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Register now for the 2010 Golf Industry Show

General registration for the 2010 Golf Industry Show is now open online.

 Make plans today for the 2010 Golf Industry Show Feb. 10-11 in San Diego. There are endless opportunities to make the most of the investment of your time and money at the industry’s largest event. See the latest products, learn the latest tips and tools of the trade, and encounter unparalleled networking opportunities with industry professionals from around the world. Get an event higher return on your invest by coming early for the GCSAA Education Conference, held in conjunction with the Golf Industry Show.

GCSAA’s annual education conference offers nearly 100 seminars and 40 additional hours of educational sessions, covering all ranges of golf course management, including agronomics, communication and business management. Registration is also open for the GCSAA National Championship and Golf Classic presented in partnership with The Toro Co., Feb. 5-7, in Palm Springs, Calif.

Be sure to make your room reservations at one of the official conference hotels by Dec. 18 to guarantee the conference rate.

GCSAA to provide limited services the week of Thanksgiving, last week of December

GCSAA has instituted a staff furlough for Nov. 23-25 and will observe the Thanksgiving holiday Nov. 26-27. In addition, GCSAA will be closed Dec. 24-Jan. 1 for the Christmas holiday, for an additional staff furlough Dec. 28-31, and for the New Year's Day holiday Jan. 1.

The association headquarters will provide minimal services through its call center on the days of the furlough.

Whan to head LPGA

The LPGA Board of Directors has named Michael Whan the LPGA’s new commissioner. Whan, most recently president and chief executive officer of Mission-Itech Hockey, has a personal and professional background in golf, including serving as executive vice president and general manager (North American Region) for TaylorMade-adidas Golf.

The appointment follows an extensive three-month international search led by a search committee comprised of LPGA Board player members Juli Inkster and Helen Alfredsson along with fellow LPGA Board members Bill Morton and Leslie Greis, who chaired the committee.

“We established very strict criteria for the position of commissioner and Mike impressed us not only with his background and intellect but also his passion for golf,” Hudson said. “I commend the search committee for their exhaustive work and commitment, and we look forward to the months and years ahead with Mike as our commissioner. We also owe a great debt of gratitude to acting commissioner Marty Evans. Her success over the past three months during a potentially difficult transition period not only allowed the search committee time to conduct a thorough search but also has provided our new commissioner with positive momentum and a revitalized platform upon which to grow the LPGA in the sports and business marketplace.”

Evans will work with Whan during a transition period before he officially assumes the commissioner helm in January 2010. Both Whan and Evans will attend the LPGA Tour Championship Presented by Rolex the week of Nov. 16 in Houston, where a player meeting will be held and the 2010 LPGA season schedule will be released.

“It is rare to work for an organization that combines all the passions in your life, but with the LPGA, I feel I’ve been presented with the unique opportunity to do just that,” Whan said. “First, this is an association surrounded by passionate, value-driven people. Second, I’m energized by brand building and the work involved in marketing and growing a sport. Third, I simply love the game of golf—both the life lessons it teaches and the friendships it helps create.”

Whan, 44, started his business career at Procter & Gamble in 1987, rising within the ranks as a brand assistant, brand manager and eventually director of marketing, oral care, before branching out to follow his passion for sports. In 1994-95, he served as a vice president and general manager at the Wilson Sporting Goods Co. responsible for all aspects of the golf ball and glove business. He also managed the marketing department, two manufacturing facilities and the research and development division.

At the TaylorMade, Whan started as vice president marketing and over the course of his four-year tenure was promoted to vice president, sales and marketing and eventually EVP/general manager-North America for TaylorMade-adidas Golf. In his role as general manager, Whan’s business unit represented more than 70 percent of the company’s worldwide sales and profit.

Whan served as president/chief marketing officer for Britesmile Inc., from 1999-2002, before returning to sports at Mission Hockey, a hockey equipment company. During his seven-year tenure in the hockey business, he restructured and redefined the company, then acquired Itech Sports to create Mission-Itech Hockey. When Whan finalized the sale of Mission-Itech Hockey late last year, it commanded market share leadership in nine product categories, sales in more than 30 countries and had more than 50 percent of the NHL players using the brands.

Whan will serve as the LPGA’s eighth Commissioner. He and his wife, Meg, and his three children, currently live in California and will relocate to Florida, home of the LPGA Headquarters, next year.

Osteen has Annandale ready for Viking Classic

This week the PGA Tour returns to Annandale Golf Club in Madison, Miss., for the Viking Classic. Nonstop rain has been a nuisance for GCSAA Class A member Al Osteen, director of golf course operations, as more than 15 inches has fallen in the past month. It is the most rainfall in that area, during that duration of the calendar, since 1913.

His staff of 20, which is bolstered this week by 10 Mississippi State University turfgrass program students as well as 10-12 superintendents and assistants from nearby golf facilities, was able to mow all the fairways this past weekend, but only for the second time in the last month.

The golf course is soft, but the bermudagrass greens are rolling 11 ½ feet on the Stimpmeter and the Kentucky bluegrass rough is a stout 2 ½ inches high. The clay soil at Annandale does not drain well, but as part of a bunker renovation in 2006, drainage was placed in the lowest points of the large fairway bunkers, which serve as collection areas and prevent flooding.

The signature holes at Annandale Golf Course are holes No. 8 and 17. The par 3, No. 8 is the toughest and largest putting surface on the course. Slightly downhill with water behind the green, it is the second of two long par threes on the front nine. Annandale members would identify the par-4, No. 17 as their "signature hole." For those who want to gamble with the tee shot, a long iron or fairway wood can be landed onto the island fairway to the right that is protected by water and rough. The island sets up a much easier second shot if properly placed. The optional fairway to the left is guarded by an out-of-bounds on to the left and a water hazard on the right. The small and slender 17th green fields shots from many angles.

Many new natural areas of significant acreage have been added around the course. Tall fescue and hundreds of seedling trees have been established in these areas, which require no special product application or regular maintenance. These areas have attracted more wildlife to the course. Many of the lake and creek banks have been allowed to grow in, creating a barrier against run-off from fertilizer and to help reduce erosion.

Join the fight against hunger at the 2010 GIS service project

The Golf Industry Show partnering associations: GCSAA, NGCOA and CMAA, will team up with the San Diego Food Bank for the second annual Golf Industry Show service project, presented in partnership with The Toro Co. 

The San Diego Food Bank, which relies entirely on volunteers to sort, pack and distribute food, provides nearly 24,000 meals a day and feeds more than 360,000 people per month. On Monday, Feb. 8, GIS will send both a morning and an afternoon shift, of 100 volunteers each, to work on site at the food bank. Also during the week, attendees may donate food and money at the convention center.