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Yes been a while, same old same old of Day Job, Soil Obsessions, Life ... yada yada yada

and sat here on a Saturday night awaiting my next Taxi instructions .... I know.. anything for some peace eh.. with a couple of things bubbling away in me head after the last few weeks..

First I have a new favourite person online... or should I say Entity as you really can not just call him a person.. Randy Wilson..

Now I never used to get him and Buddy to be honest, thought they were some mad bad US idea of comedic Greenkeeping but then I had the realisation that they were actually ripping the piss out of just about everything.. Brilliant!
But it is the way that the true irony of what we believe, are all told or indoctrinated with by the industry is sledgehammer hit home (Or in the case of Mama panned!) ((Is it me or is there something kinda HOT about Mama?)) (((Just me then ok......)))
If you haven't seen, clear your mind, embrace the irony and lookie at http://www.turfnet.com/blog/3-randy-wilson-here-at-the-rock/

Right....

So I ain't gonna dwell on the ol Chambers Bay Shenanigans too long but Jeez! did it rattle on...
Now I have a view but it ain't no more important to the sum total than anyone else's but all I will say is how come one poxy picture of some squiffy, bit bald, bit of poa turf and a ball get jumped on by the Anti's to go 'Look at this its shit ... Why are our cotton wool wrapped super stars having to put on this... Why does that look so bad... Pah you greenkeepers are shit' tirade when all I could see was some grass and a ball... If it was so shit as a Green? then WTF .. WHERE was the flag? Pic taken by a Pro? well must be the first twat of a club swinger to walk up to a Green and NOT be looking at the hole...

Yes it was different, yes there was Poa amongst the Fescue, yes it sorted the Men from the Head Screwed Boys when it came to Putting, if they tickled it they faltered, if they stroked they potted was how I saw it..
Now I know just about every course I been on has those awkward little corners, whole greens or just bits that just won't do what they should despite the kit, chems or sweat and it looks like this is one of them...
I can also see what the USGAs intent was, they know what is coming, they know the days of false perfect are numbered for many parts of the world and they want to ease the pain in... make the transition easier..... show what REAL Golf is like to The Masses
Said I wouldn't dwell didn't I... tsk.. Anyway the point is IF you have 100% PERFECT cover and swards everywhere I tip my hat at you,... NO ... I bow before you! and I admire your budget and ability to fight off wear and Mother Natures Seasonal foibles... OR I know you a a deluded fool who needs to open their eyes or mind a little... OR even worse .... You are a Megalomaniac of a 'Consultant' maybe.... who is selective with vision and pr.....
For the Non Turfies out there...

'Pristine' comes at a price... limitless staff levels, kit availability, budget and plenty of sand, chems, feed and water will get you 'Pristine'.... as long as you don't mind periods of NOT being allowed out there etc...

For the rest of the Real World it is ALL about staff levels, kit, budget and how much it has been squeezed dry last few years added to the ever dwindling 'treatments' available for the problems caused by chasing 'Pristine' and restrictions on water for many the reality is unless your some pocket bottomless sugar daddy who injecting the wonga take a few minutes next time your whinging to STFU and start to respect the guys and girls who doing far far more each year for less and less and realise that nature has no master, we all can but steer it a little and hope it don't break free.....

Soooo.... What else has been happening?

Well been busy enough between the bouts of day to day distractions of work.. tsk ... and moments of clarity from the brain fog now and again have meant a few things been done..

YES! Been growing more than I killed .... I KNOW! Amazed too to be honest but yes got different things growing in different things,. Even got the ol Fish Tank outside now and root racing Poa against Fescue Bent (I know cruel eh) having spent an age racing Poa against itself.

 And sponges.... YES sponges... you see all the jabber you hear about thatch says its like a sponge....

 So.... me being me.. I thought lets see shall we, lets see how similar thatch is to a nice sponge...

Oh.. btw.. it is NOTHING like a sponge... Well after initial wetting anyway that is as similar as it gets...

So I also managed to evolve on from this lil thing to something a bit more Techy...

Been picking up as much information as possible going out and about whenever I can with the ol Delta-T Theta Probe.... I like this... a lot.....

It is certainly better than this below and far less time consuming ALTHOUGH the ACTUAL moisture is often different to a meter that reads set parameters but it is the patterns that form that is of importance so will still do an odd on but trying to rely on the Meter as much as possible now, looking as objectively as it will allow.

Far less of this now... Weigh, dry, weigh, dry, weigh, dry.................

Right this one popped up whilst looking for pics above, this is a Green on a Course with a man there who got some vision..... and Danglys...  which has seen some IMMENSE changes in the last couple of years, some of the most notable being those lil white things poking out the bottom of a 200mm core... YES ROOTS! Lots of em... Down there!!... and not straggly lil 'Aargh Aargh don't touch the sides' roots down tine holes either.. these are throughout.... more on that another day...

I am also still slowly working on the old Hydrophobic Soil and Wetters niggle that annoys me so much..... I am too sad..... collecting as many samples from as many surfaces and courses as possible to compare.. Like for Like.. regardless of regime or treatment I want to know what is where and to what degree,..

 Quite fascinating actually and SOOOO much better than the Water Droplet Penetration Time Test as it is far far less subjective or potential to be... LOVE the MED Method

Still a bit of work to do before can say much about this and the other things but it is coming... slowly... Data takes time you know.... building it, looking for patterns....

Continually trying out lots of other things too, see if they have value, some do, some don't as too much seasonal or subjective variation to be 'certain', 

 

 

One or two show up some interesting changes...........

Right... some days I can't help meself... I read something and I get mischievous or it annoys the hell outa me so what do I do... 

And what do I say to myself after each time when the replies are rattling back in thick and fast and its getting deeper?

And how does it feel like its about to get in far too deep.....

 Forever hoping I don't need to resort to this

or worse!

                                                   

  But fuck I love it! Hahahaha

Lastly a bit of #GolfLove for the far too numerous Greenkeeper Teams that either had a really shitty Saturday or Monday gonna be a bummer.... out of 'respect' for the ones affected I have hunted pics on line rather than use any of their  own.. just til the pain dies back a little

It's been a bit thundery for some after the driest June for a while and record temps in SE for many and inevitably dry sand and that intensity of rain destroys the Bunkers

   

Is there an answer? Can any of the systems out there cope with that intense drop of rain on powder dry sand? Is the lack of 'our bunkers are fine' pics down to it being the Weekend and no ones got time or was it just luck? 

Is it that we really need to look at Bunker Sands and see are they actually doing what we need? 

Silence from some of the 'notables' who are dictating to many about what a Bunker should be is deafening.........

Dunno.....

But for anyone who having the mare... spare a lil thought for the guys up country who got a 'Biggy' coming up shortly...... Just imagine what you would be thinking sitting in this!!!

 

To them and everyone else with major comps coming up be it major like this or at Gullane wish you the best.....

reductio ad absurdum

Something happened this week which has..... perturbed ......... So this post has jumped the queue...AND GUESS WHAT?... Its a RANT!!!!!!

Right from early beginnings I have been a closet geek.... I LOVE Gadgets... They make doing things exciting and give credibility and looks like you really know what your doing and..... who am I kidding, I just love gadgets especially at the mo .. Like I said, Closet Geek

So it soon became clear that following lots of checking out, reading up and asking thick questions to clever people with letters after their name that I coveted one particular bit of tech.. It wasn't the best by any shade, there were clearly some..... issues... compared to other units BUT one of its main features was all shiny and glittery... and I fell for it, managed to get someone to source it for me and placed an Order.

I soon became concerned.. and decided that the extra expense, delays and other factors were not worth the risk so I cancelled... OMFG! weren't expecting what happened next and I would clearly like to highlight that ... for once!... I somehow managed to retain some control.

So this is the conversation between myself and said Representative from Tech Co. I did also have some Ag pals who were very interested in its potential and could do someone a favour which maybe would pay back another day..... Yes I was trying to blag a deal but with genuine intent, you don’t get owt for nowt ya know..

I am in black, him blue, narration in green. This is edited to cut the chaf and remove names, a couple of add ins just as fillers.....

Hi _____, would be good to suss out fully the ----, spoke to you briefly last year at ---- about it.

I live in --------, between ------- and ------- for the UK guys to see who nearest, but work throughout the ----- and ----------, right round London down to West Country so able to get to most places some when if no one on my door step as such.

My number is -------------- and will look forward to someone getting in touch

Thanks

-----, the UK guys are --------------. Do you know them? ------------- is the main guy that is pushing the ---- throughout the UK. If it is a problem dealing with them, let me know and we can work something out. The new ---- (sub 4 cm accuracy) is in production now and ships beginning in late February to Europe. However, the website has correction tools for those that wish to dial things in even more. It is very flexible and a very powerful system.

 What is your specific profession? Are you a consultant to .................?

Hi -----, I am a just a contractor BUT with an added personal obsession about the soil want to use the ---- to monitor and log associated issues.

I have no problem with ___________ BUT they are 8 hrs away from me, --- miles so I doubt they will rush down to give me a demo that's all, its a long way down to here, I am below ------ in the truly busy bit of UK.

Anyhoo I will await contact from someone that end and hope that they are coming this way some point in near future.

Regards

Time moves on no contact...................

Hi ------,

Not had any contact from --------------yet, but its only a couple of days, I am impatient when on a run, was thinking on on the potential of the upgraded ---- and it makes it even more of a cert for what we are looking for, we are dead serious about purchase IF it can log, assess and map to what tolerances it being --------- for and you say.

Please keep informed of progress with the new ----, want to be certain of its performance ability and would be interesting to get a hint of its cost, I assume the ----will add to purchase and possibly licence costs??.

And if you want someone to take it into the Agricultural and Horticultural Markets my pal is extremely well placed.

As ever good to speak, will await contact impatiently and if you can get someone to indicate cost so we can discuss down here the merits of chasing you for one to see how it can actually perform.

Regards

No problem ----. We can deal directly with each other. The new ---- ships in early March. I have done some work already in Ag and it has great application there for sure. We have focused primarily on golf and sports turf first, but have plans for promoting throughout the Ag world as well. Let's talk about this soon and I would be very interested in speaking with your contacts. 

The retail on the ---- is $______ USD. We can talk about pricing discounts depending on what we do together. The cloud is included initially but will have an annual fee after the trial period. That fee varies on the level of features the user wants. We can talk about all of that when we connect. 

Right I will look into --------- think may be worth a trip up with this Ag guy of mine.

Any detail or resource on resources and ability of new unit not on website yet would be useful to know of as soon as you release or if you have on costs and levels of service and run costs for it all available now would be really useful so we can evaluate fully 

Regards

Hi ------, having spoken at length to my Agri pal and looking at what I am wanting to do this year it looks like they definitely want to evaluate the ---- fully, especially for the Ag market, and to do that they will buy one when they are over with the next gen set up.

So I suppose the next stage is to get a bit more tech detail from you in terms of the changes ie what, how, performance and the software alongside (as important as the ----) and the defined cost delivered of the unit over here to us. If you have the indicative year 2 cost would be useful to know.

Await your thoughts and info

Thanks for the interest ----. The 2^nd Generation is officially out in 3 weeks. It is phenomenal. Integrated ---- in the unit with 25 cm (10”) accuracy so it becomes a very good --- tool for site specific monitoring. All marketing material and promotional videos and such will be available in a few weeks as well. We are taking orders now as the demand is growing rapidly around the world.

The Ag market is wide open over there so you are keen to be thinking along those lines. The “Reseller/distributor” pricing for the units which we anticipate will not rise over the next 2 years is as follows:

Is this enough info for now? I’d be happy to do a web demo for you of the new system at a time that works for you. I’m traveling the remainder of this week and the middle of next week but could work out a time that works.

No that's ace for now thank you very much, will discuss here, when the other info is available to send we will digest and WILL take the first unit to assess. Will look at the web demo to sort convenient slot with time shifts!

These guys are VERY interested in the agricultural side and through the Buying Circle Association set up can furnish the whole of the UK.

We will discuss this onwards

thanks again

Hi ------, would like to go for this, have sorted an easy 'way' to obtain first unit through another pal, ---- who runs a ------------------- 

Will all then try, evaluate and suss it out and take a view from there.

I am paying for this ultimately for myself, for personal research and use, not through any of the companies or work but will look to how can be involved with any potential 'income streams' if I get the right people talking to you after.

Excellent, excitedly anticipating seeing just how good they are.

Regards

----, per your request, see attached quote. This is the best discount I can give and is priced per our conversation that you wish to distribute to agricultural opportunities. 

For agriculture, we can deal directly with you. If this quote meets your satisfaction, please respond with your approval and we will have our accounting arrange the wire transfer of funds prior to shipping. Once we establish a relationship, we can offer terms in future orders especially if you represent our product to the agricultural and landscape markets.

Feel free to call me with any questions at all. Thank you for your interest in the ---- system.

March 3

Hi ---- can you please process the order for the first unit. Please send payment request ASAP and I will get ------- to sort payment 

Regards

OK ----. You will be contacted by our accounting to arrange the payment. Thank you!

Hi ------- no bill yet

Thanks

The ---- will not ship until April 10th and the bill will be generated just prior to that ----. You will be contacted by our accounting office. 

Excellent thanks, just checking as it was quiet

Regards

Patiently wait until 12^th April

Hey ----, hope you had a good weekend, looks like your nice busy with the ----, here and there....  think you gonna get some air miles down this year for sure...

Not heard anything yet ref my one, getting itchy ... want to see what she can do... not chasing per sa just want an indication of timing so I can keep telling myself to be patient.

Thanks

No reply received.......................

16^th

Hi -------, 

Do you have an update on the ------ please

Thanks

20^th

No reply still so I contact through their main website, starts getting a bit ..... funny

--------, I responded to your inquiries about the ------ and received another message from you through our web system. As I explained, the ------s are all shipping on backlog of about 30 days. I am certain yours will ship by the end of this week, but you will be notified by accounting ahead of time for payment and tracking info. We appreciate your patience and understanding as you join the ever growing ----- network of users worldwide.

Thanks -----, apologies, am getting tech impatient, you last thought it would be about 10th that's all so just wanted to check timings.

Regards

1^st May..

I have enough............

Hi -----, situation has changed here so I need to cancel the order for the ---- pls.

Part financial, part time is getting on so I am ordering an alternative.

Regards

It was shipped this week and on its way to you. It's too late to cancel. 

With the greatest respect -----, I have been chasing like mad, no information, no bill, no nothing... I was told the 10th April and as far as I was concerned it wasn't coming yet, if it was you should have told me.

Sorry but I have made other arrangements now. 

I'm afraid if you refuse delivery you will still be responsible for shipping expenses which are not inexpensive to you. If you need extended terms to pay for it, just let me know but it is already en route. 

Look ----, get funny with me if you like, when I asked for info on it back in March and you said your words:

The ----- will not ship until April 10th and the bill will be generated just prior to that -----. You will be contacted by our accounting office. 

I asked again for info 16th April.. no reply so I thought you may be busy and asked through website, you replied... there a 30 day back order and.. your words

 ' but you will be notified by accounting ahead of time for payment and tracking info.' 

well that didn't happen did it and I have had to make other arrangements with an alternative.

There is nothing like the ----...not even close -----. Either you wanted a ------ or you didnt. The ------ was shipped and if you refuse delivery you will still be responsible for shipping. Of course it is your call and if you refuse delivery, you can mark the reason that you didnt get it fast enough.

This is certainly not the way to cancel an order with no notice. It's your call and while I certainly apologize for the ---- not arriving sooner, it's demand is due to its incredible value which I thought you want. If you want cheap and less value, then of course the ----- is not for you. You may have made other arrangements but we shipped what you ordered which did not have any stipulations by you for timing of delivery. We expect you to at least be respectful and responsible for your order. And I have remained in contact with you without delay answering your questions when you had them. 

With the greatest respect -----, you are not doing a very good job of appeasing me, in fact this email conversation is starting to grind now. I know the potential, I have assessed all the main players, I have always had reservations over the accuracy and the figures quoted seemed to change on every enquiry. I was willing to accept that on the basis that it was a real innovation BUT please do not throw 'this is not the way to cancel' at me as as far as I was concerned what YOU said would happen didn't.

Time was not the issue here, it was lack of confidence that it was coming any day soon.

------, this is very unprofessional. If you want the ----, keep it and pay your bill. I will deduct $--- for your troubles. If you don't keep it, you can pay the shipping you are responsible for and use something less than the ----. 

We kept our end and made your ---- and shipped it as soon as we could based on the order of shipping from hundreds around the world. Getting an email like this is the very first time anyone has ever communicated to us like this and the very first cancellation out of many hundreds of orders...all who understand and wait patiently for their order realizing this is the most innovative device in the industry. If that is not important to you, then please use someone else's product and you can regret it later. 

We wish you luck with your decisions. 

Good luck to you ----. I certainly wish you well. 

Look -----, FACT: You DID NOT communicate that it was shipping, I DID NOT KNOW it was Shipping, YOU said your Accounts dept would contact BEFORE shipping, they HAVE NOT.. Please stop having a go at MY professionalism and look at yours, if you don't do what you say you are going to do the more people will probably do the same.

We wish you luck with your decisions. 

Send me the shipping details with my name and address and tracking number right now, show me it has shipped and I may feel a little sorry but at the moment because of this situation and how it has been handled I am now bloody glad I bought a -----!

-----, our accounting department handles that and I'm sure they will be glad to send the info to you. Also, if they didn't call you it is because I approved terms allowing you to pay the bill when you receive the ----. We have thousands of customers who we certainly do our best to keep happy but you gave us an ultimatum and no choice to remedy this issue. And now you are makimg demands. It makes it difficult and nearly impossibke to appease you. If my offer is not good enough for you, i cant chsnge that. And if i remember correctly, you chose to circumvent our distributor to your betrer interest. You simply bugged out of your order and bought something of less value. That's your right and your choice and we have no choice but to respect that, so again, we wish you the best of luck. 

When you realize the value we offer and wish to reorder a ----- or if you have any desire to do so moving forward, you may do so through our rep in your region. 

Good luck to you!

------, it's too late and after this little email spar I can genuinely say I am extremely glad I took the decision I have and that I haven't involved the Agricultural contacts beyond getting them excited but telling them repeatedly when asked when it was coming that it would be soon. This has done me NO favours credibility wise.

As for the boys in --------- they couldn't be bothered to contact or inform me either so that was the main reason for going direct as well as the interest my pal had for the Agricultural Market.

Basically I have lost confidence in the product coming any day soon and bought the best alternative.

Get over yourself, let people know what is happening and when, don't change what is discussed and agreed for your own ends

Good luck you're gonna need it

No worries ------. Our sentiments as well. Good luck to you. 

So what shall I do with the ----- when it arrives as it is clearly shipped

It has been redirected to our distributor over there and they have been made aware of your actions. They will certainly find a home for it immediately. 

My  final thoughts and comment:

Wow... Couriers and Postal Service must be excellent over there, switching recipients and addresses mid service, that is some set up........... 

Yes I was looking to get a deal, who doesn't.... but there was no bullshit there, had serious Ag people waiting to assess.

My main concerns were actually that the parameters at which they said it would work kept changing and not for the better.. Spec information was not forthcoming either... This thing is not cheap ! You would expect information to be flowing...
And the suns been shining! I need to play with this now...

Make your own minds up from above. I don’t like being bullshitted, fobbed off, lied to and then bullied into anything. I have a slight feeling that I made the right call somehow....

haud ignota loquor

Me Bloods really low., thick and slow, back to weekly tests.... My heads fogging and my body is screaming, I am absolutely knackered, stressed to hell, miles behind on paperwork cos I am on site catching up and juggling jobs like mad...... People are doing my absolute nut in cos they think you sit in a yard primed and ready to go at the moment of their call..... too much going on and no time to think straight..

So..... Great time to write a Blog then!

'Sands & Aggregates'
I won't dwell on this for too long but WTF are the Aggregate Companies doing?
Has anyone else noticed the rather large thing in the corner?
We have Sand Shortages yet again this end of the World both North and South of London.. AGAIN!!! And others seem to think you should be grateful they will supply you sand in an Artic when 2 years ago it turned up in an 8 wheeler!
All this grief just before End of Season works!! Good luck everyone!!!

They have other sands, normally the too fine ones that are SHITE for specs but they seem to have in mountainous abundance but cos there is a shortage they still want full fooking monty price for it.
Yes I fully understand the whole 'It's what comes out that dictates the quantity of each grade you know' bit and yes my simple pleb like brain takes in the fact that there are massive PSD % variations in different parts of the pits yada yada yada BUT its not like you don't KNOW what the Sport Industry needs or how much at those sort of common regular times of the year... LIKE NOW!!!
And we have to listen to the head up arse smug holier than thou reps going on about 'using the right sands for the right jobs' but when you mention there ain't none 'ooh no its not at all like that'....  Well course it bloomin is else why is there a problem! WHY are there not products on the ground? Yes it was a shite Wet Winter but its been cracking for cracking on since Christmas ....

Well beyond the obvious, it ain't coming out the ground right issues the basic fact is ....
They Don't Give a Flying Monkeys about Sport! Its ALL about the Building, the Concrete and Tarmac plants and Water Processing.... Screw Football Rugby and Golf.... Least that's how it appears..

And don't even START me on Grit Gravels! Rarer than bottles of Fairy Wee now!

Well I wonder what goes through the minds of the people who influence production and stock levels I wonder if their kids play football at the Weekends or they play for a school side mid week or they go watch their local Team or they play Golf or any other sport that requires drainage or  sands for turf management.... Bet they bitch like mad at the cost of Sport mind!....

SORT YOUR SHIT OUT! It's pretty simple really... Sport uses X tons of specific sands and gravels.
PRODUCE IT!,
There only needs to be one big training ground project or Water Company demand and we are ALL screwed scrabbling around fighting for what's left or the next best thing rather than what is needed.

'The Change'

As I mentioned last time there is this slow burning 'Change' going on..... Have you noticed it yet? The 'Big Boys' are scrabbling around looking for new angles to sell you more Glitter and they can see it's becoming ALL about the Biology!

You're all being spun so fast you don't know it! This very week there was a fresh 'piece' put into trade press that basically said:

"Wetting Agents are GOOD for the soil as they encourage Biological Activity" Well so does having a shit on a Green! Doesn't make it right!

The 'Industry' and these companies have filled us all with a Chemist's perspective of how plants grow for decades ignorant and blinkered to the importance of the machine that lies beneath and have actively steered and manipulated the ethos of turf management to support sales of their products!

But now...... now they start see that people who buy and apply are questioning the ethics and sustainability and effectiveness of some materials and that there may be something else going on far bigger than anything they produce in a bag or bottle... and they want some of that shit......

Am I alone in seeing this? Is this just my very tired, blood deprived, prescription drugged and addled brain with associated mania making me see things that are not there? Are they slowly changing the patter to make YOU feel good about putting stuff on you may or may not need?

You tell me OK!