Divot Mix

Golf is so popular simply because it is the best game in the world at which to be bad.
-- A.A. Milne

The Institute funds 11 new projects

Golf facilities, golfers and golf course management professionals have long benefited from advances in research funded by The Environmental Institute for Golf. Now The Institute will fund 11 new research projects over the next three years, with total funding of more than $180,000.

Of the 11 new projects, eight are Chapter Cooperative Research Program projects, one is a Mark Kizziar Research Grant, one is an Aquatrols' Robert A. Moore Endowment Fund project and another is a National Research Program project. All the funded projects focus on applied research, which is problem-solving research that yields results that can be put in practice by superintendents. The 11 new projects will be profiled in the Cutting Edge section of Golf Course Management magazine beginning in April.

"GCSAA received 32 proposals requesting more than $560,000 in funding over a three-year period," GCSAA Director of Research, Clark Throssell, Ph.D., said. "The 11 new research projects that the Research Task Group approved for funding will provide pertinent information to golf course superintendents. Superintendents will be able to implement the results of the research on their golf course to improve the quality of the golf course while controlling expenses and minimizing the impact on the environment."

For a list of the grants, Click here .

Golf and the environment make news in Japan

Recent efforts to save water by Bill Rohret, GCSAA Class A superintendent at Angel Park Golf Club in Las Vegas have already been reported in GCM NewsWeekly . But now the work has drawn the attention of people thousands of miles away.

The Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan 's largest newspaper, has published an article on the coming water crisis. In it, reporter Masaki Takakura talked to Rohret about the project to reduce the amount of irrigated turf on the golf course. To see the article, click here .

New multimedia portal launched on EPA.gov

The EPA has launched its new web multimedia portal: www.epa.gov/multimedia . The multimedia portal is EPA's one-stop location for environmental video, audio/podcasts, and photography.

The portal includes interactive features such as "Ask EPA" and the deputy administrator's blog, "Flow of the River." Another feature called "EPA in Action" goes behind-the-scenes; following the diverse jobs performed by the EPA workforce and examines some of the most pressing environmental issues facing our nation today.

Users can subscribe to several podcast series or select from a number of individual podcasts featuring EPA experts and senior officials.

The portal is intended to be a resource for the public, journalists, academia, local governments and the environmental community.

Oakmont superintendent and GM recognized

Getting a golf course ready for the world's best players is a difficult task. GCSAA Class A superintendent John Zimmers and general manager Tom Wallace at Oakmont ( Pa. ) Country Club took on just that task, and both of them have been recognized for their work.

Zimmers was named the 2007 Grounds Superintendent of the Year by Turfnet magazine and Club Car. Wallace received the 2007 Excellence in Club Management Award from the McMahon Group and Club & Resort Business magazine.

Zimmers and his crew face some of the most difficult conditions imaginable leading up to the Open. In early March, an ice storm hit the Pittsburgh area dropping the temperature from near 60 to near zero in 12 hours.

"You knew the whole world was going to come barreling down on you," said Zimmers. "From our standpoint, we had done so much work here at Oakmont with the restoration, you just kind of said to yourself, ‘How can this be happening?'"

Wallace, who was hired in 2002, had his own challenges. To prepare, for it his culinary and management team attended other U.S. Opens starting in 2003.

The decision was made to handle all the food and beverage without an outside caterer. Satellite kitchens were constructed. Head Chef Tom Pepka worked out how much food he would need each day and even had a plan to donate unused food to local charities.