Superintendents: the unsung heroes of the golf course

A superintendent is responsible for maintaining the golf facility outside of the physical buildings.

Upon hearing the word superintendent, most of us get an image of a businessperson in a suit or a Springfield cartoon character yelling, “Skinner!” However, the superintendent on a golf course is different than either of those.

“Typically, a superintendent is responsible for maintaining the golf facility outside of the physical buildings,” said Greg Austin, B.C. director of the Canadian Golf Superintendents Association (CGSA). “We’ll take care of the playing surfaces, the grass, landscaping, environment, all to meet the standards of the clientele.”

Austin began working in the golf industry back in 1991. He is currently the superintendent at Revelstoke Golf Club, serves as chair on both the CGSA environment and conference coordinating committees, and is set to be a conference chair at the 2014 Canadian International Conference and Trade Show next February. And he still makes time to be the assistant coach for the Revelstoke Grizzlies Junior B Hockey Club.

Austin noted that the range of tasks for superintendents is very difficult to narrow down to just a simple short description—especially considering the variety of courses and climates that golf involves.

“Every facility is different,” he said. “It’s difficult to paint every superintendent with one brush.”

Behind the scenes

What most people don’t seem to know about superintendents is that although they are in charge of course maintenance and turf-keeping, a large portion of the job takes place in the office.

“The young guys that work for me affectionately refer to me with the nickname Grass-Cutter,” said Austin. “They witness how the majority of my job is in administration. It’s very rare to actually see me mowing the grass.”

Keeping track of expenses and materials, as well as labour, is incredibly important. All elements that go into maintaining the course to its highest quality must be tracked and recorded. It’s not just while the course is open to the public that this is happening, either—a superintendent’s job is year round.

“I don’t really have an off season,” said Austin. “It’s just not what happens.”

During the wintertime, when the course is not open for golf, there is still a large amount of work that must be done to catch up on the past season and prepare for the upcoming one. Many things that can’t be taken care of during the operating season are done in winter, including administration, equipment upkeep, and—especially in Canada—a lot of snow removal.

“Pretty much the whole winter is spent maintaining the course so that it’s ready for next season,” said Austin.

Green initiatives

One of the big factors in course maintenance is environmental stewardship. The idea of going green isn’t a new philosophy in this industry.

“Green initiatives have always been a part of the job,” said Austin. “From the beginnings in Scotland hundreds of years ago, care for the environment has been a very important part of the job. If anything, in recent years we have just been stepping out and being more vocal. We’re naturally behind-the-scenes kinds of people, and word was never really given out the way it is now.”

Austin took care to offer his respect to those who have worked in the industry long before he began, saying that it has always been the desire of superintendents to enhance and care for the natural environment.

“Environmental initiatives and care have existed for a long time,” he said, “but now they’re just becoming more regular news.”

Keeping the peace

Arguably the most important part of being a superintendent, according to Austin, is keeping up effective communication between all the people at the course.

“The first step in this process is learning to listen so that team goals can be clearly identified,” he said. “Know the goal, define it well and devise a simple strategy to achieve that goal as a team.”

Proper communication is the key to keeping peace on the course and making sure that everything runs the way that it should. Though, there are occasionally bumps in the road that need to be taken care of.

“I’m one of those people that likes to plan well in advance,” said Austin, “but you learn quickly at this job that nothing ever goes according to plan. That’s what makes it exciting.”

Passion for the job is a crucial element as well, and Austin certainly does not have a lack in that area.

“I can easily get caught up in the momentum of a specific job on any given day and rationalize with the people around me that the weather is good so we need to push through 10 or 12 hours or seven or 10 straight days of work,” he said. “But recognizing that the focus should be on my family and team and not always on me or the golf course is my most difficult task.”