Leading the Leading Thoughts blog over at the American Society of Golf Course Architects website is an entry by Tom Marzolf, ASGCA, explaining something every golf course owner and operator should know and understand if they want the club to succeed over time. Marzolf explains well how golf courses are living, breathing entities, evolving over time, and the life cycles of various components of a golf course need to be understood.
   
The ASGCA, together with the GCSAA and others, have developed a Life Cycle chart to be used as a guide to help schedule replacement and upgrades to key elements of the golf course. This chart will help clubs evaluate when tees need to be added/rebuilt, irrigation systems upgraded, drainage projects needed, etc.

Visit the ASGCA Leading Thoughts blog HERE.
   
Live on, turfgrass! Superintendent Sean McCue is keeping an excellent Blogspot blog over at The Country Club at Castle Pines in Castle Rock, Colorado. His latest post includes a video post from BASF TurfTalk outlining the numerous benefits of turfgrass. Not only is it a great video to arm yourself with facts to debate the nay-sayers, but it is one of those vids that needs to be playing in a loop in the pro shop. Follow the link to Sean’s blog by clicking HERE.

Have a healthy har-dee-har-har at the Golf Course Maintenance Job Description article found on golflink.com. It’s amazing to me how some things never evolve - including, in this instance, the degree to which the positions of golf course superintendent and crew are viewed in the absolute minimum of importance.
   
Notable quotes from the article include, “...a golf course maintenance job simply requires working on the course itself...” (emphasis is mine). Or this one from the next paragraph, “A golf course maintenance job always involves manual labor and sometimes some managerial duties.” (emphasis mine again).
   
Read the entire informative article HERE.

Finally, Rodney Dangerfield would have been proud of the Bella Vista Property Owners’ Association. A retirement community in Northwest Arkansas, the 36,000 acre property boasts lakes, swimming pools, and 7 golf courses. Rodney’s pride would have been in the amount of respect the golf courses get in the form of positive communication about the various goings-on. Videos on frost damage, great photographic updates on projects at the various courses, even a link to the USGA Green Section’s Turf Advisory Report from 2011 is there for all to see. If I could get a ballmark-full of support like this I would be happy. Bella Vista’s blog can be found HERE.


I would be remiss if I didn’t include a link to the 2012 Golf Industry Show.