Golf Course Designer Job Description

Golf has grown to be one of the most recreational and enjoyed activities in the United States. Even with all of the golf courses out there, new ones are designed, created and sculpted every day. Indeed, all of the populated continents and most of the countries in the world have at least one golf course. Even plain and average-looking golf courses require a lot of planning, pre-design and preparation. This is where an adept gold course designer comes in and that is what Acme Golf Course Consulting Services is looking for.

Acme Golf Course Consulting Services is in need of a golf course designer that is forward thinking, able to design the golf courses that our clients dream of and desire and at a price point that is agreeable to everyone involved. Of course, no single golf course is going to be easy to design and implement. However, any adept golf course designer that works for Acme Golf Course Consulting Services will be able to comes up with a course that fits the bill for the customer.

Any golf course designed for Acme Golf Course Consulting Services will be expected to do the following and at an acceptable level:

The designer will draft, plan and shape a plan for a golf course based on customer desires and specifications

If needed, the golf course designer will offer multiple options for the same or different situations so as to give the customer the precise golf course that they are seeking and for their area

All consultations will start off with a meeting with the client's stakeholders including the financiers, the management and the other people that will be maintaining and supporting the golf course after it is built

The overall budget of the proposed golf course will be discussed. The costs involved will include grass and other vegetation, earth removal/addition, other landscaping and features (rocks, trees, etc.), pathways for foot and cart traffic and so forth

It will have to be decided whether the course will have nine distinct holes or eighteen distinct holes (or something different or custom). Most golf course will have 9 or 18 as this is the norm (people who want 18 holes on a 9 hole course will play the 9 holes twice from different tee boxes)

Different areas will be designed and designated for tee areas, fairways, sand traps, greens, waterways/ponds and so forth

Some obstacles will be installed and placed with emphasizing difficulty and player skill in mind (e.g. A body of water between the tee box and the green)

Most holes will be designed with a neat tee box and a fairway that basically guides a path to the hole, notwithstanding the prior-mentioned hazards

Client customizations will usually be honored, but the standard gold course features and practices mentioned above will be the norm because the Acme name would be associated with any golf course that is designed or created by Acme and its course architects

The work environment for the golf course designer will be a roomy and private office in which the golf course designer will typically work on drafts of projects and layouts.

A nice big table will be provided to help map out the size and scope of the golf course including the location of each hole relative to each other, where the clubhouse and other amenities are, nearby city/county landmarks (streets, etc.) and where certain other facilities will be located (e.g. restrooms, etc.)

The golf course designer will also be provided a technologically updated computer with high-end graphics and video-usage qualities so as to help render the design of the golf-course on the computer before it is put to a real model. The computer rendering can be used instead of the real-life model (or vice versa) in case the customer prefers one or the other).

Given the above, the golf course designer should have at least basic artistic skills relating to drawing up models, mapping out locations properly in terms of scale, crafting accurate shapes, applying the proper labels and so forth

Computer knowledge and strong computer skills in general are highly preferable and desirable and will go a long way in determining who is hired given how many clients prefer to have a technologically advanced proposal and rendering of their requested projects

General knowledge of turf and golf course management is also highly preferable so as to portend know-how when clients ask about such subjects

Starting pay for the golf course designer job will start at $80,000 and it can easily go up from there with high-end performance and happy clients. This is well above the average, which is about $66,800. A six figure income within several years is not out of the question if the proper performance metrics are met (ACP, 2015).

Benefits Package

As noted above, the starting pay for the job is $80,000 a year with the opportunity to get near or above $100,000 in the near future. This is above average for starting pay for this

These would include not smoking, staying within a healthy body mass index (BMI) range and so forth. Participation is entirely voluntary but is necessary to get the discounts
Speaking of smoking, it is never allowed at any time on Acme grounds. This is true of inside the building, outside of the building at any time during which you are doing Acme business. Anyone who takes issue with that should not apply to or work at Acme.

The full IRS limits apply for anyone that wishes to make use of Medical FSA or Dependent Care FSA accounts

As partiall noted above, the healthcare savings account is only to be used in conjunction with an election for the low-cost but high-deductible healthcare insurance plan. Anyone using a standard healthcare insurance plan is not eligible for healthcare savings accounts (HSA) but can still do medical FSA is they so choose.

Medical FSA and Dependent Care FSA debit cards will be made available for those that wish to use them. These cards should not be used for any other purpose. Misuse will lead to the card being taken back and the standard reimbursement process (pay up front, get paid back) will be employed

The full $5,250/year IRS limit for tuition reimbursement will be made available to those that make use of the benefits. Employees are encourage to make heavy and continued use of this if they wish to continue their education. Industry certifications and other job-related classifications might also be covered. Consult with Human Resources if you wish to see what all might be or is covered (Reed & Bogardus, 2015)

Rationalizations

The following underpins and justifies what was done above:

The job is well-paying…thus the benefits should match

The salary should also tend to justify the fact that Acme is not a bottom-feeder in the golf course design industry…in its area or beyond

Similarly, benefits are structured in such a way to maximize the potential employee utility from the benefits without encouraging bad behavior (the wellness program, the IRS max on FSA and tuition reimburse, etc.)

There is an instilling of the values that Acme can and will uphold (high standards of work, no health-destroying or messy habits, etc.

Appraisal Program Parameters

Official reviews will be done once a year

Performance will be tracked on a per project basis

Performance perception will be based on a combination of several things:

Reviews directly from the clients themselves

Observations from other Acme personnel

A tracking of non-verbal (e.g. email, fax) communication

A robust amount of feedback based on the totality of the year will be offered during the formal review process

Spot-feedback will be offered in good and bad times so that the feedback process is continuous and productive

Adjustments to salary based on inflation will be made as needed independent of the normal review process as needed if inflation raises wages faster than normal raises would muster

Client feedback and reviews will comprise the bulk of what is used to ascertain and review performance. However, clients will not automatically and always be taken at their word. Sometimes, people exaggerate and deceive as compared to what is actually true.

The "standard" raise will fluctuate with budgetary concerns and such, but the "normal" raise for "average" performance will be three percent of base salary

High-performing employees, independent of spot-bonuses and such, will be subject to raises of five percent or more…again, based on performance.

One or more annual review period with below-average performance could possibly lead to a demotion, reassignment or even punishment/dismissal

Salary might also be adjusted based on a number of factors:

Average starting salary in the…