Last year, my 7 year old son found a Monarch caterpillar and brought it home. We put it in a jar with some leaves and sticks, then looked up how to care for it. We found out that Monarchs only eat plants in the Milkweed genus (Asclepias). I have been a longtime fan of Common Milkweed since I first smelled its blossom in Virginia. I found some on a roadside, and also would harvest it from a patch on campus. Over the next week or so, that caterpillar ate and ate and grew and grew. Knowing little a
In this episode we are Speaking Frankly with Professor LB "Bert" McCarty of Clemson University about ultra-dwarf putting surfaces, especially late and early "shoulder season" care, as well as Professor McCarty's research with physiological response of plant pigments.
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In this episode of The Renovation Report, Dave Wilber talks to Jim Alwine about his turf reduction program at Bernardo Heights Country Club.
The California water picture has been a difficult minefield to navigate. Hear from San Diego area superintendent Jim Alwine as he talks about his water situation and how his club has removed 33% of their turf to save water without throwing away playability. There's no question that we all will have to face the issue of water restrictions in some fashion
Here's one from the TurfNet Archives, a reflection I wrote back in December of 1997 during the era when I still pretended to be a golfer... before the "four hours of frustration and embarrassment" got the best of me and I parked my sticks forever. Memory tells me it was after a trip to Alabama to visit with David Pursell and family to view the early plans for what would become Farmlinks. I can't recall the name of the golf course we played that day, but reading this again reminded me that aside
In the Turfgrass Zealot Project Episode #4, I chat with Extreme Super/Athletes Thomas Bastis (California Golf Club of San Francisco) and Scott Bower (Martis Camp, Truckee, CA).
Imagine spending 9+ days biking, treking, kayaking, orienteering and scrambling over 450 miles with an hour of sleep every 24 hours. And imagine calling this fun. Thomas Bastis and Scott Bower (along with Scott's wife Susan) don't have to imagine this. They lived it. And lived to tell about it. Hear about the adventur
Uncle Virgil was killed by a golf abomination. A team of doctors were stymied by his mysterious illness, yet our family knew exactly what happened: Uncle Virgil, partnered with Norm, had racked up 30 straight losses versus Mike and Randy in the annual Wilson Thanksgiving Golf Ritual, "The Great Gopher Feast of Gluttony and Boasting Tournament".
It was just too much for him. Of Dad's seven brothers--three in golf, two in bowling and the others in useless, non-essential work like business--
There are a lot of things you may not know about Randy Wilson and the famed Rockbottum Country Club. And while I may not expose all the secrets in this podcast, I certainly get to a few of them.
"I did spend time as a superintendent, about somewhere between 12 or 14 years, but it damaged me because it was on Bentgrass in Atlanta," says Randy. "I was forced to work on golf courses at a young age."
Randy goes on to explain his world as a concert roady, camera operator, Army Special Forces
In this podcast we speak frankly about topdressing and fast firm greens with Norm Hummel, retired founder of Hummel and Co. soil testing lab (now a part of Turf and Soil Diagnostics). This conversation focuses on improving your understanding of sand physical properties, especially size and shape of particles as well as turf growth and organic matter accumulation.
To download the .mp3 file of this podcast for offline listening, right-click/tap here and "Save Target As".
In this episode we are Speaking Frankly with Chava McKeel, Director of Government Relations for the GCSAA about the latest implications of the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) issue and how it might and now might not affect the golf course industry.
In addition to the the WOTUS discussion expect a lively interaction over the implementation of BMP's for water quality protection and how the BMP's and WOTUS might intersect.
McKeel has been with GCSAA since 1997. She is also a registered
In this week's film, "Tea and Biscuits with Berkeley", we check in with Mark Hoban and the progress of his various unconventional projects.
On a related note, a recent email suggested I was "unconventional". I was happily composing a thank-you note in reply when Momma pointed out it was intended as an insult and therefore required a duel, or possibly even a feud. (As a Southerner, I am familiar with the rules of both, so I chose 8oz gloves--but my challenger has not replied.)
I wasn't
A few posts back I touched on thankfulness. It is a powerful tool we can use to not only connect to our inner selves, but to those around us that matter most.
It can also be very helpful to reflect on those things that bring us true joy. I'm not talking about things that make us happy... I mean those things in our lives that create those moments that make life worth living. Those things that only we know; the ones that strike a chord deep inside and bring us both lasting peace and contentmen
In this episode of the Turfgrass Zealot Project, Dave Wilber talks about dedication and then interviews Jon Scott, one of the most dedicated people in Turf.
Jon Scott shares one of the most interesting careers in Golf. Fifteen years as a Super. Two tours with Jack Nicklaus as Director of Agronomy. Director of Agronomy for The PGA Tour. Jon has made some things happen and seen some things happen.
The Turfgrass Zealot Project is brought to you by Klingstone, the original liquid-
Jack Nicklaus offered golf the most logical, realistic and achievable strategy for the future of the game and golf "experts" pooh-poohed it.
Instead of Jack's sensible concept, today we have turf skateboards, gyro-balanced scooters, commode-sized putting cups, golf-themed singles bars/driving ranges, hybridized soccer-golf and big-budget recruitment programs that probably benefit ad agencies more than golf.
The result: A splintered approach that leaves actual golf in fragments, with clu
Back in the mid-1990s, I was invited to GCSAA headquarters in Lawrence, Kansas to attend a series of meetings for the purpose of addressing superintendents' job security issues. No matter how the conversations went at these meetings, I was consistently told by GCSAA Board members, staff and chapter leaders (all acting in good faith) that . . .
"It would not be prudent for superintendents to take the initiative when negotiating job security issues because it would anger/offend their employers
Father of the Bride is undoubtedly the best gig to have on wedding day: all pride and no pressure. August 1 of this year was one of the two proudest days of my life, as I walked Daughter A down the aisle at Old North Church (of "one if by land, two if by sea" fame) in Boston. The other proudest day was when I did the same with Daughter B in Vermont, back in October, 2013.
Prouder than my own wedding... births of the girls... graduations... starting TurfNet*? Yes. I'll explain in a bit.
Writing a recent blog about the future of grounds and landscaping got me thinking about how potential future changes could alter what my grounds management looks like. It then lead me to wonder about sustainability (what in the world does that mean?), and how that could change my grounds management too. The possible changes stem from the pursuit of sustainability that is being advocated by both those in our industry and those outside of it. But which pursuit the right one?
Sustainability...
For many of you summer is crazy busy and full of nothing but work on the course. So naturally many of your other endeavors regarding your career and even using communication tools and resources like TurfNet can get put on the backseat. So, I thought I would revisit a few things we've covered recently that make this month a great chance to take action on them.
Acquire Photography of Your Course
If you haven't had any images taken of your great course conditions this season, now is your
Every 35 years or so, I get a brilliant idea. (The last one was joining the US Army.)
My current brain-quake is still smoldering and forming, but here's a teaser of what might turn out to be the Greatest Golf Course Winter Project since we built our first barn Turf Care Center and came in out of the cold.
It is estimated that less than 50% of golf course superintendents are comfortable engaging consultants because they believe their employers might see this as a sign of weakness and/or their pride/ego gets in the way.
General opinion suggests that these two perceptions are mistaken because when survey-tested, the concept of engaging consultants is seen almost universally as a sign of strength and maturity. To support this premise it should be noted that:
The American Institute Of Health a
Join me for the very first episode of the Turfgrass Zealot Project with my guest Mike Kosak.
Get to know the real Dave Wilber as I tell a bit of my story and am joined by superintendent legend Mike Kosak, the first superintendent I worked for in the golf business 30-some years ago. Mike fashioned a career starting with building nine golf holes by himself, then went on to become superintendent, then general manager, then GM with an ownership interest, and then 'back to the dirt" as a superint
Fred Gehrisch of Highlands Falls Country Club, TurfNet's 2014 Superintendent of The Year, reveals one of the management techniques he utilizes to achieve Maximum Personnel Efficiency.
It has been fully recognized for some time that the better NFL head coaches possess the organizational skills and leadership qualities to become effective CEOs of Fortune 500 companies -- assuming an appropriate business education has been acquired along the way. No one doubts this.
Along this same line of thinking, I suggest that many of the respected veteran superintendents at the country's better golf course facilities possess similar skills and leadership qualities and, accordingly, qual
