Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/646572
6 FROM THE EDITOR Superintendents strive to fi nd proper balance Golf course superintendents tend to work long hours due to job demands. Many factors play into this. None more so than the fact courses must be kept at their best while maintenance budgets typically stay even or more likely decline. This leads to lower staff wages that create higher rates of job turnover. Put all that together and it adds up to superintendents working perhaps double the normal work week of 40 hours. In addition to turf management and staff management, superintendents also must maintain any associated facilities that are usually part of a golf club. These might include golf carts, landscaping around buildings, tennis courts and swimming pools. Reporting duties of a superintendent include budgeting, purchasing, payroll and pesticide application logs. Being busy is not necessarily something to lament. Research shows that people who stay busy tend to be happier than idle folks. Superintendents also tend to be well compensated for their long hours. In late 2014 and early 2015, GCSAA conducted a comprehensive compensation and benefi ts survey. More than 3,500 member superintendents responded (for a response rate of 41.8 percent), providing salary, budget, benefi ts and staffi ng information in support of the report. OUT AND ABOUT Allen Thayer