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 Chip Sorblom left seven-day workweeks and stagnant growth as an assistant golf course superintendent for greener pastures. He’s now managing for Brickman’s Boston branch. Photo: LOU JONES STUDIO Saying goodbye to golf course greens, rigorous weekend hours and par-three expectations for turf cut at one-tenth of an inch wasn’t all that difficult for Chip Sorblom.
After spending several years as an assistant golf course superintendent, his career already felt stagnant. He worried about job security and tough competition for lead positions. After all, 500 applicants applied for a superintendent position he was after.
So six years ago, Sorblom shifted gears. He joined then D. Foley Landscape, where he launched the company’s irrigation division. Today, Sorblom is manager of that same operation, now The Brickman Group Boston branch.
The landscape business offered better opportunities for applying Sorblom’s green industry expertise to a position where he could quickly move up the ladder. “I felt like I was getting nowhere and I was stuck as an assistant,” Sorblom says of the golf world, adding that Mother Nature ruled his schedule and there was no flexibility during golf season.
Sorblom joins a cast of golf course maintenance pros who are looking beyond the course for ways to exercise their attention to detail, technical aptitude and customer relations skills. Golf course superintendents are used to wearing many hats. “You’ll be in a hole fixing an irrigation break, and the next thing you know you’re handling a complaint about a green,” he says.
Golf course superintendents have an entrepreneurial spirit that suits a supervisory role in a landscape firm, says Pat Jones, publisher and editorial director of Lawn & Landscape’s sister publication, Golf Course Industry, and a longtime industry consultant. And, with the continuous growth of turf management programs, universities are turning out more trained green industry candidates who have eyes on the “big job” at the golf course.
The problem: There just aren’t enough of those jobs for young blood. In fact, the tenure for golf course superintendents has increased. Veterans are keeping their jobs, and when positions do open, turfgrass graduates are finding the same scene Sorblom described – hundreds of applicants for one position.
What’s the good news for these talented professionals and the green industry as a whole? “There are big opportunities to cherry pick the golf course maintenance market for terrific employees,” Jones says.
Transitioning to Landscape
Chris Brown grew up on the golf course, working summers at a local country club during high school. He segued into a turfgrass management program at Penn State University and graduated with several internships under his belt. When he was offered an assistant superintendent job out of college, he felt lucky.
“I looked around at the guys I was going to school with, and most of them were really struggling to find something half as nice as the offer that fell into my lap,” Brown says. This was in 1994.
Since then, the competition has stiffened for a “nice offer” at a golf course. And Brown, who decided to weigh other green industry options, was intrigued by the idea of running his own firm. “When I saw the guys in the home lawn business, they were making the most money,” he says. “And they also had much more freedom in their lives – they weren’t married to a golf course.”
Brown partnered with a landscaper who had 12 years experience and a strong sales background. “We joined forces and he put his hands-on knowledge and expertise to work while I brought a higher level of scientific expertise to the operation,” Brown says of starting Teed & Brown 14 years ago.
Their combined talents have parlayed into a successful business that is spinning off franchise territories, and Brown says he’s seeking professionals from the golf maintenance industry for these ventures. He knows they have the technical savviness, the ability to multi-task, strong client communications skills and a love of the outdoors.
But when recruiting golf maintenance professionals into landscape positions, managers need to paint a realistic picture of the differences between the two green industry sectors. “It’s a completely different culture,” Jones says. “You do need to go into it with eyes wide open.”
For Brown, the challenging part about transitioning from golf into landscape maintenance was mastering sales. He was accustomed to pleasing clients, working with club members and managing crews. “You have to be good with people to work with greens committees and clubhouse managers, but even if you are good with people, getting someone to put their faith in you and agree to pay a certain amount of money for maintenance is a different type of interaction,” he says.
Brown was prepared to educate clients with technical information they didn’t understand. “I had to learn to put everything in basic language,” he says, quickly adding that doesn’t mean dumbing down the information – because customers trust and appreciate his golf course pedigree.
“I think to a certain extent, people are more comfortable knowing my background,” Brown says.
John Cummings spent 30 years as a golf course superintendent before moving to RSG Landscaping & Lawn Care in Concord, Va., as a technical sales representative. His skills – recordkeeping, people management, scheduling – were highly transferable. “I have learned to work within a budget by finding the best product and service for a price, and I see this as a plus for any landscape company,” says Cummings, who has recertified five times for his Certified Golf Course Superintendent (CGCS) accreditation.
But Cummings’ learning curve was preparing proposals. “Measuring and estimating costs for landscape work has been an adaptation for me,” he says. “I’m used to making phone calls and getting estimates from contractors, and now I’m doing just the opposite.”
Sorblom agreed that selling services was a new skill he had to learn when he moved from golf to landscape maintenance. But his firm practiced open-book management and held workshops that allowed him to learn from others. This type of training was important – as was the old trial by fire.
But the real tough part about transitioning into the landscape field for Sorblom was not at all operations related. Sorblom says the drive time was an adjustment. There’s a big difference between motoring around a 200-acre golf course in a cart, and clocking hours in a company truck while managing a route.
“Time management becomes an issue,” Sorblom says, adding that managers discuss this industry difference with golf course alumni before hiring them. “One of my struggles was being able to balance my time because you are covering a much bigger area.”
Basic sales training will get golf maintenance folks up to speed on the estimating, bidding and sales-closing processes necessary to win business in the landscape industry. The bonus companies earn when hiring from the golf course crew: well-rounded pros who are highly technical and accustomed to working in a high-pressure environment with strict standards.
“Tried and true cultural practices used over the years to maintain fine golf turf will carry over,” Cummings says.
“Attention to detail is needed just as much for the homeowner’s residence lawn and landscape or the corporate property as it is needed for the golf course.”
Capitalizing on Skills
Cummings didn’t want to go work on an “assembly line” when he decided to move on from his golf course superintendent career. “I didn’t want to learn something entirely new if I didn’t have to,” he says.
As a technical sales representative, Cummings gains the satisfaction of seeing the before and after of properties, and he brings his knowledge of irrigation, disease identification and control and equipment maintenance skills to the table.
An attractive resume
Golf course workers have strong credentials that you could use.
Golf course alumni are well-schooled to take on supervisory and technical positions in a landscape firm.
“They come with a passion for the green industry, and in the eyes of the homeowner, their background gains a degree of respect and credibility right out of the shoot,” says Terry Kurth, director of development for Weed Man U.S.A. franchising.
Agronomics: Most golf course employees are armed with degrees in horticulture, agronomy, soil studies and other turfgrass majors.
Their technical expertise in the areas of weed, disease and insect management is a boon to lawn care firms.
Economics: Budgeting is part of a golf course superintendent’s job. “They know how to stay on track within a private enterprise, and especially in the last several years, they’ve had to deal with cost controls,” Kurth says. “Many have had their budgets cut, so they have experience doing more with less.”
Management: Superintendents oversee grounds crews. They’re used to making tough decisions, managing people and pleasing customers. Plus, they come to a business with tireless work ethic. “They’re used to working long hours and doing what it takes,” Kurth says.
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“Landscape companies can tap into a wealth of knowledge that a superintendent brings with him,” Cummings says.
In return, landscape companies can learn skills from golf-course trained employees, such as proper calibration of lawn care application equipment and application recordkeeping.
Geoffrey Blind took his people skills to the landscape industry in 2006, after serving as superintendent at several different clubs. He developed thick skin from the golf world.
“You are working for a group of people who have no idea about what you do,” he says. And he was used to meeting expectations that are “off the charts.”
“You’ve got a patch of brown grass and people are beating you up,” says Blind, who joined The Davey Tree Expert Co. as an account manager in commercial grounds. “Superintendents are a really marketable group of people.”
Landscape companies should take advantage of an experienced golf labor pool that might discover more opportunities on home and commercial lawns than on the golf course. “First, the golf business is not doing great as a result of the economy,” Blind says.
“Budgets are being cut, but the same high expectations exist. I see stress in these guys who are in positions of superintendent.”
Landscape company owners can tap into this population and bolster their businesses by adding services, such as irrigation or athletic turf.
Or, they can position these employees in a supervisory role, where former assistant and lead superintendents are comfortable.
Consider services that are often subcontracted out, such as irrigation. And golf maintenance employees are a real asset to a lawn care division.
“Golf course superintendents definitely know the lawn care side of the business, so if you are struggling with that or subbing it out, it’s an opportunity to bring the service in-house,” Sorblom says. In fact, Brown says that superintendents can bring a level of turfgrass knowledge that is often missing at even large-scale landscape outfits.
Having a technical expert on board is a selling point for any landscape firm.
And having a manager with that technical expertise is even better.
“Most superintendents have managed 10 to 50 individuals and have worked alongside key staff members at their facilities, as well was dealt with grounds committee chairmen and boards of directors,” Cummings says.
They are ambassadors for the green industry – and ripe for hiring.
“We’re all in this industry to enhance the environment and to leave it better than it was before,” Cummings says.
“I feel it’s a win-win for everyone involved.”
The author is a frequent contributor to Lawn & Landscape.
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