Turf experts make their NCAA picks

Great news! SubAir is going to co-sponsor this March Madness Bracket Challenge with us! Thank you SubAir!

Here's the email that just went out to all the subscribers of Golfdom's e-newsletter Chip Shots:

Think you're the biggest college basketball fan in the industry? Golfdom and SubAir want you to prove it.

There are so many turf schools in the NCAA tournament -- 17 schools by our count -- that we know Golfdom readers have caught March Madness. That's why Golfdom and SubAir - maker of TurfBreeze fans - are hosting the first ever Golfdom March Madness Bracket Challenge! Click here to enter your bracket (join group # 19161 -- no password needed, but you'll need a Yahoo! account) and compete against your fellow turf professionals. Golfdom and SubAir will be providing prizes for the best brackets in the industry.

SubAir's TurfBreeze fans got a lot of greens through last year's awful summer. They know all about big fans. But are you a big fan? Prove it, and win some cool stuff!

To help you with your picks, we consulted with some fellow fans who are also turf experts to see who they're taking in their bracket...

Karl Danneberger, Ph.D., The Ohio State University

"Listen, nobody's going to beat us. We're awfully good. We're the best team in the nation, just like we're the best athletic program in the nation!

But we are in a tough region. Oh boy, we've got a lot of tough teams. We've got Kentucky, we've got North Carolina... you'd think we'd have gotten an easier road to the championship since our athletic director was in charge of the selection committee!

Ohio State is a nice mix of people. We've got the best freshman in the nation in Jared Sullinger, and we've Jon Diebler, who is a three-point sharp shooter, and he's been really hot lately. But this team is a nice mix of personnel, they're not too young, not too old.

The key to beating Ohio State is if you can guard Sullinger 1-on-1. Because if you double-team him, he'll kick it out and we'll hit the three-pointer.

I think it will come down to us and Kansas. That'd be a great game, wouldn't it?"

Jack Fry, Ph.D., Kansas State University

"I'm a season ticket holder for K-State basketball, so I follow the team closely.

For us, it depends on which team shows up. If we get the team that beat Texas on the road, then we'll be just fine, but if we get the team that managed to lose to Colorado three times, well, we'll be in trouble.

Some people in Manhattan have high hopes, and they'd tell you we've got a shot at making it to the Elite Eight. Me? Well... I have them getting knocked out in the second round by Wisconsin.

If Jacob Pullen is hitting his threes, and if he gets some support, we'll be fine. But Pullen has to be "on" for us to have any success.

The best turf school in the tournament? I can't say Ohio State, because I just can't. I'm sorry, but I can't give Ohio State or Michigan State, those Big Ten schools, any credit! So I guess I'll take K-State... or maybe Purdue, even though Purdue is a Big Ten school as well."

Clark Throssell, Ph.D., Golfdom magazine (former head of Purdue University's turf program)

"Purdue is going to get to the Sweet 16 for sure, and, it depends on how you're feeling, they could be an Elite Eight team, too. They've got a good big man and a good guard, and that's what it takes to make it in this tournament. JaJuan Johnson is their big man, he's awfully good, and they've got E'Twaun Moore, and he's tough.

You know, I won the office pool twice when I was with GCSAA, so I'm looking forward to being in the Golfdom pool that's been set up... those two wins may have been total luck, but I think I do know a thing or two about basketball. I'm not crazy for the Jayhawks like they are in Lawrence, but I do think this will come down to the Jayhawks and the Buckeyes.

And I'm taking the Jayhawks to win it all. They're tough to beat, and they have a great coach. Plus, last year when they lost to Northern Iowa? That was a tough lesson. That will only help them this year."

Hendren's Hyperbole! Episode 11 -- NCAA Tourney and Nick Watney's $12 million

Welcome back to Hendren’s Hyperbole! This might be my favorite week of the year. The NCAA tournament starts Thursday! March Madness is unbelievable year after year and once the first Thursday of the tournament rolls around everything else just fades into the background.

Hopefully KU is who Jones thinks they are so I don’t have to listen to him cry over an early KU exit! Rock Chalk Jayhawk, Jonesy!

In case you haven’t heard, let me fill you in on the great idea Jones and I had over a couple of beers a few weeks back. FYI, all great ideas are born over a couple of adult libations. Right?

Anyway, we're doing the first ever Golfdom NCAA Bracket Challenge! It is very easy to sign up for and it’s FREE! Just click here, then enter group # 19161 (no password needed.) Then fill out your bracket (don't forget to pick a champion), sit back, cheer on your favorite team and watch as your industry partners go down in a blaze of glory!

On to some PGA Tour golf: Nice work Nick Watney! Winning the Cadillac Championship against the field that was playing is impressive. Nick won by two strokes over Dustin Johnson with a final score of -16. Nick’s projected FedEx Cup standing after the win is 2nd.

I don’t know about you but if I had to predict a winner my last choice might have been Nick Watney. I don’t know a lot about Nick so I did some research and thought I would share a few facts because if I don’t know a lot about Nick I think it’s a fair assumption that you probably don’t either. Nick was born April 25, 1981 in Sacramento, Calif., and attended Fresno State, graduating in 2003. He has won 3 tournaments since 2007 and finished 2nd once. He has had 30 top ten finishes and 60 top 25 finishes. His career winnings total $12,565,377.

Over 12 million in winnings? Not too shabby!

My boy Johnny Vegas finished tied for 31st with a final score of -2. Not terrible if you consider the course and competition but I’m still disappointed. Come on Johnny, I know your better than that, or at least I thought you were! I’m still on the Johnny bandwagon and unless something unforeseeable happens I’m here for the long haul.

For your weekly Tiger update I have the following riveting information. Tiger finished tied for 10th with a final score of -8 and a final round of 66. I guess the thing that bothers me is when he was interviewed after the tournament he seemed somewhat content. When did Tiger start getting content? Is he starting to lose that killer instinct he was so well known for?

That’s going to do it for this addition of Hendren’s Hyperbole! Make sure to go fill out an NCAA Tournament bracket at www.yahoosports.com, group ID 19161. Until next week!

--Matt Hendren

Fire destroys maintenance facility at FarmLinks

I just got off the phone with Erle Fairly, president of FarmLinks. He informed me that everyone is fine, no people -- staff or fire fighters -- were injured during Wednesday morning's fire at the maintenance facility at FarmLinks GC in Sylacauga, Ala.

But the maintenance facility -- which housed some of the most cutting-edge equipment in the industry -- is a total loss.

"We believe the fire was started by lightning, we have the fire inspector here today... the fire started during a storm," Fairly told me. "These things are unfortunate, but we'll rally the troops."

Fairly also was thankful for the help of surrounding golf courses.

"This industry is close-nit, there's been no shortage of support. From industry partners, suppliers, superintendents... courses are already lending us equipment."

Photos courtesy of FarmLinks at Pursell Farms.

The Sharp Park drama makes my head feel like it's about to explode!

Editor's note: The following is the first blog post by new Golfdom contributor Chris Sorrell, superintendent at Eagles Ridge GC in Curwensville, Pa.

I just saw a little article on SFGate.com about Sharp Park.

It's a municipal golf course in San Francisco that has been under fire for some time concerning its impact on two endangered species: special frog and lovely snake. The claim is that the course is harming the animal populations. The interesting thing that is overlooked in this debate is that without the golf course, these two most marginal of God’s creations could not even live there!

The course that was built in 1932 by Golden Age architect Alister MacKenzie (which he actually writes about in his book “The Spirit of Saint Andrews”, pgs. 171-172) was “reclaimed from the sea.” This means that the land was raised from a wetland habitat to make it suitable for golf course construction. While this is not something that we would do today, there were no regulations preventing it then. It matters because in doing this it changed the standing water on the course from brackish water to fresh water. And these two species cannot survive in brackish water! Without the golf course being constructed these little critters would not even live there!

Everyone involved agrees that the course has a bad drainage problem that has resulted in conflict between maintenance practices and the creatures. The City of San Francisco has proposed a $10 million renovation to resolve the situation, but it is not good enough for opponents of the course who want to see it shut down and returned to a natural wetland. They even go so far as to criticize the city’s plan as being a waste of money because the “course will fail as sea levels rise.”

In that case, what is going to happen to the frog and the snake?

It doesn’t seem like concern for these slithery and slimy fellows is at the top of the opposition's agenda. Instead, there is an agenda at the top of their agenda.

Chris Sorrell is the superintendent of Eagles Ridge Golf Club in Curwensville, Pa. He has been a superintendent for four years. He studied turfgrass management at Penn State University. He is the father of two beautiful daughters and husband to an awesome wife.

Checking in from New England Regional Turf Show

Golfdom's Anthony Pioppi is currently up in Providence, R.I., attending the New England Regional Turfgrass Conference & Show. In Tony's words:

It appears to be about the same attendance as last year, maybe down a
little. I would say same amount of booths as 2010.

Listening to superintendents, part of the reason for guys not making
the trip is the fact that heavy weekend rains literally wiped away
every bit of snow off courses close to the coastline. Some had a foot
or more just last week. Some of those guys stayed home to get the
crews going. Long Island, Westchester County is without snow also and
a decent amount of supers come up from there as well.

Congrats to Golfdom's Anthony Williams!

(Pictured) for being named Outstanding Manager of the Year (Resort Division) at the Georgia Hotel and Lodging Association awards, and to Evergreen Resort at Stone Mountain for getting the Good Earth Keeping Award for the environmental work being done at Stone Mountain's conference center and hotel!

Hendren's Hyperbole! Episode 10 -- Announcing the Golfdom March Madness Bracket Challenge!

What’s up Hendren’s Hyperbole fans and random internet surfers who happen to stumble upon this awesome blog?

I’ll tell you what’s up! March Madness! That’s right; the NCAA tournament starts in nine days! There are few things that make me happier than watching Tiger struggle or the train wreck that is John Daly and March Madness just so happens to be one of those things. So I am pumped and unless you live under a rock or are a BYU fan, you probably are too!

Here’s the skinny. Over a few cocktails last Friday evening, Jones and I decided the only responsible thing to do about our March Madness itch is to host the first ever Golfdom March Madness Bracket Challenge. What could be more enjoyable than talking trash to fellow industry partners about their brutal bracket picks and winning some prizes in the process?

Answer: Nothing, nothing is better than prizes and a little trash talking!

Details as far as prizes are still in the works, so check back here for details but the group bracket is ready to go. You will find Golfdom’s Bracket Challenge on www.yahoosports.com under the group ID 19161. It’s easy to find and sign up for and best of all it’s FREE! Once you get to Yahoo Sports just click on Tournament Pick’em and sign up to join group 19161. NO PASSWORD IS NEEDED. Obviously, the brackets aren't set yet, but you can register now and the site will send you a reminder once the brackets are official. We'll also be sending out reminders next week as well.

Once you have your bracket filled out just sit back, let the madness consume you and make sure your smack talking is up to par! The good news is Yahoo runs this thing all by itself, so me and Jones won't be in a bar every weekend trying to score brackets. It's almost fool proof!

Let’s get on to a little golf…

Rory Sabbatini won The Honda Classic last weekend by one shot over Y.E. Yang. The win earns him 500 FedEx Cup points and the final spot in this week’s World Golf Championship-Cadillac Championship. The field is set with 69 players from 19 countries and includes all of the top 50 from the Official World Golf Ranking. Of the 69 players in the field 60 of them are inside the top 65 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

This week’s tournament should be awesome because all the who’s who of professional golf will be in the field including my boy Johnny Vegas. I am hoping he can get his stuff together, make a great run and be around come Sunday afternoon. If not, I guess I can always just watch the inevitable meltdown known as Tiger Woods.

Check back here and follow Golfdom on twitter for more details on Golfdom’s Bracket Challenge coming soon!

-- Matt Hendren

Turnin' the screw

You might remember I posted a photo of a bumper sticker here during the GIS in Orlando. The bumper sticker said, "My Rain Bird rotor is smarter than your rotor."

Well, I'm going through all this information from GIS about updates to rotors. Here's a little bit about what the Rain Bird folks gave me on their new 751 Rotors -- specifically, they're proud of the ease of adjustment on these new rotors. Also, they're backwards-compatible to any Eagle rotor built since 1992.

Here's part of the press release... look for more information on rotor improvements from other companies in the upcoming days...

Rain Bird 751 Golf Rotors make it possible for superintendents to easily and quickly adjust watering on greens, fairways or roughs as needed. These new rotors offer simple, top-adjustable rotation settings that retain the memory of their part-circle arc setting when shifting between full- and part-circle operations. This unique product is designed to offer quick adjustments for the life of the rotor with a turn of a screw.

It’s not necessary to completely replace an existing Rain Bird rotor in order to enjoy the benefits of the new 751 model. According to Lloyd von Scheliha, product manager for Rain Bird’s golf rotors, courses with older Rain Bird rotors currently installed can easily integrate the 751’s Rapid-Adjust Technology. “Unlike competitive products, Rain Bird’s new rotors offer backward-compatibility with every Eagle Rotor manufactured since 1992,” von Scheliha explained. “That means in many instances, superintendents can simply drop the new Rain Bird 751 internal assembly into their existing rotor cases, saving both time and money.”

In addition to Rapid-Adjust Technology, Rain Bird 751 Golf Rotors offer performance and durability. Field and laboratory tests have found the 751 Rotors to be up to 23 percent more efficient than those offered by the next-closest competitor. For more information about Rain Bird’s new 751 Golf Rotors with Rapid-Adjust Technology featuring Memory Arc, visit www.rainbird.com/golf or call 1-800-RAINBIRD.

Autographed Golfdom finds its home

I got a call this evening from Sean Tully, superintendent at Meadow Club in Fairfax, Calif. "I'm proud of us," he said. "We're both in our offices late on Friday."

Tully was returning my phone call about his winning the autographed copy of Golfdom. I wanted some details -- like, did Tully recognize how cool this magazine is? -- before I dropped this bad boy in the mail.

First of all, Tully definitely recognizes the coolness of this magazine. In fact, Tully collects old issues of Golfdom. His oldest issue dates back to 1965. "The cover story is about the construction of Spyglass Hill," Tully said. "I'm glad you guys do things like (the giveaway)... it's pretty damn exciting."

Tully, who has been at Meadow Club for ten years, is in his first year as the superintendent. He comes from a golfing family. He said his father, who passed some 20 years ago, would really get a kick out of the autographed issue of Golfdom.

"My Dad loved Palmer, he even smoked L&M's like he did," Tully said. Palmer is an honorary member at Meadow Club, but whenever he sees him he gives him his space. "He's just trying to play golf, you know?"

Tully also has a Nicklaus connection.

"My Dad was quite the golfer -- he qualified for the Greater Milwaukee Open in 1961. He used to brag that he beat Nicklaus as the low amateur, but I looked it up, and Nicklaus was invited to play, while my Dad missed the cut!"

Tully said he first found out that he won from his boss, who saw the notice in last week's Golfdom Insider e-newsletter.

"He told me, 'Did you see the Golfdom Insider? You won something.'" Tully says. "I said, 'Did I win an iPad?' Then I saw it was the signed issue. That's pretty cool, too."

So will the magazine be on display in his home or his office?

"Definitely my office at work," Tully says. "I have two daughters and a dog at home. Who knows what would happen to it there!"

Apel new GCBAA executive director

The Golf Course Builders Association of America (GCBAA) recently announced Justin Apel as the association’s executive director. The move was made effective at the GCBAA general membership meeting at the Golf Industry Show in Orlando.

“I’m excited to lead the GCBAA into what will be a defining period for the association,” Apel said. “I intend to use my knowledge of associations, government and technology to continue the advancement of the GCBAA.”

Since 2006, Apel has served the GCBAA as executive assistant and most recently as assistant executive director. Before joining the GCBAA, Apel was the information and education director for the Nebraska Association of Resources Districts, the trade association for Nebraska Natural Resources Districts, for four years. He also spent two years from 2000 to 2002 as legislative aide to Nebraska State Sen. Cap Dierks, who chaired the Agriculture Committee.

Apel holds a Bachelor’s of Agricultural Sciences from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He fills the role vacated by Paul Foley, who announced he was retiring after serving in the capacity since 2006.

Convo with Baltimore CC super Tim Kennelly

I was watching Saturday Night Live (sad, I know) the other night and I saw a (terrible) skit where comedian Russell Brand is a homeowner, and the TV crew from the Home Network comes to his house to tell him he's the grand prize winner. Brand gives no emotional reaction in response, much to the chagrin of the TV host. Hilarity, sadly, did not ensue.

But I was reminded of that skit as I picked up the phone to dial Tim Kennelly, superintendent out at Baltimore CC, the other day. I wondered, what would be his reaction when I told him I was flying him out to Pinehurst, N.C. in November to join us for the first ever Golfdom Summit?

Lucky for me, his reaction was better than Brand's.

"Any time you get an opportunity to learn and improve yourself in this industry, you have to take it," Kennelly told me. "It's an opportunity to grow professionally, that's the best way to put it."

Kennelly, like me, has never been to Pinehurst.

"I've met Bob (Farren, director of grounds at Pinehurst) before, and he invited me to come out and see it, but I've never had the chance to get down there. Now I will," Kennelly said. It would have been about a 7-hour drive from Baltimore to Pinehurst, if he had to drive it. "I've heard a lot about the work (Bill) Coore and (Ben) Crenshaw have done on No. 2... I'm excited to see it!"

While I had him on the phone, I asked him how the Golf Industry Show treated him.

"To be honest, I haven't been to the last two... This one was a lot smaller than the last time I went. But bigger isn't always better," he said. "I had meetings with the Bayers and the Syngentas... it was easier to get around to them. Before, you couldn't cover the entire place."

Kennelly did have one complaint about the show: the bad slot for the USGA on Friday morning, after many people had already left the show. Kennelly is a member of his local USGA Greens Section Committee, but still felt compelled to leave before the USGA's Friday session, to get back home at a decent hour.

"But it's just like taking care of a golf course -- it's never perfect. You can't make everyone happy," Kennelly laughed.

Hendren's Hyperbole! Episode 9 -- Winter doesn't rule

Greetings from the Hendren’s Hyperbole think tank in wonderful Kansas City! I don’t know about you but I am really, really, REALLY ready for spring! I have had about all the snow and sleet I can handle. I am ready to get the 2011 season rocking. It’s kind of funny because I'm always ready for winter to arrive so I can catch my breath. After about two weeks of winter I'm ready for spring to arrive.

I know, I know, I should just be happy living in the moment but that’s not me. I am always ready for the next challenge to present itself. Change is good and always welcome!

On a personal note, over the weekend I booked a weeklong trip for my wife and me to the Dominican Republic in April. We're looking forward to playing some golf but have no clue what courses to play. If anyone has information on courses to play and courses to skip fire me a comment!

Thanks to Leastman for your comment last week on John Daly’s brutal wardrobe and entertaining personal life. Comments from readers are what make or break Hendren’s Hyperbole, at least in my eyes!

Congratulations to Luke Donald for getting over the hump and capturing his first victory in the PGA in five years at the Accenture Match Play Championship. Luke has had 28 top ten finishes but just couldn’t get over the hump. It was an impressive victory and a long time coming. Donald played 89 holes during 6 matches and never trailed at any time. He also produced 32 birdies. That’s 7 more birdies than any other competitor. Luke only had to play the 17th hole once and never had to play the 18th hole. That is an impressive display taking on the top 64 players in the world. Nice work Luke!

Was anyone surprised Tiger got bounced by 16-seed Thomas Bjorn in the first round? I think the real surprise would have been if he didn’t. Tiger only managed to birdie 4 holes and conceded 3 holes, a lackluster performance even by Tiger's new standards. Like always here on Hendren’s Hyperbole, Tiger…..what a bum.

That’s going to do it for this week’s Hendren’s Hyperbole. Keep those comments coming and let me know if you have a PGA favorite or not-so-favorite you want to be put on blast here on Hendren’s Hyperbole. I'm always interested in knowing what readers truly want to read about.

--Matt Hendren

Let the BigDog mow

BigDog Mowers (manufactured not too far away from me in Hesston, Kan.!) has announced their "BigDog Days of Spring" promotion, which begins tomorrow and runs through May 31st.

Customers who test drive a BigDog mower (at participating dealers) will receive a “Bite This” t-shirt and qualify to win one of several prizes including a BigDog C-142 mower. Other prizes include $100 Visa Gift Cards, Tom Tom GPS systems, Flip Video Cameras, Apple iPods and Apple iPads.

Too early to think about dollar spot?

One of our regular Golfdom emails, "Putting down roots," just went out. Karl Danneberger, Ph.D., wrote this one about dollar spot.

If you'd like to sign up for the Golfdom emails -- we have several, ranging from disease alerts to behind-the-scenes stories making the magazine -- visit www.Golfdom.com and scroll down to sign up!

Dollar spot is the most prevalent disease on high quality turf in the northern temperate region of the United States. Dollar spot is most active within the temperature range of 59 to 86 degrees F with high humidity and leaf wetness. In general, warm humid days, cool nights and heavy dews are quite favorable for disease development. Although canopy moisture needs to be present, dollar spot is more severe on dry soils. Given the wide environmental conditions which dollar spot can occur makes it the centerpiece of any disease control program.

During winter the dollar spot fungus overwinters as dormant mycelium or sclerotial flakes. The amount present during the winter influences the arrival and severity of the disease in spring or summer. Researchers at several universities have reported that a fungicide treatment in early spring can delay the onset of dollar spot much later into the year. An application at approximately the second true mowing of the season (not counting removal of winter growth) has been effective in delaying the initiation and severity of dollar spot during the growing season. If dollar spot is a chronic problem, it may be worth experimenting with an early application.

-- Karl Danneberger, Ph.D.

10 totally random questions with GCSAA CEO Rhett Evans

By now you should have received your February issue of Golfdom, featuring a cover story on GCSAA's new CEO, Rhett Evans.

I had a great interview with Rhett for that story, and sadly, a lot of it wasn't able to make it into the piece due to space constraints. But I'll include the occasional sound bite from Evans here on the Golfdom blog when I have time.

For right now, I thought I'd post a fun part of our interview (that did not make the magazine) where I asked Rhett 10 random questions to learn a little more about his personality...

10 totally random questions with GCSAA’s new CEO, Rhett Evans

1. Who would play you in a movie about your life? Jean-Claude Van Damme
2. Greatest album of all time? “Hotel California,” the Eagles
3. Favorite professional sports team? Utah Jazz
4. How did you meet your wife? On a blind date 16 years ago
5. Greatest golf shot you ever hit? An eagle on a par 4, knocked it in from 220-yards with a 3-wood
6. Your favorite website? www.ironmanlive.com
7. What was your dream when you were a kid? To be a professional athlete
8. How many contacts do you have in your cell phone? Probably 250
9. What’s your preferred game to hunt? Wild turkey
10. What is your favorite gun? My Remington 300 Win Mag… by the way, I do not hunt turkey with that bad boy!

Hendren's Hyperbole! Episode 8 -- Watching the Idiot Bag, er, Box!

Thanks to everyone who took time to vote in last week’s poll. I think it is obvious that the majority of Golfdom readers agreed with my take on pro-ams. After all, of the whopping nine people who voted in the poll, three of which were my wife and parents, five of the votes, 55% were for the “pro-ams suck” option.

Let me explain how Hendren’s Hyperbole polls work. It’s an all-or-nothing deal. For better or worse I am an all-or-nothing kind of guy. Because 55% of the voters agreed with my take…… my take becomes fact! That’s your weekly look into the great mind behind Hendren’s Hyperbole! Let’s get on to some golf!

Aaron Baddeley won last week’s Northern Trust Open ending his two-plus year winless skid. More important the win punches his ticket to the Masters. The win puts Aaron in 4th place in the FedEx Cup point standings behind Mark Wilson, Jhonattan Vegas and D.A. Points.

Sorry Badds, but I don't want to write about you this week... I've been waiting to write about John Daly, and after seeing this picture… it’s time!



Yes, that is a TV on the side of John’s bag. What? A TV on a golf bag? That is ridiculous!

Apparently the TV flashes advertisements throughout his round. John said he got the idea from Rodney Dangerfield’s character, Al Czervic in "Caddyshack." What a coincidence! I model my golf course maintenance career after Bill Murray’s character, Carl Spackler! Hey-oh!

Besides the obvious reasons a TV stuck on the side of John’s golf bag is ridiculous, I have thought of a few more I would like to share with you:

#1 I don’t think sponsors are going to be advertising on Mr. Daly’s TV very long if he continues to miss cuts. He has only played in three PGA events in 2011 and of the three he only made one cut.

#2 When did golfers start relying on gimmicks to attract sponsors and make a few more dollars? When did golfers stop winning or at least competing and making cuts to earn a living? It’s bad enough that professional golfers are shameless walking billboards without introducing golf bags with TVs on them.

#3 Isn’t John Daly’s wardrobe a big enough distraction without adding a TV? I think John is trying to stay in the limelight despite his lackluster golfing with horrible, god awful outfits and now… a stinking TV. Hey John, how’s about playing some decent golf and drawing attention to yourself for your golf game and not a bunch of stupid clothes and gimmicks?

What is your opinion of John Daly’s clothing and golf bag TV? I have a feeling your thoughts are not going to be far off of mine.

That’s going to do it for this week’s Hendren’s Hyperbole. Keep those comments coming and look for the next poll coming soon!

--Matt Hendren

What in the Sandhill?

Cranes, that is.

More on them soon.

My three best moments of the day:

1. Called to talk with an old superintendent friend of mine, someone I haven't seen in a while. We caught up about my recent job change. Anyway, he mentioned to me that there is a photo I took of him and his wife together at the golf course some 8 or 9 years ago, that is to this day one of his favorite photos ever. Apparently I sent him the photo after the story came out, and he hung it up in his house. "Every time I look at that photo I smile," he said. "And sometimes it even reminds me of you, and when you came out here to the course to do the story." That's pretty cool, in my book -- to have a photo I took hanging up in someone's house, and, in a small way, being a part of that person's life.
2. I called another superintendent friend (I was on the phone a lot today) and as soon as he answered, he said, "29 meetings in 2 days?" quoting back to me something I wrote in my most recent Chip Shots Golfdom e-newsletter. You want to make a writer feel good? Quote something he wrote back to him.
3. The new Radiohead album came out a day early... and I've been rocking it all day.

It was indeed a VERY GOOD day.

So, back to the Sandhill Cranes.

We were playing golf at the GCSAA golf tournament at PGA National. We spotted these birds. I didn't know what they were, but one of our playing partners, Dennis DeSanctis, a regional rep for Syngenta, knew what they were.

He was able to walk right up to these birds! They didn't mind us at all. I snapped a few photos, and told Dennis I'd send him the pictures. So... here ya go, Dennis -- click on them and grab them off the site!

Wait, wait, wait... did you look at your watch?

During the Nick Price interview?

OK, I've gotten a few emails from people, asking me if I really had the audacity to look at my watch during my Nick Price interview.

And the answer is, "Yes, I did."

BUT I CAN EXPLAIN!!!

OK, it went like this: there were only two of us there to interview Nick during his "media round table."

As a journalist, let me tell you -- media round tables SUCK. Everyone is stuck getting the same answers, so the interviews are completely unoriginal.

Well, at the beginning of the "media round table," it was only me, Nick, and one of my rivals in the turf media industry. I proposed to my friendly rival that we split the 30 minutes that the GCSAA allocated with Nick. No round table -- two 1-on-1 15-minute interviews, peace on earth. He agreed.

Then two more competitors showed up. Damn.

But my rival liked my idea so he proposed we still do it, only splitting the time -- now down to about 25 minutes -- to 5 minutes each for the four of us. I asked the group, and everyone agreed it was a fair deal.

(Brief aside -- I think this set-up totally freaked out my old GCSAA pal Bill Newton, who handles the media for the association. Apologies, Bill! Thanks for being a good sport and letting us media guys flip the script on you.)

I told Scott Hollister from GCM to take the first 5-minutes. He's my old boss, after all, and the GIS is his party, best to step aside for the man. Scott began his interview while the rest of us stepped away.

Then the question was asked among the three of us: What if one of us selfish bastards decided to take more than 5 minutes? "Well, that wouldn't be cool," I said. Yeah, but what if?

I promised the guys that I would only take 5 minutes and not a minute more... and if I did, they could call me out on it.

Then I set up my video recorder and got ready to roll tape with Nick Price.

Twenty seconds into my interview with Nick, it occurred to me that I needed to be able to know how long this bad boy was running. I wanted to keep my end of the deal. I didn't want to go over 5 minutes.

Hence, the blatant glance at my watch.

No, Nick Price does not bore me. Quite the opposite, Nick cracks me up and I enjoy chatting with him.

Yes, I did look at my watch. But it was for good reason.

And at the end of the day, it adds a funny side-story to my interview.

And now you know!

Golfdom interview with Nick Price

I got great news in my email inbox yesterday morning... my interview with Nick Price at last week's Golf Industry Show was the most-viewed Golfdom video EVER! Thanks to everyone who gave it a look. Here it is below, in case you missed it.

My selling point on this video: You have to hear Price's take on greens committees (which is my last question of the short interview). It's classic.

But this is indeed a sign that Golfdom readers do enjoy quality industry videos... so plan on seeing more from your friendly Golfdom editor-in-chief!

To see the video click over to www.golfdom.com

Hendren's Hyperbole! Episode 7 -- Does Anyone Really Want to Watch Maury Povich Golf?

Welcome back to another riveting addition of Hendren’s Hyperbole! I hope everyone enjoyed the 2011 Golf Industry Show. Hopefully you followed Seth on twitter @Golfdom during the GIS and got yourself some sweet prizes. I think you all brought some of the nice weather back with you. Thursday the high is supposed to be 71 degrees! 71 sure beats the sub zero weather the country was engulfed by about a week ago.

Congratulations to D.A. Points for capturing his first PGA Tour win at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am with a final score of -15. D.A. teamed up with Bill Murray to also win the Pro-Am Team Championship. After the win Murray gave the following quote “I’m thinking of turning professional. I probably won’t because I’ve got other responsibilities.”

I realize Bill is a comedian but come on, give me a break! Comedy and golf DO NOT MIX! There is nothing funny about golf. Well, that’s not entirely true. Tiger was fined an undisclosed sum by the European Tour for spitting on the 12th green last Sunday in Dubai. That is funny!

Personally I hate pro-am tournaments. What a joke. I don’t care to watch a bunch of hacks beat it around the course. If I want to see a bunch of hacks firing chili peppers all over God’s green earth I can just look out my office window.

I really don’t care what all the no-talent hacks, who haven’t been relevant in about 15 years, if ever, have to say about anything! I’m talking about you Andy Garcia, Kurt Russell and Maury Povich! Really, Maury Povich had time to stop revealing paternity test results and play golf? Don’t even get me started on Bill Belichick or Chris Berman.

If I am going to watch golf on TV I want to watch professional golfers. I would rather watch the Nationwide Tour or the LPGA. Yeah, I said it. LPGA, women’s golf! BRRR! I just got a chill running down my spine! Never mind, I have reconsidered and at no time would I rather watch the LPGA over a pro-am.

Where do you weigh in on the pro-am golf tournament? Vote in our poll or fire me a comment and let me know!

--Matt Hendren