A Turf Pirate's Journal $Try New Things $

The days are getting longer Turf Pirates and that means many of the Ancient and Honorable Tribe of Turf Pirates are facing tough situations and are trying to find that silver lining that we are all chasing. Rest easy Turf Pirates for the victory is at hand. The key that I have found to long tern success is to understand the need for a good foundation of skills and programs that is tempered with the newest and best practices available. You must never stop trying new things! They do not always work but the frame of mind to keep looking and evaluating is what makes the grass greener at your club. Rise up and challenge the status quo. I am what is officially known as a vintage superintendent these days and I have to admit I sometimes like the old ways. However, I would not be where I am today had I not kept learning and evolving. Much has changed in the golf turf industry since I hit the ground running in 1985. Take a look at this month’s photo opportunity. It was taken in 2015 during a photo shoot after a yearlong experiment we were part of using propane powered equipment. The photo features Shelby on the sand pro and me blowing the green for the B-Roll shots. The results were great but what was even better was the fact that we were looking at ways to be better, all ways, any ways every day. It is a gift to be curious and every successful Turf Pirate has that gift, they want to be better, they want to know what makes things tick. They are not afraid to try new things, they have a sense of urgency that is a favorable wind in the sails of fate.

I acknowledge that for the glass is half empty and broken crowd that I have certainly had some failures along the way, not every new thing I tried worked at least not on the first try. I count the way Thomas Edison did about his many failed attempts at inventing the light bulb, all of the failures were needed to reveal the one that was successful. We must never quit, when we try something new, we look for the lesson, we always glean the positive and find the light of possibility. Times like these reward the innovations of the season but remember to start from your strengths do not abandon the proven until you have confidence in the new way. Just in case you were wondering I am a glass half full and rising sort of pirate. My nursery green over the years has been a testing ground for many new chemistries and rates and turf varieties. It’s a safe place to answer real questions about the mysteries of turf before they go on stage in front of the golfers and owners. I am after all a Turf Pirate so I only gamble when the odds are in my favor. That said, nothing ventured, nothing gained so I keep moving onward looking for wise ways to better our (owners, members, staff, property and I) situation.

What about it Turf Pirates when was the last time you tried something new? When did you last feel the thrill of a hunch that panned out (reference to gold prospectors panning for gold during the gold rush days and finding that elusive nugget in the sand and water) I just unleashed our two new satellite guided fully linked sprayers. I felt like Captain James T. Kirk, but I have also walked like a million miles with a spray hawk tethered to any number of vintage non-satellite linked sprayers. Big or small try something new this week and shake your fist at mediocrity and see if you can build a better tomorrow for you and yours. This is the way.