FORE YOUR INFORMATION September/October 2016
2016 Annual Meeting & Tournament The Reserve at Spanos Park November 14, 2016
Sierra Nevada GCSA An Affiliate Chapter of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America
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P R E S I D E N T S M E S S AG E
Kurtis Wolford, SNGCSA President Superintendent Cherry Island Golf Course
I have come to the end of my term serving as President of the SNGCSA. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as president and I would like to say thank you to all the board members and association managers that have helped me throughout the year. It is a rewarding experience serving the association. You get a chance to work with some great people whom I have learned a lot from. It was also an opportunity to meet our members from around the SNGCSA territory. We have a very large region with a lot of golf courses. We have awesome Board members that volunteer their time to keep the association moving in the correct direction. We have a very active and strong association that is in great shape. The strength of the association comes
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KURTIS WOLFORD
from all its members who contribute to it. Thank you to all the vendors who advertise in the newsletter and sponsor meetings. Thank you to all the members who volunteer to host meetings and to the members for coming to those meetings. The SNGCSA is in good standing within the golf community. This happens directly from the efforts of our members involvement with allied golf organizations, writing for publications, being Grassroots Ambassadors, and serving on various committees. So the moral to the story is stand up, get involved, and volunteer to help out. It is a very rewarding and educational experience. The association continues to have great planning and that road map to the future is laid out during our strategic planning meetings. Some years we are able to get to everything on the list, and others we do not. We are always looking for what we can do to serve the members better. If you have an idea about something or just have suggestions please call or email a board member or the association office. Feedback and communication from you, our mem-
bers, is critical to the success of the association. If you are not getting emails from the office please call in and update your contact information. This upcoming year is shaping up to be another great year. It’s almost booked out already. If you would be interested in hosting an event, talk to a board member. We would love to get you on the schedule. Coming up we have the election meeting at The Reserve at Spanos Park hosted by board member John Jorgensen. In January we will be having an evening event at Top Golf Roseville. The Board decided not to have a holiday event in December due to the lack of attendance the previous years and suggestions from the survey we sent out. We also have the Mechanics and Irrigation Tech seminars on January 10 & 11th. This is a 2 day educational event which will be held at The Ridge Golf Course hosted by Scott McCullough. Scott has lined up a great group of speakers. It’s always a great time at events that allow us to relax and have a good time with friends, colleagues and get away for a day. I hope this (Continued on page 3)
2016 SNGCSA BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT Kurtis Wolford Cherry Island Golf Course 916-991-7659
DIRECTORS Dave Bermudez Del Rio Golf & Country Club 209-341-2413
VICE PRESIDENT Scott Dickson Brightview 209-369-7037
Hulises Avila, Greenhorn Creek Resort 209-736-8164
SECRETARY/TREASURER William Hamilton Lake Wildwood Association 530-432-2187 PAST PRESIDENT Rob Williams Schaeffer’s Mill. 209-462-6734
Affiliate Representatives Joe Kurung West Coast Sand & Gravel 916-386-8177 Tim McCoy, Turf Star 916-861-7924 FORE YOUR INFORMATION
Wes Hull, Nakoma Golf Resort 775-781-4494 John Jorgensen, The Reserve at Spanos Park 925-584-4592 Kyle Jones, Yocha De He Golf Club 530-796-5816
Published by the Sierra Nevada Golf Course Superintendents Association
EDITOR Bill Hamilton, CGCS OFFICE SNGCSA 5322 N. Leonard, Clovis, CA 93619 559-298-6262 Fax# 559-298-6957 sngcsaa@aol.com
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P R E S I D E N T S M E S S AG E
2016
C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 2
November 14, 2016
Thank you! Kurtis Wolford
Annual Meeting and Elections The Reserve at Spanos Park Hosted by John Jorgenson
2017
M E E T I N G DA T E S
next year members will see the quality of events we have planned and see the value in attending them. So when the dates are released mark your calendars. This Fall and Winter season should be interesting. I don’t know if anyone has an idea what Mother Nature will do. I will be doing my rain dance to help out and maybe get a normal winter. After a record setting summer I think we all need to recharge our batteries and regroup looking forward to 2017. Once again I would like to thank all who have supported me during this year and every superintendent, mechanic, and affiliate member that attended an event. We have a great association and I hope you will continue to support the SNGCSA Board of Director’s efforts on your behalf in the future.
January 10, 2017 Mechanic Seminar The Ridge Golf Course Hosted by Scott McCullough
January 11, 2017 Irrigation Seminar The Ridge Golf Course Hosted by Scott McCullough
January 2017 “TOP GOLF” Holiday “Funday” Event Date to be Confirmed
February 2017
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS Mario Madrigal Rancho Solano Golf Course Class C
Jim Culley Pacific Coast Seed Class Affiliate
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F ROM T HE F IELD BY
JEFF JENSEN GCSAA FIELD STAFF
I hope this finds all of you doing well and enjoying some of the cooler fall weather. I recently had the opportunity to visit Orlando for some pre Golf Industry Show (GIS) meetJeff Jensen ings and am glad to say that planning for the 2017 show is proceeding nicely. Early registration for the show to be held Feb. 4-9 opens Nov. 1. The event will again be held at the Orange County Convention Center which sets the high water mark for show attendance. GCSAA is expecting over 550 vendors and more than 13,000 attendees to par-
ticipate in our annual showcase in Orlando. Early full pack registration cost (before Jan. 13, 2017) for the Golf Industry Show is $440 for GCSAA members. Seminars are $185 for a full-day, $130 for a half-day and $80 for twohours. Registration is available online at http://www.golfindustryshow.com/ registration.
GIS housing opened Sept. 28 and features an array of properties in the convention center area with a low rate guarantee. Reservations may be made at www.golfindustryshow.com/hotel-travel. In addition to the Golf Industry Show, The GCSAA Golf Championship is scheduled for Feb. 4-6. The event features the National Championship, Golf Classic, Four-Ball and Shamble. This year’s event will be played over some great Orlando area facilities including Celebration Golf Club, Orange County National (home of the 2016 Web.com Tour Qualifying School Final Stage), RitzCarlton Grande Lakes and Shingle Creek Golf Club. The National Championship (open to the first 100 superintendents
with a handicap index of 5.0 and below) and the Golf Classic (flighted by handicap, using a point quota scoring system) are $475 per player before Dec. 21 ($575 for affiliates participating in the Golf Classic). Entry fee for the FourBall and Shamble are $175 per player before Dec. 21 ($275 for affiliates). Tournament entry includes green fees, cart, range balls, tee prize from the onsite Adidas/TaylorMade Golf Shop, grab-and-go breakfast, drink tickets, on course contests, awards, Welcome Reception and 19th Hole receptions following each day of play. The event has become very popular with the National Championship selling out every year, so register early at http://www.golfindustryshow.com/gcsaagolf-championships/registrationinformation.
If you have any questions concerning the Golf Industry Show, the GCSAA Golf Championships or need any information about the area, please don’t hesitate to call me at 785-8407879, email me at jjensen@gcsaa.org or visit the website at www.golfindustryshow.com. We appreciate your support of GIS and I look forward to seeing many of you in Orlando.
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2 0 1 6 A N N UA L M E E T I N G & E L E C T I O N S BY
The 2016 Annual Meeting & Election will be held at The Reserve at Spanos Park on November 14, 2016. This year we have a full slate of excellent candidates as well as several bylaws changes that we will be voting on. Running for President is Scott Dickson. Scott has been the VP for the last year and was President of the association in 2010. We greatly appreciate Scott’s continued support and efforts on behalf of the association and its members. Running for the VP slot will be Bill Hamilton, CGCS. Bill has been the Secretary/Treasurer for the past year and a board of director since 2014. Rob Williams will be returning to the Board as the Secretary/Treasurer. Rob has been an active member of the SNGCSA
IRENE CLINE
board since 2012. He started as a Board of Director and climbed the ladder, serving as President in 2014. He has remained the Association’s representative on several National Committees and gives our association a voice on the National level. We have two individuals that are seeking re-election to the board this year. First is Kyle Jones, Yocha-De-He Golf Club. Kyle just completed a one year term he was elected to in 2015 and would like to continue on as a director. We also have Hulises Avila who was elected to the board in 2015. He too, was elected to a one year position and is also seeking re-election. New to this year’s ballot is John Farley, Teal Bend G.C. Superintendent. John has been supportive of the board’s efforts and hopes to be elected to one of the two year positions now open. In addition to the Officer and Board Positions up for elections the Association members must vote on several changes to the bylaws. Most of these changes are due to the fact that
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GCSAA changed the Class SM status to Class B. As an affiliate chapter of the GCSAA, Sierra Nevada must comply with these types of changes. In addition to these edits the board chose to officially add the Equipment Managers to our membership roster. This required the ByLaws to list this membership designation and therefore requires your vote to approve the change. The ballots have all been sent to the membership and you can vote either at the meeting on November 14th or on line. If for some reason you have not received your absentee ballot or your link to vote on line and will not be at the Annual Meeting please contact Irene or Kim at the Association office before November 10 so that they can get the information to you. If you have any questions for any of our Board members or questions for the office please don’t hesitate in contacting us. SNGCSA office (559) 298-6262 or email sngcsaa@aol.com
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CHAPTER NEWS
TIM MCCOY As we prepare for the winter months and the holiday season we have a few items to report. First, Lake Almanor is looking for a superintendent and will be rewriting the job position and sending it out soon. Akoni Ganir has left Winchester C.C. and accepted a position with Simplot Partners. Simplot has expanded into the Sacramento region and will be opening a distribution warehouse in Sacramento area. We will have more details on this from Akoni shortly. For any questions or if you want to talk to Akoni he can be reached at 831-915-4524 or by email akoni.ganir@simplot.com. At Winchester, the assistant Joe Meyer will be filling in on an interim basis. Rodney Muller accepted a position at Rancho Murieta C. C. this month. He will be working with Ron Barts as the Golf Course Superintendent. Ron is now the Director of
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JOE KURUNG
Grounds at Rancho Murieta. Ron feels very fortunate to have Rodney and they are looking forward to working together. There has been quite a bit of work being completed around the chapter. Up at Lahonton C.C. in Truckee, Michael Cornette just completed a new practice facility which will be ready for spring play. Over at Somersett C.C. in Reno Robert DiPrieto is working on his new practice facility as well as completing the construction on a new clubhouse. They hope to have this project completed and ready when they host the SNGCSA President’s cup next September. Keeping up the construction theme, Kyle Dykstra, CGCS at Sierra View C.C. just completed his new practice facility. The new driving range and chipping green should be
ready for play any day. They also installed the new Capillary Concrete in bunkers on the chipping green. Capillary Concrete is distributed by Ewing in the California area. We are finalizing details of the Scholarship & Research Tournament that will be held at Woodbridge Golf & C.C. in July 2017. We should have this completed by January 1st. The 2016 Holiday Event will not be held in December. Due to low attendance the last couple of years, the Board of Director’s sent a survey to the membership and from the results it was determined that we should reschedule this event to after the holiday season. So we are scheduling a “TopGolf” event for mid January and will have more information on this to you shortly.
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A SIMPLE QUESTION SPANOS PARK & HOST
OF THE
A simple question….., I am curious how many superintendents reading this have said to themselves… “I think I want to pursue a career as a golf course superintendent” when they first entered college. That wasn’t me… In fact, golf is what arguably kept me from getting my degree-until the age of 30!!!! As a young man during my “college years”, conventional wisdom would say I should go through college and achieve a degree in 4 or 5 years. That wasn’t me…… What I should’ve done was buckle down and got my bachelor’s degree in Viticulture (Vineyard Management) from Fresno State University in1983. That didn’t happen…. I had a problem…. A GOLF problem. It always seemed that I found a way to cut class and meet up with my buddies at the golf course!!! Like “sands through the hourglass” so were the days of my life…working every odd job it seemed trying to latch on to something. From selling shoes to painting houses; from working at the county jail to trying sell life insurance….nothing seemed to work out.
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JOHN JORGENSEN
THE RESERVE
AT
2016 ANNUAL MEETING & ELECTION
I was 28 years old with no career in sight. It was then that I told my wife of three years (Bridget) that I was going back to school to get my degree. I set a goal for myself that I wanted to have my degree in hand by my 30th birthday. It was a huge challenge, but I completed 3 semesters at Fresno State University in which I took 23, 22, and 23 units a semester for a year and a half. This is where it gets weird!!!! At graduation, as I was seated with the students from the [school of agriculture] at Fresno State University, a guy for whom I was familiar with (because we had a few classes together) but did not associate with; asked me…… What are you going to do now? I really hadn’t given it much thought. All I knew that I was 2 days shy of my 30th birthday and I finally did something that I could say “I did That”. I have a degree in my hand and I felt the world was my oyster!!!! The gentleman asked me out of the blue…..”You want to go to work on a golf course?” Me: “Ugh Your’e Sh---ng me right?” Me: “Can I play free golf?” New friend:: “All the golf you want…..” Me: “Do you work there? What do you do there?” New friend: “I’m an assistant superintendent.” Me: “What would I be doing?” New friend: “Mowing greens, raking bunkers.” Me: “How much does it pay?”
New friend: “$6 an hour.” Me: “When can I start?” New friend: “Here is the phone number of the golf course superintendent. His name is Mike Leach. He is a great guy. He will be looking forward to your call!!!!” 26 years later… I’m still in this game. My friend from college….His name is David Lewellen. Call it fate, call it a blessing, call it a a prayer answered. When you can make a living doing something you truly love…. You will never work a day in your life… Thanks Dave!!!! Thank you to Dave for writing this great article. We look forward to visiting him at the Annual Meeting & Tournament on November 14, 2016. Be sure you get your registrations in.
The SNGCSA is now on Facebook and Twitter. Check it out! Check out the website: Sierranevadagcsa.com
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C A L I F O R N I A A L I A N C E F O R G O L F U P DAT E BY JIM FERRIN, CGCS TIMBER CREEK Drought News Ever since Governor Brown pulled his water conservation mandate and put water distribution authority back into the hands of the local water agencies, Californians are saving less and less water. The State Water Resource Control Board will take a hard look in February to determine if the reapplication of mandatory water restrictions needs to be instituted once again if rain and snow does do not fall in sufficient amounts from now through March 2017. Mike Huck reports that California more or less did go through a 5th year of drought despite the major reservoirs holding more water. The groundwater tables still remain depleted, especially the central valley and central coast. Rainfall measurements ending September 30th were 116% of normal, but snow pack was only 80% of normal and Southern California precipitation was well below normal. Still most water supply issues are local problems, and each region, district, and jurisdiction is dealing with its own unique challenges. What this means is that we still have and will (in all probability) have water issues facing us in the future. It will be important going forward to stay engaged and involved with our water task forces integrating ourselves at every regulatory, legislative, and media level. As Craig Kessler, Director of Governmental Affairs for the Southern California Golf Association says “now is not the time to relax our efforts; indeed, now when a little of the pressure is off is precisely the time to redouble them.” I concur as models from state water agencies resources (professional forecasters) seem to think that in 20 years California will be water capture dependent, as the snow pack in the Sierra’s (providing 75-80% of the state’s annual fresh water) will no longer be producing the needed water as in the past. Jim Schmid, golf course superintendent at The Lakes Golf and Country Club in the Coachella Valley is running for a position on their Valley Water District Board of Directors. He has many endorsements including the Desert Sun newspaper, despite the fact of being out spent on his campaign. Jim and his campaign continue to work very hard and he has a real shot to win. This would be great news to Jim and the California golf industry as a whole to gain a voice in water distribution, especially in a volatile area like the Coachella Valley. We wish Jim all the success. See his website for ways you can assist him in winning a board spot.
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Update from Tony Rice, Lobbyist with EKA Tony Rice gave a legislative update at the latest CAG meeting in Southern California in October. Tony reported legislation-wise not much is happening as candidates vie to get elected or re-elected. He still feels that the democrats will remain in control of the legislature. He added that it also appears that government in California will still be committed to the working poor and trying to come up with solutions for them to reach a living subsistence, despite the push back from business owners. Some economic forecasts at the time of Governor Brown’s exit will have California’s budget showing a possible $4.5 billion dollar deficit due to a changing economic environment, less corporate tax windfalls for the state, and legislative actions aiding the poor (minimum wage significantly going up being one$10.50 per hour on January 1, 2017 and increasing to $15 per hour by 2022). Going forward ,Tony Rice is planning on two trips to the state capitol in 2017. One will be in the early spring as bills are being developed and one a few months later prior to the summer adjournment. These meetings with key law makers and staffers have been very successful in letting them know what an important industry golf is to the state economy. During our visit in 2015 prior to the state wide water restriction mandate by the governor, we were able to share golf’s story that we are conservationists. It went a long way toward painting a better picture there and in the media for us. Our visit in 2016 featured a number of meetings with legislators who support golf and are now familiar with CAG and the golf industry. Among a few of the legislative initiatives that may be presented again next year will be one that forces commercial water users to report their historical usages to the public, and also a change in daylight savings time. It is possible also that legislation will be reintroduced in regard to food service and retail employees being given ample notice prior to a shift change, if not a business, or private owner could be fined. Golf operations are in the cross hairs of this potential bill. The California Golf Commission CAG, through the efforts of Marc Connerly, and other CAG members, is still working on the development of a California Golf Commission, which would sit alongside other commissions (almonds, milk etc.) and become
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C A L I F O R N I A A L I A N C E F O R G O L F U P DAT E CONTINUED
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a political player as an important component of the state’s economic viability. Funding the Golf Commission would come from a small charge per round (at a public facility), or charge per member (at a private facility). The importance of a California Golf Commission, enabling golf to have a “seat at the political table,” would assist in maintaining a cohesive golf industry in light of golf course closures, environmental pressures, and declining rounds of golf. Unfortunately, the California State Club Association (CSA) recently submitted a letter of opposition to the concept, that private golf clubs don’t want a seat at the table. CAG is working on putting together a stakeholder’s meeting in the near future and is still focused on moving forward with a Golf Commission. RoundUp- Glyphosate The U.S. Environmental Agency will release a report in the spring of 2017 that RoundUp is not a human carcinogen. One of the reasons for the product being scrutinized in Europe (its use being banned in many countries) is an additive in the formulation alongside the main ingredient glyphosate. Bayer, which now owns RoundUp, will eliminate that additive in a new formula-
tion. Obviously this is good news in regards to golf and landscape maintenance which relies heavily on its use and this report (as well as the new formulation) may tame pressure from environmental groups who prefer to see an outright ban. Best Management Practices (BMP’s) A GCSAA task force of industry leaders, scholars, golf architects, and environmental experts has been diligently working on a module for golf course Best Management Practices. These templates then can be then adapted and specified to a particular state and the regions within that state. This will dramatically minimize the investment needed to have these BMP’s professionally developed. They will be especially important as environmentalists and government regulators pressure golf courses to comply with a stricter manner of golf course maintenance. They will be an invaluable tool for golf course representatives in responding to regulators, environmentalists, and the media. The California GCSA, and President Gary Ingram has as a goal to get California golf courses equipped with these BMP’s.
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PRESIDENT’S CUP HIGHLIGHTS 2016 President’s Cup Champion Kyle Jones, Yocha De He Golf Club Pictured at right is host superintendent Michael Cunniff. Mike planned an amazing day for the 70 golfers that attended the 2016 President’s Cup Tournament. The course conditions were excellent, the weather was amazing, and it made the day one of the best we have ever had. Thank you to the staff at Clear Creek for allowing us to hold our event at their beautiful location.
Pictured at right the golf staff at Clear Creek prepare the golfers for their rounds . Bottom left shows a group of spectators that are making sure the golfers count all the strokes. At bottom right, Mark McKinney is preparing for a great round of golf on an absolutely perfect day.
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PRESIDENT’S CUP HIGHLIGHTS
Above John Jorgensen and Jeff Jensen take in the beautiful views the course had to offer. Pictured above is the team of Tracy Hawkins, Colby Gunsch, Kyle Jones, and Jim Barbuto. At right is the team from Sequoia Woods which includes Tim Texeira from Sierra Pacific Turf. Below Kyle accepts the trophy from President Kurtis Wolford.
Below Mark McKinney, Arturo Rios, and Jim Ferrin, get final instructions.
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