12 minute read
Recent Event
TTA 2024 Conference and Trade Show
The 58th Annual TTA Conference and Trade Show was held at the Embassy Suites in Murfreesboro, Tennessee on January 8 – 10, 2024. Members, sponsors, vendors and educators joined to learn, socialize, honor award winners and prepare for another successful year. Thank you to all who made the event a success!
Thank You to Our Industry Partners
Platinum Partners
Gold Partners
Silver Partners
Bronze Partners
Thank You to Our Vendors
Advanced Turf Solutions
AgChimp
Amway
AquaAid
BASF
Beard Equipment
Better Billy Bunkers
BuySod
BWI
Capillary Flow Control Solutions
Corbin Turf
Corteva
Crossroads Sod Farm
Dickens Turf
Envu
GCSAA
Geoponics
Golf Agronomics
Grassroots
Harrells
Heritage Professional Products
Hogan Company
Howard Fertilizer
Huntsville Tractor
Jackson Sand
JRM
Keeling
Kirkpatrick Turf
Ladd’s
Line to Line
McCurdy Sod Farm
Modern Turf
Nufarm
Performance Nutrition
ProSolutions
Ragan Technical Solutions
Regal Chemical
Sigma Organics
Simplot
SiteOne
Smith Turf & Irrigation
Sports Field Managers Association
STEC
Super Sod
Syngenta
T3 Weather
Tenbarge
The Andersons
TriTurf Sod Farm
Warner Athletic
A top-notch education lineupis a trademark of TTA conferences
Snapshots from the Trade Show Floor
The competition was steep at the TopGolf event
The 2024 TTA Awards Luncheon was held on Monday, January 8th from 12:00pm to 1:30pm. Dr. Brandon Horvath presented the awards to recipients. Congratulations to all of our honorees!
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Environmental Stewardship
GAYLORD SPRINGS GOLF LINKS, NASHVILLE
This year’s Environmental Stewardship award is presented to Gaylord Springs Golf Links located in Nashville, TN. Gaylord Springs has consistently demonstrated a commitment to environmental responsibility and stewardship through the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary for Golf Program. Over the past few years, they have created nearly 10 acres of native areas throughout the course. These “no mow” areas create additional habitat that serve as corridors for wildlife moving through the course. This also allows for less inputs that lessens their environmental footprint. Being a member of Monarchs in the Rough Program they have created several acres on the course that are designated just for this program. Each participating course helps more monarchs breed, grow, and make the journey to their overwintering grounds. In addition to providing habitat for monarchs, courses are also raising awareness of monarch conservation. Gaylord Springs is also a member of Syngenta’s Operation Pollinator. This program is set up to provide habitat along with nesting and food resources for bees, pollinators, beneficial insects, as well as for small mammals and birds, enhancing overall biodiversity. They have also worked to improve nesting locations for native bird species such as wood ducks and blue birds and even worked with Nashville Electric System to construct a power pole platform so that Osprey could build a nest after several failed attempts. The nesting pair now return every year to utilize the nest they helped to create.
Congratulations to this year’s Environmental Stewardship award winner, Gaylord Springs. The award was accepted by Chris Young.
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Private Course of the Year
THE HONORS COURSE, OOLTEWAH
This year’s Private Course of the year is The Honors Course, located in Ooltewah, TN.
Established in 1983, The Honors Course is a private golf club located just northeast of Chattanooga in Ooltewah, Tennessee. The club’s mission is focused on amateur golf, and it has hosted many amateur championships throughout its history. In 1980 renowned golf architect Pete Dye was given the opportunity to work with over 400 acres of virtually untouched land at the foot of White Oak Mountain. This natural landscape was devoid of the distractions of land development and commercialism that usually accompany such ventures. When Dye’s work was completed a couple of years later, his design was considered radical because of its acres of tall native-grass rough, unusual zoysia fairways and terrifying lighting fast greens. Today the Honors Course is considered one of the most wellpreserved examples of Pete Dye’s architecture. In keeping with its philosophy, the Club continues to host Amateur events such as the Southern Amateur this past year. The Club has also strived to maintain its focus on playability by recently upgrading the course with new turf varieties throughout. It is easy to see why Golf Digest has ranked the Course #1 every year in the state of Tennessee from 1987 until today and continues to rank it in the top 30 courses in the United States.
Congratulations to this year’s Private Course of the Year award recipient, The Honors Course. This award was accepted by Will Misenhimer.
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Public Course of the Year
SEVIERVILLE GOLF CLUB, SEVIERVILLE
This year’s Public Course of the year is the Sevierville Golf Club located in Sevierville, TN.
The Sevierville Golf Club is a 36-hole facility owned and managed by the City of Sevierville. The Club consists of two distinct courses. The Highlands Course, which features rolling hills and plenty of freshwater ponds; and the River Course that plays alongside the Little Pigeon River. The courses host dozens of tournaments throughout the year including collegiate tournaments, American Junior Golf Association tournaments and the TSSAA High School State Championship to name just a few. The size of the property along with hosting so many tournaments can be challenging, and the biggest challenge the properties face is flooding caused by the Little Pigeon River. Overall, the Sevierville Golf Club is a very busy place with beautiful mountain views that provide a great golfing experience for its patrons.
Congratulations to this year’s Public Course of the Year, The Sevierville Golf Club. This award was accepted by Cody Wallace.
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High School Field of the Year
SPRINGFIELD HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL FIELD, SPRINGFIELD
This year’s High School Field of the Year is Springfield High School football in Springfield, TN.
Founded in 1982 and located in Robertson County, Tennessee, Springfield High School is a public school that serves students from ninth through twelfth grade. As a public school they raise funds to manage and operate the athletic programs separate from any school funds. The football team is tasked with raising funds for not only equipment, uniforms and gear, but also for field maintenance. Head football coach Dustin Wilson oversees the practice football field and the game field at the stadium. The funds that are earmarked for field maintenance come from an annual golf scramble fundraiser. The coaching staff paints the field with the help of the players on Wednesday and Thursdays leading up to home games. The staff, players and parents always make adjustments to their personal schedules in order to get the field ready for game days. Year after year the coaches, players and parents have worked hard to create an amazing playing surface for the team.
Congratulations to this year’s High School field of the year, Springfield High School football field. This award was accepted by Dustin Wilson.
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Collegiate Field of the Year
PLAYER DEVELOPMENT COMPLEX, CHATTANOOGA
This year’s Collegiate Field of the Year is the Player Development Complex at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga.
First designed and built in 2009, the Player Development Complex was the joint home to the UTC golf teams and the First Tee of Chattanooga. In 2017 the complex became the sole home of the UTC golf programs. The 32-acre facility includes the team’s clubhouse, a vast practice range, multiple putting and short game areas, and even a few practice holes. Over the past few years, Chip Ward and his team have worked diligently to improve the playing conditions and enhance the facility. The putting surfaces have been enlarged to their original sizes with an emphasis placed back on playability. The main practice range has been vastly improved with multiple target greens and teeing area expansions on both ends of the range. An emphasis was also placed on branding the facility and making it a safe and inviting place for the golf team, which has resulted in everyone on the team now calling the Player Development Complex home. Colette Murray, the Women’s head golf coach at UTC said it best about the changes she has seen over the past few years, “Chip figures out a way to get it done and make it work, and I have never been more impressed by someone’s work than I am with his. He is truly a Godsend to UTC and its golf programs. We now have a facility where we can develop players, and we would not be able to do that without Chip.”
Congratulations to this year’s Collegiate Field of the Year, The Player Development Complex. This award was accepted by Chip Ward.
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Municipal Sports Field of the Year
JIM CARTWRIGHT FIELD, COLUMBIA
This year’s Municipal Sports Field of the Year is Jim Cartwright Field in Columbia, TN.
Sitting just outside the entrance to Maury County Park is Lindsey Nelson Stadium and Jim Cartwright field. The field is named for the longtime Central High School football coach who was instrumental in its construction, Jim Cartwright. The field is constructed of native soils and has a base surface of Tifway Bermuda overseeded with Rye for late season football and soccer. The field hosts a variety of sports throughout the year. It is also home to Central High School Football and Soccer, along with middle school football and soccer, band competitions, graduations, and other assorted functions.
Congratulations to this year’s Municipal Sports Field of the year, Jim Cartwright Field.
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Professional Field of the Year
FIRST HORIZON PARK, NASHVILLE
This year’s Professional Field of the Year is First Horizon Park in Nashville TN.
The field is the home to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds which first opened for play in April of 2015. The 10,000 seat stadium has a field with a base of latitude 36 bermudagrass.
Congratulations to this year’s Professional Field of the Year, First Horizon Park. This award was accepted by Thomas.
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Legacy Scholarship
PRESTON POOLER
The Legacy Scholarship offers financial aid to children or grandchildren of active TTA members in good standing. Scholarship applicants are not required to be pursuing education in a turfgrass related field to be eligible for the Scholarship.
This year’s Legacy scholarship is awarded to Preston Pooler, son of Jason Pooler, owner of Tri-Turf Sod Farms in Paris, TN.
Preston is currently a freshman at The University of Tennessee Martin enrolled in Ag Business. Preston recently graduated high school with distinction and completed an industry certification in OSHA-10 Agriculture. Growing up working in a family business, Preston worked to find avenues that would advance his knowledge of the turf industry. Preston also showed his leadership abilities working with the Boy Scouts of America and through his growth in the Future Farmers of America program. Preston served as a 3-year officer for the chapter and was the regional FFA officer as well as the State Officer candidate.
Congratulations to this year’s Legacy Scholarship recipient, Preston Pooler.
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Ernest Hardison Memorial Scholarship
RILEY WARD
The Ernest Hardison Memorial Scholarship offers financial aid to students pursuing a career in turfgrass management.
This year’s Ernest Hardison Memorial Scholarship is awarded to Riley Ward.
Riley spent two years at Columbia State Community College in the Plant and Soil Science program and was a member of the CSCC baseball team. He is currently enrolled at the University of TN at Martin pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture focusing on Golf Course and Landscape Management. Playing baseball in both high school and college is what piqued Riley’s interest in maintaining sports fields. Being a student athlete, he has always helped with the field prep before and after games and even had the opportunity to work the past two years at the TSSAA State baseball tournament. Riley worked with Bill Marbet at Gametime Sports Fields during his time at Columbia State and began interning at Greystone Golf Course last summer. He will be an intern with the Nashville Sounds this coming summer and is excited for his future in the sports turf industry.
Congratulations to this year’s Ernest Hardison Scholarship recipient, Riley Ward.
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Tom Samples Turfgrass Professional of the Year Award
BOB HOGAN
Check out the next issue of Tennessee Turfgrass for a Member Spotlight on Bob Hogan!
