Getting the details right.
That’s the essence of what’s involved.
If you want to know the core job description for any golf course superintendent, then understand how the smallest of items can loom large when inaction, inattention, or incorrect responses happen.
The shock waves can be far-reaching with lasting consequences.
A myriad of details are constantly in motion each day, and the task of any superintendent is to carefully calibrate the most precious commodity each has—time.
The clock waits for no one. And no one knows that better in crystal-clear terms than a highly skilled superintendent.
Golf courses are living organisms. The superintendent has to deal with an ever-changing canvas. If Mother Nature opts to intrude, the superintendent needs to be aware of how matters can evolve ever so quickly.
While many golfers scamper to get out of the rain, you will often see a lone individual out in the storm. That’s what superintendents do.
Sitting back and commiserating over bad fortune won’t cut it. No sympathies will be forthcoming. Past records of successes don’t mean anything of consequence when this latest mishap is front and center and needs resolution quickly.
More than anything else, a calamitous result cannot be wished away or forgotten by golfers traversing a course. The stain sticks to one’s clothes like spilled ketchup on a white dress shirt. Like a baseball umpire who may get 99 of 100 calls correct, superintendents are often evaluated by the one that’s missed.
Superintendents are golf’s version of the trapeze artist. The profession operates without a safety net. Results are measured and critiqued. Superintendents know full well that the number of total wins had better be miles ahead of any serious loss or string of them occurring under their watch. Such numbers are added up and accounted for in some form with either a pay increase or a pink slip.
Superintendents are unable to plan too far ahead with a litany of set approaches, because circumstances will change—sometimes far more than they can adequately prepare for on a daily basis. Improvising is the mark separating master from apprentice.
Like top-notch quarterbacks, superintendents routinely audible from one planned play to another as circumstances warrant. Pragmatism, not dogmatism, is the overriding modus operandi.
Few people, most notably golfers themselves, have the slightest clue about the sheer totality of what it takes to prepare a specific landscape for golf. Ignorance is indeed bliss.
These same golfers only comprehend what they see above ground. Like an iceberg, the visible nature of a superintendent’s involvement operates with a far larger slice of responsibilities below the surface.
How large?
Anywhere from 100 acres upwards.
Adding to the weight load is a mind-boggling array of federal, state, and even local laws that require daily awareness. A hundred years ago, when architect Donald Ross was cranking out golf courses all over the United States, the necessity of complying with such laws was nearly nonexistent because most, if not all, had not even been enacted at that time.
In today’s ever-litigious world, superintendents have to be ever mindful should trees be felled. In some communities, neighbors keep constant eyeballs on the happenings at the local golf course.
Aside from a rules official in a National Football League (NFL) game, no one is second-guessed more than a superintendent. It’s not uncommon for highly skilled experts such as medical doctors, engineers, or attorneys to throw their “two cents” into the discussion.
It’s amusing because if someone marched into an operating room or courtroom and bellowed out an opinion on how to proceed, the presumptuous “expert” would be quickly shown the exit door. Not so with superintendents.
Superintendents routinely have their work evaluated by eyes that rarely comprehend how and why things are done the way they are. Given the speed of messaging today, many superintendents have proactively created their own communication strategies for the golf population they serve. Wise superintendents realize that if you don’t define yourself, you will be defined by others.
Active communication lines can provide major dividends in both educating others and enlisting support when situations warrant.
In the aftermath of the global pandemic, golf’s attractiveness as a lifelong recreational pursuit exploded.
According to the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA), the leading professional group with 20,456 members, more than 545 million rounds were played in the United States in 2024.
That figure represents the highest number ever recorded. Given that surge, there’s plenty of wear and tear on any existing golf course.
Superintendents have to possess expertise in the science of turfgrass development and align that to the clear needs in what constitutes an engaging golf course.
Sounds fairly straightforward. Yet the threshold in accomplishing that is anything but simple. Complexities can quickly lift off, faster than any rocket NASA has ever launched.
Not enough rain? Too much rain? Is power cart traffic causing turf issues in sensitive areas? Is grass cutting being done properly? The list is nearly endless.
Superintendents must realize it is tempting and easier to place oneself in a self-enclosed silo and shut out all others. Isolation never works well—and, sadly, rarely ends well.
In short, the landscaping of the grounds must align and bring out the highest level of golf skills called upon. Green speeds are often the anchor that will weigh around any superintendent’s neck. Get them too fast, and you may add the time of a golf round and eventually cause serious turf issues to germinate. Keep them too slow, and the chorus of complainers will multiply dramatically. The tightrope is never a fun place to be.
Maintaining golf courses is no modest enterprise. Routine maintenance budgets can easily go beyond $1 million annually for an 18-hole layout. The most noted clubs easily spend several million dollars on the task.
When the Masters is played this April, millions will watch the telecast globally and ogle at Augusta National without thinking deeply about the umpteen man-hours and near unlimited budget that’s been put into motion to create the illusion that what one sees in Georgia is easily replicated. Hardly.
The reality for many facilities is a far cry from that utopia. Personnel stretched to the max; operating budgets barely operational; and a series of whack-a-mole issues that routinely surface at the least optimum time.
The deepest-pocketed clubs will be sure to hire an array of experts. In a number of instances, the best turf university programs such as Rutgers, Penn St., UMass, NC State, and Texas A&M, to name just a few, will have consultancy roles. But make no mistake about it—the final buck stops at the desk of the superintendent.
Getting matters going requires a team of people. Superintendents have to be adept in hiring. Getting and keeping talent is no small item of importance. During off-season months, the total number of people working will dwindle; but when a golf season ramps up, the total number—both full-time and part-time—swells dramatically.
Superintendents have to be especially cognizant that all workers have proper documentation. Sorting through these matters requires airtight paperwork free of errors. Superintendents cannot be everywhere at all times—even when they rigorously try to—so delegation becomes a most needed attribute.
Wise superintendents do not put personnel in the wrong roles. The downside in doing that can be an unmitigated disaster. Before sending people out on daily assignments, the best superintendents have already followed the Ronald Reagan maxim—“trust but verify.”
Even when all is working like a Swiss watch, there are outside forces shaping a superintendent’s work. Golf courses are not viewed by many in the environmentalist community as a plus for society. The tensions between the two groups have ranged from heated words and lawsuits to cold war standoffs.
Many in the environmental community remain convinced that golf courses are an abomination with artificially supported landscapes bolstered by the application of questionable chemicals and pesticides. Oftentimes, these staunch anti-golf environmentalists do not fully appreciate the good steward practices that many superintendents faithfully execute daily.
Golf courses often provide critical green space that could easily be developed for intense housing or other commercial purposes.
A critical issue for superintendents—especially those in the far western regions of the United States—is overall water usage. Golf courses have an unrelenting thirst. Before droughts ensue and water allocations become more stringent, engaged superintendents have to be thoroughly active in making sure each and every drop has a lasting impact.
The perception of golf courses rests in how superintendents demonstrate a meaningful “good neighbor” connection. The impactful superintendents are aware that such neighborly intersections begin with the golfers they serve daily. Those playing will often see such a motivated individual out and about tending to more things in one morning than many might contemplate doing in a week.
The consummate superintendent is part grass whisperer, part Mr. Goodwrench, part nature lover, and part boot camp sergeant, as well as an ever-ready diplomat. You might even swear such a person is blessed with more than two hands, given the lightning-like speed that’s displayed.
When you see your course superintendent this golf season, take a moment—say hello—and most of all, say the two words that will matter most—
Thank you.
