Back in June, I was headed home from a trip to Minneapolis to visit my son, who had been interning at Toro. My route took me through Des Moines, Iowa, so I decided to visit Rick Tegtmeier. This was my first visit to Des Moines Golf & Country Club, and Rick was anxious to show me around. So, out we went for a tour of the golf course... all 36 holes of which had been completely renovated over the past four years under Rick's guidance.
Even though I was on a tight traveling schedule, I rea
Everybody wants to have their own shop. I've been studying Hector's Shop for a while and I think I can do it, too.
Here's a short training film that explains how to fix a bad starter.
Branding is the effort to create a distinct and significant positive awareness of your organization in the mind of your customer or stakeholders. This recognition of your capabilities and contributions can be important to whether or not your operation is seen as benefiting the organization as a whole. Branding is a way that you can you can help to affect the way your image is perceived by the people you work with every day. While your work output/quality is the most important factor to organizat
Lately, when I read the interweb, that guitar riff from Mike Judge's "Idiocracy" plays at full volume in my head. You know what I'm talking about, the lick that sounds like it was ripped from Cheech and Chong? Judge has not only accidentally joined the ranks of dystopian prophets like Huxley, Orwell and Rand, he has provided a soundtrack worthy of the Ministry of Truth's daily expectorations.
As the digital cacophony increases in volume, I find myself scurrying around seeking a safe space,
In this episode, host John Reitman chats with career superintendent, mentor-to-many and current "international agronomy consultant", Dick Bator.
Bator's superintendent career included stops at Pine Valley, Merion and Oakmont. Over those years he mentored -- some may say 'tormented' -- many assistants who went on to careers as head superintendents.
He shares with us some of what made him tick, and advice for today. Some takeaways:
I hired good people, but pushed them and taught
The 2017 Solheim Cup is in the books with a victory for the American ladies. It was also a big victory for the agronomy staff at Des Moines Golf and Country Club. Led by Rick Tegtmeier, Director of Grounds, and superintendents Nate Tegtmeier and Tim Sims, the course staff and volunteers all pulled together to make this tournament an unqualified success. The condition and playability of the golf course was spectacular, applauded by both US and European players.
What I will remember most about
One evening, early in the week at the Solheim Cup, Rick Tegtmeier was making his rounds and stopped to chat with me. I was just shooting some b-roll video and was in no hurry, so I welcomed the chance to shoot the breeze. That's just what we did.
We didn't talk about Poa control or bunkers or fertilizer. We just generally talked about life and some special things he had in store for the tournament. I'll never forget that evening perfect weather, nobody around, just Rick and I catching up on
At most large golf events, theres usually something unique to contribute to that event's own flair, flavor and personality. LIke the $2.00 pimento cheese or egg salad sandwiches at The Masters, wrapped in green paper so if one gets away it can't be seen on TV as litter. Quintessential Masters, and only Masters. Or, the maintenance staff's toques (a Canadian/northern US term for a knitted winter hat with a beanie on top) at the Ryder Cup last year in MInnesota. Won't see them in Florida.
The
My friend, Rick Tegtmeier, has a gleam in his eye. Why? It's there because he knows. He won't admit to you he knows, but he does.
He may have doubted it over the past four or five years, but he now knows all the hard work -- every little moment of stress -- was all worth it.
He also knows that people really love him. Everyone has shown it this week by traveling from near and far to do any and all that's needed to help him make this tournament a smashing success.
Rick remembers all th
It always amazes me how you can get a group of volunteers to perform like a symphony orchestra, virtually out of the gate. I have been on the fairway mowing team the entire time since I arrived at Des Moines Golf and Country Club. There are nine of us on the team. That is a lot of mowers.
Sure, we are all professionals and have been doing this sort of thing for many years, but that is not the point.
Most of us haven't mowed (many) fairways for a long time... 10, 15, even 20 years for s
In this episode of Rockbottum Radio, from deep in the TurfNet Zone, Randy and Ludell take to the airwaves to clear the air and set the record straight on many pressing issues of the day, including personal stimpmeters, golf insurance, special VIP parking, public school prison camps, quitting social media, and... solutions to course clutter.
Presented by VinylGuard.
A few years back, I can remember discussing the 2017 Solheim Cup with Rick Tegtmeier, director of grounds at Des Moines Golf & Country Club who would be hosting the event. We discussed the possibility of me coming to Iowa to volunteer and help out. Well, how time flies. Somehow the 2017 Solheim Cup is here and I find myself in the great state of Iowa, helping my good friend and fellow longtime TurfNet member.
With Rick working in Iowa and me in Colorado, chances are that he and I would n
One of the things you should always try to include in a career website or portfolio is a biography. It can help the hiring person get to know you quickly and hit on some points of interest for them to add your application to the yes pile at the initial stages of the process.
The problem is that a biography can get out of hand in a hurry and actually work as a disservice to your application if done wrong. To this end, here are a few tips to the beginnings of a well-crafted bio.
In yet another fascinating discussion with Jim Koppenhaver of Pellucid Corp, we chat about the current state of the golf industry, including:
reduction and absorption in golf facilities and businesses that serve them
comparisons with retail and restaurant industries that are also cyclical industries
warning signs for superintendents that a facility might be in financial trouble
the change in golf's consumer base and requirements, including digital technology
n
In this episode of the TurfNet Renovation Report, host Jon Kiger chats with golf course architect Forrest Richardson about the 2017 renovation and re-invention of the Short Course at Mountain Shadows (and resort) located near Scottsdale in Paradise Valley, Arizona.
The original golf course at Mountain Shadows was designed and built in 1961 by Arthur Jack Snyder. Course architect Forrest Richardson, one of Snyders students, completely redesigned the course to be a true par-3 with an eye towar
"Embrace the vulnerability of being human as a source of strength." -- Pema Chodron
No, it wasn't this past week. It was actually the week before. One of our members took a serious health turn on the third hole and his playing partners brought him back to the clubhouse. It was one of those emergency events that you prepare for, hope never happens, and one that both my staff and I won't soon forget. We promptly called 911 and went into action responding to the situation, all the while keepin
Back in '73, Norm assumed command of a wonderful muni outside of Atlanta; known as The Valley of Misery, it was rumored to be the last Dick Wilson course and it lived in a little village with a special golf name: Redan.
We pronounced it "Ree-dan", but newly arrived outsiders insisted it was "Ruh-dan", which sounded more like that giant Japanese moth. We stuck with the way the locals said it, mostly because you don't get along with indigenous personnel by telling them how to say their word
Why is The Open Championship of Golf required watching, listening and study for Turfheads?
Do you know that The Open was once an event set aside for greenkeepers, clubmakers and caddies? What are the key features of Royal Birkdale, host of the 146th year that this event has been played? How does the weather and the grasses play into who will win and who will lose?
This is my impassioned opinion about the Soul Surfing that is links golf. And why events played on The Links are so special.
In this episode of Frankly Speaking -- Resistance Radio, Summer Edition -- I talk New England sports and relate it to turf management with Boston sports fans Dr. Ben McGraw, entomologist at Penn State University and Dr Jim Brosnan, weed scientist at the University of Tennessee.
Topics include data-driven precision weed management, synchronicity of adult pest populations, fraise mowing for weed management via seed bank reduction, and the effect of insect control methods on pollinators.
Sm
A while back, we released a short film starring Matt Crowther and it rocketed to #2 on the all time list of Rockbottum CC films, with over 250,000 hits.
Produced in a team effort--a key factor in TurfNet's high quality production--this film began as an idea in the high speed mind of Jon Kiger while visiting Matt.
Jon provided 2nd unit camera work, Matt displayed his acting ability, Rockbottum CC Films piled on and after Claire finished editing, we knew we had a winner. *Note: Buddy
Creating the connection between these two phrases is the hallmark of a great employee. But how does a manager or organization get people that can link these on their own? Is having an inquisitive mind a strength that is in one's DNA, or does the desire to learn need to be instilled in an employee?
The mind is a muscle. Like a muscle, one must use it or lose it. In our industry, not a single day goes by that is not filled with many opportunities to exercise your mind and learn something new.
During a 30-plus-year career at Oregon State University, Tom Cook was doing more than running one of the country's top turfgrass programs. He also viewed his job as part-time matchmaker.
"Looking back now, it's pretty funny. I thought what I did was run a dating service, matching personalities with golf courses," said Cook. "You have to get to know the students and their style and match them with the right superintendents so they could progress in the industry."
Cook, 67, took ove
