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
Over the past week we have started the annual seeding process in conjunction with fall aerifying to get our greens in tip-top shape to prepare the course for the winter months to come. To do this, we have been pot seeding our greens for the past few days. The process of "pot seeding" involves needle tining, seeding, a drag mat, and a lot of sand.
To begin, this process starts with needle tining, producing precisely cut aeration holes for maintaining outstanding greens. Normally the tines o
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.
Host John Reitman chats with Dane Wilson, superintendent at Medinah #2 near Chicago, about his internships, career goals, development of his own personal golf course management strategies, and wisdom instilled by his father, Mark Wilson, former superintendent at Valhalla Golf Club and host superintendent of many professional tournaments and events.
"My father always told me, 'you can only do better than what your father did'" - Dane Wilson
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
My recent experience at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open 2017 was one to remember! This tournament was the start of three weeks of top-class links golf in Europe, followed by the Scottish Open in Dundonald and The Open at Royal Birkdale. Portstewart Golf Club was the host for this year's event.
Upon arriving I could clearly understand why Rory McIlroy said, "Portstewart is an excellent links course and one of Northern Ireland's hidden gems." Additionally, when tour officials visited the course
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.
With a single tee start at 7:50 AM our last reporting time was again 5 AM. Bernard captured the final day rollout of equipment and personnel. After seeing/filming these for many years I was finally included in one! Rain was forecast for later in the day and started briefly for about an hour during our Sunday duties.
The leaders after three rounds were Daniel Im from the USA and Jon Rahm from Spain. They were set to tee off with the final tee time at 1:10 PM. This meant the tournament
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
There was some drama in determining the cut at the end of Friday's second round. The drama belonged to England's Nathan Kimsey who birdied the Par 4 18th hole with a very long putt as part of his second round. By carding a combined 140 instead of a 141 over the two rounds he effectively knocked out 15 other players who came in at 141. We all imagined that he wasn't very popular around the Players Lounge Friday evening.
With the field reduced to 65 for Saturday and Sunday, play would be only
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.
When I accepted my international internship, my primary focus was to build strong, professional relationships with managers and colleagues within the golf industry during my short time in Ireland. What I didn't realize was the amazing people that I would encounter, professionally and casually, that have not only been incredibly friendly but have gone out of their way to help me.
Being in a new place, especially a foreign country, can be a difficult transition but I've always been very intere
Friday was another early morning 4 AM arrival at the course and a quick rollout to stay ahead of play. The players would be out for another two-tee start (1 and 10) at 7:50 AM and we not only had to be ahead of play on those first tees but well out of the way of those first few tee boxes on each nine.
Several teams of the crew can be seen in this early morning photo on Friday. The River Bamm borders the clubs Riverside Course which was used for infrastructure.
My specific duties in the
