When I was just starting my grounds career at George Mason University, I decided to pursue a certificate in turf maintenance. The first required class was Turfgrass Management. Our assigned text bore the same name and was written by AJ Turgeon. I imagine many of you have studied the same text. The first thing I learned was the characteristics influencing turf quality. The title of this blog is an acronym of those characteristics. Size, texture, rigidity, elasticity, density, growth rate, yield,
"We have to face the possibility that unless we do something soon, we are near the end." Geoffrey Hinton, Godfather of AI
The golf course workforce dilemma will eventually lead to robotic crews and the blind acceptance of Artificial Intelligence. It's okay, though, because after all, it's only the crew workers that will lose their jobs, right? It won't happen to us, the middle and upper management of golf, unless Dario Amodel is correct. He's the CEO of Anthropic who said, "Half of wh
June was Men’s Mental Health Awareness month. I thought it timely to circle back around to this topic and once again shine a light on mental health awareness. This blog post will be focusing on the gender majority of our industry, men. Next month it will focus on women’s experience and well being.
Back in the midst of the pandemic, there were many studies and articles about the state of mental health amongst greenkeepers, course managers and superintendents. As we adjusted post- pandemic,
In this episode of All Stars of Turf, Cutler Robinson, CGCS, shares his inspiring journey in the turf industry, beginning with his studies in forestry at Virginia Tech. He reflects on his early experiences, including his first job at Bassett Country Club and the mentorship he received from Dr. Richard E. Smith. After 37 years as a superintendent - including 24 at Bayville Golf Club in Virginia Beach - Cutler transitioned to consulting and development of the Predict N7 web-based turf nutrition ap
I am a turf guy. That may be met by disbelief by my Golf Course Superintendent or Sports Turf brethren, but I am. I love the look of a highly executed stand of grass. I love the demanding science that guides turf culture. I love the machines that help us maintain it. But most of all, I love being part of a professional camaraderie expertly doing what not many people can. So it is with some regret that I am in position/landscape that is not highly focused on turf. We all know the beneficial contr
In this episode of Rising Stars of Turf, the spotlight is on Moe Robinson, arguably one of the most recognizable personalities in golf turf management today. Originally from Ontario and now residing in British Columbia, Moe recently tied the knot with Paul Robertson, longtime golf course superintendent at Victoria Golf Club. They are planning a larger ceremony -- to be officiated by Dave Wilber -- in the fall in back in Ontario with family and friends.
She reflects on her journey as an ear
In this episode of Rising Stars of Turf, Pete Bachman, superintendent at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California, discusses how day-to-day operations at one of the country's most famous tracks do not differ much different than when the PGA Tour comes to town.
He also talks about the challenges associated with motivating his team and keeping morale up at an operation where expectations and pressure to be the best are high every day and not just for the tour pros.
Finally, Ba
In this episode, I reveal the most important strategy for hiring new staff members. I learned this from watching my Dad as he managed employees on 17 golf courses over several decades. According to family lore, I got Dad fired at least twice, but I refuse to take responsibility.
If Dad had conducted more thorough background checks and called for references, he could have avoided losing those jobs.
I recently read a fascinating book by author, speaker, high performance coach and podcaster Michael Gervais. The name of the book is First Rule of Mastery - Stop Worrying What People Think of You. It was based off an article the Gervais had written for the Harvard Business Review years earlier (How to Stop Worrying About What Other People Think of You). The book is a thought provoking, deep look at the effects of other people’s opinions and how we are so unconsciously controlled by them.
Th
In this episode, Ludell returns to Rockbottum after learning how Big Corporate Golf intends to reduce operating costs. But, like most entities currently shifting toward AI and robots, BCG is completely unaware of The AI Paradox.
It seems every landscape site has a “thing” it is known for. Intentional by the Grounds team or not, this "thing" is usually something our patrons identify and bond with. It can be the play of the course, the design of the gardens, the maintenance regime or something else. Flower bulbs are a thing that many of our operations undertake. Bulbs have relatively low resource entry point, are proven performers with little preparation, and have broad appeal. But when even homeowners employ a gardening
Scott Bordner, director of agronomy at the Union League of Philadelphia, discusses the organization's roots as a patriotic entity founded to support President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, and its transformation to a three-course club.
He also talks about the trajectory of his career that includes working as an assistant under Matt Shaffer at Merion Golf Club and a long tenure as superintendent at historic Chicago Golf Club.
Finally, Bordner talks about his efforts to help solv
Every now and again things don’t really work out as planned. Despite all our scheduling and agronomic programs, our focus on “plant defenses”, or our finely tuned, season long predictions…things still may fall apart. It could be as a result of a weather related event, a major shift in club politics, a supply chain meltdown or even a global pandemic. No matter the cause, we are left to scramble and scrape our way back into some semblance of control.
It’s said that our ability to respond with
In the last days of primitive golf maintenance, only a few Retro-Holdouts remained standing . . .
(Our thanks to Monty Python, Carol Burnett, Armstrong & Miller, Fawlty Towers and PLM of TurfNet.)
Josh Smith took an unconventional route to Orinda Country Club in Orinda, California, where he has been superintendent for the past decade.
A competitive golfer at St. Mary's College in Moraga, California, the Oregon native worked as an aspiring golf course architect before finally getting into golf course maintenance.
It was while working at the California Golf Club of San Francisco when he attended the two-year program at Rutgers University, which provided him with the skills neede
Recently I commented on a TurfNet Forum post under the heading “Robotic Mower Readiness Score”. My response expressing resistance to autonomous mowers (AM) was a knee-jerk reaction to a larger topic I feel strongly about. I expressed a positive but secondary response to the AM matrix assessment the original forum post was based on. In hindsight, my larger topic response lacked deep analysis of this issue. Regardless, and despite my propensity to shoot from my often less-than-fully-informed hip,
Justin Sims, CGCS, has been director of grounds and facilities at The Alotian Club in Roland, Arkansas for 13 years. He prepped for a position as a head superintendent at some of the country's premier facilities, including The Olympic Club in San Francisco under Pat Finlen and Augusta National Golf Club under Marsh Benson and Brad Owen.
While he climbed the career ladder, he learned the value of working varied climates where he had the opportunity to manage both warm- and cool-season turf.
Earlier this week, as I watched a load of timber for some new bridges being built on our property be unloaded, I knew the season had arrived. That time of year which many in the Northeastern US and Eastern Canada are intimately familiar with, the time of year when the snow recedes, the sun is strong, and clay roads turn into greasy jungles of muck.
Growing up in Prince Edward Island, Canada, this time of year is hallmarked by taking a drive through the countryside and seeing numerous vehicl
If you're missing key personnel, dogs, cats or elderly golfers, try two applications of Dra-Gone. (Applied at 8 times the label rate.) If that doesn't work, a single app of Barrett .50 should suffice.
In this episode of Rockbottum CC, (the longest running webisode in the history of the net) Momma learns an important maintenance adjustment for autonomous mowers and Buddy has a problem with a couple of governments.
