In this episode of the TurfNet Renovation Report, host Jon Kiger chats with Graeme Beatt, course manager at Royal Portrush Golf Club (Co.Antrim, Northern Ireland).
Topics include renovations in preparation for hosting the 2019 (British) Open... and Graeme's recent opportunity to meet Queen Elizabeth at Royal Portrush.
Presented by Golf Preservations and Jacobsen.
Last week marked the 40th Anniversary of "The Last Waltz", the legendary final concert by the equally legendary musical ensemble, The Band. While reflecting on the band and the film, I couldn't help but circle back to their most famous tune, The Weight... a song that speaks to the journey that is life, and the extra baggage we may carry along the way.
Our ability to endure pressing weight in our lives is a fascinating part of the human experience. Whether it's a physical, emotional, or
In this episode of Frankly Speaking, my guest is Dr. Joe Roberts, plant pathologist at the University of Maryland. Hot topics include bacterial etiolation and decline and their relation to environmental and agronomic stresses, and the new Turfgrass Microbiome project that Dr. Roberts is participating in. The Turf Microbiome project will identify and study communities of microorganisms that live within and on the plant that may be related to functions in turfgrass health.
As always, smart t
While shooting the Sewanee film, we noticed quite a bit of SKUNK damage on the fairways. Our past research indicates Varmints come out in force during a drought, digging for tasty grubs, complaining about hard fairways and bemoaning the lack of lush green turf.
To help any TN members who might be experiencing Skunk Pestilence, we hastily pulled our Varmint Training film out of the Rockbottum Vault and re-edited it to remove the stupid parts. (That pretty much gutted the entire film, so we
by Greg Wojick, Playbooks for Golf
Many golf course workers can now be thankful that setting up the course is over for the season (not so for the sun belt guys and gals). Course set-up is that recurring job that golfers can easily understand but it can also become a tedious chore for the worker routinely assigned to this hugely important duty. Day after day this set of chores is expected to be done with perfection lest the superintendent will hear about it. If a violation with course s
Join me as I interview Kevin Ross, CGCS, about the state of the "superintendent job" and his upcoming retirement from the golf course.
We talk about everything. Especially his upcoming job change. And his time at The Ryder Cup. And much much more.
I love Kevin. He's one of my favorite people and favorite Turfheads. Anywhere.
So I am humbled and honored to have him join us!
Let me start right off saying I am not talking about that kind of doctor (a physician). The doctor I am talking about is Dr. Brad Fresenburg, Assistant Extension Professor with University of Missouri Turfgrass Science. While Dr. Fresenburg works in Columbia, MO., he travels extensively as a turf/sports turf expert, Master Gardener lecturer, and pesticide applicator certification instructor.
Brad is a true turf devotee and approaches his job with a real-world perspective. He knows the minutia
Skeletal Golf, in several forms, has long been the foundation for the success of Rockbottum Country Club* and the Wilson Golf Dynasty.
The concept of SG is more applicable in hard times than during the euphoric boom time, and given the economic signals emanating from on high... this might be a good time for those involved in the mid- to lower-level of golf to consider a contingency plan or two.
Since leaving the military, I have spent more time studying economics than turf — probabl
Topdressing ENCOURAGES accumulation of organic matter? Say what?
In this EPIC episode of Frankly Speaking, I chat, argue, holler and challenge Dan Dinelli, CGCS, at North Shore CC in Chicagoland and recipient of the GCSAA"s Presidential Award for Environmental Stewardship.
Our conversation ranges from Dan's long-term research in putting green rootzone behavior over time, to cultivar assessment and selection for the impending rebuilding of the 1924 greens at North Shore, to the successes
When Palmer Maples Jr. walks into a room, superintendents still stand up and take notice. And when those same superintendents think the 84-year-old greenkeeping legend has left the building without saying good bye, they get up again and go looking for him.
Only when they find him hidden away in a back room of the clubhouse of an Atlanta golf course spinning tales of yesteryear to a reporter do they breathe a sigh of relief.
Whew, I thought you were gone, says one superintendent. Its alwa
In this episode of the TurfNet Renovation Report, presented by Golf Preservations and Jacobsen, host Jon Kiger chats with Ann Kattreh, Director of Parks & Recreation for the city of Edina, Minnesota, and Richard Mandell, ASGCA, about the upcoming renovation of the Braemar Golf Course.
Braemar will be reduced from 27 to 18 holes, with the extra elbow room for the new 18 allowing expanded wetland buffer areas, wider fairways, and larger greens and tee boxes.
In order to keep mainten
In this episode of Frankly Speaking, I chat with Dr. Paul Vincelli of the University of Kentucky about the state of turf research in general and plant pathology in particular; looking outside the turf industry for inspiration and innovation that can be applied to turf; enhancing public knowledge about climate change; and the state of genetic research.
As always, frank talk from leading thinkers in the turf industry.
Presented by DryJect and Turf Screen.
As an unrepentant "Caffiend", I'm an expert on awful, terrible coffee. From instant decaf that tasted like battery acid, to orderly room coffee* in the military, I have suffered it all. *(ORC is brewed continuously for 24 hours, bubbling like a caldron in a Bill Shakespeare story.)
On a dark, snowy night while crossing over the Brenner Pass, I sampled espresso for the first and last time, a black, bitter, teeth-chattering experience. In the field--during my Army vacation from turf--I tot
In this episode of Frankly Speaking, I have a wonderful conversation with Chris Tritabaugh, golf course superintendent at Hazeltine National Golf Club, about his agronomic preparation and humanistic hopes for the Ryder Cup. Our wide-ranging and particularly open and honest -- in the Tritabaugh tradition -- conversation ranges from the community and atmosphere Chris crafted by invitation in the maintenance staff headquarters... to his active use of social media throughout the event... to the agro
This week's guest author is Ludell Hogwaller.
My name is Ludell and I suffer from TMST.
Last week, I was the guest of honor at an exorcism, carried out by the Rockbottum elite, Chet Lester, Ydnar, Aint Feemy and Bubba. They intended to excise my Luddite tendencies, citing my refusal to own a "smart" phone as the primary problem.
Apparently, I have angered the flock, because I won't take photos dripping with extreme narcissism, seek peer approval by "following" others, stagger around
If confirmation is needed that George Thompson is a man from a different era, one need only look back to his first job as a superintendent.
Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase, Maryland, was fiercely loyal to its employees when Thompson worked at the Washington, D.C.-area club from 1963 to 1982. The way Thompson, now 78, recalls it, "the starter had been there 53 years, and three locker room attendants had 150 years of service between them. There were assistant pros who had been there for 3
Tucked away on a rugged mountain in Tennessee is a very special golf course. Like many courses from the early days of golf in America, The Course at Sewanee looks and feels like it could have been a setting in a golf fairy tale.
Renovated by Gil Hanse in 2013, Sewanee is in the exceptionally capable hands of golf course superintendent Steve Ventola.
We found the course almost too good to be real; rugged and natural, while running firm, fast and dry in the right places, it's in Steve
This episode of Frankly Speaking has two "Frank Chats": the first with Clint Mattox, PhD candidate at Oregon State University, on Microdochium patch/pink snow mold ... and the second with Dr. Doug Soldat about his potassium fertilization research at the University of Wisconsin|Madison.
Smart talk from leading thinkers and always Frankly Speaking.
One of the most common concepts that contributes to a team's success is to have clear objectives. Clear objectives provide direction and framework for how to proceed in your work. These objectives can be precise, such as increasing the tree canopy or completing your mowing route in "x" number of days. Or they can be broad so as to create context for where your grounds operation will move toward. Here at Drury we have come up with five objectives to guide our work as we strive to fulfill our orga
I would estimate that close to 100% of superintendents have and use Microsoft Word for creating various documents for use around your clubs, and personally as well. While there are limitations to the software, one thing that works great is how it handles headers. There is a little bit of process to it, but in the end you can have a very nicely designed document that you can then edit on your own.
Let's say that you have had TurfNet design a header for your blog and you'd like to use i
(Trigger Warning: The following is a Ydnar rant, not a safe space.)
Yesterday, I was busy deleting emails, wiping the hard drive with a cloth, and I found a directive from an Alphabet Agency instructing me to read an article from Bloomberg entitled, "Following Your Passion Is Not A Career Goal".
I was puzzled. Why would these folks suggest a philosophy that runs counter to what is needed to survive as a golf course superintendent? Did they not read the article? Perhaps the title soun
Couldn't resist sharing my Forum post...
Gotta tell you about my day so far (it's only noon now)...
Woke up at 3:00AM as is about the norm these days, squirmed for an hour then got up at 4:00 to peruse the "news" (as it were) and surf some online guitar lessons. Made my pot of coffee but must not have pushed the pot all the way back in to open up the no-drip thingy. So the coffee and grounds backed up all over the counter and down into the innards of the coffee pot (a problem wit
Originally, this post was intended to be an intelligent, thoughtful column about modern day golf course operations in the face of a changing economic environment, but then Wilber goes and writes some epic piece on Karma and Kevin Ross shocks everyone with his retirement and Paul MacCormack pens a zenful story about Chris Tritabaugh and the Ryder Cup, so . . .
I decided to wait until everything settled down and the afterglow wore off before I publish my masterpiece. In the meantime, I'll jus
