The modern golf superintendent has his hands full managing his property amid a gauntlet of regulation, economic constraints, competition for water, pressure to maintain pristine course conditions and public perception. If you're a golf superintendent, it's not easy being you.
A big percentage of golfers golfers take their superintendent and greens keeping staff for granted. They get pissed off at staff if the second cut is too high, if the greens aren't rolling exactly as they want them to. But really, they're most likely just making shitty shots and transfering the blame. Golf is a game played on a constantly changing environment. That's what keeps it fun and challenging, even when you play the same course time after time. For golfers, it's a game, and it should be fun regardless of the current course conditions. If you don't like how the ball is rolling today, come back tommorrow and it'll be completely different. And if you're the type that gets pissed off at the course conditions, get over it.. you probably aren't good enough to justify getting angry anyway.
To really appreciate your favorite golf courses, try to put yourself in the superintendent's shoes. When you go to different courses, imagine how you would handle the differing environmental conditions and challenges that pose themselves according to site, location and microclimates. But hey, forget your overalls and rubber boots...today's golf superintendent is more scientist than farmer. If you're going to understand the superintendent's job, you're going to leave the farm and to go back to school.
At Green Golfer Foundation, we want to make our home courses the best they can be. We want excellent playability and we want environmental sustainability. We want to protect the course environment and the surrounding community from any adverse impacts. The best way to insure that our course is the best it can be is to understand what can be done, and what can't. It won't do any good to bust the superintendent's chops over an issue that he can't control. On the other hand, if it's possible to make a change for the better, than we want to figure out how to help superintendent and staff make those changes.
The best thing a Green Golfer can do is study up on the golf industry. All the information you need is easily and quickly available on the internet. There's so much information, in fact, that it's likely that no one person could possibly see it all. If you find something interesting, why not send the link to your superintendent.
If you and your golf partner are both interested in the environmental profile of your home course, consider asking other's in your golf club to start an environmental advisory group (Hello...Green Golfer Foundation format). Get to know your superintendent and greens staff. Get to know more about their jobs...and help them.
Here are a few links to learning more about golf and the environment and what you and your superintent should be paying attention to:
1. Water sourcing availability, course demand and water costs are a huge part maintaining your course. If it's not the number one problem facing your superintendent, it soon will be. Here are some interesting water facts. www.waterinfo.org/resources/water-facts
2. How much water does your course consume for irrigation and domestic use? Is it more or less than comparable properties? Here is handy calculator for comparing water usage at your course to a seasonal baseline estimate for different California zones. www.ncga.org/turfgrass/golf-course-water-usage/
3. A comprehensive source of water and environmental related links from the Environmental Institute for golf. You could spend hours here... www.eifg.org/water/default.asp
4. There are many published studies on the best management practices for course management. if you want to know what your superintendent should know. this is a good example. www.ct.gov/dep/lib/dep/water_inland/diversions/golfcoursewaterusebmp.pdf
This stuff doesn't even break the surface of all the information about sustainable golf course management that's available. If you like this stuff, good news...There's a lot of it out there. Now get busy and learn.
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