Water quality in focus at the spring Hypoxia Task Force meeting

About 100 individuals from government agencies and the agriculture industry got together in downtown St. Louis for the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force Spring Public Meeting on April 26. This was a perfect location with the Mississippi River just a block outside the meeting room and the Gateway Arch right next to the hotel.

The meeting got underway with opening remarks from Ellen Gilinsky, the Hypoxia Task Force Federal co-chair and senior policy advisor for the EPA's Office of Water. She spoke about how the task force has grown since she began working with the group in 2009. She mentioned that the early years centered mostly on putting the pieces together for the group, and now there are tangible accomplishments toward the overarching goal to reduce nutrient inputs to the Mississippi River Basin by 20 percent by the year 2025. In doing so, it's believed that the hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico would begin to shrink, dissolved oxygen levels would rise, making it habitable for marine life.

Many different agencies gave presentations during the four-hour meeting. While many of the presentations were centered solely on crop production and its effect on water, there were a couple of presentations that were more in line with the golf industry. Those presentations were from the SERA-46 group, who were also meeting this week in St. Louis and The Nature Conservancy.

The SERA-46 group consists of faculty members of the 12 land-grant universities that conduct research for the task group. Rebecca Power, from the University of Wisconsin, gave the group a presentation based on three primary goals: strengthening networks, research and outreach and monitoring, calibration and validation of the current studies. Both of Rebecca's first two points seem to be well suited for conducting water quality research on golf courses and could be used to develop best management practices in the 12 states represented.

The Nature Conservancy presentation was given by North American Freshwater Director Michael Reuter.  He spoke about some specific projects involving reconnecting the flood plains along the Atchafalaya River in Louisiana that they believe would significantly reduce the nutrient load in the watershed. Reuter went on to give some numerical information that speaks to the size of the problem in the Mississippi Basin.  According to current U.S. Geological Survey, there are 1,475,000 metric tons of nutrients in the entire basin. If the group is going to reach its goal of a 20 percent reduction, 295,000 metric tons need to be removed from the river basin every year. That's a big number. Reuter also spoke about the need to communicate the work that is being done and has yet to be completed, as well as the importance of strengthening relationships with industry and the public.

The meeting was very informative. I enjoyed getting to meet new members of the team and visit with many of my state water regulators and members of the task force that live in my area. I came away with the feeling of the complexities and challenges that face a group like the task force. Take the time to investigate water issues in your own community and see if you can make the 20 percent reduction a reality before 2025.

Spring Classic event in Georgia

The past few years mother nature hadn't been very kind during Georgia's Spring Classic event, doling out grey skies and cold temperatures. This year was different.  It was a beautiful spring day at Marietta Country Club, just north of Atlanta.  Many of the people on hand were tired after volunteering the previous week at The Masters tournament, which had concluded the day before. While many participants hadn't been home for many days, spirits were still high for this annual fundraising event. The field was set to take on the course, not so much to win a prize or post the lowest score, but to help fund the Georgia Golf Environmental Foundation (GGEF).

The GGEF was founded in 2004 and its mission is to fund research and education for the golf industry in Georgia.  On this day, the GGEF was presented with two $10,000 checks, one from the Georgia Golf Course Superintendents Association and one from the Georgia State Golf Association. The Spring Classic is one of the ways that the chapter raises money for the foundation. The check presented from the chapter was earnings from last year's event.

While the course was fabulous and the weather was ideal, the real winner on this day was the game of golf in Georgia.  The University of Georgia can continue its long tradition of turf research and breeding, and the chapter members can keep up with the very latest the industry has to offer.  It was another great event.

More information on the GGEF.

How you can help success of Rounds 4 Research

The azaleas are blooming and spring is in the air.  The weather is right for playing golf again and it's also time for Rounds 4 Research to crank up.  For months now, chapters have been gathering rounds for the auction, enrolling as many courses as they can.  Now, it's time to start to not only seek more donated rounds, but to begin promoting the auction to golfers. It takes everyone's help. Many rounds have gone unsold the past few years, likely because the right people didn't know about the auction.

If every member posted on Facebook or sent a tweet out across their network every few days during the auction, the Bidding for Good site will be a click away from millions of golfers.  It doesn't take but a minute to compose a tweet or a Facebook post, and it's something that most of us do many times every day.  Even if you like, favorite or share a post, it will accomplish the same goal of getting the word out to people every day the auction is open.

So for this year's R4R auction, let's put social media to work for us, not just for entertainment, but for making the auction a success and raising money for turfgrass research.  With just a few keystrokes a day, you can help make a difference.

Thinking outside the box for turfgrass research

The Carolinas Chapter came up with a new way to raise money for turfgrass research at its winter meeting at Bulls Bay in Awendaw, South Carolina.

First, let me introduce the club mascot at Bulls Bay.  His name is Titleist, and he is a 16-year-old longhorn bull.  He does what all cattle do — he eats for a living and deposits piles of fertilizer in a random fashion.  He's a handsome fellow who loves to have his picture taken, and on this day he was an integral part of a fundraising project.

So, what does all this have to do with raising money for turf research?  This is where the innovation part kicks in.

You may notice that Titleist is sitting on a grid of squares.  The participants at the meeting had the opportunity to "buy" a square for $20, and while we were on the course Titleist was tethered to the flagpole in the middle of the grid free to roam around the area and make a fertilizer deposit wherever and whenever he chose. Whoever "owned" the square with the biggest fertilizer deposit won half of the money collected, with the other half going towards turfgrass research.  Now, I'm happy to report that my square did receive some love from Titleist, but unfortunately, it wasn't the biggest pile.  Fifty squares were sold, and a cool $500 was raised for research at the drop of a ... well, cowpie!

It was a great meeting, and kudos go to the staff at Bulls Bay for hosting the event.  Who would have thought that raising money could be so easy — and that's no B.S.!

Is your chapter thinking outside the box?

The time of year to reflect and review

Thank you to everyone who had responded to the environmental surveys that have come out the past few months. Now, there's another one in your inbox. This survey, the GCSAA Member Needs Assessment, is important to us so we know how we're doing with our efforts to serve you and serve the golf industry. You should have received the e-mail as of December 7. This time of year is especially busy, so we appreciate you taking a few moments to provide us with feedback.

This is also the time of year to reflect on the events of 2015 and start planning for 2016.  I've had the chance to meet and work with some amazing people in the Southeast this year and everyone seems to be headed for bigger and better things in 2016.  I'd like to thank all the chapter executives and their staff for making all of the chapters function so well.  I'd also like to thank the chapter boards for their willingness to give their time and push our industry forward; we have some great thinkers here in the Southeast.  Finally, I'd like to thank the members of the five chapters with which I work.  I have had the opportunity to meet hundreds of members this year and I look forward to meeting hundreds more in the next year.  I plan on visiting at least 50 courses this year in my travels, so don't be surprised if you get an email asking if I can stop in for a visit.

I hope to see everyone in San Diego for the 2016 Golf Industry Show! You can sign up for the GIS and the Golf Championship here. Happy holidays!

Chapter Delegates Meeting camaraderie

Another Chapter Delegates Meeting has come and passed without any big revelations or problems.

There is one thing that will stand out in my mind from this meeting, though, and that is the never-ending sense of brotherhood that exists amongst our members.

The members of the New Jersey chapter sent more than their delegates to the meeting; they also sent a gift from the heart: a donation for the members of the Carolinas chapter, who have been impacted by the flooding in South Carolina.

They didn't want any extra attention or fanfare, they just wanted to make sure that there were turkeys on the table at Thanksgiving and toys under the tree at Christmas for those who were impacted by mother nature.  This is yet another example of the character of our membership and the devotion to their fellow superintendents.  Thank you to the ladies and gentlemen of the GCSANJ, you
are truly outstanding!

Talk to your local politicians

Seems like television is dominated with presidential candidates talking about what is wrong with the world and how their opponents are responsible for the chaos.  Of course, election campaign years are like that and we know that the mud is just starting to get flung.  There's no better time for you to get involved in the process.  You can get together with your local congressional representative and talk about topics that directly affect our business. Yes, I'm talking about the Grassroots Ambassador Program.

With just a little bit of training and some helpful materials to leave behind, you could be stopping in to your local representative's office to discuss the economic impact of golf in your state and throughout the country.  There are other important items to discuss including WOTUS and labor issues that are facing our industry, both of which are written in confusing language making them difficult to understand.

Perhaps you'll even be selected to visit Washington D.C. when the industry sends its delegation to the annual National Golf Day in April.  You can sign up on the GCSAA website or see your regional field staff representative to get started.  It's an interesting way to witness how government works and it doesn't take much of your time.  Get to know your local representative.  Sign up today!