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USGA ends executive search service for superintendents

By |  July 6, 2021 1 Comments

After hearing complaints from golf course superintendents, the United States Golf Association ended a short-lived program to evaluate and recommend superintendents for job placements, according to an email sent to GCSAA members from GCSAA President Mark Jordan, CGCS.

In Jordan’s email sent to GCSAA members Friday afternoon, he said that he appreciates the USGA listening to the concerns of GCSAA and its members and that he looks forward to identifying opportunities to partner with the USGA on efforts that advance the game of golf.

Rob Kick, superintendent of the Algonquin GC in Glendale, Mo., praised the USGA’s decision, saying the association was overstepping its role by getting involved in hiring decisions.

The governing body of the game of golf should be doing just that thing,” Kick said, adding that the USGA shouldn’t promote products, services or personnel. The rules of golf and the economics of golf are very different things.

The USGA announced in April that it was joining with GGA Partners (GGA), an international consulting firm, to launch a new service to place golf course superintendent candidates at facilities across North America. Superintendents, through the GCSAA expressed immediate displeasure, saying the USGA should remain impartial.

I had a problem with the USGA defining what a top-notch superintendent is,” Kick said, referring to the April press release announcing the USGA/GGA partnership. “I think we have enough people telling superintendents what to do.”

The collaboration was meant to expand the company’s offerings, with the USGA Green Section’s agronomic and maintenance expertise serving as key factors in targeting the unique needs of each golf course, according to an earlier press release.

This is posted in Industry News

About the Author: Robert Schoenberger

Robert Schoenberger was Golfdom's senior editor.


1 Comment on "USGA ends executive search service for superintendents"

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  1. Bev Johnson says:

    I wasn’t aware of this ‘partnership’ until I saw the announcement that it was being discontinued. When I read it, I immediately thought “Now that there was a BAD idea.”

    I TOTALLY agree with Rob Kick’s statement, “I think we have enough people telling superintendents what to do.” My husband was a superintendent/CGCS for more than 30 years until he decided to go to the ‘Dark Side’ and I can tell you that no matter how difficult it was to start our own business, it was worth every lost dollar for him to not have to deal with arrogant [or insecure?] General Managers, Boards of Directors, and especially The Board Member Who Worked on a County Golf Course for 2 Summers While He Was in High School in 1960: He’s Now a Successful (AKA Wealthy) Lawyer/Business Owner/Politician but Still of Course Knows WAY More Than Someone Who Only Has a Degree in Turf and Has Been Obtaining Continuing Education Ever Since He Started his First Job (I would guess that nearly every private club has one of those. If you’re lucky, they eventually realized that it’s a GOOD thing to let the person with training handle the job they were hired for). As a consultant my husband now has the best of both worlds: He still gets to hang out on Golf Courses and Talk Turf with his former colleagues, but doesn’t have to do stuff like “Just Keep The Grass GREEN, dammit” no matter if it’s good for the turf or not. Well done, you who protested this stupid arrangement.

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