Golf course superintendents have a reputation for being innovators who are able to find solutions to just about any problem they might encounter. In a post-pandemic world in which just about every business across the country is hanging out a "help wanted" sign, superintendents must be more innovative than ever as they face what might be their greatest challenge - staffing a crew in an industry that historically has struggled to offer a competitive hourly wage.
It is an issue that has only become more challenging during the past 15 months as supplemental unemployment benefits made staying home an attractive and lucrative option for a gun-shy talent pool already stung by layoffs during the pandemic.
"Why is there a labor shortage? A lot of people are blaming wages, but it's not just wages," said Carlos Arraya, CGCS, assistant general manager at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis. "One thing the pandemic taught us as individuals is 'where I am vulnerable.' If you worked in the hospitality industry, you were one of the first ones cut. Why would you go back to that? People are out of that industry, because they are afraid you will cut them off again, so they are either still at home, or they have found other jobs."
Flex schedules became a reality. Twelve days on and two off is not a reality anymore. Working them 65 hours a week, that's gone.
Alan FitzGerald says competing with other local businesses that can outspend him have made it a challenge to task a crew at LedgeRock Golf Club in Mohnton, Pennsylvania. Much has changed in the industry since he came to the United States from his native Ireland 23 years ago to work at Pine Valley.
"I started there at $8 an hour as an AIT. Coming from Ireland, I thought I'd hit the lottery," FitzGerald said.
"Today, there is a factory here starting people at $17.65 an hour and guaranteed to $20 an hour after two years. McDonald's is paying $15 an hour. Golf is competing at the lower end. How do you start guys at $15 an hour when you still have people who have been here a while making less than $15? You have to bring everybody up. We've been trying to get ahead of that."
Competing for workers is a trend FitzGerald recognized some time ago, and he has been working proactively for several years at trying to offer a competitive wage. Five years ago, his crew experienced abnormally high turnover. That, combined with the ascension of a new club president, presented a perfect opportunity to attack the wage gap that existed between LedgeRock and other local businesses.
"We lost some staff, a mix of older and younger guys. It was a good year to reset," he said. "We gave a $2 (an hour) raise to everybody, that brought them up to about $10 to $12 an hour. We've been slowly building on that. The next year we gave a $1 raise, the next year another $1. Now, our experienced guys are over that $16 (an hour) threshold, and we're paying inexperienced guys $12 to $13 to start. I'm not going to say pay doesn't motivate people, but fair pay does matter."
Arraya also has had to get creative to keep employees at Bellerive, not just on the golf course, but throughout the rest of the operation.
"The turning point, where we had to make some tough decisions, came when you ask how you are going to compete with Domino's, who is paying $15-plus, or Amazon at $18-plus," Arraya said. "There is something like $8 billion in construction contracts over the next few years in St. Louis. People are being paid more than $20 an hour just to pour concrete.
"We have to sell something. How do we make this fun?"
The answer for Arraya, and the club's members was the Bellerive "experience."
That meant completely rethinking employee work schedules, respecting their lives outside the club, continuing education and group team-building activities, like staff cookouts and bowling outings.
"Flex schedules became a reality. Twelve days on and two off is not a reality anymore," he said. "Working them 65 hours a week, that's gone. We can't always control the wage, so we can't go from $10.50 to $15 in a heartbeat. We have to sell the job and support what they do outside of work. We are not at the top of the wage market, so we have to sell the experience and what we can do to help them. We do more team events and more things as a group than we did before."
I'm not going to say pay doesn't motivate people, but fair pay does matter.
Bellerive avoided staff layoffs throughout the early days of the pandemic, and the community, Arraya says, has taken notice of that. The result has been more teenagers than ever before applying for jobs since Arraya came to Bellerive in 2016.
"During the pandemic, we didn't cut anyone. We cut hours, but we didn't cut jobs. People here know they have a safe place to work," Arraya said.
"We've had more young kids apply than ever before. It's not the pay, it's parents saying this is a safe place to work. This is the youngest staff we've had since I've been here."
Ryan Gordon has adopted a similar path by slowly increasing the hourly wage at The Club at Snoqualmie Ridge (below right) in Snoqualmie, Washington, and incorporating other policies that are less tangible, but still make a difference.
"Full-time labor has been difficult, we are doing the only thing we can - raising our starting wages each year to remain competitive with the McDonald's and Safeways around us," Gordon said. "We also try to make sure we take good care of our tenured employees by being very conscious of how we treat them, showing respect and appreciation whether it be verbal, or with simple team-building barbecues and whatnot."
At Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, superintendent John Zimmers and his team are preparing for the Solheim Cup in late August and early September. For more than two decades, Zimmers has built a reputation for taking playing conditions to the extreme. It takes a special kind of dedication to stick on his team.
In the face of extremely high standards even for hourly employees, Inverness has been fortunate to have a dedicated team of young talent throughout the pandemic and beyond, said assistant superintendent Ryan Kaczor. That has been achieved through a mix of hard work, dedication and a little bit of fun. However, so those seeking a career on the fryer might want to think about applying elsewhere."
"We have been very fortunate over the past year with our grounds staff at Inverness Club," Kaczor said. "Our staff is comprised of a core group that works the winter and a seasonal staff that consists of many high school and college students.
"The industry has changed in order to be able to compete with the McDonald's and Burger Kings. The standard and quality of work has to be at a very high level in conjunction with a level of responsibility to quantify the staff.
"In doing so, we also put a strong emphasis on making a great working environment for every employee, by being both professional and fair, while still having fun and enjoying our days. At the end of the day, it takes a certain type of person to perform the tasks of grounds maintenance employee, that you might not find at a fast food stop."
Gordon also has a good track record of recruiting and retaining high school students.
"We have also had good success with seasonal labor by filling the pipeline with high school sophomores and they return every year for three to four years," Gordon said. "The challenge is that the young ones have more limitations on what they can legally do versus those that are over 18 but if you keep the pipeline full those young ones eventually become your 18 year old operators."
At the end of the day, it takes a certain type of person to perform the tasks of grounds maintenance employee, that you might not find at a fast food stop.
One thing is certain, there are no cookie-cutter answers to finding solutions to the labor challenges facing the golf industry.
The cost of housing is a concern for employees at Fairview Country Club in Greenwich, Connecticut, which is 30 miles from Times Square in New York City. On-site housing at Fairview helps Pavonetti retain his crew.
"I am able to attract and retain employees by offering housing," Pavonetti said. "If I didn't have that, I don't think I would be in such a good position that I'm in today.
"My entire staff is Mexican immigrants that are American citizens, or permanent residents. Fourteen out of 20 live at my facility and go back to their families in Mexico once the season ends."
With so many golf courses boasting of increased revenue and record play, the time is right, according to Bellerive's Arraya, for golf course operations everywhere to work toward finding a long-term solution to the industry's wage gap.
"We're all fat and happy now. If we can't fix the wage issue now during record play, we're never going to do it," Arraya said. "We're cash flush everywhere. If we can't do it now, we never will, and people don't want to hear that."