'Chasing Rivermont' is a Rockbottum film series about a country club near Atlanta with a practical, comprehensive plan for facing the future of golf.
Chris Cupit, Owner/GM of Rivermont, grew up in the golf industry, thoroughly grounded in realistic golf management. Cupit is not one of the wild-eyed money people that burst into golf during the artificial growth spurt triggered by a foundation. He is very aware of the difference between the game of golf and the corporatocracy of golf.
As superintendents, we are masters of the plan. We are constantly generating schedules, programs and standards for our courses. We work with our management, architects, arborists and agronomists to chart the course for our properties and make them all they can be. But then life happens, nature happens, and our best laid plans go astray. It is at this point that the best greenkeepers shine. They are able to take the hiccups and trap doors and use them to their advantage. Whether it is a major ra
Last weekend, in the lounge of the GCS Rest Home and Asylum, we were watching a TV show about sunsets and separate outdoor bathtubs on the ED Channel, when they interrupted regularly scheduled programming to show a golf tournament.
We watched in horror as a skinny fellow in bedroom slippers marked his ball repeatedly, obsessively changing the alignment of a magic line on his ball. His behavior was apparently contagious, as we all began to flinch, twitch and squirm.
Nurse Diesel, our com
With the "hot 100" days of summer approaching, I thought it would be a good time for a post on preparing now for the inevitable job searching season that follows in the fall and winter. As we all know, the three summer months in most areas of the country are extremely busy on the golf course, demanding long hours and focus on saving turf conditions.
Year after year, the same thing always happens come September... a great job opens up and I get a multitude of calls to see how quickly a caree
I enjoyed watching last week's coverage of the PGATour's Major Event-The Players Championship. As a Turf Geek - a'la Dave Wilber - I am obsessed with any talk of turf conditions and especially when they ask for player comment and now with Shotlink Data - It is a GEEKS Dream! I wish the discussion included how nimble the Tour Officials and Agronomy Staff were at adapting to the situation at hand.
The focus of the talk was the weak putting surfaces. The commentary had so many angles to it from
There are times when wisdom dictates one must capitulate to the pressures created by the irrational Cult of Customer Service--so we shot this instructional film:
"How To Woo Your Members".
If you haven't read my last TurfNet blog post, it may help you here. I'm simply overwhelmed at the amount of amazing stories, offers of support and awesome advice that have come my way. Posting that piece was a deeply personal act, one which I wasn't sure that I should do. Really. It may read with ease, but it was far from easy to write.
I'm always trying to integrate work and life. I've never believed in the concept of work and play and life as separate things. I see them as coordinated a
From USA Today, 4/29/14:
The U.S. Department of Homeland security is advising Americans not to use the Internet Explorer Web browser until a fix is found for a serious security flaw that came to light over the weekend.
The bug was announced on Saturday by FireEye Research Labs, an Internet security software company based in Milpitas, Calif.
It is recommended that users and administrators "consider employing an alternative Web browser until an official update is available."
Th
With spring upon us (well, most of us anyway... it is still very cold with some snow on the ground in our neck of the woods), our thoughts turn to renewal, newness, and potential. The last one really struck me over this past weekend. As I was sitting staring at the instruments in my living room (upright piano, bass, fiddle and multiple guitars), I reflected on what tools like those mean to different people.
To artists, writers and musicians things like a blank canvas or a grand piano represe
Here at The Rock, we haven't had a confirmed case of Augusta Syndrome for years, mostly due to the economic climate. Our patrons just can't afford annual trips over there. The other reason has been the facial recognition software employed by Augusta Security Specialists.
This year we suffered an outbreak of AS when a dozen of our patrons chartered a Toyota Tercel and went on a pilgrimage.
Tilda Mae Wooten and her husband Tooten returned with a demand that we install a cupola on top of
A few weeks back I was reading through a blog I follow and fell upon this post: becomingminimalist.com i am flawed. It sums up the importance of owning up to our flaws and accepting them. It presents the premise that only when we face our flaws honestly and accept them, can we move forward and work towards change.
The blog spoke to me in a few important ways... the first reminding me of the power of awareness. Do you remember that old tag line during the little life lessons from the ABC aft
Awhile back I put together some suggestions on creating solid resumes (article here) and received quite a bit of feedback and questions regarding one of the points:
A true resume is one page in length and is meant to summarize your career. Create a separate document that has all the extra bullet points, call this a portfolio, career anthology, etc. Create a large link icon or text link to the more lengthy document on the resume. Now you have both options for the hiring person available at t
Rockbottum CC has a unique approach to meetings. We gather the BOD, Stockholders, CFO and all the Committees together to increase communication and save money.
I have been doing some great travel this season so far from Spain and England to Canada, as well as Chicago and Wisconsin. There are few things I enjoy professionally more than walking a golf course with the person charged with stewarding the land. In every case the superintendent greets me graciously and shares their thoughts on golf turf management.
Quote
Anyone that has seen Jack Nicholson in The Shining can get a sense of what your golfers will be like this Spring--Here's Johnny!
Contrary to some theories, I was not hatched. I am also not a dropped off stray from Vulcan. I am not a character invented at Rockbottum CC. I am not the vision in Mama's frying pan.
This is my mom. Donna Wilber. She lives in the mountains of Colorado, where I was born. Not hatched. This picture was taken several years ago, on her 80th birthday. I had flown home to surprise her. Had a big evening in Denver all planned and she vetoed the whole thing. Insisting on drinks and pub food at The Cr
Have you ever wondered where the title for this blog came from? It is a common enough refrain, "be mindful of such and such...", but what does it really mean? In the final installment of this three part series we are going to try to answer the question, what is mindfulness?
Mindfulness is a meditation practice that has its roots in Buddhism dating back to around 2500 years ago. It not a religion per say, rather a disciplined approach to mental well being. In recent years mindfulness has caug
Here at The Rock, we fear the top scientist in golf is about to make a mistake. Our evidence for this prediction: He made this mistake last year.
But we forgave him and we ask that you do the same this year. Please overlook whatever foa paws pop out of his mouth, in the event he tries to debunk : The Augusta Syndrome."
Quote
I can pinpoint when AS first surfaced.
If he says, "There's no such thing" or "Quit whining and deal with it" or "UFOs Aren't Real", just cut him some slack.
Maybe Spring will show up in much of the northern US states? Still, well before many are mowing north of the Mason-Dixon line, the annual bluegrass seedhead suppression discussion is underway; "What combination of products do you use?, What growing degree day (GDD) timing model do you look at?, Do you use phenological (plant) indicators?" All good questions but....
Why not use soil moisture?
In other parts of the world where chemical technology is more restricted and less available, you
by Greg Wojick
Looking through the assistant superintendent job listings on the TurfNet Job board the other day reinforced in my mind that the superintendent's approach to their assistants' positions may need some rethinking.
For years and decades, superintendents handled their assistants by hiring young, letting them learn by doing and observing, and then, after a year or two on the job, sending them on their way to their first superintendent's job. 'Two years and out' was the typica
