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Q&A: Meet the new boss
GCSAA’s new CEO sits down with GCM to discuss why he’s trading the golf course for the boardroom.
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Less than two weeks after the final round of the 2008 U.S. Open, Mark Woodward, CGCS will put Torrey Pines’ South Course in his rearview mirror — a course he watched over for the last three years in advance of that big event — and drive east toward Lawrence, Kan., and the next challenge in his career.
The 29-year member of GCSAA will be trading the golf course and his job as San Diego’s golf operations manager for the boardroom and his new position as the CEO of GCSAA. He’ll be replacing Steve Mona, CAE, who left the association earlier this year after 14 years with GCSAA to take the reins of the World Golf Foundation as its CEO.
Woodward brings more than 30 years of golf course management and administration experience to the job, not to mention a long legacy of service to the industry and the association that included a stint as GCSAA president in 2004. He becomes the first “working superintendent” to serve as GCSAA’s permanent chief executive in the association’s history.
GCM sat down with Woodward to discuss his move from San Diego to Lawrence, his transition from active GCSAA member to GCSAA staff member and his short-term and long-term goals for the organization as he takes on that next challenge.
GCM: The first question will also be the shortest — why? Why did you toss your hat into the ring for this position and why did you decide now was the right time to exchange San Diego for Lawrence, Kan.?
Mark Woodward: I always knew that when I accepted the position in San Diego to get Torrey Pines ready for the U.S. Open that I would not be there for a long time after the Open. In fact my original boss, Ellie Oppenheim, and I had a professional understanding that I would at least get (the San Diego golf operation) through the championship. With this in mind, I had no idea that this opportunity at GCSAA would come along when it did. At one point along the way, I had been doing some consulting and thought that maybe that was the direction that I would end up going after the Open.
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Mark Woodward, CGCS, is a familiar face in the golf industry, thanks largely to his role in preparing San Diego’s Torrey Pines for this month’s U.S. Open. Here, Woodward (second from right) appears on a panel with three former U.S. Open champions (from left): Scott Simpson, Gene Littler and Billy Casper. Photo courtesy of San Diego Hall of Champions |
When Steve Mona made the announcement in October 2007 that he would be leaving GCSAA and assuming the position of CEO of the World Golf Foundation, I immediately expressed an interest in the CEO position at GCSAA.
Since I knew the association so well based on the fact that I have been a 29-year member, served on numerous committees and ultimately served as president of GCSAA in 2004, I felt that my education, background and experience really fit quite well with the position description criteria developed by the board of directors.
And those who know me well know that I am always looking for the next challenge in my career. All the positions that I have held in the past have been great experiences and have prepared me to take on the leadership role at GCSAA. I very much look forward to playing a more active role in enhancing the programs and services available to our members and continuing to expand on the great strides GCSAA has made in the past several years.
As most people in the golf industry know, I have lived in Mesa, Ariz., and currently in San Diego. My wife and I have never had the opportunity to experience the four seasons, so exchanging San Diego for Kansas will be new to both of us and we are looking forward to it.
GCM: Obviously, your past service as a GCSAA board member and as president of the association in 2004 gives you a unique résumé as it relates to this position. Where do you see those experiences helping you in your new job as CEO, and conversely, where might they hold you back?
MW: I believe that my past experience with GCSAA as a board member and a past president will benefit me greatly. Obviously, I know the association quite well and have a good understanding of the issues that the association faces. During my time on the board I was involved in a vast array of issues affecting our membership, the association, the golf industry and the game of golf. In reflecting back on those years, for the most part we made some very good decisions and improved the programs and services that our members receive from the association. I can tell you unequivocally that our hearts were always in the right place in terms of improving the status of our members. I’m very proud of my board service and I have a great deal of respect for all those who served with me and before me to bring the association to where it is today. Additionally, being a 30-year member of the association I have a good grasp on what it is that a member wants from GCSAA.
In terms of where my board service may hold me back, I’m not sure that I have a great answer to this part of the question. The more knowledge you have about a particular topic allows you to be an effective manager and to make better decisions. Obviously, there will be a learning curve when it comes to managing the association versus managing a large-scale, high-profile golf operation.
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GCSAA president David S. Downing II, CGCS (left), introduces new CEO Mark Woodward, CGCS (right), to GCSAA staff in Lawrence, Kan. Photo by Roger Billings |
But in the end it’s all about managing and getting the most out of the resources available to you, and that is what I intend to do. I know that there will be some concern from some of our staff and even some of our members that it will be difficult for me to transition from a board member’s way of thinking to being a staff member, but I don’t see this as a problem. Remember, I was one of the board members who originally thought that the CEO position needed to be held more accountable, which ultimately led to the creation of the new governance model (which, by the way, was implemented the year that I was president in 2004). I know how the structure works and I’m fully prepared to live within that structure.
GCM: During your time on the board of directors, GCSAA tackled several weighty issues — the Professional Development Initiative, potential headquarters relocation, a potential name change for the association, extensive outreach and public relations campaigns. Will similar major initiatives mark your tenure as CEO?
MW: I’m sure that during my tenure as CEO, there will be some weighty issues, as you call them, which come up and need to be addressed. Of the issues that you bring up in this particular question, some have been successfully implemented while others have been put on the back burner, so to speak. At this time it is hard to anticipate all the major issues that may surface, but when something does come up, the staff and I will be prepared to work closely with the board of directors to gather the necessary facts and information to enable the appropriate parties to make good sound decisions.
Some issues have a way of coming back and resurfacing every few years, and I assume that this phenomenon will continue as the industry changes, new boards get elected and members’ desires change. If they do, we will tackle them head on and address them at that time.
GCM:How do you go about orienting yourself to a staff position with GCSAA and reporting to the board of directors after so many years as a GCSAA member, a board member and president of the association — essentially the boss of the staff?
MW: GCSAA has a great staff that genuinely care about our members’ well being and day in and day out do a wonderful job providing programs and services to our members. With all of this being said, I believe that there is always room for improvement, and once I am in Lawrence, I will work with the staff to identify ways to do things better, if necessary. One of my first meetings will be with the board of directors to get their feedback on the state of the association, the golf industry and to hear about their expectations for me and the association moving forward. Also, during my first 100 days at GCSAA I plan on doing a great deal of listening. I will conduct one-on-one interviews with each team member and try to learn as much as I can about the current state of the GCSAA. Obviously, we will be making decisions along the way, but I think that it is important for me to listen and learn.
GCM: One of Steve Mona’s legacies after 14 years at GCSAA was getting both the association and, by extension, the profession a seat at the table among golf’s leading organizations. With your background being primarily focused on golf administration and course maintenance, do you feel any urgency to assert yourself in that arena, to prove that you “belong” with the rest of golf’s top executives?
MW: There is no doubt that I will immediately insert myself into this arena. For the most part, I don’t think that this is a stretch for me. One of the advantages that I had during my tenure on the board of directors for GCSAA was that I was able to get to know a great many of our industry partners. As an officer of GCSAA, I sat at the table with the officers and executive committees of all the allied golf associations at some point or another. I also served as secretary of The Environmental Institute for Golf, where I got to know some very high-profile supporters of GCSAA. Over the years I have also built solid relationships with many of our major donors, supporters, suppliers and vendors. Lastly, along with my staff, I have hosted three Buick Invitational PGA Tour events, three Junior World Tournaments and will host the U.S. Open this month, and with these events being very high-profile, I have strong, established relationships with the USGA, the PGA Tour, the National Golf Foundation and many others.
GCM: In a similar vein, do you feel any added pressure to meet the expectations of GCSAA members — your peers for the last three decades — who surely are going to hold one of their own to a certain standard?
MW: I fully expect our members to hold me to a higher standard. Not that they didn’t hold Steve Mona accountable, but with me being a member, a CGCS and being someone who has been involved with GCSAA as a former president, I am positive that our members’ expectations will be quite high. I am also well aware that every decision that I make, at least initially, will be highly scrutinized. I’m OK with this. I am confident in my abilities and know that along the way I will make decisions that someone will disagree with. I’ve been in this situation in all my former positions and particularly as a GCSAA board member. It’s normal for different people to have opposing or different opinions. That’s what makes the world a better place. All I ask is that people do not put things on a personal level.
GCM: Your experiences as an administrator equal, if not exceed, your experiences in growing grass as a superintendent. How will those experiences translate to your new position as CEO?
MW: I was fortunate enough to have a supervisor in the mid-1980s who recognized that I needed to be challenged and he revamped my position from superintendent to golf administrator. Along with this change came a variety of new responsibilities, including managing the contracts for the golf shop and the food/beverage operations. I wrote RFPs, providing input to our attorneys on the technical side of golf operations contracts and city council reports. Ultimately, through several reorganizations, I assumed a wider variety of other responsibilities, including managing the Chicago Cubs spring training facilities, a tennis center, a park ranger program and a cemetery.
A few years later, recognizing that I needed more business acumen, I decided to pursue my master’s in business administration, which I earned in the late 1990s. So you’re correct when you say I have a substantial amount of golf administrative experience. I believe that this, coupled with my agronomic background, is a huge plus when it comes to being the CEO of GCSAA. My background in turf management, hosting major golf events and having a good understanding of our members and their desires along with my business background will all allow me to work effectively with staff and our members to enhance the role of the superintendent in the golf industry.
GCM: When you walk into GCSAA headquarters on July 1, what will be your first order of business? And taking a little longer view, what has made your short list of things to do before the end of 2008?
MW: Obviously, there will be a learning curve for me when I arrive at GCSAA headquarters in July. I will have just come off the meeting with the board of directors and will by then have a thorough understanding of their expectations.
In addition to conducting the one-on-one interviews with all team members, I will immediately institute regularly scheduled meetings with all of my direct reports (the senior leadership team) and also with department leaders. It will also be important for me to fill the vacant leadership positions as soon as it is appropriate. I fully intend on listening and learning. Before any changes are made, I want to learn the culture of the building and really (I mean really) listen to the good, the bad and the ugly from the staff’s point of view.
A big part of my listening process will come from our members. I intend on sitting in on as many of the committee and task group meetings as I possibly can to hear first-hand what our members are saying about their association. This will be a huge opportunity to learn what the members are concerned with and what we need to do as an association to meet their needs.
I also will focus a great deal of time on the strategic indicators and the financial status of the association. After all, the board has established a very clear set of indicators that staff focuses on each and every day.
I have already started the process of communicating with our constituents in the golf industry. I have sent an initial letter to a great many of GCSAA’s major supporters, donors, providers and vendors thanking them for their support and the fact that I very much look forward to enhancing the already strong relationship that we have with them. And almost immediately I will begin representing the association at a variety of golf industry events.
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