An innovative web-based, labor-tracking application helps The Valley Club in Hailey, Idaho use its resources wisely to keep the course in top condition.
The Valley Club, an upscale, 27-hole private facility in Hailey, Idaho, prides itself on its design, setting and service. The layout of the property, which is certified as an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program (ACSP), blends with the natural surroundings of the Wood River Valley to challenge golfers in a scenic resort setting. But the property owes its pristine conditions to more than good bones and an attention to detail.
Golf Scorecard Location: Hailey, Idaho |
In fact, The Valley Club can add innovation to its list of attributes as well. Earlier this year, Director of Agronomy Gerald P. Flaherty, CGCS, and Head Professional Jaime Sharp won the inaugural turf industry award for Excellence in Innovation, for their creation of taskTracker, a web-based application for monitoring labor costs that is now being made available to club properties around the world. The award, sponsored by Turf Republic and Jacobsen, recognizes men and women in the turf industry who use innovative new ideas to save time, reduce costs and create a better experience for golfers.
General Manager Barry Bevers was pleased, but not surprised, by the recognition. “We’ve been able to benefit from [the golf and agronomy departments’] innovations for years,” he says. “They created a really easy way for Jerry to assign jobs to his crew members and assign value to their time.”
Sharp has also created inventory control systems and membership software for the property, Bevers notes.
“It was an award we were happy to receive, and we’re very grateful,” says Sharp. “I think the product helps the golf industry in a lot of different facets. We want to make sure we’re providing a product that is efficient for a superintendent. It’s built by a superintendent for a superintendent.”
‘A Way of Life’
The development of taskTracker was spawned more by a healthy curiosity than by necessity, after Flaherty realized two years ago that he was spending $1 million in labor expenses annually. While no one questioned the costs, Flaherty became frustrated that he couldn’t pinpoint where the money was going.
“Like most other superintendents, every morning I would write on the board what the guys were going to do, and every afternoon I would erase it,” he says. “We were losing all of our data.”
He decided to record all golf course jobs, and their related costs, on an Excel spreadsheet and post that information on a 72-inch TV in the maintenance building’s break room. At least that was the plan—until Sharp paid a timely visit to the shop the morning that Flaherty was hanging the television. Sharp offered to write a web-based program that Flaherty could use to track his labor costs and post on the monitor as electronic charts. In two months, Sharp, who says he learned how to write code to simplify his job, had the program up and running.
“It tracks many things in many different ways,” notes Flaherty. “We’re always looking to use our dollars better.”
The web-based application stores and retrieves labor data from all areas of golf course operations, including bunker maintenance, greens speed, hand-watering fairways, and maintenance or landscaping on other parts of the property, such as the tennis courts and clubhouse.
SUPERINTENDENT PROFILE Gerald Flaherty, CGCS Education and Training: Bachelor’s degree, Turf Grass Management, Rutgers University |
Flaherty previously posted tasks on a whiteboard for his crew members, according to seniority. But with the digital system, he groups their names on the screen by job assignment. He posts a job board every morning, and the TV screen rolls over to the current day, to show a list of employees with their jobs posted beneath their names.
The system allows Flaherty to post morning and afternoon jobs on split screens, or show different tasks such as landscaping, hand watering, and bunker or fairway maintenance on multiple screens. He can set the boards to a timer to roll over to a second job, or create another board for special circumstances such as frost or rain. A labor board might include space for notes or job specifics, such as mowing patterns.
To track costs, Flaherty can multiply an employee’s hourly wage by the number of hours it takes to perform a task. In addition to monitoring labor costs for maintenance jobs, the system can chart the jobs that an individual has performed, track the number of hours spent on a specific task, monitor the weather, and calculate how much money the maintenance crew spends on tournaments.
“Most companies end up tracking labor on the back end,” notes Sharp.
Flaherty can view the program from anywhere that has Internet access on a smartphone, tablet, or computer, and he can retrieve information at any time. “I like how it’s user-friendly, so I actually use it. It’s not cumbersome,” he reports. “It’s a way of life now.”
In addition to making Flaherty’s job easier, taskTracker has helped him improve conditions on The Valley Club golf course. The system also lets him move money around and use it more judiciously, to better meet members’ standards.
“It’s made us extremely more efficient,” he says. “We’re not saving any money. We’re just using it more wisely.”
Efficiency, coupled with environmental consciousness, has always been a priority for Flaherty. The Valley Club achieved ACSP certification the first year he joined the staff, and he previously worked at a property in Boise, Idaho that was ACSP-certified as well.
“We try to use organic fertilizer as much as possible,” he explains. “We use less fuel and less water, which is precious.”
In the Loop
Before he became a head pro, Sharp admits he “didn’t take the time to learn what it takes to maintain a golf course.” With the help of taskTracker, however, he has become more aware of the ways that his decisions, such as when to send golfers out on the course, affect the maintenance staff.
“With the taskTracker we have good communication, and we work together a lot better,” notes Flaherty.
Course & Grounds Profile |
Sharp agrees, adding that he is now “fully on board with [Flaherty’s] calls, whether it’s for no carts or a frost delay.”
The system also has a section for notes, which has improved communications with crew members. “We use that feature a lot,” says Flaherty, who can add reminders and send them to the digital work board in the office.
The notes section facilitates communications with the pro shop as well. For example, Sharp can make a note about pro shop actions, such as moving the tee markers, and he runs the member-guest tournament with an application that he built.
“When I need straight lines or have a special tee request, I can put it in the notes section on the day of a tournament, to remind the crew what we need that day,” reports Sharp. “It really allows me to see what’s going on.”
The notes section also provides a history of each day. For example, Flaherty can note that he sent his crew home when it rained on a particular day. When reviewing expenses, he then knows why his labor costs were lower on that day. “We can print reports for each month, day or week,” Bevers notes. “It provides good templates for what we want to repeat. “
Spring has come early to Idaho in the past few years, Bevers adds, and taskTracker indicates how maintenance practices have changed as a result.
“Now we can really look at the conditions,” he explains. “We were chipping ice off the greens in January, and that’s not a typical month for us to have maintenance costs.”
The Valley Club now also has two market boards that provide information to property personnel and members alike. Designed by Sharp at Bevers’ request, the boards display rotating information, ranging from weather reports and stock-market tickers to an events calendar and photographs. The market boards are located on TVs outside the pro shop and at the fitness center, and most of their information comes from the website.
“It forces us to maintain the website so it stays relevant,” reveals Sharp. “We rely on the market board for new information, and the old information doesn’t linger. Members can load it on their phones.”
The application is also linked with Google calendar, so “any time there’s an event at the clubhouse,” notes Flaherty, “it automatically puts it on the taskTracker work board.” Crew members know if they need to turn off water for a wedding or plow the parking lot for a Christmas party. “I’m in the loop a lot more than I ever was,” Flaherty says.
The grounds crew is also responsible for maintaining portions of the tennis facility, special projects and landscaping for the clubhouse and the homeowners association. With this application, Flaherty can determine how much time and money his staff spends on these areas, so the property can adjust departmental budgets accordingly.
“It makes our accountant and our controller happier, to actually see where the dollars are going,” Flaherty reports.
Sharing the Wealth
Although he originally built the application to meet the needs of The Valley Club, Sharp harbored the thought that other golf course superintendents could use it as well.
And after Flaherty used it for a year himself, he put out the word about the application on his Twitter feed.
Regional superintendents who began to use the system provided feedback, and news about the system continued to spread through grassroots efforts, social media, and word-of-mouth. Now, about 140 golf courses in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Ireland are using taskTracker.
“Superintendents tend to trust other superintendents,” Flaherty notes.
When Flaherty and Sharp first developed the labor-tracking program, however, they were selective about the data they included. They limited it to basic information, so the application would not be too complicated. But the system has evolved since it was first developed. The Valley Club maintenance department has gone from using six or seven tables to tracking more than 50 pieces of information.
In December a GPS feature was included by adding GeoNotes, which allows photos to be taken on the golf course. Now, if a tree is down on the 15th hole, explains Flaherty, he can post a picture of it, and his assistants will know where they need to go to clear it off.
“We thought it would be neat to do something with GPS, because that’s the wave of the future,” he says.
And while taskTracker was designed specifically for golf course maintenance, Flaherty says it can be used for any industry. Users can customize the application to their specific needs as well.
“I’ve been really proud of it, and I enjoy showing it to other people,” reports Flaherty. “It’s affordable, and I know other superintendents enjoy using it. It’s saved them time, labor, and frustration.”
Sharp agrees. “It’s not any more work for a superintendent,” he notes. “We’re just replacing it with something new.”
Flaherty says that between himself, Sharp and their staffs, every tweet about the application is read. And having taskTracker now out in such widespread use has enhanced his direct communications with other superintendents, he adds.
“I talk to a lot more superintendents now because they’ll call me,” Flaherty says. “When you have something out to 140 different golf course superintendents, the suggestions keep coming in—and a lot of them are really good.”
Costs and Credibility
The taskTrasker system, which also provides financial analysis and reports, is not just a communication tool for those in the golf portion of the industry, however. Superintendents can take its data to their general managers, greens committees, and even city councils.
“We can help superintendents go into their boardrooms and make a strong case for the things they need,” Sharp says. “It gives superintendents more time to spend on the golf course, to make it beautiful and playable.”
Bevers agrees. “We want Jerry to be in the strongest position to defend how he spends his dollars,” he explains. “It’s become a very valuable tool when we’re in our boardroom.”
The data helps properties make decisions about their budgets, whether they are looking to cut expenses or to step things up to achieve top-notch conditions that can approach the PGA Tour courses they see on television.
“If [clubs] want those conditions, you can show that this is what it’s going to cost. It allows us to put things in perspective,” notes Sharp.
Conversely, if a property wants to make budget cuts, decision-makers can see the ramifications for the playability and aesthetics of their golf course. “There’s always cause and effect,” Bevers notes.
By putting a number on each specific input, such as edging around cart paths or sprinkler heads, Bevers continues, Board and committee members can decide if those tasks are worth the expense.
“Providing a golf course that members can enjoy and play keeps them interested in the game of golf,” Sharp states. “How money is spent for labor puts everything in context, and the expectations are more realistic.”
Because The Valley Club has a definite beginning and end to its golf season, notes Bevers, the reports also help the staff make year-end decisions.
“We can decide what we want to implement the next year, whether it relates to operations or the experience, and make the best decisions for the amount of money we have available,” he says. “When we budget in October, we look at our history. We don’t want to say we spent ‘x’ and add five percent. We try to create a zero-base budget.”
Most general managers are numbers-oriented, notes Sharp, and the tracking system gives superintendents the credibility to support their needs. “It’s helpful for a general manager to see how much money is spent in different areas and to assign cost values to those areas,” he explains.
Calling golf “the lifeblood of the whole [club] industry,” Sharp feels it’s important to have numbers to back up maintenance practices and course conditions.
“Being a private country club, everything circles around the golf experience,” adds Bevers. “We offer all of the other amenities that complement it, but we wouldn’t exist without golf.”
Flaherty is well aware that most of The Valley Club’s members are there to play golf, and that most decisions are based on their experiences on the golf course.
“People think we just mow grass for a living,” he says. “In reality, we do a lot of other things to make the course be the way the members want it.”
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