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It could be worse: Don’t forget how cool it is to be in the golf business

By |  March 18, 2015 0 Comments

Considering the stresses and economic problems we all face, it’s sometimes easy to forget how cool it is to be in the golf business. We have a tendency to get caught up in the negative aspects of what we do and what happens to us because of the pressure we feel to raise the bar in terms of course conditioning and overall golf facility management.

And at times Mother Nature doesn’t help us, and indeed wreaks havoc on our golf course. This is beyond our control. But it’s frustrating, because day in and day out we take pride in being in control of the cultural practices we implement, and we implement these practices with precision and consistency to produce the best possible product our individual budgets will allow. Then out of nowhere, and sometimes for what appears to be no reason, Mother Nature throws something at us that wipes out all our hard work.

And it always seems to happen at the most inopportune time, like right before the club championship.

Other times, it’s an unreasonable member who seems impossible to please no matter how hard we try. So it’s easy to get in a rut and dwell on the tough times and negative aspects of the industry.

I understand that we all have times when we think the world is against us, and no matter what we do it seems like someone is complaining.

But if you think about it — and we’ve all seen this — there is example after example that superintendents have the education, experience and abilities to recover from almost anything that is thrown at us. Even the announcers for televised golf are amazed at how fast we can get a golf course in playable condition after a major storm or natural disaster.

This is what makes our jobs so interesting to those around us. When a neighbor, an acquaintance at a party or even a total stranger that I strike up a conversation with asks me what I do for a living, the details of my job often dominate the direction of the conversation.

You know what I’m talking about. People are instantly intrigued and somewhat envious of what we get to do in our daily work lives. Not just about how we do what we do (and how they can accomplish it on their lawns) but also on the outside benefits of our jobs. They want to know if I’ve met a well-known golfer or a celebrity. They always ask if I play golf every day and inquire about my favorite golf course.

Generally the conversation stays focused on what I do. Try as I may to shift the emphasis of the conversation to their jobs, it always seems to get back to the golf industry and what I do. It’s actually quite gratifying to know that our jobs are so interesting to others, but sometimes it’s embarrassing because their jobs are so boring. Accountants and information technology specialists just don’t seem to have that many stories to tell. If that accountant or IT specialist happens to be an avid golfer, you might find yourself the one doing most of the talking for a while.

And when you think about it, we do get to hang out at some pretty cool places (golf courses), meet some incredible people, enjoy the outdoors and do things of which others only dream. Even though golf is a livelihood to us, at the end of the day we’re working to provide a recreational activity/sport at a beautiful place that’s fun and at which people are willing to pay money to enjoy. Not too many other professions can make that statement.

There’s no doubt that our industry faces some challenges. And I’m sure all of us have worked a few too many hours in a work week. And I bet we’ve all been frustrated with Mother Nature, the general golfing public and even our own crew.

But if we continue to do our part as individuals to grow the game, make the industry stronger, be good environmental stewards and keep the golf industry sustainable, we can continue to have some of the coolest jobs in the world.

This article is tagged with and posted in Columns

About the Author: Mark Woodward

Mark Woodward is president of Mark Woodward and Associates, principal of DaMarCo Golf, CEO of MasterStep Golf Group and a contributing editor for Golfdom.


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