1/27/2017 9:01 AM
So much of what we do or say can be unpopular. However, I've always felt that we as superintendents are not doing anyone else, especially ourselves, any favors by telling our bosses, committee members, members, etc., what they want to hear. Obviously we have certain political considerations with virtually everything we do. Regarding the persistent goose dilemma, let me elaborate on my particular situation. I work at a Semi-Private Sole Proprietorship whose founder was an avid hunter. He didn't just hunt deer, etc., but rather grizzly bears in Alaska every year. We have a huge stuffed grizzly bear situated next to the pro shop. Not only that we have caribou and elk, not to mention a wolverine mount. The original owner since passed away and his son now owns and manages our facility. As soon as the geese start landing on the golf course, the old super. and owner would break out the 12 gauge shotguns and shoot as many as they were legally allowed. The old super. retired and I was hired. The first thing I was told to do is get rid of the geese, the same way it has been done for the last 70 years, yep, with the 12 gauge.
As a hunter myself, I refuse to harvest an animal, or bird in this case, if I am not going to eat it. Long story short... the most effective deterrent to continued goose propagation is to have one flopping on the ground for all the other geese to see. I make jerky out of the breasts, and try more than anything else, to simply get the geese off of our golf course and somewhere else. Unfortunately, for my good friend super. at the next golf course over, he's loaded with geese now and we are not. I know this won't be acceptable practice at many of your facilities, but it is darn effective. Bobby Goerlich