Praise and blame, gain and loss, pleasure and sorrow come and go like the wind. To be happy, rest like a giant tree in the midst of them all. -- Buddha

As superintendents we are subject to a great deal of scrutiny on a daily basis. The seesaw of praise and blame can be incessant. If we are not careful it can suck us down into a ten inch deep aerification hole of constant judgment. An important part of our job involves working to rise above the pitfalls of these two evil twins and arriving at a place in which neither one holds too much sway.

Greenkeepers are a lucky lot indeed. Along with the fresh air, communing with nature, and sodding dead grass, we also get to deal with the constant judgment of  the golfing public every day. There are not too many other jobs in which people have their work constantly evaluated and rated (except maybe an NHL coach). When out changing the pins in the early morning I often fantasize about what it would be like to go to that particularly whiny members office and tee off on how clean their desk is, or maybe whether their coat rack is straight.

Its not all bad though. There are lots of times when those members who you love go out of their way to stop and pass on a positive word; or maybe the ladies league group loves the recent flower bed renovation. Moments such as these leave us with a smile on our face and a skip in our step.

Yet we all know that what goes up must come down and so it goes with praise. While you are still wallowing, sun-drenched in the praise that the greens are the best I have ever seen them! you turn around to discover a hydraulic leak in the 18th fairway... in full view from the clubhouse deck. We've all had an experience of something to this effect in our careers.

The trick is to find the balance in the force. To attempt to stand in the space between praise and blame without identifying too heavily with either one does require a lot of mindful effort on our part, but training ourselves to not take either one of these evil buggers too seriously can be very helpful.

A truly Zen super would just smile and nod to both criticism and the showering of praise. Alas, I recognize that there are very few who fall into that category. Yet, with some practiced intention, it is possible not to attach onto either one of these siblings during our daily rounds. In so doing, we are creating a space for equanimity to reside.

Our superintendent egos can be fragile things at times. As we struggle through another spring filled with winterkill or the tired heat of August, the peace of equanimity can be a hard thing to find. Its easy to puff up when golfers tell you how good things are going. It can also be even easier to give in to despair when people become too critical. By holding either twin with a very light touch, we are free to let go when the time is right.

It can also be helpful to keep in mind that golf courses are as flexible as peoples opinions. Some days are good and some are not so good, but our job is to rest in the midst of it all, holding both praise and blame lightly. Doing the best you possibly can with what you're granted in any given situation is truly all that anyone can do.