I can relate to this as I have experienced both sides of the spectrum during my time in the golf industry. First, the bad...
As an assistant professional at a resort course in Myrtle Beach for two years, the director of golf at the facility was a walking example of how NOT to lead. I can honestly say that I have never met another person that was disliked by every single employee under his reign. I would describe him as a "do as I say, not as I do" leader. Showing up late, locked in his office all day, seemingly bored with his job...just depressing to work for. In two years, I never once saw him behind the counter to check in a group of golfers. The other two assistants and I were in charge of everything...scheduling, merchandising, the overall "operations" of the facility...everything.
Now, one might say, "that doesn't sound so bad, it sounds like he felt comfortable letting you three run the show." To a degree, that is true, but we really felt no connection to our boss. It was the type of situation where, as Ben mentions, neither I nor the other two assistants would bother going to him with any type of question or concern because we had no confidence that he would, or could, help, or worse would make a bigger deal out of it than necessary. As a result of all of this, there was no "drive" in any of the employees and that's sad because we actually had a good staff in my opinion. It was a stagnant situation with no opportunity for advancement and was one of the main factors in me leaving the golf course operations field.
Now for the opposite...This summer, I am working for a golf course construction company on the renovation of a Fazio course in South Carolina. We are rebuilding all of the greens and bunkers, adding some tee boxes, and a few other small adjustments. As a newbie in the golf course construction field, I really didn't have a preconceived notion of what the project would be like coming into this and was even a bit unsure of my what my role would be. The majority of our help on this project is hired labor so I was pretty much immediately thrust into somewhat of a leadership role. However, unlike my previous example, this has not been a situation where I wouldn't bother asking for help because I have a boss who enjoys his job, who makes himself available, and who leads by example. While I haven't been given a lot of free reign on the creative side (it's a pretty cut and dry project), I have been allowed the opportunity to make decisions on the process, and have done so at will because I'm not afraid of making mistakes, and also because I have a boss who is receptive to questions and doesn't mind getting a little dirty to show me (or others) the right way to do something, instead of just telling us what we should be doing. Quite the change from before and a much more comfortable situation when you don't dread the sight of your boss pulling up!