Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Slowly Step Away From The Turf

       This time of year in turf maintenance gets hectic for most everyone involved. Some of us have a tendency to get flustered and rush through things to Git-R-Done. I know for me, most of my work related mistakes (insert sarcastic comment here) are caused by rushing to get everything done and move on to the next job. When we have problems, a mower not running correctly or a chemical app not meeting expectations of coverage, it is usually your problem solving ability that will decide the extent of the impact on your operation. To me, you do not become a Superintendent or a Turf Manager unless you excel at this trait. But as we all know outside influences can sometimes reduce our strengths. I would almost compare it to the talk of an NFL quarterback when he is in the commentator favorite description of being in the "ZONE". Can you slow it down and look at how you got to this point? Do you look at all the variables involved? Do you take a long term look at the issue and think about what has changed?
       One of the best words of advice I have heard was given to the last Superintendent that I worked under. He called the legendary Dr. Joe Duich at Penn State to ask him about an issue he was having with a green. Dr. Duich told him "Don't drive by that green for the next couple of days. Just leave it alone."
 Sometimes the best thing you can do is nothing!


WJC

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