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About this blog

Randy and the gang at Rockbottum Country Club pontificate on Rockbottum wisdom and skeletal golf, among other madness.

Entries in this blog

Point 4 Of Fixing Golf: The Ultimatium

Moving forward, we present Point 4 of the Rockbottum Country Club Ten Point Plan to Fix Golf.   To give you some idea of how such brilliant strategy is conceived, we recorded an entire brainstorming session, revealing our critical path method for coming up with a good idea.   (The various alphabet agencies, foundations and associations of golf would do well to study our method.)   Anyway, listen in on a high-level tactical planning meeting of the Rockbottum CC Brain Trust as they stand up
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

3

Dead Batteries?

For as much as I preach the virtues of the GCS De-Stressor--the hobby or activity that releases job tension before, during or after the workday... I have only recently realized how guilty I have been of overlooking the most important De-Stressor: The OSV, or Off-Season Vacation.   I was one of those golf course superintendents who rarely took a vacation, preferring instead to squeeze in a day off here and there, letting the wife and kids go to the beach with other wives and kids, while I worke
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

0

Buddy Delivers Point #3 of Our Ten Point Plan To Fix Golf

Buddy steps up with Point 3 of Rockbottum's Ten Point Plan for Fixin' Golf.   Ease up on the average golfer -- the guy who pays the bills -- by reducing the rough, inverting a few bunkers and slowing the greens down a little bit.   Rockbottum music video follows, to help clear any unpleasant memories inflicted by Buddy's overly simplistic analysis.    
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

0

How The USGA Can Defuse The Anchoring Controversy

The USGA is, as Buddy would say, "On the horns of an enema" in the current Anchoring controversy.   Their very existence is being challenged and the only way the USGA can remain in the driver's seat is to stiffen their spine and stand up to the rebels.   At Rockbottum CC, we're pretty experienced at standing up to unruly ruffians and scofflaws.    Therefore, we would like to offer our support to the USGA with a re-mastered training video that explains how to put an end to the whole mess.
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

0

500 Applicants For One GCS Job?

A few days ago, I heard about a course in Georgia that received 500 applications for a superintendent position.  That's some serious competition, the same kind of numbers one would find trying to survive the selection process for an elite special ops unit in the American military. There's a secret to succeeding against those odds and I know what it is.  I witnessed the brutal attrition rate of the aforementioned selection process several times and eventually realized the one trait that all th
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

3

The Return of Ydnar

Ydnar, Randy's evil twin, somehow managed to extricate himself from the GCS Retirement Home and Asylum, several years before completing his sentence, and arrived at Rockbottum eager to deliver the thesis that earned him a PH.d (Post Hole Digger) while he was incarcerated at the GCSRH&A.   Ydnar's thesis is entitled, "The 10 Point Plan For Fixin' Golf" and while he personally delivers the first two points, we will have to finish it for him, as some folks in black suits came during the tapin
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

0

Advice From The Skeletal Greenkeeper

Ludell Hogwaller, Rockbottum's Executive Film Producer and Cup Changer, recently decided to listen to suggestions from TurfNet Members and act upon the best ideas.   This is quite a change, as virtually none of the key people in management Here at The Rock, will listen to anyone on any topic.   Matt Jones, a GCS/GM who once worked at Rockbottum, (Matt was not the GCS here, his official title was DOGC, Destroyer of Golf Carts) made a recent demand for a weekly video advice column.   Ordinar
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

1

PAINLESS Golf Balls for Crew Safety

At Rockbottum CC, we are always looking for better, safer ways to manage the golf course.   Rockbottum's typically heavy play requires mowing during periods of peak play, so we have invested a great deal of time and effort in research intended to make the course safer for the crew.   Our current breakthrough in golfer/crew safety is the "PAINLESS" golf ball.   
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

0

Rockbottum Answers The Fairway Stimp Question with Golf Musical Theatre!

One of those terrible habits I can't shake involves reading as many golf related websites as possible, every day, like one of those CIA readers, as depicted in Robert Redford's "Three Days of The Condor".   I prowl the net, studying golf trends and fads, analyzing the direction we are sliding, pushed by pundits, manufacturers, experts, ruling bodies and the opinions of average golfers on various forums.   Usually, if I read something stupid, I just cackle and shake my head.  If it's really b
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

0

Recommended Rockbottum Reading

When the cold winds blow and the golf course wanders in and out of suspended animation, we here at The Rock like to put a few hickory logs in the fireplace and recharge our minds and spirits for what summer will throw at us.     Cable TV has long been banished from the realm of Rockbottum, so our favorite winter evening activity involves reading near the fireplace, hot chamomile tea, warm homemade bread and quiet music.   Our reading music is typically Ralph Vaughn Williams or George Winston
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

0

Best And Worst GCS Hobby #6

The Best and Worst GCS Hobby #6 has been hidden on the shelf for several months, due to issues of censorship and good taste.   However, since good taste is not really an issue with Ludell . . . and Momma is too busy running the golf course to oversee every single Rockbottum CC training film, we hurriedly present:   "Backpacking for the Golf Course Superintendent."   
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

0

Classic Golf Architecture and The Origins of Rockbottum CC

Due to a sudden increase in requests for more information on Rockbottum CC and Skeletal Greenkeeper Theory, I have decided to reveal how I became mired involved in this situation.   Note:  I will not divulge the actual name of Rockbottum, because I do not wish to use TurfNet to promote my architectural brilliance, but if you are a sharp-eyed video enthusiast, you may already know the true name.   Obsessed with golf architecture from an early age, mostly due to the strategic and tactical natu
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

0

Rockbottum Series: The State Of Golf, Part Two.

Part Two of the Rockbottum Series on The State of Golf involves adaptation and suggested reading material from Pulitzer Prize winning author Jared Diamond.   If you don't have time to read the assignment, just watch this video.  
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

1

State of Golf Address

In the spirit of The State of The Union Address, I have endeavored to write and deliver a comprehensive analysis of the current state of affairs in golf. Due to constant interruptions provided by GCS duties, I have been forced to split the State of Golf Address into several segments. The first segment contains very little of the State of Golf Address, but some of the issues facing golf are presented in short form. On the bright side, unlike the Presidential State of the Union, you will not h
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

0

State of Golf Address

In the spirit of The State of The Union Address, I have endeavored to write and deliver a comprehensive analysis of the current state of affairs in golf.   Due to constant interruptions provided by GCS duties, I have been forced to split the State of Golf Address into several segments. Due to constant interruptions provided by GCS duties . . . The first segment contains very little of the State of Golf Address, but some of the issues facing golf are presented in short form.   On the bri
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

0

Does Your Golf Course Marshal Need A Little Help?

Our GCM (Golf Course Marshal) is often accused of being lazy, ineffective and unwilling to do the job. When the GCM attempts to speed play and enforce local rules, golfers howl in protest, calling the GCM a jack-booted power-crazed thug gleefully dealing out harassment and oppression. If the GCM is polite, the players ignore GCM commands and refuse to comply; it is not unusual for golfers to see a polite GCM as a sign of weakness and follow up with threats and physical abuse. Here at The Roc
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

0

Marshal's Little Helper

Our GCM (Golf Course Marshal) is often accused of being lazy, ineffective and unwilling to do the job.   When the GCM attempts to speed play and enforce local rules, golfers howl in protest, calling the GCM a jack-booted power-crazed thug gleefully dealing out harassment and oppression.   If the GCM is polite, the players ignore GCM commands and refuse to comply; it is not unusual for golfers to see a polite GCM as a sign of weakness and follow up with threats and physical abuse. . . . go
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

0

Crew Management Veminar From The Skeletal GreenKeeper

Football coaches know their chances of making it to “Legendary Coach” status are greater if their team is talented, highly motivated, fast and smart. The Golf Course Superintendent is in a similar situation.  It can be very difficult to reach the top ranks of Golf Course Superintendents while saddled with a poor team. That’s my excuse. Everyone in this industry knows what a positive influence a talented equipment tech can have on a golf course.   The highly motivated assistant superintendent
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

0

Crew Management Veminar From The Skeletal GreenKeeper

Football coaches know their chances of making it to Legendary Coach status are greater if their team is talented, highly motivated, fast and smart.   The Golf Course Superintendent is in a similar situation.  It can be very difficult to reach the top ranks of Golf Course Superintendents while saddled with a poor team.   That's my excuse.   Everyone in this industry knows what a positive influence a talented equipment tech can have on a golf course.   The highly motivated assistant superint
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

0

How Did We Build Golf Courses in 1932?

Recently, Peter McCormick, TurfNet Commander, posted a wildly interesting video in the TurfNet Forum, a classic film on “The Early Days of Greenkeeping“. While watching the old film, I remembered I had some old film footage stashed away in the Rockbottum CC vault, acquired during my Classic Golf Architecture fanatic period.  The footage showed our local muni here in Griffin, Georgia, during the earliest construction phase, in 1932. I located the film and edited it down for internet attention s
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

0

How Did We Build Golf Courses in 1932?

Recently, Peter McCormick, TurfNet Commander, posted a wildly interesting video in the TurfNet Forum, a classic film on The Early Days of Greenkeeping.   While watching the old film, I remembered I had some old film footage stashed away in the Rockbottum CC vault, acquired during my Classic Golf Architecture fanatic period.  The footage showed our local muni here in Griffin, Georgia, during the earliest construction phase, in 1932.   I located the film and edited it down for internet attenti
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

0

Skeletal Golf Operation Techniques

At Rockbottum CC, our green fee for a weekday walker is $10.  We don’t get very many walking players, but if someone wanted to play several times a week, it would be affordable. The fees go up for riders, but the amount is still minimal when compared to other courses in our area, especially the clubs that went millions in debt to attract new members with upgraded clubhouse facilities. Rockbottum CC doesn’t have the slick shine of our expensive neighbors, but we have one thing they don’t:  Play
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

0

Skeletal Golf Operation Techniques

At Rockbottum CC, our green fee for a weekday walker is $10.  We dont get very many walking players, but if someone wanted to play several times a week, it would be affordable.   The fees go up for riders, but the amount is still minimal when compared to other courses in our area, especially the clubs that went millions in debt to attract new members with upgraded clubhouse facilities.   Rockbottum CC doesnt have the slick shine of our expensive neighbors, but we have one thing they dont:  P
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

0

A Gopher For Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is our favorite holiday at Rockbottum CC, mostly because almost every Thanksgiving morning since 1973, we have engaged in a hard-fought, knock ’em down and drag ’em out golf match. It’s a two-man team, match play event and the rules are simple:  To play, you have to be a Wilson, either in the golf business or a veteran of the golf world, and your partner has to be your brother.  For the first few years, it was known as The Wilson Brothers Championship of the Universe, but it got bi
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

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