The C&G team at Segregansett Country Club consistently finds cost-effective ways to lovingly preserve on of the 100 oldest golf courses in America.
When Richard Gagnon, Golf Course Superintendent at Segregansett Country Club in Taunton, Mass., wanted to hire high school students to work on his grounds crew, he faced a dilemma. Although employing minors would save costs, he also had to ensure that his course maintenance operations still complied with safety laws.
Gagnon teamed with Ron Smith of Sports Club Management, a company that provides employee training for right-to-know, safety training and labor laws, to help the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General fine-tune its existing definitions of child labor laws, as they related to golf course management.
Golf Course Scorecard
Club Name: Segregansett Country Club |
A list of commonly used pieces of golf course maintenance equipment—complete with color photographs—was compiled and submitted for review. The Attorney General’s Fair Labor Division used this material to determine how the child labor laws would apply and to clarify the tasks that minors could perform in the business.
“Any vehicle or piece of machinery that you walk behind, whether it’s gas or electric, can be operated by someone under age 18,” says Gagnon in explaining the newly sanctioned rules. “If the machinery has a seat or a steering wheel, then someone under age 18 cannot operate it. And minors can’t operate a golf cart unless they have a driver’s license.”
Once Gagnon had the answers for himself, though, he didn’t stop there. He put the information into a checklist that was shared with other golf course superintendents in Massachusetts, so his colleagues could also learn how to properly meet, and benefit from, the Commonwealth’s child labor law requirements. For this initiative, Gagnon won a 2010 Excellence in Government Relations Award from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.
All Together
It is only fitting that Gagnon would share his findings with other superintendents, as that’s how he is accustomed to doing his job. Club operations at Segregansett are run as a team effort among department heads, including Clubhouse Manager Renee Gray, Head Golf Professional Mark Warrener, Executive Chef Victor Duran and Office Manager Lori Anderson.
“We’ve been working with each other long enough that we almost know how each other thinks. We already do things before it’s asked.” —Golf Course Superintendent Richard Gagnon |
“We meet on a bi-weekly basis and make sure we’re on the same page,” the superintendent reports. “We’re involved in what each other is doing. In the heat of the season, we all have our own responsibilities. We have added pressure to make sure everything is top-notch.”
The teamwork extends beyond working closely with fellow staff members; Gagnon also goes to Segregansett’s monthly Greens Committee meetings, and he stays in constant contact with Greens Chairman Paul Riendeau.
“I have a very supportive Board of Directors,” he says. “They’ve supported me from day one, and allowed me to maintain the golf course at the highest level.”
Warrener says he and Gagnon meet a couple of times a week. He keeps the superintendent informed of special events, and Gagnon updates him about maintenance projects. Gagnon’s efforts to keep Duran up to speed also help the Executive Chef run the dining room operations smoothly.
Superintendent Profile: Richard Gagnon
Education and Training: B.S. degree from Salem State College; B.S. degree in plant and soil science from University of Massachusetts Years at Segregansett Country Club: 7 Years in Golf Course Management: 25 Previous Employment: Salem (Mass.) Country Club, Peabody, Mass., 1986-92; Willamette Valley Country Club, Canby, Ore., 1992-93; Assistant Superintendent at Grassy Hill Country Club, Orange, Conn., 1995; Assistant Superintendent at Salem (Mass.) Country Club, Peabody, Mass., 1996-2003 Certifications: GCSAA Class A Superintendent; Category 37 Massachusetts; Commercial Pesticides License Honors and Awards: 2010 GCSAA Excellence in Government Relations Award
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“If there are changes in the weather, or if the golf course will be closed, Rich calls me,” Duran says. “We communicate frequently with phone calls or through e-mails.” During tournaments, he adds, Gagnon informs him of shotgun start times, so the food will be ready as golfers come off of the course.
“Working with Mark, Lori, Victor and Renee makes my job a lot easier, because they’re all professionals and they’re all good, hard-working people,” Gagnon says. “We’ve been working with each other long enough that we almost know how each other thinks. We already do things before it’s asked.”
Gray says this ability spills over into the managers’ relationships with club members as well. “The members know the staff and the staff knows the members,” she explains, “to the point where we know what the members want before they even come into the club.”
‘The Reason We’re Here’
C&G Profile: Segregansett CC
Staff: 3 employees who work 11 months; 5 employees who work 35 weeks; 4 employees who work 13 weeks |
And what they want is golf. Segregansett, or “Seggy” as it is affectionately known, does not have tennis courts or a swimming pool. “It’s all about the course itself. That’s the reason we’re here,” notes Gray.
Warrener agrees. “Our members have a passion for the game of golf. They’re here to play,” he adds.
And they’ve been there to play for 117 years. As one of the 100 oldest golf courses in America and the fourth oldest in Massachusetts, the club originated as the three-hole Highlands Golf Links. In 1893, a group of Taunton men changed the name to Segregansett Country Club and moved it to its current location. It was incorporated in 1899, and in 1901 the members voted to join the United States Golf Association. At that time, according to a history of the club, receipts and expenses totaled $1,729.77, and the greenkeeper’s annual salary was $540. While the percentage is hard to top, Gagnon jokes that he does “a little better than that” now.
He also respects the history of the club, which runs its course and grounds operation with a back-to-basics attitude. Since he became Superintendent in 2004, Gagnon has overseen several golf course maintenance projects, including rebuilding and renovating 25 bunkers, and reconstructing the seventh hole. However, the property has no plans for major course improvements in the near future.
“I wanted to maintain and improve the turf quality and the condition of the course,” Gagnon says of his goals upon arriving. “I didn’t want to make any major changes.”
And still today, without the technological bells and whistles that many golf course maintenance operations employ, Gagnon and his staff make every effort to stretch their budgetary dollars.
“I utilize what they have given me to the max, and provide conditions that people are going to talk about,” Gagnon says. “It all starts with the greens. If you’ve got good greens, you’ve got a good golf course.”
Spraying and Saying
With a small staff of 12 employees during the peak golf season, Gagnon has to be ready to perform any task. He can hop on a spray tank or give a presentation to the Greens Committee in the same afternoon.
“I’m more proactive than reactive,” he reveals. “I tend to plan maybe more than the average superintendent and try to think three steps ahead, whether it’s a project or purchasing or budgeting. I’m a hands-on superintendent, but I also can combine it with a lot of administrative aspects of the job.”
He keeps up with changes in the industry in various ways, ranging from reading university bulletins to contacting individuals in state departments.
“We have to stay on top of things as far as the law and regulations go,” Gagnon explains. “This industry changes yearly, and it’s not always easy to stay abreast of the news and trends. You have to pick up the phone and network with other superintendents.”
“Seggy” clearly benefits from Gagnon’s willingness to do whatever it takes to get the job done.
“I think Rich goes above and beyond his job as Superintendent of Segregansett Country Club,” says Warrener. “He is on the board of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of New England. He interacts with superintendents throughout New England. It gives him a network, and it makes him a better superintendent.”
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