The Role of Captain

[Lord Tyrion]

Following the recent excellent thread of 'would you be Captain' I thought this was worth looking at. Most replies, mine included, believed the role was too all involving, too demanding. Some seemed to have lightened the load.

So, how should the role be revised? Where it works well, what have you done so that the role doesn't drag the captain down?

The captain at my club is doing an excellent job but he is at the club 5-7 days a week and I do worry about the effect on him and his family. He is a good bloke and it is draining. I'd be interested in ways to improve the role to possibly make suggestions to my club.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

I’ve unfortunately met too many Captains over the years who didn’t enjoy their year in office.
They certainly have a role to play but for me the year they are Vice-Captain is when they should be putting the hours in, then as Captain they should be enjoying the role and acting more as the elder statesman, grin and greet, being the public face of the Club.
We’ve had 2 in the last 10 years that left the club once their tenure was over and that I find quite sad.

 

[jim8flog]

Lightening the load involves delegation and trust in those that you delegate to.

I have met too many Captains that want to do everything themselves.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Paul, that echoes my experience at a previous club. The year after captaincy a number either left or significantly reduced the amount they played. The year had sickened them. Really sad.

 

[duncan mackie]

The role varies massively across not only the type of club but the evolved nature of the role at individual clubs.

Additionally, and from time to time, in its extremes the the staff and other committee members can be supporting the Captain in his role....or the Captain can be supporting them in what needs doing!

Finally, all the discussion over the role can't ultimately ignore what any particular Captain will choose to do, or how he naturally approaches it.

I've done it twice, at different clubs and 30 years apart and, just like wedding photography, when I finished each time i swore i would never do it again (until the next time)

 

[virtuocity]

If you immediately changed the role of the captain to only being 'the face' of the club i.e. doing the presentations, being involved in playing matches etc, would there be enough staff to pick up the slack?

 

[Hobbit]

Depends on the club structure and the individual nature of the captain. There are committees to do the vast majority of the work but too many captains get involved with the nitty gritty. Yes they need to be able to answer questions from the members but sometimes the best answer is, "let me talk to the Chair of Greens/House etc, and I'll get back to you." It gives breathing space and stops knee jerk answers. And if a member is full of vinegar ask them to put it in writing for the next mgt meeting, again avoiding a knee jerk answer.

It is time consuming but a few basic mgt techniques can make the job so much easier.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

If you immediately changed the role of the captain to only being 'the face' of the club i.e. doing the presentations, being involved in playing matches etc, would there be enough staff to pick up the slack?

Yes, the Vice Captain, that’s the point.

 

[2blue]

I thought the year as Vice Captain was when you'd have an opportunity to learn what would be required of you, when Captain.

 

[User2021]

At our place the vice does all the leg work, thus the following year as captain he gets to enjoy the year.

 

[Robster59]

I'll expand a little on my points in my post(s) on the other thread.
At our club the Captain is not responsible for everything in the club. About 5 years ago the club moved to a Board of Management designed to spread the load of the running of the club. All Board members are also club members who volunteer their free time for three years with a possible two year extension, all voted on at the AGM and the board consists of:

• Chairman
• Director of Finance
• Director of Marketing
• Director of House and Greens
• Lady Captain
• Captain

And they take the decisions on the running of the club (the Captain and Lady Captain are more advisory than decision making)
There is then the Council where again you have volunteers who also sit for three years and their roles include:

• Handicap
• Website
• AOB

The Captain, Lady Captain and Vice-Captain also sit on the Council
There is then a Marketing team who work to promote the club comprising of:

• Captain
• Director of Marketing
• Professional
• Marketing consultant

In addition we have a Club Manager who sits on all the above and his assistant (both salaried).

As you can see this takes a lot of the stress of the day-to-day running from the Captain and so the role is more of an up-front, member facing role. Other roles of the Captain (with the able assistance of the Vice-Captain) are:

• Organising events and raising money for the Captains charity for the year
• Organising other events (e.g. Captain & Vice Captains day, Presentation night, Invitation day, Past Captains, etc.)
• Interviewing new members
• Representing the club at other events outside our own club
• Dealing with members and their questions
• Generally being there, speaking to members, seeing how they're doing and being the face of the club

In addition I tried to pop into the club every other day if I could to see everything was OK (it's only 2-3 miles from me) and keeping an eye on the course and speaking to other Board members where needed.

It was still a busy year but I don't regret doing it and enjoyed my 2 years as Vice-Captain and Captain.
If we had been a club where the Captain does everything then, No, I wouldn't have taken the role up. But I think our system works pretty well and is a lot less stressful than other clubs where I have met Captains who have to do everything.

 

[Hobbit]

I'll expand a little on my points in my post(s) on the other thread.
At our club the Captain is not responsible for everything in the club. About 5 years ago the club moved to a Board of Management designed to spread the load of the running of the club. All Board members are also club members who volunteer their free time for three years with a possible two year extension, all voted on at the AGM and the board consists of:

• Chairman
• Director of Finance
• Director of Marketing
• Director of House and Greens
• Lady Captain
• Captain

And they take the decisions on the running of the club (the Captain and Lady Captain are more advisory than decision making)
There is then the Council where again you have volunteers who also sit for three years and their roles include:

• Handicap
• Website
• AOB

The Captain, Lady Captain and Vice-Captain also sit on the Council
There is then a Marketing team who work to promote the club comprising of:

• Captain
• Director of Marketing
• Professional
• Marketing consultant

In addition we have a Club Manager who sits on all the above and his assistant (both salaried).

As you can see this takes a lot of the stress of the day-to-day running from the Captain and so the role is more of an up-front, member facing role. Other roles of the Captain (with the able assistance of the Vice-Captain) are:

• Organising events and raising money for the Captains charity for the year
• Organising other events (e.g. Captain & Vice Captains day, Presentation night, Invitation day, Past Captains, etc.)
• Interviewing new members
• Representing the club at other events outside our own club
• Dealing with members and their questions
• Generally being there, speaking to members, seeing how they're doing and being the face of the club

In addition I tried to pop into the club every other day if I could to see everything was OK (it's only 2-3 miles from me) and keeping an eye on the course and speaking to other Board members where needed.

It was still a busy year but I don't regret doing it and enjoyed my 2 years as Vice-Captain and Captain.
If we had been a club where the Captain does everything then, No, I wouldn't have taken the role up. But I think our system works pretty well and is a lot less stressful than other clubs where I have met Captains who have to do everything.

Basically, a matrix organisation with different people appearing in more than one management area, e.g. the Director of Marketing being on the management board AND the club council. They are the most efficient but do, sometimes, require people to park their egos at the door when it comes to cross-functional decisions between the different mgt teams.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Our captain, vice and immediate past all sit on various committees and so are usually in meetings a couple of times a week. Most I've known are usually up at the club 5-7 days a weeks sorting different things out generally being seen by the members. The role has many requirements, and each have changed things on the course or in the club, usually for the better and each have made a positive contribution

 

[North Mimms]

Apparently as Ladies Captain, my role was to ensure that the ball washers were topped up with fresh water, and not left to go rancid and smelly (insert confused smiley)

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Apparently as Ladies Captain, my role was to ensure that the ball washers were topped up with fresh water, and not left to go rancid and smelly (insert confused smiley)

Utterly bizarre but perhaps you got off lightly 😁