Over the last couple days in London, I've been able to see some of the best pitches Europe has to offer. It started at the Arsenal Training Center on Tuesday and continued with the famous Wembley Stadium on Wednesday.
Wembley is the National Stadium in the UK and plays host to Championship games from all competitions, as well as being the home of the England National Football Team. It holds 90,000 people and can be recognized by the white arch sticking out of the London skyline.
Wemble
I recommend that my readers study the current Playbooks blog post (can also be found immediately above this blog on TurfNet home page) by Matt Leverich and its extraordinary photographs before continuing on here because the message for the two posts is fundamentally the same: namely that . . .
Classic course photography frames a superintendent's work product in such an extraordinary manner that they advance both the course welfare and the superintendent's career like nothing else can.
The internet, pronounced: Inner-nayut hereabouts, has had a serious impact on golf, triggering a fearsome fixation on futurism around the woodstove in our barn Turf Care Center.
The Net (and the voices in my head) have been asking me: What do we do? Who are our customers? What will Rockbottum CC be like in 30 years when I retire?
Golf has rapidly morphtastisized over the last 20 years, not just in the way the game is played, but how our product is brought to market. As an industry, w
Several weeks ago Drury Grounds was asked to collaborate on the installation of several raised beds to be planted with vegetables and herbs. The produce from these beds would be used in the dining halls and by individual students. Local produce (also native plants) grown as organically as possible (applies for turf also) is a great nod toward a sustainable system. My problem was that the project itself did not maximize sustainability in both its concept and its construction. This made me realize
London is the location this week. Yesterday was a morning trip to Arsenal FC's Training Centre to meet with head groundsman Steve Braddock.
With us, we brought an Air2g2 and a Koro with a Universe rotor. The staff there tested out the Air2 on a patchy area of grass and used the Koro to clean out one of their Desso Grassmaster pitches.
The Air2G2 on demonstration at Arsenal FC's Training Centre.
The Universe rotor on the Koro did a fantastic job of removing the unwanted grasses and
In this episode of Frankly Speaking, I chat with my old buddy Norm Hummel, Ph.D., recently semi-retired after selling his soil physical testing lab to Turf and Soil Diagnostics. Norm and I chat about what superintendents can do "from the bottom up" to manage putting surface firmness given the new tools available to put actual numbers to firmness and moisture levels.
Norm gives guidance regarding "knowing what you're putting down" when topdressing, layering different texture sands on one ano
Today, I went to a Barclays Premier League game between Hull City and Manchester United. United is my favorite club in the Premier League, so I chose to travel to Hull in northeast England because Monday is a bank holiday in the UK so there is no work.
KC Stadium, home of Hull City FC Tigers
It was the last day of the season today and Hull City were on the edge of relegation to the Championship (lower division). They needed a win, so there was extra excitement in the air this weekend.
Pitch renovation #1 was completed and we demonstrated all the equipment to local grounds managers. The field was seeded and then dragged with a drag mat to complete the renovation. The representative for NH-Koneet Oy, a machinery dealer we partnered with, informed us that the Finnish National Football Team would be training on the pitch once it was grown in.
Pitch renovation #2 took place at a popular community field called Pirkkola Pitch. This pitch was uneven and had some issues with compa
I have always been disappointed that so many golf course superintendents and assistants are unwilling to pay their own way to participate in career securing and career advancing events when an employer is not willing to do so in good or bad economies.
In difficult economic times, there are two polar-opposite approaches for individual superintendents to choose from career planning-wise:
To hunker down; be left at the mercy of the bad economy and their employers, and thereby run the risk o
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
I traveled to Finland on Saturday and met up with Lee Morgado and David Stonier, two of Campey's employees. They had just driven from Sweden and taken a ferry over to Finland with all of Campey's equipment on a truck for the renovation and demo days.
After a weekend doing a bit of sightseeing around Helsinki, we got started on Sunday with a Koro pitch renovation at a local community pitch which has had problems with drainage and winterkill.
When we dug into the pitch with a spade, we cou
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 was on the road with Ian again today and we drove into Manchester and to Old Trafford, the cricket grounds that is, not football just yet. There we met Matthew Merchant, the head groundskeeper. They had just finished up with a four day long cricket match, and Matthew was doing some work on the pitch.
Old Trafford cricket grounds
If you have never seen a cricket match before, they have a different way of managing their pitch than at a football or rugby stadium. Instead of growing on a
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.
Today was a busy day, as I was out on the road with Ian Campbell, Campey's UK and Ireland Sales Manager. We first went to a new client of Ian's at nearby golf course to demonstrate a rough mower made by Baroness. The picture below shows Ian on the mower with the grounds manager and a Baroness sales rep watching the demo.
After that, we traveled to Stamford Golf Cub (established 1901, about 12 miles from Manchester city center) where I got to see one of the newest innovations in turf
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
Being called the 5th major tournament is one thing, but to play and look like one is much harder. TPC Sawgrass Stadium course was very well conditioned making for a fantastic finish. from eventual winner Ricky Fowler. The volunteer program at TPC Sawgrass is only 5 years old, but is so well run that Superintendents come from all over the world to be part of the amazing agronomy team for the tournament.
For the tournament over 70 volunteers came to help from places as close as Georgia
Today was my first day at Campey Turfcare Systems. They have a great office building as well as a spare parts building, lots of storage for equipment, and a workshop. After meeting almost everyone, the rest of my day was spent in the workshop with Charlie, the head of maintenance. Charlie put me to work on a lot of odd jobs, some of which included some general maintenance and cleaning of their equipment.
I also got to see a Koro Field Top Maker, one of Campey's main products, being assembled
After 5,300 miles of traveling in 24 hours, I am finally in the UK, more specifically, Manchester, England. Mr. Campey was waiting to provide a ride back to his house, where I will be staying for a few days. On the way back, we glimpsed a view of some nearby famous soccer players' houses, including Manchester United and England captain Wayne Rooney's upscale house.
After a delicious meal of quiche, boiled ham and potatoes, we took a ride around the town, looking at the rolling hills and beau
After two sleepless nights studying earlier this week, final exams at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln are behind me and I am getting ready to fly to the UK tomorrow. I just finished up my sophomore year at Lincoln, where I am majoring in Turfgrass Management with a minor in Business Administration.
I completed an internship last summer at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, OH, where I was fortunate enough to be connected to Mr. Mike O'Keeffe, the Program Manager for the Ohio State Univers
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
