I often get asked, why do you want to consult on turfgrass? And, what exactly does a turf consultant do? Many people think my job is to tell people how to grow grass. And while sometimes, that is what people want, often times I'm working with people that are already good at growing grass. Some people I work with even know more about growing grass than I do.
The value of what I do as a consultant is to bring a different perspective. A lot of turfgrass managers are very good at managing their facilities, but maybe aren't so good at managing or evaluating data. We help set up processes to help evaluate data that help turfgrass and athletic field managers make more informed decisions. We evaluate soil tests, total organic matter, irrigation water quality, photosynthetic activity, soil moisture levels, soil profiles, soil compaction, surface hardness, weather and other data to try and paint a complete picture of what is happening on a site.
As I work with sites over time, I'm able to analyze the interactions between data we collect and the performance of surfaces we are managing. From there we determine how the decisions we make impact a facility over time.
In January, I had the pleasure of meeting a golf course superintendent from Toronto who is a long time client of one of my consulting mentors. This superintendent is a very bright guy and clearly capable of successfully managing his high-end golf course on his own. So I asked him "what is the value of having a consultant?"
His answer? "The relationship," he said. He continued to say, that the reports he receives and the ability to bounce ideas off of his consultant and gain other points of view is an essential part of his decision making process.
This is the type of consultant that I want to be. Lets build relationships and partnerships that allow everyone involved (including the grass we manage) to thrive within their environment.
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