[TEPaul]

"One other trick that has worked in the past is to put slot machines in the back room."

JohnK:

That is exactly what John Jones, the pro/greenkeeper who took over at Myopia around 1898 did.

[Jeff_Brauer]

In all seriousness, I wonder if its the assistant superintendents that will get evaluated when labor gets tight.  Isn't the ideal ratio of supervisor to employee somewhere between 1 to 7-12?  If staffs drop a bit, certainly the middle managment can get dropped at some courses.

JK,

I think your reaction is a little knee jerk in a couple of ways.

In the construction side, I have seen many Hispanic project superintendents, and a few years back they were laborers, then bunker or tile foreman.  They worked their way up on merit, as is the American dream.  I have seen some Hispanic supers on the maintenance side as well.  Given how integral they are to the golf scene, and that America is getting more diverse all the timedoesn't it make sense that some work their way up, much like it makes sense to have black head coaches?  

BTW, we can't forget the role technology will play in reducing labor costs - there are already remote control mowers, that can mow using GPS and computers.  One superintendent says he can see fw and rough, but not greens and tees being mowed this way, but that may change in time.  Short term, the only problem is the initial investment that clubs will be hestitant to make.

[Adam Clayman]

Somehow the example of Briarwood is germane. They have had the same Super for 40+ years. He's had the same assistant for 35 years. Treating them like family is the only way to run, long term. The costs associated with turnover are enormous.

Why don't more courses treat their important staff better? My take is it's the dangerous combo of ignorance and ego.

[JSPayne]

Adam,

I think most courses try to walk a fine line in this area.

When I first got hired on here, we had a big seminar with a major focus on employee retention, because of how expensive turnover can be.

Yet at the same time, every year when it come around time to give "merit increases" (aka raises), the purse strings cinch shut and we're lucky if we can give the guys who are the backbone of this course a non-offensive increase to cover the gas in their vehicles to be able to keep making it to work.

At some point, there comes a limit as to how much you can invest in a person before you actually do have to say "you're capped out" because it might actually be cheaper to eat the turnover cost in favor of a new hire (who could still be an excellent super and employee) that you might be able to negotiate a lower salary to.



And John,

I have no doubt that more and more of the Hispanic workforce will rise up and start taking on more managerial roles. But at least as far as I've seen and experienced, it will be transitional, not revolt-style, as many Hispanics OWE their experience and knowledge to a caucasian superintendent, who often has a degree paid for out of his won pocket,that passed on years of wisdom to a promising Hispanic crew leader at no cost to the club. If you're going to fire to super who gives these workers their experience and knowledge, who are you going to pay to teach your replacement Hispanic what he needs to know to take over the reins? You think that's going to be cheaper than bringing them up the ranks?

[Richard Boult]

at our new 12-hole par 3 course which features $12 greens fee, I noticed they're only rotating pin positions every other day... at another higher end course, second cuts around the green are being reduced significantly and being lost to more rough.

When playing, I've taken to sanding more divots on teeboxes and fairways to do what I can to help.

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