Super Notes

Juan Fernando Gutierrez, GCSAA Class A director of course maintenance at the Plantation Course at Kapalua, is hosting the Mercedes-Benz Championship in Kapalua, Hawaii.

Gutierrez will also appear on XM Radio's Making the Turn with Peter Kessler. The show is on PGA Tour Channel 146 at 7:40 a.m. (Central) Thurs, Jan. 3. Gutierrez will also tape an interview with XM Radio's live coverage broadcast that will air throughout the event and archived online at PGATour.com.

Superintendents in the News

Birmingham (Ala.) News, "FarmLinks continues to lure thousands," about FarmLinks, the world's first and only research and demonstration golf course, located near Sylacauga, Ala., that hosts and educate superintendents worldwide, averaging 1,000 superintendent visitors a year, plus 12,000-15,000 public rounds a year. It features GCSAA affiliate member David Pursell, president and CEO of Agrium Advanced Technologies and Mark Langer, CGCS, director of agronomy and applied research at FarmLinks.

Bucks County (Levittown, Pa.) Courier Times, "Employee wants shot at ownership," about GCSAA member Rick Begley, general manager and superintendent at the township-owned Middletown (Pa.) Country Club making a proposal to buy the license agreement and take over operation of the country club.

Hartford (Conn.) Courant, "Keeper of the greens has new job," about GCSAA member Stephen "Lefty" Foran being reassigned to the city’s public works department after 37 years as golf course superintendent at East Hartford (Conn.) Golf Course, which was leased to a private company in 2008 that will operate with its own staff.

Monterey (Calif.) Herald, "Three P.G. staff leaders moving on," about three Pacific Grove, Calif., city department heads declining to bump underlings to keep their jobs at City Hall due to a new reorganization plan to save the city money, including Mike Leach, GCSAA Class A superintendent at Pacific Grove Golf Links.

Pinehurst (N.C.) Pilot, "Frosty mornings can create delays," Column about the hidden damage to greens caused by walking on frosted grass, featuring Ron Kelly, CGCS at The Country Club of North Carolina in Pinehurst, N.C.

Ft. Myer’s (Fla.) News-Press, "Drought hits Cape’s golf courses," about the continuing drought in southwest Florida, the impending increased water restrictions and their effects on area golf facilities, featuring Stu Bennett, CGCS, co-owner, manager and superintendent at Alden Pines Golf Club in Bokeelia, Fla.

Golf Business, "Brighter Days," Article in the National Golf Course Owners Associations’ official magazine about how a turfgrass conversion has helped to spirit a rounds played revolution and brighten the business outlook at Fripp Island Resort in Saint Helena Island, S.C., featuring Kevin Lashley, GCSAA Class A superintendent.

Las Vegas Sun, "Enviro awards for 2 Tahoe golf courses," Associated Press brief about Old Greenwood Golf Course in Truckee, Calif., winning the national resort category in the 2007 GCSAA/Golf Digest Environmental Leaders in Golf Awards and Golf Club at Gray’s Crossing in Truckee, Calif., taking the national private course category, featuring GCSAA President Ricky D. Heine, CGCS; GCSAA members Jonathan Moulton, assistant superintendent at Old Greenwood; Michael Cornette, Class A superintendent at Gray’s Crossing; Dale Hahn, CGCS at TPC Summerlin and Joel Blaker, CGCS, director of agronomy for Tahoe Mountain Club, which operates both Old Greenwood and Gray’s Crossing.

Associated Press, "Water demand sinking SoCal valley," about a report released Dec. 17 about a United States Geological Survey that has determined parts of the Coachella Valley (Calif.) have sunk more than a foot in nine years because too much water is being pumped from the aquifer below. It features Jess Troche, GCSAA superintendent at Mountain Vista golf course in Palm Desert, Calif.

Golf Inc., November-December: "Here’s to you Mr. Robinson," about David Robinson, CGCS, associate director of grounds operations for Marriott Golf, winning his third straight BASF Innovative Superintendent Award.

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