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From the TurfNet NewsDesk

  • John Reitman
    During the Syngenta Business Institute held earlier this month in North Carolina, we asked superintendents what gifts for the golf industry they'd like to see underneath the tree this holiday season. We took the option of wishing for more golfers off the table so everyone wouldn't have the same response.
     
    John Cunningham, CGCS
    Bellerive Country Club, St. Louis
     

    As the former superintendent of TPC Las Colinas in Irving, Texas, site of the PGA Tour's AT&T Byron Nelson Classic, Cunningham has a lot of tournament experience. What he would like more of at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, which will host the 2018 PGA Championship, is more business education like SBI.   While national and regional conferences offer plenty of opportunities to learn the latest in agronomic research and developments, business education isn't as plentiful, he said. That's especially true given the current state of the golf business, he said.   "We get our fix at the (Golf Industry Show). We spend a lot of time talking about agronomics and aerification and fungicides and moisture management, and those are all very important, and we have to have those," Cunningham said. "But it's important for me and everyone else in the industry to be a better business leader because the golf industry isn't what it used to be, and every dollar is important."   Paul Carter, CGCS
    The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay, Harrison, Tennessee
    There are budget cuts and then there are budget cuts. And nowhere are budgets more affected during tough times than at publicly owned entities.   Paul Carter, who oversees the grounds at The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay, a state-owned golf course in a state park near Chattanooga, would like to see golfer expectations fall into line with the resources he and other superintendents have to work with during a challenging economy.   "I'd like to see some realization from the golfers and the golfing industry that times have changed," he said. "Golf courses are not going to be immaculately maintained, not the majority of them. Our budgets have been cut, so therefore the expectations of golfers need to be cut."   Reducing the amount of managed irrigated turf has helped many, including Carter, redirect resources where they are needed most.   "I'm glad to see more people getting involved in environmental programs," he said. "Not every square inch of the golf course needs to be maintained."   Paul Latshaw, CGCS
    Muirfield Village Golf Club, Dublin, Ohio
    There is no questioning the fact that the golf industry has seen better days. Course closures have outpaced openings every year since 2006, and the number of rounds played is a slow, but steady decline.   Several factors are responsible for this slide, including how long it takes to get around the golf course and other family commitments.   "We have to do something about the pace of play," Latshaw said. "Anyone who has kids, that's all they're doing is driving their kids around to different sporting events. For that person to come to the golf club and spend five hours playing golf, that's a problem.   "What we've seen at our club is people coming out at 4 or 5 o'clock and hitting golf balls on the range for two hours and going home. Our driving ranges gets more use than it did five or six years ago."   The industry could do a lot to save money and shorten the amount of time it takes to play by taking some air out of the golf ball and making courses shorter, Latshaw said.   When Greg Norman won the 1995 Memorial Tournament, Muirfield Village Golf Club was playing at about 7,100 yards, compared with 7,392 yards this year.    "Something needs to be done with the golf ball," he said. "We all talk about more affordable golf, and the easiest way to do that is to have less area to maintain.    "Everything is better for the game if the golf ball is rolled back. If you want more affordable golf and you want to reach new demographics, you have to do something with the cost of the game. From my point of view, the more area there is to maintain, the more it's going to cost to maintain it. I work for Mr. (Jack) Nicklaus, and has been beating that drum for a while, and he's right."  
  • Whether it's mapping golf courses or delivering packages to doorsteps during the holidays, drone use is on the rise nationwide. In fact, one golf industry expert on drone use estimates that 1 in 20 golf courses are now operating unmanned vehicles. For those currently using, or considering a drone, there now is more to operating one than just breaking it out of the box and launching it skyward.
      Dec. 21 marked the first day that drone owners are required by federal regulations to register their vehicles with the Federal Aviation Administration.   The new rule, which came about in the wake of the formation by the FAA of an industry task force, applies to all private users with drones weighing between 0.55 and 55 pounds. Registration, which costs $5 per vehicle, can be completed online or by mail, and requires owners to provide personal contact information, including name, email address, home address and a credit card number. There is a 30-day grace period in which the FAA will wave the registration fee. New drone owners in the future must register their vehicle before flying it.    Commercial users, defined as those who are paid to provide a service to someone else, currently are exempt from the federal rule. That means golf course superintendents using drones even for purposes such as course/club marketing, monitoring agronomic conditions, managing restorations or archiving aerial imagery of the course, must register those vehicles to be in compliance with the new law. Firms that provide those same services for hire are not required by law to register their vehicles.   The new rules are based on recommendations of a task force that included drone makers, groups such as the Air Line Pilots Association and International Association of Chiefs of Police, and retailers like Walmart and Amazon.    One of the driving forces behind the new legislation is the increasing use of drone flights near airports. The FAA says it receives reports of drones flying near airplanes and airports every day. FAA guidelines require drones to stay more than 5 miles away from airports and large groups of people in places such as stadiums, remain below 400 feet in altitude and be within sight of the operator at all times.  
    If you're a bozo who is going to fly one near an airport, I doubt you're going to register it."
      Joel Pedlikin of Greensight Agronomics, a drone-enabled chemical- and water-management services company for the golf industry, believes the new rules are a good idea in theory, but questions how many drone users will register their vehicles. It is expected that as many as a half-million drones will be purchased throughout this holiday season, he said, calling into question the FAA's ability to monitor its own rules.   "The FAA already doesn't have the people or money to enforce the rules they have now. Where are they going to find time to enforce new ones?" Pedlikin said. "They don't have the resources to enforce that. So, how many people are going to register? It seems pretty unlikely to me that a lot of people will register.   "If you're a bozo who is going to fly one near an airport, I doubt you're going to register it."   Those considering shirking the new rule should be aware that failure to comply with the FAA could result in civil penalties of up to $27,500 and criminal penalties of up to $250,000 and imprisonment for up to three years.   New legislation regulating drone use has been pending since the passage of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, which charged the agency that regulates air traffic in the United States with developing a comprehensive plan for safe use of unmanned vehicles. That plan will be rolled out in incremental phases.   There has been talk within the drone industry, Pedlikin says, about future changes to vehicle set up that could help eliminate the problem of irresponsible users operating drones near airports.   "To me, flying near airports is the biggest concern of where drones are likely to do damage," Pedlikin said. "You don't even have to fly one into an engine to cause a problem, just flying it in front of the pilot on a final approach."   Geo-fencing capabilities could mean drones come pre-programmed to steer clear of places like airports. Some level of geo-fencing already is available on some higher-end models, Pedlikin said, but can be more problematic on cheaper models.   "There is no telling where in the country a unit would be used, so they would all have to be pre-programmed to avoid any airport anywhere in the country," he said. "That's a lot of work and a lot of data."   Such changes, he said, likely would increase the cost of a vehicle by $50-$100.   "You're talking about a lot of memory, and someone has to determine one geo-fencing definition. This isn't simple; it's a complicated process."
  • Scott Griffith is a man seemingly from a different era. In a time when protesting college students seek safe spaces from diversity of thought, and political correctness has run amok, Griffith stands as a testament to what one can become with hard work, dedication and a desire to overcome seemingly unbeatable odds. 
      The superintendent at the University of Georgia Golf Course for the past nine years, Griffith, 40, lived on his own during some of the most formative years of his youth while growing up in the rural South, and despite a childhood that redefines the word modest, he managed to put himself through college twice.    Griffith prefers to play his background close to the vest, so much so that he almost refused to sit for this story until wife Kim convinced him to embrace his past rather than run from it; so much so that some of his friends in the industry and superintendents he has worked for in the past are unaware of the road he's traveled to get to where he is today. They know of the square-jawed Griffith's exploits on the football fields of southeastern Alabama, they know of his time in the U.S. Marine Corps and they know of his service to the industry where he currently serves as vice president of the Georgia GCSA. But not all of them know that he lived by himself in government-subsidized housing while completing his last two years of high school, or that if not for the benevolence of a local farmer who often shared his good fortune with disadvantaged youths, things might have turned out very differently for Griffith.   "All of these experiences gave me self-reliance. I had some help along the way by people who cared, but I didn't expect that. I knew it was all on my shoulders to make it," Griffith said. "I knew if I wanted to be successful, I would have to do this on my own, I couldn't wait for someone to do it for me.   "The most important thing this has shown me is you can do anything if you have enough discipline and mental fortitude to do what you want to do."   One of those former bosses previously unaware of Griffith's life experiences is Fred Gehrisch, CGCS at Highlands Falls Country Club in Highlands, North Carolina. Griffith worked for Gehrisch years ago when both were employed at Newnan Country Club near Atlanta.   "To come from a background like that and be that successful is pretty impressive if you ask me," Gehrisch said. "He doesn't use it as a crutch, or to gain any kind of attention."   If he did, no one could blame him.   Life was tough for Griffith almost from the start.  
    I learned to be independent very early. I would jump on my bike, and I was gone from dawn until dusk."
      His parents divorced when he was just 6 years old. Soon after, he and his mother left their home in Midland City, Alabama, for a new start in North Carolina. But that new start often meant the same old problems for Griffith. His mom remarried, to what Griffith soon learned was a verbally abusive alcoholic. With both adults working, Griffith often was left on his own.   "I learned to be independent very early," he said. "I would jump on my bike, and I was gone from dawn until dusk to some sort of practice, or just hanging out with friends."   By the time Griffith reached junior high, the culture at home was beginning to take a toll, and he chose to return to Alabama to live with his father.    Back in Alabama, Griffith blossomed into a promising running back on the football field, and by the time he reached high school private Abbeville Christian Academy came calling looking for a running back. His 4.5 speed (in the 40-yard dash), while not fast enough to catch the eye of many college scouts, was more than enough to make plenty of defensive players in the area whiff when trying to make a tackle. He also figured it was why there was never any mention of money from school administrators, which was a good thing, because the Griffiths had none to spare. Griffith's dad drifted from job to job and the two lived in a low-income development.   "I always thought I was on a scholarship," Griffith said. "But I later found out someone was paying for me to go to school there."   That someone was local farm Jack Jones, who raised cattle and grew cotton and peanuts on 2,000 acres across the state line in nearby Fort Gaines, Georgia. Jones, who also was an assistant coach on the school's baseball team, made a habit of sharing his wealth with kids who came from less-than-perfect backgrounds and in whom he saw promise, and Griffith showed plenty of that.   By his junior year in high school, his dad was getting remarried and planned to move from the area. But Griffith didn't want to move. He had friends in school and was the local football hero. He talked his father into letting him stay behind alone where his landlord moved him into a smaller low-rent unit under his father's name.    "He was getting remarried and moving, and I didn't want to go," he said. "He knew he couldn't fight me, and reluctantly allowed me to stay where I was. He wasn't a bad guy; he just couldn't keep a job.   "There was a bottom, and I didn't want to be there. You know what you need to do to get out of there. There are kids today who can barely tie their own shoes. I never was like that. I knew I had to do it myself."   And do it, he did.   Griffith went to school during the day and worked at night tagging lumber for Great Southern Wood to pay his rent of $24 per month. In between he managed time for sports, especially football. Later, he took a job on Jones' farm, still not knowing that his employer also was his benefactor.   "I learned not to ask a lot of questions," Griffith said. "I knew something was up every time there was a class trip to pay for, and someone would come to me and say Don't worry about this, Scott. It's taken care of.' "   Eventually, he did begin asking questions and Barbara Lindsey, Abbeville Christian's headmaster, finally told him Jones had been footing his bills, but wanted to remain anonymous.   "He is in that small percent of heartfelt people who you have all the faith and trust in the world in. There are only two people who fit that for me," Griffith said, noting that his wife of 17 years is the other. "He had a heart the size of a mansion. And it wasn't just me; he helped many more before and after me. I thought he might have been doing it because I was good at sports, but he did it for people who weren't into sports too. He was just a genuine person. I think he felt like he was giving back to society that way."   Indeed.   Griffith and a group of his classmates went on from Abbeville Christian to Troy State University, now Troy University, where he contemplated pursuing a career in football until he saw the size of defensive players at the college level. Without Jones in his life, Griffith doubts he would have ever made it out of the fields of southern Alabama, much less to college.   "Living in a rough rural area and you don't know anything other than poor, you don't see a path to take to get to a higher level," he said. "Because I went to private school, I was surrounded by people who were successful, and that showed me the path and a different way to do things. It showed me there were possibilities out there."   Griffith worked his way through school taking jobs at restaurants like Kentucky Fried Chicken and Country's Barbecue because he could eat for free. And while a student at Troy, Griffith joined the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves to help him regain his focus. Despite a commitment of six years to the Marines, he missed just one semester of school.   "You don't know what you can do until you are pushed to your limits, and the Marines does that for you," he said. "Every Marine believes he can take out an entire army."   After graduating from Troy with a degree in business management, Griffith and his new wife moved to the Atlanta area to be closer to members of her family. It was that move that finally pointed him to his life's calling. Desperately in need of a job any job he answered an advertisement for part-time help at Newnan Country Club.   "I needed a job just to get my feet on the ground," he said. "It didn't take me long to fall in love with it."   A co-worker told him he could study turfgrass management at nearby Gwinnett Technical College and advance his career.   "I was that person who didn't know you could get a degree in turf," he said.   He quickly worked his way up through the ranks thanks to superintendents like Jim Miller and Gehrisch.    "He's one of those guys I have a great deal of respect for. He's a class act and one of the hardest-working guys in the business," Gehrisch said. "I always told him to work for successful people, because they will teach you the best habits. He was smart enough to make the right decisions in his career."   One decision Griffith regrets is falling out of touch with Jones when his professional career took off.   "One of my teachers tracked me down years ago to tell me he had died," Griffith said. "I carried some guilt for that."   Despite that guilt, the lessons learned through his hardscrabble life and the kindness Jones bestowed upon him have, coupled with his wife's own modest upbringing have provided the Griffiths with much fodder for raising their own children.   "I can tell you one thing; our kids know the value you of a dollar," Griffith said. "There is always the danger that if you never had it growing up, there is a desire to give your kids more than what you had, to overcompensate and go overboard. Knowing where the bottom is helps us raise our kids. Someone who has never been at the bottom might not understand that. You have to steer your kids away from that kind of life.   "If I'd had some parental guidance, I probably would have been a better person, but I don't regret it. I'm happy where I'm at."  
  • Everyone knows that inclement weather has an adverse effect on the amount of golf rounds played. It's pretty simple, actually; it's hard to play golf in the snow or rain, or freezing cold temperatures, or hail or lightning, during a tornado or in the eye of a hurricane. What seems to be up in the air is how much favorable weather actually drives golfers to the course.   It will be a few weeks before the rounds played report for November comes out, but when it does come out, that report might shed some light on the relationship between favorable weather and an increase in rounds played, if indeed there is one at all.   According to Pellucid Corp., the Chicago-based golf analytics firm run by Jim Koppenhaver that makes its hay crunching all the golf data so you don't have, the number of golf playable hours in November increased by 49 percent, compared with the same month in 2014. Golf playable hours in Pellucid's measurement of the total number of daylight hours compared with factors that influence play such as precipitation, humidity, daylight variances, etc. In other words, the amount of time in a day over the course of a month when someone could comfortably play golf if so inclined. And a 50-percent increase in the amount of time available to partake in any activity is significant.   In the meantime, the relationship between the amount of golf playable hours and actual number of rounds played were pretty similar in October, with both figures being roughly flat compared to the same month last year.   Rounds played, according to the Golf Datatech Monthly Rounds Played Report, rose just 0.6 percent compared with October 2014. That left year-to-date rounds played up just 0.7 percent for the first 10 months of the year. Public access courses (up 1.4 percent) faired better in October than private clubs, which saw a drop in rounds played of 2.5 percent. For the year, rounds are up by 1.3 percent at public access facilities and down by 1.7 percent at private clubs, according to the report.    Golf playable hours through November are up by 3 percent compared to the first 11 months of 2014.    Regardless of what news the November Rounds Played Report brings, it's unlikely the last two months of the year will be able to much to move the needle to 3 percent on rounds played, leaving participation throughout 2015 like most other years in recent memory flat and uninspiring.   There was some good news in October, with double-digit increases occurring in eight states, including Ohio, where play was up 22 percent, Michigan (18 percent), Missouri (16 percent), Washington (14 percent), Indiana (12 percent), Oregon and Kansas (11 percent), and Kentucky (10 percent).   The biggest losses in October were in South Carolina, which experienced catastrophic flooding, and play was down by 20 percent, which almost seems like a moral victory. Other double-digit losses occurred in Texas (down 12 percent) and North Carolina (down 10 percent). Everyone knows that inclement weather has an adverse effect on the amount of golf rounds played. It's pretty simple, actually; it's hard to play golf in the snow or rain, or freezing cold temperatures, or hail or lightning, during a tornado or in the eye of a hurricane. What seems to be up in the air is how much favorable weather actually drives golfers to the course.   It will be a few weeks before the rounds played report for November comes out, but when it does come out, that report might shed some light on the relationship between favorable weather and an increase in rounds played, if indeed there is one at all.   According to Pellucid Corp., the Chicago-based golf analytics firm run by Jim Koppenhaver that makes its hay crunching all the golf data so you don't have, the number of golf playable hours in November increased by 49 percent, compared with the same month in 2014. Golf playable hours in Pellucid's measurement of the total number of daylight hours compared with factors that influence play such as precipitation, humidity, daylight variances, etc. In other words, the amount of time in a day over the course of a month when someone could comfortably play golf if so inclined. And a 50-percent increase in the amount of time available to partake in any activity is significant.   In the meantime, the relationship between the amount of golf playable hours and actual number of rounds played were pretty similar in October, with both figures being roughly flat compared to the same month last year.   Rounds played, according to the Golf Datatech Monthly Rounds Played report, rose just 0.6 percent compared with October 2014. That left year-to-date rounds played up just 0.7 percent for the first 10 months of the year. Public access courses (up 1.4 percent) faired better in October than private clubs, which saw a drop in rounds played of 2.5 percent. For the year, rounds are up by 1.3 percent at public access facilities and down by 1.7 percent at private clubs, according to the report.    Golf playable hours through November are up by 3 percent compared to the first 11 months of 2014.    Regardless of what news the November Rounds Played Report brings, it's unlikely the last two months of the year will be able to much to move the needle to 3 percent on rounds played, leaving participation throughout 2015 like most other years in recent memory flat and uninspiring.   There was some good news in October, with double-digit increases occurring in eight states, including Ohio, where play was up 22 percent, Michigan (18 percent), Missouri (16 percent), Washington (14 percent), Indiana (12 percent), Oregon and Kansas (11 percent), and Kentucky (10 percent).   The biggest losses in October were in South Carolina, which experienced catastrophic flooding, and play was down by 20 percent, which almost seems like a moral victory. Other double-digit losses occurred in Texas (down 12 percent) and North Carolina (down 10 percent).
  • The Carolinas GCSA Conference and Show has changed quite a bit since the first event held more than a half century ago.
      About 30 golf course superintendents attended that inaugural show held in 1962 at Clemson University. This year, about 1,900 professional turf managers attended the 53rd annual conference and show held in November at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.    In fact, while declining attendance has marked the national Golf Industry Show since 2009, the reverse has been true for many regional shows, indicating that the desire for ongoing education is still there even if travel dollars are not.   Attendance at this year's show is slightly ahead of last year's show that drew 1,885 and is approaching the record of 2,018 set during the 2008 show. This year's show also included 190 vendors and about 100,000 square feet of convention center floor space.   The numbers also were up this year at the Ohio Turfgrass Foundation Conference and Show held earlier this month.   More than 1,600 attendees were hand as 100 speakers conducted 140 education sessions. A total of 111 vendors occupied nearly 20,000 square feet of exhibit space on the trade show floor at the Great Columbus Convention Center. All represent increases over last year's show held in Sandusky in the shadows of Cedar Point amusement park.   More than 9 of 10 attendees and exhibitors also indicated they plan to attend next year's show.   Numbers also were up at the New York State Turfgrass Association Conference and Show where 64 vendors showcased their wares to 611 total attendees, both of which are up from last year's event.   In contrast, attendance and participation at the Golf Industry Show has been on a downward slide since the 2008 show in Orlando attracted 25,737 attendees and 965 vendors.  A total of 12,400 attendees and 551 exhibitors were on hand this year in San Antonio, compared with 14,147 and 561 last year in Florida.   Statistics for the Rocky Mountain Regional Turfgrass Association show held in early December were not yet available.   There still are several regional shows yet to come, including the New England Regional Turfgrass Foundation Conference and Show.   After this year's show in January was plagued by a blizzard that all but canceled the event, the New England Regional Turfgrass Foundation Conference and Show has been moved to its historic early March time slot.    Scheduled for Feb. 29-March 3 at the Rhode Island Conference Center in Providence, the 2016 show will feature a lot of changes for attendees. A total of 13 separate two- and four-hour seminars will start at 1 p.m. Monday and 8 a.m. Tuesday. In previous years all seminars were held on Monday of show week. Thursday educational sessions will begin at 8 a.m. rather than 9 a.m.   There also will be a two-day trade show opening at 8 a.m. on the Wednesday and Thursday of show week.  
    Attendees who registered for the 2015 show will receive a 50 percent credit when they register online."
      Sports radio personality John Dennis of WEEI-FM in Boston will be the keynote speaker again this year. His address last year was canceled due to the inclement weather.   Attendees who registered for the 2015 show will receive a 50 percent credit when they register online. Online registration will begin later this month. Exhibitors also will receive a discount. Details will be in the vendor packet.   We will have more information on this show as it becomes available.   Other upcoming shows include: Michigan Turfgrass Conference, Jan. 5-7, Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center, East Lansing; Tennessee Turfgrass Association Conference and Show, Jan. 12-14, Embassy Suites, Murfreesboro (keynote speaker is former University of Tennessee football coach Phillip Fulmer); Nebraska Turf Conference, Jan. 12-14, LaVista Conference Center; Arkansas Turfgrass Association Trade Show and Conference, Jan. 13-14, Hot Springs Convention Center.
  • Dow Chemical and DuPont reached an agreement Friday to combine operations into a single company that eventually will split into three.    The new company, which will be known as DowDuPont, will have a combined value of $130 billion upon passing regulatory review, making it one of the largest business mergers ever.   The eventual split into three separate and publicly traded companies is expected to result in businesses concentrating on agricultural products, material science and specialty products. Such a split is expected to take up to two years to complete. Until then, shareholders of each company will hold 50 percent of the combined giant.   Dow's chief executive Andrew Liveris will be executive chairman of the new company, with DuPont chief executive Edward Breen keeping the CEO title. DowDuPont will have dual headquarters in Midland, Michigan, and Wilmington, Delaware.   The planned merger is the result of pressure from stockholders for both companies to become leaner and more profitable. For example, DuPont no longer manufactures paints and coatings, including the business that invented Teflon nonstick coating for cooking pans. Dow has gotten out of the business of marketing chlorine and epoxy products.   The deal, which will create the world's largest seed and chemical company, is expected to close in the second half of 2016.   - Compiled from wire reports.
  • A recent VIP visit to a Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex golf course is proof positive of the power of the pen.   Octavio Tripp, the Dallas-based Consul General of Mexico, and Jorge Croda, superintendent at Southern Oaks Golf Club in Burleson, Texas, have known each other for three years.   When  a mutual acquaintance told Tripp that Croda, a finalist for the 2014 TurfNet Superintendent of the Year Award, presented by Syngenta, also was a published author on the exploits of Hispanics working in the golf industry in the United States, Tripp wanted visit the course south of Fort Worth to help the crew celebrate its successes.   "He sent me an email, asking to come and congratulate the group for doing such a good job," said Croda, a Mexican national living in the U.S. "It's good to show to all Latin people in the United States that we can do good things in this country."   A golfer and an outspoken advocate for immigration reform, Tripp tweeted about the visit to Southern Oaks.     In his third year as superintendent at Southern Oaks, Croda developed a reputation in his native Mexico for reviving golf courses that were otherwise flatlining where playing conditions are concerned. Croda credited a new crew that he hired - and trained - himself as being the difference in the turnaround of Southern Oaks.    "If you take care of your crew, your crew will take care of you," Croda said. "That's the message for the superintendent."  
    I need to understand more about this culture in the United States. If I learn more about it, I can do a better job. If I just say, 'no, no, no, this is my culture and you need to understand me,' that's not true."
      Relating to a mostly Hispanic crew is easy for a superintendent from Mexico. That said, Croda believes what has been accomplished at Southern Oaks still can be a template for success at other courses. Key to that is Americans understanding cultural differences among those from other countries, and vice versa.   "We need to understand (other) cultures. We need to respect that," Croda said. "I teach that to my crew. For Mexican workers in the United States, the motivation is to do better. You can come here, and you can better yourself.   "I need to understand more about this culture in the United States. If I learn more about it, I can do a better job. If I just say, 'no, no, no, this is my culture and you need to understand me,' that's not true."   One thing Croda has learned about the golf culture in the United States is the need for more players, and he's been active player in trying to attract more participants to the game.   A certified First Tee coach, Croda visits local schools where he teaches the organization's core values of honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy and judgment. The First Tee of Fort Worth operates out of several facilities, and although Southern Oaks is not yet one of them, Croda said he hopes to have youngsters on the course learning more about the game and its values and virtues by next year.
  • Koch Agronomic Services and Eco Agro Resources have reached a settlement in a pending litigation between the companies.
     
    The parties have been involved in litigation since August 13, 2014 when Koch filed a patent-infringement suit against Eco Agro. The latter responded a month later with a countersuit.
     
    Eco Agro is a High Point, North Carolina-based maker of nutrient products for the agriculture and turf markets. With headquarters in Wichita, Kansas, Koch Agronomic Services is a subsidiary of Koch Industries Inc.
     
    At issue, according to the suit, was a patent involving enhanced, stabilized nitrogen fertilizer formulated to reduce the dissipation of nitrogen into the air and groundwater. Eco Agros N-Yield product and Koch's Agrotain each contain three ingredients, two of which are the same: N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT) and propylene glycol. According to the suit, differences in a third ingredient made the products different.
     
    Financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
     

  • OnGolf and Playbooks for Golf have reached a strategic partnership that will integrate the latter's Coverage System within OnGolf's cloud-based golf course management platform.
      "Chemical and fertilizer tracking is a tedious, imperative task in the daily management for golf course superintendents, and the Coverage System leaves no room for error, helping with planning, budgeting and regulatory compliance," said Walt Norley, founder and chief executive officer of OnGolf.   "Playbook's Coverage program was developed by smart guys who have deep operational experiences in managing golf courses and the challenges superintendents face daily with this critical operating input."   OnGolf is a cloud-based, data-analytics software program that aggregates key line-item data to help superintendents manage soil conditions, water use, fertilizer and pesticide use, labor and more as efficiently as possibly. Founded by Norley, who brought golf UgMO (Advanced Sensor Technologies) and Matt Shaffer, director of grounds at Merion Golf Club, OnGolf was derived from an existing ag-based platform known as OnFarm.   Founded in 2008, the Playbooks for Golf Coverage System helps users track chemical and fertilizer use, planning and reporting in a timely manner and shows how long each product will last. This agreement offers OnGolf subscribers an opportunity to use our Coverage System software at no additional cost. It streamlines both software into one central location and even feeds some Playbooks data into their dashboard within OnGolf through use of APIs. If a superintendent is interested in the analytics that OnGolf provides, they can now also get all the benefits that Coverage System offers as well.    The Playbooks for Golf Coverage System is designed to save the superintendent time versus using their own spreadsheet formula. The software is continually updated with new features that are directly requested from superintendents.    Designed for use on smartphones, tablets and computers, the system will continue to be available as a standalone product.  
  • Ask just about anyone who knows Brian Boyer and they'll tell you he's pretty innovative, even for a golf course superintendent. But there are some things even Boyer can't do, like pull a rabbit out a hat or draw water from the arid hillsides around San Jose, California. After four years of drought in California, coaxing water from the ground and rodents from a chapeau happen are pretty much the same thing.
      So when the Santa Clara Valley Water District informed Boyer early in 2014 that he had a month to take Cinnabar Hills Golf Club off of surface water in favor of an alternative source, there was just one teensy, weensy problem.    "We don't have an alternative source," Boyer said.    "Folks who didn't have an alternative, they let them stay on."   Recycled water will not be available at Cinnabar Hills at least for another three to five years, according to the SCVWD's five-year plan. Potable isn't an option either. The homes surrounding Cinnabar Hills on the southern reaches of San Jose all are on wells, but attempts to find well water underneath the golf course have come up dry literally. In fact, if not for surface water Boyer treats on site, even the clubhouse restaurant well let's just say there would be no clubhouse restaurant, or bathroom or you get the idea.   "We dug everywhere for wells," Boyer said. "We don't have any."   Oh, by the way, Boyer also was told by SCVWD to cut water use by 20 percent through the remainder of 2014, nearly a year-and-a-half before most other courses throughout the state were ordered to make similar cuts.   "Twenty percent last year, that was hard," Boyer said. "The learning curve was hard.   "I didn't realize what 20 percent meant last year."   Welcome to golf in California where few things are as they appear.     Boyer not only has accepted the challenge thrown down by Cinnabar's water provider, he has since barged his way (figuratively, of course) onto the San Jose water scene, sitting in on just about every SCVWD committee meeting imaginable. At a minimum, he wants to make sure water district officials know who he is and that he wants to do the right thing by them. At most, he wants district officials to know who he is so that they do the right thing by him.   Since late winter of 2014, Boyer and Cinnabar Hills general manager Ron Zraick attend SCVWD board meetings every other Tuesday and attend a host of other committee meetings as well, including those addressing use by landscape professionals and residential users.   "It helped the first day we showed up on Feb. 28, 2014," Boyer said. "One of the two of us has been to all of them. I think there have only been two meetings in a year-and-a-half where both of us weren't there."   Boyer wasn't alone when the SCVWD came around telling courses to get off surface water. Four other courses in Santa Clara County received the same directive early in 2014: Spring Valley Golf Course and Summitpointe Golf Club, both in Milpitas, The Golf Club at Boulder Ridge in San Jose and La Rinconada Country Club in Los Gatos. All are on the district's Cross Valley Pipeline that also happens to provide water to three treatment plants in the county that supply drinking water to California's third-largest city. And when it comes to drinking water vs. golf, the choice usually is pretty clear.   At La Rinconada in nearby Los Gatos, superintendent Kevin Breen was taken off Santa Clara Valley Water District surface water, only to be put onto a potable source the district sold to the city of San Jose. Additional treatment meant additional cost. Fortunately, he was able to locate an old well near the facility's practice range that, according to records, was first tapped in the 1920s.   Hooking up to the old well which Breen had refurbished as well as the potable backup system, required building a new reservoir and replacing an old booster system with a new MCI pump station to work with La Rinconada's Rain Bird heads and Toro control system.   It's all part of the changes necessary to comply with the state's sweeping attempt to cut urban water use by 25 percent from May 2015 through June 2016. The amount each of the state's 411 urban water providers is required to save can range from 4 percent to 36 percent, with the exact number for each district determined in Sacramento by the state's Water Resources Control Board. Then how each district arrives at its number by targeting any combination of commercial, golf sports turf, landscape and residential users is pretty much up to them as long as they achieve that goal.    SCVWD was ahead of the curve, setting mandatory use restrictions long before the state did. At La Rinconada, Breen learned of 30 percent cutbacks in mid-February when the district left a message on his voicemail telling him he had until March to find a new water source.    "We had to hit the gas pedal and find an alternative source," Breen said.   The well worked perfectly for about five months. '   "We're now using potable water, which was the last option we wanted because it's expensive," he said.   In fact, drinking water, said Breen, is running about three times what he was paying for surface water.   Administration at both La Rinconada and Cinnabar Hills were eager to the right thing and play a positive and responsible role in water management. That support came as a relief to Breen and Boyer.   "In the beginning, I didn't know what the directives from the club were going to be," Boyer said. "Then they got in front of me and said This is what we're doing, we have a commitment to this community to save water.' I didn't say We have to do this.' They told me We have to do this.' "   Meeting the district's demands of cutting use by 30 percent in response to the state-mandated program has meant more than going to meetings and switching sources. For both men, as well as hundreds of other superintendents throughout the state, it has required creativity and an ability to admit that not every inch of turf is going to be green anymore.   Typical areas to receive less or no water are practice ranges, perimeters, roughs and the areas between greens on one hole and tees on the next.   "We're an old parkland course that was watered fence line to fence line in the past, which was very typical of how private, parkland courses would go about things," Breen said.    "It gets difficult in a parkland setting to turn off areas between holes because some holes are really close together. You have to find niches and places where you can do that."   It also has meant taking areas out of management by installing native plants or mulch and making sure water goes only where it is supposed to.     Breen took advantage of a program through the water district that paid $2 per square foot (25,000 square feet maximum) taken out of irrigation. Breen easily reached the maximum and is in the process of finishing a conversion program that has taken out about 12 acres of turf since 2014. Breen also has converted 150 full-circle heads to part circle and changed out more than 500 individual nozzles.   Back at Cinnabar Hills, making the most of the water Boyer has at his disposal has meant cutting back in the roughs, changing irrigation times and duration and implementing some different agronomic practices. The result is a course that is brown around the edges, greens that are as good as ever and fairways that Boyer says are better than they've ever been since he's been there.   Deep watering over light and frequent irrigation, together with more frequent aerification and acid injection to maintain healthy soils and keep nutrients available to the plant have helped Boyer save about 10 percent from his historic water use numbers.     "We've changed our irrigation run times from 9 p.m. to about 12 or 1 a.m. so we have water on the greens through the heat of the day, and that has gotten the tees down to about 50 percent of ET. We used to be at 70 to 80 percent," Boyer said. "The biggest problem here is sodium in our soils, and the acid injection keeps the calcium and magnesium soluble, and it has some nitrogen in it, which provides some green up.   "Our fairways are better than they've ever been since I've been here, and our greens are always good. The rough is dead. That's where we've had to cut. I have a spreadsheet that says here is the percentage of where all water is going, and this is what we have to take away, and it's about 42 percent (of water) on roughs just for everything else to stay decent."   Boyer looks forward to the day when the water district makes recycled or indirect potable water (treated water that is just this side of toilet to tap) available.   "Those are the keys for us in my opinion," he said.   In the meantime, he'll continue to attend water district meetings.   "When you can put a face to a name, it makes it hard to say no," he said. "We're trying to do the right thing and be representative of the golf industry, and they know that. We have a good relationship, and that is going to be huge for getting recycled water here."   This part of a multi-part series on golf and water in California.
  • Syngenta recently added new enhancements and tools to GreenCastOnline.com, its informational and education online portal for professionals in the turf and ornamental industries. Users now can access product and program information, technical tips and an extensive collection of agronomic tools from smartphones and tablets.
      "Delivering information in the most convenient way for our customers is important to Syngenta," said Tripp Trotter, head of marketing for turf and ornamentals at Syngenta. "We know they spend most of their time outside the office and weve seen a substantial increase in mobile traffic on GreenCast, so making key tools and information easily available on mobile devices is essential."    With this redesign, the GreenCast Online Web site now is optimized for use on mobile devices or tablets, allowing users to easily browse the Syngenta product portfolio, read articles from Syngenta technical experts and university contributors, subscribe to e-newsletters and more.    Additionally, the golf, lawn and landscape, sports turf and aquatics resources have been updated with featured tools and a product selector to navigate by product type or target pest and easily search labels.    Users also can find information on agronomic programs that can be customized by geographic location, turf type, program type and rotation. The maps section provide information on pest outlook, soil temperatures, growing degree days and weather forecasts that also can be customized by location.  
  • When a real-life teachable moment arises, Bruce Martin, Ph.D., likes to think he is pretty quick to seize upon such an opportunity to make turfgrass studies more relevant for his students at Clemson University.
      One of those moments appeared this year when torrential rains resulted in flooding of Biblical proportions that inundated roads and highways, washed away farms and closed golf courses throughout much of South Carolina.   Those rains as much as 30 or so inches in a month in some parts of the state on already-wet golf courses resulted in pronounced disease pressure, much of which occurred outside the historic windows of opportunity. Those conditions also provided an up close and personal look at plant disease triangle that enveloped almost an entire state.   "It's always best if you can give (students) real-case scenarios when possible," said Martin, the university's turfgrass pathologist. "With the pathogen and environment and interaction, it was a beautiful disease triangle.   "But there was enough pain to go around."   Golf courses throughout much of South Carolina already were wet and saturated when October brought nearly 6 months of rain in less than 30 days. That was an unwelcome addition to Bermudagrass greens that already had begun the process of shutting down for the winter.   "The bentgrass took it all fine, but the Bermuda didn't," Martin said. "The Bermuda was already starting to shut down for the year, and Pythium is going to take advantage of that. The most dramatic damage, and it's too bad, occurred on Bermudagrass greens with poor drainage; low-budget courses with push-up greens. From that standpoint, it was classic."   The presence of diseases such as Pythium blight during what typically are stress-free times of the year, Martin said, probably caught a lot of superintendents and chemical companies off guard. Few if any chemistries, however, could stand up to the conditions wrought on South Carolina in October.   "I'm sure the chemical companies received a lot of complaints. But there was nothing anyone could do for from a preventive standpoint," Martin said. "I can't imagine anything that could have held this back."   Contact and systemic fungicides coupled with warmer-than-average temperatures that filled in behind the rains providing Bermuda with a chance to rebound.    Michrodochium patch and diseases linked to low fertility such as dollar spot and leaf spot, also were an issue as nutrients were flushed through the soil in rapid fashion.   "On sandy greens with a low cation-exchange capacity, the more water you have, the more nutrients are going to go with it," he said. "And if those nutrients are not replenished, you're going to have low-fertility diseases."   Impromptu fertility tests at Clemson's Pee-Dee Research and Education Center in Florence have reinforced those findings.   "We've been doing some fertility tests there, and I really like what I've been seeing," Martin said.    "I'm using this in class from here on out. Now, will the students remember it? Probably not, but they will remember it when it happens to them again in the field after they become superintendents."
  • When members at Highlands Falls Country Club had a vacant room in their clubhouse that served no purpose, it was Fred Gehrisch, CGCS, who responded, turning the vacant room into a shrine honoring the club's history and its golf course architect.  
      When the village of Highlands, North Carolina needed help clearing a lot to build a municipal park, Gehrisch was there. When the village needed help planting trees to beautify its downtown district, again it turned to Gehrisch.    Gehrisch goes above and beyond the normal call of a superintendent when it comes to serving members at the club where he works and the residents of the town where he resides. It's why he was named the 2014 TurfNet Superintendent of the Year at this year's Golf Industry Show in San Antonio.   Since 2000, the TurfNet Superintendent of the Year Award, presented by Syngenta has been honoring Gehrisch and others like him for their ability to excel at the following criteria: labor management, 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.   Nominations for his successor can be made by clicking here, but hurry, the nomination deadline is Dec. 11.   The winner will be chosen from a list of finalists determined by our panel of judges from across the golf industry and named during next year's Golf Industry Show in San Diego. The winner will receive a trip for two to Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, courtesy of presenting sponsor Syngenta.   Previous winners include: Chad Mark, Kirtland Country Club, Willoughby, Ohio (2013), Dan Meersman, Philadelphia Cricket Club (2012); Paul Carter, The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay, Harrison, Tennessee (2011); Thomas Bastis, The California Golf Club of San Francisco (2010); Anthony Williams, Stone Mountain (Georgia) Golf Club (2009); Sam MacKenzie, Olympia Fields (Illinois) Country Club (2008); John Zimmers, Oakmont (Pennsylvania) Country Club (2007); Scott Ramsay, Golf Course at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut (2006); Mark Burchfield, Victoria Club, Riverside, California (2005); Stuart Leventhal, Interlachen Country Club, Winter Park, Florida (2004); Paul Voykin, Briarwood Country Club, Deerfield, Illinois (2003); Jeff Burgess, Seven Lakes Golf Course, Windsor, Ontario (2002); Kip Tyler, Salem (Massachusetts) Country Club (2001); Kent McCutcheon, Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort (2000).  
  • The California Department of Food and Agriculture has certified two soil amendment products from The Andersons as meeting the standards for Organic Input Material in California.   Humic DG and Black Gypsum DG are humic acid-based soil amendment products designed to enhance soil microbial activity and increase the uptake of applied nutrients. The California regulatory certification meets the requirements of the National Organic Program standards. Both products already carry OMRI listings for organic use.   Humic DG and Black Gypsum DG feature The Andersons patented Dispersing Granule Technology that provides dry, spherical, and easy-to-apply granules that dissolve quickly into thousands of micro particles upon contact with water. Humic DG and Black Gypsum DG can be applied through variable rate technology equipment, or directly applied in in-furrow, bedding, broadcast or strip tillage methods. Humic DG and Black Gypsum DG also can be blended into all fertilizers materials, including urea.   Both can be used in a wide range of applications including fine turf and ornamental uses.     The Organic Input Material Program registers fertilizing materials to be used in organic crop and food production. The program is mandated by the California legislature, and products purported to be appropriate for use in organic production are verified to comply with the California Fertilizing Materials Law and Regulations and USDA National Organic Program Standards.  

  • The face of OTF

    By John Reitman, in News,

    It takes more than just a collection of eager and willing scientists to conduct research and communicate the results to professional turf managers. It takes money, organization and support from throughout the turf and ornamental industry. It also requires someone to pull those pieces together so golf course superintendents, sports turf managers and lawn and landscape professionals can stay up to date with results from the most current research data available through events such as university field days and regional and national turf conferences.
      For the past five years, Brian Laurent has been that person for the 50-year-old Ohio Turfgrass Foundation. The son of a golf course superintendent, the 35-year-old Laurent is an Ohio State alumnus with a degree in communications whose goal is to promote turfgrass research, education and advocacy across the state through events such as the OTF Research Field Day and the upcoming OTF Conference and Show, both of which are held in cooperation with his alma mater. Through such programs, OTF raises funds to help support research efforts by the university's turf research department.   "Brian has done a great job of communicating with the turf industry in Ohio and of being our cheerleader to those groups," said Pam Sherratt, sports turf specialist at Ohio State. "He has helped promote our research and education programs by producing videos and articles and social media postings about the turf program, as well as physically helping me to host events like the sports turf short course."   The relationship between OTF and OSU is one of codependence. In fact, the foundation and OSU's turf research staff share the same building on the school's research farm on the northwest edge of campus. OTF funded the construction of the building complete with offices, lab facilities, as well as chemical and equipment storage areas 20 years ago then donated the structure to the university.    "The simple part of the relationship is that they are our primary benefactor. Part of our mission is to support the research efforts of the team at Ohio State," Laurent said. "For the past 50 years, we've done this by providing individual projects with grant money. We've built a state-of-the-art research building for Ohio State and serve as the primary source of funding for the operation of the research facility. Part of why I do what I do is because I believe deeply in the turf team at Ohio State. They're exceptionally talented at what they do and are sincere in their efforts to provide industry professionals with information to make their jobs a little easier. They go out of their way to provide us (OTF) with articles and information that we can distribute to our members and are regular contributors at our events throughout the year."   Working on behalf of the golf industry is nothing new to Laurent. His father, Terry, is co-owner and superintendent at Cross Creek Golf Club in Decatur, Indiana, and previously spent 17 years as director of golf courses and grounds at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.   The younger Laurent worked as an assistant pro, or "shirt folder" as he called it, at Hawthorns Golf and Country Club before moving on to become head pro at Cross Creek when his father bought the club in 2005. He also cut his teeth on the business side of sports selling sponsorships for the Columbus Destroyers of the Arena Football League and the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets after he and wife Kristi returned to Columbus.   It was only a matter of time before he also returned to an industry that helped serve the game of golf and those who work in it.   Laurent joined OTF as its executive director for "the opportunity to surround myself with the people of this industry," he said. "It's been a part of my life for nearly 30 years, and I've developed many relationships within the industry while attending various events with my dad. The idea of being involved with such an extraordinary group of people was a big draw for me. Additionally, the turf industry has provided me with many opportunities, and it's extremely rewarding to give back to the industry in some capacity."   His position with OTF includes attending legislative meetings at the state capitol in Columbus, planning and implementing OTF events, running board of directors meetings, generating email and video content to deliver to members and more. With just one other staff member, Laurent relies on volunteers and others to help him reach those goals.   "He takes a leadership role during our annual research field day and always extends a professional arm to industry collaborators and sponsors," Sherratt said. "In essence, he's the gel that connects us to the turf industry in Ohio, and I for one consider him part of the OSU turf team."   The upcoming OTF Conference and Show, scheduled for Dec. 7-10 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, is one of the country's largest regional turf conferences. The OTF show typically includes a keynote speaker with ties to Ohio State. This year's speaker is OSU wrestling coach Tom Ryan, who in March guided the Buckeyes to their first national championship on the mat. Past speakers during Laurent's OTF tenure have included former Buckeye and Detroit Lion Chris Spielman, former OSU All-America basketball player Jerry Lucas and ex-Buckeyes football coach Jim Tressell, who led the led Ohio State to the 2002 national championship. Those keynote talks have helped drive show attendance among turf managers from around Ohio and throughout the Midwest.   The launch of a mobile app at last year's show brought conference schedules, programs and other information directly to each attendee carrying a smartphone.   "Brian Lauren has been an innovative leader who has done an excellent job of infusing ideas that have improved programming for members and funding opportunities for Ohio State," said associate professor David Gardner, Ph.D.   "He is very creative, motivated and it is apparent that he has a passion for our industry and OTF."
  • Advanced Scoreboards and its taskTracker technology now is a key feature in the OnGolf cloud-based turf management system.
      TaskTracker is ASB's labor-management software system that was developed by a golf course superintendent and a golf pro that helps users save time and financial resources by monitoring and helping manage hours worked and associated costs.   In an industry where labor is the single largest line item in the budget, knowing where and how dollars are spent is important. Budget cuts often can be made randomly by those with a limited knowledge of the industry. TaskTracker provides superintendents with another tool to monitor and manage manhours and labor costs. It also provides superintendents with data they can present to boards and committees to illustrate how budget decisions might affect golf course conditions.   "Labor is approximately 65 percent of a golf course's budget, so it was essential for us to find the right software program that presents the most relevant labor information in the most easy-to-use format," said OnGolf co-founder and chief executive officer Walt Norley. "ASB's taskTracker was developed by people who understand golf course management and the criticalness of labor management efficiencies. On its own, taskTracker has already proven successful in saving both money and time with both high- and lower-budget courses. Under the OnGolf umbrella, superintendents and their staff can now see labor manhours and dollars as they relate to water management, pesticides and nutrient applications, weather and playing conditions. With taskTracker software as an embedded feature, the OnGolf platform casts an even wider net in its money-saving abilities and actionable insights."   OnGolf is a cloud-based, data-analytics software program that aggregates key line-item data to help superintendents manage soil conditions, water use, fertilizer and pesticide use, labor and more as efficiently as possibly.   Founded by Norley, who brought golf UgMO (Advanced Sensor Technologies) and Matt Shaffer, director of grounds at Merion Golf Club, OnGolf was derived from an existing ag-based platform known as OnFarm.   TaskTracker, which is based on years of experience of drawing on and erasing white boards, was developed by Gerald Flaherty, CGCS, and PGA professional Jaime Sharp.   Said Flaherty: "I now go into a boardroom feeling more powerful than I ever did before."

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