I’m going to assume from the beginning, seeing as this is my first cyber column for the good folks at Golf Course Industry, that you, the superintendents reading this have probably heard enough over the years from different course architects about this renovation and that renovation, about how we expertly shaped these bunkers and contoured those greens.
That’s not what this column is about – not this one in particular, nor the others to come. With these, I’m after something different. We’re going to talk a bit about design, and a bit more about agronomy. But mainly we’re going to talk about navigating the superintendent’s delicate position between golfers and the folks who run your club, daily-fee or resort.
In my 35 years in this business, I’ve learned that superintendents are the folks responsible for communicating the state of the golf course to both parties. They are the professionals who, along with architect, must broker and guide the decision-making processes when it comes to agronomic diagnosis, redress, and, yes, sometimes renovation.
These are all communications skills, not necessarily agronomic or green keeping skills. So we’re going to talk about how supers should be dealing with their memberships, their boards, outside agents, their local associations, even architects and contractors.
Because here’s another fact: With all the technological change we’ve seen and continue to see in the business, this political aspect has remained more or less constant – and yet supers still know so little of it. Think about it: Did you study this at school? Did your mentors take you into those meetings with the board, to see how they did it?
Maybe they did, but I’ve got decades of perspective on this, and I think you’ll find it useful.
Let’s take as our first case study the recent renovation that Lohmann Golf Designs completed at Westmoor Country Club, a private club outside Milwaukee. We regrassed all 18 poa-infested putting surfaces with something relatively new to a climate this far north: A1 bentgrass, a premium turf whose extreme density helps it resist poa annua encroachment. While 18 greens were regrassed, their drainage was enhanced before the fumigation and seeding process. Our redesign at Westmoor also called for the removal of some 500 trees, an act that, contrary to some fears, actually increased its slope rating.
Pretty neat stuff. We’d been providing design services to Westmoor and longtime superintendent Jerry Kershasky for nearly 20 years, so getting the membership to approve this project was a slam dunk, right?
Wrong. A majority of the members had grown accustomed to the old greens – poa, warts and all. While Jerry, the board and I were convinced of the renovation’s long-term golf and economic benefits, we could all sense the membership wasn’t convinced. We couldn’t afford to lose a vote – it would delay the project for years, and perhaps endanger the project EVER receiving approval.
Everything – the drainage, the tree removal, the poa issues – hinged on the decision to regrass. So, prior to any vote, Jerry and I organized a town meeting-type assembly for the entire Westmoor membership, to make a formal presentation. The course architect often presides at these meetings, but the architect also has a vested interest: He makes his living doing course renovation projects like these.
We needed a completely impartial broker.
So, Jerry and I invited some special guest speakers to the meeting and let them make the case beside Jerry and me. We brought in the big guns: USGA Green Section North-Central Region Senior Agronomist Bob Vavrek; Dr. Joe Vargas, the legendary Michigan State University agronomy researcher; and Dr. Tom Nikolai, another distinguished MSU agronomist.
Nikolai talked about the different approaches to managing putting surfaces for consistent green speed, something A1 enables. Vargas discussed A1’s ability – due to its extreme density – to compete with and ultimately rebuff poa annua when properly managed. Vavrek offered more anecdotal stories from clubs across the upper Midwest, and shared his experiences working just south in Chicago, where several clubs have converted to A1 greens with great results. Vavrek also discussed how many facilities in neighboring Michigan had developed reciprocity programs with nearby clubs, so members would have somewhere to play while their club was closed during replanting.
The combined expertise of the panelists helped sell the renovation proposal to the members, who backed it with an overwhelming 72 percent voting in favor.
Now, the USGA is a great resource in this way; you can put them to work in just this way. Sometimes it just means more coming from them. The turfgrass departments at dozens of reputable universities across the country can serve the same purpose – maybe you can make alumni points by enlisting them to educate your membership in this way.
I elaborate further on this subject on my company blog at www.lohmanncompanies.com. Join us there for a continuing discussion of these issues, plus the particulars of working with A1 bent in these northern climes; the very interesting drainage enhancements we conducted on these greens before the seeding and fumigation; the extensive tree-elimination program, and more.
