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About this blog

Randy and the gang at Rockbottum Country Club pontificate on Rockbottum wisdom and skeletal golf, among other madness.

Entries in this blog

Rockbottum Radio: Real News from Rockbottum

In this Rockbottum Radio audiocast, the gang in the Rockbottum pro shop discuss Bad Member Discipline (especially Norbert Tuchus)... UFOs beaming up night watermen... Global Cooling... Global Warming... Golf Business Projections and... Storytime. Plus, Ludell gives us his online dating secrets (no, not FarmersOnly.com), starting with dead malls and ice cream truck jingles. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/turfnet/2018/01/17/randy-wilson-real-news-from-rockbottum Presented by VinylGuar

Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

What The Great Atlanta Ice Storm of '73 Taught Me About Golf

It was 45 years ago today that we entered the biggest and baddest of Atlanta's winter storms, The Great Ice Storm of '73.  With little warning, icy rain fell for hours and then froze like clear steel on Atlanta's trees, roads and power lines.  Big pines began to crash down on houses, splintering utility poles and blocking roads.  Transformers exploded like incoming artillery and lit up the Atlanta night with freakish blue arcs of hot light.  Everything went dark.  Black ice covered sidewalks, st

Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

Christmas at Rockbottum...

In this podcast on Rockbottum Radio, I provide some Christmas Tips from Rockbottum, including: dealing with kids at Christmas speeding up play (hint: "Fill 'em, sod 'em, mow 'em") making golf affordable and fun doing something with the "r" word PLUS: Skeletal Golf Predictions and Projections! Lastly, I wind it up with a golf course Christmas story in Storytime. Presented by our friends at VinylGuard Golf.  

Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

Ludell's Three Things You Need To Know

*Note:  This week's guest columnist is Ludell Hogwaller. There are three things "they" are hiding from you, so I guess it's up to us Ludditians to fire a warning flare, since half our day isn't consumed with all that social media mutual admiration society fawning and gushing and smoke blowing. First, there are dark rumors going around about veteran superintendents supposedly being terminated for making mistakes like having the audacity to disagree with the new wave of "M" board members

Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

The Leading Killer of Golf

In this week's Skeletal Golf Theory, we focus our cameras on The Leading Killer of Golf. SGT is part of Rockbottum Country Club, Deep in The TurfNet Zone, where you'll find straight up, non-cupcake golf course operations analysis, on golf's longest running webisode.

Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

A (serious) chat with Mark Hoban: What's he into now?

In this episode of Rockbottum Radio, I have a serious chat with envelope-pusher Mark Hoban, superintendent at Rivermont Golf Club in John's Creek, GA. One of the true "mad scientists" of the golf course maintenance world, Mark is constantly applying his holistic view of soil/plant management to new endeavors on the golf course. And he always keeps one eye on reducing inputs and subsequent c Mark fills us in on his current delvings into biochar, compost extracts (as opposed to compost tea...

Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

Never Say Dye

For our annual Halloween tale of horror, we present "Never Say Dye". Long ago, in primitive golfland, I stupidly stepped into the shoes of a superintendent who escaped resigned from a haunted economically stressed golf course and subsequently ran off accepted another offer. Before he left, he told a horrifying story of being tricked into attempting a resurrection of a zombie country club; the terror began the moment he stepped foot on the course.  It was built on floodplain, the bent g

Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

Rockbottum Radio Off the Leash: No-holds-barred edition

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

Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

New Study Exposes What Actually Triggered The Great Golf Boom Of The 80s

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

Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

Randy's Shop: How To Fix A Starter

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.  

Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

I Know Why Folks Are Getting Run Over With Carts

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,

Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

Rockbottum Radio: Randy and Ludell Answer Your (e)Mail

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.    

Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

How To Clone A Spray Rig

Back in '73, Norm assumed command of a wonderful muni outside of Atlanta; known as The Valley of Misery, it was rumored to be the last Dick Wilson course and it lived in a little village with a special golf name:  Redan. We pronounced it "Ree-dan", but newly arrived outsiders insisted it was "Ruh-dan", which sounded more like that giant Japanese moth.  We stuck with the way the locals said it, mostly because you don't get along with indigenous personnel by telling them how to say their word

Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

Matt Crowther's Fantasy Vacation

A while back, we released a short film starring Matt Crowther and it rocketed to #2 on the all time list of Rockbottum CC films, with over 250,000 hits.   Produced in a team effort--a key factor in TurfNet's high quality production--this film began as an idea in the high speed mind of Jon Kiger while visiting Matt. Jon provided 2nd unit camera work, Matt displayed his acting ability, Rockbottum CC Films piled on and after Claire finished editing, we knew we had a winner.  *Note:  Buddy

Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

Rockbottum Radio: Sales Rep Day

In this episode of Rockbottum Radio, direct from Rockbottum Country Club proshop, Momma demonstrates her proven techniques for handling sales reps; the health inspector visits; a no-cart shotgun start for the old-timers; Ludell innovates something; and in Storytime, that Demonized Cow During Construction, #337. Presented by VinylGuard. Oh, and Buddy just finished VinylGuarding everything in sight at the driving range!  

Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

Buddy's Method For World Class Success

Buddy has always been very successful at whatever he attempts, whether it's business, competitive sports, building cars from scratch or something difficult like golf course operations.  His secret:  If you observe Buddy carefully, it becomes obvious.  Painfully obvious. "Without persistence, you have no psychic wellspring of strength to combat what life will throw at you." -- Ben Stein, from Bunkhouse Logic When Buddy accepted the position of Equipment Manager at Swamp Hell Golf C

Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

Fishin' At Rockbottum

It's summertime at Rockbottum CC and that means it's time for us to lighten up. No more serious punditry, projections, predictions or pedantic posturing. Just fishin'.   

Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

Rockbottum Radio: 'Bottum Golf

In this episode of Rockbottum Radio, broadcast live from the Rockbottum Country Club proshop, I explain Momma's newest attempts at Growing the Game: 'Bottum Golf... and Archery Golf, alongside Soccer Golf and Disc Golf. The biggest benefit of 'Bottum Golf? Listen and find out. In other matters, I ponder whether Snow Moles really exist, or whether it's just more fear-mongering by the scientists from Up North. Also in this episode, an improved calibration for the Deathmeter: the WSRF Ind

Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson

The Origins of "Momma" Rockbottum

We are often asked if the character of "Momma" is based on a real person.  The answer is yes.  My grandmother on my father's side was a fearsome woman known throughout Jackson, Tennessee as "Momma Ida", a broom-swinging matriarch who raised ten kids during the depths of the Great Depression. She did this alone, except for her broom, because her husband fell down dead from stress.  They were sharecroppers in those days and apparently, operating an agricultural facility owned by someone

Randy Wilson

Randy Wilson


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