Time to heal

Country clubs can generate significant revenue by hosting many golf outings during the year. For a general manager, it might seem like a no-brainer to host as many outings as possible. But to a golf course superintendent, that might not sound like a good idea because outings affect course maintenance negatively.

The Kenwood Country Club in Cincinnati generates 40,000 rounds of golf each year and hosts seven annual outings.

At the Ohio Turfgrass Foundation’s conference and show earlier this month in Columbus, Dennis Warner, golf course superintendent at Kenwood Country Club in Cincinnati, gave a presentation called “Juggling the Economics of Monday Golf Outings Versus Maintenance.”

Kenwood generates 40,000 rounds annually on 36 holes. The club hosts outings to serve golf, charities and the community, attract potential new members and make money, according to Warner. The minimum number of people for an outing the club allows is 100, and the maximum is 400. For some outings, people donate food to decrease the cost of the outing. If the club provides the food and beverage, it can generate more revenue from an outing.

But with all the potential revenue a club can make from outings, Warner raises the question of whether it’s worth it and what’s the expense. Three drawbacks are:
1. Member inconvenience and dissatisfaction;
2. Staff fatigue and moral; and
3. Unreimbursed labor and material.

It’s difficult to put a dollar amount on these expenses or drawbacks, Warner says. Nonetheless, hosting outings impacts the playability of a course, and members can tell if there was on outing on a Monday while they’re golfing on Tuesday.

“They don’t like us prostituting their course,” Warner says.

With that said, Warner says there are two main things he and the maintenance staff can do to minimize the downsides of having outings.

The first is communication. At the beginning of the year, superintendents should plug-in important maintenance dates on the calendar and plan the golf outings around them. Superintendents need to gain back time to repair and maintain the course because outings usually occur the day of the week the course is closed. Superintendents need to communicate this to the green chairman and general manager. After considering the time and maintenance needed to repair the courses from outings, Kenwood went from having 13 outings annually to seven.

It’s also important to have the people who participate in the golf outings abide by the rules of the course.

“Put up plenty of signage and enforce replacing divots,” Warner says.

The second thing superintendents can do to help minimize the drawbacks of outings is become better managers. Implementing flex scheduling and making the best use of equipment are two examples of that. Superintendents also can better manage expectations with members.

“When member whine about outings, don’t whine with them,” Warner says. “Explain that the outings support charities and explain your concern about the maintenance of the course.”