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Life of a club pro doesn’t include much golf

Playing rarely on a  pro’s list of things  to do during the day

Linda Weisenborn Golf pro Tom Barnhart often puts in 100-hour weeks – with very few of those hours involving actually playing golf.

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By Jay Morrison, Staff Writer Updated 12:34 PM Tuesday, April 14, 2009

When it comes to the daily duties of a club professional, golf itself is way down the list.

“If you want to play golf, don’t become a golf pro,” said Tom Barnhart, the head professional at Heatherwoode Golf Course in Springboro.

“Most people get into the business thinking they’re going to get to play a lot of golf,” Barnhart continued. “That’s what hooked me when I started. But I have a hard time finding time to play at all.”

The typical club pro arrives at the course before sunrise, and many leave after sunset. The time between is filled with giving lessons, taking complaints, writing reports, reading reports, janitorial work, meet-and-greets and basically anything else that needs to be done.

“Everybody thinks this is easy,” said John Small, the PGA director of golf at both of Hamilton’s municipal courses, Twin Run and Potter Park.

“They think you just play golf and come and go as you want,” Small continued. “But if you’re doing a good job and keeping the course busy, nothing could be farther from the truth.”

Not only are the hours long, with 100-hour work weeks being commonplace, they’re also constant. Off days are reserved for the offseason, and most pros say they anticipate the workload is only going to increase this summer.

“Even before the bad economy hit, budgets and staffs were getting smaller and smaller,” said Jimmy Logue, the head professional at the Springfield Country Club. “And right now we’re really thin.”

Logue is especially busy because he also owns the course’s pro shop, but he’s not alone in handling double duties. Many pros also serve as course general manager, which means they have to oversee the pro shop, the food and beverage service and any other course-related business.

“No matter what your favorite thing to do is, whether it’s teaching lessons or selling merchandise or whatever, you can’t spend all your time doing one thing,” Logue said.

The long hours, while expected, still can take a toll on family life.

“It’s difficult enough with just a wife, so I’m scared to death how it’s going to be with kids,” Barnhart said a few weeks ago, just days before his wife, Amanda, was due with their first child.

Barnhart said he has tried to get Amanda interested in the sport so they could spend some quality time together playing in the evenings, and so he could keep his own game — and job title — in shape.

“You don’t get to play very often, but you still better be able to play to a certain level,” he said. “No one wants to see their course pro go out there and shoot an 85.”

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2193 or jmorrison@coxohio.com.

A day IN  THE LIFE ...

Heatherwoode pro Tom Barnhart offers this outline of his typical day during the golf season:

5 a.m.: Arrive at course, close out the previous day and take care of the cash deposit.

5:30 a.m.: Prepare the course and greet other workers as they show up, giving them directions for the day.

6:30 a.m.: Open the pro shop and make sure the computerized register system is online and working properly. Check in the first golfers.

7:30 a.m.: Take a walk around the grounds to make sure there is no trash laying around and that none of the 387 light bulbs need changed. “If one is out, it drives me nuts,” Barnhart said. Inspect carts and make sure previous day’s closing shift left things the way they should be.

9 a.m.: Return to the pro shop and check the turn times, making sure the pace of play is where it needs to be.

10 a.m.: Jump in golf cart and take a spin around the course. Check in with maintenance supervisor.

11 a.m.: Swing by the snack bar to make sure the food and beverage service is running smoothly.

11:30 a.m.: Do a quality check on the food — i.e. eat lunch.

12:30 p.m.: Check in with all department managers and see if they need any assistance.

2:30 p.m.: Write reports and catch up on other paperwork while there is a lull in activity in advance of the Twilight Rates kicking in at 3 p.m.

4 p.m.: Take another lap around the facility, making sure all of the light bulbs are still working and there is no trash laying around. “I’m a trash Nazi,” he said.

5 p.m.: Put on the rubber gloves and “pick up as many cigarette butts as you can imagine.” The parking lot, cart staging and driving range areas need special attention.

6 p.m.: Customer service time. Ride around the course and see how the golfers are doing and making sure they’re enjoying their time. Stop by the driving range to get to know people and offer a quick, free lesson or two.

7:30 p.m.: Pack up and head home.

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