Arkansas Turfgrass – Logan Freeman
A superintendent discusses collaborating with professionals in other sectors of turf management and offers steps fellow supers can take to promote a united front.
The following story was originally published in the June 2019 issue of GCM and is reprinted with permission.
While there is no debating that the turf industry has come under increased attacks from activist groups and one-sided legislation in the past few years, I believe there is a potentially dangerous gap in our defense.
Though not often talked about, a lack of cohesion among the different professions within turfgrass management has left us isolated and separated.
In the specific world of golf course management, we often discuss the importance of communication between the superintendent and golf shop staff, golfers, boards and committees. We also recognize the benefit of camaraderie and shared knowledge among golf course superintendents. Although the collaboration and community in golf is critical to the success of our work, the lack of communication and support across the various sectors of turfgrass management — golf, sports turf, home lawn care, university professionals, distributors, sales representatives — is rarely addressed. (Photo 1)
The origin of this divide is difficult to pinpoint. Perhaps we superintendents felt that cultivating this long-term supportive relationship would have taken too much time and effort away from our immediate day-to-day operations. Or maybe we just saw no value in immersing ourselves in its complexities. Whatever the history, this disconnect now seriously undermines the future of our industry as a whole.
An eye-opening gathering
Like so many in our profession, I used to think that sports turf and lawn care just did their thing, and we as golf course turfgrass managers did ours. That’s the way it had always been and likely would remain. Then I went to a meeting for the formation of a local chapter of the Sports Turf Managers Association. This organic creation of the Mid-Atlantic STMA (https://mastma.org) opened my eyes to an entirely different approach to my profession.
Of the hundred or so in attendance, I was the only golf course superintendent in the room. Yet instead of feeling alone and territorial, I felt a sense of connection and an appreciation for my presence. I also felt the support of what the people attending the meeting were trying to achieve.
I discovered a side of turfgrass management I had never before experienced, and I formed bonds with local sports turf managers I likely never would have met had I not attended as a sign of support for the new organization. (Photo 2)
Immediately following that meeting, I couldn’t stop wondering why the golf and sports sides of the industry were not more jointly associated. After all, we have far more commonalities than differences. We all manage turfgrass for its playability, in addition to juggling the management of people, budgets and the environment.
I also began to question why lawn care and other sectors were not a part of this supportive mix. If we are looking to move the turfgrass industry forward and address all the adversity facing us, we must come together in support and appreciation.
No matter our titles — golf course superintendent, head groundskeeper, lawn care provider, researcher, distributor — we all have a passion for this industry as well as a part to play in the narrative of its future.
The future of the turf industry
Our industry is increasingly challenged.
Part of this growing tension is positive, as ever-restrictive pesticide- and nutrient-management laws lead to innovation, ingenuity and leadership.
The downside, however, is equally present, as lawmakers who view the turfgrass industry as an easy target issue uninformed, blanket statements with little regard for repercussions.