In an industry that relies heavily on the weather, it can be easy to feel like a lot is out of your control. But one thing anyone can actively and consciously work on is her mental health.
“The outdoors allows you to be more present,” he says. judy johnson, a certified professional leadership and career transition coach. “Outdoors, you can feel the wind against your skin, you can smell freshly cut grass if you’re on a golf course, feel the sun shining on your face. So I think being able to allow yourself to center and refocus, particularly if you’re having a bad day, is one of the best things nature has to offer: it allows an outlet when it comes to mental health.”
The first step in taking care of your mental health is being able to recognize when you might be struggling in the first place.
“It’s important for people to understand themselves,” adds Johnson. “I think that self-awareness and self-discovery are very important and not only analyze things with your head, but also control with your heart and guts.”
When you work on a golf course, you may be limited to the confines of 18 holes, but in a way, it allows for a greater sense of freedom.
“I’d say that’s the best part of the golf side of the business … being able to be outside,” says the director of operations for the Double Eagle (Ohio) club. Todd Vosswho began his career as a superintendent.
Assistant Professor at the University at Buffalo dr mike lamb adds: “I think there is a greater sense of physical freedom and mental freedom. You can experience the world in a much more expansive and free way than you are, for example, limited to an office environment.
“It fosters a little more hope and optimism around the day’s tasks,” adds Lamb, director of surgical education at the school’s Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. “There’s just something about being in an environment without cordoning off, that you’re literally in this kind of expansive space. There is a sense in which the lack of physical limits can offer a greater sense of mental freedom.
However, simply working outdoors is not enough.
“There are jobs that involve working outdoors that are not good,” says Lamb. “I would say the combination of the expansive atmosphere and the relative lack of oversight is really helpful mentally.”
While the unconventional work environment can be a huge benefit, there are also some factors that other professions never have to consider.
“You’re working holidays, you’re working weekends, all that kind of stuff,” says Johnson. “From a mental health perspective, if you think about someone laying asphalt or roofing for a living, those long, hot days can actually lower your mental health or put you in a state where you’re just foul where you wouldn’t necessarily have been. So foul if you hadn’t been out there fighting under those extreme conditions.”
For Voss, making the switch from being predominantly outdoors to being behind a desk for most of the workday has been an adjustment.
“If you leave me in the office for days, I start to go crazy,” says Voss. “You almost feel like a caged animal, like you just need to get out, get some sun, some fresh air.”
Amidst all the picturesque sunrises and perfectly moved greens, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine every day. Literally.
“You have to take the good with the bad,” says Voss. “It’s that beautiful morning, and then a cold, rainy afternoon. You have to take both, but it’s absolutely amazing to be able to do that.”
Along with the inevitable hurdle that the weather presents, something else industry professionals must overcome is the opinions of others at times.
“It’s amazing how people will look down like ‘oh, you get dirty for a living,’ or ‘oh, you mow the lawn here,'” says Voss. “They just don’t get it. They don’t understand how much detail and how much work goes into it… how to understand the chemistry of soils or understand that education that we’ve all been through. Sometimes we don’t have the respect of someone who works in accounting, for example”.
If you’re looking to improve your own mental health or care for those around you, start by simply getting involved.
“I always say find a friend,” says Voss. “If you can see someone going to the dark side, stand up and say, ‘Hey, let’s get together, let’s go here, take a walk or just talk and be together.'”
Sharing your struggles and experiences with someone can help reduce isolation.
“Contacting the 1-800 hotlines, contacting your friends, contacting your colleagues, your family,” says Johnson. “I’m a big advocate of talking to the elephant in the room.”
Cassidy Gladieux is a senior at Kent State University participating in the Golf Course Industry Internship Program.
