President’s Report continued again everything checked out fine. Hefty Lefty has a good ticker, but a noisy brain. Many things contributed to the anxiety, but at the end of the day the job was the driving force. I had dug myself a deep hole to start the season on five pocketed greens. They were essentially scalped after nine inches of rain fell on them after our mid-May aeration was complete. The mechanical damage took a few days to rear its ugly head. The initial damage was gut wrenching and I then found myself in grow-in mode for the whole month of June. No real problem at this point, just simple embarrassment and a race against the calendar. Once the July heat set in, we were along for the ride and I felt comfortable with where these five greens were. My new mid-summer goal was to get them back in normal condition by Labor Day. Once the last two heat waves were over after Labor Day my target goal of “normal” was pushed back to October 1st. The greens had held their own for the last 60 days, and I was proud that we grew turf through the thick of the summer. This is where the real fun began. Four and a half inches of rain pushed out the heat after Labor Day and little did I know the sun was going to be gone for the next three weeks. Again, the greens handled the heat just fine, but the rain and lack of sun sent us down a tough spiral. There was virtually no response from weekly sprays and none of my tricks were working. Even though I thought I was being defensive I was still providing my fair share of mechanical stress. Four outings a week and at least 150 rounds a day were the norm for us the whole month of September. The one thing that was new to start the month of September was the gray leaf spot that was ravaging the rough. The disease showed up early in August, but really caught a head of steam during the first week of September. My best estimate is that we lost 40% of our rough in those final two weeks of summer, icing on the cake.
Long story short, for 12 summers I have prided myself on being able to ride the stress of a summer. This season showed me things I had never seen before. How on earth can a sand based green stay so wet? I had never been behind the curve to start a season before and never had my butt whooped in September like this year. Those extra 60 days showed me that I can handle 60-90 days of nonsense just not 120. Now, I am still in planning mode, organizing and scheduling necessary repairs and improvements to the course. However, this off-season will be so much different than any one I’ve ever had before. I have to start planning on how to prevent this scenario from getting the best of me in the future. One thing that Galen Evans did so well was to try and center our education events on current topics and issues. Moving forward, the MAAGCS board will keep the same approach as we have speakers scheduled to address coping with stress. I am going to do my best to follow the doctors orders and eat healthier and exercise. Will this be enough? One last remark goes out to my inner circle. These fellas know who they are and I could not have made it through this debacle of a season without your support. Many times you all made me feel like I wasn’t in this alone and you all were right in it with me. It’s pretty amazing that you could set aside time for me while you all were plenty busy dealing with your own responsibilities. A lot of our vendors served as therapists this year, and we must all take the time to thank them for being there for us. Also, my bosses never lurked over me, gave me the space and resources necessary to push through the season. We all hope that a good track record gives us some margin for error if we have a problem or make a mistake. “A baker is only as good as his last doughnut” or however it goes, so I better stop writing and get back out there grow some turf.
First Green continued parents and others who have helped chaperone the field trips. “I’ve bumped into people at the grocery store or the gas station or even when they come to play at my golf course who have thanked me for the First Green, for what it’s teaching their kids and for what they’re all learning about the golf industry,” the 18-year GCSAA member says. “It’s been really rewarding.” During the Westminster National stop, students spent time at stations focused on water use and how golf courses employ this important resource. They used math skills to calculate the distance of various golf shots, examined soils found around the golf course and some of the pests that superintendents in the Mid-Atlantic deal with in maintaining their properties, and even tried their hand at putting, which for many was the first time they had ever held a golf club. 8
Brandy Hunt is a physical education teacher at Eldersburg Elementary and worked with Kraushofer and the Mid-Atlantic chapter to organize the event. She says programs like First Green can pay immediate educational dividends for students. “I’m a firm believer in tactile learning,” Hunt says. “I think kids need to move and get their hands on whatever it is they’re focusing on. So, I think this program really hits home. The kids are super excited to be here, and they’re definitely going to take home the message a lot more effectively because they’re seeing and feeling what it is we’re talking about.”
Mid-Atlantic Association of Golf Course Superintendents