South Texas GCSA, Inc. Tee To Green March/April 2023

Member Spotlight

Mark Baughman - Superintendent @ Sharpstown Golf Course

Raised in central Illinois. Cornfields and soybean. We moved to central Illinois when my Dad got promoted to the corporate office of Illinois Farm Bureau. Prior to that we lived in northern Illinois, about an hour from Mississippi. My dad liked to fish, so we did a lot of that. When we moved to central Illinois, the fishing slowed down, so we took up golf. I played golf in high school, and became senior team captain after beating my best friend for that role. We both thought it would be cool to build golf courses; or so we thought! An opportunity came in 1982 when I had some friends from the landscape company I was working for move to Dallas to work at Las Colinas. It just so happened that they were going to build another golf course which was to be designed by Joe Finger with Byron Nelson as a consultant. I started working in irrigation on this project, cleaning ditches then moving up to laying pipe and so forth. I worked in golf construction for about 10 years for various contractors, completed projects in Texas, Kansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Georgia.

I met Monica, my wife, in San Antonio at Oak Hills CC where the company I was working for was doing a renovation for Jay Morrish. We traveled for a bit doing construction projects, then she had enough of the travel, though it was a fun experience. We ended up in Houston doing an irrigation installation at Champions Golf Club and had our daughter during that project. We traveled a bit for golf work after that, but it wasn’t the way we wanted to raise children. Another opportunity came about to work for AMC Industries in golf irrigation sales, so I started there in 1992 and left in 2015 when they sold to SiteOne. I then went to work for Ewing Irrigation in early 2016 through July of 2018. I started with PTP in August of 2018 in the irrigation sales and in March of 2020 was laid off due to Covid19 along with several others, so I went to work for GreenScape Methods until July of 2022.

A new opportunity came up at Sharpstown GC to be Superintendent. Mike Yarotsky said I ought to do it, it’s an easy job; well I knew it wasn’t that easy, but took it on in October of 2022. That is where I’m at and with a lot of help not only from Mike, but many others in Houston making my way as a superintendent.

I’m sure there are many people who say their chosen profession is the best, but not many compare to the golf industry. I have made tons of friends throughout the years. The people in this industry are some of the most helpful and genuine people I’ve ever met.

“

When Golf was Fun” is a collection of tales from what is known as the “beer and barbecue circuit” of golf tournaments. These tournaments held in small town all across the state of Texas were not only the beginning of the careers of many great golfers but also produced some local legends. It was a time when golf was still a game, not a big business. This collection of 38 stories will entertain and amaze as you read first-hand accounts of some of the greatest exploits in the history of golf. You will read about local golf pros who are unknown outside of their local country club and you will also read about legends like Ben Crenshaw, Bruce Lietzke, Charles Coody, Miller Barber, Ben Hogan and others. Texas has a very rich golf history and much of it is captured in “When Golf was Fun.” The late, great beer and barbecue circuit was a bygone era of Texas golf in which many Lone Star legends were born and raised but has since given way to the more civilized and organized golf industry we know today. Much like baseball’s barnstorming days, the barbecue circuit was a series of unaffiliated events that brought an extremely high level of golf and excitement to tiny towns like Center and Athens; Quanah and Pampa places you might otherwise never have known even existed.

a list of recommended books from our finest members...

The Ultimate Golf Industry Show Experience

by: Chris Teafatiller, Superintendent at Wildcat Golf Club

Howdy! As one recipient of the Marian Takushi Scholarship this past year I had the privilege of getting to attend the GIS in Orlando. This was my first time ever attending and I was excited to see a lot of the things I had heard about from other Superintendents and for the opportunity to meet other Superintendents from around the U.S. and, surprising me a little bit, around the world.

First let me say thank you. If it hadn’t been for this scholarship I wouldn’t have gone this year and I’m honestly not sure if I would have ever gone. As most of you know it’s not easy to break away from your course when you have projects, mother nature, tournaments, etc. to deal with and the multitude of personal/ family matters that require your attention. And while I think time away is important and necessary, it doesn’t make it any easier to step away for even a couple of days, especially when I am chauffer to two very busy daughters. But, I’m glad I did and here are a couple of things I took from the experience.

The Ultimate Golf Industry Show Experience

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First, take the time and plan accordingly. I went up on Monday evening and flew back Wednesday afternoon (remember what I said about it being difficult to break away for a couple of days?); not good planning on my part. I wrongfully assumed that the showroom floor would be open the whole time and thought I would have the whole afternoon on Tuesday after my four hour 8:00am seminar. BIG mistake on my part. Not only did I miss out on a whole list of interesting seminars later that afternoon, but I also missed the showroom floor completely because it didn’t open until 10:00am Wednesday and I had to head to the airport at 11. That is my biggest regret. I’ve heard a LOT about the showroom floor over the years and was probably looking forward to that the most. So plan to stay for as long as is right for you. Plan out what you want to see and what you want to do while you are there. Plan to enjoy as much time as possible talking to others in our field that have different experiences or different ways to deal with the same experiences. PLAN.

The second thing I took from the GIS was the overwhelming amount of knowledge and experience within a very small area. I don’t know how big the conference center is, but I can tell you there was more information about the growing and maintaining of turf, equipment and teams there than I could have imagined. I never really put much thought into who was going to be there and what I could learn from them. There were people there from all over the world who go through things on their courses that I never even thought about. The challenges they go through on a regular basis and the ways they come up with to combat them are astounding. We as superintendents are some of the most adaptable people I have ever come across. We are constantly dealing with pressure from Mother Nature, golfers, owners, greens committees and even our peers to do more, do it better and do it faster. And we seem to find ways to make it happen! Adapt. Improvise. Overcome. We have some of the most knowledgeable people in our industry who are a phone call, text message or social media post away (that last one is not my in wheel house, but needs to be something I use more often because it is such an easy way to make a connection).

I thought it would be more difficult to write a couple of paragraphs about my experiences, but as I look up I see I am already there. So, I will again say thank you for the opportunity and look forward to seeing y’all at next year’s GIS.

Chris Teafatiller, Superintendent at Wildcat Golf Club

South Texas GCSA giving back to the community

AHA MOMENT AT HEADQUARTERS

Field staff report by

Johnny Walker | Apr 20, 2023

We recently held the GCSAA Chapter Leaders symposium at GCSAA headquarters in Lawrence, Kan. Approximately 50 chapter leaders and executives attended this event from all over the country. The event was designed to inform the attendees of all the projects ongoing at headquarters and also supply them with resources that will help them manage their chapters better. Many of the department leaders presented what their team is currently working on and how it will affect or help our members. There were two different breakout sessions where attendees had time to interact with each other on issues that our membership deals with on a daily basis. About 30 percent of the attendees are first-timers for this event, and for many of them, it is their first time to GCSAA headquarters. These are the people that I like to be around because I love to see them have their “aha” moment. These first-timers to the building usually have no idea how large the building is or how many people work for GCSAA. For many years, there has been a building tour for attendees of events at headquarters, but this year it was done a little differently. The attendees were divided in half and the two groups went to different parts of the building to begin their tour. There are four different parts of the building to see the occupied spaces for GCSAA employees. When the group tours arrived at each of the areas, the department leaders and their entire staff was standing there to greet them. Not only did the touring groups get to see the different areas of the headquarters building, they also got meet each of the GCSAA employees that worked in that area and learn a little of what they do. I spoke to several firsttime attendees after the tour was completed and many of them said that this was the favorite part of their trip. I love to see their excitement when they realize how many people are working to better this profession and help them with their chapter management. I encourage everyone to take the opportunity to visit our headquarters when you have the chance and let me know how your “aha” went.