Watch this short film for a quick glimpse of some of the fun at this year's Highlands Cup. You'll probably want to try and qualify next year.
For actual details, check out John Reitman's story in TurfNet News.
Due to the success of our inaugural/trial trip to BTME in 2017, TurfNet will again host a delegation to BTME in January, 2018! Download the pdf for full details.
Dates of the trip are Thursday, January 18 (overnight departure from USA) to Friday, January 26 (morning/afternoon return flight).
We have a housing block booked for 16 people at the Harrogate Lifestyle Apartments across the street from the conference center. No shuttle busses!
Cost is $1750 double occupancy or $2300 single
Sustainability as relates to the landscape is difficult to define. I mostly know what it is, but at the same time I'm not really sure. The word itself seems to ask, "Can my landscape sustain itself?". However, if sustaining is the question, then any landscape that can be perpetuated for whatever reason, and consuming whatever resources required, is necessarily sustainable.
Sustainability also seems to have an ecological component of harmony with the environment. This attribute seems very wis
I don't do many speaking gigs.
That seems weird for a guy who loves and eats and drinks communication. It's not that I'm afraid of public speaking. That fear went away long ago. It's not that I don't love the actual events. I marvel at the quality of the education that is presented to Turfheads and how good the interactions can be.
What makes me take on just a few of these every year and be very picky about who I am speaking to has to do with the mental side of preparing for these very
Modern smartphones, social media, and digital task boards are leading the way toward a Techno-Utopia in golf operations.
Except for one minor glitch . . .
Golfers today have grown accustomed to playing on quality turf and are willing to pay higher greens fees to play on tour-quality greens. Chemical Rescue is one method widely used by greenkeepers and golf course managers in the UK and Ireland on links, heathland and parkland courses.
Rescue is a selective herbicide from Syngenta that attacks ryegrass in greens, tees, fairways, approaches, and roughs. In the past turf managers would have to remove ryegrass through hand-weeding or re-turfing a
Throughout the years writing this blog, I always find the September edition the toughest one. Being a superintendent/GM in the northeastern portion of the continent is always difficult this time of year. You are worn out by the season, many of your younger staff members have returned to their studies, and you still have a few miles left to go before winter. Finding clarity and creativity can be a challenge.
Creative inspiration can be an elusive concept to pin down. We know it when it hits
In this episode of Frankly Speaking, I chat with Mike Huck of Irrigation and Turf Services in Orange County, CA, one of the foremost experts in water availability, usage, regulation and what it all means for the golf course industry.
We talk about the end of the California drought, trends in overseeding, painting and turf reduction; costs of treating vs transporting water; use of hand-held vs in-ground soil moisture sensors, among other things.
We wind up with what we h
In this episode of The Ladder, presented by STEC Equipment, host John Reitman chats with Anthony Williams, CGCS, of TPC Four Seasons Las Colinas in Irving, TX. The conversation revolves around the role of the assistant superintendent and how it has changed dramatically over the past twenty years.
A former TurfNet Superintendent of the Year, Anthony joined TPC Four Seasons after a 30-year career with Marriott Hotels, where he received Marriott's highest honor the J.W. Marriott Award of Excel
In this episode of Rockbottom Radio Off the Leash (or is it "Off the Rails"?), Randy discusses his experiences with flood recovery and correction recommendations; crow deterrents; the greatest golf course maintenance stuff; and Rudy, a member of the Golf Course Dog Hall of Fame.
BTW, what is 'providential topdressing?"
Presented by VinylGuard Golf
This post is a quick and easy, yet very effective use of your application email for making an impact in your job application right at the start. First off, there are a two things you should know about sending your application email:
You should state your sincere interest in the club or company and mention why their organization is worthy of your interest. It almost always serves you well to flatter with a statement about them, instead of solely focusing on you. This is a great way to sta
On one of my first ventures into Dublin, I noticed the rich influence of music throughout the city. There were musical references such as mosaics of Bono from the group U2, bar and street names, Irish music pub crawls, and even hotels with a musical inspiration The Gibson Hotel, for one. To further explore the music scene, I was fortunate enough to get a tour of the Irish Rock and Roll Museum Experience.
The museum is located in the Temple Bar District and its hard to miss. Its a big r
In order to replicate golf's biggest growth surge, we have been doing research into what caused the 80s boom. Was it greed? No, although bankers and real estate developers rarely miss out on hyper-inflating a good bubble, turns out . . . it wasn't them.
Was it the sharp increase in televised golf saturation? No. Was it the Boomers aging out of participatory team sports? White belts? Johnny Miller?
It was none of these. It may be hard to believe, but the 80s Golf Boom predated th
In this episode of Frankly Speaking, I chat with Dr. Al Turgeon, professor emeritus at Penn State University, about his career evolvement from the golf course to Viet Nam and through academia, with a brief stint in industry in between his various academic stops around the country.
Take this whirlwind tour as Al and I reminisce about all the big names in the history of turfgrass science, many of whom rubbed elbows at some point with Dr. Turgeon. He even hired Dr. Milt Engelke at Texas
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
My time in Ireland started this past May and while the people, experiences, and culture have been amazing, there are times where it gets a little difficult and I miss my family and friends. Sometimes seeing status updates from my friends and events I'm unable to attend makes me homesick. Up until recently I haven't had much time to think about this too much because I've kept busy with my job at The Island; working different golf tournaments; and attending the ultimate: the 146th Open Championshi
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
