VOLUME XII, PART 3, MAY/JUNE 1996
NEWSLETTER OF THE FLORIDA GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS ASSOCIATION

SFGCSA Hosts 9 th Annual Exposition . See story on page 7.
May 6 Central Florida chapter
meeting, Rio Pinar CC

UPCOMING EVENTS
May 19 G. C. Horn Tournament

July 10 FGCSA/GCSAA Regional
Seminar, Turfgrass Stress
Mgmt, Palm Beach (new date)
See page 3 for details

June 8 PBGCS A Future of Golf
Tournament, PGA National

July 15 West Coast GCS A Annual
Meeting, Countryside

May 13 PBGCS A joint meeting with
SF&TCGCS A, Boca Lago

June 14 EGCSA/GCSAA Regional
Seminar,Colliers Reserve
See page 3 for details

July 17 PBGCSA Annual Meeting,
Country Club of Florida

May 14 NFGCSA chapter meeting,
Baymeadows GC

June 17 PBGCS A chapter meeting,
Bear Lakes CC

May 14 Suncoast Annual Meeting,
Sara Bay GC

June 18 Suncoast GCSA chapter
meeting, Inverrary GC

May 17 FGCSA Board Meeting,
8:00 a.m. Naples Beach Hotel

June 19 Treasure Coast chapter
meeting, Jupiter Island Club

May 6 50th Annual Southeastern
-8
Turfgrass Conf, Tifton, GA
May 7 West Coast chapter meeting,
Eastlake Woodlands

May 18 Poa Tournament and Banquet
Naples Beach Hotel

May 17 FGCSA Architecture seminar, July 3
12:30 Naples Beach Club

July

South Florida Annual Meeting
Riviera GC

July 25 Suncoast chapter meeting,
The Oaks GC
Aug. 3- Crowfoot Open, Walt
5
Disney World

Aug. 23 FTGA Conference & Show,
Tampa Convention Center
Treasure Coast chapter meeting - 26
Willoughby GC, Stuart

President's Message

President's Message
by Greg Plotner, CGCS
A call from a good friend the other day
gave me something that I needed mostof
all — an emotional lift. He had called
and asked how I was doing and after a
couple of minutes of me doing the talking,
he interrupted. He said, "Greg, get over
the disappointment and get on with your
career. Be aggressive now more than
ever. Find a better job. You have been
successful before and you will be successful once again. You are too good at
what you do to pity yourself."
He continued by saying that some of the
most famous people we know have had
setbacks in life time and time again. A
famous inventor we all know once failed
at a single experiment over 10,000 ti mes
before he got it right His name is Thomas Edison.

My friend concluded his conversation
with me by saying, "Greg, you cannotgo
back and change anything to make the
outcome any different. You can only go
on with your life and learn from your
past experiences. You will be a stronger
person because of this."
I thanked him for the call and you know
something — he is so right! Setbacks
are a part of life and everyone must deal
with them in their own way. No one
person is exempt from them. Even great
athletes suffer from setbacks as we have
seen recently. Dealing with them is
difficult as I have found out and I am
sure so have they. In this world today, it
is all so true that only the strong will
survive. Golf course superintendents,
the professionals that we are, are strong.
The volatile nature of our profession
makes us this way. I am proud to be a
golf course superintendent and I look
forward to my next challenge. Bring it
on!

Another person we all know ran for
public office several times and always
ended up in defeat. Our country today
may have been quite different if this man
had not continued trying to represent the
people of our great nation. His name is
Abraham Lincoln.

On another note, the affiliation process
with GCSAA is moving along very
nicely. I encourage all chapters to have
representation present at our next
FGCSA board meeting. This meeting
will be held at the Naples Beach Club on

Editor:
Greg A. Plotner, CGCS
FGCSA President
(407) 745-4163
(407) 745-4163 (fax)

Financial Support:
This issue of the Green Sheet is
being sponsored by:

GREEN SHEE

News Coordinator:
Mrs. Marie Roberts
1760 N.W.Pine Lake Drive
Stuart, FL 34994
(407) 692-9349
(407) 692-9654 (Fax)
(800) 732-6053 (Florida Wats)
TheGreenSheetisabimonthly FGCSA
newsletterprinted as follows: Jan ./Feb.,
March/April, May/June, July/Aug.,
Sept./Oct., Nov ./Dec.

Golf Ventures
2101 EastEdgewood Dr.
Lakeland, FL 33803
(800) 330-8874
Ft. Myers: 800-481-8911
All material submitted for printing will
be edited at the discretion of the editor.
Material must be typed or clearly
printed. All photos must be black and
white. Items must be for the good of
the association.
Deadline next issue: June 15.

Greg A. Plotner; CGCS
Friday, May 17th. It will begin at 8:00
a.m. and be finished in time for those
wanting to attend the afternoon educational seminar to do so.
All concerns that anyone may have about
the GCSAA affiliation process need to
be addressed at this meeting. It is the
FGCSA's intent to have all chapters
sign the Affiliation Agreements at the
annual FGCSA Board Meeting in Orlando this coming August. Everything
needs to be in order for this to occur.
Cooperation from all chapters is vital.
See you in Naples.
NOTE: You do not have to be an
officer or an FGCSA board member
to attend the FGCSA Board Meeting.
They are open to any FGCSA
member. We will be discussing items
that affect your future and the future
of your local chapter so we encourage everyone who will be at the Poa
to make an effort to attend.

Upcoming Events

Florida Superintendents Can Become
Certified Environmental Managers
Two seminars are being offered this summer that qualify for the GCSAA's Environmental Management Program. The environmental impact of golf courses continues
to attract scrutiny from the general public and government regulatory agencies.
GCS AA has assumed an environmental leadership role by responding to the complex
training needs of today's superintendent with the Environmental Management
Program (EMP).
Superintendents who successfully complete the study requirements in a specialization receive a certificate and special recognition from GCSAA. In addition, the
superintendent who earns this certificate demonstrates a personal commitment to
preserve and protect the environment.
Drainage Systems, the seminar offered on Junes 14th, is part of the Water Quality and
Application specialization while Turfgrass Stress Management is found in the study
requirements for the Integrated Plant Management specialization. Golf course
superintendents may choose to complete one or more of the EMP specializations.
Call the GCSAA for more information on the requirements for the EMP.

Drainage Systems, an educational seminar co-hosted by the Everglades GCS A
and the GCSAA will be presented at Collier's Reserve CC in Naples on June 14th.
This seminar will cover design, installation and maintenance of drainage systems,
including gravel placement, prevention of clogs and proper outletting. Materials,
safety issues, types of systems and expectations of drainage systems are also
addressed. Attendees will learn to identify and plan surface drainage systems
appropriate for the golf course, understand the hydrologic cycle and how it influences
surface runoff and soil water movement, identify the need for subsurface drainage
systems and design circular drainage conduits.
This seminar will be taught by Dr. Albert Jarrett, professor of agricultural engineering
atPenn Slate. Jarrett's current position includes teaching all phases of soil, water and
waste management. His research interests include infiltration, erosion, sedimentation basins and turf hydrology.
The FGCSA and theGCSAA will co-hostanall day seminaron "Turfgrass Stress
Management" to be held on Wednesday, July 10th in West Palm Beach.
This seminar is designed to promote the industry's significant interest in Integrated
Pest Management (IPM). Heat, cold, shade, drought and traffic stresses will be
discussed. Attendees will review cultural practices and share ideas designed to
reduce the amount of pesticides used to maintain quality turf. Students will also
assess their own management practices and procedures and formulate varied approaches to prevent and minimize injury to turf.
This seminar will be taught by Joseph M. DiPaola, Ph.D., senior technical support
specialist for Ciba. DiPaola has a research background in turf growth regulation,
water stress and cold hardiness.
Both of these all day seminars carry .7 CEU toward Recertification. Advance
registration is required through the GCSAA education department. Registration
forms can be obtained by calling the FGCSA or the GCSAA.

1996 Poa Activities
Once again the Everglades GCS A is presenting the Poa Annua Golf Classic
weekend at the Naples Beach Hotel and
Golf Club on Friday, May 17th through
Sunday, May 19th. Room reservations
can be made directly with Group Reservations at 1-800-237-7600.
Friday starts with an early morning
FGCSA Board Meeting which will begin
at the hotel at 8:00 a.m. All interested
FGCSA members of all local chapters are
invited to attend this important meeting.
The FGCSA is sponsoring a GCSAA
approved seminar at 12:30 p.m. This
year's seminar is a light hearted look at
the history of Golf Course Architecture
presented by Ron Force who is an enthusiastic supporter of the "classic" golf
course. The FGCSA Education Committee feels this seminar will fit well into
the fun filled atmosphere of the Poa
weekend. The seminar is open to the
public and has a pre-registration fee of
S35.00 before May 5th. As always, you
do not have to be playing in either the Poa
Classic or the G. C. Horn in order to
attend the seminar.
The Poa Classic begin^ on Saturday with
an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start at the Naples
Beach Hotel golf club. Superintendent
entry fee is $90.00 which includes your
dinner ticket. Eagle Sponsors are available at $500 which includes two entries
and dinners. Birdie sponsors are$200.00
to include a tee sign. If you have not
received an entry form or sponsor registration, call the Everglades chapter at
941-598-5311 After the Tournament,
cocktails begin at 5:30 p.m., banquet at
6:30 p.m. The popular Jazz Fest will be
held on the grounds of the Naples Beach
Hotel beginning at 8:00 p.m.
Sunday is reserved for the G. C. Horn
Memorial Tournament which will also
have an 8:30 shotgun start. Last minute
sponsorships and registrations may be
made by calling Dick Naccarato directly
at 941 -261-7815 or by contacting David
Barnes at 941 -324-2380.
%

FGCSA Activities

Superintendents Plan
New Research
Kevin Downing, FGCSA Research
Committee Chairman, is soliciting input
from all Florida superintendents for future projects that may be undertaken at
the University of Florida. The FGCSA
will be working closely with the Florida
Turfgrass Association to develop a consolidated long range plan of research
dealing specifically with Florida
turfgrass.
Types of concepts that might be included but are not limited to are:
• inspection and field operation of all
new products that are available in the
marketplace
• interpretations of soil reports and
tisssue sampling
• long term effects of turf retardants in
turfgrass
• all Bio type products and their impact
on quality, healthy turf
Please take a minute to write up your
ideas on future projects that will benefit
theindustry and send them to the FGCSA
office.
The USG A has recently included a comprehensive list of a variety of research
activities in many disciplines at colleges
and universities across the country in
their March/April Golf Journal. Categories include Construction and Maintenance of Golf Greens, Environmental
Research, and Turfgrass Research. The
article is entitled "Where the Money
Goes" and includes grants that are currently beging funded by the USG A Green
Section. Many of the projects are in
their first phase with future phases requiring many more dollars in funding.
All of the projects are planned to help
you the superintendent do a better job of
improving the field of turfgrass management. If you have not read the article, call the FGCSA to obtain a copy
of this interestingand in form ati ve 1 isti ng.

Everglades GCSA chapter members turned out in good numbers to view a
panel discussion on management companies. This type of informational
program would be very beneficial for all chapters to consider as part of
their monthly program.

New Valent Offerings in 1996
As part of Valent's 1996 "Think Like A Customer" program, Valent introduces a new product loyalty program. The program is available to golf course
superintendents from January to December 31,1996 and includes ORTHENE®
Turf, Tree and Ornamental Spray and PINPOINT® 15 G Insecticide.
Based on sales of these products, Valent will make a research grant in the name
of the superintendent to a state golf course superintendent association or state
turfgrass association. As a superintendent, you can determine who receives
your funds. By giving research grants to study areas such as: protecting the
environment, irrigation scheduling, weather patterns, IPM use and daily
concerns such as tracing and knowing turf varieties, Valent hopes to help you
find better ways to maintain and improve golf courses throughout the Southeast.
Watch for mail information on the new loyalty program being mailed to you
shortly. If you have any questions call your Florida Valent sales representative
or 1-800-89-VALENT.

FGCSA Spring Board Meeting Notice
The Spring Meeting of the FGCSA will be held at 8:00 a.m. on
Friday, May 17th at the Naples Beach Hotel. All FGCSA
members are invited to attend this meeting to keep yourself
informed on what is going on in your state association.

Superintendents as Fundraisers

Local Chapters Host
Scholarship Tournaments
C e n t r a l Fl^rifla C h a p t e r ;
The Second Annual Danny Burgess
Memorial Golf Tournament was sponsored by the Central Florida chapter at
the Windermere Country Club on March
30th. Proceeds from the tournament
went to sponsor three Lake City CC turf
students who were presented scholarship checks on the first tee prior to the
shotgun start. Walter Wells, a former
crew member at Indian River Colony
Club and a first year student at Lake City
was presented a check for $1,500. The
second $ 1,500 scholarship was presented
to Ken Maltby, a former assistant as
Orange Tree. The third presentation
was made to Sam Bryie, a former
greensman at Mt. Dora GC who received
$1,000. This year's event raised over
$3600 that will be utilized for scholarship funding in 1997. Special thanks to
all the sponsors, participants and the
staff at Windermere, particularly superintendent Carl Benedict and head professional Mary Thomas.
NQrjh F l p r i ^ a C h a p t e r ;
The Fourth Annual Mike Richards
Scholarship Tournament was held on
April 16th at Windsor Parke GC. Proceeds from the tournament are used by
the North Florida chapter to fund a major scholarship. The 1995 receipient,
Woody Woodward, is an outstanding
second year turf student at Lake City CC
who was awarded a $3,000 scholarship.

West Coast C h a p t e r ;
The West Coast GCSA recently presented $750 scholarships to the following: Max Ayer from Auburn University,
Billy Browning of Hillsborough Community College, Mark Carter student at
the University of Florida and two students at Lake City CC, Curt Lampe and
Steve Horsley. All five students interviewed very well and will be an asset to
the future of our industry.

Mr. Frank Dobie, president of the Musser Foundation (left) accepts a $1,000
check from Greg Plotner,president of the FGCS A. The Florida GCSA has been
a strong supporter of the Award for Excellence program for many years. Each
year, the Musser Foundation presents scholarships to the most promising
turfgrass Doctoral students throughout the world. Over the past eight years,
$70,500 in scholarships has been awarded.

Palm Beach Future of Golf

The Palm Beach GCSA is sponsoring the 15th Annual Future of Golf Tournament
at the prestigious PGA National Resort on Saturday, June 8th. This year the
tournament committee has expanded the field to use both the Champion and
General courses. Entry ree for four man teams are $320.00 which includes lunch,
refreshments on the course and door prizes. Sponsorships are available at three
separate levels and information may be obtained from Jeff Klontz, Tournament
Chairman.
Proceeds from the Tournament go to support the Hook-A-Kid on Golf program,
turfgrass research, the Otto Schmeisser Endowment Fund and provide scholarships given by the Palm Beach chapter.
m

Suncoast Scramble

The Suncoast GCSA Board of Directors would like to thank Tom Crawford and
his staff at Misty Creek for hosting the highly successful Suncoast Scramble on
March 19th. This is truly a total chapter effort with teams consisting of
representatives of area clubs and suppliers. This year's tournament raised over
$12,000, far exceeding our goal for this our 12th annual event. Partial donations
have already been made with the profits to benefit turfgrass research, scholarships, and the future of the game of golf.
Many thanks go to our Silver and Bronze sponsors who supported the tournament. Special recognition goes to our Gold Sponsors: Almar Chemical,
Aquatrols, DowElanco, Environmental Waterways, GASH, Go For Supply,
Gold Kist, Golf Ventures, Harrell's, Nematode Controllers, Pro Plus, Southern
Ag, Southern Corporate Promotions, Tresca, Vigoro, and Wesco Turf.

Newly Certified Superintendents

Four More Florida Superintendents Earn Certified Status
G E O F F COGGAN was born in
Mansfield, England and received a degree from Nottinghamshire College of
Agriculture and another from Lancashire
College of Horticulture in England.

help to get up to par, Gerald transferred
to Foxfire for another 2-3 years, then on
to Bellview Mido in Belleair and is now
superintendent at Royal Tee GC in Cape
Coral.

He came to the United S tates as in intern
for Tim Hiers at John's Island Club in
1986. From there he moved to the Clubs
at Inverrary in 1987 working for Dave
Oliver and then Bob Klitz. In 1990 he
accepted his current position as superintendent at the Great Outdoors. Geoff
is grateful to the intern program and
supports a reciprocal arrangement for
turfgrass students to obtain Training
Visas for up to 18 months.

Gerald was encouraged to study for the
GCSAA Certification Exam by his good
friend, Buddy Carmouche. Gerald
considers achieving certification to be a
stepping stone in reaching the top of his
profession. He is eager to get involved
with his local chapter and start giving
back to the turfgrass industry.

Geoff credits Bob Klitz for encouraging
him to pursue a professional career in
turfgrass management through the
GCSAA certification program. Geoff
has been active in the Central Florida
chapter where he currently serves as
Vice President. He became very interested in GCSAA activities after attending the Chapter Relations meeting in
Lawrence this past year. He is also
interested in the activities of the FGCS A
and has attended many meetings this
year to learn more about what is going
on at the state level.
Geoff is married and has one daughter.
GERALD BEL YEA has been around
golf all his life. He began his career at
the age of 13 working for his older
brother who was a superintendent in the
Naples area. With his brother's encouragement, Gerald went off to earn
a degree from Lake City Community
College. He returned to Naples for his
OJT at Hole-in-the-Wall GC under the
direction of Buddy Carmouche. After
graduation, Gerald accepted a position
as Assistant Superintendent at
Bloomingdale Golfers Club in Tampa
for two years but was tempted to return
to the Naples area to become superintendent at Hibiscus Golf Course. Being a
person who is always looking for new
challenges with courses that need a little

Gerald is an avid golfer and weight lifter
and even manages to squeeze in time to
be a wrestling coach.
MICHAEL SWINSON is another superintendent who discovered his love
for golf through his family. He began
golfing with his father at the age of 13
and soon accepted a part time position
on the crew at the golf course. He earned
a B.A. at St. Leo College in Tampa and
also has an Ornamental Horticulture
degree from Hillsborough Community
College.
In 1982, he was hired by Pete Bass at
Cypress Run to be his Assistant Superintendent. It didn' t take long for Michael
to dec idc that his professional goal would
be to replace his mentor and good friend,
Pete, as superintendent when the time
came. In 1987 he was hired as superintendent at Seville G&CC and then four
years later he moved to Crescent Oaks
GC to wait for his chance to get back to
Cypress Run. In 1992 Pete took the
superintendent's position at Palma Ceia
G&CC in Tampa and recommended
Michael for the job at Cypress Run.
Michael credits Pete with opening lots
of doors for him and encouraging him to
pursue his career as a professional.
Michael isoneof the "Founding Fathers"
of the Seven Rivers chapter and has
served on their Board of Directors since
their inception in 1991. He was also
instrumental in helping Glenn

Oberlander and the rest of the Seven Rivers members organize and run the highly
successful Envirotron Tournament which
is the major fundraiser of any of our Florida
chapters. He continues to serve as CoChairman of the event.
Michael also served a term as External
Vice President on the FGCSA Board of
Directors and is eager to get back to attending more FGCS A meetings and getting
involved with the state activities. He is
married and enjoys golfing and restoring
old cars.
DAVE OLIVER earned his B.S. degree
in Agriculture from the University of
Florida. While working on his degree, he
met Jody who was also a UF student who
went on to the UF Law School. They were
married shortly after her graduation from
Law School in 1981 and moved to Fort
Lauderdale.
Dave started as a crew member at the
CI ubs at Inverrary and quickly rose through
the ranks to Assistant and then on to Superintendent where he remained for three
years. When Kevin Downing told him
about an opening at Mariner Sands GC in
Stuart, Dave was quick to respond. He
spent two years at Mariner Sands and then
in 1989 was hired as Superintendent at
Martin Downs GC in Palm City.
Dave was encouraged by his Greens Committee Chairman to become a Certified
Superintendent to show the Martin Downs
members that there is a professional level
of golf course superintendents.
Dave has been active on the Treasure
Coast Board of Directors serving as Secretary/Treasurer for a few years before stepping up to serve as President of the chapter
in 1992-93. Dave and Jody have three
sons — Jason, Matt and Daniel — all of
whom are following in their fathers footsteps with a love for the game of golf.
Dave is a 1 to 3 handicap golfer who has
won his share of FGCSA tournaments and
also represented the state on the Florida
team in recent GCSAA tournaments.

SFGCSA Expo

Sun Shines on South Florida Exposition
Thanks to Mother Nature and the support of our loyal sponsors and equipment demonstrators, the 9th Annual
South Florida Exposition was another
great success. The event is held at the
University of Florida Research and
Education Center in Fort Lauderdale
where the FGCSA maintains the Otto
Schmeisser Research Green.
Attendance was strong with over 200
golf course superintendents, parks and
recreation personnel, and turfgrass
vendors present to learn about the new
developments in equipment and turfgrass
products, and to tour the grounds to hear
updates on the research that is being
done at the Center. Seminars on weed
control and turfgrass herbicides were
given by Dr. Bert McCarty and Dr.
Thomas Perkins, respectively.
This year the host South Florida chapter
held an "under the sun" event when the
"bigtop showroom" did not materialize
(Don't ask!). All of the 28 loyal booth
participants took the news in good stride
and quickly found a spot under the oaks
while the equipment demonstrations

were going on in the adjoining turf plot
areas.

Googe Transport with the trucking of
materials!

The SFGCSA raised over $17,000 with
this year's event thanks in great part to
the equipment demonstrators — Florida
Coast Equipment, Hector Turf,
Kilpatrick Turf, and Pifer — most of
whom have been supporting the Expo
since its inception. We are also thankful
to our booth participants who come back
every year to give their support to the
event.

In February 1992, NuCrane Machinery
started a commitment of providing the
research green with a new John Deere
2243 Triplex Greensmower each year
for use on the test plots and putting
green. The 18 horsepower, liquid cooled
gas engine has been very reliable. The
offset cutting heads and 11 blade reels
have provided superior cutting quality.
Marcus Prevatte, the research green's
technician, enjoys the benefit of power
steering with this machine to make his
daily tasks a little easier. NuCrane
continues to replace this machine on a
regular basis with a new machine each
time upgrades become available
NuCrane also helps out with any unusual
repairs while Marcus handles the routine maintenance.

This is the primary function that supports
Marcus Prevatte who is responsible for
maintaining the FGCSA research green
and assisting the researchers with their
experimentation at the Center. In addition to the Expo, the research green
has been assisted by our equipment
dealers and suppliers through other forms
of support and donations. Bill Rayside
of HarrelF s Ferti 1 izer has donated al 1 the
fertilizer that has been used on the research green since it was built eight
years ago. Dale Mitchell of Golf
Agronomics has supplied all the top
dressing on the green and even assisted

The South Florida chapter as well as the
FGCSA would like to thank all of the
above turfgrass suppliers for their continued support of our industry and, in
particular, to the Otto Schmeisser Research Green.

There is
always a line
when the
lunch bell
rings in Fort
Lauderdale!
But we sure
did miss that
good
bar-b-que!

Golf

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FGCSA Plans Important Board Meeting for Poa Weekend
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Stuart, FL

FGCSA Secretary
Mrs. Marie Roberts
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Cookingham, Peter
Turfgrass Information Center
M S U : W - 2 1 2 Library
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