Talk it Up

     It is becoming increasingly obvious that the need for communication in the golf industry is becoming more and more necessary.  I was asked the question a week ago "What is the biggest challenge facing superintendents in the next 10 years?"  I had several thoughts that came to mind, like decreased budgeting, communication, and increased regulatory pressures.  So, I reached out to 2 superintendents i respect a lot Dan Dingman at Birmingham CC and Bob Randquist down at Boca Rio.  Both responded in much the same way, increased water and pesticide restrictions are on, or near the top of their lists.  If you think about it, this problem really encompasses all of the problems listed above.  With the loss of pesticides like MSMA, and what is sure to be the loss of PCNB, we as superintendents and assistant superintendents are forced to communicate with members the reasons why their golf courses aren't as weed or disease free as they could be.  Pesticides are going to become more and more expensive, while budgets stay the same or decrease.  This being said, the need for good communication skills are more needed now than ever.  We have to be able to explain in a rational and level headed manner these points.  We as superintendents and future superintendents tend to be a proud group of people that don't like to admit we have problems.  Going forward it is necessary to use every means at our disposal to accurately and honestly explain our issues. 
     I learned alot from Bob Randquist this summer, but the most important thing i learned was to do things the right and moral way.  "Just be honest with your membership, Rodney. I have always been honest to these people here and they know if i say it i mean it."  This has stuck with me most after my time at Boca Rio.  I look forward to getting back out on a golf course and working and out of a classroom for a while.  As for now, i will continue to hone my communication skills, with the intention of becoming the best assistant superintendent and superintendent i can be in the future.

My View of Las Vegas

I must admit that i was impressed with my trip to Las Vegas for GIS Show.  There was so much to take in that i was honestly sad that i didn't have at least one more day to go through the show floor.  I met some great people and learned alot about new products coming out to help today's superintendent.  My team had a decent showing in the Turf Bowl we finished 14th out of 89 teams.  I think it was respectable, but i intend on placing in the top 10 in San Diego next year.  Las Vegas is a beautiful, fun, and intriguing city and I can safely say that everyone in our group enjoyed themselves in one way or another.
I will finish my post like this.  I am extremely proud and excited to be interning for Bob Randquist this summer.  The class and dignity with which he served the GCSAA is top class.  You can tell that Bob is dedicated to his religion, family, and profession in that order.  I really am blessed to be learning from a superintendent of his caliber.

Traveling Season Begins

To many of you who are in the turf industry, you know that next week is the GIS Show in Las Vegas.  From the MSU Turf Club we have 24 representatives set to invade the desert next week.  Like 23 other students im excited about the opportunity to attend the show, and yes have some fun as well.  This event butts right up to our spring break at MSU.  Which essentially means i will be flying from Detroit to Denver, Denver to Vegas, then while coming back ill fly from Vegas to Raleigh to see my family in North Carolina.  After being in NC for a week i will drive me and my daughter back to Michigan to finish the semester out and in a 3 week span, pack and head to Miami to start my internship.  I guess this is what's meant by the "rubber hitting the road."  For those that are traveling i wish you safe travels and great experiences.  For those staying home please continue to keep your nose to the grind. 
With all of this being said, i will sum this shortened post up like this.  The next 6 months of my life will be hectic and challenging.  I do realize however, that they have the potential to be the most rewarding time of my life in terms of career advancement.  Me and my wife Jenni (whom i would be nothing without) and my beautiful daughter Ella are doing our best to prepare for our time apart.  We all understand that if our dreams are to be attained, I must be dilligent in working and focusing on the prizes that lay ahead.  Im a blessed man and that is undeniable.

Midterms... and another half of a semester down.

Well this week was midterm week and it seems like we all made it through it.  I must say that 3 of 4 exams were tolerable.  I will follow that up with our exam in CSS 267 (Dr. Rogers class) was perhaps the hardest exam i have ever taken.  Im not the only one that has said that either.  I know that if somehow it gets back to him im writing this in my new post it will make him smile... thats just how he rolls.  All of that aside, i do believe that his test was fair and forced us to pay attention to detail.  Today is dedicated to taking a deep breath and doing some minor homework assigned to us over the weekend.  It's unbelievable how fast this short semester is going by.  Cody Korenstra and I were discussing it on the way to the commuter parking lot yesterday, and came up with including being in Las Vegas for the GCSAA conference coming up in two weeks we basically have three weeks of actual class time left this semester.  Then its off to sunny Florida for me to learn from Bob Randquist.  I'm excited about this opportunity to further my education.  I'm really excited for all of us.  We will all be scattered all over the world, but these guys and one girl all mean alot to me and I'm proud of how hard we work. 
We had Turf Club officer elections a week ago Thursday.  Our new officers are Anthony Heath is our secretary, Jeff Campbell is our treasurer, Tylor Meppelink is VP of our sports turf guys, Paul Jacobs is our Vice President and I am the new Turf Club President.  I look forward to this position and working with all of these guys i call friends.  We as a group plan to further our group by highlighting networking within our industry.  I have some ideas and i know the other officers have a ton of good ideas as well.  We have started a twitter account already and this weekend i am going to get a facebook page going so we can share with students an alumni what is going on in the club...  I hope you all are having a great week and you have a good weekend!!!

Another Week Down and a Prince Came to Town

Well, another week is in the books and we survived it... We had alot of interesting classes this week.  Overall, the week was a good one with many interesting assignments. 
On Monday we had a very neat lab in Irrigation.  Two representatives from Spartan Distributors came and taught us about irrigation systems.  The lab included example maps, and from these maps the speakers covered a myriad of topics.  Theses topics included psi, elevation, head size and rotation, pricing, and how to read their catalog.  I found the class very engaging and all of our answers were answered.  Later in the week in Irrigation class, Dr. Nikolai taught us how to calculate the working pressure with an elevation loss and gain.  Also, on Thursday Doc taught us how to read a friction loss chart, and it was good...
In CSS 267 we covered the USGA, ASTM, and California specifications used to construct putting greens and sports fields.  I found this interesting for several reasons.  Its interesting how many times the USGA have revised their specs for constructing putting greens.  I also never knew how defined the sand particle sizes were in these specs.  We had a couple of interesting assignments to do this weekend.  One of these was a % sand passing graph assignment that ultimately compared 2 sample rootzones to a field rootzone that was already in place.  It was cool to see how you compared the samples using Gradation Index and Coefficient of Uniformity.  In addition to that, i completed a sand particle analysis assignment that required us to take 5 different pictures of sand particles with a microscope culminating with an agglomerate picture.  Very Cool Stuff,
Spanish class is rolling along with mostly basic stuff.  This class is interesting and no push over.  Its actually pretty fun.
For my parting shot let me EXCLAIM that the Detroit Tigers just went from good to potentially unbelievable... Prince Fielder changes the game... Let me be blunt LOSING VICTOR MARTINEZ HURT.  To state the obvious signing the 2nd best free agent of the offseason was huge...  this guy adds 40 hr and 150 RBI to your lineup... Now to find some middle relievers.... and possibly a left handed starting pitcher....  BIG THINGS ARE GONNA HAPPEN IN THE D THIS SUMMER.... and I'm not talking about structure fires....

New Learning

Yet another week of class is finished and it was good and successful.  We now finally have a teacher for our Spanish for Turf class.  Her name is Anastacia Smith.  She seems like a nice lady but this class is going to be difficult i believe.  We started a sand and soil analysis experiment in our Green Construction class, and i would show you pictures of it, but it was some sand in bowls that are now in the oven at school drying out.  The objective of this experiment is to learn how to determine different types of soil and sand particle size for use in the construction of greens and athletic fields.  Our grass experiment in irrigation class is coming along nicely as shown in pictures below.  The grass is growing out well and an up close picture shows the definitive red base of the perennial ryegrass. Our grass was pulled out of water for a couple of days during the week but Jeff Campbell is putting it back in water today for the weekend.  In Pesticide and Fertilizer class we did a lab in which we learned to calibrate a drop spreader.  Thanks to Erik Guinther at Roaring Gap i had learn the art of calibration early on in my career and it was a refresher for me.  The experiment went well, and didn't take a whole lot of time.  Yesterday we had a Turf Club meeting after our last class and we discussed many topics including the upcoming GCSAA conference in Las Vegas, a bowling event we have in conjunction with the Migcsa, and also upcoming elections for new officers.  I will be running for president of the Turf Club, and my hopes is to build on the great job the officers this year have done. 
In conclusion, i have two things to say.  First of all, I don't care if you are the Superintendent at the most prestigious golf course in the country, please stop for a second and take some time and enjoy life.  It's precious.  I got up this morning and took a trip with a friend to have some work done with his rabbit hunting dogs.  It was a blessing.  Please don't neglect your personal lives and the people that mean alot to you in this world.  In closing, i am enjoying this adventure in life.  I love going to school and i truly care about all the people in our program.  You guys are my friends and I care about each of you.  Keep working hard our goal isn't far away.  It's time to put our head down and grind this thing out boys and one lady.  See you soon.

The red bases are prominent.

Lazy Weekend

After a commitment at church this morning we have spent our whole day just relaxing and enjoying our family.  Watched some basketball and football and had some fun times with our neighbor Annette.  This has nothing to do with turf or turfgrass except i think that as turf professionals, or future turf professionals we need to sometimes realize that we have to stop for a minute now and then and enjoy life.  I did take a little time to read my GCM magazine today but just one article.  Its been a good day and i wouldn't trade days like this for any amount of money in the world. 
On the turf side of things i had a message today that said our experiment pots had germinated today so on Tuesday ill post new pictures and data... until then have a good weekend folks.  Thanks Nick Binder for going to check our pots today... tomorrow was supposed to be my day to check for germination but alas because the plants are already growing i can stay in again with my wonderful family...

First Week of Classes and GLTE

This week was the first week of classes and i must say it was the smoothest first week of a semester i have ever encountered.  I like all of my classes thus far, and it was great to catch up with all of my classmates and friends after a long enjoyable break.  Highlights of the first week include an experiment we started in irrigation class involving irrigation (naturally), and soil amendments.  I took some pictures of our starting replications which is posted below.  3 of our the pots are 100% sand and the other 3 are 80% sand and 20% peat.  We are using perennial ryegrass for our grass and we will test factors such as germination times, growth, and the effects of removing the pots from their water source on Feb 17th...

On Wednesday i had the great pleasure of attending my first Great Lakes Trade Expo, where i watched the Dr. of Greenspeed do his talk show format segment.  Alot of my friends were honored for scholarships they earned (all 2nd year students).  Also, Bob Vavrek gave a speech about his top 11 game changers in the golf industry during his time with the USGA.  The talk was stimulating and fun to listen to.  The Changes ranged from budgeting, to trees, to bunkers and many other topics.  At the end of the talk show there was a list compiled by Dr. Nikolai that will be published in the next Migcsa magazines of the top 14 things that have changed superintendents careers in the state of Michigan.  I look forward to reading that article.  Wrapping this post up let me say how proud i am to be a Spartan and more over how proud i am to be a member of the Turf Club at MSU.  Tyler Manly, Aaron Deloof, Taylor Doorlag, and Nick Wolcott are our officers and they have worked hard to show how much this program means to us.  We have been diligently searching for funds to send our members to the STMA conference in Long Beach and the GCSAA conference in Las Vegas next month.  We had a wonderful booth at the GLTE in conjunction with the MTF who has done so much to help us out.  I look forward to being a part of the Turf Club next year, hopefully as an officer.

Dr. Thom Nikolai

Turf Club Booth at GLTE

New Semester Beginning

Well today is the last day of winter break and i must say its been a good one.  I traveled from Lansing, Michigan to Miami, Florida.  I saw some old friends and made some new ones.  Today, i have spent going to church this morning, and the rest of the day on the couch watching football and hanging out with the loves of my earthly life Ella and Jenni and our dogs.  I look forward to this semester and the coming year.  In 3 short months i will be in Florida doing my internship and exploring the deep south. 
I would like to thank Len Fawcett, Erik Guinther, Clay Breazeale, and Bob Randquist for making my trip a good one.  One of my new year's resolutions is to blog more about school and life and what's going on with my family so here we go....
More to come soon....

How I Spent My Christmas Vacation

      First of all, let me say i hope you all had a wonderful holiday season.  My holidays were wonderful.  I saw friends, lots of family, and even made some new friends in the turf industry.  Jenni, Ella, and I came to NC on the 21st of December.  While in route here our car had some issues and is now being fixed in Mt. Airy NC, as i patiently wait.  It was not the most opportune time for a transmission to come out of a vehicle but all in all we managed.  Thank God for warranties. 

Sawgrass

     On the 27th of December i headed for Florida and warmer weather to see some golf courses and talk to some great superintendents.  My first stop was in Ponte Vedra Beach, where i got to meet Clay Breazeale, the superintendent of the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.  The place was amazing.  Clay and his staff do a wonderful job and it was really an honor to see the place.  It was interesting to hear him talk about the shade issues and how they attacked that problem using an outside party that used several factors like GPS, sun tracking, and a recreation of trees using computer models that detailed shade percentages on greens.   The course was also putting in below ground heating units for their greens that day which was a cool process to see.  All in all it was amazing to see a piece of golf history and legend.  I completely enjoyed my time in Ponte Vedra.
     After i left Sawgrass i headed to the DEEP south where i got to meet Bob Randquist and tour another magnificent layout at Boca Rio Club in Boca Raton, Florida.  Bob was very accomodating to me and made a nervous college student feel very at ease.  This course is perhaps the best kept secret in the country.  I realize that the membership there does not want this well kept secret made public, but this place is immaculate.  The greens complex's are amazing and the native vegetation there was a something this southern boy had never really experienced.  I am happy to say that i will be interning with Bob this summer and i am extremely excited about learning from him and his staff.  Im also excited about volunteering with Clay and his staff as well for The Players Championship at Sawgrass. 

Boca Rio

     In closing i am posting some pictures i took while on my trip.  I love my wife and child and i thank them for allowing me to go on my little southern tour with no questions asked.  Im a blessed man to get to see and do the things i do.  I love the turfgrass profession and beauty and freedom it encompasses.