Cameron Park Country Club 2022 Scholarship & Research Tournament
Canyon Oaks C.C.
Well, back to the grind and business as usual! As much as we hate to see winter come to an end, I’m actually looking forward to spring and summer, believe it or not. With our winter projects now wrapping up, I’m sure we’re all excited to begin embracing our cultural practices and traditions to prepare ourselves for another successful season.
I would like to personally thank Scott McCullough for another successful Turf Tech Workshop at the Ridge. We are aware that to put something like this together, it requires a considerable amount of time, organization and planning. I believe I speak for everyone when I say “Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication.”
For those who attended the GIS in San Diego this February and our California Room at Petco Park, we sincerely appreciate your participation and support. We hope that you enjoyed the events and found them of value.
A huge thank you goes out to Billy Hausch from Grassroots for once again sponsoring our grassroots tournament for the 3rd year in a row and Justin Fowler from Nutrien for sponsoring our lunch and stepping up to the plate by helping John out with the cooking. I would also like to give a BIG THANK YOU to our annual sponsors that make our meetings possible every month. Thank you John Farley, at Teal Bend Golf Course for successfully hosting our annual grassroots tournament. The course was in great shape, weather was perfect, the food was delicious as usual. The brotherhood we all share within our association is something that I value and look forward to every month.
Congratulations to the award winners; Jeff Jensen, Dave Bermudez, Dean Kinney, Kurtis Wolford and Larry Johnson for their well-deserved awards. It was also a pleasure for our association to have been able to commit 3 years of donations to Dr. Baird for the turfgrass research . Thank you gentlemen for being an essential part of our association and for all you do, your contributions do not go unnoticed.
I would like to remind everyone about our Rounds for Research donations, I hope we all try our best to get as many donations as possible and hopefully do better than last year. I challenge everyone to try to get their club plus 1 more, and as a matter of fact, if you are able to get 2 donations, let me know and I will buy you a drink at our next meeting. I myself, have already secured 3 donations outside of my club.
Last but not least, I would like to thank our SNGCSA members for your all of your continued support and encourage every last one of you to try and attend some of our upcoming meetings. Without you, our association would not exist!
-Juan J. Gonzalez
EVENT CALENDAR
Sept 2025
Presidents Cup Grizzly Ranch
April 14, 2025
Canyon Oaks CC
May 21, 2025 Turkey Creek
June 2025
Possible Field Day TBD
July 7, 2025
S&R Tournament
Stockton CC
August 11, 2025 Tri Chapter Hosted by NorCal Berkley CC
SECRETARY/TREASURER
Lonnie Dunn
Wildhorse G.C.
November 18, 2025
Annual Meeting Whitney Oaks
December 4, 2025
Holiday Golf Outing The Ridge
January 2026 Turf Tech The Ridge
February 2026 GIS Orlando, Fl.
2025 SNGCSA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
PRESIDENT
Juan Gonzalez
Empire Ranch G.C.
VICE PRESIDENT
PAST PRESIDENT
Billy Witt Muhammad Ali
Hidden Valley Lake Assoc.
DIRECTORS
Dave Bermudez Logan Bloom
Del Rio G. & C.C.
Mather G.C.
Dean Kinney, Sierra Pacific Turf
Published
Scott McCullough Guillermo Reyes Brian Kerr– Assistant
The Ridge Rio Vista GC Turkey Creek GC
Affiliate Representatives
Ryan Thornberry, California Landscape Supply
FORE YOUR INFORMATION
M ARCH E VENT – G RASS R OOTS T OURNAMENT
T EAL B END GC
The 2025 Grass Roots Tournament was hosted by Past President John Farley and Teal Bend GC. It was an absolutely beautiful day and we had a great turnout for the event. Over 70 people were in attendance for golf, and 80 for the meeting. John, with the help of Nutrien Rep, Justin Fowler, BBQ’d up a delicious meal of ribs, pasta salad and beans. It was finger licking good! We also had the chance to host 8 of our retired members for the event. It is always great to see some old faces and catch up. These are the men who helped create the Grass Roots Tournament, and it is an honor to have them join us for the event. Lastly, the SNGCSA Board of Directors gave out the annual awards to some very deserving members, as well as honored Dr. Jim Baird with a contribution of $2500 for the next 3 years to put towards his research in the turf grass industry. Without his unending contribution to the turf grass field, we wouldn't be where we are today.
Juan Gonzalez, introducing Muhammad Ali, and Dr Baird. They presented on the research trip they took to Pakistan in November.
Affiliate Member of the Year–Dean Kinney
TurfGrass Manager of the Year Public– Kurtis Wolford
Not Pictured is Private Turf Grass Manger– Larry Johnson
Distinguished Member of the Year– Jeff Jensen GrassRoots Award winnerDavid Bermudez
John Farley and Pro Rob Ferreira above. Everyone enjoyed the BBQ lunch that was sponsored and prepared by John and Justin Fowler of Nutrien. (Above Right)
Retired members Jim Ferrin, Bob Miller, Sam Samuelson, and Bob Cline
It was a packed house! Something we always love to see.
CAG NEWSLETTERS
PLEASE CHECK OUT TH ATTACHED LINKS TO THE MONTHLY CAG NEWSLETTERS.
CAG NEWSLETTER – JANUARY
CAG NEWSLETTER – FEBRUARY
CAG NEWSLETTER– MARCH
January Event- Turf Tech
The Ridge GC
Our 2025 Turf Tech was a huge success this year, with great education. Speakers from a wide array of fields came in and talked on a wide variety of topics . As usual we “Thank” Scott McCullough and The Ridge for hosting such a successful event. This is something that the membership truly looks forward to each year.
FROM THE FIELD Jeff
GCSAA Field Staff, Southwest Region
Jensen,
The 2025 Rounds 4 Research auction is scheduled for April 21-27. Rounds 4 Research allows GCSAA chapters to participate as fundraising partners with eighty percent of the auction proceeds going back to those chapters who secured the donations. Chapter boards can then determine how to use those funds for turfgrass research, government advocacy or chapter education. The program was started in 2012 to address shortages in the above areas and has raised more than $4 million since its inception. The premise of the program is simple: Golf facilities can support the effort by donating rounds of golf for two or four or “stay and play” packages and other items that will be auctioned online through a nationwide auction from April 21-27, 2025. The auction is conducted through the bidding platform
Golfers from all across the country can bid on the rounds and the auction is promoted through numerous media outlets including spots on The Golf Channel. The participating facility has the ability to restrict rounds to certain days and times as well as the option of setting your opening bid. You can send in your own certificate for the donation or the GCSAA Foundation will create a certificate for you. For private facilities who may be unable to donate a round due to outside play restrictions, the program also accepts monetary donations.
The Southwest Region had a record year in 2024 led by top ten chapter finishes from the Hawaii GCSA and the Cactus and Pine GCSA. The GCSA of Northern California, Southern Nevada GCSA, and San Diego GCSA also had notable contributions in 2024. Facilities can donate online at www.rounds4research.com. The entire process takes less than 10 minutes. Whether you are an organization looking to solicit rounds or a golfer looking for the opportunity to support research while enjoying the sport you love, Rounds 4 Research provides a way for all aspects of the game to come together to ensure its future. We appreciate your support and look forward to a successful auction in April!
Thank you again for your support and if I can be of any assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact me at jjensen@gcsaa.org and follow my regional page at https://www.gcsaa.org/resources/ regional-resources/southwest for updated stories and a schedule of events throughout the Southwest Region. Look forward to seeing all of you in the near future!
- Jeff Jensen
February Event
GIS, San Diego and the California Room
2025 Golf Industry Show in San Diego Ca. was a huge hit for everyone involved. The National GCSA saw record turnouts and sponsorships. The California Room was hosted at Petco Park and had over 450 people in attendance. This event would not be possible without the generosity of our sponsors and members in attendance. Brown Sands, CJ Boone, came through with the Premier Sponsorship again this year, and we “Thank” them for their support. We hope everyone who attended enjoyed themselves, and also took advantage of the opportunity to get some top level education when the show was in our own backyard.
Above, left to right: Darren Fry and Joe Kurung working the booth at the trade show. Phil Brown with Anderson was working his booth while sitting down with Sierra Nevada Board member Dave Bermudez. Sierra Nevada members Delta Blue Grass at their booth. West Coast Turfs, Will Barragan kept busy with meetings. Premier Sponsor and Sierra Nevada member CJ Boone outside of Petco Park.
Above, left to right: Matt Graves and Jim Sherman of Belkorp at the California Room. Will Barragan with Sierra Nevada members Mick and Debbie Evans and family. Matt Graves and Sierra Nevada Vice President Billy Witt. Below: Past President Muhammad Ali, Current President Juan Gonzalez, and member Kurtis Wolford. Central Cal. President Jose Alvarez with Sierra Nevada members. Board of directors MuhammadAli, Billy Witt, and Juan Gonzalez. Central Cal President Jose Alvarez with Current Sierra Nevada President, Juan Gonzalez.
Welcome
New Members
Nick Reyes
Santa Rosa G & CC Class B
Mark Hodkin
Commercial Pump Class AF
Kannon Campbell
Duncan Golf Management Class C
BILLY HAUSCH
GRASS VALLEY, CA
831-333-6412
Billy@grassrootsturfsupply.com
SERVING: SACRAMENTO, RENO, LAKE TAHOE, CARSON CITY, MONO COUNTY AND GOLD COUNTRY
THOR LARSON
SALINAS, CA 831-277-4356
Thor@grassrootsturfsupply.com
SERVING: MONTEREY PENINSULA, SANTA CRUZ, SAN JOSE AND SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO
GAVIN DICKSON
MARINA, CA
831-333-6839
Gavin@grassrootsturfsupply.com
SERVING: SAN FRANCISCO, STOCKTON, CENTRAL VALLEY, BAKERSFIELD, SANTA BARBARA AND SLO
PETER J GALEA CGCS
FAIRFIELD, CA 831-234-3218
Peterjg@pacbell.net
SERVING: EAST BAY, WINE COUNTRY, NORTH COAST AND NORTHERN SIERRA
V ENDOR P ROFILE
A NTONIO R APPA – T RI M AX M OWERS
This month we sat down with Trimax mower sales rep, Antonio Rappa. If you have been at meetings over the last few years you have probably seen Antonio and his equipment displays. We were excited to get to know him a little bit better in this quarters Vendor Profile. 1. Name: Antonio Rappa
3. Do you have any mentors in your professional life? Yes both in and out of the turf industry. I've always learned to surround myself with people smarter or more successful then I am in any industry to be able to continue to learn on a day to day basis.
4. What was your first paying job? Caddie at Pebble Beach in my younger years being raised in Monterey County.
5. What kind of music do you like? Country, Rock, Oldies (Eagles, Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Rod Stewart Etc.), Hip-Hop/R&B
6. Do you like traveling? And what is your favorite place you have ever been? Traveling is one of my favorite hobbies; seeing the different culture's around the world is an eye opening experience that money cant buy. My Favorite place I have been to was a small town in Sicily called Taormina. Its a town built on a mountain with 1 road going all the way up with little shops and restaurants from the local community that looks over the ocean and its absolutely beautiful.
7. Do you like reading? If so, what is your favorite book? I enjoy reading when I can; I prefer Audio Books or Podcasts during the long travels for work. My favorite book I've read recently is "The Bitcoin Standard" that talks about the U.S monetary system. I also Flies" "The Great Gatsby" and true crime novels.
8. What's the most exciting part of your job? I really enjoy meeting new people everyday when I am out in the field and building relationships that are long lasting.
9. Where did you work before this position? Coastscape's LLC - My best friends dream was to start a landscape company so during covid we built Coastscapes. It's a company that does everything from brush cleanup to high end landscaping which now has a full time crew working on the Central Coast.
10. What is your most used productivity hack? Setting deadlines and prioritizing tasks.
11. What is your favorite animal? Siberian Tiger
12. What is your favorite food? My Grandmothers homemade Italian pasta/Pasta Sauce
13. What is your favorite movie? Goodfella’s
14. Do you have any hidden talents or hobbies? Love going to the Shooting Range, Paddleboarding & Wakeboarding
15. Do you have any pets? I did have a Boxer (Dog) who passed away recently - her name was Hannah and she was the smartest, most loving dog you could ask for.
16. Are you a sports fan? Yes - My teams are NFL: 49ers, NBA: Warriors, MLB: S.F Giants, NHL: Sharks
17. What is something you find challenging about the job? Traveling - Being on the road 3-4 days a week with a fiancé at home and kids coming soon is probably the hardest thing to deal with.
18. What’s one thing you’re really bad at? Dieting
19. What's one thing you're really good at? improvising in unexpected situations
20. What’s your favorite thing to do on the weekends? Taking my Fiancé on "Staycations" where we find a nice spot within a few hours from us, get a hotel and explore new cities.
21. What's your favorite holiday? Christmas - That’s the one holiday my entire family gets together to see each other.
22. Can you speak more than one language? Can understand Spanish but not fluent. My Fiancé is Czech so she is trying to teach me that language!
23. Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Married with 2-3 kids and more in a corporate management role with Trimax Mowers.
24. What three items would you take with you to a deserted island? A Paddleboard, Fishing Pole, Hunting Rifle.
25. What’s your idea of a perfect day? Waking up at our Lakehouse watching the sunrise with some coffee, disconnecting from my phone and enjoying natures silence. Having some fun on the lake wakeboarding, having a beer in the water listening to country music. Getting back to the house and BBQ'ing dinner for the family on the deck overlooking the lake to then catch the sunset.
C LIFF C ARPENTER , C ANYON O AKS GC
My experience and path are not the normal: graduate high school, go to college, and then work on a course. I actually hated working on the course the first summer I did it. It wasn’t the job, it was that I was very much NOT a morning person at the time. I was raised just North of Sac in rural Placer County, that eventually became Granite Bay. It was a great place to be a latchkey kid of the 80’s. My parents were divorced so I lived there with my mom and sister until my Junior year in high school. At that point my dad got remarried and he had to move with my new step-mom to an Air Force base in Mountain Home, Idaho. My mom decided to let me live with my dad to finish high school. It was the best and worst decision. It was the best because it was awesome to spend those few years around military families and farmers. It changed my perception of life as a California kid. It was the worst because of what happened later. Right after graduation, I took a job on the base. The Air Force ran month program where all the high schoolers in town would take jobs in various departments across the base. Road maintenance, hospitality, construction, and 2 jobs on the golf course. Pretty obvious which one I ended up at. It was an awesome summer job where I learned a lot, but the mornings really sucked. At the time, like many others I graduated with, the military was the likely future. I never officially signed up because I had requirements to meet first, but I was going to try out the Air Force. The summer after my Senior year my friends and I planned a trip. We were going to drive through CA and visit Six Flags before we all went our separate ways. This was the worst part I spoke of. During the drive down, we were in a car accident that left my right ankle destroyed. It was 8 hours in a repair surgery and another 9 months in casts and physical therapy before I could walk again. I was left with less than 30% rotation in my ankle. But, I was lucky enough to be able to walk again. Unfortunately, I had pretty much lost the ability to run, and therefore to join the Air Force. With my plans pretty much squashed, I decided the golf course wasn’t so bad and I went back to another summer of working on the base golf course.
Realizing there was no golf market where I was, and limited colleges, I returned to California and took a job working for Mike Kaveney at Sunset Whitney in Rocklin. Mike pretty much taught me how to operate anything with wheels. I quickly went from greenskeeper to spray tech, where I worked for 6 years. The last couple of years there, when I was in my mid 20’s, I finally decided to take the turf management career a little more seriously. I signed up for horticulture classes at Sierra College, which was recommended to me because the instructor was a local superintendent, Steve Fackler. I took a couple of his classes and very much enjoyed learning everything he taught. Feeling a little old to start a 4 year college degree, I took Steve’s advice to attend the Rutgers Turf Management school. At the time there was a wait to get in and 2 years later in 2006, I finally started the program. The year before attending, I had left Sunset Whitney and spent a year working at Auburn Valley Country Club under Bob Bruggeman, which ended up being a good choice. Bob treated me like an intern. he taught me more about the agronomy side of the job than I had yet to experience. After my first semester at Rutgers, we are required to do a summer internship at a course of choosing. I went wild with my choices and almost ended up at a resort course in Hawaii for 6 months, but an Islander applied last minute, and I missed out. My next choice was the right one and I signed up to work a grow-in on top of a mountain in Big Sky, MT at The Reserve at Moonlight. The clubhouse elevation was at 7500 feet. Learning how to establish and maintain turf at an altitude like that was definitely a learning experience. It was a long, hard summer but I enjoyed every minute of it. After finishing my second semester, I was open to going anywhere on the west coast for my first assistant superintendent job, and to my delight the best opportunity at the time was surprisingly near my hometown in Roseville, CA at Sierra View Country Club working for Kyle Dykstra.
I ended up staying a little longer than most assistants do, but when I started down a path in management, my biggest concern was actually being a manager. It was something I never thought myself capable of, and Kyle agreed to help me work my way towards that. I was probably ready before the 11 years, but it was a place I really enjoyed working so the time went by quickly. After my time there, I was finally interviewing for head superintendent jobs, when Steve Fackler reached out to me about coming to work for him to help with a potential major renovation at Serrano Country Club. I didn’t really want to take another assistant position, but a renovation of that size would be a unique opportunity. It didn’t end up happening until 2 years after I started, but I did stay through completion of a full bunker renovation, new irrigation system, and new practice facility. Right as that was finishing, I found a great opportunity for my first head superintendent job here at Canyon Oaks CC, in Chico, CA. -> continued on next page
SUPERINTENDENT P ROFILE C LIFF C ARPENTER C ONTINUED
A little bit on the personal side of life: A typical Saturday for me? If it’s a good weekend, I’m in the mountains with my boat, fishing for some monster trout or staying local and catching a movie at the theater. Afternoons in spring or summer are spent in my small backyard garden. The other activity that happens every weekend is a decent amount of time spent in my fish room, maintaining the 10 aquariums that I keep. I keep a very large 150-gallon aquarium in my living room, and during covid I started breeding my own fish and it kind of spiraled out of control. 1 tank turned into 2 tanks, then 5 tanks and somehow, I now have 12. I even have one in my office at the course! I really didn’t start with fish keeping. My first animal in my own house after my dog, was actually a snake. I had always wanted to keep a Brazilian Rainbow boa constrictor and finally ended up with one. Growing up, my dad always kept cichlid aquariums, and I always enjoyed them, but I preferred reptiles over fish. After getting my Boa, the store I bought food at was also a fish store. It took about 6 months of walking by fish tanks before the bug bit me and I started with a 50-gallon African cichlid aquarium. A year later I built a custom 150 gallon aquarium for my living room. Being completely honest, I got addicted to fishkeeping, partially due to being a superintendent. I found it fascinating that because of the knowledge base we have as Supers, maintaining water in fish tanks is incredibly similar. You have to keep a balance of tolerable nutrient levels that will in turn sustain the microbial life in the system that will keep the fish healthy and living their best life. Its not all that different from managing soils for healthy turf. But, this also didn’t stop me from keeping snakes as well. I only kept the one Boa, but my collection grew with my other favorite snake, the California king. I have 2 Kings. 1 true albino and one referred to as “High White.” All of this probably sounds like madness but, I have a pretty solid case of ADD and I realized over time that the more I occupied my time with hobbies, the less it bothered it me. It also keeps a busy life so that when I leave the stresses of managing turf, I have a way to unwind, and I keep my mind off the job went I am at home. All of it helps me keep my healthy work/life balance. The ADD is kind of the same reason I like being a superintendent so much. The job is different every day of the week.
I’m not one to give the best advice as most of my learning has come from not doing the right thing the first time, but the biggest thing that I feel has helped me is being dedicated to the job you’re working at the time. I don’t believe there is any downside to hard work. I have been very fortunate to find enjoyment in every job I’ve worked, and I don’t know if it’s my mentality towards the jobs or just being lucky. I like to think it’s a bit of both. Another promise I made to myself with this career, and life in general, is to never stop learning. I always believe that no matter how much I learn and know, how good things are going, I can always be better. I personally never want to reach a point where I say I know enough. “Complacency is the enemy of progress” is a solid quote to live by.
After my career as a Super is over, I honestly don’t know what I’ll do. I’m sure it will involve more fishing, but I also don’t envision myself ever not working. Even if I retire from this career, I’ll probably just end back on course mowing rough all day. I suppose that’s only if the robots haven’t replaced us all by then!!
