A new beginning

I just learned about the retirement on Ken Mangum, CGCS, who's been at the Atlanta Athletic Club for 27 years. At the end of next May he will begin a new phase of his life, one that doesn't include golf course maintenance. But in many ways he will still be very involved in golf course management for a long time. By that, I am referring to the hundreds of people that have worked with Ken through the years and have gone on to successful careers of their own. As I travel around the Southeast, I am always amazed at how many in the profession have a connection to Ken and the Atlanta Athletic Club. And everyone holds him in the highest regard.  Ken is an innovator, educator, communicator and probably the kindest person you could ever hope to meet.

Best wishes to you Ken, you represent the golf course superintendent in the highest light, and like so many others in the profession, I am honored to call you my friend.

And the winner is...

The Alabama GCSA just held it's Annual Meeting and there were a few surprises.  No, there weren't any dark horse candidates that ran from the floor, the election of officers went as planned with Chad Robinson from Cider Ridge Golf Club in Anniston taking over as president. The surprises came during the business meeting where the chapter gives out its contributions to local charities and scholarships. President Robinson presented checks to both the University of Alabama Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center and Children's Hospital in Birmingham. To date, the AGCSA has donated over $29,000 to the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center and more than $60,000 to Children's Hospital of Alabama. Much of the funding for these charities comes from the annual Donnie Arthur Tournament, which is held every October. Great work by the board and members of the Alabama chapter in its support of these important health organizations. On this day, charity was the big winner!

Below, AGCSA President Chad Robinson presents Beena Thannickal of UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center with a check from the chapter.

It's Survey Time!

About eight years ago, the membership of GCSAA took time from their busy day to complete an environmental survey about their facility. Those numbers continue to pay huge dividends today in our efforts to inform the general public and policy makers in Washington, D.C., about who we are as an industry. We need to know the metrics of golf course maintenance in order to carry on the discussion of the impact of golf on our world.

Now it's time to take a fresh look at the environmental impact of golf. In October, the EIFG will roll out the new Golf Course Environmental Profile, which will be filled out electronically by superintendents around the country. This will be the first of five surveys over the next three years and will focus largely on water usage at facilities around the country. It is vital that we get a large number of responses to the survey to insure that the numbers are a true reflection of what is happening at facilities on a daily basis. Please take the time to accurately fill out the survey when you receive it. We can't have the valuable information that we need to promote golf without your help!

Part of the family

I had the opportunity to work on the crew at the U.S. Amateur tournament at the Atlanta Athletic Club recently and came away with a couple of thoughts.

First, the tournament itself has always been one of my favorites.  It's not about money or exemptions, it's just about playing golf at a high level.  The ability of the participants was through the roof and it was fun to watch them play the course and practice on the range.  Everyone I spoke to was friendly and happy to be a part of the competition.  Three hundred and twelve hopeful players started the week with the desire to take home the trophy, which they get to keep for the year by the way, and somewhere along the way 311 would have their dreams crushed.  Golf at it's simplest, survive the stroke play segment and out-duel your opponent in match play.

Second, being a part of the team at AAC was part golf tournament, part complex work synchronization and part family reunion.  Obviously using four tees and 7:55 starting times meant that things had to work flawlessly in the dark at many different locations on the property, that was the synchronization part.  The biggest thing I took away from my time at the tournament was the feeling of family that was present among the staff.  Many of the people I worked with every day had worked at AAC at some point and returned to volunteer for the tournament.  There were superintendents, assistants, sales associates, interns, family members and even staff members from other departments helping out the grounds crew.  Many of the volunteers had traveled a good distance to get there.  Everyone I spoke to, whether currently on the staff or someone who had moved on, spoke about the sense of family that you get when working at the AAC.  The family atmosphere at AAC seems to have remained intact through the many years and changing faces thanks to the leadership of Ken Mangum, CGCS, and his ability to assemble a great team and chart a successful path for the facility.  I've had the pleasure of knowing Ken for many years and whether he's representing our profession on television, running a major tournament or just talking about fishing, he does it with the same smile, calm demeanor and class that make him so special.  It was a pleasure to be a part of the family for that week.

Several other staff members need to be recognized as well because Ken himself will tell you he doesn't do it alone.  Thanks and congratulations go out to Tyler, Matt, David, Elliot, Stephen and the entire AAC staff.  It was a fun week and I look forward to volunteering again at the next big tournament.

Time to put your roots down

One of the biggest items the field staff and government relations departments have been working on the past few months has been filling the positions for our grass roots ambassadors network.  If you've been to a meeting that I was at in the past few months, you should have heard me speak about the network.  If you don't know about the GR network, let me explain.

We are trying to pair an A, SM or C member with their local congressperson.  That means we need 435 individuals throughout the country, one for each member of congress, to establish a relationship with their elected official or their staff members so that our positions on legislation can be conveyed in a quick and effective manner.  So far, we have about half of the positions filled in the southeast region by people who have signed up at local meetings, and now we are trying to fill spots in specific areas of the region that don't currently have representation.

If you are interested in filling one of these spots please let either myself or Kaelyn Seymour know and we'll be happy to get you started.  There is some training involved and we need active and engaged members in all areas of the region to take part in this important project.  Please help if you can!

Hope for the future

Last week I had the pleasure of attending a First Tee "Live Green" event in Knoxville.  There were about 50 children in attendance who got to see first hand what went on at a golf course on a daily basis.  They had the chance to plant flowers and sod around the clubhouse, plant trees on the course, learn about the environment and how the course plays a role in it, see course equipment in action and hit some golf balls on the range.  Host superintendent Chuck Drake, GCSAA Class A member at Williams Creek Golf Course, gave the children insight into the agronomic aspects of the job by cutting cups, taking a soil sample to examine roots and talking about greens construction.  It's amazing to see the interest in the eyes of the children and to hear all of the questions they had.  It really does give you hope for the future of the game to see so many children engaged on a Saturday morning.

This event was a chance to meet up with some old friends, and make some new ones, as well.  It was great to see Joellen Lampman and Judson McNeil, who I've met before at other events.  I also got to catch up a bit with Joe O'Brien of the First Tee, whom I hadn't seen since his days with GCSAA back in Lawrence. Some of the new contacts I made were Diondre Jackson, executive director of the First Tee in Knoxville; Matt Hillman, assistant superintendent at Avalon Golf & Country Club; and Chuck Drake at Williams Creek Golf Club, who hosted the event.  Everyone had great passion and energy while working with the children and it was reflected in the faces of the participants.  If the game is to survive these young people are a great investment for the future.

Joellen Lampman talks about the web of life with Live Green participants at Williams Creek Golf Club in Knoxville Tenn.

Eagle Eye on Earth Day

I had the pleasure of speaking at the Earth Day Celebration at Bear Trace Harrison Bay recently.  Most people are familiar with the course thanks to the Harrison Bay Eagle Cam that you can watch online.  It's fascinating watching Elliot and Eloise care for their two young eagles.  In just one day on the property I learned more about eagles than I had in my entire life.  The eagles are both impressive and captivating as they soar above the property, but there is much more going on there than nesting birds.

A year ago, the course began using Jacobsen Eclipse 322 triplexes to mow greens and tees. The course also uses a fleet of electric maintenance carts every day.  In that year, they saved 9,000 gallons of fossil fuel at the course.  To me, that was a staggering number.  One other number that may be even more amazing is the 162 days with zero emissions.  Think about that for a minute, that's almost half a year with no exhaust!  Now that is really changing your carbon footprint!  Congratulations to Paul Carter, CGCS, and the entire team at Bear Trace Harrison Bay for pushing the envelope and being leaders in environmental stewardship.  Who knows, in ten years maybe this will be normal at most golf courses in the U.S.!

March Madness

It's time to turn the page on the calendar and begin the month normally associated with taxes.  I like to think of April as the official start of not only baseball season but the golf season.  I can't remember a winter where so many events were canceled due to weather.  I had to make a point of asking for ice scrapers from the rental car companies the past few months and actually using them regularly.  So lets hope mother nature cooperates with us and we can get some rounds on the books and stop looking over our shoulders for the next polar vortex.

I had the opportunity to visit Pinehurst last week for the first time.  I was amazed at the amount of golf history there and how the entire community is centered around the game of golf.  They are preparing for back to back Open Championships in June and everything seems to be in good order for the events.  If you've never been to the sand hills of North Carolina it's worth making plans for a visit in the future.  True southern hospitality!

As far as current projects go we are still looking for facilities to donate rounds for the first Rounds 4 Research auction in June.  It's a great way to earn money for your chapter to fund projects in the future.  We are also looking for facilities to host First Green meetings with local school children.  Please visit www.thefirstgreen.org to learn more about the program and how you can sign up to host a field trip at your facility.

Now let's get on with some warm weather and play some golf!

Road trip visits

Road trip visits are a new part of my weekly routine.  When I'm on the road I try to stop and see the local superintendents to say hello and introduce myself to members in the area.  These visits have been a very enlightening part of my work since it gives me a chance to see what the industry looks like in different areas of the Southeast.  It has also shown me the diversity of positions now available in the industry.  Many of the members that I meet are working in different ways than they were just a few years ago.  Some have taken on GM roles and facility manager roles, and one has even started his own management company in order to stay at his facility.  I'm sure that the majority of superintendents out there work in the traditional role but more and more I'm seeing members adapting to the changing world of golf.  I would be interested to hear from members out there who have evolved into a role other than agronomy at their facility and how they feel about these changes.

On a side note please don't forget to support the EIFG!  The world of advocacy and public perception is a difficult place to operate, but I'm happy to say our efforts can make a difference.  I'm looking for facilities in the Southeast who would be willing to house colonies of bees, and work with local bee keepers in an attempt to try to shed some light on the neonicotenoid hysteria that's out there right now.  I believe that bees and golf can share the same property.  What do you think?

GIS 2014 wrap-up

Another Golf Industry Show has come and gone and this one was quite different for me since I am now an employee of GCSAA.  I have a new appreciation for all the work that goes on behind the scenes to make the GIS the great event it is. Working at the registration area for two days was especially enlightening; trying to make sense of the myriad of questions and getting members through the registration line as fast as possible. Hats off to the entire team at GCSAA for making this giant event run so smoothly.  One last note from the registration area - please, please, please per-register and have your QR code handy, this makes the system work like a bullet train!

It was great to be back in Orlando since I've forgotten what 80 degrees feels like. I got to visit with plenty of old friends that I only get to see once a year, and for me that has always been one of the greatest benefits of attending the GIS. Many old friends are working in new positions and taking on a variety of new challenges.  Some long-time friends are, unfortunately, looking for their next opportunity, a sign of the times in our industry. Most of the vendors I have known for years felt that traffic was good on the show floor and they got to see plenty of buyers.

Golf is not as robust as it once was but attending the GIS gives me great optimism for the future of our profession and the resolve and dedication of the men and women that make the game of golf the fantastic sport that it is.  See you in San Antonio!

Georgia equipment managers meeting

I got the chance to attend this years Georgia GCSA equipment mangers meeting at TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth, Ga..  It was great to see 95 equipment managers from all over the state gather to share ideas and learn more about the art of brazing, cutting, stick welding and MIG welding.  There were videos on safety and proper equipment use techniques as you might expect, but the real show stopper was the hands on demonstrations in the afternoon.  The meeting notice for this event asked that you bring your personal protection equipment, which is something you don't see very often.  During the afternoon sessions there were four work stations where participants could learn to braze metal together, use a cutting torch on various pieces of steel, use a MIG welder to joint steel plates and use several different rods to stick weld pieces of steel together.  All the stations were manned by professionals giving technical advice to the equipment managers learning new techniques for metal working.

The meeting content was the idea of three equipment managers who work with the Georgia GCSA board of directors on annual meetings; Cory Phillips, Horseshoe Bend Country Club, Roswell, Ga.; Trent Manning, Ansley Golf Club, Atlanta; and David Blowers, East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta.  Having the input from these three gentlemen ensures that the content is useful and pertinent to all the attendees.  Utilizing the equipment managers to work directly with the board in Georgia seems like a wonderful idea and results in meetings that not only have important content but are very well attended, too.

One last note about the meeting; TPC Sugarloaf, who hosted the event, may have the cleanest, most organized maintenance facility I've ever seen.  Kudos to certified golf course superintendent Mike Crawford, and his equipment manager David Duren for their housekeeping practices.

2014 off and running

Now that the bowl games are all settled and holiday travels are complete it's time to get busy in the new year.  There are events scheduled in all of the Southeast chapters this month, and I've already been to two in the past week.

The Mississippi/Louisiana chapter held its annual meeting in conjunction with the Louisiana turfgrass show at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge.  It was great to visit with some old friends and make some new ones at the same time.  The venue for the event was quite interesting as well, being in a storied college football stadium.  Stephen Miles, CGCS, is the new president taking the reins from Robb Arnold, who now becomes the immediate past president.  There were some other changes within the chapter as well.  Prologue Association Management is now running the administrative affairs for the chapter for Linda Wells, who retired after serving many years as the chapter administrator.  Best wishes to Linda and Dr. Wayne Wells as they begin to enjoy retirement.

Earlier in the week I attended the Tennessee Golf Course Superintendents Association annual meeting held in conjunction with the Tennessee Turfgrass Association (TTA) conference in Franklin, Tenn.  The record cold temperatures didn't keep the members away and attendance was good for the event.  At the TGCSA annual meeting, Nate Sullivan became the new president, taking over the association helm from Joe Kennedy, CGCS, who becomes immediate past president.  I got to spend two days at the TGCSA booth at the trade show and was able to network with many members from the area.  Three golf courses were recognized during the TTA annual meeting:

"Public Golf Course of the Year" - Stonehenge Golf Club, Sean VanHoose, CGCS
"Private Golf Course of the Year" - Humbolt Golf and Country Club, Paul Webb Superintendent
Environmental Stewardship Award - TPC Southwind, Jim Thomas, CGCS

Many thanks to everyone who put together the two trade shows, I look forward to my next visit.  Now it's off to Atlanta and Charleston.