"How did advances in technology change the way you managed turf health and course conditions over the course of your tenure as a superintendent?"
From irrigation and equipment to computers and turf science, as technology changes so does the way you do things. This is constant! You need to change with it, become educated about it, or you will fall behind.
I started in 1973 with ALL snap valves at Piney Branch Golf Club to a state-of-the-art Toro computer irrigation system with over 1500 irrigation heads at The Elkridge Club that irrigated the entire golf course, pool, and clubhouse lawns. I went from a large paper spread sheet, pencil, and a calculator, to a computer and windows. Gang units for fairways and rough went to hydraulic self-contained mowers. Sulfur coated urea went to timed release fertilizers, and liquids for a more even putting surface. Cutting greens at one eighth of an inch and 6-to-8-foot rolls on greens went to see who could cut the lowest, fertilize the least, roll the grass down, let everything dry out for 11 to 14 ft rolls. I could go on, but it would become a book.
It’s nice to advance, but then you must convince your membership or owners that you need to spend money to advance. Then once we started improving conditions, membership wanted more and expected more. So, thinking that your life gets easier because of these advances is wrong because it just creates new sets of challenges. Employee generational changes and expectations also come in to play as technology advances.
Without getting long winded, I’ll stop here. As I reflect on all this over the years a couple of things have always stuck out. Turf people, whether in golf, sports turf, lawn care, sod farms, ornamental, etc. are heroes! These are 24/7 jobs that require skill, education, and dedication. If you have one of these folks working for you in ANY position, think about what it requires to do their job. You are fortunate to have them.
I will leave you with a job interview question that I received from a board member of the Elkridge Club in 1986. These folks were great and understood how advancements in technology would create a better world for their life, and I was dedicated to supply that for them. “How do we know that you are the person to hire?” My reply, “Folks, I am like a great hunting dog. I will work hard for you every day. I will learn to get better at what I do every day and then I will then lay down beside you and be ready to do it again the next day.”
-Mark Merrick, CGCS Retired
Introducing ‘Merrick Mondays’, a segment where we hear from Mark Merrick, our resident brand Ambassador, Chief ‘Cool” Officer, and general source of wisdom and secrets of the universe, to spotlight a dose of interview-style content, weekly.