Communication in the turf industry is a huge asset to being a successful turf manager. I feel from a student perspective that if you are going to be a good turf manager, you’re going to need to have strong communication skills. I say this because for instant if you are a superintendent at a prestigious private golf club, you’re going to need skills to prepare and present a plan in front of the General Manager as well as the Greens Committee.
Communication and public speaking is something that everyone can improve. It will never hurt to have the strong skills so that when you do perhaps need to go up onto a podium and present a 30 minute speech, you won’t look like an idiot. Public speaking is something that I have never been great at but to this day I am trying to work on improving it so when the day comes when I am a turf professional, i will know exactly what to do.
If you feel that you don’t have the strongest communication or public speaking skills, then try and improve it. All it will take is a few minutes a day standing in front of a mirror and just work on a short speech. You may think this is a stupid thing to do but as i stated earlier, when the time comes and you have to present something in front of high honoured people or just a large crowd, you’ll think to yourself “ Thank god I have strong communication skills!”
