When I was a small child, one of my daily assignments was to move the tee markers--by hand--which I did with great enthusiasm. (This was before I learned to nudge them along with the tee mower.)
For some mysterious reason, on Saturday mornings, the markers sometimes found their way back to their original slap worn-out position and the blame landed on me. Upon further investigation, I discovered the culprits: Gamblers.
Golfers who played for money wanted the course set up to their adv
A recent industry magazine (it doesn't matter who), is talking about sales with the moniker of "The Dark Side". I hate this shitty phrase. And I'm gonna let my anger turn to words here. Ok..it's a rant. I often give good rant. Or so I'm told. So hold on tight. It's E-ticket rant time with Wilber.
Before I hung my shingle as an independent consultant in the early 90's, I was a superintendent. Then when the world's finances collapsed in 2007, I took a job for seven years as the Director of Agr
Guest post by Greg Wojick, Playbooks for Golf --
I recently visited the CMAA (Club Managers Association of America) website. One of the first things I noticed was that more than two dozen executive search firms were listed.
I looked further, scanning many of the search firm sites. I saw that there were numerous searches for general managers, most often referred to as COOs and occasionally CEOs. I also saw searches for assistant general managers, executive chefs, directors of
From the archives of Superintendent News, April '03: A collection of worker's excuses worth remembering.
I have fond memories of life as a GCS; working outside, playing golf, free turf advice from almost everyone and a nearly endless list of incredibly inventive worker's excuses.
TARDINESS
"Sorry I'm late, Boss, but when I got home at dawn this morning, my wife started shooting at me with her .45 and--hear that? See, I ain't lying, here she comes now."
"Not my fault I'm late. Al
Even if you haven't heard of Jay Blasi, you've probably seen his work. From Chambers Bay to Santa Anna Country Club to Sharp Park, Jay Blasi is one of those people who have been involved with bringing interesting design to Modern Golf.
Dave Wilber talks with Blasi about Jay's story, his development as a staff architect with RTJ2, and his transition to independent architect with Jay Blasi Design. Some great tips are given for planning and executing renovation and restoration work.
Yet a
Drury University covers right at 100 acres in midtown Springfield, Missouri. If I had to summarize what Drury looks like, I would say it is a traditional landscape with primarily traditional architecture. When our community is asked to describe the campus landscape, most people remark on our many trees, and the park-like setting we reside in. Without a doubt, Drury University presents an image of a vibrant landscape that is in harmony with the built environment it resides in. In an effort to tru
In this episode of Frankly Speaking, I have a great conversation with Sarah Glenn Jackson, a recently married Texas Tech graduate who for six months has been the assistant superintendent at Plantation Golf Club in Frisco, Texas.
I first became aware of Sarah via Brian Cloud's GCSAA blog and immediately knew her experiences as a female assistant in a vastly male industry would make for good conversation. She didn't disappoint!
We are now a couple of weeks removed from the 2016 edition of the US Open golf tournament. Hopefully John Zimmers and his crew got some much needed rest, and the USGA has slinked back to their lair to plot their next revenge against Dustin Johnson (I'm not saying the word conspiracy, but you know)
After the dust of a Major settles and we have moved on to our next set of tweets showing a dozen fairway mowers cutting all at once and balls being dropped into 10" rough, what are we to do with o
Rockbottum CC News brings you an update on the Rivermont Organic Golf Field Day, along with a nematode story that could have a powerful effect on warm season golf.
Join Hector Velazquez and myself as we go deep into the world of Hector and Hector's Shop!
Do you know Hector? You should. He's breaking ground in an often forgotten, overlooked and misunderstood world. The world of the golf course equipment fleet is not only huge, it is a place where a ton of money gets spent. And wasted.
Hector and I talk about what's what in his world. From his background to his travels as a teacher, his life as an educator and of course his job as a father and husban
From the Rockbottum CC archives, first published in October of '05.
Since I probably will never again work in a supervisory position on a golf course, I have decided to reveal my most guarded trade secrets. (No, not the special fungicide recipes I acquired from top Atlanta superintendents by means of industrial espionage.)
I'm referring to the survival secrets that allowed me to grow "good greens" in a difficult environment and remain well below the clubhouse complaint radar.
Before
Are you fed up with golfers wearing those razor-wire spikes, refusing to keep all four tires on the path at greens and tees, and not repairing their ball craters?
Then do something about it. Order the HackerZapper from Rockbottum CC today!
In this episode, I speak frankly with field agronomist extraordinaire Steve McDonald, owner/operator of Turfgrass Disease Solutions in Eastern PA. We start with the growing season of 2016 so far for the always-tough Mid-Atlantic region, and then move on to some of the latest thinking on annual bluegrass weevil management, summer disease prevention and some great conversation on techniques to manage the not-so-low-maintenance native rough areas.
Recorded June 13, 2016.
Presented by DryJec
I am never ever ever ever (did I say never ever?) going to take away from the hard work of any golf course superintendent, any staff member or any volunteer for any event. Ever.
And this is especially true in 2016 with John Zimmers. I've admired John for years for all kinds of reasons. His commitment to Oakmont is a model of what adapted stewardship in our business needs to be. That is to say, John brings Oakmont exactly what Oakmont needs. And like any upper-end country club job, it is pol
Driving through midtown Springfield recently I was struck by how devoid of unique landscaping much of my city is. I was also struck by landscaping that was uniformly boring and in many cases, virtually nonexistent. Yet there was remarkable variety to the architecture of the buildings, and the marquis street signs/billboards were also very unique. These observations made me wonder about how any organization uses the landscape to first support its business, and then how it might help differentiate
As with any season in the golf industry, inevitable job losses have come in 2016. While it is an understandably hard time for those on the losing end, others see it as a possible bright new future for their career. And this event can happen at any time; even your dream job can open up unexpectedly. You should always have your career materials ready to go, just in case. It's too risky to not be ready when so few of these superintendent positions open up.
Recent activity brought this old iss
My guest for this episode of Frankly Speaking is Chris Tritabaugh, golf course superintendent at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota.
After Chris fills us in on his career path starting in rural Minnesota, he and I dive into the "minimalist" or "zero-based" turf management approach that I have focused on for many years in my research and outreach, and that Chris has employed in his four years at Hazeltine.
Of course, we also discuss the various responsibilities involved i
By request!! An update on one of my most popular blog posts, on being an Excellent Assistant or Intern.
One of the most popular blog posts I have ever done in podcast form. Kind of cool. Third kind of cool, actually. Take a few min to listen to this just in case you need a refresher. Works for Young Turfies or for those responsible for them. Being an excellent Assistant or Intern isn't always just about agronomy. It comes down to character and working with the team around you.
Because on
Golf has a labor shortage and while the strategy currently evolving to solve the problem might succeed, it will also trigger "The Law of Unintended Consequences".
Watch this short film to identify and obtain the necessary skills to survive.
Coming out of the winter of 1980, several chapters asked GCSAA to survey all the chapters to inquire whether they wanted to be mailed (no e-mail then) the minutes of GCSAA Board meetings for distribution to their chapters board members and to any of their chapter members requesting a copy.
The chapters voted 95-0 to implement this policy that served the Association well as evidenced by the fact that every existing activity/program given attention at the time realized sizable growth because t
In this episode of Frankly Speaking, I speak frankly with Brian Youell, 36-year superintendent at Uplands Golf Club in Victoria, British Columbia.
Brian, a recipient of the Canadian Supt. Association Superintendent of the Year in 2012 and a Master Greenkeeper, will Speak Frankly about his traumatic brain injury from being hit by a golf ball in 2010, and the challenges he faces in the Pacific Northwest of Canada with 65,000 rounds annually.
As always, "Smart Talk from Leading Thinkers in
