The film that received the most Non-GCS angry mail was "Our Balls Aren't Fun Anymore".
It went under the GCS radar because it was released while golf course personnel everywhere were busy aerifying, poa killing and repelling geese. However, the film apparently provoked internet golf experts and two disturbed individuals claiming to be important Alphabet assets.
The critical reviews included such pointed observations as my "fake southern accent" and other enjoyable barbs that could onl
First-timers on the TurfNet Trip this year likely didn't realize that as they were eating their Full Irish breakfast in the dining room of the Grand Hotel in Malahide, the golf course easily seen directly across the estuary is the Island Golf Club, founded in 1890.
Some of our group had played a very early morning round at the Island in 2010, and we added it again in 2011 as the site of the TurfNet Emerald Challenge.
Our tee times were pushed to the afternoon to accommodate a mornin
The group took a quick side trip from golf on Wednesday morning for a behind-the-scenes tour of the pitch and turf care facilities at Croke Park, home of the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) and the holy grail of Irish sports... notably hurling and Gaelic football.
Assembling before our turf tour at Croke Park.
From the GAA website: "The GAA is a volunteer led, community based organisation that promotes Gaelic games such as Hurling, Football, Handball and Rounders and works with siste
Unfortunately, many assistants jobs fail to spawn successful careers in golf because:
First Problem:
Being semi-desperate to escape the assistants world, too many settle for superintendent positions at courses with weak reputations that, accordingly, cannot advance their careers -- thereby creating career traps that offer little opportunity from which to seek better employment.
Proven Solutions: Assistants (or anyone else) should never accept a superintendent position without doing the
The good humor of the Irish was in evidence aplenty early Tuesday morning when 14 Irish superintendents and sales reps assembled with 22 players of ours in the chilly forecourt of the venerable Portmarnock Golf Club for the playing of the 6th TurfNet Emerald Challenge golf event.
Maybe they had advance knowledge of the outcome of the day. Maybe not, but the laughter, smiles and general good nature amongst themselves and with our group set the tone for a great day of golf and fellowship... "o
Stepping out from the clubhouse onto the grounds of County Louth Golf Club one gets the immediate impression that the expansive property is as flat as a board... but continuing on one's walk convinces you otherwise.
Looks pretty flat... but looks can be deceiving.
Located north of Dublin near Drogheda on the eastern coast of Ireland, County Louth (or "Baltray" as it's locally known) elicited rave reviews from the TurfNet trippers as they came off the golf course after a day under a spa
Our Ten Year Anniversary Celebration rolls on. Next up in The Rockbottum CC Film Festival of our favorite films that slipped by unnoticed:
"The Night Belongs To Charlie".
Learn the secret to dealing with nocturnal teenage vandals.
The group shook off any jet lag on Sunday with a warmup round at Portmarnock Hotel & Golf LInks, joined by course manager Fintan Brennan and his son/assistant Mike.
Not to be confused with Portmarnock Golf Club ("old Portmarnock", founded 1894, which we will play on Tuesday), the Links Portmarnock as it is called is a 1994 Bernhard Langer design. The old Jameson family (of Jameson whiskey renown) estate was expanded to hotel size, and portions of their 12-hole private golf course were i
A few people on the TurfNet Members' Trip went over early to extend their stay on the front side, including Mark Fuller, CGCS, of the Connecticut Golf Club, and Matt Crowther, CGCS, of Mink Meadows Golf Club (Martha's Vineyard, MA) and his wife, Cheryl.
Mark, a veteran of most of our trips to Ireland and Bandon, wasted no time getting started with networking, connecting with John Dempsey, course manager at Royal Curragh Golf Club in Co.Kildare. John is also a post-graduate researcher at the
While some are already there and enjoying Guinness and Irish golf, most of the 33 trip participants are jetting off from their respective home airports today, with arrival in Dublin early Sunday morning.
Special guests on the trip this year include Fred Gehrisch, CGCS - TurfNet Superintendent of the Year 2014 - and his wife Lynn, of Highlands Falls Country Club in Highlands, NC -- both guests of Syngenta.
Superintendent of the Year 2014 Finalists Eric Wygant (Shannopin Country Clu
We're coming up on Ten Years of Rockbottum CC television. It's a major anniversary for us and it began in early December of 2005, when I was told to do a video version of my TurfNet column.
Buddy, Momma, Franklin Beaver and Ydnar began production on "Golf Cart Control" and released it two weeks later. It's been a wild ride since then. We tried to blend as many different styles of film as possible into an ever-changing format, while subjecting TurfNet viewers to various forms of subliminal
In this Frankly Speaking podcast, Dr. Doug Soldat and I talk about late season nitrogen management in general, nitrogen management specifically to prevent leaching, and updates on Mn and K observations....
To download the podcast for offline listening, click here or go to iTunes or Stitcher. Subscribe and get new episodes automatically!
Presented by DryJect and Turfline/True-Surface.
Because golf is played in 118 countries around the world by over 60 million people, it encompasses the deepest and most widespread fraternity known to man - recognized respectfully as The Family Of Golf.
What Is The Family Of Golf?
The Family Of Golf is the community of people who make up the core humanity of the golf world; i.e., those people who shape the playing and/or the staging of the game of golf.
Who Inherently Belongs To The Family Of Golf?
Regular playing golfers with officia
Imagine everything that you do and everything that you have depending on a 45 minute ferry ride. That's the world of Matt Crowther, CGCS, superintendent at Mink Meadows Golf Club on the famed island of Martha's Vineyard.
Get to know one of the most passionate turfgrass managers anywhere. Hear his struggles and his successes. Matt is definitely an open book.
Long time TurfNet member and a frequent contributor, Matt's position of isolation makes him have to reach out via digital media
In my continued role with the MetGCSA and their website management, I have seen some really great information and I am sure other chapters across the country have similar educational endeavors. However, this month the Met has put together a very comprehensive newsletter article that I think is worthy of more exposure as it is applicable to anyone searching for a new position.
On this blog, we cover career materials -- resumes, cover letters, websites, print portfolios, etc., and how to buil
We interrupt our normally scheduled Rockbottum chaos to issue this Special Alert Bulletin! Did you hear Chava McKeel, GCSAA's Director of Government Relations, on TurfNetRADIO? If not, you might be unaware of what is actually playing out with WOTUS, one of those "regulations" that somehow becomes law because some bureaucrat signed it.
You can hear Chava on Frank Rossi's Frankly Speaking, a TurfNetRADIO show that is really, really good. I would have never known the details of this issue or
30 years with the Denver Broncos... Ross Kurcab is one of my Turfgrass Heroes!
Join me on this episode of The Turfgrass Zealot Project with guest Ross Kurcab. Professional NFL groundsman turned sportsfield consultant, Ross spent 30 years with the Denver Broncos. And he has some stories to tell. Ross and I talk about Natural Turf vs. Synthetic Turf and how and when it can go wrong, plus other good stuff.
In my "monologue" section, I share a few words about value and perhaps what our real
Studies following World War II concluded that the one clear distinguishing element between the German and Japanese treatment of prisoners was that the Japanese intentionally stripped their prisoners of all dignity. Throughout Japanese prisoner of war encampments, personal degradation could be as lethal as a bullet. Similar studies later concluded that:
In the absence of personal dignity men and women are defined not by who they are but by what is done to them... not only as prisoners of war
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.
Download the .mp3 file for offline listening by right-clicking/tapping here and select "Save Target As".
Subscribe to TurfNetRADIO via iTunes and Stitcher to receive new episodes automatically.
Frankly Speaking is p
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
