"You know it's been an amazing week when you start getting regular texts from Mossy in the Netherlands, Paddy in Mullingar, and Josh in the UK..."
It has taken me a nearly three weeks (and getting over a nasty cold picked up over there) to compile my thoughts on just what our week of work at the Irish Open meant to me. It greatly exceeded my expectations on so many levels.
First -- I have the utmost respect and admiration for Course Manager Gerry Byrne. He and his team had to do so much in
Ohio State Turf has something extra to be proud of this summer. Many students of OSU, local and international, have been found volunteering at tournaments around the world.
I was grateful to represent Ohio State at the K Club for the Irish Open. Back home, Mike Sanders, Ohio State Turf Club president and good friend of mine, is not just volunteering this week for the U.S. open, but training all summer at Oakmont Country Club. He sure does have one great gig at that historic course!
In this episode of The Ladder, presented by Penn State World Campus, John Reitman chats with Dr. Amy Wallis of the Wake Forest University School of Business about how superintendents can adapt their leadership skills to the needs of those staff members older and younger than themselves.
Last Friday, the UEFA European Championship 2016 kicked off in France. As expected, there are high hopes here around London about the English national team. England is one of 24 teams that are vying for the title Champions of Europe. It is very similar to the Copa America Centenario competition that is currently taking place in the United States.
Arsenal has nine current players who will be playing for their respective countries at this years Euros. These include midfield stars Mesut Özil (G
I first want to say I do regret currently having a poor attendance on Sundays. Regular Mass I mean, which I would attend every week due to growing up in a private Catholic school. My mom will be proud though, when she reads that I went to a church over here in Ireland!
St. Peters Church
St. Peter's Church in Drogheda is not the city's only church, but it is the only one with a sacred head. Seriously. The church is also known as The St. Oliver Plunkett Memorial Church, a shrine is dedic
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
"There's a way to do it better - find it." - Thomas Edison
This quote by the famous inventor is a simple reminder that there is always room for improvement, even if everything seems to be going perfectly. The Arsenal ground staff is constantly on the lookout for new products and ideas to help them do what they do better.
(Diagram from naturalgrass.com)
One new development this year is the installation of a hybrid sports turf called AirFibr. Straight from the manufacturers website,
Final day at Baltray for the Amateurs in the East of Ireland Golf Championship. Misty morning on the course but the fog cleared for the first golfers teeing off.
Red sun in the morning Golfers, take warning.
Vincent Mooney, long-time greenkeeper here at Baltray, said the red sun can be a sure sign for bad weather. However, the sunny day could still hold through the final round of play. Lets hope.
Again I set up the back nine in the morning. Tees, trash, divots and bunkers.
B
Sunday evening marked the halfway point of the East of Ireland Amateur Championship. There will be two rounds on Monday to finish up. After first two rounds the leader is 9 under Par, with one of Baltrays own, Gerard Dunn, up near the top of the leaderboards at -5.
Digital Leaderboard
Work-wise, todays tasks for me were different than yesterday. I completed course set-up of the back nine while Barry Carpenter covered the front 9. Making sure to have proper alignment of the tee markers,
First round of the East of Ireland Amateur Golf Championship came and went today. The schedule of the greens crew differed from the weekdays. Early start at 5 a.m. until we all complete our morning duties preparing the course for the players.
My morning duty was completed with Assistant Greenkeeper Joe Mooney. We set the first round pin positions and changed the flags for the tournament.
Joe changing the cup
Purple flags on the front 9 and white flags for the back 9
Afte
The East of Ireland Amateur tournament starts tomorrow. Today was the last day finishing course 'polish up'. Lovely sunny days and no rain throughout the week have firmed up the links very well. It will be a challenge to say the least, but if I could give any advice to the players it would be to play the links' roll.
In the morning I rolled around from hole to hole changing tee markers, filling tee divots, collecting trash and enjoying the sights. The course truly is shaping up.
I had
Today marked the fourth day preparing Baltray for the East of Ireland Tournament. Finally, it was not spent with a string trimmer in my hand the whole afternoon!
I started off the morning with a good leg stretcher as they say, by mowing half of the tee boxes on the course. Only two workers are sent out to walk mow the tees. I think it is a good idea as we rotate among the workers for this long tee mowing adventure. Today we were burning in the lines getting them ready for the weekend.
It's the off-season for Premier League soccer here, but that's when the work starts at Arsenal's soccer facilities. Much like the off-season in any sport, this is when the real hard grounds work is put in, so that the benefits will show during the season.
The latest techniques in reconstruction and renovation are used to create a clean surface for new grass growth. Machinery from my last internship with Campey Turfcare is used, including the Koro Field Top Maker, Koro Top Drain, and the Recy
Again I started the morning with course set up. And yet again, another beautiful day.
View on hole 18 from the forward-most tee box
The days being so nice means everyone is out golfing. If there is a chance to be outside with the sun shining, no clouds in the sky, well, you are not going to find many Irish sitting indoors.
The difference with this week of tournament prep compared to that of the Irish Open is the course is so full with golfers. The Palmer course at the K Club was cl
The East of Ireland Amateur Tournament is hosted here at Baltray. This is the second tournament in three weeks for me this summer. The hours are different from the Irish Open, as the greens crew will be working from half six (6:30) until 5pm. The tournament round does not start until Saturday, then playing Sunday and two rounds on Monday.
Today, May 30, marked Day 1 of prep week. Golfers around the course - both members and guests - have stopped me today to say how great the course is playin
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.
It's hard to put into words my final thoughts on this past week, not knowing where to start. The words "icing on the cake" come to mind.
All the hard work, all the long hours, all the frazzled nerves and frustrations with the weather were washed away in the rain.
Knowing that we were all a part of history made it very special. Reading the Irish newspapers the day after, really brought it home that we were a part of that.
For me it was even more special as three of my students were on the g
All finished now with last week's volunteer experience at the 2016 Irish Open. The week flew by. However, the early mornings until the late nights made each day seem as long as a week. And each day held its own adventure.
Through each adventure, the greenkeeping crew became closer. The crew was made up of many great individuals in this industry whom I am grateful to have met. Each person brought key skills and characteristics to the group creating a well-rounded and very entertaining atmosph
In this episode of The Ladder, host John Reitman chats with Laurie Bland, golf course superintendent at Miami Springs Golf Course in Miami Springs, Florida, about her decision to pursue a career as a golf course superintendent and the challenges she faced as a female in an extremely male-dominated field.
The Ladder is presented by Penn State World Campus.
Right back to the grind at Baltray from the long week of the Irish Open. I wouldn't say I'm caught up on sleep, and upcoming next week is more tournament preparation for the East of Ireland Tournament here at County Louth. I may need a glass of Ireland's Water of Life.
Uisce Beatha is the old Irish term "Water of Life" which time plus mispronunciation has molded it in to today's word: Whiskey.
My first trip to Dublin led me to the Irish Whiskey Museum. Honestly, I was not in se
