expanding the company’s wood fiber production capacity by 50 percent. … Spray Caddie Golf Cup Cover, which was developed by assistant superintendent Rob Roberts, recently achieved patent-pending status in Canada and is available for sale throughout the country. … U.S. Battery Mfg. Co. recently introduced its new ESSENTIAL Li line of lithium-ion deep-cycle batteries. The line includes 24- and 48-volt GC2 models designed for golf-car applications.