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Association News

Best practices for water users released
Falls Church, Va. – The Irrigation Association mailed summaries of “Turf and Landscape Irrigation Best Management Practices,” a document to help water purveyors, irrigation professionals and property owners manage water effectively .
“It will allow water purveyors to better understand the specific elements of an efficient irrigation system - not just the hardware but the need for good installation, the need for a good design, maintenance and management,” says John Ossa, chairman of the IA Water Management Committee, which spent four years developing the practices. “It should broaden an understanding of what all goes into water management in the landscape. It should help all the different constituents – whether they’re water purveyors, property owners or contractors – better understand their part and how to interact effectively.”
Adoption of the practices could reduce peak seasonal demand for water, making a huge impact on water systems and potentially mitigating the need for expensive upgrades to water supply infrastructure.
The 50-page document outlines irrigation best practices and detailed practice guidelines for the overall quality of an irrigation system, as well as design, installation, maintenance and management.

Relocation study terminated by GCSAA board
Lawrence, Kan. – The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America board of directors accepted the recommendations of a member resource group that ends the study to determine where the association’s headquarters should be located. The board approved three recommendations presented to it by the headquarters location resource group. Those include:
• Don’t proceed to phase two of the headquarters location study.
• Use the GCSAA’s strategic indicators to evaluate the impact headquarters location has on the association achieving its mission, vision and goals.
• Encourage the GCSAA board of directors to explore the possibility of establishing offices in the eastern and western regions of the country to enhance the delivery and implementation of member- and chapter-related programs and services and to provide additional visibility for GCSAA and its members.
“We asked the resource group to determine if headquarters location has a material impact on the ability of the association to achieve its stated mission, vision and long-term strategic goals,” says Mark Woodward, GCSAA president. “The resource group told us that question could best be answered in the next three to five years by evaluating the strategic indicators relative to the impact location has on achieving those targets. After that time period, the association’s leadership will have a better measure as to whether location significantly affects organizational performance.”

Golf Course News, GCBAA launch awards program
Cleveland – Golf Course News and the Golf Course Builders Association of America launched an awards program that recognizes excellence in golf course construction. The Golf Course News Builder Excellence Awards will honor members of the GCBAA for their contribution in three construction award categories: the Creative Excellence Award for best new course construction, the Heritage Award for the best course renovation or restoration and the Environmental Award for the best environmentally responsible new or renovated course.
Award entries will be accepted through Nov. 1.
The awards will be handed out Feb. 11 at the GCBAA’s dinner that will be held in conjunction with the Golf Industry Show in Orlando.

ASGCA moves to Milwaukee area
Brookfield, Wis. – The American Society of Golf Course Architects moved its headquarters from Chicago to Brookfield, Wis. The address of the ASGCA is 125 North Executive Drive, Suite 106. The telephone number is 262/786-5960, and the fax number is 262/786-5919.

Three students win GCSAA essay contest
Lawrence, Kan. – One doctoral student, a master’s candidate and an undergraduate were selected as the 2004 Golf Course Superintendents Association of America Student Essay Contest winners.
The Environmental Institute for Golf funds the contest and awards a $2,000 scholarship to the first-place recipient, $1,500 for second place and $1,000 for third. The contest, created in 1963, is open to GCSAA-member undergraduate and graduate students pursuing degrees in turfgrass science, agronomy or any field related to golf course management.
First place went to Phil Dwyer, a doctoral candidate at Michigan State University, for his entry, “Dollar spot: a new understanding.” Cory St. Clair, a junior at Purdue University, finished second for his entry, “Impact of Round Up Ready Creeping Bentgrass on golf course management.” Patrick McCullough, a master’s candidate at Clemson University, finished third for his entry, “Pre-emergence herbicides may exacerbate genetic instabilities of Ultradwarf Bermudagrass.”

Ad campaign promotes PGA job center
Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. – A $400,000 multi-media advertising campaign is targeting employers and job seekers in the golf industry. The campaign began the week of July 12 with a 30-second commercial on The Golf Channel.
The PGA will introduce a new icon – an animated golfer – to promote its employment center at www.pga.com/employment.
The campaign includes three 30-second television spots and three print advertisements promoting the employment center and its benefits to employers in the golf industry. The advertisements also appeal to individuals pursuing a variety of other jobs in the golf industry.
More than 166 television spots will air on The Golf Channel and Turner Networks. Print ads will run in PGA Magazine, BoardRoom, Golf Business, Club Director, African-American Golfer’s Digest and GolfWeek.
The PGA Employment Center serves as a clearinghouse for all types of jobs in the golf industry. There are an estimated one-half million golf course jobs, including positions in accounting, health and fitness, corporate management, marketing, manufacturing, rangers, food-and-beverage preparation and merchandising.

Jack Nicklaus to receive award
Lawrence, Kan. – Jack Nicklaus was selected to receive the 2005 Old Tom Morris Award from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America. The award will be presented at the GCSAA opening session, Feb. 10, held in conjunction with the 2005 Golf Industry Show Feb. 7 to 12 in Orlando.
The GCSAA’s most prestigious honor is presented each year to an individual who, through a continuing lifetime commitment to the game of golf, has helped to mold the welfare of the game in a manner and style exemplified by Old Tom Morris. Morris (1821-1908) was greenkeeper and golf professional at the St. Andrews Links Trust Golf Club of St. Andrews, Scotland; a four-time winner of the British Open (1861, ’62, ’64 and ’67); and ranked as one of the top links designers of the 19th century.