Leaders spend their lives inspiring others to strive for greatness, often against overwhelming odds.
As a superintendent for 40 years at multiple golf courses across California, Dick Rudolph, 71, knows the importance of encouraging and motivating others. It was a skill he learned as a noncommissioned officer in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, where convincing others to do more than they thought was possible often could be the difference between life and death.
"I learned a
Guest Post by Greg Wojick
Our industry has always been about so much more than growing grass. Eventually everyone has an issue arise, either agronomic or elsewhere in the operation. My belief is that whenever you're in trouble -- and even before you are in trouble -- you better be able to communicate well.
I'm usually impressed with superintendents' technical competence and professional conduct. If only that were all you needed for success! The reality is that a m
Back in '73, when I turned 17, which is middle age in Georgia, two of Dad's superintendent buddies, (a Mr. Maples and a Mr. Womack, if I recall) informed him that his eldest son was suffering from the worst case of golf irreverence they had ever seen. They suggested the only cure was the Great Golf Pilgrimage in April.
While it's true I may have used the offensively irreverent phrase "Overseed National", Cousin Ludell was much worse, as he often intentionally referred to our golfers as "pa
If I have a man crush, it may be with Thomas Bastis of the California Golf Club of San Francisco. That may not be much of a secret, but it's true.
Thomas and I had a chance to record a cool interview talking about education and giving back as a Superintendent. It's a wonderful concept that doesn't always work.
This podcast represents my return from a brief sabbatical to get reenergized and to get through some personal challenges as well.
I'm excited to have Thomas be my first g
In this episode of Frankly Speaking, host Dr. Frank Rossi chats with Penn State entomologist Dr. Ben McGraw and weed specialist Dr. Jim Brosnan from the University of Tennessee about pesticide resistance, ABW surveys with surprising results, old vs new chemistries, weed susceptibility testing, UT's new herbicide selection tool, and the upcoming Poa Day at UT to be broadcast via Facebook Live.
Not to mention New England sports, banjo playing and beer drinking!
Smart talk from leading thin
WARNING for those of you who wear pants! Do you suffer from Mandatory Khaki?
There has been a significant breakthrough! Watch this film . . . or suffer this summer in sweltering silence.
We all love a good story. From our favorite bedtime yarn to our best movie, stories capture us in a unique way and share what it means to be human. Stories and those who tell them bind us together as a culture and allow us to access a deep sense of shared community.
But what happens when our stories become, well, not our stories? What happens when stories are used against us for nefarious reasons? In this day and age this appears to be an increasing problem. The wild west that is the interne
As of February 28, 64% of the State of Missouri is in the moderate drought category according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. This is up from 50% the week before, and as of this writing the remainder of the state was in the abnormally dry category.
By contrast, California, which had been in a several years-long drought, is now declining in all drought categories. 75% of the state is not rated at all and even the stubborn droughty areas of Southern California are getting moisture. In fact, many
In this latest episode on Rockbottum Radio, Randy and Ludell take calls and argue about green speeds, the Alphabets, golf architecture of the future, quick couplers, water savings and the absolute best/greatest/bestest new 'muda for the south.
Oh yeah, and using common sense to stabilize golf. That.
(This podcast has been archived. Please contact us if you'd like to listen to it and we'll restore it.)
In this episode of the TurfNet Renovation Report, host Peter McCormick chats with Rick Tegtmeier, CGCS MG, about the recently completed four-year, 36-hole renovation project at Des Moines Golf & Country Club where he has been director of grounds since 2007. A humorous anecdote about architect Pete Dye... mistakes made and lessons learned... tips for dealing with architects, working with contractors and how to get the best from in-house staff... Rick lays it all out for us.
Whether you're
For decades, as I pursued affordable seasonal color with wildflowers, native grasses, ornamental shrubbery and ground covers, I worried about accidentally introducing dangerous, invasive species. Our region has a history of suffering invasive species, the worst being Kudzu, Fire Ants, General Sherman, Carpetbaggers and Bentgrass.
I abandoned the traditional golf course color platform--the formal tee-side annual flower bed--for two reasons: First, beds of summer begonias, spring tulips, an
This topic isn't specific to the turfgrass industry but we are all adding more and more technology into our daily operations, which typically means new logins and passwords for various software or websites. Add to that your personal accounts for bills, family activities and more, and it can get frustrating to remember all of them. As of today, I have over 50 logins!
When it comes to daily organization, I have written in the past about my use of Wunderlist, a free app for making lists and a
Back in the day when Daughter B was in the college application mode, envelopes in the mail were opened with a combination of anticipation, excitement and trepidation. Unlike many of her peers who threw a dozen or more applications against the wall hoping that at least one of choice would stick, she had applied to a mere four or five.
When the letter arrived from Middlebury College here in Vermont, the opening yielded a somewhat confusing result: "We are pleased to offer you a place in the
In this episode of Frankly Speaking, I chat with Dr. Ben Wherley of Texas A&M about the influence of deficit irrigation on turf growth and performance, along with the many issues surrounding water and the impact of shortages on management decisions. Smart talk from leading thinkers... Frankly Speaking.
Presented by DryJect and Turf Screen.
As promised, Mark Hoban hosts this inside look at a research lab, with Dr. Mussie Habteselassie, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Soil Microbiology at the University of Georgia Griffin Experiment Station campus.
Dr. Habteselassie, while conducting an experiment dealing with Trichoderma Atroviride and its use in controlling certain turf pathogens, shows us one method for counting fungi in soils.
While this film deviates from our typical offering and feels more like a college class in soil
Here at Drury University we are very interested in supporting the ecology of our area. This effort is challenging in our urban setting. Regardless, it is an effort we see as critical. We install native plants and trees that appeal to pollinators, and act as food sources to the local insects, birds and animals. We evaluate the surrounding neighborhoods and see where we might build larger sections of habitat by creating green corridors. Over the five years I have been here I have seen the results
In this first episode of Rockbottum Radio -- live from deep in the TurfNet Zone -- your host Randy Wilson goes Point | Counterpoint with Ludell Hogwaller on the topic of the Millennial Workforce Problem... and what to do about it.
Topics on the table include turfgrass education, The Tritabaugh Effect, hybrid staff positions and the modern housing dilemma.
(This podcast has been archived. Please contact us if you'd like to listen to it and we'll restore it.)
In Skeletal Golf, we look for every possible low-cost, extra-sustainable alternative to doing things the way they've always been done. One of our favorite methods has been adapting the Human Powered Utility Vehicle (HPUV) to golf course operations.
It worked very well for years. Sure, there was the occasional complaint from golfers who hated seeing the irrigation tech using a mountain bike to service controllers or water sod . . . but after I changed over to a tractor with no muffler, the
As you might know from previous posts round about this time of year (un learning, merry christmas to me), I am a big fan of the Christmas season. But, as you also may have guessed, I am not a big fan of the New Year's resolution thing. I am all for challenging the status quo and improving one's life, but feel that it should be an ongoing, lifelong pursuit, not just a once a year sound bite.
So to start this year off, we are going to touch on an issue that has been prominent in my consciousne
Being a successful operation is about making pieces work effectively together. One of those pieces are the relationships in a team. The relationships are created by the principles that guide our work. These relationships might be task related, timing related, hierarchically related, and are usually contextual. Context is fluid, and requires a framework that can give it meaning and logical structure. Because while some work may be accomplished in chaos, achieving specific objectives is challengin
The most consistent complaint I receive concerning our films would be the perception of inconsistency. The caller (it's always the phone, presumably to avoid leaving written evidence) lectures me on the need to stick with one kind of format, style, etc.
80% want golf related humor, mostly for stress relief after a difficult day. Another 10% would prefer serious topics on industry trends, while about 9% just want to see features on fellow golf course superintendents. That last 1% want me
In this episode of Living Legends, Where Are They Now?, host John Reitman chats with Joe Alonzi, CGCS, who retired in 2014 after 22 years at the storied Westchester Country Club. A superintendent for over 40 years, Alonzi is well known for having mentored many assistants who went on to successful head superintendent jobs in their own right.
Straddling the villages of Harrison and Rye, just north of New York City, Westchester Country Club is on the top shelf of golf course superintendent jobs
Over 20 years ago, we developed a Chart of Golf Course Stratification, to help us categorize courses and determine what type of player we would encounter. The Chart also aided us in creating a maintenance plan to fit the player, the budget and the personnel we could afford.
This film offers 5000 CEUs toward MOGS, or Mystic Order of Greenkeeper Stratification. For a small fee, you can skip re-stratification, cause we're pretty up front about the whole thing.
