Fall back, spring ahead

The calendar is hardly needed by those of us who work outside daily.  Mother Nature has been sending us an array of signals to confirm the seasonal change from summer to fall.  The colorful foliage is abundant; the nights are cooler; and the day length is becoming shorter.  Although our surroundings are telling us the golfing season is coming to a close this isn’t the time to become complacent and lose our focus on finishing strong.  The harder we work to maintain a positive attitude and provide proper turf conditioning for the winter months, the better off we’ll be in the spring.

Each year presents us with its own set of circumstances which keeps our job fun and challenging.  We have the choice to view each hurdle as a learning opportunity or a stumbling block.  As we progress through our careers it is important to file all of these experiences into our “inventory” so that we know how to handle the situation better in the future.  Perhaps you had a difficult employee to manage this year.  Why were they difficult to manage?  Were you potentially part of the problem?  Did you react quickly enough once the problem was recognized?  These are few questions to ask yourself when reflecting back on the situation.  Stepping aside from personnel and on to agronomics, the triumphs that go along with turfgrass can be here today and gone tomorrow.  Careful recordkeeping is critical in the planning process for the selection of control products and timing of cultural practices, to name a few.  This is the time of year to take note of what worked and what didn’t.  If we wait until December to recount the “mystery disease” on the 6th tee it will be too late.  By then we will have forgotten many of the factors contributing to the situation--making it difficult to avoid a similar situation in the future.  Taking the time to summarize these events now will give us all winter to discuss remedies and alternative strategies with our superintendent and fellow workers.  It is just as important to provide an evaluation of your personal performance too.  For many, this will come from your supervisor, but it also needs to come from you--the individual. 

Now that our workload is shifting from daily course maintenance to aerification and construction projects, take the time to reflect on your personal success, growth, and struggles for the 2010 golf season.  Create a “Top 5” list that will provide you with direction over the winter.  This list can consist of anything you wish. 

Perhaps your chemical calibration skills aren’t up to par.  Make it a goal to work practice problems so that you’re confident and successful in making these calculations.  Don’t accept the fact that you’re not good at something.  You have the ability to change that, and now you have the time since the season is winding down.  If there are books and articles you’ve been meaning to read, dust them off and let the learning begin!  In our competitive job market it takes all of the knowledge to separate you from the next applicant and that doesn’t come without continuing education and independent study.  Use your time in the coming months for rest and recovery, learning, and preparing for another year on the golf course.

We all know that spring can come quickly and we often don’t have time to be wavering in our decisions.  Having a clear plan is essential for a smooth start-up of the golf course as winter breaks.  While we may deviate from that plan the groundwork still has to be there.  Let’s all learn from our past and use that information to succeed in the future. 

About the author
Nate Jordan is an assistant superintendent at Country Club of the Rockies in Edwards, Colo.  He is committed to reducing the inputs needed for highly maintained turfgrass, while providing high-quality playing condition on the golf course.  He may be reached at ntjordan@gmail.com.