In this episode of Living Legends sponsored by Nufarm and Wiedenman, Jim Husting, recently retired from Woodbridge Golf and Country Club in California, talks about how the job of the golf course superintendent has changed since the 1980s.

Jim also discusses the challenges associated with finding and retaining labor, his role in government relations and how it helped the golf industry on the local level in California and why he enjoys teaching turf and horticulture after retirement.

Editor's note: Dick is an avid fisherman, and the background noise that sounds like line stripping off a fishing reel is the alert system on his cell phone.

Dick Gray, superintendent at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida, talks about career longevity, managing three golf courses, career successes and mistakes and why he went back to college to earn a master’s degree in the hospitality field.

The 2016 TurfNet Superintendent of the Year, Gray also discusses coaching and training his staff and why a superintendent is only as good as his team. He also relates how people like Pete Dye have influenced his career and how at age 75 he still has a lot left in the tank. 

Finally, Gray also talks about the role of activities like snook fishing and “wrasslin” in high school and college in his native Indiana on his career as a greenkeeper.

In his second season at Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois, Steve Cook chats with host John Reitman about lessons learned through a long career spanning some of the top courses throughout the Midwest. Steve talks about tournament prep for high-level events like this year's BMW Championship at Medinah and the 2004 Ryder Cup Matches at Oakland Hills in Michigan and his time volunteering for the 2017 Solheim Cup at Des Moines Golf and Country Club.

Steve also talks about the life lessons he's learned as a superintendent and while climbing mountains around the world, like Ama Dablam in the Himalayas in 2015 and how hanging from a 22,000-foot summit has helped him finally strike a balance between work and life.

In this episode of Living Legends, Bob Zoller of Monterey Peninsula Country Club in Pebble Beach, California discusses his long career that started before the July 4, 1976 Bicentennial in one of the country's top golf destinations.

He also discusses golf turf management as a family legacy as well as some of the challenges facing superintendents around the Monterey Peninsula, including drought and water issues. He also talks about the importance of mentoring others and the many superintendents who came up through the ranks working for him. He concludes by discussing his passion for vintage American muscle cars, including a 1964 Chevrolet Corvette.

In this episode of Living Legends, George Thompson, CGCS, talks about his lengthy career on the golf course as a superintendent. Topics of discussion include career mentors, including Joe Troll, Ph.D., at his alma mater - the University of Massachusetts, mentoring others and how management standards and golfer demands have changed through the years.

He also talks about his current role mentoring the next generation of golf course superintendents as an educator at Sandhills Community College in Pinehurst, North Carolina.

In this episode of Living Legends, presented by the Nufarm Insider, host John Reitman chats with Steve Ehrbar, superintendent at Jupiter Hills Club in Tequesta, FL, about his career path from deep Ohio roots to several locations around southern Florida, and working for Jim Loke and Jack Nicklaus.

In this episode of Living Legends, presented by the Nufarm Insider, host John Reitman chats with Dr. Al Turgeon, retired professor emeritus of turfgrass management at The Pennsylvania State University.

Turgeon learned a work ethic early on in his father's restaurant and then developed a love of the outdoors and turfgrass by working for his uncle, Bruno Vadala, at Metropolis Country Club in White Plains, NY.

A stint in VietNam as an Army helicopter pilot gave him a new perspective on life and he turned his attention to teaching.

One of his more recent accomplishments before his 2011 retirement was spearheading the development of Penn State's World Campus distance learning program.

From when he first started caddying at Muirfield Village while in high school, Phil Shoemaker has spent most of his career within a stone's throw of Jack Nicklaus. In this episode of Living Legends, host John Reitman chats with Phil about his first stint at Desert Highlands in 1982 through moves to the Loxahatchie Club in Jupiter, Florida, TPC Scottsdale and back to Desert Highlands in 1999... where he remains today.

Phil attributes much of his career success to luck and timing... being in the right place at the right time, knowing what you want and being willing to embrace change when the opportunity presents itself.

Spend a half hour with Phil Shoemaker and John Reitman.

In this first audiocast in our Living Legends series on retired superintendents who made a difference, John Reitman chats with Ted Horton about his days at Winged Foot, Westchester CC and Pebble Beach ... and the impact he had across the industry.

Presented by Nufarm. Visit NufarmInsider.com to get all the latest information on golf course management products from Nufarm.

In this episode of Living Legends, Where Are They Now, host John Reitman chats with Joe Alonzi, CGCS, who retired in 2014 after 22 years at the storied Westchester Country Club. A superintendent for over 40 years, Alonzi is well known for having mentored many assistants who went on to successful head superintendent jobs in their own right.

Straddling the villages of Harrison and Rye, just north of New York City, Westchester Country Club is on the top shelf of golf course superintendent jobs. It boasts 36 holes designed by Walter Travis, a nine-hole executive course, and a history that rivals just about any other club in the country. It was a PGA Tour site for more than 30 years, and past members include names like Johnny Carson and Jackie Gleason.

With a hotel, an Olympic-sized saltwater pool, squash and tennis facilities, more than 6 miles of roads and a beach club located 5 miles away from the main clubhouse, Westchester is more like a small city than a mere country club.

In this episode of Living Legends:  Where are they now? host John Reitman chats with career superintendent, mentor-to-many and current "international agronomy consultant", Dick Bator. 

Bator's superintendent career included stops at Pine Valley, Merion and Oakmont. Over those years he mentored -- some may say 'tormented' -- many assistants who went on to careers as head superintendents. 

He shares with us some of what made him tick, and advice for today. Some takeaways:

• I hired good people, but pushed them and taught them survival tactics
• Know the importance of detail work
• Learn to delegate
• Work in the trenches; I always did
• Know where you’re weak; hire people to fill those gaps
• Don’t mess up your personal life like I did. Too many divorces (3). Personal and family life is more important than the job. Biggest disappointment of my life.
• Always seek out help; never stop learning
• Today, I learn from every superintendent that I do consulting work for; and many are former assistants.

In this episode of Living Legends, presented by the Nufarm Insider, host John Reitman chats with David Stone, recently retired superintendent at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, TN.  Stone had been at The Honors Course since construction in 1982 (that's 35 years for anyone counting) and until his retirement was the only superintendent The Honors Course had ever known.

Spend a half hour getting to know David and gain from his wisdom garnered over his career as a golf course superintendent.

In this episode of Living Legends, presented by the Nufarm Insider, host John Reitman chats with Dr, Karl Danneberger of Ohio State about his knack for engaging an audience, telling stories, his love of the game of golf, a bit about the challenges facing people entering the industry, and his special off-topic interest...

In this episode of Living Legends, presented by the Nufarm Insider, host John Reitman has a wide-ranging chat with Matt Shaffer, recently retired from Merion Golf Club, host of the 2013 U.S. Open.

Matt's retrospective includes his Penn State education and mentors there... the Latshaw Connection interwoven through his career... pushing the agronomic envelope and living on the edge... the cost of obscurity and value of a pedigree... doors that exceeding expectations will open... having money and resources at your disposal, or not... learning from defeats and charging on to your next victory... how a great club membership makes a huge difference... never holding a grudge.

The compensation/aggravation ratio of being a superintendent... the physical toll of hosting a Major... finding work/life balance.

Spend 45 minutes with Matt Shaffer, who pulls no punches. A fascinating conversation.

In this episode of Living Legends, presented by the Nufarm Insider, host John Reitman chats with Bob Farren, director of golf course maintenance at the Pinehurst Resort. With nine courses, seven superintendents and up to 250 full and part-time staff, management of the Pinehurst courses seems a daunting task, but one which Farren takes in stride.

Spend a half hour learning about how one of the most visible people in golf turf management became so, starting with his family involvement growing up in West Virginia and moving along to mentoring and developing an army of former assistants.

Farren weighs in on how the industry and superintendent responsibilities have changed over the years, and if he were King for a Day, what he would do to "fix" golf. For one, he would start by eliminating out of bounds from the game.