USGA and GGAPartners.com...

[Mike_Young]

I've watched a club I belong to and more than a few others F**ked up by consulting groups /headhunters and once they attach themselves they hang around for years especially when it is a board governed club.  This latest is a conflict and no club should support USGA until this is fixed..it's all a pimping game....https://ggapartners.com/2021/04/gga-partners-usga-golf-course-superintendent-executive-search-and-placement-services/?fbclid=IwAR3OTLzY9jH7SCgznYgfEyGGiNRG_sMUnJZ-UPpbm8PLHFk2vZ2gmXNp7u8#0

[JESII]

Hi Mike - hope all is well and 2021 is great.


When does the buyer hold responsibility for their decisions?

[Tom_Doak]

And here I thought GGA was going to be the Georgia Golf Association. 


Mike, I agree w you that the USGA should not be endorsing superintendents and placing them at other clubs, because that just requires superintendents to suck up to their local Green Section rep if they want to get ahead.


I will be curious to hear what the superintendents here think - and you are welcome to message me privately if you don't want to make a post about the new gorilla in the cage, I understand.


I have worked with many A++ superintendents and a lot of them would not have been the prime candidates according to a search firm like this.

[Michael Whitaker]

...that just requires superintendents to suck up to their local Green Section rep if they want to get ahead.

That seems to be the point, doesn’t it? Otherwise, what’s the USGA’s motivation? Why would they make an end run like this on the superintendent associations?

[Tom_Doak]

Why would they make an end run like this on the superintendent associations?

Duh $$$


But I don't think they have thought through the politics of it.  Stealing a superintendent from one club you consult at for another, wealthier club is not going to go down well.  We architects have to be very careful about that sort of thing.

[Mike_Young]

Not sure it was really thought out by Whan.  Delozier and Whan were on a lot of golf panels at various industry meetings...I just hope Whan doesn't plan to use USGA this way...He just seems like the right guy for the job but this makes no sense...

[Steve Lapper]

Not sure it was really thought out by Whan.  Delozier and Whan were on a lot of golf panels at various industry meetings...I just hope Whan doesn't plan to use USGA this way...He just seems like the right guy for the job but this makes no sense...

Yet another reliably typical example of USGA shortsighted thinking.


Are you sure this is a Mike Whan idea or initiation?? I rather doubt it.


While he's been named the new CEO, it's my understanding he's not yet taken his place at the Golf House.

Transitional policies and the politics that go with them, especially in an organization that's historically proven incestuous, misguided and inept, are often ripe for personal opportunism.

I don't think Mike Whan should be blamed for this just yet.

In fact, after reading the press release, I suspect this was yet another misconceived idea foisted upon Far Hills by rapacious corporatists that failed to consider all its ramifications. If that's the case, I'm sure the initiative came from the GGA, and found its reception on weak ears and minds that believed they could do this in-between regimes.

[Mike Sweeney]

As a country and society, we have this continued obession with centralization/streamlining/profitability at the expense of uniqueness/individuality/interest. Nobody is going to be surprised by Patrick DeLozier of GGA Partners bio:

https://ggapartners.com/people/patrick-delozier/

He served as Club Manager for six years at the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia following his stint at Myers Park. Patrick left Augusta in 2011 to become general manager and chief operating officer at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, home to the Crowne Plaza Invitational, a PGA Tour event. In 2014, he moved to Arkansas to work for Mr. Warren Stephens as the chief operating officer of The Alotian Club, west of Little Rock.

It sounds like he will be helpful to 10-20% of the 15,000 or so golf courses in America. It would seem like this is an opportunity for Mike Whan to broaden the vision of the USGA, or a Mike Young group should set up alt-USGA for the 80% of the clubs....

In my other life, I resist/fight centralization of my son's world. I love golf, I love playing The Cradle at Pinehurst which is probably a "loss leader" for Pinehurst, but I certainly don't want my daily golf life to be a Pinehurst experience. After years of being on this website, I will choose a great longterm Greenskeeper over a hit and run Architect. I hope this gets fixed...

[Mike_Young]

Not sure it was really thought out by Whan.  Delozier and Whan were on a lot of golf panels at various industry meetings...I just hope Whan doesn't plan to use USGA this way...He just seems like the right guy for the job but this makes no sense...

Yet another reliably typical example of USGA shortsighted thinking.


Are you sure this is a Mike Whan idea or initiation?? I rather doubt it.


While he's been named the new CEO, it's my understanding he's not yet taken his place at the Golf House.

Transitional policies and the politics that go with them, especially in an organization that's historically proven incestuous, misguided and inept, are often ripe for personal opportunism.

I don't think Mike Whan should be blamed for this just yet.

In fact, after reading the press release, I suspect this was yet another misconceived idea foisted upon Far Hills by rapacious corporatists that failed to consider all its ramifications. If that's the case, I'm sure the initiative came from the GGA, and found its reception on weak ears and minds that believed they could do this in-between regimes.

Steve,
You are probably more correct than I am on this.  I am a fan of Whan and was/am hoping he can do something with the USGA.  I hope you are right.

[Mike_Young]

As a country and society, we have this continued obession with centralization/streamlining/profitability at the expense of uniqueness/individuality/interest. Nobody is going to be surprised by Patrick DeLozier of GGA Partners bio:

https://ggapartners.com/people/patrick-delozier/

He served as Club Manager for six years at the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia following his stint at Myers Park. Patrick left Augusta in 2011 to become general manager and chief operating officer at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, home to the Crowne Plaza Invitational, a PGA Tour event. In 2014, he moved to Arkansas to work for Mr. Warren Stephens as the chief operating officer of The Alotian Club, west of Little Rock.

It sounds like he will be helpful to 10-20% of the 15,000 or so golf courses in America. It would seem like this is an opportunity for Mike Whan to broaden the vision of the USGA, or a Mike Young group should set up alt-USGA for the 80% of the clubs....

In my other life, I resist/fight centralization of my son's world. I love golf, I love playing The Cradle at Pinehurst which is probably a "loss leader" for Pinehurst, but I certainly don't want my daily golf life to be a Pinehurst experience. After years of being on this website, I will choose a great longterm Greenskeeper over a hit and run Architect. I hope this gets fixed...

Michael,I agree except I don't think they would be helpful to 20%...the 10% is more like it. 
Not to pick on Delozier.  I have never met him but I do  know he was in charge of all golf for Pulte Homes for years. " Henry has been recognized by Golf Inc. magazine as one of the “Most Influential People in Golf”. He is a Past President of the Board of Directors of the National Golf Course Owners Association and serves on the Employers Advisory Council for the PGA of America."
For the last 25 years there has been a little "following", "clique" or whatever one may call it that has the Golf Inc. type seminars and they all award each other awards etc.  So much of the BS in this industry revolves around those types of things.  And the truth is most could not make the average 18 hole course in America operate if they had to.  Their object is to put a hook in the unknowing that are trying to get into the business as developers or clubs.  Just read the speakers etc at a Golf Development Summit brochure.  People don't realize how small golf really is and that not many places can spend the type of money that is pushed by so many of these groups. 
Now the other angle is the 501c7 private club environment where the consulting conglomerates get a hook in a board prez or board and have them spending $$$ "for the future".  These boards have no clue and they fall quickly.  Check out some of them.  I know of one that is EXTREMELY close with CMAA ( and may be the reason that GGA wanted USGA)...hell the company I speak of even owns Boardroom Magazine.  These type of companies are interwoven with a search arm and a design arm and it goes on.  If a board spends enough they can be like Prez of the year with the magazine etc.   The cool thing of the day for most of these companies is "more family atomoshere" at clubs.  Once they are in place they will usually , subtlety, show where new management is needed and then they will "search" another manager etc.  Do you think for a minute that the managers they replace will ever recommend these guys anywhere?  Hell no...so how long can they do such?  I don't know.  But I do know that the USGA has required their green section staff to do a specific number of site visits a year.  And I have seen where they actually come in and can either work for the supt. or the board.  And accordingly can write the report to favor the side that employs them.  Boards like USGA green section reports because it covers their asses after they have moved on and want no blow back form the club in the future.  They just say "the USGA said to do that and that's what we did".  Supts hire them because it is hard to fire a guy who can show a report saying "the USGA told me to it".
This thing could be a hornets nest....

[Tom_Doak]

As a country and society, we have this continued obession with centralization/streamlining/profitability at the expense of uniqueness/individuality/interest. Nobody is going to be surprised by Patrick DeLozier of GGA Partners bio:

https://ggapartners.com/people/patrick-delozier/

He served as Club Manager for six years at the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia following his stint at Myers Park. Patrick left Augusta in 2011 to become general manager and chief operating officer at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, home to the Crowne Plaza Invitational, a PGA Tour event. In 2014, he moved to Arkansas to work for Mr. Warren Stephens as the chief operating officer of The Alotian Club, west of Little Rock.

Ohhh . . . Thanks for copying that.  I'd seen Patrick's last name and just figured it was an insider $$$ play.  With his background, it sounds more like the CMAA trying to get the upper hand on GCSAA.


My take is that guys who win awards for food service should not be picking the golf course superintendent.

[Mike_Young]

After reading TD's post above, I realized my comments were Henry Delozier and MS was speaking of Patrick.  Both are partners in GGA.  AND, for the record, both may be great guys....but this little partnership is not...

[Jeff_Brauer]

While not quite as cynical as MY, at first reading this does seem to smack of a solution in seek of a problem, as many govt agencies and private associations can tend towards, to justify their existence and continued need for more staff. 


I do know Henry D, and yes, he is a nice guy and a good golf biz consultant.  I feel like clubs who feel they need help in any area will contact someone like their firm and don't need any official body above that.  I will be interested to see if the USGA brand helps their business as they think it might.  But, time will tell.