Your telephone's answering machine can easily be used as a course condition hotline.

2001 Leo Feser award candidate

Effective communication skills are critically important for today's successful golf course superintendent. As a group, we look for any opportunity to improve our image and better communicate our contribution to the game of golf.

High on the list of qualities of successful superintendents are extraordinary communication and people skills. To be good communicators, we must speak for the course -- because no one else can do it better than the superintendent. We do this by writing articles for course newsletters, speaking in front of committees and giving presentations to the entire membership. This type of communication is an attempt to help educate the public and to sell the ideas that we as managers believe are important to our operations.

In addition, we use informational signs on the golf course to guide play. Bulletin boards are used to post maintenance schedules and other pertinent golf course information. We do this to explain our modern agronomic techniques and to improve the public's perception of what we do.

However, all the signs we make and all the articles we write will never replace the one-on-one communication we as humans need. Never underestimate the value of meeting and discussing golf course issues with members in person. This form of direct communication has tremendous impact and creates an impression that lasts over time.

Daily communication is equally important, and this is one area where perhaps many of us fall short or could use some improvement. Whether we are trying to communicate with the golf professional and staff, or are trying to advise the players on course conditions, getting the message to everyone can be a difficult task. Even the best manager cannot speak with everyone and be everywhere at once. At Indian Spring Country Club in Silver Spring, Md., a private 36-hole facility in suburban Washington, D.C., I am always looking for ways to improve communication with club members and my staff.

Daily communication
One method of improving daily communication is already sitting on our desks -- the telephone. The telephone answering machine can be used to create a course condition hotline that can easily communicate critical daily information to all. Changing the outgoing message of the answering machine each day provides up-to-date information to anyone who needs it, when they need it.

This is especially helpful during busy mornings when the superintendent's attention is given exclusively to the course and to golfers or staff members who need daily information. The course condition line can become a tool for answering critical questions without interrupting the superintendent, the assistant or the regular routine.

Typically, the superintendent is the first manager on the property each day, and usually early in the morning the superintendent makes most weather-related decisions regarding course play, delays or cancellations of tournaments. The course condition line can make this information available early for everyone to plan activities and arrival times at the course.

In addition, other members in the organization, such as the executive chef and the general manager, can obtain information on the status of daily events and have the opportunity to organize their staffs accordingly. When events are cancelled because of inclement weather, these staff members can use the information to adjust levels of staffing or cancel the preparation of food. Over time, the club can save significant resources, and the superintendent can become the team player we all strive to be.

However, the best benefit of creating such a service is to inform the golfers about daily course conditions, frost delays, golf car restrictions and activities occurring at the course. When information is provided on a course condition hotline, golfers have a better opportunity to plan their day, and the superintendent becomes the focal point for such information.

Initiating a course condition hotline can substantially reduce the number of calls the golf professional and his or her staff must handle just as they are opening the pro shop. It is not uncommon for them to field dozens of calls each day solely to give players daily information about golf course conditions. Obviously, this time could be better spent serving the golf-playing customer.

The right message
Establishing a course condition hotline is easy. First, an existing or dedicated telephone line is needed along with a high-quality answering machine. Digital answering machines work best because they create dependable recordings without using tapes. A commercial-quality answering machine has multiple mailboxes that allow additional recordings for posting supplemental information. For example, additional recordings can provide information to other departments within your organization, including tennis and swimming. The recordings can even provide employment information for prospective employees.

Making the recording itself is not difficult, with a little practice. At our office, we post a sample written narrative next to the answering machine to make the task easier. In addition, we keep all the tournament schedules and clubhouse activities posted next to the answering machine.

In the morning after the course has been checked by the staff and the hole locations have been chosen, the recording can be made. Additional information may be included in the course condition hotline recording. For example, consider offering information concerning agronomic problems, chemical applications, weather conditions or course construction projects. The recording can also be a great vehicle for educating the public about maintenance practices and, by proper planning, helping to minimize the impact they have on golfers.

The hotline can also include information promoting club activities or tournaments and reminding golfers to sign up for upcoming golf events. The recording can be a valuable daily opportunity to communicate with many people with minimal effort.

Establishing a course condition hotline is an easy and cost-effective way to better communicate with the public. After the course condition line is created, golfers will learn to come to the superintendent for information about activities at the course.

The hotline also promotes the superintendent as one of the key decision-makers at the facility and provides an excellent service to members.

However, as with any service, the hotline must be consistent and reliable. Once the service is available, club members will learn to rely on the information and expect it to be on time and accurate. Remember to properly train any staff member who will make the recording. Always be upbeat and positive and maintain a professional image to the listener that will create that long-lasting positive impression of the superintendent and the golf course maintenance staff.

Rhys Arthur is superintendent at Indian Spring Country Club in Silver Spring, Md., and a 20-year member of GCSAA. He presented this information at the Innovative Superintendent Sessions at the 2001 conference and show in Dallas.