Merion Merion Merion

       In just about two weeks the United States Open Championship will be held at Merion Golf Club. If you have never had the chance to visit the area, I would tell you it might be defined as short on space! For me this is going to be something I don't think I will ever forget. I grew up about a mile from the course and have lived for most of my married life only a few blocks away from the East Course. So I know the area just a little bit...Starting in the turf business back in the late 1980's on the crew and now coming back 20+ years later as a volunteer will be pretty cool. Now will I be a zombie by Wednesday? Yes but I really appreciate Matt Shaffer giving me the opportunity to be a part of something I don't know if we will ever see here again in Philly.
       A few years ago I had the chance to go and visit Congressional CC a few weeks before they hosted US Open with Robert Smith, the Lead Technician from Merion GC. He wanted to get some insight from CCC on how they ran things. The comparison between the two sites is night and day, mainly just available acreage. I don't think TV will do it justice on how much this is going to be 10 pounds in a 5 pound bag. From the corporate tents on neighboring properties to using West Course as the driving range, this US Open has definitely taken some outside the box thinking!

No Parking!

Feeling Lucky?

       I got a great comment this past week from a Turf Manager " A bad cut will grow out but a bad spray application will cost you your job." AMEN! I have seen in my travels where people are rolling the dice with their sprayers. Some things to think about:
1) How often do you recheck your calibration?
2) Is your sprayer up to date with all factory recommended service? (Pump rebuilds)
3) How clean is your spray system? ( Do you have excessive residue in your hoses/agitation)
4) When is the last time you had your Raven and flow meter recalibrated?
5) Don't ignore pressure spikes!

       Do you have a cleaning process in place that you follow every time?
Does anyone who uses the sprayer follow the same steps?
I would urge you to take a look at your sprayers this week and all your processes. It is a time investment that is worth it!

Take a look at this link for some calibration info from Toro:
http://www.toro.com/en-us/customer-support/Pages/educational-technical-references/sprayer-calibration/spray-calibration.aspx



WJC

Top Secret

       One of the cooler parts of my job is the chance to see prototype units, sometimes years before they come to market. This past week I had the chance to work with someone from Toro and an upcoming release. To me it is interesting to see the process of fact finding on changes that need to be made and why there is a need for a new product. In 2012, we had the opportunity to have multiple visits of the RM3550 that is now coming to market. We had engineer team members looking for end user opinions on their hours of work. The progression with the visits was interesting to see. Small changes that were suggested were made and product makes it to final design. Something like a seat belt buckle location is just one of the little things that makes a unit that operators like to use.
Or maybe in the end I just enjoy the interaction between the people from Minnesota and Philadelphia....
    




WJC 

Shirt & Tie Required

       What is someone walked into your office today in a shirt and tie? Would you think lawyer, OSAHA or Immigration? When I started in sales back in the early 1990's, we were white shirt and tie everyday, even on demos. Now after the first couple of years might I have broken the rules and been out in a golf shirt...Maybe. I once had a long time well respected Superintendent ask me if I worked for IBM.
But at the time the owner of Philadelphia Turf, Frank I Shuman, said that was how he wanted you to dress for work. Some of the rules and regulations came from his experience as a Major in WWII. We used black ball point pens (clearer when copied) & staples at a 45 degree angle in the left hand corner (making it easier to fold over). Some other things came from experience on the road, such as always have a blue sport coat hanging in your car in case you get asked to go into the club house. Now has the world changed since then, obviously yes! Considering I would call from a pay phone to check my voice mail and we did not even have a high tech pager yet.....

       At the time did I question the rules? Sure but looking back I understand the reasons behind the rules. So for me just starting out with no sales experience, it was probably a good foundation.

 
                                                    

WJC