Divot Mix

Golf course superintendents rally behind colleague

Golf course superintendents in the Carolinas Lowcountry have raised nearly $20,000 to help a colleague in his battle with illness. The money will go to the family of Bob Spearman, a past president of the Coastal Plains Golf Course Superintendents Association. Spearman was most recently superintendent at Wrenwoods Golf Course at Charleston Air Force Base, which he joined in 1996. Previously he worked at Dunes West Golf Club and Wild Dunes Resort.

"Bob has had serious health problems over the last few years," current Coastal Plains GCSA president, Jason King, said. "With a mountain of medical bills accruing, family friend Eric Nelson brought this to the attention of the Coastal Plains board members and a tournament was set. The support was so great that both the Ralston and Beresford Creek courses at Daniel Island had to be used for the field of 160 players."

Coupled with gifts from the Carolinas GCSA and Midlands Turfgrass Association, the tournament raised $15,000. Soon after, another $4,000 was raised at an annual challenge match between the Coastal Plains GCSA and Lowcountry GCSA at Brays Island Plantation. In its ninth year, that event attracted a record field with the initial goal of raising money for a memorial in honor of the late Charles Jones, son of longtime golf industry supporter in the region, Charles "Bubba" Jones, of Murray Sand.

Learning of Bob Spearman’s battle, the Jones family asked that the money raised be forwarded to help defray medical costs. "Their decision to give the memorial fund to the Spearmans is an inspiration to us all and a wonderful gift in memory of their son, Charlie," says Chris Mahoney, host superintendent at Brays Island.

To contribute contact Jason King at 843-856-2438.

$13 million to go to 16 watershed groups

The U.S. EPA has announced that 16 organizations are finalists eligible to apply for a total of $13.36 million through its Targeted Watersheds Grants Program. The selected organizations will implement a variety of activities to improve the health of their watersheds.

"These award-winning projects show the power of cooperative conservation and environmental innovation to protect watersheds across America," said Assistant Administrator for Water Benjamin H. Grumbles. "EPA's seed money will help grow grass-roots partnerships that support and sustain clean water and healthy ecosystems."

EPA initiated the Targeted Watersheds Grant Program in 2002 to encourage successful community-based approaches to protect and restore the nation's watersheds. Watershed health is important to providing clean, safe water where Americans live, work and play. Since 2003, more than $40 million has been provided through Targeted Watersheds Grants.

This year's finalist projects include plans to restore and enhance wetland and riparian habitats, support agricultural best-management practices, promote low-impact development, as well as a variety of innovative and incentive-based programs to mitigate toxics and promote financial sustainability.

The organizations invited to apply for the grant money made available today are:

• Champlain Watershed Improvement Coalition of New York – Lake Champlain, N.Y.
• Clear Creek Watershed Foundation – Upper Clear Creek, Colo.
• Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes – Jocko River Watershed, Mont.
• County Government of Maui - West Maui Watershed, Hawaii
• Ducks Unlimited – Upper Klamath Basin, Ore.
• Grand Traverse Band Ottawa and Chippewa Indians – Betsie Platte Otter Watershed, Mich.
• Groundwork Yonkers – Saw Mill River Watershed, N.Y.
• Heidelberg College – Honey Creek Watershed, Ohio
• Kansas Department of Health and Environment – Marais Des Cygnes Basin, Kan., Mo.
• Lewis and Clark County Government – Lake Helena Watershed, Mont.
• Nisqually River Foundation – Nisqually River, Wash.
• Pioneer Valley Planning Commission – Tri-State Connecticut River Watershed, Vt., N.H., Mass.
• Rio Puerco Alliance – Torreon Wash, N.M.
• The Elizabeth River Project – Money Point, Va.
• The Sonoran Institute – Santa Cruz River, Ariz.
• Upstate Forever – Saluda-Reedy Watershed, S.C.

For more information on the finalists visit http://epa.gov/twg/implementation.html.

New Plant-Insect Interaction Discovered

A new class of compounds has been discovered that should help shed more light on how plants respond to insect attacks.

Agricultural Research Service scientists with the Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology in Gainesville, Fla., along with colleagues at the Virginia Military Institute and Pennsylvania State University, isolated the compounds from oral secretions of Schistocerca americana grasshoppers fed corn seedlings.

Plants, and the insects that feed on them, engage in a relationship involving many resultant hormonal and chemical changes in the plant, including induced production and emission of volatile organic compounds. These physiological changes, brought about by a group of compounds known as elicitors, vary—not only for different plants, but also with the insect species feeding on a plant.

The scientists study the elicitors to find ways to induce defensive responses to help plants under insect attack remain healthy and vigorous. It’s well known that insect chewing may induce release of plant VOCs that summon natural enemies of the attacking insects. But insects’ oral secretions may also provoke direct plant defenses that impair the pests’ performance. For more on the study, click here.

PGA Tour launches redesigned Web site

The PGA Tour has unveiled a new look for its official Web site in celebration of the first-ever playoffs for the FedExCup. The coverage launched Aug. 20 and featured a number of additional content features in support of the playoffs

Produced in conjunction with Turner Sports New Media, the redesign is a preview of a broader site redesign launching in early 2008.

Live@ the popular live tournament coverage, will cover all four rounds of all four Playoff events with originally produced tournament competition. Available for free at pgatour.com, the coverage provides streaming shot-by-shot video of signature holes. The Live@ player will also host a customizable leaderboard and scorecards view in which fans can select any five of their favorite players to track even when they are not playing the featured hole.

In addition to the exclusive live leaderboard and ShotLink statistics, PGATour.com will feature current and projected FedExCup point standings during tournament play. The site will also feature expanded editorial coverage and analysis, including inside-the-ropes competition video, interviews from the course, and comprehensive editorial features.