"Do what you have to do" Rant Cancel The title field is required!

1. Kirby Keltner

   

   0 posts
   
   6/1/2016 12:06 PM

   As many of you know our jobs are never over. Many of us work from sun up to sun down with little to no recognition and as soon as something goes wrong the village people come knocking at your door. I'm so sick and tired of working 80+ hours a week to try to bring the best conditions I possibly can to have someone turn around and complain that the rough is too thick, or the greens are too hard. That's right, the greens are too hard. I thought I had heard them all before I came here but apparently providing fast, firm greens doesn't cut it. They have to be fast, firm, and soft. This all on top of my pumphouse blowing up because they were so cheap they wouldn't do regular maintenance on it before I showed up.
   It just really gets to me when I am working my life away trying to keep greens alive by watering with a 150gal multipro 1100, have a crew of 4, and they are complaining that the rough is to thick. It all gets cut once a week because they won't give me any more money to hire another mower. I have 2 mowers. But only enough man power to have 1 guy mowing. Not to mention that the fairways here grow out of control and I have to mow 30 acres 3 times a week or I am bailing. Or that the newest piece of equipment in the barn is a '07 with most of it being '03 or older.
   This all comes on top of being complimented by complete strangers that I have the best greens they have seen in the county or surrounding counties and one of the nicest courses they have played all year. Not trying to pat myself on the back because I hate the way the course looks right now but to have total strangers drive out of their way to tell me how much they love the course and to then have people complain and moan about the rough or the greens being to hard. I'm glad they have high standards but when push comes to shove I don't get why no one understands that the thickness of the rough is the last thing on my mind when %30 of my greens are brown.
   
   How many years until I can retire?

   
   
   
   
2. Michael Wagner

   

   0 posts
   
   6/1/2016 1:06 PM

   I feel you brother. My golf pro told me the other day that the greens were too hard. That's right. I said my golf pro. SMH Apparantly it's impossible to please anyone these days. I just keep things green and the way I would want them to be and take all the criticism in stride. It's not worth stressing about it.

   
   
   
   
3. Joshua Sawyer

   

   0 posts
   
   6/2/2016 6:06 AM

   I just recently had a discussion with my GM about this job as being bipolar...you get built up by the visiting group (or PGA Tour Pro) complementing your course, only to be cut off at the ankles by a member complaining about a bare spot under a 75' pine tree with no irrigation.
   
   It's crazy, frustrating, but what else am I gonna do?...I daydream of working at Taco Bell...
   
   And by the way, who gets to retire these days?

   
   
   
   
4. Melvin Waldron

   

   43 posts
   
   6/2/2016 7:06 AM

   Joshua Sawyer said: I just recently had a discussion with my GM about this job as being bipolar...you get built up by the visiting group (or PGA Tour Pro) complementing your course, only to be cut off at the ankles by a member complaining about a bare spot under a 75' pine tree with no irrigation.
   
   It's crazy, frustrating, but what else am I gonna do?...[b]I daydream of working at Taco Bell...[/b]
   
   And by the way, who gets to retire these days?

   
   
   Don't be so sure about that, my son just took a job at the local McD's, I think he like the job, interaction with people, he is getting cross trained at register and grill, likes the people he works with, (day shift, many long term employees, older), but in this short time he gets frustrated too. Will be doing one job that one manger sent him to do and then pulled off in the middle of it to do another job.
   
   Mel

   
   Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO
   
   
5. Sean Hoolehan

   

   0 posts
   
   6/2/2016 8:06 AM

   Kirby,
   
   
   
   Let the greens stay firm until you get the pump house working, don't even worry about that because it is out of your hands until it is fixed. Why do they need pump improvements as long as you can keep it going.
   
   My bet is your course is in great shape, i can tell you care a lot about it. Talk to who ever is your boss at the course. Share your frustrations about the state of the budget professionally and document the effects now while the heat is on. Call a equipment distributor and get a demo on a new rough mower or fairway or what ever is the most critical. Trust me you get a demo rough mower out now and show them the difference it makes it's funny how the money can appear. Ask about a part-time employee to do a specific job that is not getting done (like mowing more rough). Always tie your budget money to a task that way they never cut money but a task and if they want to add a task they have to add money.
   
   Stop working 80 hrs a week. That's 11.5 hours a day. Just for a point of reference, workers in Russia in the early 1900's won the concession from the government that they only had to work 12 hour days with Sunday off. That's 8 hours less than you are working a week. In fact this was common in many country's back then, so why are golf course superintendents working 80 hrs a week in 2016? No one is making us work that much. Some how we are brain washed into thinking this is the expected norm. Maybe a week or 2 during a major tournement like the US Open, but this is unhealthy. Take a day off and do something fun, trust me it will make you feel a lot better about work.
   
   Lastly Kirby i want you to know you are not alone, right now there are probably 500+ other superintendents who feel the same way you do. Its a crazy cycle we work in and hard for anyone else to appreciate. Your rant helps us all to better understand the pressure we work under. Retirement is a funny thing when you consider how many retired guys we superintendents hire. You will survive.
   
   Best wishes,
   Sean

   
   
   
   
6. Curtis Nickerson

   

   0 posts
   
   6/2/2016 11:06 AM

   Sean Hoolehan, CGCS said: Kirby,
   
   
   
   Let the greens stay firm until you get the pump house working, don't even worry about that because it is out of your hands until it is fixed. Why do they need pump improvements as long as you can keep it going.
   
   My bet is your course is in great shape, i can tell you care a lot about it. Talk to who ever is your boss at the course. Share your frustrations about the state of the budget professionally and document the effects now while the heat is on. Call a equipment distributor and get a demo on a new rough mower or fairway or what ever is the most critical. Trust me you get a demo rough mower out now and show them the difference it makes it's funny how the money can appear. Ask about a part-time employee to do a specific job that is not getting done (like mowing more rough). Always tie your budget money to a task that way they never cut money but a task and if they want to add a task they have to add money.
   
   Stop working 80 hrs a week. That's 11.5 hours a day. Just for a point of reference, workers in Russia in the early 1900's won the concession from the government that they only had to work 12 hour days with Sunday off. That's 8 hours less than you are working a week. In fact this was common in many country's back then, so why are golf course superintendents working 80 hrs a week in 2016? No one is making us work that much. Some how we are brain washed into thinking this is the expected norm. Maybe a week or 2 during a major tournement like the US Open, but this is unhealthy. Take a day off and do something fun, trust me it will make you feel a lot better about work.
   
   Lastly Kirby i want you to know you are not alone, right now there are probably 500+ other superintendents who feel the same way you do. Its a crazy cycle we work in and hard for anyone else to appreciate. Your rant helps us all to better understand the pressure we work under. Retirement is a funny thing when you consider how many retired guys we superintendents hire. You will survive.
   
   Best wishes,
   Sean

   
   
   Well said Sean!

   
   
   
   
7. Mark Newton

   

   1 posts
   
   6/2/2016 11:06 AM

   Feel your pain Kirby, if you look back in the pages you will see one of my posts last year on constant complaints on our greens being "soft" and "slow", was very close to quitting the industry last August. Luckily was able to rid our course of the 10 vocal members that were complaining every day and admitted that they just didnt like me and wanted me fired. Well since those 10 were kicked out and my GM fired, now this year all I hear is my greens are too hard and fast. Funny how things change in less than a year.
   
   Golfers, pros and Gm's are like we are with the weather... aka never happy and always wanting to complain on something. Its too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry, too much sun, not enough sun... other hand, greens too hard, too soft, too slow, too fast etc...
   
   As I get more years under me I have come to the realization that we will never please some people even working 80-100 hours a week we cant please them. I have learned like Sean said to limit my hours worked per week, enjoy life and family and when I take days off they are truly days off.
   
   Best of luck Kirby, keep your head up and remember Christmas and winter are only 205 short days away!
   
   -Mark Newton, CGCS

   
   
   
   
8. Marshall Brown

   

   0 posts
   
   6/2/2016 11:06 AM

   Many good points Kirby, but wait till the mandatory overtime kicks in for salary employees, for hours worked over 40. That's when they will start stuttering!!! The more you do the more they expect. I had an old friend once tell me to work for what I am getting paid, guess what, that is exactly what I do after 20 yrs in this crazy dam business..........

   
   
   
   
9. Gregory Bliek

   

   0 posts
   
   6/2/2016 12:06 PM

   Kirby, my thoughts exactly....word for word. Thank God for my wife and kids! They still love me even if my greens are too anything. I think this industry is going downhill fast. Unlike my green speeds

   
   
   
   
10. Ronald Conard

    

    4 posts
    
    6/2/2016 2:06 PM

    Hey you could be a zoo keeper that shot a gorilla to save a kid and be raked over the coals for it. Same, same no matter what walk of life. That is if you do something for a living. I've found those that never had to produce can't wrap their head around what we do, so they feel licensed to complain about the one thing in a thousand we couldn't get to yet.
    
    i just consider it fodder for the practice of letting go. Even though its tough sometimes.

    
    
    
    
11. Andy Jorgensen

    

    1 posts
    
    6/3/2016 1:06 PM

    When times get tough, I always break this out.....good reminder.
    
    "This is the Week that Was - A Greenkeepers Diary"
    
    Monday - Want to spray bad dollar spot on greens. Cushman won't work. Sprayer won't work. I don't want to work. Nobody else wants to work. Two of the crew stayed home and did not work. Just had a phone call. The Junior Golfers are to have a shotgun start on both nines at 8:30. Hung up in caller's face. Should not have had that last beer last night. Mowed greens and tried not to notice that the cups needed changing and the dollar spot is even worse that I thought. Did not mow 13. Hate it. Between the winterkill, the oil spill kill and the disease, we ought to tow it to the SPCA and have it put to sleep. Chairman left a message in the pro shop to get in touch with him at once. He better not hold his breath. Hit 95 by late afternoon. Late for supper, wife mad, supper lousy, I'm mad. Watered ‘til dark. Showered and went to bed. Wife sexy - I'm not.
    
    Tuesday – Went in at daylight – the air feels like a police dog's breath. Got the sprayer working. Can't figure out why the chemical companies package dusty chemical in bags that are impossible to open without getting it all over yourself and the sprayer, not to mention breathing it. The cheapest cereal on the market is packaged in easy to open and close containers. We all should go to granular – that would snap their eyes open. Fairway tractor stuck in wet spot right next to the huge localized dry spot the crew calls Iran. Why are there so many cars in the club lot? The Pro Shop says it's the ladies Member-Guest transferred from another club that had a fire in their kitchen. I think I will set one in ours and let them eat at Burger King. Went home early – slept through supper. Wife mad again, too tired to be mad. Mowed rough ‘til dark. Showered and ate cold, leftover supper. Felt sexy – wife still mad from early evening. Lost interest.
    
    Wednesday – Slept late, went in at 7:00. Changed cups 18 greens, hit 14 rocks. No record, but close. Thirteen green had a disease that looked like vomit. On close inspection, it was vomit – what a relief! You can always hose off vomit. Birds working on greens. How many cutworms does it take to fill up a crow? I think their mother was raped by a rooster the way they scratch with their black toenails and dig with their beaks. The member who owns the ice cream plant told me we need more sand in the traps. I told him his maple walnut needs more nuts. He said "times are tough" – I agree. Went in the club for a cup of coffee and the manager asked me if I knew anything about the septic backing up. Left without getting coffee. Fairly normal afternoon except we are down to one Cushman. Are flat tires contagious? Home for supper at the right time for a change – no one is home. Note says heat a TV dinner. Go down to the Old Eagle Inn and wash a steak down with a half-dozen "hinnies". Finish mowing rough. Wife mad. Don't care, sleep on floor after watching Sands of Iwo Jima. Love Big Duke.
    
    Thursday – My yellow crud is back. Every year it comes the end of July. Interesting light green spots get weaker looking turning yellow…then gray…then dead. Some say it is Fusarium, some say Anthracnose, some say Funose. Wife says it is my imagination. My Assistant got rid of the persistent red leaf spot patch on the practice green. He cut it with an eight inch patcher and threw it in the pond. Sure is wonderful what they teach you at the University of Rhode Island…
    
    
    Who knows what happened Friday.

    
    
    
    
12. Steven Huffstutler

    

    11 posts
    
    6/3/2016 2:06 PM

    This isn't my first career and I will say that in my experience, they are all the same. I say quit that shitty job and go get another shitty job.
    
    Regards,
    
    Steve

    
    
    
    
13. Bedford Mike P

    
    6/3/2016 5:06 PM

    Andy Jorgensen said: When times get tough, I always break this out.....good reminder.
    "This is the Week that Was - A Greenkeepers Diary

    
    Thanks for that, Andy. Funny and sad at the same time.
    Sorry for the spot you're in, Kirby. I guess we all hit the wall sometimes, but pulling down 80+ hours a week it just becomes a matter of when, and how often (and how hard) you hit it.
    I think Sean's post summed it up perfectly, and I'm a big fan of his approach of linking budget dollars with tasks. It makes it much easier to present to a GM or board or committee: "This is the budget, these are tasks and man hours needed. What don't you want me to do?".
    I'm just an EM, but I've spent my share of nights sleeping in the shop on bags of seed after prepping equipment for a tournament. Then helping set the course at 0-dark thirty. Never again.
    Best of luck, Sir, take some time for you and yours.

    
    
    
    
14. Larry Allan

    

    0 posts
    
    6/4/2016 8:06 AM

    Mike P Bedford said:

    Andy Jorgensen said: When times get tough, I always break this out.....good reminder.
    "This is the Week that Was - A Greenkeepers Diary

    
    Thanks for that, Andy. Funny and sad at the same time.
    Sorry for the spot you're in, Kirby. I guess we all hit the wall sometimes, but pulling down 80+ hours a week it just becomes a matter of when, and how often (and how hard) you hit it.
    I think Sean's post summed it up perfectly, and I'm a big fan of his approach of linking budget dollars with tasks. It makes it much easier to present to a GM or board or committee: "This is the budget, these are tasks and man hours needed. What don't you want me to do?".
    I'm just an EM, but I've spent my share of nights sleeping in the shop on bags of seed after prepping equipment for a tournament. Then helping set the course at 0-dark thirty. Never again.
    Best of luck, Sir, take some time for you and yours.

    
    Mike, never say you are "Just an EM" I'm just a super. I may be able to take over my assisants job or cut greens in a pinch but, I need stitches and plastic surgery every time I try to turn a wrench. You guys are the backbone of the operation without which, everything stops dead.

    
    
    
    
15. Bedford Mike P

    
    6/4/2016 10:06 AM

    Thanks Larry, point well taken.
    There's not a job on any course that should be qualified with "just".

    
    
    
    
16. Curtis Nickerson

    

    0 posts
    
    6/4/2016 4:06 PM

    Larry Allan said:

    Mike P Bedford said:

    Andy Jorgensen said: When times get tough, I always break this out.....good reminder.
    "This is the Week that Was - A Greenkeepers Diary

    
    Thanks for that, Andy. Funny and sad at the same time.
    Sorry for the spot you're in, Kirby. I guess we all hit the wall sometimes, but pulling down 80+ hours a week it just becomes a matter of when, and how often (and how hard) you hit it.
    I think Sean's post summed it up perfectly, and I'm a big fan of his approach of linking budget dollars with tasks. It makes it much easier to present to a GM or board or committee: "This is the budget, these are tasks and man hours needed. What don't you want me to do?".
    I'm just an EM, but I've spent my share of nights sleeping in the shop on bags of seed after prepping equipment for a tournament. Then helping set the course at 0-dark thirty. Never again.
    Best of luck, Sir, take some time for you and yours.

    
    Mike, never say you are "Just an EM" I'm just a super. I may be able to take over my assisants job or cut greens in a pinch but, I need stitches and plastic surgery every time I try to turn a wrench. You guys are the backbone of the operation without which, everything stops dead.

    
    
    Larry nailed it!

    
    
    
    
17. Sandy Clark

    

    0 posts
    
    6/7/2016 10:06 AM

    Kirby, I echo Sean's comments about your hours. Your health and well being come first. We put more stress on ourselves than anyone around us. You would be surprised how many things we fret over that nobody else notices or even cares about. Always keep in mind that doing your best is key but we are not trying to perform surgery on someones brain or heart, we are not trying to land astronauts and bring them home from some distant planet. We maintain a recreational facility for others enjoyment. I have learned over my very long career that the client shouldn't be the only one to enjoy our efforts, we need to enjoy what we do and everyday we do it. The course will always be there tomorrow. Don't physically and mentally kill yourself. Good communication and a lot of teaching to those around you will be required to get to this state of mind but always remember, not to downplay our profession, we are just maintaining a golf facility. Others lives don't depend on us. Unlike s surgeon, nobody is going to die if something doesn't get done today. Hang in there, communicate, delegate and like Sean said, get some equipment out there to look at and once they see what a mere piece of equipment can do to make things look better, you may be surprised at the response. Great work ethic, just don't let this job kill you!

    
    
    
    
18. James Smith

    

    112 posts
    
    6/13/2016 10:06 AM

    Kirby, you need to back your hours down. Sixty would still be too much. Your club will continue to abuse you as long as you will allow it. Don't be that guy!
    If your fairways are growing that much you need to start spraying growth regulators. just add up the cost of man hours and fuel as well as wear and tear and you will see its cheaper and better to use the growth regulators.
    
    A few years ago I had to stalk to my whole board about me not working every weekend. at the time I was doing it because of how little money we had but after 6-8 months I had enough and told them while in a board meeting. I simply said that I was not going to work every weekend anymore. I would work every other weekend and if they wanted to make sure that my off weekends were taken care of they would have to pay my equipment tech/assistant over time to do it. they had one person on the board against the overtime, the treasurer and he was over ruled big time.

    
    
    
    
19. Max Lamas

    

    0 posts
    
    6/15/2016 2:06 PM

    Whats wrong with your irrigation?

    
    
    
    
20. Kirby Keltner

    

    0 posts
    
    6/16/2016 6:06 AM

    I have to say thanks to all of you. I don't know any of you but your words were encouraging. Since my post I have gotten the pumphouse repaired and have the greens coming back alive as well as had raving reviews for our invitational.
    
    Just wanted to follow up and tell you all how much I appreciate your comments. It's always nice to have the support of your fellow Supers
    
    ps. My Greens committee and Board both have commented that they were impressed at the fact that we stayed alive through it all so that's something as well. And I am also looking forward to the overtime laws next year.

    
    
    
    
21. Sandy Clark

    

    0 posts
    
    6/17/2016 9:06 AM

    Congratulations Kirby for turning things around. Now please, take what all of us veterans said about your hours, your health and welfare and your personal well being and cut your hours down to a safe and healthy amount. We care about our brothers in this business and we all want the best for you.

    
    
    
    
22. Nicholas Daak

    

    3 posts
    
    6/17/2016 5:06 PM

    After reading this I seriously had to look back to see if I had written it 8 years ago. HOLD IN THERE!!! You sound just like me in the same situation. I still have a crew of 4, but newer equipment and a lot more respect from not only board members and golfers, but colleagues and our state golfing association. I had two tournaments in this last week.
    I now work 60 hours a week and still have plenty of time to spend with family. I get to do more Super jobs and less labors work, even though I personally trimmed for 12 hours last week.

    
    
    
    
23. Peter Bowman

    

    11 posts
    
    6/17/2016 9:06 PM

    Nicholas Daak said: .....
    I now work 60 hours a week and still have plenty of time to spend with family.

    
    
    After putting a new battery in my calculator, that would be 10 hours a day Monday through Saturday, with Sunday off. I guess 24 hours Sunday is plenty of time with the family?
    
    Or maybe it's only 8 hours a day Monday through Friday, with 20 hours Saturday?
    
    Or maybe only 8 hours seven days a week, plus 4 more hours thrown in there somewhere?
    
    If I had to give 60 hours to the company I'd probably work 12 hours a day..... 5 AM - 5 PM Monday through Friday, and take weekends off.
    
    No, I wouldn't do that, either. I tried that once but was told I had to be there at least six days a week.
    
    60 hours? I'm curious to know the weekly schedules for those of you at 60 hours or more per week.

    
    
    
    
24. Andrew Cross

    

    5 posts
    
    6/18/2016 7:06 AM

    Peter Bowman, CGCS said:

    Nicholas Daak said: .....
    I now work 60 hours a week and still have plenty of time to spend with family.

    
    
    After putting a new battery in my calculator, that would be 10 hours a day Monday through Saturday, with Sunday off. I guess 24 hours Sunday is plenty of time with the family?
    
    Or maybe it's only 8 hours a day Monday through Friday, with 20 hours Saturday?
    
    Or maybe only 8 hours seven days a week, plus 4 more hours thrown in there somewhere?
    
    If I had to give 60 hours to the company I'd probably work 12 hours a day..... 5 AM - 5 PM Monday through Friday, and take weekends off.
    
    No, I wouldn't do that, either. I tried that once but was told I had to be there at least six days a week.
    
    60 hours? I'm curious to know the weekly schedules for those of you at 60 hours or more per week.

    
    
    Pete I work about 55-60 hrs a week, typically 9-11 hrs M-F and about 4-5 hours Sunday. My wife has an 8-4:30 job with a 45-75 minute commute (my commute is 15 min), I leave before she wakes up, I'm home before she gets home. So every minute she is home after work so am I. So therefore I could say I have plenty of time to spend with my family too. I'm not forced to be there that long, I enjoy being there so sometimes I stay a little longer to get things done. If I need a day off or need to leave early I just let my boss know.
    
    More than one way to skin a cat!

    
    
    
    
25. Christopher Thuer

    

    101 posts
    
    6/18/2016 8:06 AM

    Guys like Kirby are who the Super of the year awards should go to. Guys who do good things with limited means. Guys who have to decide every day "what are we NOT going to do today", while producing a decent product for their customers to enjoy. Guys who make things work at their club who don't have that crew of 50.
    
    I was in his shoes once. $75 k budget (9 holes). 2 crew members. Day after day of getting to the shop in the dark and leaving 16 hours later in the dark. I was single then. I always say the best 2 career moves I ever made were going to that club, then leaving that club. After getting that Agronomy degree, and 9 seasons on crews, (3 as assistant), I thought I knew it all. Nope. Not even close. While I had good mentors, at great clubs, with decent size crews, I wasn't ready. It was sink or swim and with advice from sales reps and other supers, I swam. I learned a whole lot really fast and after 2.5 years I moved on. I wouldn't have been at my previous club and done as well as I did there for 8 years, and my current for 14 years had it not been for that "Hell" I went through.

    
    Chris Thuer, CGCS, Bear Slide Golf Club, Cicero, IN
    
    
26. Tyler Oldham

    

    0 posts
    
    6/20/2016 8:06 AM

    Don't worry about all the complainers. I am at a small budget course with a terrible irrigation system with all our hard work we had 1 dry tee box and they called an emergency board meeting to discuss it. We had a broken head that wasn't found for 2 days. Regular scheduled board meeting was 5 days later and the tee box was greener than it has ever been. No one had anything to complain about so my president started to complain about how the soap in the bathroom wasn't "sudsy" enough. No matter how much she scrubbed her hands there wasn't enough suds. haha can't please everyone

    
    
    
    
27. Max Lamas

    

    0 posts
    
    6/29/2016 9:06 AM

    Christopher Thuer, CGCS said: Guys like Kirby are who the Super of the year awards should go to. Guys who do good things with limited means. Guys who have to decide every day "what are we NOT going to do today", while producing a decent product for their customers to enjoy. Guys who make things work at their club who don't have that crew of 50.
    
    I was in his shoes once. $75 k budget (9 holes). 2 crew members. Day after day of getting to the shop in the dark and leaving 16 hours later in the dark. I was single then. I always say the best 2 career moves I ever made were going to that club, then leaving that club. After getting that Agronomy degree, and 9 seasons on crews, (3 as assistant), I thought I knew it all. Nope. Not even close. While I had good mentors, at great clubs, with decent size crews, I wasn't ready. It was sink or swim and with advice from sales reps and other supers, I swam. I learned a whole lot really fast and after 2.5 years I moved on. I wouldn't have been at my previous club and done as well as I did there for 8 years, and my current for 14 years had it not been for that "Hell" I went through.

    
    
    Could not have said it better. a tear to my eye

    
    
    
    
28. Thomas Brown

    

    0 posts
    
    7/1/2016 11:07 AM

    This post reminded me of a poem I wrote for the club's newsletter years ago:
    
    There was an old golfer who cried in his beer,
    "The reason I three putt is suddenly clear.
    For years, I had though that the greens were to blame,
    And many a putter was bent to my shame.
    If only I knew what I now know is true,
    The way I've been putting would not be askew.
    The answer is simple; for out on the links,
    Be eighteen ball washers and each of them stinks!"
    
    Tom

    
    
    
    
29. Brian Nettz

    

    0 posts
    
    7/1/2016 11:07 AM

    Sean Hoolehan, CGCS said: Kirby,
    
    
    
    Let the greens stay firm until you get the pump house working, don't even worry about that because it is out of your hands until it is fixed. Why do they need pump improvements as long as you can keep it going.
    
    My bet is your course is in great shape, i can tell you care a lot about it. Talk to who ever is your boss at the course. Share your frustrations about the state of the budget professionally and document the effects now while the heat is on. Call a equipment distributor and get a demo on a new rough mower or fairway or what ever is the most critical. Trust me you get a demo rough mower out now and show them the difference it makes it's funny how the money can appear. Ask about a part-time employee to do a specific job that is not getting done (like mowing more rough). Always tie your budget money to a task that way they never cut money but a task and if they want to add a task they have to add money.
    
    Stop working 80 hrs a week. That's 11.5 hours a day. Just for a point of reference, workers in Russia in the early 1900's won the concession from the government that they only had to work 12 hour days with Sunday off. That's 8 hours less than you are working a week. In fact this was common in many country's back then, so why are golf course superintendents working 80 hrs a week in 2016? No one is making us work that much. Some how we are brain washed into thinking this is the expected norm. Maybe a week or 2 during a major tournement like the US Open, but this is unhealthy. Take a day off and do something fun, trust me it will make you feel a lot better about work.
    
    Lastly Kirby i want you to know you are not alone, right now there are probably 500+ other superintendents who feel the same way you do. Its a crazy cycle we work in and hard for anyone else to appreciate. Your rant helps us all to better understand the pressure we work under. Retirement is a funny thing when you consider how many retired guys we superintendents hire. You will survive.
    
    Best wishes,
    Sean

    
    
    Sean,
    
    I always enjoy reading your posts, even if it's a topic we don't agree on. Your posts are always articulate, intelligent and written from a very grounded perspective. I envy your gift.
    
    Brian
    
    Brian Nettz
    Presidio Golf Course
    San Francisco

    
    
    
    
30. Brandon Coulter

    

    0 posts
    
    12/15/2017 3:12 PM

    Wow! I read this and I realize... I'm not alone! There are actually other sups out there struggling too!