ASSN REPORTS NZGCSA ASSOCIATION REPORTS
The change of seasons. Neighbouring Mt Taranaki as seen from Westown Golf Club’s 15th hole. Westown is home to superintendent and NZGCSA president Steve Hodson
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Autumn spraying at dawn at the very picturesque Arrowtown Golf Club in New Zealand’s South Island
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s I put pen to paper, nature is announcing its transition of seasons. Temperatures are dropping, the kaleidoscope of colour with the autumn hues is disappearing as the leaves fall and the days are getting noticeably shorter. While I dislike the winter months for the fact of limited daylight hours and leaving for work in the dark and often returning home as it darkens, winter does provide us all with an opportunity to recharge our body batteries after what has been a very long and damp growing season. Keeping up with the mowing has been a challenge for many and often stuck with the dilemma of mowing and leaving unsightly grass clumping or not mowing and paying the price of twice as much grass volume next time you mow. Add to this the stresses of the club hierarchy still demanding the desired finish and presentation while appearing to have no appreciation nor empathy of the imposition that the wet weather brings. Most clubs have their members who are ‘weekend greenkeepers’ whose qualifications come from mowing their little patch of lawn at home and then retire to the couch to watch golf on television. They see the beautifully manicured and presented course and then expect their own local course to replicate the same, conveniently forgetting that the course on television has probably staff levels and budgets of 10 or 20 fold higher than their own course. A big part of our job within the turf industry is to continually educate both our boards/committees on how and why we do things and the many challenges we face along the way. The more education and communication between green staff and hierarchy/ members pays dividends to all parties and is something we should all strive for. So now back to recharging your batteries. Everyone should try and take the opportunity to take a break over the winter months when tasks on your golf course slow down a bit. As someone commented last week “they put their course to bed for the winter”. Your own health and wellbeing is paramount but often overlooked at the expense of work.
AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 19.3
Fortunately more awareness of men’s health in particular is being made and most turf conferences and seminars are now addressing this with specific sessions and education. So go and fill your leave application out now and plan your next break.
FUTURE TURF MANAGERS’ INITIATIVE The NZGCSA congratulates the following candidates who have been chosen to attend the AGCSA Future Turf Managers’ Initiative (FTMI), presented in partnership with Jacobsen, at the 33rd Australian Turfgrass Conference at Twin Waters in June (see earlier in this edition for profiles on each): l George Flynn (Pukekohe GC) l Alex Yates (Royal Wellington GC) l Connor Scott (Titirangi GC) l Kiel Stechman (Manawatu GC) l Lance Morrin (Pakuranga GC) This is an exciting opportunity made available to members of the NZGCSA in conjunction with Jacobsen. It enables those greenkeepers displaying potential as future industry leaders to upskill and to also create networks with likeminded people. This year those networkings will extend to the Australian FTMI counterparts with whom our FTMI candidates will be sharing the experience. Again our thanks goes to Jacobsen who make this fantastic opportunity possible. And for others wanting to increase their own development and education, plus networking, there are two opportunities coming up over the next few months. Firstly the AGCSA conference takes place at Twin Waters on Australia’s Sunshine Coast from 26-30 June 2017, and secondly the Southern Turf Managers are holding their Fine Turf Seminar in Dunedin from 20-22 August 2107. The FTS programme looks to have something of interest for everyone so I would urge you to make the effort and support them. Registration is now open and registration forms are available on the Facebook page of the Southern Turf Managers Association.
STEVE HODSON PRESIDENT, NZGCSA