Magazine: Contract Maintenance – A Topic for Discussion
By Mike Orloff in Golf on 22nd Aug 2008 12:00
While many clubs around Australia may outsource their food and beverage operations to professional caterers and their golf shop operations to a PGA professional, only a minority have outsourced their golf course maintenance operations to a professional maintenance company.
Amongst the country's committees and club managers, who are quite understandably in most cases not completely au fait with course maintenance procedures and therefore put so much faith and trust in their course superintendents, contract maintenance is the one area of club operations that is probably least discussed.
There is no arguing the fact that courses require highly qualified superintendent's with the skill sets required to handle the variety of tasks and responsibilities associated with an ever-increasing legislative industry. The question of whether those services are provided 'in-house', as is the case for a vast majority of clubs or as part of an agreement with a reputable contract maintenance company is the real question. There are as always, plenty of pros and cons to be considered on both sides of the equation.
Like any business decision, clubs will need to clearly decide on what services are needed, what quality of playing condition you would you like, what your budget capacities are, and, most importantly, what you are trying to achieve when considering outsourcing instead of retaining a qualified superintendent in-house. Every facility will have a different answer to these questions. For help, you can contact the Australian Golf Course Superintendents Association (AGCSA) to request their 'Outsourcing Checklist'. This is a detailed list of the important questions to ask contractors before considering whether they could potentially take over this high-cost part of your operation.
"The goal of the AGCSA is to assist golf courses achieve the best possible quality of playing surface and adjacent environment within the limitation of the available resources," says AGCSA General Manager Scott Petersen.
"Some of our most highly regarded superintendent members work for contract maintenance companies.
"There has been a stronger marketing push recently by contract maintenance companies but it seems only those with sound business practices and a good track record will play a role in future markets."
Contract maintenance companies themselves have made of point of addressing the 'accountability' argument for this area of operation which remains, almost exclusively, the single biggest drain on club resources.
"Golfers expectations of presentation are ever increasing," says Alan Maw, Director of The Golf Course Company.
"Also the complexity of maintaining modern turf grasses, OHS, environmental responsibilities, staff and budgets are all placing increased pressure on the management duties of clubs.
"Quality contractors are in the business of maintaining turf grasses, matching staff and equipment efficiently to achieve the best possible outcome against a set budget and specification."
Managing Director of Resorts, Wayne Sewell said that contract maintenance simply has not been part of mainstream thinking for club management until fairly recently.
"We're talking about a golf club's largest area of expense – and a savings of 15 percent to 25 percent in this area would take most clubs from loss to profit," said Sewell.
"The main benefits to a club are better control, both quality and financial, lower costs and increased income due to better maintenance and presentation standards."
Turnpoint Director Andrew Purchase stated that his company had worked to ensure that contracts were both detailed and measurable.
"Contract maintenance companies can also help minimise much of the legislative risk to Board Members, especially when financing high-cost renovation works or equipment," said Purchase.
Here are a couple of issues to take into consideration when investigating contract maintenance as a viable alternative for your club.
Maintenance companies can help a club that has cash flow issues and that may not be able to purchase the expensive equipment needed to maintain the facility properly.
These companies are taking on much of the risk associated with this department's operation and dealing with changing issues such as environmental management, OHS, and water management. The companies also have purchasing power, which can reduce some operational costs.
It should be remembered however that a contractor is not only in business to help improve efficiencies in your operation, they also exist to make a profit for themselves.. Contractors normally only do what is expected in the negotiated agreement and therefore may not always feel a sense of ownership for your business. If you want additional work done you must formally request it, which can take time, and you will probably be charged extra. As a course manager, if you have a good relationship with your superintendent or contractor there can be a fair trade-off when extra work needs doing.
In summary, an outside contractor may not be suitable for every club, but it can be a great alternative if properly negotiated. Whichever path you choose use your basic management tools of communication and accountability. After all the golf course is your most important owned asset.
Written by Mike Orloff Director Golf Industry Central ©2008
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