01 09-10 Sept/Oct 2010 Sierra Nevada GCSA Newsletter

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FORE YOUR INFORMATION A N N UA L E L E C T I O N M E E T I N G 2010

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

President’s Message

2

Meeting Schedule

3

Wilber’s News

4

Government Relations

6

Accounts Receivable Policy Update

10

Raley Field Highlights

11

It is election time again. This year we will hold the Annual Election Meeting on November 1, 2010 at Cameron Park C.C. Jessie Creencia, CGCS has been a long time supporter of the SNGCSA and continues to be active on our various committees.

Individuals seeking election this year are Jim Alwine who is running for President of the Sierra Nevada GCSA. He has served on the chapter’s Board of Directors for the past 4 years.

He is also a Director on the California GCSA and

Dates to Remember November 1, 2010 Annual Election Meeting Cameron Park C.C. Host Superintendent Jessie Creencia, CGCS

Sierra Nevada GCSA An Affiliate Chapter of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America

this year’s Co-Chairman of the Government Relations Committee. He graduated from Purdue University, worked as an assistant at Woodbridge Golf & C.C. and Catta Verdera C.C. He has been Superintendent at Stockton Golf & C.C. since 2005.

Next, we have Jeff Couwenhoven running for Vice President of the Sierra Nevada GCSA. He has served on the BOD for the last 3 years, most recently as Secretary/Treasurer. Jeff graduated from California State University, Fresno

and went on to work as an assistant at Copper River C.C., Tracy Golf and C.C., and Woodcreek G. C. He’s been with Valley Crest for over 7 years and now is the Superintendent of Woodcreek G.C. Jeff has been instrumental in his management of finances for the Sierra Nevada composing Standard Operating Procedures for all financial transactions within the Chapter.

Jeremy Payne is running for Secretary/ Treasurer of the Sierra Nevada GCSA. He has (Continued on page 5)

PRESIDENT’S CUP RESULTS For anyone who missed it, September 23 was an absolutely beautiful day in Truckee, CA. Director of Agronomy, Mike Cornette and Jason DeHerrera, Superintendent welcomed the members of the Sierra Nevada GCSA to the wonderful course they call home, The Golf Club Gray’s Crossing. This was the first trip to Gray’s Cross-

ing for SNGCSA and definitely will not be the last after a crowd pleasing experience.

The day started with a short frost delay providing a little more warm-up time on the range and putting green. Two members, especially made the most of this practice to prepare for victory in the annual President’s Cup Tournament.

Terry Smith, from Eagle Valley Golf Course, played very well and scored a 78 to win the coveted President’s Cup. He was thrilled to receive the trophy, “You mean I get my name on that? That’s awesome.” He also scored a round of four at Grizzly Ranch G.C. during the 50/50drawing. All in all, a (Continued on page 8)

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Fore Your Information EDITOR Jim Alwine Stockton Golf & Country Club 209-462-6734

OFFICE SNGCSA 5322 N. Leonard Clovis, CA 93619 559-298-6262 Fax# 559-298-6957 sngcsaa@aol.com PRESIDENT Scott Dickson Saddle Creek Resort 209-785-3701

VICE PRESIDENT Jim Alwine Stockton Golf & Country Club 209-462-6734

SECRETARY/TREASURER Jeff Couwenhoven Woodcreek Golf Course 916-771-7370

PAST PRESIDENT Frank Putnam Mace Meadows Golf & C.C. 209-295-7773

DIRECTORS Scott Koski Incline Village Championship Course 775-832-1309 Jeremy Payne Winchester C.C. 916-817-8106 Colby Gunsch Tahoe Paradise Golf Course 530-577-0547 Phil Brown Spring Creek C.C. 209-599-3747

Affiliate Representatives Justin Fowler CPS 916-606-5553 Dave Wilber Sierra Pacific Turf Supply 916-630-7600

FORE YOUR INFORMATION Published by the Sierra Nevada Golf Course Superintendents Association

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

SCOTT DICKSON

I am writing year. my final President's And a huge round of applause to everyone message from vacation who attended a meeting this year. If you didn't in Vermont. The only get a chance to attend any this year, I hope you reason that it's even will consider this coming year. We'd really getting done, late too, like to see you. is because Irene had to Finally I'd like to thank myself, withScott Dickson call and remind me. out whom I would not have been president. It's This is not the first time during my presidency been a fun and interesting ride. that Irene has had to kick me in the butt.

Fortunately, I'm not the only one either, HELENA CHEMICAL COMPANY and I'm pretty sure every president and di3155 Southgate Lane Chico, Ca 95928 rector that's served on the board has felt Bus: (530) 342-4786 Irene's boot from time to time. Thanks (800) 554-5703 Irene for keeping me and the rest of us in Fax: (530) 343-9047 line. We couldn't do it without you.

Thanks to Bob Higgins my general manager at Saddle Creek for allowing me the time to attend all the monthly meetings E-mail: smithp@helenachemical.com V.M.: (800) 543-0630 and board meetings. However, he will not Paul K. Smith Box#2417 allow me to attend the election meeting at Sales Representative Mob: (530) 864-6443 Cameron Park. Something about me aerifyPest Control Advisor Western Specialty Division ing greens that day. Can't quite understand that.

Thanks to Pat Smyth, my assistant, who's holding down the fort while I'm off on vacation or attending meetings, or doing god knows what else. To not have to worry about the golf course is priceless.

800 MOSSDALE RD, LATHROP, CA. Thanks to Jim Alwine my VP 209 234-1500 www.brownsandinc.com of ,"if Irene doesn't kick you in the ass hard enough, I will". Jim ensured that I stayed focused and kept the BOD moving forward. The Sierra Nevada will be very fortunate to have this bright and energetic man as its president in the coming year.

Thanks to Jeff Copenhagen, Jeremy Pain, Colby Gunk, Dave Wilbur, Jeremy Fowler, Phil Brown, and Scott Costi.

Seriously, I can't count the number of times their names were butchered in either a PRODUCTSSERVICES AVAILABLEUSGA Top Dressing Sand Deliveries by MAGNUM TRUCKmeeting, newsletter, or correspondence. I ING INC. personally only screwed up once or fifty Greens Top Dressing Sand Blend Materials to Customers Specifications times. Really, many thanks to Jeff CouBunker Sand wenhoven, Jeremy Payne, Colby Gunsch, Profile / Sand Blends Dave Wilber, Justin Fowler, Phil Brown, 0-0-50 / Kiln Dried Sand blends Kiln Dried USGA Sand - 3000lbs Super Sacks and Scott Koski for making my life as Dakota Peat Sand Blends President a whole lot easier.

Peat Inc Sand Blends Pea Gravel Thanks to all our affiliate members Top Soil who continue to sponsor and give monies to make our association activities successFOR ALL YOUR MATERIAL NEEDS PLEASE CALL OUR OFFICE OR ful ones. Thanks to all the supes who REGGIE POMICPIC – Director of Sales and Market hosted meetings this year and plan to next

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MEETING SCHEDULE November 1, 2010

January 2011

SNGCSA Annual Election Meeting Cameron Park C.C. Host Superintendent Jessie Creencia, CGCS

Happy New Year!

February 7 — 11, 2011 GCSAA Annual Conference and

November 7, 8, & 9, 2010 California GCSA Annual Conference Pacific Palms Resort Industry Hills, CA

March 2011 December 14, 2010 Annual Holiday Event Rancho Murieta Country Club Host Superintendent Rich Scholes

Annual Grass Roots Tournament Location to be confirmed

April 2011 Location to be Confirmed

If you are interested in hosting a meeting email Jeremy Payne at jspturf@hotmail.com Or Dave Wilber at davewilber@yahoo.com

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W I L B E R ' S S I E R R A N E VA DA N E W S

By Dave Wilber Fall has fallen on us with 100 degree temps.

Payment, certainly, for a mild summer.

Moody Ayeb takes over at Dave Wilber Mather Golf Club.

Mather is managed

by CourseCo and Moody has been working for them most recently as the Asst. Super at The Metropolitan Golf Links in Oakland.

Jeremy Payne is now the Super at Winchester C.C. in Meadow Vista and will be part of the Valley Crest management effort there. Jeremy is leaving Empire Ranch GC in Folsom where he was Commander in Chief.

Tracey Shanahan at Darkhorse G. C. reports trials in conjunction with UC Riverside are going well. Look for the SNGCSA to have a Research Meeting there as part of our 2011 program line up.

Did you know Tracey’s brother Don Shanahan is the Assistant at Darkhorse? Don is one of our newest members. Welcome! What happens when they disagree? Brotherly love, I’m sure.

Our President's Cup meeting at Gray’s Crossing in Truckee was a great success. Special thanks to Dir. of Agronomy Mike Cornette and his number 1 at Gray’s Jason DeHererra and the rest of the Tahoe Mountain Club staff for a wonderful day. Especially true since it was 28 degrees at 7AM the day of our event.

Our association meetings are always great events and we invite you to help us keep them this way by remembering that we are first and foremost a golf industry professional organization. Let’s all of us remember we represent our Association and our Employers and conduct ourselves in a manner befitting that responsibility. Be it how we make and keep our meeting reservations, observe golf rules and etiquette, attend educational meeting sessions, moderate our consumptions or assure we pay our meeting fees on time, it’s up to each of us to do it right. That’s not a hard thing to do and will pay off to all of us as our group is welcomed to any facility.

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served on the BOD for the last 2 years and served as Chairman of the Education Committee and is currently Chairman of the Golf Committee.

Jeremy graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and proceeded to work as a Jeremy Payne NCGA Intern at the Meadow Club. He was assistant at Sharon Heights G.C. and Sierra View C.C. before taking the Superintendent position at Empire Ranch G.C. He is now in his first month of employment with Valley Crest G.C. Maintenance as Superintendent of Winchester CC. Frank Putnam, Superintendent at Mace Meadows G.C. is running for a 2 year position as a Director of the Board. He served the Frank Putnam board since 2005 and as President of the Sierra Nevada GCSA in 2008 and 2009.

David Bermudez is running for a 2 year position as a Director of the Board. David has been the superintendent at Del Rio Golf and Country Club for the last two and a David Bermudez half years. Prior to Del Rio he was the superintendent at Mountain Gate Country Club for twenty-two years. David also was the regional superintendent for American Golf “Country Clubs�. He graduated from Horry Georgetown Technical

College with a degree in agronomy.

Jesse Seguin is running for a 2 year position as a Director of the Board.

Jessie has been the Superintendent at Lincoln Hills Golf Club for 4 years, and the Western Regional Superintendent for Billy Casper Golf for Jesse Sequin about 6 months.

He worked as an Assistant in Northern Michigan and Chicago after college. He decided to move out West and now reside in Lincoln , CA. He grew up in Northern Michigan and attended Michigan State University in the Crop and Soil Science Program.

He had stops in Berkeley, San Luis Obispo, Pasadena, Long Beach, Fountain Valley, Lodi, Merced, and Patterson, CA. During this time as a superintendent he served on the SNGCSA Board and was President in 1995; he also served as the Affiliate Director from 1999 to 2002.

Justin Fowler, CPS, has served as the affiliate representative since 2008. He is seeking re-election to the position as he has enjoyed participating in the Board process and Justin Fowler would like to continue in the position.

For the affiliate position we have two very strong individuals running.

Pete Bowman, Target Specialty Products has been a member of the association since 1990. Pete was previously with UAP from 2006 2008 and Sierra Pacific Turf Supply 1997 - 2006.

Prior to his switch to the affiliate side of the industry Pete worked as a Golf Course Superintendent from 1986 to 1997. He was certified in 1993. Pete worked at eight golf courses during his career as a superintendent.

Jim Alwine

All of these individuals have stepped up to support the members of the SNGCSA. Please show your support and cast your ballots.

Jeff Couwenhoven

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G OV E R N M E N TA L R E L AT I O N S C O M M I T T E E October 5, 2010 by Jim Ferrin, CGCS On Goings issues: The Department of Justice has ruled on and approved the American with Disabilities Act as it relates to the recommendations that have been under consideration in the “Recreational Guidelines for Golf Courses� in making both public and private (if they host public events) accessible to the disabled.

The law will be implemented in the spring of 2011 giving golf courses a time to become compliant. The ADA is a complaint driven law and numerous advocacy groups for the disabled have done very well financially in filing and winning judgment lawsuits against small businesses that were not

compliant with the ADA. Of another important note no ruling was made for the need to supply single rider golf cars to disabled golfers.

This may come later.

The EPA has settled the Golby 11 lawsuit with the Center for Biological Diversity and pesticide restrictions have been implemented in the counties surrounding San Francisco Bay. Use restrictions have been placed on 75 active ingredients for their potential effects to 1 or more of 11 federally listed endangered species in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma counties. No-use buffer zones are in effect adjacent

to certain habitat based on the geography, the species at risk and the pesticide being used. The restrictions will remain in place while EPA is reviewing these pesticides.

The settlement of this lawsuit may open the door for more litigation in areas around California that may also have habitat that other listed endangered species populate. Stay tuned.

Two important chemicals are no longer available as tools for golf course superintendents. PCNB and MSMA can no longer be sold to professional golf course and landscape managers. In the case of PCNB there were impurities found in the product that could have had (Continued on page 7)

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YOUR EXCLUSIVE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA DEALERS Bob Francischine 209-747-2206 Bob Slater 530-219-4135

Thor Larson 831-277-4356 Mike Farmen 559-709-6295

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G OV E R N M E N T R E L AT I O N S toxicological significance and thus the US EPA removed the product from distribution. We may however see this product next season for snow mold protection. In the case of MSMA it looks as if we have permanently lost an important pesticide that was used as a post control product for crabgrass and Dalis grass (amongst other summer grassy weeds).

We Need Your Help!!!!

In a recent decision from the U.S. Supreme Court declining to hear the case, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court, overturning a 2006 EPA Aquatic Pesticide final rule, declared that pesticide applications were now considered a point of source discharge of pollutants, which takes away the exception of pesticide ap-

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plications from the Clean Water Act and NPDES permitting requirements per the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) This potentially can change the way pesticides will be regulated in the future and the manner in which superintendents will be apply to apply them. Going forward superintendent’s and other pesticide applicators will be required to obtain Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits for pesticide applications if your golf course sits near a body of water- natural or man made.

The GCSAA has been actively involved in fighting this ruling and they are asking for our assistance in doing so by reaching out to members who might lobby their legislators to amend legislation in accordance with

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FIFRA (see GCSAA On-Line) by not requiring Clean Water Act permits for pesticide applications if done in accordance with the FIFRA. The GCSAA is pushing for passage of amending legislation in S.3735 and H.R. 6087. Action alerts can be found at gcsaa.org/ advocacy/take_action.aspx.

The GCSAA is also advocating that we find out locally with what is happening in California and NPDES, which your Governmental Relations Committee has made comments on.

Other states are already in the process of developing draft permits. We should know more by December.

Please contact Chava McKeel at cmmckeel@gcsaa.org to assist.

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PRESIDENT’S CUP pretty good day for Terry. Congratulations.

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Below is Taylor Hubbard on #12 GHIN’s

Taylor Hubbard began his round on the 12th hole with a well struck tee shot that rolled down the fairway into perfect position. He would go on to capture his 3rd Affiliate Trophy in 4 years with a final score of 80. The Affiliate Trophy vacationed away from Taylor’s mantle last year which saw Jim Barbuto win the prize at Coyote Moon. As you can see, Chapter President Scott Dickson is just as excited as Taylor.

were recorded and proved to be important, at least to the two Low Net winners. Lou Silvera, Superintendent of Castle Wood Country Club fired an 86 for a net 71.

Bob Miller of Andersons Golf Products finished with a net 69 to take

the top spot on the affiliate side. If you don’t already have one, work towards getting your official handicap for the next tournament.

As usual, our affiliate members generously offered their support in sponsoring the many prizes for the tournament. Precision Labrotories donated the prize money to our top players which went towards gift certificates at the Gray’s Crossing Pro Shop.

(Continued on page 9)

Christensen Turf Products Tel: (775) 4502761

Bruce Christensen

2754 Kayne Ave. Minden NV 89423

Fax (775-267-9382 Email: becgolf@earthlink.net

Verti Drain Service

Chr istens en T ur f Pr oducts

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PRESIDENT’S CUP There were also 6 contests on the course. Sponsors included Pete Bowman of Target Specialty Products, Jim Duhig of Arrowgolf Construction, David Piper of Simplot Partners, Joe Kurung, West Coast Sand and Gravel, Larry Blackledge of Quali Pro, Manny Pina of Ewing.

Closest to the pin was won by Brandon Carter, John Renslow, Sean Kelly, and Colby Gunsch.

Don Radford and Tracy Shanahan won the accuracy drive and long drive respectively.

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Above are Scott Dickson and Michael Cornette handling the registration. Below is Lou Silviera hiding from the camera

Thank You to All Our Sponsors

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2 0 10 A C C O U N T S R E C E I VA B L E P O L I C Y

By Jeff Couwenhoven As a courtesy, the Board of directors would like to remind the membership of the new rules that are effectively in place with regards to payments to the Sierra Nevada GCSA. The highlights of the policy are as follows:

appropriate membership class.

Invoices for dues shall be sent annually as of October 1st. All dues are due upon receipt of invoice.

Members who fail to pay their dues

by December 31st shall have a $25.00 additional penalty applied to the amount due. If dues remain unpaid

by January 30th the member will be notified by the Secretary of their membership termination with a letter stating the reason for termination.

Termination of membership will be effective 30 days after the notification has been sent. Dues for new members joining after March 30 of any year shall be pro-rated in the second year to one-half of the annual dues for the

Payment for all Association meetings and events are due in to the office by the reservation deadline posted. Any confirmed meeting fees unpaid on the day of the meeting will be invoiced to the member at the meeting. After 30 days of the meeting a second invoice will be sent with 11/2 % interest per month.

The first invoice will be sent out upon completion of service. After 30 days or the first of the month (which is closer) a second invoice will be sent with 1-1/2 % interest per month plus a penalty if applicable.

Any member attending a meeting with a guest is responsible for the payment of the guests’ participation in the event the guest does not fulfill their obligation to the association.

If you reserve a spot for a guest,

and they do not show up, you will be billed for your guest. You must cancel 72 hours in advance (3 business days) prior to the meeting.

Following ninety days of the invoice date, if the invoice remains unpaid the board will motion to suspend the meeting privileges of the member.

If the suspension is held until the membership renewal cycle, the member will need to pay all debts as well as reinstate the membership with a twenty five dollar reinstatement fee in addition to the dues.

It is important to remember that as a professional organization, we owe it to ourselves to be just that‌ Professionals. We should be able to hold ourselves to the same standards we would hold businesses and members at our courses to in our organization. It has been a pleasure to serve as your secretary treasurer this year.

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O U R D AY

AT

RALEY FIELD At left Scott Dickson prepares for his first semi pro debut. Below, even Irene got into the game

Our hosts Chris Raulston along with Chris Martin of the RiverCats Maintenance Div.

Above Jeff Couwenhoven throws a few. Everyone who attended had the opportunity to take batting practice.

LOTS OF FUN!

5322 N. Leonard Ave. Clovis, CA 93619

Register Now California State Meeting Water, Turf & Management November 7,8,9, 2010 Pacific Palms Hotel www.pacificpalmsresort.com Industry Hills, CA Register online at Californiagcsa.org