Why watching the soon-to-be-released “The Phantom of the Open” can be good for your soul and your career.

We recently came across a job description that’s resolute in its definition of the best superintendents in the land: “They must love golf, love to work outdoors and love plants.”

If you’re lacking one of those elements, ascension among the professional ranks could easily be foiled.

For purposes of this sermon, let’s take the first requisite: How does a superintendent’s love for golf manifest itself into one’s mind and heart with a perspective beyond yet squarely connected to his or her daily activities? In short, superintendents also need to concern themselves with promoting activities which promote golf at large.

This is where we turn to Hollywood and a new movie, “The Phantom of the Open,” set for release in theaters coast to coast beginning June 3. Luckily, Sony Pictures Classics afforded Golf Course Industry a sneak preview because it’s 1 hour, 42 minutes that superintendents must add to their schedules. And it’s good for the soul and career.

“Phantom” clearly demonstrates that not everyone is of country club ilk, not everyone is a proficient golfer, and being the best version of oneself on and off the links is the meaning of enjoyment and self-acceptance. And it’s this attitude that affects pin placements and so much more about how turf and property managers look at their blending art and science with a business mindset.

After all, superintendents’ work exists to service golfers who spend money and up the odds they’ll frequently return with open wallets, no matter the economic strata they reside.

To wit:  The movie’s protagonist, Maurice Flitcroft, is a relatively low-paying shipyard worker in the port town of Burrows-in-Furness in wayward northwest England. At 46, he’s ready to try something no man dares try: play in the Open Championship. But the answer to how many times he’s picked up a club – well, it rhymes with hero!

The dream came about as he merely eyeballed Tom Watson sticking a close-in putt to win the 1975 Open Championship.

Despite no formal training, borrowed clubs and garb fit for lower-end courses, Flitcroft would go on to practice, practice and practice more. And, by golly, he gained entry into a 1976 Open Championship qualifier, thanks to an application stating he’s a professional because an amateur requires a handicap that Flitcroft didn’t carry. The elitist Royal & Ancient, sans due diligence, let him in.

This is where we interrupt this movie review to share that “Phantom” is based on a true story.  Who would’ve thunk?

The serious, yet not-so-serious, Flitcroft proceeds to shoot 49 over par for a record-bad 121 in the qualifier. But he did it to the best of his ability and tens of millions took notice. Grand Rapids did, too, as legendry local golf media member Terry Moore went through lengths to honor him at Blythefield Country Club and initiate an annual “world’s worst golfer” tournament after him.

Oscar winner Mark Rylance plays Flitcroft and Golden Globe winner Sally Hawkins co-stars as wife Jean.  The balance of Maurice’s happy-go-lucky demeanor and his better half’s support of her husband’s initial, on-a-whim dream is, as they ubiquitously say in Britain, “brilliant.”

“Phantom” boasts many moments of hilarity, a couple Kleenex-worthy scene and, of course, locker-room banter between the reed-thin, plain-ol’ Flitcroft and dashing, 19-yer-old Spaniard, Seve Ballesteros.

Part 16 of Turf Fuel Master Class series scheduled for May 19.

Target Specialty Products has announced Part 16 of its Turf Fuel Master Class Series will focus on global supply chain challenges. Titled “Managing the Global Supply and Pricing Challenges with Efficiency Technology,” the free webinar is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. EDT, Thursday, May 19. CLICK HERE to register.

Experts from Target Specialty Products and supply partners will discuss the myriad of supply challenges facing the turf and ornamental industries and how they are working to minimize the impact on their customers’ businesses.  

“Every day, we are fielding questions from our customers and our sales representatives about supply and pricing concerns,” Jull said. “This panel discussion will provide some insight to the background of what is happening and a glimpse into what to expect moving forward.  We will also share some thoughts on how to create efficiency with your fertilizer and chemical applications.”

Added Target Specialty Products President David Helt: “Target Specialty Product’s team of experts has been busy ensuring product supply and the best possible pricing during this difficult time. We are pleased to welcome you to our discussion so you can best understand the situation and what the future holds.”

An “increased visibility” formula makes fertilizer applications easier to see.

LebanonTurf, which focuses on plant nutrition for the golf and landscaping industries, launched Country Club IV, a line of greens grade products with “increased visibility” that makes fertilizer applications easier to see.

In response to golf course superintendent’s requests to assist in making their putting greens fertilizer easier to see during application, LebanonTurf developed the new products that result in an easy-to-see granule utilizing their unique Composite Technology manufacturing process.

“In the tradition of listening to our superintendent customers, we’re excited to bring these new products to our flagship golf course line of products,” said Christopher S. Gray, senior brand manager of professional fertilizers. “We believe these new products will dramatically help the superintendent make accurate and effective fertilizer applications on their high-quality putting greens.”

Initially, the Country Club IV products will include the most historically popular analysis, 18-3-18, 18-9-18, 17-0-17, and 0-0-25. Additional product development is currently planned for launch this fall.

“We feel that our expanded portfolio of high-performing, greens grade products, both these new Country Club IV products and our popular Country Club MD products, offers today’s superintendent a wide range of real-world benefits that fit into any putting green nutrient program,” Gray said.

Architect Michael Benkusky renovates a Dick Wilson design in the Sunshine State and enhances a trio of Midwest courses.

Architect Michael Benkusky’s renovation of the Dick Wilson-designed Champions Course, at Palm Aire Country Club in Sarasota, Florida, marks its first anniversary this month. That milestone means the members have played it all winter and first-blush reactions are well past. The verdict is in.

“The members are pretty much blown away,” said Joe Rassett, general manager and COO of the 36-hole facility . “Michael took a piece of classic architecture and made it more suited to the modern game. The extended tee boxes, for example: The members now play as far back or forward as they like. The whole course today is so much more versatile, attractive and strategic.”

Benkusky, principal of Illinois-based Michael J. Benkusky Golf Course Architecture, broke ground at Palm Aire in 2020. It reopened in 2021 with new greens, strategically renovated bunkering and new blanket of Bimini Bermudagrass. The forward tees moved up, the championship tees moved back, and Wilson’s signature panache was restored.

“This club is full of Dick Wilson fans and let’s be fair: Who isn’t a fan of Dick Wilson?” Benkusky said. “We were more than happy to put a whole host of original elements back into play. We did restore all his runway tees, but my favorite restorative project was probably the super cool four-bunker complex we built on the inside of the dogleg at seven. At some point they turned that grouping into one big bunker, but we went back to Wilson’s more striking, more visible original configuration.”

Another goal was a reduction in sand to help superintendent Erik Gowdy and his staff with bunker maintenance. The finished product eliminates more than 30 percent of the previous bunker square footage. Benkusky also oversaw the elimination of 12 acres of turf — mainly in the shadow of trees, around tee areas — and replaced them with attractive, maintenance-friendly expanses of crushed shells.

“We moved a lot bunkers down the fairways, to better sync up with modern ball flights, and flashed sand up on the faces for better visibility,” Benkusky said. “The fourth is a good example of how all this came together: We removed some oaks that were shading the main tee box there, replaced underperforming turf with shells, pushed the championship tees back 40 yards, and eliminated the fairway bunker on the inside of this dogleg right. We added two bunkers outside the dogleg, which frame the hole up very nicely.”

The tips at Palm Aire Country Club today measure 7,126, an addition of 121 yards. More important, Benkusky strategically pushed the forward tees further up the fairways. The Seven and the Eight tees now measure 4,877 and 4,466 yards, respectively. “As with most clubs, the ‘drive equity’ here had been sorely lacking,” Benkusky said. “We’ve truly made the course more fun for everyone.”

Palm Aire’s second 18, the Lakes Course, is next on the docket, though supply chain issues and in-demand contractors make scheduling the next renovation a puzzle. “We’d have liked to renovate the Lakes by the end of 2023, but it’s really a matter of getting on the schedule (of a course construction firm) — and then it’s a matter of turf availability,” Rassett said. “Michael is well aware of what we’re planning, and considering what he’s done on the Champions Course, he is definitely the No. 1 candidate to handle the master plan and design. But I think it’s fair to say that we’re all trying to determine next steps.”

In the meantime, Benkusky is busy throughout the Midwest, adding aesthetic, strategic and structural value to golf courses looking to solve longstanding issues and leverage new market opportunities.

“I’ve worked with the folks at Briar Ridge for years, last fall we began the first phase, moving a single hole to create seven new golf course lots," Benkusky said. “It’s hard to believe that golf-related housing has made such a comeback, but here’s a club smartly reading the market as it stands today, not 15 years ago. At Waveland, we honestly formulated the practice facility project before the recent golf boom. Today, demand for that amenity is through the roof.”

Back in Florida, at Palm Aire, members and Gowdy are enjoying the new greens, which were not rebuilt but are nevertheless bigger and healthier and smoother compared to pre-restoration conditions. They were rebuilt in 1997, but it was determined that complete reconstruction was not needed. Once soil samples were taken and the green profile reviewed, it was agreed the soil profiles — the internal workings of the green infrastructure — were sound. However, a layer of organic matter had developed causing the greens to underperform.

“We elected to strip six inches of organic matter off the green surface down to the original mix layer,” Benkusky said. “This gave us the proper medium to improve water infiltration and playability, meaning firmness and speed consistency. As part of the process, we were also able to find the original green shapes and expand the greens out to their original size, increasing the total area of most greens by four feet in all directions. We restored the original contours and made adjustments to counter today’s green speeds to create new, peripheral pin placement areas.”

For Benkusky, it was a thrill and an education to study, then restore and add complementary features to Wilson’s work.

Two-month contest runs through the end of June and features 19 prize packs — including a pair of Cabo vacations.

SiteOne Landscape Supply is giving back to golf course superintendents who use LESCO with the chance to win several prizes during the company’s 60th Anniversary Golf Sweepstakes. The program runs June 30.

“LESCO has been there for golf course superintendents for 60 years,” SiteOne director of golf Erich Slider said. “We are celebrating our 60th anniversary by rewarding the pros who trust LESCO by helping them do more. This is an opportunity to honor LESCO’s rich legacy by showing our appreciation and admiration to the superintendents who are helping to grow the industry.”

SiteOne golf customers can earn one sweepstakes entry per day for every $600 spent on featured LESCO products. The purchase must be on a single invoice and include at least one qualifying product. Prizes include:

Two superintendents will win a trip to the Bisbee’s Black & Blue Tournament in the Los Cabo region of Mexico. They will participate in an ameateur fishing tournament and golf tournament. The package includes travel and four nights accommodations.

Two other winners will receive a $500 Cabela’s gift card, and 15 more will receive a SiteOne shirt and hat package.

Customers can visit SiteOne.com/GolfSweepstakes or their neighborhood SiteOne location to see a list of qualifying products.

LESCO was founded in 1962 with a mission to serve the turf needs of golf courses better than anyone else. The company introduced its store-on-wheels distribution model, delivering products to golf courses on demand, in 1976. Providing convenience and savings for golf courses became a differentiator.

John Deere Landscapes acquired LESCO in 2007, and in 2015, John Deere Landscapes became SiteOne Landscape Supply, the primary supplier of LESCO products. Today, after decades of growth, LESCO remains a brand built on industry expertise and is looking forward to celebrating its loyal customers.