I'd like to take a quick break from the water quality thing to share a recent experience from the field. Everybody tank mixes fertility products. In some form or another, you put stuff in the spray tank and expect that it will come out whatever nozzles you have and do the intended job. That's not rocket science. It's part of Turfhead life. So when I was called this week to help a Turfhead straighten out a spray mix, I was pretty excited to see what said Turf Monkey was hitting the tank with and
The common question that I seem to be getting in the last few weeks has to do with feeding greens. While there can't be a universal rule set for all the different climates we all work in, there are a few things that I like to see happen for best practice summer stress conditioning. For me, consistency is key. Set your feeding schedule and stick to it. Sure, sometime things happen, but when we are doing it right, there isn't much Nitrogen involved and so growth isnt a big deal. Speaking of grow
To this day, I really don't know what happened. I've heard some stories and have a few paper trail type details, but that's it. After a string of 2,000 mile weeks, a notable in the golf world fumbling the ball and blaming everyone else including me and a bunch of other little and big things, I started not sleeping. For me, that's nothing new. I've not really been into sleep that much and for what it seemed, my body didn't need much. But then came one big hassle after another and not only was I
Many courses in Northern areas have begun their annual rite of late Summer, early Fall-the roar of the hollow tine cultivation unit followed by burying the putting surface, tee or fairway in sand topdressing. Is this a hold-over from a time when we aerified twice per year or is it something we need to keep doing?
In simple terms if you have a sand-based root-zone, i.e., greater than 85% sand, you have a few options. First, if you want to minimize any coring-solid, hollow or needle, then you be
Many courses in Northern areas have begun their annual rite of late Summer, early Fall-the roar of the hollow tine cultivation unit followed by burying the putting surface, tee or fairway in sand topdressing. Is this a hold-over from a time when we aerified twice per year or is it something we need to keep doing?
Is this a hold-over from a time when we aerified twice per year or is it something we need to keep doing?
In simple terms if you have a sand-based root-zone, i.e., greater than 85%
The morning we’ve been waiting on for 120 days. Cool, dry, brisk and happy.
If it wasn’t for one minor problem, this day would be perfect. Glorious. Perfectly glorious.
And that one thing is: The Anti-Climax that always hits when it appears the hellish heat of summer is beginning to loosen its grip.
It happens every year at Rockbottum CC and this year, Momma filmed the Anti-Climatic Moment.
We invite you to join us, Here At The Rock, for a few moments of what we think is almost . . . a P
Once Upon A Time, while wandering through the land of golf course operations, I encountered a dark and wicked force. Well, actually, I ran across a number of wicked forces, especially at country clubs, but there was one that was the wickedest.
After several brushes with this wickedness, I escaped and lived for many years in Happy Ever After as a GCS. But lately, I’ve had this nagging feeling that the wickedness has returned and is growing, unseen, like that Alien embryo that looks like an unc
My original plan for today involved writing an essay full of thought-provoking profound revelations about the future of golf and our place in it . . . but after 800 words of serious brow-wrinkling and eye strain, I realized there are lots of people in golf that can write serious intellectual golf business philosophy, so I hit delete and stared at my empty coffee mug.
That’s when Momma stormed in and barked, “Who cares what other golf writers can do? Do something they can’t!”
I realized Momma
I had the pleasure of working as a volunteer at The Barclays held on the Black Course at the Bethpage State Park. Getting up at 3:30am to assist ‘set-up man” extraordinaire, Rich Roble now with two US Opens and a FedEx Playoff under his belt. Set-up at this level is a lesson in precision. Cut a level cup to the exact depth and replace the plug so that when passed over by a mower set at 0.085″ it is neither high nor low. Any misstep and
Set-up Man Rich Roble
or inconsistency and you have prov
I had the pleasure of working as a volunteer at The Barclays held on the Black Course at the Bethpage State Park. Getting up at 3:30am to assist set-up man" extraordinaire, Rich Roble, now with two US Opens and a FedEx Playoff under his belt.
Set-up at this level is a lesson in precision. Cut a level cup to the exact depth and replace the plug so that when passed over by a mower set at 0.085 it is neither high nor low. Any misstep and or inconsistency and you have provided the professional t
To this day, I really don’t know what happened. I’ve heard some stories and have a few paper trail type details, but that’s it. After a string of 2,000 mile weeks, a notable in the golf world fumbling the ball and blaming everyone else including me and a bunch of other little and big things, I started not sleeping. For me, that’s nothing new. I’ve not really been into sleep that much and for what it seemed, my body didn’t need much.
But then came one big hassle after another and not only was I
We interrupt our currently scheduled series on Best and Worst GCS Hobbies for a special announcement: The 100 Days of Hell are almost over!
We can tell because of all the back to school ads and the sudden surge in expert football analysis offered by golfers once focused merely on green speed.
In addition, our local hunting store has awakened from fishing catatonia to prepare for deer season and I saw a bentgrass superintendent the other day–without the facial tics, the Thousand Yard Stare at
My favorite hobby for the GCS is up next, holding down the #5 slot. It should be #1, but the judges decided my particular choice was lacking in several critical areas. (Most of which are related to beer, cars, motors, guns, fishing poles, attractive women and not wearing spandex in public.)
It may not be the average superintendent’s first choice, but there’s nothing like a little fear in your day to override that other omnipresent fear, the one that involves losing greens or hearing, “We’ve d
Something dark and evil has triggered a mysterious surge in the number of Irrational Member incidents on golf courses everywhere.
Irrational Member Syndrome, (IMS) can strike anywhere, especially during the summer stress period. Oddly enough, IMS is more prevalent at the finest courses, those that are maintained at such a high level that it is hard to find fault with the course playability, aesthetics or budget management. When the GCS at this type of facility is attacked by an Irrational Mem
Now men . . . Here at The Rock, we are proud to present the latest segment of Best and Worst Hobbies for the GCS.
Today, we cover #7, a hobby capable of combining work with fun and stress reduction.
Also, included free in the film are several tips for GCS success and one Rockbottum technique for smoothing over pro shop mistakes.
Mystic Order of Greenkeeper CEU points will be offered, if you can pass the MOG test administered at the TurfNet Trip to Bandon Dunes in October.
The pressure to produce flawlessly consistent playing conditions is stressful on biological organisms, i.e., plants and people. We seek any solution to enhance plant health when “backed into a corner” with weak turf, poor growing environments, stress from close mowing, etc. Sometimes these solutions help, other times they have unintended consequences.
All the rage this year about Bacterial Wilt/ Decline has me wondering about these unintended consequences when it comes to our obsession with pla
The pressure to produce flawlessly consistent playing conditions is stressful on biological organisms, i.e., plants and people. We seek any solution to enhance plant health when backed into a corner with weak turf, poor growing environments, stress from close mowing, etc. Sometimes these solutions help, other times they have unintended consequences.
All the rage this year about Bacterial Wilt/ Decline has me wondering about these unintended consequences when it comes to our obsession with pl
The common question that I seem to be getting in the last few weeks has to do with feeding greens. While there can’t be a universal rule set for all the different climates we all work in, there are a few things that I like to see happen for best practice summer stress conditioning.
For me, consistency is key. Set your feeding schedule and stick to it. Sure, sometime things happen, but when we are doing it right, there isn’t much Nitrogen involved and so growth isnt a big deal.
Speaking of gr
As a veteran of several rain free summers–while in marginal control of a golf course–I learned what most Golf Course Superintendents go through in the early days of August.
The GCS in the heat of August lives in a narrow, time-sensitive world, a place where attention to detail and quick reactions are critical.
During a hellish summer like this one, the GCS does not have time to read long articles full of charts and equations or watch another endless wobbly 7 minute video of talking heads discu
The following short film is a compilation of brilliant golf business practices that we use to separate Rockbottum from all other clubs.
Please enjoy “The Wisdoms of Rockbottum Country Club”
The following short film is a compilation of brilliant golf business practices that we use to separate Rockbottum from all other clubs.
Please enjoy “The Wisdoms of Rockbottum Country Club”
No matter what Momma says, I still consider myself an irrigation repair genius, an idiot savant in the field of quick, effective fixes. (Momma says only one of those words applies.)
Because I worked on the world’s supply of sorry, miserable, numbskull-designed irrigation systems, I learned a lot about fixing broken lines, serial pin-holes and mysterious pressure drops in hydraulic tubes; I also compiled a list of crooked contractors who installed worthless, previously failed parts, drew up fan
No matter what Momma says, I still consider myself an irrigation repair genius, an idiot savant in the field of quick, effective fixes. (Momma says only one of those words applies.)
Because I worked on the world’s supply of sorry, miserable, numbskull-designed irrigation systems, I learned a lot about fixing broken lines, serial pin-holes and mysterious pressure drops in hydraulic tubes; I also compiled a list of crooked contractors who installed worthless, previously failed parts, drew up
