Bonus rules for green chairs

EDITOR’S NOTE

Bradley Klein’s November 2023 column offered rules for greens chairs. Here are some bonus rules we couldn’t squeeze into the print edition. CLICK HERE to read the first six rules.

Meet at the yard

Committees should meet on the superintendent’s terrain. That means at his or her office, in the break room, and occasionally out in the field for direct inspection. Having greenkeepers show up at a clubhouse meeting puts them in a professional disadvantage and privileges the role of the member as businessman over that of the greenkeeper as turf expert. It’s good to get the committee familiar with the yard, the crew, the equipment, the dirt and the swirl of activity. They’ll gain respect for the process.

Attend industry meetings

Clubs should provide adequate budgets so that the superintendent and assistants can attend professional training meetings, whether regionally or (ideally) nationally. It would help if the chair could also attend to learn what counts as industry standard while obtaining education on the latest technology, machinery and procedure. That will facilitate the chair’s stewardship of the superintendent’s position when it comes back to the club for conversation at the 19th hole, board meetings and budgeting.

Budget long term

With the all the harried decisions involving weather, club events and maintenance scheduling, it’s easy to lose track or become exhausted about longer-term needs like equipment replacement, staffing levels, maintenance building upgrades and golf course master planning. Here’s where the green committee chair can really make a long-term difference and leave a legacy that’s more substantial than a memorial bench by the 14th tee. Help the club plan ahead. Few clubs can manage simultaneously for the present and the future without sage guidance. The green chair needs to lead the club to a vision of the next five, 10 and 20 years.