From the desk of GCM

Ruiz wins Leo Feser Award ... you could be next!

We've known Justin Ruiz, CGCS at The Rim GC in Payson, Ariz., for some time around these parts. Among superintendents, he's been one of the early adopters of social media tools to communicate to his golfers what's going on at his golf course, so we've connected plenty with Justin through this blog, our Twitter account (@GCM_Magazine) and others.

Justin's so passionate about the role social media can play in this profession that he penned a story for our June issue we called "Facing Facebook, talking Twitter," a story that was extremely well received by our readers. And now, Justin can add some more tangible recognition for that story to the anecdotal praise he's received — GCSAA's 2010 Leo Feser Award for the best superintendent-written story to appear in GCM.

While Justin deserves mad props (that's how the kids say it these days) for his writing efforts, he'd also be the first to tell you that, really, any superintendent could do it. Even if you've haven't written anything longer than an e-mail since college, you too could see your name in print in the pages of GCM. If you have a great story to tell about your work on the golf course or your career in golf course management, we want to hear about it. We've got staff members ready, willing and able to lend a hand, so drop us a line and get started.

Good to the last drop

Editor's note: This post was intended to go up yesterday, but some last-second internet troubles delayed it to today,

I'm about wrapped up here at Syngenta. I've been all over the different buildings, meeting with everyone from chemists to packaging experts.

My last interview was with Dan Kidder, Ph.D., research scientist, application technology for Syngenta. "You were in formulation, you saw a bunch of test tubes and beakers," Kidder told me. "Well, in here, you'll see a bunch of sprayers and spreaders."

Kidder's job is to examine how effectively products are dispersed in the field. He has tools to examine everything from how a liquid "blooms" (spreads) in a 1-gallon container to how it disperses in a 500-gallon sprayer.

It's Kidder's job to make sure the stuff being sprayed on the first fairway is the exact same stuff being sprayed at the end of the tank. "It's pretty simple to put something in a tank and mix it," Kidder told me. "But Syngenta puts in the research to see how each product disperses in the field."

Make your voice heard, play Pebble Beach

OK, so maybe it's not that easy. But if you take the time to head over to the National Golf Foundation's American Golf Census, you could be teeing it up at Pebble Beach, Pinehurst or any number of courses in Scotland and Ireland.

The American Golf Census is an effort by the NGF to quantify the amount and frequency of golf being played in the U.S., taken directly from the golfers themselves. The information gathered will be used to demonstrate to policymakers the game's effect on the country as a whole.

So to encourage participation, the NGF has instituted a sweepstakes in conjunction with the census. Running through election day, Nov. 2, participants in the census will be entered in drawings for one of six grand prizes, which include the previously mentioned vacations to Pebble Beach or Pinehurst, instruction at the Annika Academy in Orlando and a "tournament weekend in Augusta, Ga" (hmmmm ... I wonder what tournament they're talking about?). Also on the line will be golf equipment from Callaway, Nike and TaylorMade.

For more information, visit the American Golf Census website or the online home of the National Golf Foundation.

Syngenta's fire hose

I'm in Greensboro, N.C., visiting with the fine folks of Syngenta. Today was meetings, tomorrow I get a tour of their facility.

This is the second time in as many months that the stars have aligned for me on a trip... this time, my visit was moved back a week so I could meet with a few Syngenta research and development people. Syngenta's annual Biological Research and Development meeting is going on right now, so the opportunity was offered to me to meet with some of the minds behind the development of the products being used on golf courses around the world.

A lot of information from a lot of big brains was kicked my way today. As Scott Cole, turf market manager for Syngenta put it, "So, was that like drinking from a fire hose?"

Head to GIS, help a charity

From the "Two Birds, One Stone" category comes this one: You can get yourself a sweet deal on a trip to the 2011 GCSAA Education Conference and Golf Industry while at the same time helping out a worthy charitable golf effort.

GCSAA has tossed its support behind an online auction benefiting the National Alliance for Accessible Golf by offering up a package to February's conference and show in Orlando. The package includes a full registration package to the 2011 event, along with one registration for a full-day educational seminar.

If you're planning on heading to Orlando in February, this is a great way to get yourself in the door while helping out a great cause in the process. The auction ends Monday, Oct. 25 at 4:30 p.m. This is a direct link to GCSAA's item in the auction, which is being hosted by BiddingForGood.com.

Bartholomew almost back!

Some good news for New Orleans golfers: Joe Bartholomew Golf Course is almost ready to be played.

According to this story from the New Orleans Times-Picayune,  it may be a matter of only a few weeks before golfers can play the renovated course. GCM has featured this course twice in its pages as a sign of the state of golf in New Orleans. The first time, months after Hurricane Katrina, the course was more of a graveyard for debris than it was a golf course. The next time we visited, prior to the 2009 Golf Industry Show in New Orleans, the course was in something of a state of flux -- some work was being done, some range balls were being hit in one specific area, but it was hard to see where the overall direction of the course was going.

Well, it seems in the time since then, things have only looked up. We'll check in with the course as it gets closer to the grand opening, and report on it more in an upcoming issue of GCM.

Frank Dobie to receive 2011 DSA honor

Frank Dobie, who has served as the superintendent at Sharon Golf Club in Sharon Center, Ohio, since helping build the course 44 years ago, has been selected to receive GCSAA's Col. John Morley Distinguished Service Award.

The 52-year member of GCSAA will be officially recognized during Celebrate GCSAA! during the 2011 GCSAA Education Conference and Golf Industry Show in Orlando on Feb. 8.

"Frank is most deserving of the Col. John Morley Distinguished Service Award," said GCSAA president James R. Fitzroy, CGCS. "He has made outstanding and significant contributions to the advancement of the golf course superintendent profession as well as to the game of golf. His service to our profession has been invaluable. He has the utmost respect from his peers and those at Sharon."

The complete news release from GCSAA follows:

Crenshaw calls in

So, we've got our noses to the grindstone, trying to get the November issue of GCM finished before deadline. I have about three story folders on my desk. Chances of finding anything quickly in this mess? Slim.

Then my cell phone rings. Not a recognizable number. I answer.

"Hi Seth, this is Ben Crenshaw."

Oh! Hello. Here, let me find a place to take notes as I scatter all three folders off my desk...

I wasn't exactly expecting Crenshaw's call. A week ago, I emailed his agent requesting an interview. I hadn't heard anything back yet, and was actually preparing to email him again once we finished the November issue. And then Crenshaw went ahead and called me.

BASF's "Intrinsic" on tour

BASF Professional Turf & Ornamentals has launched a new umbrella brand called Intrinsic. The first two products under the Intrinsic umbrella – both coincidentally pyraclostrobins – are Honor fungicide and Insignia SC fungicide.

BASF is rolling out the red carpet for this launch. The company already connected a handful of its  experts with the media to discuss what Intrinsic is all about… next it goes on the road to visit BASF sales meetings and then chapter meetings. This effort will also be backed up with a marketing campaign that kicks off this month.

I had the pleasure of speaking with a group of BASF brass: Brian Lish, business manager, Thavy Staal, marketing manager, Kyle Miller, senior technical specialist and Tom Hill, communications manager.

The group stressed to me the importance of these Intrinsic products being the first fungicides labeled for both disease control and plant health in the turf and ornamental market.

New Ohio design goes back to the future

We get a lot of news releases here at GCM world headquarters about new course construction projects, renovations or restorations to existing courses, etc. Most of the time, I'll skim the first few paragraphs of these releases and them forward them along for inclusion in our Industry News section.

But earlier this week, one release in particular had me reading from start to finish. It featured a new project in Ohio from the respected design firm of Hudrzan/Fry (The "Hurdzan" in the name, Michael Hurdzan, Ph.D., is a longtime friend of superintendents and GCSAA), which is working on a new course attached to Glenlaurel Inn and Cottages in Rockbridge, Ohio.

But this will be no ordinary resort course, no 7,600-yard beast with forced carries and $200 green fees. Instead, in homage to Glenlaurel's overall Scottish theme, this will be a full-bore tip of the cap to the many links-style courses that dot the British Isles.