Mike, I do get your sense, or at least I think I understand what you are getting at. Tom has started this thread because there probably is a need to educate various levels of people that may be club members or officers that do read these pages here on GCA.com, and nothing gets them in a tizzy more than concrns about conditions on their golf courses. One can sympathise that it is human nature to want to protect your membership /dues investment. And, one has to take into account that it is simply unrealistic that most typical members don't have the time nor inclination to actually learn much about turf management. They have lives to live, and why would they take much time to try and understand the intracacies of turf management on their course, they pays their dues and makes their comments, criticism, praise, or whatever.
But, those that do take a more indepth interest and ask or seek appointment to greens committees and whatever oversight the club has to interact with the super, do have some obligation to seek more education, and make the effort to seek out answers, particularly when this sort of thing happens.
I guess Tom is doing a good thing by bringing this discussion here, and while it does have that sort of underlying feel of being an airing of dirty laundry, it SHOULD not be taken in that vain, but a chance to learn something. I have always felt that it is a particular short coming of the ownership or membership, oversight capacity of golf course management with the supers, that there seems to always be this tension or fear that one wrong move can be so negative on a turf professional's career.
So, more power and praise to these guys at HVCC to be willing to come on here and discuss, and hopefully not in the vain of "airing dirty laundry".