I am always amazed at the complexities of this industry. We all know what it takes to do our job and how varied the tasks and skill sets can be. You will run into the person who is awestruck by the very essence of a golf green. It happened to me this week. I have been involved with a golf tourney for the last couple years involving a couple of men’s hockey leagues. It was our season ending get together and to call it a tourney is a stretch since many of the players do not play. One of my partners is from the Czech Republic who had never even played before and he was so afraid to take a divot he would miss repeatedly. His first comment as we drove down the first fairway was “I can see why people play this game it is so beautiful out here with all the trees and grass”. Another one of the competitors is a friend whom I helped put in a small lawn at his house this spring. He was blown away at how much work was saved by using a bunker rake. His comments about the green heights and wonderment of what it must take to achieve such a thing made me ponder the other end of the spectrum. You know the people I am talking about. The ones who ask, “what do you do all winter?” or simply think all we do is mow grass. It is no wonder GCSAA struggles to elevate the perception of the Superintendent when people cover both ends of the spectrum. So how do we educate the masses to at least bring them into middle ground?  Visibility and communication are a good start. Be available. Be open and engaging. It couldn’t hurt to start a few conversations with people. Anything we can do to educate people and get them interested in golf and what we do will be a good thing for the industry.

Jumping on the band wagon to grow the game I have started making a tee time on Sunday mornings trying to bring back two guys that I know want to play golf more and just need a push. One owns the microbrewery we had our meeting at last fall the other is my barber. My son fills in as the fourth and fits the mold as one who does not play often. This week I invited my electrician who just picked up the game last year. So take a step, be available or simply help grow the game.