Every Super hero has a nemesis. Mine is the Yucca Plant. For 16 years, I've battled those growing below the old wall between Hwy 106 and the newest croquet lawn. I've sprayed them with every non selective herbicide known to man and the plant doesn't even begin to wilt, it just laughs at me. I've pulled it- or tried anyway; the tap root is embedded in the bedrock or magma layer just below it. If it were possible (can't do it due to traffic) I would try to hook a chain to it and pull it with a tractor although our 53 horsepower tractor may be no match for it. I am trying something new later this week. I brought some good new sandpaper from home and I am going to hand-sand the waxy cuticle off a majority of the leaves and then apply a concoction never before sprayed. If I get rid of the wax layer that acts like scotch guard, I think it will foliarly absorb chemical. Why am I telling you this, you ask? If you see me sanding leaves next to the road, I haven't lost my mind. And if come Wednesday of next week (please give me till Wednesday) you see wilted, dead leaves, you will know I won the battle. I have no idea where the stuff comes from because I've never seen it for sale in the perennial section of a nursery. Take my advice and avoid that one unless you looking for a plant that has the same structure as an armored tank and can tank the impact of a 50 caliber munition. While many might think this is petty little stuff, we have members that honestly see more details than me and I think that's awesome. I know of 2 or 3 members in particular, that even though they never said it, I know these Yucca plants have to bother them as much as they do me. One such member called me a few years ago and told me about a "chunk of asphalt" immediately on the side of the road. I was so disappointed in myself because I knew it was there and it bothered me but I didn't act on it. I guess I figured no one but me saw it. That day, armed with an asphalt cutting saw, pry bars and picks, the chunk of asphalt was gone. I thought of presenting it to him as yard art. He is a great man and avid reader of this blog! I think the main attribute that makes a super a good super is their ability to recognize what the priorities are (determined by the membership but it's up to the super to talk to enough people and engage members to learn those things that can't always be lined out) and then have the ability to organize, motivate and lead the team to get it done. Too many guys get bogged down in stuff that no one notices or isn't important while neglecting the things that do matter. For a simple example, having average greens but sending 6 staff to pick up pine combs 50 yards off each fairway. Or spending so little time on any one thing that everything becomes average and nothing is great. With over 50% of the game played on the green, that seems like the logical focal point. If nothing else, have great greens, ok fairways and poor rough. Again, I'm referring to a mid tier type facility with limited funds. The point is, start with greens and work your way out.
Around the Club, GM Greg Crawford and I play a continual game called, "I just did a small improvement project, you have to find it and tell me what I did." That's pretty cool and in never takes too long for the other to guess because because after 16 years, we develop a sense of culture, learning what's important to the Club as a whole as well as specific pet peeves of different personalities. We understand the attention to detail and what constitutes a detail at HCC. When I go to other local facilities, my eye is immediately drawn to those things because my whole world of professional experience is HCC and quite frankly, many miss those details. One day if you are at the Club early, what he the housekeeping team. They blow me away with the attention to detail. They have tools to clean things that I never knew needed cleaned. What a team! Try finding a cob web when they're done! You won't. They've even trained the spiders not to waste their time!
I have lots of thoughts on this but Hilary says I need to go to bed and is threatening to take my iPad. Good Nite all, thank you for continuing to read up on all the good at HCC. A special place, indeed.
Around the Club, GM Greg Crawford and I play a continual game called, "I just did a small improvement project, you have to find it and tell me what I did." That's pretty cool and in never takes too long for the other to guess because because after 16 years, we develop a sense of culture, learning what's important to the Club as a whole as well as specific pet peeves of different personalities. We understand the attention to detail and what constitutes a detail at HCC. When I go to other local facilities, my eye is immediately drawn to those things because my whole world of professional experience is HCC and quite frankly, many miss those details. One day if you are at the Club early, what he the housekeeping team. They blow me away with the attention to detail. They have tools to clean things that I never knew needed cleaned. What a team! Try finding a cob web when they're done! You won't. They've even trained the spiders not to waste their time!
I have lots of thoughts on this but Hilary says I need to go to bed and is threatening to take my iPad. Good Nite all, thank you for continuing to read up on all the good at HCC. A special place, indeed.