how long is the tenure of the average superintendent?

[Mike_Young]

There is no more difficult job I know than that of a golf superintendent at a private club with a board.  From year to year they often have no idea what the committee will expect and all it takes is the wrong guy getting on the board and 20 years of efforts are gone.  This site will not admit or recognize that for 99% of golfers architecture means nothing and the “architecture” is usually confused with maintenance level.  IMHO there is much good architecture out there with average or less maintenance and much shitty architecture with top maintenance levels that are judged and rated not on architecture but solely maintenance.  The golf design business is at the mercy of the golf superintendent and his budget. 
Now, today, there seems to be an epidemic of young Slapdick type boards who don’t know just enough to not know what they don’t know.  I just saw a prominent club remove a good superintendent who had busted his ass for these guys and gotten them thru large renovation for no reason other than hanging with their buddies from other clubs and discussing firmness of greens and flower beds. 
I firmly believe that if two qualified golf superintendents were to revert back and forth between their respective clubs every three years both clubs would be better.  That’s not a slap at either but a compliment to two sets of eyes.  The recent trend of destination clubs visited by boardmembers and then watching golf news dudes talk about design and maintenance has created a dangerous environment for the average good hardworking golf superintendent. 
I think the golf superintendent is becoming almost like a professional running back .  When He gets the good job just plan on 5-10 years before they turn on you and have a good exit strategy whether it sales or course ownership or consulting etc. 

[Mike_Young]

It seems superintendents seem to agree but have to answer via PM.

[Terry Lavin]

I hope our current superintendent at Beverly is serving a life sentence. So ordered!  But on a statistical guess I would say 4-5 years. Fickle employers nervous employees make a volatile mix.

[Mike Sweeney]

There is no more difficult job I know than that of a golf superintendent at a private club with a board. 

Boo hoo for the golf guys

https://www.navy.com/careers/explosive-ordnance-disposal-technician



Okay, I get it, you were probably focused on the golf industry. In that limited universe, I agree.

Your idea of trading Supers between two clubs is interesting because is it a lot of pressure on one person. Mother Nature is bigger than one person.

The other side of having a Private Club Doofus on the Greens Committee is that person will love the club. Sure, he does not "get it", but his love for the "club course" versus his lack of agronomy and architectural expertise has to be weighed.

Do you want all Professional Politicians to run the country ??

[SL_Solow]

Very club-centric.  Other factors to consider are the number of clubs that are closing which creates further pressure due to the reduced number of jobs.  On the other side of the ledger are the reduced number of qualified graduates being produced by turf schools.  Many who do study are interested in areas other than golf.


Committees and boards that care need to educate members as to expectations, budgets and the impact of weather etc.  There are always "expert" members who make unfavorable comparisons with neighboring clubs.  They are often the same folks who can't understand why a course is closed after a significant weather events (heaven forbid that cart use is restricted) and who object to standard maintenance practices that have short term negative impacts on conditioning.  But with the right leadership and proper communication with the entire membership, these malcontents can be isolated.  At our club, we retired our Superintendent  after 48 years (granted him full privileges along with his retirement benefits) and his youthful replacement (who is a member of this board) is into his 2nd decade.  It helps that both are outstanding professionally and personally.  But its hard work for the Super, the board and the committee.

[David_Tepper]

"But with the right leadership and proper communication with the entire membership, these malcontents can be isolated."

SL_Solow -

You have hit on what I think is very important. If a super is active in informing the membership of what is being done, why it is being done and what the upcoming schedule for work is, I think that can nip a lot of complaints and negative speculation by the members in the bud.

Sending out a brief email regarding maintenance activities either weekly or every other week can really make a difference.

DT

[Tommy Williamsen]

We just went through the process of terminating the services of a 12 year super and the hiring of a new one. I figure that a super is like a football coach. Some stay for life but most move on for one reason or another. Musgrove Mill has had the same superintendent since the grow in (1989(?). He has been offered other jobs but no one wants him to leave. Three of my last clubs terminated the services of long time serving supers. In all three the new level of maintenance has been met with praise. Like a football coach, each super has his own way of doing things and stresses different aspects of turf grass control and bunker maintenance. All three of those courses were fine but the new hires have brought each of them to a higher standard of care.


I have great respect for superintendents. There is always someone irritated with them because every one of us club members knows how to do his job better than he does. Our new super starts next week.


When were were looking for our new super, one candidate told us that there were only 27 head super jobs in the US. We had 50 guys send os resumes.

[James Brown]

There is no more difficult job I know than that of a golf superintendent at a private club with a board.  From year to year they often have no idea what the committee will expect and all it takes is the wrong guy getting on the board and 20 years of efforts are gone.  This site will not admit or recognize that for 99% of golfers architecture means nothing and the “architecture” is usually confused with maintenance level.  IMHO there is much good architecture out there with average or less maintenance and much shitty architecture with top maintenance levels that are judged and rated not on architecture but solely maintenance.  The golf design business is at the mercy of the golf superintendent and his budget. 
Now, today, there seems to be an epidemic of young Slapdick type boards who don’t know just enough to not know what they don’t know.  I just saw a prominent club remove a good superintendent who had busted his ass for these guys and gotten them thru large renovation for no reason other than hanging with their buddies from other clubs and discussing firmness of greens and flower beds. 
I firmly believe that if two qualified golf superintendents were to revert back and forth between their respective clubs every three years both clubs would be better.  That’s not a slap at either but a compliment to two sets of eyes.  The recent trend of destination clubs visited by boardmembers and then watching golf news dudes talk about design and maintenance has created a dangerous environment for the average good hardworking golf superintendent. 
I think the golf superintendent is becoming almost like a professional running back .  When He gets the good job just plan on 5-10 years before they turn on you and have a good exit strategy whether it sales or course ownership or consulting etc.

Agree with this sentiment and the observations. 


I am happy to admit that I would rather play a lesser course architecture-wise that is in the best firm and fast condition than a better course that is soft and shaggy.


I made a trip to Cabot this year in July - which was in great shape - and stopped by the Highland Links course on the way out and was totally turned off by seeing the fairways shaggy and the greens slow and soft.  I soo wanted to like that course more but just couldn’t. 


The problem is that Judge Smails is on the board and he wants it green and lush.

[corey miller]

Mike


I don't disagree with anything you have said but the incompetent club board is just as likely to make life horrible for the Club Manager or the Golf Pro. 


I would offer that Superintendent, Golf Pro, and Club Manager are the three most important jobs...

[/size]Unfair or not, it does seem that to many people/members  high turnover in the Superintendent position would cause the least angst and perhaps make the least difference in "member experience".  [size=78%]

[/size]Heck for some crazy clubs I am sure the Chef is in that conversation.[size=78%]

[Pat Burke]

3.5 greens chairmen
Or
1.75 GMs

[SL_Solow]

The problem at the Highland Links is that it is owned by a governmental body which provides a limited budget and is not golf- centric.  Nonetheless, if you can't see and enjoy the architecture, you are actually contributing to the problem as you are suggesting that conditioning trumps architecture.  In particular, if slower greens are that big a turn off, the arms race is on.  Having played all of those courses, I also prefer the conditions at  the resort.  But the greens' speeds at the Keltic Lodge are not that far different from those in the 60's and 70"s.  It is a wonderful golf course which deserves better conditions but is a pleasure nonetheless.

[mike_beene]

I think TV is the enemy. If your members travel a lot they will learn that the most famous courses do things like punch greens and have some bunkers firmer than others and then hear other clubs gripe about conditioning. The grass is not always greener, which I just realized is an unfortunate saying in this context (or according to George Orwell,any context.)

[Steve_ Shaffer]

My former club in the Philly 'burbs ( a Top 25 in GD ratings) has the same superintendent since construction and grow in. The club opened in 1990.   

[AChao]

I think greens maintenance is really important.  I used to be on the greens committee of my old club and the only thing that remotely got our super in danger of being fired was a really bad green that had to be re-sodded.  Who knows what caused it, but it took him a relatively long time to fix it.  Good communication with other matters seems to be all that is required unless there is a Board Member who has an agenda and the Super isn't on board (even though he may be right).

[Peter Ferlicca]

Out here in the Phoenix Valley two of the best superintendents were at very high end private clubs for over 8 years each and both of the clubs were bought by individual owners and they were terminated very quickly there after.  If you work as a head pro, chef, or superintendent at an individually owned private club it seems like all it takes is the owner waking up on the wrong side of the bed for you to get fired.  You make the top percentage salary but what comes along with it is the constant stress of holding on to your job.  It is a cut throat business in todays age, as you said it seems like most guys last 5 years and move onto somewhere else.  I will admit about having a fresh set of eyes is good for properties, I just took over a 36 hole property and I have years of projects I can do.

The one plus of working with management companies now a days is the job stabilization, very rarely do you lose your job unless the conditions are just bad year over year.  You wont make the top salaries but having the ease of mind is definitely a plus. 

[JMEvensky]

"But with the right leadership and proper communication with the entire membership, these malcontents can be isolated."

SL_Solow -

You have hit on what I think is very important. If a super is active in informing the membership of what is being done, why it is being done and what the upcoming schedule for work is, I think that can nip a lot of complaints and negative speculation by the members in the bud.

Sending out a brief email regarding maintenance activities either weekly or every other week can really make a difference.

DT

DT, I agree that communication is important and can shortstop a lot of problems. But IMO, the Super has to have the unequivocal backing of both the Green Chair and Board. It's a 3-legged stool. When the Super says he has to do X, the Green Chair and Board have to run interference with the membership.

[SB]

Out here in the Phoenix Valley two of the best superintendents were at very high end private clubs for over 8 years each and both of the clubs were bought by individual owners and they were terminated very quickly there after.  If you work as a head pro, chef, or superintendent at an individually owned private club it seems like all it takes is the owner waking up on the wrong side of the bed for you to get fired.  You make the top percentage salary but what comes along with it is the constant stress of holding on to your job.  It is a cut throat business in todays age, as you said it seems like most guys last 5 years and move onto somewhere else.  I will admit about having a fresh set of eyes is good for properties, I just took over a 36 hole property and I have years of projects I can do.

The one plus of working with management companies now a days is the job stabilization, very rarely do you lose your job unless the conditions are just bad year over year.  You wont make the top salaries but having the ease of mind is definitely a plus. 

In general, job security is probably better at an individually owned club over the long run.  When the course is first acquired, yes, new owners like to bring in "their guy", but after that, it beats a member owned club when boards are constantly turning over and there's a new mission every two years.  At those places, superintendents need to be not only technically sound, but have to spend a great deal on interpersonal issues like those mentioned such as communication, education, and politics.  In some cases, that's most of the job.


Working for a management company can have some stability, but there's nowhere to hide if you can't manage a budget and you're not technically sound because you're usually reporting to someone who is.  Also, in many cases, management companies are brought in when times are tough and not everyone wants to be the guy to cut expenses.  On the plus side, there's no politics and members who don't have a clue don't have any power, and you're not blamed for things out of your control.  So there's tradeoffs.

[Ian Andrew]

I work with more than 50 private clubs.
The majority have been there for more than 15 years.


You can't judge the entire industry on what happens in the upper tier.
Some are on there 10th architect too ...

[Ken Moum]

When I was working for GCSAA, that was a recurring theme of discussions with board and staff.  But I always wondered how it squared with the number of superintendents who basically had lifetime jobs at courses all over the country.


Now, I realize those are not the norm, but neither are the courses like the one you just described.


I finally concluded that there is a certain kind of super, who is VERY upwardly mobile, and wants all that perks and money come with the high-profile jobs.  IOW, they are actively looking for the jobs that come with short tenures and high salaries.  Not because they want to get fired, but because they want to run that kind of course, and want the rewards that come with it.


I have no idea what the actual average tenure is, but I have seen too many long-term positions to think it's 4 or 5 years.


FWIW, North Jersey CC just hired the superintendent from Baltusrol's Lower Course who'd been there 15 years, 12 as superintendent. Mark Kuhns was at Baltusrol 19 years.


John Zimmers was at Oakmont about the same amount of time and moved to Inverness voluntarily, I think.


John Jennings last two jobs before Shinnecock were 7 and 12 years, at Patterson and Chicago GC, now he's been at Shinnecock for 6.  I'm pretty sure he happily took those moves.


So... I guess my point is that some clubs, and some supers are eager to either fire someone in the first case, or quit for a better job in the second. It's not just superintendents these days, look at stats for how many jobs are expected in their lives for most people who entered the job market in the last 20 years.


Running a top-tier golf course isn't something I'd EVER be willing to subject myself to, for any almost any salary, so I recognize the pressures.


But I still think the "hired to be fired" mantra is a little overstated.

[Rick Lane]

Our guy at an old New England club (founded 1895) is entering his 48th year.  He is beloved by all, which is a skillset in itself. Through the years, he has never "lost a green" as others around us did, even last year.   When he has to be conservative to "save" a part of the course from weather, the comments above about Green Chair and Golf chair running interference are spot on.   That's when it works best.  Communication, and not putting him on a ledge.   
 I also think the Supers have to "go with the flow" of committees, as our guy is now cutting back trees which they had him plant 48 years ago! 

[Tom Bacsanyi]

The industry is certainly in an interesting place.  While it's definitely true there are few superintendent jobs available, there are about a million assistant jobs available.  And even more spray/irrigation tech, AIT, and intern spots available.  The wages/salaries for these secondary positions are rocketing upwards due to the scarcity of candidates (albeit starting from a pathetic level).  If you have a little experience and a turf degree, you can pretty much write your ticket almost anywhere right now.  In the coming years there won't be a deep bench of future superintendents, as many of these ancillary positions will go unfilled and there will be less people working up the ladder.  So my advice to clubs is find a good one and hang on for dear life.  You can pay 100,000+ now, or 300,000+ in 10 years.


Find a good mechanic too.  Some would argue that this is even more important than the head man position and they wouldn't be wrong.  This position will increasingly become the HARDEST to fill on the staff.  Plus it will become even more important in the future as mowing is on the way to being automated.  Robot mowers.  Most courses will be unable to function without more than one mechanic in the future.

[Kalen Braley]

Seems to me given the small staff sizes at most courses, there will always be a dynamic that cuts both ways.  If you get a set of people who really gel, understand their roles, and get a good rhythm going, they will accomplish a ton.  But on the flip side all it takes is 1-2 under-performers and you really notice as every person is critical.


I've seen similar at a restaurant some good friends opened a couple years ago, lots of turnover, but when you have the right group they can be very productive.

[Ian Mackenzie]

How can there be "one answer" here?


Depends on how the super perceives the role and how ambitious he is:


1. The club: Is it a "destination" club (Shinny, Merion), a "stepping stone" club (Golden age doing a restoration), a "lifestyle" club (come be a part of our club culture and family) or a daily fee/resort course.


2. The individual: 1) relentlessly ambitious seeking new challenges to "push turf" 2) seeking stability, consistency and place to raise a family 3) any port in a storm who will hire and pay $xx....


Not unlike many other professional managers in other industries.

[Mike_Young]

How can there be "one answer" here?


Depends on how the super perceives the role and how ambitious he is:


1. The club: Is it a "destination" club (Shinny, Merion), a "stepping stone" club (Golden age doing a restoration), a "lifestyle" club (come be a part of our club culture and family) or a daily fee/resort course.


2. The individual: 1) relentlessly ambitious seeking new challenges to "push turf" 2) seeking stability, consistency and place to raise a family 3) any port in a storm who will hire and pay $xx....


Not unlike many other professional managers in other industries.

Let's refine it even more.  Profit or non profit...that's the largest determining factor IMHO.  If the president of Ford Motor did not need to show a profit to stockholders then he could build one hell of a car. 

[Scott Szabo]

We've had a new Superintendent at my home club for three years now and he's done wonders with the place.  I hope he stays for as long as I'm there, which may be wishful thinking.