Managing golf greens: aligning golf green quality with resource inputs

Golf course managers need to manage their facilities efficiently for both economic and qualitative reasons. Golf greens are the most significant area on the golf course for play, intensity of maintenance practice, and player judgement of quality. The gap in knowledge lies between measurement of golf green performance and operations efficiency. Performance measurement is the process of controlling management operations to achieve optimum resource input efficacy but in considering existing performance management systems it was found that none provided a definitive tool that could be used to monitor operations for golf green management. This research aims to determine whether a performance management system can be developed for golf green management. Four golf courses were selected to collect management data for operations practices and qualitative tests of golf green performance. Interviews provided operations data for the core practices, identified from literature, including material inputs. The comparison of maintenance inputs and their costs against playing quality allow objective comparison and determination of management efficacy. A survey of golf course managers and review of industry operations practice also informed the key parameters in the development of a performance management framework. Research data for maintenance intensity, cost, and quality have been plotted onto analysis framework graphs which indicate the quality golf course managers are achieving within golf green culture with known levels of resource input. This research proposes a performance management framework for golf course managers to enable them to better manage their golf greens. The adopted research methodology and methods have produced a performance based management framework for golf green management. Mapping key parameters of quality, costs, and inputs in a benchmarking radar chart reflects the efficacy of golf green management in a way that allows stakeholders to identify and adjust operation variables. In a survey of Golf Course Managers in the UK, 73% of respondents stated that they would find a performance management framework beneficial for their work.