The Golf Professional Growth Project

We’ve been hearing so much about jobs, hiring, and the issues in the workforce today. But the focus in this episode is on the candidates. What can you do to try to stand out? How about some tips on what the best resumes look like? And what I believe is an underutilized resource, LinkedIn. How can you optimize your profile and use the platform to help you land your next great job. Believe me, LinkedIn can help. We discuss all this with Jeremy Nichols. Jeremy is a recruiter for Gecko Hospitality focusing in Florida and specifically the Tampa area. With Jeremy we get a little different perspective than the golf industry focused conversations we typically have. Jeremy understands the hospitality industry and has been recruiting for a wide variety of positions for over 20 years. He talks to tons of employers and candidates every day, and he knows what works and what doesn’t. Speaking of LinkedIn, follow Jeremy for daily tips and insights into the hiring world and subscribe to his YouTube channel where he’s creating regular videos that can help you with anything from interviewing, negotiating, getting hired and more.

Spend more than a few minutes in a room with a group of Golf Professionals these days and you're bound to start hearing about some level of "burnout". The affect of the pandemic on golf and the labor shortage have come together to put even more pressure than normal on today's Professionals. In this episode, we cover the 5 reasons we can feel burned out and go over practical solutions to address this issue.

In this episode, we flip the script as Dean takes questions about his career, the development of Golf Professional Growth, how he actually left the golf industry while in college, and much more! Thanks to Ricky Potts, host of the Wednesday Match Play Podcast for the opportunity to share my story. Be sure to check out Ricky's show and subscribe HERE

You likely know him now as the Secretary of the PGA of America, in line to be the President of the Association in just a few years. Don Rea's background and his experience as an owner/operator of Augusta Ranch Golf Club have provided him with a unique perspective that we don’t often see in PGA leadership. He’s a creative programmer, he knows how to build relationships, and he understands the importance of creating a winning culture on his team at Augusta Ranch. Following from afar, I have been optimistic about what Don can bring to the PGA of America, and this conversation only reinforced that belief. What does Don think about one of the biggest challenges we face today as an Association, recruiting and retention? Let’s find out.

With the record numbers we're seeing at courses throughout the country, Golf Professional's are now faced with the challenge of often having to say no to their members and customers. No there aren't any tee times, no there isn't any space in that event, no we can't host your outing...and so on. This is new for many of us since we've been trained to say "Yes" and to constantly seek out ways to grow rounds and revenues. As I found out in a conversation a few years ago, knowing how to say no and tell someone something they don’t want to hear, is literally a science. Experts in behavioral psychology have studied the tactics that are most effective at delivering your message in a way that diffuses angry situations and will limit the push-back you get from our now disgruntled members and customers. Our expert that we’re learning from is Richard S. Gallagher, author of “The Customer Service Survival Kit”. Some of the critical lessons we’ll hear from him are: being nice and polite is great, but it doesn’t help an upset person feel better, leaning into criticism is much more effective than explaining “why” or playing defense, and the key to diffusing a difficult situation begins with acknowledgement.

Keith Stewart has spent over 25 years as a Golf Professional, working his way from an Assistant at clubs like Isleworth, home to countless tour pros and most famously at one point, Tiger Woods, to landing a Head Professional position at a unique club in Princeton, NJ, called Springdale Golf Club. Along the way he’s been recognized 5 times as a New Jersey Section award winner, including the 2019 New Jersey PGA Golf Professional of the Year. It was while at Springdale that Keith began to make a name for himself for the innovative ways he communicated with his membership. We’ve all tried different avenues to get our message out to our members, but have you ever considered creating a radio show? I bet not. But that’s what Keith did. Every week he hit the airwaves at the local Fox Sports affiliate as the host of Springdale Golf Live. It was his chance to talk about the club and begin to develop his own voice which led him to where he is today. He’s now a full-time host and writer, where he’s using his abilities to tell stories about the game everywhere from the local level to the biggest happenings in golf. But in this conversation, we focus on how you can build your communication skills and how you can focus on the development of the people around you. www.golfprofessionalgrowth.com Are you using Golf Genius Software in you Golf Shop and in your events? www.golfgenius.com

It’s late August, 1996. I had just arrived at college for my freshman year. Like most college kids back then with this new-found independence, I was taking the opportunity to sit in my dorm room and stare at the TV, free from anyone telling me where to be and what to do. Without Netflix, or YouTube, or Prime, we watched what was on TV. And on this particular Sunday, the eyes of the golf world were fixated on the final of the United States Amateur Championship. Over the last few years, Tiger Woods had burst on the scene and captivated golfers with his unmatched talent, prodigious length, and record setting play. It’s safe to say that no amateur golfer had garnered this much attention since Bobby Jones, some 70 years prior. Tiger was no longer just known in golf circles, he was a celebrity. As I sat on my bed in that tiny room in State College, PA, it was time to watch Tiger take his victory lap through that final match and achieve what no other golfer had ever accomplished...winning three U.S. Amateur Championships in a row. But something happened on that path to victory. A young, fellow college player from the University of Florida, named Steve Scott, was 5 up after 18 holes. This wasn’t supposed to be the story line. How could Tiger’s monster drives and the backing of an entire gallery, not take down this opponent? Was Steve Scott going to be what stood in between Tiger Woods and golf history? As many of you know, the legend of Tiger Woods took a huge leap forward that day. His comeback from that 5 down deficit was everything you came to expect from the most dominant player in our game. Tiger would go on to turn professional shortly after, would soon win his first PGA Tour event, and eventually The Masters, just 7 months later. You know the rest. But as we learn in the episode, all was not lost for Steve Scott that day. He played as well as he could, taking Tiger Woods to the brink of defeat and during his college days, reached #1 in the amateur golf rankings. But it’s an episode on the 34th hole of the match that stands out to many. We discuss what happened and how Steve’s reaction, his sportsmanship and his decision to do the right thing, even in defeat, has benefited him time and time again. In fact, it’s the title of his upcoming book, “Hey Tiger- You Need to Move Your Mark Back”, the story of the ‘96 U.S. Amateur and the moment that has defined Steve Scott’s career as a player and now as a PGA Professional. You can get the book HERE. www.golfprofessionalgrowth.com www.golfgeniuis.com

What do you get when you combine a desire for constant improvement, with a passion for the game of golf, the golf industry, and world-class hospitality? For Jason Ballard, it’s all added up to an already successful career at some of the most renowned facilities in the world. But the 2020 PGA National Merchandiser of the Year and Head Professional at the esteemed Oak Hill Country Club, isn’t ready to rest on his laurels. As Jason tells us, he was mentored on his way up in this business to always seek ways to get better and to consistently scrutinize your operation and your own performance to look for new opportunities. He was fortunate to gain experience as an Assistant Professional at clubs such as Congressional and East Lake and most notably, the Augusta National Golf Club. All of that experience led him to his position at Oak Hill, where he’s already been able to host one championship and is looking forward to his next one when the club hosts its fourth PGA Championship in 2023. Check out Golf Professional Growth: www.golfprofessionalgrowth.com Are you using Golf Genius software in your golf operation? Go to www.golfgenius.com

For my money, building a successful career on the PGA Tour where you earn enough money that you’re not worried about your next check, where you’re not consistently losing your card,and you’re able to control your schedule, is as tough as making it any sport out there. There are no guaranteed contracts. There are no drafts, trades, or free agencies. There’s you and your game vs. the best players in the world. And if you don’t play well enough, your career is over. So if you manage to put together 10+ years on the PGA Tour that include 3 wins, you have a career that a lot of tour players would love to have. And if you know where Jim Herman came from and his path to the tour, his career is even more impressive. Jim always aspired to be on the PGA Tour, so he left college and hit the mini-tours. Each fall he’d go to PGA Tour Qualifying School, and for six years in a row, he failed to make it to the final stage and get out at least to the Nationwide Tour, now the Korn Ferry Tour. In between trips to Q school, he worked as a Golf Professional doing all of the duties that so many of us do each and every day, running clinics, placing orders, teaching lessons, and everything else. And that’s where I met Jim. In 2006 and 2007, we were Assistant Professionals together in New Jersey and at that time, while Jim still felt strongly about chasing his dream of making it to the tour, reality was getting close to setting in. Was life going to be playing and competing as a Club Professional and always wishing his dream came true? Or could he actually make it out there? In 2007, he finally made it through. He had status on the Nationwide Tour. A couple years later, he notched a win on that tour and made it to the big leagues. There were plenty of bumps in the road that ensued, lots of ups and downs, lessons learned, and as Jim says...definitely some luck too. But as we enter the 2021 PGA Tour season, he’s still out there. He’s exempt for two more seasons after his third career win last summer and at this point, life is good. He’s as humble as they come and that’s why he’s easy to root for. I hope after this conversation you become a fan as well. We get into some great insight into how he’s handled these pressure situations that feel like life or death at the time. He’s a throwback to a former era before players relied on data, stats, and a coach standing behind them 24/7. He’s proof that there are a lot of different ways to get it done out there, and more proof that through hard work, belief, and persistence, dreams can come true. www.golfprofessionalgrowth.com Are you using Golf Genius Software for your event management? www.golfgenius.com

Golf Professional Growth is excited to announce the launch of "GPG Academy"! The first course "Work Smarter" starts February 4th! Go HERE for more info and to register! In this episode: While there are a lot of differences between the jobs and responsibilities of a Golf Professional and a Golf Course Superintendent, in the end we’re both at the facility to meet the expectations of our customers, drive value to the bottom line, and to recruit and retain great people to our teams. When you look at the career paths of Golf Professionals and Superintendents, there are many similarities in the challenges that we face as we climb the ladder in our careers. And in the end, we’re both trying to gain the right experience and grow an influential network that will help us land that leadership position in our side of the golf industry. So when you really get down to it, while our jobs are different, our challenges, our struggles and our successes share many similarities. In this episode, we talk about all of this and more with Tyler Bloom, of Tyler Bloom Consulting. You’ll hear about Tyler’s career as a Golf Course Superintendent which included stops at some of the most renowned facilities in the country and why he pivoted his career to combine his passion for the industry with his true calling in leadership, management and career development. As he discusses his career trajectory, you may find similarities with your own story. Maybe it’s time for you to ask some tough questions or make some difficult decisions about your career. Is there something pulling you in a different direction or does your true passion lie somewhere else than where you’re currently sitting? These are critical questions to ask and it’s why I think Tyler’s story is important. And finally, we get into discussing the current state of labor in the golf industry. It’s no secret that it’s as difficult as ever to fill positions in our industry. This isn’t unique to the golf department at your club. It stretches into every area at every facility. As a Golf Course Superintendent Tyler tackled this problem head on and found an innovative way to find ready, willing and able team members to the point where he eliminated the need to even advertise open positions. Could this program work at your club and solve the seemingly never-ending labor dilemma? Let’s find out. Become a GPG Insider! www.golfprofessionalgrowth.com Are you using Golf Genius in your event management and golf shop? www.golfgenius.com

How you manage your time has never been more critical. It’s no longer a “nice to have”. You see, time management is really not about managing time. You can’t manage time. There are 24 hours in a day and 7 days in a week, no matter what you do. Time management is actually priority management. It’s how you take the items that are most important to you and put them on your task list and your calendar to make sure you’re getting them done on time in order to serve the people around you. That’s it in a nutshell. And in the end, the payoff at being better at this is that it allows you to accomplish more. It allows you to work with a calm confidence mindset that is willing and able to take on more, because you know you can handle it. It’s not enough to just keep saying “yes” to every new opportunity or every new task, you actually have to produce results. There’s nothing worse than saying yes, and then failing to hold up your end of the bargain. Pretty soon the people around you will lose their trust in you. Your ability to advance, to make progress, to achieve your goals will be limited. Don't make these time management mistakes! Have you checked out Golf Professional Growth? Head to www.golfprofessionalgrowth.com for tons of great info on how today's Golf Professionals can "Work Smarter. Live Better." If you're going to be in a job search anytime soon, Golf Professional Growth has premium content from experts in the career space to help you stand out and land the job of your dreams! It's GPG's "Career Accelerator". Over 3 hours of insight on interviewing, resumes, and getting noticed in a crowded space. Get the info, and get ahead! Go to www.golfprofessionalgrowth.com/careersummit!

There’s no doubt that if you’re a listener to this podcast, you’re familiar with Golf Genius. In fact, there’s a very good chance that you’re a user of one of their products. As the last decade progressed, Golf Genius eventually emerged as the leader in tournament management software. Their client list is well into the thousands and spans the entire globe and at this point, there isn’t anyone even close to being a true competitor. But what you may not know is how this all started. The humble beginnings took place in the Philadelphia suburbs when a retired software exec wanted to write a program that would make planning the annual golf trip a whole lot easier. So Golf Trip Genius was born. As it became evident that Golf Trip Genius wouldn’t scale at a level to sustain a business, it’s founder, Mike Zisman, targeted golf leagues at public courses and eventually recruited a local PGA Professional to help get his foot in the door with Golf Genius at private clubs. As one of the first customers, I remember seeing this product for the first time. No doubt the TV leaderboards and the event portals were a cool feature, but it was going to take some time before this little company could take down the bigger names in tournament management. Little did I know the level of determination, skill, and valuable experience that Mike brought to the table. And thanks to that, and the efforts of 39 PGA Professionals, and the entire company, Golf Genius sits on top. Yes, Golf Genius is a sponsor of this show, and I’m proud to have them as a partner, but I invited Mike on the show because I wanted to learn more about his story, more about his leadership philosophy, and how he plans to keep Golf Genius in it’s current position. As one of the innovators in email technology in the late 70’s, Mike has seen the entire internet age come to life. From the outside looking in, it’s been a privileged career but not without an incredible level of hard work and dedication along with more than his fair share of adversity. Have you checked out www.golfprofessionalgrowth.com? If you're in search for a new position in the golf industry and looking for secrets to get ahead of the pack, go to Golf Professional Growth's "Career Accelerator" for insider info from leaders in the golf search space. Go to www.golfprofessionalgrowth.com/careersummit

Have you ever wondered what it takes to stand out in an interview? What if you can't even get to the interview? Is the problem your resume? What if you're not coming from a top club? What if you haven't managed before? We've all had similar questions as we look to climb the ladder in our careers. Golf Professional Growth set out to create a resource for all of the job seekers out there. In case you missed it, GPG just ran its first virtual event, the Career Accelerator Summit. The idea was to gather some of the most experienced minds in the job search arena in our industry and find out answers to the most common and most critical questions. If you missed it, the good news is that the recordings of these interviews are still available. Just go to golfprofessionalgrowth.com/careersummit and you can access the over 4 hours of expert career advice that could be the difference in getting you your next interview, and helping you finally get across the finish line. For a limited time, if you use the coupon code PODCAST at checkout, you can save 20% off the enrollment cost of $49. Even at full price, it’s a crazy amount of valuable content that could generate a return thousands of times over. You'll also get audio downloads of the conversations too, so you can listen on the go as you prepare for your next job search! In this episode you’ll get a taste of the summit from some of the featured guests, including: Scott Kmiec, Senior Director, Career Services, PGA of America Tom Wallace, CCM, Partner, Kopplin Kuebler and Wallace Kathy Grayson, Career Consultant, PGA of America, Certified Resume Writer Get all the interviews here!!

“In order to do the things you want to do, you need to be around the people that are doing it, in the places it’s happening.” That, in a nutshell, is The Proximity Principle and it’s the title of Ken Coleman’s book, which is a roadmap to figuring out what you want to do, where you want to go, and how you’re going to get there. For anyone, young or old, that feels they still have more to achieve in their career and is looking for clarity on how to put a plan together, this book is your answer. Ken is a nationally syndicated radio host of The Ken Coleman Show, where he goes live on the air every day of the week taking calls and providing actionable advice for people looking for guidance in their careers. He’s the former host of the Entreleadership Podcast, where he had the opportunity to interview hundreds of successful leaders and innovators and learn their secrets to success and prosperity. But for Ken, this wasn’t always the case. There was a season in his career where he was struggling with the desire to do something different, to get out of his current situation and get into broadcasting, where he knew deep down was where he was meant to be. So, over the course of 7+ years he began to put himself in front of the right people and in the right places and after plenty of patience, persistence, and sacrifice he landed where he is today, at Ramsey Solutions, doing what he loves to do. Little did he know at the time, it was The Proximity Principle at work. Get your copy of The Proximity Principle HERE This is a fantastic conversation on careers and the power of clarity and intentionality. If you want to hear more great career conversations, I’m running GPG’s first virtual event on Monday, October 5th, the Career Accelerator Summit. I’m speaking with leaders in the golf career space and to deliver the insight and expertise you’re looking for to land your next great job. My guests are from the PGA of America, as well as some of the top executive search firms in the industry and they’re going to reveal the tactics and tips that can help you stand out in the interview process and achieve your goals. Just go to www.golfprofessionalgrowth.com/careersummit to register and get access to the interviews being launched on October 5th. And the best part….it’s free. Are you using Golf Genius software for your event management? Find out more at www.golfgenius.com

We’ve all heard the phrase “golf is an outdoor game”. Most often, we’re saying this to players that are playing in poor weather conditions as we're trying to help them deal with those conditions. For Eric Eshleman, the 2019 PGA Golf Professional of the Year, it takes on a different meaning. As he tells us in this conversation, golf is played outdoors, so Golf Professionals should be out where the game is being played. As a sought after coach to players of all levels, including PGA Tour players and dignitaries like Condoleeza Rice, Eric spends hours and hours every week on the lesson tee. In addition, he’s built one of the most successful junior golf programs you can find anywhere, since he began at Country Club of Birmingham in 2001, which includes a junior club championship that hosts over 200 players! All of this while fulfilling his duties to his staff as the Director of Golf and more importantly to his family as a husband and a father of three boys. In this conversation we get into how he manages all of his responsibilities and stays organized. We discuss some details about managing email and planning that I think could help many of you if you’re struggling to manage your time. Eric tells us how he hires and builds his team and finally, advice for any young Golf Professional. What’s the one thing you need to be able to do to help ensure your success in this business? It’s a unique perspective on the importance of being able to build relationships, which is key to anyone’s career in the golf industry. Check out the list of tools and resources to help you "Work Smarter and Live Better" at www.golfprofessionalgrowth.com! Are you using Golf Genius Golf Shop? Check it out at www.golfgenius.com.

Ryan Hawk has emerged as an authority on leadership after nearly 400 interviews of some of the most talented and accomplished leaders today in his top rated podcast, The Learning Leader. During this wide ranging conversation, Ryan discusses: What systems for managing his work and life can he not live without, his morning routine and how he manages work and home. What he would say to someone that thinks leadership isn’t worth their time. Pay special attention to his advice about hiring. So many of us are in charge of hiring people, but it’s not something we get any formal training or coaching about and Ryan goes into detail about how to hire better. Be sure to check out Ryan’s podcast and his new book "Welcome to Management". This is a terrific resource for not only new and aspiring managers, but anyone that is in charge of others. Follow Ryan at www.learningleader.com or on Twitter, @ryanhawk12. For updates on the next show and for resources to help you, today's Golf Professional, go to www.golfprofessionalgrowth.com. Are you using Golf Genius for your event management and in your golf shop? Why not? Go to www.golfgenius.com

Welcome to the first episode of The Golf Professional Growth Project! What is this show all about? We're going beyond the traditional skills that we usually focus on (teaching, playing, merchandising, tournament ops) and diving deeper into the real skills that it takes to have long-term success in the golf business. The GPG Project is here to help today's Golf Professionals "thrive at work and succeed in life". Leadership, organization, communication, and more. All in the context of the golf industry and for you, the Golf Professional. Resources mentioned in this episode: Seth Godin- Tribes David Allen- Getting Things Done Are you using Golf Genius for your event management and in your Golf Shop? Why not? Go to www.golfgenius.com to find out why you should be.