Ask Thad: Why do you love being a superintendent?
Why do you love being a superintendent?
— Allen Knight, co-host, Pullin Weeds Podcast
Easily the easiest and hardest question of this series. It’s easy to say I love riding around the evening before a big tournament with tremendous satisfaction in all that my team has accomplished but I’d be lying. If I’m riding around the evening before a tournament, it’s because I’m still working on something that I don’t think is quite right.
Do I do it because golfers tell me I’m doing a great job? I don’t know about your job, but most golfers point out things that they don’t like, not the miracle work we do when they’re still in bed. Because of the money, right? This is my 34th season, I started out during the 80- plus hour weeks of getting taken advantage of. If I ever did this for the money, I would have been out of the business by 1998.
Being a golf course superintendent gets in your blood. It’s a lifestyle that you must embrace. It isn’t for everybody and those outside of the business don’t always understand. It isn’t all about growing turf. After a few years nobody will ask about your grades in turf school, you will prove yourself to a crew or you won’t.
To be successful you will become a leader. I love managing the people on my team and having my dog at work. I love seeing my employees take pride in their work. I love teaching and talking turf. I love grinding reels and puttering around the shop. I love figuring out irrigation and getting young people interested in golf course maintenance. When it comes to that big tournament though, I must admit, I love the pressure. I love being the go-to guy.
This is the best profession in the world.