[BrianL99]

I spent a couple of hours with Mitch Leininger, the Director of Executive Golf for the District, this past Wednesday.

I initiated contact with the PWAC, regarding the recent problems with the Exec Courses. They referred my letter to Mr. Brown the Assistant Director, who responded immediately, substantively and patiently. He also suggested I contact Mitch and arrange to visit some of the District’s current Exec Golf course projects, which I did. I spent a couple of hours with Mitch, yesterday.

First off, I have to commend the District for not only their quick response and consideration, but of all the governmental and quasi-governmental units I’ve dealt with through the years, not one has been any more forthcoming with information or access to staff and documents. While we might not always agree with what the District does, their commitment to transparency and access, is to be commended.

As to the golf.

I think the District has gotten the message, that residents and golfers are not happy with the condition of the courses this year and have resolved to do a better job going forward.

I didn’t ask why the situation was allowed to deteriorate to what we saw this year, but I can speculate that the District got caught behind the curve. I think a less than aggressive maintenance program over the past years, combined with adverse weather conditions this Spring, brought things to a head. It’s fairly easy to grow grass when conditions are optimal, it’s more of a challenge when the weather turns against us.

I have a attended a couple of PWAC meetings, where golf was a subject and the District has said they need to do a better job with their contracts, management of the contracts, as well as course maintenance. Keep in mind, “contracting” and “managing” golf courses, are two different tasks. While they sometimes overlap, we can’t always expect a Golf Course Superintendent to be an expert in contracting, nor a contracting expert to be a golf maintenance whiz. I think the District is going to re-visit how their contracts are structured and managed.

I visited a couple of courses, in the process of being renovated. I think the inclusion of the USGA in this process, is a huge positive step. From what Mitch told me, they’ll be consulted as necessary, as renovations move forward and they’ll be providing analysis of some of the construction materials. The District also moved forward with a “direct purchase process”, for golf related materials (fertilizers, fungicides, etc.). Buying directly should save money, but more importantly, standardize the products that are being use on the golf courses.

Going forward, I think we’ll see an improvement in conditions and hopefully, a long-range plan that insures they don’t get caught behind the curve again.

Also, the District is planning a "course condition" guide, that's going to be published (or posted), so anyone looking to play, will be able to have some insight into current conditions at a specific course (this was discussed at the PWAC meeting).

& yes, I made a number of suggestions that I think might improve conditions and their contracting process, as well as increase Customer (resident) Satisfaction.

We’ll see what next year brings.

[Altavia]

Thanks for the update and your efforts Brian!

[Stu from NYC]

Thanks for the info but the problem did not start this spring.

Some people should be held accountable.

[BrianL99]

Originally Posted by Altavia

Thanks for the update and your efforts Brian!

The value of complaining on social media has run its course, in my opinion. Besides, I think it's disingenuous to just complain and not offer suggestions or help or whatever. So I went to the source.

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

Thanks for the info but the problem did not start this spring.

Some people should be held accountable.

That was the refrain I heard from a couple of District Reps at the PWAC. I think the District got the message, but I think it's a much bigger problem than holding one person responsible and firing that person.

It would be much too easy to say, Mitch Leininger has been the Director of Executive Golf for the last 4-5 years, so let's blame him and fire him. Some PWAC members appear to have been suggesting that. I don't think it's that simple. Yes, "the buck stops at his desk", but one man can't manage 40+ Executive Golf Courses, without a support structure, budget and team to help him. I think (& this is just my speculation, I wasn't told this) the majority of Mitch's "team", are the Contractors TV uses ... not his own staff. He's obviously got the PGA Professionals on staff, but they already have their hands full with the day to day operations they're responsible for. Just my opinion, but I don't Mitch is the problem, it's larger than one person.

I think the District has some systemic issues that need to be dealt with. TV and the District's responsibility has grown exponentially over the last 15 years and I'm not sure their infrastructure has kept up with that growth. When I say "infrastructure", I don't just mean people, I mean their way of doing business and contracting. What was a simple and reasonable process 10 years ago, may not be as effective these days.

Just a personal opinion, but I think the District is under-staffed and from what I've seen, the various district commissioners and the advisory boards, create more work than they produce. I'm sure there are exceptions, but many of the Commissioners come to meetings unprepared and are more worried about what time the pickleball courts will open and other minutia, rather than the millions of dollars they are tasked with managing.

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by BrianL99

The value of complaining on social media has run its course, in my opinion. Besides, I think it's disingenuous to just complain and not offer suggestions or help or whatever. So I went to the source.





That was the refrain I heard from a couple of District Reps at the PWAC. I think the District got the message, but I think it's a much bigger problem than holding one person responsible and firing that person.

It would be much too easy to say, Mitch Leininger has been the Director of Executive Golf for the last 4-5 years, so let's blame him and fire him. Some PWAC members appear to have been suggesting that. I don't think it's that simple. Yes, "the buck stops at his desk", but one man can't manage 40+ Executive Golf Courses, without a support structure, budget and team to help him. I think (& this is just my speculation, I wasn't told this) the majority of Mitch's "team", are the Contractors TV uses ... not his own staff. He's obviously got the PGA Professionals on staff, but they already have their hands full with the day to day operations they're responsible for. Just my opinion, but I don't Mitch is the problem, it's larger than one person.

I think the District has some systemic issues that need to be dealt with. TV and the District's responsibility has grown exponentially over the last 15 years and I'm not sure their infrastructure has kept up with that growth. When I say "infrastructure", I don't just mean people, I mean their way of doing business and contracting. What was a simple and reasonable process 10 years ago, may not be as effective these days.

Just a personal opinion, but I think the District is under-staffed and from what I've seen, the various district commissioners and the advisory boards, create more work than they produce. I'm sure there are exceptions, but many of the Commissioners come to meetings unprepared and are more worried about what time the pickleball courts will open and other minutia, rather than the millions of dollars they are tasked with managing.

Speaking to friends who play the championship courses regularly the prevailing opinion is the people in charge of maintaining the courses should have done more to either replace contractors maintaining the courses or publicized the problems earlier.

Never should have gotten this bad.

[BrianL99]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

Speaking to friends who play the championship courses regularly the prevailing opinion is the people in charge of maintaining the courses should have done more to either replace contractors maintaining the courses or publicized the problems earlier.

Never should have gotten this bad.

I agree 100%.

That said, the Championship Courses are a horse of another color. I'd love Rickey Craig (VP of Golf/Tennis) to call me and ask me to tour some of the courses with him and make suggestions.

I've been waiting for Jessica Biel to call me for a few years now. Rickey will probably call after Jessica does.

[RedWingNut]

The buck should stop with the man in charge. When it comes to his salary I’m sure he points to the fact that he is in charge of everything golf related and with that amount of responsibility he should be compensated for it. Things have been complacent too long around here, new faces, new ideas are needed. Those currently in charge laugh all the way to the bank every time they cash their checks,

[Janie123]

Originally Posted by BrianL99

I spent a couple of hours with Mitch Leininger, the Director of Executive Golf for the District, this past Wednesday.

I initiated contact with the PWAC, regarding the recent problems with the Exec Courses. They referred my letter to Mr. Brown the Assistant Director, who responded immediately, substantively and patiently. He also suggested I contact Mitch and arrange to visit some of the District’s current Exec Golf course projects, which I did. I spent a couple of hours with Mitch, yesterday.

First off, I have to commend the District for not only their quick response and consideration, but of all the governmental and quasi-governmental units I’ve dealt with through the years, not one has been any more forthcoming with information or access to staff and documents. While we might not always agree with what the District does, their commitment to transparency and access, is to be commended.

As to the golf.

I think the District has gotten the message, that residents and golfers are not happy with the condition of the courses this year and have resolved to do a better job going forward.

I didn’t ask why the situation was allowed to deteriorate to what we saw this year, but I can speculate that the District got caught behind the curve. I think a less than aggressive maintenance program over the past years, combined with adverse weather conditions this Spring, brought things to a head. It’s fairly easy to grow grass when conditions are optimal, it’s more of a challenge when the weather turns against us.

I have a attended a couple of PWAC meetings, where golf was a subject and the District has said they need to do a better job with their contracts, management of the contracts, as well as course maintenance. Keep in mind, “contracting” and “managing” golf courses, are two different tasks. While they sometimes overlap, we can’t always expect a Golf Course Superintendent to be an expert in contracting, nor a contracting expert to be a golf maintenance whiz. I think the District is going to re-visit how their contracts are structured and managed.

I visited a couple of courses, in the process of being renovated. I think the inclusion of the USGA in this process, is a huge positive step. From what Mitch told me, they’ll be consulted as necessary, as renovations move forward and they’ll be providing analysis of some of the construction materials. The District also moved forward with a “direct purchase process”, for golf related materials (fertilizers, fungicides, etc.). Buying directly should save money, but more importantly, standardize the products that are being use on the golf courses.

Going forward, I think we’ll see an improvement in conditions and hopefully, a long-range plan that insures they don’t get caught behind the curve again.

Also, the District is planning a "course condition" guide, that's going to be published (or posted), so anyone looking to play, will be able to have some insight into current conditions at a specific course (this was discussed at the PWAC meeting).

& yes, I made a number of suggestions that I think might improve conditions and their contracting process, as well as increase Customer (resident) Satisfaction.

We’ll see what next year brings.

Thanks for the update Brian. I live near Savannah Center and play the 4 northern courses along with Diablo/Santiago. We hear the amount of play is a major factor but those 4 courses get probably 95% the play the Roosevelt/Truman/Bogart/Bacall type courses get. We have also heard the 4 north courses are managed by the Lopez crew… maybe just a rumor but they have never been in anywhere near as bad conditions as the middle courses that had to be closes and are usually in the same conditions as the Lopez course. Can you confirm?

I used to work a golf course when I was young and I see bizarre practices here. For example, Escambia. We played it one weekend, the greens were grown to probably 1/4” one weekend. Maybe wanting them to get a good growing in as the weather gets warm. then, bang they were cut to normal playing conditions all at one time, lots of scalping, tearing, etc. We never would cut more than a 1/16 off the top when coming out of winter conditions.

Finally, how do you relate to Mitch and his crew where he took the time with you? I think it’s great that he did, I think the scorecard is great addition and hope as you said grows to a weekly update on all courses and their status

thanks again…

[BrianL99]

Originally Posted by RedWingNut

Things have been complacent too long around here, new faces, new ideas are needed.

I'm not sure the "faces" matter, but I offered a number of "new ideas" I think would change things for the better and I'm sure others also have some ideas.

One idea I tried to push, was the idea of using CSI (Customer Satisfaction Index) as a standard and incentive.

If you bring you car in for service, you get a survey the next day. If you stay at a hotel, you get asked for a review. If you use Customer Support for anything, you get a survey. Every other company in the world, seems intent on knowing what their "customers" think, why shouldn't TV operate the same way?

& why shouldn't those who do an exceptional job, be rewarded or incentivized?

[coleprice]

Originally Posted by BrianL99

I spent a couple of hours with Mitch Leininger, the Director of Executive Golf for the District, this past Wednesday.

I initiated contact with the PWAC, regarding the recent problems with the Exec Courses. They referred my letter to Mr. Brown the Assistant Director, who responded immediately, substantively and patiently. He also suggested I contact Mitch and arrange to visit some of the District’s current Exec Golf course projects, which I did. I spent a couple of hours with Mitch, yesterday.

First off, I have to commend the District for not only their quick response and consideration, but of all the governmental and quasi-governmental units I’ve dealt with through the years, not one has been any more forthcoming with information or access to staff and documents. While we might not always agree with what the District does, their commitment to transparency and access, is to be commended.

As to the golf.

I think the District has gotten the message, that residents and golfers are not happy with the condition of the courses this year and have resolved to do a better job going forward.

I didn’t ask why the situation was allowed to deteriorate to what we saw this year, but I can speculate that the District got caught behind the curve. I think a less than aggressive maintenance program over the past years, combined with adverse weather conditions this Spring, brought things to a head. It’s fairly easy to grow grass when conditions are optimal, it’s more of a challenge when the weather turns against us.

I have a attended a couple of PWAC meetings, where golf was a subject and the District has said they need to do a better job with their contracts, management of the contracts, as well as course maintenance. Keep in mind, “contracting” and “managing” golf courses, are two different tasks. While they sometimes overlap, we can’t always expect a Golf Course Superintendent to be an expert in contracting, nor a contracting expert to be a golf maintenance whiz. I think the District is going to re-visit how their contracts are structured and managed.

I visited a couple of courses, in the process of being renovated. I think the inclusion of the USGA in this process, is a huge positive step. From what Mitch told me, they’ll be consulted as necessary, as renovations move forward and they’ll be providing analysis of some of the construction materials. The District also moved forward with a “direct purchase process”, for golf related materials (fertilizers, fungicides, etc.). Buying directly should save money, but more importantly, standardize the products that are being use on the golf courses.

Going forward, I think we’ll see an improvement in conditions and hopefully, a long-range plan that insures they don’t get caught behind the curve again.

Also, the District is planning a "course condition" guide, that's going to be published (or posted), so anyone looking to play, will be able to have some insight into current conditions at a specific course (this was discussed at the PWAC meeting).

& yes, I made a number of suggestions that I think might improve conditions and their contracting process, as well as increase Customer (resident) Satisfaction.

We’ll see what next year brings.

Since you didn't ask why the Executive Golf Courses were allowed to deteriorate, which would have provided FACTS, then the rest of your "article" is OPINION based upon your limited observations. By not asking this obvious question, it appears that your article was intended to placate golfers with rhetoric rather than identify the problem's root cause so that it can be properly resolved.

[BrianL99]

Originally Posted by coleprice

Since you didn't ask why the Executive Golf Courses were allowed to deteriorate, which would have provided FACTS, then the rest of your "article" is OPINION based upon your limited observations. By not asking this obvious question, it appears that your article was intended to placate golfers with rhetoric rather than identify the problem's root cause so that it can be properly resolved.

It wasn't an "article", it was simply a post about my experience with the District's golf course manager and I did (& have on this forum), identified what I think the problems are. But you're right, they're only my opinion ... based on 30+ years in and around the golf business.

I can tell you exactly why the courses were in the condition they were in ... lack of proper maintenance.

The District did not have an overall "Agronomy Plan" for the courses and has been using "task based" contracts to mow & fertilize. No where in the process is there a standard that says, "the goal is to provide quality playing conditions, regardless of weather or volume of play".

We've been hiring landscapes to cut grass and put down fertilizer, like we've been maintaining a soccer field. Maintaining golf courses is an entirely different process and hasn't been done in the past.

[BrianL99]

Originally Posted by Janie123

... We have also heard the 4 north courses are managed by the Lopez crew… .... Can you confirm?

.... We never would cut more than a 1/16 off the top when coming out of winter conditions.

Finally, how do you relate to Mitch and his crew where he took the time with you? I think it’s great that he did, I think the scorecard is great addition and hope as you said grows to a weekly update on all courses and their status

thanks again…

There are 3 or 4 "crews" (Contractors) that provide maintenance services to the golf courses. I have heard that the "Lopez crew" has been moved down south to work on the new Championship courses. I believe that same crew took care of Glenview & TDS (& their associated Exec Courses). From what I've been told (not by Mitch), all the contractors previously working in the north, have been moved south. My conversations with Mitch were more theory, planning, contracting on a conceptual and long-range basis. There wasn't any "he said, she said, they did", finger pointing.

I don't know Mitch at all. I've sent a couple of letters to the PWAC, with specific suggestions for improvement and they ended up on Bruce Brown's desk and he suggested I spend some time with Mitch, which I did.

[Marathon Man]

Originally Posted by coleprice

Since you didn't ask why the Executive Golf Courses were allowed to deteriorate, which would have provided FACTS, then the rest of your "article" is OPINION based upon your limited observations. By not asking this obvious question, it appears that your article was intended to placate golfers with rhetoric rather than identify the problem's root cause so that it can be properly resolved.

WOW!!!!!! What have you done to help the community?

[mntlblok]

Originally Posted by Janie123

Thanks for the update Brian. I live near Savannah Center and play the 4 northern courses along with Diablo/Santiago. We hear the amount of play is a major factor but those 4 courses get probably 95% the play the Roosevelt/Truman/Bogart/Bacall type courses get. We have also heard the 4 north courses are managed by the Lopez crew… maybe just a rumor but they have never been in anywhere near as bad conditions as the middle courses that had to be closes and are usually in the same conditions as the Lopez course. Can you confirm?

I used to work a golf course when I was young and I see bizarre practices here. For example, Escambia. We played it one weekend, the greens were grown to probably 1/4” one weekend. Maybe wanting them to get a good growing in as the weather gets warm. then, bang they were cut to normal playing conditions all at one time, lots of scalping, tearing, etc. We never would cut more than a 1/16 off the top when coming out of winter conditions.

Finally, how do you relate to Mitch and his crew where he took the time with you? I think it’s great that he did, I think the scorecard is great addition and hope as you said grows to a weekly update on all courses and their status

thanks again…

I also thank Brian for his efforts and for sharing his findings.

Escambia happens to be where we've played the majority of our recent rounds. Had forgotten about the day when the grass on the greens there was so long and that the putts were so slow. They were *very* lush and pretty that way. :-) But, I *did* notice the recent scalping there. With your work history you'd know more about it than I, but my sense was that it was more of a "settings" problems with the "reels" on the mower - as if it (or part of a set of reels) weren't "level" - based on the intermittent scalping pattern. I would've expected the whole surface of the greens to have been scalped, rather than the patchy, angled, "spots" of damage if it were all just mown too short, too quickly.

Anyway, it reminded me of how I've wondered whether the curve behind which maintenance got with the horrible greens this winter might've been as simple as scalping areas (from poor settings?) just as the grass was going dormant. Certain slopes lend themselves more to scalpage, and the patterns could conceivably have been explained by such. I ran that speculation by the USGA inspector who met recently with Mitch (and who shared his email address with us). I haven't yet received a response to my longish inquiry.

Like Brian, I did receive a response from Howard Brown from the district when I emailed him about the conditions back early on. Shared his response here on TOTV. Still haven't heard whether the testing for fungus yielded any results. If Brian isn't sharing all that he learned, I suspect that he probably has pretty good reasons. He strikes me as being particularly knowledgeable on the subject, right eloquent, and as one operating with a sharing and helpful "intention". I again thank him.

[mpcolonel]

Not picking everybody knows he meant last spring thru the year