fe ature ◗ JOSH WEBB
Ready, Set, Grow! The life and times of an assistant superintendent
Josh Webb and his dog Jack at the golf course. Josh helps tend the turf and Jack assists by chasing the ducks and the geese off the course. credit: Josh webb
16 greenMaster | www.golfsupers.com
◗ There comes a time in every assistant superintendent’s life when they are challenged with the decision of whether or not they want to make that heroic leap into the role of a golf course superintendent. For me, I can honestly say, that leap won’t come anytime soon. Being ready for the “real world” after you graduate from a turfgrass management program is one thing, but being ready to face the responsibilities that challenge a superintendent on a daily basis is a whole different ball game. When we are fortunate enough to assume an assistant’s role at a golf club, we take on responsibilities that will mold us into becoming a successful superintendent in the future. However, we pretty quickly find out this is just the tip of the iceberg. We have an entire world of learning ahead of us. Golf course superintendents do it all; everything from fertilizer and chemical programs to zerobased budgets to blogs and even Golf Committee meetings, Board Meetings and AGM’s. If it wasn’t for them, our path to success would end up being one that led us astray. We all start our careers as the low man on the totem pole, as any turf care employee usually does. Whether or not we decide to pursue a life-long career in the industry is entirely up to us. I landed my first golf course job when I was 16-years-old, working part-time in the afternoons after high school, weed whacking around trees and pushing rotary mowers around the golf course. I thought it was the best job going. It was right in my wheelhouse! I loved golfing and had been operating a local lawn care business since I was 13-years-old with my cousin, so it was the perfect fit for me. Sure, I had to balance homework, baseball season, work schedules and my social life, all while being paid peanuts, but I never batted an eye at the opportunity and privilege of being responsible for maintaining a golf
course. It actually felt more like a hobby than a job. My admiration for golf course maintenance grew stronger with each and every day that passed, right through high school and into college where I was studying law enforcement. Once I was through college, full-time work became available for me at the golf course while I was trying to land a job on the police force. Needless to say, nothing was coming my way. It must have been a blessing in disguise. My bosses at the time must have seen something in me that I wasn’t seeing myself because there was persistent chatter and nudges thrown in my direction about starting a career in golf course maintenance. Before I knew it, I was moving up the ladder; changing pins, fixing irrigation breaks and spraying all in the same day. I loved it. It was in the summer of 2007 that I decided it was in my best interest to leave my dreams of being a police officer, and a lot of paid tuition money, behind me and enroll in a turfgrass management program. I graduated with honours in the spring of 2009 from Seneca College with a new job already offered to me as an irrigation technician at a private golf club on the West Coast. How could anyone turn that job down directly out of school, right? It was all falling into place for me. I worked for two years as the irrigation technician before the assistant who I worked for decided to take his leap of faith into a superintendent’s role elsewhere. This was my chance to shine. Everything I’d been working towards since that first knee-knocking interview over a decade ago, as a measly student, was finally at my fingertips. Unfortunately, I knew that if I was going to be offered that job, I’d better nail the interview because I knew the expectations were far higher for me than any other person that walked through the door to interview for the position. There was no doubt that I