And yet there has been this little voice in my head telling me that I am supposed to write something recapping something or another. Non-conformity is my bag, so I have come up with a solution. Partly inspired by one of the best pieces of golf writing have ever seen from Lorne Rubinstein, here. This is the passage that had me mesmerized but the whole thing is just awesome. If you don't go read the whole thing, just read this:

"I urge an experiment for the new year: Play with a half-set; leave your rangefinder at  home; play some solitary golf in the half-light of an evening; walk if you are able to; try match play; play some foursomes, or alternate shot golf; play nine holes more often, or fewer. You might find different ways to enjoy the game, maybe more meaningful ways." - Lorne Rubinstein, Recapturing Golf

I have always been a greenkeeper. At least since I was fifteen. 38 or so years. And I am proud of that. Even when I stopped growing grass and began advising others, I never got rid of the attitude. Of the joy and the lifestyle. It had enriched my life and at the same time been costly. I'm OK with that. The sacrifices and the struggles have made me who I am. And only time will tell if it was worth it. 

The sacrifices and the struggles have made me who I am. And only time will tell if it was worth it...

I cannot forget the day that I first turned up for my new summer job on the golf course. I knew nothing of golf, and certainly nothing of keeping greens. But I had good people around me to teach me, to hassle me, to love me and to push me. We worked our hearts out that summer. I mean it. We did. And I was hooked. We opened a new golf course that summer and when I saw the first golfers hit the greens that I had shoveled topdressing sand for and sink putts, it was a feeling of pride like I had never felt.

I've come to understand that few people in the world will understand the pride of preparing a sporting surface to support the play and competition. We are, without a doubt a club of our own. With rules and language and history, we rule an area that few understand and that many take advantage of. 

...few people in the world will understand the pride of preparing a sporting surface to support the play and competition. We are, without a doubt a club of our own.

Now all this talk about what golf should and should not be. The jabbering of the scared rabbits, sure that Top Golf and virtual indoor computer generated whack-a-ball will end our existence. The braying of the donkeys who want their cigars, Bluetooth, GPS and robotic halfway house servers fills the air. We need 7 holes. No, we need shorter balls. No, we need more Tiger. No, Yes, No... Horseshit. All of it. Nobody knows a thing about what the game will become. Any more than Old Tom himself could have predicted Jack Nicklaus winning the Masters in 1986. 

The late Dan Jenkins once told me that the best part of his role in golf was to make fun of the culture and to revere the sport. I love that. It was curmudgeonly said in a way that understood that there is a grand canyon between golf as a passion and golf as a social experiment. Jenkins never resisted tell the stories of both.

I admit in the last decade wanting to run from golf and from turfgrass. I actually tried a few times. I availed myself of learning the nursery and perishable plant transportation business and I found out that I had about as much passion for the world of nursery work as I did for having eggs dropped on my head from spy helicopters. That is to say, zero point zero.

Cannabis? Same story. Let the stoners be with their medicine. I don't care. But I did learn how to shape glass into amazing objects from some very high people. It's not my scene. Simple as that.

But I care about golf and turfgrass. I care about design and architecture. I love Turfheads. I care. Deeply. And even when I thought I didn't, I did.

Wisdom: It isn't a matter of IF, it is a matter of WHEN. You will have a moment, if you haven't already, when doing anything else but keeping greens sounds amazing. You will. And for some of you, it may be time to exit the left stage and find your passion. But if you know that you know... you owe yourself some honesty. It won't be easy. You won't get rich. Your body will hurt. Your mind will be torn. You will be underappreciated. You will not be understood. Your loved ones likely won't get it.

You will have a moment, if you haven't already, when doing anything else but keeping greens sounds amazing. You will. And for some of you, it may be time to exit the left stage and find your passion...

And you will have one of the greatest lives you can possibly imagine. Ever.

Lorne Rubinstein  talks about reclaiming golf in such a perfect way. He talks about giving up the gadgets and just enjoying. He talks about finding new ways to do old stuff, about doing more with less and less being fun. Now relate this to your own experience, to growing grass. Can you reclaim the older ways that worked for years? Can you scrap the gadgets and the tech and just listen for a bit? Get down and smell the turf? Can you share your passion with others without a chip on your shoulder? Can you present your product proudly without having to feel like keeping up with anything? Can you feel what your grass is telling you? Can you get excited about the little things?

I urge you to experiment. Reclaim The Golf for yourself, and watch what happens to the world around you. It will get better. There's my New Year wisdom. And therein lies my wrap up of a decade of my life that has been the very worst and the very best. To me, just being here and being able to share this with you is a victory of beating astronomical odds against me.  No doubt you faced similar but different challenges. That's one hell of a way to end a year and a decade. 

Here's to Reclaiming Your Golf!

Because I am slow and because I am wordy. I also took the time to use my Twitter feed and tweet about doing it and to encourage others. And I emailed three influential supers in my world and asked them to weigh in. So let's call it an even half hour. At my current billable office rate, that runs the abacus to about $100. 

A year ago, I wasn't a GCSAA member. I had taken a break for just over a decade. You can read about my coming back, here. I don't want to digress into the why's and how's here. But now that I am a member, I wanna be involved. I filled out my committee volunteer form. I have made it known to a few players that I'm available. I have read the emails and the magazine. Mostly. And I did what I did today and was serious and dutiful about filling out my survey.

Survey. I think for a ton of people that word has a bad connotation. If you've ever worked around the resort world, you know that comment cards can make or break you. And then there are those annoying asks after a routine customer service event, to "stay on the line for a brief survey". I rarely do. But then a friend in the world of customer service explained a simple fact to me: you don't have a voice unless you speak up and the right people hear you.

...you don't have a voice unless you speak up and the right people hear you.

So today, as I went through what really is a very predictable set of questions. I decided to look a little harder and not just pass thru quickly. I imagined in my mind all the people in our world that this would or could impact. I imagined all the Supers that I know. And don't know. All the staff members that I know. And don't know. All the up and coming young people in our future and even, yes, gasp... Golfers. 

Golfers. That word, in and of itself, brings all kinds of emotion to anyone who ever has touched a blade of grass in any effort to prepare a playing surface. "It's not a museum or a mausoleum", an old school super told me one day, "it's a place for people to come and use and if we keep them from doing that, we don't stand a chance". Golfers. It's true, we really are in a business of meeting their needs. Now, let me qualify that: they don't always know what they need, or are right about those needs. 

Here is my overall burning question: What are WE (you, me, everyone in the industry) doing to support golf and golfers? I don't see this as just a USGA, R&A or PGA-oriented question. Really. We want the game to grow. We want the future to be bright. We want the greens that we are keeping not to be seen as evil consumers of resources. We want Sustainability and Inclusion, Recreation and Community. Simple. 

We want the greens that we are keeping not to be seen as evil consumers of resources. We want Sustainability and Inclusion, Recreation and Community. Simple. 

So I have a hard time when I am asked about words like Advocacy or Government Relations or Research and the more lofty topics first. And this is coming from a guy who did a lot of Government Relations work in our field and believes in research (as long as it isn't poisoned by money). Because so many times, I found myself explaining golf to non-golfers and often to people who never would be golfers. Try this. Ask some golfers about what you do. They really don't know. Why not help them learn? Isn't that the basics before we spew a bunch of corporate-speak?

This is why I see things like The First Green being so important. And why I am always telling supers to open the doors to their shop facilities and conduct meetings and tours. And why I want people to invite members and golfers to join them for the morning prep sessions.  And why I am baffled that at least part of my agronomy visits don't include a crowd of interested golfers or a roundtable fireside chat. To just talk about grass. Here again, a GCSAA winner, the new Friend of the Superintendent program. Brilliant. On par with the USGA Walking Membership and that kind of thing. And there are so many opportunities. And I'm not talking about the boring old, "Fix Your Ballmark" poster or the overproduced 15 second "commercial" showing a super (usually a very good looking dude, sorry Darren Davis) overseeing an army of mowers on a perfect sunshine day. No. The YouTube-oriented world needs less slick and more real than that.

If we survey a bunch of golfers, do they really know us?  Do they really know what we do? What the skill set required to make a playing surface really entails?  Sadly, most often they don't know. And I'm not talking about teaching Spacklerisms here. I am just talking the simple basics. Which are routine to us and completely looked at as witchcraft to them.

Do they really know what we do? What the skill set required to make a playing surface really entails?  Sadly, most often they don't know.

I think golf is going to have a future. And for as long as it lets me, I wanna be involved with that future. It's been such a rewarding career and community to be part of. But if our association doesn't know us and understand what that passion looks like? Bad. Bad. Bad. And more bad. Photo ops and stuff like that just don't play as real. It's a 1-iron. Sexy and often ignored.

Fill out your survey. Be heard. And speak up about what matters to you. What could possibly be wrong with that? And if you don't think your voice matters, you are wrong. And if you don't think you are a good communicator, that's your ego speaking. Just write. They will know what you mean. Pissed off? Say so. Happy? Then say that too.

I'm not sure there has been a more important time to influence the direction of our industry. And I love our industry. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants a wonderful life. Not easy, but truly wonderful. 

I didn't want to get pet hair all over my nice clean pants. So I hung them in a different spot so they would be ready to pack. It made sense to me at the time. But after a few decades of packing and being on the road, you develop habits. And hanging those pants where I did was out of my usual checklist. I should have known.

So I went on to think about the outfits I wanted to pack and the electronics and the gadgets and supplements and all the rest. Proud of myself, my bag perfectly packed. My gear in hand I left home with my only worry, my presentation that would likely have me up most of the night finishing. It's my habit. Build talks, tear them apart, make them better. Rinse. Repeat. This one a little different, as the subject area wasn't my usual.

So after a few hours sleep, it dawns of the day of. And as I am getting ready to dress myself in my amazing, perfectly sized clothes to fit my ever shrinking body, something isn't right.

No pants. And now in my mind's eye I can see them hanging where I had hung them and that means that they are not where I am. They didn't walk themselves into my bag with all the other perfectly folded clothes. And I am at the conference hotel. MC of the event starting in an hour. And perhaps the most important presentation of my professional career after lunch. 

...now in my mind's eye I can see them hanging where I had hung them and that means that they are not where I am.

Some years ago, I packed two left shoes. And many times, the right dongle or adapter didn't make it into my briefcase. But this. Wow. This means I have to wear the jeans I was wearing the day before. Jeans. A bit of a no no in our world. I did have my coat. And Tie. And Sweater. And well tailored shirt. So I wasn't as if I was going to look like a bus stop troll.  Still. It's not perfect.

Later that day, I was able to have said pants sent to me. So they would be there tomorrow. But today was today and well. Jeans. What really had me spinning here was that I didn't follow some of my own often given advice. I didn't follow my checklist to avoid complacent behavior. And I didn't give myself options. 

The checklist. Used daily by thousands of pilots around the world. A checklist is a means to keep you from thinking you know it all and have it all covered. From the low time pilot to the high time one, it gets used. And for good measure.

The option. By wearing jeans, I left myself one option. So lets say that this gig required a long flight. I often wear shorts on long flights, because I get hot. And when I do that, I pack a pair of dress slacks in my carry on. Just in case I get cold or my bag gets lost. I drove to this gig. And instead of following a well made rule, I skipped the step. And paid for it.

Lemons to Lemonade, I made jokes about it as I MC'd the event. And I even made it an illustration for my presentation. It worked. I saw pics later and while it wasn't my first choice for how to look, it didn't look all that bad. I also have a more relaxed Turfhead culture to thank. And also my grey hair and rebel self means I can get away with stuff I couldn't a decade ago. Privilege, I guess. 

I was fortunate enough to speak to the Rocky Mountain GCSA about Mental Health and Stress. And to be able to tell my story in my effort to bring awareness to an important topic. I had amazing conversations with new friends and old friends from around the region. And I even got to hang with some golf association royalty. Pretty cool.

Is there a lesson? Lemons to Lemonade? I don't know about that overused thought. But I surely did make the best of an unplanned and unforced error. E for Wilber. W for Wilber. I'll take that.

"You are a fucking disaster, Wilber", my head screamed. Loudly.

Three hours later, I emerged from Ron's fifth floor room with my head like a vacuum. He drained it. Got it all. I had to tell my story in a way that I never had been asked to. And to say that Ron Whitten is a good interviewer is like saying that Jimi Hendrix was an OK guitar player. Whitten is a master at getting to the story, a talent one builds when spending a lot of time talking to full-of-themselves golf people. The October issue of Golf Digest Magazine has this article, entitled, Silent Struggles.

The whole thing was born out of one of a Twitter troll taking a shot at me, liking me to  "a Kardashian". And then telling me that I wasn't an expert at anything just because I had a Twitter account. Whatever. I get that stuff all the time. Social media is a cesspool at times.

But in this case, it was on the heels of a proposal for GIS 2020 being turned down. Not my proposal, but Paul MacCormack's proposal to have a panel discussion with some folks who have dealt with depression and anxiety. The GCSAA Conference Education Committee didn't go for it. They wanted it refined. And for a moment, I was fine with that. Until I was called a Kardashian. And later a Snowflake. So I decided to battle the battle bots. 

A 16-tweet thread later (my 16 tweets), two phone calls (one with a GCSAA staffer) and the second being a very "direct" convo with a super, and I was in full grizzly bear mode. I wasn't about to be told that telling the story of my largest life struggle (my life itself) was an attention-seeking whore move. Nah. Just No. And Hell to the No.

I wasn't about to be told that telling the story of my largest life struggle (my life itself) was an attention-seeking whore move.

You see, here is the thing. I've been talking about depression, anxiety, suicide (including my attempted suicide) from a very raw and real place. But I've been doing it mostly among friends. Because of people like Paul MacCormack and a group of others who aren't intimidated by the stigma, there is a dialog going on that wasn't happening just a few years ago.

When all this was going down on Twitter, some super tried to tell a few of us, namely Kasey Kauff and Jason Haines, that we were "Snowflakes" and just had a case of the "Mondays". And then I really lost it.

Since my second attempt at killing myself in 2015, not a day that goes by that I don't think that things would be so much easier had I succeeded. I was badly under-insured, and the health care system drained me of pretty much all my money and my credit rating. I barely worked in 2016 because, after repeated organ shutdowns, my body was in full-on rebellion and I couldn't handle the travel required of a full time turf consultant. And I had to get my head straight. To deal with the problems and not the symptoms was the only way to get better.

Life remains hard.  I often wonder why I messed up killing myself.  Many days there doesn't seem to be much in it for me, at 53.

And then, I get a chance to help someone. Somehow. And then another. And another. And that makes we want to stay around. 

So when Ron Whitten wanted to tell my story and that of others to 1.6 million subscribers and another 20 zillion online readers of Golf Digest, I had to take all my pain and my angst all the way out of the equation. And I had to ask myself what the value of helping someone really is. The rationale: if I at age 24 had read something as powerful as the story I now had to tell, written by someone who knows the business, would I have made some different choices? Yes. Hell to the Yes.  

As this article broke, I had to get in front of it on social media, taking to Facebook and Twitter to explain to the masses about why this happened. Thankfully, I found that some people get it. I've gotten a lot of words that have allayed my fears about having to live in a van down by the river as this comes out. And yes, there are are few, who should thank their stars, that don't get it because they haven't see the darkness that I, and many other have.

Since 2015 I have tried to get well. Really well. And it's working. Things that used to not matter suddenly loom large. And vice versa.

I'm not the "don't give a fuck" Wilber any more. I wanna make a living. I wanna stay in our biz. I like you all. I even love many of you. This new dialog about what is affecting our personal lives is a good thing. I'm in a good position to advocate for better decisions by owners and committees because so much maintenance has been deferred for the last decade. My Agronomy Mojo is strong again. I feel real. And not like I have to kowtow to anyone.

Advocate, both verb and noun. The more I roll this word around on my tongue and in my brain, the more motivated I become. We often hear of advocacy in political or other weird terms for some wingnut strategy. When I look at our Turfhead world, I don't see many people advocating for a better quality of life. Or for truth in what a shambles many golf operations are really in (a coming blog post is going to address this, head on).

My life isn't so quality, sometimes. I'm being honest. It's a struggle being me. But when I forget about me and my ego and think of higher good, and greater things, then I get it so much more. Was the interview with Ron Whitten hard? Yes. Was it the hardest thing I have ever done? Oh, hell no. Being alive takes that spot.

BUT...

While more difficult than I want it to be, living life with appreciation and seeking joy in all things gets pretty good. I have made insane strides with my health. I smile a lot. I dream. There are friendships. And music. And love and experiences that I would never have had had I taken the "easy way".

While more difficult than I want it to be, living life with appreciation and seeking joy in all things gets pretty good.

So don't let my tale of the past keep you from seeing that there is life worth living. For sure. I learned to trust my helpers. And not be so determined to do it all myself. I have faith. My own version that works for me. And I revel in the fact that I get to spread some Truth and Love and Fun. And honest talk. Hell, yes! Hell to the Yes.

Although not as physically consequential, I have seen plenty of Turfheads fly their planes into the mountain or the lake or never even get off the ground because they took a side and wouldn't budge from it. So I asked a few of them lately what had put them to that decision point and why. The answers were fascinating. 

I have seen plenty of Turfheads fly their planes into the mountain or the lake or never even get off the ground because they took a side and wouldn't budge from it...

"I only use liquids on greens", proclaimed one super. "I'm done with granulars". So we talked this one through and the facts came out that at a previous job, this person couldn't get employees to master the concept of using a rotary spreader. Tried and tried and just couldn't make it happen. Factor number two was that some of that granular was ending up in the baskets the next morning. Makes sense, right? But new job, new place and this place needs some materials applied with spreaders. I am the one delivering the news. Paid to do so. And the conversation with me is something like saying, "look, I know you love the trombone, but the music you have to play here means you need a clarinet". It seemed an absurd conversation to me, but we finally sorted it out.

"I don't do deep and infrequent irrigation like you do, Dave", said one super on the phone. Somehow my writings on irrigation of sand-based greens in arid environments and the benefits of evaporative cooling had already reached them. So we had a discussion about why swamp coolers work and how, in that person's particular area no one has a swamp cooler because they don't work. And I agreed with Soaked Super that irrigation is the least of the worries. But that the occasional flush could be quite the thing when combined with some venting, etc. Again, it took some convincing but the results spoke for themselves. 

So is this a conditioned thing? Our whole world seems to make these choices. Coke vs Pepsi. Nike vs. Adidas. Toyota vs. Honda. And in our business, Toro vs. Rain Bird, etc? Yes. An effective technique of marketing and advertising is to get people to choose a side. A call to action to make a decision. Even when that decision is apples vs. oranges, after all, it's fruit. On the other hand, we are often led by advertising simply not to choose a certain side. Eggs, once made into villains by other marketers of proteins, are now back in vogue. And as it turns out, nothing was ever really wrong with them.

I see a lot of good marketing in agronomy these days. Really smart marketing. And any smart marketing is going to put buyers to a decision. Those decisions can often be based on fact of usage. Meaning, this is the right product for this job. They can influence decisions by way endorsement. Super Super uses this and so should you. These are decent messages and when combined with informed choice, they are legit.

Where I see the cows being run off the cliff is when science and facts take a back seat. And when a more "everybody is doing it" mindset comes into play. Further towards the edge we can go when this turns into a Flavor of the Month-seeking behavior. Running with the "in crowd" has perks and advantages, but if you are doing it for all the wrong reasons and not making informed choices, when you hit that cliff edge, it's too late. 

Where I see the cows being run off the cliff is when science and facts take a back seat...

So, when I have a visit with a super and I start to hear the team choices, the marketing oriented speech where product- or process-oriented talking points are being sold to me as gospel or just the downright hype, I start asking questions. Really tough questions. The kind of questions that often have Turfheads' brains scrambled. We go through it to see why those choices have been made. And this way, we know that no one is going to fly their plane into that mountainside. It's a dramatic example. But if you have ever seen turfgrass carnage simply based on a choice of one side sersus another, it's instantly recognizable. Summer may not be the best time to evaluate this. But it also may be the best. Situational demands.

But I will tell you that when you are seeing the crash in your windshield, you will wish you took some time to really look deep into your decisions. 

Dave Wilber is owner of Wilber Turf Services and is an agronomic consultant and advisor. Dave can be reached at davewilber@yahoo.com

If you have ever held a hose in your hand in just about any climate, you know that July can be tough. It comes with all kinds of abnormal life habits. It surely signifies the end of Spring and the warm swampass revelation that Summer is actually here. You are now going to bed when it is light. Getting up when it is dark. Dressing quietly and slipping out of the house, apartment, tent or teepee trying not to wake anyone else up. A 3 or a 4 still on the clock. The neighbors hate you as you start your vehicle within earshot of the open windows of their bedroom, turn on the tunes and try to escape before they launch their eggs at you. July.

Into work you go. The eyes coming in the door behind you are bleary, like yours. You wonder how much, if any, sleep they got, particularly on a weekend morning. You become the human Breathalyzer for the usual suspects. And if the air doesn't seem flammable you hand them anywhere between $2,000 and $50,000 worth of gear and send them out into the early morning, usually with headlights. 

There's a club event today. The Whatever Cup, or Medal Round or Invitational. It's meaningless. And yet it is everything. Mr. Willerford Ballpicker is on the phone to you before sunrise. "Did you remember to paint the zigzag line up the 15th fairway and the clown face on the 7th green?" You assure him it was done last night before you left. But did your assistant and intern actually handle it? Blood runs cold and you jump on a cart to make sure. It's all good. The clown is a masterpiece.

There's a club event today. The Whatever Cup, or Medal Round or Invitational. It's meaningless. And yet it is everything...

July.

I've never been one of those people trying to tell the world that our business is tougher than any other. Doing our business well is just like anything else. It requires a great amount of dedication and technical know-how. My friend the police officer deals with all kinds of life and health threats in his 10 hour shift. I can't imagine how that must feel. And he probably laughs when I talk about dead grass, or failed irrigation. I get it. Making those kinds of comparisons is akin to stacking deck chairs on the Titanic. Pointless.

But if you have ever had July moments when it all goes wrong, it sure feels like the end. Or at least a version of it.

I asked the "How are you doing?" question on the TurfNet Forum the other day, and it has created some good discussion. More to come, I am sure. And one of the respondents was pretty clear about supers not usually being happy. Or at least he questioned the definition of happy. Good point. I don't remember being happy in July. Ever. As a grass grower, it was just hard work. As a consultant, it's about a lot of hard work. Key phrase: Hard Work. Even the supers who have figured out the work-life balance thing know that if you fall asleep at the wheel in July, it can be costly.  July.

Even the supers who have figured out the work-life balance thing know that if you fall asleep at the wheel in July, it can be costly.

From our discussion on the TurfNet Forum, a couple gems have come. Sleep. No matter what. Sleep. And eat. Eat well. And exercise, somehow. A few of us use the simple kettlebell routine that Chris Tritabaugh talks about in one of the best blog posts I have read from him. Even my old broken body is benefiting from this kind of movement. 

July. 

August will come. I know this. And then September. It is what it is in July. Fighting it, being miserable because of it and all that can lead you down a bad path. And so, I have to say this. If things seem to be going fairly well and you still feel like the world is caving in, it may be time to get some professional help about that. I've talked about this plenty before. There is no shame in seeking help before something bad happens. And for sure, if your perspective is wrong, all you are going to do is swing at high pitches. That's bad. The unforced error of that way can lead to some pretty bad stuff. 

Eat well. Sleep as much as you can. Balance the integration of work and life. Exercise. Meditate or find meditation type activity. Be spiritual. Be realistic with yourself and those around you. The New July? Sure.

And before you know it. July is gone with the wind. Gone like the Clown Face on that green.

I’ve also been fighting with Yahoo Small business because their email servers have been down more than they have been up lately. And I like my email address to work. Just saying. The wonderful Mumbai based tech support team is nice and all, but they just don’t get it.

I am overwound like a rubber band on a balsa wood airplane. You want it to fly so badly that you just keep winding and winding that prop.

On top of all this I have a summer cold. I was hopeful that it was just allergies, but no. It’s a full-on cold. So yeah, overwound.

Needless to say, I don’t do well when I’m in this pattern and the hardest thing in the world for me to do is slow down. Way down. My slow gears often look like other people’s overdrives. I know that going down this current road leads to bends that eventually break.

You might be feeling this too. What to do? I’m not going to preach to you here. It’s just what I do. It may not be for you.

Consult my dog. I am serious. My dog, Bruce, is a rescued Pit Bull who, as far as anyone can tell, spent a lot of his life in a dog fighting operation and because of his smaller size was used as a sparring dog. A professional victim. Bruce never complains. He never has a bad day. He always sees things for what they are. He’s never pissed off about what the past did to him. So we chat. A lot. And it helps. A lot.

Bruce never complains. He never has a bad day. He always sees things for what they are. He’s never pissed off about what the past did to him.

Change my food. I’ve been really strict with my diet and my eating. Fasting 16 hours. Only eating between noon and 8 pm. And only eating certain things. The results have been marvelous. And I’m not suggesting that I go on the Ice Cream Diet favored in the summer by many. I am, however, going to look for some different things to eat. To cook some of my fave foods (namely Thai) and enjoy that journey. My more regimented approach means that I don’t take time to savor and to engage in the procurement and preparation. And maybe even in sharing my skills with others.

Change my company. A few days ago, I tweeted: “Misery loves company and Happiness could care less”. Meaning, that somehow, when I am not doing so well, I seem to find others to bellyache with. Bad. It’s the equivalent of driving at the back of the pack and wondering why you got in the wreck. Being a solitary dude has pluses and minuses and if I pay attention to what I am saying inside my head and to others, I can feel that happiness.

“Misery loves company and Happiness could care less”.

Change my music. By now I hope you know that I have spent most of my life as a lover of the bass guitar. It’s my instrument. And few other passions have held my attention as much as having my fingers on the big strings. But in my busy state, I haven’t had any bass in my hands for a long while now. No outside gigs to fill in. No studio calls. No worship sets. No punk. No country. No metal. No prog rock. So as of today, it’s back to my 14-year old self. Wearing out the rewind button and learning (relearning) to play. I’ll put on Rush’s “Moving Pictures” and Geddy Lee will lend me his smile, and maybe some of his hair. And I will remember why I fell in love with the bass. Today’s Tom Sawyer, Mean Mean Pride….

Change my sleep. When I am over-stretched, I don’t sleep much. And when I do sleep, I have vivid dreams. Some call them nightmares. So it’s time to take notice and do better with sleep. Now that I realize the quality of my sleep pretty much has sucked, I can change.

Change my Messiah Complex. If you never read or remember any of my drivel, please take this in. The world will be OK without you for a moment. And the world will suck without you forever. Taking a moment to regroup is fine, because if you don’t you may not get that choice again. I’m dead serious. If you think that anything you are doing is so important that you work yourself into heart attack, panic attack, stroke, major depressive episode or any other version thereof, you are a fool. Plain talk. Today, I purged a couple things from my calendar that were “nice” and a couple things that were “important” and reforged some things that were critical. It will be fine. They will be fine. And most important, I will be better suited to the task.

The world will be OK without you for a moment. And the world will suck without you forever.

Change what play means. For many of us in the business, we can’t get away from the business. We play golf. We have drinks in the grill. We hang with people we know and maybe even work for. Here’s the question… why? Why tie yourself to this and try to convince yourself that if you aren’t actively growing grass, you aren’t working. Bullshit. Show me any turfhead worth their salt who doesn’t play their own place or any other with an experienced and detail-seeking eye. Sorry. That’s work. Go play. Go and get away. Even if just for a bit. Catch a fish. Ride a bike. Take a tour of the jelly bean factory. Something different.

Why tie yourself to this and try to convince yourself that if you aren’t actively growing grass, you aren’t working. Bullshit.

So that’s my list. And I’m giving it to you, so you can do as you wish. But if any of this resonates with you, I implore you, I beg you, to stand up for yourself by standing down and unwinding that rubber band.

Before it snaps and breaks.

"Dave, what's your most memorable funny story from the time you grew grass"

Ok so, first off, there are two stories that I just cannot tell. Can't. It could involve jail time for my crime and the crimes of others... and we just wont go there. That leaves us with this one, my favorite.

It was the summer of 1984, the summer before I was to start college. I I was working on the crew at Pole Creek Golf Club, and also three nights a week on air at the local radio station. And I was deeply involved in 4-H Horse and Leadership projects. Via the radio station gig, I met a beautiful girl from Texas who was spending the summer at her parent's second home in Colorado. She thought it was cool that I was doing radio stuff. I don't think she cared about the greenkeeping so much. Silly girl.  We liked hanging out. She worked at the local A&W so we had to take advantage of whenever we could to see each other. 

Via the radio station gig, I met a beautiful girl from Texas who was spending the summer at her parent's second home in Colorado. She thought it was cool that I was doing radio stuff. I don't think she cared about the greenkeeping so much. Silly girl.

Summer was winding down and our last few nights together were approaching. So we gathered up some beers and some blankets and we decided to cuddle up under the stars on the hill separating the putting green and the first tee at the golf course. It was awesome, a youthful indulgence of the combo of alcohol and hormones. And in the throes of some kind of passion, I heard the noise... the telltale snap and pop of a Toro 690 sprinkler head right next to us. And in my move to avoid a direct shot from the big nozzled cannon, my elbow connected with K's nose. I felt the bone give and there was no question I had broken it... and knocked her out. Cold. I gathered her up in the blankets and carried her to my 1972 Ford pickup. Threw her in the seat. Seatbelts? Please. This is small town Colorado. And not exactly knowing what to do, I figured we would drive to my house and sort it all out.

As I pulled out of the dirt parking lot of the golf course and out onto the country road, it occurred to me that this wasn't a good situation and I really didn't know how hurt she was. And suddenly a set of headlights was in front of us, coming right at us. I noticed lights on top, a sheriff's car. He was looking down and didn't see us. It was hit him or run off into a pretty steep barrow ditch. I chose the ditch. and when the truck's snow plow frame stopped us abruptly, my semi-groggy passenger went flying into the dashboard while I took a bite of the steering wheel. 

What I remember next was a little blurry. Deputy Driver opened my door and saw my girlfriend lying on the floorboards, bleeding, and blood all over the truck. I was bleeding from my lower lip. The sheriff kept asking me with we were ok and I simply said, "My girlfriend". He and I proceeded to pull her out of the truck, load her in the police car along with me and sped off down the road, on the radio announcing to the world that we were headed to the emergency clinic, five miles away. 

The on-call doctor and a nurse were already there. Again, I uttered, "my girlfriend" and she was taken inside. I staggered along behind them. And it became clear to me at this point that the cop thought he ran us off the road, causing her injury. I tried to explain to him what actually happened, but he was having none of it. He thought he had caused a wreck and felt awful about it.

He and I proceeded to pull her out of the truck, load her in the police car along with me and sped off down the road, on the radio announcing to the world that we were headed to the emergency clinic, five miles away.  

This all happened in a small community. As a volunteer on the ambulance service, my father liked to listen to his police scanner and happened to hear my license plate broadcast. He and my mom arrived at the clinic five minutes later, sure that I was seriously injured or dead.

By this time, Girlfriend K was lucid and telling everyone I had hit her. Suddenly I found myself explaining the whole thing, and there was but one thing left to do, call the girlfriend's mom. That wasn't a pleasant thing. She already was bummed that her daughter was dating the DJ/greenkeeper, so she came with some ideas already in her head.  Once she was completely convinced that I didn't smash daughter's nose on purpose or in anger, however, she chilled. A little.

By this time, Girlfriend K was lucid and telling everyone I had hit her.

And did I mention this was the first time that her mom had met my parents? Yeah. Nice.

So with her beautiful nose put back in place by the doctor and my lip stitched up, the evening ended with my dad and I pulling the truck out of the ditch. Deputy Dan was so mortified that he ran us off the road that he offered to pay for a tow truck, but we got it out. I knew that if word of this got out to Mike Kosak, my boss, I would no longer be employed. But it seemed like all the loose ends had been tied up. K went home with her mom and I went home to sleep for a couple hours before work the next morning at the golf course. I came in early that morning to collect the beer cans and "wrappers" that we left on the golf course, in the dark. And I prayed that Mike would say nothing to me. He never did. 

Some days later, we had a crew party, an end of summer tradition with golf, food and significant others invited. My girlfriend, who had otherwise forgiven me my sins, declined to come because of her two black eyes. I don't blame her. And our worlds drifted apart as we both started college and found different paths.

So that's the story of how I nearly killed my girlfriend one summer night at the golf course having innocent teenage fun. Is it funny? It is now. 

Thanks for reading!

Dave Wilber is a Agronomic Consultant, Coach and Advisor and is owner of Wilber Turf and Soil Services. Dave can be reached at davewilber@yahoo.com

"I'm really confused about this whole selling thing. I figured as an ex-superintendent, I would be treated fairly or at least with some respect. It's got me down and I just don't know what to do. Can you give me any advice"

I was fortunate enough to spend 7 years with Sierra Pacific Turf Supply as their Director of Agronomy and handling a sales territory as well. And of course, before and after that, I have been selling myself as a consultant.

The Sierra Pacific gig was difficult for me.  It was a lot of hours , enough phone time to cause brain cancer and many days of many miles. And every day, something new came into the mix. Don and Becky Naumann, the owners of SPTS, are amazing people and in hindsight, I didn't tell them that enough. I also got to work with Dean Kinney, an extraordinary sales manager whom I drove completely crazy with my idealistic turfheadism. And a team of 30 other unique and amazing employees. Again, in hindsight, I didn't tell them enough how awesome they were.

Even though the best salespeople in our industry are consultative in nature and approach, selling and consulting can be two vastly different things. A client wrote me an email once and told me what a shitty salesman I was, and in the same email told me how excellent I was at solving his problems and advising him. Total truth.

A client wrote me an email once and told me what a shitty salesman I was, and in the same email told me how excellent I was at solving his problems...

But I learned a lot. And I am happy to share what I think might help get and keep a commercial career on track and help with the transition from superintendent to commercial sales.

1. Your past is your past, leave it there. When you were a buyer, you were special. The Prom Date. And you got treated that way. Now you aren't a buyer. And so you won't get the same treatment you did when you were a Super. Let that shit go. You are doing this now, not that. I remember thinking, "Doesn't this person know who I am and what I have done?", as they were telling me how all salespeople are bottom feeders. The answer? No. It was up to me to hang in there, prove my worth and not take it personally. Thick skin. All that. You are here to do this now. Do it.

2. No matter what you do, no matter who you are, no matter what you are selling, there are some people who are not going to buy from you. When you figure out who that is, be nice and let them know that you will be happy to help them when they call you, but that you won't waste their time or yours in the interim.

3. Find your exclusives. Whatever you are repping, Iron, Pipe, Chems, your company should have access to something that no one else has. Or at least a large competitive advantage. Find it. Figure it out. Know it, how to demo it. This is your where you get to shine. If you are spending your time talking about and working with non-exclusive products, you are in big trouble. If the company you work for doesn't have exclusives, you may want to find a way out. You're going to starve.

4. Gross Profit is everything. Good companies are run on profits. They grow because they are profitable. Not because they just flow cash. You may think that you are tossing out big numbers, but if there isn't profit in those numbers, then its a bad move. Case in point. I got all excited about winning a big Ammonium Sulfate bid. Yay me. And the 50 tons of product that we had to handle and warehouse and deliver in batches ended up with us breaking even. Not so awesome. I could have done better with a 5 gallon pail of high quality Kelp Extract. Less gross dollars, but more total gross profit. Think about it.

Good companies are run on profits. They grow because they are profitable. Not because they just flow cash.

5. Keep the phone on. Your job  is to sell and service and the phone is your best friend. Keep it on. Answer as much as possible. Be available 24/7. You thought this being accessible thing was bad as a super, it's nothing compared to being a great rep. Nothing. Return the calls, return the texts, return the emails and don't procrastinate. Again, I learned this the hard way. Don't give a customer an excuse to look elsewhere.

6. Break-ups can lead to Make-ups. Client X makes you crazy. Friday and weekend deliveries of stuff that they "think" they may need on Monday. Always asking for freebies. "Forgets" you have an appointment. It's time to let them know that the breakup is happening. And here is the thing: they need you. They feel inferior or are insecure so making you jump over the moon is a rush for them. But when you hump 50 bags of Urea on a Sunday for an application that they "might wanna" make on Monday and that product is sitting there a week later, it's time to have a chat about why you are dating. A salesman much better than any of us once told me, "The takeaway is one of your biggest tools". I agree. You will too when they call you back. And if they don't, good riddance.

But when you hump 50 bags of Urea on a Sunday for an application that they 'might wanna' make on Monday and that product is sitting there a week later, it's time to have a chat about why you are dating.

7. Miserable people cannot make you a miserable person unless you let them. Eeyore the Super hates everyone and everything. The golfers are all assholes. His boss is a douchebag. Even the vehicle he drives sucks. This vampire will suck the wonderful life out of you if you let him. Be nice. Be quick. Handle the biz. Park down the road and look at pictures of baby animals and shake the stuff off. If you take it with you, you will become that person.

8. Your expense account is not to be abused. Once upon a time, it was customary for the salesperson to always grab the check. But that time is over. If you find yourself always picking up the tab, you are being abused. Plain and simple. There is nothing wrong with rotating the check pick-up or splitting the bill. Nothing. And if you aren't invited anymore, then you know why you were there in the first place. I know some reps who buy their way into opportunities and don't realize that they are spending a lot of money for a lot of maybes. There's nothing wrong with the occasional thank-you, but it can't be the reason you are around. That said, a couple dozen doughnuts or some other yummies dropped in the break room, or cooking some Carne Asada for the crew lunch is a worthy expense. One that I often footed out of my own pocket, and still do.

9. Knowledge is power. Learn. Every day. Be up to speed on everything in your world. Be a geek about it. Full on. With the Google Machine at your fingertips, it can lead you into a level of expert that makes for really good conversations. Along those lines, learn the competition. Know their offerings. This doesn't mean you get to run them down. It just means that you understand what is and what is not. If you are weak in any area, reach out to as many of the technical resources you need to until you are are sure that no one who comes in the door of whatever facility you visit is more up to speed than you. This is the heart of Consultative Selling. It's awesome being a resource, an expert. And it's also awesome when you teach someone how to really use what you offer and they stop asking about prices.

Learn. Every day. Be up to speed on everything in your world. Be a geek about it. Full on.

10. Some days just suck. Just like when you were growing grass, some days are glorious. And some days are total horseshit. I spent 4 hours stuck in traffic one day, only to finally get out of that mess and end up in the middle of a roadside fire started by an overheated RV. When my vehicle filled with smoke and everyone was driving the wrong way to run from the blaze, I walked into a Starbucks down the road, covered in ash and sat down and cried. I was determined that no one, on the face of the planet, could have it any worse. Guess what. They do. And guess what else, no one cares about your woes. You must dig deep to be in sales. And if you can't or won't or the magic is gone, do yourself and everyone else a favor and find another gig.

11. Be proud of your work. A while back, I wrote a blog post that was called, "Take the Dark Side and Shove it". You can read it here, about 35,000 other people did.  Along with some net spiders and bots. But what I was saying in that think space holds true today. Being a sales rep in the turfgrass industry is good and amazing work. Hard work. Not for the weak of soul or faint of heart. And if you find yourself in those shoes, be proud. And as I point out in that piece, everyone in every position in our business has to sell, something. 

You got this!

"I need your help. As you know, it's been a cold, damp spring. The golf course wasn't great for Memorial Day. And as I write this on July 4th, it's just barely starting to come around. The comments I am getting from golfers are really bad. "When are you going to fix this place", is the tone of their gripes. I've talked to everyone, blogged about it, written about it and I'm still getting hammered. Any tips?"

This has been more common in the spring of 2019, but nearly every year, I get a bunch of these. In whatever climate. Be it a rough overseed situation, or a slow spring, or a project that has expectations, it happens. And as written above, let's assume that you've done the basics as far as communication goes. One would think that they would get it. But they often just don't pick it up.

Here, you have to muscle up and embrace the fact that there is more work to be done. Here's my list:

1. Don't Be defensive. Our relationship to our turfgrass is one of a very personal nature. You know the place. And you know damn good and well that it isn't where it should be. You know it better than they do. So when they come to tell you what you already know, you can't be deflective and it can't openly piss you off. Step closer to that person. Look them in the eye. Keep your hands to your side, don't cross your arms. Or put your hand in front of your mouth. Breathe easy. Let them vent. It can't kill you. It hurts, but it can't kill you. Resist the temptation you are feeling in your gut to grab their fancy new driver and throw it in farther than they can hit it.

2. Speak agreement. It sounds silly, but when you agree with someone, you diffuse their bomb. Even if they are clearly wrong, at least acknowledge that you hear them. Be open. "Yes, Mrs. Fourputt, I understand and I am just as concerned as you are." Simple.

You know it better than they do. So when they come to tell you what you already know, you can't be deflective.

3, Control the moment. Vernon Van Der Wedgeflop III is used to controlling his world. And he'd like to control yours. But you don't have to let him control that moment. "Sir, I'm on my way to check on some of my crew's work, and if I don't get there now, it could be a problem. Can we talk after your round?" Give yourself some time to cool off, after Vern just declared your greens the worst they have ever been. If Mr. Complainiak catches you at the clubhouse, again, control the moment. Invite him to your office for a chat. Have water or coffee ready and let him sit in front of your desk or let him stand in the middle of the chaos and see how much you have going on. The key point is that the hard shove the words you get from someone doesn't need you to react right then. In fact, if you do, you are giving away your power.

4. Invite them to see your world. The habitual complainers usually have zero point zero percent idea what you really do. Invite Yapper Man to join you at 5am for your first loop around the course. If your whole greens or advisory committee doesn't get it, have the next meeting at the shop. Or on the course. Stay out of the board rooms and away from the bar for these conversations. We are famous for telling everyone that our offices are great. So meet them there. Again, on your terms. Educate them in how much you see that they don't or won't.

5. Employ your allies. You have people that you like. You see them on the course and they always have a smile and a wave. Talk to them. Tell them that you appreciate their positive attitude and ask if they can help. "Hey Dr. Kildare, Dr. Tracy just talked to me and he hates the golf course right now. You know that we've had a really hard spring. Would you mind saying a few positive words to him. I think it would be better coming from you than always from me". Bingo.

5.2 Find the Ty Webb. Every course has one. Somewhere. The person that everyone respects and believes and secretly wants to be. It may not be the best golfer or a golfer at all. At one of my jobs, it was the bartender. At some places, it's the locker room attendant. It can be everyone's favorite server in the restaurant. I'm not talking about the Bar Blowhard. Nobody is really listening to them. When you discover who this is, make that person your friend. And feed this person good info. Things you want everyone to know. "We've had a really tough spring, but we have done everything we can do to be ready when better weather comes". Ty Webb will get to say, "Look Herb, you don't like the greens, but our greens are just about to be great; just enjoy playing and practice your putting".  You don't get to say that. He does.

6. Realize there will always be trolls. Some people are relentlessly unhappy. Always. And some people just get a personal woody making other people squirm. This is their sad pathetic life. I think these people are easy to spot. And while I don't believe you can or should blow them off to their face. I do think that you avoid wrestling in the mud with a pig. As the saying goes, you get muddy and the hog has fun. Some of these types are walking soundbite collectors. They are just waiting for you to say something stupid so that they can tell everyone what you just said. So casting your pearls before these swine is bad. Just don't. Be cordial and be on the move. Don't stick to their fly paper.

Some people are relentlessly unhappy. Always. And some people just get a personal woody making other people squirm. This is their sad pathetic life...

7. Yes, you have a turf degree. So what? Look, whatever level of education you have in our biz, don't let that make you believe that every conversation has to be a technical discussion on par with the best presentation you have ever heard at a turf conference. Seriously. Talking down to people, especially when they are wanting to be heard, is a disease that so many of us have. I have it. I think it's mostly in remission, but now and then it comes out.

If you start with the barrage of turfgrass stats, it's like a firehose hitting a little marigold plant. Destructive. And yet I see people do this all the time, "Well Mrs. Grimski, the daily readings of soil temperature that we take at 2 inches and 4 inches show a median soil temp of forty-one degrees, rising to fifty-four degrees on average at 2 pm. When we combine this with the moisture we are getting and our overall photo-period,  our growth potential is..." Blah Blah Blah Blah is all she just heard. There is a time and a place for tech talk, but not when Mrs. Grimski just wants to know if things will be ok for the Ladies Invitational. I'm dead serious. Great turf people can sound like complete bullshit artists when they go to the big agronomy words. Don't. 

8. What's is so? In the world of self-help and psychology a key way not to feel like you are messing up is to examine what is actually true and let that be the truth. Joe Badswing comes up to you and wants to tell you the greens suck. In the history of the world, no greens have ever sucked worse that the abomination that this guy calls his golf swing. His 20 handicap is a lie, just like his footwedge. So when he pops off about the course, you employ the techniques you have learned above. And you walk away. And you forget that Sir Gasbag has ever uttered a word. Same goes with Madam Margo Tomatosalad, who knows for a fact you only mow fairways on Ladies Day. Listen, then apologize for said operator getting in the way of her 90-yard drive and walk away and forget she spoke. No one in the Ladies Club hears her either. If you let the absolute abject BS land on you, and stick to you, you will be doomed to a life of self-loathing at the highest order.

Joe Badswing comes up to you and wants to tell you the greens suck. In the history of the world, no greens have ever sucked worse that the abomination that this guy calls his golf swing.

9. Talking points are the deal! Mr and Mrs Beemer stop you on a Saturday AM and have questions about "this project we have been hearing about". They have busy lives. They are mostly good people. They like their course. They don't want to play anywhere else. You have an opportunity here to make fans or foes out of them. First off, you know more about the project than anyone. So the rumors are just that. Second, you have 3-5 things that you want everyone to know. Quick talking points. Give them to them. And if they want to know more, see number 3 and 4 above. In every conversation with customers, especially when you know some gossip is in the air, there is no better way to control the situation than to have a few key things to say that are real, truthful and represent the word of the Horse's Mouth (yours). Don't let these folks get their info from the pro shop or the drink cart. It's gotta be you. That's part of your job.

10. Don't lie. Ever. I have been involved in some really bad stuff when turf professionals decide to take number 7 above a step too far. From a real situation: Superintendent X takes his first weekend off in two months and his rather inexperienced assistant misses three key irrigation cycles and the greens take a hit. Super X is a good person. He's pissed at that employee, but also knows that the buck stops with him. So he makes up a story about a rare disease that they didn't catch. You get where this is going, right? Yeah. Just don't. I'll finish the story by saying he got caught in that lie and it was a really tough set of meetings that allowed him to keep that job. Suffice to say, he took a huge credibility hit. If something you can control goes wrong, admit it. Be on top of it. And don't sugar coat or lie your way through it. Or invent a visit from the agronomy boogie man.

In every conversation with customers, especially when you know some gossip is in the air, there is no better way to control the situation than to have a few key things to say that are real, truthful and represent the word of the Horse's Mouth (yours).

Spring of 2019, Summer of 1984, Winter of 2002. On and on. We are agriculturalists. And we are faced with dealing with the weather and all kinds of other out of control variables. But with a little thinking and planning, you can be on top of the court of public opinion. But it takes work, thinking and planning. Like every other aspect of the job. You got this!

"I just had my Annual Review with my GM. And his biggest issue with me is communication. Especially my written communications. I feel judged harshly. I have never been a very good writer. Can you give my any tips to help? It's sad that the golf course is good, but he has this problem with me."

My Answer:

This is SO COMMON. It really is.  Relax. I'm going to give you some support and some tips and some encouragement. It's my belief that everyone can improve their writing. You may not become Hemingway. That's OK. You don't need to be.

Writing is a muscle that needs some workout. Typically when people are struggling with their writing, all it takes is some focus and some drills and things get better, quickly.

1. Read. I know. I get it. I'm writing this in early May and time usually isn't in surplus. But to become a better writer, you need to be a reader. Read. But here is the catch. Read aloud. Buh? Yes. And this will come full circle in a moment. But the start of this boot camp is to read aloud, every day. Even if it's just a few paragraphs. Get used to hearing how others use words, with your ears.

I have a favorite book that I tell people to read aloud. It's a collection of essays from Jack Kerouac. He is, by far, my favorite writer. And more importantly, he is a supreme communicator of his thoughts. Often good writing in the world of the turfgrass professional is about putting thoughts and experiences into words. Kerouac was the master. His book, Lonesome Traveler, is a collection of essays about his experiences traveling. And in particular, the essay titled, Alone on a Mountaintop, is perfection.  Read aloud from this and you will understand what it means to have a "voice" with your writing.

Here is the key thing... Reading authors like Kerouac can show you that even the most simple subjects can be talked about clearly and with passion. 

2. Write Every Day. I sit down every day and I write something. Anything. I use my words and a document or talk to myself about something. Most of it never sees the light of day. Sometimes, it's a twitter post. Other times, it's what I write here. Mostly, it's email, keeping up with whatever is going on with work and it still counts. Write something every day.

 Writing is a muscle that needs some workout.

3. Read What You Write Aloud. Here's where it gets good and where the change can come. Read your writing out loud. Do it. Do this so it sounds like you. If it doesn't sound like you talk, then fix it. You have a physical voice. Now you are  connecting your physical voice to your writing. This is an amazingly powerful way to get communication up to speed, quickly. So very often, people who struggle with their written words, are very good talkers. 

I once had a client who I was helping with their resume and cover letter read their cover letter to me over the phone. And when they finished, I asked the question, "did that sound like you". And the answer was a resounding no. There it is. That's the disconnect. In time, you will start to see that your voices in writing and speaking will line up and this is the way to do it.

4. Forget Outlines. Very few great writers can successfully use outlines and translate that robotic form into great communications. Make notes, sure. Or maybe even a list of key words or ideas that you want to get across. But stop with formal outlines as they were taught in school. It's a waste of time and detracts from the flow of words.

5. Get Some Grammar Software. Currently I use Grammerly. It works as a plug-in for my Chrome browser and I can turn it on and off and set how deep it reads my stuff. It's my editor on the desktop. The first benefit is spelling. We all need help with spelling and its not a bad thing. World class writers are notorious bad spellers and bad typists. And in my experience I need just a notch above the standard spell check. The grammar part of this is really helpful in developing that muscle. It will tell you when your sentences are too long or your word usage is out of whack. And you don't have to do what it says. But the suggestions and the learning that come with it are spot on.

6. Slow Down. It's 3pm. The green committee meeting is at 5 pm, you are in the office and trying to make sense of tomorrow's work schedule and coach an assistant about a spray tank mix and, and, and and.... a recipe for a badly written green committee report is in the works. Don't do this. Same goes with that email that you just need to get to your boss because he wants info and you sit down and hammer out a POS. Don't. Slow down. Get ahead of this. Just as in every other part of your operation. Write the first draft of your committee report a few days before. Let it marinate. Come back to it. Fix it. Example, some of my blog posts that have gotten the most views were written on my iphone on the side of the road. And they just came together. This one, however, needed some care and feeding and I left it alone for a week and came back to it. Now it makes sense and hopefully, the re-write is on point. Yes, often there are hard deadlines, but that means that you have to practice some time management and give yourself time to slow down.

7. Relax And Be Real. Bad business writing is often so completely complicated that it becomes constipated and in turn loses its humanity. We all need to be more formal in our too relaxed society, but formality can't lose reality. Words are idea vehicles. And they are very real. And when they stop being real, they lose their idea potential and communication ends.

Here's an example: I asked an assistant of mine to write up an employee discipline issue. He handed me a paper that tried to read like some kind of weird police report. It was awkward and while filled with facts, it lacked any way to understand what really happened. So, we had a lesson in being real. I asked my assistant super what the biggest thing that went wrong actually was. The answer was that the employee had been late for two weekend shifts. Ok. Write that. Then I asked when it happened. Then I asked what the employee said about the situation. Then I asked what our policy is on being late. Then the question was, what did he think we should do as corrective action. Simple. Take those answers and write it. The end result wasn't a mess of too many words. It was reality and it was to the point. 

8. Be Brave. Good words mean that one must be courageous. When I write, I am thinking all the time of using my best ideas. It's kind of like going to the butcher shop and finding out what the best cut of meat is for sale. I need to be brave enough to use my words to make my point. If I am pissed off, I have to carry that emotion. If I don't care, then it can be communicated. It's OK to show emotion in writing. It's OK to use language that doesn't leave the reader with any doubt as to where you stand on an issue. You can and should put people to a decision when they read your words. If you are always going for everyone to agree with every word, sorry, that's weak sauce. 

Here's an example: Anthony Bourdain. How did a cook, who didn't have much career fame, author best selling books and before his passing, become one of TV's most watched travel, food and  world politics expert? He was completely brave with his words. He didn't shy away from saying his truth.  Same goes with golf course architect Tom Doak. Tom wrote his original Confidential Guide as a 40-page copy machine guide to what he saw was right and what was wrong in the golf courses he went to see in his studies. It was raw. And it was spellbound in it's courage of speaking his truth.

A super once sent me his justification for a new maintenance facility. And I read it and called him and said that if his current shop was this good, I can't imagine them building him a new one. He blew his lid, falling into a tirade of that an utter garbage dump his shop had become. He even used those words. And I told him that he just wrote the lead paragraph to his new report version. "Our Current Maintenance Facility is an Unsafe Garbage Dump" ended up being the lead line to version number two of his report and the problem was recognized and solved. Words are powerful in their use. And they are powerless when you don't use them.

The older I get and the longer I am involved in our business, I am more and more certain that communication is the key skill that everyone needs and is lacking in. As I have taught workshops on this for Turfgrass Professionals, I see that somehow this skill has been pushed aside and yet, those same people wonder why they are often misunderstood. I think working out these muscles can lead to some of the best and most productive times in a career. I think that left to atrophy, not being able to write, leads to so many dark paths and places. 

Words are powerful in their use. And they are powerless when you don't use them.

Some of you reading this have heard me say that I suffer from a condition called Dyslexia which is a general term for disorders that involve difficulty in learning to read or interpret words, letters, and other symbols, but that do not affect general intelligence. I wasn't formally diagnosed with this until I was 19 years old. And until then, I just kind of got by. Some days, words and numbers made sense to my brain. Some days, they did not. When tired, angry, depressed or sick, the condition is worse. And I can't control when it comes and goes. Makes for some interesting times, like recently, I couldn't read the documents I was signing for a car purchase.

A very good teacher helped me become a writer, by helping me apply the points I shared above, even though, I told her over and over again that my handicap would keep me from being any good. I do fine. More than fine, considering. Am I Kerouac or Bourdain? No. I have to work at it really hard. So If I can. you can too. And If you'd like help...reach out. 

I don't always like linear history blogging, but in this case, I think it's worth an update.

I really didn't know what to expect the morning I walked into Cherry Hills CC with my laptop containing a Keynote presentation. It seemed like I was prepared, but I am an over-prepper, so my perspective is a little skewed. As per usual, I'd been up half the night before practicing my brand of pre-game mental yoga, also known as torture. But again, that's my creative process and it's an old friend.

The CMAA group was well prepared. About 60 in attendance. Mark Condon, GM at The Ranch CC is the education chair and he had a great group of speakers lined up. I really liked how he broke up the morning with a well done panel discussion with PGA Pros from Denver CC, Frost Creek CC and Cherry Hills. I don't always like panel discussions, but this one was really great and that had to do do with Mark doing his homework as the MC and asking good questions. It also had to do with great questions coming from the floor.

I was last. Batting clean up after the Golf Pros and Ed Mate from the Colorado Golf Association. I had heard about Ed. But it was great to see him in person. His passion for the game is incredible and him being a former Evans Scholarship winner doesn't hurt. So in the last spot before lunch, the grass guy comes up. And as I hook up my laptop, the familiar feeling of peace after a week of torturing myself preparing for this is a welcome feeling. Again, this feeling is also an old friend and it tells me that there is nothing to do but be Dave Wilber and deliver the goods. A couple of small jokes and other stupid speaker tricks and I feel like I own the room and its time to rock and roll. My Powerpoint and Keynote skills are on point. My visuals are good. The room, like most country club settings is too bright, but I expected that and have visuals that will work. Throttles to the firewall. 

As per usual, I'd been up half the night before practicing my brand of pre-game mental yoga, also known as torture.

Forty-five min later, I was at the end of the presentation. And during the talk and then again at the end, this group had some good questions. I don't remember them all. When I'm in the flow, I don't often have recall. I own cameras and recorders and you would think I would set one or two up and capture the moment, but I just don't think that way. I need to travel with my Tech Monkey.

But I do remember the discussions and questions that were most powerful.

1. College Graduation Numbers: I fielded several questions based on my comments about not being able to fill the multitude of assistant and second assistant jobs out there. As well as the changing job of equipment technician. It was clear to me that there was much concern in the room that we may not be graduating and training qualified candidates to fill all the positions out there. And one of the Head Pro's in the room was very quick to talk about the fact he has the same issue. Lots of open slots in the Assistant Pro ranks. For me, I always want to be clear that when we are in a shrinking environment of golf courses closing, we cant expect the same number of Superintendent jobs to exist. There's nothing wrong with being an assistant Super. There's nothing wrong with doing that for a long time, perhaps as a career. But for sure, the way we pay our long time support crew is wrong. And everyone in that room understands that.
2. Is All This New Tech Too Expensive?: I didn't spend long on this. Because to me, calculating ROI is easy. And if we can't do that or cant show returns on investing anything, then we are just getting stuff and doing stuff just because. Which doesn't pay.
3. Bunkers: There was a lot of head nodding about cost of bunker maintenance and construction and that maybe we have lost the plot as it came to a bunker being a hazard. Ed Mate, a rules expert, was quick on the draw from the floor to refute that calling a bunker a "penalty area" is wrong. It's a bunker.
4. The Environment: The CMAA Chapter is really excited about working with the Colorado Golf Association in regards to Economic and Environmental Impact of golf. That's good. I think we all want that. And I will be sure that those who need to know hear that Turfgrass side of the golf world has a lot of data and a lot to say in this area.

Is The Golf dying? No, don't be silly. Is it going to be what it was? No, don't be silly.

So, did I deliver an Anthony Bourdain style ass whipping to them? Not really. Thats not me. Well, it can be. But this wasn't the time or the place. However, I'm sure there was some eye opening things that this group heard. I was super happy to hear the PGA Pros being really strong about the fact that while they know they want to get golfers to the game, the idea of keeping them there was much more on their mind. I think one of their stories about the club's most popular event being a Night Golf event was telling in the fact that there is nothing traditional in that, but it was all about the fun. Fun. What a thing. Golf really can be fun.

As far as anything I said that drew the biggest reaction, someone in the audience decided to pontificate a non-question question about the number of courses, golfers and handicaps. He wasn't making any sense when he got to the slope rating part and before Ed Mate could jump in, I simply said that I don't have a handicap. Don't care about having one. Refuse to play stroke play when I play and that match play with my friends is my favorite thing. And I even went on to say that I prefer that to be with Hickory clubs and demand to be walking.  Yeah. You can imagine the chuckles that got. But it did get the Pope in the back of the room to be quiet. 

I was super happy to hear the PGA Pros being really strong about the fact that while they know they want to get golfers to the game, the idea of keeping them there was much more on their mind.

Is The Golf dying? No, don't be silly. Is it going to be what it was? No, don't be silly. It's always evolved. Should every 18-hole course that has had any economic trouble turn itself into Top Golf. No. That's absurd. Should we be worried? Hell yes! Falling asleep at the wheel didn't and never will do anyone any good. Should we, as Turfheads be carrying a better message of Econ and Enviro? If you aren't you will definitely be a statistic. Definitely.

But carrying is one thing, living it is even more important.

In truth, the program is pretty cool. The Mile High CMAA Chapter is looking to get perspective on the evolution of Golf and has invited some notables from the Club Pro, Turfgrass and Colorado Golf in general. So cool. Had to say yes. If you have been reading my Blog or listening to my Podcast for any amount of time, you probably know that I'm neurotic for preparation. In this case, I cant just stand up, pull a club out of the bag and hit a one-iron. I have to work for this one a bit and do some research and the like.

So the evolution of golf and golf turf is well rooted in the brilliance and testicular thought fortitude of those growing the grass.

The Evolution of Golf. Certainly, Golf hasn't been immune to evolution. One must only look at the Golf Ball or the Golf Club to see that. And certainly, there has been plenty of change as it comes to the world of architecture. Even if that change is simply to erase the poorly evolved. Then we come to the 2007-2008 crash. Or "adjustment" as the optimists call it. And from that point on, it's been a crazy world of trying to figure out what golf is and who we all are. 

To me, we can't escape a list of facts that is here to stay:

• 50% of everyone now picking up a club is 55 years of age or older.  
• 77.5% of all golfers are male.
• 74% of players play less than 10 times per year.
• 68% of all golfers are married.
• $2,800 is the average amount that the average player spends per year.

Great Dave. So you are gonna get up in front of a bunch of club management types and tell them what they either already know, can read in NGF stats or are experiencing while they try to figure out how to get this all to change.  And guess what? It's not gonna change. It's not. No matter how much Foot Golf or Jump Houses or 13th Hole Concerts or Bluetooth Speakers or GPS Disney Carts come along... The Golf is The Golf. 

But the Agronomy? Just like the equipment and the courses themselves, is dynamic. Here's what I see as the coming trends and the things that we are talking about. Will these things change the numbers above? Again, not likely in my mind. But there is an evolution.

1. Bunkers. Despite the PGA Tour now calling them Penalty Areas, bunkers now represent at least 50% of the conversations that I have as an agronomic advisor. Be it construction, reconstruction, restoration, daily maintenance or tourney prep, they are a grand topic. And a damn expensive one. The expectations are high and the understanding of what "natural" really takes to maintain is low. At least half the golfers at most clubs don't like the sand or the way the sand is prepped. They are money pits. In a recent agronomy report for a client, I talked about the "gift" a traditionalist architect had given the club in the form of "natural bunkers", proving to double the labor dollars required to deal with them. Here's the quote: "the only way not to spend so much money on these bunkers, is not to have these bunkers". One less architect X-mas card will come to me this year.

2. Robotic Mowing. Like it or not, robots are coming. In form of Turfgrass Roombas or some such. I don't see them as play-toys and I keep saying this. Those that are using the first generation of the things are seeing what the win will be. Sure, they will require a different kind of maintenance, schedule and some human supervision, but there is no question they will be part of the internal landscape.

3. Precision Applications. Along the same lines, we will certainly see more and more GPS oriented technology for anything that gets applied. And for sure, this will mean the evolution of sensor technology to make sure that only the overpowering invader gets the treatment and the zones doing great do not. I can foresee an IR scanning drone overflying an area, downloading info to a sprayer and that sprayer applying 10% or less of what used to be applied. Same will go for irrigation. Real time data will be commonplace at tremendous savings.

4. Large Area Mowers. Gone are the days of multiple heights of cut and a bevy of labor to produce them. 3 heights of cut. And the one that is the largest area will be once again mowed with larger mowers. Will item number 2 play a part. In some way, yes. And if the happens, the equipment may be smaller as an accommodation. The corollary to this simply mowing less grass to begin with.

   And guess what? It's not gonna change. It's not. No matter how much Foot Golf or Jump Houses or 13th Hole Concerts or Bluetooth Speakers or GPS Disney Carts come along... The Golf is The Golf. 

5. Short Courses, Par 3's and Whisky Loops. Time is something we can't print more of. So without a doubt, the conversation about shorter, easier, more fun and quicker places to play is going to continue. You wanna go hang out at the 7600 yard battlezone? Be my guest. I like the 5300 yard opportunity not to hate myself.

6. Great Grasses. In my opinion we are entering into another golden age of plant breeding and turf types will be more unique, site specific and use specific than ever before. With reams of data now at our fingertips about climate and the ability to model the potential growth based on the smallest details, breeders can meet needs. In really cool ways. One only has to look at the amazing Bents and Ultras that we are using on greens now to see there is real movement in this area.

7. Lowering of Expectations. How hard is it really, for golfers, members and management to get that when they want lower prices they are going to get less. I actually think that superintendents are doing a much better job of talking about this from a less defensive posture. Is this because the "Country Club for a Day" sales pitch is going away? I'd like to think so. And to be fair, Supers are starting to realize they have been their own worst enemies as it comes to inventing stuff to do to make things reach that "next level". The extra 10% can cost another 30%. That's not ROI. Thats just stupid. I'm quick to point this out when anyone says "Next Level" or some version of it to me. Here's the truth. We all want to drive McLarens. And few can afford it. Enjoy your Toyota. Love it.

8. Chemicals. I talk about this all the time. One day, there won't be any or there will be very little. And so we will have to rely on point number 6 above. What's driving it. Sadly it's not the environmental factor as much as it is the litigation and liability factor. And quite frankly as a recent student of risk management, I don't blame the insurance folks for backing away from the agri-chem coverage. It's a controllable risk.

And quite frankly as a recent student of risk management, I don't blame the insurance folks for backing away from the agri-chem coverage. It's a controllable risk.

9. Virtual Golf. I met a gentleman on a plane recently who was wearing a high end resort logo. He told me his story of logo achievement because I was dumb enough to ask. But his answer was facinating. He plays all his golf at Top Golf and at his friend's basement simulator. And once a year, he and his buddies head for the coast, play as many holes a day as the daylight and their sore feel will allow. Eat and Drink to excess. Tell lies. And head home to the Simulators. Now maybe this does say that golf is changing, but then again, no. It just says that once a year, the dudes have dude times with their el dudarino buddies and that's all they get. Actually, sounds pretty good to me.

10. Brilliance. Buh? It's simple. Turfheads are some of the most resourceful people on the planet. And if you ask most of them to sort out something, make something happen, deal with adversity, they will. Over and over again. So the evolution of golf and golf turf is well rooted in the brilliance and testicular thought fortitude of those growing the grass. I know damn good and well that sitting here today, I can not predict the things that will go on in 33 years, just as I couldn't have predicted this blog 33 years ago when I hit the biz.

So, I have parts of my talk for next week. And I can spend the next six nights torturing myself over getting the visuals right and the roadmap right for a decent presentation and wondering why I say yes to these things. I can focus on not sounding like just another Brad Kline or Pat Jones talk. I can actually be me and say it as I see it. In this moment. It's all one can really do, right?

(PostScript....If you would like to weigh in on the evolutionary path of golf as related to Agronomy, I and many others would love to hear it. Comment below. And remember, no idea is too off the wall)

I like going to them for other people, but I don't like them when they are for me. It has always seemed like a waste of time to celebrate my getting older. Kind of like celebrating something that will happen no matter what, like Wind or Grocery Bagging. Not special.

But this year, for my 53rd, I decided to put out a note to a random bunch of people from different walks in my world and tell them where I would be from what time to what time and tell them to come have a beer with me at a craft brew place that I like. My favorite taco truck was going to be there. Come. Buy your own beer, tuck in to some El Pastor. Simple. And If it was just me there, I'd be fine and if a bunch of people came, I'd be fine too. No cake. No cards. No gifts, Just Beers and Friends.

I always wonder what my Turfhead and Non-Turfhead friends will talk about or think of each other.  And I try really hard to keep my grass conversations to a limited level when in company with civilians. I think I am better at it than they are, actually because often golf or grass is brought up by interlopers. I'm also really careful around wives and significant others in keeping the Turfhead spench to a desirable level. What person of a person really wants to hear about Cinchbugs, Manganese and Nitrogen? Yeah. Exactly.

And If it was just me there, I'd be fine and if a bunch of people came, I'd be fine too.

On a Sunday afternoon, Living the Dream Brewing was getting busy. And in true Colorado style, dogs, kids, dreads and guitars started to fill the place. So cool. And then, to my surprise, people who actually knew me started to show up and suddenly we had a whole table. I couldn't put away the smile. Enhanced by a nice ESB, the smile grew. 

And the conversation? So cool. On one side, wedding plans. On another side, the grafting of plans for another get together. In the middle the comparison of notes between the 1985 PGA Championship and the 2011 Senior Open. The inevitable weather discussion. Broncos. Snow. Skiing. Avalanches. Beer. Tacos. Tacos. Beer and Tacos. Pumpstations. Long Hours. 

And Grass. But our grass talks are so much fun. Because they envelop our small business but they contain references from all around the world. At a Brewery in Colorado we can talk about our friends in St Andrews and Abu Dhabi. And Iowa and California. We might even text them or tweet about them. I find it fascinating. And I think the non-turfers do too. But at the same time we all have dogs and kids and houses and food to talk about too. 

At a brewery in Colorado we can talk about our friends in St Andrews and Abu Dhabi. And Iowa and California.

Why am I writing all this? As usual I have a point! And my point is this: We often make getting together with others too hard and too much work. And as most of us come into the busy seasons, we miss these opportunities. We can't. We humans are built for interaction and for face to face time. And while it may seem like a complete pain in the ass to make a meet up happen. We have to. We do. It can't be optional. And I really think that we can invite the Civilians... the Significant Others and the Non-Turfheads like us. They really do!

I am really glad that I put the word out where I would be having a beer. And again, I wasn't attached to any outcome. I just let everyone know and I went. Simple as that. Had I been alone, I likely would have met someone new, learned something I didn't know. I didn't feel obligated to serve everyone or provide the entertainment or the experience. The experience was in the people around me. And I in them. A few hours of fun and smiles all around. Pretty awesome.

We humans are built for interaction and for face to face time. And while it may seem like a complete pain in the ass to make a meet up happen. We have to. We do. It can't be optional. 

So here is my Craft Beer Wisdom to you... Take a moment as you start into the season and gather some people you like or even ones you don't know and have some simple easy hang time.  Invite people from different walks of life. Bring your dogs and your kids and your cats if you so desire. Smile. Tell stories. Laugh. Eat. Be Human. 

And thanks for all the birthday wishes! What a wonderful thing.

During The Players' Championship, I discovered even more how much I love and hate Twitter. A tweet from the PGA Tour showed a close up of the edges of a freshly cut cup being scissor trimmed.  And a discussion erupted. I was honestly shocked. Because somehow, the notion of a perfectly prepared cup edge was lumped into the idea of tournament golf taking things too far in the way of conditioning. It was compared to all kinds of things that aren't usually done on the daily.

I was astounded. Actually. And, because I am me, I spoke up. I couldn't hold back. Call it addiction or lack of self-control or the need to be right, I don't care. I really don't. 

I had to look back to the 80's when I first learned to cut a cup. Like everyone who has ever dropped a cutter and hovered over it, I wasn't good at first. And I took a huge amount of heat from the entire crew for a few poorly selected spots and a few leaning flags. And I learned to get it right, quickly. And then I learned to obsess over it. Because it was clear to me that the golf course could be absolutely perfect, but if the cup was wrong, if that pin was in the wrong place, if that flag stick was less than perfect, it was a huge black mark. Huge. 

When I volunteered at my first  legit event, The Colorado Open at Hiwan CC in Evergreen, CO, Super Gary Russell asked me if I wanted to be on the setup detail. The answer was yes, but wisely, Gary grabbed a cup cutter and some tools and we went to a nursery spot to see what my skills were like. Gary immediately coached me on stepping up my game. I learned how to use a stand-board. I was taught how to assure a perfect depth. A certain way to pull the cutter. A set of steps for replacing, repairing and watering the old cup were given. I was taught how to paint the edge and scissor cut the edge. He said I was good, but needed to be way better. And so it was. That system was it. There was no negotiation or deviation. Gospel. The Book of Gary. And I memorized every chapter and verse.

I had to look back to the 80's when I first learned to cut a cup. Like everyone who has ever dropped a cutter and hovered over it, I wasn't good at first.

From that point on, hole locations on my watch were done with the extreme care of that technique, combined with my obsession for Greenkeeping. It meant that some employees, despite trying hard, just couldn't get it. And when it was event or tourney time at my places, no big deal. We already did that level. Didn't matter if it was 9-hole Ladies Tuesday or US Open Qualifying, our cups and pin positions were immaculate. From my low budget muni first Super job to the climb up to the Private world, all done the same with huge expectations.  In 2003,  noted Agronomist and Friend Jon Scott gave a group of staff and volunteers a lesson in cup cutting at a Champion's Tour event I was helping with. And even then, I learned something. And at the same time, I recognized the careful perfection and artistry that had been his lesson to all involved. He was quick to say the The Tour expected it, but that EVERY GOLFER DESERVED IT.

As a consultant, often Supers and I were out early with the setup guys and when I saw it going wrong, I always made a point to talk about the importance of perfection. Or at least striving to get it as good as possible, with no low cups replaced, etc.

If you have read my stuff at all, you know that I like to live in the real world and that I know what we see on TV on the weekends is not that. I also like competition. I like the spectacle of setting up for any competition. So it creates duality in me. Isn't The Golf a daily competition? Sure, the cameras are here, the circus tents are up, pull out the stops. And when there is no show in town, do your best to be at a raised bar for the day's partaking of a sporting event. Look, I get that things like walk mowing fairways and push rotary mowing roughs and stuff like that happens. I get it. I get that the army of volunteers (read: Free Labor) makes it possible to do this stuff for an event situation. I also get that when you have a limited staff and limited resources, these things not only look inaccessible, they border on the absurd. 

However, for me, and this is for me.... No matter how tough it was. No matter how much labor trouble we were in, we still had perfectly cut cups. And yes, that included scissor trimming and usually painting. I did the math and the extra time to get it right and to make it special was minimal dollars and max return on investment. So, while I understand my colleagues and friends giving their opinions on that little video, I couldn't get with the idea that perfection on a cut cup wasn't a good thing.

 I like to live in the real world and that I know what we see on TV on the weekends is not that.

One day, when I'm just a little older. (and that day isn't far away), my hope is that some young Super will allow me the honor of setting up his or her golf course a few days a week. And when I'm 70, I guarantee you, I will have those scissors in my hands, finishing that hole to the best of my ability of my shaking hands and worn out knees because every golfer deserves to know what a sacred cup means to their game.

brave  /brāv/  adjective  1. ready to face and endure danger or pain; showing courage. "a brave soldier"
synonyms:    courageous, plucky, fearless, valiant, valorous, intrepid, heroic, lionhearted, manful, macho, bold, daring, daredevil, adventurous, audacious, death-or-glory.
verb  1. endure or face (unpleasant conditions or behavior) without showing fear.  "we had to brave the full heat of the sun"
synonyms:    endure, put up with, bear, withstand, weather, suffer, sustain, go through; 

When you look at the root definitions of “brave”, it quickly can show that being brave somehow intersects with life choices that are in some way dangerous. Makes sense. It’s that kind of word. It connotes you being in some danger and it also signifies keeping others from harm’s way.

I had a coaching call (I really despise the that phrase, but it is a part of what I do) with a newer client last week. And as Super X laid out plans for the their upcoming season, it all sounded technically sound and I found myself wondering why I was reacting to it in a less than positive way. Aren’t sound, solid, technical well drafted plans supposed to sound good? I guess. But I also know that sometimes a fighter has a plan, until they get hit hard enough to send them to the canvas because they didn’t think about getting really hit.

So I quickly steered the conversation into a “what if” type line of thinking. Something along the lines of, “What if that first aerification event gets rained out?” and “Explain to me your strategy for record heat” and “Where’s your head as far as the janky pump station you have”.   As I continued along this line of tough questions, Super X started to lose his cool. 

“Dave, I can’t plan for every bad thing that is possibly going to happen”, said Super X. True. For the most part, we can’t begin to predict all the things that can and will go wrong. I agree. 

“What if I told you that you lack bravery?”, I said in an abrupt manner. Long silence. Long. Dalai Lama long. And I could hear the anger boiling up.

“Look”, I said, “what you just laid out for me is good. It’s textbook solid. And I’m not impressed. At your level, at your degree of happening that you have to make, I don’t see anything more than you just waiting for… next year”.  That did it. A string of expletives blasted thru the phone at me. It was as if I had called his dog a goat. How could I be so wrong?

What’s the point here? My job as an agronomic advisor isn’t just to shake my head yes to cool ideas and usage of the latest and greatest discoveries in Turfgrass History. Quite the opposite is often true. What I am tasked with is getting supers to look at their situation and find the death traps. Find the scary places. Seek out the spots that they really don’t want to shine the lights on.

Let’s go back to Super X. This facility is very irrigation dependent. They have not a lot of storage. They have questionable water supply issues in both quantity and quality. They have older control systems and a pumping station that is headed for it’s last years. It’s a seven figure conversation, starting with  the number 2 or maybe even a 3. Yeah. Serious. Super X is super comfortable talking with me about Fertility and Fungicide rotations and all that. He’s got that in the bag. But not a mention of the whole irrigation picture as part of his plan. Sure, he mentioned it in our first session, right along with mentioning that the shop  lift was old and that he needs a new set of dew whips.

My job as an agronomic advisor isn’t just to shake my head yes to cool ideas and usage of the latest and greatest discoveries in Turfgrass History.

“Dave, it’s going to be years before they even want to start talking about this. We just finished spending money on trees and bunkers. They are tapped out,” was the story. And I agree. The addition of bunkers of the finest variety and a tree plan with the finest GPS mapping was outstanding. And now it’s time to keep going. And this is the point where I mention I might have fixed that irrigation system before doing the bunkers, but what good is my second guessing, really. Thus ensued the back and forth about how Super X doesn’t love his Golf and Grounds Committee meetings and how the whole thing is hard for him. Yeah, bro. The business is hard.

I am a veteran of 100’s of committee meetings. And I can tell you that at any level, it’s a minefield. With potential to make or break careers in several wrong spoken sentences or misplaced emotions. And I get that we Turfheads love to spout GDD and ET and BMP and all the other cool letter combos. To technically over-wow our audience can be a disease. I get it. I’m a recovering over-explainer. But sometimes, the Brave thing to do is to kick in your own teeth a bit and prepare to deliver some hard news. in very straightforward language. The back of the house, the unseen, is part of their asset too. 

Now, there are ways to do this. Being prepared is key. Being completely versed in the subject is key. Being fully aware of the potential questions and who will be asking them is key. But make no mistake, you are a Steward of their property. An expert. And to be one, you have to have all the data. All the info. And MOST IMPORTANT... you can’t hide from the tougher issues.

And I get that we Turfheads love to spout GDD and ET and BMP and all the other cool letter combos. To technically over-wow our audience can be a disease. I get it. I’m a recovering over-explainer...

So now Super X and I are having a legit agronomy discussion. He’s done being mad at me. He’s seeing the light of what happens if the troubles he is used to go on too long.  We are talking about the full evaluation of what is in place and making very strong assessment of not only remaining life span but efficiency right now. It’s time to get brave and collect some data. Do some pump testing, do some in-field auditing, dig some holes and look at some old valves that may have failed. It’s time to look at power cost and consumption data. It’s time to consider alternative water sources. It’s time to be brave. 

There’s one last point. The very best superintendents that I have ever seen are so good at getting people to follow them into battle. So the tactic here, is to look deep at the data and instead of reporting to everyone about the sky falling, the move is to get a few small squads together and show them the info. To find who is listening and who wants to pick up a weapon or two and join in the fight. And it is also time to help the faint hearted get up to speed and get comfortable. So that they will also support the mission.

Marching orders set. Plan to make a plan in place. Experts' phone numbers at the ready, now Super X can be agronomically brave. He can look hard at his situation and put together a plan that includes not hitting the floor in bewilderment. WHEN the punches come. And they will come.

I’ll write about this more in some future case studies. But I thought it might illustrate for you that our business has a level of competence in planning that includes putting your whole heart and soul into the win. 

Who are your Turfgrass Heroes?

I think the person asking me this was thinking that I would list off a bunch of people that everyone knows thru social media and what not. And well, their may be some recognizable names, there are also some that I know you don't know. I can't name them all here and if you didn't make the list and you know me well, it's not a slight. It's being economical. And it's recognizing people in my world who I have had contact with. 

Mike Kosak. The first superintendent that I ever worked for. Still to this day one of the greatest people that I know. He's been like family since I first met him at my high school in 1981. That's 38 years ago, right about this week when he took a chance hiring a cowboy kid who didn't know the difference between a green and a tee. If you'd like to know more about Mike, I did a a podcast episode with him, here. Mike is just one of those people that make our business great.

The long line of supers and others that he has produced and influenced is distinguished and he'd never say he had anything to do with it. He did. In a major way. You know what's crazy? In his retirement years, he spends his winters in warm climates changing cups. One of the best supers, GM's, Owners and Mentors and he is perfectly happy doing course set up wherever he and his wife decide to park their RV for the winter. So cool.

Walter Woods. You've probably heard my story of my first meeting with Walter in St Andrews, Scotland. Wherein I was puking my guts out right next to the 18th green at The Old Course 10 min before because I was so nervous about meeting him. I hung on his every word. Every one of them. And still do more than 20 years later. Walter's time as Links Manager at St Andrews was a pivot point in keeping with minimalism. He could have taken links golf away from where it should be and he didn't. Modernizing with a strong touch and developing great people around him. He's not one to give out compliments easy. I had to earn those words.

Ross Kurcab. The fifth episode of The Turfgrass Zealot Project featured Ross Kurcab. Ross did 30 years with The Denver Broncos, masterfully managing first the practice facilities and then later the Broncos adsorbed Mile High Stadium. Ross handled it well. Really well. And he's got the Super Bowl rings to prove it. I always admired his spirit and his dedication and his ability to make a really tough job look really easy. Now I admire his dedication to helping others in the Sports Turf world succeed. Amazing.

Dave Hensley. Now the GM at Ballyneal, the famed Tom Doak masterpiece in Eastern Colorado, Dave is that guy that I just want to be. While Ballyneal was started on a dream, the construction and grow in were some nightmarish days. It was Dave's first superintendent's gig and he absolutely killed it. But I knew I was in the presence of greatness when, on opening day, he teed it up with Ben Crenshaw, Bill Coore and Tom Doak as his playing partners and never even broke a sweat and didn't shoot 110. I'm not sure I could have hit the ball out of my shadow in that situation. Oh, did I mention Dave probably hadn't slept for three days prior to this? Yeah. Hero.

Kevin Hicks.  If anyone had a tougher day in and day out situation than Kevin Hicks during his time at Coeur D'Alene Golf Resort then I don't know who that would be. Tough owner. Floating Green. Insane expectations. Night Maintenance. And that's just the hit list. For 15 years. And before that, Kevin paid his dues, turning around Hillcrest CC and working his way through Arizona and starting in Minnesota and Colorado, all at high demand jobs. What I love about Kevin is his natural chill. It may be affecting him on the inside, but not on the outside. Now as part of the team with Earthworks, he is sure to make a huge impact for Joel Simmons and Company. Oh and his son Michael? Same degree of chill as he will likely be a professional baseball player. Kevin is the tall one in the photo.

Thomas Bastis. Standing next to Mr. Hicks, is Thomas Bastis (and next to me, that's Mickey McCord of McCord Golf Safety). If you don't know this name, shame on you. Learn Google. Now an agronomist with the PGA Tour, Bastis is killing it. And that's no surprise. I've watched him pull the rabbit out of his hat so many times that I now know it's not magic, it's just how it works. His ability to ask me mind numbing questions for hours and fill in the blanks with logic and more Vulcan Science than Spock ever dreamed of would have me staggering to my car, driving to the hotel and curling up in the fetal position having been mind melded to the max. And while I was whimpering he was probably getting in a 12 mile run, just because. You can't imagine.

(Disclaimer. I thought this would be a very easy blog post. Pick a few turfheads that I know and love. Write in Wilber Style. Spread the love. Done. The truth is that this has been agonizing to the point of loss of two nights sleep. For sure, I am missing some people. And so instead of making myself even more crazy, There will have to me more installments of this. Many more.)

"Have you given up on the idea of sustainability?" 

At first pass, I scoffed. Please. Me? Never. And then I considered the source of the question and the context of the conversation. Let's start with context. Because that word, in its wide range, can mean so many things. The author of the question was speaking to me about agronomy. Then  to the point of source, we are talking about a Superintendent who has always been a deep thinking thought leader. So I decided that I'd look a little deeper at the whole subject.

In the early 90's my youthful excitement to apply ideas, along with my need to get noticed for those ideas, led me to seek out the emerging culture of eco-agricultural thinkers. This meant taking in writings of authors from Acres, USA Press. It led me to attend local and state anything that had to do with environment friendly agriculture. I got close with the growers and grazers who were using the same water sources as I was. I created a "community compost operation" and lastly, went almost entirely pesticide and salt fertilizer free. Inside of all of this were some pretty amazing people. Wide ranging. From generational Fruit, Wine Grape and Cannabis growers to Beef, Pork and Dairy producers to cool old ladies who just wanted to grow some strawberries to a wide range of specialty producers of just about anything that would grow. I'm a third generation agriculturist myself so in a way, there were as much my people as Turfheads. If not maybe more.

What I didn't grasp at the time is that I was the interloper, because I wasn't producing a "market crop". "It's Golf", they would say, "it doesn't produce anything other than recreation". And quite frankly most of that crowd didn't really get or participate in the sport. I had all the lines that we all say about Turfgrass being a major contributor, and they listened, nodded and held their same beliefs. But I was bound and determined that I was "producing" a "sustainable"  product. And my ability to speak a bunch of different agriculture languages made this a fun sell for me. I was trying to be more "organic" more "sustainable" more "eco" so I could be looked at as a participant and not just a tourist. 

What I learned was that my passion and my situation was unique and that really, if you want to, you can figure out a way to program a quality turfgrass management program with just about as much or as little input as you want. Really. And I learned that the best growers, producers, agriculturalists were the ones who relentlessly studied, observed, collected data and applied strong logic, while leaving behind the hype. 

Nothing piled against the rocks is any longer sustainability material.

Lets get back to the original question, "Have you given up on the idea of Sustainability?". The answer is a distinct and strong, "No". I haven't given up on the idea of chemical free management. I lived it as a Super. I live it now as a consultant. I am always looking at ways to reduce inputs of any kind and increase the quality of the product. In some climates, working hard to fool. nature means doing this in some un-natural ways. And yes, that could lead to a use of a pesticide of some sort, or a chemical that overcomes a barrier to producing a playing surface. I'm not as naive as I once was. But in the same way, I am more dogmatic about how to look at the infinite number of choices we now have in our techno powerful world.

My old friend Tom Mead and I were talking about a project years ago. Mead, who was working for Tom Doak at the time and had been a Super himself and I hit it off straight away because we were of a "sustainable" mindset. Meaning we were always looking for ways not to apply chemistry first. This particular conversation has to do with grassing choices. We both knew there were two roads. One road was the higher road. It would fall more to what the "general handbook" would say. It would require some chemical enhancement and it would be understandable to 90% of Turfheads everywhere. The lower road was the road less traveled. It would require more creativity and observation. It may mean a lot of different as less frequently used inputs in the beginning, developing a bank account that would pay interest for a lifetime of less input. Both ways, under capable hands, would produce a playing surface. Both could be talked about at the bar at the end of the day by golfers who don't know any better and be declared a win.

So, what tips the ship? Which wind requires which sail? Or is it lots of fuel and big horsepower engines? That, in and of itself is the eternal and unanswerable question. And to me right there, is why Sustainability, while sailing into and out of storms, fog, doldrums and fair weather is never going by the wayside. Because, clearly, show me an agricultural professional, captaining any kind of ship, who stops looking for the best way to be the operator, master and commander of every tool at their disposal and I will show you a crash of Titanic proportions. Nothing piled against the rocks is any longer sustainability material. What constitutes a ship wreck in the golf world? To me it's the sad sign of golf courses going away. Hitting the rocks for various reasons, but gone none the less.

Both ways, under capable hands, would produce a playing surface. Both could be talked about at the bar at the end of the day by golfers who don't know any better and be declared a win.

But if the ship is in the water, making waves, seeking cool ports and using its crew and every board foot of its waterline, it is, indeed Sustainable. Give up on Sustainable? Never. Our precious turfgrass demands it and further requires we don't label it and box it in so that we can claim technique over results.

As a student, assistant and superintendent, membership to the national association made sense to me. And for 15 years of independent consultant status, I paid the dues with not a lot of joy. And one day, after a very disappointing conversation with a GCSAA board member, I decided that there wasn't a benefit to me by belonging. It was, in effect, a silent protest. And a financial decision to take the money my business had budgeted for Dues and make sure that I was a member of several local chapters. And as a way of showing even more local support, I served on two boards as an affiliate (non-superintendent) member. Several terms. Worked hard. Won several awards. Took education seriously. Every year, I would consider national membership and just didn't see why. 

On Thursday, last week, I returned from the 2019 GIS and promptly wrote a couple notes to GCSAA staff members about how to go about becoming member number 013641 again. It was easy. David Phipps, GCSAA Field Staff Northwest sent me a note, a form and some instructions. Shelia Finney got involved.   On Monday, world came from Anthony Rittof at the Emerald City that not only was I quickly reinstated, but was allowed to rejoin as a Class A member.  Didn't expect that. At all. And no, I've been to The Masters, so that wasn't a driving factor.

On Thursday, last week, I returned from the 2019 GIS and promptly wrote a couple notes to GCSAA staff members about how to go about becoming member number 013641 again. It was easy.

 I don't care to go into the past too much. Lets just say, that as a young superintendent, I was very outspoken as a voting delegate and committee member. Especially as it came to the emerging technology and online interaction areas, where I felt that GCSAA was severely short sighted. For a time, I really wanted to be on the board and then, sand kicked in my face, I didn't. And I'll leave it at that. I spent decades being sour. Probably not helpful. 

Let's look at the current and the future. The Positive. And sure, I get that I would be a member for 34 years had I not taken the sabbatical.

Currently, I see the GCSAA as strong and getting stronger. Doing really good things with Chapter Relations and identity. I don't care much about politics, but I guess you can say that we are well represented in the golf world. I mentioned field staff. When this idea first bloomed, my first interaction with someone who filled this job made no sense. But since then, my interactions with the likes of David Phipps and Jeff Jensen have been outstanding. I have watched this program bloom at the hands of Steve Randall and his staff. Working and Winning. 

I spent decades being sour. Probably not helpful. 

I have good friends and industry contacts on the board in leadership positions. Darren Davis, whom I met years ago and recognized as a real talent. Good old friend Kevin Breen. Eternal good guy Rafael Barajas.  The esteemed T.A Barker. And the list goes on and on. Great people. Giving a lot of time and attention to help. 

Help. A key word that I see any association needs to embrace. Maybe a better word is Service. Being in Service to members. Being there to help everyone grow. That to me is the mark of a great association. Otherwise, you just have a big old Moose Lodge. Look, if our profession doesn't get help from as many sources as possible, we run the risk of always being the second class citizens. No one really wants to hear that they need that help, but from my 30,000 foot view, golf is still in trouble.

Being there to help everyone grow. That to me is the mark of a great association. Otherwise, you just have a big old Moose Lodge.

As I walked around the convention center in San Diego, what I saw  were some very happy members. People getting educated.  People networking. People involved in trade in a good way. I saw moves to help with inclusion (I'm not gonna talk about Cheerleaders, there are strong women in our association who can do that). I saw buyers on the trade show floor doing business. And I saw leaders and contributors being recognized and awarded. Not just for the sake of mutual admiration.

So, I am proudly, once again, GCSAA Member 013641. And it makes me very very happy to offer up my credit card number to pay for that privilege. 

I am 128% confident that you do not know that name. So, stop right now and hit this link. Do not read on until you have. Period. As soon as your eyes dry, I appreciate you reading on.

As many thousands of us prepare to roll into San Diego for the 2019 GIS, there is one thing that is very clear to me...Golf Does Great Things. Of that, there is not a question in my mind. Lets take the video you just watched and do a little deconstruction. Amy, gifted with Down Syndrome is 19 years old. She was recently awarded a scholarship to play golf at Paradise Valley Community College in Arizona. And I will bet Marking Foam to Stale Break Room Donuts that the day she was born, her parents didn't see that one coming. Nor could they imagine that their daughter would walk up to the 16th Hole at TPC Scottsdale and make a 3 in front of several thousand people. For the record, I would have been happy to make an 8. And the video, as I write this, is going semi-viral.

And I will bet Marking Foam to Stale Break Room Donuts that the day she was born, her parents didn't see that one coming.

In digging a little further, it looks like Amy got a chance to learn the sport by going to a kids camp sponsored by Arizona Special Olympics. She played at her high school. And she loves it. And she's won several other awards along her path to teeing it up with Gary Woodland at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

And that's just one story. One.

Golf changed my life. I wrote about one such realization when on a trip to Mexico to chill and do Yoga, I happened to end up on a booze cruise with a group of Mexican Caddies. In that moment, I sat and thought how really interesting life was and how Golf has helped. Pretty cool. My list of accomplishments, world place visits and the like is mostly tied to my association with the game and with Turfgrass.  And I am totally sure that when I was born, my parents would not have guessed that one. I often get blank stares from non-turf, non-golf initiates to me when I tell them that I have played golf on seven continents and consulted with Turfgrass on six of them in over 70 countries. Yeah. I'm a kid from a small town in the Colorado mountains. And when I shoveled my first scoop of topdressing sand, I had no idea.

But at the same time, the traditions, sportsmanship, ecology and overall greatness of the sport, need not be forgotten. Or gimmicked up. In truth, they need to be embraced and celebrated. Because when the combo is right, what we get is changed lives. Simple.

Last week, my twitter feed was filled with "new ideas" from the PGA Show. And clearly, you can see over the last few years, that side of the industry is trying all kinds of things to grow the game, keep fun in the game, etc. When I spoke up about some of the crazy ideas I read, a few Turfheads told me that there is nothing wrong with looking for change. And I agree. Totally. But at the same time, the traditions, sportsmanship, ecology and overall greatness of the sport, need not be forgotten. Or gimmicked up. In truth, they need to be embraced and celebrated. Because when the combo is right, what we get is changed lives. Simple.

I am really excited about the 2019 GIS. For many reasons. At the same time, it's hard for me. I'm not great in crowds. Too many hours without hearing protection make it hard to hear sometimes. My knees don't love the walking. And I seem to never be able to see all I want to see and meet all who I want to meet. But the good outweighs the bad. Big time. The whole thing is intensely personal for me. As I see people I have known for years, we get to talk about our lives. Our changed lives. Our directly impacted and made better lives. Golf can do this. Often in ways that no one expects. So for me, the personal stories of success and challenge and even failure or real and vivid and alive. What a thing!!! Seriously. I don't think that I even have the words to express what an impact this all has on the depths of my soul. 

This pic was taken at a conference we all ended up at and the best moment for me is right here. Brothers. Compadres. Friends. Acquaintances. Whatever the word. You are looking at 4 dudes who have been changed by the game. By the business. By every decision we all made in our relative paths to our goals. That's incredible.

The whole thing is intensely personal for me. As I see people I have known for years, we get to talk about our lives. Our changed lives. Our directly impacted and made better lives. Golf can do this.

Whatever climate or place in the world you are working. Whatever you are doing or not doing. Whatever your dreams and hopes are, lest you not forget that Golf changes lives.

What a thing. What an incredible and enormous thing. A sport "chasing a silly white ball" is that big and has the potential to be so much bigger.

1. Leave Your Clothes and Stuff at Home. Over packing is a sin. Don't be a sinner. You don't need 12 shirts, 12 pairs of pants, 12 sets of boxer and 6 pairs of shoes. No. Resist the temptation to take your whole wardrobe. 2 decent outfits. 2 casual outfits. 3 sets of undies. 2 pairs of shoes and a minimal toilet kit. I can travel for a month with this setup. So you can do a week. What does this mean? Yup, you'll have to do some laundry on the road. It will cost a few bucks, but even the lower end hotels can get this done for you. Bag check fees are steep. Laundry service is cheap. Rule: Take half the stuff you think you need and you will be just fine. Yes, this means that you may be seen in the same windshirt or blue blazer twice. Big deal. 

I laugh hard at the people who have themselves scheduled down to the minute. All it takes is two "old friends" to bump into you and that whole thing is out the window.

2. Shoes. It's a trade show. Bring your best most comfortable shoes. Fashion isn't important when you feet hurt so bad that you can't walk on day two. That new pair of running shoes that are supposed to be bomb for walking? Give them a good shakedown at the local mall before you put them in your bag. Ladies, heels? Nah. Forget it. Unless you are one of the 1 percent who can do that kind of thing. We all have lots of fun with shoes, its cool seeing what everyone wears. My Yeezys and my Chucks will be in my bag. My FootJoys? No joy. My Cole Hahn wingtips? Nope. Be a little outrageous. It's fun.

3. The Weather. San Diego can be all kinds of things. So even though I told you not to bring too much stuff, understand that the Southern California coast can be rainy this time of year and it can be really nice. Prepare yourself for both. Even though no one wants to see your white legs, some shorts are a good idea for evenings. And so is a jacket.

4. Tijuana. Don't. Just don't. Unless you really know what you are doing across the border, a trip into Mexico isn't worth it. If you absolutely have to, do some research and get up to speed on the latest scams. AND DO NOT take the rental car there. Likely you aren't insured and the insurance you can buy at the border isn't designed for cars that you don't actually own.

My Yeezys and my Chucks will be in my bag. My FootJoys? No joy. My Cole Hahn wingtips? Nope.

5. Just Say No. In the weeks leading up to the event, you are going to be inundated with people asking you to meet them, do things, come to things, etc. Guess what? You can't do it all. You just can't. I laugh hard at the people who have themselves scheduled down to the minute. All it takes is two "old friends" to bump into you and that whole thing is out the window. Think hard about the things and people that you want to spend time with. And then, honor those commitments. Saying a polite No is so much better than just not showing.There are 22 bazillion turfheads at this thing. They all want to see you. You can't do it all.

6. Uber Up, Pup. San Diego has not great taxi cabs and really good Uber and Lyft Service. Get both apps. Use them. It's by far the best way to get around. Think twice about a rental car. Parking is a hassle and can be expensive. Never use Uber before? There's a YouYube video for that somewhere.

7. Pay Your Own Way. Scenario... Five Turfheads sit down for a sandwich and a few beers. Tell the server right away that everyone needs their own checks. Don't wait until it's time to go to figure out the bill. Everyone is on some kind of expense deal and you don't want to be the one who is the nice person at the moment and then has to explain to the GM why you picked up the check for the gang from the clubs richer than yours. At the same time, don't be a douche and stick others with the bill. A class free move. Please understand your commercial friends are not the ATM. They probably have constraints on what they can spend, so finding the salesperson to pick up the bill may sound like a foxy move, but it is just plain skeezy. And the worst? Crashing a party you don't belong at. Yeah, I get it. You don't care for organic fertilizers, until you hear that the organic fertilizer people are buying free chicken wings and sushi and you show up to see whats up. Classless.

Please understand your commercial friends are not the ATM. They probably have constraints on what they can spend, so finding the salesperson to pick up the bill may sound like a foxy move, but it is just plain skeezy.

8. Get Smart. There are so many opportunities to see great speakers at this event. Don't miss them. Seriously. One of the things I hate the most is missing great talks. Show up early to get a seat and realize that its really hard to get as much knowledge in one place at one time. If you don't do yourself the honor of hearing some great talks, then what the hell are you doing there in the first place.

9. Too Much of A Good Time is a Bad Thing. Look, I get it. There are plenty of opportunities to be social at this event. Plenty. But if you think you are going to drink all the craft beer in San Diego, you are being stupid. Don't. Enjoy. Be happy. Get up the next morning early and see number 6 above. Once upon a time it was ok to show everyone that you were at the Golf Show to have the biggest hang over. Those days are over. Long ago.

10. Don't Be Shy. See someone you recognize or want to meet? See a nametag with a place on it that you either know about or want to know about? Say something! Introduce yourself. I think one of the best things in the whole wide world is meeting a Turfhead. Making some small talk about grass. Learning something about them. Want to hang with the same old people that you see at home all the time? That's cool for a moment. But why not meet some new friends? Make some impressions. Put some new email addresses in the smartphone. Do it.

11. Beer and Pretzels. If you miss out on the TurfNet gathering, then there is no excuse for you. Be there. Meet me. Meet Kevin Ross... and Hector and Kiger and Reitman and Paul and all of us. And find out that we just wanna try to learn about you. Get a selfie. Have a moment to talk a story or two. I'm spending about a grand of my own cash just to be there, because it's so important to me to embrace the TurfNet Culture and see my friends. (if you don't know where and when, check the TurfNet Forum or your email...it's an invite only thing.)

12. The Most Essential Piece of Gear? A battery pack and a charger cord. Seriously. Get on Amazon right now and get yourself a 10,000 mAh aux battery pack. It will be priceless. And a while you are at it, one or two new charger cords. Pack them in your man or woman purse. You'll thank me for this. You will.

That's it. That's the list. I will see you in San Diego. Well, Actually, I probably won't. But then again, who knows!!!

I think a lot of Turfheads are realizing that without their Mental Health, their Agronomy means nothing at all.

There has been a ton of talk lately about Mental Health. That's good. While I am not being on the overused phrase "Creating Awareness", I also know that most people will never get or understand the topic. They should count their blessings.

I have never been shy about writing and speaking about myself. A certain lack of filter, perhaps. Sometimes, a cry for help. Sadly, a need for attention, in hard moments. Often, a simple therapeutic technique to talk about the hardest things. But mostly I just don't get not being real. I lost a blog sponsor because I did too much "Wilber about Wilber" and I am still gobsmacked about why that was an issue at all. That one may never resolve in my mind. I think a lot of Turfheads are realizing that without their Mental Health, their Agronomy means nothing at all.

Fashion has become to speak about job stress and mental health. A lot of opinions about this area started to show up. One such opinion (the source doesn't matter) seemed really off to me, so I reached out to that person. As it turns out, they themselves have never experienced any Depression or Anxiety, but they were more than willing to talk about it to "create content". Oh, OK. So we had a very strong conversation...and my bottom line was that maybe they should stick to talking about something they actually had a clue about. This person had none. The "don't worry, be happy" method doesn't work, but they believed that it just might. 

I fought my depression battle for years in silent screaming. I was a true performer. I could rise to the occasion of a work day or an event and seem just fine. But the Black Dog attacked when I was alone, drawing blood, but leaving no visible marks. And that was my life from my early 20's until just before I turned 40. It worked. I managed it. And then I had my first episode of chronic pain. In my case, it was a knee injury caused by playing Paintball with some people lots younger than me. I came home from that day with golf ball sized welts all over me, and a badly messed up knee. However, just as I had managed the pain between my ears in silence, I also tried that with my busted wheel. A botched surgery and I endured even more. And on. And on. That was the start of me reaching what is called in clinical settings my distress management profile maximum. Simply, I ran out of tools and my body chemistry had taken over.

I have really good hindsight. We all do. And so it is easy to see now where I could have asked for help. Could have stopped trying to grind it out. Could have stopped faking it to make it. Another term I despise. What I also know now is that depression will never really leave me. It's around. It hangs out and waits until my triggers get pulled. And the Black Dog bites. Hard. But now, I let it happen. I realize what I did or did not do and I manage the situation. I have a tool set all stocked. My particular set of tools is unique. It works for me. It won't work for anyone else. Maybe parts of it might. But my own tank mix is my own. So it does no good for me to tell you the steps. To tell you when I use what for what. It's doubtful it would even make sense.

I fought my depression battle for years in silent screaming. I was a true performer. I could rise to the occasion of a work day or an event and seem just fine. But the Black Dog attacked when I was alone, drawing blood, but leaving no visible marks.

Through the discovery of my depression first aid kit, I intersected with a lot of different ideas and people. But for sure, without a doubt, the ones that helped the most and offered the best ideas were the ones who were there themselves. That was a key. You can't know the attack of the grizzly bear, until you have been bitten by one yourself and until you have learned to pet the bear and teach it tricks. Until you have stood in the river and fished with it, you can't know how to peacefully coexist with it. Some of my "helpers" were well studied, and that gave them much insight. But they lacked the scars themselves. And I learned to tell. Kind of like when we realize that someone giving us grass growing advice has only really ever mowed their own lawn at their home. They don't know the first thing about the preparation of a high quality sport playing surface.

So...why write all this. Simple. I'm telling you that if any of the talk about depression, anxiety, mental health, suicide or anything along those lines has resonated with you then you owe it to yourself to find qualified counsel. To seek help. To be honest with yourself and your loved ones about your silent screams. And to realize that the beginning of your awareness is also the beginning of a journey. You will stumble. You will fall. You will create affirmations. People who you think should understand you won't understand you. You will have amazing days where you could never imagine anything was ever wrong. And you will have darkness so dark that you won't think the sun will rise ever again.

How do I know? I've been there. I am there. And I am glad to be vulnerable and share so that you can realize that if you or someone you know is faced with this, there are answers. 

(If you are feeling like suicide is the only way out, please Call 1-800-273-8255, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline. Help is there 24/7. How do I know? I've been there!)

Like most supers in Colorado, late November and early December had me playing the guessing game of applying snow mold protection and blowing out the irrigation system. Go too late and there can be absolute hell to pay. Go too early and well, there can be absolute hell to pay. In my situation, it was worse, as I had been growing in a course and we were pushing just as hard to get things up and growing as is possible. So the idea of hardening off into happy grass dormant wonderland was not happening. 

I'll back up a bit. I had taken this impossible job where I was handling the finish of construction, grassing and grow in. My staff was 6 people. Yup, that's how we did it back then. A bizarre form of minimalism based on not having any money because the project spent all the money on entrance signs and clubhouse designs. We reverse change-ordered the general contractor and took the job over. Insanity. And I didn't know better. I was 24 years old.

A bizarre form of minimalism based on not having any money because the project spent all the money on entrance signs and clubhouse designs.

So it's December. And we are way behind. Way way behind. And I think to myself, what else could go wrong? Yeah... a bad thought. But you won't guess what's coming.

We had finished the snow mold sprays. We had blown out most of the irrigation system in a minor snowstorm, with just one small section to go that I wanted to leave on to try to get some last chance water on the last holes we had seeded. It had been cold, but clear and I needed the water.

We had managed to just about make it to some kind of seasonal stopping point. I was re-wiring an irrigation clock and a huge windstorm began. One of those kind of crazy Colorado winds that starts slowly and suddenly builds to "name your dog Toto" kind of intensity. Me and my red slippers, aka Red Wing boots, were hunkered down behind the clock, dirt in my eyes. Cold as the wicked witch's nipples and I thought I heard something. I wasn't about to break from my place of protection. So maybe it was just a flying cow or something. 

I'd say the microburst lasted about 5 minutes. It seemed like an hour. It went from windy from a general direction to just outright swirling around me. I looked at some trees that were looking like those silly dancing men that car dealerships put in front of their places to entice you to look again. When it stopped a little I looked up. Happy that a tree didn't fall on me and something in my field of view didn't seem right. At all.

In the distance, an object. A huge one. Right in the middle of a tee box area. My brain took a moment to take in the scene and all at once, my entire system said, "airplane". I was looking at the remains of an airplane. Tail section in the air. Wings crumpled. I froze. Because back in those days there were no cell phones in my pocket to call anyone or start shooting video with and for what I am sure was just a brief moment, I totally froze. And then it occurred to me that I ought to see if anyone was alive. And so I started running. Not really knowing what I would do when I got there.

And then it occurred to me that I ought to see if anyone was alive. And so I started running...

(This is the part where, in any decent blog post, a picture of a plane crash on the golf course should be. I don't have any pics of any of this. The roll of slides that I took was mishandled somehow and the film was exposed. And I don't feel like putting a pic of another crash is in good taste.)

Being first on the scene isn't always a good thing. It was pretty clear to me that I just ran up on two dead guys. One body was completely decapitated. One had a steering yoke through his chest. My CPR training on a dummy with fake boobs and nice complexion didn't include the chapter on dudes with missing heads and stuff in their chest where you were supposed to be doing "compressions". Clearly it was time to back away. The smell of fuel punctuated this idea.

The resulting circus was crazy. Others had seen the plane go down and had managed to call 911. And so from a back road to the property, the first responders rolled in. The first fire guy that I dealt with was pretty much an asshole telling me to get the hell out of there as he cut a barbed wire fence and motioned for this huge truck to drive right up on a newly seeded area. The truck promptly sunk to its wheel wells. Earning me even more yells from Joe Volunteer Fire Dude. As if I meant for the truck to submarine. (it took two huge tow trucks to free the fire beast, but that's another story)

Another truck took out a sprinkler head and of course it was pressurized. Old Faithful drenched everyone around as the wind played the shot perfect and sent water all over the scene. I ran for a valve key and got that one handled. But not before the whole world was yelling at me.

My afternoon was spent trying to manage traffic from police, fire, news and NTSB people. The National Transportation Safety Board guys ended up being really cool. But I think in the beginning, they were as pissed off as I was at the muddy carnage that the scene had become. A day later when they interviewed me for the their reports, they laughed at me when I described the scene I saw upon first reaching the plane. "This wasn't even a bad one", the investigator said. And I replied something to the effect of only one missing head must be a blessing, or some such. 

Years later, when I got my pilot's license I often thought about the headless and chestless dudes that, according to the NTSB, made a bad decision to fly that day in conditions that their plane couldn't handle. And I vowed to become a student of the weather and the situation I would be flying in. No matter what. What this ultimately did was show me that unless my backyard oil well came in, I couldn't afford to buy the aircraft that would be awesome enough to make me more efficient than Southwest airlines. But I still love everything about aviation. 

So when people talk about December Turfhead things, those discussions usually lead to snow mold and irrigation. I tend to remember plane crashes, which I'm glad everyone else doesn't have in their brains.

Call it experimental or explorational or just plan fun. Kevin and I sit down for a session. And no topic is off limits. With more than 60 years of combined experience in direct hands on agronomy life, there is bound to be some wisdom. And good chops to hear.

This session includes riffs around Tiger Woods, Anxiety and Depression, Clipping Volume and more.

The mics and recorders are on.  You get to enjoy The Jam.

Armen Suny and host Dave Wilber turn their thinking amps up to 11

From sand-based greens to robotic mowers. From chaining old rollers near golf shops to perfect biology. And more. When Armen and Dave sit and jam, anything can and usually does happen. 

Enjoy this episode as a way to get motivated as the Spring of 2018 is upon us!!

The Turfgrass Zealot Project is only on TurfNet.com. And ANYONE can listen!