The Whiteboard

A bird’s eye view

The seasons may be throwing everyone else off, but the birds know when it’s time to nest. A pair of bald eagles made a home out of Bear Trace Golf Course, part of the Harrison Bay State Park in Harrison, Tenn., last year, hatching their clutch of eggs not too far off from the greens. As bald eagles typically do, they’ve returned to the area this year to raise some new eaglets.

And, if you’re an aspiring birder, the best part is you don’t even have to go all the way there to watch. Superintendent Paul Carter set up live streaming webcams high among the course’s treetops to chronicle the majestic birds, which they’ve named Elliott and Eloise, and the stream is available online at www.harrisonbayeaglecam.org. One camera focuses on a side view of the nest, and the other – which can be streamed on mobile devices, is aimed from directly overhead.

Carter funded the project with help from the Friends of Harrison Bay State Park and the USGA Green Section, the East Tennessee and Middle Tennessee superintendent associations, Toro and Smith Turf and Irrigation and the local Volunteer Electric Cooperative, along with others. While the cameras do watch the happy couple (which are currently taking care of another clutch of two eggs), Carter is careful not to reveal the actual location on the course to protect their privacy.

If just watching the eagles isn’t enough coverage for you, Carter also blogs about the family’s progress at hbspeaglecam.blogspot.com and tweets updates at @HBSPeaglecam.
 

The Great White (green) North

Although all the golf courses in Alaska have unique weather and seasons compared to everywhere south of there, they take on the same struggle with the environment. The Anchorage Golf Course, however, now has a new distinction: It’s the first course in the state to receive a certification in Environmental Planning from Audubon International.

The certification comes through the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses, and the plan for working with an eye to the environment comes from course assistant superintendent Jeff Buelow.

The program provides advice for courses working on projects that enhance habitat for wildlife along the course, including things like placing nesting boxes, conserving water and maintaining food and cover for wildlife.
 

“Games we play for charity”

While most everyone was focused on the game of golf at GIS 2012, GCI associate editor Kyle Brown was had a different goal Thursday afternoon: The top of the Superintendent Pyramid.

Superintendents at the show had the chance to play the game, based on the TV game show “The $10,000 Pyramid,” at the BASF Professional Turf & Ornamental booth throughout the week to win money for their courses. At the end of the show, industry media professionals were invited to play to raise money for charity in their own special rounds hosted by Tom Hill, communications manager for BASF.

Brown and Heather Tunstall, web content manager, teamed up to play for The Movember Foundation, raising money to support research and treatment of men’s cancers. Given just 30 seconds, they guessed clues based on the category “Worth your salt,” including pretzels, margaritas and even sailors. Correctly naming five of the six responses in the time limit, they won $1,750 for the charity.

“I usually have pretty bad luck, so I was worried we wouldn’t be able to win anything for the Movember Foundation even in Las Vegas,” says Brown. “I’m glad we were able to raise money for them and have fun with BASF at the same time.”

“Getting off the show floor for a bit of excitement and friendly competition among fellow industry media professionals was a nice complement to a great GIS, and I very much enjoyed the experience,” says Tunstall.

This year, the combined total of winnings going to charity for media pros is $7,550.
 

Stop, turf!

We know times are tough for courses everywhere, and theft of course equipment is more and more common.

Theft of the course’s turf, however, is pretty unique.

Someone broke onto the Waiehu Municipal Golf Course in Wailuku, Hawaii, through the beach access and peeled up an 8x8 piece of a common Bermudagrass from the sixth tee, according to county spokesperson Rod Antone.

“It was the weirdest thing,” says Doug Myers, superintendent. “There were other areas just nearby that were more valuable grass, but they took that.”

The purloined turf, valued around $150, is long gone, but the course crew has a positive outlook on the theft.

“We’ve been having a rough time and the course has been kind of going downhill a little and we’ve been really fighting to bring it back,” says Myers. “When this happened, someone taking our turf, we actually took it as a compliment that we’ve improved.”
 

Roll Call

The Georgia Golf Course Superintendent Association named Coosa Country Club golf course superintendent Tim Cunningham its Superintendent of the Year.

Shackamaxon Country Club, Union County, N.J., named Richard Tacconelli superintendent.

The Iowa Golf Course Superintendents Association named Nick Cummins, golf course superintendent at Westwood Golf Course in Newton.

Jay Nalls, superintendent, Norbeck Country Club, Rockville, Md., has been selected to receive the 2012 Excellence in Government Relations (EGR) Award from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA).

The United States Golf Association (USGA) elected Glen D. Nager, of Washington, D.C., to serve a one-year term as its 62nd president.

Jim Kirchdorfer, Sr., founder and chairman of ISCO Industries, a Louisville, Ky.-based pipe supplier and custom manufacturer of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) piping products, passed away.

Wes Pitts has been appointed to golf course superintendent for Lagoon Park and Gateway golf courses, which are part of the City of Montgomery Golf Courses, Birmingham, Ala.