MayJune 2020 Fore Your Informaiton

FORE YOUR I N F O R MA T I O N Ma y Ju n e 2020

Del Rio Country Club Tri Chapter Meeting August 22, 2020

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P R E S I D E N T ’ S M E S S AG E

BY

SCOTT MCCULLOUGH

We jumped right into the golf season following the month of shutdowns from Covid-19.

While being closed for nearly a month was not great finically for business, one thing that has come out of the Covid as a positive is the revitalized interest in golf.

Golf rounds are up, and I have seen a lot of new golfers to the game.

While our association has not been having monthly meetScott McCullough ings, the board has been working setting up future meetings and working with our affiliates to promote educational opportunities. The board has leaned on the side of caution in holding events. We did not want the general public to get the wrong idea if we were the first to have a golf meeting while others have not. Our first meeting will be the Tri-chapter event on August 24th. We have pushed the Scholarship and Research Tournament to this fall as well as the Grass Roots event when we give out annual awards.

Irene has been working on outstanding AR the association has. We understand that many of clubs have not regained ground finically and may not be able to pay for outstanding AR, but if you let Irene know this we can note it or we can set up payment plans. Starting thiin September membership renewal’s will be going out. We have our new Facility membership that will include 4 memberships and can possibly save the club money on your memberships.

Lastly I hope everyone has a excellent golf season and I look forward to seeing everyone at the future meetings.

2020 SNGCSA BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT

Scott McCullough The Ridge Golf Course VICE PRESIDENT Sam Samuelson, CGCS Wildhawk Golf Course

SECRETARY/TREASURER PAST PRESIDENT John Farley William Hamilton CGCS Teal Bend Golf Course Lake Wildwood Association DIRECTORS Dave Bermudez Jason Wolf Tracy Shanahan Keith Hill, CGCS Michael Cunniff Del Rio Golf & Country Club Lincoln Hills G.C. Peach Tree C.C. Hidden Valley C.C. Clear Creek GC Affiliate Representatives Rodney Muller Sierra Pacific Turf Mark Stutsman Simplot Partners Association Managers Irene Cline and Kimberly Milne 3273 Richert Ave. Clovis, CA 559-298-6262

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2020

M E E T I N G DATES

August 24, 2020 Tri Chapter Event Hosted by the SNGCSA Del Rio Country Club Hosted by Dave Bermudez

September 21, 2020 President’s Cup Tournament Grizzly Ranch Golf Course Hosted by Mike Baty

November 5, 2020 Annual Scholarship & Research Tournament Spring Creek C.C. Annual Association Meeting Hosted by Mike Stieler

December 3, 2020 Annual Holiday Tournament & Dinner Teal Bend Golf Course Hosted by John Farley

2021 January 5, 2021 Turf Tech Workshop The Ridge G.C.

Visit our On Line Industry Calendar for all event

https://californiagcsa.org/?page_id=3712

Visit us on line at SierraNevadaGCSA.com The SNGCSA is now on Facebook and Twitter.

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MEMBER HIGHLIGHT

JEFF JENSEN,

G C S A A F i e l d S ta f f, S o u t h w e s t R e g i o n

By Scott McCullough

This month we’re doing our spotlight on Jeff Jensen who is our Southwest Field Representative for the Golf Course Superintendent Association of America. Jeff’s area covers Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Nevada.

Jeff got his start in the industry in 1994 working for Golf Enterprises (owned by former PGA Tour player Jim Colbert) at the Las Vegas Municipal Golf club while he attended college at UNLV. Golf Enterprises was taken over by American Golf and he worked in a variety of positions from maintenance, golf shop operations, and lastly Assistant General Manager. Jeff ended up moving to Memphis Tennessee to work for KSL Fairways at Memphis Oaks Golf Club. He spent two years working for that club before returning to Henderson Nevada where he worked at Black Mountain Golf & Country Club.

Next, he worked for OB Sports and managed Angel Park & Legacy Golf Clubs before he left the golf industry. He went to work a Marketing firm specialized in branding, advertising, and government relations. He remained in that position for 6 yrs., Jeff really enjoyed working for the Marking firm but ended up making a change back to golf and began working for the GCSAA starting in 2012. Jeff has been blessed to work for several great people and mentors over the years which helped guide his career.

Jeff’s career highlight so far has been representing GCSAA’s over 19,000 members. Prior to that he had the opportunity to handle the marketing duties for

UNLV Basketball and then University of Oklahoma Head Basketball Coach Lon Kruger from 2006-2011.

To have insight into the program and that time he spent there he will always cherish. It was a great time in his life.

We asked Jeff what he does not like about his job and he said the extensive travel can wear on him both mentally and physically. Airplanes, long drives & hotel rooms are not all they are cracked up to be. Since Jeff has been able to remain in the golf business he has been able to maintain an index of 4.4. Jeffs extensive travel hasn’t allowed for him to have a family of his own but he has a loyal 10 year old Jack Russell Terrier that keeps him busy when he is at home.

Lastly Jeff says working for the GCSAA has been a great experience covering the Southwest Region and learning about the agronomics and challenges in a diverse array of settings has been enlightening. Golf Course Superintendents have a great ability to adapt to any situation and solve problems. Since Jeff has worked in the marketing world, he says it’s remarkable how similar a good superintendent and good artist/graphic artist are. They both identify problems and opportunities and tackle them to turn out a masterpiece. The creativity and outside the box thinking from both professions is remarkably similar.

We “THANK” Jeff for the great job he is doing for all of us in this industry. He is a resource that has made all of us better at our jobs.

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LAS VEGAS UPDATE The world is a much different place than when we gathered in Orlando in January for the 2020 Golf Industry Show. It seems much longer ago than just five months. And as many of you have had to adjust or adapt your business operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so has GCSAA. Each summer, we begin revving up planning for the next conference and trade show. 2021 is no exception to that, but as we look toward Las Vegas, it is with a much different lens than in other years.

Our usual work of coordinating the gold standard education, networking opportunities and industry innovations you have come to expect continues, but we are also driven by the key question in the face of an uncertain world: Can we produce a quality experience that meets the safety recommendations for COVID-19?

To help us prepare, we are developing five scenarios and mapping out what every activity would look like in each scenario. The five scenarios are based on potential pandemic threat levels.

1. Scenario One (low threat): Business as usual.

2. Scenario Two (minimal threat): Live event in Las Vegas with social distancing and large-gathering re-

strictions in place.

3. Scenario Three (moderate threat): Hybrid with a live event in Las Vegas and virtual event options.

4. Scenario Four (substantial threat): An all virtual event.

5. Scenario Five (significant threat): Event postponed or cancelled.

We were very fortunate that the 2020 GIS had already taken place before the virus took hold in most of the country. Many similar gatherings were postponed or cancelled this year, and we have been able to watch and learn from others.

Las Vegas We are equally fortunate that Las Vegas, a city so dependent on tourism, is at the forefront of making sure visitors are safe. The city reopened its casinos on June 4, and the brand-new Las Vegas Convention Center, hotels and all venues are consulting with public health experts to redefine cleaning, safety and sanitation standards. The Global Risk Advisory Council’s STAR is the cleaning industry’s only outbreak prevention, response and recovery accreditation for facilities. The LVCC is one of the first convention centers to pursue this certification and should be accredited by the end of August.

The NFL’s 2021 Pro Bowl recently announced it plans to hold the event in Las Vegas on Jan. 31, and the Consumer Electronics Show, the largest tech industry event in the world, has announced it will go forward with its 2021 convention January 6-9 at the new LVCC. We too are currently moving ahead with hosting our event in Las Vegas.

Timeline In addition to keeping an eye on the latest data and the status of other events, we also want to know what your level of comfort is in attending a live event. In mid-August, we will be conducting a survey of members to gauge your sentiment on traveling and any other factors that could affect your attendance. In October, we will have a follow up survey in case circumstances have changed. Using this information and guidance from health and venue officials, we will decide on the best scenario for all involved in October, with registration opening in November.

With so much uncertainty in the world, it is difficult to know where we will be at the start of 2021. However, I am certain that GCSAA is putting your safety and comfort first when it comes to planning the conference and show. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.

Rhett Evans,GCSAA CEO

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F RO M T HE F IE L D Jeff Jensen, GCSAA Field Staff, Southwest Region I hope this finds everyone back at the course and prepping for a busy summer of play. With restrictions loosening up around California, we should see golfers flocking to local courses for some safe outdoor activity.

GCSAA recently launched a webpage containing reopening resources for golf facilities who were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Back2Golf Jeff Jensen was specifically designed for courses to work with counties, cities and state governments to open golf courses where closed as well as provide a roadmap to getting golfers back on the course in a safe and efficient manner.

Partnering with allied golf organizations through the We Are Golf Coalition, the documents include an industry wide guideline developed off the plan of the White House and CDC “Guidelines for Opening Up America Again” including a specific, three-phased approach to golf that aligns with the broader plan to reopen the economy as well as a playbook for operations that provides guidance to the nations nearly 15,000 golf courses. The operations playbook covers clubhouse operations, cart operations, practice facility set-up, staffing, signage, payment/cash handling, pool, tennis, and basic guidelines for on-course play.

Additionally, GCSAA prepared its own guidelines focused on the maintenance side of the operation which includes BMPs for on-course setup, sanitizing of vehicles and equipment and safety protocols and social distancing requirements for the workplace.

The remaining GCSAA Back2Golf materials include temperature screening logs, potential exposure questionnaire, employee infection actions flowchart, maintaining a healthy work environment checklist, acknowledgment of preventative measures checklist, termination letter, signage templates and a return to work letter. The templates are Word documents that can be modified for individual facilities.

The GCSAA Back2Work webpage can be viewed at https://www.gcsaa.org/resources/back2golf-resources and links to additional materials from the CMAA, NGCOA and PGA of America are available at the bottom of the webpage.

Check back regularly as the documents will continue to be updated as the situation evolves.

I hope you and your family are safe during this crisis and make sure to take some time away from your facilities this summer to recover from both the physical and mental grind that this situation has caused.

If you have any questions or need assistance, don’t hesitate to contact me at jjensen@gcsaa.org and make sure to follow me on Twitter @GCSAA_SW for industry updates.

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R O UN D S 4 R E SE ARC H A U C TIO N J U LY 20-26.

Rounds can be donated online at https://www.eifg.org/research/rounds-4research/donate-a-round/online-form and facilities can determine blackout dates, days of the week, times and any restrictions that the host club feels appropriate. Donations can be made in twosomes or foursomes and 80% of the funds raised from the donated round goes back to the donating facilities home GCSAA chapter. Clubs can create their own certificate or GCSAA will create one for them if requested. The approximate time to complete the donation form is 10 minutes.

The auction site is Biddingforgood.com and can be accessed at https://www.biddingforgood.com/auction/auctionhome.action?vhost=rounds4research. Rounds currently donated can be viewed by state. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me and Mischia Wright and her staff are available for assistance in soliciting rounds. Please contact her at mwright@gcsaa.org. You can also contact the association office for assistance 559-298-6262. sngcsaa@aol.com.

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Consider th e Rul e o f Three to Res tore B a l a n c e t o Y o u r A q u at i c E c o s y s t e m Written by Erin Stewart, Aquatic Biologist & Regional Manager and Katelyn Behounek, Aquatic Biologist When developing a management plan for a golf course lake or pond, it is important to keep its purpose and priorities in mind. Is it strictly aesthetic? Maybe it facilitates irrigation, fire suppression, or stormwater collection? An effective freshwater management program can be compared to the importance of each leg on a “three-legged stool.’ Just like the legs supporting the stool, many water resources are interdependent, meaning that the actions taken in the watershed could cause imbalances that have negative consequences downstream.

Think of each “leg” of this metaphorical stool as representative of the (1) physical, (2) chemical, and (3) biological components of a freshwater resource. If one part of this trinity breaks down, the others will follow.

The first leg of the stool—the physical characteristics of a lake or pond—includes features such as size, depth, volume, bottom substrate, water source and exchange through the system. These are major components that can affect how a lake or pond responds to environmental conditions. For instance, shallow ponds with excessive build up of bottom muck and sediment, or those with limited water movement, will be more likely to experience algae and weed growth than a large, deep lake or one with lots of movement.

The chemical characteristics, the second leg of the stool, refer to natural water quality components that can be measured, such as temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, nutrients, water clarity, dissolved metals, salts and many other parameters. Poor water quality in lakes and ponds often occurs when these parameters become imbalanced in one direction or another. This is often caused by polluted runoff entering the waterbody that contains fertilizer, pet or wildlife waste, landscaping debris (grass clipping and leaves) and other organic materials. This process of nutrient “pollution” is one of the most common causes of chemical imbalance in a freshwater ecosystem.

The third biological component of the stool comprises all living things, including algae, plants, bugs, fish and microorganisms. Nutrient pollution is an example of how one component can directly affect another; nutrients encourage

algae and aquatic plant growth.

While moderate levels of growth are natural and provide habitat and food for fish and wildlife, algae and aquatic weed growth can proliferate under imbalanced conditions. Without proper management, nuisance algae and vegetation can block sunlight and compromise aesthetics. As these increased populations of plants and algae decay as part of their natural lifecycle, they will release more nutrients into the waterbody to fuel additional growth, creating a vicious cycle. In the process, the risk of offensive odors, accumulation of bottom muck and nuisance insect populations can all increase—further offsetting the balance of the waterbody’s physical, chemical and biological characteristics.

Having knowledge about the benefits of proactive management, and sustainable tools and technologies at our fingertips, adds a fourth, stabilizing “leg” to the “threelegged stool.” With a proactive management in place— even if one of the other components is slightly out of balance—the stool may wobble but will not fall over. In other words, problems that might normally be detrimental for a lake or pond can be identified and resolved early on, before they can impact other aspects of the ecosystem.

A proactive approach is most effective when it accounts for all elements of an ecosystem. Vegetative buffer management, shoreline stabilization, aeration, regular stormwater inspections, and even sediment removal are all proactive ways to support the physical leg of the stool. It is important to bring in a professional to educate you about the best proactive approaches for your waterbody and help design a custom management plan before problems get out of hand. Just like a master carpenter would use his knowledge and expertise to build you the best seat, a certified and trained lake management professional will take each “leg” of the aquatic resource into account to achieve your unique goals and objectives.

Erin Stewart and Katelyn Behounek are Aquatic Biologists with SOLitude Lake Management, a nationwide environmental firm that provides sustainable lake, stormwater pond, wetland and fisheries management solutions. Learn more about this topic at www.solitudelakemanagement.com/knowledge.

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2020 CHAPTER

TRI TOURNAMENT 2020 has been a very unusual year to say the least. As we try to get back to golf we are restructuring our meeting dates and working very hard to get these back on the calendar with our members courses while working with their every changing calendars as well.

Fortunately as of this time our Tri Chapter meeting scheduled for Del Rio Country Club has not been changed or rescheduled. We are still on the books for August 24, 2020 and we are really looking forward to this event. The Sierra Nevada GCSA will be hosting the Central California GCSA and the Northern California GCSA for a day of golf and education. We will have the opportunity to few all the work that host Dave Bermudez and his crew have been doing for the last couple of years.

For a brief preview of some of the work click on the link below for a quick tour. https://youtu.be/yROwmurmFiY You should enjoy this and we know you are going to enjoy the day. So look for the registration information coming soon.

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We are developing new ways to support our vendors and our superintendent members. You probably have seen recently that we are sending out educational opportunities to the membership. These events are being put on by our vendors that are stepping up to provide educational opportunities for the industry during this time of limited social gatherings. These WebXevents and on line courses offer a great deal of information not to mention needed CEU’s for those who need to get these hours.

We want to help and we want to provide our services to help the vendors get this information to all of our members. We will help promote the event and will apply for GCSAA PDI points and CEU’s if the event qualifies. We will partner with you to get these events filled. All you have to do is send the information to the Association office or call Irene or Kim. In addition we are also working on a Preferred

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Partner Program that is being redesigned to help our vendors promote products and services to the Sierra Nevada Superintendent members as well as providing some flexibility and convenience in budgeting for you.

We appreciate and understand that our Preferred Partners are essential to the financial stability of our association and the success of our programs is of the greatest importance. We hope that you will take the time to review this information when it is presented in the next few weeks. We look forward to having the conversations of what you need and how we can work together to make the changes that will be necessary in our new “norm”.

We would also like any member who would like to write an article to do so. We will work with you on this and will get it in our publication. These articles can include anything of interest to our membership.

We want to hear from you!

Contact the Association office 559-298-6262 Email sngcsaa@aol.com Be sure to check out the web site SierraNevadaGCSA.com

Connecting Sustainability & Sport

GINA RIZZI President, Radius Sports Group, LLC. A Subsidiary of ARCUS Marketing Group, LLC. D. (248) 609-9241 C. (312) 848-9584

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QUICK ACCESS FOR COVI D - 19 PAND EM I C R ESO URC ES FOR FULL LIST GO TO THE GCSAA WEB SITE GCSAA WEBINARS

T H ES E RES O URC ES ARE SP EC IF IC T O G O LF AN D BUS I NESS OP ER AT I ON S T O AS S IST YO U IN T H IS CH AL L EN G I NG T I ME. PL US, KE EP UP WIT H G CS AA' S L AT E ST UP D AT E S CO NC ER N IN G T H E P AN D EM IC.

G C S A A RE S O U R CE S REGULARLY UPDATED GCSAA Disaster Relief Fund Daily Update By State

COVID-19 and Turf Care Center Activities Gary Bogdanski

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Advocacy Resources and Updates GCSAA COVID-19 Updates gcsaa.org Ongoing Coronavirus News GCMOnline Team Communication Tools GUIDELINES, EXAMPLES AND TALKING POINTS Minimum Maintenance Handout

GCSAA in partnership with the USGA GCSAA COVID-19 Guidelines Handout LINKS TO GCSAA TOWN HALL BRIEFINGS April 27: Watch Recording April 20: Watch Recording April 13: Watch recording April 6: Watch Recording

March 30: Watch Recording March 23: Watch Recording

O S H A I NF O R M AT I O N F O R BU S I NESSES Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19 P R E V E N T W O R K ER E X P O S U R E TO

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A L L I ED A SS O C I AT I O N A N D O T HE R P ART N ER S I NF O R M AT I O N Legal Resource Center Golf Emergency Relief FundPGA of America COVID-19 Resource CenterUnited States Golf Assoication

How Is Golf Responding To the Coronavirus Pandemic?National Golf Foundation COVID-19 UpdateAustralia Sports Turf Managers Association

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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