While building career materials projects throughout the years, one key component is typically missing from them: excellent photography. The kind that can showcase just how great your course conditions can be. Very few guys have quality when it comes to this most important area, maybe one or two nice shots taken by amateurs.
Hiring a professional photographer is a fantastic way to instantly create a bigger and better impression of your work. The difference in quality of images can be quite d
My last post covered some basics on being excellent. Kind of a 101 level of how to roll. Now lets look at leadership.
Over the years, I've seen some things that Assistant Supers are and are not doing when it comes to being leaders. And let's really face it, you may think that the 2IC (second in charge) has to do with agronomy. Not so much. In most situations the job figures as a challenge to train, motivate and supervise a crew. Show me an excellent crew and I'll be looking for a special Ass
The timely question that must be asked today is: How will golf course superintendents deal with the inevitability that an already difficult economy is likely to get worse in the coming years?
The reasons for this question in part are because of the anticipated negative impact twenty-one new Obamacare taxes will have next year, the inevitability of higher inflation and the long promised jump in the cost of electricity. Analysts advise that the next recession will hit hard and stay around for
I cannot wait to watch the US Open at Chambers Bay. I haven't been there, but I've seen the photos and my desire to play golf there borders on lust. (Actual golf with shaped creative shots, not the mortar-launched version of lawn darts currently living on my TV.)
The USGA is to be commended for selecting Chambers Bay. I had completely stopped watching the US Open years ago, due to the boredom of sling-blade wedge shots out of thick, deep steel wool and fairways resembling subway tunnels.
Here at Drury University in Springfield, Missouri, we are in the middle of a spring droughty period. While 13 days without rain is not too hard to manage, I am beginning to feel the initial twinges of water concern. Knowing that we will be experiencing a normal hot/dry spell in summer, I count on spring rains. I am sure everyone understands what I mean.
While we have started our irrigation on our high value turf (the native plants are just fine), much of our mowing and blowing is still dusty
Rainy Day Guidelines
Government officials advise that:
25% of Americans (mostly younger people) save no money for "rainy day" emergencies.
The rainy day fund for families with two incomes should be at least the equivalent of six months of family living expenses.
The rainy day fund for families with one income should be at least the equivalent of twelve months of family living expenses.
Lesson To Be Learned: Failure to establish an adequate family rainy day fund is like being in a
I am a big fan of Game of Thrones. Really dig the HBO interpretation, and have been into the books by George RR Martin for quite some time. It is a compelling tale, full of complex story lines and even more complex characters. The personal stories of the characters themselves are one of the keys to the success of the franchise. The main characters in the story are neither good or bad, up nor down, black nor white... they are human; and with that comes all the baggage of a truly human tale.
W
In this first episode of The Renovation Report on TurfNet RADIO, Jon Kiger chats with Kevin Hicks of The Coeur d'Alene Resort (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) about two recent renovation projects: one planned and one not. Listen online below or download the .mp3 for offline listening (right click and select "save link [or target] as").
Presented by Golf Preservations and Jacobsen.
Every golf course superintendent understands what he needs to know about the putting greens at his home golf course. But this is not the case elsewhere because most superintendents consistently fail to see the unique opportunities and associated risks green quality can bring to their jobs/careers. For example:
Unique Greens Role #1: Within Modest Budget Environments
Includes: private, daily fee and public access golf courses.
Superintendents with much of their careers still ahead of t
I'm talking to Assistant Supers, Second Assistants, Assistants in Training and Interns.
I got a great phone call from a young Turfhead who just landed his first second assistant superintendent job and wanted my take on succeeding. It was a great conversation and I told him that I would further answer his questions here. Sorry, he preferred not to be outed. Doesn't matter. The application is near universal.
1. Show Up Early. You are the new kid. And for sure, no one is going to wait for
A struggle for power has been going on behind the scenes at TurfNet TV. It involves Kevin Ross, men wearing skirts, Hector, a warehouse full of popcorn from the Truman era and a plot against . . . me.
In this episode of Frankly Speaking on TurfNet RADIO I chat with Mike Huck, former USGA Agronomist now with Irrigation and Turfgrass Services of California, about the latest on efficient water management, the situaion CA golf courses are facing, and how water use will change in the next five years. Have a listen, or download the .mp3 for offline listening.
In this episode of Frankly Speaking, I chat with Anthony L. Williams, CGCS, CGM, Director of Grounds for Stone Mountain Golf Club and the Evergreen Marriott Conference Resort in Stone Mountain, Georgia.
Anthony is the author of The Environmental Stewardship Toolkit, an excellent handbook for golf course superintendents interested in a practical approach to environmental stewardship. Anthony was also the 2009 TurfNet Superintendent of the Year! Buckle up for a full throttle discussion about w
This is a career case study of two individuals in very different circumstances but with one thing in common: they know what they want out of life and career.
Those of you who have hung around TurfNet for any length of time either know or know of John Colo. Passionate golf course superintendent, long-time TurfNet member who organized and orchestrated the around-the-world "Where's TurfNet" banner campaign a few years back, twin brother of a golf course superintendent (Jim, at Naples National
Grounds managers make a living balancing components in the landscape that can have undesirable effects if not maintained in the right doses or at the right time. For instance, irrigation is needed in the correct amount, but too much can result in disease, drowning, or shallow rooting. Plants need nutrients in the proper amounts, but availability can fluctuate by leaching, soil pH, timing, etc. Most of the cultural practices necessary to create a high quality product require the right efforts, in
For most superintendents the list of ultimate perks an employing golf club can bestow on them and their families is the following: granting privileges in the areas of club membership status, access to the clubhouse food & beverage programs, access to tennis and swimming pool facilities, access to the golf course and access to club championship events.
The rationale for this perk policy is twofold: (i) As a reward to show appreciation for well-performing golf course superintendents; and/o
Guest Post by Frank Duda, Golf Course Superintendent at Miacomet Golf Club, Nantucket, MA
With so many courses looking for staff and the impending possible issues with the H2B Visa program, I thought it was interesting to include an actual example of a course using H2B workers and how it the entire process operates. It is fairly complex and due to worker caps you have to start early for the next year's workers. So now is the time to learn about it, figure out if it is right for you and head
In this episode of Frankly Speaking, I chat with Dave Oatis, director of the Northeast Region of the USGA Green Section, about winter injury, waking the course up in the Spring, and Dave's favorite topic: Golf Course Tree Management Programs. Check it out below, or download it here for listening offline.
Check Out Science Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with TurfNet RADIO on BlogTalkRadio
Over the years, we have received many complaints regarding the level of violence in our films. Lately, however, during a spate of serious journalism, we lost sight of what is important and failed to reach our previous high standards. In order to correct this oversight, we offer this short film.
We are entering the time of year when superintendents will be losing jobs south of the Mason-Dixon line and entering into the danger zone in cool-season areas. Thus, it is appropriate to shed light on what can become catastrophic events (see Sept 25 blog post) for the families so affected and what can be done to stabilize these families and reconstitute their wage earners' careers.
Through my 25+ years of interacting with dismissed superintendents' families I have learned:
The mothers are
I have had a great deal of time to think over the last few weeks. Lots of time. Much of it spent blowing endless mountains of snow off our precious putting surfaces. Here is but a taste...
The above photo is a shot of the first pass across our putting green... on April 8th 2015. We finished clearing it ten hours later).
All of this alone time got me to thinking about the illusion of control. As I become more seasoned, the notion that we have dominion over how things progress becomes
