Every once in awhile I have to peek in on what is actually going on in the golf-playing world, not just the golf maintenance world.
Bleacher Report is about all things sports, and a pretty cool blog at that. I picked up on this little golf piece that may bring about a chuckle or two during this transition from good golfing weather to cold rain, blowing leaves, soggy fairways and water-holding bunkers. It’s a montage of youtube videos,
but at least it’s not about silly cats. It’s HERE.
Alright so...how tight is your golf operation again? From Golf Operator Magazine comes this hilarious (but applicable in many cases) um, ‘training?’ video. The main point of it is that social media is a very effective way to get the word out about how great your club is and why people should come to play. The ‘Director of Marketing’ has a different idea. It’s very entertaining and can be found HERE.
From Golf.com comes THIS article about a happening at the European Tour’s KLM Open at Hilversum Golf Club. And I thought we were the only club that had bored kidsliving on the edges who had nothing better to do that cause us headaches...
From the Innovative Agromomics turf blog of Tom Margetts comes THIS article as published in GolfScene magazine about Superintendents as “Techie-Nerds.” Yes that’s right - we’re all on the brink of ‘Techie-dom’ with the onset of smart phones and social media, as Tom points out rather well. You can Tweet a frost delay (good idea if you have enough member-followers) and easily set up a blog for your club to let everyone know what you are up to. Heck - I’ve finally figured out how to update my Wordpress blog from my iPod using the Wordpress app! All I have to do is park just right near the irrigation control boxes on 18 so I can catch a Wi-Fi signal from a homeowner and I’m home free!! (shameless self-promotion here: greenkeeperjim.wordpress.com if you’re interested)
This just in...
By now we've heard the story about Team USA, captained by Fred Couples, winning the Presidents Cup at the Royal Melbourne Club in Melbourne, Australia. No doubt you've probably heard about the heroic play of Jim Furyk (5-0), or the controversy around Couples' pick of one Tiger Woods, only to have Tiger's match decide the outcome.
Did you hear the back-story about the American flag-wearing baseball player that provided moral support throughout the tournament whose dad is a Turf Equipment Technician at the Great South West Golf Club in Grand Prairie, Texas?
Jeff Jamnik Sr., a regular on the GolfTECHS.net forum, shared the story of his son, Jeff Jr., who plays baseball in Melbourne for the Ormond Glenhuntly team, as well as the Melbourne Aces.
He plays for Ormond Glenhuntly, a club team in Melbourne & is also on the professional team Melbourne Aces. With the President’s Cup in town Jeff decided to get some tickets and take in some golf. Being somewhat of a ‘character’ (according to dad) Jeff created his own dress code and came in wearing red, white and blue with the Stars and Stripes as a cape. Captain Couples spotted him, called him over, and asked him if he was going to be around for the whole tournament and if he needed any tickets? Jamnik was already set for tix but said he could use some for his friend Gary Hubbard, a teammate also from Texas. Freddy was happy to oblige and, after introducing Team USA to their new best fan club, gave up some tickets for the rest of the tournament.
Jeff and his friends showed their American Pride throughout the rest of the tournament, garnering high-fives from the team as they drove by in their carts on Day 3, and even a “There’s my boys!” shout-out from Tiger.
After the tournament the guys were hanging around at the awards ceremony and Couples invited them over for a photo-op with the trophy and the team, saying their support was invaluable to the USA victory.
