It's mid January and we are well under way with 2014. We have shaken of the dust of last year, got out our pen and paper and are ready to go to town with our long list of New Year's resolutions. This year is going to be different, I can feel it, it's going to be the best ever (screeeetcccchhh ? insert the sound of the needle dragging across the vinyl).
Hold on. Let's take a step back and think about this for a minute. Where is your list of resolutions from last year? Does it look disturbingl
I admit it. I am a sucker for this time of year. Once the snow starts falling, the tree is up and the eggnog starts to flow, it can be the very best time of the year. For most of us, the general business of the golf season is wound down, so it can be a great time to sit back and relax.
Yet the holidays can get away from us if we let it. If all we focus on are Black Fridays, Cyber Mondays, and all the shopping days until Christmas eve, it can be easy to lose focus. The marketing machine is i
"One forgives to the degree that one loves." Francois de La Rochefoucauld
I had planned on a different post this week, but the recent death of Nelson Mandela changed my mind. I am not sure if there has been another person in my lifetime who has effected as much positive change as he did. He was many things to many people; a revolutionary, a saint, a shrewd politician... but for me personally his greatest lesson came in his ability to forgive.
Mandela spent 27 years of his life imprison
I was fortunate enough to take a few days off last week and take a fall trip with my extended family. This trip has grown into an annual family ritual that we all enjoy. This years edition took to the beautiful town of Mahone Bay, located on the south shore of the province of Nova Scotia.
While it was great to get away and recharge a wee bit, there was something else that caught a great deal of my attention while in this town. Mahone Bay is an old town with a rich shipbuilding heritage.
The mentors in my life have been a strange lot, coming in all shapes and sizes. Some have been quiet, while others never shut up. Most of the lessons were of the hidden sort, revealing themselves over time rather than cracking me upside the head. They have all played a part in shaping my life thus far and, if I am lucky, will continue to do so.
As superintendents we all have had teachers and mentors along the way. They taught us the nuts and bolts of the turf industry and, if we were fortuna
I was lucky enough this past week to sit in on a wonderful discussion with a good friend and former professor of mine. Based on the title of this post you might think that we were discussing weight loss, but you could not be further from the truth. The talk itself revolved around those unexplainable moments in our lives, often referred to as 'thin moments', when the barrier between our everyday reality and a larger, more universal reality is shattered. Something cracks through the haze of our ev
"My happiness grows in direct proportion to my acceptance, and in inverse proportion to my expectations." Michael J. Fox
Over the weekend I had an interesting chat with my sister-in-law. She was reflecting on the malaise of her generation (she is 28) and how it relates to job prospects and general quality of life. The conversation eventually swung around to the topic of expectations and how they are directly linked to contentment.
Her basic premise was that people who trundle through
I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual O how I laugh when I think of my vague indefinite riches. No run on my bank can drain it, for my wealth is not possession but enjoyment. -- Henry David Thoreau
Last week I was fortunate enough to turn the big 4-0. Leading up to the day people asked how I felt about this milestone. My tongue and cheek response was usually the same, its better than the alternative. The line was said partly in jest, but in reality I secretly mea
Ring the bells that still can ring Forget your perfect offering There is a crack, a crack in everything Thats how the light gets in
Leonard Cohen, Anthem
I was walking through a dense grove of older spruce trees the other day. By all appearances, most of the trees were on the downward slide of their life spans, and not looking very healthy. Its an eerie sight, rusting branches, old mans beard, and lichen as far as the eye can see. But then I came upon a clearing, no more than a dozen fee
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
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
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
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
A few posts back we talked about words that should be banished from your lexicon (Speak No Evil). The first word on the list was can't. Its one of those words that we use and hear so often that it becomes commonplace. But have you ever really stopped to think that it really doesn't stand up to scrutiny? Think about all of the things in greenkeeping that people have told us we can't do: roll constantly, water for an hour at a time, grow bentgrass without poa, and this list goes on and on.
It'
I have been tossing this idea around for a spell. What are the common demons we all fight from time to time? We have covered a couple of them already; dealing with the unruly golfer, and the burn out syndrome, but I want to get more specific and clarify things a bit. The demons Ill be speaking of are the ones that bind us together, and tear us apart.
I am in the throes of battling one as we speak. It is a subtle bugger that can sneak up on you over time. It adds up slowly, kind of like weigh
This blogging thing just keeps getting better. The more I write, the more I read and the more I stumble upon your stories. It might get to the point soon where I simply post your writing; it's that good.
The Maestro sent me a link to a blog post by Adam Garr, superintendent at Plum Hollow Country Club in Southfield, Michigan. Adam was plugging away like the rest of us, but about a year ago he had an epiphany that changed how he not only does his job, but how he lives his life.
The origin
This week I watched with a combination of fascination and horror as our own Michael Stachowicz continued to navigate the minefield of the post private club blues. If you have not read any of Michael's writing, you should. It's thoughtful, well written and (unfortunately for some) brutally honest. It is basically a post apocalyptic account of working within the political confines of a very stereotypical private golf club in America.
His latest post on a blog he created to promote solidarity w
There are times in your life when for one reason or another you are able to step outside the normal craziness and see things from a different angle. You know the times I'm speaking of you're out on the course first thing in the morning, everything is piercingly quiet, and the universe just feels right. Life becomes clearer and your priorities suddenly come into sharper focus. Last weekend was one of those times for me.
It started last Thursday, when we received the tragic news that my brothe
There was a Ted Talk recently by Amanda Palmer, a musician who has made her way by not being afraid to ask for help. By depending on her fans for a place to crash and eat while on tour, she developed a very loyal following. She gives her tunes away for free, asking only for a little help along the way to offset the costs of production. Her talk tells of the intimate connection that is developed between people when one is not afraid to ask, and the other is not afraid to answer.
Her mes
Okay, now that you have a few more holes in your vocabulary because of last weeks post (Speak No Evil), it's time we start to talk about filling the voids. It doesn't take a whole lot of effort... just choose one word to focus on and use it a little more often.
As with many things, the more you focus on something, the more things like it start to show up in your life.
Speech is the mirror of the soul; as a man speaks, so he is." Publilius Syrus
Words, phrases and actions can work
The words we use every day have a direct impact on how we think about things, and consequently our general outlook on life. Consider the following quote:
Your beliefs become your thoughts, Your thoughts become your words, Your words become your actions, Your actions become your habits, Your habits become your values, Your values become your destiny.
- Mahatma Gandhi
Our language also directly affects others, in both good and bad ways. Words can be helpful and encouraging, but sometime
Our lives are governed by stories. We have our personal ones, our family lore, the stories of our nations, and the stories of the world as a whole. These tales can tell us much about who we are as individuals, and if we can listen carefully we can use the narrative to create change for the better.
Unfortunately the people of the United States and the world are confronted with yet another tragic story, one which is all too familiar and laced with unimaginable pain and suffering. These events
As I write this post I am but a few scant hours away from getting three wisdom teeth yanked. I have had a virtually nonexistent relationship with my dentist over the past number of years, so it was not a great shock to learn that three of my chompers were to be banished from my mouth forever.
While I might lament my lost teeth, that is not the reason for telling you about them. I have found the behind the scenes story this week to be much more interesting. Its the story that the mind plays in
One of the main reasons I have enjoyed TurfNet so much over the years has been Randy Wilson. From the first time I read his musings to the initial video from the mythical 'Rockbottum Country Club', his wisdom and wit have been spot on. His ability to cut through the crap with humor is only superseded by his honesty about what it has meant for him to live the life of a greenkeeper. His recent post regarding the OSV (Off-Season Vacation) may be one of his best yet. It may not be the funniest or
We have all been there; upside down in a hole, trying to convince two pieces of pipe that they really were once connected. Or maybe you are in the garage trying to put together your latest purchase with instructions in some obscure Scandinavian language. The harder you try, the worse things become, until your frustration boils over. By this point the screw head is stripped or the valve is stuck harder than when you started, and you are using expletives unfit for boot camp.
Strangely enough,
