Yesterday I was fortunate enough to have one of those great conversations with my assistant/mechanic/brother-in-law/great friend, Finn. We do it quite often and it is one of the best parts about working closely with someone you really enjoy being around. The talk revolved around a recurring theme with us: having a plan.
Our chat centered on the tale of two courses in the area. Course A has been around for a long time and is your typical country club in your typical town. Like many private cl
Just dropped off my daughter for college this past week. In and amongst the tears I shed as we left our little girl I thought about the importance of "letting go". For a proud father this meant watching your child fledge knowing great things lie ahead. As parents we all go through some pain in the short run to help our children succeed in the long run.
Oddly for me, I see a strong parallel for golf turf managers. I thought about "being a parent" to annual bluegrass surfaces that have struggl
One of the advantages of having Multiple Personality Disorder is the ability to look at things from different angles. Currently, the "Mad Golf Prophet" has control and he just won't shut up about the potential weather extremes.
In order to survive weather patterns that go on and on and on, the "Mad Golf Prophet" recommends indoor activities for the crew. These may include sanding, painting and 'helping' the equipment manager.
Not all of these activities should be work related. When ca
A couple weeks back our intrepid Maestro penned a thoughtful piece (Information overload and sensory flashbacks...). It was full of a lot of the wisdom and down home honesty that we have come to expect from Peter, but for me, it was also interesting to read between the lines a little.
I have been picking at a fascinating book called The Introvert Advantage, Making the Most of Your Hidden Strengths, by Marti Olsen Laney, Phy.D. The basic premise of the book is that once those who crave solitu
Here comes fall and after a summer of giving up the process, our turfgrass babies are getting ready to make some Carbos. I really love this time of year, because if you really pay attention to how the plant works and what the plant really needs, then some key decisions can pay off huge. This counts for recovery now, and emergent later.
Despite what some people try to hang around my neck, I'm a minimalist. Which means that first and foremost, I follow something that Dr. Mackenzie said years a
In the final attempt to 'Fix Golf' before we grow it, the most important message to ever emerge from Rockbottum CC is presented in the following Commentary . . . Rant . . . Wild-Eyed Tirade.
Unlike most offerings from Rockbottum, this message is not a subliminal point wrapped in diversionary goofiness, this is serious material.
Although the script for 'Our Balls' has been ready for months, we waited until after The PGA Championship to release it. The reason: While the tournament was an
The question of whether to 'repair or replace' rises to the surface as any product ages, be it a household item like a washing machine or dishwasher, a vehicle, or a piece of turf equipment.
In our increasingly disposable culture the answer is most often 'replace'. Products manufactured overseas in countries with economies very different than ours keep the cost of replacement artificially low. Rates for service technicians ranging from $50 to over $100/hour further sway the decision toward
Tiger Woods has become the modern day E.F. Hutton, i.e., "When Tiger talks people listen". A week before the PGA Championship, successfully hosted by Jeff Corcoran and the folks in Western NY, Woods commented offensively on the quality of the putting surfaces.
Quote
Corcoran get's the mike stuck in his face and explains without being defensive about defensive agronomic management
"They don't have much thatch to them, so it'll be interesting to see what they do for the tournament and
Based on a true story pulled from the 'Greenkeeper Tales' collection, Rockbottum CC Television presents a film packed with drama, intrigue and embarrassing Southern family lore.
One of the things we wordsmiths often do is ask someone else to proofread a column or article before we hit the publish key. That's one reason why newspapers have editors, of course.
Other than correcting grammatical errors or catching typos, the real benefit of a second set of eyes (SSOE) is determining if the piece reads well or otherwise makes sense. You see, when one is intimately involved in writing or creating something (or tending to a golf course for that matter), everything makes s
The following Rockbottum CC Commentary contains an URGENT MESSAGE for Adam Hertzog, the producer who recently escaped from ESPN and has now been ordained as a VP at The Golf Channel.
Okay, maybe it's not really all that urgent, but it does include a suggestion that will help us all . . . or maybe just those of us who watch golf on TV.
For this week's post, I am going to turn it over to Callum Haughn, fellow TurfNetter and assistant superintendent at Mill Ridge Golf Course, located in Nova Scotia, Canada. Callum helps out writing for our local associations quarterly magazine, and his last submission was good enough to share here...
The Human Element
By Callum Haughn
It takes a lot of different people with a lot of different personalities to make up a successful workplace. Managing these personalities can sometimes be
The subject line of a somewhat curious email I received last week caught my eye. Regarding an impending local chapter meeting, it was titled "Sad state of affairs", and went like this:
"I was wondering if anyone can help me. As I'm sure to be asked, please help me with the answer to 'why do we have 12 class A members signed up for the July meeting'? and of that, more than half are board members. Luckily with others we have almost 50 total. Sad.
That's right. A great venue with educa
Once upon a time, there was a strangeness that crept into golf course land.
No, this isn't the story about the olden times when the club pro was paid more than the GCS, that wasn't strange, that was just crazy.
This particular strangeness happened not long ago and somebody at Rockbottum CC might have been neck-deep in the whole mess . . .
Watch this short film if you want to understand The Twiffer.
I recently got the opportunity to work on one of the most interesting projects I've ever had a chance to be a part of.
You may not know about Claremont Country Club in Oakland, California, and that's a shame. Claremont is a cool old Mackenzie design that is short, but one of the funnest rounds you'll ever have. And challenging too. I'd play there every day if they'd let me. They never will, but it's a nice dream to have. Recently restored to amazing original glory at the hands of Jim Urbina
As the staff at Oak Hill Country Club, outside of Rochester, NY prepares for the PGA Championship under the leadership of Jeff Corcoran, there is a smile on Bob Emmon's face. Mr. Emmons as we all knew him was the turfgrass professor for almost 30 years at the State University of New York College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill, in Cobleskill, NY.--try and google that place!
Corcoran will join a long and growing list of superintendents who have hosted Majors. Mark Michaud at Peb
Music used to be a HUGE part of my life, at least on the listening end. All encompassing, enveloping, everywhere. Massive stereo system, an entire wall of electronics and a library of vinyl.
Fast-forward 40 years or so and the vinyl and high-end audio components have been replaced with an iPad, a Bose SoundDock and a Sonos Play5 system for wireless streaming from Pandora or my iPad. (The Sonos was a gift rather than an investment of my own.) My CDs are either scratched from the car and toss
Shoshin is a concept in Zen Buddhism meaning "beginner's mind". It refers to having an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions when studying a subject - even when studying at an advanced level - just as a beginner in that subject would. (Wikipedia) This is a concept that I always try to keep in mind. It's difficult because the ego really gets off on being an "expert". It's fun to set a goal, work hard to accomplish it, and bask in the glory of making it to the top of the mou
This just drives me nuts. A superintendent is squeezed between the egos of a green chairman and a few other "influential people" and his obligation to the membership that is paying the bills. A classic tale of what ails this business. The AF (Asshole Factor for those not familiar with the term) brought into stark relief.
The superintendent in question is managing one-year old greens. They're young, not ready for aggressive management practices. An amateur tournament is approaching. You kno
(once again...I'm skipping the plant phys. series to interject about a hot topic in my life. RSN, back to it but I can't ignore the voices in my head on this one.)
I'm reeling from the death of a friend. And I'd like to share with you about a wonderful person, Jeffrey McManus.
In the early 90's, I needed an email address and access to something called the internet for a research project I was looking into. That project fizzled. In the process, I discovered The WELL. Short for Whole Earth
Can you you handle the pressure of managing a golf course through a difficult summer? Learn how it's done from hardened veterans of several decades of Deep South summer campaigns.
At Rockbottum Country Club, we know precisely when to go deep and infrequent, because we learned the concept on pushup clay bent in temps of 100+, while experts with no actual GCS experience told us to dry 'em out.
"...because we learned the concept on pushup clay bent in temps of 100+, while experts with no
You will often hear me speak about "high performance surfaces". These are putting surfaces that provide consistent Championship conditions on a regular basis. Championship conditioning produces smooth, true, firm and fast surfaces, pushing the limits on chemical, biological and mechanical technology. Sometimes pushing the limits too far!
During the persistent warm and wet, and now warm and dry conditions covering much of the country, often the high performance surfaces can fail. Catastrophic
