Bob Vavrek, a Senior Agronomist with the USGA wrote a fantastic piece on doing absolutely nothing. He said as human beings we are programmed for action, but some of the best superintendents have a special skill for “doing nothing”. Boards and owners everywhere are cringing. Imagine a meeting where he or she says, “I plan to just monitor”.
Should you mow greens right after a deluge, but it’s Men’s Day? Should you top dress after a stretch of hot, stressful weather, but that was the plan we laid out in the off season. What if your greens have winter kill? Here is the classic program of excess to satisfy the owners or Board members:
We could spike and seed, or slit seed, or verticut and seed, or aerate and seed, then we will fertilize three or four times all before soil temperatures even reach 60 degrees, the threshold needed to initiate bent grass germination. As soon as there are sprouts, the process is repeated because you are pissed off it’s “taking too long”. Should I pursue that plan?
Your Soon To Be Removed Superintendent
The Opposite of Absolutely Nothing
As Bob says, go to the other extreme. Imagine trying to explain to an owner or a board that you need to close a green “because you didn’t do something”. As humans we are trained that society is far more sympathetic to one’s misfortune if one takes action, even if it’s completely the wrong action. The mantra of human life seems to be “more is better”.
Think about this…if I sent you a newsletter saying I was “doing nothing this year”, would your response be “that’s perfect, that’s just what I wanted to hear!” No, you want to hear a bunch of items I’m working on even if none of them make sense. You can feel good that I’m taking action. As Golf Course Owner Guy always says, running a course is interesting.
Nick, I don’t live anywhere close to Royal St. Patrick’s. My brother does live nearby and he introduced my to the course about a decade or so ago. I love the course and whenever my wife and I are on the area, -we enjoy High Cliff State Park,- we make a reservation and play. Always a good time both on and off the course. What I enjoy almost as much are your newsletters and stories. Very informative, educational and often written with a wry sense of humor. They are particularly appreciated on cold and snowy January days. Thanks much. Hopefully I’ll make it up to Royal St. Patrick’s a couple of times this year.
Thanks Jeff. I have quite a few followers that admire what we do from afar. I’m glad we are worth the pilgrimage. As for the writing stuff, I’m glad you enjoy. I think there are so many things about golf that are fun to talk about, yet maybe never are…. because they throw owners, golfers, experts under the bus. I’ll keep trying to give you things that you might not find anywhere else. Just like the Links, we are a bit different.