Episode 019

Interviewing the Interviewer

with guest Guy Cipriano

Guy Cipriano has served as editor-in-chief of Golf Course Industry magazine since 2014. The interviewer becomes the interviewee in this revealing listen about the birdies, pars, and bogeys of industry management that he has chronicled during his decade atop one of our sport’s leading publications.

Cipriano started playing golf as a teenager after his father took him to the 1994 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club near Pittsburgh. He had become a successful sports writer in Pennsylvania when he realized how much he missed being on a golf course, so he started volunteering in the maintenance department of the Penn State University courses under superintendent Rick Pagett. Curiosity led Cipriano to take home copies of Golf Course Industry from the facility, and soon after he was able to combine his love of golf with his journalism degree from Indiana University as a writer and eventual editor for the magazine.

These days, Cipriano oversees all aspects of the magazine and website while leading a staff of 13 editors and contributors. The B2B publication covers golf course maintenance, architecture, and construction, and he leads panel discussions at several industry conferences each year.

Taking a turn in the hot seat, Cipriano dishes on the common elements he’s observed among successful venues, the ramification of increasing course maintenance costs on course revenues and labor, tips for dealing with the media, and more in this candid conversation with Tyler. 

Common Traits of Successful Operations

Cipriano has visited golf facilities at all levels, from elite private clubs to mom-and-pop public courses. The best-run courses share one thing in common: a focus on people.

He broke that down as follows:

• Customer recognition. Course managers realize they’re producing a product to serve a customer.
• Leadership development. It’s assumed that employees have the technical skills to do their jobs. They flourish by thinking about their teammates and the customers: what they want, what they need, what causes them pain.
• Culture. It’s a fabric woven throughout the operation. The best leaders treat their staff members like family.
• Proactive communication. The best superintendents ask questions, visit owners and directors regularly, and subtly sell the stories of their various departments.

How Will Courses Manage Costs as Inflation Continues to Soar?

The recent economic trends, including the increase in money supply and rising costs, have led to a noticeable decline in the purchasing power of the dollar. This inflationary pressure has affected nearly every industry, including the golf course sector. How has the rising cost of goods, services, and labor influenced the operations, maintenance, and overall financial health of golf courses?

The average maintenance budget for a golf facility eclipsed $1.1 million for the first time this year in Golf Course Industry’s annual survey of superintendents, which Cipriano said has been conducted for the last 13-14 years. A post-Covid boom, which saw 86% of courses break even or turn a profit in 2023, could be coming to an end as golfers and their families deal with higher prices for their must-haves, leaving less for discretionary spending.

“At some point, the consumer is going to push back and say, ‘I can’t afford this,’” Cipriano said.

A bust could challenge superintendents to fulfill capital projects and manage staffing amidst a changing labor market.

Don’t miss this episode of Leadership on the Links with Guy Cipriano, where we dive into how golf leaders are gearing up to tackle these challenges.

Soundbytes

11:33-12:37
“The biggest part of golf is dealing with people. And I know that this maybe is kind of counterintuitive to some of the people that we deal with and the people that are trying to fill positions in the golf industry, but if you can, at an early age, get a job where you’re front facing with people — whether it’s as a caddy, or a clerk, or an Uber driver, or even a sports writer — I think that’s going to help you later in life as your career progresses. I wouldn’t trade my caddying memories for anything, Tyler.”

19:10-19:45
“I think the cost of golf and the cost of golf operations, Tyler, is going to be a huge story theme in 2024. Are we at the point now, where some of this is becoming financially unsustainable? Everyone knows that the second half of 2020 and the last three years were just mega years for golf. But are we going to reach a point where you can’t raise membership fees, you can’t raise dues or initiation fees high enough to cover the cost of operating and maintaining a golf course. I think at some point, something’s going to have to break here.”

Quotes

“I think that’s a pretty valuable lesson to hear. There are a lot of people that want to work golf course maintenance that maybe do something else for a living and not necessarily want to make a career out of it. And if you could find a way to work around their full-time schedule and give them an opportunity, they’ll do good work for you.”

“If you’ve been to enough [golf facilities], you know within about 30-45 minutes if that’s a place that you want to spend your time at — whether that’s as a member or somebody that wants to work at that place. It’s pretty easy to see what places have good cultures.”

“The financial acumen that a superintendent needs to have will probably never be greater than when we get to this budget cycle here in the second half of 2024. And that’s tough, because you want to be out there with your team, right?”

“I make it a point of taking it upon myself to be seen with the key decision-makers in my line of work. And I know sometimes club structures make that a little bit tougher, but that’s being a leader there — subtly selling your department. Because if you can humanize what you do, you’ll probably have a better chance of getting that increased budget or keeping somebody on your staff that may have another job opportunity.”

“Equipment managers and assistant superintendents are the toughest positions to fill on the maintenance side of the golf industry. So if I’m somebody that’s responsible for the big picture of the club, I’m going to make it a point to get to know those people.”

“You can never assume that anybody knows your story. I’ve been to clubs where they’ve said, “OK, we don’t need publicity. Everybody knows who we are.’ Really? And these are clubs that don’t have every position filled or can’t hire people or can’t hire an assistant superintendent.”

“The most innovative thing that has changed the golf industry in my time covering it is the people with different backgrounds that have come into the industry and have been able to rise through the ranks of golf course maintenance departments.”

“I work in the media, but I am very distrustful of the media.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

Tyler Bloom Consulting: https://tylerbloomconsulting.com/

Golf Course Industry Magazine: https://www.golfcourseindustry.com

Connect with Guy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/guy-cipriano-434686a7/