Tim in a regular contributor at Golf Course Industry
You can never be too comfortable. Outside the Ropes columnist Tim Moraghan explains why you always update your résumé, why you should always be ready with questions — and why all interviews should be family road trips.
Matt LaWell September 23, 2022More guidance on how to get the most out of the tournament week experience from one of the industry’s most respected and experienced tournament agronomists.
Tim Moraghan July 22, 2022One of the industry’s most respected and experienced tournament agronomists reveals essential guidelines for anybody looking to help a tournament course.
Tim Moraghan July 21, 2022New year, same great Beyond the Page: Matt LaWell welcomes Guy Cipriano to talk about the Numbers to Know survey and Tim Moraghan drops by to discuss how golf can sustain the boom.
Matt LaWell January 11, 2022From the Southern California coast to the British Isles, Tim Moraghan observed plenty of Grainy-worthy material in 2021.
Tim Moraghan December 30, 2021Tim Moraghan recaps 2021 in a way only he can and offers his perspective on how the golf surge of the past two years is impacting those who work in the industry.
Guy Cipriano December 23, 2021Tim Moraghan makes the case for looking beyond big tournaments to evaluate the quality of a superintendent.
Tim Moraghan May 11, 2021Tim Moraghan delves inside the industry’s turf tussles, where sometimes the competition to land a desirable job temporarily disrupts professional camaraderie.
Tim Moraghan March 29, 2021CommonGround Golf Course superintendent Mitch Savage talks about his ever-developing love for short courses and Outside the Ropes columnist Tim Moraghan discusses the turf wars that can break out whenever jobs open up.
Matt LaWell March 09, 2021What is preventing modern superintendents from being honored alongside golf’s greats? Tim Moraghan delves into the politics and processes of World Golf Hall of Fame selections.
Tim Moraghan January 19, 2021How has golf in general and turf in particular opened up to women and younger workers in 2020? And how can the industry become even more inclusive? Brent Downs of Otter Creek Golf Course and GCI columnist Tim Moraghan join the conversation.
Matt LaWell September 08, 2020Columnist Tim Moraghan provides helpful hints for superintendents and golfers alike.
Tim Moraghan August 31, 2020He experienced Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey and Hurricane Matthew in Hilton Head, GCI’s Tim Moraghan offers advice on what’s to come after Florence.
Tim Moraghan September 19, 2018Who won? And who lost in 2017? Tim Moraghan opens the ballots.
Tim Moraghan January 01, 2018Stuck in a career rut? Tim Morgahan offers ways to maximize your potential.
June 29, 2017Thinking about pursuing a new job? Tim Moraghan explains why you should proceed with caution.
May 08, 2017If you’ve been involved in a construction project, you know everyone on staff is affected and the work starts long before the first shovel goes into the ground. Fiddler’s Elbow Country Club in Bedminster, N.J., is in the midst of a long-term project. I spoke with some of the team’s key members about their roles and what they’ve learned so far. No matter where you are on your club’s management ladder, their insights and experience should prove enlightening.
Tim Moraghan November 12, 2015Although there aren’t a lot of new golf courses being built these days, numerous renovation projects are in the works or being planned, giving needed work to architects and builders. But they aren’t the only ones affected. Wherever a course is being reworked in any way, a superintendent and a membership will be involved, inundated and inconvenienced. Patience and flexibility are the key words for those groups.
Tim Moraghan September 21, 2015As superintendents, we pride ourselves on the kinship and brotherhood inherent in our profession. We see ourselves as protectors of the earth, combining science with a spiritual belief in Mother Nature. We put our trust in ongoing education, devote long hours to protecting our “babies,” and do all this for our fellow man — in this case, golfers.
Tim Moraghan August 21, 2015Have you ever read Rule 23 in the Rules of Golf? Specifically the definition of loose impediments? They are natural objects, including stones, leaves, twigs, and the like. I recently became particularly interested in the word “stone.” What, you might ask, does this have to do with an issue about water? Quite a lot, unfortunately.
Tim Moraghan July 07, 2015How interesting that the “five families” are getting together to fix golf. But notice who is conspicuously absent from this gathering? Where is Rhett Evans and the GCSAA? How can any “collaborative approach” to the game happen without the people most responsible for golf courses? Without the superintendents, none of the programs discussed would be possible. So why aren’t we at the table?
Tim Moraghan June 17, 2015I’m writing this column while watching the last round of the Masters, the event that says a new golf year has begun. In professional golf, the future looks to be in good hands. Thank you, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy. And thank you, Tiger and Phil, for still making a case for the “old guys.” I’m looking forward to many spirited battles between the generations.
Tim Moraghan May 18, 2015Spring means the armchair experts are sharpening their wedges and taking aim at the superintendent, looking to place blame for conditions they don’t like. Forget the fact that Mr. Haversham is a 24 handicap who doesn’t know how to chip: The problem, he says, nearly sticking his finger in your chest, is the grass in front of the green is cut too short. (As much as you’d like to suggest that he take a short-game lesson from the pro, you wisely hold your tongue.)
Tim Moraghan April 16, 2015The issue of golf shoes and cleats damaging the golf course – specifically greens – is gaining traction. After raising concerns last month in this column, I’ve heard from superintendents and others in the industry. Their reaction added fuel to the fire, which is why GCI devoted this month’s cover story to the problem.
Tim Moraghan March 17, 2015I’m usually a big proponent of technology, of adopting new equipment and ideas to make golf better. However, we need to reconsider one of the most significant changes of the past few decades in light of evidence that is most obvious to us, green superintendents.
Tim Moraghan February 19, 2015You will never see me kicking a soccer ball on a golf course. For the life of me, I don’t understand how that’s supposed to get someone interested in playing golf. Will hitting 9 irons on a soccer field increase interest in soccer? Somewhere, there’s a disconnect.
Tim Moraghan January 15, 2015Golf in 2040 will appear much different than it does today.
Tim Moraghan October 16, 2014Or why you should judge a superintendent by his title.
Tim Moraghan September 03, 2014Charging for tees would reduce the maintenance problems they create.
Tim Moraghan August 05, 2014Those who ignore the past are doomed to repeat it.
Tim Moraghan July 15, 2014Member education is unending, so here’s a way to start now.
Tim Moraghan June 03, 2014Tim Moraghan has the answers to fix golf – but will anyone listen?
Tim Moraghan March 19, 2014Pursue only those practices that you’ve thought long and hard about.
Tim Moraghan February 17, 2014Set a goal to not be at the same place you are now at this time next year.
Tim Moraghan January 20, 2014Getting them to realize how hard it is to keep a course both playable and enjoyable.
Tim Moraghan November 07, 2013There’s no need for the often strained relationship.
Tim Moraghan October 23, 2013You need to know all there is about water… Down to the last drop.
Tim Moraghan July 09, 2013Tim Moraghan: Even before the Open was coming to Merion, Matt was using methods that have important and proven benefits for both the environment and golfers. And while this is Merion – “we have the means to try different things,” as Matt puts it – he is quick to say that, “the practices I have implemented can be done in some form or fashion at other clubs around the country.”
Tim Moraghan May 08, 2013Smart minds have been saying for years that “water is the new oil,” and that water use—already a critical issue to the future of golf—is only going to grow in importance.
Tim Moraghan January 21, 2013I’m proud to announce “The Grainys,” my awards – both good and bad – for the golf industry.
Tim Moraghan December 14, 2012Besides feeling bad about each individual passing, their too-early deaths got me wondering if there’s something unhealthy about what we do.
Tim Moraghan November 06, 2012Preparing a course for an international rivalry is a career-expanding task, one welcomed with open arms by Curtis Tyrrell, GCS, director of golf course operations at Medinah Country Club outside Chicago.
Tim Moraghan September 12, 2012GCI’s Tim Moraghan breaks down the pros and cons of whether your club should host a big tournament.
Tim Moraghan August 10, 2012Trying to make your greens faster? Think twice before listening to those members who have a need for speed.
Tim Moraghan August 10, 2012The mantra all golf superintendents now have to live by is “water is the new oil.”
Tim Moraghan July 16, 2012I’ve had numerous people in our industry come up to me and start bad-mouthing Augusta.
Tim Moraghan April 13, 2012As folks engaged in the business of keeping golf courses healthy and looking good, we have control over everything except two factors: the weather and other people.
Tim Moraghan March 16, 2012The new year is the usual time for people to look around, look at themselves, and think seriously about the future. In the golf business, the year begins with the PGA Merchandise Show and the Golf Industry Show.
Tim Moraghan February 10, 2012Much has been said about rolling back the ball. But has anyone considered how the golf ball – and the fear that it goes too far – affects those of us who tend turfgrass for a living?
Tim Moraghan January 20, 2012While sorting through old family papers recently, I came across a reprint of a book entitled “Don’t”, a guide to manners first published in the 1800s.
Tim Moraghan December 15, 2011Earlier this summer, a USGA and PGA of America unveiled a program called “Tee It Forward.” In case you missed it, here is what I consider the most relevant part of the press release.
Tim Moraghan October 14, 2011Here’s what the smart superintendent should look for in an architect.
Tim Moraghan September 12, 2011My teachers regularly reminded me to know my Three Rs: readin’, ritin’ and rithmatic. In today’s struggling golf economy, with no new golf courses being built, we’re living by a new set of Three Rs: renovation, redesign and restoration.
Tim Moraghan August 09, 2011When I turned 50 I was bombarded with well wishes and the buzz phrase that “50 is the new 40.”
Tim Moraghan April 18, 2011My father’s lifelong philosophy was to “go to bed each night smarter than you awoke.”
Tim Moraghan March 18, 2011Recently, I had the opportunity to participate as a panelist at an industry symposium on affordable golf, coordinated by golf course architect Richard Mandell, to openly discuss a broad range of topics and maintenance considerations related to the cost of golf.
Tim Moraghan February 15, 2011GCI’s Tim Moraghan says “affordable golf” wasn’t the only hot topic for 2011 buzzing around the PGA Merchandise Show, recently held in Orlando.
Tim Moraghan February 11, 2011I wondered how it could be disruptive to someone who has prepared for nine previous LPGA events plus a World Cup until Tom informed me Grand Cypress was “awarded” the prestigious season-ending event in early September of this year – giving him just three months to prepare.
Tim Moraghan January 18, 2011Tim Moraghan: Frank Tichnor on the many virtues of social media.
Tim Moraghan December 16, 2010Accepting the opportunity to volunteer is just the beginning of the experience. The most important and detailed portion of this process begins when you step foot on the property.
Tim Moraghan September 23, 2010GCI Columnist Tim Moraghan explores some actual “justifiable causes” for recent superintendent firings.
Tim Moraghan September 17, 2010Tim catches up with Old Course at St. Andrews’ director of greenkeeping, Gordon Moir.
Tim Moraghan August 02, 2010We are in the midst of championship golf season with my favorite – The Open Championship – to be contested at the home of golf, the Old Course at St. Andrews.
Tim Moraghan July 27, 2010Slightly more than 20 percent of the people playing the game are women. June is National Women’s Golf Month, an industry initiative to raise awareness of and engage female audiences in the game.
Tim Moraghan June 24, 2010Bethpage State Park superintendent Craig Currier talks with GCI columnist Tim Moraghan about course preparations for this week’s U.S. Open.
Tim Moraghan June 15, 2009The spotlight is on Bethpage Black as it hosts second U.S. Open.
Tim Moraghan June 11, 2009Tim Moraghan recently visited the golf courses and spoke with the superintendents who will host Australia’s major championships.
Tim Moraghan September 12, 2008Information about the PGA Tour’s Tournament Players Championship.
Tim Moraghan July 15, 2008There are numerous rules-related details golf course superintendents must attend to when preparing for tournaments or daily play.
Tim Moraghan June 20, 2008Tim Moraghan takes readers inside the ropes for a closer look at tournament preparation.
Tim Moraghan May 20, 2008There are several products that might be beneficial and warrant consideration for inside-the-ropes golf course operations.
Tim Moraghan April 18, 2008Tim Moraghan answers questions about course set-up or maintenance related to golf tournaments or events.
Tim Moraghan March 27, 2008Tim Moraghan answers questions about tournament preparation.
Tim Moraghan February 15, 2008Tim Moraghan answers questions about tournament preparation.
Tim Moraghan February 06, 2008Tim Moraghan answers questions about tournament preparation.
Tim Moraghan November 20, 2007Tim Moraghan answers questions about golf course preparation as it relates to tournaments.
Tim Moraghan November 02, 2007