Due Diligence Softens A Leap Of Faith

It’s that time of year when well-known names in the golf business end up in new places.

It’s a small business and it’s a wonderful business. A lot of my friends and a lot of my acquaintances who have been in the business a long time have stayed at their jobs for long periods of time. It’s not like they go to a new post every two years.

I’ve always said to everyone, be it to staff I’ve worked with or friends, that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. That applies to any job – it doesn’t just have to be in the golf business.

The temptation is to say, `Look at that person’s job. It’s the greatest job in the world.’ Until you’ve been in that person’s shoes, you never know what the synergies are at the golf course or at the GM plant for that matter.

If you’re in a good position, people are treating you right, you like the members or you like the clientele, it’s tough to leave, so it should be a well thought out decision if you decide to take a new position.

I’m not talking about getting complacent. That’s an entirely different thing.

A good GM or a good pro, if they’ve been there awhile, they get along with the members, the members know what to expect from them, they get along with the owners, it’s tough to leave because you have a lifestyle, a nice job, a nice program and every time you leave, there’s always the unknown.

People will sometimes leave somewhere that their hearts have been and they’ve put a lot of effort into, but they’re ready for new challenges. It’s important to do due diligence before making the final decision.

Like I said, the golf business is a small business, so if the new place is a tough place to work or there’s something going on there, then it isn’t difficult to find out before taking your leap of faith.

I recently made such a change with my move to Coppinwood from Angus Glen last year. In my case, the Stollery family treated me like family for years, my little boys were born there. That’s the thing about working at a place for 16 years is that a lot of co-workers are also friends.

I have no regrets, but it was a tough decision to make the move, one that required a lot of thought. Before you make a move like that, be sure to do your due diligence because you can always find somebody who’s worked at the new place or still works there.

We all know people in the business who knows somebody at a particular golf course. It’s worth contacting those people before making what could be a life-altering decision.

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