Venting as CGCS Cancel The title field is required!

1. Cary Tegtmeyer

   

   0 posts
   
   1/3/2013 10:01 AM

   Just needing to vent. I've been a member for 38 years and certified for 30 years. Presently in the Branson, Missouri area. Out of the 6 major golf courses here, 3 have Certified Superintendents. These 3 certified positions have been laid-off for the winter. Something does not add up right for making the extra step in the profession by becoming CGCS. Thanks for listening!

   
   
   
   
2. Steven Huffstutler

   

   11 posts
   
   1/3/2013 10:01 AM

   I looked upon Certification as a personal goal, hoping there would be a payoff down the road. I think now, that it may actually be working against me. In the current climate, more experience and more education don't seem to be as important as a willingness to work for less money.
   
   Regards,
   
   Steve

   
   
   
   
3. Andy Jorgensen

   

   1 posts
   
   1/3/2013 11:01 AM

   I don't think the fact that you are Certified changes the club's financial situation. If they can't afford to keep them on staff through the winter, Certified or not, they're gonna be laid off. This occurs frequently throughout the north.
   
   Although I saw the benefit of becoming Certified as a professional and personal step in status, I am not thinking it would hold me back. If fact, I felt I would get the nod at a job before someone else for any position I was applying for. After all, I wouldn't apply for the job if the benefit package was not up to my expectations.

   
   
   
   
4. Sean Hoolehan

   

   0 posts
   
   1/3/2013 2:01 PM

   Cary, These comments are sort of a extension of your vent.
   
   I don't care how good a superintendent you are this economy could eat a lot of us eventually. Golf is expensive, difficult to learn, and takes a long time to play. To top it off do you see anything in the future that is going to make it cheaper, easier and quicker? Not exactly positioned for growth.
   
   Know where you work (is this a healthy business) and who you work for (what is your employers motivation). Great golf courses do not mean great jobs, they are 2 different things. Being certified should be important to most superintendents. Get it as soon as you can and market yourself as Certified. It is not going to hurt you when you are in your prime employment years (30-50), and even if your present employer could care less it still is a credential that is easier to explain why you have it than why you don't.
   
   The job market in most businesses is tight right now, and being a out of work middle aged man is about as tough as it gets. To top it off being unemployed puts you at the bottom of the list of applicants. I do not think being certified hurts us (middle aged men) but at middle age you hope you are in your prime earning years, a time that is going to have a significant impact on your ability to retire. I hate it when i hear about veteran superintendents getting their legs cut out from under them to save some short term dollars.
   
   Sean

   
   
   
   
5. Wahlin Scott B

   
   1/3/2013 6:01 PM

   I guess of course not everything works out perfectly for everyone, being a CGCS has worked out perfectly for me. I did work for a club that employed two superintendents at courses that were nearby. I was certified and they wanted the other superintendent to become certified. Sean's question about why you don't become certified was asked of the other supt, and it was uncomfortable. I have been at my present job for 12 years and CGCS was a requirement. Thirty guys applied for the job and two were certified. They gave us all a 3-hour exam and I won. It was a municipality, they pretty much had to hire me at that point. From Day 1, the value of a pension did not escape me. The salary was much less than I was used to, but getting paid for life was a new idea. I turn 55 in May this year and if something bad happened I could do pretty well starting June 1.

   
   
   
   
6. Rosenthal Gregg

   
   1/3/2013 8:01 PM

   CGCS been there done that has done nothing for me accept proven to me I can put what I learned back down on paper when taking the test! Reality of the world is I have built and grown in 5 new golf courses, hosted the Tour, Certified 3 environmentally sound golf courses with Audubon Sanctuary program, survived a battle with epilepsy and brain surgery! Now loving life again helping do what I do best as an Assistant Superintendent a team member, utilizing my skills, my Spanish speaking ability, experience to do anything required on the golf course with a small crew hands on daily! Life is too short to sweat the small stuff and CGCS is just a few letters meaning whatever you want it too! I am doing what I do best everyday, and rewarding the ones who pay me to do it! I know my golfers enjoy playing our golf course as it plays great, I play it, shoot decent scores broke 80 (used to be a single digit handicap before my battle with epilepsy) once this fall and love what I do! So Vent or be happy to do what you do, it is a personal choice in today's world!
   
   Gregg R

   
   
   
   
7. Robert Jones

   

   0 posts
   
   1/4/2013 1:01 PM

   First of all I commend any superintendent on becoming certified!That being said I also feel that the way the process is set up it is not that in tune to who we are.A few posts before mine stated it was a kind of a culmination of what we do put to paper.That was pretty accurate,although there is SO much filler to that too become certified.As far as being laid off,I have been on both sides of that issue.I am currently in S.Fla. and been back here 2 yrs. removed from upstate NY.I was laid off in the winter and still worked for employer"under the table"so to speak.I have been in the industry most of my working life and I am approaching 50!I am making less money now that I was at a previous club 10yrs.ago.The ECONOMY is not helping any of us.Roll with the punches and if it doesn't feel right anymore ,find another profession.Life is tooooo short.Green side up guys!Best of luck to everyone in the new year.R.J.

   
   
   
   
8. Trevor Monreal

   

   5 posts
   
   1/5/2013 8:01 AM

   I wondered if there would ever be a trade off for working in this BLASTED heat for six months or more a year.
   Now I guess we can quit complaining about the guys that can close their course for a few months.