FORE YOUR INFORMATION
March/April 2014
Sequoia Woods Country Club Paul Watts Superintendent
Sierra Nevada GCSA An Affiliate Chapter of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America
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May 19, 2014 Sequoia Woods C.C. Hosted by Paul Watts
June 20,2014 Bradshaw Ranch G.C.
FRONT COVER S e quo i a W o o ds C o untr y C l ub , the s i te o f o ur M a y 2 01 4 M e e ti ng . P a ul W a tts , ho s t s upe r i nte n de nt, ha s pl a nne d a g r e a t e v e nt f o r e v e r y o ne .
Hosted by Steven Legarra
M E E T I N G DA T E S
July 21, 2014 Annual Scholarship & Research Tournament Peach Tree Golf & C.C. Hosted by Tracy Shanahan
August 11, 2014 Tri Chapter Meeting Del Rio C.C. Hosted by Dave Bermudez
September 22, 2014 President’s Cup White Hawk Ranch G.C. Hosted by Craig Pearson
October Location to be confirmed
2014 BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT Jesse Seguin
Mike Scully Valley Crest/Modesto 209-578-9678
VICE PRESIDENT Rob Williams Stockton Golf & C.C. 209-462-6734
William Hamilton Lake Wildwood Association
SECRETARY/TREASURER
530-432-2187
Kurtis Wolford Cherry Island Golf Course 916-991-7659
Affiliate Representatives
PAST PRESIDENT
Jim Barbuto Ewing Irrigation 916-502-3287
Jeremy Payne Winchester C.C. 530-878-9099
DIRECTORS Dave Bermudez Del Rio Golf & Country Club 209-341-2413
Pete Bowman Jacobsen West 916- 531-7204
FORE YOUR INFORMATION Published by the Sierra Nevada Golf Course Superintendents Association
EDITOR Jeremy Payne Winchester C.C. OFFICE SNGCSA 5322 N. Leonard, Clovis, CA 93619 559-298-6262 Fax# 559-298-6957
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2014 G R A S S R O OT S A W A R D W I N N E R S
Pictured above, from the left, are the President’s Grass Roots Award winner Colby Gunsch, Affiliate Member of the Year award winner Pete Bowman, Jacobsen West, and Turf Grass Manager of the Year award winner Gary Williams, Cordova G.C. . Not Pictured is Jeremy Payne, 2014 Member of the Year.
The Presidents Grass Root Award - This is a selection that is made annually by the SNGCSA President. The individual is chosen based on their history not only with the association but with the industry. How they started and how they have pro-
gressed is the focus of this grass root award. This year the award was presented to Colby Gunsch at Tahoe Paradise Golf Course in South Lake Tahoe. Colby started on this course at the age of 13 and has worked there consistently ever since. He is now the acting
GM/Superintendent. He has remained a member of the SNGCSA and the GCSAA since he was 20. He has also served as a board of director for the association. Affiliate Merit Award Winner—This award is presented annually to the affiliate representative who has made contributions resulting in the betterment of the SNGCSA and its members The award went to Pete Bowman of Jacobsen West. Pete continues to serve the membership not only as a highly respected sales representative but mostly through is continued support as a board of director, tournament chairman, meeting chairman, newsletter contributor, and as a individual who loves this industry and all the people in it. Turf Grass Manager of the Year—This award is presented to a superintendent member who maintains his/her facility to a standard that reflects consistent, high quality playing conditions, while displaying exceptional agronomic and management skills. The resourcefulness of this individual is an important consideration in the selection criteria and may include factors such as budget, site restrictions, rounds of golf, and staff size. This year this award goes to Gary Williams, Superintendent at Cordova Golf Course. Gary maintains Cordova Golf Course with quality playing conditions while struggling with a minimal budget and minimal crew. He continues to demonstrate his resourcefulness to overcome these challenges and maintains good quality playing conditions for the public at his 18 hole daily fee facility. Distinguished Member of the Year award is presented annually to a superintendent who has made contributions for the betterment of the SNGCSA, its members, and the golf (Continued on page 5)
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2014 SCHOLARSHIP & RE4
course superintendent’s profession. Evaluation criteria for this award includes local or national committee participation, community service that represents the industry in a positive light, and local association participation. This year this award is being given to Jeremy Payne, Superintendent at Winchester Country Club. Jeremy is presently the past president of the SNGCSA. He served on the board from 2009 to 2014. He remains active on the State and National level for our chapter. He is presently co-chairing to lead the chapter forward in the Water Task Force Group. He has acted as the Association voice on many occasions and maintains a level of professionalism that contributes to the betterJeremy Payne 2014 ment of our association and our inMember of the Year dustry.
SEARCH
TOURNAMENT
This year’s tournament is scheduled to be held on July 21, at Peach Tree Golf & Country Club. We thank Tracy Shanahan, for hosting this year’s event We are gearing up for the annual tournament and auction and would like to acknowledge Syngenta and Joe Ballmer, who once again has sponsored the tee prizes. Over the next few weeks the SNGCSA Board of Directors will be contacting you to again ask for your support. As you know the money raised from this tournament goes to Scholarships, Legacy Awards, Turf Grass Research, Personal and Professional Development Programs for our members, and our Benevolent Fund. We have the Turf Grass Scholarships ready for those that may know of a student that would qualify for this and we have the Legacy Award applications ready for those members that have a college age child. You can call the association office 559-298-6262 to have Irene or Kim send one to you.
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2 0 14 L E A D E R S H I P S Y M P O S I U M BY ROB WILLIAMS
The 2014 Leadership Symposium, was held March 11-12, at GCSAA headquarters in Lawrence, Kan. Irene Cline and I represented Rob Williams the Sierra Nevada Chapter at the Leaders/Executives Symposium at GCSAA head quarters in Lawrence Kansas in March. The program provided an opportunity to strengthen the Sierra Nevada chapter’s leadership team, build on successes and learn new concepts and ideas to support chapter effectiveness. Rhett Evens, GCSAA’s Chief
Executive Officer, opened the symposium by highlighting the GCSAA initiatives while placing a strong focus on working closely together to further strengthen our own chapters. Rhett reported that the GCSAA can assist the membership at a National level, but it was vital that at the chapter level we all try to help our fellow Sierra Nevada members. The keynote speaker Mark Norman gave a two hour presentation on "Finding the Leader in You". Mark Norman, president and CEO of the Differential Group, discussed the importance of attitude, consistency, drive and focus. The presentation outlined the laws of leadership which include ownership, focusing on the important (not the urgent), and taking a path others can follow. We heard from Chava
McKeel, GCSAA associate director for government relations, she spoke to us on how important it is in having a ―Seat at the Table‖. Having a seat at the table does not solely mean in Washington, it also relates to our chapter and even local government agencies near your particular golf course. It may save you head and heart aches to be proactive with your local agencies or ask for help through GCSAA Southwest Field Representative Jeff Jensen and your Sierra Nevada Board of Directors. The objectives for the 2014 Chapter Leader/Executive Symposium included the following: Gain practical skills and knowledge to help you successfully lead your facility and your chapter Explore the challenges and
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LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE changes impacting today’s association operating environment Understand how to build a stronger chapter and maximize membership value by working effectively with your board, volunteers, staff and members Build an ongoing professional network of peers and share best practices and innovative ideas Hear updates and information regarding the Environmental Institute for Golf (EIFG) Discussion topics included: Communications for today and tomorrow with Adam Ikamas, CGCS,
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executive director, Michigan GCSA Chapter executive and leader breakout sessions GCSAA programs and services Chapter governance and operations
The symposium was very informative and Irene and I were able to bring back several ideas that will help strengthen the Sierra Nevada Chapter now and also moving forward into the future.
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Welcome New Members Mike Stieler, CGCS Class A Spring Creek C.C.
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FROM THE FIELD
JEFF JENSEN, GCSAA FIELD STAFF, SOUTHWEST REGION
Much of my last six months has been spent dealing with water issues Jeff Jensen that have become so prevalent throughout the Southwest United States. As you are well aware, California has been the hardest hit, experiencing its driest year on record since 1895. While the golf industry can’t control what Mother Nature throws or doesn’t throw at us, we do have the ability to better
our situation. Golf industry water conservation task forces have popped up throughout the state and work proactively with water agencies and municipalities to address restrictions, develop conservation plans and assist in building long-term water policies that are effective for the golf industry, water agencies and California communities. Task forces exist in the Coachella Valley, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego and San Luis Obispo and have accomplished some great things in a short amount of time. While these task forces, along with assistance from the CGCOA, GCSAA, SCGA and the
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USGA can provide much needed help to the industry, the bottom-line is that over 3,000 water agencies exist in California and restrictions/ policy varies from agency to agency. As former Speaker of the U.S. House Tip O'Neill once said, ―All politics is local‖, the same can be said for water policy. With that being said, the onus needs to go on golf facilities to be keenly aware of their current situation in regards to water. Below are some tips to assist your facility: Find out how your facility is classified by your water agency/municipality. Is the (Continued on page 9)
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facility classified as a commercial user? Is it lumped in with agriculture? Is there a golf course only classification? Courses have been reclassified without their knowledge. Check your respective classification for restrictive language or ordinances that may pertain to the golf industry. Set a meeting with your individual agency/municipality to proactively discuss any issues or concerns you may have about water allocations, conservation, pricing, restrictions, etc. With ongoing and proactive dialog, you can affect long-term strategies that can
only be achieved through deliberation and the freedom from crisis, giving you the ability to deal with current or future circumstances however and whenever they arise. Attend City Council and water agency meetings when time permits. If you can’t attend, read over the minutes posted to the respective websites. Search for any information that could have a negative effect on the golf industry and your facility. Strive to make your water management plan and conservation goals transparent. Create a culture of openness and free flowing information with
government regulators, employees, golfers, media and the general public. I hope you find the above information helpful and if I can be of any assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact me at jjensen@gcsaa.org and make sure to follow me on Twitter @GCSAA_SW.
The SNGCSA is now on Facebook and Twitter. Check it out!
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GOLF COURSE AT INCLINE VILLAGE IS R E C O G N I Z E D F O R E N V I R O N M E N TA L E X C E L L E N C E Incline Village, NV– The Golf Course at Incline Village has retained its designation as a ―Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary‖ through the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses, and Audubon International program. Participation is designed to help course personnel plan, organize, implement, and document a comprehensive environmental management program and receive recognition for their efforts. To reach certification, a course must demonstrate that they are maintaining a high degree of environmental quality in a number of areas including: Environmental Planning, Wildlife & Habitat Management, Outreach and Education, Chemical Use Reduction and Safety, Water conser-
vation, and Water Quality Management. This year the recertification process was coordinated by Shaun Riley, Superintendent of The Golf Course at Incline Village. The recertification required a visit by a local community representative, John Cobourn of University of Nevada Cooperative Extension. He was given a tour of the course and sent his observations to Audubon International. ―This golf Course provides very good wildlife habitats. There are many diverse natural areas,‖ said Coburn. ―The turf is managed well, so that overfertilizing and over-watering is avoided. ―We see the site visit as an important component of a course’s recertification,‖ stated Kariosic. ―It
Shaun Riley Superintendent
provides an objective verification of some of the more visible aspects o the course’s environmental management activities, In addition, it offers an opportunity for golf course representatives to share publicly some of the voluntary actions they have taken to protect and sustain the land, water, wildlife, and natural resources around them.‖
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MEETING HIGHLIGHTS Pictured below Jim Ferrin, Kewel Hansi, Mike Azevedo, and Peter Galea
FootGolf was introduced at Cherry Island in March. It was well received and hopefully we will try it again soon. At The Reserve at Spanos Park Jessie Creencia, Jasmine Schell, and Bob Miller. At right Doug Carlson, Dept of Water Resources, Host John Jorgensen, and Pete Bowman
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Rounds 4 Research Welcome to Rounds 4 Research, an innovative program aimed at generating resources to fund research and help ensure golf’s future. The premise is simple: Golf facilities can support the effort by donating rounds of golf for two or four or ―stay and play‖ packages and other items that will be auctioned off online on www.biddingforgood.com to generate funds for turfgrass research. Rounds 4 Research is administered by the Environmental Institute for Golf and presented in partnership with the Toro Co. The EIFG is the philanthropic organization of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.
Whether you are an organization looking to solicit rounds or a golfer looking for the opportunity to support research while enjoying the sport you love, Rounds 4 Research provides a way for all aspects of the game to come together to ensure its future. Since launching in July 2012, Rounds 4 Research has raised nearly $150,000 for turfgrass research. Keep checking with Rounds 4 Research for news and dates for our 2014 auctions. Be a part of of 2014 auctions, set for June 9-22 and Aug. 1-10, by donating a round or becoming a fundraising partner.
THANK YOU TO OUR ANNUAL SPONSORS