The importance of working relationships
James Kimmings sat down with Course Manager Bert Leonardi at Shooters Hill Golf Club to discuss the importance of relationships within turfcare. Bert highlighted the connections with his team, the committee, members and reps.
Bert started by focusing on the importance of his team’s wellbeing and how strong working relationships can benefit course management: “The hardest part of managing a golf club is managing the people; forget the grass and the golf course itself. You have to have a great relationship with your staff in order to build an efficient team.”
“Last year, I employed a 16-year-old straight out of school. The transition to a 5.00am alarm clock isn’t easy and we all know it is hard graft and takes a lot of motivation. We have now built a good relationship and he has adapted to the environment. It is important to help apprentices develop, build respect and have the passion to work for you.”
“You have to encourage a team all the time and give them incentives like training and education; give them the chance to become an irrigation technician or a spray operator for example. You want to keep their minds engaged so they stay motivated in the role.”
Bert expressed how things have changed in terms of team management compared to when he first joined the industry: “When I joined the industry, it was very much a ‘get on with the job and don’t speak about your feelings’ culture. It is much better now; I’m managing staff who have different mental health challenges and it’s important to ask the right questions and make sure they are okay with the tasks. You have to manage people with constructive criticism; it is not effective to give people a dressing down or a lecture; you want them to learn the job properly.”
Communication with the committee
Bert expressed the importance of positive communication with the committee and Greens Chairman and how this can benefit course management: “It is crucial to have a good committee supporting you. In your own mind, you might be doing the perfect job and you are doing everything you need to do for that club; however, there might be things that you have missed which people can help to advise you on and that’s why the committee are there.”
A positive relationship with the committee will only make the course better and their feedback can help you to develop as an individual. I am always keen to listen to feedback of the course, which ultimately helps to improve things. In the past, the relationship wasn’t necessarily as good as what it is now; I think the improvement of communication with the committee has helped to move the course forward.”
Bert spoke about the importance of a ‘balanced committee’, he explained what this means: “In my first greens meeting, we had people who were from all different jobs and sectors who didn’t know a massive amount about course management. I wanted that to change - we needed a balance of someone from the pro shop, the ladies’ section and men’s section; it was important to have that balanced opinion.”
Motivating members
Communication is the key to managing members expectations, Bert said: “You want golfers to understand you and the work. Last year, there was a slight grumbling between members and the greens chairperson had mentioned I might face some tough questions at the greens forum. Six hundred people could have attended the event and twelve turned up to vocalise their opinions.”
“This could be testament that we have improved communication with members. We never sent out a report every month; now we send out a bullet point report of planned works/maintenance on the course with an aim to continue to build up a healthy relationship with members, so that they appreciate the work we are doing to improve the course.”
Bert holds a ‘door is always open’ approach to communicating with members: “I have always said that if a member wants to speak about an issue on the course, I would openly encourage that, so that I can attempt to rectify it or explain the situation.”
A rep’s reputation
As well as holding good relationships within your own club, Bert also discussed the importance of having a good connection with company representatives, he said: “When I first became the course manager, Andrew Norman and Jim Russell from Agrovista Amenity were the first people who came to visit. I have a good relationship with them both and I do value their technical knowledge when it comes to my own course management and product choices.”
He expanded on the benefit of reps being respectful to those buying the products: “It is important for reps to understand the challenges and all aspects of your course. I have to have a good rapport with people to buy from them and I am not a fan of cold calling. If someone turned up unannounced with zero relationship or prior communication, I would feel negative towards that because it is all about respect.”
Having built up a good relationship with Andrew and Jim, Bert trialled the plant growth regulator (PGR), Attraxor®. “I wouldn’t have even tried the product without that relationship and trust with the guys, and it did exactly what I wanted it to do. The recommended application is every 21 days however, in our case, it suppressed the seed for longer which was great.”