It’s called “work” for a reason. It isn’t rest or play. It isn’t always fun. And sometimes it feels thankless.
But you don’t need to tell this to superintendents, who have been compared to NFL kickers: what they do only gets noticed when something goes wrong.
Like a lot of people who labor long hours and aren’t always showed with love in return, superintendents often have good cause to gripe. About bad weather and bad golf behavior. About staffing shortages and irrigation leaks.
But the work isn’t all gloomy. Supers have reasons for gratitude as well. The sight of a sunrise. The smell of fresh cut grass. Obscure new inventions that lighten their tasks.
To experience all of the above first-hand, there’s no better place than the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America’s Conference and Trade Show, an annual turf-care extravaganza that draws supers from around the world.
We were at the last one to check out the latest and greatest in agronomic advents. Cutting-edge hole cutters. Robot mowers. Fairway groomers. We spoke to goose-dog breeders, pest-control experts, even engineers in charge of designing bizarre gizmos.
We also talked to lots of superintendent about all things work-and-life related. A chatty bunch, they had a lot to say, as you can see and hear in this video.
Josh Sens
Golf.com Editor
A golf, food and travel writer, Josh Sens has been a GOLF Magazine contributor since 2004 and now contributes across all of GOLF’s platforms. His work has been anthologized in The Best American Sportswriting. He is also the co-author, with Sammy Hagar, of Are We Having Any Fun Yet: the Cooking and Partying Handbook.
