Q&A - You Are The Course Manager...

SC: Mention that you understand their frustration but explain your reasons and that the decision has not been made lightly. Make the point that playing on flooded greens will prove detrimental to all the maintenance regimes and hard work the greens staff carry out throughout the year to deliver a high standard of playing surfaces. One day’s golf will greatly impact on the club’s long-term objectives.

JB: The key here is to have everyone on board. The starter and the pro need to be singing off the same hymn sheet and back the greenkeeper up because the message needs to be delivered from them when you are not there. A message sent out via email or on the booking system in plenty of time will prevent any golfers making unnecessary journeys which will aggravate them more than arriving at a closed course. The course manager does however have to stand firm and stick with the decision. It is equally important to keep a calm head and not be dragged down to the levels of any upset golfers.

2. You want to recruit an additional team member. You need to persuade the committee that the additional outlay is not only justified but essential. How do you go about convincing them?

JB: By using data it is easy to justify your proposals. For example, an architect could have added another 15 bunkers in the winter. By showing the committee how many staff hours are spent raking bunkers you can justify this recruitment. You can also give them options of the standards they can achieve with having certain numbers of staff. The key is in the preparation. Offering facts and examples should set you in good stead.

SC: Go in very well prepared with facts and figures and carefully explain the possibilities that would come with another staff member. Describe what could be achieved and how this can be beneficial to the condition of the course and in turn improve member perceptions, visitor revenue and new opportunities. What I have done in the past is to calculate the man hours required to deliver the course to the desired standard relevant to the club’s course policy and compared it to the actual man hours. Having this in document form with all the tasks included that are essential to achieve the desired standards are a very easy way to highlight to the committee what is required.

3. It’s late August. You have recently aerated the greens and it’s taken longer than everyone hoped for the surfaces to recover fully. You encounter a member, who has just missed a short putt that has cost him his place in the final of the club knockout. He is pointing the finger at you for causing the offending bobble. How do you react?

SC: You will never be able to change the initial opinion and reaction of the member and no doubt they will be frustrated and want to blame someone, so keep professional and listen to their viewpoint. Be honest, and if the greens are indeed bumpy, say that they are, but explain the reasons why this has happened, and although careful planning has been carried out prior to the scheduled aeration, unfortunately the weather has not been kind to us and affected recovery rates. Be positive that the situation will progress quickly once the weather improves. If the member becomes aggressive or abusive, calmly ask them to continue their point by emailing the club committee and situation will be discussed at the next greens meeting.

JB: I would explain to said member why the work was carried out and direct him to the blog, I would probably try and use humour to defuse the situation as its always better to avoid confrontation. Greenkeepers should be protected from any sort of finger pointing and any complaints should go through the proper channels. We all try and do our best but sometimes Mother Nature stands in the way. I think I’d end by agreeing that I was also a bad putter!