Some First Impressions, Second Thoughts and the Third Degree

It was another goofy, up-and-down kind of year where I live, here in the upper Midwest. Last year was awful, with record-setting heat and drought. This year it was so wet that delayed golf course openings hurt revenue at a time when the industry cannot afford it. We were six – ten inches above normal precipitation for the first half of the year. We saw the Big 10 add two more teams – Rutgers and Maryland – which now gives us 14 schools. But we are still the Big 10, proving even smart people sometimes cannot count. Our university system fought hard for a tuition increase until it was discovered they had over half a billion dollar budget stash the public didn’t know about. Talk about losing cred. And speaking of a stash, it’s a good thing the Wisconsin Cow Chip Throwing Contest had a stash of cow pies. The wet weather drastically reduced the fresh supply from local pastures. 

While on the subject of manure, environmentalists were absolutely giddy that our county saw another manure digester come on line. Too bad we can’t use it for the political b.s. shoveled on us daily. It was a momentous announcement when the Highway Loss Data Institute (HCDI) reported the No. 1 stolen vehicle in the U.S. is a Ford pickup truck! We’ve finally arrived – my almost new Ford truck is more desirable to car thieves than a Cadillac Escalade. Better make sure you lock your truck from now on. I asked about a dozen neighbors and friends to name the U.S. Open champ and where the event was played. Most could not answer the first question but got #2 right. Their impression of this year’s Open was of Merion, terrible weather, and a championship effort by Matt Shaffer. Even though heavy rain softened conditions, Merion showed plenty of might. And the course drained quickly just like Matt said it would, and the green speed returned. Golf fans had to be impressed by the tourney staff Matt assembled. It included many volunteer golf course superintendents, demonstrating cooperation and support at its finest. Justin Rose was the winner, by the way. In the weeks and months after the Masters, I had some second thoughts about the Tiger Woods infraction and the two-stroke penalty assessed by Augusta’s rules committee. It was somewhat controversial at the time, but it wasn’t until I read Jerry Tarde’s excellent column in the July 2013 issue of Golf Digest that I realized how controversial. Tiger’s conduct around the incident was hardly inspiring, but Tarde wrote how easily it could have been and how Woods would have benefited. His actions fit right in with the whining he did at the U.S. Open about pin placements, and the spat he and Sergio Garcia had. Something is lacking here and if Tiger ever wants to be considered with great golf personalities like Palmer, Nelson, Sarazan, Jones, and Nicklaus – in other words, GCSAA Old Tom Morris Award recipients - he needs an attitude and approach change. For example, have you ever heard Woods comment about a superintendent and his contribution to a successful tournament? Have you seen him ever sign autographs for fans? ‘Nuf said. I’ll resist commenting on that really ugly period of his personal life. Finally, closer to home, golf was given the third degree by all kinds of media for a cruel, unnecessary and unfortunate incident on one of our golf courses. 

One morning in June a female snapping turtle was found bludgeoned in a sand bunker on the course. The DNR was called and a warden took the poor beast to a wildlife rehabilitation center, but she died that night. She had holes in her shell and had been struck in the right eye, apparently with a golf club. The DNR said she was probably laying eggs in the bunker sand. An animal rights group offered a reward and the DNR did a thorough investigation, but to date the responsible person(s) hasn’t been found. The poor superintendent was stressed by the bad publicity as TV stations from Milwaukee and Madison descended on his shop to ask questions. The print media came, and newspapers from all over the state picked up the story. It was a shame, not only for the golf course staff and for the snapping turtle but for golf also. Golf does so much good. It is a participatory sport for all ages. 

Our courses offer open spaces in places where we need it, and contributions go to untold numbers of charities. The list goes on and on. But it is lost when an incident like this happens. It is especially sad when the game and the staff are innocent. It is really hard to comprehend, yet we all know we will have to try harder to overcome events like this one. It would well be we will seldom have “normal” years in the future; if we do they will become the new “abnormal!”