Golf Fore the Good

During this election year, particularly, we are constantly bombarded with political messages and assailed by masters of spin. When every day pressures make our world feel off kilter it is a very good thing to be able to immerse one’s self in a game as all consuming as golf. Sort of takes the edge off, if you know what I mean. It is all the more unfortunate then that, when things are not right in our own little golf world, then things are just not right with the world.

Like politics, the game of golf is a passionate one and can incite a wide array of emotions. Even when you’re bound and determined to enjoy the game, sometimes it’s tough out there. Our mutual struggles on the course make our clubhouse camaraderie all that much more special. Our friendships are based on a common bond. We live and die for golf - quite literally at times - and because of that our golf course means a great deal to us.

As a part of such a solid, established golf community it is not easy to watch while one of our appointed leaders – our very own head golf professional – chips away at the very foundation of our golf course.

Some of you who regularly browse Golf Fore the Good know the club at which I play golf. Some readers may have just dropped by and are not aware of the nature of my course and the truly respected reputation it has always enjoyed. I would like to believe that exactly where I play is irrelevant in this discussion, as the situation that prompts me to write today would be shameful at any course, anywhere - but I do not play at just any course. Our golf course has carved out a special niche and is well known in the area for the quality of the golfers who call it home and - until the last three years - the high caliber of its tournaments, its pro shop, and the past golf professional and the standards by which he ran the course.

Don’t get me wrong; we’re muni members and we know it. We don’t expect to be pampered. We’re realists who happen to play as much golf as we can, whenever we can. But at our course - quite simply - we are serious about our golf.

You’d be hard pressed to find anyone who has ever held a membership at my home course who would argue against the virtues of the layout and the value of the course itself. We have a gem and we know it. It is our pride in our course and our love of the game that makes our current state of affairs all that more distressing.

To give the uninformed a peek at how our previous club professional ran things, and how the membership respected his efforts, I beg the liberty of quoting myself:

Consider a man who spent thirty five years as the head golf professional at an extremely respected and profitable municipal golf course. He served the town as reliably and honestly as any person could be expected to for over three decades. In actuality, he went above and beyond the call of duty in a very many respects. It was he who was first to the course, day after day, pre-dawn. It was he and his family that were ever present with help and assistance, even with after-hour leagues and into evening hours on tournament weekends. Their name was synonymous with golf in the area, as they played many roles, both at the course itself as well as in the golf community at large. Youth programs, state tournaments, professional leagues and amateur events; all benefited from their knowledge and generosity and their unparalleled level of professionalism.


Read the full post: “The True Cost of a Golf membership”

Now here, finally, is our problem, and while it is not one of the great social problems of our time, it is important to our membership because, as mentioned, we take our golf very seriously.

Flash forward three years after the retirement of the aforementioned golf professional. We still have two grand municipal championship courses, great conditions skillfully nurtured by an outstanding green keeper and a superb membership deal. What we don’t have at the moment is a pro who seems to care a hoot about any of it; not the course, not the members, and above all, not the reputation of the fine and storied course at which he currently presides. In place of a caring professional we appear to have in place a head pro who expends as little effort as possible and expects that to be enough.

With the retirement of our previous golf pro we knew there would be change. No one could possibly steps into shoes worn by one and beloved by many for thirty five years and not expect some discomfort - a few blisters, if you will, that would be painful at first but heal over time. For three years we have waited, and granted as much benefit of the doubt as could possibly be expected, and have yet to see our new pro step into any sort of a rhythm. As the months go by we realize he marches to his own drummer. I’m not sure what’s on his playlist but you can be quite sure it doesn’t include any version of Aretha Franklin’s “Respect.”

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Find out what it means to me
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Take care, TCB

Oh (sock it to me, sock it to me,
sock it to me, sock it to me)
A little respect (sock it to me, sock it to me,
sock it to me, sock it to me)
Whoa, babe (just a little bit)
A little respect (just a little bit)
I get tired (just a little bit)
Keep on tryin’ (just a little bit)
You’re runnin’ out of foolin’ (just a little bit)
And I ain’t lyin’ (just a little bit)
(re, re, re, re) ’spect
When you come home (re, re, re ,re)
Or you might walk in (respect, just a little bit)
And find out I’m gone (just a little bit)
I got to have (just a little bit)
A little respect (just a little bit)

That’s all we’re looking for from a man deemed to hold the title of “golf professional.” Just a little respect. Respect for the course, for the members, for the town by whom he is employed. Is that asking too much? A little pride in one’s job?

Is there any reason that heading up golf course operations should be unlike any other job? Return phone calls; keep scheduled appointments; grant services as promised. Show up when expected; be properly prepared; offer your clients (your paying members and guests) a quality experience of which you can be proud.

I haven’t read the job description pertinent to our current pro’s position. Perhaps none of the above are explicitly spelled out. I can tell you that what we have experienced is all too often a no-show, non-caring, sloppy performance. And what a performance it has been! The previously mentioned political spin doctors have nothing on this guy.

If even a modicum of concern was displayed that schedules were running smoothly, tournaments managed properly and customer service was a priority it would at least determine that some effort was being made. We suffer, instead, a list of excuses and denials and a golf course whose reputation is becoming unhinged from the inside out.

We have experienced tournaments with no prepared rules sheets; no readied score cards with our names or handicap information. We often tee off, even during club championships, without a glimpse of our pro. There appears to be no regard shown for scheduled appointments and the value of others’ time and it takes an act of congress get a return phone call. The pro shop is almost an echo chamber, it is so poorly stocked and currently yields less decent equipment than a golfer’s garage sale.

It’s such a shame; it shouldn’t have to be this way. We might be but muni members, but we know good golf.

We can only hope that by speaking up, we’ll shake things up. Golf, after all, is a game of honor and integrity. We give the game our best and can only hope for the same in return.

RESPECT

SYLLABICATION: re·spect

PRONUNCIATION: r-spkt

VERB: 1. To feel or show deferential regard for; esteem. 2. To avoid violation of or interference with: respect the speed limit. 3. To relate or refer to; concern.

NOUN: 1. A feeling of appreciative, often deferential regard; esteem. 2. The state of being regarded with honor or esteem. 3. Willingness to show consideration or appreciation.