Divot Mix

It’s easy to look out over a golf course and say, "I’m gonna make my lawn look like that." Just remember, the superintendent has all week to make his grass green. You only have Saturday morning. -- Pete Dye

Golf course openings continue decline

U.S. golf course developers are on track to post the lowest number of openings in two decades. Measured in 18-hole equivalents, 65 courses have opened so far this year and NGF estimates, based on the number of courses currently under construction, that another 10-20 will open by Dec. 31. That would bring total 2008 openings to 75-85 18-hole equivalents, the lowest number in over 20 years.

"This is the second time this year we have lowered our forecast of golf course openings," says Joe Beditz, NGF president and chief executive officer. "The economic situation, particularly the continued decline in the housing market, has and will continue to suppress golf course development activity in the U.S."

As NGF tracks golf courses that are projected to open during a given year, it’s not unusual for many of them to be delayed into the next calendar year or even put on hold indefinitely. This year, due in part to a sluggish economy, more projects than usual are being delayed. Looking at courses that were projected to open recently, there are a variety of reasons cited for the delay:

• Waiting for the housing market to pick up
• Construction taking longer than expected
• Financing issues
• Snags in the permitting process

While openings continue to fall, so do course closures. So far this year there have been 74 verified course closures and NGF currently forecasts the number of closures to be less than 100 by year’s end. There were 146 closures in 2006 and 122 in 2007. Therefore, it appears that 2008 will be the third year in a row with zero to slightly negative net growth in supply (openings and closures canceling each other out). NGF points out that closures continue to be disproportionately public, stand-alone 9-hole facilities or short courses (executive or par-3 length) with a value price point.

Paper mill waste helps reclaim mine land

Paper mill waste can safely be applied at a rate three times higher than the typical rate in Ohio, to reclaim soils of surface-coal mined areas.

Agricultural Research Service soil scientist Martin J. Shipitalo found that a 300-ton-per-acre application rate had many benefits, and did not result in major additional negative effects on runoff water quality compared to the standard 100-ton-per-acre rate.

Shipitalo is at the ARS North Appalachian Experimental Watershed in Coshocton, Ohio. This is the first research project to determine the amount of paper mill sludge byproduct that can safely be applied to land without harming downstream water quality.

The project also involved the two Ohio agencies that must grant special approval for the 300-ton-per-acre rate: the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. And it involved representatives of the paper mill, mining and land reclamation industries.

Shipitalo and colleagues applied sludge from a paper mill to plots on steep slopes in southeast Ohio that had been recently surface-mined. Approximately 10 weeks after the application, grass was planted on the slopes.

The application of the sludge at both rates greatly reduced runoff and erosion from the plots, particularly during the period before grass was planted. But the higher application rate still reduced soil loss eight-fold after the grass was planted and the land had stabilized. Both rates reduced runoff three- to six-fold in that same post-planting period.

The high rate of paper mill sludge application increased soil carbon levels, soil pH and calcium to a greater extent than the lower rate. These improvements in soil quality may contribute to more persistent increases in plant growth and continued reductions in runoff and erosion. Also, the large reduction in runoff and erosion could result in lower reclamation costs by reducing the size of required sediment ponds.

A paper on this research will be published in the November-December 2008 issue of the Journal of Environmental Quality.

U.S. Open Challenge at Bethpage to be decided by six-word essay

Golf Digest, the United States Golf Association and NBC Sports are again asking average American golfers "What Would You Shoot?" on a U.S. Open course. The second Golf Digest U.S. Open Challenge will test one winner at the site of the 2009 U.S. Open Championship – the Black Course at Bethpage State Park, managed by GCSAA Class A superintendent Craig Currier.

The 2009 contest presents a challenging twist right from the start as hopeful participants have only six words to explain why they think they can break a score of 100. Starting today golf fans can go to www.gdopencontest.com to submit their six-word essay. The submission period runs through Jan. 31, 2009.

Entrants may also submit a short video (less than 60 seconds) that further supports their six words. Contenders will be narrowed down to five finalists, with the winner to be chosen by the public, through online voting, in March and April.

The winner of the Golf Digest U.S. Open Challenge will play 18 holes on the Black Course at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, N.Y., only days before the 2009 U.S. Open Championship. NBC will broadcast the round, which will include three celebrities accompanying the winning contestant, as a 90-minute television program on June 21, prior to its final round telecast of the U.S. Open.

The 2008 contest generated 56,374 essays and saw more than 117,000 people vote online for their favorite finalist. John Atkinson, a sales manager from Omaha, Neb., with an 8.0 handicap index, won with more than 42 percent of the vote.

Golfers of all handicaps are eligible for the contest. The nationally televised round will be played under the same course conditions and USGA Rules that the U.S. Open competitors will face the following week.

"Last year’s event exceeded our wildest expectations," said Jon Miller, executive vice president, NBC Sports. "The Challenge was embraced by the entire golf community, and one of the highlights was seeing some of the pros come out to watch and enjoy the event, and hearing their positive feedback. We can’t wait to build on last year’s success."

New home for Texas Golf Hall Of Fame

After being homeless for more than a decade, the Texas Golf Hall of Fame is relocating to one of the most historic golf sites in the state: San Antonio’s Brackenridge Park.

Part of a $7.5 million project in the center of downtown, the new Texas Golf Hall of Fame and Museum will be adjacent to San Antonio’s famed Brackenridge Golf Course, Texas’ first public course that will re-emerge in December from a remarkable restoration of its 1915 A.W. Tillinghast design.

"When we open the doors, we will be the fourth largest golf museum in the country," said Reid Meyers, chairman of the non-profit Municipal Golf Association-San Antonio, which is overseeing the project, scheduled for completion in 2010. "Being situated next to the flagship public golf layout in the state, we will have something unique and very special that will cater to golfers, tourists and business travelers alike."

The Texas Golf Hall of Fame was housed at The Woodlands in Houston from 1978 through 1996, when it was closed.