Slow and steady progress... and TurfNet TV

Another week has gone by and the weather continues to be Topsy Turvy. A few brushes with Fall and cold mornings but the afternoons have been stellar. I was fortunate to be on the outer Cape this week taking advantage of this weather. We have rotated with two clubs for the September meeting of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of Cape Cod for years. It is a win win as a member. Either coming out to MV and playing two nine-holers or the outer cape and playing two there. We play Highland Links in Truro and then Chequessett in Wellfleet. You could not ask for a more enjoyable day of golf and camaraderie. We had a briefing from Ed Nash, former Superintendent of the Yarmouth town courses now retired, on the Cape Cod Commission's plans and passing of their DCPC on fertilizer use. Interesting times here on the Cape and Islands and as usual regulators are going after the low hanging fruit first. Fertilizer restrictions are coming to your doorstep so be ready. The meetings continue and the information is changing often. I will do my best to stay informed and let you know what happens on the Cape and when it will make it's way out here.

Yours truly at Highland links

Classic and worth the trip

The fairways and tees continue to improve. It has been a bit on the dry side but good grass growing weather. I am watering to promote recovery but we continue to see spikes in salinity in our well so the fight goes on. They are predicting rain for Sunday which will be unfortunate for the Hospice event but we sure could use the rain.

I often mention TurfNet here and some of you are aware of the web based forum that I belong and participate. It was started in 1994 by Peter McCormick after he lost his job selling iron (turf equipment, for the layperson). It evolved into an international membership and the premiere place to banter with colleagues to solve problems, learn about the latest issues, take webinars, sell or buy used equipment, post a job opening etc. With the addition of Randy Wilson and his cast, TurfNet TV has become a major stress release as Randy takes popular threads from the forum and spins them into hilarious parodies. Here is an introduction:

My roommate from Bandon Dunes, last year and again this year, Jon Kiger paid me a visit a couple of weeks ago. As one of his TurfNet duties he films a series called Tips and Tricks. These are short videos of little things we may utilize on our own course to save time or money and may be of use on another course. He asked if he could film a few for this series. Being my roomie it was a natural for him to stay with me so he planned his visit of two nights with a full day here and then a morning on Nantucket filming there before returning to Atlanta. We had a blast filming these and you may have seen us or even been invited to provide some "B roll" for these segments. At the end he asked if I would be interested in filming a spoof as an homage to Randy and his crew. I, of course, said yes since I am a huge fan of Randy's work. This was supposed to be for Randy's eyes only on premise but soon morphed into him taking the footage and weaving in some of his material and working his magic. I give you my debut on film: