Modern smartphones, social media, and digital task boards are leading the way toward a Techno-Utopia in golf operations.
Except for one minor glitch . . .
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 Rockbottom Radio Off the Leash (or is it "Off the Rails"?), Randy discusses his experiences with flood recovery and correction recommendations; crow deterrents; the greatest golf course maintenance stuff; and Rudy, a member of the Golf Course Dog Hall of Fame.
BTW, what is 'providential topdressing?"
Presented by VinylGuard Golf
This post is a quick and easy, yet very effective use of your application email for making an impact in your job application right at the start. First off, there are a two things you should know about sending your application email:
You should state your sincere interest in the club or company and mention why their organization is worthy of your interest. It almost always serves you well to flatter with a statement about them, instead of solely focusing on you. This is a great way to sta
In order to replicate golf's biggest growth surge, we have been doing research into what caused the 80s boom. Was it greed? No, although bankers and real estate developers rarely miss out on hyper-inflating a good bubble, turns out . . . it wasn't them.
Was it the sharp increase in televised golf saturation? No. Was it the Boomers aging out of participatory team sports? White belts? Johnny Miller?
It was none of these. It may be hard to believe, but the 80s Golf Boom predated th
In this episode of Frankly Speaking, I chat with Dr. Al Turgeon, professor emeritus at Penn State University, about his career evolvement from the golf course to Viet Nam and through academia, with a brief stint in industry in between his various academic stops around the country.
Take this whirlwind tour as Al and I reminisce about all the big names in the history of turfgrass science, many of whom rubbed elbows at some point with Dr. Turgeon. He even hired Dr. Milt Engelke at Texas
Back in June, I was headed home from a trip to Minneapolis to visit my son, who had been interning at Toro. My route took me through Des Moines, Iowa, so I decided to visit Rick Tegtmeier. This was my first visit to Des Moines Golf & Country Club, and Rick was anxious to show me around. So, out we went for a tour of the golf course... all 36 holes of which had been completely renovated over the past four years under Rick's guidance.
Even though I was on a tight traveling schedule, I rea
Everybody wants to have their own shop. I've been studying Hector's Shop for a while and I think I can do it, too.
Here's a short training film that explains how to fix a bad starter.
Branding is the effort to create a distinct and significant positive awareness of your organization in the mind of your customer or stakeholders. This recognition of your capabilities and contributions can be important to whether or not your operation is seen as benefiting the organization as a whole. Branding is a way that you can you can help to affect the way your image is perceived by the people you work with every day. While your work output/quality is the most important factor to organizat
Lately, when I read the interweb, that guitar riff from Mike Judge's "Idiocracy" plays at full volume in my head. You know what I'm talking about, the lick that sounds like it was ripped from Cheech and Chong? Judge has not only accidentally joined the ranks of dystopian prophets like Huxley, Orwell and Rand, he has provided a soundtrack worthy of the Ministry of Truth's daily expectorations.
As the digital cacophony increases in volume, I find myself scurrying around seeking a safe space,
In this episode, host John Reitman chats with career superintendent, mentor-to-many and current "international agronomy consultant", Dick Bator.
Bator's superintendent career included stops at Pine Valley, Merion and Oakmont. Over those years he mentored -- some may say 'tormented' -- many assistants who went on to careers as head superintendents.
He shares with us some of what made him tick, and advice for today. Some takeaways:
I hired good people, but pushed them and taught
The 2017 Solheim Cup is in the books with a victory for the American ladies. It was also a big victory for the agronomy staff at Des Moines Golf and Country Club. Led by Rick Tegtmeier, Director of Grounds, and superintendents Nate Tegtmeier and Tim Sims, the course staff and volunteers all pulled together to make this tournament an unqualified success. The condition and playability of the golf course was spectacular, applauded by both US and European players.
What I will remember most about
One evening, early in the week at the Solheim Cup, Rick Tegtmeier was making his rounds and stopped to chat with me. I was just shooting some b-roll video and was in no hurry, so I welcomed the chance to shoot the breeze. That's just what we did.
We didn't talk about Poa control or bunkers or fertilizer. We just generally talked about life and some special things he had in store for the tournament. I'll never forget that evening perfect weather, nobody around, just Rick and I catching up on
At most large golf events, theres usually something unique to contribute to that event's own flair, flavor and personality. LIke the $2.00 pimento cheese or egg salad sandwiches at The Masters, wrapped in green paper so if one gets away it can't be seen on TV as litter. Quintessential Masters, and only Masters. Or, the maintenance staff's toques (a Canadian/northern US term for a knitted winter hat with a beanie on top) at the Ryder Cup last year in MInnesota. Won't see them in Florida.
The
My friend, Rick Tegtmeier, has a gleam in his eye. Why? It's there because he knows. He won't admit to you he knows, but he does.
He may have doubted it over the past four or five years, but he now knows all the hard work -- every little moment of stress -- was all worth it.
He also knows that people really love him. Everyone has shown it this week by traveling from near and far to do any and all that's needed to help him make this tournament a smashing success.
Rick remembers all th
It always amazes me how you can get a group of volunteers to perform like a symphony orchestra, virtually out of the gate. I have been on the fairway mowing team the entire time since I arrived at Des Moines Golf and Country Club. There are nine of us on the team. That is a lot of mowers.
Sure, we are all professionals and have been doing this sort of thing for many years, but that is not the point.
Most of us haven't mowed (many) fairways for a long time... 10, 15, even 20 years for s
In this episode of Rockbottum Radio, from deep in the TurfNet Zone, Randy and Ludell take to the airwaves to clear the air and set the record straight on many pressing issues of the day, including personal stimpmeters, golf insurance, special VIP parking, public school prison camps, quitting social media, and... solutions to course clutter.
Presented by VinylGuard.
A few years back, I can remember discussing the 2017 Solheim Cup with Rick Tegtmeier, director of grounds at Des Moines Golf & Country Club who would be hosting the event. We discussed the possibility of me coming to Iowa to volunteer and help out. Well, how time flies. Somehow the 2017 Solheim Cup is here and I find myself in the great state of Iowa, helping my good friend and fellow longtime TurfNet member.
With Rick working in Iowa and me in Colorado, chances are that he and I would n
One of the things you should always try to include in a career website or portfolio is a biography. It can help the hiring person get to know you quickly and hit on some points of interest for them to add your application to the yes pile at the initial stages of the process.
The problem is that a biography can get out of hand in a hurry and actually work as a disservice to your application if done wrong. To this end, here are a few tips to the beginnings of a well-crafted bio.
In yet another fascinating discussion with Jim Koppenhaver of Pellucid Corp, we chat about the current state of the golf industry, including:
reduction and absorption in golf facilities and businesses that serve them
comparisons with retail and restaurant industries that are also cyclical industries
warning signs for superintendents that a facility might be in financial trouble
the change in golf's consumer base and requirements, including digital technology
n
In this episode of the TurfNet Renovation Report, host Jon Kiger chats with golf course architect Forrest Richardson about the 2017 renovation and re-invention of the Short Course at Mountain Shadows (and resort) located near Scottsdale in Paradise Valley, Arizona.
The original golf course at Mountain Shadows was designed and built in 1961 by Arthur Jack Snyder. Course architect Forrest Richardson, one of Snyders students, completely redesigned the course to be a true par-3 with an eye towar
