What part of the course felt like the “heart” of it to you?
It would be easy to say the Pump Station or maybe ‘The Membership’ could both be the heart of the Golf Course, but for me, it was the crew!!!
I will broaden this question to call it the ‘Heart and Soul’ of the golf course. The expression ‘Heart and Soul’ refers to a deep emotional commitment or involvement with something.
The crew becomes a family working together during extreme weather and sometimes worse conditions. As you know, many hours of blood, sweat and tears go into this laborious job to keep the golf course alive and well.
Men and women of all ages and backgrounds come together for this common goal. They dedicate their lives, not so much to the boss or the members, but to the golf course.
It is not just another extension of this family; it is like a child that must be protected and cared for while it is constantly growing. Once you experience it and feel all of the associated feelings, you never want to leave it. It gets hot, cold, dry, trampled, infected with bugs and disease – People criticize it all the time and say it looks bad, sick, hard, soft, slow, fast, bumpy, wet, dry.
All of these criticisms just make the dedicated crew [family] work harder to put their child back on track. I challenge you to get a job or volunteer on a golf course crew one summer. You will then see for yourself… Some of these folks start as teenagers and retire at these jobs.
As a boss I was very fortunate to have my educational background, I knew what ‘Firm but Fair’ meant. How to teach what needed to be done, show that you care and understand - but that as a crew, they are accountable along with me.
As a family we would do ‘cooperative problem solving’ and experience growth together. The folks that didn’t get it would not last, but the majority understood the job and how to keep the golf course entity functioning, no matter what it took.
It also doesn’t hurt to reward the family for their efforts. Beer and pizza, doughnuts in the morning, breakfast sandwiches, picnics, you name it. The golf club will reward in their way, but always do your thing out of your pocket… It means more to the crew. Also, do some little games, make it fun.
I had a thing where the crew members would collect any trash on the property grounds as they were working and collect in their own bags or boxes kept in the crew room. If someone picked up the one trash item that I saw during the week, they would get $20 dollars.
The Genesis Marketing Department also helps its own Superintendent customers by doing cookouts for their crews.
Quick story about one of my crew members: They filmed the movie, ‘Guarding Tess’ (1994) at my club. The eldest of my crew members [and the one with the most years working] said that he liked Shirley MacLaine as an actress. The last day of filming, the ‘Chuck Wagon’ for the film was cooking steaks for the actors and crew, including my crew.
When it was time for us to enter the dining room upstairs, I told Bob to sit at Shirley MacLaine’s table… He did and what a thrill for all of us!!!
“Am I secret service or a caddy?” [Nicolas Cage as Doug Chesnic]
The crew relationships that you build over the years last forever. I have shed many tears over births, marriages, illnesses, and deaths with crew members over the years. The one thing that stands out in my mind when I think about each one of these crew family members, is a smiling face.
Best video I have seen on this – (Click Here)
-Mark S. Merrick, CGCS Retired
Introducing ‘Merrick Mondays’, a segment where we hear from Mark Merrick, our resident brand Ambassador, Chief ‘Cool” Officer, and general source of wisdom and secrets of the universe, to spotlight a dose of interview-style content, weekly.