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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

Rockbottum Radio: The Millennial Workforce Problem

In this first episode of Rockbottum Radio -- live from deep in the TurfNet Zone -- your host Randy Wilson goes Point | Counterpoint with Ludell Hogwaller on the topic of the Millennial Workforce Problem... and what to do about it. Topics on the table include turfgrass education, The Tritabaugh Effect, hybrid staff positions and the modern housing dilemma.   Brought to you by VinylGuard Golf and Macrosorb Technologies.
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

0

Bikes On The Golf Course?

In Skeletal Golf, we look for every possible low-cost, extra-sustainable alternative to doing things the way they've always been done.  One of our favorite methods has been adapting the Human Powered Utility Vehicle (HPUV) to golf course operations. It worked very well for years.  Sure, there was the occasional complaint from golfers who hated seeing the irrigation tech using a mountain bike to service controllers or water sod . . . but after I changed over to a tractor with no muffler, the
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

0

Dynamics in Golf Course Maintenance

The most consistent complaint I receive concerning our films would be the perception of inconsistency.  The caller (it's always the phone, presumably to avoid leaving written evidence) lectures me on the need to stick with one kind of format, style, etc. 80% want golf related humor, mostly for stress relief after a difficult day.  Another 10% would prefer serious topics on industry trends, while about 9% just want to see features on fellow golf course superintendents.  That last 1% want me
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

0

Skeletal Golf: The Hidden Chart

Over 20 years ago, we developed a Chart of Golf Course Stratification, to help us categorize courses and determine what type of player we would encounter.  The Chart also aided us in creating a maintenance plan to fit the player, the budget and the personnel we could afford. This film offers 5000 CEUs toward MOGS, or Mystic Order of Greenkeeper Stratification. For a small fee, you can skip re-stratification, cause we're pretty up front about the whole thing.      
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

0

TurfNet Forum Reveals Surprising Netflix Favorites

TurfNetters, in a recent Forum discussion on Netflix viewing, revealed a sophisticated appetite for quality TV.  I expected this, as TurfNet members tend to be more intellectual than residents of other golf internet sites, where "reality" shows rule.   Here at Rockbottum CC, we strive to present an outward image of sophistication and erudite intellectualism, but when alone with Netflix in our darkened home theatre/cart barn, we like to watch British TV comedy. Once you learn the langua
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

0

The LPC Course Recon

During the Ryder Cup, Chris Tritabaugh shocked and amazed the international media by using a little known Skeletal Golf technique, "The LPC Course Recon". Instead of relying upon a truck or utility vehicle, Chris used the LPC, (Leather Personnel Carrier) to perform his critical daily course survey/analysis.   While the media immediately recognized Tritabaugh's smooth, calm management style and firm grip on logistics, crew deployment and situational response, they were awestruck by his radic
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

0

A Christmas Card on Film

Merry Christmas from Rockbottum CC Films.  Shot in Highlands on a cold night, we couldn't resist sharing this Christmas card on film with TurfNet. HIghlands is a tiny village on a plateau in the Appalachians at just over 4000 feet, known for amazingly beautiful golf courses, waterfalls, deep dark forests, wildlife and . . . a downtown display of Christmas decorations that reminds us of a simpler, slower time. Highlands is also home to top golf course superintendents like Fred Gehrisch,
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

4

Skeletal Golf Theory: The Business

In Part 1 of SG Theory, we discuss the business of golf, as opposed to the game of golf.  For those who desire letters behind their name and cannot afford big dues, travel and mandatory classes, here's your chance to do it the Skeletal Golf way. Just watch the film series on Skeletal Golf, take the test and earn the right to follow your name with MOG, the designation of the certified member of the Mystic Order of Greenkeepers.  
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

0

Varmints, Skunks, and Idiots

While shooting the Sewanee film, we noticed quite a bit of SKUNK damage on the fairways.  Our past research indicates Varmints come out in force during a drought, digging for tasty grubs, complaining about hard fairways and bemoaning the lack of lush green turf. To help any TN members who might be experiencing Skunk Pestilence, we hastily pulled our Varmint Training film out of the Rockbottum Vault and re-edited it to remove the stupid parts.  (That pretty much gutted the entire film, so we
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

0

The Skeletal Golf Series

Skeletal Golf, in several forms, has long been the foundation for the success of Rockbottum Country Club* and the Wilson Golf Dynasty.   The concept of SG is more applicable in hard times than during the euphoric boom time, and given the economic signals emanating from on high...  this might be a good time for those involved in the mid- to lower-level of golf to consider a contingency plan or two. Since leaving the military, I have spent more time studying economics than turf — probabl
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

3

Stop Making That Awful Coffee

As an unrepentant "Caffiend", I'm an expert on awful, terrible coffee.  From instant decaf that tasted like battery acid, to orderly room coffee* in the military, I have suffered it all.  *(ORC is brewed continuously for 24 hours, bubbling like a caldron in a Bill Shakespeare story.) On a dark, snowy night while crossing over the Brenner Pass, I sampled espresso for the first and last time, a black, bitter, teeth-chattering experience.  In the field--during my Army vacation from turf--I tot
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

7

Poisoned by Too Much Screen Time? Enter the UNSOCIAL MEDIA AWARDS

This week's guest author is Ludell Hogwaller.   My name is Ludell and I suffer from TMST.   Last week, I was the guest of honor at an exorcism, carried out by the Rockbottum elite, Chet Lester, Ydnar, Aint Feemy and Bubba.  They intended to excise my Luddite tendencies, citing my refusal to own a "smart" phone as the primary problem.   Apparently, I have angered the flock, because I won't take photos dripping with extreme narcissism, seek peer approval by "following" others, stagger around
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

8

Steve Ventola and The Course at Sewanee

Tucked away on a rugged mountain in Tennessee is a very special golf course.  Like many courses from the early days of golf in America, The Course at Sewanee looks and feels like it could have been a setting in a golf fairy tale.     Renovated by Gil Hanse in 2013, Sewanee is in the exceptionally capable hands of golf course superintendent Steve Ventola.     We found the course almost too good to be real; rugged and natural, while running firm, fast and dry in the right places, it's in Steve
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

2

Don't Follow Your Passion?

(Trigger Warning:  The following is a Ydnar rant, not a safe space.)   Yesterday, I was busy deleting emails, wiping the hard drive with a cloth, and I found a directive from an Alphabet Agency instructing me to read an article from Bloomberg entitled, "Following Your Passion Is Not A Career Goal".   I was puzzled.  Why would these folks suggest a philosophy that runs counter to what is needed to survive as a golf course superintendent?  Did they not read the article?  Perhaps the title soun
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

4

Avoiding The End Of Civilization

Originally, this post was intended to be an intelligent, thoughtful column about modern day golf course operations in the face of a changing economic environment, but then Wilber goes and writes some epic piece on Karma and Kevin Ross shocks everyone with his retirement and Paul MacCormack pens a zenful story about Chris Tritabaugh and the Ryder Cup, so . . .   I decided to wait until everything settled down and the afterglow wore off before I publish my masterpiece.  In the meantime, I'll jus
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

0

The Mystery of Pollinator Decline Solved!

Although our research is still in the infantile stage, we are releasing our Pollinator Decline findings early, to increase our chances of winning one of those environmental awards.    The following film will reveal just how far we will go in the name of science . . . and winning trophies.   (And you thought we were just a bunch of imbeciles.)         
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

0

The Verticutters Reunion Tour 2017

We are aware of how you watch Rockbottum Country Club films.  You like to binge watch on cold, wet, winter days.   That's why we rely on really short films during growing season and offer the lengthier films after the hard frost creeps south.   In keeping with that strategy, we thought this would be a good time to announce The Verticutters going out on tour next year by playing a few of our greatest hits.          
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

0

I Was Almost Killed For Not... Listening

When I was young, I suffered from the delusion of indestructibility, triggered by hormones and too many Roy Rogers movies.  While Roy offered good advice, all I seemed to absorb involved fist fights and six-guns. Years later, I was offered the most valuable bit of wisdom I would ever receive and those same hormones almost caused me to ignore it at a critical moment.  I would have surely died had this knowledge been delivered by an ordinary man, but fortunately for me, it was spoken by a grizz
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

5

Rockbottum Ideas Stolen . . . Again!

With the recent announcement of a major university conducting experiments in pest control using sonic waves, Rockbottum CC is forced to cry "FOUL"!   Once again, we are expected to sit quietly as others take credit for our forays into futurism and what has been called "golf sci-fi".   Well, not this time.  We are releasing proof of our earliest sonic pest control--and not just with something harmless like nematodes, but truly fearsome beasts.      
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

0

The Pollinator Dilemma

Dr. James Rittenhouse, noted pollinator researcher, is beginning to gain national attention with his controversial bee/hornet/butterfly/hummingbird/buzzard DNA swaps.     In the following short film, Dr. Rittenhouse interacts with one of his subjects.  
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

2

The Infamous "Tweety Bird Incident"

Have you ever had a protected employee (PE) you couldn't get rid of?  I had several, beginning in '72 with Mickey, a lifeguard who drew a paycheck all winter, courtesy of our maintenance budget.  Mickey was such a great lifeguard that he earned 20 hours a week during the off-season, appearing only to collect his check.   Dad wanted Mickey to help with tree work during the winter, but the owners insisted Mickey was a PE because he taught Sunday School and also was excellent at car washing.  Eve
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

0

This Grass Could Save Us... Okay, A Few Of Us

Bermuda grass, more commonly known by the scientific Latin designation "muda", (pronounced mooda) is my favorite grass.  After years of the "Walking Dead" lifestyle of BBA, (bent below Atlanta) experimenting with various fescues, poa triv, perennial ryes and zoysias, returning to muda was like a homecoming.   It was Tif Eagle that brought me back.  On the advice of Milton Abel, former GCS and current CEO of Classic Golf, I chose Tif Eagle for the giant greens at Rockbottum CC and it has been g
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

2

Golfers Who Move Tee Markers

When I was a small child, one of my daily assignments was to move the tee markers--by hand--which I did with great enthusiasm.  (This was before I learned to nudge them along with the tee mower.)   For some mysterious reason, on Saturday mornings, the markers sometimes found their way back to their original slap worn-out position and the blame landed on me.  Upon further investigation, I discovered the culprits:  Gamblers.   Golfers who played for money wanted the course set up to their adv
Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

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