Storytelling, Data, and The Successful Superintendent

"You cannot manage what you cannot measure,"                    
is one of the truest statements I know.  A good friend and former golf course superintendent got me hooked on google forms and sheets back in the mid-late 2000’s.  I began using the forms to track and collect data.  I became so much more knowledgeable about my operation and had fancy pictures to show it.  Data for me was a source of truth.  I used my fancy pictures to tell the truth in a story that I couldn’t tell.

Another truth that I believe is that the position of the golf course superintendent is a complex and demanding job.  Taming nature to extremes, always asking for large amounts of money, comments from the chronically dissatisfied, broken equipment, irrigation systems, ball marks, foot draggers, cigar wrappers and cigarette butts, I mean I could make quite a list.  The worst situations include the poor unfortunate souls who work at facilities lacking a clear and realistic definition of the standard to which a golf course can afford to be maintained.  These superintendents work themselves into the ground chasing a standard they will never meet……..because it doesn’t exist!! Are we failing to define something in hopes that one day, hard work can overcome budget constraints and the $400,000 maintenance budget will produce $1,000,000 conditions?  I sometimes ponder if the refusal of stake-holders to accept the reality of a golf courses’ conditioning as limited by the budget is a manipulation technique of overworking an individual, but I am not a conspiracy guy, so I chalk it up to we don’t know what we don’t know.  I am not suggesting that one gives up trying to make something better, but day after day of living the life of Sisyphus requires support of those around you.  In the hands of a competent individual, all golf courses’ conditioning will be limited by the budget and resources.

Being able to prove that a department is limited by resources takes more than quick conversations in the clubhouse or outbursts when the pressure of summer is at its peak.  Standards help organizations realize what is required to maintain and  what is needed to improve. Data can help formulate definitions and standards of any operation.  I believe visions and missions possessing standards and definitions to be necessary for any entity, committee, group, or board to be as productive and successful as it can be.  I also believe that these endeavors, whatever they may be, need to be imagined into a better future if we are to truly give something our absolute best collective effort.  People will contribute greatly and passionately for a cause that is greater than themselves if they are asked and they are given tasks that they can be successful accomplishing.  Lacking a clear and well communicated vision and mission that defines something into the future beyond their lifetime, a group of people will unfortunately default to egos, agendas, and whims.  It is extremely difficult to be happy and impossible to be successful in an ever changing tide of priorities.  Imagine  the superintendent like a cat and the stakeholders have a laser pointer; why isn’t this done, or that, and that, and certainly that!  It may not always be the case, but I imagine a response like, “Well boss, we were busy trying to accomplish the basics.”

My green committee was going out to establish our tree policy one meeting and I stopped at the halfway house.  I got out of my cart and I began to point out all the things that were wrong with the landscaping, the building, cart path, and everything I could see from my vantage point.  The committee probably thought I had finally lost it.  I explained that when it comes to the golf course and grounds, I see it all.  “I can fire myself every single day for the things that are wrong on the golf course,” I stated.  I explained that there was no way to address everything on my list, my challenge, is to prioritize properly and address the most pressing issues and to be ok with a list that will never end.  If you have ever been on a golf course and noticed something that was less than perfect, congratulations, you now know what it’s like to be a superintendent, it is not really a special skill to point out the obvious.    

It is my opinion that in order to be a successful superintendent you have to 1) Know and share the expectation and subsequent reliable priorities of the stakeholders 2) Understand the measurable, relevant, factors of their operation. 3) Effectively communicate the needs of the operation to leadership in order to fulfill the expectations set above in number one.  4) Engage labor teams with a mission, fostering a growth mindset, and bringing out the best in people.  5) Create a Culture. 6) Be a Steward. 7) Realize that superintendent is a role, as is spouse, parent, family member, and friend. 8) Separate your identity from that of the golf course. 9) Practice Self-Care.  Unfortunately for the golf industry, at many facilities, the superintendent's job satisfaction suffers from rule one not being properly addressed and discussed, (disconnects and expectations is another blog).  

The best superintendents I know could function successfully at a high level in almost any industry.  They are managers and motivators, they address the details, they work hard and diligently, they are loyal to a fault.  The best superintendents walk the walk, they believe in self-care, mental health, emotional maturity, and negotiation as a way of life.  But back to the Data!!  Data is great, but it needs to be communicated properly to be of any use.

For the young aspiring superintendent, I offer this advice....become a good storyteller.  The best superintendents I know, can communicate the challenges of this job so well, that they get their department's needs met.  In order to be successful, you need to be given the tools to do a job, and superintendent’s tools are expensive.  The skill of asking for large amounts of money is not one you are probably born with, you are going to have to seek those skills.  The best superintendents also "know their audience"  If your decision makers are professionals at any level, they are accustomed to "seeing" data presented to them as a visual aid.....a chart or graph.  I don't know how many times I've heard someone say of their club officials "they dont get it."  I say, if you are suffering at all because someone "doesn't get it" then change the message.  I believe there is an accountability on behalf of the communicator to take responsibility for their message.  If they don't get it, maybe it's the message, (or the messenger, talk later), and maybe a picture is worth a thousand words.

Labor, equipment, and chemicals are the largest typical line items.  These items can be tracked easily and with minimum investment, and some brilliant charts and graphs can be derived from the data and tell a short, effective, dynamic story.  The data can be arranged to make sure the proper interpretation of the data has been made.  Having the ability to make different charts is the ability to see from a different perspective.  Sometimes the message that was hidden in the numbers and words pops right off the page when presented through a graph.

Data that is presented in a graph is attractive, easily understood, and easily referrable to.  We are naturally attracted to these strange drawings,  they are always used in marketing literature.......because they work!  Need to make your message more dramatic?  Just play with the units on the axis, kidding, but seriously, watch the marketing literature and notice what catches your eye or what concepts are conveyed easily and beautifully.  We can take a spreadsheet of numbers and tell a story with a drawing, its called an infographic, making a long winded rant unnecessary.  We only get a few minutes to make an impression and capture the attention of individuals.  If you can reduce the amount you speak, the chances of being heard increases.  Keep the message simple.........your boss doesn't want to know how the watch works, they just want to know what time it is.  If you need to practice your pitch a few times to find the three or four sentences you need, do that!  Practicing is a way better option than missing an opportunity that may be difficult to revisit.

I loved labor data, knowing how many labor hours we managed, and where those hours were distributed.  Presenting the labor distribution to each playing surface, trees, bunkers, cultural practice, landscaping and on and on is not hard.  We played around with google forms because it was so easy and free.  
I could drill down labor hours spent in bunkers down to edging/weeding, repair, mechanical raking, Now there are companies you can pay to make the forms for you.  I enjoyed the flexibility I had in my forms but to each their own.  How things like equipment downtime and weather can impact efficiency are so much easier to explain when you have hard facts.  Communicating the facts is so much easier than making emotional pleas after a long day of tired equipment topped off with an irrigation leak.  

Using graphics to explain the state of equipment is very beneficial.  Golf course equipment is expensive and dealing with old equipment is frustrating.  Being able to demonstrate the status of a fleet without getting emotional is paramount to getting people to open and listen.  Graphs can help give a large fleet a broader picture of ages, values, useful life, repair costs, depreciable value, replacement value, and fair market value.  Fleet management makes so much better sense visually.  Equipment usage and repair was also a favorite of mine, we would track whether a repair was a maintenance item or operator damage.  We then knew if we had reoccurring issues that needed to go into our onboarding or training checklist.  We could also see if accidents and misuse were trending up or down.  Tracking downtime and repair costs are useful when planning capital purchase plans.  Equipment age vs. useful life can be made real clear in a bar chart.  

The golf course is full of stories, and the maintenance facility has some good ones.  Everyone who enjoys golf likes to play on a well conditioned golf course just as the superintendent wishes to provide one.  The golf course superintendent is human and deserves to lock the gate at the end of the day knowing they gave an honest days work for an honest days pay, feel good and come back to work the next day knowing there is more to do and not let the course consume them when they are not on the property.  Humans and golf can be the greatest of combinations or the worst.  If you happen to play at a facility that you feel is not up to par, look around, are there any detractions of labor and effort that contribute to the lack of conditioning?  When it comes to a course’s conditioning, before we assign blame, a realistic assessment of resources allotted, current conditions, obstacles, and sustainability all need to be considered.  Presenting information regarding the complex nature of the labor and costs associated with golf course conditioning takes preparation and effort, but is well worth it at the end of the day.

Lock the gate and feel good,

Turf

Every golfer should know about the sacred 100 days.

I've been in working in the golf industry for 37 great years.  I was fortunate to have had several great mentors that have passed on solid advice.  Listening to good superintendents and being mentored helped me to reduce the amount of stress and anxiety that I experienced in the 21 years I spent working in private country clubs.  

One of the greatest lessons I learned was to have your Green Committee adopt and understand the reverence of the 100 days.  For those of you who have never heard of the 100 days (not Napoleon's abdication of the throne and return from exile) but the 100 days from Memorial Day to Labor Day.  Theses 100 days mark a critical time for northern golf course superintendents.  During these 100 days, the golf course needs the absolute attention of the golf course superintendent, it is crunch time.  The golf season is short in the north, and we try and make the golf course as playable as possible during this time.  

Any task that is not golf course related takes away from the course

Unless your course has the resources for extra staff who will not be necessary in any maintenance capacity (which simply does not exist) there is zero time for any projects on the golf course.  Mother Nature is enough to battle.  A golf course is simply man's overpowering of nature.  Grass is cut at ridiculously low heights and trampled on, as we play a game of skill requiring firm surfaces on which the game is the most fun.  Smooth and true putting surfaces require special cultural practices and careful water management that includes hand watering even with the newest and best irrigation systems.  Making the golf course the best it can be takes a "all hands-on deck approach," and I don't know any course that is defined "perfect" in the sense that they could not use another single employee to complete an additional task that would result in being better.  Even Disney must draw the line somewhere.

More and more I hear of owners, boards, and decision makers suggesting and encouraging golf course projects in the middle of the golfing season.  Once the weather changes in the north, everyone is finally eager to ride around the golf course and suggest all types of changes, but that ship is better ridden upon during the off-season.  Sorry if you didn't want to be bothered to bear the discomfort in November, or October was no good because every nice day was a "bonus day" of play, but that is when pet projects and improvements should be considered and planned.  I won't go into why spring projects are a bad idea, let's just say, soft ground conditions, spring rains, cold soil temps, and winter clean-up.

Once Memorial Day is here, its hump time baby!  Time to do regular mowing, make preventative spray applications, and prepare the course for play.  The in-season time for a golf course barely has time just for maintaining it.  Watering, scouting, topdressing, mowing, detail work, and cultural practices need the absolute attention of the golf course superintendent.  In-season is not the time to take on extra things that require the superintendent's attention.  Contractors or even facility employees just can't be supervised to the extent they need to be in the middle of the golf season; the course needs vigilant supervision.  A golf course is not just the grass, it is the cutting units (mowers), equipment repair, equipment preventative maintenance, irrigation systems, root zones, drainage systems, plant protectant programs, employees, parking lots, swimming pool areas, club lawns, landscape beds, and whatever else the facility has thrown the way of that skilled operations manager.  The superintendent has plenty on his / her plate without the additional distraction of a project.  

Please, do your facility and your golf course superintendent a favor and leave sacred these 100 days.  If you really want to have a great golf course, allow the individual who operates it the grace to focus all their energy and attention on just that, and if it so happens that Mother Nature gives a slight break in the action, let the superintendent go home and spend some time with family or friends.  Encourage the superintendent (operations manager) to get away and relax.  If the superintendent is able to get away, or if they go home after a full day without making sure they are seen, please don't say things like "I haven't seen you in a while," because unless you were down at the maintenance facility at 5:00 am or went out 3 holes in front of the first group, how would you expect to?

Phrases like the previous one mentioned manipulate people into thinking that they need to be seen in order to do a good job.  A good superintendent is like a good hockey referee, you enjoy a good game of hockey that is orderly and flows nicely, know they must be there, but hardly see them.  The superintendent and crew are meant to be unseen, they work out ahead of play, repairing and preparing, so that golfers can enjoy the game unbothered by the staff.  It is also bloody dangerous to be seen on the golf course as the maintenance staff, especially by the inconsiderate golfer who gives little regard to how dangerous the flying projectile can be to the human body.  

Fall and winter are the time for projects on a golf course.  During the time the golf course is being utilized at full or near full capacity, maintenance is the priority.  The 100 days are a grind for the staff and managers of the golf course.  It is a stressful job that can be overwhelming to some who lack the support of facilities that fail to establish realistic expectations based upon the resources allotted to the golf course operation. 

Golf course staff work long hours and sacrifice much personal time during the best time of year to be with friends and family.  Keep sacred the 100 days.  Be kind and considerate and think about the message that you send to overworked individuals who give up their summers for the love of the game.  

Cheers,

Turf

Erwin McKone's "A Golfer's Carol"

It may have been a bit of undigested hot dog from the turn, a mild delusion sparked from the interaction of the meat stick that had been rolling about in the halfway house for who knows how long.  It also could have been a truely inspired vision, either way, what I saw seems so real that it cannot be ignored.  I had been transported through space and time and the people I met were fantastic, had I been sleeping? The experience of my new aquantences were so real that they consumed me for weeks after the initial interaction.  How could the nature of these things go on so unnoticed?  Enough of that,  I want to share with you my experience with the spirits of the game.

I sell turf chemicals for a living and one day on my route I stopped at the Crooked Creek maintenance building.  Yo, I shouted to Mac. The weathered man shook his head at me and scoffed Ba-Humbug! Golf, you can have the game, and the golfer too;  Silly waste of time!  I used to play, said the keeper of the green, was actually quite good at it.  Made an ace one day on hole six, there was a headwind of about 18 miles per hour, the hole was playing slightly uphill at 185 yards.  I played a fantastic little low liner, the wind grabbed it slighly, making it rise up and lose a little steam.  The ball landed soft, took a couple of hops and fell right into the hole.  I won 8 dollars that day, but I dont have time to play anymore and don't care to.  Now, if you would please, make your way down the road to the next chap, I have plenty to do, I'm here too much as it is and your presence is only delaying my departure.  I looked around at the equipment that scattered the maintenance facility.  The yard was littered with equipment that had once served the course, but was now no longer in service.  

They were no longer golf course equipment, they were gravestones in cemetary that was part golf course, part history lesson.  Mowers leaned to the side of a flat tire, or sometimes no tire, as it must have been salveged to help another piece limp along.  The seats of the equipment had large cracks and exposed the interior foam that appeared dirty and damp.  I recognized some of the equipment of being from the era when I had learned how to operate it.  As I moved through the yard, the greenkeeper quipped, Aye young man, be alert for the ones to come, they have  message for you dear boy, three spirits will visit ye, one from golfing past, one from golfing present, and one from golfing future.Tall weeds grew up and through the equipment, coming through the controls and other openings in a way that claimed them as part of the yard now.  

I got into my truck and drove down the road where I found the entrance to a nice little nine hole course.  It seemed familiar, and I drove in. I decided to check out the quiant little place, not at the mainteenace facility, but the course.  Down a little hill from the parking lot on my right was a fairly large driving range.  A man was giving a young lady a lesson.  They appeared to be having a good time of it, and with every ball that was hit fairly well, you could hear the approval in her pleasant chuckle.  To my left was a clubhouse, the golf shop was situated at the bottom of the hill in the lower level of the clubhouse.  I picked up a scorecard and was met by an interesting character.  He wore tweed pants and a white cotton long sleeve shirt.  His golf shoes were also vintage, wingtips, perfectly shined.  "Dont let the yardage fool you dear boy.  There it was......the dear boy addage, this must be the spirit of golf past I thought.  Par 34, 2593 yards, she will make you hit every shot in your bag. Low runners, high cuts, mid draws, bump and run, we have them all!  What an amazing game, do you have time to knock it around he asked.  All of a sudden we were in the fairway of the fourth hole, next to us was a bell for allowing the group behind that it was safe to hit the blind tee shot that was before them.  What type of shot are you going to play?  As I looked up to take in the situation before me, I heard a thump, he had thrown down a Balata golf ball.  The iron now in my hand was an old blade.  I winced at the thought of hitting that shot thin, the way the club would sting my fingers and the cut that would surely happen to the tender balls cover.  What is wrong, the spirit asked,  you golf dont you?  I was looking around and suddenly I could see the whole golf course.  Every golfer was walking, some carrying their bags and others using pull carts.  I could hear every foursomes conversation, their laughter and happiness brought me immediate joy and we began to fly over the course. 

We found ourselves about one hundred and fifty yards off the tee and only about 40 yards offline.  I motioned the spirit to move out of fear of being struck by a wayward ball and the spirit laughed.  Laddie, he said, shots that are mistruck in the past don't travel so far off line, thats the beauty, we can play the game safely on small parcels of land without great danger.  The game regulates itself.  Enjoy, and watch the play.  I began to listen and each player was busy imagining the ball taking all types of flight patterns and being great artists with the tools they carried.  Yardage was important, but took a back seat to the other factors of the game like lie, wind, elevation, obstacles, and shot shape.  

The golf course became alive as the players imagined shot became a stunning visual arc of amazing color.  The arcs would begin from the spot of the ball and follow their imagined path until it reached the intended target.  Some of the arcs were brilliant bright lights while others flickered or where dim in spots.  The ball followed the bright arcs and faultered with the dim and flickering arcs.  What you are seeing in these colors are the players imagination my boy, that is what is needed to play the game, you can't hit what ye don't or can't see.  The spirit continued, the seeing begins before one puts the ball into play.  At once I could see the different body shapes of players hitting a majority of shots with a certain type of arc.  So there is no correct way to play, I asked?  If you are asking about the foundation of golf, yes there is, we all need the foundation, just like building a home, but once you have the foundation, you can be as creative as you want and build many an interesting forms on that form.  At that moment, the contours of the course became alive with great contrasts.  The playing surfaces of the golf course was brilliant and the mounds and the valleys appeared to almost glisten.  I felt as if I was inside a painting of a golf game that was fluid and alive.  I could see and feel the creativity.  The wind even seemed to have a visual presence, I could see the firmness or the softness in the surfaces.  The game became more than a game, it was a work of art, it was the manifestation of the creativity of all the golfers on that course.  The more the people played and howled the brighter the golf course, the arcs, the wind, and the surfaces gleamed.  

This was the spirit of golf past, imagination and creativity built upon a solid foundation of absolutes.  The game resembled life.  Overcoming obstacles, taking alternate routes to gain advantage, executing a great shot only to experience the rub of the green, a bad bounce or unfortunate lie, acceptance of the unfortunate and the resolve to do it again.  Play was the spirit of the game.  The spirit showed me to all types of courses; most that are rare now, some small par 3's where children and beginners would roam.  The courses were maintained different, mowers called gang units mowed the turf with great efficiency.  One man could mow all the fairways in the morning and still mow some rough that day.  The golf course superintendent would wave at us, stop and hit a shot, smile and get back to tending the course.  

We made our way back up to the clubhouse, the range was now full of players beating balls, more serious this time.  I glanced back at the clubhouse and the spirit was gone.  The landscape was beginning to change, the bright arcs and surfaces were dimming, and the arcs were similar in their trajectories and less interesting.  As I looked around I saw a golf cart approaching, the driver had short hair, wore slimming slacks and a tight button down short sleeve shirt.  I had to make a quick move to avoid being hit by the cart and it came to an abrupt stop.  "Hop in," the driver barked, and off we went.  Bounding down the course, the clubs rattled and banged as the cart jarred us over the terrain.  What happened to the colors, I asked.  The colors? Oh ha ha the driver laughed.  Just then a ball went shooting by the nose of the cart, just missing us.  I took a quick look around and couldn't make out the origin of the projectile.  The ball happened, said the spirit.  Golf lost its way.  The golfer, doing anything they can to make the sightest advantage to make up for a lack of talent, believed they could buy their way into good golf.  The demand for all types of equipment improvements changed the course of the game in addition to those whom were able to play the fine game.  I figured I was now with the spirit of golf present.

The change in the colors is from the ball and equipment I asked?  Sort of, he said, you see, the ball and the equipment changed the game.  Made it about power and distance.  It was no longer the creative endeavor that it was.  "Coming through!" a group of golfers yelled as they passed us by in the golf carts.  Balls that fly further mean that we need more land to play the game.  Old courses like this are losing favor and are a little dangerous.  Fore!! another ball whizzed by.  Golf is no longer played, he explained, it is to be overcome.  Par is the standard, and anything less is a failure.  Golf frustrates more than it fosters.  Hazards are deemed fair or unfair.  Straight and long is the desired way to play, and many consider it the only way. 

Suddenly, we were on a plot of land surrounded by survey stakes and excavators.  Fear not! We are making  more golf courses see.  All around me were developers talking about how much money they could demand for a parcel that was now going to be a golf course lot.  We will clean up, one man said.  I can get almost twice as much for this one by the pond!  The golfers were all in carts and one group who was walking was being harrased by a group that passed them as they were walking to the next tee.  Hurry up they shouted!  Jump on the back one man exclaimed!  The distance between the previous green and next tee appeared as a giant chasm spanned by a dark rickety bridge.  The course appeared in detail but not the same as before, bunkers had gold edges, and flower beds sparkled with great color.  Gone were the fantastic arrays that the players imagination produced and they were replaced with the rainbow of color from the mist of a fountain in the pond and the dazzeling white sand.  Also missing was the roaring happiness of the golfer.  Mutterings of slow greens, unfair lies, and inconsistent bunkers replaced the chuckles of a ball well struck.
 

What we used to accept as nature is now scorned as imperfection the spirit said.  When the golfer began to chase the dream of scratch golf by buying his way to par, the only thing left was the rub of the green to dash his hopes of golf perfection.  The spirit of the game was lost, it resembles a game in a way, but much more serious.  The play in the game is gone.  The greenkeeper whom I had first met could now be overheard talking to a well dressed man who was very irritated.  When the game gets more expensive, people find more ways to communicate their disdain.  Its not that they are angry for any particular reason, they are angry for all of it, and they dont even know it.  The greenkeeper seemed beat down, he was sweating from the heat and carried his head low.  His family was driving past and came to a stop, the youngest child ran from the car and gave the man a great hug, we will miss you dad, the child sighed.  The greenkeeper smiled and wished them all a great vacation and asked them to send pictures of their adventures.  He must stay here said the spirit, any blemish in these bunkers or surfaces, no matter how temporary, may result in his dismissal.  How can such a beautiful game that brings people such joy like that of the nine hole course treat someone so poorly?  I mean, it is just a game isnt it?  Quiet!!! The spirit screeched, have you no disdain for complacency?  We push that fellow to do more, to make it better, to work harder, to do more with less.  Surely he works within the confines of the resources he is presented with I uttered.  What are the parameters of the job in which he can do?  Certainly a factory can only produce a number of widgets, how can a lone man accomplish what an entire corporation cannot?  And what about the burn-out of the human condition?  We know that more than 55 hours per week hurts a mans health.  It was obvious that the spirit of golf present was agitated and seemed less like a golfer than the spirtit of golf past.  

The golf course was also maintained very differently now.  Gone were the simple machines called gang mowers.  Equipment appeared angry and expensive.  The work force at the golf course needed many more people to tend to the property.  Maintenance buildings had to be bigger in order to store all the equipment.  The grass was cut much shorter now and needed more inputs to make it healthy.  As we passed by the maintenance facility, lines of salesman selling fantasic tonics with outragous claims lined up outside the greenskeepers door.  Everyone was in on the money game.  The greenkeeper, desperate to keeep the golfer happy, was pooring every tonic he could grab and feeding the course.  The University Professor worked along side the tonic salesman and some seemed to have trampled the scientific method in the process, they stuffed their pockets with the cash that the tonic salesman slid to them backhandedly.  Golf ball makers, equipment manufacturers, and the golfer collaborated to create an environment that would change golf and put it on a path of extreme percieved advancement which was directly at odds to inclusion, preservation, and growth.  Advancements in relation to distance that the player could advance the ball, had safety issues for the smaller courses. One doesnt have to be a golfer to understand that a course that required players to constantly be "on alert" for wayward shots, wouldnt be much fun to play.  

It became apparent why the golfer was angry, the spirit explained further,  when the game becomes something other than play, confusion and frustration replace absolute joy.  The spirit explained that the increased cost, not only in money, but time, held the game hostage to produce the feelings of play, which it couldn't, because too much was at stake.  We realized, the spirit said solemnly, that true play, does have a limit on the amount of money spent to do such a thing.  Once humans invest a great deal into an endeavor, expectations take over and become the priority.  It's no good thing to invest lots of time and money into something only to have it let you down.

Before I let you go, these are the things to come if golf doesn't change a thing.  Soon we were transported to a beautiful golf course.  Outside the gates of the course, the city looked dismal.  Only the elite are allowed in.  The game is not for everyone.  There was one road into the course and there was a great toll to pay if one wanted to come play.  The course was empty.  The courses that were developed for as housing devolpments were walking paths.  Lawsuits and injuries made smaller courses impossible to manage finacially.  That is not the worst of it, he said and pointed to a generation that was wandering through the overgrowth of the failed properties.    

And just like that I found myself alone with a bucket of golf balls.  I picked up the iron on the ground and like I had so many times, decided to pick a target about 120 yards away, visualized the shot of left to right, low and spinning hard.  I exhaled and let the expression of my sadness go as I played that shot.  I realized golf had another spirit to come, the spirt of golf future, and that is when I heard a voice say "well done."  If you can visualize that shot, then you can visualize a different future for the game.  What?  I asked.  The spirit shook its head and explained, the beauty of the the game is the visualization, the seeing of something that is not, but could be, that gives humanity a great gift.  To be able to see differently, that there are many ways, not just one.  In golf, the true spirit is a few routes, some more conservative, some more adventurous, it is up to the player.  Hazards will come before you, you take them as they come, and do your best to avoid them, as the good Dr. MacKenzie suggested.  

So what is it you see for the future of golf, the spirit asked?  I paused, and with tears forming, I began.  I love this game, I love what it can teach those in the disadvantaged and advantaged neighborhoods alike.  I believe it can be a blueprint for great communities and great individual growth.  I believe we have good people in the game that would agree of putting people before profits.  I believe somewhere there is a golf professional with the character similar to Arnold Palmer, who used to make free video lessons for people learning the game.  I believe that the creativity of golf makes it special and worthwhile.  With that, we were transported to the course that was in my imagination.

We found ourselves at a famous inner city country club, which had stuggled in the past due to the flight to the suburbs.  It was an impressive layout with a great deal of history and tradition.  Like most country clubs, this layout, contrived with the spirit of golf past, was only for the community elite.  You purchased this club with a grant, the spirit said, take a look around.  What was now in front of me now however, was an inclusive community facility.  The "members" were just community indidivuals, and everyone, no matter what their ability to exchange monatary units were invited to partake in the great layout.  Those who couldn't afford membership in a traditional way, exchanged time or talents.  Money, time, and talents all function to fullfill the contribution to the facility.  I was experiencing a golf facility promoting honesty, integrity, inclusion, standards, and civility.  The grounds were properly cared for with much pride, more pride than maybe any golf course ever.  The only gangs around the property were the ones mowing the fairways and rough.  Everyone who was playing or practicing was doing so with replica wooden shafted clubs.  Equipment technology is fine, said the spirit, it just doesn't have a place here.  The focus at this facility is on creativity and solid shot making.  Modern equipment is just false hope the spirit added.

Proudly displayed at the entrance to the property was the community fellowship policy.  The fellowship policy outlines the rules if you will.  The state of civility that the facility will maintain and the consequences for any violation to the fellowship policy.  There always has to be some skin in the game to be a part of a community the spirit said.  Speaking of the fellowship policy, I said, it is a construct for sure and we have to find a way to have consensus and still keep those with a voice to be heard.  Golf is truely a special game and affords us a conduit into the human condition.  The spirit smiled at me and said, this is a true community space where the hard discussions of race, gender, and appearance are conducted, respected, and promoted.  What would be a more perfect space, than a space that served the community elite in the past?  A place that was once a symbol of exclusion and not of inclusion.  

Here, the game of golf is teaching the core values of life in easy to understand and promoted ways.  Golf as a manual to life is springing forth, and literally changing lives.  Here we understand the importance of play and the role of games as play.  Play is so essential to human connection and the current atmosphere of organized sports in society has essentially ruined the concept of play.  Lost is the concept of play as it has been tossed into the shadows of win / lose.  Golf is in a unique position to not only revitalize play, but lead the charge and bring about change in other sports to reincorporate the very nature of play.

What this facility is all about is focus, aiming at a target with intent.  In golf, hope and fear kill more great golf shots than anything else (I believe is a Moe Norman quote).  What more is there to life than focusing on a target and encountering obstacles along the way.  Here we teach people to realize that hope ard fear are mechanisms that destroy the ability to execute.  They are thiefs to the attention that is needed to execute.  These little monsters serve zero purpose in execution, they only distract and take away.  They add nothing to the forward progress necessary in the journey towards ones purpose.  Tranforming thoughts and the approach to life's problems through the game, golf can literally transform lives, communities, and society.  Golf can be either as small or large as it wants to be.  The "leaders" of golf can determine what they really believe golf to be and their vison will be the one that is manifested and lived out.  Luckily, for golf, it is not limited to the governing bodies.  Golf is left to the forces of the souls of indiviuals who carry within them golfs great lessons and passion.

At your facility the spirit said, golf teaches cooperation, humility, hard work, never say never, peace and quiet, make the best of each situation, don't worry about the past, nervousness is normal, vison is necessary, follow through, balance, and intent.  Communities will be forever changed by the this spirit of golf.  

The tears of joy in imagining what the game is capable of woke me from my nap, that and the burning in my stomach from that terrible hot dog.

Cheers,

Turf

The golf course superintendent is a professional golf course manager period.

Pietro Longhi: The Charlatan, 1757

Amid the growing talk of mental-health and the golf industry, it doesn't appear that anyone is really getting down to the nitty-gritty of the main issues.  Job burnout, failed relationships, and sustance abuse are real issues in our industrty and the majority of working environmentsare being ignored.  We have a long history of a mindset that if the top facilities are doing ok by the superintendent, then the middle and bottom will naturally rise up, (the rising tide raises all ships).  In my travels, I can tell you, the previous aphorism is false.  It is high time that we change our professions guiding statement.

Lately, I have been lamenting over the willfull delegation of expertise on the part of the golf course superintendent to other golf entities. It seems there are a number of golf course superintnedents whom struggle getting significant "listening to." Like the young man who cried "linda, Linda, listen Linda," the golf course superintendent has resigned himself to outdated equipment, poor shop conditions, unrealistic expectations, and worst of all; no voice. Talk to ten random golf course superintendents and I will almost bet that 8 out of the ten will agree to some extent that the decision makers "dont get it." It is an interesting phenomenon in our industry.  In contemplating the plight of the modern golf course superintendent, I see the Dunning-Kruger effect, a lack of proper messaging, and the devaluation of the profession as predominant obstacles to a brighter future.

The Dunning-Kruger effect....

People play golf, so they believe they know more than the golf course superintendent about running the golf course. I cant imagine thinking that becasue I can drive, I should tear apart my car or tell my mechanic how to fix it. There are certain things you may know a little about and your resulting confidence is high regarding your perception of understanding of the entire topic. This is known as the Dunning-Kruger effect.

The Dunning-Kruger effect explains why a little bit of knowledge of a subject over-inflates your confidence in a given subject. Once you learn that a subject is a little more complex, your confidence goes down as you become aware of your own ignorance. When one learns even more about the subject, the reality of the complex nature takes shape and people return to a "normal" level of confidence. These people are the ones who will listen, engage in a meaningful conversation, and can actually learn something from others. The golf course superintendent also needs to take responsiblity for their messaging as well. 

Knowing your audience and speaking in the terms that make sense to decision makers is also a skill that is not taught in turf school.  The articulation of the needs for increased allocations of resources requires time to gather supportive information and data as well as time to contemplate and formulate a clear and succinct message.  A superintendent without those moments are left to simply deliver innuendos or passing statements and hope that they will spark some sort of future change.

Maybe the problem is in the message

The golf course superintendent is doomed to failure in negotiaing certain items if they are unable to propose the right information supporting their desired outcome. I believe this is what seperates the wheat from the chaf and why some superintendents are successful with funding requests. When it comes to personal interactions, I like to say that there is no such thing as stupid people, just those that we have not figured out how to communicate with. Taking time to research and carefully plan a funding request is a very important step. 

The golf course superintendent who says "I keep telling them that the fairway mowers are old and they keep breaking.......but they don't care, or they are stupid,  or they dont get it, ect, ect......believes that they should be listened to just becasue they said so. Golf is expensive and in some opinions, unnecessary.  The process of asking for 70,000 dollars is a big ask, and if you think that those types of decisions should garnish support for just because you say it, probably in an aggrivated tone, well then....good luck to you. In many instances, I feel like the golf course superintendent has taken a back seat in the expertise bus of the golf industry.

Giving your power away......

In contemplating the seemingly large number of facilities that don't consider their golf course superintendent an expert, I can't help but to draw the conclusion that we have given our power away.  The golf course superintendent writes no articles for Golf Digest, Golf Magazine, The USGA publications, National Golf Course Owners Association, just to name a few.  The true influencers seem to always be at least one step away from the superintendent position.  This industry has no lack of so-called professionals that the decision makers believe have a better understanding of their facilities issues, than the person that is steering the boat.  This industry boosts USGA agronomists, PGA agronomists, and University Researchers as experts just to name a few.  Google golf course consutlting and look at the result! 

When it comes to managing the property, there is no person with greater knowledge than that of the golf course superintendent.  If you are a decision maker and you don't believe that it is the case that your superintendent is "the guy," then you better pay, at a minimum, the industry standard compensation and get a skilled superintendent.  Having "experts" that are not on property is going to cost you a lot of money over the course of time and it's just plain inefficient.  

We are the story we tell ourselves.......

When you are sick, you don't go to the doctor and ask questions and then take the advice of some quasi-political association for a treatment plan.  Your doctor knows you and hopefully there is a sense of trust there.  I have a vanity license plate and it is a joke.  The name on the plate is a reference to the comedy of self-branding.  We are the story we tell ourselves.  If the golf course superintendent sits back and lets other associations promote themselves as the authority of golf course conditioning, then it becomes difficult to wonder why your voice isn't heard when you appear to be screaming.  The golf course superintendent has been fed a narritive that they are humble, quiet, haters of the limelight.  The shy schoolboy narrative is not a healthy one for improving the quality of the golf course superintendent's life.  We are human and desire to be a part of something, to contribute, and to be valued.  I believe it is the most primary of goals of a professional assoiciation to speak up and to lead in the telling of the story.  

I will also note, that the story of the golf course superintendent is not only the story of the guy leading a top 100 course (no offense to these guys, thats not the point)......they are part of it, but to exclude the thousands of superintendents at smaller venues is missing a very important and large part of the story.  "The rising tide raises all ships," is a failed axiom and the result has been the disenchantment and possibly the alienation of a large group of golf course superintendents.  

Skilled Professional Labor is never free......

I can't think of a more glaring example of golf course superintendents not valuing themselves than the donation of labor that we provide for professional golf events.  We are valuable and skilled, or we are not. In our industry, we have cheapened ourselves by giving away our skill for free.  We ask industry partners to donate resources that could come back to serve our own membership in order to feed and clothe the volunteers at these events.  Not only are we giving our time away, but resources that could be used for a infinate number of needs.....It is a giant "double dip," and we perpetuate it.  At some point, we all have to ask ourselves, "what role do you play in your own suffering?"  

If a group of indidviuals are willing to work extra hours for zero pay during the busiest time of the year, why should anyone pay them? Why should they be fed? Why should they be recognized?  If your answer has any type of chairitable tone or greater good axiom, I think you are misguided.  This industry is experienceing a wave of "burnout."  Lack of recognition plays a significant role in burnout, and it seems like volunteering some crazy hours so people can knock a ball around for an industy that you play back fiddle in, plays right into the situation of obscurity.  Want to feel good about yourself?  How about having the golf world recognize the skilled job you do and include you to speak at the table of all things relevant to successful golf facilities?  It appears that we don't value ourselves enough to speak up.  

Why are we so desperate for attention that we will grind ourselves into the dirt to get an atta-boy?  I imagine having an adult evening type conversation with successful individuals where I explain how I have to go home early because I am getting up at 3am to volunteer to cut grass or rake sand for millionaires.  Self-respect is a complicated subject, I am not sure what it is, but I know what it is not.  In the above instance when long hours are complicatiing important relationships, there seems to be a great lack of self-respect.  Everything comes at some cost and I guarantee that each of us have someone who loves us and wishes that time we are volunteering away was spent with them.  We must believe that we have all the time in the world to use time in such a manner, unless there is that greater good that is genuinely deserving of such a sacrifice.  I know some may interject the brotherhood or networking discussion here.  The networking that happens at these events is relevant, but those things could also take place without the great sacrifice.  

The plight of the golf course superintendent has robbed way too many individuals of their passion for this great game.  The golf course superintendent knows the game, the spirit of the game, and the intricacies of the needs of facilities where the game is played.  The golf course superintendent is, or should be the champion of the spirit of the game.  The golf course superintendent should have time during working hours to educate themselves, play the game, collect data relevant to their operation, and formulate proposals for futrure allocations of resources.  While I am at it.....the time for the later should have a clean, well organized and lit workspace in which to complete those tasks.

If we want to make the life of the golf course superintendent better, we have to find away to value ourselves first.  We are the story we tell ourselves.  If we believe we are deserving of dimly lit, poorly funded, outdated working conditions, well then........we are, and we will get just that.  However, if we believe that we are the experts, who are skilled and deserving of quality working conditions, well then....our messaging, conduct, and communications will follow.  They say that it all begins at the top, and right now what appears to be at the top, are people tripping over themselves to do a free job for people who can afford to pay.  

I think we can do better....for all golf course superintendents.

Cheers,

Turf

Realistic Expectations, Job Satisfaction, and Operational Standards: A perfect trio

 The original post was a result of my observations during 24 months immediately following my retirement from the position of General Manager / Director of Golf Operations in August 2016.  It was a response to my fear that the golf industry will lose many professional and hard working individuals in the near future.  This loss, which will cost the industry billions of dollars, is almost imminent   Think replacements can be hired at no increased cost?  Good Luck!  There is plenty of information out there.  This commentary I believe is pertinent to any industry that has "pretended" not to take operational resources away from a department.  I say pretended because we seem to be in denial that todays dollar is the same as yesterdays.  If we are not increasing budgets, at a minimum, to the percent increase in the cost of goods which supply that operation, then reducing operational standards equally must follow.  For failure to increase a budget, by a minimum of a well thought out percentage, is reducing it.  

Operating to an unobtainable standard is disheartening.  Job satisfaction of a majority of golf course superintendents appears moderate to low at best.  The common attitude at mid-level to low-end golf facilities seems to mirror a beat dog.  But what is striking is that these individuals love what they do! They live for their jobs, they love the people, the nature, the challenge!!  These are good hardworking people that are simply disillusioned.  They once believed they could do a good job, but now it is failure after failure. It is not they they are failing at any given task in front of them, its more of an existential failure. A perceived failure against foggy and unclear goals. Usually people keep goals vague to avoid failure, but this is an example of ensuring it. The failure is primarily as a result of not being able to meet expectations that haven't been defined from the beginning!


So it seems that there exists a disconnect between resources and expectations. As resources have flatlined, expectations have stayed the same. We could do a better job outlining standards and that would alleviate much undue suffering on the behalf of management.  I believe operational standards would improve job satisfaction, help prioritize labor and capital, improve communication, and clarify expectations.

Expectations, as they seem to me, are predictions regarding a future experience.  They seem complicated and possibly influenced by motivations derived from an individuals personality, past experiences, and fantasies of future experiences.  I was reading about expectations and came across something really interesting.  "Expectations are premeditated resentments," repeats John A. Johnson PhD in Psychology Today.  Wow, I never saw expectations in such a damaging light until I read that.  I am not sure what to do with that just yet, I'm kinda processing it.

There seems to be an identity crisis in golf.  Not all clubs or courses are in the process of finding their identity.  There are many clubs that for a variety of reasons are doing well, I feel that is due much to the successful management of customer or member expectations and a clear vision of what they are and what they are not.  The struggle as it pertains to the others is that they are living beyond their means, in some fantasy of what they think they "should be" and without much justification of why. 

How did we end up this way? Modern golf facilities are tied tightly to a very historic model. Instead of honestly examining what society wants from us, we stuck to a model that was built during a different era and served a different purpose. Unless we want to try and reinstitute some of those old networking and local business loyalties, we may want to reconsider our function and model ourselves to align with it.  


Not too long ago, we experienced something amazing in the golf world, posh facilities for the middle class. For the first time in human history, could the working class have the experience that was once left for only the wealthiest and well-to-do in communities. Country clubs became accessible to people of most socio-economic cultures.  Much of that due to a booming real estate and development market that was positioning itself for catastrophe, but thats a whole other conversation. Anyhow..........

Country clubs were popping up like starbucks, and everyone was jamming.  Flower Beds, grand structures, lavish locker rooms, high end food and drink, man...things were good.  We had money to spend and we could write off dues.  Then, with the passing of the Clinton tax bill, that changed, but all was ok, a majority was making enough money that this wasn't going to affect much just yet.

March 10, 2008 the Dow Jones drops 20%, and things changed.  In the aftermath of the boom, we were left reeling.  Many dropped their club memberships, some changed their membership status.  Whatever the case, "do more with less" became the favorite saying at club board meetings.  Not sure they could afford club dues and feeling pressure, some seemed to look for reasons to be dissatisfied, others noticed diminished amenities or perks that they once enjoyed but now went without due to a reduction in club membership dues. 

Those that were left holding the tab (paying dues) at the club table seemed to have been told that dues would stay the same and nothing would change.  We seemed frozen by fear that telling the truth would result in losing what members remained.  What seems self evident is that a facility cannot function on less revenue and perform to the same standard.  I am not suggesting that people are not "justified" in the disappointment of missed expectations.  I think that is part of being human.  

The part that I think is missing is the contraction that would organically take place if nature were to take over.  If we were to build these places again, would they be as complicated and expensive?  To really consider what this would mean, I think looking at how clubs became what they are today is important to understand what the need to become tomorrow.  What certain clubs will become in the future may be different from what they were.  This means eliminations or reductions of certain services and the addition of others.

Lets consider a brief history........A group of people get together and they decide they want to play golf. How much will it cost and are they willing to pay for that privilege?  If the answer was yes, farm land is purchased, usually near the train, with a house to change clothes, awesome.  Maybe then we need a person to clean the house, tend to things a bit, all in favor?  Great.  Next we decide it would be nice to have lemonade on the porch after, we may need electricity....another vote.  My point is, clubs became what people were willing to divide up and pay for; not a build it and see, they were indeed a pure creation. 

Fast forward and we have a perception of what the country clubs are.  What clubs are, is not based so much on what we want them to be to us as much as what they have historically been.  When what people want or use the club for changes, a contraction of sorts should logically follow.  The available resources are pooled and they are allocated to the new want or use.  We have to prioritize and focus on what is of the most value and let go of those things that are of little value and importance.  When budgets flatline and the cost of goods and labor increases, something has to give.  Are we having those difficult discussions of what operationally needs to change?  And by change, I mean go away or reduce!

Why is change so difficult for us?  The difficulty lies in the execution of the cessation of an amenity.  People are loss adversed, which means that we would rather not lose, than to acquire the equivalent gain.  The emotional cost associated with loss is much greater than the gain of equal amounts.  The taking of things away, even menu items, really freaks people out and all types of catastrophes are imagined.  Take for example facilities where fine dining is the attempt by the food and beverage department.  In order to provide the service associated with fine dining, food minimums were put in place to ensure the revenue was sufficient.  Food and Beverage minimums are contentious subjects at many meetings, yet facilities didn't seem to want to take the necessary steps to eliminate or reduce the minimums, you see, the minimums are only necessary to provide a "type" of service.  Any perceived reduction in service would be viewed as a loss, even though the reality may be a better experience overall.  The corner gas station does an ok job feeding people and getting them a cold drink and you don't have to spend a certain amount if you want to get gas. 

The real trick to job satisfaction seems to include the creation of realistic expectations.  I've read many mission statements that include ridiculousness such as "consistently exceeding customer or member expectations."  That seems to be pure rubbish and is only meant to deflate hard working individuals.  Its no wonder that employees feel dejected and unappreciated, they can't possibly be considered a high performer without sacrificing their personal life by working oneself to death.  One cannot exceed expectations without creating through the process a new higher standard, especially when you have a reoccurring customer as in our industry.  To exceed expectations every time is just not possible because the expectations will increase beyond what we are capable of doing.  One doesn't walk away from a great experience expecting less next time, it just doesn't work that way.

If we care about our employees and want healthy working environments, we are left with the question of how to encourage realistic expectations.  I believe establishing written operational standards that are based on fact is one of the greatest ways to help achieve these expectations.  Lets take the grounds department as an example.

The reduction of labor, chemicals, capital expenditures and overtime, are all things that impact the product that a golf course superintendent can consistently provide.  Establishing operational standards based on the current resources that are realistic and include things like the difficult labor market, are essential to raising job satisfaction scores in golf.  The labor market is tough and turnover is high.  High turnover means more training hours, more money, less productivity and less efficiency.  What your labor dollar provided yesterday is not today.  Knowing how often you can mow rough with the given equipment of a certain age is important.  Most facilities only maintain enough equipment to mow all rough twice per week.  When a property receives 5 inches of rain in five days, and the directive is no overtime, all involved understand and can feel good that they are doing the best they can with what they have to work with.

There are some essential things to keep in mind when creating standards.  When considering standards we have to be realistic regarding labor.  Labor is never 100% efficient and the work is not carried out in the most productive manner.  People stop to talk to other people, they get distracted, they make mistakes and have to go back to a previous task.  Putting a manger in a position to treat people like slaves because the expectation is that labor will perform at 100% all the time is unfair.  Maintenance standards are achieved by tasks carried out by human beings and they need to be allowed to behave like humans if realistic expectations are the goal.   Wages also need to be considered.  Labor purchased at $8.50 an hour is not the same as labor at $17.00 an hour.  If you can't afford high quality conscientious labor, throw the ball washers away......actually, never mind just throw the damn ball washers away.

Written standards aid in equipment assessment 

It is also important to understand your equipment situation when writing standards.  If the bunker raking machine is breaking down and takes four hours in repair for ever hour it is running, well you may not be able to get them done four times per week.  In fact, you may want to just consider a bunker a hazard and allow life to happen.  To the previous point, writing standards can help in making capital purchase decisions and can also aid in discussions considering things like intermediate rough cuts or out of play areas.  The working environment can also be addressed in these documents.  Unless the facility janitor visits the maintenance buildings, then time to make a clean healthy working environment needs to be allotted.  The environment that people work out of can affect their mood and motivation.  Clean, well lit areas are often overlooked in the grounds departments.  I will refrain from addressing the impact of lighting on mood and productivity out of respect for brevity, suffice it to say I think a visit to the maintenance facility would be something.

Written operational standards establish priorities and remove any guesswork.  Without agreed upon priorities, the individual tasked with the responsibility of stewarding a golf course feels an enormous pressure to complete everything.  There are an infinite number of tasks to complete on a golf course.  On any given day, everywhere a superintendent looks, you can see tasks that have been left undone.  Any good superintendent will engage in the exercise of firing themselves every day, and when things are left with a sense of incompletion, it is difficult to feel good about calling it a day.  I always told my Green Committee that they could fire me at any time and to any dismay, I would invite them to ride around with me....."I will show you a hundred reasons."  To that end and now speaking to the frustrated overworked individual.....if not for your decision makers, do this for yourself, so that you can go home at the end of a working day...not at night, at the end of a typical workday and feel good that you are doing the best you can with the resources given unto you, and go home....and enjoy your family and friends.  We go around this rock on time, and your family and friends will be the ones who miss you the most.

Do less with less, or more with more, more with less is a fairytale,

Turf

Golf Course Superintendent Appreciation Week Day 2: Time

 Yesterday I spoke a little about the people who support the golf course superintendent.  These folks are the ones that sacrifice time with that individual and who often accompany the superintendent in evening drives of the golf course in order to spend a little bit of time.  Time is the only gift we have.  How we choose to spend it matters.  There are many careers that demand individuals to be on call, I am not trying to make a martyr of the superintendent, only to shed some light on the job and the unique challenges that come with it.  Hopefully through understanding of the challenges, facilities, owners, members, coworkers, and the regular player will engage in support of the superintendent.

Golf course turf is a different animal than your home lawn.  Grown at heights equivalent to the width of a nickel, this turf doesn't tell time.  Turf doesn't care about holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, or any other human event, if it is under enough stress, the turf will go dormant or dead in an afternoon, possibly hours.

Golf course playing surfaces are maintained to be firm, which means as dry as possible to survive a day of play, then receiving supplemental moisture to get it through the next day.  Moisture management is an art. Growing turf under these conditions cannot really be taught....it is experienced and either an individual gets it or they don't.  Hand watering areas on greens is done by skilled labor.  

Through the growing season, or the hundred days in the north, turf needs to be watched.  Sunday afternoon when it is 73 degrees light wind and beautiful blue skies, you can find your superintendent checking greens and directing staff to hand water hot spots. Why hand water?  Irrigation is not sufficient for all situations.  Supplemental irrigation is necessary to keep the average moisture holding areas from becoming too wet from overhead irrigation or sprinklers. 

Adding some difficulty to the art of moisture management is the unpredictability of the weather.   Guessing weather a rain event will actually happen is just that....a guess.  Even if it rains, it may come down too fast or not enough.

Localized dry areas surrounded by moist areas

Irrigation systems that are outdated have large watering windows.....meaning it takes a lot of time to water the course or a surface....if you guess wrong and don't get rain and it takes a couple hours to water greens....tough.  Morning preparation of the greens for instance can't happen while irrigation systems are running.  Need to get a watering on fairways because the rain didn't hit?? Forget it, it may take 6-10 hours to run a good fairway cycle....the rain system that dissipated changed your day from finally being able to catch your breath to running around putting out fires....literally.  Days like this are just keeping grass from dying, your not catching up on the soil moisture bucket, your just treading water.

The hundred days.....from labor day to memorial day are spent watching weather and balancing the moisture levels.  Watching moisture levels on 4 acres of greens, 4 acres of tees, and 30 acres of fairways is stressful, not to include rough, driving range, green surrounds, flower beds, clubhouse lawns, and whatever else is under the superintendents care.  Want to get a little taste?? Just try and adjust your home lawn every day, keeping it green, but as dry as possible.  Try it for a week....everyday, dry, firm, and green...ish. 

Hand watering dry areas by a skilled employee

There are other things that keep the superintendent at the course....cultural practices that need to get done, event preparation, facility events, tournaments, and meetings....but babysitting turf for moisture content is number 1.

I don't know any superintendents that take moisture management lightly, its a trigger....don't believe me?....tell your superintendent that they overwater.  Make sure your several feet away and that he or she has slept lately and in a fairly good mood and there is a possibility of your survival.

Next time you see your superintendent, say thanks for the work they do managing water so that you can have the best conditions that your facility can provide....and remember, that may be only as good as the systems that are in place can be relied on......proper coverage, pumps, layout, pipe size, water quality, grass species and variety all play a role...its a complex system and your superintendent is dedicated to making it function the best it can.  All while being human.

Peace-

Turf

Golf Course Superintendent Appreciation Week!! Day 1

Thank a golf course superintendent day 2021 is September 14th.  The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America outlines some kind things to do here.  I want to celebrate golf and the superintendent this coming week.  Its been a long two years with some struggles, some success, some tears, and some laughter.  2021 is in the books and my hat goes off to the men and women who care for our green spaces that we chase the ball around on.  Behind the successful Golf Course Superintendent there is always a great support system.  I had mine for sure...Kristin and Mollie McKone, Joe Williamson, Don Powers, Joel Purpur, Mario Genovesi, Brian Baker, and many many more. 

Before I focus on the golf course superintendent, I wanted to say "thank you" to a very special person.  In 2004 I took on a job at Briar Ridge Country Club a 27 hole private development with a fixture of a golf pro.  The golf course needed some intense cultural work.  Typically, when a course needs additional cultural practices, which mean disrupting play, its an uphill battle.  Players or members don't want any disruption but they want conditions to improve.  Briar Ridge members were used to playing any of the three courses at a whim and there was always space to jump on the course.  

The Golf Professional at Briar Ridge was loved by the entire membership "not a problem" was a phrase I admired and couldn't stand at the same time.  Jack Sudac was and is one of the most accommodating and genuine people I have ever met.  He was a guy you wanted behind the counter and running your events.  I learned early in my career, that it didn't matter what the golf course was like if you didn't have a good front-man.  Jack was an outstanding ambassador....and had my back....most of the time (he is human after all and we may have had some conversations that bordered on disagreement).

My ability to be successful at Briar Ridge Country Club was due largely in part to the cooperation that I had with Mr. Sudac.  We would close 9 holes regularly and we really worked the surfaces.  His trust and belief in me was outstanding.  In the first year we used the Graden machine in two directions in the spring and punched surface holes with the GA-24 6 times.  

I know this, golfers don't like holes.....the best supporters of the superintendent stop talking to him for a week following aerification......true story, I think it may even be subconscious.  Not only did we poke holes and put a ton of sand down, we were closing 9 holes all the time.  I am sure I fielded some questions that year, but certainly didn't hear the grumbling and moaning like Jack did.  He probably took a ton of heat for me and I can never repay him for that.

Jack Sudac and I spent a ton of time together, golf trips, club events, sporting events, and other shenanigans.  Among other things, he taught me how to run and score events, play good member golf, and run a business.  

Next weekend is the Jack Sudac Invitational at Briar Ridge Country Club, yeah, they love him and its no wonder why.  He is attentive and accommodating, almost to a fault.  

When I arrived at Briar Ridge, we had a ton of M.D.'s, many of which had very difficult names.  "Doc'....was often heard around the golfshop.  "O.K. Doc.......Not a problem Doc........Absolutely Doc......"  you get the point.  The name Erwin has found many workarounds and Jack coined me "The turf doctor," a name I continue to use on twitter which I had set up to communicate with members.  This year I relocated to Michigan and when I renewed my plates, I went with a dedication to my dear friend, whom I miss very much.

Jack, I want to kick off Golf Course Superintendent Appreciation week by saying "Thank You," to you.  Your faith and guidance paved the way for me to have over a decade of success at Briar Ridge where I met many great people and I am happy to say friends that remain to this day.  As different as we may be....superintendents as "task people" and professionals as "people people"  we need each other to operate a successful entity.  I consider myself lucky to have had the opportunity to work with one of the best.  

To Jack Sudac and all the Golf Professionals who help with the success of the Golf Course Superintendent by giving their trust and support,

Cheers "you ass," LOL

Turf