FORE YOUR INFORMATION M a y / Ju n e 2 0 1 9
2019 Scholarship & Research Tournament Hosted by Scott McCullough
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P R E S I D E N T ’ S M E S S AG E
Scott McCullough
Summer is back and all that hard work over the winter has hopefully paid off and makes you shine. With the US Open at Pebble Beach it brings excitement to the golf community and hopefully the golfers get out and play our courses. Next month on July 15th we will be hosting the Scholarship and Research Tournament at The Ridge Golf Course. Rafael Barajas, CGCS, President of the GCSAA will be bringing out the National Board and it will be great to have them part of our event.
BY
SCOTT MCCULLOUGH
Dave Bermudez has been working hard on the whole event and has done an excellent job putting together the famous auction. We’re still looking for donations so if any of the affiliates can help us out it would be appreciated. The deadline for scholarship applications is July 1st. This is the chance for anyone on the crew to take some turf classes and get help paying for it and if you have kids that will be attending college they can apply for the Legacy Awards. Lastly in July I will start to make calls to the golf course mechanics around the chapter to see what problems they’re dealing with, or if they have any good ideas for topics for the Turf Tech Seminar so that we have relevant topics for the event next January. If you don’t mind mentioning it to your mechanics to get them thinking about it that would be helpful. If any of you have ideas, please let myself or any of the board members know. I hope everyone has a great summer and I look forward to seeing everyone at the next event.
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS Bob Franco Lone Tree Golf Course & Event Center Class A Jason Conrad Winchester Country Club Class A Pat Finlen, CGCS Winchester Country Club GM Morgan Spraul Butte Creek Country Club Class B Patrick Lewis Sierra Star Golf Course Class A
2018 SNGCSA BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT Scott McCullough The Ridge Golf Course VICE PRESIDENT Sam Samuelson, CGCS Wildhawk Golf Course
Dave Bermudez Del Rio Golf & Country Club
SECRETARY/TREASURER John Farley Teal Bend Golf Course
Jason Wolf Lincoln Hills G.C.
DIRECTORS Tracy Shanahan Peach Tree C.C.
PAST PRESIDENT William Hamilton CGCS Lake Wildwood Association
Keith Hill, CGCS Hidden Valley C.C.
Affiliate Representatives Rodney Muller Akoni Ganir Sierra Pacific Turf Simplot Partners
Mark Callahan Plumas Pines G.C.
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July 15, 2019
December 5, 2019
Scholarship & Research Tournament
Annual Holiday Event Teal Bend Golf Course
M E E T I N G DA T E S
The Ridge Golf Course Hosted by Scott McCullough
August 5, 2019 Tri Chapter Event Brookside Country Club Hosted by Central California Superintendent Steve Showers
September 30, 2019 President’s Cup Tournament Montreux Golf Club Hosted by Doug Heinrichs, CGCS
November 4, 2019 Annual Election Meeting Cameron Park C.C. Hosted by Jeremy Payne
Hosted by John Farley
2020 January 7, 2020 Turf Tech Workshop The Ridge G.C.
January 25-30, 2020 Golf Industry Show ORLANDO 2020 CONNECT. DISCOVER. ELEVATE CALIFORNIA ROOM JANUARY 29,2019 Visit our On Line Industry Calendar for all event https://californiagcsa.org/?page_id=3712
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MEMBER PROFILE : S COTT MCC ULLOUG H SUPERINTENDENT AT THE RIDGE GOLF CLUB BY
Our very own Chapter President, Scott McCullough, Superintendent at The Ridge Golf Course, will host The Scholarship and Research tournament in July. Scott has been the superintendent at The Ridge Golf Course since 2008. Scott, at an early age, realized he loved being outdoors and the traditional desk job wasn’t going to be his first choice. His very first golf course job was at Indian Creek in Loomis, CA. This is where his love for golf maintenance evolved. He stayed at Indian Creek for three years before moving onto Twelve Bridges Golf Club, and finally The Ridge Golf Club in 2001. Scott worked as one of the crew members while attending Sierra College working towards an AS degree in Environmental Horticulture and achieving a Turf Certificate from Rutgers. During this time, he continued to work his way up through the ranks at The Ridge and became the Assistant Superintendent from 2005-2008 until being promoted to the Superinten-
JASON WOLF
dent position in May 2008. At The Ridge he wears many hats in addition to being Superintendent. He also oversees building maintenance, maintenance of the golf cart fleet, and is head of security. Some fun facts about The Ridge Golf Course: The Ridge Golf Course was a host course to the LPGA in 2004 -2005. The course is a tough play so play it as it lies and stay below the hole. Your putt usually breaks towards highway 49. The course has 48 bunkers on a 170-acre site to enhance the demands of the rugged layout. The Ridge Golf Course is located in the golden foothills of California just a short drive from Sacramento in Auburn, CA. Designer Robert Trent Jones Jr. is known the world over for creating golf holes that take full advantage of their sites while preserving the natural
beauty of the land. At The Ridge, you’ll find a series of oak-studded knolls and hills with lots of rock outcroppings and splendid views. There’s a 100-foot elevation change on the course. You really get to experience the natural world of the foothills. Scott and his wife, Jennifer, met at The Ridge Golf Course. They have been married for seven years. Together they have a five-year-old son named Hudson, who loves going to the course, putting, and seeing the geese. In addition, Scott has 3 stepchildren, Zach twenty-one, Nick nineteen, and Bailey seventeen. Scott is looking forward to hosting the July tournament.
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MEMBERS
O N T H E M OV E BY RODNEY MULLER
Saddle Creek Golf Resort has welcomed Justin Becker as the Golf Course Superintendent. Justin comes to us from Kissing Tree Golf Club in Texas… Kurtis Wolford has left Cherry Island Golf Course and is now Superintendent at Woodbridge Golf and Country Club… Taking over for Kurtis at Cherry Island Golf Course is Craig Strong. Craig was formerly the Assistant Superintendent at Valley Hi Country Club… Stacy Baker is the new Superintendent at Table Mountain Golf Club in Oroville… Peter Makela is the new Superintendent at River-
view Golf & Country Club in Redding… There is an interim superintendent position which opened at Wildhorse Golf Course in Davis and Jose Gill will be leading the way there for a while. Pat Finlen has been named the new General Manager at Winchester Country Club in Meadow Vista. Pat was formerly the General Manager and Director of Golf at The Olympic Club and past president of the GCSAA.
2019 Scholarship & Research Tournament The excitement is climbing. Auction items are increasing daily for the Research and Scholarship Tournament. This year’s tournament is scheduled for July 15th at The Ridge Golf Course. We thank Scott McCullough, our host superintendent for offering us his fine facility for this special event. Special THANKS to Syngenta and Joe Ballmer for sponsoring the tee prizes. We would like to thank all of the golf industry suppliers who have already stepped up with donations and sponsorships. Superintendents, we also want to thank you for continuing to support this event. We are still accepting and asking for donations for this year’s event. As always the money raised from this tournament goes to Scholarships, Turfgrass Research, Personal and Professional Development Program, and our Benevolence Fund. Lets make this year another successful event. You can call either David Bermudez, Kurtis Wolford or you can also call the association office.
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F ROM T HE F IELD BY
JEFF JENSEN GCSAA FIELD STAFF Diego in
I hope this finds all of you having a great summer and enjoying a little time away from the course with family and friends. GCSAA recently announced that Phoenix, Ariz. will Jeff Jensen play host to the 2024 Golf Industry Show. The choice of Phoenix is a result of an updated GIS strategy that will rotate the Show between Orlando, a non-coastal more central location, and San Diego. This decision came from GIS member surveys that clearly indicated that members want to have GIS in a non-coastal city once every three years. With the expansion of the Phoenix Convention Center, over 3,000 downtown hotel rooms and 180 restaurants, Phoenix provides not only a great location for GIS, but a great location for the GCSAA Golf Championships. Easy access, great entertainment, some of the country’s best winter weather and great golf make this an exciting destination. he next GIS will take place Jan. 25-30, 2020, in Orlando. Upcoming shows include Las Vegas in 2021, San
2022 and Orlando in 2023. For assistant superintendent members, GCSAA launched the remaining two certificates in the Assistant Superintendent Certificate Series (ASCS). Principles of Leadership and Communications and Principles of Environmental Sustainability join Principles of Agronomy and Principles of Golf Course Business to now complete the ASCS. Sponsored by Koch Turf and Ornamental, the certificates are online, open-book exams and cost $60 for GCSAA members which includes a study guide. 45 assistants completed a certificate in the first quarter of 2019. For more information or to register for an exam, visit https://www.gcsaa.org/ education/certifications-exams/assistantsuperintendent-certificate-series. Lastly, I have had numerous superintendents reach out as of late looking for ways to obtain additional education points as they close in on the expiration of their five-year Class A renewal cycle. While your chapter education and GIS serve as the primary source for points, don’t forget about GCSAA approved external education programs (https://www.gcsaa.org/education/extern al-education) as well as GCSAA webi-
nars. The webinars are a great way to pick up points (ranging from .1 to .2 depending on length) from your office or home and all webinars are free of charge to GCSAA members. Live webinars are available monthly as well as over 100 webinars that are available On Demand. For a list of titles, visit https://www.gcsaa.org/education/mylearning-hub. Thank you for your support and if I can be of any assistance please email me at jjensen@gcsaa.org and don’t forget to visit my regional webpage at https://www.gcsaa.org/resources/region al-resources/southwest for industry updates and a regional calendar of events.
The SNGCSA is now on Facebook and Twitter. Check it out!
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2019 Member of the Year Award Winners
William Hamilton, CGCS was selected as the Distinguished Member of the Year. This award was presented to Bill for his contributions for the betterment of the SNGCSA, its members, and the golf course superintendent’s profession.
Pictured above, from right is Jim Ferrin, CGCS. Jim was nominated as the Turf Gras Manager of the Year for his skills in maintaining his facility to a standard that reflects consistent, high quality playing conditions, and for displaying exceptional agronomic and management skills. Pictured center is Scott McCullough, President of the SNGCSA. At left is Ryan Nichols, NuFarm, who was nominated as the Affiliate Member of the Year for his contributions which resulted in the betterment of the SNGCSA and its members. Pictured at right is Steve Fackler, CGCS who was chosen as the Turf Grass Manager of the Year. This award was presented to Steve for the excellent way in which he maintains his facility to a standard that reflects consistent, high quality playing conditions, while displaying exceptional agronomic and management skills.
FORE YOUR INFORMATION Published by the Sierra Nevada Golf Course Superintendents Association EDITOR Bill Hamilton, CGCS OFFICE SNGCSA 3273 Richert Ave., Clovis, CA 93619 559-298-6262 Fax# 559-298-6957 sngcsaa@aol.com
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TRI CHAPTER MEETING & CALIFORNIA BMP R O L L - O U T B R O O K S I D E C O U N T RY C L U B At this year’s Tri Chapter Meeting that will be held at Brookside Country Club in Stockton on August 5, 2019, we will be ROLLING-OUT the California BMPs “Best Management Practices are a guide for environmental sustainability”. The California GCSA Chapter in conjunction with all six of the local California Chapters have been working on a BMP tool for almost two years. The planning and development have been going on for more like five years. The California BMP committee and our consultants recently completed the online tool and GCSAA staff will be on hand to help you learn how to launch your courses BMP at this event. We are asking that everyone who would like to get started or find out how to get started attend this event. As
stated GCSAA will have staff on site to help you do that. The need for state-level BMP programs and, ultimately, golf facilitywritten BMP plans for nutrient, drought, and water management and integrated pest management (IPM) is greater than ever. Our California golf courses, many of which are located in urban environments under the watchful eye of concerned citizens and are facing heightened scrutiny from the public, media and environmental activist special-interest groups regarding the use of inputs, that is, water, pesticides, etc., and commonly held misconceptions about golf course management. It is critical that the golf industry demonstrate sustainable methods of land management. The California GCSA’s BMP Template will make it easier for you to
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follow the key steps in developing a golf course management BMP program for your individual courses. We are requesting that if you would like to get started you should be prepared by bringing a lap top or media source that you can use and be prepared to start the set up of your own BMP program plan. There will be experts available to help you with questions from every aspect of this process. Be sure to attend the event and even if you choose not to participate that day you will have the tools and resource information provided to you to do so later. After our educational meeting we will hold the Tri Chapter Competition on the beautiful Brookside C.C. course. Registration information will be sent out shortly.
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Whitehawk Golf Club Highlights 2019 GrassRoots Tournament Pictured below is Scott McCullough presenting Jim Ferrin, CGCS with his award as the Turf Grass Manager of the Year.
Pictured above is Sam Samuelson, CGCS, host & founder of the GrassRoots Event
Pictured above is Jim Ferrin, CGCS with his daughter enjoying the tournament.
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