Just for a brief moment, imagine the following scenario. You are on your way to the clubhouse for an important management meeting with your GM. Before the meeting you rush to the first tee to check up on your project crew, who is handling the ongoing irrigation project on #1 tee (it has not been going well, and you know if you don't check in, things will only get worse). You arrive to find them standing around scratching their collective heads. You guide them through the next steps and tell them
Steve Mason, TurfNet member, is the golf course superintendent of Sky Valley Country Club, a stunningly beautiful "hidden gem" of a golf course, tucked into the mountains of Georgia at nearly 3500 feet.
Unlike many courses in the Appalachians, Sky Valley was skillfully positioned in the gentlest part of the valley and lacks the claustrophobic feel of a layout that was narrowly carved into the side of a mountain with dynamite. The pastoral view of the valley is magnificent and alluring. (
Everyone is reasonably familiar with the concept of a dog run. Dog runs can be a fenced area, usually rectangular, or a leash of sorts on a length of cable. Both configurations are meant to give the dog the maximum freedom of movement without giving the dog so much leeway that he can escape the yard, or be a nuisance to neighbors. The dog has some space, but is still held securely in a specific area.
I often think that green industry sustainability is like a dog run. Freedom to move within a
Golf course architect Mike Young and host Dave Wilber get into the reality of design, renovation, restoration and rehabilitation.
With over 40 designs under his belt, Mike Young has been a strong voice in the golf construction and renovation business for a very long time. A great communicator and an outspoken thinker, Mike doesn't suffer fools or pull punches when it comes to telling it like it is. Maybe it is his Georgia roots. Maybe it is just who he is. Perhaps both.
But quiet passion
Have you ever found yourself fleeing through a heavily forested golf course at midnight, pursued by a mob of enraged golfers with guns?
It was the summer of '71. Burnt Run CC (not the actual name) was a small town southern pseudo-country club inhabited mostly by good people, poor golfers, and rural socialites. On one fateful night, something terrifying took place and the result was Dad's forcible abdication from his role as Burnt Run Pro/GCS/GM/F&B and Recreation Director.
Prior to
Episode 23 of The TZP brings us chats with Kevin Hicks, GCS at The Coeur D'Alene Golf Resort... and TurfNet's Jon Kiger taking about TurfNet's participation in The Irish Open at The K Club.
Kevin Hicks is such a good guy. I reached out to him on the off chance that he could do a short interview and he stepped right up the the plate. He's a great guy, an old friend and a proud father. We get to know a little more about him and talk about my adventure into the bowels of the famous Floating Gr
When I was coaching defensive backs for a small high school, one of the more entertaining benefits of that job was hearing the players talk to one another across the line. The easiest conversation to hear--when I wasn't yelling coverage adjustments at 130 decibels--was usually initiated by the cornerback closest to our sideline.
Sometimes, when the offense was lined up in a spread with receivers all over the place, I could hear the D-line growling and the outside linebackers barking--but th
One of the biggest traps you can fall into in our industry is focusing too much on turf. Instead, you should spend extra time learning as much as you can about what golfers care about and want to discuss. Outreach to your customers is something that is truly lacking in the golf maintenance world. Many of the problems that arise for a superintendent stem from communication, or a lack of it, with golfers.
The best way to create better outreach to golfers is through first learning what the mos
In this audiocast, I speak frankly with Kevin Morris, president of the National Turfgrass Foundation and responsible for the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP), and Geoff Rinehart, coordinator of the Grass Roots Initiative Exhibit at the National Arboretum in Washington DC.
We discuss the NTF, NTEP, and the role the Grass Roots Exhibit outreach program plays in helping the American public understand the value of turf in our society.
Smart Talk from Leading Thinkers in the Turf
I'm calling this episode "The Epic Episode". Epic Monologue. Epic Guest. Epic Length. Epic!! (and no, I don't mind over-using the word Epic)
Jim Ferrin, CGCS is one of those people that I think everyone should know. I'm biased. I've known him since 1990. When we were just young guys coming up in the business. Jim has excelled. He's a great turf manager. A great people manager. A student of Golf, Agronomy and Life. He's won a ton of awards including the coveted Leo Feser award from GCSAA. He'
In our modern world of performance measurement standards, quantifiable results and outcome-based incremental bonus/promotion charts, one thing remains as the key indicator of success:
Your truck.
While Jim McLoughlin's blog series was completed a short while ago, an additional thesis with an important message will be posted from time to time.
The following question relating to the career welfare of every golf course superintendent across the country has to be asked and should be addressed:
"Why have GCSAA Boards continuously failed to address the singular most important issue of their time? Namely, that it is time to liberate superintendents from the long-standing conundrum where
It's funny how our minds work. Sometimes the most innocuous thing can trigger a cascade of thought. Case in point: a few weeks back my neighbor told us he and his partner were going away on vacation and asked us to keep an eye on his house. He left us his keys and was off.
Now at any other time this would not warrant a blog post. Not much to see here. But when we hung up his keys it hit me immediately. My neighbor's key chain had the saying "Mind the Gap" on it. I have since found out that t
Aubrey McCormick is a great player, great person and champion of sustainability. Don't miss her refreshing take on the world of golf.
Join Aubrey and me as we talk about The Big Break, sustainable and green golf, golf's future and a ton of other things. You may not know Aubrey. You may know her as a player. But you are going to get to know someone who could very likely help shape our world by being a thought leader. And leading in thought these days means thinking. Not just "outside the box
Been wondering if it might be time to check out a career shift? Something different, like sales rep, or something easy . . . like golf pro?
Here's a short film to help you spot the warning signs that come from too much time in the saddle.
In this episode I Speak Frankly once again with Jim Koppenhaver, president and founder of Pellucid Golf. The lively conversation includes the recent Wall Street Journal article ("Americans Want to Play Golf... Until They Try It") citing NGF executive Joe Beditz; the PGA Junior League Golf; the Drive Chip and Putt Championship, and Jim's new venture with three other partners the Internet Golf Course Database and how superintendents can help influence ratings! Smart talk from leading thinkers, a
Many, if not most of us Green Industry professionals belong to professional associations or groups, and maintain professional certifications in those groups. In my case I am a Certified Arborist, Municipal Specialist with International Society of Arborists (ISA), and a Certified Grounds Manager with Professional Grounds Managers Society (PGMS). I also participate in the Missouri Community Forestry Council (MCFC). We are also usually required to maintain licenses that give us credentials. Here in
Episode 20 of the TZP has me and Kevin Ross of Country Club of the Rockies doing an amazing jam session!
From Turf to Beer to Grilling to phases like "Boom Bah Baaaa", this episode has it all. Long time friends and co-conspirators, Kevin and I have history and passion. Makes for fun conversation and even wisdom! And while there is always fun, there is also some serious interesting conversation. Not to mention the agronomy of high altitude turfgrass management.
Take some time to get to k
Here is a remastered version of "The Rapid Deployment Irrigation Vehicle", a short training film guaranteed to help you get ready for summer.
This film stars Buddy, Dave, RW and several billion cicadas.
In the continuing saga of water management, once again I am Speaking Frankly with Mike Huck of Irrigation and Turf Services in CA. Mike and I continue a conversation we started last year about what we are learning from the California drought and how all golf turf managers can be better water managers as a result.
The first one to identify the subliminal message hidden in this film will win an autographed photo of Momma and her frying pan.
You can post your answer in the comment section, or if you don't want "others" to know you watch Rockbottum TV, use the TurfNet Private Message system in the upper right corner of the screen.
Alphabet Elitists attempting to maintain their anonymity should use their NSA connections to dig up my personal email.*
*Note: As always, do not use private email to s
Mark Hoban and Chris Cupit of Rivermont GC, will be hosting an Organics and Native Grasses Field Day on 19 July, 2016.
The "Mad Scientist" of Rivermont will reveal the results of his envelope-pushing research, as well as provide breakfast and lunch, supposedly of an organic nature. (No worms, however.)
Topics will include:
Biological trials on greens Compost trials (thermal and vermi) on fairways UGA fertilizer trials (organics, synthetics and inorganics) on fairways Native grasses
My guest in this episode of Frankly Speaking is Dana Lonn, PE, Managing Director of the Center for Advanced Turf Technology at The Toro Company. We discuss how the new technology in turf -- sensing, mowing, irrigation, energy/power sources -- will start driving demand and precision.
Turfgrass science from an engineer's perspective is the underlying premise of this discussion and as always "smart talk from leading thinkers" in the turf industry.
Frankly Speaking is presented by DryJect.
