Leadership on the Links

Introduction Who will fill the assistant superintendent and technician roles that keep golf courses running, and how many golfers realize the question exists at all? Brian Laurent, Director of the Super-Scratch Foundation, founder of the Superintendent Network, and co-host of the Turf Today podcast, brings nearly two decades of turf association management and industry storytelling to that question, including his years leading the Ohio Turfgrass Foundation. He explains how Super-Scratch pairs superintendents with members of their clubs to fund scholarships for future superintendents, and how the foundation is growing beyond its Philadelphia roots through regional events across the country. Returning to Leadership on the Links, Brian joins host Tyler Bloom to discuss the industry's labor shortage, the career pipeline that begins at local golf courses, and why superintendents must take ownership of how their work is communicated to members. What You'll Learn in this Episode:  Brian describes the Super-Scratch Foundation as a national scholarship organization for future superintendents that began in 2020 as a tournament pairing superintendents with members of their clubs. His first year with the foundation has focused on strengthening its administrative foundation, including its website and accounting systems, while supporting its push toward national growth. Regional qualifiers in Philadelphia, Wisconsin, and Texas, with a California event planned for December, were created because demand for the foundation's invitational had outgrown its capacity. Brian notes that most turfgrass scholarship dollars come from within the industry itself, and explains how Super-Scratch follows the Evans Scholars model by engaging the golfers who benefit from superintendents' work. He recounts how a small regional event in Texas gave amateur golfers a firsthand view of the superintendent community and moved several participants to support the foundation and involve their clubs. Brian observes that assistant superintendent openings that once drew dozens of applicants now often receive only a few, and cautions that local golf courses may lose the mentors who have traditionally inspired the next generation. He encourages superintendents to control the narrative at their clubs by being visible on the first tee and in the grill room, and by using video and email to explain the work of their departments. Links and Resources Super-Scratch Foundation: https://www.superscratchfoundation.org/ Super-Scratch Foundation Resources: https://www.superscratchfoundation.org/resources Superintendent Network: https://www.superintendentnetwork.com/ Turf Today Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/turf-today/id1677998239 Bloom Golf Partners: https://bloomgolfpartners.com/

Join us at the Leadership on the Links Summit on Monday, October 12, 2026, at Toftrees Resort in State College, Pennsylvania. This one day gathering brings together golf course superintendents, directors of agronomy, assistant superintendents, equipment managers, and industry leaders for education, conversation, and connection. Learn more and register at https://bloomgolfpartners.com/our-events/ Introduction A golf facility can operate as a farm, a restaurant, a retail shop, and a hospitality business all at once, and that complexity shapes both what a club is worth and how difficult it is to run sustainably. Few professionals have studied that intersection longer than Larry Hirsh, President of Golf Property Analysts, who has spent more than three decades appraising, advising on, and brokering golf and club properties across the United States and abroad. Larry shares how a background in real estate and a lifelong passion for the game led him to specialize in golf property valuation, why he believes club culture is too often overlooked in capital and operating decisions, and how golf course superintendents directly influence the value of the properties they manage. This conversation on Leadership on the Links with host Tyler Bloom offers club leaders and agronomy professionals a valuation minded perspective on spending, identity, and long term stability. What You'll Learn in this Episode •    Larry explained that clubs and owners engage Golf Property Analysts for a wide range of needs, including financing, tax assessment appeals, eminent domain matters, partnership disputes, estate valuations, and conversions from for profit to tax exempt status. •    He compared annual maintenance spending at some U.S. clubs, which can reach $2.5 to $3 million or more per 18 holes, with Royal Dornoch in Scotland, which he estimated spends roughly $1.7 million across 36 holes. •    He raised concerns about the rising cost of playing golf, the loss of roughly 2,000 U.S. courses in the years before COVID, and the debt some clubs have taken on for improvements, urging leaders to plan ahead for an eventual economic downturn. •    Larry described his book, The Culture of Golf, and his work with sports consumer behavior analyst Jon Last on culture analyses that help clubs align investment decisions with what their membership actually values. •    He outlined common club categories, including golf centric, family, social, and destination clubs, and explained how a club can lose its identity by trying to serve too many purposes or by changing its culture too quickly. •    He identified the superintendent as one of the most valuable professionals at any club, responsible for the largest budget, the primary product, a substantial equipment fleet, and candid guidance to green committees on the true cost of their requests. •    Using simple capitalization math, he showed how a superintendent who saves a club $100,000 per year while maintaining the same quality of product can add roughly $1 million in property value at a 10 percent capitalization rate. Links and Resources •    Larry Hirsh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larryhirsh •    Golf Property Analysts: https://golfprop.com •    The Culture of Golf by Larry Hirsh: https://golfprop.com/the-culture-of-golf/ •    National Club Association: https://www.nationalclub.org •    Leadership on the Links Summit Registration: https://bloomgolfpartners.com/our-events/ •    Bloom Golf Partners: https://bloomgolfpartners.com

Join golf course superintendents, assistant superintendents, and industry leaders at the Leadership on the Links Summit on October 12, 2026, at Toftrees Resort in State College, Pennsylvania. The day focuses on personal branding, leadership development, and building high-performing teams. Register at https://bloomgolfpartners.com/our-events/ Introduction  Few superintendents have become as closely associated with a single property as Michael Morris, CGCS (Retired), whose 38-year career at Crystal Downs Country Club in Frankfort, Michigan earned him the 2023 Golf Association of Michigan Superintendent Award of Merit. His green speed research with Dr. Thomas Nikolai of Michigan State University has influenced how superintendents manage putting surfaces and communicate expectations to golfers. Today, Morris serves as Project Manager for the Michigan Golf Course Association's Golf Course Maintenance Technician Registered Apprenticeship Program, where he mentors apprentices and the superintendents who train them. On this episode of Leadership on the Links, host Tyler Bloom speaks with Morris about stewarding an Alister MacKenzie and Perry Maxwell design, using data to build member trust, and developing the next generation of golf course professionals. What You'll Learn in this Episode: •       Morris explains why he remained at Crystal Downs for 38 years, crediting a club culture grounded in family, legacy, and long tenure rather than turnover. •       Maintaining a MacKenzie and Maxwell design required balancing modern expectations, such as lower mowing heights and firmer, faster greens, with a steady commitment to preserving the course's original character. •       A multi-year green speed study with Dr. Thomas Nikolai led Crystal Downs to communicate a target green speed range rather than a single number, supported by daily measurements and member surveys. •       Working effectively with changing green committee chairs, board members, and club presidents depends on adaptability, open communication, and a shared focus on the club's long-term interests. •       Clubs seeking to raise their standards should align expectations with available resources, prioritize what their golfers value most, and plan for irrigation, cart paths, and bunkers 10 to 20 years in advance. •       The MGCA Registered Apprenticeship Program, built on U.S. Department of Labor standards, combines on-the-job training, 144 hours of GCSAA online coursework, and state pesticide applicator certification toward journey worker status. •       Apprenticeships strengthen both the apprentice and the supervising superintendent, helping clubs retain skilled staff in their local communities while sharpening the skills of those who train them. Links & Resources Michael Morris, LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-morris-84959a19/ Michael Morris Consulting: https://www.michaelmorrisconsulting.com MGCA Registered Apprenticeship Program: https://www.michigangca.org/rap Crystal Downs Country Club: https://www.crystaldowns.org Leadership on the Links Summit Registration: https://bloomgolfpartners.com/our-events/ Bloom Golf Partners: https://bloomgolfpartners.com

Summit Promotion Join us at the Leadership on the Links Summit on Monday, October 12, 2026 at Toftrees Resort in State College, Pennsylvania. This one day program brings together golf course superintendents, assistant superintendents, directors of agronomy, equipment managers, and industry leaders for keynote sessions with Cael Sanderson and AJ Vaden, attendee driven discussions, and professional development built specifically for agronomy leaders. Attendance is capped and seats are limited. Registration is open at https://bloomgolfpartners.com/our-events/. Introduction Adam Ikamas started in this industry raking bunkers at a local country club at seventeen, and he arrived at Michigan State expecting to study photography rather than turfgrass science. Nearly three decades later he serves as Executive Director of the Michigan Golf Course Superintendents Association, an organization that has grown from roughly 600 members to nearly 900 during his tenure and that now devotes as much attention to executive leadership and workforce development as it once did to agronomic education. That distance, from a maintenance crew at a northern Michigan resort to the executive director's chair of a statewide association, shapes how he thinks about career pathways, chapter value, and what the profession owes the people entering it. Adam joins host Tyler Bloom on Leadership on the Links for a conversation on registered apprenticeships, aligning maintenance expectations with budget, and why participation rather than persuasion is what makes a professional association work. What You'll Learn in this Episode: Adam explains why he tells owners and managers that the golf course is the only real asset at a club and everything else is an amenity, and how that framing has advanced recognition of the superintendent's role over the past fifteen years. He traces the development of Michigan's Golf Course Maintenance Technician Registered Apprenticeship Program, a Michigan Golf Course Association initiative built with input from MiGCSA, the Michigan Turfgrass Foundation, GCSAA, and the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, and describes the state grant funding that helped launch it. He identifies the turf school enrollment gap of the late 2000s that left comparatively few experienced turf managers in the 35 to 45 age range today, and explains what that shortage means for both hiring facilities and mid career professionals currently in that window. Adam addresses the phrase "doing more with less" directly, arguing that it is a path to burnout and that superintendents are better served by an annual conversation that aligns maintenance expectations with the budget, staffing, and resources actually provided. He explains why MiGCSA shifted its education emphasis away from agronomic content and toward executive leadership and professional development, and why the relationships formed around an event often deliver more lasting value than the classroom sessions themselves. He shares the governance practices he relies on to move initiatives forward, including an accountability list that assigns a named owner to every commitment and a standing willingness to question long established practices rather than repeat them by default. Adam offers practical guidance for members on extracting value from a local chapter, noting that association benefits accrue to those who attend events, volunteer for committees, and build relationships over time rather than to those who simply hold a membership.   Links and Resources Adam Ikamas, CGCS on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-ikamas-cgcs-41a5087/ Michigan Golf Course Superintendents Association: https://www.migcsa.org/ MGCA Golf Course Maintenance Technician Registered Apprenticeship Program: https://michigangca.org/memberships/member-benefits/rap Michigan Golf Alliance: https://www.michigangolfalliance.com/ Leadership on the Links Summit registration: https://bloomgolfpartners.com/our-events/  

Summit Promotion Join us at the Leadership on the Links Summit on Monday, October 12, 2026 at Toftrees Resort in State College, Pennsylvania. This one day gathering brings together golf course superintendents, assistant superintendents, directors of agronomy, equipment managers, and club leaders for a day focused on leadership development, personal branding, and building high performing teams. Keynote speakers include Cael Sanderson, Olympic gold medalist and head wrestling coach at Penn State University, and AJ Vaden, New York Times bestselling author and CEO of Brand Builders Group. Registration is 197 dollars and seating is limited to 100 attendees. Register at https://bloomgolfpartners.com/our-events/. Episode Introduction Zach King believes the isolation that many leaders accept as a condition of the job is neither necessary nor permanent. King spent more than a decade in international media training and nonprofit leadership, working with leaders across six continents, before serving as board president and later Executive Director of the Columbiana Area Chamber of Commerce in northeast Ohio, and his guiding conviction is that the fastest route out of professional isolation is to serve one person in front of you. He discusses why leaders with a clear vision often stall between what they can see and what they can explain, how to build genuine buy in inside institutions that have operated the same way for a century, and why the daily inputs a leader controls matter more than the outcomes they fixate on. This conversation on Leadership on the Links with host Tyler Bloom examines leadership habits that carry across industries, including the private club environment where general managers and directors of agronomy answer to a board, a membership, and a staff at the same time. Leadership on the Links is hosted by Tyler Bloom of Bloom Golf Partners. What You'll Learn in this Episode: •     King identifies four forms of decision paralysis that stall leaders, which he defines as perfection paralysis, language paralysis, overwhelm paralysis, and shiny object paralysis. •     He explains the difference between lag measures, which leaders often control very little of, and lead measures, which are the daily and weekly inputs that compound into results over time. •     Leaders stepping into century old institutions are advised to treat the first ninety days as a listening tour that studies the history of the organization, not only the stakeholders currently in the building. •     King describes a wet cement approach to strategic planning, in which a plan is developed to roughly seventy five percent and then shaped as it is tested in practice rather than finalized before launch. •     The conversation addresses the isolation reported by leaders who sit between a board above them and a staff below them, and King explains why he views shifting focus outward as the practical remedy. •     Bloom and King discuss the seasonal nature of workload in the golf industry and make the case for scheduling personal and family time with the same intention applied to agronomic and operational planning. •     King outlines the five pillars of his leadership framework, which are growth, unity, influence, legacy, and drive, and his position that organizations perform better when leaders stop competing and start completing.   Links and Resources •     Leadership on the Links Summit registration: https://bloomgolfpartners.com/our-events/ •     Zach King on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zach-king/ •     Zach P. King website: https://zachpking.com •     Bloom Golf Partners: https://bloomgolfpartners.com/