Our latest All Star of Turf is Jason Haines, whom many in the industry will remember for his high profile social media presence (as @PenderSuper) that suddenly went dark several years ago. As the golf course superintendent at Pender Harbour Golf Club and later Sunshine Coast Golf Club in British Columbia, Jason developed (by necessity) a low-input, minimalist turf maintenance strategy that he shared and brainstormed with his Twitter following of 8,000+ before deciding to step away from social media entirely. In the interim he was invited to speak at turf conferences in the US, Canada and internationally.
In April of 2023 Jason made the leap from British Columbia 3000 miles east to take over the reins at Cabot Links on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. Along with Cabot Cliffs and a newer 10-hole short course, Cabot Links is part of Cabot Cape Breton and is ranked #35 on the World Top 100 golf courses. Cabot Cliffs is ranked #1 in Canada.
In this fascinating conversation with Peter McCormick, Jason recounts the reasoning behind the advent of his minimalist turf maintenance programs, explains his departure from social media, and the positive move east to Cabot Cape Breton for him and his family. He uses the term “awesome” quite a bit in the conversation.
The transition from growing Poa in British Columbia (“unsustainable”, in his words) to tee-to-green fine fescue in Nova Scotia: “In a word, awesome.”
About joining the team of high-performance turf managers at Cabot: “I was used to working by myself. It’s awesome to be a part of this group. Everyone here is here to be awesome. It’s easy to be inspired here. But just because somebody comes to work here doesn’t make them awesome… they have to make this place awesome in the first place.”
“This is the perfect job for me, everything that I have been working toward with the minimalist style of greenkeeping in a links setting. This has been one of the most rewarding seasons of my career — so good — can’t believe I’m here.”
Awesome selection and well deserved!
That was great, a very positive vibe. Jason made a good decision to pull back from the internet. I think that’s why he’s still so sensible.
However, don’t try the giant asphalt roller unless you flag and paint the heads–and them big rollers don’t climb well on wet turf.
TURF HACKER’S SNOWFLAKE NONSENSE !
Turf Hacker [ a.k.a. Jason Haines ] is employed as a golf course superintendent, when, in fact, he operates as a « snowflake-superintendent ». He preaches nonsense doctrines under various guises, such as anti-turfgrass-science deviant, social justice warrior, & environmental activist-fanatжc.
Turf Hacker has chosen to deviate from, & conveniently ignore, main-stream turf maintenance practices that are overwhelmingly science-based, time-tested, correct, & disciplined. He has confessed that his failed maintenance doctrines have led to dead grass & useless golf playing surfaces. At one point in time, when his greens died, he has been confronted by people who said that his golf course was being managed by some kind of idiot.
Clearly, Turf Hacker has failed to provide paying golf-customers with high-quality playing conditions & aesthetics. He has admitted that with dead grass & useless playing conditions, there is the threat of losing his livelihood. Consequently, he seeks to be immunized from job termination by implying that his worsening mental health issues have rendered him unable to satisfy paying-golfers. He claims that it does not matter how skilled he is, or how many resources he is provided, he will still fail. He prefers to blame his failures with excuses about uncontrollable Mother Nature [ i.e. environmental extremes ].
By extrapolating from his video-blog statements, Turf Hacker has been exclaiming ― golf facility owners & their paying golf-customers must shut up & put up with him & other snowflakes. He thinks that it is essential that golfers’ expectations must be lowered. Unfortunately, it is not his role to dictate expectations to golf-customers. As a golf course superintendent, he is responsible to provide paying-golfers with high-quality playing conditions & aesthetics, at a minimum, on all of his putting greens. While shirking his own responsibilities, Turf Hacker hopes that he can force all other superintendents to admit that their main-stream turf maintenance practices are failures just like his failed doctrines.
Many observers believe that « snowflake-superintendents » represent the greatest threats to the golf industry today. These snowflakes are, seemingly, mentally-challenged & incompetent ― they represent no useful purpose to the golf industry. They cannot be trusted, & do not represent main-stream golf course superintendents. They are bad for the golf industry, & bad for golf business. They simply do not deserve to work in the golf industry that they betray.
We are the National Organization Responding Against HUJE that conspire to destroy the Green space & other industries ( NORAHG ). We dare to defy snowflakes by exploring the whole truth from an independent perspective on The Pesticide Truths Web-Site … http://pesticidetruths.com/
WILLIAM H GATHERCOLE AND NORAH G
For more information, please explore the following links …
√ — Turf Hacker’s Snowflake Nonsense — Critical Incident Stress & Mental Health Of Superintendents — LINK
http://pesticidetruths.com/2019/02/15/snowflake-statements-turf-hacker-transcript-on-the-critical-incident-stress-mental-health-of-golf-course-superintendents-failure-to-provide-paying-golf-customers-with-high-quality-pl/
√ — The Confessions Of Activist-Superintendent Turf Hacker — LINK
http://pesticidetruths.com/2018/12/09/attacks-against-the-golf-industry-the-confessions-of-an-activist-superintendent-failure-to-provide-paying-golf-customers-with-high-quality-playing-conditions-aesthetics-2018-12-02/
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