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 From the News Desk...Down to nineHaving the U.S. Open come to your golf course can be a career-defining moment for a golf course superintendent. Being the host superintendent twice – at the same golf course – is nearly unheard of. In fact, that feat has been accomplished twice, according to the GCSAA. Craig Currier became only the second superintendent to host a U.S. Open at the same property last year when the U.S. Golf Association’s national championship returned to Bethpage State Park’s Black Course in Farmingdale, N.Y., for the second time since 2002.  For his Herculean efforts at salvaging the Black Course and the U.S. Open during constant rains that threatened to wash out the event, Currier (left) has been named one of nine finalists for TurfNet’s 2009 Superintendent of the Year Award, presented by Syngenta.
Joining Currier on the list of finalists are Doug Ayres of Corral de Tierra Country Club in Salinas, Calif.; Thomas Bastis, CGCS at the California Golf Club of San Francisco; Scott Bower of Martis Camp in Truckee, Calif.; Bob Lively, Flossmoor (Ill.) Country Club; Aaron Porter of Fargo (N.D.) Country Club; Jeff Stauffer of Credit Valley Golf and Country Club in Mississauga, Ontario; Dave Visocan of The Chester Valley Golf Club in Malvern, Pa.; and Anthony Williams, CGCS of Stone Mountain (Ga.) Golf Club. The finalists were chosen from a field of 44 nominees by a judging panel that includes Scott Cole of presenting sponsor Syngenta, Peter McCormick and John Reitman of TurfNet, Bradley S. Klein and Craig Horan of Golfweek, TurfNet contributing writer Frank S. Rossi, Ph.D. of Cornell University; Larry Hirsh of Golf Property Analysts, Cal Roth of the PGA Tour, Jon Scott of Nicklaus Design, Jim Snow of the USGA Green Section, Tom Stine of Golf Datatech and current superintendent of the year, Sam MacKenzie, CGCS at Olympia Fields (Ill.) Country Club. The award is presented annually by TurfNet and Syngenta to a golf course superintendent who demonstrates the ability to excel in one or more of the following areas: labor-management skills, maximizing budget limitations, educating and advancing the careers of colleagues and assistants, negotiating with government agencies, preparing for tournaments under unusual circumstances, service to golf clientele, upgrading or renovating the course and dealing with extreme or emergency conditions. The winner will be announced at 2 p.m. on Feb. 11 at the Syngenta booth during the Golf Industry Show in San Diego. Currier’s first U.S. Open at Bethpage went off without much of a hitch – sort of. The only hitch came when he proposed to wife Joanna at the maintenance facility after the final round was completed. Things did not go as smoothly the second time around. Weather forecasts were bleak in the days leading up to the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage. Local forecasts called for rain throughout the week of the event. For those players who were lucky enough to get in practice rounds, they dodged the crew and volunteers who worked feverishly between groups to mow greens and pump water from bunkers. But the Open went on, and he and his staff received many accolades for their hard work at saving the tournament. More than 1 inch of rain fell on the course on the first day of the tournament, washing out most of first-round play. By the end of the weekend, overnight rains delayed play on Sunday. Third-round play was not concluded until that evening, and final round play began shortly thereafter with golfers playing almost until dark before concluding on a Monday finish. Doug Ayres The prototypical innovative superintendent, Ayres is known as much for his cutting-edge way of completing projects at Corral de Tierra Country Club as he is for his ability to produce top-notch playing conditions at the club in Salinas Calif.
He has completed a vast array of projects, using mostly in-house labor, including a fairway drainage project, bunker renovation, removing and reinstalling irrigation heads to improve spacing and coverage, building a state-of-the-art maintenance facility, constructing water features and expanding and relining the irrigation pond. His fairway renovation and bunker project saved the club more than $300,000. He also is proactive in conducting hands-on learning activities for children in local schools and regularly lends a hand to help educate assistant superintendents by assisting in an annual seminar held on Monterey Peninsula. “Doug has more going on at one time than anyone else I have ever met has going on in two years,” said Bob Zoller, director of greens and grounds at Monterey Peninsula Country Club. “Building a maintenance shop in-house, learning to produce biofuels for use in his golf course equipment, rebuilding a green in five days. If they ever run out of projects to do at his golf course, he will die of boredom.” Thomas Bastis Bastis served on the restoration committee that drew up plans for a Kyle Philips-led restoration at the California Golf Club of San Francisco, a1918 Vernon Macan design. The full scope of the project, according to club green chairman Allan Jamieson, was not evident until the first full year of operation after the opening.
The club reopened amid the onset of the ongoing economic challenges that have beset golf courses and virtually every other industry during the past two years. That has led to sweeping cuts throughout the property, including the maintenance department. Despite the challenges, he and his crew produced a restoration that, in Jamieson’s words, “has received universal acclaim from all manner of professionals within the golf industry.” And they maintain it with a budget and staff that have been affected dramatically by budget cuts. “The real test wasn’t in convincing members to do it,” said Jamieson, the club’s green chairman. “It was in convincing them he was right.” Scott Bower Amid concerns from area environmental groups, Bower initiated a water-quality testing program in Martis Creek that runs through the golf course at Martis Camp in Truckee, Calif.
The creek is located in one of the nation’s most environmentally pristine areas, and there is immense oversight by watchdog groups. The stations take readings every 15 seconds at several points throughout the creek, all but ensuring that no chemical can enter the creek undetected. “That is no small feat,” said Reno, Nevada-based hydrologist Lori Carpenter. Because of the stewardship exhibited by Bower – as well as others involved with the golf course and other amenities at Martis Creek – what could have been a contentious relationship with the local water board and watchdog groups has turned into an atmosphere of cooperation. “Everything here has been proactive in making sure we are doing things the right way. We brought in a bunch of scientists with Ph.D.’s to make sure we were doing it the right way,” Bower said. “Our goal was to make (the oversight groups) our partners. And I feel we’ve done that.” Bob Lively Lively returned this Chicago-area course to its glory days through a three-year, multi-phase restoration – designed to minimize disruption to play – that was completed last May.
Despite the approach, the massive, Raymond Hearn-designed renovation project included upgrades to all 18 holes and lengthened the course by about 400 yards. Lively supplemented the construction crew with members of his own staff, a move that helped save about $250,000. Always cognizant of budgets and how they affect the club, Lively took a proactive approach to saving even more money for his employer last year when he volunteered to restructure his contract and refused to accept his annual bonus. Those moves came at a time when members were raving about the recently completed renovation and his role in seeing it through to completion. “Bob took the initiative to restructure his contract,” said green chairman Mark Egge, “ and it was not to his advantage.” Aaron Porter Porter overcame two floods in his first year as superintendent at Fargo (N.D.) Country Club, including one that resulted in the highest levels on the Red River since the 1890s.
While leading the recovery effort, that included cleaning up the course and an aggressive reseeding plan, he also managed the construction of a new par-3 course and a renovation that included raising three holes out of harm’s way in the event of future flooding. Porter worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on a dike-construction plan that would build flood barriers on the golf course to help protect other parts of the city, but would leave much of the golf course in the crosshairs of the floodwaters. He then implemented his own dike-building project to help ensure the integrity of buildings on the golf course. Flooding left parts of the golf course under water for five weeks and delayed the opening of the entire course – he and his staff managed to open nine holes – for months. The second flood struck two days before the opening, delaying the first day of the season on another five weeks. “Aaron’s leadership under pressure and his ability to manage staff, budgets and priorities when the need was greatest exemplifies the meaning of professionalism,” said director of golf Mark Johnson. Jeff Stauffer A freak winter storm in the Toronto area caused ice blockage in the Credit River and led to ice damage at Credit Valley Golf and Country Club that members called the worst they’d ever seen at the club.
Ice as much as 12 feet thick covered parts of the golf course and the ice flow in the river gnarled, twisted and destroyed two bridges on the property. When the ice thawed and Stauffer was able to assess the remaining damage, he found several fairways and a green were destroyed, while another green and more than 50 bunkers and 400 trees were damaged. Ice had gouged deep cuts into the turf, exposing soil, rock and the irrigation system, destroying about half the heads on the course. In all, damage to the golf course topped $2 million and delayed opening of parts of the course by some four months. Although much of the golf course was in need of repair, there were other outstanding projects that would have to come first, such as the need to reroute Nos. 3-5 because of a problem with golfers hitting balls offline into an adjacent property. Likewise, a pond expansion project that had been started the previous fall also had to be completed first. Dave Visocan Visocan spearheaded a renovation that has led to what some members have called the best conditions ever at The Chester Valley Golf Club in Malvern, Pa. Some also are crediting Visocan’s work directly for the ability of the Philadelphia-area club to fill its roster by attracting 60 new members.
The renovation came with challenges, namely when, thanks to rising costs in fuel and raw materials, projected costs outpaced the $1.5 million Visocan had been given to complete the work. Visocan recouped the $100,000 shortfall by using his crew on the project and using a mix of herbicides rather than fumigate the property with basamid, saving some $70,000. He also converted the bent/Poa annua/ Poa trivialis, ryegrass fairways to a pure stand of creeping bentgrass through an aggressive herbicide, overseeding and aeration. By the time the project was completed, not only had Visocan recouped the $100,000 difference, but it was finished an additional $48,000 under budget. “The success of this project enabled us to gain 60 new members and a full membership at a time when most golf clubs are struggling,” said vice president and green chairman Mike Pollock. “Dave has won the complete confidence and admiration of our membership, green committee, board of governors and our supplier partners.” Anthony Williams After conditions at Stone Mountain Golf Club were dominated by years of drought, nearly 2 feet of rain in six days, including 12 inches in one night, fell at the Atlanta-area club located in a state park by the same name. The park’s 350-acre lake overran its banks threatening nearly everything in its path at the golf course. Much of the facility’s Lakemont Course was underwater, with erosion damage and debris everywhere. Erosion even washed away much of the road into the park, unearthing the main irrigation line into the golf course.
The day after the rain stopped, 20 golfers arrived to play a course ravaged by flooding and erosion. They were sent away, but not for long. The Stonemont Course was open by noon. The back nine on the Lakemont Course was open the following day, and a modified version of the front nine was playable by the third day. More than a dozen people submitting nominations on Williams' behalf also commended him for his seemingly countless efforts in environmental awareness and stewardship. He helped develop a statewide water management plan for golf courses and assisted educating state agencies and lawmakers on the efforts of superintendents; guided Stone Mountain to Audubon certification in less than five months; is the 2010 recipient of the GCSAA President’s Award for Environmental Stewardship; and is a three-time winner of the GCSAA Environmental Leaders in Golf Award. |
In other news... Study examines spring pre-stress fertility programs Research finds no correlation between biostimulant applications before spring core cultivation and recovery. Posted: 09/02/2010 Read more » Aquatrols, TurfNet present Water Week The series of five Webinars is aimed at helping superintendents manage water and soils more efficiently. Posted: 09/01/2010 Read more » News and people briefs Registration opens soon for Irrigation Show, Briggs & Stratton elects new chairman, FMC taps new director for professional solutions division Posted: 09/01/2010 Read more » GCSAA selects firm in search for new CEO Kansas City-based company will open search process for Mark Woodward's successor in October. Posted: 08/31/2010 Read more » Water foul! Research shows that droppings from non-migratory geese on turf can result in nitrogen runoff into adjacent bodies of water. Posted: 08/26/2010 Read more » Complete news index » |
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