Tee to Green August Cover 2015_Tee to G dec 2010 cover 9/13/15 9:08 PM Page 3 July/August 2015 VOLUME 46 NUMBER 4 Published by the Metropolitan Golf Course Superintendents Association Tee to Green August 2015 vr 2_tee to green Dec 2010 9/14/15 8:11 AM Page ii Board of Directors President GLEN DUBE, CGCS Centennial Golf Club Vice President DAV I D DU DON E S Westchester Country Club Treasurer KENNETH BENOIT JR., CGCS Cover: Quaker GlenArbor Golf Club Ridge Golf Club. Secretary Photography by ROBERT B. ALONZI JR. Evan Schiller. Fenway Golf Club Past President BLAKE HALDERMAN, CGCS Brae Burn Country Club Directors MICHAEL BRUNELLE, CGCS Upper Montclair Country Club BRETT CHAPIN Redding Country Club BRIAN CHAPI N Paramount Country Club DOUG DRUGO Wee Burn Country Club STEVEN McGLONE Siwanoy Country Club VINCENT PAVONETTI, CGCS Fairview Country Club Class “C” Rep DAVID PARSON The Apawamis Club n this Issue Class “AF” Rep ROBERT STEINMAN, CGCS I Pocono Tur f Feature Executive Secretary SUSAN O’DOWD Insider’s Guide to Scoring That ‘Super’ Job ..............................2 Tee to Green Staff Editor JIM PAVONETTI 203-531-8910 Departments Managing Editor PAN DORA C. WOJICK Editorial Committee Member News ......................................................................8 TODD APGAR STEVEN MCGLONE MATT CEPLO BOB NIELSEN Scorecard ............................................................................11 KEVIN COLLINS SCOTT NIVEN ANDY DROHEN TOM REYES CHIP LAFFERTY GREG WOJICK Spotlights ............................................................................12 Designer TERRI E YOU NG Upcoming Events ................................................................16 Advertising Manager MIKE BRUNELLE, 973-777-6710 TEE TO GREEN is published bimonthly by the Metropolitan Golf Course Superintendents Association 49 Knollwood Road, Elmsford, NY 10523-2819 914-347-4653, FAX: 914-347-3437, METGCSA.ORG Copyright © 2015 Tee to Green August 2015 vr 2_tee to green Dec 2010 9/14/15 8:11 AM Page 1 President’s Message s I sit down to write another President’s Message on this muggy, late-August morning, I’m ref lecting on how the season has transpired up until A Anow. All in all, at least up here at Centen- nial, the season has been a good one. Wacky spring weather transitioned into a moderate summer. The only issue we’re facing now is the lack of regular rainfall. Unless you have access to municipal water, ponds are at criti- cally low levels. Couple that with the fact Mighty that we are right in the middle of aerifica- tion season and turf management can get pretty dicey. Hopefully everybody gets through this dry stretch unscathed, and all of your fall Fine projects can start without issue. A Little R&R Goes a Long Way One thing that I’m particularly grateful for Glen Dube, CGCS is that my facility has no problem with my MetGCSA President getting away for a few days this time of year, when I need it most. Every year, toward the Season end of August, my family rents a beach filled afternoon featured a bouncy castle, house in Massachusetts for one week, and I snow cones, and the ever-popular piñata. It join them for part of it. It’s something I look was nice to see a number of new faces there forward to every summer. with their families having a great time. Even though the trip is short, getting Special thanks to Bayer’s Dave Sylvester for away pays dividends. After a few days of rest making his famous BBQ delicacies and as- and relaxation, and enjoying some sun and suming the role of grill master for the day! fun at the beach with family, I’m refreshed (See photos, page 9.) and can return to work with renewed ener- I’d also like to extend a special thank gy and enthusiasm. you to Brett Chapin, our Social Committee I highly recommend a planned getaway chair, for organizing these two very special for you and your family. When you have a events. moment to recharge, your club reaps the Last but not least was the Scholarship & benefits as well! Parent/Child Tournament held August 4 at Mosholu Golf Course. Many thanks to our host, Dave Moffett, for providing both a Afterhours Fun great venue and a great playing field. By all July and August have been busy for the accounts, our parent-child teams had a won- MetGCSA. Our Summer Social, held July derful time on the links. 13, drew a sizable crowd to the Orienta This tournament is also the time we pres- Beach Club in Mamaroneck, NY. Members ent scholarship awards to well-deserving were treated to a picture-perfect evening children of MetGCSA members. I want to and an impressive seafood feast served by congratulate our eight scholarship winners the shores of the Long Island Sound. (See on a job well done and wish them the best of photos, page 8.) luck in the coming school year. Many thanks On the heels of that event was our Family to Scholarship Chair David Dudones and his Picnic at Bedford Memorial Park. This fun- continued on page 16 Tee to Green July/August 2015 1 Tee to Green August 2015 vr 2_tee to green Dec 2010 9/14/15 8:11 AM Page 2 FFeatureeature Insider’s Guide to Scoring That ‘Super’ Job SuperintendentsSuperintendents andand HeadhuntersHeadhunters ShareShare TheirTheir TradeTrade SecretsSecrets WithWith AssistantsAssistants LookingLooking toto ClimbClimb thethe LadderLadder by Jim Pavonetti, CGCS 2 Tee to Green July/August 2015 Tee to Green August 2015 vr 2_tee to green Dec 2010 9/14/15 8:11 AM Page 3 “I would start researching the facility the minute I mailed my resume. When I was granted an interview, this gave me the head start I needed to gather all the necessary facts and figures.” – Ryan Segrue f there is one topic that rarely gets old among assistant superintendents, it’s how to up their chances of landing that Isuper job. That’s why, after a six-year hiatus, we decided to revisit the topic, this time seeking the counsel of area assistants who recently landed premium superintendent positions, as well as several headhunters, who are on the inside track of what it takes to impress a prospective employer. If you’re hoping to read about how to build a resume, website, or cover letter, you won’t find it here. Instead, we’ll take you to the next level, sharing the often-unspoken rules of a successful job search and inter- view process. The goal: to help you boost your chances of winning that job you’re #2: Be proactive when searching for a Playbooks for Golf ’s Greg Wojick advises hoping for. job. “I can’t emphasize enough that it’s not making the most of every interview experi- your boss’s duty to get you your next job,” ence by ref lecting on what you did well and Beginning the Job Search says Wykagyl’s Dan Rogers. “We, as superin- what you could improve on. “It’s wise to #1: Walk the walk and talk the talk. If tendents, can make contacts, provide know- keep a notebook of the questions you were you want a superintendent’s position, look— ledge and insight, but it’s up to the assistant asked and the answers you gave,” says Greg. and act—the part. Dress appropriately, shave to be the driving force behind his or her “Over time, this notebook of questions will regularly, and just as important, maintain a own career. They need to want that job bad be a valuable resource in helping you pre- professional attitude both on and off the enough to get it. And that attitude will ul- pare for future interviews.” cour se. timately come through in the interview Executive Golf Search’s Bruce Williams You can begin by cleaning up your social process.” advises looking at the GCSAA website to media. Be sure it does nothing but ref lect view the most often asked interview ques- well on you. “If you are Googling the golf #3: Accept every opportunity to inter- tions, many of which Williams, himself, facility or club, you know they’re Googling v iew. Practice makes perfect—or at the developed years ago when he was on the you,” cautions Shorehaven Superintendent very least offers the experience you need to GCSAA board. Ryan Segrue. feel more at ease when that big job inter- “Assistants should put as much work into view comes along. Prepping for the Interview themselves as they do their daily mainte- “Assistants need to be put in that uncom- fortable position of being judged and ques- You just got the call from the club’s search nance duties,” says Wykagyl Superintendent chairman or general manager inviting you Dan Rogers. “Behave like a professional, and tioned about things they know, and don’t know,” says Wykagyl’s Dan Rogers. “They for an interview. Now’s your chance to dif- dress for the position you want, not the one ferentiate yourself from the other applicants you have. After all, you never know when or will undoubtedly have some failures, but that’s the kind of experience they need to by learning more about the golf facility and where you’ll run into a member—or a pro- job you’re applying for than any other candi- spective boss.” succeed when there’s a job interview that really counts.” date—and then preparing to demonstrate “To talk the talk,” says Greg Wojick, why you’re the best fit for the position. whose company Playbooks for Golf offers Shorehaven’s Ryan Segrue encourages job job consulting services for professionals in hunters to include in their interview reper- toires any job openings with management/ #1: Research club and course particu- the turfgrass management industry, “it’s es- l ars.