YOU HEARD IT FROM THE PRO...

By every one's comments, whether at the golf course or the blog, we all know that the weeds became a problem for the golfers. We all agree, and believe me, everything possible is being done to alleviate the problem. Now, if the weeds were the only problem we have, we'd be more than happy, but there are other areas of serious concern that will require a lot of funding. Everyone should be aware that our course was built 45 years ago without any type of standards and very low funding, and that "cutting corners" was cheap at the time, but expensive in the long run... and now, each superintendent has inherited problems that have derived from its genesis and from not funding certain needed projects through the years.

Believe me, there is not one superintendent that has worked here that would like to have faced the problems that Mr. Bob Weekes (not "Weeks") has had. Everyone is different and each one of them would have probably done some things differently, none the less, each one of them has done everything they can with what they have been given... and you can be sure that none of the three I have worked with really likes weeds any more that you or I do. But one thing is for sure, Mr. Weekes is the first one who works in Gallup AFTER 60 or so acres of earth were disrupted in our natural areas, eighteen months before he started. By the time he came to Gallup, we already had some weed problems, but, since we had other areas that needed attention, he prioritized as needed and something had to take second place, in this case the weeds. At this point and this late in the season, I believe it is better to have complaints about the weeds than about not having putting surfaces as the weeds can be controlled faster than recovering greens.

Did they get bigger, thicker and taller than we all would have wanted or expected? Yes, but thankfully, now that some of his other projects are under control, at least for now, he and his staff, are attacking the weeds like "there is no tomorrow".

To me, the only solution is to rally together and see if for once, we get the funds to really make a difference. There is no point in going into a "history lesson" to find out how we got to where we are, where we would all have a different "solution-less" opinions.

About the best we can do, is to be patient and give the current projects reasonable time to work, then we can judge, but lets wait until the end. This time I believe that there is more on the table than good intentions. Perhaps our error is that no one has been specific about what we are doing in the maintenance area, so, if anyone wants specifics, call Mr. Weekes at 722-5096 and he will surely give you the answers you need.