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From the TurfNet NewsDesk


  • John Reitman
    For hundreds of years, golf has been a game defined by tradition and honor.
    The professional tour, built on a cornerstone of honest self governance and sportsmanship, has stood as the de facto face of the game and has proven, as a whole, to be a mostly noble ambassador.
    Until this week.
    For the past year-and-a-half, we have listened to soon to be ex-PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan preach moral superiority from the pulpit and cast judgment on players who defected from his league and cashed in, taking $100s of millions from upstart Saudi-backed LIV Golf.
    This week, the PGA Tour announced a merger with LIV Golf that cedes a lot of power and influence to the Saudis.
    Follow the money.
    When players like Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau defected to LIV, the PGA Tour banned those players from competing in its events. 
    LIV Golf, run by World Golf Hall of Famer Greg Norman, is funded by billions from the Saudi Arabia Public Investment fund, which is controlled by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
    The Saudi government has what definitely is a stained reputation regarding its record on human rights. The country regularly ranks among the worst violators of human rights, targeting migrants, women, non-Muslims, gays and lesbians, the working class and just about anyone who exercises freedom of expression. As the U.S. recognizes June as Pride Month, same-sex relations are a crime in Saudi Arabia, punishable by imprisonment — or worse.
    Don't forget, 15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers were Saudi nationals, and that is a rub for many, especially survivors and family members of victims of those attacks.
    The Saudi government is deeply involved in many sports, including soccer, auto racing, boxing and horse racing to name a few. It is all part of the country's efforts to clean up, or whitewash, its public image.
    Since the advent of LIV Golf, Monahan has been exposed as nothing more than a hypocrite and, like so many politicians, a shill for Saudi money.
    We have since learned that Monahan, who is paid $15 million annually with use of a private jet as Tour commissioner, has been working behind the scenes for nearly two months with Saudi officials on the merger while at the same time promoting the Tour and decrying LIV Golf.

    Some of the game's biggest names, like Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, declined offers from LIV Golf and stumped on the PGA Tour's behalf.
    They risked $100s of millions by standing up for the Tour. In exchange for their loyalty, they learned of the merger the way everyone did — on Twitter. That is shameful.
    During last year's RBC Canadian Open, Monahan said on CBS that players should have considered events like 9/11 and the Saudi record on human rights when deciding to make the leap to LIV Golf. He went so far as to pose a hypothetical question to players considering the move: “Have you ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour?”
    Not until today. It is hard to imagine how Monahan survives this, but we've also learned that almost anything is possible where golf is concerned.
    McIlroy, who stood in defense of the Tour for so long, says he doesn't agree with the merger, but understands it. We can't blame him or Woods, or those who turned down LIV Golf money before but will have to take it now. This is their profession and their only options are to take the money, or leave the Tour. Not much of a choice.
    The new deal, which still must be approved by the Tour and federal oversight in the U.S., would combine the PGA Tour, DB World Tour (former European Tour) and LIV Golf. The new name of the conglomerate has not yet been determined, but this much we know.
    The Saudi's will control all financial aspects of the new for-profit entity, including final say in all sponsorships, but the PGA Tour will control all board operations. That said, Yasir bin al Rumayyan, Saudi banker, businessman and advisor to the Saudi prince will be the entity's new chairman, and Tour officials have shown little mettle for standing up to Saudi money.
    The Tour, now backed by Saudi money pending approval, will retain its tax-exempt status.
    Follow the money.
    In an interview this week on CNN, DeChambeau was asked what he would tell 9/11 survivors or family members of victims. He answered that it is time to move on and that the merger would prove to be the best thing for golf moving forward.
    Considering that those affected by 9/11 stand to gain nothing from this merger, what DeChambeau should have said is it will be the best thing for him.
    After all, just follow the money.
  • Ewing's new branding will reflect the changing times and needs of the company's customers. Ewing photo Effective July 1, Ewing Irrigation and Landscape Supply will officially be known as Ewing Outdoor Supply.
    The company says the name change will better reflect the solutions the century-old company offers to customers in a variety of markets.
    Founded in 1922 in San Francisco as Atlas Lawn Sprinkler Co., Ewing is a supplier of landscape and irrigation products, including irrigation supplies, sustainable and water-efficient products, landscape and turf products, supplies for agronomics, outdoor-living supplies, landscape lighting, water features and erosion control products.
    The name change reflects much of Ewing's early history.
    The company changed its name from Atlas to Ewing Turf Products in 1948 shortly after King Ewing acquired it. Ewing eventually moved its headquarters from California to Phoenix in 1994.
    The name change reflects the changing needs of customers throughout the green industry and Ewing's focus on meeting those needs, the company says. 
    "To be a stronger, better partner for you, we've committed to evolving our own business to match your needs and the needs of your different jobs and projects with a wider offering of products," Ewing president and CEO Douglas York said in a news release.
     
    "Ewing Outdoor Supply also speaks to the broader green industry we serve."
    Beginning in July, customers will begin to see Ewing Outdoor Supply marketing materials at Ewing locations, on invoices, the company's web site and in email correspondence.
    "As our industry evolves," York said in the release, "Ewing Outdoor Supply will continue to change and evolve with it, just as we have for the past 100 years, and we will continue to be your trusted supplier."
  • The last time Anthony Williams spent a Memorial Day at home rather than on a golf course, Ronald Reagan was in the White House, the average cost for a gallon of gas was $1.12 and "Out of Africa" won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1985.
    Williams, who has been a superintendent at golf courses in Texas and Georgia since 1986, recently was named senior agronomist for Invited Clubs, the company formerly known as Club Corp. Williams will oversee agronomics at several of Invited's premier properties. That list is still a work in progress, said Williams.
    Williams, who will remain in the Dallas area, began his new position on May 30.
    A graduate of the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, Georgia, Williams spent the first 30 years of his career on Marriott Golf properties in Georgia and the past six at TPC Las Colinas in Irving, Texas.
    "With my experience, they want me to connect GMs to the agronomy side to the golf professionals," Williams said. 

    Williams holds more certifications than a Wall Street trader. Certified as a superintendent, master greenkeeper and arborist, Williams also is a black belt in karate as well as a certified life coach, and he has dedicated much of his career to mentoring assistants, groundskeepers, colleagues and friends, and for several years has been presenting career- and life-development webinars on TurfNet.
    In many of his presentations, Williams has urged others to think big and take a chance. When it came time to making a late life stage career change, he decided it was time to follow his own advice.
    "To achieve the legacy I want to leave in this industry, this is the logical next step," Williams said. "I didn't think something like this was possible. All the years I spent mentoring others — I have to do it."
    Williams' awards include the TurfNet Superintendent of the Year in 2009; Georgia GCSA Superintendent of the Year (2015); North Texas GCSA Superintendent of the Year (2021); a multiple-year winner of the Environmental Leaders in Golf Award; Professional Grounds Management Society Green Star Award; Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association Environmental Communicator of the Year (2011); J.W. Marriott Award of Excellence; and in 2018 was inducted into the Georgia GCSA Hall of Fame.
    Despite those accolades, Williams said he was surprised when Invited Clubs came calling.
    "I'm approaching 60, and we all know how different it gets for superintendents at 60," Williams said.
    "You have to be prepared to make that next career change, and I've spent my whole career to get to this moment."
  • For the past three years, golf has enjoyed an almost-unprecedented surge in popularity. Since the outbreak of Covid, the number of players in the game reached an all-time high and rounds played reached a level not seen in more than 20 years.
    As outlets for recreation and entertainment were taken away throughout the 2020 and 2021, many turned to golf for diversion and fun.
    Many newcomers came into the game in that time frame, and committed golfers played more often.
    The question on the lips of many has been “how long will it last?”
    After all, apparel and equipment sales are down this year, according to many reports, so it only seems to follow that rounds played and the number of golfers would be on the decline, as well.
    For those waiting to learn whether the bottom is falling out of the golf industry, the most recent reports on rounds played suggest we will have to wait.

    The number of rounds played to date in 2023 is up by 3 percent compared with last year. Photo by John Reitman According to Golf Datatech's Monthly Rounds Played Report for April, play was up 7.8 percent compared with the same month a year ago. Likewise, year-to-date rounds played was up 3.1 percent compared with the first four months of 2022. According to Pellucid Corp., the game is still riding the high that was realized during the Covid pandemic.
    According to the report, rounds played were up in 31 states, thanks in part to an unseasonably warm winter in much of the country and a cool spring. Conversely, play was down in only 18 other states, Alaska notwithstanding. The largest year-over-year gains in April were made in Illinois, where play was up by 72 percent. 
    Other states enjoying double-digit growth were Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
    The steepest losses were in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, where play was down by 61 percent.
    The only other state that experienced double-digit losses in April was Hawaii.
    According to Pellucid Corp., 4 million people came to the game during Covid. Many of those newcomers were juniors and women, both critical to long-term growth of the game. About 1 million of those players, according to Pellucid reporting, have stayed in the game, and most of them reflect the commonly held stereotypes surrounding the game — that it is supported by older men.
    The good news is there are things about the game that are appealing enough to attract new players. The bad news is other factors are at work that prevent most of those new players from staying with the game.
  • Two years ago, officials at the Ohio State Agricultural Technical Institute developed a master plan to bring the campus in Wooster into the 21st century. That plan includes replacing aging, outdated and damaged buildings, including classrooms and dormitories, as well as developing new outdoor learning opportunities. Developing a costly master plan and implementing one are two entirely different things.
    Located 100 miles from Ohio State's main campus in Columbus, OSU-ATI has a long history of training students for careers in turf and agriculture. Officials insist that much of the infrastructure at the Wooster campus is outdated and in disrepair and must be renovated or even replaced. Finding funds to make those necessary has been a challenge.
    Until now.
    To help fund implementation of its master plan over the next decade, ATI is liquidating some of its real estate holdings that officials say no longer suit the school's needs, including its golf course.
    Hawk's Nest closed in December and was sold earlier this year for $2.5 million to Gasser Brothers LLC, which owns agricultural operations in eastern Ohio. 
    A 1993 Steve Burns design, Hawks Nest was gifted to ATI 15 years ago by its previous owners, Earl and Betty Hawkins. Since then, the public course was utilized by ATI students as an outdoor classroom and lab. 
    "It's 20 minutes away from campus, and there are only 15 minutes between classes," said Ed Nangle, Ph.D., who runs ATI's turf program. "We had to end classes early and students were always late to their next class if they went back to campus. Classes never started on time. There were so many logistical issues."
    More real-world learning opportunities will be added on campus as part of the renovation project.
    In the plans are a new athletic field where, Nangle said, "We're going to try to stretch the cold tolerance of Bermudagrass farther north."
    The athletic field also will be used for student recreation.
    About 22 acres have been set aside as the future site for a three- or four-hole short course as part of the new-look ATI. Students will be tasked with managing both surfaces as well as maintenance equipment for real on-the-job training. 
    "Since it's only a three- or four-hole course, students will learn how to screw up, but it won't be critical like it would be on an 18-hole course," Nangle said. "What they'll be able to learn is 'I better not do that again.' Making mistakes is a critical part of learning."
    The future of the golf course is uncertain, and ATI officials said they will establish turf plots on the Wooster campus that boasts a research putting green built by John Street, Ph.D., 50 years ago.
    A new research green will feature 10 different cultivars that students can maintain while observing the unique characteristics of each variety.
    "Students will be able to see differences in establishment and management," Nangle said. "It's a win-win."
    Other updates are occurring indoors. 
    The Equipment Manager program has been popular at ATI, and more offerings there will hopefully attract even more students, Nangle said. 
    "Most of our turf students get the equipment manager certificate while they are here, but not a lot come here just for that," Nangle said. "That part of the business is going bananas now."
    ATI plans to add an eight-week EM summer program and expand equipment available to students. ATI has historically been a Bernhard shop, but Nangle recently added a SIP grinder and is working to bring in a Foley unit, as well.
    "This way, they'll get to learn all types of grinding on all kinds of equipment," he said.
    The athletic field should be completed in a year and all aspects of the improvement project are expected to be completed in two years.
    ATI's Grosjean East farm recently sold for $750,000 to another buyer, and a host of other properties are being liquidated for about $300,000.
  • Toro has expanded its commercial vehicle portfolio with the new Vista shuttle, designed for transporting multiple passengers. The Vista line is powered by a HyperCell lithium-ion battery.
    Customers can choose from four-, six- or eight-passenger options in both EFI gas and lithium-ion powertrains, with the option to add additional power on lithium units to further boost performance and keep users powered for longer. For added operator and maintenance convenience, users can easily view speed, battery level (on lithium-ion models), fault codes and other key information on the LCD screen located on the dashboard.

    The Toro Vista is available in 4, 6, or 8 person battery or gas-powered models. The lithium HyperCell batteries are Toro's proprietary, patent-pending lithium-ion technology. Toro has implemented rigorous standards that require every battery to pass extensive environment and third-party certification testing. The distributed Battery Management System maximizes battery performance to enhance reliability and longevity. HyperCell batteries provide diagnostic information to simplify maintenance and service, and a recycling program is available for batteries that reach end-of-life.
    "Vista has been thoughtfully designed for quality, strength and durability,"" said Toro product manager Marissa Garin in a news release. "Instead of extending golf cart frames, which can lead to a bent or bowed frame when heavy loads are added, we created a modern, robust frame design for each of the models. This helps ensure that guests travel comfortably and arrive safely.""
    The use of TPO plastic in the body panels means every transport vehicle can be custom branded with decals, wrap or paint.
    Vista features front and rear independent suspension, plenty of leg room and ample onboard storage space. The steering wheel is designed so the driver can easily get in and out of the seat. A standard, fold-down rear seat with grip texture and a lip around the edge provides easy storage for bulky items, such as bags or boxes, and holds these items in place during transport.
    The parking brake activates and deactivates on lithium models, which means fewer brake adjustments and less maintenance. Hydraulic disc brakes allow for swift and sure stopping power.
  • A bleached water line is a constant reminder of the challenges facing Lake Mead. Arizona Department of Water Resources photo Drought conditions throughout most of the West might be over - for the time being, anyway - but anyone who has seen Lake Mead knows that the western U.S. still faces many challenges where water is concerned.
    The U.S. Department of the Interior announced Monday a voluntary agreement with Arizona, California and Nevada that is designed to save at least 3 million acre feet of water over the next three-and-a-half years. The plan will affect many golf courses, though it is yet unclear just how much, according to one regional association.
    The Colorado River that forms Lake Mead and Lake Powell supplies water to about 40 million people in seven states. 
    The plan still awaits federal review. It is unclear how effective this voluntary proposal will be, but agencies from different states coming together is seen as an important first step, and led to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation temporarily shelving a plan that would have required the three states to save 2.1 million acre feet next year alone.
    Although the water level in Lake Mead is up 12 feet so far this year, it's down 35 feet in the past five years and 172 feet since its highest point in 1983. 
    Water levels in Lake Mead had dropped to historically low levels in 2022, so low that intakes were exposed as were some gruesome findings on the impoundment's bed, including at least two barrels that contained human remains that experts believed were associated with organized crime activities in nearby Las Vegas.
    Just how much each state will have to cut back under the plan has yet to be determined.
    The Bureau of Reclamation issued a challenge in 2022 for the seven states that make up the Colorado River Basin to come together and craft a plan that would save 2.5 million to 4 million acre feet annually.
    The four states that comprise the Colorado River's upper basin, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, have not agreed to such a plan, but are standing by to see how it works.
    California gets much of its fresh water from the Colorado, as well as the State Water Project, which is a system of reservoirs throughout the state that are fed not only by rain, but also melting snow from the Sierra Nevada range.
    Reservoirs throughout the state are full thanks to plentiful rain and snowfall, but golf will be among those that feel the pinch due to the coming loss of Colorado River water. The Bureau of Reclamation has indicated that further use restrictions could be implemented after 2026 if the voluntary cutbacks do not yield the desired results.
  • Good things come to those who wait.
    Five years ago, members of the New York State Turfgrass Association recognized the need to address the labor issue affecting the turf industry.
    On May 9, the New York Department of Labor approved NYSTA's Registered Apprenticeship Program that is designed to help train future groundskeepers and equipment technicians for the golf and sports turf industries in New York.
    The program helps create a career path through a combination of 4,000 hours of paid on-the-job training and classroom instruction that includes 20 hours of credit toward an associate's degree in turf management from SUNY-Delhi.
    The program was developed through a partnership between NYSTA and consultant Tyler Bloom, who has served as program administrator.
    "In 2018, the board decided to create a strategic plan," said Dom Morales, a NYSTA board member who retired from SUNY-Delhi in 2012. "We had a lot of different areas we were focusing on. Career awareness and enhancement was my area. 
    "We started to reach out to high schools that taught agriculture or had FFA programs, and we would bring in superintendents to talk on career days."
    At that time, Bloom was still a superintendent at Sparrows Point Country Club in Maryland, and had been recruiting talent from non-traditional sources, like high schools.
    "We heard the complaints from our members," Morales said. "For every intern candidate there were eight to 10 openings. We couldn't fill them all. University turf schools once were accused of flooding the market with assistant candidates. Now, there is a drought of good, qualified people."
    After a couple of years of working with the New York Department of Labor, certification of the program had stalled, and it was clear to Morales that he needed help. Bloom, who struck out and started his own consulting firm in 2020, was a natural fit to help NYSTA meet the needs of its members throughout New York.
    "He had just started his consulting business, but he had been doing the same thing as a superintendent in Maryland. We clicked. We developed a really good relationship," Morales said.
    "I convinced the board to bring him on as a consultant. Then we started working with the DOL on Zoom calls and it all started to break through. Tyler is the man. Without him, we couldn't have done this."
    Bloom defers credit to Morales, who spent 38 years as an educator at SUNY-Delhi before retiring and taking a position in the sports turf industry.
    "Dominic is the driving force," Bloom said.
    "It's such a good thing, and (I'm) really proud to see it coming to fruition. It was a challenge working with NYDOL, but persistence paid off."
    Aside from 4,000 hours of on-the-job training as a paid intern, graduates of the program will be halfway to an associate's degree from SUNY-Delhi.
    The Department of Labor eventually was so impressed with the program and its ability to provide applicants with a pathway to a career that those employing participants are eligible for a tax credit of $6,000 per hire.
    "Approval from the DOL gives the program credibility," Morales said. "There is on-the-job training and related instruction, and everything is documented. Graduates get a certificate that proves they have these skills. 
    "It's a new way of educating turf professionals and getting them into the field with the knowledge to move up. We hope that employers see it as having someone on their crew who has potential, but can't go back to college. I think it's a win-win."
  • The average superintendent salary is now more than $100,000 per year. File photo Golf course superintendents are, on average, earning more in salary than ever before. According to the GCSAA's biennial compensation survey, the average superintendent's salary rose 12.6 percent to $109,621 in 2023, up from $97,354 two years ago.
    The survey included responses from more than 3,200 GCSAA member superintendents, and the results compare favorably to other fields. From 2020 to 2022, the average U.S. salary rose by 10 percent from $55,000 to $60,000, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
    The news was even better for certified superintendents, who saw their salaries rise from $119,558 to an average of $128,731, according to the survey. That is 16 percent higher than the survey's average for a superintendent.
    According to the survey, the average age of a superintendent is 47.1 years, with 16.6 years in the turf industry, including 10.3 years with their current employer.
    Since the first compensation survey 30 years ago, superintendent salaries have risen 146.3 percent from an average of $44,500 in 1993.  
    The average salary for equipment managers climbed 14.2 percent to $60,584, and assistant wages rose 15.3 percent during the past two years to an average of $56,299, according to the survey.
  • For the past two decades, an invasive pest from the other side of the world has been wiping out ash trees across North America. Research being conducted by scientists at Penn State could be key in helping preserve ash tree populations across the continent.
    Since arriving in the United States 21 years ago, the ash borer has wiped out 10s of millions of trees in at least 36 states and several provinces in Canada. A small percentage of trees survive the ash borer and could hold answers about how to preserve the species. 
    Researchers at Pennsylvania State University conducted a study to learn why some green ash trees survived an EAB outbreak. Plant geneticists compared gene expression data for resistant, or “lingering” ash, versus susceptible green ash trees exposed to attack by the beetles, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. By comparing RNA-sequence data from stems attacked by EAB to tree tissue under other stresses, the researchers identified the genetic differences tied to EAB resistance. 
    The team is evaluating green ash seedlings from an EAB-resistant parent tree to map the location of genes for resistance among the offspring that survive EAB attack. They also are sequencing the genome of the resistant parent tree to identify specific resistance genes for selection and breeding.
    The research took place at Penn State from 2012 to 2017 on a plot of ash trees established from seed of ash trees collected from 27 states in the 1970s. The plot included 1,762 ash trees. At the conclusion of the EAB study, only 13 trees were unaffected by the pest.

    Researchers concluded that there are genetic differences among trees from different populations and seed parents and that some ash genotypes on favorable sites can survive with lower densities of emerald ash borer populations.
    EAB entered the United States in 2002 aboard a Chinese cargo ship. Since then, it has spread to 36 U.S. states and five provinces in Canada and caused billions in damage, killing trees on golf courses, in parks and on forest land. 
    Native to eastern Asia, EAB burrows into ash trees as an adult where it lays its eggs. The larvae feed on the layer beneath the bark, disrupting the tree's vascular system and its ability to take up water and nutrients and eventually kill the tree. The beetle emerges from tree, leaving a D-shaped exit hole before returning to lay its eggs and starting the process all over again.
    Eventually, say scientists with the U.S. Forest Service, the bug will expand throughout the entire range where all 16 North American ash tree species grow. Penn State is not the only university working to preserve ash species.
    The USDA confirmed EAB in Oregon in July 2022 and believe it probably has been in the state for as many as five years. The Oregon ash, the state's only native species, plays a critical role in bank stabilization in streams and rivers. The trickle down caused if those trees are lost could be widespread. As they have watched EAB spread across the country the past two decades, forestry officials in Oregon have harvested and stored more than 1 million Oregon ash seeds to try to preserve the species for replanting.
    Researchers with the Oregon Department of Forestry are testing seeds to determine whether any have resistance to ash borers and if so, they might be able to breed resistance into local strains and replant them.
  • Image reflecting Donald Ross's original plans for Tumblebrook Golf Course. During the past two decades, golf has shed more than 2,000 courses from its supply since the boom of the early 2000s. Many have been converted into farms, others have become the site of retail outlets, high-density housing or some form of mixed use property.
    Among those losses was Tumblebrook Golf Course, a nine-hole municipal course that was designed by Donald Ross with construction overseen by design associate J.B. McGovern in 1931 in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley. Critics say that through the years, the course near Allentown had lost its Ross influence, leading writers and raters to opine that there was no hint of the acclaimed architect's work when it closed four years ago.
    The course that closed "permanently" in late 2019 is set to make a comeback as a community-focused golf campus centered around a Ron Prichard-led restoration designed to bring the layout back to what Ross intended but was never fully realized when he designed it more than 90 years ago.
     
    "What's really exciting about this is that, although the course was designed by Ross and built by his key associate, his design was never fully executed," Prichard said in a news release. "Effectively this will be the first time Ross's finishing touches have ever been built at Tumblebrook."
    Tumblebrook was founded in 1931 by Harry Holscher, once the manager of nearby Lehigh Country Club. Holscher's family continued to own and operate the course until 1994. It began operation as a Upper Saucon Township-owned municipal facility in 2001 under the guidance of a handful of management companies, the last of which ceased operation after the 2019 season.
    The rebirth at Tumblebrook is thanks to the vision of two golf enthusiasts and entrepreneurs who formed a new company with the sole purpose of operating the property.
    Upon shuttering the golf course, township officials considered repurposing Tumblebrook into a collection of athletic fields. That's when local golfer Josh Woodward and filmmaker Vaughan Halyard teamed to form Tumblebrook Golf Campus LLC. 
    At a May 8 meeting, the Upper Saucon Township board of supervisors voted to approve an agreement with the newly formed Tumblebrook Golf Campus LLC to operate the property as a golf course.
    Halyard and Prichard have been working together on a master plan. 
    "Ron will base the plan on Ross's original design of the Tumblebrook course," said Halyard. 
    "Josh was able to obtain the original drawings of the course from the township's archives, and Ron is going to use those to guide his work." 
    Prichard, who is a partner in the new venture, has recruited golf course architects Jeff Mingay and Christine Fraser to help with the project that will include construction of a second nine, driving range and practice area to help promote the game.
    "Included in the project are 90 acres of additional land alongside the course, and we plan to use that for a second nine hole course, to be designed by a world-class golf course architect," said Halyard. "The extra land will also support a range and learning facility. These are critical in support of our plans for a golf-forward community environment. We are resolved to deliver the kind of golf that should keep kids active outdoors for hours. We are in the early days of our project as our current plans are dependent on a number of factors such as zoning and other approvals."
  • For professional turf managers who need long-lasting outdoor power equipment, the Kress line of trimmers, blowers and chainsaws are now available from dealers throughout North America.
    The Kress line of equipment, which has a long history in Europe, made its North American debut late last year with commercial-grade equipment powered by the 8-Minute CyberSystem. The Kress CyberPack batteries, 4 Ah and 11 Ah back-pack, can charge from 0% to 80% in as little as five minutes, or from 0-100% in eight minutes. Advanced cell technology allows the batteries to stay cool, so they do not have cool down prior to charging.

    The company's newly available 40- and 60-volt lines of outdoor power equipment provide users with a combination of long-lasting power and quiet performance.
    The Kress 40-volt line of outdoor power equipment is powered by the company's 20V Kross Pack lithium-ion batteries, designed to maximize power and runtime. The 40V line includes:
    15-inch line trimmer 14-inch chainsaw 24-inch hedge trimmer  The Kress 60-volt line consists of:
    850CFM axial blower 750CFM axial blower 16-inch line trimmer 16-inch carbon Fiber Line Trimmer 16-inch chainsaw 18-inch chainsaw 21-inch push mower All Kress 40V and 60V prosumer products are equipped with Kress-built brushless motors and can be customized to fit a variety of needs.
  • Sod grown on plastic produces a healthier plant faster because the roots are not cut at harvest. West Coast Turf photo In the quest to develop a stronger grass plant for customers managing turf on athletic fields, West Coast Turf has been growing sod on plastic for most of the past decade.
    This practice prevents cutting the roots at harvest, thus providing a stronger, healthier plant, says Jay Danek, chief executive officer of Palm Desert, California-based West Coast Turf.
    "The No. 1 reason we grow sod on plastic is we don't cut the root system off," Danek said. "When you go out into the field and it's 110 degrees and you cut off the roots, the grass can go into shock."
    Now, West Coast Turf offers that same stronger, healthier turf to golf course superintendents with what it calls Ready Play Grass.
    Once the plastic-grown sod is laid, the full roots that have balled up tamp down and quickly begin to migrate down into the profile saving precious weeks, Danek said.
    West Coast Turf has been growing sod on plastic for at least seven years for use on sports fields, and other growers have been doing the same with cool-season turf for twice as long, Danek said. Currently, West Coast Turf is growing several varieties on plastic, including Tahoma 31 and Tifway 419, as well as Zoysiagrasses and paspalum.
    Ready Play Grass starts as a sod product that has been through its growing cycle for eight to 12 months, and then another six to 15 months growing on the plastic. It is grown to sod strength and weight so there is no movement, and the way the company harvests allows for tight seams so the rolls mesh together perfectly.
    "Right now, some golf courses in Northern California are using it on driving range tees and greens," Danek said. "A lot of courses change out every two or three years, and then you have to stay off the tees for two or three weeks. Or at least you should in a perfect world. 
    "This way, you never cut the roots and there is no lost time."
    According to WCT, it now is in the ground in various applications at many golf courses in California, including Pebble Beach, Torrey Pines, Valley Club of Montecito and Lahontan, as well as TPC Scottsdale in Arizona.
    West Coast Turf's sod on plastic has been grown on several high-profile athletic fields, including Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the Rose Bowl, Sun Devil Stadium at Arizona State University, Dodger Stadium, Anaheim Stadium and more.
  • The USGA has added 17 new sustainability projects this year as part of the Mike Davis Program for Advancing Golf Course Management.
    The program invests approximately $2 million in grants annually and includes more than 70 new and ongoing university research projects at more than 25 universities and other entities making it the golf industry's largest private turfgrass and environmental research effort.
    These research investments, as part of the USGA Green Section, total nearly $50 million since 1983. The subsequent sustainable management practices have contributed to a 29 percent decrease in water use since 2005. The Davis Grants engage university researchers and scientists in the effort to optimize natural resource use and playing conditions. Research from the program has helped to deliver stress-tolerant and higher quality turfgrasses and has enhanced all aspects of holistic management – from constructing and managing putting greens to monitoring for and controlling troublesome diseases.
    "It's not enough to simply love this game and celebrate its current growth," said USGA CEO Mike Whan in a news release. "We've got to respect the game enough to truly care about how we leave it for the generations that will follow us. We all need to appreciate the importance of improving golf's sustainability footprint and be committed to identifying new ways to reduce golf's resource consumption."
    Some notable projects being funded in 2023 include an effort at New Mexico State University to validate soil-moisture prediction with strategies such as satellite-based sensors, which could eventually reduce manual collection of soil-moisture readings. A new study at Rutgers University is evaluating the feasibility of using warm-season grasses in Northern regions, including the financial implications. The USGA is also working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to further characterize the drought tolerance of native grasses that also tolerate salty irrigation water.
    According to the USGA, these funded research projects have combined to save the industry nearly $2 billion annually including $201 million from advancing irrigation with efficiencies in turfgrass water use, $529 million from advancing irrigation scheduling with soil-moisture meters and $469 million from advancing naturalized rough.
  • A gofundme account has been established to benefit Adam Schloer's wife and daughter. Adam Schloer was so passionate about golf and the business world that he bought and ran his own course.
    Schloer, the owner operator of nine-hole Heritage Creek Golf Club in Jamison, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, died April 20 after, according to reports, he was involved in an on-course accident at Heritage Creek.
    Schloer was a native of Norristown, Pennsylvania. He was 36.
    A gofundme account has been established by his brother and sister-in-law to benefit his wife, Caitlin, and daughter, Norella. To date, more than $30,000 has been raised for his family.
    A graduate of Shippensburg University, where he earned a degree in business administration, Schloer had a keen interest in business, according to his obituary, which eventually led him to combine two of his passions when he bought a golf course.
    As a golf course owner and operator with a business degree, Schloer learned turfgrass management on the job.
    According to his memorial, he had a varied array of interests, including spending time with family and friends, camping, canoeing trips, the Philadelphia Flyers, collecting Zippo lighters and playing board games.
    Other survivors include brother, Ryan Schloer (Krista); sister, Katie Schloer (Chris Liptrot); parents, Craig and Felicia Schloer; mother-in-law, Leigh Ann Akers; father-in-law, James Akers (Paula); and numerous other relatives.
  • Kristy Mach of the Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association presents Peter McCormick with an award signifying his induction into the TOCA Hall of Fame. Three decades ago, Peter McCormick struck out on his own, starting a business with the basic premise of helping golf course superintendents do their jobs better, faster and more efficiently. That sounds simple enough, but starting a business that centered on sharing information with a finite, niche audience is always a risk.
    Thirty years later, TurfNet is still going. And the media entity that started as a one-man operation with a print newsletter today boasts a library of instructional videos, podcasts, blogs and webcasts; a members-only forum where users can ask questions and get answers and advice from colleagues; and is the golf turf industry's leading portal to help turf managers find jobs and buy and sell used equipment. And it still operates on that same simple mission McCormick adopted when he launched TurfNet in 1994.
    On Thursday, McCormick was inducted into the Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association Hall of Fame. TOCA is a trade organization for editorial and advertising professionals in the green industry.
    "As one who is basically humble and prefers staying out of the limelight, as difficult as that may be for some to believe, I was surprised and honored to be inducted into the TOCA Hall of Fame," McCormick said. "The nominations submitted on my behalf recapped many of the innovations and accomplishments that TurfNet has implemented and achieved over the past 30 years, and were very touching for me."
    The Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association is a 200-plus member association comprising editorial, advertising and marketing professionals working in the green industry. The TOCA Hall of Fame recognizes the cumulative accomplishments of deserving communicators who have made outstanding contributions to the turf and ornamental industry.
    "Peter McCormick was a man ahead of his time both in his courage to venture into unknown professional territory and do so with a fearlessness that inspires those around him," wrote Frank S. Rossi, Ph.D. of Cornell University in his nomination. "Managing a media group such as TurfNet over the last 30 years has been an exercise in riding a roller coaster! The highest of highs and often the lowest of lows. Peter has a resilience that cannot be taught, it's in his DNA."
    One of the turf industry's true pioneers, McCormick is an alumnus of Rutgers where he earned a bachelor's degree in plant science and business management. A year after starting TurfNet, he took it online where it slowly grew into the media entity it is today. He sold TurfNet in 2001 to its current owner, Orlando-based Turnstile Publishing Co. and has continued to serve as its general manager..
    "I can't think of a better individual to receive TOCA's Hall of Fame award in 2023," said Tony Girardi, CGCS MG, at Rockrimmon Country Club in New York. "Peter is one of the classiest, most professional people I know, and I am delighted to call him a close friend. Quite frankly, I do not know where our entire golf course maintenance industry would be today without Peter McCormick and TurfNet in its various communication formats. It is safe to say that Peter is to the golf industry as Steve Jobs is to Apple and Bill Gates is to Microsoft. And that is not an overstatement."
    For McCormick, helping superintendents extended far beyond providing a platform where they can find answers to agronomics' most challenging questions. He also helped many superintendents update resumés and cover letters, build websites and blogs, and mentored many of his close friends as they started businesses of their own.
    "Not only has Peter had a massive impact on golf course maintenance as an industry, but there is no telling how many individual golf course superintendents lives he's influenced in a positive way, either as a mentor, coach, sounding board, or just someone to listen to your concerns and offer an encouraging word," said Mickey McCord, principal of McCord Golf Services and Safety. 
    "A little over 10 years ago, I was a Golf Course Superintendent with an idea for a business and Peter was the first person I talked to. He did not hesitate to say 'yes, this is a good idea, and you can do it.' He then continued to help and guide me, sometimes with a gentle nudge, and sometimes aggressively pushing me forward when I'd stalled and didn't think I could do something. I can say without reservation, I would not be where I am today without Peter McCormick's encouragement, guidance, and support, and I know I'm not the only one.
    "Finally, I think the most telling thing about Peter McCormick is when you thank him, and ask what you can do to repay him for all of his help, all he asks is that you do the same and help someone else when you have the chance."
    Other TOCA Hall of Fame inductees include: Margaret Bell, Debbie Clayton, Cindy Code, Den Gardner, Felicia Gillham, Ron Hall, Dave Hansen, Ed Hiscock, Pat Jones, Bill Klutho, Jose Milan, Doug Obermann, Jerry Roche, Owen Towne, Bob Tracinski, Steve Trusty and Suz Trusty.
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