Rhizoctonia used to eat most of my spray budget and keep me from ever taking a summer vacation.
That's why I took a Rockbottum CC film crew and spent several days documenting Mark Hoban's latest experiment.
Perhaps it is time to cut through all the media hype and really talk about the water situation in California. California doesn't have a water problem. We all do.
I've been watching the water picture in California for 25 years. Water has been my key focus even before that, coming up in the business in Colorado. I've been fortunate enough to get to spend a lot of time around people who really understand water in just about every usage situation. It's my area of greatest professional interest a
During my 25+ year career I have been fortunate to play or prep for tournaments some 400+ golf courses across the country of all types, lengths and shapes. FYI: You learn more about a golf course preparing it Rules-wise for tournament play than playing the course itself.
Out of this blend of personally inventoried golf courses, I have been able to make the following observations:
Top 100 Classic Golf Courses:
I have played, or officiated at 53 of the top 100 courses.
Universal Obser
As a young golfer/indentured walk-mower driver in the Sixties, I grew up on big, wide, roughless golf courses. In those days, the expansive meadows of golf were fun to navigate and the game was much more relaxed than today's neurotic version.
Certainly maintaining the course was more fun, as golfers were yet to be contaminated by a constant weekly cathode-ray barrage of perfect greens, bleached sand and lush fairways mowed in argyle sock patterns. The modern golfer, faced with wild inconsi
Yes, golf can't be played unless the golf course superintendents across the country maintain the golf courses and cut the grasses. But we acquire a new insight once we look into the staggering numbers that dominate the superintendents' world that virtually no one is taking notice of today. For example, based on recent industry data across the United States:
Superintendents are responsible for maintaining an estimated 1,925,000 acres of golf course lands.
Data Derivation: 15,400 golf courses
Writing my last blog about the future of grounds and landscape management got me thinking about how potential changes could alter my current programs. It then lead me to wonder about sustainability (what in the world does that mean?), and how that could change my grounds management too. As I pondered these questions, I began to wonder what steps are to achieve the sustainability goals I believe in and support. In no particular order, and without saying that these are the absolute answers, here a
Yesterday, Rockbottum's top covert film unit returned from Rivermont CC with footage of Mark Hoban, MGS, (Mad Golf Scientist) using his Invisible Soil-Feeding TD sand.
The film you are about to see is one of several updates of ongoing research testing taking place under Mark's control. Next week we intend to reveal where he's getting this stuff . . . unless he comes up with some serious compensation.
Based on 25+ years of interacting with and counseling golf course superintendents through their careers, the following is an upside vs downside rating listing of the full spectrum of jobs that golf course superintendents might consider applying for at one time or another during their careers -- presented in the priority order of the better jobs first:
A+ CHOICE: With Established Multi-Course Contract Company
Upside: Maximum job security with unique job advantages. (See Mar 12th blog)
Guest Post by Frank Duda, Golf Course Superintendent at Miacomet Golf Club, Nantucket, MA
While not perfectly related to career materials or technology, I thought it was interesting enough to include on this blog due to the potential importance of it in some of your operations, especially with it being in the news recently. The second post on how to streamline and manage the process will be coming in the next blog. I hope this offers insight to you and thanks to Frank Duda for writing this
Have you ever wondered how to go about setting up an environmental stewardship program? Anthony Williams, CGCS of Stone Mountain GC, wrote a comprehensive book on the subject and a Rockbottum film crew went down to check it out.
In this episode of Frankly Speaking on TurfNet RADIO, we are following up with Dr. Micah Woods of the Asian Turfgrass Center on the MLSN concept and new discussion about using growth potential as a means of scheduling nutrient management additions. An excellent review of a progressive approach to golf turf nutrient management!
Check it out below or download it here for offline listening on your favorite device.
The Mystic Order of Greenkeepers is currently locked in a bitter, divisive conflict with . . . ourselves. We can't decide whether to maintain our traditional entrance requirement or just charge an application fee.
The traditional criteria for MOG membership required either the accidental release of blood in an irrigation hole or an electric shock capable of inducing the white light tunnel effect with Old Tom beckoning at the far end.
We resolved the problem by using the conflict resolut
I am profoundly aware of the need for all Turfheads to be critical. It really is our job. One mentor told me that if he didn't "point and bitch" enough, he wasn't doing his job. And I adopted this. I was a ruthless stickler for the details.
Hated by many. Loved by no one. Followed infrequently.
I remember someone sending me a book called Don't Sweat the Small Stuff (*and it's all small stuff). I returned the book with a scathing letter indicating that it was my job to "sweat" in parts pe
A couple of weeks ago another great post came through the TurfNet Turf Blog Aggregator. Andrew Hardy, the superintendent at the Pheasant Run Golf Course (just outside Toronto, Canada), was writing about the difficulties he had been facing with regards to his blog (The Argument for being Social).
Mr. Hardy has been blogging for quite some time now and has garnered quite a following. He is a very thoughtful writer and is not shy about sharing information about the golf course along with a few
This blog message is longer than most because the subject matter warrants it. Readers are encouraged to be patient; get through the blog message because they will not likely see another comprehensive presentation on the subject of multi-course contract employment soon in their lifetimes.
HISTORY
Up until about 20 years ago multi-course contract companies were looked upon as the scourge of the industry because they out-competed individual superintendents for jobs.
This is no longer the c
Recently I watched a video on TurfNet TV from Randy Wilson, called Ten Years from Now. It, of course, takes place ten years in the future and talks about the scarcity of fungicide, fertilizer and diesel fuel. Even effluent water is being bought by a bottled water company rather than being used for irrigation on their course. Buddy laments they should have gone half organic when they had the chance, but they were worried about being ridiculed by the "Dark Green Fairway Movement". It is truly a gr
If you've been paying attention to my columns and short films for the last 15 years, it has probably become apparent that I am not of the conventional mindset. There's a reason for that.
I spent my formative pre-teen/teen years on a US Army Special Forces base, deep in the Bavarian Alps. Known as Bad Tolz, it was 10th Special Forces Group Hdqtrs and had once been Himmler's SS Officer's Training School.
Years later, after too much walk-mow-cup-changing, I enlisted in SF and somehow mana
In this episode of Frankly Speaking on TurfNet RADIO, I connect with my old Cornell cohort, Micah Woods, PhD, half-way around the world at his home office in Bangkok, Thailand.
As the chief scientist at the Asian Turfgrass Center, Micah is the co-author of the Global Soil Survey (GSS) that informs the Minimum Level of Sustainable Nutrition (MLSN) efforts with Pace Turf's Dr. Larry Stowell.
Take a listen to this lively discussion about turfgrass nutrition, soil testing, the MLSN guideline
Industry data tells us that there are roughly 4,600 private golf clubs throughout the country, about 2,800 of which are operated through the general manager concept -- a category breakdown of which follows:
The Good Guys (about 60% of all GMs): If general managerships are the best form of governance in golf (and they are), the reason for this is primarily because the majority of the time the professional men and women who occupy these positions are gifted and staff sensitive.
Job Prognosis
I didn't make it to GIS this year, a victim of two powers greater than I -- the weather and the airlines -- who consorted and conspired to befoul and befuddle my life yet again.
No, this will not be another travel rant. I have given up, raised the white flag; can't and won't fight it any more. But a word or two of explanation might be in order.
In nutshell, I arrived at Burlington (VT) airport on Monday afternoon full of expectation of another week of camaraderie and the latest in go
Our normal practice at the Rock is to wait until all the ordinary awards have been handed out and then bestow ours upon the winners.
Without further delay, we present The Mystic Order of Greenkeepers Biggest Award of The Whole Year.
I recently toured campus here at Drury University with my boss. The touring was nothing unusual as I try to see the whole campus on a regular basis. What was different this time was what I learned on the tour. I saw the campus through another person's eyes, and an important person's eyes at that. I came away with a conclusion that I didn't particularly like. Campus never looks as bad as when I tour with my boss. He saw things that I had seen, but had put a different priority on. He also saw thin
Career websites have become increasingly popular over the last 6-7 years and I can tell you authoritatively that they work very well to increase your odds of attaining an interview or call back when you otherwise are not acquiring them. Print portfolios also have extremely valuable use during the interview process, leaving a professional and lasting impression with the hiring committee. I have way too many stories of past clients' success in the arena for anyone to discount this fact. So if you
