TurfNet Podcasts

In response to a furor of sorts on Twitter after comments made by Steve Cook, CGCS MG, of Medinah Country Club, were posted, we decided to host a series of roundtable discussions to dig further into the topic. This is the full version of the discussion.

In response to a furor of sorts on Twitter after comments made by Steve Cook, CGCS MG, of Medinah Country Club, were posted, we decided to host a series of roundtable discussions to dig further into the topic. This is the condensed version of the discussion.

 

To say Nate McKinniss is on the career fast track would be an understatement of almost immeasurable proportions.

McKinniss, 27, is the golf course superintendent at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, where Job 1 is keeping the course what he called “Golden Bear ready.” That's a nod to Jack Nicklaus, who designed the course, has a home there and is the host of its biggest event, the PGA Tour’s Memorial Tournament. McKinniss has worked at the club in suburban Columbus since he graduated from The Ohio State University's four-year turfgrass management program in 2017.

He was promoted into the position of golf course superintendent by Muirfield director of grounds Chad Mark late in 2020.

“I started in 2017 here as an intern, and you talk about how fast things get moving, and usually how it’s been taking a longer amount of time for people, it goes to show that the program that you Chad has getting people on the fast track to that next step, and the people that were in that position before me, four people within four years, have gone on to become superintendents, I think that says a lot about Chad and the program that’s here developing guys,” McKinniss said.

McKinniss accepted a job offer from Mark in 2017 when the latter was superintendent at Inverness Club in Toledo. Between the time the offer was made and graduation day in Columbus, Mark moved on to his dream job, managing Jack Nicklaus’ Muirfield.

As a student at Ohio State, McKinniss once voiced a career goal of buying a popular daily fee course in his hometown of Findlay, Ohio. Since graduation, his focus has shifted to preparing for one of the PGA Tour’s premier events and making sure the course is ready every day for its most famous member.

“It’s all about being Golden Bear ready.”

Steve Cook has had a career laced with high profile tournaments, including two U.S. Amateurs, a Ryder Cup, and a PGA Championship while at Oakland Hills, and a BMW Championship in 2019 at Medinah Country Club. Yet to him, a career should be more about contribution than achievement.

He has mentored and graduated many assistants onto their own successful superintendent careers, and takes great pride and satisfaction in the ongoing relationships with them. His primary criterion for hiring an assistant is character. "I owe it to the rest of the team to not bring in someone who isn't a good fit," Cook said. "I look for good people. The other stuff they can learn."

Cook has a knack for boiling the seemingly complex down to the simple, whether it's writing a blog or orchestrating a management plan. "What we do as superintendents really isn't that complicated," he said. "I think we tend to overcomplicate it at times."

Why are there so many open positions for assistants? "Because of the self-inflicted damage we've done to ourselves as an industry over the past two or three decades," according to Cook.

This is a fascinating conversation with one who gets it. Gets the job and life away from it. Who else do you know who had climbed a 22,000 ft mountain in Nepal? Listen and learn.

Mike Lecavalier has been the golf course superintendent at the Kanawaki Golf Club in Montreal, Quebec for 17 years. For 13 of those years, and quite a few prior, he had a serious alcohol problem. Almost four years ago he looked himself in the mirror and admitted to himself that he needed help, and turned to friends, then AA, and ultimately the gym and a personal trainer.

Here is his story.

Peter McCormick visits with Paul B. Hurst, husband of Kristi, father of Nicholas, Madison and Molli, dogfather of Lyla, man of many hats, guitar-playing half of MidLife acoustic duo, instructor in the multi-part So, You Want to Be a Sales Guy video series, honoree of a 2021 TurfNet Jerry Coldiron Positivity Award, and arguably the Most Interesting Man in Turf.

They chat about a recent Tweet of Paul's and how the social media success of his and Kristi's singing and "nitwittery" on Twitter over the past two years have meant to them, and his business. Check it out.

In this special episode of Frankly Speaking, Frank Rossi chats with four influencers in the golf turf industry about how they manage their lives, health and careers through purposeful mindfulness. Frank's guests include

Peter McCormick, founder of TurfNetDavid Kuypers, Syngenta CanadaPaul MacCormack, Fox Meadow Golf & Country ClubChris Tritabaugh, Hazeltine National Golf Club

Spend an hour and learn how to turn off the noise, focus and prioritize.

Presented by Civitas and DryJect.

A great friend of TurfNet, Jerry Coldiron, needs to be remembered as the wonderful amazing man that he was.

Peter McCormick, Founder and Maestro of TurfNet and Dave Wilber, The Turfgrass Zealot, take time to talk about the passing of a great friend and Turfhead. To so many, Jerry was a light of positive infulence and his untimely and unexpected passing will leave a huge hole in the industry.

We speak candidly about what relationships mean and how the relationships that last are formed and maintained. And we tell some good stories about a good guy.

If you didn't know Jerry, you will know him. And if you knew Jerry, you will know him better.

 

Please note: A tribute site is under development at http://jerrycoldironembracelife.us. The fund set up in Jerry's memory (while a foundation is being established) can be found at https://givehope.com/Jerry-Coldiron-Embrace-Life. Please consider a donation.

In this episode of Rockbottum Radio, Randy Wilson chats (seriously) with envelope-pusher Mark Hoban, superintendent at Rivermont Golf Club in John's Creek, GA.  One of the true "mad scientists" of the golf course maintenance world, Mark always has new research going on with always a holistic view of soil/plant management.

Mark fills us in on his current delvings into biochar, compost extracts (as opposed to compost tea... which he explains the difference), new applications for the Air2G2 machine, an untraditional take on beekeeping, and growing mushrooms for the club restaurant.

Presented by VinylGuard Golf.

The proverbial "60-hour work week" has been identified as one of the factors responsible for the decline in numbers of people entering the golf turf industry. Peter McCormick, host for this show, chats with Mark Fuller, CGCS, of the Connecticut Golf Club about his staff scheduling and how he avoids working his staff beyond an average of 48 hours each week... and why.

The Ladder is presented by Penn State World Campus.