 |
|
The sky is the limit
A former superintendent uses skills learned as a turf professional to make the leap to a new career.
 |
I have been in this profession long enough to know that many superintendents my age who are slowly creeping up on 50 find themselves in a transitional phase. Sometimes it’s by choice, but more often the decision to move on is made for you, not by you.
After a 20-year journeyman career, I made the decision to make a quantum leap and leave the industry on my own terms.
In 1980 I entered a small liberal arts college as a business communications major. Almost 30 years later, life has come full circle and the solution to my midlife crisis is to kick-start a career that began a lifetime ago.
Jumping ship
Throughout my career, I felt as if I was always searching for my niche in the golf industry. I began my career as an assistant at a privately owned public golf course, worked as a superintendent at two private clubs, built a golf course from the ground up, ventured briefly into sales and spent the last 10 years as the superintendent in a multicourse municipal environment. (Imagine the challenges you incur daily at your 18-hole facility and multiply that by three.) The stress eventually took its toll, and I realized after almost 25 years that I should re-evaluate my career choice.
I had been contemplating a move for a couple of years before finally making the decision to jump ship and leave the lifeboat behind. Many of us in this profession have been victims of the industry-wide decline in revenue. The financial problems with the city of Bloomington, Ill., were exacerbated by the construction of a $45 million multipurpose arena that was at one point losing about $2 million annually. Prior to the arena’s opening, my supervisors retired after almost 30 years of dedicated service. Much like the great coaches of our era, they knew when it was time to go. The inexperienced administration that replaced them were committed to making changes — often just for the sake of making change — but didn’t have the tools and resources of their predecessors.
 |
| Satterwhite in his new office, as the executive director of the business and technology division of Sky is the Limit in Normal, Ill. Photos courtesy of Kerry Satterwhite |
The decision to seek other employment opportunities was not totally motivated by my volatile working environment. I am a family-first person, and spending time with my children has always been my highest priority. The reason I moved to Bloomington over a decade ago had little to do with my career; it was so I could be closer to my 7-year-old son who had moved to the area with his mother a year earlier. Traditional weekend visits became a thing of the past and the division of time between households became more equitable. By the time he turned 11, he had moved in with me and the number of children in our household doubled.
 |
| Wanting to continue to coach his daughter’s softball team, Satterwhite knew he’d have problems trying to be a superintendent when the softball season conflicts with golf season. |
Agronomic to economic
Five years passed and for reasons more personal than professional, I began exploring employment opportunities outside of the golf industry. The profession was evolving and the aspects that I enjoyed the most about my job were no longer prevalent. The job became more about economics than agronomics.
The first 10 years of my career the priority was agronomics. The majority of my day was spent outside, directing the day-to-day golf course operations, examining turf, riding on a mower and running the goose dog.
 |
| Satterwhite says that the aspects that he loved about being a superintendent changed during his time in the industry. |
The next 10 years were more about economics. Each year more of my time was being dedicated to reviewing spreadsheets and forecasting expenditures rather than diseases. The fiscal belt that was being tightened a little more each year began to feel more like a noose. Finally, when it became more important to cut expenses than to cut grass, I decided it was time for a change.
The motivating factor was once again my family. My son and daughter are both student-athletes at their respective schools. Although my son is a good swimmer, his career ends this year when he graduates from high school. Meanwhile, my daughter, an eighth grader, is already being identified as a Division I recruit in softball. An accomplished pitcher, her athleticism has caught the eye of more than one college coach. Between school softball and summer traveling softball, she will be training and playing softball year-round. That equates to almost every weekend from April 1 to August 1 — the heart of golf season in the Midwest. As a parent, I wouldn’t want to miss any of the 100-plus games she will be playing a year, but as her coach, I can’t.
Job search
Like all of those before me who had decided they had sprayed their last green or isolated their last irrigation leak in the middle of the night, I evaluated several positions in sales. Life on easy street, right? Except there were good reasons so many positions were open as sales representatives. Courses are hanging on to equipment for longer periods, so sales of rolling stock are lagging. Budgets are becoming so tight that the chemical and fertilizer market is more dollar-driven than ever, so margins are tighter and gross profits are smaller.
Not only was the grass not greener, there simply wasn’t much green. I would never rule out a position in sales, but the right opportunity did not present itself during the time that I was looking to make a move.
As my search migrated away from the golf/turf/landscape industry, I began having detailed discussions about my job and the associated responsibilities with friends in other professions. The job of a superintendent, particularly in a predominantly administrative position like I had, is very complex. What the superintendent actually does — managing a small business that operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week — is difficult for someone outside the industry to fully
comprehend.
I did not use a recruiter or a placement agency to secure the position I now have as the executive director of the business and technology division of Sky is the Limit (STL), though one of the divisions of that company is a professional staffing agency. I did take advantage of complementary services, like résumé critiquing and personal marketing techniques.
I learned how to market the skills I had acquired as a superintendent and focus on those skills that would transition into just about any business environment.
A superintendent’s appeal
There were a couple of specific accomplishments on my résumé that recruiters thought would draw interest from potential employers. My participation on a number of GCSAA committees and task groups was attractive because it demonstrated a dedication to my profession. It also highlighted my strength as a communicator. I discovered that my ability to effectively communicate was a critical marketable asset. The fact that I was the editor of the publication for our local superintendent association, and that I could provide copies that included interviews that I had conducted with Arnold Palmer, Mike Hurdzan and college basketball coach Lon Kruger, proved to be tremendous resources.
In addition to being involved with GCSAA at the national level, I also volunteer for a couple of community organizations, including the Citizens Advisory Council, a consulting group providing parental and community insight to the local school board. One of the CAC committees I served on was the 2020 building committee that was charged with the task of creating specifications for renovations to existing schools and construction of new schools. My involvement in this project provided me with the opportunity to meet a number of business leaders in the community. It also provided me with a platform to promote myself and the superintendent profession.
One of my more time-consuming volunteer activities is coaching my daughter’s traveling softball team. That’s where I first met the family who owns STL. They had the opportunity to see how I behaved under pressure, and if you don’t think coaching 12-year-old girls in the state championship isn’t pressure, then you’ve never coached youth sports or dealt with their parents. Coaching 11 games in three days in near-100 degree heat tests the patience of the best people.
The formula for success is the same whether you are a coach, businessperson or a superintendent. You need to be able to organize, delegate, communicate and motivate. It’s imperative to establish clear and attainable goals and lead people to that common goal. Those who are most successful are the individuals who have learned to market themselves and their successes.
I’ve been fortunate enough to achieve some degree of success as a superintendent and as a coach, both in swimming and more recently in softball. I hope I can use that experience and those life lessons in my new position. If I fail, then I’ll take a mulligan and try to tee it up again.
Leo Feser Award candidate
This article is eligible for the 2008 Leo Feser Award, presented annually since 1977 to the author of the best superintendent-written article published in GCM during the previous year. Superintendents receive a $300 stipend for articles. Feser Award winners receive an all-expenses-paid trip to the Golf Industry Show, where they are recognized. They also have their names engraved on a plaque permanently displayed at GCSAA headquarters.