An Interesting Request

I received an unusual request the other day.  A customer in Africa asked if we made a stronger flag stick.  Following some inquiry, it turns out that the general flag sticks available don’t seem to hold up to elephants scratching themselves on the stick.  How does one answer that?

A while back I requested photos of animals on golf courses.  Let’s take that a step further.

Through the years I have heard about animal abuse of all nature, involving kangaroos, bears, cows, squirrels, sheep, geese, etc.  Do you have any photos of the damage or better yet, the culprits caught in the act?

Here is a photo of a bear cub wrestling with one of our flag sticks at Whistler Golf Club in Bristsh Columbia, Canada.  Thanks to Dave Gottselig, Superintendent at Whistler GC for sending in this great photo!

U.S. Open Photo Alert!

Accuform Squeegee's being put to work

No way I can resist calling attention to the first photo that appeared on the U.S. Open website today (6/18/2009).  Sort of proves the old adage that one person’s loss is another’s gain.  The U.S. Open players and spectators are enduring a rain delay in today’s opening round . . . but Par Aide products are hard at work!!  These four workers are pushing Par Aide Accuform Squeegee Rollers!

Tiger admiring the squeegee work

More Squeegee's at work

A little water to move

The Masters, Random Thoughts:

Watching the Masters, I couldn’t help but wonder how many Superintendents would be hearing the phrase, “why can’t our course look like that?”  It was and is a spectacular venue.  I also wondered how many viewers made a tee time for this week?  In times like these, where all the news is negative, wasn’t it great to lose oneself on that golf course, watching one of the most interesting Masters in years.  My buddies and I claimed that one player or another was toast throughout the day Sunday, only to have to eat those words a few holes later.  Who thought Cabrera had any chance when he had 6 holes or so left?  Did any of you pick him to win or have him in a  fantasy league?  Just a great finish with three unexpected, but deserving players in the playoff, any of whom I was excited to know would win.  Maybe I’ll replace my grips this week…….

Gary Player's last Masters

Angel Cabrera wins a thrilling Masters

Understanding the Superintendents World

After all of these years, I have to wonder how much I really understand about the Superintendent’s world.  Recently, a Superintendent, and friend of mine, was “released” after more than a dozen years at a privately owned club, which by all accounts was very well maintained.  Apparently, a couple of the owners decided that an obvious cost saving action would be to delete the line on the balance sheet called, Superintendent Salary.  Somehow, they came to the conclusion that simply, and only, keeping the turf mowed would suffice for the golfers and hopefully allow the track to keep operating profitably.  Of course, we are all aware of the precariousness of job security in this industry, and I have to admit that if a club is forced with having to shut down or make drastic cuts, it is understandable.  I honestly don’t know how dire the situation is at this particular course, but I do know that I came to understand just how risky this move could be if continuing to operate is the plan.

There is some question as to whether the crew that is still employed has any idea how to start up the irrigation system.  All of the pesticide, herbicide, and fertilizer applications were calculated by the “too expensive” Superintendent.  And what about record keeping?  Does anyone remaining have any idea what all is required?  Will someone be able to spot disease before it overtakes the course?  Will golfers truly be interested in playing a course that is not going to be maintained beyond “cutting the grass”?

So what went wrong that these owners, not stupid people by any means, have so little understanding of their Superintendent’s responsibilities, that they determined he was not necessary.  Is it his fault?  Tough for a Superintendent or anyone for that matter to boldly lay out just how valuable he/she is to the operation.  Wouldn’t it seem obvious anyway?  Or did he do his job so well that it looked pretty easy?  Is it a lack of education on the part of the GCSAA?  Could more be done to create awareness?

Have you provided your club with a list of your daily and seasonal responsibilities?  Maybe you could provide this at review time and ask to be judged based on how well each was managed.  Subtle way to make the point.

Making a bunker rake decision

Looking for bunker rakes for your course?  Do yourself a favor and bring in numerous manufacturers’ models to test out on your sand at your course.

I am quite sure most manufacturers would be more than willing to send you samples of their models for you to test and Par Aide is no exception.  Just ask your preferred supplier.  There’s a slim chance the model that works best will not be ours. 🙂

We’ve mothballed all of our tooling for the old style long tined bunker rakes which quickly went out of favor with the advent of the short tined rakes, in particular the Accuform brand many years ago.  But at the Memorial Tournament a couple of years ago, Jack made quite an interesting move…intentionally making deep furrows in the bunker sand.  Do you see this as a practice which has potential to become widespread?   Do you see the long tined style making a come back?