On becoming President of the National Golf Course Owners Association, I felt that I must do something, well, presidential. Of course, that was my dilemma. I do not have the experience – or the golf game! – that Henry (Delozier, the immediate Past President) has … so what could I do? Hmmm…

For starters I decided to visit Club Car and Toro, our two major sponsors in the industry. I had met a number of the staff of both companies and was very excited at the prospect of seeing the Club Car factory as well as the innovations at Toro. I had met Dana Lonn and was looking forward to seeing his new projects in energy and water consumption.

Perfect! Or so I thought. Maybe I should have called Henry.

Club Car was my first trip. I called Robert McElreath and set it up. (Thanks, Robert!) My father and I were to come down and tour the plant and go to Monday’s practice round at the Masters. The kind of trip that has something for everyone! Unfortunately, my father had a health concern, and was unable to join me at the last minute. (For those of you that know him, he is just fine.) So I called my freshman year college roommate, Linton Smith, who lives in Savannah, and made him an offer he did not refuse. And of course, being a good southern boy, going to the Masters was something very important, almost spiritual. His wife accepted for him almost before I finished saying hello. He had been before, and even claimed to have played there many years ago. I shudder at the thought. I have never seen you play, Linton, so forgive me! My trip was quickly becoming a boondoggle, or as Dad would call it: a caper.

Linton and I met safely in Augusta, and managed to underimbibe so that we actually made it out to the course in the morning. A certain amount of beer had to be drunk, as we had so many fuzzy memories to recount to each other. The Masters was amazing – all you have heard. No cellphones, but free phones inside. Pimento cheese sandwiches for $1.50. The best customer service everywhere and the conditions were immaculate. We did see Tiger Woods – in fact we tried to get away from him and the following pack, but he kept following us! The real star there was the grass on the course. I really didn’t care about Tiger – I just wanted to lie down and stare at the perfect, weedless, impossibly manicured grass.

But the hit for both of us was definitely the tour of the Club Car factory. Everything about it spoke of tremendous efficiency and absolute best construction. The people, the machines and the techniques used were all exemplary. You can really tell that these carts are the best: built with extraordinary pride, and quality. My hat is off to the crew there and what they accomplish. If you are really trying to know a product, seeing the factory will accomplish that. My sincere thanks goes out to all the folks at Club Car for their hospitality.

Next up was Toro. This trip came right on the heels of our return from the Multi Course Owners retreat in California. It had taken us (that is Alice and the twins and me) just 22 hours to return from that trip – delays and missed connections. So I was really ready to go two days later!

Well, sort of.

Anyway I had made my reservations and coordinated with Bob VandenBoom and off I went. Or so I thought. Bob called that morning to check on my hotel reservations and after leaving him a message, I headed to the airport. I made my first flight which took me, after some delay, to Chicago. I was humming to myself when I got into the terminal, because I actually had enough time to make my connection! Yay! I confidently strode through the terminal toward my gate, checking my phone messages. There sure seemed to be an awful lot.

Here’s one: “Uh, Charlie, this is Bob. I sure hope you check your messages, because I really think you might be headed to the wrong city! Give me a call please!”

WHAT???!!!

There were more like this. I called Bob and confirmed that I was headed to Bloomington, yes, but the wrong one. No one told me there were so many d@#$ Bloomingtons! And yes, I was aimed at Bloomington, Illinois, not Bloomington, Minnesota. AAAAaa! In my frustration I became even more frustrated! You see, I could have made the connection! Who cared where I went, I COULD HAVE MADE THE CONNECTION!

So I swallowed my pride and called the airline lady and this is kind of what I said:

“I am afraid I have hit myself especially hard with the idiot stick today! I need to get to Bloomington and not the one I am booked into! Help!” After only about an hour on the phone the nice lady took care of it, and rebooked me at very little cost. I even made dinner with the Toro guys within an hour or so of our original time. I assure you that Bob, Mike and all of the folks at Toro thought this was highly amusing! I did too, hey, if you can’t laugh at yourself, especially in that situation, then you are in trouble.

The Toro tour was also amazing. The products and the history of the company were laid before me. I got to see Dana and his lab. The stuff they are doing with current technology to aid in our current and future strategic use of water (both at home and on the golf couse) is tremendously exciting. Seeing all of the Toro line and the rigorous tests that the equipment is put through was fantastic. No wonder my 20 year old Toro lawnmower is still going! Those things are really put through their paces. I even drove a hydrogen fuel cell gator, up and down the Toro test hill. This stuff is no longer a science kit that can’t be used in the real world. It really exists.

Both of my trips were really fantastic. Many, many thanks to Bob and Robert and all of the people who greeted me and welcomed me into their workplace. I am definitely proud of our sponsors, and I can tell you why: excellent products and work practices. It is that simple.

So now I am wondering what lessons I have learned. Other than that one about all of those Bloomingtons.

I did have two more delays coming home from Toro – in Minneapolis and again in Chicago. And then again on that Sunday on a personal trip for five more hours. Lemme see… that made about fifteen hours stuck in airports in seven days. Now, no one from the office wants to travel with me! I don’t want to travel with me! Alice and the twins and I are hoping to go to Germany for the EGCOA conference, and yes, she is taking care of all of the reservations.

My final memory of the trip will always be the airline lady. She got the best zinger of all. You see, while talking to her, I made the hopeful statement that I was sure that I was not the first person ever to book a flight to the wrong Bloomington. When all of my new connections were set she came back on with a final thought:

“Mr. Birney, you were right, you are not the first person to make this mistake.

Pause

You’re just the first person today!”

Many thanks to all of the folks who helped out: Club Car: Robert McElreath, David Hamilton, Gary Lewis, Timothy Walls         Toro: Bob VandenBoom, Michael Happe, John McPhee, Dana Lonn, Dan Gilmore, Jack Randall, David Angier, Philip Burkart and Michael Hoffman.