March 20, 2008

  • Deadline approaching for Custom Chopper raffle
  • Rain Bird accepting entries to film competition
  • Marriott Golf to require Audubon certification in 2008
  • EPA says, "Show us your best photo for Earth Day"

  • Photo Quiz
  • Vital and valuable
  • The Cutting Edge for March
  • A note from the great, white north
  • Pesticide Use Survey offers flat-screen TV
  • Remembering Bob Williams...

  • GIS Silent Auction nets $133,400
  • 2008 Irrigation Association show renamed
  • California seeks nominees for environment awards
  • John Deere renames golf division
  • Jacobsen attains GCSAA Gold Partner status

  • Bobcat introduces new compact tractors
  • Shelton offers new chain trencher
  • ASGCA updates environmental guide to golf course development
  • Profile introduces new soil amendment
  • Florida approves reduced buffer zone for Curfew

  • Thomas Trammell, GCSAA Class A member, is hosting the WGC-CA Championship.
  • Bayer names winners of stress survey contest
  • Superintendents in the news

  • Brede named Innovator of the Year
  • Garrett becomes Experience manager at FarmLinks
  • Broome joins Synatek as golf technical sales representative
  • Ewing reveals staffing changes

  • Upcoming events in the world of golf course management
 

Super Notes

Thomas Trammell, CGCS and director of agronomy at Doral Golf Resort & Spa (Blue Course), is hosting the WGC-CA Championship in Miami, Fla.

Bayer names winners of stress survey contest

Carl Brisco of Fox Prairie Golf Club in Alexandria, Ind., was the grand prize winner in a contest promoted by Bayer Environmental Science at the 2008 Golf Industry Show. He was randomly selected from participants who completed the "Stomp Out Stress" and won an American Express gift check and an airline gift certificate for a stress-free vacation of his choosing.

Bob Rigney, Woodridge, Ill., and Thomas Solis, Garland, Texas, received Garmin GPS systems.

The following all received Apple Video iPods in a random selection of participants that completed the survey:

  • Steve Cadenelli, Brewster, Mass.
  • John Newton, Ames, Iowa
  • Randy Ernst, Idaho Falls, Idaho
  • Scott Gennings, Wallingford, Conn.
  • Ryan Dwyer, Williamsburg, Va.

Attendees could either text their answers or complete the "Stomp Out Stress" survey on a computer kiosk at the Bayer booth.  The survey asked questions about superintendents' stress on their turf and on the job.  Upon completing the survey, participants received a StressGard clasp to wear while on the show floor. 

For being spotted by the Bayer Prize Patrol while wearing their clasps, the following each won a $100 American Express gift card:

  • Alan Blonde, Marshall, Mich.
  • Damon Williams, Bluffton, S.C.
  • Arthur Morgan Jr., Myrtle Beach, S.C.
  • Hugh Lee Barefoot Jr., Clemmons, N.C.
  • Jason Ireton, Plant Products Co. Limited
  • Richard Pollack, Omaha, Neb.
  • Tony Hartstock, Parker, Colo.
  • Joe Guanill, Springfield, N.J.
  • Geoff Jordan, Prior Lake, Minn.
  • Jay Charnes, Goshen, Ky.
  • David Thompson, Angola, Ind.
  • Mark Kastenholz, Tipton, Ind.
  • Mike Hulteen, Salina, Kan.
  • Troy Sanders, Goose Creek, S.C.
  • Fred Taylor, Mankato, Minn.

"We had a great response to our stress survey, and learned a lot about stress in the life of a superintendent," said Mike Daly, business manager, fungicides for Bayer.  "The giveaways were a great way to reward the attendees who completed the survey."

Superintendents in the news

Topsail (N.C.) Advertiser, "Topsail Greens changes course," about the recently completed renovations at Topsail (N.C.) Greens Golf Club, featuring John De Matteo, GCSAA Class A superintendent.

Appleton (Wis.) Post-Crescent, "Old Man Winter won’t let courses play through," about lingering winter conditions in Wisconsin and how different golf courses are dealing with snow covered greens, featuring Hank Koss, GCSAA Class A superintendent at Royal St. Patrick’s Golf Course in Wrightstown, Wis.

Britannica Blog, "Drought, gasoline prices, and golf courses of the future," Q&A with GCSAA member Tim Moraghan, principal of Aspire Golf Consulting.

Jacksonville’s (Fla.) Financial News & Daily Record, "Players well on way to another sellout," coverage from the pre-tournament news conference about preparations for The Players at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., featuring Fred Klauk, GCSAA Class A superintendent.

Orlando Sentinel, "Volunteers transform garden for butterflies," about Chris Flynn, CGCS at Grand Pines Golf Club in Orlando, Fla., creating a 3,000-square-foot butterfly garden at nearby Endeavor Elementary School as an animal habitat outreach and education program and earning Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program certification.

Cybergolf News, "Fiddler’s Elbow in New Jersey to unveil renovated River Course," about the recent renovations at Fiddler’s Elbow Country Club in Far Hills, N.J., featuring Tom Breiner, GCSAA Class A superintendent.

Northwest Navigator (Puget Sound, Wash.), "NAS Whidbey top civilians selected," U.S. Navy news report about Jim Smith, GCSAA Class A superintendent at the Gallery Golf Club on a U.S. Navy Air Station on Whidbey Island, Wash., receiving the 2007 Civilian Supervisor of the Year award.

Green Section Record, "ACSP – What your peers think," Testimonials about the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program in the USGA publication, featuring GCSAA Class A members Ryan Costello, CGCS at Audubon Country Club in Naples, Fla.; Scott Welder, superintendent at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla.; Darren Davis, director of golf course operations at Olde Florida Golf Club in Naples, Fla.; and Kyle Sweet, CGCS at The Sanctuary Golf Club in Sanibel Island, Fla.

Bradenton (Fla.) Herald, "Ritz-Carlton Golf Club one with nature," about The Ritz-Carlton Members Golf Club in Sarasota, Fla., earning its Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary certification from Audubon International, featuring GCSAA members Nicholas von Hofen, director of golf grounds; Nick Kearns, assistant superintendent; and Stephen Tucker, equipment manager.

Fort Morgan (Colo.) Times, "Equipment should help golf course," about several proposed equipment purchases to improve conditions at Fort Morgan (Colo.) Golf Course, featuring GCSAA members Jonathan Rhoades, Class A superintendent, and Doug Fisher of Graff Turf Farms, who was hired by the city as an independent consultant to assess the city course.

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