Résumé
Portfolio
Fiscal Budgeting
Every business in the world wants to run as lean as possible in any economic cycle, but a recession forces us to make difficult choices. Cut personnel or cut marketing? How much will the quality of the product change if we cut one person or three? Should we change our price structure? I have been involved with all of these critical situations and learned from my experiences. In 1999 at River Valley Ranch, we were forced to trim our staff budget by 12, from 19 to 7 people! This meant drafting a creative maintenance plan and involving all staff including the Superintendent in the daily plan. The quality actually improved as a result of the Superintendent, Assistant and the Mechanic noticing more details on the course. In 2007 at Promontory, a 25% cut was made to my budget as a result of the recession. Restructuring the staffing plan, changing the fertilizing plan, canceling all travel for education, and doing more with less was the attitude. In 2008, at Devils Thumb, I reprogrammed the irrigation flow management database saving electricity and water, thus saving money. I cut the high dollar fertilizers, and relied on soil testing and basic needs of the soil, searching for special pricing, saving thousands of dollars. In 2010 I managed with a staff of three, including me. I did a lot of triplex mowing and working long hours to make up the difference.
What are the expectations of the club/course? This should be the first question.
Programs can be put into place to meet or exceed the expectation. A cost analysis can be made for each program. My Excel Budget Tracker helps make this an easy to follow document. Saving money is about being creative and organized.
Construction Experience
-Promontory-The Ranch Club (UT), Dye Canyon Course, 2002, supervised/quality control inspection for irrigation trenching and installation, bunker construction and drainage installation, greens construction and drainage installation, construction traffic compaction control, final grading and trench settling, improved soil and water quality testing procedures to remedy fertilizer response problems, solely responsible for researching and locating available bentgrass greens sod that was shipped and installed six weeks before the successful grand opening of the front nine, programmed irrigation schedules for grow-in, adjusted all irrigation heads for precision control, applied pre and post plant fertilizers.
-River Valley Ranch Golf Course (CO), 1998, supervised completion of grow-in, proper lowering of greens to achieve maximum health and speed for grand opening, installed fairway drainage, trenched and installed mainline on hole 17, shaped, graded and sodded bunker faces, set watering schedules and precision adjustment of all irrigation.
-Aspen Glen Golf Course (CO), 1996-97, All phases of construction, applied pre-plant nutrient loading and fungicide to all greens, seeded and grew in SR1019 greens, supervised irrigation mainline and lateral installation, solely responsible for final quality review of system completion and adjustment of all sprinklers prior to seeding, assisted with final grading, applied pre-plant fertilizer and grew in fairways and roughs using hand held radio irrigation for precision moisture control, constructed and placed all native area irrigation, responsible for establishing natural areas throughout course.
-Rotonda Golf and Country Club (FL) 1990-91 Assisted in final grading, soil nutrient loading and sprigging bermudagrass at The Palms and Cape Haze golf courses, fertilizer and pesticide applications and proper irrigation for grow-in.
Agronomic & Cultural Philosophy
Water quality plays a pivotal role in the quality and playability of the golf course. Water testing is done with soil testing to achieve a real life "snapshot" of soil conditions. "Grow" the soil, the grass will follow.
Fall fertilizer is the most important application for the golf course if only one application could be made and there is a special emphasis on sulfur based fertilizers in the alkaline, silt-loam soils of Oregon, east of the Cascade Range, while lime applications might be needed on the west coast soils of Oregon with a pH of 5.5. Some of the best "growing" soil in the world (Mollisol) is in in my home state of Iowa and other parts of the Midwestern United States.
Aerification of the golf course should be done at least once per year depending on the courses schedule, spring or fall. On the west coast of Oregon, fall aerification is important due to winters with heavy precipitation, low evaporation, and low light intensity.
Irrigation placement is vital and constant quality checking and adjusting is needed. Quality turf can be achieved along with water conservation by replacing 80% of daily evapotranspiration.
Greens are aerified in the spring, and if possible, in the fall as well. Amendments are applied directly in the holes based on soil report needs for fast recovery. Greens should heal in less than a week with good weather. This removes organic matter, provides gaseous exchange, and reduces thatch. If possible, every attempt should be made to include a quad tine once per month for venting and/or thatch reduction and dilution. Scheduling of the next season's program should be done in the winter with the event calendar and club personnel so that everyone can agree on tentative dates.
Greens are verticut every 2 weeks and a light topdressing is applied. This removes thatch and grain and smooths the surface, speed of the green is enhanced as well. Opposite weeks, the greens are spoon fed nutrition and if needed a growth regulator that reduces poa annua populations.
Rolling greens 3-5 times per week will greatly improve the health and playability of the surface. Rolling allows the greens to be mowed at a higher height yet achieve faster speeds.
Irrigation of sand-based greens should follow the "fill it, rest it" method. Irrigation of .75" -1.25" is applied before sunrise on day one. On day two, no irrigation. On day three, hand watering only. Depending on the weather and the season, greens get irrigated once a week (spring and fall), or twice a week (summer). This grows long roots making healthier turf in times of heat stress and drought. This program also saves water.
Education
- Graduated magna cum laude from Lake City Community College(FL)
(now Florida Gateway College) Golf Course Operations
-GCSAA Golf Course Industry Education Conference & Show
2001, 2003, 2004, 2006-2009
-Educational Course Study(2001-2011) can be accessed by downloading:
-Colorado Qualified Supervisor Pesticide Application License
2009-2013
