Local High School Golfing privileges Cancel The title field is required!

1. Scot Dey

   

   0 posts
   
   8/9/2013 1:08 PM

   Our local high school has had golfing privileges at the club for many years. My pro and I were asked by the membership to have them help us with maintenance as a way to give back to the club for the free golf they get. I'm trying to think of ways to help "motivate" them (sadly, the threat of pulling their golfing privileges is not an option) while they come out to do some work for us for a few hours. Here's what I have thus far and would appreciate some feedback/ideas/opinions if anyone has done anything similar at their club...
   We have squared off tees that get Kikuyu encroachment onto them. My team will edge the tees a few days prior to them coming out. I will have the H.S. kids split up into two teams of 6 and give each team front 9 / back 9 responsibilities to hand pull the Kikuyu stolons that are creeping onto the tee top. Then as the incentive offering a cash prize (or something there of) to the team that has the most stolons and does the most holes. I'm hoping to make this a positive experience so that I can get them to come back again in the future and help in other ways.

   
   
   
   
2. Canedo Alberto J

   
   8/9/2013 3:08 PM

   Scot,
   That is a great idea to give the group that does the most a cash prize, but if CIF finds out about that, that could cause a big problem for the team. Instead maybe a pizza party or bbq hamburgers and hotdogs at the Country Club swimming pool area and let them have fun for a while. When I was in Northern California, the boys and girls golf team would fill divots on the fairways once a week. Even the parents would come out and help the kids out.

   
   
   
   
3. Clay Putnam

   

   33 posts
   
   8/9/2013 3:08 PM

   So you are going to pay them in the hopes of them wanting to coming back and then give them free golf? Call me old fashioned, but how about they perform the minor duty for the sake of, well the free golf? Set the expectation with the golf coach and have the coach communicate the quid pro quo terms to the team.

   
   
   
   
4. Douglas Eggert

   

   1 posts
   
   8/9/2013 4:08 PM

   I bet if you have them fill divots on the range tee, they would hit less irons....
   
   I have 2 high schools, 4 teams each use my facility. We basically tell them when they can come out. And they complain its not enough practice time.
   
   Our agreement with the schools is they use the course ( fees charged to Rec Dept account), in exchange to use both their field houses and indoor pool complexes. Which Rec Dept. receives user fees....
   
   They beat the rye/low mow blue/bent tee up so bad , I actually cover it for the winter...
   
   I'd have the teams do range work or some other kind of work, such as raking bunker edges, picking plugged balls from range field ......
   
   But I wouldn't give any incentive for labor. If they invest their own sweat, they may see things differently. And want to care for it as their own.

   
   
   
   
5. Scot Dey

   

   0 posts
   
   8/9/2013 5:08 PM

   Good points...
   
   I'm with you Clay 100% you earn what you work for. However, the relationship between the club and the school goes so far back (way before my time) that I'd potentially be putting myself in an "unnessary situation" over a couple of high schoolers. Needless to say, I'm trying to get something established that could turn positive over the long haul, I want to make sure I tread lightly to start.
   
   The coach does need to get more "involved" which he says he is, because he controls their grades...but I've yet to really buy into that statement.
   
   Thanks for sharing...

   
   
   
   
6. Timothy Walker

   

   0 posts
   
   8/9/2013 6:08 PM

   The cash prize is a great idea it gives them something to compete for - I mean hell who wouldn't want some cash prize ( make it pro shop credit) then the money stays at the club, and will hopefully motivate them for them to not only do more but to do a thorough job. The work is to repay the comp golf, the cash is to make it productive and rewarding, the competitive nature will push them to win. H pro shop credit.

   
   
   
   
7. Thomas Brown

   

   0 posts
   
   8/10/2013 7:08 AM

   Wow! We've opened our golf course for years now to 2 public high schools and 3 private in Spring and Fall, (depending on their schedule), and never charged a dime and allowed them to beat up the small practice tee for free as well. I'm told that it's good PR in promoting the game and that maybe they'll play some time with their family or come back as a adult golfer in the future. I would love for them to put sand back in their divots if only I had sand to give them. We are a struggling low budget semi-private golf course that really can't handle the extra wear and tear.
   
   Tom

   
   
   
   
8. Brian Lentz

   

   0 posts
   
   8/10/2013 10:08 AM

   There's nothing I enjoy more than seeing the local high schoolers enjoying our facility. If we as and industry can't afford to let these kids, who truly love the game of golf, use our facilities then perhaps we all need to start looking for another career. If your club truly feels they need a return from letting these kids use the facility why not contact the local press to make sure your club gets advertised as hosting the team and their events. I'm sure the free advertising would far outweigh the cost of hosting the team.
   
   Brian Lentz
   Lakewood Ranch G&CC
   Lakewood Ranch, Fl.

   
   
   
   
9. Tom Forsythe

   

   0 posts
   
   8/10/2013 3:08 PM

   I'm with Brian on this one. Not only do we offer the range for the teams, we also provide use of our courses for their competitions. We had a chat with the organizer and gave details about the retail value of what we were providing and right after that they were listing us as one of their main sponsors in any literature they were providing to the schools and media.

   
   
   
   
10. Justin VanLanduit

    

    0 posts
    
    8/10/2013 6:08 PM

    I played golf in high school and each year we had to spend some time on the course doing maintenance work. One year the course was doing some renovation work and we help lay sod other than that it was little things, pulling grass and weeds from bunker edges, raking leaves, etc... Course I worked at in Colorado the caddys had to come in and fill divots at times to allow them playing privileges. Those little tasks are great to not have to put your staff on. Edge sprinkler heads is another good task.

    
    
    
    
11. Melvin Waldron

    

    43 posts
    
    8/11/2013 3:08 PM

    Growing up (of course this was back in the late 70's) we were never charged for using the golf course, they even donated golf bags for the team, (we had the niceist bags, exept they were cart bag size). I suppose it helped that both mom and dad worked for the golf course and we were the only school so it was a community pride thing as well. Only thing we used to do was take turns picking the range after it closed for the evening.
    
    I know our courses now charge $5 for practice rounds and qualifing, not sure about matches. They also get charged for range balls. I do know for tournaments we charge the teams $100 for 5 players, includes the range and for the girls, a nice little breakfast spead and lunch.
    
    Mel

    
    Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO
    
    
12. Sean Hoolehan

    

    0 posts
    
    8/12/2013 10:08 AM

    My son just finished up his high school golf career. During the golf season he missed over 15 days of school representing his team in matches, districts and the State tournament (finished 5th) he was also taking 16 college credits. Between practice, matches and school these kids are pretty busy. Many of them have part-time jobs as well. One of the reasons my son missed so much school was his matches were generally Mondays or Tuesdays when courses were slow and they could discount the golf for the schools. They play 10, 18 hole matches a year not including districts and State tournaments. I am not a big fan of swap labor on the golf course. It is rarely efficient and creates head aches for me and my staff. If the practice of comping golf does not stand on its own then don't do it. Think of high school golf (and Junior golf) as player development. Trust me your business is going to need players 10 to 15 years from now just as much as you need it today. There are lots of benefits. Our pro shop staff has 5 former high school golfers and my staff has 2. I would recommend asking the coach for a little time at a practice to talk about properly repairing ball marks and raking bunkers. Maybe go over some of the interesting facts about the environment and maintenance of the course
    
    My course has 2 high school teams practice and we give kids on the golf team free golf all year round. We have done this for the past 16 years. It's some of the best loyalty marketing programs we have. These kids grow up and many become regulars (paying customers).
    
    We make more money when these schools host events on Mondays than we do for the annual PGA Pro-Am we host. Chapter Pro-Ams are really PGA fund raisers but we also consider them marketing.

    
    
    
    
13. Steve Nelson

    

    0 posts
    
    8/12/2013 12:08 PM

    Here at the muni we have a number of HS's that frequent the course, but only our local HS gets to practice and play matches for free. Having them do maintenance is a bigger headache than it is worth, so we have them 'volunteer' at various charity tournaments. They do things like registration & check in, bag boys, hole in one contest monitors, etc. I think it is better for all this way.

    
    
    
    
14. Randall Boudinot

    

    4 posts
    
    8/12/2013 12:08 PM

    The last course I worked at, the high school golf coach would send out some kids twice a week to help clean pick the range in exchange for golfing privileges.
    
    Randy Boudinot
    Walnut Grove Country Club
    Dayton, Ohio

    
    
    
    
15. Scot Dey

    

    0 posts
    
    8/12/2013 1:08 PM

    Interesting to hear all the different responses from different courses and scenarios. My GM's wife came up with a good idea of havnig it qualify as community service hours (as something that hasn't been mentioned yet).
    
    I tried doing this "volunteer work" once before at my previous club with college kids, and saw it fall apart due to a lack of being organized. Needless to say I'm anxious/dumb to try it again, but hopeful that with a little organization it might work out. I'll keep you all posted of success or failure come next week...
    
    Thanks for sharing

    
    
    
    
16. Melvin Waldron

    

    43 posts
    
    8/12/2013 3:08 PM

    Scot Dey said: Interesting to hear all the different responses from different courses and scenarios. My GM's wife came up with a good idea of havnig it qualify as community service hours (as something that hasn't been mentioned yet).
    
    I tried doing this "volunteer work" once before at my previous club with college kids, and saw it fall apart due to a lack of being organized. Needless to say I'm anxious/dumb to try it again, but hopeful that with a little organization it might work out. I'll keep you all posted of success or failure come next week...
    
    Thanks for sharing

    
    
    Interesting if you can get it to count. I know for certain programs at our son's high school to get A+ dollars and for other programs, they require the kids to provide community service hours. They also get credit for tutoring as well.
    
    Mel

    
    Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO
    
    
17. John Borcher

    

    0 posts
    
    8/12/2013 7:08 PM

    I played golf in high school and the course we played at was the country club (albeit a small 9 hole dog track) and one year we made up a bunch of hazard stakes and placed them on the course during one practice. Looked nice till the new greens keeper mowed them over.

    
    
    
    
18. Scot Dey

    

    0 posts
    
    9/2/2013 3:09 PM

    As a follow up to my post...I would say it was successful. The kids had good attitudes and the coach came through! I ended up getting approximately 80 man hours of help from them over two days. They kids had good attitiudes and did what they were told. One could tell the coach had them in line. They helped by pulling out Kikuyu stolons that were encroaching into my Bermuda tee tops on one day and then with a plugging experiment of Kikuyu grass a following day.
    Thanks for the feedback and opinions.