Band of Brokers

More than ever, superintendents are relying on strong relationships with suppliers to ensure optimal on-course performance and profitability.

by Betsy Gilliland (editor@clubandresortbusiness.com)
September 2007
 

SUMMING IT UP • Suppliers are a vital part of a superintendent’s support network. • When shopping for vendors, get recommendations from other golf course managers. • Get a written contract that spells out a company’s guarantees.

More than one corporate executive has sealed a deal during a round of golf. Yet superintendents know the business of golf starts well before any foursome gathers on the first tee each day.

As part of their broadening role in golf course operations, it’s become more important than ever for superintendents to foster strong working relationships with their “playing partners” in the industry: the manufacturers and distributors of the maintenance equipment and products needed to keep up with ever-increasing demand for peak course conditions.

The basic rules of commerce generally drive a superintendent’s ability to make, and keep, these important connections.
“The main thing is to buy their products,” says Mike Wooten, the Certified Golf Course Superintendent at Cedar Ridge Country Club, a private, 18-hole property in Broken Arrow, Okla. “We play golf together, go to meetings together. We have as good a relationship with the distributors as we do with other superintendents. They’re part of the family.”

Suppliers are “a vital part of every super-intendent’s support network,” says Ed Walsh, Shelter Harbor Golf Club. (ABOVE)

Lending Support
James Nicol, the Certified Golf Course Superintendent at the famed Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn., agrees that a superintendent should be “a good customer.” Nicol, who buys from several vendors, says superintendents can benefit from the competitive nature of the supply business.

“For the most part, they’re willing to do a little extra for you, as far as delivering on weekends or early,” he reports.
Successful vendors are those that are available 24/7 to superintendents, who often work seven days a week in-season, says the president of a turf products company based in the south central U.S. “They may need something at a strange time or a strange day or a strange hour,” this supplier adds. “If you don’t try to understand their role and function, you’re going to struggle.”

Ed Walsh, the Certified Golf Course Superintendent at Shelter Harbor Golf Club, a private, 27-hole course in Charlestown, R.I., says good business relationships are based on mutual respect. He asks sales representatives to make appointments, which enables him to be professional and organized when they call on him.

“In many cases, it gets down to reliable human relationships—having trust and faith in the people you do business with,” adds Dick Stuntz, President of Alvamar, Inc., which owns two 18-hole golf courses—Alvamar Country Club and Alvamar Public Golf Club—in Lawrence, Kan.

He looks for vendors that have their businesses in order and can adapt to change—a hallmark of service shared by Walsh at Shelter Harbor GC.

“The expectations of clubs A, B, C or D are all going to be different,” Walsh notes. Regardless of the size of an operation, though, he calls suppliers and distributors “a vital part of every golf course superintendent’s support network.”

“The most valuable thing we can have is a demonstration; get it on our course and try it out under our conditions,” says Dick Stuntz, President, Alvamar, Inc.

Putting In a Good Word
The annual Golf Industry Show offers a goldmine of information about products and vendors (as do, of course, monthly industry publications), says Cedar Ridge’s Mike Wooten. However, he adds, superintendents don’t only depend on distributors and suppliers for recommendations.

“The strongest selling point will be other superintendents,” notes Wooten. “If they think it’s a good piece of equipment or a good product, it probably is.”

Alvamar’s Stuntz agrees. “We certainly network with our fellow superintendents and golf course managers,” he says. “If you’ve been in an area for a while, you probably have first-hand experience [of how it will work in local conditions], which is the most valuable.”

Stuntz also feels word-of-mouth is a more reliable way to shop for a vendor than checking a company’s references.
“We know all these guys. We’ve known them for years,” Wooten concurs. “The salesman might be an ex-superintendent.”
Common sense and instinct go a long way, too.

“If you’ve been around, you just know through experience,” notes Hazeltine’s Nicol. “If they’re not very good in [providing] parts or reliability, they’re not going to be in business.”

Parts availability, service, technical support and knowledgeable sales representatives are just some of the attributes properties expect in potential business associates.

“It’s a total package. It seems like the search for a vendor starts with the product,” notes Stuntz. “From there, it goes into pricing, the quality of the product and faith in the service.”

At Your Service
While money matters, cost is not necessarily the top consideration in a transaction. “You certainly have a responsibility to your club to get the best value for your dollar, but there’s not a lot of room,” Walsh reveals. “We start with support and service.”

Dick Zepp, Director of Maintenance and Certified Golf Course Superintendent at Cyprian Keyes Golf Club, a 27-hole daily fee property in Boylston, Mass., also says service trumps savings. “If my greens don’t look right, my customer doesn’t care if we save two percent or five percent,” he states.

While Hazeltine and Alvamar sometimes use a competitive bidding process to purchase equipment, Walsh and Wooten find the marketplace dictates pricing in their areas.

“We need two things specifically,” says Stuntz. “We need parts availability. We have to have faith that we can get parts in a timely fashion.”

Properties should get a written contract that spells out a company’s guarantees, he stresses—and includes penalties that would be assessed if the vendor does not live up to the terms of the agreement.

“We also need technical service back-up,” Stuntz adds, which can be as simple as telephone accessibility so mechanics “can call and talk things through” if problems arise.

Nicol says training videos in English and in Spanish have also become a must. And Walsh says vendor-sponsored training seminars, with perks such as continuing education units and pesticide licensing credits, are now imperative.

“If my greens don’t look right, my customer doesn’t care if we save two percent or five percent,” says Superintendent Dick Zepp, Director of Maintenance at Cyprian Keyes Golf Club.

Show Me the Demo
While superintendents generally rely on a single distributor for equipment purchases, familiarity is not the only tool in the vendor’s bag. “The most valuable thing we can possibly have is a demonstration; get it on our course and try it out under our conditions,” declares Stuntz.

Equipment demos are vital “to make sure [the product] fits our strategy,” Nicol agrees. Properties also need to be able to keep a demo on hand for a day or two, so everyone from the operator to the equipment operations manager to the foreman can evaluate the machine, adds Walsh.

But at the end of a trial period, courses must be good partners, too—both to the supplier and to the next property that will test the equipment. Walsh says his crew makes sure everything is sent back in as good or better condition, even sharpening blades or changing oil if needed.