Golf Course Manager – Head Greenkeeper – What is the Difference?

You might say that a Golf Course Manager is somebody that looks after a golf course by not physically working him/herself. They would have a budget at the beginning of every year and then try and come under that budget by constantly looking for ways to be more efficient. Days would be spent setting up working schedules, inspecting the golf course, speaking with salesmen or other outside agencies and attending various meetings.

With a Head Greenkeeper you might say that he/she is like the foreman of the other greenkeepers. They will have to get their hands dirty and they will be counted as one of the “working” staff on the golf course.They will also do a lot of the things a Golf Course Manager would do but perhaps to not the same degree.

This is why I ask the question because I think it can be a grey area. Essentially they are one and the same position yet some people will have different titles depending on where they are based.

I think the term Head Greenkeeper is a throwback to the old days when golf courses were run by members and greenkeepers were expected to do and not think. Times have changed and so has the maintenance of a golf course, were now a person in the head position has to wear many hats in order to comply with the industry and the environment. In an age were everything is branded and re-branded it’s now time to get rid of the “Head Greenkeeper” tag and give a more suited heading to a job that has become more professional than many years ago.