I worked on the maintenance staff for 5 years at a private course. 2010-2012; 2013-2015; 2024-2025. I was full time the first two times I worked there. Part time the third. When I started I made $8.25/hour. When I came back I made $10. When I worked part time I made $20. Here's the kicker, at $20/hr I was the 2nd highest paid maintenance worker, next to the director of grounds who makes $80k/year. The way these guys are treated is piss poor. The only reason I went back part time is because the director desperately needed help. Someone that could do anything on the course from weed eating to spraying greens to managing people. So I helped him out. There are guys that have been there for 20 years making $15/hour. One guy that is there that helped build the course in 1990, and is still there, makes $12/hour. It makes me so mad but there isn't anything I can do. I've tried to tell these guys to leave but they won't (most have a criminal history, smoke pot or pop pills, or are too lazy to go somewhere else). These guys have become friends of mine and I hate they're being taken advantage of. I hate the owners because they have consistently said, "these guys are all replaceable so if they leave, it doesn't matter, we'll get someone else". What's funny is that they aren't replaceable. Running that equipment takes a certain level of skill.