Thank you for all the years - Good-bye

This will be my final post to the golf maintenance blog of Lewiston Golf and Country Club, because I have been presented with an opportunity that I feel is the right move in my career now and one I just can't turn down.  I will be going to work for The Toro Company as an irrigation trainer.  Teaching classes in person and on-line using Toro irrigation.

I first want to say thank you to all the members and golfers at Lewiston Country Club that allowed me to take care of their golf course for the last 6 years.  The support I have received from day 1 was amazing, and I enjoyed everyday on the golf course.  When I made this decision I remember standing on 4 tee box with BJ and thinking two things to myself - 1) all of the hard work that we put into this course to get it where it is today, all the irrigation improvements we made, the irrigation repairs we had late in the evening, pulling pump motors on Saturday afternoon, and all the joy and fulfillment it gave me.  I truly enjoyed my time here, the smiles on members faces as they putted on the greens, and the "compliments" our staff receieved for the outstanding playing conditions.  2)  I will never have that same reward and feeling again as a superintendent as I change to do something different in the turf industry.

Hole #4

Irrigation project

Bj wondering when we can get going

Secondly I want to thank all the readers of this blog.  3 years ago when I made the decision to start this as a way to communicate what was happening on the golf course to my membership, I never expected it to become this big.  All the followers from across the world that tell me the first thing they do each morning is to read the blog and see what is new at LGCC.  I appreciate all of you that took time to send me emails or leave comments, it really made it rewarding to see how many people actually read it and enjoyed the information that was shared. 

As far as the future, I never expected to be typing anything like this.  But after having a child of my own it has truly shown me that the life of a superintendent is very difficult.  The alarm clock at 3AM, meaning to bed at 8:30, the evenings, holidays, weekends, and no summer vacations really take a tole on your family life.  My dad always took me fishing in the summer, camping with the family, and summer vacations, I want to do the same thing with my family and give that to my son too.  The life of a golf course superintendent is a very difficult one.

I feel I have worked very hard in my life to get to this point, I am very marketable and valuable to a company right now, and it is a change I need to make for my family.  I will truly miss the agronomic side, the tournament preparation, and reacting to mother nature everyday.  Thank you very much to all my staff and members over the years.

Moving forward we have the opportunity to live in any city in the U.S. that we want as long as it is near a big airport, because I will do some traveling with teaching seminars.  We hope to be moved by the end of the summer to get the kids in school and be all settled by mid-August.  I will still have a presence on-line giving seminars if you care to watch any, and I know LGCC will be in great hands with the individual we have hired.

Thank you and good bye for now readers, members, golfers, and followers.