RGGCSA SuperNews Winter 2020

New Mexico latest state to publish BMP guidelines for golf courses The Rio Grande Golf Course Superintendents Association leads the development of statewide best management practices with grant from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America The work of the Rio Grande Golf Course Superintendents Association has resulted in the publication of “Best Management Practices” for New Mexico golf courses.

The New Mexico BMPs were developed in part by using the BMP Planning Guide and Template created by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) and funded and supported by the USGA. The BMPs provide guidance for New Mexico golf course maintenance professionals in 12 key areas including irrigation, water quality monitoring and management, nutrient management and pollinator protection.

The Rio Grande GCSA received $15,000 in BMP grants that GCSAA funded through the association’s Environmental Institute for Golf (EIFG) in part by the PGA Tour. The BMP grant program provides funding through the EIFG to chapters for developing new guides, updating existing guides or for verification programs. GCSAA’s goal is to have all 50 states offer established BMPs by the end of 2020. “(The BMPs) give us a leg to stand on,” said Roy Johnson, Rio Grande GCSA president and superintendent at San Juan Country Club in Farmington, N.M. “It shows we are responsible, we are protecting the environment and that we care for the environment.”

In addition to Johnson, others who served on the New Mexico BMP Steering Committee include Joseph Rodriguez III, director of golf course maintenance at Towa Golf Course in Santa Fe, N.M.; Brian Cloud, Cloud Golf and Turf Services in Fort Worth, Texas; John King, Winfield United in Los Lunas, N.M.; Karl Olson, CGCS, superintendent at New Mexico State University Golf Course in Las Cruces, N.M.; Matthew Urban, superintendent at Outlaw Club at Alto Lakes in Alto, N.M.; and Matthew Hughes, superintendent at Rockwind Community Links in Hobbs, N.M.