Several months ago I was introduced to the idea of "inbox zero" developed by Merlin Mann, as I looked for a better way to handle email. With Playbooks for Golf working for more and more of you, my productivity on projects was being continually eroded by a constant stream of emails coming in for all kinds of reasons and requests. My inbox kept getting bigger and bigger with emails I needed for reminders, project notes and direction, software support, and more. I had to do something and inbox zero
(Review Dec 18th post before analyzing the chart below.) I have provided my personal estimates of superintendents' job and life performances below. Line items have been rearranged in descending order within the left column with higher job-securing elements on top. Comparing the chart below to your personal estimates will provide a meaningful learning experience.
While en route to the covert location of the Mystic Order of Greenkeeper's Secret Lodge, we had to do some tree work.
It looked like the perfect time to reveal a few more secrets . . . so in this short film, we show you how to get a razor sharp chainsaw without going through all those Hector procedures.
Jeb, golf ain't dying. We're in a period of "contraction", back to where golf would have been without the fiscal steroid injections. Peter McCormick uses the investor-speak term "correction", a time when value pulls back to more realistic levels. Golf was healthy and resilient in the 1970s, before the infusion of hype and starry-eyed non-golf investors; now we're in a long, slow correction.
By 2005, golf was as puffed up and helpless as a modern day factory chicken-house resident, unable
All of us in the green industry are likely familiar with the concept of diversity. Diversity is the principle that tells us the more variation we have in our landscape, the better we are able to maintain the health and function of that landscape. Normally diversity applies to different plants from different genus and species thereby avoiding monoculture and taking advantage of the variation of plant attributes. It also applies to pesticides (e.g. fungicide FRAC codes) to avoid creating pest resi
When I first entered the golf dimension, things were different. We existed at the "Pro/Super" level and life, although hectic, was relatively cheerful. Golf course maintenance and the clubhouse got along very well, with few altercations and overt acts of retaliation. This was mainly because Dad was both of those entities and he rarely got into fights with his own self, although I managed to perfect that technique later.
I know what you're thinking: It should have been Supt/Pro rather tha
Several earlier posts in this series have focused on presenting better ways of securing jobs. This post combines all earlier comments on the subject with the master umbrella concept of "defensive management."
The concept of defensive management is the least understood and least practiced proven management concept throughout the world of the golf course superintendent and beyond.
By design, defensive management techniques are intended to defuse the impact of arbitrary decision-making and
Before we premiere our new season at Rockbottum CC, we would like to offer our re-mastered short film, "The Organic Green Whisperer".
2015 will see Rockbottum place even more emphasis on organic research, methods of irrigation reduction and image enhancement. (Not the enhancement that clogs your spam filter)
The greatest gift you can give to somebody is your own personal development.
I used to say, "If you take care of me, I will take care of you."
Now I say, "I will take care of me for you, if you will take care of you for me."
- Jim Rohn
It is always a tough time of the season to write original content. Look around the internet, newspapers, or any magazine and somebody has an article with a few bits of wisdom and usually a list of some sort. I struggled with coming up with a new format,
From time to time in grounds maintenance things don't go according to plans. At these times it is common to hear the following sentiments: "What happened?" "What is it?" or one of my favorites, "I don't know what happened." When everyone is looking at you for an answer, the good supervisor becomes a forensic pathologist and detective, seeking evidence to solve a riddle. Through inquiry, experience, and logic, you can normally build a case and answer these questions to everyone's satisfaction.
That Fat Little Elf knows exactly what to leave under the tree at Rockbottum: A NEW SLINGSHOT AND CHAINSAW ACCESSORIES!
He knows our goal of heavily reduced irrigation, minimal inputs and more rugged grooming standards would not be possible without an aggressive tree pacification program. In fact, our entire career has been built on turning around troubled courses by introducing sunlight to weak, shady turf.
That's why, as our gift to you, we are re-releasing "Our Very Best Tip Ever",
Two terms, Sustainability and Certified, have grown outside mere definitions and somehow transmogrified into entirely different concepts. Here at The Rock, Sustainability means, "How long can we keep this up before we go bankrupt or Momma finds out?"
Certified, in our narrow vocabulary, means words on a seed/sod label . . . or what we call Rockbottum admin types shortly after they return from one of those Customer Service pep rallies.
We thought we might better explain these two terms i
Time to pause the series to measure your evaluation of your job security and life balance. Be honest; don't cheat on yourself. Read each line below from left to right; marking the left or right column which ever is more applicable. (For a PDF of this checklist, click here.)
Grade Ratings:
Pick Left Column 24 out of 31 times = A Grade.
Pick Left Column 20 out of 31 times = B Grade.
Pick Left Column 16 out of 31 times = C Grade.
Pick Left Column 12 out of 31 times = D Grade.
Pick Le
It's that time of year -- sending holiday cards to friends and family, spending more time at home and thinking of others are all things that make the holidays unique. And while it is very important to do what's mentioned, it is just as critical to think about your professional network and how you can improve upon it for the coming new year, as you never know what may be in store. This provides an opportunity to reach out to your network of peers, club officials, members, and more, because most w
A favorite conversational topic of mine among my graying peers is whether or not they have a Bucket List, and if so, what's on it. I ask because I'm interested in them (the person), but also because I don't have one (Bucket List), and wonder if I might be missing something.
How can one not have a Bucket List? I touched on this in a post about a year ago, but in review, I have already checked off the major bullet points that would populate most lists:
I've been happily married to m
I recently read a summary of the Property Profile and Environmental Stewardship of Golf Courses, published by the Environmental Institute for Golf, an offshoot of GCSAA. This document puts golf courses in a deservedly positive environmental light, particularly with regard to non-turf areas -- which many golf courses have increased in size (44% of surveyed courses since 1996).
Forest and woodlands and something more
In this profile summary, forest and woodlands represent 137,768 acres. While
As you remember, last week's blog message profiled the definitive steps superintendents can take to survive further downturns in the economy.
The only way superintendents can get hurt when the economy heads further south is by failing to act on the guidelines presented in last week's blog on a timely basis -- which should be implemented appropriately ahead of time but rarely are.
Unfortunately, career-planning procrastination appears to be in the DNA of most male golf course superintende
Every now and again we get to be part of something wonderful that takes us out of our ordinary life and leads us somewhere special. You can't always put a name to it, but you know that being a part of such an occurrence makes you feel like you are one of the luckiest people on the earth.
I was fortunate enough to be involved in one such event a couple of weeks back. I gathered with my parents, my brothers and extended family in Sydney, Cape Breton to celebrate the life of my grandmother, Ali
Someone asked me a very similar question today. And here today, as it was then, is a response that may make sense. Or not.
February 16th, 2012.
I received this today in my email from a source that shall go unnamed because she/he/it is dumb enough to use the word 'Doctor' around my name. Kind of like using the word 'beautiful' around Susan Boyle. She can sing, however. I can't.
"Dear Dr. Wilber,
In a post in the TurfNet Turf Blog Aggregator this week, Sean McCue of Castle Pines sa
Simply put, Third Way Green is my philosophy on landscape management (while GC Superintendents are very specialized for their task, they are certainly landscape managers). I call it 'Third Way' because there are currently two dominant landscape management approaches (an intended simplification), neither of which adequately fulfills the desired landscape potential. So there needs to be a 'Third Way' that fulfills all the benefits we are seeking from our landscapes. 'Green' comes from a focus on e
A reality superintendents cannot avoid: While the collection of golf course players' groups across the country respect the person and the work ethic of their home course superintendents, they do not extrapolate this feeling throughout the profession -- leaving golf course superintendents vulnerable to the whims/ignorance of their employers and any further unsettling economic news.
Unfortunately, more unsettling economic news is already upon us as an adverse economy faces new tax and debt bur
