6 1998 VOLUME XIV, PART 4, JULY/AUGUST 1998 NEWSLETTER OF THE FLORIDA GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS ASSOCIATION July 10 - 12 UPCOMING EVENTS North Florida Transition Tournament, Jekyll Island July 13 Coastal Plains Classic, Golden Eagle CC July 14 South Florida chapter Annual Meeting/Election, TPC at Heron Bay Jul;y 15 Seven Rivers chapter Annual meeting, Oak Run July 17 Palm Beach chapter Annual Meeting, Broken Sound GC July 20 Central Florida chapter annual meeting, DeBary GC July 22 - 23 UF/IFAS Turfgrass Field Days, Gainesville campus July 24/5 IFAS/Industry Retreat Countryside CC July 28 Suncoast bus outing, Golden Ocala GC July 30 Treasure Coast Annual \ Meeting, Monarch CC Stanley Carr, right, recently retired superintendent at Gulfstream GC in Palm Beach, is shown with his good fried, Dick Blake, at the Palm Beach GCSA chapter meeting at Addison Reserve. After 30 years at Gulfstream (yes, that was 30 years at one golf course!), Stanley and his wife, Betty, are enjoying their retirement years on his new ranch in Deland. He was presented with the FGCSA's 1998 President's Award for Lifetime Service. Look forward to reading about Stanley's colorful past in an upcoming issue of the Florida Green! Aug. 8 - 10 Club Mgrs/Superintendent Conference, Registry Hotel, Naples Aug. 10 7th Annual Pro-Supt, WestCoast GCSA and PGA, Lansbrook GC Aug. 1 FGCSA Annual Meeting, Bay Hill Club Aug. 13 Aug. 2 FGCSA Etonic-sponsored seminar, "Computers in Golf Maintenance", Bay Hill Club Treasure Coast chapter meeting, Indianwood GC Aug. 18 SF and PBGCSA, Joint Meeting, Coral Springs GC Aug. 3 Crowoot Open, Bay Hill Club Aug. 20 8:30 a.m. Shotgun Start Seven Rivers chapter meeting, World Woods GC Aug. 25 Suncoast chapter meeting, River Wilderness GC Sept. 1 Treasure Coast Annual Pro/Superintendent, Indian River Club, Vero Beach Sept. 8 West Coast chapter meeting Tampa Palms GC Sept 16 -19 FTGA Conference & Show, Tampa Convention Center Sept. 26 FGCSA Team Championship, Southern Dunes GC President's Message President's Message by Joseph Ondo, CGCS Fiscal year 1997-98 is coming to an end and it has been an interesting one to say the least. The weather has gone from can't get the rain to stop with no sun to no rain and record temperatures topping 100 degrees with no relief in sight I hope the information that the GCS A A, USGA,andIFAS sent out was useful as facts and not excuses for the poor turf conditions. I have heard stories and gotten phone calls on both sides, and it seems that each person's boss interpreted it differently. Congratulations to all chapters and their event sponsors for another successful fund raising year with their tournaments. Sorry I couldn't make it to all of them, but you should be proud of your accomplishments and give yourselves a pat on the back. Keep up the good work. Your contributions support our state association and the FTGA which keep us a leod° in the industry. r Offering educational seminars on different topics each year is one of FGCS A's priorities. Geoff Coggan, CGCS, Edu- cation Chairman, did a great job this year with Etonic seminars and coordinating regional pesticide safety programs, which were well received. We would still like to hear your comments or suggestions for future topics. My term as president is almost over and I would like to thank Mike Perham, Darren Davis, and Dale Kuehner for their help on association duties this year. Also thank you to Marie Roberts, Association Manager, and Joel Jackson, Editor and Director of Communications for their hard work and dedication to all of us. Thanks also to Kevin Downing and Steve Pearson for their work on the Research and Fund Raising Committees. After hearing what Dr. Cisar's plans are, I'm sure our research dollars will be well spent in coming years at the University of Florida. Congratulations to Scott Bell on being named this year's Distinguished Service Award Winner. Scott will be presented his award at a Treasure Coast meeting. I will continue to serve on the board and be involved and help out when needed. Our association will grow and prosper and will continue to need your support in years to come. GREEN SHEE Editor: Joel Jackson, CGCS (407)248-1971 (fax/phone) e-mail: FLGrn@aol.com News Coordinator: Mrs. Marie Roberts 1760 N.W. Pine Lake Drive Stuart, FL 34994 (561) 692-9349 (561) 692-9654 (Fax) (800) 732-6053 (Florida Wats) e-mail: fgcsa@tcol.net The Green Sheet is a bimonthly FGCS A newsletter printed as follows: Jan./Feb., March/April, May/June, July/Aug., Sept./Oct., Nov./Dec. 2 Financial Support: This issue of the Green Sheet is being sponsored by: Golf Ventures 2101 East Edgewood Dr. Lakeland, FL 33803 800-330-8874 Ft. Myers: 800-481-8911 Jupiter: 888-222-7072 All material submitted for printing will be edited at the discretion of the editor. Material must be typed or clearly printed. All photos should be black and white. Items must be for the good of the association. Deadline next issue: August 15. Kr 1 • # t m Êt fvi ^H i ü H Joe Ondo, CGCS It has been a fun and rewarding year and I would like to thnk that we made a little progress in our association and we will continue to serve the needs of our membership the best we can. The Florida GCSA presents The GCSAA Etonic's Superintendent Leadership Series Computers in Golf Course Maintenance Gary Bueltel, CGCS Sunday, August 2nd Bay Hill Club 8:00 a.m. .35 CEU's (tested) Etonic® The Green Sheet Director's Diary by Joel Jackson • Government Relations. FQPA - EPA has responded at least politically to the letter writing efforts of concerned pesticide users. Issuing a white paper on FQPA Implementation, the EPA is seeking to allay the concerns of user groups about the methods used in reassessing the organophosphate and carbamate pesticides. A task which must be completed by August 1999. What facts and assumptions EPA will actually use and how to assign what value to minor crop and turf uses in the FQPA Risk Cup is still an unknown quantity. So, we must be ready to respond favorably or with concern as the methodology is revealed. I have volunteered to work on a subcommittee of the Florida FQPA Action Group to come up with ways individual groups can provide realistic product use and exposure risk data to EPA. One device is called a crop profile. While it was designed primarily for commodity crops, I think it can be modified to reflect the possible FQPA impact on the golf turf management industry in Florida. I will be requesting input from all chapters in this effort. We are waiting for the results of the current Tolerance Reassessment Action Committee meetings this summer to see what position EPA is taking. Pesticide Review Council - The next area of emphasis is going to be surface waters and the non-target impacts of pesticide use. While the immediate focus will be on Nitrates (see the Nitrogen BMP article by Dr. Snyder and Dr. Cisar in the summer issue of The Florida Green), pesticides will be on the radar screen soon. Nitrate nitrogen is currently the single biggest positive hit in water samples. Word from PRC Chairman, Dr. Rich Buddell is that many areas of concern have been solved by user groups voluntary following of BMP's related to planning and application of products. This is true over a wide range of products including fertilizers. July/August 1998 Director of Communications' Activities On the surface water issue, it appears that FDACS and other agencies will be looking at practices and concerns as they are identified within watershed basin areas. This basin approach will allow for the identification of problem areas and the point sources in that basin. The committee acknowledged that recommendations and BMP's may need to be tailored to the circumstances of each basin depending on the specific product, its crop use, percolation, geography, seasonal fluctuations, irrigation practices, etc. Perhaps the most perplexing issue that came up relating to surface waters was the concern over the new generation of "low rate" pesticides. Think of products like Illoxan, Chipco Choice and Heritage. While praising the products for being less toxic to humans and other mammals, FDACS still has concerns about impacts on non-target organisms. With EPA's emphasis on the obvious "Less is Better" theory in approving these new products, they think EPA is missing a subtle key point. The amounts of the active ingredient are so small that currently the state doesn't have the technology capable to detect them in its water sampling. FDACS wants more information on the persistence and mobility of these products. It has been shown by the manufacturers that some of the new herbicides are still active on plant life at concentrations in the parts per trillion range. FDACS wants to understand die implications to nontarget organisms. There will be a presentation of some of this data at the next PRC meeting on September 11th at the Immokalee IFAS Research and Education Center. The public is welcome to attend. • GCSAA News. I spent three days at GCSAA Headquarters in Lawrence, KS attending the 1998 Publications Committee Meeting. Besides giving input on future editorial content, the committee recommended to the Board that the Table of Contents of GCM be a two page spread and not broken up by advertising. That decision does have some revenue implications and will be discussed by the Board. Probably the biggest disappointment was the timing of the decision by the Board to allow advertising in Newsline. The down side is the decision had to be made without the Committee having input because national advertising sales calendars are out of sync with our GCSAA fiscal and operating calendar. This was not an easy decision. It has been discussed and rejected several times. So the explanation will come in the same issue with the ads. The up side is that 75-80% of the money spent on producing Newsline can be returned to providing services and education to the members. We're talking $190,000 $200,000. Like all organizations faced with fund raising challenges, the GCSAA must evaluate all potential revenue sources and weigh the consequences and benefits. I spent an extra day visiting with department heads in Government Relations, Chapter Relations, Media Relations, and a few minutes with COO Joe O'Brien following up on our November '97 Planning Session results. One item ofparticular interest is the hiring of Chuck Borman as the new Executive Director for the Carolinas GCSA. Borman spent 18 months working for the GCSAA in Membership Services, before moving to South Carolina for family reasons. Since Borman now has a unique perspective of GCSAA versus Chapter operations, GCSAA has asked him to return to Lawrence several times over the next year to update staff on what works and what doesn't at the chapter level. This can only help GCSAA focus on meaningful programs for chapters and members. •Media Relations. As soon as the summer issue of The Florida Green is put to bed, I begin work on a Media Contact List. You can help immeasurably by sending me names, job titles, phone numbers and addresses of print and radio/TV media persons in your area. Sports writers, TV sports casters, radio sports talk show hosts, environmental writers or anyone else you can think of. I have a good jump start on some names through my International Network of Golf membership directory and the Golf Writers Association directory that Jeff Bollig of the GCSAA gave me. But many of those are national in nature and I need to get a current list of Florida contacts. Craig Weyandt was successful in getting a press release on Treasure Coast's Blue Pearl printed in the Stuart newspaper. Please share any of your past successes with me. Thanks. 3 Minutes of FGCSA Spring Board Meeting The Spring 1998 meeting of the FGCSA Board of Directors was called to order by President Joe Ondo, CGCS, on Friday, May 15 at Naples Beach Hotel. th All officers were in attendance. All chapters except North Florida and Seven Rivers were represented. Other FGCSA members attending were Roy Bates - Everglades chapter; Past Presidents Mark Jarrell and Kevin Downing; Joel Jackson - Florida Green editor; Steve Pearson, Fund Raising Chairman, and Dr. John Cisar. OLD BUSINESS: The draft of the FGCSA Standard Operating Procedure Manual was discussed. External VP's are requested to look this over and call the FGCSA with any suggested changes before the next board meeting DIRECTOR OF COOMUNICATIONS: Joel Jackson gave a report on his activities for the past two months. Chapters are urged to call Joel if they want him to come to one of their meetings that would warrant Florida Green coverage. Chapters are limited to one visit a year. Joel will be expanding his list of media contacts and requested help from local chapters on putting this list together. He gave an update on the Gulf Coast GCSA and the Food Quality Protection Act. SECRETARY/TREAS. REPORT Minutes of 1998 Winter board meeting were approved. Darren Davis went over the Financial Statements for the third quarter. Statements were approved. Doug Abbuhl of Coastal Plains chapter indicated that their chapter would be sending a $1,500 donation within the next few days. Darren then went down the list of items for the 1998-99 budget worksheet. It was decided to eliminate the line item for embossed membership cards since it was felt they have no real purpose. Decals will be sent every year. The Chapter Planning line item was removed as it will not be an annual event. 4 A discussion was held regarding the merits of having a full audit at this time. Even though many thought this was a good idea, it was felt that we should establish a system of checks and balances with our local chapters before we subject ourselves to a critical audit. We must establish minimum accountability guidelines for our chapters to follow. One suggestion was to consider having one of our local chapters audited and then use the results of that audit as a guideline for other chapters. Since the fee schedule for most audits are based on revenue, this might be an economical way to get all chapters in line. Palm Beach External David Court volunteered to look into this for the Palm Beach chapter and report back at the next board meeting. Discussion of the DOC salary and expenses were tabled for this meeting. The officers will get together and submit a proposal to be voted on at the next board meeting. The $25,000 donation to the GCSAA "Investing in the Beauty of Golf' will continue to be paid through the FGCSA Research Account in five annual $5,000 payments. The 1998 payment has already been made. Roy Bates reported that the FTGA may ask the FGCSA to pay the lobbyist directly rather than going through the books of the FTGA. Their accountant is checking on this and will get back to us. All chapters were reminded that their annual dues notice must indicate that a portion of dues supports a lobbyist. Dr. John Cisar discussed funding for the Turf Coordinator position. Since the University of Florida has not finalized the funding for the position, John suggested that we do not allocate anything in the budget until he contacts Darren. He requested that all chapters contact him with suggestions on ways that he might best serve the superintendents' turfgrass research needs. A discussion was held on the best way to balance the budget concerning chapter donations. It was decided to put a surplus line item in the budget.Darren will continue to work on preparation of the final budget to be submitted at the Summer Board Meeting for final board approval. AWARDS: Gary Grigg reported that we have received two nominations for DSA which will be decided on by the four officers immediately following today's board meeting. This year's Presidents Awards nominees are Stanley Carr from Palm Beach, Jim Callaghan from Treasure Coast, and Dwight Wilson from the Everglades chapter. Plaques will be ordered for these three and forwarded to the chapter for presentation. It was suggested that the Florida GCSA submit Dan Jones as a nominee for the GCSAA Distinguished Service Award. The nomination must be sent to the GCSAA by September 1 and it was suggested that all External Vice Presidents urge other chapters to write letters of support for Dan to be sent directly to the GCSAA. Gary noted that these letters are an important part of the nomination process. st BY LAWS: Darren Davis discussed the By Law to allow Student Memberships in the FGCSA. A motion was made to "Amend the FGCSA ByLaws to add student memberships".The motion was approved. The FGCSA will send a supply of the new student membership forms to Lake City Community College and to any other college as requested by the local External Vice Presidents. PUBLICATIONS: Joel Jackson announced his schedule for the next few weeks. He also The Green Sheet Minutes of FGCSA Spring Board Meeting announced that Scott Bell would be assuming the Assistant Editorship of the Florida Green but that Mark Jarrell would continue to write a column in the magazine. It was also noted that according to our new S.O.P. manual, all committee chairmen are expected to submit one Florida Green article. Membership Directory: Advertising solicitations will be going out in June. Darren suggested that we include email addresses for members and would like to see photos of all board members in the directory. Joel will see that individual photos are taken at the Crowfoot meeting. A poll of Directors was taken to see how many are going off the board in August. At this time it appears that new Externals will be elected from North Florida, Seven Rivers, Suncoast and West Coast chapters for the upcoming year. Chapters were reminded that this position is meant to be a three year commitment. EDUCATION: Geoff Coggan reported that the Poa seminar will be a Financial Management Workshop through Etonic. This program will enable us to provide quality education at very little cost to the FGCSA and the attendees. We have about 40 people pre-registered. The Crowfoot seminar is also an Etonic seminar which will be given by a Certified GCS from Texas who will speak on "Computers in turfgrass management" on Sunday, August 2 at 8:00 a.m. at the Bay Hill Club. It is hoped that the quality of this seminar will enable the turnout to increase over recent years. nd The two pesticide seminars given by DowAgrosciences and Toro in Naples and Jacksonville went well and two more are planned for June in Palm Beach and Kissimmee. External V.P.s in those chapters are urged to publicize these seminars in their local newsletters for better turnout. July/August 1998 I Central Florida chapter has registered for a GCSAA Regional Seminar on Wetlands for October 8 . The FGCSA is sponsoring three half-day Etonic seminars during the FTGA Convention this year as well as panel discussions during the Concurrent Sessions. A question was raised on the CEU's attached to one of these Etonic seminars and it will be resolved before the FTGA brochure goes to print. Joel Jackson is coordinating our education at the FTGA. th MEMBERSHIP: A discussion was held as to what is the potential for membership in the FGCSA. Gary Grigg noted the GCSAA Guide to Affiliated Programs is beneficial reading for all chapters. Joel will look into some type of membership campaign that may be introduced in the Florida Green. FTGA: Mark Jarrell urged all Externals to support the FTGA Conference and Show in their chapter newsletters this month. Education for superintendents has been upgraded and now is the time to respond with a good turnout. The FTGA will work with the GCSAA in finding ways to support both shows in the years when the GCSAA is held in Orlando. Dr. John Cisar thanked all members who have supported him in his new position as Turf Coordinator for the University of Florida. He has a meeting scheduled this week with administrators regarding his job description. He announced that the UF is doing well with recent grants and feels they are competitive in the grant market. He will be prioritizing programs and is looking for more input from superintendents. The UF turf retreat will be held in July with meetings with other supporters to follow. John announced that both Monica Elliott and Robin GiblinDavis have sabbaticals planned for the next fiscal year. A report of John's meeting with some of our FGCSA members is attached to these minutes. RESEARCH: Steve Pearson discussed the UF reporting on projects being funded by FGCSA or FTGA. Dr. Cisar announced that he would be proposing semiannual reports in the future. FUND RAISING: Steve Pearson announced that he is working with Rhone Poulenc on a program. He suggested we look into putting a research checkbox on chapter dues statements. This led to the feasibility of a unified application/renewal form for all chapters to use. Darren Davis will work on this. Steve also suggested that we get golfers involved in the fund raising efforts, siting the success of the Palm Beach Golf Association. GOVERNMENT RELATIONS Mike Goldie will be giving his annual report on this year's legislative happenings for our Annual Board Meeting in August. NEW BUSINESS: We have received a request from Lake City Community College to support a fundraiser for their Mechanics Program. This would be a onetime donation and after a discussion it was decided to send a $1,000 donation to the LCCC for their Mechanics Program. Preliminary discussion was held on a possible dues increase later in 1999. It was decided that if there is a justifiable reason, we will discuss a $10.00 increase at the Fall board meeting. More accurate figures on expenses for the DOC position will be available by that time and will help to establish if the proposed increase would be justified. Joe Ondo announced that the Summer Board Meeting will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 1 at the Bay Hill Club. FGCSA Annual Meeting will follow at approximately 4:00 p.m. st Chapter Events Palm Beach 17 Annual Future of Golf Tournament th While there is some debate over the exact anniversary (16th or 17th) of the event, the fact remains that this is the Palm Beach Chapter's main fund raiser of the year. Proceeds from these events have primarily gone to fulfilling the PBGCSA Otto Schmeisser Scholarship Endowment Fund. The fund has now reached maturity and is being used to provide scholarships through the FTGA. The chapter itself is in the scholarship business, giving two types of scholarships. One is for general education to the dependent of a Palm Beach member, and another for a student pursuing a degree in turf management. The Futures of Golf event also supports Palm Beach County's junior golf program, Hook a Kid on Golf, and the Palm Beach GCSA's involvement in the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Schools. This year's outing netted approximately $7,000 to fund all of the above programs. This year's event was held on June 13th at the Emerald Dunes Golf Club. The 1998 Futures Committee was Karl Schmidt, Chip Fowkes, David Court, Joe Hubbard, Randy Bushway, and host Steve Bernard. Bernard didn't let all his hard work go to waste as he captained the winning team. His teammates were John Begley, Jessica Hayes, and Tyler Warner also of Emerald Dunes. They fashioned a low gross of 59 to win by two shots over the field. September 16 - 1 9 Tampa Convention Center Education includes Etonic Seminars on Wednesday and Friday and superintendent panel discussions on Friday. Call FTGA today at 1-800-882-6721 for registration information. 1998 FGCSA Team Championship The 1998 FGCSA Team Championship will be played on Saturday, September 26 at Southern Dunes GC in Haines City. Again this year, a chapter team may consist of 5 players with best 4 out of 5 scores counting or you may play with 4 players with all scores counted. A superintendent does not have to be on a chapter team in order to play. Low gross superintendent wins a spot on the state team at the GCSAA Championship in Orlando. Call FGCSA office for registration information. Florida Club Managers The Florida Club Managers Association will meet at the Registry Hotel in Naples on August 8 - 10 . All Florida Superintendents have been invited to attend the sessions. th Schedule includes talks by Chris Hartwiger and John Foy of the USGA on Saturday followed by a discussion on pesticide leaching and risk exposure by Dr. John Cisar in the afternoon. Sunday's morning session includes Chris Wilkerson on Clubhouse design and construction" and a session on Interior design and planning." A golf tournament is planned for Sunday afternoon. Call Jim Briggs, FCMAA at 561-276-0690. Future of Golf Comm: Randy Bushway Karl Schmidt, Chip Fowkes, Steve Bernard, David Court & Joe Hubbard 6 th The Green Sheet Blue Pearl - Another Gem in a String of Pearls 22 Annual Larry Kamphaus Crowfoot Open Treasure Coast president Bill Lanthier got the 6th Annual Blue Pearl event started promptly at 9 a.m. but not before he thanked all the sponsors and the generous members of Loblolly Pines. Then Bill presented a gift of pearls to Shelly Foy for all her hard work in the Audubon School Sanctuary Program and all the help she gave us in getting the "Blue Pearl" started. Shelly has been the driving force behind the scenes getting things started and keeping them moving. The Twenty-Second Annual Larry Kamphaus Crowfoot Open will be held at the prestigious Bay Hill Club on August 2 and 3 . by Craig Weyandt The golf course was exceptional as usual. Fred Hinkle and his staff should be commended for all their hard work in this trying time of the year (transition / post el nino). The tournament came to a close figuring out who the Blue Pearl winners and whiners were. 1st Low Gross Team was: Skip Kervian, Eddie Black, Todd McDorman, and Jay Schrader. 1st Low Net Team members were: Tim Cann, Mike Neary, Paul Schaaf, and Tom Tobey Contest winners: Longest drive Steve Fink. Closest to the pin winners were Tom Benefield, Steve Kuhn, Dennis Cunningham, Rory Baglos and Dave Oliver. Closest to the "pines," yours truly, Craig Weyandt. The raffle after the tournament is always a highlight of the event with great prizes (color TV's, VCR's, CD players, etc). All in all, it was great fun for a worthy cause. July/August 1998 More Chapter Events nd by Tom Alex nd rd Saturday, August 1 . FGCSA Board Meeting. 1 p.m. st Sunday, August 2 - 8:00 a.m. GCSAA Etonic Seminar: "Computers in Turfgrass Management" by Gary Bueltel CGCS. Participants in the seminar will receive hands-on training for superintendents, giving them useful tools to improve management efficiency. They will do budget and payroll calculations along with file management techniques. Seminar fee is $35.00 prior to July 27 . nd Blue Pearl Low Gross (L-R): Todd McDorman, Eddie Black, Skip Kervian, Jay Schrader th 6:00 - 7:00 P.M. Cocktails 7:00 P.M. Banquet with entertainment and door prizes. Dress is casual. Monday, August 3 . - Bay Hill Club. 8:30 a.m. Shotgun. Bay Hill is a spikeless facility rd Entry fee includes Banquet and continental breakfast - $100.00 Extra dinner ticket is $45.00. Only one guest per entry. No cancellations with refund after July 18, 1998. Make checks payable to: Larry Kamphaus Crowfoot Open, 4124 Kingsbridge Drive, Orlando, FL 32839 (407)351-6815. Deadline is July 18 . th For lodging call Bay Hill Lodge at 1-888-422-9445. Mention the Crowfoot Open. Blue Pearl Low Net (L-R): Tim Cann, Tom Tobey, Paul Schaaf and Mike Neary 7 ^ 4 Golf [ 4 Ventures M ' M a complete line of golf course products Lakeland FL Myers Jupiter 800-330-8874 800-481-8911 888-222-7072 Come Visit Golf Ventures on our new Web Site t wbus. com/golfventures Crowfoot Weekend set for August 1st through 3rd FGCSA Secretary Mrs. Marie Roberts 1760 N.W. Pine Lake Drive Stuart, FL 34994 FIRST CLASS U.S. Postage PAID Permit #137 Stuart, FL RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED Gull caurno Management S f R e s e a r c h Park Dr. Lawrence, KS 66049