Assistants Angle
By Nate Uselding

Get 'er Done

I love Fridays. Everyone is in a great mood because they are looking forward to the weekend where they get two days off to enjoy themselves. Of course, our profession is not a typical nine-to- five, five days a week gig either. Some days it takes a little more to get the job done whether it's Monday, Friday or Sunday. Bruce Williams, CGCS of L.A. Country Club, first taught me about what it takes to get the job done at a seminar here in Minnesota two years ago. Then at the National I took another seminar by him and he touched on it again and that is when it set in. Part of the responsibility of a manager is to oversee their team and accomplish tasks that may take longer than expected. This I had to accept and, once I did, I found myself with less anxiety and was much happier after work.

This particular Friday I personally had a lot going on when I was "done" with work. With family in town, I arranged for all of us to hit the links and play our course at 3 p.m. Besides the routine maintenance for the day we were due to receive 22 gigantic rolls of sod. It was going to be a great day. We figured laying these rolls would be real easy, just put it on the back of the tractor and plop it down. But after hooking up the first roll to the tractor and watching the front end pop up because of the weight, we knew it was going to be one of those days. What were we going to do now? We never planned on this happening. We made a few phone calls and finally found some attachments to fit our Bobcat. It's one o'clock in the afternoon and we are now starting to lay sod. I don't think I will be making my tee time this afternoon, it looks like there is a bit of work to do. Laying the sod didn't go without having a few problems either. It was still a great day though. We finished up around dusk and everyone was pooped. Yea, it was Friday and everyone wanted to get out of there early but staying late is what it took to get the job done. I sometimes have to remind myself, when the going gets tough, you lead by example and do what it takes to get it done. It's not about a hurry-up-and-get-the-job-done either. You do the same quality of work you were hired to do.

I missed my tee time with the family that afternoon. I really wanted to leave and play golf but I couldn't take off and enjoy myself with only half the job done. I could only imagine what would go through the crew's mind if I left and later they saw me heading down the fairway playing golf. I did meet my family out later that evening for dinner and I felt bad I couldn't spend the afternoon with them. I don't like putting work before my family but some days that's what it takes. I don't make a habit of it but if there is a project at hand and it needs to get finished I'm there.

This past weekend while it was a sweltering 95 degrees out and we hadn't received any rain in 13 days, we sucked it up and worked a long weekend. It was filled with a lot of syringing of the entire course all day long. I wanted to go hang out at the beach but every time I said I was done, I would go to the next hole and it would be on fire. I couldn't leave, the turf was turning crispy and I wasn't going to have it fail on my watch. We work too hard during the week for me to throw it away on the weekend because I want to enjoy myself. What it takes to get the job done may be a sacrifice at times but the rewards of this job far exceed them.

While working my way up the ranks in this industry I never had to really worry about having too many responsibilities. Now as an Assistant, these responsibilities are upon me and it's time to step up and take some action. It was definitely a learning curve for me when I first became an Assistant to accept it. I used to complain about work when things wouldn't go perfectly and then take that anger home with me. Why, because I wasn't used to being the guy who had to make sure everyone finished their job correctly or tying up loose ends on the course at the end of the day. When I tell myself, this is what is takes to get the job done, I feel better about myself and I am doing what I was hired to do. Now, when the job calls for an extra effort, it is my responsibility to take it on. If it is staying late, coming in early or going out of my way for a member, that is part of my job and what it takes to get the job done, the right way.