Turf or Consequences

Summer 2022 Where Have all the Supers Gone?

By Doug Breen, Superintendent, Golf North Properties.

Let me take you back to the last millennium. To the wild and crazy 1990’s, when there was no internet, and people actually went out and did things – in public – without fear of being recorded or photographed for future cancellation. There was a stand-up comedy boom, so there was a microphone and a stool in the corner of every dive bar, sports bar, brothel, and wedding venue. There was a live music boom – so every one of those places also had a stage (suitable in size for a one-man comedy show), where we’d try to pack a double bass drum set and three Marshall stacks, along with four human beings.

But most significantly there was a golf boom. Originally it was attributed to the avalanche of retiring Boomers, who we all assumed would continue to spend $100 on a round of golf after they gave up their company credit card – which they didn’t. They continued to play golf, but it turns out they all became fiscally conservative when it was their own money on the counter. Then Tiger Woods got the credit for making golf look attractive to young, fit people who were – well – attractive, young and fit. Some said that it was the result of New Canadians taking up the game in record numbers. Others felt that it meshed well with “Bro Culture” which was everywhere at the time.

Whatever the reason, we were told that we needed to open a new golf course every week for a decade to meet the current demand. And we did. We made them longer, more difficult, with ridiculous amounts of bentgrass, and bunkers which were impossible to maintain. We built them without business plans or viable financial potential, but banks were lining up to lend money to any project with the word ‘golf’ in it.

Superintendents were hot commodities. There was a constant rumour mill surrounding what courses were under construction, who was leaving a course, which courses were accepting resumes, and who was going to be on the hiring committee. A new build would hire a superintendent, and in five minutes the GM of the club they were leaving would be getting resumes through their fax machine. Bear in mind that we did this without twitter, and with extremely limited email. I didn’t even have a cell phone until 1999.

Every year at the OGSA Conference, we’d all throw our resumes into a big pile and swap jobs. It was like a 1970’s ‘Key Party’, only with slightly less potential to damage one’s marriage. We were changing jobs constantly and trying to climb to the top of the heap. As a result, half the Community Colleges in Ontario had some type of Turf Management program. We were hired and fired and training and competing and jockeying for position.

And then it ended.

Ever been in a bar after closing time when they turn on all the lights? Ever toured an Olympic facility ten years after the last medal has been handed out? The party was over. Courses were going into receivership and being sold for cents on the dollar. Budgets were being slashed. Bunkers were being filled in. Green Fees were dropping like my hopes for a single digit handicap - because supply was far beyond demand. Some courses closed. The colleges stopped producing new superintendents (there’s only a couple left in the whole country now). Many of my colleagues left for the greener pastures of Municipal jobs and estate landscaping. We treaded water for more than a decade. Then COVID happened. We’re not building new courses; but the ones we have are as busy as they have ever been, and it has made the superintendent’s job a lot more difficult. More golfers mean: more feet, more carts, more divots, more ball marks, more unraked bunkers, and more stress. At the same time, many superintendents are thinking of winding down their careers, not going from 150 golfers per day to 250 golfers per day.

There is a labour crisis in the industry generally, but there’s one coming in our world as well. According to the R&A – the average age of a superintendent is 57 years old, which means that half of us will be retiring within ten years. And it seems to be bleak for those who remain - a Canadian poll found that 37% of Canadian superintendents are “actively seeking employment outside the golf industry”. If you’re looking for recent graduates of Turf programs – there aren’t very many, and they aren’t going to come close to filling the gap.

Where have all the Supers gone?

Being a ‘glass half full’ kind of guy – I see this as a golden opportunity for young superintendents, and for those who may not have considered it as a career. They will be in high demand, and renumeration will have to follow accordingly. I have two kids in their 20’s and I’m advising them both to take a serious look at becoming a golf superintendent. While I hope that some of the Ontario colleges will rethink the abandonment of their turf programs, we can’t wait for that. We need to create an informal apprenticeship program to recruit hard working kids, with great attitudes into the fold. There was a time when we wouldn’t look at anyone as an assistant without formal education, but we need to become the educators to fill the gap.

We are approaching a crisis point in the world of superintendents, and what old folks like us (you know who you are) do over the next decade, is going to have a lot to do with how well we weather the impending storm. One of the best things we can do to support the clubs who employ us today, is to find, recruit, and train the next generation. Golf clubs have never been great at succession planning, but we have the tools to set up the turf industry for long-term viability. The ball is in our court. ■