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What does a golf course manager do?

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read
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Golf course manager responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real golf course manager resumes:

  • Develop and manage all pesticide, weed, fertilizer, and cultural programs for turf grass and landscape plants.
  • Locate, excavate, and repair buried PVC and metal pipe.
  • Operate greens and fairway mowers, sand trap rake and other associate maintenance duties.
  • Implement POS and club billing system increasing efficiency, and eliminating extra cost from off site billing.
  • Summer duties include mowing greens, tees, and fairways, irrigation system repair/operation, and fertilization of a golf course.
  • Direct nationwide operational programs including, shipping freight and logistics, inventory management, and contract negotiations.
  • Provide personal protection for senior organizational leadership and VIP visitors.

Golf course manager skills and personality traits

We calculated that 23% of Golf Course Managers are proficient in Pro Shop, Course Maintenance, and Mowing. They’re also known for soft skills such as Management skills, Time-management skills, and Leadership skills.

We break down the percentage of Golf Course Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Pro Shop, 23%

    Managed 18-hole golf facility to include: pro shop, maintenance, food & beverage, tournament operations and instruction.

  • Course Maintenance, 8%

    Develop preventative maintenance programs, as well as develop, and train shop, and course maintenance personnel.

  • Mowing, 7%

    Coordinated turfmanagement including fertilizers, fungicides, growth regulators, weed control, mowing, watering,spraying and chemical ratios.

  • Instructional Materials, 6%

    Coordinated the production of instructional material required for the course.

  • Course Management, 6%

    Gained invaluable experience working under club professionals regarding day-to- day facility operations and course management.

  • Customer Service, 5%

    Assisted with organizing customer service for scheduled outside catered golf tournaments.

"pro shop," "course maintenance," and "mowing" are among the most common skills that golf course managers use at work. You can find even more golf course manager responsibilities below, including:

Time-management skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling golf course manager duties is time-management skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "top executives do many tasks concurrently to ensure that their work gets done and that the organization meets its goals." According to a golf course manager resume, here's how golf course managers can utilize time-management skills in their job responsibilities: "maintained in-office calendar keeping track of schedules, appointments and deadlines, as well as, making travel arrangements. "

Leadership skills. This is an important skill for golf course managers to perform their duties. For an example of how golf course manager responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "top executives must be able to shape and direct an organization by coordinating policies, people, and resources." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a golf course manager: "help maintain a beautiful golf course.skills usedproblem solving,leadership and customer service".

Problem-solving skills. golf course manager responsibilities often require "problem-solving skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "top executives need to identify and resolve issues within an organization." This resume example shows what golf course managers do with problem-solving skills on a typical day: "guaranteed positivecustomer experiences and resolved all customer complaints. "

Communication skills. A commonly-found skill in golf course manager job descriptions, "communication skills" is essential to what golf course managers do. Golf course manager responsibilities rely on this skill because "top executives must be able to convey information clearly and persuasively." You can also see how golf course manager duties rely on communication skills in this resume example: "worked closely with board and pro shop staff to ensure clear communication. "

Most common golf course manager skills

The three companies that hire the most golf course managers are:

Compare different golf course managers

Golf course manager vs. Manager executive

A manager executive is in charge of supervising and overseeing an establishment's daily operations, ensuring everything runs efficiently and adheres to company standards. They mostly have administrative duties such as setting goals and guidelines, establishing budgets and timelines, making significant decisions, delegating responsibilities among managers, and reviewing progress reports, addressing issues and concerns. They also spearhead programs and projects, highlighting their vision and mission. Additionally, a manager executive leads and empowers employees while implementing policies and regulations that shape the company.

We looked at the average golf course manager salary and compared it with the wages of a manager executive. Generally speaking, managers executive are paid $35,912 higher than golf course managers per year.Even though golf course managers and managers executive are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require customer service, financial statements, and payroll in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a golf course manager are more likely to require skills like "pro shop," "course maintenance," "mowing," and "instructional materials." On the other hand, a job as a manager executive requires skills like "project management," "excellent interpersonal," "human resources," and "logistics." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

The education levels that managers executive earn slightly differ from golf course managers. In particular, managers executive are 4.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a golf course manager. Additionally, they're 1.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Golf course manager vs. Night manager

A night manager is an individual employee who is responsible for all hotel operations during the night. Night managers must assist the front office manager in all areas of the department, including managing front desk staff, payroll, and enforcing financial control. They collaborate and train associates to respond to customers' queries and complaints positively. They must also maintain a professional and high-quality service-oriented environment. Night managers must possess a bachelor's degree in hotel management or related field.

On average, night managers earn a $10,860 lower salary than golf course managers a year.A few skills overlap for golf course managers and night managers. Resumes from both professions show that the duties of each career rely on skills like "customer service," "payroll," and "pos. "

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, golf course manager responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "pro shop," "course maintenance," "mowing," and "instructional materials." Meanwhile, a night manager has duties that require skills in areas such as "cash handling," "safety procedures," "front desk," and "food preparation." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

Average education levels between the two professions vary. Night managers tend to reach lower levels of education than golf course managers. In fact, they're 6.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Golf course manager vs. Unit manager

Unit managers are responsible for managing the nursing unit. They primarily supervise the daily care of patients and ensure quality patient care. Usually, they perform tasks like evaluating staff performance, conducting orientation for new staff, and training new members. Also, they manage schedules, minimize expenditures, and enforce health as well as safety regulations. Unit managers are registered nursing professionals with an undergraduate or graduate degree. They are honest, adaptable, and analytical professionals with strong management and leadership skills and relevant experience in nursing and patient assessment.

An average unit manager eans a higher salary compared to the average salary of golf course managers. The difference in salaries amounts to unit managers earning a $7,703 higher average salary than golf course managers.By looking over several golf course managers and unit managers resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "customer service," "payroll," and "inventory control." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a golf course manager is likely to be skilled in "pro shop," "course maintenance," "mowing," and "instructional materials," while a typical unit manager is skilled in "quality care," "patients," "federal regulations," and "resident care."

Unit managers typically earn similar educational levels compared to golf course managers. Specifically, they're 0.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Golf course manager vs. Day manager

A day manager oversees the daily operations of an organization, ensuring everything runs smoothly and efficiently according to company standards and regulations. As a day manager, it is their duty to set priorities and goals, establish timelines and guidelines, manage budgets, delegate responsibilities among teams, and supervise staff performances, solving issues or concerns when any arise. They are also responsible for coordinating with night workers or managers, developing reports as necessary. Moreover, they lead staff to reach goals and implement company regulations and policies.

Day managers typically earn lower pay than golf course managers. On average, day managers earn a $7,889 lower salary per year.While their salaries may vary, golf course managers and day managers both use similar skills to perform their duties. Resumes from both professions include skills like "customer service," "payroll," and "pos. "While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "pro shop," "course maintenance," "mowing," and "instructional materials" are skills that commonly show up on golf course manager resumes. On the other hand, day managers use skills like pet, cpr, safety standards, and staff management on their resumes.The average resume of day managers showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to golf course managers. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 4.3% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.2%.

Types of golf course manager

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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