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Lord Byron tees it up form on high
Patty Berg: A true champion
'Ask the Experts' for free
USGA tabs Suggs for Bob Jones Award
Little course shines bright in Sun City
Toro contributions reach Victory lane
Passing noted
GCSAA environmental honor to Pinehurst
Rain Bird hosts water summit
Canadian association honors three
2007 election ballot set
Letter to the editor
Lord Byron tees it up from on high
Earlier this fall, golf mourned the loss of one of its greatest players and most respected figures, Byron Nelson, who died Sept. 26 at home at his beloved Fairway Ranch in Roanoke, Texas. He was 94.
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Nelson is the third member of GCSAA’s select company of Old Tom Morris Award winners to die in 2006, following the passings of Sherwood Moore, CGCS, and LPGA Tour legend Patty Berg.
Nelson is survived by his second wife, Peggy, who was the guiding hand behind his 1992 autobiography, “How I Played the Game.”
The life and times of Byron Nelson is one of golf’s more intriguing stories. Having learned the game as a young caddie in Fort Worth, he went on to lead the grueling, nomadic life of a club pro and professional tour player. He withstood the grind to become the game’s superstar of the 1940s when he won the bulk of his 54 PGA-sanctioned titles.
Nelson also won five majors along the way, but his legend was immortalized in 1945 when he won 18 tournaments, including an astounding 11 in a row, while posting a 68.3 scoring average — achievements that today are widely considered to be unattainable.
But consider also that for all of his immense success, Nelson averaged only about $14,000 a year in career earnings. It was after the halcyon years of 1944 and ’45 when he won 31 tournaments in 54 starts that he and his wife, Louise (who died in 1985 after more than 50 years of marriage), felt they finally had enough money to fulfill their dream of owning a ranch in north Texas. Thus, in 1946 at the age of 34, Nelson stunned the world of golf by retiring from tournament play.
That abrupt retirement is perhaps most mystifying to the most recent couple of generations who have come to know Nelson as one of golf’s most noteworthy and active ambassadors. As for himself, he said repeatedly over the years that he has no regrets leaving fame — if not fortune — in his prime.
“No . . . none whatsoever,” he said in an interview with GCM for an article on his selection as the 1994 Old Tom Morris Award winner.
“Leaving the Tour like I did basically was the best thing that ever happened to Byron Nelson. For one thing, I might never have gotten my ranch. But also for two other reasons: I never would have become the first golfer to work television or the first to have his own tournament. Things like that come along but once in life.”
Of course, Nelson never really left golf. When he wasn’t on a tractor, working cattle or in his woodworking shop, he spent the next six decades promoting the game as a TV commentator and, most of all, by doing the lion’s share of legwork and player recruitment for the EDS Byron Nelson Championship in Dallas, one of the mainstays on the modern PGA Tour. It remains the one and only event named for a player and is perennially the highest-grossing charitable tournament on tour.
Nelson actively promoted and graced the championship with his presence well into his 90s. It became a symbol of his commitment to not only golf, but to the countless people he mentored and befriended as a man of character, honesty and humility. He wasn’t called Lord Byron for nothing.
A protégé of Nelson’s and a longtime friend as well, Tom Watson, who received the Old Tom Morris Award two years prior to Nelson’s selection, said, “Byron is an icon of golf. But, more important, he was a good man in the true sense of the word. For many, Byron will be remembered for his incredible record as a professional golfer. But he will be most remembered for the genuineness and gentleness he brought to all those around him. I will miss him, but I will always remember what he taught me.”
Other reactions from fellow Old Tom Morris Award winners
“I don’t think that anyone will ever exceed the things that Byron did by winning 11 tournaments in a row in one year. But, I suppose that is not the most admirable thing that he did, although it was certainly tremendous. He was a fantastic person whom I admired from the time I was a boy.”
— 1983 OTMA winner Arnold Palmer
“The only thing that rivals Byron’s greatness on a golf course is the manner in which he conducted his life — as a gentleman, a role model and an ambassador.”
— 2005 OTMA winner Jack Nicklaus
“As a competitor, Byron was able to be mean and tough and intimidating — and pleasant. You can always argue who was the greatest player, but Byron is the finest gentleman the game has ever known.”
— 1998 OTMA winner Ken Venturi
“Apart from being one of the greatest players ever, Byron Nelson was always the epitome of a gentleman. His passing marks the end of arguably golf’s most prolific era, which included the likes of Ben Hogan and Sam Snead. To my mind, Byron was possibly golf’s most consistent player ever.”
— 1997 OTMA winner Ben Crenshaw
Patty Berg: A true champion
In the weeks following Patty Berg’s death on Sept. 10, the golf world celebrated her unparalleled legacy to not only women’s golf, but the game in general.
Berg was one of the founders of the LPGA in 1950 shortly after she began a span in which she won 44 professional tournaments, including nine majors. She served as the LPGA’s first president and was among the inaugural inductees in the association’s Hall of Fame. In all, Berg won 60 titles, including a record 15 majors.
“Patty was a wonderfully talented woman who was dedicated to golf, to growing the game and to making the sport fun for golfers of all ages. She was a pioneer, an athlete, a mentor, a friend and an entertainer,” said LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens following Berg’s death at age 88. “As a founder of the LPGA, Patty took the LPGA to new heights and it was the work, passion and dedication that she and her fellow founders exhibited that has allowed the LPGA to grow and prosper for so many years.”
Berg grew up in Minneapolis, and as a youngster was the quarterback of a sandlot football team, the 50th Street Tigers, that included a tackle by the name of Bud Wilkinson. She began playing golf at the age of 13 and went on to win 28 amateur tournaments in a seven-year period, including the U.S. Women’s Amateur. She turned professional in 1940 and a decade later she and 12 others founded the LPGA.
Berg retired from the tour in 1962, but continued her relentless support and promotion of the game. Among the many honors that came her way in the ensuing years was GCSAA’s 1986 Old Tom Morris Award. She was the first woman to win the association’s highest honor.
“There was no better ambassador for golf than Patty Berg,” said GCSAA CEO Steve Mona, CAE. “Everyone who considers themselves a fan of the game should be thankful for her contributions. I know GCSAA golf course superintendents appreciate the steadfast support and recognition she afforded them. As the winner of the Old Tom Morris Award, Patty Berg has a special place in the association. Even in her late years, she stayed in communication with us and remained interested and engaged in the golf course management profession.”
Nancy Lopez, LPGA Tour legend, a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame and the 2000 winner of the Old Tom Morris Award, had forged a strong bond with Berg ever since she joined the tour as a rookie in 1974.
“She was a pioneer in my eyes, but yet she was a real person. She never met a stranger,” Lopez said. “She was the greatest ambassador the LPGA ever had. She was a great humanitarian and her friendship meant more to me than anything. I loved her because she was loyal and had such integrity. I will miss her enthusiasm and her wonderful stories. I am proud to say that I knew her.”
'Ask the Experts' for free
Beginning this month, a free, interactive GCM feature allows GCSAA members to submit questions to industry experts on topics covering categories from irrigation to herbicides and equipment, with the questions and the experts’ answers posted exclusively online.
The new feature, “GCM’s Ask the Experts,” also will be archived, so all the questions and answers posted in each category can be viewed.
“‘GCM’s Ask the Experts’ puts GCSAA members in direct contact with industry experts,” says GCSAA President Sean A. Hoolehan, CGCS. “What better way to serve members than to assist them in getting the answers they need to specific questions? This innovative program allows superintendents to pose those questions and obtain timely answers directly from the most reliable sources in the industry.”
Lesco and Aquatrols are just two of the industry partners to sign on to offer expert advice to superintendents.
“Ask the Experts” is hosted by GCSAA.org and can be visited at www.gcsaa.org/gcm/ask.
— Amy Bird, editor, GCSAA This Week
USGA tabs Suggs for Bob Jones Award
Louise Suggs, who was inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame twice, once for her playing accomplishments and again 49 years later in the teaching and club professional division, is the 2007 recipient of the USGA’s Bob Jones Award.
The USGA’s highest honor, the award recognizes distinguished sportsmanship in golf. Suggs had a very successful amateur career before turning pro in 1948. She went on to win 58 titles, including 11 majors. She is one of just seven players to win both the U.S. Women’s Amateur and the U.S. Women’s Open. Her 14 top fives and 19 top 10s in the Open are records.
Suggs, 83, was one of the founders of the LPGA and a three-time president of the association. She was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1979.
Little course shines bright in Sun City
Another mighty mite is basking in golf’s spotlight. Quail Run, a 27-year-old, 75-acre gem amid its larger brethren in the original Sun City community northwest of Phoenix recently became the first nine-hole course in Arizona to earn Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary certification.
Quail Run is one of eight courses in the adult community developed by the Del Webb Corporation in 1960. The lifeblood of the golf scene there is volunteerism by the community’s residents, who give new meaning to “avid golfer” by producing more than 400,000 rounds annually.
John Snyder, CGCS, is Sun City’s director of golf operations and heads the management of the eight layouts along with six course superintendents. He says it was that community spirit that made the Audubon certification possible at such a limited-resource facility as Quail Run, where 50,000 rounds are played a year by golfers whose average age is 80 and the average green fee is just $10.
“I would think we’re one of the best deals anywhere, but we’re also a low-end facility compared to the courses that spend big money to show their concern for the environment,” says the 19-year GCSAA member.
Snyder points out that an early impetus toward environmental awareness at Sun City came in the late 1990s when much of the courses’ wall-to-wall turf was replaced by desert landscaping, which eventually helped address some of the Audubon program’s key issues such as reduction of chemical use, water conservation and water management.
Snyder, whose background includes stints with the Gary Player Country Club in South Africa; PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.; and American Golf Corp., came on board with the Recreation Centers of Sun City nearly five years ago.
Nearly all of the work to comply with the Audubon program was done by Quail Run’s Class A superintendent, Chuck Manning, and his maintenance staff along with community volunteers. Homeowners took wildlife habitat to heart and helped enhance the native area around a lake to attract and sustain birds, while the local Boy Scouts built and monitored bird boxes.
Manning, whose crew helped put in a state-of-the-art equipment wash pad area, notes that Quail Run is just the seventh course in Arizona, large or small, to earn the international certification.
“By achieving this honor we are helping change the perception that golf courses are a detriment to the environment and that we are dedicated in protecting the environment for us as well as our future generations,” the 13-year GCSAA member says.
Toro contributions reach Victory lane
GCSAA’s philanthropic organization, The Environmental Institute for Golf, announced recently that The Toro Co. has become the first member of the Victory Club after its cumulative giving passed the $1 million mark.
Toro has supported The Institute and GCSAA activities since 1987, including the association’s most recent environmental program, the Golf Course Environmental Profile project. GCSAA notes that more than 2,900 of the project’s surveys were returned by superintendents, which represents about 17 percent of the golf facilities in the country. Additional phases of the project will be completed throughout the next five years.
“The Institute could not have accomplished what it has without the support of Toro,” GCSAA CEO Steve Mona, CAE, said in an association release. “Toro has been a true leader in fostering environmental stewardship and in backing the efforts of The Environmental Institute for Golf. We are most appreciative of their contributions, but even more so of the support of the golf course management profession that has existed for decades.”
Added Michael J. Hoffman, Toro president and CEO: “We are proud to say that Toro is the first name to enter The Environmental Institute for Golf’s Victory Club. We support the vision of The Institute and are pleased to collaborate on such vital programs and services.”
Passing noted
Andrew Knappenberger, a GCSAA Class A member who was instrumental in bringing big-time golf to the Oneida Indian Nation’s Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, N.Y., was killed in a car-bicycle accident Sept. 19.
Knappenberger, 43, was riding a bicycle at about 6 in the evening when he turned into the path of a car while trying to cross a highway. He had been the director of golf courses and grounds at Turning Stone for about a year and a half following an eight-year stint as the director of golf course maintenance at Quail Hollow Country Club in Painesville, Ohio.
At Turning Stone, the 12-year GCSAA member oversaw the maintenance of the resort’s five venues, including the Atunyote Course, which will be the site of a new PGA Tour event next September, the Turning Stone Resort Championship. That layout also stepped in as host to the PGA Tour’s B.C. Open this summer when the tournament’s longtime home, En-Joie Golf Club in Endicott, N.Y., was damaged by flood waters.
Knappenberger is survived by his wife, Beverly, and two daughters, Naomi, 9, and Kelsey, 5.
Paul Porter, president and CEO of Poppy Holding Inc., and CEO of the Northern California Golf Association, died Sept. 12. Porter, 56, had suffered an aneurysm Aug. 15.
After 18 years at the Northstar Golf Course at Tahoe Ski Resort, Porter came to Poppy Hills Golf Club in Pebble Beach as general manager in 1991. Under his guidance as the head of Poppy Holding, Poppy Hills joined the course rotation for the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, and Poppy Ridge Golf Club, a 27-hole facility, was developed in Livermore.
Both Poppy Hills and Poppy Ridge are former winners of the National Golf Course Owners Association’s Course of the Year Award. Porter was the founding president of the California Golf Course Owners Association and the California Alliance for Golf.
Survivors include his wife, Nettie; two sons, Reed and Robert; and a daughter, Lauren.
GCSAA environmental honor to Pinehurst
A long-term commitment to a program that supports projects that provide habitat for threatened and endangered wildlife species has earned the Pinehurst Resort the 2007 GCSAA President’s Award for Environmental Stewardship.
The award, which will be presented on Feb. 23 during the President’s Celebration at the 2007 GCSAA Education Conference and Golf Industry Show in Anaheim, was established in 1991 to recognize an exceptional environmental contribution to the game of golf and which further exemplifies the golf course superintendent’s image as a steward of the land.
In 1995, the Safe Harbor Program was created as a collaboration between the non-profit group Environmental Defense and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to help private landowners enhance habitat on a voluntary basis for legal protection from additional restrictions from the Endangered Species Act.
Not only is the famed North Carolina resort the original private property to enter the Safe Harbor Program, but it actually presented the idea of such a program to various agencies and officials as an answer to the presence of the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker on some of the eight Pinehurst golf courses, as well as the surrounding area.
“Interest was shown and the right questions were asked,” Brad Kocher, CGCS, director of golf course maintenance at the resort, told GCM regarding Pinehurst’s role in kick-starting Safe Harbor.
“The key role that Pinehurst Resort played in the initiation of the Safe Harbor Program is something that the entire golf industry can be proud of,” GCSAA President Sean A. Hoolehan, CGCS, said in an association release announcing the award. “We applaud the Pinehurst golf course management staff for its effort in providing a nurturing habitat for the endangered woodpeckers.”
Once Safe Harbor was established nearly 12 years ago, the Pinehurst golf course maintenance department developed a pine forest management strategy to encourage the bird’s presence, such as eliminating understory hardwoods and fostering forage growth attractive to the species. For their part, local environmental and Fish & Wildlife Service personnel added a man-made feature by boring cavities in pine trees to enhance the habitat and attempt to attract the birds in different parts of the resort.
“It’s all part of enabling people to do things to encourage the woodpeckers without being penalized,” said Kocher, a 30-year member of GCSAA who noted that the species currently can be found on five of the Pinehurst courses and more than a dozen other golf facilities in the area. “Interestingly enough, we also have found in the last couple of years three new starts that the birds themselves have done on our No. 2 course and our No. 1 course.”
Over time, Safe Harbor has grown to include all threatened and endangered species. In its first decade, the program signed up nearly 330 landowners in 17 states, protecting 3.5 million acres of habitat for 35 species.
“Since much of the habitat for endangered species in the United States is found on private land, it is imperative that we create incentive-based opportunities, such as the Safe Harbor Program, to bolster our conservation efforts and strengthen partnerships with landowners,” said David P. Smith, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish, Wildlife and Parks. “Trust is a vital component and Pinehurst was the first among hundreds of private landowners to play a leading role in making good things happen when stakeholders are engaged in a cooperative effort to protect imperiled species.”
Rain Bird hosts water summit
Continuing a tradition of honoring the company’s self-professed founding “pillars” — leadership, education, partnership and products — Rain Bird turned the spotlight on the topic of water efficiency during its Intelligent Use of Water Summit at the University of Arizona in Tucson in late August.
The event attracted both industry and consumer media, superintendents, landscapers and others with a vested interest in the topic of water and water conservation, and was the third such event organized by Rain Bird. Two previous summits took place in Pasadena, Calif., in conjunction with the annual Tournament of Roses Parade, which has featured a float from Rain Bird since 1997. In addition to the meeting, industry media were given a tour of Rain Bird’s expansive administrative and manufacturing facilities in Tucson.
Golf course architect John Fought was one of five panelists involved in the day’s activities and led off the meeting with a review of golf’s efforts in the realm of water use and conservation, including the use of recycled water to irrigate greens, tees and fairways, the use of on-site weather stations to fine-tune irrigation systems, converting maintained turf areas into naturalized areas that require less water and the industry’s willingness to embrace new irrigation technologies that can save thousands of gallons of water a year.
There were also several superintendents in the audience, among them CGCS David Major, the director of agronomy at Shady Canyon GC in Irvine, Calif., and Shawn Emerson, the Class A superintendent who heads maintenance operations at the Desert Mountain courses in Scottsdale, Ariz. Emerson, a 16-year member of GCSAA, has Rain Bird products on all six of Desert Mountain’s Jack Nicklaus-designed courses and says that events like the one in Tucson are becoming important professional-development tools for superintendents.
“I go to maybe two or three a year, and I’ve actually been seeking out more and more because of the water situation in Scottsdale,” Emerson says. “I learn something at every event I attend. Then it’s just a matter of, professionally, applying that information to what I do and anticipating where the industry is going to go.”
Emerson adds that golf’s reputation, specific to water use, is generally boosted in the eyes of others with an interest in water use and conservation by superintendent participation in events like the Intelligent Use of Water summits.
“I think the more they’re getting involved in golf and studying what we do, the more they are (looking at golf as an innovator in terms of water use and conservation),” he says. “At first, they take that common approach that we’re the bad guy. But the more they look at what we do, they’re beginning to recognize superintendents as water conservationists and saying, ‘Hey, these guys are on the ball.’ These are great opportunities for us to get involved more because it shows where we are as an industry and the level of expertise that we can bring to the table.”
— Scott Hollister, GCM editor
Canadian association honors three
Mike DeYoung is the Canadian Golf Superintendents Association’s 2006 Superintendent of the Year.
DeYoung, who has been a member of the Canadian association since 1983, is superintendent at Glen Arbour Golf Club in Hammonds Plains, Nova Scotia. He is also a 16-year member of GCSAA.
The award recognizes a superintendent member of the CGSA who has distinguished him or herself through dedication to the profession, performance as a golf course manager and contributions to the profession and community.
The CGSA also announced its 2006 Future Superintendent of the Year and the winner of its John B. Steel Award.
The future award was given to John Kachmarski, an assistant at Glencoe Golf & Country Club in Calgary, Alberta. Kachmarski, a one-year member of GCSAA, earned his diploma in turfgrass management at the University of Guelph and just recently graduated from the Ontario Agricultural College. The award also provides an opportunity to attend a six-week study program at Elmwood College in St. Andrews, Scotland, as well as trips to the headquarters of The Toro Co. in Minneapolis and the CGSA Canadian International Turfgrass Conference and Trade Show next March in Montreal.
The John B. Steel Award, which recognizes an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of the superintendent profession, went to educator Gerry Lettner, instructor, NAIT, at Fairview Campus in Fairview, Alberta.
2007 election ballot set
GCSAA recently announced the official slate of candidates for the association’s 2007 elections during the GCSAA Education Conference and Golf Industry Show in Anaheim, Calif.
The elections will be conducted during the Annual Meeting on Feb. 23. Appearing on the ballot will be:
- For president: Ricky D. Heine, CGCS, general manager and director of grounds at The Golf Club Star Ranch
in Austin, Texas. - For vice president: David S. Downing II, CGCS at Rivers Edge Golf Club in Shallotte, N.C.
- For secretary/treasurer: James R. Fitzroy, CGCS, director/superintendent at Wollaston Recreational Facility/Presidents Golf Club in North Quincy, Mass., and Mark D. Kuhns, CGCS, director of grounds at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J.
- For director (electing three): Keith A. Ihms, CGCS at Country Club of Little Rock in Little Rock, Ark.; John C. Miller, CGCS at The Golf Club at Yankee Trace in Centerville, Ohio; Robert M. Randquist, CGCS, director of golf course and grounds at Boca Rio Golf Club in Boca Raton, Fla.; and Roger M. Ruff, CGCS at Mountain Dell Golf Course in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Current GCSAA President Sean A. Hoolehan, CGCS at Wildhorse Resort & Casino on the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon, will serve for one year on the board of directors as immediate past president. The current immediate past president, Timothy T. O’Neill, CGCS at the Country Club of Darien (Conn.), will retire from the board.
Serving the second year of their terms as directors will be Sanford G. Queen, CGCS, manager of golf operations for the city of Overland Park, Kan., and Patrick R. Finlen, CGCS, director of golf course maintenance operations at The Olympic Club in San Francisco.
Letter to the editor
On Sept. 1 of this year, a dozen equipment technicians were involved in a conference call to discuss the possibility of forming a technicians’ organization, called the Golf Course Equipment Managers Association. During that phone call we decided that not only is this type of association long overdue, but it is increasingly necessary for the development of this position.
The equipment technician’s role over the past 20 years has developed into much more than just a person on the staff who keeps the equipment operational. With the increase in golf courses around the world, there are simply not enough skilled technicians to meet the demand. The reason is there has never been anything to work from.
How can you tell the difference between a skilled and unskilled technician? Is it the way they look or dress? Is it how quickly they can get a piece of equipment up and running? Is it the organization they have or maybe the management skills they possess? Also, isn’t nearly everyone’s perception of a skilled technician different?
GCSAA helped develop the superintendent’s position into one that’s matured over the years. As a result, superintendents have taken on more responsibilities and have, in turn, gained much more respect.
It is for these reasons that an equipment technicians association is needed. An equipment technician is responsible for all the equipment that maintains the golf course on a daily basis. With that being said, the technician has a duty to make sure every member and guest experiences a golf course that is in beautiful condition every day. The position they hold can determine whether that guest returns to the golf course to play again or if today is the last time they see your golf course.
The golf course technician is an integral part to the success of a golf management team and that professionalism, standards, education and achievement should be recognized, nurtured and respected. It would be the goal of an association to grow this idea and to expand it all over the world. We feel that by doing this it will encourage others to enter our profession and do so with the previous statements in mind.
We intend to work with superintendents associations and manufacturers to further develop this association into one that gains the respect and recognition that is long overdue and much needed in our industry. We would like to invite everyone to join us in creating an association that will encourage our growth as industry professionals. The development of our Web site is currently in the beginning stages and can be located at www.gcema.org. Help us grow our industry and the equipment technician profession so everyone can experience what a top-notch golf operation should be.
— Stephen Tucker
Equipment Manager
Ritz-Carlton Members Golf Club
Bradenton, Fla.
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