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Lightning Strike Detection

Have you noticed an increase in rainfall amounts?  Here at Rockbottum CC, we are convinced it's due to cloud-seeding carried out by companies like SOAR or Seeding Operations Atmospheric Research.  Just like steroids have side effects, when a storm gets all artificially jacked up, stuff happens:  Heavy rain, more wind damage and  . . . lightning. That's why we at Rockbottum CC are leading the way in the area of Lightning Detection.  

Trailing Thoughts: The Death of Etiquette?

Is etiquette dead? At times, it might seem that way. An increased number of ball marks, divots, cart traffic, unraked bunkers, and golfers behaving badly in the last four years have pushed superintendents—and, at times, their sanity—to the tipping point. Poor etiquette on the golf course is nothing new. For as long as golf has existed, there have been people who don’t abide by the rules. The infractions are just more amplified now, as superintendents take to social media for the “airin

Adam Garr

Adam Garr in Trailing Thoughts

Little Flags, Big Headache...

Utility locates are a common and essential part of any groundskeepers’ work. Contacting the locate entity for whatever state you are in is standard before any digging on site. While I understand and wholeheartedly support the rationale for utility location, the actual results have a significant impact on my operation. This impact is rarely acknowledged by the locate entity or my own stakeholders. For every locate request the usual result is a yard full of flags. The purpose of the flags is fine

Joseph Fearn

Joseph Fearn in Operations

Trailing Thoughts: Stayin' Alive

We spend so much time focusing on turf health during the summer, it’s easy to forget that we must take care of ourselves in the process.   With much of the country experiencing record heat this summer, it’s important to keep your body hydrated and your electrolytes replenished when you’re working under the sun all day. In the United States alone, each year more than a half million people are hospitalized for dehydration. Of those, nearly 10,000 of them will never walk out of that hospital al

Kate Phillips: "The world is our oyster..."

Have you heard the opinion that Gen Z'ers are lazy and unfocused? Meet Kate Phillips: driven, entrepreneurial, aspiring golf course superintendent who knows where she wants to go and how she is going to get there. She shows up. Has conversing via social media and communicating via thumbs prevented young adults from developing confidence, poise and tact? Meet Kate Phillips: calm, cool and collected, poised beyond her years. Can Gen Z'ers hold their own in an interview situation? Meet Ka

We Don’t Get No Respect...

“I don’t get no respect.” Many people are familiar with this adage from comedian Rodney Dangerfield. This sentiment was the lead to his routine lamenting the difficulties he faced when no one gave him his due. Our grounds crews are often in the same boat. While people seemingly appreciate our work, we are consistently forced to subordinate our objectives and viewpoints for others. I recently had a dispute with another employee where our work overlapped and was in conflict. I tried to explai

Joseph Fearn

Joseph Fearn in Recognition

Trailing Thoughts: Lost in New York

When the golf season really gets cranking, sometimes we lose touch with our center — the things we hold most dear, and those things that keep us balanced and grounded. Let’s face it, the further we get into peak season, the more time we end up spending on the golf course, and away from our centers. We become off-balanced the more the course calls to us louder than our family, friends, and passions. In this episode of Trailing Thoughts, I drives into the heart of New York City on a pict

Jeff Whitmire, CGCS, Williamsburg (VA) Golf Club

When Jeff Whitmire was 12 years old, his request for a birthday/Christmas gift was not the usual. He wanted a copy of Dr. James Beard's now-classic textbook, Turf Management for Golf Courses. One might say Jeff's direction in life was pre-ordained at an early age. Jeff started working at Williamsburg Country Club at age 12 as a cart attendant.  He took over as superintendent when he was 25, with no degree and still working toward a turf certificate. He is still there, 27 years later, surviv

Mornings...

If you ask anyone who works within the turf industry to give you a reason why they love working on a golf course, the answers may vary. Teamwork, dedication to the craft, the sense of pride in what a crew accomplishes, and attention to detail are common responses. But if you look across the spectrum of turf professionals, from Superintendents and Course Managers, to Assistant Superintendents and foremen/women, to Irrigation Technicians and yes, even Equipment technicians, one answer comes throug

Trailing Thoughts: LOOK UP

So much of a turf manager’s job happens beneath our feet. Dry spots, insect damage, diseased and trafficked turf—we spend a lot of our day looking down. Looking for the next problem. If we spend too much time looking for problems, we run the risk of getting mired in the negative. The job starts to feel like “work.” It begins draining us of our energy. We forget what drew us here in the first place. We must remind ourselves to LOOK UP. Find something that takes you back to that moment

Share your story, trumpet your accomplishments...

Telling your work story is an important part of a successful operation. Bringing attention to the ways your team performs its work or the benefit you bring to your organization is just smart business. Far too often we are so busy working that we forget to share our accomplishments. And the people that depend on us are too busy to notice. Putting your head down is sometimes necessary but opening your mouth is sometimes important too. Being vocal on behalf of your team can be powerful, but when so

Joseph Fearn

Joseph Fearn in Recognition

Rockbottum Lost A Family Member

In this episode of Rockbottum Radio, we pay tribute to Matt Jones, longtime member of Rockbottum, former Golf Course Superintendent, GM, US Army vet and more. In the second half of the show, we experience a rather severe outbreak of gossip, back-biting, name-calling and false witness bearing, which leads to Momma finding a solution to this current social media plague. (This podcast has been archived. Please contact us if you'd like to listen to it and we'll restore it.)

Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson in Podcast

Jim Pavonetti, CGCS, Fairview Country Club, Greenwich, Connecticut

The latest TurfNet All Star of Turf is Jim Pavonetti, CGCS, of Fairview Country Club in Greenwich, Connecticut. A graduate of the Rutgers University turfgrass program, Pavonetti has developed a reputation for providing exceptional playing conditions while also being recognized for his efforts at producing an environmentally friendly landscape. In his 17th season at Fairview, Pavonetti previously was superintendent at the Edison Club and the West Point Golf Course at the U.S. Military A

Is There a Diamond in Your Rough?

Every once in a while, a person comes along that shines a little brighter than everyone else. They might not even see it in themselves, but if you train yourself to spot talent and drive, then they become easier to spot. They’re that diamond in the rough, so to speak. The best turf managers are able to identify those diamonds on their teams. These leaders take the time to develop them, start trusting them with more challenging assignments, and they give them the experience and tools to succ

Adam Garr

Adam Garr in CourseCares

Let's not do this...

I had just watched and read Adam Garr's latest blog post/video (Rise Above) a week or so ago, in which he lamented the demise of Turf Twitter into a "cesspool of contrarians and armchair quarterbacks". Frankly, I had not seen much of that in turf-related social media content, maybe because I typically don't read the comments. I have found across the board that's where the trolls reside, the vitriol festers, the arguments start, where the grenade-launchers hide in the weeds... and I have no inter

Peter McCormick

Peter McCormick in Life

Non -Judgment Day

We live in a world that thrives on judgment and opinion. These often harmful habits were amplified during the pandemic and have only grown stronger since then. Many people have retreated to their corners and are refusing to come out, stuck fast in the belief that their take is the right one.  World leaders serve us daily rhetoric that only serves to fuel a deepening a sense of division and further their own agendas. Then there is social media. Via our devices, the algorithms drip feed a constant

Heatherns At The Gate

Do you secretly watch Rockbottum CC, the longest running webisode on the entire internet?  You're not alone.  If you're new here, try to follow these rules and your job will be safe:  Never admit you watch, even to your most trusted associates.  Don't admit actually  knowing anyone from Rockbottum . . . and never, ever say anything in the comment section.        Now watch this film or I'll tell Momma.             

Trailing Thoughts: Rise Above...

The internet has become an ugly place over the years. Take Turf Twitter, for example. What once was a bastion of idea sharing and supporting one another has turned into a cesspool of contrarians and armchair quarterbacks.   In this episode of Trailing Thoughts, I reflect on the current state of social media as I summit Emory Peak, the highest point in Big Bend National Park, Texas, USA. Along the way I offer advice based on my own experiences on social media, encouraging positive interaction

Adam Garr

Adam Garr in Trailing Thoughts

Andrew Mallick, Metedeconk National Golf Club: 14-year path to the top

Andy Mallick's trajectory as a Rising Star of Turf has been a long one, entailing stops at four golf courses over 14 years before landing his first head superintendent position. Now in his fifth season as superintendent (and 11th overall) at Metedeconk National Golf Club (Jackson, NJ), Mallick had interim stops at Pine Valley Golf Club, Country Club of Darien and Southward Ho Golf Club on Long Island, picking up valuable experience at each one. Mallick credits his girlfriend, Rachel, with g

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