News

Woodward among golf’s most powerful

GCSAA CEO Mark Woodward, CGCS, has been named to Golf Inc. magazine's 2009 "Most Powerful People in Golf" for the second consecutive year.

Ranked No. 25, Woodward was recognized for his "diligent work to promote GCSAA and The Environmental Institute for Golf as shepherds of the environment; promoting increased professional education and advancement for superintendents; and overseeing research on sustainable strategies as a best practices manual and a governmental and public relations vehicle."

"We are pleased to see that Mark is recognized as one of the most powerful people in golf," GCSAA President Mark D. Kuhns, CGCS, said. "It is testament to the fact that GCSAA is a leading golf association and is affecting positive change."

The Golf Inc. list also includes several Advisory Council members and trustees of The Environmental Institute for Golf. The Institute is the philanthropic organization of GCSAA.

• Dana Garmany, CEO of Troon Golf (co-No. 2)
• Joe Steranka, CEO of PGA of America (ranked No. 8)
• Greg Norman, chairman and CEO of Great White Shark Enterprises (No. 10)
• Bill Kubly, founder and CEO of Landscapes Unlimited (No. 24)
• Herbert Kohler, chairman, CEO and president of Kohler Co. (No. 31)
• David Pillsbury, president of PGA Tour Golf Course Properties (No. 32)

The magazine's annual "Most Powerful" list highlights 35 individuals judged to have the most ability to influence the development of courses and communities, the operation of courses, the equipment used by golfers and the rules and administration of the game. The 2009 list also includes past recipients of GCSAA's highest honor, the Old Tom Morris Award: Jack Nicklaus (ranked No. 1 for the sixth consecutive year), Tim Finchem (No. 6) and Arnold Palmer (No. 21).

It is the ninth consecutive year that GCSAA's CEO has made Golf Inc.'s "Most Powerful" list. Former GCSAA CEO Steve Mona stepped down in 2008 to take a newly created CEO position at the World Golf Foundation. Mona appears on the list again this

Changes to ‘Decisions on the Rules of Golf’ released

The USGA and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews has announced a host of changes to the 2010-2011 “Decisions on the Rules of Golf” following a two-year review cycle by those organizations. The changes take effect Jan. 1, 2010.

The changes include 28 new decisions, 51 revised decisions and one withdrawn decisions. All told, the “Decisions on the Rules of Golf” contains more than 1,200 entries, most of which address specific circumstances under the Rules of Golf in a question-and-answer format.

In addition, the USGA and the R&A issued a joint statement reaffirming a 2006 decision to allow the use of electronic distance-measuring devices by local rule, as long of those devices measure only distance and not factors like wind speed and direction. Neither organization anticipates adopting that local rule at any of their championships.

The full text of the new and revised “Decisions on the Rules of Golf,” as well as the full text of the joint statement, can be found in the Rules section of the USGA’s Web site, www.usga.org.

Need to know more about working with the Rules of Golf? GCSAA has a live webcast in its education series that will cover practical aspects and give you some hands-on exercises to complete using the 2008-2009 Rules of Golf. Scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 3, this 90-minute event will be taught by Don Cook from the PGA of America. You can enroll online —— or by phone at 800-472-7878.

GCSAA to provide limited services Thanksgiving week

GCSAA has instituted a staff furlough Nov. 23-25 and will observe the Thanksgiving holiday Nov. 26-27. Minimal services will be available through the call center on the days of the furlough, and your next issue of Newsweekly will be sent Dec. 3.

The association will also be closed Dec. 24-Jan. 1 for the Christmas holiday, for a staff furlough Dec. 28-31, and for the New Year's Day holiday Jan. 1.

Bayer, Toro host industry events

A pair of golf course management’s most notable companies played host to industry events last week — Bayer Environmental Science’s Plant Health Symposium and The Toro Co.’s Future Leaders Forum.

Bayer brought a small group of superintendents, landscape and lawn care professionals and media to Raleigh, N.C., for their event, which highlighted the company’s burgeoning plant health initiative and its related partnership with North Carolina State University. It featured tours of research facilities at N.C. State as well as activities at Bayer’s Development and Training Facility in nearby Clayton, N.C.

“Our Plant Health Initiative drives the innovation process in providing lawn and golf professionals with solutions beyond insect, disease and weed control,” explains Neil Cleveland, the managing director for Bayer Environmental Science.

For Toro’s part, the company partnered with The First Tee and Walt Disney World for the third consecutive year to bring 50 First Tee participants from 23 chapters around the country to Orlando, Fla., for the Future Leaders Forum, a three-day leadership skills and training event that introduced attendees to potential careers in and around the game of golf.

In addition to spending time at Walt Disney World going through an abbreviated version of Disney’s acclaimed Youth Education Series (YES), the Future Leaders Forum gave attendees a glimpse into the world of golf course management through a presentation by Robert Waller, CGCS, Marriott Golf’s director of grounds operations, and an on-course demonstration led by Gary Myers, CGCS, who oversees maintenance at Walt Disney World’s four golf properties.

“For three years running, this program has impacted the lives of young people. It has opened up possibilities they never knew existed and connected them with leaders in a variety of industries and professions within and outside of golf,” says Mike Hoffman, chairman and CEO of The Toro Co.

GCSAA’s Arkansas chapter named university’s friend of the year

At its October awards reception, the University of Arkansas’s department of horticulture honored the GCSA of Arkansas as its 2009 Friend.

Lee McBurnett, GCSAA Superintendent Member at Stonebridge Meadows GC in Fayetteville, Ark., accepted the award on behalf of the association. McBurnett is a 2002 graduate of the University of Arkansas turfgrass program and secretary/treasurer of the chapter.

The GCSA of Arkansas has a long and consistent history of support for the turfgrass research, education and extension programs at the university. The chapter was an early supporter of an increased research and teaching emphasis in turfgrass management, and provided financial support for the construction of in-ground irrigation systems and research putting greens at the Arkansas Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Fayetteville.

In addition, the GCSA of Arkansas provides financial support for ongoing research programs, as well as a yearly scholarship for an undergraduate turfgrass student. Members of the association are frequent guest speakers in turfgrass management classes.

The tradition of honoring friends of the department began in 1998.