Then these general managers have some advice to share about how to get your foot in the door and what to expect once it happens. At Thursday's Career Forum, Richard Staughton, CGCS, superintendent and general manager of Towne Lake Hills GC, Woodstock, Ga.; Jon Christenson, CGCS, general manager at Whispering Creek CC, Sioux City, Iowa; and Michael Leemhuis, COO and general manager for Congressional CC Inc. in Bethesda, Md., spoke about the differences between the gigs of superintendent and GM and offered some tips on how to make that transition.
Joe Perdue, CCM, an academic adviser for CMAA and a GCSAA career services committee member for many years, moderated the discussion and said a growing number of superintendents are making the switch to club management.
Staughton first became a multi-course superintendent before moving to the GM position at Towne Lake Hills in 2004. The needed skills to move to the GM role are similar to that of a superintendent: financial, communication, time management, golf and delegation. He budgets for six different departments now as opposed to one. Understand your visibility to membership increases, and customer service is more important. He attends more meetings, food and beverage events and outings now. You'll have more opportunities to play golf, and it'll give members the idea you know a little something about the game. Hiring a good staff and, especially, good department managers is a must to free the GM from feeling like he has to do it all. He says having two jobs to do can be overwhelming, but the financial reward is there.
Christenson, who's worked in the golf course field for 26 years, as a superintendent for 15 years, and now as a GM for five years, got into the GM position for economic reasons at Whispering Creek. Where he used to spend a third of his time tending to the golf course, now more administrative and financial duties occupy his time. He learned quickly to respect the big picture of golf as a business when a corporate golf event was planned for the morning after a big rain. He initially said no carts can go onto the course, but was asked by his employer to go out onto the course, evaluate how much damage holding the event would cause, and compare that to the $30,000 in revenue the event would pull in. Understanding that big picture is key as a GM, he says. He asks the superintendent and golf pro to help each other out on projects to foster a mutual understanding of both operations. Christenson also stressed the importance of communication and hiring the right people, and said he doesn't miss the 5 a.m. wake-up calls.
Michael Leemhuis, CCM, says the best general managers come from superintendent and golf pro backgrounds, and urged more superintendents in the room to pursue the switch and also get involved with CMAA and its certification program. As a physical education and history high school teacher, tennis pro and golf pro before Congressional, Leemhuis didn't take the traditional route to GM he says is mostly dominated by food and beverage managers. But people come to Congressional not for the hamburgers or beer, but the golf. He likes the diversity of his job, describing that on any given day he'll deal with wine vendors, USGA officials about an upcoming event, food and beverage, pool issues, sewer lines, etc. When asked how a superintendent should market himself to another club for a GM position, he recommended taking CMAA classes in finances, food and beverage, legal issues, HR, something to prove that you're self-prepared for that move. With the relationship between CMAA and GCSAA, it's a natural transition, he says.
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