From the desk of GCM

Here's to good (plant) health

When officials from Bayer Environmental Science and North Carolina State University discuss the winding path both took to the formation of the collaborative Plant Health Initiative, there are plenty of smiles and chuckles when revisiting the many trials and tribulations they encountered along the way.

Although working relationships between industry and higher education are not new, at least in the world of golf course management, this particular relationship is different. It's much more involved, much deeper, much more intimate. And because of that, the initial negotiations were somewhat tricky, with plenty of hand-wringing over issues like intellectual property — in essence, who owns what information and when do they own it — and publishing rights to research results — in essence, who gets credit in the research stories you read in GCM.

They all laugh now, but it's clear those issues and many more were not laughing matters as the partnership was being forged. But if the initial results of the partnership, some of which were revealed during day one of Bayer's Plant Health Symposium, are any indication, all of those hours huddled around a conference table hammering out an agreement were worth it.

On the road again

I'm working superintendent hours this morning (alarm went off at 4:45 a.m.) as I take to the road for a pair of industry events this week.

First comes Bayer's Plant Health Symposium in and around the Raleigh, N.C., area, where media, researchers and superintendents will explore Bayer's research facilities in Clayton, N.C., (yep, going there again) and the campus at North Carolina State, and the burgeoning working relationship between the two.

Then, it's off to Orlando (Tropical Storm Ida willing, of course) for The Toro Co. 's Future Leaders Forum, which brings First Tee participants from around the country to Disney World and the PGA Tour's Children's Miracle Network Classic to learn about potential careers in the golf industry.

You'll be able to read regular updates about both events here on the blog and also by following my Tweets through our Twitter account. Just head over to www.twitter.com (do it now!) and sign up to follow @GCM_Magazine.

Give the fish a mulli!

If anyone ever asks, I am a proponent of giving the fish mulligans. I often need mulligans. If I'm ever golfing with fish, well, maybe they'll return the favor.

Check out this story from Eugene, Ore.'s KVAL CBS, featuring Brian Hickey, GCSAA Class A Superintendent at Springfield (Ore.) CC. You can click on the "video" link under the photo and watch the news segment. The story is about the course teaming up with a local environmental group on a restoration project on five acres of streambank. The news reporter is happy to report that, in golf talk, the fish are "getting a mulligan."

We have a strange theme going on here with fish. First, Hollister posted that annoying sound clip of the "Filet o' Fish" song from McDonalds. And now, we're advocating for mulligans for the fish.

Oh well. Nice work for the environment out there in Springfield, Ore., though.

World Series finally over, LPGA overseas

I'm glad the World Series is over.

I'm not glad the Yankees won. I'm not glad the Phillies lost.

I'm just glad... it's over.

Why?

Back from Boston

OK, I've been back for a couple days, but I finally got my photos downloaded. There's some stuff I thought I'd show you from that trip.

I was in Boston to interview Jim Fitzroy, CGCS at Presidents Golf Course in Quincy, Mass. As you probably know, Fitzroy is in line to take over as the president of GCSAA during the Golf Industry Show in February. I'll be doing a full-length feature story on Fitzroy, his goals for GCSAA and his background in the industry, in the March issue of GCM.

In the meanwhile, here are some of the things I saw in Boston:

Methyl bromide cancellation off the fast track

Efforts to slow down the U.S. EPA's efforts to immediately cancel registrations for the soil fumigant methyl bromide appear to have paid off.

At a meeting Oct. 29, senior officials with the EPA assured GCSAA and manufacturers of methyl bromide (MeBr) that the agency would not cancel golf course MeBr use immediately and will work with the product registrants over the next several weeks to determine a phase-out schedule.
 
Manufacturers had asked for MeBr to be available until the end of 2014 to allow for suitable alternatives to be developed, but the EPA denied that request. It is hoped the agency will now agree to at least a 3-4 year phase-out schedule. But even in a worst-case scenario, it is likely the phase out would be no sooner than the end of 2011. It is also likely that under any phase-out plan, end users would be able to use any packaged material until the supply is exhausted.
 
GCSAA members wrote letters and made calls to Congress urging their representatives to press the EPA to agree to a reasonable timetable for an orderly methyl bromide cancellation process. Thanks to these grassroots efforts by members, golf facilities will continue to have access to this important soil fumigant tool for the next couple of years.

GCM love

It's good to feel loved.

I was walking downstairs here at work the other day when one of my co-workers in the Finance and Member Solutions department hollered at me.

"Seth! You should have taken the last call I just had," my friend said.

Why was that, I asked. Turns out a member from Hawaii called in to report that his GCM subscription hadn't made it to his mailbox for the past several months and well, he missed them. He wanted the problem fixed.

GCSAA TV, super bloggers and the weekend

A few tidbits, nuggets, news and notes to take you into the Halloween weekend:

• As we like to do occasionally, we want to bring your attention to the goodness that is GCSAA TV. If you can find a better video portal to all things golf course management ... well, don't even try because there isn't one. We're turning the GCM blog spotlight on this video about the greens reconstruction project at Congressional CC, but there is much, much more on the site itself. New content is posted several times weekly, so make sure to bookmark the site.

Visiting the vice prez at Presidents Golf Club

In rainy Boston, today. Well, Quincy, Mass., actually -- about 15 minutes southwest of Boston proper.

I'm here visiting Mr. Jim Fitzroy, CGCS, and checking out his golf course. The course is called Presidents Golf Club, and it's a county-owned golf course. I'm seated comfortably at the bar top of The View, the course restaurant.

As you can see from the photo, it's raining here. So no photography is happening today. The sun is supposed to be out tomorrow, though, so hopefully I can see the course a little better before my 3 p.m. departure.

I conducted an hour-long interview with Fitzroy this morning. I learned some interesting things. Did you know he's been working here at Presidents since before I was born (Jim's been working here since 1975)? Or that Jim's administrative assistant, Amy, adopted Jim's dog, Sally. Sally is a cockapoo, and Amy's two little kids adore her. She brings the dog in every day, so Jim still gets to see Sally daily. What else... how's about that Fitzroy has four holes-in-one? Two happened here at Presidents, and one happened at the GCSAA golf tourney. "That one hurt the credit card," Fitzroy laughed. But yeah, he said it was worth it.

Anyway, I've got a notebook full of more things, but I'll have to hold on to it for now -- my battery is almost dead. I'll share some golf course pics tomorrow, though, weather permitting. And maybe a review of the Cheers bar, or whatever else I see in Boston...

  

LPGA names new commissioner

Michael Whan, most recently the president and chief executive officer of Mission-Itech Hockey, has been named the new commissioner of the LPGA. Whan was introduced during a news conference this morning in New York City.

Whan, 44, does have a professional background in the game of golf. He previously served a four-year term as the executive vice president and general manager for Taylormade-adidas Golf and served as a vice president and general manager for Wilson Sporting Goods, responsible for all aspects of the company's golf ball and golf business.

"The LPGA is a resurging, resilient association, and Mike will be a leader around which the wonderful LPGA staff and all of our stakeholders — players, fans, sponsors, TV partners, tournament owners and others — will rally," said acting commissioner Marty Evans.

Whan will work with Evans during a transition period and will officially take over in January.

GCSAA and the LPGA continue to partner on a program that provides the LPGA with a tour agronomist, John Miller, CGCS. You can read our feature story on Miller right here.

The full news release from the LPGA follows: