Every once in a while a story or column in our magazine gets killed. Something comes along that trumps the story that was planned. Happens all the time in the world of publishing. Pages are valuable real estate, you know.
That was the case with the July "Inside GCM" column. I had originally written a story about meeting Conrad Broussard (whose story, "A super day," appears in the July issue). But then, the Digital GCM announcement was ready to be made, and we needed someplace to announce it.
Goodbye Seth's column, hello Scott's.
So, not wanting it to totally go to waste, I present to you a true "insider" from GCM -- a story that was meant for the July issue, but due to circumstance, never made it.
Inside GCM/Seth Jones
Putting my 5-iron to work
You know, I have a pretty cool job.
I get to see a lot of golf courses (and play a few, too). I get to meet a lot of people (some famous). I even get to work with my lovely wife (she works on the accounting team).
I always have a good time getting out on the road and meeting superintendents. I especially like meeting them on their turf, at their courses.
Oh, it’s fun meeting you guys at the GIS, too. It’s just better to meet you at your courses, because then I get a better idea of your world and your realities, the challenges you face on a day-to-day basis.
And, like I said, there’s the chance that I might get to tee it up.
Four years ago, I was on business in North Carolina when two excursions came my way — a visit to a turf farm and a previously offered invite to a golf resort in the state. Yes, your pal Jonesy likes to multitask, especially when the words “golf” and “resort” are involved.
That’s how I met Conrad Broussard, CGCS and the director of agronomy at St. James Plantation in Southport, N.C. I arrived at the course early and met Broussard on the putting green on one of four courses there at St. James.
I quickly learned how passionate he was about not only his profession, but also his association. He had questions for me about our office, about the staff. It didn’t take long for me to realize that the guy was genuinely happy to have a visitor from the GCSAA headquarters at his course.
Lucky me, Conrad had time to tee it up with me that day. That’s when you really get to know someone, right? Man, my 5-iron was hot that day. (I don’t think it’s been hot since.) Conrad showed off his golf bag — emblazoned with a GCSAA logo — to me. He had called our office to get the logo emailed to him so he could have the Titleist guys embroider it on his bag. “The PGA pros have their logos all over their bags, I want them to see my logo on my bag,” he told me proudly. I took a photo of him and his bag. “Show that one to Steve Mona!” he told me, laughing. It was a fun 18.
About six months ago, Conrad emailed me the idea for his story that appears on Page 62 of this month’s issue of GCM, asking if I’d be interested. Of course I was interested, I told him — I thought it was a great story he had begun.
Conrad’s story focuses on a day in the life of a superintendent. It’s not specifically about any one facet of the job; it’s just a general story about the things a typical superintendent might do on any given day.
It’s a fun story, one I think you’ll enjoy. It’s a story that will make you say what I often think — you superintendents have pretty cool jobs.
Seth Jones (sjones@gcsaa.org) is GCM’s senior associate editor.
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