Alan FitzGerald on the keys to finishing ambitious projects

My years seem to start out the same. It’s late spring. The new golf season is approaching fast. My winter project deadline, once fluid, and the actual need-to-be-done by date, which were weeks apart, are quickly converging.

I’ve never liked promising things I can’t fully control — after all, Mother Nature controls too much of what we do in this business. That said, I like realistic goals that I know I can hit while at the same time setting my own earlier target date — even if it is more wishful thinking than any real certainty. Although some would argue that these timelines often live in fantasy land, over the years, setting “Alan goals” has ensured that I never missed a hard deadline.

Alan FitzGerald, CGCS, MG

Coming out of COVID-19, I had several large projects that had not only weather delays to contend with, but also the supply chain delays due to literal slow boats from China. It is amazing how much you can push and make things happen when there is a deadline motivating it. Laying the last piece of sod hours before a bridal shower might panic the planners, but once it is down and it all looks great by the time people arrive, it still counts. Everyone is happy, and the deadline was met.

This past winter was no exception. The start date for a major redesign of a par-3 hole got pushed back repeatedly due to a number of factors until just before we reached the critical point. Could it be completed by the start of the season or should we hold off and delay it until next winter? The weather to that point had been relatively kind, so with my usual rose-tinted optimism (and maybe a touch of ego), and glossing over any potential weather delays, I decided we had (just) enough time to go ahead.

My assistants questioned it, I think the architect thought I was a bit crazy, but we went for it. It started well and the ego was happy, then it rained, then the equipment literally started sinking … On the days we could work, it meant grading mud — until it dried out and then we were grading dust — neither of which is a wonderful medium to shape the earth with, as it doesn’t stay where you put it. Still, we pressed on and got it finished on schedule.

A few weeks ago, I had a conversation with another architect about superintendents doing construction work in-house. He mentioned that there are those who can do construction work, and then there are those who can do construction. There is a big difference. It reminded me of very early in my career when I first saw the difference between a bulldozer operator and a shaper. Both were very competent at
driving the machine, but there is a big difference between the finished product of each. Grading with the machine is one thing; crafting a vision into the landscape is another.

There is a temptation in projects to slap things down and call it good enough. That might fly at the very end when time is tight, but if you approach the whole job with that attitude, the result will always fall short. Doing in-house construction well requires planning and high standards from the very beginning. And having a team that is trained well and experienced in this work is essential to this success.

Of course, experience only comes with exposure, so there is always a chicken-or-the-egg situation —how does the team get the experience without having done the work before? There has to be a learning curve to make mistakes and train people to work to their strengths. It has always amazed me how talented people can be when they are given the opportunity to try new skills. Then it’s only a matter of time until it’s a team who can construct rather than a team who can do construction.

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