Much like an obsessive housekeeper who never runs out of chores, just about any superintendent can drive around a course and point out a hundred things he or she would love to improve.
But with limited time and even more limited funds, large scale capital improvement projects for club and resort properties have to be painstakingly planned and executed, to maximize the effectiveness of what can be spent and at the same time minimize the potential for unseen disasters.
Essentially, it becomes an exercise in both forecasting and prioritizing. Proactive superintendents that do a good job of gauging their courses’ needs and devising a detailed plan will find themselves better prepared, when requesting the funds needed to tackle both existing and potential problems, to present an organized, compelling case to their clubs’ management and Board.
From long-range weather forecasting to anticipated costs of material and labor, forward-thinking superintendents who want to keep their memberships happy and their houses in order have much to consider. Moving Beyond Band-Aids Like a lot of his peers, Scott Alford spent much of the early part of his career at Walnut Creek Country Club in Mansfield, Tex., fighting to keep the course in playable shape in the face of budget constraints. “It felt like we were just putting band-aids on one problem and moving on to the next,” he said.
Concerned with deteriorating course conditions, Alford decided to take matters into his own hands. He toured his course and made a list of things he wanted to improve. “Trust me, there was a lot I wanted to do,” he recalls. “But I focused on things that were affecting playability and areas that could help make maintaining the course easier.”
Alford then visited other courses in the vicinity and spoke with their superintendents, to learn about their experiences in dealing with similar issues. “I took a lot of pictures and listed the pros and cons of each project,” he reports.
First on his list were a few bunkers on his course that had begun flooding with increased frequency. As more sand washed down to the bottoms of these bunkers, hard-caked layers began to form that were quickly becoming less and less permeable. Standing water was collecting with even minimal precipitation. Alford knew that digging bunkers up to install proper drainage is a laborious undertaking that also causes considerable disruption of play. He had to find ways to prove that starting a project to fix this problem would still be beneficial to members in the long run.
The Case for the Course
Alford carefully prepared a proposal that listed the advantages of a plan to correct the bunker problem, which included the seamless continuation of full course play following downpours, and a decrease in the amount of sand needed to keep the bunkers in top playing condition. It called for drainage installation at a time that avoided busy periods and would capitalize on the likelihood of extended rain-free stretches.
The proposal also acknowledged that the labor needed to finish the bunkers in a timely manner would require scheduling the work when growing conditions had slowed enough to free up crew members. This left a small window of opportunity, Alford stressed. Putting all of these factors together, he presented a compelling and impressive enough case to get his club’s Board to loosen the purse strings for the bunker project.
The same approach was used when Alford suggested an overseeding program for the course’s greens. His report graphically showed how the improved late-season coloring and traffic resistance—coupled with the potential protection the overseeded grass would provide should the course experience an unusually cool spring—far outweighed the increased maintenance and capital costs.
The board was so impressed with this particular proposal that they not only gave Alford the go-ahead, they suggested that he also look into overseeding the fairways as well. But this time, after Alford again investigated the pros and cons, his research led him to recommend against extending the overseeding project to include the fairways. “The timeframe in which the benefits would be felt was simply too short to justify the expense,” he rationalized. Doing Something About the Weather Beyond Alford’s methodical approach for devising a solid plan to secure needed funds for immediate course improvements, Brad Zimmerman, Superintendent at Boulder Pointe Golf Club in Elko, Minn., points out the need for a similar approach when assessing longrange needs as well.
“You can’t just look for the problems that are affecting the course now, you have to look at what will be a problem years down the road,” Zimmerman says. For example, eroding banks on ponds or saplings near cart paths could eventually become larger, expensive problems if they are not recognized and dealt with at an early stage. Superintendents also need to learn to study long range weather trends, as a key determinant both of how immediate projects should be carried out and of how large-scale projects should be planned.
The good news is, you don’t need to have bad ties and 100-watt smiles to be a weatherman these days. While our ancestors used weather vanes or aching joints to predict what was coming, modern superintendents have a wealth of science- based forecasting tools at their disposal. From 24-hour cable channels to a galaxy of Internet sites, there’s no shortage of available sources that can supply inquisitive superintendents with an amazing amount of information and models and provide a measure of foresight when planning major projects.
Is your irrigation system going to be tested by a potential drought? Could minor drainage issues be exacerbated by unseasonable rains? Taking a look at historical data to see what periods have been typically rain-free can help clubs plan construction projects accordingly and avoid the costly pitfalls of working in wet, sloppy conditions. Equipment of just about any size can rip apart wet turf, which is horrifically unsightly and a laborious ordeal to fix.
And dealing with the weather is clearly a case of turning problems into opportunity. For example, while superintendents are best served to avoid equipment-intense projects when faced with a soggy forecast, those same wet conditions can be capitalized on to catch up on projects that otherwise seem to be perpetually postponed; pruning, edging cart paths, etc.
Wet conditions also provide the perfect time to undertake irrigation improvements and maintenance. With Mother Nature supplying enough moisture, the system can be overhauled without the risk of drying the course out.
Data to Support the Demand
Many superintendents chose their career paths to avoid concerning themselves with interest rates or cost projections. But you don’t need a degree in macroeconomics to understand interest rates and their effect on the price of supplies and labor. And failing to account for how these factors can influence course-related capital projects can spell doom for many superintendents’ proposals.
Rate projections, found easily online at sites such as www.investmentu.com, must be factored into capital requests to help find the best times to schedule equipment purchases or set timelines for construction projects.When increases in interest rates are expected, some non-essential projects might best be put off or excluded altogether. While rates may only fluctuate a few tenths of a percentage point over a year, that can still amount to a significant amount of money—enough to make or break the likelihood of securing approval for major capital investments.
The economic fa
ctors that affect interest rates are also leading indicators of the supply, and cost, of labor—another pivotal factor for course and grounds projects. The stronger the economy is expected to be, the more jobs that will need to be filled, and the more you’ll have to pay to entice people to work for you.Additionally, construction also usually booms as part of a robust, growing economy, which means that the demand for supplies—and the costs of materials you’d expect to use on golf course projects, from PVC tubing to backfill—will also increase.
Golf course superintendents who make good use of economic forecasts to prioritize projects will therefore not only stand to reap real financial benefits, they’ll also be equipped to present rock-solid cases to their Boards. After all, remember that most Board members are business people first and golfers second. Appealing to both interests will greatly increase your chances of securing funds; in fact, a pitch that promises to increase playability and presents a sound business case backed up by solid research and financial projections will essentially be an irresistible combination to bottom line-obsessed golfers.
Superintendents also need to make sure to enlist the support of their general managers when making their cases for course maintenance and improvement funds. If you provide them with solid information and well reasoned demands, you can have no better allies than people like Pat Thompson, General Manager of Madison Country Club in Madison, Fla.
Thompson has carried the torch for steady improvements at his club by working with his superintendent to make a strong case for preventive maintenance that can head off potential problems before they reach the crisis stage. Before he approached his club’s Board of Governors to obtain funding for a PM schedule, Thompson methodically worked with his superintendent to develop a wish list, and an implementation plan for each project on it. Thompson then developed a proposal that laid out the desired processes step by step, listed all incremental costs—from extra labor to equipment rentals—and showed how the work could be scheduled around major club events, to lessen the impact on potential revenue.
The Board was immediately impressed by Thompson’s foresight and business acumen. And as projects began to be implemented and the merits of the plan were borne out, Thompson and his staff have been given more and more leeway to main-tain and improve the club’s course without strict and ongoing scrutiny. Asked to describe his relationship with the Board, Thompson now responds with one word: “Harmonious.”
Rainy (and Dry) Day Funds
Of course, no matter how impressive a case a superintendent or GM can make, there will be times when a Board won’t be able to accommodate everything. So good managers also devise ways to “find” money on their own.When he is faced with such situations, Madison CC’s Thompson says he finds way to tighten the belt and put a little aside from the regular operating budget for a few years, until there’s enough to bankroll projects that don’t get approved.
Scott Alford at Walnut Creek also looks hard at his budget on a regular basis to find areas he can cut back on. “Water is a major expense for us,” he notes. “So when I need to free up a little wiggle room, I can cut back a bit on our consumption.” Of course, membership would never approve of such a measure if it interfered with course conditions, so Alford keeps a vigilant eye on turf health while using this tactic to reap extra financial benefits.
Tweaking labor practices, even temporarily, can help stretch budgets as well. Some courses will lease triplex greensmowers for a season and forego hand mowing, to reduce labor and use the savings to fund needed projects. Others will let areas “return to nature” to cut back on mowing time.
Scouting out new suppliers of staple materials such as top dressing, bunker sand, and fertilizer can also present additional opportunities to save. But seasoned superintendents know they need to be careful to use test plots to check out the merits and value of any new product before committing to it on a full-scale basis. “Nobody likes to cut back on anything,” Alford notes. “But when the decision has to be made, you have to be very careful about what you do cut back on.”
Mutual Funding
Careful use of all of these tactics can make it possible to get most, if not all, of not only what you need to have to keep your course looking and playing its best—but maybe a few “nice to haves” as well.
For proof and inspiration, consider that it’s been four years now since Scott Alford approached the Board with his first proposal—an approach that ushered in a new era of cooperation between the Walnut Creek course maintenance department and the club’s Board. “Now they even approach me with suggestions and projects,” Alford says.
At Madison CC, Pat Thompson has noticed a similar improvement since he submitted his first project proposal. The club’s Board not only trusts him more, they also seem to treat him with a respect that borders on reverence.
In both cases, all it took was a bit of planning and organization. While both managers admit there are still a lot more nooks to dust and cobwebs to sweep up, they’re confident they’ll be able to get to them eventually–because it’s now all part of the plan. C&RB
Summing It Up
• Large-scale C&G capital projects must be carefully prioritized, planned and executed, to maximize the effectiveness of what can be spent and minimize the potential for unseen disasters.
• Proactive superintendents who forecast and prioritize their needs and devise detailed plans will be able to present organized, compelling cases to their clubs’ management and Board.
• Studying long-range weather trends is an important factor in determining how immediate projects should be carried out and large-scale projects should be planned.
• Failing to account for factors such as interest rate trends and their effect on supplies and labor can spell doom for many superintendents’ proposals.
• Because most Board members are business people first and golfers second, a pitch that promises to increase playability and presents a sound business case will essentially be an irresistible combination.
• Superintendents also need to make sure to enlist the support of their general managers when making their cases for course maintenance and improvement funds.
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