Tee Off News January/February 2016
Spring Association Meeting Hunter Ranch Golf Course Hosted by Jason Pautsch April 27, 2016
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President’s Message By Steven Showers I hope everyone had a great and safe holiday season and we can look ahead to a prosperous and productive 2016. I just returned to the course from the Golf Industry Show in San Diego and enjoyed the wonderful trade show and had an opportunity to see many of our members there. Steven Showers Irene, Kim and the state board of Airways Golf Course directors did a great job with the 2016 GCSACC President California room at the USS Midway, a great time was had by all. Thank you Irene, this was a very big event to pull off and I thought everything was perfect. In attendance for the event was GCSAA CEO Rhett Evans and some other staff from national, I was able to have a brief conversation with Rhett towards the end of the evening and was very appreciative of his time and genuine concern for our chapters’ success. Please remember that the folks from national are easily accessible and willing to answer any questions or concerns you may have. Our first line of contact is Jeff Jensen the Southwest regional representative, Jeff has attended many of our meeting and is always there for us when we need him. Thank you Jeff! At our January meeting, at Cypress Ridge, we hosted many of the students from Cal Poly and Cole Thompson gave us an update on the turf program. The golf course was in great shape and the meeting room and setting for the event was perfect, thank you Andy Cordova for hosting! Our March meeting has been moved to Wednesday, April 27th and is set for Hunter Ranch Golf Course. We
should have great weather and will have a fine educational lineup. I look forward to seeing a large turnout for this event. Please also note the schedule for our other upcoming events. On June 20th Glenn Matthews will host the Al Glaze Scholarship Tournament at Visalia Country Club. Be on the lookout for the scholarship applications that will soon be available. We have two categories for scholarship recipients, one for turf students and another legacy scholarship available to any member’s children. This year the GCSACC will host the Tri Chapter meeting August 15th at Corral De Tierra in Monterey. Please note these dates and try and make as many events as you can. I would like to again take a moment to recognize Tom Elliott, CGCS at Monarch Dunes Golf Course for being selected as the recipient of the 2015 Leo Feser Award from the GCSAA. Tom wrote a great article “Rx for Recovery” for the May issue of Golf Course Management magazine and received the award at the GIS. Also recognized at the GIS was Josh Heptig, Superintendent at the Country of San Luis Obispo Golf Courses, GCSAA/Golf Digest Environmental Leader in Golf Award – Chapter Winner for Public Facilities. Great job guys! As we move into our busy season here in Central California please remember to take time away from the course or your busy job and enjoy yourself and your families. Have a great spring and I look forward to seeing you at an upcoming meeting.
Official Publication of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of Central California. The purpose of this publication is information and education for the membership. Published bi-monthly by GCSACC, 5322 N. Leonard Clovis, CA 93619 Phone (559) 298-4853 Fax (559) 298-6957 Email gcsacc@aol.com Newsletter Chairman & Newsletter Editor Zachary Moran Executive Directors Irene Cline & Kimberly Milne
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Save The Dates Spring Symposium April 27, 2016 Hunter Ranch Golf Course Hosted by Jason Pautsch
Al Glaze Memorial Scholarship & Research Tournament June 20, 2016 Visalia Country Club Hosted by Glenn Matthews, CGCS
Annual Tri Chapter Event August 15, 2016 Sponsored by the Central California Chapter Corral Di Tierra Hosted by Doug Ayers, CGCS
Annual Election Meeting & Tournament September 2016 Location to be determined
Annual Holiday Party December 3, 2016 Windows on the Water Morro Bay 2017 Winter Symposium January 2017 Be the First to Step Up And lets get our calendar full
Turf Pro 2016 Professional Update Series Morro Bay Golf Course April 13, 2016 June 15, 2016 September 7, 2016 November 9, 2016 Copper River Country Club April 14, 2016 June 16, 2016 September 8, 2016 November 10, 2016 For Information Call 559-269-7342
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Around the Green by Mike Cline, Wilbur Ellis Co.
Mike Cline
Welcome to 2016 and the year that could get us out of the drought but probably won’t. To date, we have areas in our chapter that are running at 150% of normal due to El Nino and then in other areas we barely reach normal maybe a little below. Take heart
all members of the GCSACC, the weatherman tells us March will be well above normal so let’s hope. So far the weatherman has been pretty wrong. A high pressure ridge over the west has kept most of the storms well north of us. Can you hear everyone say “here we go again”. Here’s some news from around the chapter; Jesse Trejo is the new superintendent at “The Links at River Lakes Ranch.” Jesse started about a month ago after he transferred up from Southern California with the management company that runs the course. Horse Thief Golf and CC in Tehachapi had a fire in their cart barn/maintenance shop very re-
cently and lost almost all their equipment. Due to the fire, the owners of the club decided to sign a management agreement with Sierra Golf Management effective immediately. Jon Christensen says Sierra Golf will be able to bring in the equipment and infrastructure needed to keep the course running. BASF territory manager Fred Eckert has announced his retirement later this spring. Fred has been a longtime supporter of the GCSACC chapter, and the industry in general. BASF is interviewing replacements as we speak and hope to have someone on board before Fred’s departure.
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Equipment Wash Systems for Golf Courses By Zach Moran, Water Quality Consulting Group
Equipment washing on golf course properties has been going on since the beginning of golf; of course Old Tom Morris wasZachary Moran n’t washing off a Toro, Jacobsen or John Deere like we are now. With advances in technology come advances in environmental protection, which has lead us to new regulations and more importantly new enforcement of these regulations. The Michigan Turfgrass Environmental Stewardship Program (MTESP) published case studies and information on Equipment Washing on Golf Course Properties, they stated that “Equipment washing areas are now being closely scrutinized for their possible environmental impact. If you currently have a wash area that allows water to flow freely into a waterway, you are facing a potential problem. Washing oil, grease, solvents, fuels, grinding
S*E*E*D
compounds, detergents, pesticides or nutrients down the drain, into the ground or into a waterway is neither legal or environmentally responsible. Steps should be taken NOW to improve your situation!” There is a significant learning curve regarding the regulations for washing equipment and understanding that the EPA considers equipment wash water as an industrial waste. I encourage everyone to review the MTESP Initiative Program, there is a tremendous amount of beneficial information in regards to equipment washing. In general, golf courses have three treatment options for equipment wash water rinsate. One option is to obtain a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit for discharge to the nearest waterway. Obtaining an NPDES permit to discharge to a waterway is time consuming and expensive, and to design, construct, and monitor a treatment system designed to meet NPDES discharge limitations is extremely expensive. The second option is to install a closed-loop equipment wash system, which does not require an NPDES Permit because there is no discharge
C*O*M*P*A*N*Y
Jim Culley REGIONAL SALES MANAGER 9180 San Fernando Rd. P. O. Box 1579 Sun Valley, California 91353 Cell (213) 268-3193 Office (800) 621-0315 Fax (213) 626 4920 Email jim_c@stoverseed.com
www.stoverseed.com
from the equipment wash system to a local waterway. Closed-loop systems can have expensive operating costs (microbes and electricity), but are less expensive than treatment systems designed to meet NPDES discharge limitations. The third option is to install a treatment system designed to discharge the equipment wash water to the sanitary sewer system. The sewer districts have equipment wash system treatment specifications and permit requirements for discharging to the sanitary sewer. In general, less treatment of the equipment wash water is required for discharging to the sanitary sewer versus discharging to a waterway under a NPDES Permit. If a sewer connection is nearby the equipment wash area, this could be the least expensive option for equipment washing. In conclusion, equipment wash rinsate discharged to a waterway without being treated and without an NPDES Permit is considered an illicit discharge under the Clean Water Act, and the environmental regulatory community is looking for these types of violations while performing inspections of golf courses. You should evaluate your current equipment wash system and observe if you have any illicit discharges, if so, consider the options above as corrective actions. Being proactive regarding these regulations can save time and money.
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Newsletter Title
From the Field Jeff Jensen, GCSAA Field Staff, Southwest Region Thank you to all of our Central California members for your support of the Golf Industry Show in San Diego. We had an incredible Jeff Jensen week and GCSAA truly appreciates our California chapters for coming out in groves to support and assist the industry. GIS featured 12,600 attendees interacting with over 550 exhibitors on 250,000 square feet of exhibit space. In conjunction, the GCSAA Education Conference was attended by 5,240 seminar participants as well as hundreds who attended complimentary forums and sessions held throughout the week. Pete Grass, CGCS at Hilands Golf Club in Billings, Mont. was elected as GCSAA’s president with Bill Maynard and Darren Davis being
elected to serve the roles of vice president and secretary/treasurer. California will continue to be represented on the board as Kevin Breen, CGCS at La Rinconada Country Club in Los Gatos was re-elected to a twoyear term. Other elected directors included Rafael Barajas, CGCS and former superintendent at Hacienda Golf Club and John Walker. Full election results are available here. GCSAA delegates voted to revise Class A member standards. The vote also involved amendments to the bylaws, which included a new definition of Class A and renaming the Superintendent Member class to Class B. Full details of the changes are available by clicking here. In other news, I wanted to remind you of the upcoming deadline for the GCSAA Legacy Scholarships. The Environmental Institute for Golf and Syngenta fund the scholarships to provide assistance to the children and grandchildren of GCSAA members who have been active Class A, Super-
intendent Members, Class C, Class A-Retired, or Class AA members for five or more consecutive years. Honorees receive a $1,500 award. Applicants must be enrolled full-time at an accredited institution of higher learning, or for high school seniors, they must have been accepted at such an institution for the next academic year. Deadline for applications is April 15. More information is available by clicking here. Thank you for your continued support of GCSAA and if I can be of any assistance to you or your facility, please don’t hesitate to contact me at jjensen@gcsaa.org and please follow me on Twitter for daily industry updates @GCSAA_SW.
2015/2016 GCSACC BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT STEVEN SHOWERS AIRWAYS G. C. VICE PRESIDENT ANDY CORDOVA CYPRESS RIDGE G.C.
.JOSE ALVAREZ FORT WASHINGTON C.C.
PETE BOWMAN HELENA CHEMICAL
SECRETARY/TREASURER GLENN MATTHEWS, CGCS VISALIA COUNTRY CLUB
CRAIG JOHNSON BELMONT C.C.
PAUL BARR SAN LUIS OBISPO C.C..
PAST PRESIDENT TENNESSEE MCBROOM SANDPIPER GOLF CLUB /RANCHO SAN MARCOS GOLF CLUB
ALBERT NUNES MORRO BAY GOLF COURSE
ZACK MORAN WATER QUALITY CONSULTANTS
Volume 1, TEE-OFF N ews
Issue 1
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GCSAA List of Resources Scholarships for turfgrass students and researchers: GCSAA Student Essay Contest: Undergraduate and graduate students pursuing degrees in turfgrass science, agronomy or any other field related to golf course management. Annual deadline: March 31. GCSAA Scholars Competition: Undergraduates majoring in a field related to turfgrass management who are GCSAA members. Annual deadline: June 1. Dr. James Watson Fellowship Program: For master’s degree and doctoral candidates in fields related to golf course management. Annual deadline: Oct. 15. Valderrama Award: Awarded to citizens of Spain to study turfgrass management in the United States. The Royal Spanish Golf Federation Scholarship: Awarded to individuals from Spain who are pursuing turfgrass management degrees from Michigan State Uni-
BMP’s
versity. Scholarships for GCSAA members and their families: Par Aide’s Joseph S. Garske Collegiate Grant Program: For children of active GCSAA members. Annual deadline: March 15. GCSAA Legacy Award: For children and grandchildren of active GCSAA members. Annual deadline: April 15. Additional Scholarships: GCBAA Trans-Mississippi Golf Association
Research: Disease Management Turfgrass Management Insect Management UC Riverside Turfgrass and Landscape Research Field Day:
http://ucanr.edu/sites/turfgrassfiel dday/ Turf Programs (California) Cal Poly Pomona Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Government Affairs:
The Travis Society Continuing Education: Bayer Superintendent Grant Program Healthy Turf, Healthy Tomorrow Leadership: Chapter Leaders/Executive Symposium Melrose Leadership Program Environmental Resources: Golf Course Environmental Profiles
GCSAA Government Affairs California Alliance for Golf Southern California Golf Association Northern California Golf Association
All these are available on the Website CentralCaliforniaGCSA.com
Don’t forget to put this on your calendar. April 27, 2016 Spring Symposium featuring an excellent lineup of education. Jason Pautsch, Superintendent
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Government Relations Update-February 2016 by Jim Ferrin, CGCS What is our Government Relations doing for the golf Industry? California Alliance for Golf (CAG) and EKA In California we are now aligned with CAG and the legislative advocacy group EKA where we are represented by lobbyist Tony Rice (replacing Capital Partners). CAG is an organization made up of all the golf industry’s major organizations which include the California GCSA, Northern and Southern California Golf Associations, Northern and Southern California PGA, California Golf Course Owner’s Association, California Managers Association as well as the women’s Northern and Southern California Golf Associations and the Pacific
Women’s Golf Association. This organized coalition has enabled us to step up our influence with state wide as well as regional legislation that impacts the golf industry. Besides Tony Rice, Craig Kessler, GCSAA Field Representative Jeff Jensen have greatly assisted with our industry’s drought and water conservation efforts last year assisting in supporting and organizing water task forces throughout the state. A legislative day in Sacramento was very successful and informative to our law makers in regards to golf’s strong contribution to the statewide economy that they were unaware of. Two legislative days are planned this year, as well as some smaller attempts at gaining advocacy at the state capital. CAG is also continuing to organize
their efforts in developing a membership to further support legislative lobbying efforts for golf as well as developing a Golf Commission (like the existing Milk, Almond, and Walnut etc. Commissions), that have a voice in the legislative efforts in Sacramento. The Golf Commission, if it becomes a reality, (and it needs state legislative approval to do so) would become a separate organization from CAG because it can’t be associated with lobbying efforts. GCSAA Ambassadors The GCSAA continues its lobbying efforts nationally and state wide with its Ambassador program which assigns golf course superintendents to influential lawmakers in Washington as well as statewide (senate and
Golf Course Materials Topdressing Sand - Bunker Sand Decomposed Granite - Drain Rock 1/8” Minus Turf & Tee Bulk Humus Brush Removal Call for competitive rates
David Knott, Inc. (559) 449-8935 or (559) 760-5387
TEE-OFF News house). There has been a very good response by California golf course superintendents assisting in the efforts by Chava McKeel and the GCSAA Government Relations staff to bring golf’s legislative advocacy into the forefront. Regulatory Legislation We Are Watching Nationally we are still concerned with the impact of WOTUS and what that might mean for managing pesticide use near waters deemed “waters of the United States.” This recent law, driven by the Clean Water Act, has had efforts by the GCSAA to amend it in a manner where golf courses may become exempt again from its stifling legislation and annual permitting costs. However California may still go forward with its own statewide regulatory efforts if the national WOTUS
is amended. Stay tuned. El Nino so far has proved to be a reality and our 12 statewide reservoirs are filling and snow pack is up to 120%. Snow pack is a very important measure as we know that back in the late 1970’s (the 2nd worst recorded drought in California) that the drought ended due to beneficial rains and a snow pack of 150%, which ended up filling all the reservoirs. Since no new reservoirs have been constructed since the late 1970’s, despite California’s population almost doubling, 150% of snow pack should do the same in 2016. However with new regulations on a variety of water uses, including measuring groundwater, the governor and the California Water Board as well as a myriad of water agencies throughout the state will impart continued potable water use restrictions,
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which is a good thing until more infrastructures can be built including more plants generating re-claimed water for golf courses. There are some pending efforts right now that we are following to change pesticide applicator certifications in the state, more hoops to jump through. We are also mindful of ground root efforts to regulate nitrogen (deemed a pollutant). We are also focusing on the minimum wage and its potential impact on the golf industry.
Jim Ferrin, CGCS Co-Chair California GCSA Government Relations Secretary –Treasurer California GCSA Secretary- California Alliance for Golf
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2016 Winter Meeting Highlights The Winter Symposium held at Cypress Ridge in January was all about the Cal Poly Turf Program. We enjoyed a great talk from Cole Thompson, PhD , the professor at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. We had the opportunity to meet several students from the Turf Grass Program and enjoyed a great interaction with all of them. Pictured at right are all of our members that are Cal Poly Alumni and who attended the meeting along with the turf students and Cole Thompson. Below is Cole going over the plans the college has to expand the department and program
All of the students that attended were matched with a superintendent the day of the event to encourage conversation
Pictured at the bottom right is President Steve Showers presenting a plaque of appreciation to Tennessee McBroom as past president
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2016 GIS & California Room Highlights At left are Scott Furtak, Ewing, along with Jason Pautsch, and Warren Horowitz At right is Mary and Mike Harmon of Mr. & Mrs. Tom Elliott enjoy the California Room. At right Ken Mauser of Aquatrols works the Trade Show Floor The members of GCSAA that visited the California Room Below are Mr & Mrs. Mike Farmen
Above Randy Haines greets the Turf Star group
At left Joel Clay enjoys the evening on the USS Midway. Below are Kim Milne, Irene Cline, GCSAA CEO Rhett Evans, and GCSAA Field Rep Jeff Jenson