I'm at the Multi Course Companies: What You've Always Wanted to Know panel. The room is packed (about 150 people), all the seats are filled and there's a row of people standing in the back. This is the first time GCSAA has hosted this panel, and it seems to be a hit so far (I'm reporting as the session goes, so if the session ends in an all-out brawl between the different management companies, I'll rescind that last comment).
There are a lot of golf courses represented by the panelists. They are:
- Ted Horton (moderator), Senior Consulting Superintendent, ValleyCrest
- Bill Rehaneck, Senior Vice President, Billy Casper Golf
- Ron Jackson, CEO, Meadowbrook Golf/IGM
- Jeff Spangler, Senior Vice President of Science and Agronomy, Troon Golf
- Keith Hanley, Senior Vice President of Operations, Eagle Golf
By the end of the panel, they're going to get into debunking myths about the management company. So far, the panel has talked about the benefits of a management company both to the individual superintendent and to the golf course. An early theme: Young future superintendents with a management company can climb the career ladder faster than a young future superintendent working for a privately owned and managed golf course.
"The hardest step in this business is the step from assistant to superintendent," Spangler said. "One of the single biggest benefits of working for a golf course management company is career opportunities. We're able to promote young, hard-working superintendents. We're also able to promote to other areas of the program. You're a known quantity in an organization like ours."
"(A management company) provides a fast track for a bright, capable superintendent," Rehaneck said. "Most of the people in the room, you probably haven't reached your career endzone. We've had assistant superintendents come in and quickly move up to 36-hole facilities in three, four years."
Horton asked about the reporting process for a superintendent in a management company... is it true that the there's a much more difficult chain of command, bringing more paperwork to the superintendent?
"A superintendent is held accountable, there is a more rigid method of reporting," Jackson said. "I don't think it's a negative. There is certainly more structure... but it's a positive. You cut down on the downside and increase the upside."
Spangler added: "Who would you rather report to, a green committee who doesn't know anything, or a group who has been there before?"
Horton asked the panel how soon a superintendent might find out if his or her course may have a management company move in, and if they do move in, is that superintendent's job in jeopardy?
"A majority of the time when we're brought in, we meet off-site, nobody knows," Hanley said. "But a superintendent who is doing a good job is the most important thing. We have a saying -- 'keep the best athletes.' If there is a good superintendent already at the course, we do everything possible to keep them there."
Horton asked, if a management company takes over a course, does that mean the superintendent's salary will soon be slashed?
"I think it's just the opposite," Spangler said. "You get in a competitive market salary earlier, quicker. You've heard from all these guys, they all get it that agronomy is important. It's usually based on a lot of things, some of it more objective, some of it more quantifiable."
And then Spangler dropped this gem on us: Of the 10 highest paid employees of Troon Golf... a majority are superintendents.
So as I post this at the conclusion of the panel, there was no brawl, no one was offed Sopranos style (though there was one Sopranos reference). The crowd seemed really impressed with the panel, and hardly anyone left during the meeting.
What do you think about the management company? What do you think about what was said at this panel? Feel free to post below in the comments, or e-mail me if you want to remain anonymous. I'd love to hear what GCM's readers think.
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