Going to bat for the course

When a Boston Red Sox pitcher has a particularly bad game, giving up several runs, the team’s owner doesn’t charge the mound mid-game to demand better performance. In the same light, golf course owners or members of the board of directors shouldn’t make the calls concerning the daily operations of the grounds crew or other staff.

Golf course staffs should operate more like baseball teams, says Barbara Jodoin, Red Sox fan and general manager of Pinetree Country Club in Kennesaw, Ga. At a Bayer Stomp Out Stress seminar at the Atlanta Athletic Club, Jodoin says organizational charts often put the owner or board of directors of the club at the top. Instead, the chart should put all the members or golfers at the top.

“The general manager is in charge, not the board, and they all support the club, which is the top tier of the chart,” she says. “The job of the general manager is to support the team. Everyone on the team has to clearly understand the club’s goals and be given the right tools.”

Managing the dugout

Just as a consistently underperforming baseball player is dropped from a team’s roster, employees who only drag down the operation should be removed from the club or course. Don’t keep them on board just because they’ve been with the course for years, Jodoin says.

“Problem employees will make you look bad every day,” she says.

Nip the problem from the beginning by avoiding hiring employees who seem like they won’t be team players. At her club, Jodoin has the last interview with potential employees before they’re brought on the team.

If a golf course owner is a charge-the-mound type, chances are he won’t be willing to buy into Jodoin’s philosophy right off the bat. Superintendents or other department heads can start by setting an example within their own departments.

A good way to start is to rate the employees in the department regularly on a scale of one to 10. Anyone who rates below seven has 30 days to improve or they’re dismissed.

“Talk to them and ask, ‘What will it take to get you to a 10?’” Jodoin says.

Jodoin recommends department heads rate employees quarterly or twice a year in addition to holding staff meetings monthly.

Get fans in the stands

Loyal members or patrons, like loyal fans, are another important piece of the organization, Jodoin says. She helps to create that loyalty at Pinetree by including the club’s logo on everything in the pro shop.

Jodoin found she can get cooperation from the members because she lets them in on the decision-making process (the members are at the top of the organizational chart, after all). For instance, at the start of the current course renovation, all but four members voted they would go without their course for the duration of the project because it would result in a better end product. Since the start of construction, the club hasn’t lost any members, she adds.

Keeping members involved is a way to make them feel important and stay true to the club. Changing the mindset will change the culture, Jodoin says.

As in baseball, there always be a few naysayers, but managers shouldn’t allow the vocal minority to influence them.

“Tune them out like talk radio,” Jodoin says. “They'll suck you dry if you let them.”