Letters to the Editor

Waiting for things to even out
I read with interest your May 2010 cover story “In Munis We Trust” (page 20).  As co-owner of a family-owned, 18-hole public golf course in Western Massachusetts, established by my parents in 1963, I feel more than qualified to weigh in on this subject. We have six municipal golf courses within a 20-mile radius of our area, each in direct competition with us. My dad built our golf course for the average golfer, with a business philosophy of offering a quality product at a fair price. Our customer base is the average player, providing what Dennis Lyon calls “accessible, affordable, quality golf.” 
    
Recently, we have seen some of our local municipals receive benefits that go beyond tax breaks. In 2007 we saw the Ledges Golf Course in South Hadley receive a nearly $250,000 “Urban Parks” grant from the state to build its new clubhouse. Several years ago, Franconia Golf Course in Springfield received a $1 million state grant and a matching bond from the city to install an irrigation system. These are just some of the most egregious examples of what we have to compete against. It sure would be nice to have access to some of these free gifts out here in the private sector. 
    
Mr. Lyon sure was right when he said there are no level playing fields when it comes to competition between golf courses. However, out here in Western Massachusetts we’re still waiting for things to even out. 

Mark T. Perez
East Mountain Country Club
Westfield, Mass.


An easy target
I have a comment about Charlie Birney’s Pro/Con article (“A Cautionary Tale,” May 2010, page 28). I’ve been around golf long before the boom that brought so many business owners looking for a buck. The result: owners who knew little about golf wanted the municipals – who were there for many years and who provide recreation for the less fortunate who want to play – to go away. It was all about not wanting competition. The question became: “Why is government in golf?” And the answer: “Because the private sector will only do it if it makes money.”

Parks & Recreation departments are not revenue producers – they are tax supported. The essence of this is to provide recreation for the masses. Ice arenas, tennis courts and playgrounds are not being built by the private sector for similar reasons.  Are some municipal courses losing money? Yes. Many are not making it because too many courses were built around them. In the Minneapolis/St. Paul area there were more than 110 courses added to the metropolitan area since 1970 (2003 Clasp Report by the NGF). Think about capacity and dividing the pie. Who is the easy target to go away? No one addresses who built all this oversupply.

Next, we have the courses built for land sale with walk-away realtors. They could care less about the cost of golf or how to run a facility. But the older courses are left with increased green fees that hurt everyone. It helped destroy the game we all loved. Now we reap what was sown by strictly profit motivations. There is a place for government run course where private enterprise cannot afford to provide for the amenity, especially in urban centers.

John Valliere
General manager
Braemar Golf Course
Edina, Minn.


Hearing the message
Just read Pat Jones’ April 2010 column (“Huh?” pg 58) – good stuff. I too suffer from hearing loss, and the older I get the worse it is for me to “get a grip on my problem.” I’ve been a “rocker” for as long as I can remember. As a Golf Course Superintendent I stress the importance of hearing  protection. I’ve been a “super” for more than 20 years. I’m 44-years-old and I can hear an owl from a half mile away but I cannot hear my assistant talking to me from the end of the lunch room table. 
    
I too witnessed Pete Townshend and The Who – damn those lymie bastards... (Pat’s line). I tell all my young guys once your hearing is gone, it’s gone. Now when I use a chainsaw or even weedwack I have hearing protection on. The young guys are following my lead. 
    
“We” cannot stress the importance enough. As always I’ll continue to read my Golf Course Industry magazine from back to front.

Tom Niebling
Columbia Golf & Country Club
Germantown, N.Y.

Moderation
Don’t worry, the planet will be Ok.

Go slow with sensible practices that do not create a St. Andrews “goat track.”

The carbon agenda (“Can golf save the planet?” March 2010) has a big element of self-interested envirofanatics in charge.

Moderation is the key.

John Hagg
Indian Wells, Calif.

HD: Blogosphere
Thought Dr. Kaminski’s blog entry was enough to get me to speak up. First of all, I love his blog. Love what he and his peers are doing. I follow his blog all the time and am on board with the communication of our ever-evolving future.

Just thought an idea might be to expand your blog coverage. How about Superintendent’s Blogs? There are more and more out there.

I started one this past December after linking to some other supers from Dr. Kaminski’s blog. It’s been the best communication tool I have ever employed at my club. My members are estatic about it. I have had over 3,600 hits since early December. I know, bad time of year to start writing about golf course maintenance in the Northeast. Not much going on.

My members are truly suprised with the “Whats” and “Hows” of how we run our operations, regardless of time of year. Sad to say, but many still ask the question “What do you and your staff do when you’re not here from December to April?” Are you kidding me?

John K. has given me some outstanding advice to improve my blog and the results have been fantastic.
Let me know what you think: farmsccsuperintendent.blogspot.com/

Don’t care if I’m involved or published in any way. I just think my peers will benefit. Been great for me!
 
Paul Sabino, GCS
The Farms Country Club
Wallingford, Conn.

EDITOR’S NOTE
Check out the GCI online for the BLOGROLL, a comprehensive list of superintendent and industry-related blogs, as well as the Golf Course Industry Super Blog of the Month.