Features Profiles
The ability to communicate effectively is vital to a superintendent’s job performance

THE ability to communicate is paramount for a golf course
superintendent. On a daily basis, he or she must deal with staff, the
club’s board of directors and members. But being able to communicate
“effectively” is often what it takes to transform a good superintendent
into a great one.

“It isn’t even communication if it’s not effective,” said Thom Charters, who last fall became the director of golf course operations at Coppinwood Golf Club in Goodwood, Ont.

Speaking in November at Guelph’s Cutten Club before an audience of superintendents and University of Guelph turfgrass management students, Charters said communications has evolved over the years as one of the foremost aspects of a superintendent’s duties. In fact, communications is now a part of the curriculum at the University of Guelph.

The former superintendent at Thornhill’s Bayview Golf Club said that when he began in the profession in 1977, on-the-job communications were fairly simple, done either face to face or with a small group of people such as a greens committee or board of directors, or it was done in writing with a posted notice at the first tee or in the locker room.

Since that time, technology has significantly altered the way communications are conducted. This includes fax machines, cell phones and texting, email, blogging, chatting, webcasts, Facebook and Twitter.

“It boggles the mind when you think about how fast communications happen today.”

In spite of the variety of technological options for delivering communication today, their simplicity can actually make things counter-productive when effective communication is the goal, Charters said.

If a superintendent’s targeted audience is not receiving or comprehending the message, it isn’t communication, he said. People are so bombarded with electronically-delivered information anymore that there’s a greater tendency for them to simply press the “delete” button.

“If you aren’t communicating effectively, you’re selling yourself short and you’re probably not as good at your job as you should be.”

Charters said the most important people with whom a superintendent should be regularly communicating are, in order, his or her staff, the pro shop staff (including the general manager), and then the membership.

With staff, communications begin with a meeting to make everyone aware of upcoming club events.

“There’s always that structured start for the day which gives an opportunity for questions to be asked. If you’re not communicating your expectations to your staff well enough in the morning, it’s going to lead to problems, and your attempts to satisfy everybody else in the equation is probably going to fail as well.”

It’s next most important to communicate with the golf shop or pro shop staff “simply because they’re the front line of communication with the members.” If a member of the pro shop staff is asked a course upkeep-related question by a member and hasn’t been adequately provided with the necessary information by the superintendent, the pro shop staff member is going to feel embarrassment through no fault of his own.

Charters said there is a lot of animosity which exists between the superintendent and club professional at many golf courses across Canada. It’s an unfortunate situation that has been going on for several years at these clubs, yet it’s something that can be avoided.

“Basically, it stems from poor communications…a lack of information flowing between the two. The club professional or pro shop staff can be your best ally in terms of member relations. If things go south and you have a problem, you need an ally in the pro shop and you can’t suddenly build that alliance when a problem arises. You’ve got to have that groundwork laid long before.”

When dealing with financial matters, it is vital to establish solid communications with the club’s general manager, Charters said.

“He doesn’t want surprises.”

While at Bayview, Charters kept his members abreast of various course maintenance practices through a variety of means, including a newsletter, a blackboard at the first tee and information posted inside the locker room. The information relayed to members included weather, course setup, conditions for the day, and scheduled upcoming maintenance practices.

Sometimes, however, such well-intentioned plans can backfire.

“When something is done routinely and it doesn’t change, people start to gloss over it. Sadly, communicators are at the mercy of receivers.”

A superintendent can put together a well thought-out communique, but its intended audience may have a preconceived idea of what is trying to be communicated. The audience may also be unreceptive to being communicated to at that point in time, causing the message to become lost. In the end, the attempt at communication has become ineffective.

A superintendent wishing to aerate his greens during the second week of June can communicate that information to his members by posting a sign at the first tee. But it’s important that he specify which day and at which time and on which set of nine holes the work is scheduled to be done, Charters said. He added it’s important to include the words “weather permitting” on such a notice so that members will know that if it rains on the scheduled day, that the work will likely need to be done the following day.

Charters said it’s best to educate the members as to why such practices as aeration and topdressing need to be performed in the first place, and that can be accomplished in the form of a newsletter, an e-blast or other method of communication.

Reminding golfers that they are an important part of the day-to-day upkeep of the golf course can greatly assist the superintendent and his staff in executing their maintenance duties. Charters said he liked to state on his first tee blackboard: “If you shoot a low score, you’re a good golfer. If you repair all your ball marks and replace all your divots properly, you’re a great golfer.”

He said he had once put up a notice which implied that golfers who didn’t repair their ball marks, replace their divots or rake the bunkers after themselves were akin to being vandals. The message didn’t go over so well with some members, but he said it got their attention and they became receptive to the intended message.

Utilizing the club’s website to post important information is a good way to communicate with members, Charters said, noting he would use it to write about agronomic matters, lawn care tips and even such human interest information as what goes on in a day in the life of the greens crew.

Members are apt to become more receptive to the superintendent if he takes the opportunity to “humanize” his situation and let others know he is not merely a grass grower, he said.

“To be an effective communicator, you’ve got to lay the foundation for that to happen. Credibility is critical to whatever you want to deliver. Credibility comes as the result of results, not by the content of your blog.”

For example, a superintendent may present his members with an informative website blog, but, if he does a lacklustre job on the golf course itself, he’s going to incur harsh criticism. He may be good at delivering a message, but lacks credibility when it comes to execution.

One must “walk the walk while you talk the talk” in order to achieve credibility, Charters said. Golfers who are told where they can and can’t drive their carts on the course must be led by example. If the superintendent or a member of his staff drives his own cart up to the fringe of a green, a poor example is being set, and the superintendent will lose credibility.

Credibility can also be lost if the superintendent is not properly attired, Charters said.

“Dress for success,” he said. “You want people to respect you. Be at least on their level in their minds and, ideally, one step above.”

Those who use electronic means to communicate ofen use short cuts and phonetic abbreviations when sending out messages. That approach, along with misspelled words and poor grammar, doesn’t present a flattering image of the superintendent.

“Take your attention to communication very seriously,” Charters said, adding superintendents can better themselves in that regard by taking courses in creative writing or public speaking.

A potential mistake superintendents can make when communicating is having to explain what could have or should have been properly spelled out in the first place.

“Explanations sound like excuses, and you want to avoid that at all costs.”

The superintendent should never hide behind a lie—even the smallest of fibs—because they will usually backfire on him in the end. Always tell the truth, Charters recommended.

During his tenure as a superintendent, Charters made it a point to eat lunch regularly with his general manager and club professional, which allowed each one to develop an appreciation for the other’s responsibilities. Wishing to be visible in that nature speaks volumes about the confidence a superintendent has in himself.