 |
|
Longtime Iowa superintendent turns the page
William E. Byers, CGCS, the only head superintendent the 36-hole version of Iowa’s Des Moines Golf & Country Club has had in its first 40 years, is getting on with the rest of his life these days.
Byers retired from Des Moines Golf, as they call it, shortly after the first of the year, ending a 48-year relationship with the facility that he helped relocate and rebuild as a raw greenhorn superintendent in the 1960s and later prepped for the U.S. Senior Open as a veteran golf course manager three decades later.
The 41-year GCSAA member mentored more than two dozen turf professionals who paid their dues at Des Moines Golf. One of the protégés, Rick Tegtmeier, CGCS, was a course superintendent for Byers in the 1980s before moving on to a 17-year stint at another Iowa gem, Elmcrest Country Club in Cedar Rapids. On Jan. 14, Byers handed Tegtmeier the keys to Des Moines Golf as the new director of grounds.
Byers is eager to delve into gardening and landscaping, a little hunting and fishing, and perhaps tend more seriously to his commercial bluegrass sod business in the area. GCM caught up with him on the eve of his last day at Des Moines Golf for a quick Q&A.
GCM: Des Moines Golf is the only golf course job you’ve known. You turned 65 in December. Was it simply just time to say, “My work here is done?”
Bill Byers: It was getting to a point in my life where I had a lot of other interests, hobbies and so on. When I started thinking that I’d rather be doing my hobbies or working around the house, I felt it wasn’t fair to the club that I wasn’t giving 100 percent.
GCM: Des Moines Golf goes back to 1897, but when a local freeway was routed through the middle of the original course, the club was moved six miles west. Since you hadn’t been in the profession that long, that must have been quite an undertaking.
BB: We built the first 18 in 1966 and the second 18 in 1967 and opened both in ’68. I had just graduated from the Stockbridge School of Agriculture in ’65. I was pretty green to start a project like that.
GCM: That certainly had to be a highlight of your career. Were there others that stand out?
BB: I think the Senior Open was certainly in the top three or four. But, really, I take a lot of pride in the number of young men who are still in the industry who worked with me at Des Moines Golf. Several of them are superintendents or in the green industry in some shape or form.
GCM: A long time ago you persuaded the club to name you director of grounds. I understand you had motives beyond personal gain.
BB: I kind of initiated that call several years ago, changing my title so we could call each one of my top people on each course superintendents, which allowed them to start looking toward certification.
GCM: What’s next for Bill Byers?
BB: Just tend to my hobbies and interests and sod business. And, I’ll sure stay in touch with all my friends and acquaintances throughout the golf industry. I plan on attending GCSAA conferences to stay in touch, too.
— Terry Ostmeyer, GCM senior staff writer
If you’ve ever been told to “pick up the pace, you’re a half-a-hole behind” by a golf course marshal, you may be interested to know that they’re now officially organized behind their own founder and CEO: Jim Collins.
The Professional Golf Marshals Association has opened executive offices in Mesa, Ariz. The association’s mission is to enhance the game of golf through an alliance of golf course marshals, starters and
volunteers trained in the areas of golf rules, etiquette, pace of play, safety and amateur and professional tournament play. The PGMA’s motto? “It’s good for the game!”
For more information, call 480-355-9275 or visit www.PGMAgolf.com.
GCSAA turns survey focus to nutrients
The third phase of GCSAA’s innovative national survey of golf courses begins this month. This segment of the survey will collect data from superintendents on the amount of nutrients they apply to courses.
The surveys will be distributed March 19 and returned by April 27.
The survey on nutrients is part of a multi-year project by GCSAA called The Golf Course Environmental Profile, which is designed to evaluate environmental performance on golf courses by gathering information that will allow superintendents and other facility personnel to become better managers, help them operate more efficiently and assist GCSAA in developing more valuable programs and services.
The information gathered includes details about playing surfaces, natural resources, environmental stewardship efforts and maintenance practices.
“We have been pleased by the response rate of the first two phases,” Clark Throssell, Ph.D., GCSAA director of research, said in an association release. “It is important that we have strong participation by both GCSAA-member and non-member superintendents to compile the necessary data. It is vital that we get data from all types and sizes of facilities. The information will help GCSAA better serve them in managing their facilities.”
Throssell said the information from the first two phases of the survey is still being analyzed. The initial phase focused on the physical profile of a golf facility and the second one was on water use and conservation. A comprehensive report on the first two phases will appear in a peer-reviewed scientific journal later this year.
Funding for the first two phases of the project came from GCSAA’s philanthropic organization, The Environmental Institute for Golf, and also a grant from The Toro Foundation.
New St. Andrews course christened
With passing consideration for The Golf Channel’s ambitious motto, the real Home of Golf, Scotland’s St. Andrews, recently completed a unique naming competition for its newest course and the seventh layout in all at the famed birthplace of the game more than 600 years ago.
The stunning clifftop venue that will open next spring (see photo) is now known as the Castle Course and joins St. Andrews’ historic public golfing landscape headed by the world-renowned Old Course.
The winner of the naming competition that began last November and resulted in more than 4,000 entries is an American, curiously — one Edwin Burtnett. The name reflects the history of the headland southeast of St. Andrews where Kinkell Castle once stood in the Middle Ages.
The Castle Course was designed by David McLay Kidd, a Scot whose impressive résumé of golf course architecture includes Oregon’s acclaimed Bandon Dunes. The par-71 layout will range in length from 5,600 to 7,200 yards. The 220-acre routing affords spectacular views of St. Andrew Bay, the Grampian Mountains and the North Sea.
“It’s not every day that a new course at St. Andrews is named,” said Alastair Dempster, chairman of the Trustees of the St. Andrews Links Trust. “In reaching this decision, we were acutely aware that the name of the new course would have to stand the test of time and remain appropriate to a world-famous golfing destination.”
Michael Hurdzan, Ph.D., ASGCA, is the 2007 recipient of the Donald Ross Award from the American Society of Golf Course Architects. He will receive the honor that recognizes significant contributions to the game of golf and golf course architecture during the organization’s annual meeting April 30 in Atlanta, Ga.
Hurdzan, a 33-year member of ASGCA and a former president of the society, is a principal in Hurdzan/Fry Golf Course Design Inc. in Columbus, Ohio. He also is a member of the board of trustees for The Environmental Institute for Golf, GCSAA’s philanthropic organization.
The average number of years of service by superintendents is 13.5, up from 12 in 1998. The average number of years at their current position is 7.9, up from 7.5 nine years ago.
— From GCSAA’s superintendent profile report.
Owners group has noteworthy 2006
Citing the National Golf Course Owners Association’s emergence as one of the preeminent organizations in the golf course industry, CEO Mike Hughes recently issued a glowing progress report for NGCOA in 2006 and charted a meaningful course for this year.
NGCOA is a founding partner with GCSAA in the Golf Industry Show and an instrumental leader in grow-the-game and other industry initiatives. The organization has grown in both number and stature over the past two decades — from a membership of 250 in 1990 to more than 6,200 golf courses in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia, along with a domestic network of 30 chapters.
“Our commitment to serving the growing needs of golf course owners and operators has never been stronger,” Hughes says. “And, as we head into our 27th year, I’m proud to say the association has never been more effective in meeting those needs. The NGCOA has established itself as the leading authority on the business of golf course ownership and management.”
In the meantime, Hughes notes, NGCOA, along with GCSAA, PGA of America and Club Managers Association of America, has become one of the most respected organizations in the industry.
Some 2006 highlights and achievements cited by Hughes in the progress report:
- Helped solidify the GIS as the most important gathering of
industry leadership. - Introduced the industry’s most comprehensive initiative to measure the game’s key financial benchmarks.
- Intensified advocacy efforts that put lawmakers on notice that course owners and operators intend to stand up for their interests.
- Assumed a partnership role with the PGA in Play Golf America, a comprehensive marketing strategy designed to increase participation.
- Added nearly 75,000 players to tee sheets, clinics and lesson programs of courses in the U.S. and Canada during the annual Take Your Daughter to the Course Week.
- Facilitated more than $60 million in purchases through the NGCOA Smart Buy program, saving members more than $400,000 on equipment and services.
At last month’s GIS, the association kicked off its educational emphasis on three priority issues for the coming year — property taxation, yield management and property zoning.
“While these issues have risen to the top of those affecting a majority of owners and operators, members should expect their association to be a resource for information and assistance on a diverse range of subjects,” Hughes says. “In the last several years, we have developed a much broader and deeper understanding of those needs and a corresponding set of resources with which to address them.”
Turfgrass blooms in Maryland
Recently released results from a 2005 survey by the Maryland Department of Agriculture included revealing statistics regarding the state’s turfgrass industry.
Heading the survey results was the fact that about 1.1 million acres of turf were maintained in Maryland in 2005, which amounts to 18 percent of the state’s total land area. Most of that, 937,000 acres, was turf at single-family residences. The rest included school and government property, golf courses, sod farms and recreational facilities.
The survey, in turn, reported that the revenue from the sale of Maryland turfgrass products and services in 2005 was a little more than $400 million, while an estimated $1.2 billion was spent on the production, maintenance and use of turfgrass products and services. The results also noted that 31,000 acres of new turfgrass were installed in 2005 at a cost of $89 million.
“This report is the most comprehensive picture to date of the scope and economic importance of the state’s turfgrass industry,” said Mary Ellen Setting, assistant secretary for Plant Industries and Pest Management at the department of agriculture. “It shows that this segment of the ‘green’ industry is a significant contributor to the state’s workforce, economy and land use.”
The top-five reasons you know you’re playing slow:
5. By the time you reach the turn, the menu at the halfway house has changed.
4. Your caddie had to quit on No. 14 to go back to college.
3. You hit an errant shot, yell “Fore!” and it echoes.
2. The ranger drives up, says hello, and drives away.
1. The group behind you asks to play through … on the second tee.
After signing up American Express as its first-ever corporate partner in December, the USGA rode into 2007 in style by announcing a multi-year partnership with Lexus that makes the luxury car company the first automotive partner in the USGA’s 112-year history.
Walter W. Driver Jr. of Atlanta, Ga., was elected in February to serve a second one-year term as president of the USGA. Driver, 61, is chairman-Southeast of Goldman, Sachs and Co.
Former GCSAA president changes addresses
Jon D. Maddern, CGCS and GCSAA president in 2003, recently accepted the position of experience manager of Pursell Farms’ FarmLinks in Sylacauga, Ala.
Maddern was a longtime golf course management professional in Michigan, including a tenure as superintendent at Elk Ridge Golf Club in Atlanta, Mich., the past 16 years. He is a 30-year member of GCSAA.
As experience manager at FarmLinks — a research and demonstration golf course — Maddern serves as a host and liaison for visitors and also assists in crafting the facility’s educational programs to meet the needs of the more than 1,200 superintendents who attend The Experience at FarmLinks each year.
“Jon is a tremendous asset to our team,” FarmLinks president Erle Fairly said in a FarmLinks release. “What better way for us to meet the needs of superintendents who take part in The Experience than to bring a former superintendent on board? There’s a whole new generation of guests who will take the knowledge that’s generated at FarmLinks back to their own facilities, and Jon’s background and expertise is significant in the success of these efforts.”
Kubly, Larkin continue EIFG service
Bill Kubly, CEO of Landscapes Unlimited and one of Golf Inc.’s 25 most powerful people in golf, has joined the Advisory Council for The Environmental Institute for Golf, GCSAA’s philanthropic organization, after serving a term as chairman of The Institute’s board of trustees.
In other EIFG Advisory Council news, Owen Larkin, president of the Vineyard Golf Club in Edgartown, Mass., will renew his service on the council and serve through 2009. The advisory council provides guidance to The Institute’s trustees in the areas of outreach, fundraising and strategic planning.
Also, Jack R. Harrell Jr., CEO of Harrell’s Fertilizer Inc., recently became the 15th member of the advisory council.
R&A offers new tools for turfgrass managers
The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews has made an innovative move to assist turf professionals and golf course developers and managers in selecting the proper grasses for their facilities.
The R&A Golf Course Committee recently launched a worldwide climate map to provide guidance on turfgrass species selection. The interactive map shows the parts of the world where warm- or cool-season grasses are most appropriate and also defines the transition zone where both species are likely to be found.
The map is designed to help course developers, architects, turf managers and facility managers make an informed choice of the most sustainable turfgrasses for their situation.
“We have made many improvements and enhancements to our best practice Web site since it was launched nearly three years ago, but this feature is particularly noteworthy,” says Robert Webb, chairman of the R&A Golf Course Committee. “Everyone concerned with the development and management of the golf course will now be able to access information that will help in meeting our target of making courses more sustainable.”
The climate map can be viewed at www.bestcourseforgolf.org.
On the air
The GCSAA board of directors took a break from its winter meeting in Orlando, Fla., to tour studios of The Golf Channel, one of the association’s key partners in its current marketing efforts. The group also heard from TGC executives on the network’s 2007 programming and were able to meet several on-air personalities.
Women’s Open adopts three-hole playoff
This summer’s U.S. Women’s Open will feature the possibility of a new three-hole aggregate total playoff format. The tournament is June 28-July 1 at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in Southern Pines, N.C.
In the previous 61 years of the Women’s Open, an 18-hole playoff the day after regulation play was in force. The move to a three-hole format immediately following regulation leaves the men’s U.S. Open as the only major championship with a next-day 18-hole playoff.
Corporate partners boost programs
The Toro Co. and BASF Professional Turf and Ornamentals have joined with The Environmental Institute for Golf to fund key GCSAA programs.
The EIFG partnered with Toro to award $5,000 postgraduate grants to four winners in the 2006 Watson Fellowship Program. The students, who are working toward master’s degrees and doctoral
degrees, also received all-expenses-paid trips to the recent GCSAA Education Conference and Golf Industry Show in Anaheim, Calif.
The fellowship winners are Adam Hixson, Raleigh, N.C.; Brent Hulke, Lafayette, Minn.; John Kauffman, St. Joseph, Minn.; and Hunter Perry, Greenville, Miss.
A one-year grant from BASF will help The Institute fund the GCSAA Superintendent Leadership Series through 2007. Fifteen leadership series programs are offered through the association’s 104 affiliated chapters, providing education seminars that focus on communication, leadership management and employee/employer relations.
The program has benefited more than 4,250 participants since 1997.
Jacobsen once again sponsors seminars
Jacobsen, a Textron Inc. company, recently renewed its agreement with GCSAA to sponsor educational seminars for association members through 2007, the 10th year the company has supported the program.
Twenty new titles were added to the list of more than 100 seminars that were offered at the GCSAA Education Conference and Golf Industry Show last month in Anaheim, Calif., and also at events hosted by GCSAA-affiliated chapters across the country during the year.
“Continuing education is an important part of staying on top of any field, but it’s particularly essential to professionals in a constantly changing field like golf course management,” Ralph Nicotera, Jacobsen’s vice president of sales, said in a GCSAA release. “Jacobsen has always had a strong commitment to education and we are happy to team with an organization like GCSAA which does so much for the entire industry through its education efforts.”
About 8,000 superintendents annually attend seminars nationwide.
A rewarding experience
Editor’s note: The following letter was sent to Penny Mitchell, GCSAA senior manager of certification. For more information on GCSAA’s certification program, please visit www.gcsaa.org/mc/certification/default.asp
Thank you for all your assistance during the GCSAA certification program. I felt the entire process was efficient and well thought out. I like to see results and can be impatient at times, but you, your staff and the portfolio judges processed the necessary information without delay. After each step, a phone call, letter and/or e-mail would follow explaining the outcome or next step to follow. It’s so important to inform applicants throughout the whole process with timely communications.
I felt each step of the program was relatively challenging but fair and certainly appropriate to determine a level of competency required during daily golf maintenance operations. Each area transitioned smoothly and all requirements were clearly communicated in detail.
One of the more important steps in the certification process for me was building the portfolio, which required significant insight and thought as to how I perform my job as a superintendent — the work samples, skill statements and case studies I’ve thought about during my career. Besides being a certification requirement, the portfolio will be an important reference for each facility where I may be
employed, as well as a checklist for myself and for training staff for leadership roles.
Two other steps, the written exam and the attesting of the golf course, each presented unique challenges and rewards. Both required a complete examination and review of how I manage the golf course facility as a whole. There were few topics I haven’t addressed before, but they were brought to the forefront for thought.
I really enjoyed the review of turfgrass literature in preparation for the written exam. There is always something that stands out as “the answer that I’ve been looking for and it’s been in front of me all this time.” I hope to make it a habit to review industry literature and old standby turf books to keep sharp and find answers to elusive problems.
Understanding agronomic principles and compliance issues and the ability to communicate clearly is to be successful in the certification program. I hope my commitment to the process demonstrates my continuing dedication to my profession, for becoming a certified golf course superintendent is another step in my ongoing pursuit of learning.
Casey Conlin, CGCS
Director of Golf
Indian Wells Golf Resort
Indian Wells, Calif.
Only 2 percent of superintendents in the United States are women, according to the GCSAA superintendent profile report. Yet, four of them were featured in the Feb. 5 issue of Sports Illustrated. The article, “Breaking the Grass Ceiling,” also was posted on the magazine’s Web site, www.SI.com on Jan. 29.
The average age of a golf course superintendent is 43 years old. Sixty-nine percent of U.S. superintendents fall between the ages
of 35 and 54.
— From GCSAA’s
superintendent
profile report
Good times productive at NGCOA-honored courses
The National Golf Course Owners Association gave out its annual Player Development Awards at last month’s Golf Industry Show to three facilities that add enjoyment to the tasks of introducing people of all ages to the game while increasing participation and revenue. The winners were:
Cyprian Keyes Golf Club in Boylston, Mass., where Friday nights are a social occasion for golfers of all ages and abilities. For $30, participants in the club’s Nine & Dine League are treated to nine holes of golf, a golf car, prizes and dinner. Meanwhile, in the past two years, programs for junior golfers at Cyprian Keyes have generated more than $100,000 in revenues. The club has also won Golf Digest’s 2005 Junior Development Award.
Carson Valley Golf Course in Gardnerville, Nev., where a strategic approach to player development follows the model developed by U.S. Kids Golf. For instance, family tees were constructed on all 18 holes to show that both experienced and beginning golfers could enjoy the game together without slowing the pace of play. Also, women’s programs were revamped to be more inviting, and more emphasis was put on junior clinics. Moreover, at Carson Valley, junior golfers learning the game keep score by circling smiley faces or frowns on their special scorecards instead of numbers to emphasize how the game can be fun. (Editor’s note: Carson Valley was featured in the January issue of GCM. See “Coming home again” on Page 58 of that issue.)
Los Lagos Golf Course and its sister short course, Rancho del Pueblo in San Jose, Calif., where nearly 110,000 total rounds are played annually in an area that is predominately Hispanic and Vietnamese. The combination of the two layouts provides for a natural progression for players as they advance to longer, more challenging courses. Also, the maintenance staff and pro shop at Los Lagos, the overall and national public course winner of the 2005 GCSAA/Golf Digest Environmental Leaders in Golf Awards, conduct nature trail hikes for school kids and lead discussions of the area’s environment and wildlife habitat. The field trip includes hotdogs and putting contests.
Grau Award to longtime educator
Arden Baltensperger, Ph.D., professor emeritus of agronomy at New Mexico State University, recently received the 2006 Fred V. Grau Turfgrass Science Award from the Crop Science Society of America.
The award recognizes significant career contributions in turfgrass science during the most recent 15 years. Baltensperger has taught courses in crop science, plant breeding and turfgrass science at four universities over more than four decades. He currently is also a consultant for Pennington/Seeds West and his more recent research has been directed toward the genetics, breeding and development of seed-propagated turf-type bermudagrass, producing such notable varieties as NuMex Sahara and Princess 77.
Censors shoot down Aussie women’s golf calendar
A sexy calendar featuring 13 women golfers in Australia and aimed at raising the profile of golf in the country down under while also raising funds for breast cancer research and for an inaugural Australian Ladies Professional Golf scholarship program was banned by Golf Australia.
The calendar generated considerable worldwide media attention while being added to the mix of similar calendars featuring women golfers in America and Europe.
After its bit of censorship, Golf Australia then announced that it will pay Natalie Gulbis, the LPGA’s glamour girl who, ironically, has her own calendar, to travel to Australia and play in some events to help promote the game.
Meanwhile, the banned Aussie calendar reportedly is on sale for half price. See www.womensgolfcalendar.com.
Negative growth
For the first time in 60 years, golf grew at a negative net pace in 2006, according to the National Golf Foundation. The NGF said the number of course closings, 146 18-hole equivalents, was greater than the number of openings, 119.5.
The occurrence was attributed to a “confluence of events” — openings returning to more normal levels and weaker facilities being culled. The NGF noted that there was a 56 percent jump in the number of closures between 2005 and 2006, from 93.5 to 146.
In the meantime, the unseasonably warm December experienced in the Northeast spiked golf rounds in that region, pushing them nearly 300 percent higher than December 2005, which in turn led a national increase for the month of 16.7 percent over the previous December.
RECENT issues
 |
 |
February |
January 2007 |