Variable direct(or)ions

It’s July, middle of an Indiana summer, and I’m walking through the Harrison Lake clubhouse to shake a few members’ hands. Our owner, Bob Haddad Jr., is speaking with a prospective member. 

Bob: “Sir, I would like you to meet Brent Downs. He’s our director of agronomy for here and across the city at Otter Creek.”

Member: “So you are the ... super?”

Bob: “Well, not really. You see, he is the director of our maintenance operations ...”

Darkness there and nothing more … (Literary nerd. Don’t judge me, ha!)

I smile to myself, because this is not the first time — and it will not be the last. 

Has there ever been a position that has been less defined than director of maintenance operations?

Although this is not a new position, it only became prominent in the last five to 10 years with the advance of golf management companies, mergers and multi-play facilities.

However, like my friend at Harrison Lake said with his facial expression: What is it? And what does it take to be successful?

What is a director?

At its core, the director is the head of the golf course maintenance operation. They are the leader of any maintenance that occurs throughout the property. “I am responsible for everything that happens from one step outside the clubhouse to the edges of multiple properties,” says John Reilly, the director of agronomy at Longboat Key Club in Siesta Key, Florida.

That is a very broad definition, but one that turns out to be remarkably accurate in terms of interviews I did in preparation for my own role as well as for this article. It can have many faces, which can make it difficult to define. In a multi-course operation, they are responsible for all the courses. In a single 18-hole operation, they are responsible for the golf course, plus the grounds areas and landscaping. In a management company, they are responsible for a portfolio of properties. 

These positions come with a range of titles

Words such as agronomy, grounds, maintenance, facilities and golf course operations can follow “director” in industry nomenclature. With that broad range of titles, you get a broad range of job descriptions. 

On one end of the spectrum, in a standard 18-hole operation, the job description reads like a superintendent with an increased level of responsibility. On the other end, you have large multi-course operations, and that position looks more like a C-level executive than what a superintendent job description reads like today. This means a focus on meetings, organizational structure, logistics, ordering and a lot more operational management.

Confused yet?

That is very understandable. Instead of trying to put a fixed definition on the director position, it’s up to each individual and the club leadership to define the parameters and expectations. Taking that conceptual approach can link to one of the more special, intriguing and rewarding definitions of all: the director is whatever he or she needs to be to make that departmental operation successful!

My own journey

In 2022, Haddad, who already owned Harrison Lake Country Club, purchased Otter Creek Golf Course. As the two clubs evolved under the same ownership, it became apparent that first year that he was interested in linking the two operations. He offered me the director role in August 2023. After much prayer and deliberation, I chose to accept. 

The first phone calls I made in these types of situations went to the mentors, Matt Weitz and Justin Sims, whom I discussed at length in my December 2020 story, “Middle-age mentors.” Weitz is the director of agronomy at Vaquero Club in Westlake, Texas; Sims is the director of grounds and facilities at The Alotian Club in Roland, Arkansas.

As always, their advice proved invaluable in the transition. Like many director roles, mine has its unique challenges. We’re maintaining two separate properties 25 minutes apart. Otter Creek is 27 holes; Harrison Lake is 18 holes. There were many challenges and bumps along the way in Year 1, but that’s been part of the satisfaction of the improvement process. Failures are simply opportunities for future successes. I was fortunate to have peers who coached me before, during and after the first year.

Given that context, I would like to share three concepts critical to success in any director role, especially in the early days.

Learn to let go

This is NOT a natural skill for any superintendent. Many of us are very hands-on in our leadership style, but you MUST learn to let go. This becomes exponentially more true the larger your operation becomes. You can’t be everywhere. If you try to do this, you will drive yourself and your team insane. Rick Tegtmeier, CGCS, MG, who recently retired as a director of grounds at Des Moines Golf & Country Club, says: “I used to tell them what I wanted done. Then I realized I needed to ask them what they wanted to do, and that is so critical. You have to begin to let go of some of your control and let them find their way.”

To be successful, you must become less so your team can become more. Give your managers the responsibility and take accountability for yourself to let them take the reins of their management responsibilities.

Focus on the operation 

Learning to let go allows you to do something you may not have been able to do before because of the “tyranny of the urgent.”

Weitz says that in his role he spends a lot more time looking at structuring and procedures than he ever could as a superintendent. It allowed him to focus on the operational efficiency much more, and that is something he passed on to me. You have people you hired to manage the golf course. They’re skilled. You are a director because you have — or are growing — skills extending off that and this is the perfect opportunity to use those.

Do you have proper training and expectation procedures for your operation? Has your budget been refined and are there areas where waste can be eliminated? Are there jobs you can combine to become more efficient? If you have multiple facilities, are there ways you can tie together certain products, equipment or even team members to make each department work as one for a greater good? Finding answers to these questions and communicating them to your teams and key stakeholders allows you to produce a better, more consistent product — often at a very reasonable cost based on expectations.

It's the people, stupid!

Finally, and most importantly, it’s about the people on your team. There have been countless articles written on that very subject, but, in the director role, it’s more critical than ever. All four directors I spoke with hit on that being a top priority. 

Reilly: “I am a people person in a people business. We have a low turnover rate and I make it a point every day to let my team know how much I appreciate that.”

Sims: “I make it a point to know my team away from work. Families, hobbies, etc. We connect on levels that just aren’t about mowing grass.”

Tegtmeier: “I will always have their back. We succeed as a team. If we fail, that’s on me alone.”

Weitz: “We are all in this together.”

This will always be a relationship business, whether you are data-driven, feel-based, logistic-minded or efficiency-modeled. Because of this, I want to speak about my most important work relationships: the ones I have with our superintendents.

Cory Troyer and Mitchell Eickhoff are the first drivers of our success. They are my main points of contact. The way we work together and are learning to work together has driven both properties to their greatest successes in 2024. If we have a toxic working relationship, it will filter through the entire golf course maintenance operation. I’m very fortunate to work with two superintendents of their caliber.

Ironically, we are very different people. Mitchell is a rising performer, Cory is the accomplished veteran and I’m the generation in the middle. But amid those differences, we come together to find our biggest strengths. Instead of hearing that from me, I think it’s far more beneficial for the reader to hear it from them.

In Cory’s words

I have been in the turf industry for more than 25 years and working with a director of agronomy is a new experience for me. The biggest challenges have been letting go of responsibilities and different management styles. I’ve always been responsible for all aspects of the maintenance department; now I don’t have to be. That takes some getting used to. It feels a little out of control when I don’t have my hands in all aspects of the operation. But I also need to remember that our end goal is the same. 

In my case, our management styles are different based on a little “old school” and a little “new school.” Brent is more tech and data. I’m more whiteboard and feel. He is policy and procedures, and I’m, well, not. But that is OK. It allows for learning and growth. I have found that all those things are beneficial for the overall management of the golf course. 

Despite the challenges, it’s good to have a peer with as much industry experience and knowledge to bounce ideas off and having a separate set of eyes touring the golf course is invaluable. If there is mutual respect and no hidden agendas, the partnership can make you both better. In turn, you can make the facility and the operation better. That is a win for the owner, membership and staff.

In Mitchell’s words

Becoming a superintendent seemed like an impossible task for me during my time at my previous employer. The main concern was experience. I would say to myself, “I don’t have enough experience in budgeting,” or “I don’t have enough experience in people management.” The list of concerns could go on and on.

An opportunity emerged for me to be a superintendent at Otter Creek Golf Course, with Brent directly overseeing the operation as the director. I think many others would say that having a director over them would be a hindrance, not allowing them to do what they want. For me, having a director helped boost confidence in my ability to be a superintendent. Brent and I have known each other for many years through our past work sites. Therefore, I had an understanding of the relationship Brent and I would have during our time together at Otter Creek.

At first, there was significant oversight. Brent had been at Otter Creek for four years, and I think it was difficult for him to transition some of the responsibilities over to me. Who can blame him based on the work he had put in? Over time, I began to take over the scheduling of the crew and managing the day-to-day operations, allowing Brent to spend more time on future planning, working with our vendors and contractors, and keeping up communication with ownership. As he was able to focus more on those tasks, my confidence increased in my ability to plan out the short-term, daily maintenance, fertilizer and pesticide programs, and future cultivation.

Whenever I was unsure of myself or wanted to bounce some ideas around, Brent was available, and we could work together to produce the best solution or plan. I’m sure there are superintendents who are on their own and do not have anyone to filter ideas through or talk through decisions. However, much of the success that we experience comes down to our relationship and understanding of each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

Brent is a communicator, more agronomically focused in golf course management, and an excellent planner. I’m more of a get-in-there-and-get-the-job-done guy, a little more golf-focused on my course management. I like to produce ideas and put them into play right away. By understanding each other, we can help each other out.

Our relationship has not always been perfect. There are things that we do not agree on, but what makes our relationship great is that we work though these differences together. He’s always willing to listen to my point of view and not do what he thinks is best because he is the director. This has not only allowed me to grow as a leader, but I believe Brent has also matured as a leader.

Having Brent as a director has only aided my ability to become the superintendent that I thought I could be. He has allowed me to grow and learn along the way while not being overbearing. If I were to ever move up to be a director, hopefully, I can allow those under me the ability and freedom to grow and mature in the same way I have.

Final thoughts from Brent

Reading that, I can’t help but feel very proud (and a touch of emotion) of the culture we are trying to build here.

It’s not about me. It’s about them. And for these two, they are not about themselves, but about the teams they manage. It keeps going like that throughout each level and it’s maintaining that attitude that has allowed us to reach levels that seemed unattainable at some points. They are the stars, not me.

My view of my role is the producer behind the scenes who sets them up for success, and I take responsibility alone when some things invariably don’t pan out. We succeed as a team, and I carry the failures alone. Listen to any good head coach at a press conference and you will see exactly what this looks like.

To Mitchell, I’m a mentor, an encourager, a checkpoint. To Cory, I’m a co-pilot, a second pair of eyes, an idea rebounder. But mostly, I hope they see me as a person who supports their success in whatever style fits.

So, what is a director? A leader who stays authentic to themselves — but one who also finds exactly who their teams need them to be.

Brent Downs, CGCS, MG, is director of agronomy at Harrison Lake Country Club and Otter Creek Golf Course in Columbus, Indiana. This is his fourth Turfheads Take Over contribution. Cory Troyer is the superintendent at Harrison Lake. Mithcell Eickhoff is the superintendent at Otter Creek.