Hendren's Hyperbole! Episode 22 -- Memorial Day Edition

Welcome back to Hendren’s Hyperbole! I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend. I had a great weekend even though I couldn’t get out and play a round. I just enjoyed spending time with my family. Hopefully you not only had a great three-day weekend at the lake, but you also had a chance to wave a flag and remember what the holiday stands for... I know we did at the Hendren house.

I can’t believe this is the 22nd episode of Hendren's Hyperbole! I figured Jones would send me packing after the 2nd. I guess I could still get canned... especially if someone doesn’t start leaving some comments!

There was lots of golf on the tube this past weekend. Tom Watson rallied to win the senior PGA championship. At the age of 61 that’s pretty incredible. Keegan Bradley earned his first PGA Tour victory at the HP Byron Nelson Championship over Ryan Palmer and Luke Donald won the BMW PGA Championship beating Lee Westwood in a playoff. Donald’s victory moves him to 2nd in the Fed-Ex Cup standings. He only trails Bubba Watson by 29 points for the top spot. Over all this last weekend was a great weekend to log endless hours watching golf.

Well, because this is a short week due to the holiday my post is going to be rather short. Check back in next week and I will fill you all in on why golf is the main cause for tough guys going extinct.

Until next week…!

-- Matt Hendren

Happy Memorial Day!

Here's a nice tribute to an old-time super who passed away recently, Harold Peck, who was the superintendent at Battle Creek CC from 1947 to 1988. Published in the Battle Creek (Mich.) Enquirer.

According to the article, he was a charter member of the GCSAA... but that doesn't sound entirely accurate, as I don't think he was old enough to have been able to have accomplished that... it also says he was a founder of the Michigan State turfgrass program... but it also states correctly that facts blur over the years, especially when someone accomplishes a lot of things in their lifetime.

Regardless, an interesting article about a person who was obviously a hard-working superintendent, dedicated to his craft. Cheers, Harold Peck, and to all those friends who aren't with us anymore...

Super Jimmy Shannon on the local news

Pine Golf Course in Diamondhead, Miss., reopened last weekend... hopefully the guys had nice weather for the unveiling of their new Miniverde greens.

Check out the video to see course superintendent Jimmy Shannon talking about the greens... and you have to like a golf pro with the first name "Hoppy."

Have you checked out the last issue of Golfdom yet?

If you haven't, click here or over on the front cover on the right-hand side of this page. Lots of good stuff in the issue, including our cover story interview with former GCSAA CEO Mark Woodward!

And, for the record, it took me four issues until I got a Radiohead reference on the cover of the magazine. "Fitter, Happier" is a title of an offbeat Radiohead song off of their OK Computer album.

Take that, competition...! We're leading the industry in Radiohead references as well as What-a-Burger references! WHOO-HOO!!!!

US Open host Giuffre in USA Today

Check out our pal Mike Giuffre in USA Today!

Hendren's Hyperbole! Episode 21 -- Quick Rounds in Vegas, Baby!

Hendren from Hendren’s Hyperbole here! Glad you decided to take a minute to read this week’s post. I have had a great week… so far. I got to play Creekmoor Golf Course, a fairly new course in my area, this last Saturday. Creekmoor is located in Raymore, Mo., and is a great track. It is 7,200+ from the tips, not that I played from the tips. I actually played alright considering the amount of beer that was consumed and how hard the wind was blowing. So I guess I didn’t play very well if I need two excuses for my performance.

Congratulations to David Toms for his win last week at Colonial. It takes some serious stones and intestinal fortitude to lose in a playoff one week and come back the next week the way he did. If my math is correct this is Toms’ thirteenth win on the PGA Tour and first since 2006. The win places him 4th in the Fed Ex Cup standings. Nice work David!

Listen, I’m sure there isn’t one guy who hasn’t wanted to get in a quick round on a Saturday morning and still get home to knock off a few items on your wife’s honey-do-list, but in the end decided not to play due to the simple fact that it is next to impossible to get in a round under 4.5 to 5 hours. I’m sure we all know the feeling of weighing a round of golf versus the wrath that is going to be waiting for us at home after a long round and what your wife considers a wasted day.

Well, Angel Park Golf Club in Vegas has implemented a policy that makes everyone a winner. The following is from a press release from Angel Park Golf Club:

ANGEL PARK GOLF CLUB ANNOUNCES NEW EXPRESS LANE TEE TIMES



First five tee times on Saturday mornings set aside for golfers who agree to finish in at least 3 hours and 45 minutes


LAS VEGAS, Nevada – Angel Park Golf Club now provides Express Lane tee times on one of its two 18-hole golf courses each Saturday morning to golfers who commit to finishing 18 holes in 3 hours and 45 minutes or less. Although the exact times vary with the season, currently the five Express Lane tee times are from 7 am to 7:28 am. 


“One of the things we consistently hear throughout the golf world is that it takes too long to play,” said Greg Brockelman, Director of Golf at Angel Park. “In an effort to combat this issue, we created Express Lane. The reality is that most people live very busy lives. Whether it’s trying to catch up at work or other responsibilities at home, people have a hard time carving out five hours to play a round of golf. Not to mention that some golfers just like to play fast.” 




To ensure that there is no misunderstanding, the reservationist reminds the guest when they book their tee time that they must maintain at least a 3-hour 45-minute pace. A note is placed in their golf car, and the starter provides a final mention. They also sign an agreement stating that if they fail to maintain pace, their round may be interrupted to accommodate faster play. This interruption could include moving them to the other golf course, moving them forward into position, or moving them backwards behind the last Express Lane reservation. While every attempt is made to avoid an interruption, Angel Park must honor the agreement it made with the other Express Lane golfers (i.e. 3-hour 45-minute finish times, guaranteed).




“We love it,” said Las Vegas resident, Lowell Masters. “It’s a win-win situation for us. We can tee it up in the morning, and get back to the house with the entire day still ahead of us.” 


I think this is a great idea and a great way to attract new business to your club! We all know how important it is to set your club apart from the competition and this is a great way to do that at no cost to the club’s bottom line.

I wish I had thought of this idea. If I would have I might have a life-size statue of myself next to the putting green! Probably not, but hey, a guy can dream can't he?!?

What are some ideas you have instituted at your course to help speed up the pace of play? Leave me a comment and let me know what works or possibly didn’t work for you and your course.

--Matt Hendren

Joplin tornado

I'm down here in southern Missouri visiting my wife's family... we're 40 miles east of Joplin, Mo.

Here in Monett, the tornado sirens went off for almost 30 minutes. I think that's the longest I've ever heard them, and that's coming from a guy who grew up in Wichita.

I took some photos, but didn't bring my card reader. I'll download and post them later this week. We didn't see any tornadoes here, thankfully, just a lot of ominous clouds.

Thoughts and prayers to everyone in Joplin.

Jerry Kelly as the TCU Horned Frog

Always one of my favorite golfers, check out this video of Jerry Kelly teeing off dressed as the TCU Horned Frog.

Click here for the full story courtesy of Yahoo! Sport's Jay Busbee and Devil Ball Golf.

A bet's a bet. I applaud the guys for their creativity on this one.

The sad thing is that Kelly could probably still out-drive me while he's got a giant frog head on.

Although I will say the swing was a little anti-climactic. If there ever was a time for a trick exploding golf ball, this was it.

Wong joins Bayer as technical service specialist

It was announced today that Environmental Science, a division of Bayer CropScience, has named Dr. Frank P. Wong as its Technical Service Specialist for the northern fungicide business of the U.S.

With more than 15 years of plant pathology experience, Dr. Wong will bring his expertise to the technical and research and development team for the fungicide business.

“We are excited to add Dr. Wong to the Bayer team as he brings an incredible depth of knowledge in plant pathology,” said Laurence Mudge, Technical Services Manager, Environmental Science. “Frank’s insight and experience from his prior research and extension responsibilities will be a valuable asset as Bayer continues to develop and commercialize leading chemistries.”

Prior to joining Environmental Science, Wong served as Associate Specialist in cooperative extension and as a plant pathologist at the University of California, Riverside. Golfdom last reported on Wong in our March 2011 issue (“Cal-Riverside Halts Diagnostics Lab”), when it was announced on March 7, 2011, that the turf diagnostics lab services was being shut down at UC Riverside. “For 2011 we will try to reorganize under a new business plan to meet the diagnostic lab needs of the industry, and relaunch the service under a different model as soon as we can,” Wong said at the time in a letter to the industry.

Wong has also served as the American Phytopathological Society’s subject matter expert for the Environmental Protection Agency, providing information on plant diseases and disease management. Wong received his doctorate in plant pathology from Cornell University and his bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from the University of California, Davis. He is currently based in Washington, D.C. and can be reached via email at frank.wong@bayer.com.

“Bayer is an innovative organization that is always on the leading edge of research and development. I look forward to the opportunity to enhance and further develop the Bayer reputation as a leader in science,” Dr. Wong said in a press release from Bayer.

A blog thank you to Bill Irving at Lawrence CC

Bill let us come out and do a photo shoot at Lawrence (Kan.) CC yesterday. We had beautiful weather and hopefully we got some usable stuff for the next issue of Golfdom.

Bill is your typical passionate superintendent. He was stressing about the project he was in the middle of on No. 12 as well as the fact that PGA Tour player (and KU alumnus) Gary Woodland was playing the course that day. And I'm sure I didn't help out his stress by asking to do photos at the course! But the course looked great and I'm sure Gary would agree. (I'll ask him, we have an interview set up for today.)

Here is a photo of Bill, as well as the drainage project on No. 12.

Hendren's Hyperbole! Episode 20 -- Fuchsia isn't my color

Greetings from hyperbole land! I hope everyone had a great weekend watching the Players Championship. Unfortunately I did not get to watch as much of the tournament as I would have liked to but what I missed I got caught up on from Twitter and PGA.com. Having to catch up on golf because I couldn’t watch it live sucks but what are you going to do? Anything involving golf is better than no golf at all… words to live by, write it down.

Last night I had the opportunity to have a great meal at Capitol Grille on the Plaza with Kevin Stoltman, vice president at Questex Media, Pat Roberts, Golfdom publisher, Seth Jones, Golfdom editor-in-chief, and Tom Mentzer from Mentzer PR Group. We all threw down some awesome steaks, enjoyed a few cocktails, smoked a few cigars and had a great conversation on a movie highly recommended by Mr. Roberts. I am not going to ruin the element of surprise by mentioning the movie so next time you see him make it a point to ask him about the best movie ever!

It was great to meet these guys, I’m really enjoying being involved with Golfdom and this dinner was just one example of the fun I’ve been able to have since joining the extended Golfdom family back in January. Jones hasn't been lying when he says this is a cool, fun group of guys. (That's all of us in the purple-y cell phone pic above... it goes Jones, me and Pat in the back row, then Kevin and Tom sitting down in front of us. Fuchsia isn't our natural color, I swear.)

So how about that ending to the Players Championship?!? It was EPIC! David Toms was defeated by K.J. Choi in the first playoff hole. Toms lipped out a 3.5 foot par, his first miss inside 5 feet all week leaving the door open for Choi to sink a 2.5 foot putt for par. This was Choi’s first victory since the 2008 Sony Open in Hawaii, making K.J. the first Korean Players champion.

Granted I didn’t really have a horse in that race but every golf tournament is better with a dramatic finish in a playoff. Now we can start the countdown to the U.S. Open! Only 5 more weeks! Jonesy teased it this week in his Golfdom Insider, and I am so ready. I love all golf tournaments but the Open is my favorite. Maybe Tin Cup has something to do with that? Nah, I just love the fact that the Open is the “everyman” tournament. Anyone who is good enough to make the “cut” can play… in theory.

So what happened to Tiger? He hurt his knee again? Really? Is he in his 30s or his 50s? Fred Funk’s back thinks Tiger is baby. I’m sure his knee is hurt. I’m not questioning that… but why would he try to play in a tournament he has said he doesn’t like in the first place if he has a bad wheel?

Of course, I have the answer: Tiger has to be thinking the sooner he does something besides swear and throw clubs on the course the sooner people, like me, will forget his troubles off the course. Good luck with that El Tigre! It is apparent he shouldn’t have pushed. He just needs to shut it down for the rest of the year and get his body right, along with his mind and try again next year. When it rains it pours, huh Tiger?

Until next time,

-- Matt Hendren

Interview with U.S. Open host superintendent Dave Hutchinson

If you're not signed up to receive the Golfdom Insider (and why wouldn't you be? It's free, it's got tons of content... sign up here.) then you missed my interview with Congressional superintendent of greens and grounds, Dave "Hutchie" Hutchinson.

I've also got an interview with the main man, Michael Giuffre, director of golf course maintenance, but I'm saving that one for another day.

In the meantime, here's the link to check out the interview with our friend from South Africa, Dave. (Dave is pictured on the right, Blue Course superintendent Derek Trenchard is on the left.)

Wrapping up with a cold beer at Tobacco Road...

And the Players Championship. Because that's how I roll!

Sent from my Samsung Epic™ 4G

Almost wrapped up from N.C.

I've been in North Carolina for eight straight work days. Been all over the state! Tomorrow we head back home. Aside from our trip to urgent care (five stitches for Dan) it's been a great trip.

We've met with BASF, Arysta LifeScience, JRM, IMRE and a few more, maybe even a trip to IHOP if we have time!

It's a Questex-only dinner tonight, so there will surely be some big plans concocted. Good news for us, me and Dan make a pretty good team when we put our heads together... we've already figured out two stories our respective mags can collaborate on. Now we just need a nickname for this new superteam...

Thunder in the background, looks like I'll be sporting a sportcoat over my Jayhawks t-shirt tonight. That's right North Carolina, there is a Jayhawker among you!

Sent from my Samsung Epic™ 4G

Never the way you want to start the day...

Even editors can get hurt on the job. Just dropped off Landscape Management magazing editor-in-chief Dan Jacobs at the urgent care in Greensboro, N.C. Dan sliced his hand open while opening the trunk of our rental car.

The injury was just like the scene in "Back to the Future," only Marty McFly wasn't trapped in the trunk.

But don't worry Mrs. Jacobs, DJ will be ok, he just needs maybe a stitch or two. Us editors stick together, I'll make sure he gets taken care of!

Sent from my Samsung Epic™ 4G

Thoughts on Seve

Seve Ballesteros' funeral is today. He died at age 54 of brain cancer.

I saw Seve play once, several years ago at the Masters. My plan was to walk the whole course, hole-by-hole, in order. I had just started my walk and was midway up No. 1 when a golf ball rolled up to my feet. I backed away and waited to see whose teeshot it was. Seve came strolling up the fairway.

I wasn't watching golf in Seve's heyday, but I knew this was one of the game's legends approaching me. There was hardly anyone else around (it was a bad teeshot) when he got to his ball. He gave me a nod as he approached the ball. I stood right by him -- close enough to think to myself, "huh, Seve wears Old Spice," -- as he cracked his second shot, a beautiful low iron.

I think what I liked about Seve, if only as a casual fan, was that he was known for his creativity. As a golfer who is forced to also sometimes hit, uh, creative golf shots, I liked it that there was a big name in golf known for the same thing.

Seve now has something in common with my Dad, who died of brain cancer two years ago when he was 62. Having witnessed my Dad's illness firsthand, I have some understanding of how terrible brain cancer is. It's tragic seeing someone who is otherwise healthy being crippled by something going terribly awry in their brain.

So here's me saying cheers to Seve, a cool old-school golfer who passed away far too young. And here's me saying that we have to keep supporting cancer research, because it's such an insidious disease.

Sent from my Samsung Epic™ 4G

Hendren's Hyperbole! Episode 19 -- Scratch for the beard???

Welcome back to another installation of Hendren’s Hyperbole! Hopefully everyone’s week is flying by in anticipation of this week’s Players Championship. The Players championship is one of my favorite tournaments of the year and with a $9,500,000 purse every player worth anything will be competing.

Congratulations to Lucas Glover’s beard for the win last week at the Wells Fargo championship. Lucas’s beard defeated former Clemson teammate Jonathan Byrd on the first playoff hole for the win and a sweet giant check for $1,170,000. What does a beard do with that kind of scratch? Buy a gross of giant beard combs? Purchase a state of the art beard trimmer? Acquire some industrial strength mustache wax? Whatever the beard decides to purchase I’m sure it will be well worth the money.

On a completely unrelated note, when I returned from vacation last week I learned that one of my employees had flipped a zero turn mower off a rock wall about 15 feet tall. Luckily the roll bar did its job and he wasn’t hurt. The mower has seen better days but, most important, no one was hurt.

I have lots of other stories about mowers being rolled and other crazy “accidents.” I want to hear about your unbelievable employee “accidents.” I’m sure we all have some stories that even you wouldn’t believe could happen if you weren’t there to witness it in person.

Shoot me your stories and I will recap the best ones in a later entry.

I hope you all are gearing up for summer and getting yourself pumped to haul a hose all over God’s green earth. Today it is about 90 in Kansas City and June isn’t even here yet! I love Kansas summers!

Well, I better get back to it. Those greens aren’t going to syringe themselves.

Until next week….

-- Matt Hendren

Hendren's Hyperbole! Episode 18 -- Best course EVER

Note from Seth -- This was supposed to post last Tuesday, but I dropped the ball on it. Apologies, Hendren!

Welcome back to Hendren’s Hyperbole reporting live again from Kansas City. Unfortunately, I had to come back from the Dominican Republic and jump back into reality. In case you didn’t know, when you leave the real world for a week your return is not a pleasant one. I have never been this busy EVER! Looking on the bright side I guess my week will fly by!

I had a great time on vacation. I had the privilege of playing Corales, designed by Tom Fazio, last week on my trip. I know this is Hendren’s Hyperbole but there is not exaggerating in this following statement….BEST COURSE EVER! I could not believe how awesome Corales was! Just picture being right on the ocean, drinking cold beer, playing the most beautiful, well kept courses, dare I say, on the earth! Nope, I said it! Words do not do this golf course justice. I love golf and have played a lot of courses and they all fall short.

I want to give a special Hendren’s Hyperbole thank you to Julio Diaz, the superintendent of Corales. Julio’s hospitality was top notch. Julio, if you are ever in Kansas City look me up and I will return the favor! Another special thank you to Joel, my wife and I’s caddy. This guy knew Corales like the back of his hand and really made our experience a special one.

I know this entry is a short one but like I said... I am slammed!

-- Matt Hendren

Surviving the Tuscaloosa tornadoes

Today I spoke with Gib Fox, golf course superintendent at Ol' Colony Golf Complex in Tuscaloosa, Ala., about the destruction from the recent tornadoes there.

"It was black as night and eerily calm," he said, describing the scene. "You could see some small debris in the sky. Everybody says it sounds like a freight train. It doesn’t. It sounds worse."

Two tornadoes hit about a half hour apart, he said. The first one, he added, was mammoth, hitting at about 11 a.m.

Fox, his wife and two children live about a mile-and-a-half from where the tornado touched down. "We were looking at it as it passed and I was saying, 'This is bad. It was a half-mile wide and you could see it clear as day."

The twister was reportedly moving at 180 miles per hour, leaving a swath of devastation in its wake. Fox and his family do not have a basement, so they took shelter in a makeshift teepee they constructed in the middle of their house. Thankfully, he said, his kids didn't understand the gravity of the situation.

After the twister passed over his house, Fox stepped outside. "It was dead calm," he said. But the winds kicked up again shortly thereafter, and the second, smaller, tornado arrived.

"The second one went right over the golf course," Fox said. "I could see it. It was spinning up the in the air and I could see it. "

Like Fox's neighborhood, the golf course was spared any damage. Other areas, however, were not so lucky. The death toll is nearing 40, and whole neighborhoods are destroyed. "It looks like you took bulldozers and lined them up in a row and went to work," Fox said. "There’s nothing left.... And any time anybody loses their life, it’s bad."

Despite the massive physical and emotional devastation the tornado left behind, Fox said that given the record-breaking twister came within 200 yards of touching down at the University of Alabama and a nearby hospital, the death toll could have been even higher.

Sadly, in the end, he said, "You can rebuild a home, but you can't replace the people."

Links at Tuscaloosa Golf & Country Club superintendent Jason Bonneville videotaped the tornado and its aftermath.

Golfdom team at Grove Park Inn

We had a great time playing at Grove Park yesterday. Mark Rogers and his team are doing a great job out here in Asheville, N.C. The course picked up 2 inches of rain the night before we played, but still played great. Greens got fast on the back nine as the wind picked up/sun dried things out/crew rolled. Fun course.

The Questex Media team (L to R, Dan Jacobs, Pat Roberts and Kevin Stoltman... and me behind the camera) finished in 2nd place in the golf tourney. We left a few strokes out there for sure, too many missed putts.

The TOCA awards banquet (sponsored by Syngenta) takes place tonight. Fingers crossed!

Happy Cinco de Mayo, amigos!

Sent from my Samsung Epic™ 4G