“It’s a Pain None of My Colleagues Will Ever Understand”

By Karl Hansell, British International Golf Greenkeepers Association

Karl Hansell, center, takes in the education at the TOCA annual meeting.

Sat in a conference centre, just outside of Tampa, Florida, I found myself engrossed in the words of a speaker who was soliloquizing over the impact of the phrase ‘full stop’ to describe a basic punctuation mark.

It wasn’t the first time that day when I had given myself over entirely to the learning experience, nor would it be the last. My only sadness is that this was the first time since I qualified as a senior news reporter that I had encountered such a large group with the same passion for the written word that I have.

I’m jealous that you TOCA guys get to do this every year, I really am.

I work for a membership organisation, surrounded by administrators, a sales team, and experts in education. None of them are writers, and so when I get upset about a misplaced comma or the unforgivable proliferation of capital letters, sprayed almost at random throughout a text, it’s a pain none of my colleagues will ever understand.

At Saddlebrook Resort, however, I was surrounded by my peers. For once I wasn’t reporting on an event, viewing from the outside as a journalist, but rather I was able to take it all in. This was education that I knew would improve my own abilities, and the association I work for would benefit through that.

The enthusiasm and passion that seems to be a fixture of the American personality just made the entire experience that much more entertaining.

A 7am fun run? Sounds like Hell to be honest, but I was going to get involved with everything I could. During my trip Stateside I’d sampled all the local delicacies. There’d been biscuits and gravy for breakfast, a baseball game, I drank only Bud Light and I was set to go to NASCAR in a few days. What I had hoped for, but not entirely anticipated, was just how impactful the TOCA conference itself would be.

I’m an introvert at heart. I think journalists have to be as we’re listeners and if we want to be the centre of attention then it’s likely we’re getting in the way of the story. But I was enthused by the collaboration of so many people who came together out of a genuine desire to improve their own abilities. All day, right through until the evening events, I found myself chatting away about many different things to so many different guys – both in a professional capacity, and just out of curiosity. Our cultures are so similar, which makes the differences all the more fascinating and I want to thank everyone for being so welcoming to me. Really, you guys were fantastic.

From hearing about a band named Little Chicago, to explaining the concept of relegation in soccer and laughing at THAT Russian Mafia story, almost without effort I made some fantastic friendships. I can only imagine the sort of bonds you’d develop if you were able to attend each year.

Honestly, I’m envious.