The passing of seminal artists always has an effect on those fans who remain behind. With their deaths, we are confronted with a review of the full reach of their creativity and contribution to society as a whole. The magnitude of their contributions can easily be taken for granted while the artist is alive and creating, yet as in many things, it isn't until we posthumously acknowledge the power of their legacy, that we fully appreciate their artistic impact.
Recently, TurfNetters from nort
On Tuesday eight members of our group stayed in St. Andrews as they had been drawn from the ballot to play the Old Course. The remaining ten of us rode about 45 minutes to Carnoustie Golf Links, which will host The Open Championship in July 2018. We were anxious to hear about the plans for the course and the event from our hosts Sandy Reid and Craig Boath.
Craig Boath (foreground, holding Claret Jug) and Sandy Reid (right in blue sweater) explain some of the projects on the Championship Co
One of the biggest unknowns on the trip was whether any or many of us would get to play The Old Course. As the popularity of The Home of Golf has increased the "busy" time to play the course has extended into late October/early November.
Further restricting our chances was the fact that the clocks "fell back" on Sunday leaving less daylight and fewer tee times.
One of the benefits of waiting in line for the Old Course (for me anyway) was getting to see the morning mow.
A random bal
Mike Cook with The Care of Trees has been on so many TurfNet trips that he probably has a TurfNet trip shirt for every day of the week. His company usually hosts a get together on each trip and Sunday night was no exception.
St. Andrews Brewing Company is a short walk from our hotel. We tasted a variety of their beers and a few whiskeys and many of their appetizers. We had a private room and outstanding service from their staff including Robbie the manager.
It was the perfect way for eve
In this episode of Rockbottum Radio, I have a serious chat with envelope-pusher Mark Hoban, superintendent at Rivermont Golf Club in John's Creek, GA. One of the true "mad scientists" of the golf course maintenance world, Mark is constantly applying his holistic view of soil/plant management to new endeavors on the golf course. And he always keeps one eye on reducing inputs and subsequent c
Mark fills us in on his current delvings into biochar, compost extracts (as opposed to compost tea...
With everyone rested and settled in it was time for our first round of scheduled golf. We were lucky to play Kingsbarns Golf Links on the last open day of their season. Earlier this year the course hosted the British Women's Open yet there were few remaining signs of the infrastructure to host that event.
Kingsbarns lies just seven miles south of St. Andrews, so it was a quick trip there. The golf course opened in 2000 and occupies 1.8 miles of the North Sea coastline. It was designed by Kyl
Andy Campbell picked me up at the Rusacks Hotel at 6 AM and we were off to coordinate the pickup of our group at Edinburgh Airport. By design Saturday did not include any organized golf for the group. The "day off" was intended to help people get rested, acclimated and organized for the six rounds of golf coming up.
The largest contingent (11) was on Delta's non-stop flight from New York/JFK. Thanks to Scott Schukraft for taking this pre-flight photo.
(l-r) Bob Kamp, Brian Green, Kevin
When I am headed somewhere on a trip I typically go online to see if any concerts or other performances are taking place while I'm there. Luckily I discovered that St. Andrews had a Choral Festival in full swing the night before the TurfNet group's arrival in Scotland.
Bjarte Eike and Barokksolistene -- baroque musicians from Norway touring as The Alehouse Boys -- were performing their Alehouse Sessions in a venue with a twist. Rather than setting up in an auditorium, the festival transforme
We have covered various resume topics throughout my time here at TurfNet. This time around I'd like to look at a somewhat different angle. Usually I recommend that you have a professionally built website and portfolio to complement your resume. But for this blog, let's consider how you can use just a resume, nothing else, and still garner attention from employers.
It's not ideal, but if you are in a jam and haven't had your materials built, here are five things that are critical to include
One of the ways we promote future trips is by having plenty of shirts, hats, and other gift items from our previous trips in circulation. With our domestic trips it's easiest to have these items shipped to (or provided by) the host resort to greet our attendees on arrival, but the gift boxes for the foreign trips need to be sent out in advance so participants can pack the items themselves.
Swag boxes being sent out of the UPS Store in Atlanta.
Swag is also a great way to acknowledge an
The TurfNet Members' Trip Advance Team (read that as me) is on the ground in Edinburgh making final preparations to greet our group of 20 and welcome them to the Home of Golf on Saturday morning.
Favorable exchange rates this year made this first trip to Scotland economically feasible, at long last. Planning has been in the works for over a year with the help of friends and contacts made through our activities with BIGGA and presentations at BTME over the past few years. Many had offered to
For our annual Halloween tale of horror, we present "Never Say Dye".
Long ago, in primitive golfland, I stupidly stepped into the shoes of a superintendent who escaped resigned from a haunted economically stressed golf course and subsequently ran off accepted another offer.
Before he left, he told a horrifying story of being tricked into attempting a resurrection of a zombie country club; the terror began the moment he stepped foot on the course. It was built on floodplain, the bent g
In this episode of the TurfNet Renovation Report, presented by Golf Preservations and Jacobsen, host Jon Kiger chats with Butch Sheffield, long-time superintendent at North Ridge Country Club, about the recent practice facility renovation there.
In this episode of Living Legends, presented by the Nufarm Insider, host John Reitman chats with David Stone, retired superintendent at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, TN. Stone had been at The Honors Course since construction in 1982 (that's 35 years for anyone counting) and until his retirement was the only superintendent The Honors Course had ever known.
Spend a half hour getting to know David and gain from his wisdom garnered over his career as a golf course superintendent.
Watch this short film for a quick glimpse of some of the fun at this year's Highlands Cup. You'll probably want to try and qualify next year.
For actual details, check out John Reitman's story in TurfNet News.
Due to the success of our inaugural/trial trip to BTME in 2017, TurfNet will again host a delegation to BTME in January, 2018! Download the pdf for full details.
Dates of the trip are Thursday, January 18 (overnight departure from USA) to Friday, January 26 (morning/afternoon return flight).
We have a housing block booked for 16 people at the Harrogate Lifestyle Apartments across the street from the conference center. No shuttle busses!
Cost is $1750 double occupancy or $2300 single
Sustainability as relates to the landscape is difficult to define. I mostly know what it is, but at the same time I'm not really sure. The word itself seems to ask, "Can my landscape sustain itself?". However, if sustaining is the question, then any landscape that can be perpetuated for whatever reason, and consuming whatever resources required, is necessarily sustainable.
Sustainability also seems to have an ecological component of harmony with the environment. This attribute seems very wis
I don't do many speaking gigs.
That seems weird for a guy who loves and eats and drinks communication. It's not that I'm afraid of public speaking. That fear went away long ago. It's not that I don't love the actual events. I marvel at the quality of the education that is presented to Turfheads and how good the interactions can be.
What makes me take on just a few of these every year and be very picky about who I am speaking to has to do with the mental side of preparing for these very
Modern smartphones, social media, and digital task boards are leading the way toward a Techno-Utopia in golf operations.
Except for one minor glitch . . .
Golfers today have grown accustomed to playing on quality turf and are willing to pay higher greens fees to play on tour-quality greens. Chemical Rescue is one method widely used by greenkeepers and golf course managers in the UK and Ireland on links, heathland and parkland courses.
Rescue is a selective herbicide from Syngenta that attacks ryegrass in greens, tees, fairways, approaches, and roughs. In the past turf managers would have to remove ryegrass through hand-weeding or re-turfing a
Throughout the years writing this blog, I always find the September edition the toughest one. Being a superintendent/GM in the northeastern portion of the continent is always difficult this time of year. You are worn out by the season, many of your younger staff members have returned to their studies, and you still have a few miles left to go before winter. Finding clarity and creativity can be a challenge.
Creative inspiration can be an elusive concept to pin down. We know it when it hits
In this episode of Frankly Speaking, I chat with Mike Huck of Irrigation and Turf Services in Orange County, CA, one of the foremost experts in water availability, usage, regulation and what it all means for the golf course industry.
We talk about the end of the California drought, trends in overseeding, painting and turf reduction; costs of treating vs transporting water; use of hand-held vs in-ground soil moisture sensors, among other things.
We wind up with what we h
In this episode of The Ladder, presented by STEC Equipment, host John Reitman chats with Anthony Williams, CGCS, of TPC Four Seasons Las Colinas in Irving, TX. The conversation revolves around the role of the assistant superintendent and how it has changed dramatically over the past twenty years.
A former TurfNet Superintendent of the Year, Anthony joined TPC Four Seasons after a 30-year career with Marriott Hotels, where he received Marriott's highest honor the J.W. Marriott Award of Excel
