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About this blog

Matt Leverich (and guests) from Playbooks for Golf blogs on tips and techniques for using technology to advance your operation and career.

Entries in this blog

Tech: Reboots, Tests, and Lessons Learned

I haven’t delved into technology posts lately on this blog, instead focusing on career topics. It’s been due to not having enough time to offer quality advice in a field that constantly changes. Why, you might ask? Well, I have been working for the last 18 months on a new project for the industry that occupied any free time I had. And it’s finally done, at least version 1.  I don’t usually speak directly on this blog about our products, but I think this service is beneficial to both your op
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

0

Gift Your Career This Holiday Season...

For a large part of the country, we are entering the so-called “off-season” in golf. This means you might actually get some time away from the course. Add to that, now through early January is when many people slow down, work less, and spend more time with family and friends for the holidays. Which is great, but it’s also a prime opportunity to get your career materials up to date. Once early January comes, you’ll be focusing on plans for the new season, attending seminars and conferences,
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

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Adjusting Turf Resumes for the Mobile Age

I don’t have to tell any of you that smartphones have changed how we work each day, especially from out on the course. From chem/fert apps like Coverage, to Twitter and labor software, there have been vast improvements to the daily operation because of mobile devices. It doesn’t just stop with our side of the industry. Any hiring person at a club or firm is now extremely likely to view your resume the first time from their phone while on the move. What does that mean? You had better be sure
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

2

10 Years Serving You: How Playbooks Helps

2018 marks Playbooks for Golf’s 10th year in business, and it has been my busiest year yet. Through those years, we have morphed from a basic map company to a full-fledged software and website provider. I would like to personally thank all superintendents who we have served over these first 10 years, I am grateful every day that I can be a small part of your operation and this industry. It’s a tough job being a superintendent and I’m glad to assist where needed. While serving you, the consi
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

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Employment Contracts, Part 3: What to Include in the Contract

Guest Post by Greg Wojick In the first two parts of this series, we have reviewed the obstacles to contracts and how you can sell the idea to your club. This final part will provide you with a detailed roadmap on what should be included in the actual contract. When you get the go-ahead on the contract, your next step is to be sure that it covers all the bases. Here's a basic checklist based on industry standards along with lessons learned and a few cautionary tales from superintendents
Greg Wojick, CGCS

Greg Wojick, CGCS

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Employment Contracts Part 2: Selling The Idea of a Contract

Guest post by Greg Wojick In the first part of this series posted last month, we covered the obstacles that contracts can encounter. So just how do you go about selling the idea of an employment contract to your green committee and board? As the other industry experts and superintendents I spoke to will agree: Its all in how you market yourself and the mutually beneficial rewards of having a contract. To start: Approach the idea of a contract when the course is at its bes
Greg Wojick, CGCS

Greg Wojick, CGCS

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Employment Contracts Part 1: Discovering The Obstacles to a Contract

Guest Post by Greg Wojick   I've been in the industry more than 35 years as both a golf course superintendent and now a principal in Playbooks for Golf, and in that time, I've seen many changes -- in equipment, technology, management techniques, and in the education and agronomic expertise required to do an increasingly demanding job. Despite these advances, few superintendents throughout the country are acknowledged as professionals worthy of an employment contract.   According
Greg Wojick, CGCS

Greg Wojick, CGCS

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Winter Career and Technology Checklist

For many of you winter is the only time you are able to really spend much time in the office. So, I thought I would include a few things we've covered at different times over the last several years that you can take action on now... when you actually have some time for it. By doing these tasks, you'll quickly be on the road to advancing your career and technology skills for the next challenge your career faces.  Acquire Photography of Your Course If you haven't had any images taken of y
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

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Golf Knowledge is a Required Skill Today

With each passing year, the golf industry is changing. Gone are the days of new course construction and crazy numbers of rounds. However, at the top clubs most of you are aspiring to work at, something different has happened these clubs are transforming their course through large-scale master planning, and at a very high rate.    In order to maximize your value to these clubs, it is imperative to be knowledgeable in the game of golf, its history, architecture and network. You need to be
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

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Making your resume do more...

We have covered various resume topics throughout my time here at TurfNet. This time around I'd like to look at a somewhat different angle. Usually I recommend that you have a professionally built website and portfolio to complement your resume. But for this blog, let's consider how you can use just a resume, nothing else, and still garner attention from employers.  It's not ideal, but if you are in a jam and haven't had your materials built, here are five things that are critical to include
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

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The application email, & using a header image

This post is a quick and easy, yet very effective use of your application email for making an impact in your job application right at the start. First off, there are a two things you should know about sending your application email: You should state your sincere interest in the club or company and mention why their organization is worthy of your interest. It almost always serves you well to flatter with a statement about them, instead of solely focusing on you. This is a great way to sta
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

0

Website Series: Writing Your Bio

One of the things you should always try to include in a career website or portfolio is a biography. It can help the hiring person get to know you quickly and hit on some points of interest for them to add your application to the yes pile at the initial stages of the process.    The problem is that a biography can get out of hand in a hurry and actually work as a disservice to your application if done wrong. To this end, here are a few tips to the beginnings of a well-crafted bio.   
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

0

Golf Course Communications: Same Ol' Challenge, New Solutions

By Greg Wojick Greenkeeper /green-keep-er/ noun: Someone who solves myriad problems average golfers didn't know they had in a way they don't understand. See also Wizard, Magician. It has always been difficult for me to accept the fact that most golfers don't understand even a small fraction of what happens behind the scenes in golf course maintenance. Maybe, much like magicians whose acts continue to mystify their audiences, the work of the golf course superintendent is just too much t
Greg Wojick, CGCS

Greg Wojick, CGCS

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Five Must-Do Tech Tips for Today's Superintendent

From time to time, we delve into the greater world of technology in this blog. There is an enormous amount of tech and platforms available out there; I certainly don't pretend to have an understanding of even a small percentage of what's available today. But I do know what seems to work best, and easiest, for most of us in our industry and in my daily experience working for many of you and what the knowledge level tends to be.    That said, here are five things you totally should be doin
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

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Presentation Tips: How to Engage Your Audience

Guest Post by Greg Wojick   Our industry has always been about so much more than growing grass. Eventually everyone has an issue arise, either agronomic or elsewhere in the operation. My belief is that whenever you're in trouble -- and even before you are in trouble -- you better be able to communicate well.   I'm usually impressed with superintendents' technical competence and professional conduct. If only that were all you needed for success! The reality is that a m
Greg Wojick, CGCS

Greg Wojick, CGCS

1

Tech Tip: Online Password Management Solution

This topic isn't specific to the turfgrass industry but we are all adding more and more technology into our daily operations, which typically means new logins and passwords for various software or websites. Add to that your personal accounts for bills, family activities and more, and it can get frustrating to remember all of them. As of today, I have over 50 logins!  When it comes to daily organization, I have written in the past about my use of Wunderlist, a free app for making lists and a
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

0

Critical checklist for your online presence...

The very first article I wrote for TurfNet back in 2013 covered the many potential dangers of an online presence. I'm sure most of you have forgotten it and it's only gotten more important in the years since as social media continues its rise in our daily lives. As 2017 starts, now is the time make sure your online presence is working for you in a completely positive way. Here are some key things to consider: Ensure your security settings in Facebook are heavily restricted. Great info on
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

0

The Course Set Paradox...

by Greg Wojick, Playbooks for Golf   Many golf course workers can now be thankful that setting up the course is over for the season (not so for the sun belt guys and gals). Course set-up is that recurring job that golfers can easily understand but it can also become a tedious chore for the worker routinely assigned to this hugely important duty. Day after day this set of chores is expected to be done with perfection lest the superintendent will hear about it. If a violation with course s
Greg Wojick, CGCS

Greg Wojick, CGCS

0

Tech tip: Image headers in Word for a professional look

I would estimate that close to 100% of superintendents have and use Microsoft Word for creating various documents for use around your clubs, and personally as well. While there are limitations to the software, one thing that works great is how it handles headers. There is a little bit of process to it, but in the end you can have a very nicely designed document that you can then edit on your own.    Let's say that you have had TurfNet design a header for your blog and you'd like to use i
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

1

Export your career documents to PDF...

I have covered this topic very briefly before in a larger article about cover letters, but it's worthwhile to include this as its own feature in our goal of providing excellent and easy to read career materials.  Portable Document Format (PDF) preserves document formatting and enables file sharing. When the PDF format file is viewed online or printed, it retains the content and format that you intended.    Out of all the career files I view each year, over 50% are still sent in a no
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

0

Rethinking the Superintendent Search

Guest post by Greg Wojick, Playbooks for Golf -- I recently visited the CMAA (Club Managers Association of America) website. One of the first things I noticed was that more than two dozen executive search firms were listed.   I looked further, scanning many of the search firm sites. I saw that there were numerous searches for general managers, most often referred to as COOs and occasionally CEOs. I also saw searches for assistant general managers, executive chefs, directors of
Greg Wojick, CGCS

Greg Wojick, CGCS

2

Prepare in advance for unanticipated job openings...

As with any season in the golf industry, inevitable job losses have come in 2016. While it is an understandably hard time for those on the losing end, others see it as a possible bright new future for their career. And this event can happen at any time; even your dream job can open up unexpectedly. You should always have your career materials ready to go, just in case. It's too risky to not be ready when so few of these superintendent positions open up.  Recent activity brought this old iss
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

0

Beyond turf, tap into golfers' wants and needs...

One of the biggest traps you can fall into in our industry is focusing too much on turf. Instead, you should spend extra time learning as much as you can about what golfers care about and want to discuss. Outreach to your customers is something that is truly lacking in the golf maintenance world. Many of the problems that arise for a superintendent stem from communication, or a lack of it, with golfers. The best way to create better outreach to golfers is through first learning what the mos
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

0

DIY job application basics...

Over the course of the last several years I have covered different aspects of creating good career materials. From tips on resumes to hiring professionals to create your personal brand through websites and portfolios, we have covered a lot of material. And I intend to cover much more in the future. However, I've never compiled any kind of resource to some basics on job applications - your cover letter, resume and references. So, here are some links to what I consider the baseline must-haves
Matt Leverich

Matt Leverich

0

Keeping Pace With the Age of Technology - Guest post by Greg Wojick

Several weeks ago, I had lunch with the vice president of Arccos Golf, a startup company that has developed technology intended to help golfers improve their games. The system they came up with allows the golfer to use the data created by each swing of the golf club (sensors are attached to the club) to identify weaknesses and strengths -- among many other useful data points -- like quantifying the percentage of time that your approach shots miss the greens to the right or to the left of the fla
Greg Wojick, CGCS

Greg Wojick, CGCS

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