USA trip

Last week I was privileged to attend the rather grandly titled John Deere Golf Global Leadership Summit in Florida.  Course Managers and Superintendents from high end golf clubs on both sides of the Atlantic were invited to discuss a variety of topics including

• Measuring greens quality
• Major golf event management
• The challenges of operating a prestigious golf facility
• Equipment trends and technical needs
• Golf course construction and renovation 

About twenty course managers from Europe and a similar number from north America attended and many big name clubs were represented.  Spending a few days in the company of Course Managers from clubs including Augusta, TPC Sawgrass, Kiawah, Atlanta Athletic Club, Royal Aberdeen, St Enedoc, Queenwood and Royal Blackheath was a marvellous experience.

The event also included the John Deere Ryder cup where teams of sixteen greenkeepers from Europe and north America competed.  Europe lost 3.5 to 4.5 but it was a fantastic occasion played in a great spirit.  We played golf on three courses, Plantation Bay near Daytona, the stadium course at TPC Sawgrass and the Valley course at TPC Sawgrass over which the Ryder cup match was played.

Warming up for the big match on the amazing practice facilities

 Assessing the effects of various operations such as mowing, grooming and rolling on greens quality                        Measured with the STRI trueness meter

The 11th on the stadium course

The iconic 17th

The 18th on the stadium course

One of the jobs of the greenkeeping team is dealing with the alligators when they get too large
I learned how to catch one but I'm hoping never to have the opportunity to put this knowledge into practice!