VOLUME XXVIII, PART VI, NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2 0 1 2
NEWSLETTER OF THE FLORIDA GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS ASSOCIATION

THE

NFGCSA

FALL CLASSIC WAS A H U G E

From left: NFGCSA Crash Cup Tournament
Chairman Jay McCord presents Scott
Scamehorn, from the Mountain Lake G.C. in
Lake Wales with the inaugural Crash Cup
trophy at the Ocean Links Course on Amelia
Island.
CALENDAR

Speakers at the Classic Education Forum,
from left: Tom Vlach, TPC @ Sawgrass,
Todd Lowe, USGA Florida Green Section,
Gary Grigg, Grigg Bros, and Paul Vermeulen,
PGA Tour Agronomy. Not pictured:
Dave Dougherty, ISTRC.
OF

EVENTS

NOVEMBER 2 0

NOVEMBER 6

SUCCESS!

DECEMBER 7

SEVEN RIVERS AND W E S T COAST G C S A

EVERGLADES G C S A VENDOR

CENTRAL FLORIDA G C S A CROWFOOT

JOINT MEETING

APPRECIATION DAY, THE ROOKERY AT

TOURNAMENT, GRAND CYPRESS

SOUTHERN HILLS PLANTATION, BROOKSVILLE

MARCO ISLAND MARRIOTT

DECEMBER 1 2

NOVEMBER 11

DECEMBER 4

NORTH FLORIDA G C S A CHRISTMAS

F G C S A GOLF B M P , CITRA

TOURNAMENT

DECEMBER 6

DECEMBER 1 3

TREASURE COAST G C S A EDUCATION AND

CALUSA G C S A CHRISTMAS CHARITY

TREASURE COAST G C S A ANNUAL

GOLF

TOURNAMENT

CHRISTMAS OUTING

SUNCOAST G C S A

Bucs Bus TRIP

NOVEMBER 1 5

GRAND HARBOR, VERO BEACH

PRESIDENT'S
BY

NANCY

REPORT

MILLER,

C G C S

Our busy winter golf season will soon be upon us. Late summer/early fall
renovations are over and overseeding operations are beginning in the
north and central regions of the state. Our seasonal members are
beginning to head south and soon our courses will be filled daily with
players enjoying the fruits of our labors. To guarantee continued success
in conditioning our golf course for our members and customers, I urge you
to get involved in the new National Rounds 4 Research Program from the
GCSAA.
The first auctions for Rounds 4 Research are currently on-line at
www.BiddingForGood.com. If you haven't yet registered your course to
participate, please visit www.rounds4research.com to get the info. It's a
simple way to raise monies needed for turfgrass research, scholarships
and advocacy and you can direct the donation to your local chapter if they
have signed a pledge form with GCSAA or direct it to the Florida GCSA
state chapter. We all rely on research past and present to develop our
daily and long-term turf health strategies.
Current research being financed in whole or in part by FGCSA is "Daily
Light Integral Requirements for Warm Season Turfgrasses" by Dr. Brian
Unruh and Dr. Jason Kruse. We expect this project to help us better
understand and therefore manage low-light and shade conditions for
Florida turfgrasses. If you have specific issues that you would like to see
researched and addressed, please notify the association and we will pass
the information on.

Nancy Miller, CGCS
reservations and receive a
discounted rate by using "TEH"
as the reservation code.

The second BMP class and test
were offered at the FTGA
Conference and Show. 45
people participated and took the
exam. The next session will be
The Golf Industry Show is scheduled for February 4-8, 2013 in San Diego, at the Research Center in Citra
CA. The FGCSA reception will be held on Thursday, February 7 from 7on December 4. Call Jennifer at
10pm at Hotel Palomar in the Gaslight Quarter of the city. FGCSA
FGCSA offices if you are
members and sponsors may log onto the hotel's website to make
interested in becoming certified
in the BMP's.

gcsaaIp

/

Editor:
Joel Jackson, CGCS
(407) 248-1971 (fax/phone)
E-mail: FLGrn@aol.com
News Coordinator:
Jennifer Bryan
PO Box 65
Jensen Beach, FL 34958
(772) 334-7515
(772) 334-6015
E-mail:fgcsa@comcast.net
The Green Sheet is a bimonthly FGCSA
Newsletter printed as follows: Jan/Feb,
March/April, May/June, July/August,
^Sept./October, November/December.

Financial Support:
This issue of the Green Sheet
is being sponsored by:
Golf Ventures
5101 Gateway Blvd., Suite 18
Lakeland, FL 33811-2704
800-330-8874
800-481-8911
888-222-7072

Congratulations to Steve Bernard
for winning the FGCSA Golf
Championship in August at
Southern Dunes and to Scott
Scamehorn for winning the First
\
NFGCSA "Crash Cup" Fall
Classic. Both men have earned
a spot on the FGCSA Golf Team
for the GCSAA Golf
Championship in February.
Also, congratulations to Greg
Pheneger who was honored with
the Wreath of Grass Award at the
FTGA Conference and Show.

All material submitted for printing will
be edited at the discretion of the editor.
Material must be typed or clearly
printed. Photos are encouraged. Items
must be for the good of the association.
Deadline next issue December 15.

We all understand the many
demands on your time. Those in
active service are dealing with
the same conflicts. Remember
Continued on page 3...
>

...Continued from page 2
though that "many hands make
light work". More volunteers
mean that all volunteers have
less of a load to carry. We have
committees to fit every interest,
from awards to surveys. All
committees are listed in your
membership directory. If you are
interested in sitting on an FGCSA
committee, please let us know.
We will put you in contact with the
committee chairman. To those of
you currently serving or have
served at your state and/or local
level...THANK YOU!
From left: Ralph Dain, GCSAA Florida Field
Rep gave a heartfelt and emotional FTGA
Wreath of Grass Award introduction and
presentation to his longtime friend and
mentor Johns Island Director of Golf
Operations Greg Pheneger, a past president
of both the FTGA and FGCSA.

The past two months have been very busy here at the FGCSA. In September, I had the pleasure of attending the
FTGA Conference and Show in Orlando and the Treasure Coast GCSA's 4th Annual Fishing Tournament. Although
my boat wasn't very successful in the fishing department, it was a great event and lots of fun. A special thank you to
Chris Gast for all of his hard work putting the event together. In October, I attended a Long Range Planning Session
with the Palm Beach GCSA, the FGCSA Fall Board Meeting in Amelia Island and the Ag Institute of Florida's Lunch
and Learn session in Orlando. This Ag Institute's session was about using social media for your business and
communication. I learned some good tips and I am eager to get them up and running. In the midst of all this, I have
been busy with membership renewals. Many thanks to all of our members for getting in your renewal forms on time!
Now it is my job to put this information into the 2013 FGCSA Membership Directory. Be sure to keep a look out for
these in January. Also, please call or e-mail the FGCSA office if any of your information changes. It is my goal to
keep our records as accurate as possible.
In collaboration with the FTGA Conference and Show, the FGCSA offered our second Golf BMP Certification. We had
good participation and I want to congratulate those folks who successfully achieved the Golf BMP Certification. They
are: Tom Alex, Edward Anderson, Barry Balavender, Peter Becht, Brian Beckner, Scott Bell, Robert Bittner, Jay
Buccellato, Landon Clark, Gene Contino, Russ Cooper, Sam Cooper, Paul Davidson, Bill Esser, Bryce Gibson, Susan
Haddock, Tim Hiers, Charles Buddy Keene, Bryce Koch, John Lammrish, John Lapikas, John Morrison, Sam Mosley,
Preston Stephenson, Michael Strube, Cindy Unger, Todd Walsworth, John Wildmon and Jason Zimmerman.
Congratulations!
The next BMP will be held on December 4th in Citra. The Treasure Coast GCSA is hoping to offer the course and
certification on January 17th. Keep checking the website for more information.
And as always, please call the FGCSA office at 800-732-6053, or e-mail me at fgcsa@comcast..net, if you have any
questions.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

EXECUTIVE

DIRECTOR'S

REPORT

By Joel Jackson, CGCS
Government Relations Report: Hillsborough County
initially adopted the State Model Fertilizer Ordinance with
the caveat that they would do more research into the
water quality issue. To that end they are creating a
Tampa Bay Nutrient Study project; initially charging the
Tampa Bay Estuary Project with the task of gathering
information. This group was totally Pro-Ban and
dismissed all DEP/DACS/UF/IFAS science.
The good news is that the Allied Green Industry Coalition
has successfully lobbied the county to allow a panel of
Green Industry stakeholders to also sit on the Nutrient
Study Task Group to make sure the proceedings is
properly vetted and the science is relevant, rigorous and
impartial.
The Green Industry Government Relations Partnership a coalition of allied stakeholders connected to
Tallahassee via the Allied Industries of Florida (AIF) and
headed by Jose Gonzalez, the AIF VP for Government
Relations has regular weekly Friday conference calls to
keep all of us informed of current events, legislative
issues, etc. Currently the group is discussing the political
strategy to follow for next year's Florida Legislative
Session.
Word on the street is that the City of Sanibel is in a fund
raising mode to build a $100,000+ war chest to fight any
changes to the Local Fertilizer Bans ordinances. That's
why we need to support the FTGA's Environmental
Research & Education Fund (EREF) a voluntary "Optout" 6/10ths of a percent donation added to fertilizer
purchases, beginning in January.
FGCSA Association News: The new North Florida GCSA
"Fall Classic" event got off to a good start November 4th
with our Fall Board Meeting at the Amelia National G.C.
You can read the minutes of the meeting for the
outcomes of that meeting.
The next day at the "Classic" Education session, USGA
Agronomist Todd Lowe moderated a panel of speakers:
Dave Doherty, CEO of International Sports Turf
Research Center; Gary Grigg, VP/Agronomist of Grigg
Brothers Foliar Fertilizers and Tom Valch, Director of
Agronomy, TPC @ Sawgrass and Paul Vermeulen,
Director of Competition Agronomy, PGA Tour. They
discussed respectively: "Major Causes of Greens
Failures and What We Can Do About Them", "Foliar vs.
Soil Applied Fertility - How they work and how fertility
impacts IPM and Sustainability issues", and "The Making
of The Players - a behind the scenes look at the

CALENDAR

OF EVENTS

CONTINUED...

DECEMBER 2 0
EVERGLADES G C S A CHRISTMAS GOLF TOURNAMENT AND
DINNER
SHADOW WOOD GOLF CLUB
FEBRUARY 7
F G C S A RECEPTION
HOTEL PALOMAR, SAN DIEGO

preparations, challenges and logistics of putting on the
"The Players" championship.
Finally, on Saturday a full field of golfers challenged
the Amelia Plantation's Ocean Links, par 70, golf
course with its six ocean-front holes in pursuit of the
inaugural "Crash Cup," named for Edward A. Hall, a
founding member of the NFGCSA. Scott Scamehorn
of the Ridge Chapter took home the trophy.
On October 10th, Jennifer Bryan and I attended the Ag
Institute of Florida's Fall Lunch & Learn Session on
Using Social Media for Your Business and
Associations Communications. This group is one of
the Allied Association contacts I have maintained over
the years. I serve on their Board of Directors and have
picked up valuable communications and networking
ideas along the way. Jennifer liked the format and
picked up some good tips for administering our own
FGCSA website.
Florida Green Magazine: At this writing, the Fall
Florida Green is in the final stages of production as we
undergo the final proofing and approval process. The
issue should be in the mail on schedule around the
25th of October.

FGCSA Reception
Thursday
February 7, 2013
7-10PM

]PALOMAlK
SAN

DIEGO

A KIMPTON® HOTEL

The Treasure Coast GCSA held their 4
Annual Fishing Tournament on
September 2T6. There were 68 anglers
and over 100 people at the weigh in and
BBQ.
1st Place Team - Captain Roger Welker
and Steve Antal (pictured on left)
Place Team - Captain BH Fraser,
Jason Fraser, Shauna Fraser and
Shirley Smith (pictured below)
3rd Place Team - Captain Billy Browning
and Brian Patterson

The best the West Coast Chapter could do last
September at the Suncoast-West Coast Joint Meeting
at the Ritz-Carlton Members Club was manage a tie
in the golf match, which means the Suncoast holds on
to the "Beyond the Bridge" Cup. Pictured are
Suncoast President Mark Todd and West Coast Vice
President Kevin Sunderman. (Pictured above)
What a Class Act! The team of Bill Tyde, Robby
Robertson, Dan Haulbein and Nick Kearns won the
Annual West Coast Bud Quandt Tournament held at
the Feather Sound G.C. in Clearwater. The team from
the Suncoast Chapter donated their winnings back to
the West Coast to be used for the chapter's research
and charitable programs. (Pictured on the right)

MINUTES OF

FALL

2012 FGCSA

BOARD

MEETING

The Fall 2012 Annual Board Meeting of
the FGCSA Board of Directors was
called to order by President Nancy
Miller at 10:10am, October 4, 2012 at
Amelia National Golf Club, Fernandina
Beach, FL.
All officers were present. All Chapters
were represented, with the exception of
the Central Florida, Treasure Coast and
the Ridge Chapters. The Chapter
Representatives were: Calusa - Jim
Foster, Seven Rivers - Jim Shaffer,
South Florida - Ricky Reeves,
Everglades -Wayne Kappauf, Suncoast
- Bill Tyde, North Florida - Bob Coffey,
Palm Beach - Brian Main, West Coast Trent Inman
Others attending the meeting were:
Jennifer Bryan - Association Manager;
Joel Jackson - FGCSA Executive
Director; Todd Lowe - USGA. And Bob
Gruber, Golf Course Superintendent Amelia National Golf Club.
Minutes of the FGCSA Summer 2012
Board Meeting were approved.
Financials - Bill Davidson presented the
current fiscal year financials. Rickey
Reeves motioned for acceptance of the
financials. All in favor - financials
approved.
Committee Reports:
Executive Director Report 1. Government Legislative/Regulatory
Update: Hillsborough County: A Green
Industry Task Group with turf
represented by Betsy McGill, Mac
Carraway and several others will serve
as an advisory council to the Tampa
Bay Nutrient Study project to verify
scientific methods and data are
followed. The study was mandated to
determine the need to go beyond the
State Fertilizer Ordinance with regard to
bans, etc.
State Government: At the recent Florida
Pesticide Review Council meeting in
Alachua, Dr. Dennis Howard and others

from DACS and DEP reported on the
push to streamline and condense
various stakeholder councils and
boards to reduce state costs. Basic
agreement was reached to reduce the
schedule to two meetings per year
instead of four. The new dates would
be in March and September.
Stakeholders agreed to the changes
but were adamant that the working
relationships and access to discuss
issues would not be compromised.

challenges were discussed and it was
recommended that chapters send out
a short survey asking why
superintendents are not attending
meetings.

Education - Jim Shaffer presented a
spreadsheet of upcoming educational
opportunities. In addition, The Seven
Rivers GCSA is hoping to host the
next BMP Certification on December
4th in Citra. The Treasure Coast
GCSA is also looking to host a Golf
BPP Certification in January. That
date is still being worked on.

BMP - The second BMP Certification
class and test were offered during the
FTGA Conference and Show. We had
45 people participate and take the
test. We have received a lot of
positive feedback and will continue to
improve the test.

Research:
Rounds 4 Research - The first auction
for Rounds 4 Research has begun.
Be sure to encourage your clubs to
participate.
Research Projects- Jennifer is
preparing a draft contract for the
2. Allied Association News: The Ag
Research Proposals that the FGCSA
Institute of Florida hosted its Fall
committed to at the Summer Board
Lunch and Learn session at the
Meeting. These drafts will be
Holiday Inn in Lake Buena Vista on
forwarded to the Board for approval
October 10th. The topic of maximizing and then to the University of Florida
association and business
for signatures. Nancy will work on a
communications and advertising
letter for the Externals to bring to their
potential via Social Media was
local Boards letting them know what
presented. Both Jennifer and I
studies the FGCSA is funding to
attended to learn the newest and
encourage the support of the local
most effective ways to utilize our
chapters.
Facebook and/or Twitter links on our
website.
Reception - The FGCSA Reception
will be held at the Hotel Palomar from
7-10pm on February 7th. The Hotel is
Membership Directory - The
Membership Directory ad deadline
the sister hotel of the Hotel Solamar.
has been extended. Advertisers are
FGCSA members arifI sponsors may
trickling in at a slower rate than usual. log onto the Hotel's website to make
Jennifer will begin making phone calls reservations and receive a discounted
and also send a list of advertisers to
rate by using "THE" as the reservation
the Board.
code.

Awards - Reminder to all chapters award nominations are dues due by
G o l f - T h e FGCSA Golf
the January meeting. The nomination
Championship was held on Friday
form is on the website. Please be
August 24th at Southern Dunes.
sure to fill that out completely when
There was a large turnout which could submitting a nomination.
be attributed to the day change; it
received a lot of positive feedback.
USGA Update - Todd Lowe reported
Steve Bernard won the Individual
the USGA will be helping with the
Championship and earned a spot on
Crowfoot in December and will
the FGCSA Team for the GCSAA
continue with ongoing education
Championship in February.
especially the Regional Golf meetings
that include the Greens Committee
Membership - Trent Inman presented Chairman, Club management, club
the membership chart. Chapter
pro, etc. Those meeting will be

announced in the future.
Old Business Farmlinks - No date has been provided
at this time. We are still hoping for a
March trip. Jennifer will follow up with
Chris Key.
Logo - The new logo was discussed
again for the purpose (only) of new
pocket badges/crests for the Board.
Trent Inman made a motion to use the
Florida Chapter of the GCSAA logo on
the pocket crests worn by the Board.
The motion was approved.
LRP - The Executive Board is currently
working with a group of past
President's as the FGCSA decides on
the future of the Executive Director
position after Joel retires from that
portion of his job in December. This
group will meet sometime in October or
November and will report their findings
at the December LRP meeting. The
next LRP meeting will be held on
December 6th from 10-2. This meeting
will focus on: Executive Director
Search, Publications, Industry partners,
Membership, Sui#fey, recruitment,
BMP, Research, Government relations,
Communication, Finances, Fiscal
Year/Calendar Year. Meeting details
and location will be determined.
Dues Increase - The possibility of a
dues increase was presented to the
Board. More details about the future of
the association need to be outlined
prior to an increase recommendation;
however, the committee will create a
working document and establish a
dues increase policy that will be
modeled after the GCSAA for the
future.
The next board meeting will be held on
January 17th at 10am at Maple Leaf
Golf and Country Club, Port Charlotte.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:52pm.

Daily Light Integral Requirements for Warm-Season
Turfgrasses
Dr J . Bryan Unruh and Dr. Jason Kruse
Situation: The "dog days of summer" have plagued turf managers in Florida
for many years. Bermudagrass Decline (Gaeumannomyces graminis var.
graminis) and more recently, leaf blights (Bipolaris spp. and Curvularia spp.),
are often implicated in the deterioration of turf quality during these stressful
periods. Recent work, however, suggests that reductions
in solar radiation due to cloud cover and atmospheric water vapor content
leads to a decline in turfgrass quality due to altered physiology and
morphology thus predisposing the turf to living and non-living stressors.
Because warm-season turfgrasses are
maintained throughout the year in Florida, a better understanding of the effects
of the seasonal changes in available light- at the species/cultivar level- would
help turf managers develop better management practices for stressed turf.
Very little shade/low light research has been conducted on warm-season
grasses and essentially no information regarding how fast these
physiologicaland morphological changes occur exists.
Light can be quantified using different measurements - most of which are
simply "snap shots in time." More recently, Daily Light Integral (DLI) has been
used- primarily in the greenhouse/floriculture industry. Dll is used to measure
the "total quantity of light delivered over the course of an entire
day." The advantage to using Dll to quantify light requirements for plants is
that it measures total light, accounting for shading during different times and
duration of daylight.
Objectives:
1. Quantify the DLI requirement for common warm-season turfgrasses;
2. Establish if these cultivars are exhibiting shade tolerant characteristics
under low light;
3. Determine the rate of etiolation and changes in morphology under varying
levels and duration of shade; and
4. Determine the variation in DU requirements as influence by seasonal
temperature and light changes.
Completion of the project should result in definitive DU values to grow
acceptable quality warm season turfgrasses. It is expected that improved
management techniques will be developed to minimize stress due to variable
light conditions (seasonal or weather) and temperatures. Turf managers will
also be able to better utilize new technology to evaluate growing conditions
based on light intensity for current or proposed sites.

Lakeland: 800-330-8874
Jupiter: 888-222-7072

Golf
Ventures

U/\C0BS=I\J
When Performance Matters

"Celebrating 25 Years in the Turf Industry'

It's hard to believe it is November already and we are getting
ready for the holidays. Golf Ventures would like to take this
opportunity to Thank You for your support and business in
2012! Please know that we are working together with our
vendor partners to bring you quality products and competitive
pricing for all your golf course needs.
Thank You again for the opportunity to prcxidn —SM^^ior
service and solutions to your course. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
P"J|IJIJHI|JIIJIJM|JINI|JIII|JJIJIIJNJIIJIIJJ«NJJIITJJ

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