Kyle Chrisman Brings -GK GC- to Your Network

"Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want."

I heard this line from Randy Pausch while channel surfing late one night and it has lived in my head ever since. I would like to believe I have LOADS of experience because, throughout my career journey, rarely have I received what I had set out to get.

My name is Kyle Chrisman, the creator of Greenkeepers Golf Club (https://gkgc.org/), and I have joined the TGC community to speak to the value of networking in the field of greenkeeping. Namely, how your support system can play a big part in finding success, or more importantly your fit, throughout your career.

I would like to think my story is pretty unique and we’ll start there to give you a bit of how I ended up being asked to contribute here. To date, I have worked as a greenkeeper at 6 golf courses...which was never the plan. I have no formal turf education, just experience. I started working on a golf course at 16, through the maintenance shop and straight into the bunkers. It was a 36-hole facility, with 119 punishing bunkers on just one of the courses, and a small army to keep the place in order. We were a public/private facility, where the private and public courses flipped, depending the month. At the time, we had a "PGA Tour-adjacent" hit and giggle event that aired on ESPN 2 which for us, and more so for our boss, it was a big effing deal. This was my baptism into the golf course fire, and my start in the turfgrass industry. Long days were the norm in the summer and for some reason ...I kind of liked it.

Heading off for college, I was encouraged to pursue a career in turf management with strong connections that could help me advance, but as much as I enjoyed the job I did not see it as a fit as a career, at least not a fit for me at the time. While in college, however, I ended up working as a groundskeeper with the local parks department where, after a couple months, I was reassigned to their local 9-hole muni, as they became short staffed.

Here I was again working on a golf course. Not planned, but not complaining either.

Business degree in hand, I set off to put it to use working in sports marketing and youth sports, all primarily via lacrosse. When I found myself between jobs, somehow I always ended up migrating back to the golf course. As I got older and my priorities began to change (family life), my passion for the game of golf increased. At this point in my professional life, I have probably spent equal time (maybe more) working on a golf course as I have in my seemingly more “professional” roles.

So what does this have to do with networking? Well, a lot actually. You see, every one of my progressive stops in turf was spurred from a connection I had at a previous stop. Almost every experience was at a place I wanted to work (and play). It was never forced or due to being my only option or opportunity. Each stop provided my network a chance to expand and grow.

I spent a decade coaching club lacrosse, working behind the scenes for a premier west coast program that played a big role in developing players to be recruited to play in college. One thing we always preached was, "If you were to blow out your knee on the second day of practice, do you want to be there?" I think this same line of thinking applies to working in turf (or any job for that matter). While there are similarities (and clichés) at every stop, every culture is a bit different and some fits were better than others.

However, without experiencing the culture firsthand how can you gauge it?

...Through your network.

At one point in my turf journey I was considering jumping on the crew at a very high-end private club. I reached out to a previous super who was more than happy to make a call on my behalf, but he gave me a warning I would never forget it; "It’s not an enjoyable place to be, I just thought you should know that." This guy was not exactly the happiest human in the first place, so to hear that from him, I dropped that idea right then and there. At that time, I had no interest in returning to greenkeeping on a crew that was notorious for taking things a bit too seriously. I had already experienced that once, at the time enjoying it, but had no desire to go back to it at this stage of my life.

Throughout your turf career, you will have goals and aspirations, then your priorities will inevitably shift and evolve. That is one of the many moments when the people you meet along the way will go a long and crucially useful way in this industry. Understanding the type of environment you want to work in, being a part of and contributing to, will be directly tied to your enjoyment in going to work everyday. Our industry is uniquely demanding of our time and energy, so you should uniquely spend some time and energy reflecting with your network.

As you chase opportunities, do not hesitate to get out and meet people, finding out the good and bad experiences they have had along the way. The more people in the industry you can meet, learn from, and enjoy being around, will only benefit your career. Much is said about the turf community and being an active part of it is a valuable resource for your enjoyment and advancement.

Today, I am 41 years old and I work part time at my local country club, finding myself cutting cups on crisp Washington mornings. I’m aware I have it pretty good and my situation is unique. I am definitely not doing it for the money, and if I didn’t like the crew I am on, I wouldn’t be here.

But... I get all the range balls I can hit, play some golf when my schedule (and the tee sheet) allows. I get to bring my son out and get him hooked on the game, continuing to use my network to go see other courses as well.

What started as a summer job has at this point turned into a lifestyle choice. Working on golf courses was never in my career plans, but here I am with 6 different courses under my belt and a passion for the game that seems to only grow.

Taking my experiences both on and off the course has led me to create The Greenkeepers Golf Club. While experiencing the game of golf has and always will be a common tradition in our line of work, I see tremendous opportunities for it to be better utilized to serve the turf community. I truly believe golf can do good things, and one thing it can do is create space for our network and community to grow and thrive outside of our regular business hours. The GK GC is part golf club, part creative endeavor, and part love letter to the uniqueness of the people and culture in our line of work. Come visit us and see for yourself.

In my next post I'll share some more specific ways to grow and utilize your network. It isn’t rocket - or turf - science, by any means, but it can have quite an effect on your career journey. Understanding it's value early in your journey should help you and your professional network to maintain a career path that weaves along on the short grass and out of the rough.