Consider serving on your chapter board of directors or volunteering for a committee in 2016

I hope this finds all of our GCSAA members enjoying a happy holiday season.  As 2015 comes to a close and we look forward to a new year, I urge all of you to consider assisting your affiliated GCSAA chapter by running for a board of director position or serving on one of the numerous committees that assist the chapter in establishing policy, running events and promoting the chapter.

The golf industry has faced its share of challenges over the last decade and courses continue to close across the country at an alarming rate. A declining middle class and uncertainty undermining the national economy have contributed to the struggles of the industry.

Over the years, GCSAA has felt this wrath through declines in national membership and diminishing participation at the affiliate chapter level.  While the membership numbers have now stabilized, many of our 98 affiliated chapters are experiencing difficulty with meeting attendance, filling board of director positions and obtaining members to volunteer for committee positions.

Your current board of directors is hard at work offering members a multitude of benefits that foster your career success and that of your golf facility, including:

•  Providing resources for you to advance your career
•  Providing relevant information to stay ahead of the game
•  Tools to effectively manage your facility
•  Widespread community of peers in the industry to keep you connected
•  A voice in industry-wide initiatives to sustain the future of golf

Support their time and hard work through attendance at events and volunteering a little bit of time to help the chapter grow and continue to succeed. Serving on a board or committee will improve your leadership skills, provide a sense of duty and accomplishment and extend your professional and personal networks.

I understand that your free time is at a premium.  Increased demands at work, family commitments and civic responsibilities can make chapter participation difficult.  However, as a golf industry professional, I urge you to make a commitment to your future, the superintendent profession and to the game of golf.  I guarantee that you will get more out of it than you put into it.

Happy Holidays!
 

Coachella Valley Golf Industry Summit to be held Jan. 18 at PGA West

The Coachella Valley Golf Industry Summit will be held in conjunction with the PGA TOUR’s 2016 CareerBuilder Challenge.  The summit will take place Monday, Jan. 18 at the Palmer Private Course at PGA West.  The event is open to golf industry representatives, media, policymakers and the general public.

The goal of the summit is to provide a venue for the key players in the Coachella Valley golf industry to further enlighten the public about the massive economic and charitable impacts it has on the region, directly address the latest in the water issues facing California and impacting the industry, generate positive publicity for the local golf industry and the tournament, and continue to enhance a cooperative spirit and goodwill among a wide range of key golf industry players.

Organizers of the event include the Club Managers Association of America Desert Chapter, Desert Classic Charities (organizers of the CareerBuilder Challenge), GCSAA, Greater Palm Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau, Hi-Lo Desert Golf Course Superintendents Association, Southern California Golf Association and the Southern California PGA. 

The event will feature three panels focused on golf course water use/conservation/management, economic impact of the game in the valley and what is right with the game of golf.  Featured speakers include Nicole Castrale, LPGA Tour player; Marc Connerly, executive director of the California Golf Course Owners Association; Kevin Heaney, executive director of the Southern California Golf Association; Pat Gross, USGA West Region Green Section director; Paul Levy, general manager at Toscana Country Club and vice president of the PGA of America;  John Powell, president of the board of directors for the Coachella Valley Water District; Stu Rowland, Class A superintendent at Rancho La Quinta Country Club; Craig Surdy, general manager at The Reserve Club and president of the Club Managers Association of America Golden State Chapter and Scott White, president of the Greater Palm Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau. 

Numerous sponsorship opportunities are available and packages range from $2,500 (Supporting Sponsor) to $10,000 (Presenting Sponsor).  All sponsorship packages include credentials to the 2016 CareerBuilder Challenge as well as access to select hospitality areas during the event. 

Registration will open in December and for those interested in sponsoring the event, please contact me at jjensen@gcsaa.org and I will forward you a sponsorship package. Net proceeds from the summit will go to Desert Classic Charities. 

We look forward to you support of the summit and seeing you in the desert in January. 

Longtime Southern Nevada superintendent overseeing grow-in of The Club at Sunrise

Course will be first in Southern Nevada to feature Platinum TE paspalum turfgrass

With more than 30 years in the Las Vegas golf industry, GCSAA Class A Superintendent Scott Sutton has seen his share of challenges. A superintendent at numerous facilities, including Durango Hills Golf Club, Red Rock Country Club, Sunrise Country Club (now Stallion Mountain) and Wildhorse Golf Club, Sutton’s newest project might be his most formidable. 

Designed in 1964 by Dick Wilson and Joe Lee, The Club at Sunrise, formerly Desert Rose Golf Club, was one of the first golf facilities in the Las Vegas valley and served visitors and locals alike for 49 years before closing in June of 2013. The course, owned by Clark County, received extensive damage in a 2012 flood and the decision was made to temporarily close the course and embark on a mega-renovation of the entire facility. 

As part of a $150 million flood control project implemented by the Regional Flood Control District, the facility has undergone a complete facelift including a course redesign, construction of a new state-of-the-art maintenance facility and a 4,400 square foot clubhouse featuring a golf shop, the Winterwood Grille and extensive patio areas for special events and weddings.

Golf course architect Randy Heckenkemper of Heckenkemper Golf Course Design was brought in to oversee the redesign. A veteran architect who has worked on numerous projects including renovations at McDowell Mountain Golf Club and TPC Scottsdale, Heckenkemper envisioned using paspalum turfgrass on the playing surfaces.

Platinum TE paspalum is a drought and salt tolerant variety of turfgrass that does well with recycled water, has a shorter dormancy period than Bermuda, can handle hard frosts and is excellent in regards to wear and traffic tolerance. Paspalum is often used in coastal and tropical climates that deal with salt water, but its unique qualities also make it an excellent choice for desert golf courses that play a significant number of rounds. 

Seeking out advice on paspalum use in the desert, Heckenkemper turned to Sutton who was using the turfgrass with some success in high salt areas at Wildhorse Golf Club in Henderson, Nev. 

“When Randy reached out to me and indicated that he had interest in using paspalum at The Club at Sunrise, it was a project that I became interested in quickly,” said Sutton. “I had experimented with the grass at Wildhorse in some areas and I knew the potential that existed if you were willing to use it on greens, fairways and tees.”

The Club at Sunrise's Scott Sutton

The early results have been positive. “The paspalum is a great surface to play off,” said Sutton. “The conditions are fast and firm and the ball sits up beautifully on the fairways and in roughs. High handicappers and seniors will really appreciate it as it allows you to sweep the ball.”

In addition to the paspalum, the bunkers have been completely renovated and the facility has removed large areas of turf and replaced it with desert landscaping that provides increased water savings. “Everything we have done has been focused on reducing water use and our environmental footprint,” said Sutton.  “As a golf course superintendent I take that responsibility very seriously.” 

Operated by Northbrook, Ill. -based KemperSports, who builds, owns and manages golf courses, resorts, athletic clubs and lodging venues across the U.S., Caribbean and Central America , The Club at Sunrise is scheduled to reopen to the public in early December.  “It’s a terrific project for the Clark County community and KemperSports is honored to be chosen to oversee it,” said Matt Kalbak, PGA Class A member and director of operations for the project.  “Golfers are going to get a great experience at an affordable price and I know they will be impressed with the changes.”

  

For more information on the project, or to book a tee time, visit the website at http://www.lvwashproject.com/desert-rose-golf-course/.