the-golf-blogjw

[the-golf-blogjw]

John Waldrop

Professor Cavitt

ENC 1102 – Composition 2

February 29, 2024

The Golf Blog- Do Golf Professionals Need More Work/Life Balance?

Welcome to The Golf Blog, where I will examine the methods to improve the lives of golf professionals and dive into the problems within the golf industry. Today, we're going to be concentrating on the important subject of work/life balance in this prestigious industry. PGA golf professionals are known to be highly professional around the industry compared to normal golf professionals. This comes with a cost, however, PGA golf professional are expected to put in 50 plus hours per week during peak season and this can lead to not a lot of time do other things, such as, spending time with family and friends and playing golf. You may be asking yourself; but you work in the golf industry, at a golf course, how do you not have time to play golf? Well, the answer is fairly simple. Golf professionals spend most of their time catering to other people, such as, members of the club that they work at, this includes things like, running events, giving lessons, answering the phone, and so much more. In my opinion I believe golf professionals be allowed certain days off to simply just go play golf and keep improving their game because think about it, would you really want to have get a golf lesson from someone who isn’t able to play golf at a high level? It’s like getting advice about a relationship from someone that has never been in a relationship, it doesn’t really work out very well. I will give some clubs credit though, they hire enough staff so that they can have their golf staff all be adequately trained to do one another’s job if there is one professional that does get asked to go play or just wants to practice, but, then there are the clubs that only have maybe three or four people on their golf shop staff. This can create a very stressful environment, especially at a really busy course, because then all of that work at those other clubs with an adequate number of people on staff would be put on only those three or four people.

            Golf Professionals in the extremely fast paced golf industry frequently spend long hours attending to the demands of club members and visitors. Unfortunately, a lot of great professionals have left the golf industry due to this tight schedule. Golf pros find themselves underpaid and overworked in this scenario, mostly due to everything that they have going while they are at work, this is becomes very exhausting and overwhelming at times, which calls for a quick change and attention. Thankfully, there are ways to improve this issue, like implementing online procedures and putting employee wellness programs into place. These employee wellness programs could include things, such as, specified days off for employees to go play more golf with members and maybe even just days where they can bring their friends or family to the club and enjoy all its enmities, which, surprisingly is very frowned upon in the golf industry. Most clubs will let their employees use they golf course as they wish, but; the restaurants, bar, pool, tennis courts, pickleball courts, fitness center, and everything else is usually just limited to member use only. I think this could be a really good thing for any club, as it would allow for the employees to get closer and gain more of a connection between them and the members. This would motivate the employee to want to be at the facility more.

            Take this into consideration: the average yearly salary for an assistant golf professional is roughly $60,000. This amount is not enough for any golf professional at any club, obviously the type of club and how much responsibility the assistant has would be key factors, but for the most part many assistants basically do the same thing, some slightly more than others but no matter what it is a ton of work and can be very tiring and overwhelming during season especially. The real cost becomes evident when you combine it with the exhausting workweeks that last between fifty and sixty hours during the busiest time of year. These experts deal with a wide range of tasks behind the scenes, such as handling member complaints and planning weekly leagues, which are a vital part of club membership. Their devotion is evident in the careful planning that goes into creating fresh activities each week. For example, the First Assistant at the club where I work manages three leagues, each with a complex set of rules, member pairings, and format suggestions. It's a labor-intensive procedure that's frequently overlooked.

With all of this in mind do you think golf pros should be paid more given the enormous workloads they face? After all, their compensation is dependent on several variables, including the amount of work they do, the club's primary role, membership quality, club proteaginous, and the staff's size. However, when one considers the unwavering commitment needed to maintain the standards of excellence, a better plan is needed in order for the golf industry work force to survive.

            The potential for simplifying processes using online platforms is enormous in the current digital era. It's true that some clubs target an older clientele that are much less tech-savvy, but there are many advantages to using internet resources. Golf professionals can recover valuable time by shifting some work to virtual environments instead of the club. Picture a system where participants could easily sign up for leagues or reserve tee times with a single click. This could help the entire golf staff as many members will spread the word that they know how use the online system and this could teach other members how it works. The club could also offer classes that teach, step-by-step, how to use the online reservation system. Golf professionals may now better combine their personal and professional lives because to this shift towards digitalization, which will in turn increase productivity.

            Clubs can also promote employee well-being by introducing wellness programs designed with golf professionals in mind. In an industry where stress levels are high and schedules are tight and demanding, these programs operate as a preventative step to lessen burnout and support mental wellness. Clubs may show they support their employees' overall well-being by giving them access to resources like stress management classes, fitness programs, and counseling services. By doing this, they benefit both parties because they not only create a happy workplace but also encourage employee loyalty and retention. Additionally, they could offer more flexible scheduling, allow for more free time to play golf. Club should also be encouraging their employees of all departments to play golf. Employee’s who already play golf, should play more golf with members gaining a bigger connection between themselves and the member while also learning more about the great game of golf. Anyone on the golf staff should be allotted at least thirty minutes of practice time per shift, allowing the staff to keep their golf game in shape in case they are asked by members to go play with them. This would increase the image of the club staff by showing that everyone who is one staff is also interested in golf and enjoy keeping their games in the best shape possible.

Additionally, encouraging work/life balance in the golf industry can be greatly helped by adopting new technology, such as, new online platforms that could be easier to navigate for elder members. Technology would help employees work more efficiently and effectively by improving workflows, lowering administrative duties, such as, tee sheet management, lowering the amount of chaos that can happen within any league, and helping them to use mobile apps for communication and task management as well as automated scheduling systems. Clubs may improve employee wellness and enhance the overall member experience by adding these technologies, which would free up time and will allow the club to use more resources.

Furthermore, it is very important to recognize the effort and dedication that golf professionals put into their clubs. Without this, clubs would not be as successful in United States as they are today. The golf staff is one of the top departments of the hospitality industry. What makes most club elite is, how well maintained the golf course is. If the golf course is well maintained but if the golf staff is not living up to the standard of the of the golf course it will ruin the experience of the club for any guest or member.

            In conclusion, it is indisputable that work/life balance needs to be a top priority within the golf industry. By implementing employee wellness initiatives and embracing technology advancements, clubs can revolutionize their business practices while also gaining revenue and enhance the lives of their dedicated staff members. It's time to recognize the invaluable contributions made by golf professionals and to treat them with respect. Only then will we be able to ensure the cherished sport has a prosperous and long-lasting future with an outstanding employee base.

[the-golf-blogjw]

Jake Waldrop

Hello, my name is Jake Waldrop. I’m currently attending Florida Gulf Coast University in my third year. Golf is one of and if not by biggest passion, so what did I do, major in it of course! You may be asking to yourself; how on earth do you major in golf?

At this point in time, I been volunteering at The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass every year. I was a standard bearer (the guy walking behind the tour players holding a sign with their score). I thought doing that was such a cool experience and really started make me like golf more and more each year.

My grandpa had played golf his entire life and always tried to get me into it so finally after my baseball injury I picked up a golf club and instantly feel in love it. Golf became addicting. When I first started, I didn’t take it very seriously, which in turn would make it not as fun to go play.

Sophomore year of high school came around and I realized a few of my friends were going to a golf academy every day after school and I thought I should do that as well. So, I began to take it more seriously. I made some of my best friends during this period and we all had a great time and a great love for the game.

During high school, I would play in many tournaments across the state of Florida. I would always work my absolute hardest weeks before a tournament, but, for some reason nothing would ever seem to click when tournament time came around. This would become a pattern. I knew I had the game, I just needed to execute.

I had always dreamed of playing college golf at a D-1 school, but, sadly last was becoming less and less of a reality. I knew golf was a big passion of mine and I didn’t really know what else I wanted to do, until I discovered from a family-friend this smaller school in Southwest Florida, called FGCU. At first when I looked at it on satellite maps, I was amazed at the immense amount golf courses around the area, that really grabbed attention. I went on the school website and saw “PGA Golf Management” I was like what is this?

 I had then figured out I could continue my golf career, maybe not in playing, but coaching, teaching, and growing the game. This was when I knew the only school, I was going to apply to was FGCU. When I got to school, I realized how many playing opportunities we would have within the PGM program.

 The welcome back scramble was the first event I ever played in and man o’ man did I click with everyone. How? Our biggest interest was golf. I would continue to play in many tournaments that semester. It was the same ole’ story I lived out in high school, I knew I had the game, but couldn’t execute when it mattered most.

The next semester I would participate in the Spring Match Play for PGM. I would make it to the semi-final from a bracket of 64 players. This was the best I have felt about my game in a very long time if not ever.

That summer I went on internship to the Chevy Chase Club in the Washington D.C. metro area. There is where I would begin my teaching career as I would coach the “Camp Chevy” summer junior golf camp. I really had worked on make that summer and, man did it feel good when I got back to school.

The fall semester of my sophomore year was where my golf game absolutely thrived. I won my first two golf tournaments ever! I would also qualify for the PGA University Championship in Las Vegas. This was a major accomplishment for me, especially, after all those years of not being able to execute. I finally did.