A superintendent’s job involves countless tasks that golfers often take for granted.
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It’s a worthy exercise to wake up in the morning and reflect on the things we take for granted. Friends. The family. The smell of fresh grass.
Speaking of which: When was the last time you expressed gratitude for your local guardian?
This week would be a good time. Tuesday was Supervisor Appreciation Day.
To mark the occasion, we asked David Jones, superintendent at Indian Springs Country Club, in Broken Arrow, Okla., and a longtime member of Association of Golf Course Superintendents of Americato mark the many hidden tasks he and his group tackle beyond dispatching gophers and mowing the grounds.
1. The criteria
Armadillos, beavers, skunks, gophersmole, you name it. Animals of all kinds take refuge in the courses, biting the strings, digging up the greens for grains, and wreaking all kinds of headache-inducing havoc. of Carl Spackler access is out of the question, but you have to do something. “Depending on where you are, you may be allowed to shoot them,” Jones says. “If not, you have to trap them. They’re pretty much constant no matter what you do.”
2. Mushrooms among us
The fairy ring may sound romantic. It is anything but. It’s one of the myriad diseases that supersors face, from snow mold and brown spot to necrotic ring spot. And then there’s pythium, the Voldemort of fungal invaders that, Jones says, is most likely to affect bentgrass. “It’s the nightmare of nightmares,” he says. “Once it gets in there, it clears a green a lot. And there are three or four types of it, so you also have to figure out which one you’re dealing with.”
3. Equipment repair
A well-maintained course requires well-maintained equipment, which in turn means sharpening bladeschanging rotors and repairing hydraulic leaks, among many other workshop tasks. In clubs with no budget for an equipment manager (which is most), all these duties fall on you know who.
4. Vandalism
The stolen flag. I fell broken. Delinquents on motorcycles doing donuts on the greens. The depth of disrespect and stupidity can be surprising, and the worst part is that mockers are rarely caught red-handed. But when they are, it’s often thanks to a supervisor and their staff. “One time we followed the cart tracks to a neighborhood garage, and sure enough, there was grass in the tires, so the kid couldn’t even deny it,” Jones says. The boy was put to work on the maintenance crew until he could make up for the damage he had done.
5. Algae
Not only in ponds. It also takes the greens, creating incredibly soft conditions. No matter where it appears, getting rid of it is essential. “But you have to be very careful with the products you use and how you use them,” says Jones. “You don’t want to kill fish or cause any other damage to the environment.”
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6. Irrigation maintenance
Broken pipes. Clogged spray heads. There is no end. “There’s always something that needs fixing,” says Jones. “We call it ‘irritation,’ not irrigation.”
7. Washing machines, trash cans, signage, etc.
At any given time, somewhere on the course, something needs cleaning, emptying, fixing or repairing. These tasks are also under the purview of the super.
8. Golfers
That’s right. Not gophers. Golfers. A particular species inclined to believe that when the greens are sanded, it means the super will get them. Their gift for teasing and blaming is unparalleled, and it underscores a point: the work of a general steward requires the patience of Job.
