The Whiteboard

Catch up on Carolinas

The annual Carolinas GCSA Conference and Trade Show in Myrtle Beach continued to draw the attention of the national golf industry as the largest regional show. Here are a few highlights from the Nov. 18-20 show:

• Attendance at the show held steady this year, with about 2,000 superintendents and others coming together at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center. Last year’s show brought in about 2,100 participants.
• Gross revenues from the event overall hit an all-time high of $650,000, with about 200 individual companies represented on the show floor. In total, 384 booths were sold.
• Out at Barefoot Resort, 327 golfers took on the annual Carolinas Championship, with Matthew Wharton of Carolina Golf Club in Charlotte, N.C. taking the victory with a round of 79 on the Fazio course. Of those not golfing, 63 shot sporting clays, won by Randy Mangum of Corbin Turf and Ornamental Supply.
• In the classrooms, 1,326 seats were sold across 28 seminars.
• Brian Powell, CGCS of Old Chatham Golf Club in Durham, N.C. as the new president, with Bill Kennedy, CGCS from Chechessee Creek Club in Okatie, S.C. as the new vice president. David Lee of Hope Valley Country Club in Durham, N.C., was elected secretary-treasurer. Chris DeVane of Forsyth Country Club in Winston-Salem, N.C., joined the board of directors.
• George Fisher received the Carolinas GCSA’s highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award for his work in the golf industry for more than 40 years. Fisher started as a golf superintendent and has worked in sales and customer relations management with Smith Turf and Irrigation since 1998.

The AeroLawn 3000 made its debut, getting a bird’s-eye view of the Carolinas Championship. Check out the footage by heading to bit.ly/GCICarolinas13.
 

 
{ Editor’s Notebook }

Bruce William’s 2013 Asian Golf Tour

Arecent trip to Asia was fruitful and there are a few interesting observations to share. Asia is a huge continent, so it takes a while to get around to the many golf meccas that exist or are in development. We often hear China is golf’s next frontier for development. Trust me when I say there is so much more to golf in Asia than China.

Since there are no real accurate records let’s say there may be between 500-600 courses in China, as some are known as people’s parks. There is currently a moratorium on building or permitting golf courses in China with the exception of tourism zones that are dictated by the government to encourage travel, tourism and outside money coming to China.

Most of the architects and builders tell me they have quite a few projects on the drawing board and are just waiting for the new regulations and permitting to take place. Nobody is sure when that will happen, but if and when it does it could be a huge development boom in China. In the meantime, 500 courses that have been developed in the last 30 years is nothing to sneeze at.

Many of the expat jobs that once existed in China have been filled by local superintendents who were trained by the US, UK and Australian superintendents involved in the construction, grow-in and opening of those clubs. There are still a couple dozen of the old guard, but the norm is to transition to Chinese superintendents. Therefore, China is not the land of promise it once was for those seeking superintendent jobs. – Bruce Williams

Podcast pick of the month

It seems like there can never be too much potassium as a turf input, but is that really the case? Dr. Micah Woods, chief scientist for the Asian Turfgrass Center, talked with us about why it’s a better idea to take more control of it as a part of our ongoing series on sustainability. Head to bit.ly/1cjpVsM to hear it.
 

 
From the feed

The relationship between superintendents and vendors is incredibly important to both sides – and when they’re working together, everyone benefits. But when competition plays rough, sometimes superintendents feel like they need to push back.

Clay DuBose @ClayHomerun
In 2014 business with some vendors will be done differently, some will like it, some won’t!

Clay DuBose @ClayHomerun
Some sales folks are destroying relationships, trashing other companies and their products trying to get ahead.

Jennifer Seevers @jenniferseevers
If you can’t sell your product on its own merit without degrading others it may be time for a new line of work.

Terry Davio @terrydavio
Not a good way to do business at all.

GCI Magazine @GCIMagazine
Going negative is never, ever a way to win customers long-term.

Tommy Hewitt @turf_hewitt
No company has the perfect product all the time. Be honest and you will earn my trust then my business.

Mike Mixon @mikesgolfshop
STAY POSITIVE ! STAY POSITIVE ! STAY POSITIVE !

Join the conversation on Twitter @GCIMagazine!
 

 
Clarification

In Henry DeLozier’s November 2013 column, “No other business like it,” he incorrectly cited National Golf Foundation statistics concerning the participation levels for women and minorities, underrepresenting both groups. In fact, women account for almost 20 percent (19.8 percent) of all golfers and minorities account for about 19 percent (19.4 percent).