For some odd reason, some of our best films go unnoticed if we release them in the month of May.
We have racked our collective brain, yet still can't figure this out. Buddy suggested we ask TurfNet Members to help us solve this mystery.
We have decided to re-release our Three Best Films of May, while we wait for your analysis. Feel free to email or PM if you would rather not have your judgement publicly impugned.
Up First, "Golf Course Patrol", from May 2013.
Back in the 60s, Dad left the US Army and tried the pro golf tour, but burdened with a family, he soon found himself the patriarch of a migrant golf family in an updated version of "The Greens of Wrath".
In those days, the smaller golf operations relied upon what was then called The Pro/Super. (Looking back, the title should have been The GCS/Pro, but the inevitable nickname "SuperPro" would have just sounded . . . wrong.)
Dad was an expert Pro/Super, very capable of the simultaneous cl
The answer is definitely yes, but the profession as a whole has yet to see the light although a number of superintendents clearly have. What specific responsibilities to the Rules are superintendents expected to address?
Review the USGA Handicap Manual, Section 15 to see a more definitive presentation relative to the first responsibility guidelines presented immediately below.
FIRST RESPONSIBILITY: To maintain a constant golf course degree of difficulty on a daily basis to sustain the co
Oddball Logic (OL) has been a problem for me since age 8, when I was unjustly incarcerated in Mrs. Mordor's 3rd Grade Institute for Army Brats born without social skills, color perception, table manners and dancing ability. Even with all those advantages, I still struggled, for Mrs. Mordors revealed that I was burdened with OL.
The OL sufferer is doomed to a limited future, typically in US Foreign Policy or as an Offensive Coordinator in the NFL, or worse--a network TV programmer. While OL
I admit it, I have Spring Fever. Just this past week on January 28, here in Springfield, Missouri we hit 67 degrees. The Drury University Grounds Crew was out doing a number of jobs that were more about preparing for spring, and less about killing time in winter. We mulched leaves, cut back perennials, spread some mulch, and even continued work on a stone patio that had been idle for more than a month due to conditions. I even started determining quantities of seed and fertilizer for some early
The comparison table presented within the Dec. 18th blog invited superintendents to judge their personal job performance; while the 45-line comparison table below invites superintendents to judge the "quality" of the golf programs within which they presently work; i.e.- knowledge that should help to guide your careers.
Golf Program Ratings: 35 In Left Column = A; 30 = B; 25 = C; 20 = D; 15 & Below = F.
Are you fed up with surly, disrespectful golfers? Had enough of those irritating lawyers, bureaucrats, social workers and UN peacekeepers interfering with your disciplinary methods?
If the answer is yes, the The Magic Stink-Eye might be just the thing for you!
Good blog post last week, Dave. Resonated with a lot of people (over 18,000 as I write this), and I'm sure it was therapeutic for you.
Dave, we need to talk.
As we get older we look back on our lives and tend to remember the defining moments: the first girlfriend, first car, first garage band, sports triumphs (and losses), graduations, jobs, marriage and divorce, kids, dogs, grandkids, granddogs, and yes -- the death of friends and loved ones. You get the picture.
In many ways our
"The highest good is like water. It flows in places men reject and so is like the Tao." Lao Tzu
As greenkeepers we have a very interesting relationship with water. In one breath we curse it, and with the next we welcome it home like the prodigal son. We watch it destroy what we work so hard to create, while at the same time watch with awe as it gives life to the very creation we tend. We respect the science behind it, while all along trying to perfect the art of managing it. Long story shor
In this episode of Frankly Speaking, I chat with Paul MacCormack, superintendent/GM at Fox Meadow Golf & Country Club (Stratford, Prince Edward Island, Canada) and author of The Mindful Superintendent blog on TurfNet.com. We speak frankly about facing grief and loss with kindness, taking time to recharge during the off-season, and wellness tips that take care of your best asset during the heat of the season - YOU!
Check Out Science Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with TurfNet RADIO on Blo
Once golf course superintendents commit to becoming personally Rules literate they enter into the game's inner sanctum, which is the pedestal on which Rules devotees are placed in golf.
How Do Superintendents Acquire A Rules Expertise?
By registering for the PGA/USGA sponsored Rules Workshops to prepare for taking and passing the very challenging national Rules test.
Then, once having passed the Rules test (which might require several attempts), superintendents can validate this newly acqu
2014.
The crazy uncle that I intended to let stay for a few weeks stayed for a year and injected and infected me in as many ways possible. He is now gone. Replaced by the Aunt, who isn't crazy yet, but could certainly obtain extreme crazed cat lady status if left unchecked.
My email inbox isn't always the fun zone. And over the past couple weeks, it has received a bunch of mail basically asking me if I'm ok. The truth? I'm really not.
If you have followed my writings (and if you have
Several months ago I was introduced to the idea of "inbox zero" developed by Merlin Mann, as I looked for a better way to handle email. With Playbooks for Golf working for more and more of you, my productivity on projects was being continually eroded by a constant stream of emails coming in for all kinds of reasons and requests. My inbox kept getting bigger and bigger with emails I needed for reminders, project notes and direction, software support, and more. I had to do something and inbox zero
(Review Dec 18th post before analyzing the chart below.) I have provided my personal estimates of superintendents' job and life performances below. Line items have been rearranged in descending order within the left column with higher job-securing elements on top. Comparing the chart below to your personal estimates will provide a meaningful learning experience.
While en route to the covert location of the Mystic Order of Greenkeeper's Secret Lodge, we had to do some tree work.
It looked like the perfect time to reveal a few more secrets . . . so in this short film, we show you how to get a razor sharp chainsaw without going through all those Hector procedures.
Jeb, golf ain't dying. We're in a period of "contraction", back to where golf would have been without the fiscal steroid injections. Peter McCormick uses the investor-speak term "correction", a time when value pulls back to more realistic levels. Golf was healthy and resilient in the 1970s, before the infusion of hype and starry-eyed non-golf investors; now we're in a long, slow correction.
By 2005, golf was as puffed up and helpless as a modern day factory chicken-house resident, unable
All of us in the green industry are likely familiar with the concept of diversity. Diversity is the principle that tells us the more variation we have in our landscape, the better we are able to maintain the health and function of that landscape. Normally diversity applies to different plants from different genus and species thereby avoiding monoculture and taking advantage of the variation of plant attributes. It also applies to pesticides (e.g. fungicide FRAC codes) to avoid creating pest resi
When I first entered the golf dimension, things were different. We existed at the "Pro/Super" level and life, although hectic, was relatively cheerful. Golf course maintenance and the clubhouse got along very well, with few altercations and overt acts of retaliation. This was mainly because Dad was both of those entities and he rarely got into fights with his own self, although I managed to perfect that technique later.
I know what you're thinking: It should have been Supt/Pro rather tha
Several earlier posts in this series have focused on presenting better ways of securing jobs. This post combines all earlier comments on the subject with the master umbrella concept of "defensive management."
The concept of defensive management is the least understood and least practiced proven management concept throughout the world of the golf course superintendent and beyond.
By design, defensive management techniques are intended to defuse the impact of arbitrary decision-making and
Before we premiere our new season at Rockbottum CC, we would like to offer our re-mastered short film, "The Organic Green Whisperer".
2015 will see Rockbottum place even more emphasis on organic research, methods of irrigation reduction and image enhancement. (Not the enhancement that clogs your spam filter)
The greatest gift you can give to somebody is your own personal development.
I used to say, "If you take care of me, I will take care of you."
Now I say, "I will take care of me for you, if you will take care of you for me."
- Jim Rohn
It is always a tough time of the season to write original content. Look around the internet, newspapers, or any magazine and somebody has an article with a few bits of wisdom and usually a list of some sort. I struggled with coming up with a new format,
From time to time in grounds maintenance things don't go according to plans. At these times it is common to hear the following sentiments: "What happened?" "What is it?" or one of my favorites, "I don't know what happened." When everyone is looking at you for an answer, the good supervisor becomes a forensic pathologist and detective, seeking evidence to solve a riddle. Through inquiry, experience, and logic, you can normally build a case and answer these questions to everyone's satisfaction.
