FARGO — The Fargo Park District has posted the job description to lead Edgewood Golf Course operations in replacing retired PGA professional Greg McCullough. A newly titled golf manager doesn’t mean it can’t be a PGA professional.
That’s the message from Fargo Park District executive director Susan Faus and director of golf Rocky Papachek.
“The likelihood of the person who is most qualified for the job would probably be a PGA golf professional,” Papachek said. “Until that person is hired and is in that position, we don’t know. If the person who is selected has that title, they’ll promote themselves as a PGA professional.”
Papachek said the change in title is aimed at attracting a broader scope of candidates. Faus said the Park District is “not eliminating” the golf professional, but it’s more about changing the title.
The main difference from the previous job description at Edgewood is the golf manager won’t have control of the golf shop. Both Faus and Papachek said it would be along the same lines as what Moorhead Parks did in 2020 when it farmed the pro shop to a third party but retained Jay Haug and Russ Nelson as the head pros at Meadows and Village Green golf courses, respectively.
Papachek said the salary for the Edgewood position and next year at Rose Creek and Osgood golf courses will be comparable to what pros are paid in the area. Nothing will change with head pros Matt Cook at Rose Creek and Chris Larson at Osgood this season, but the Park District will take over the golf shop operations at both courses next year.
“It will be their choice whether or not they decide to stay and are willing to work under our current model,” Papachek said. “It’s not us eliminating their position.”
“And we certainly hope they do,” Faus said. “They’re valuable to our golf operation.”
Faus said revenue from the golf shop is expected to be reinvested back into the golf courses and golf programs.
“This is not a decision where we’re looking at cutting costs necessarily,” she said. “What we’re wanting to do is optimize revenue opportunities.”
Specifically, the Edgewood job description in part reads as follows: “The Golf Manager oversees all golf shop and outside service operations and is responsible for ensuring that all guests receive outstanding members and guest service, which meets or exceeds their expectations.” In the experience category, the description reads “Current PGA member of Associate preferred.”
Papachek said even if the Edgewood hire is not a PGA professional that somebody else will be hired as a designated teaching professional. At Edgewood, McCullough taught about 100 private lessons per year.
“Because there’s such a demand at all of our golf courses,” Papachek said. “Our pros can’t teach all of the lessons that people are requesting without taking them away from their job responsibilities.”
Both Faus and Papachek said nothing will change with the popular Edgewood Men’s Club, which had 350 members last year.
“It’s a passionate group of people that support Edgewood, there’s no reason why we would not want to continue that,” Papachek said.
Same would go with Edgewood’s two ladies leagues and Rose Creek’s designated leagues next year. The same would apply to junior programs.
Faus said the Park District has been looking at all areas of its operation, and not just golf. She said the conversation for an updated business model on the golf side has been going on for about a year and a half.
“This isn’t a decision that was a quick rush,” she said. “It was something we’ve been talking about for a while.”
Jeff would like to dispel the notion he was around when Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, but he is on his third decade of reporting with Forum Communications. The son of a reporter and an English teacher, and the brother of a reporter, Jeff has worked at the Jamestown Sun, Bismarck Tribune and since 1990 The Forum, where he’s covered North Dakota State athletics since 1995.
Jeff has covered all nine of NDSU’s Division I FCS national football titles and has written three books: “Horns Up,” “North Dakota Tough” and “Covid Kids.” He is the radio host of “The Golf Show with Jeff Kolpack” April through August.
