[Tommy Williamsen]

Certainly, chairman of ANGC is a contender for most coveted.
Head superintendent of ANGC is a contender for most stressful.

[Charlie Goerges]

Head superintendent of ANGC is a contender for most stressful.

I'm curious about this second one. Is it the most stressful, or does ANGC run a pretty conservative maintenance regime (with essentially unlimited money)? I realize the price for failure would be high, but what is the likelihood of it?

[Tom_Doak]

Head superintendent of ANGC is a contender for most stressful.

I'm curious about this second one. Is it the most stressful, or does ANGC run a pretty conservative maintenance regime (with essentially unlimited money)? I realize the price for failure would be high, but what is the likelihood of it?

I agree.  I can't recall the superintendent at Augusta National EVER being under the gun in the public eye for turf conditions at The Masters.  Plus, he's only got one person to answer to, the same guy he answers to all year.  Being the superintendent at one of the other majors and being torn between the governing body and the membership is a lot trickier.


Even then, at least all of those guys are on salary.  Being an independent contractor in the golf business [as all architects and shapers are] is a different sort of stress, but it's not to be taken lightly.

[Tommy Williamsen]

Do you think anyone other than a member would dare criticize Augusta's conditioning?

[Charlie Goerges]

Do you think anyone other than a member would dare criticize Augusta's conditioning?

Lot of non members in this discussion group have criticized the conditioning, calling it too green or lush or whatever. If you mean directly to the face of the superintendent...probably most wouldn't frame it as criticism of the conditioning but rather the culture or something like that.

[Michael Moore]

Do you think anyone other than a member would dare criticize Augusta's conditioning?

I'll bite, what might one criticize about the current conditions at Augusta National?

[Ben Hollerbach]

Do you think anyone other than a member would dare criticize Augusta's conditioning?

I'll bite, what might one criticize about the current conditions at Augusta National?

Its too perfect.

[Tommy Williamsen]

Do you think anyone other than a member would dare criticize Augusta's conditioning?

I'll bite, what might one criticize about the current conditions at Augusta National?

I'm not saying there are things to criticize, just that the public or broadcasters would not be daring enough to criticize the conditioning.

[Tom_Doak]

Its too perfect.

I have never met a superintendent who would take offense to that.

[Kalen Braley]

Its too perfect.

I have never met a superintendent who would take offense to that.

I would think the criticism would come more from the non-golfing public in the form of it requiring a tremendous amount of resources, financial and otherwise that could be put to use elsewhere, to achieve that "perfect" state.

[Jeff Schley]

I dont doubt the chairman at ANGC is a very coveted job and would be my top.  My close second would be the Secretary of the R&A.


Stressful used to be self imposed and Mike Davis when he was setting up the US Opens, jeez why do that to yourself the course and field.

[Pierre_C]

Certainly, chairman of ANGC is a contender for most coveted.
Head superintendent of ANGC is a contender for most stressful.

Tom,

   Brad Owen is the head superintendent at ANGC. Brad is planning to retire later year from ANGC.

[Ben Malach]

I think Tom Doak, hit the nail on the head


Everyone in the world wants to be an architect or to be paid to have an impact on these top level courses or new builds.


Until it's your job, and paying your bills depend on it. As it's fractions of an inch sometimes, other times its the whims of a fickle client or sometimes it's just nature. That makes you lose month or thousands of dollars of work.


That's true smoke a pack of cigarettes and still be jumpy stuff. If you're not built the right way for it or if you don't have FU money already in the bank.

As one bad call or bad day and your gone. One truely bad call or bad day, you never work again in the field.


That's the level that some shapers and architects rise to/thrive in. For others it makes them run and start working for a planning commission or off to the mine to load haul trucks to pay their bills a little more safely.

[Tom_Doak]

I would think the criticism would come more from the non-golfing public in the form of it requiring a tremendous amount of resources, financial and otherwise that could be put to use elsewhere, to achieve that "perfect" state.

You do not become the superintendent of Augusta National if you worry about what the general public thinks of your use of resources. 

[Joel_Stewart]

It's stressful but I don't think its over the top.  First of all, they have two head pros and two superintendents. They also have a full time landscape architect and arborist.  They have dozens of consultants and contractors and arguably the best maintenance facility and best equipment in the world. Landscapes Unlimited is so intertwined at Augusta they have an office and full time staff in Augusta. Of course there's always Tom Fazio and now Beau Welling doing their thing.


I would guess that the superintendents are in more meetings than any other superintendent in the country. 

[Tim_Weiman]

Just to throw out a completely different name for most coveted, he is retired now I believe, but Bob Ford certainly had a sweet set up as the pro at Oakmont and Seminole.


Also had a great golf swing!

[Paul Rudovsky]

 
I'll bite, what might one criticize about the current conditions at Augusta National?

Its too perfect.



Ben Hollerbach--

I think you have hit the nail right on its head. 

Think about the following.  One of the great things about the game of golf is that it is  to a large degree a "simulation of real life".  I for one absolutely believe that.  BUT...in life you get good bounces and bad bounces, good breaks and bad breaks.  Part of the test of the game is how you react to these...do you keep your cool?  Same thing in real life.

However, when courses are literally in "perfect" condition, there are no bad (or good) bounces...no test of the player's reaction and composure.  Good and bad bounces never stop in real life.  So perfect conditioning goes too far and causes the loss of one of the games real important elements.  I think that is why so many of us love playing in GB&I...it tests our ability to keep driving forward after a bad bounce or two.

[Jonathan Cummings]

Most stressful - being a rater in gca-land! 

[Buck Wolter]

Do you think anyone other than a member would dare criticize Augusta's conditioning?

I would think the members would be the last people on earth to do so.

[Ira Fishman]

Most stressful - being a rater in gca-land! 

Most coveted--Architecture Editor Golf Magazine😊

[Jerry Kluger]

A friend of mina's son was greens superintendent at one of the top courses in the US for nearly 20 years and the course was always highly regarded for its conditioning. A new greens chairman came in and wanted to make his mark on the course rather than continuing with their long standing success and recognition by the golfing industry and out went his son and that was that and that happens in many areas in a member owned  club.

[Bernie Bell]

Stressful?  Being the super at one of the Saudi PIF courses when you're called into the storage shed for your performance review.

[Tommy Williamsen]

A few years ago, I was on the board for our little resort. The super was doing an abysmal job and was often off-site for days. I tried to work with him, but finally, we let him go. He had worked here a long time and made many friends. Many of the members excoriated me. I couldn't go anywhere for months without being confronted. I interviewed candidates and hired a new one. The criticism finally died down when folks saw the difference in the conditioning.
Maybe the most stressful job is being the person who fires a longtime employee.

[Kyle Harris]

Its too perfect.

I have never met a superintendent who would take offense to that.

Depends on who is saying it.

[Kyle Harris]

Most stressful - being a rater in gca-land! 

Self publishing has its down sides.

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