I am a big fan of Game of Thrones. Really dig the HBO interpretation, and have been into the books by George RR Martin for quite some time. It is a compelling tale, full of complex story lines and even more complex characters. The personal stories of the characters themselves are one of the keys to the success of the franchise. The main characters in the story are neither good or bad, up nor down, black nor white... they are human; and with that comes all the baggage of a truly human tale.
W
In this first episode of The Renovation Report on TurfNet RADIO, Jon Kiger chats with Kevin Hicks of The Coeur d'Alene Resort (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) about two recent renovation projects: one planned and one not. Listen online below or download the .mp3 for offline listening (right click and select "save link [or target] as").
Presented by Golf Preservations and Jacobsen.
Every golf course superintendent understands what he needs to know about the putting greens at his home golf course. But this is not the case elsewhere because most superintendents consistently fail to see the unique opportunities and associated risks green quality can bring to their jobs/careers. For example:
Unique Greens Role #1: Within Modest Budget Environments
Includes: private, daily fee and public access golf courses.
Superintendents with much of their careers still ahead of t
I'm talking to Assistant Supers, Second Assistants, Assistants in Training and Interns.
I got a great phone call from a young Turfhead who just landed his first second assistant superintendent job and wanted my take on succeeding. It was a great conversation and I told him that I would further answer his questions here. Sorry, he preferred not to be outed. Doesn't matter. The application is near universal.
1. Show Up Early. You are the new kid. And for sure, no one is going to wait for
A struggle for power has been going on behind the scenes at TurfNet TV. It involves Kevin Ross, men wearing skirts, Hector, a warehouse full of popcorn from the Truman era and a plot against . . . me.
In this episode of Frankly Speaking on TurfNet RADIO I chat with Mike Huck, former USGA Agronomist now with Irrigation and Turfgrass Services of California, about the latest on efficient water management, the situaion CA golf courses are facing, and how water use will change in the next five years. Have a listen, or download the .mp3 for offline listening.
In this episode of Frankly Speaking, I chat with Anthony L. Williams, CGCS, CGM, Director of Grounds for Stone Mountain Golf Club and the Evergreen Marriott Conference Resort in Stone Mountain, Georgia.
Anthony is the author of The Environmental Stewardship Toolkit, an excellent handbook for golf course superintendents interested in a practical approach to environmental stewardship. Anthony was also the 2009 TurfNet Superintendent of the Year! Buckle up for a full throttle discussion about w
This is a career case study of two individuals in very different circumstances but with one thing in common: they know what they want out of life and career.
Those of you who have hung around TurfNet for any length of time either know or know of John Colo. Passionate golf course superintendent, long-time TurfNet member who organized and orchestrated the around-the-world "Where's TurfNet" banner campaign a few years back, twin brother of a golf course superintendent (Jim, at Naples National
Grounds managers make a living balancing components in the landscape that can have undesirable effects if not maintained in the right doses or at the right time. For instance, irrigation is needed in the correct amount, but too much can result in disease, drowning, or shallow rooting. Plants need nutrients in the proper amounts, but availability can fluctuate by leaching, soil pH, timing, etc. Most of the cultural practices necessary to create a high quality product require the right efforts, in
For most superintendents the list of ultimate perks an employing golf club can bestow on them and their families is the following: granting privileges in the areas of club membership status, access to the clubhouse food & beverage programs, access to tennis and swimming pool facilities, access to the golf course and access to club championship events.
The rationale for this perk policy is twofold: (i) As a reward to show appreciation for well-performing golf course superintendents; and/o
Guest Post by Frank Duda, Golf Course Superintendent at Miacomet Golf Club, Nantucket, MA
With so many courses looking for staff and the impending possible issues with the H2B Visa program, I thought it was interesting to include an actual example of a course using H2B workers and how it the entire process operates. It is fairly complex and due to worker caps you have to start early for the next year's workers. So now is the time to learn about it, figure out if it is right for you and head
In this episode of Frankly Speaking, I chat with Dave Oatis, director of the Northeast Region of the USGA Green Section, about winter injury, waking the course up in the Spring, and Dave's favorite topic: Golf Course Tree Management Programs. Check it out below, or download it here for listening offline.
Check Out Science Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with TurfNet RADIO on BlogTalkRadio
Over the years, we have received many complaints regarding the level of violence in our films. Lately, however, during a spate of serious journalism, we lost sight of what is important and failed to reach our previous high standards. In order to correct this oversight, we offer this short film.
We are entering the time of year when superintendents will be losing jobs south of the Mason-Dixon line and entering into the danger zone in cool-season areas. Thus, it is appropriate to shed light on what can become catastrophic events (see Sept 25 blog post) for the families so affected and what can be done to stabilize these families and reconstitute their wage earners' careers.
Through my 25+ years of interacting with dismissed superintendents' families I have learned:
The mothers are
I have had a great deal of time to think over the last few weeks. Lots of time. Much of it spent blowing endless mountains of snow off our precious putting surfaces. Here is but a taste...
The above photo is a shot of the first pass across our putting green... on April 8th 2015. We finished clearing it ten hours later).
All of this alone time got me to thinking about the illusion of control. As I become more seasoned, the notion that we have dominion over how things progress becomes
Rhizoctonia used to eat most of my spray budget and keep me from ever taking a summer vacation.
That's why I took a Rockbottum CC film crew and spent several days documenting Mark Hoban's latest experiment.
Perhaps it is time to cut through all the media hype and really talk about the water situation in California. California doesn't have a water problem. We all do.
I've been watching the water picture in California for 25 years. Water has been my key focus even before that, coming up in the business in Colorado. I've been fortunate enough to get to spend a lot of time around people who really understand water in just about every usage situation. It's my area of greatest professional interest a
During my 25+ year career I have been fortunate to play or prep for tournaments some 400+ golf courses across the country of all types, lengths and shapes. FYI: You learn more about a golf course preparing it Rules-wise for tournament play than playing the course itself.
Out of this blend of personally inventoried golf courses, I have been able to make the following observations:
Top 100 Classic Golf Courses:
I have played, or officiated at 53 of the top 100 courses.
Universal Obser
New Zealand is home to the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogy movies. Peter Jackson sought out the best place for the movies and decided on New Zealand. He really enjoyed the Alexander sheep farm where he had a vision for The Shire, home of the hobbits, to be built and filmed. What a place it is! The tour took me around the Shire explaining parts of the filming, locating, and tour process. Below is some of the history and information I was told.
Located in Matamata, Hobbiton as it
The second part of the trilogy package was at Waitomo. Here there are caves and many of them. In these caves and in the area are glowworms. Worms that give off a glow in the dark kinda like a firefly, but with no movement. Neat to see and can be found in the wild on sides of rocks and near rivers. You can save a few dollars and go looking for them.
At the Waitomo Glowworm cave I got to see what the cave looked like as I walked around it with the guided tour. I was fortunate to have a h
Rotorua and the area is named the Bay of Plenty as it has many resources such as timber, water, and geothermal heat. Due to Earth's crust being much closer to molten magma at only 6km down and having water at 4km down lots of steam builds up. This creates pressure that needs to be released so a geyser was formed. This has brought up lots of sulphur and the area has a distinct smell like rotten eggs where the steam is released.
The Redwood forest has a few hikes ranging from a half hour to a
The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is a very popular 19km day walk in New Zealand as the scenery is amazing and many scenes and locations in Lord of the Rings were filmed here. However this is not the easiest and can be dangerous. As I found out today the crossing can be extremely windy at higher elevations making it cold as well. This hike can be done from either end to the other, but transport is needed in between. I was lucky to stay at a lodge with a shuttle so I got first class service to and fr
