Nov/Dec 2012 Tee Off News

12
With the holiday season upon us, it is nice to review our accomplish- ments and attempt to dis- cover how we can continue to improve. We are always striving to improve our Chapter and improve the services we offer to our members. This year we held a number of events at fantas- tic venues. Alisal Ranch and Dave Rosenstrauch, one of our most southern courses, kicked off the year in January. We made our way up the coast in March to visit Jason Pautsch at Hunter Ranch.Mike Swing and Visalia C.C. hosted our Equipment Demo Day in April, which included the “Fairway Mow Off” and fantastic demos from nearly all of the major equipment manufacturers. Then off to Riverlakes with Harry , in Bakersfield during May, followed by San Joaquin C.C. and Kevin Wiles in June for the Al Glaze Me- morial Scholarship Tourna- ment. If you missed either of these two events you missed out! Our current board was elected in the presence of Scott Walwyn at Village C.C. in Lompoc in September and then back to the Valley in November for our Charity Tourna- mentwas hosted by Mike Swing at Visalia C.C. This schedule included every area our association repre- sents, with the exception of Santa Barbara. Our membership numbers decreased slightly this year as we lost 6 mem- bers. This is better than the national average, but we want to retain all of the members we have. Our meeting attendance averaged 35 attendees per meeting and is up slightly vs. last year. Some additional data in- cludes, 79 (56%) of our 141 members never attended a meeting last year. 33 of the 141 attended at least one meeting, 10 attended two meetings, and 19 attended 3 or more meetings. The most surprising statistic is that our (Continued on page 3) Reflections and Progress By Josh Heptig TEE-OFF News November/December 2012 President’s Message 2 Meeting Schedules 5 Around the Green 6 GCSAA Update 8 Highlights from Lowell Stone Charity Event 10 Thank You to our Spon- sors 11 Inside this issue: Official Publication of the Golf Course Superinten- dents Association of Central California. The purpose of this publication is informa- tion and education for the membership. Published bi-monthly by GCSACC 5322 N. Leonard Clovis, CA 93619 Phone (559) 298-4853 Fax (559) 298-6957 Email [email protected] Bob Schneiderhan, Newsletter Chairman Mike Scott, CGCS, Editor 2012 Holiday Event by Mike Cline It’s almost time for our annual chapter Christmas Party, or Holi- day Party for those of you who feel the need to be politically correct. If you’ve never been to this event, you don’t know what you’re missing. As a GCSACC member, it’s a chance for you to bring your wife, husband, or sig- nificant other to a chapter event and have a wonder- ful evening. Heck, even if you come stag, you’ll have a great time. Good food, great drink, a fun atmos- phere with people who love the holidays and use this event to catch up with friends they don’t often get to see. Again this year, we will end the evening with a White Elephant Gift Ex- change which always gets the crowd worked up. You can bring a gift as a couple or as an individual. This can be a really nice gift, or it might be something you’ve wanted to re-gift. We take (Continued on page 4)

description

Nov/Dec 2012 Tee Off News

Transcript of Nov/Dec 2012 Tee Off News

Page 1: Nov/Dec 2012 Tee Off News

With the holiday

season upon us, it is nice to

review our accomplish-

ments and attempt to dis-

cover how we can continue

to improve. We are always

striving to improve our

Chapter and improve the

services we offer to our

members.

This year we held a

number of events at fantas-

tic venues. Alisal Ranch

and Dave Rosenstrauch,

one of our most southern

courses, kicked off the year

in January. We made our

way up the coast in March

to visit Jason Pautsch at

Hunter Ranch.Mike Swing

and Visalia C.C. hosted our

Equipment Demo Day in

April, which included the

“Fairway Mow Off” and

fantastic demos from nearly

all of the major equipment

manufacturers. Then off to

Riverlakes with Harry , in

Bakersfield during May,

followed by San Joaquin

C.C. and Kevin Wiles in

June for the Al Glaze Me-

morial Scholarship Tourna-

ment. If you missed either

of these two events you

missed out! Our current

board was elected in the

presence of Scott Walwyn

at Village C.C. in Lompoc

in September and then back

to the Valley in November

for our Charity Tourna-

mentwas hosted by Mike

Swing at Visalia C.C. This

schedule included every

area our association repre-

sents, with the exception of

Santa Barbara.

Our membership

numbers decreased slightly

this year as we lost 6 mem-

bers. This is better than the

national average, but we

want to retain all of the

members we have. Our

meeting attendance averaged

35 attendees per meeting and

is up slightly vs. last year.

Some additional data in-

cludes, 79 (56%) of our 141

members never attended a

meeting last year. 33 of the

141 attended at least one

meeting, 10 attended two

meetings, and 19 attended 3

or more meetings. The most

surprising statistic is that our

(Continued on page 3)

Reflections and Progress By Josh Heptig

TEE-OFF News November/December 2012

President’s Message 2

Meeting Schedules 5

Around the Green 6

GCSAA Update 8

Highlights from Lowell Stone Charity Event

10

Thank You to our Spon-sors

11

Inside this issue:

Official Publication of the Golf Course Superinten-

dents Association of Central California. The purpose of this publication is informa-tion and education for the membership. Published

bi-monthly by

GCSACC

5322 N. Leonard

Clovis, CA 93619

Phone (559) 298-4853

Fax (559) 298-6957

Email [email protected]

Bob Schneiderhan,

Newsletter Chairman

Mike Scott, CGCS, Editor

2012 Holiday Event by Mike Cline It’s almost time

for our annual chapter

Christmas Party, or Holi-

day Party for those of you

who feel the need to be

politically correct. If

you’ve never been to this

event, you don’t know

what you’re missing. As a

GCSACC member, it’s a

chance for you to bring

your wife, husband, or sig-

nificant other to a chapter

event and have a wonder-

ful evening. Heck, even if

you come stag, you’ll have

a great time. Good food,

great drink, a fun atmos-

phere with people who

love the holidays and use

this event to catch up with

friends they don’t often get

to see. Again this year, we

will end the evening with a

White Elephant Gift Ex-

change which always gets

the crowd worked up. You

can bring a gift as a couple

or as an individual. This can

be a really nice gift, or it

might be something you’ve

wanted to re-gift. We take

(Continued on page 4)

Page 2: Nov/Dec 2012 Tee Off News

Page 2

President’s Message— Josh Heptig

TEE-OFF News

I am quite humbled and hon-

ored to represent our Central Califor-

nia Chapter of Golf Course Superin-

tendents and I look forward to getting

to meet as many of our members as

possible during the next ten months.

Please introduce yourself at one of

our meetings, send me an email, or

give me a call so that I can help take

care of our members needs and also to

keep this chapter viable and moving

in the right direction. Without the

input of our members, the Board of

Directors acts in what we believe is

the best interest of our members, but I

would like to make certain that as

many of those interests are being met

as possible.

The Holiday season is upon

us and the grass is beginning to slow

down as the roots begin to store car-

bohydrates for the winter as opposed

to growing leaves. It is time for us as

industry professionals to do the same

by attending training and educational

opportunities during the winter sea-

son. The Golf Industry Show (GIS) is

in our own back yard again as San

Diego is the site for the 2013 GIS and

it should prove to be a great experi-

ence!

Last year was my first year

back to the GIS after a five year hia-

tus. I had not attended for the past

five years because I struggled to jus-

tify traveling across the Country with

struggling operational budgets as well

as a growing family. I decided to at-

tend Las Vegas last year to catch up

with friends and acquaintances from

back east and to continue to further

my growth professionally. I actually

attended the Golf Course Owners’

Association meetings as well as the

GCSAA conference and what a great

experience it all turned out to be!

Both of these educational opportuni-

ties afforded me networking opportu-

nities, reunions with old friends, new

contacts throughout our industry,

valuable education, meaningful dis-

cussions, and pages upon pages of

notes and ideas to take back to the

courses I manage. I had forgotten just

how valuable the GIS can be as long

as you seek out the opportunities that

are available.

The GIS is not the only place

to find quality educational opportuni-

ties. The GCSA of Central California

Board of Directors strives to provide

a great slate of programming for the

end of 2012 and into 2013. Our an-

nual Christmas party will take place

at Windows on the Water in Morro

Bay following golf at Morro Bay Golf

Course for those that are interested.

The event offers a festive, more inti-

mate atmosphere, to share the past

years experiences with your peers and

friends. This is an opportunity for

you to bring your significant other, a

fellow superintendent, or your assis-

tant to share a fantastic meal, liba-

tions, and laugher throughout the eve-

ning.

2013 will include a shortened

meeting schedule so that we can focus

on value and quality. Value has be-

come a topic within the golf industry

and your Board intends to fulfill this

need for our members so that your

meeting attendance not only allows

for networking, but also providing

Continuing Education points for

GCSAA as well as pesticide licens-

ing. Of course the slate of events in-

cludes our annual Al Glaze and

Lowell Stone tournaments. These

events are critical to our industry as

we raise funds for scholarships

awarded to future turf professionals,

University research, and future golf-

ers through The First Tee. Be on the

(Continued on page 3)

Josh Heptig

Page 3: Nov/Dec 2012 Tee Off News

Page 3 TEE-OFF News

lookout in your email or mailbox for newslet-

ters and invitations throughout the year so that

you are sure not to miss any of these valuable

opportunities.

To kick off 2013 Sandpiper Golf

Course will be hosting a meeting in Santa Bar-

bara. This is truly a great golf location set

above the Pacific Ocean and our current

GCSAA Vice President and likely future Presi-

dent, Pat Finlan, will be speaking to the group.

Make sure you put this event on your calendar

and I will see you there. Please contact me

with any questions or concerns you may have

as I had stated before. My phone number is

(805) 781-1318 and my email is jhep-

[email protected]. I am here to listen and re-

spond to our members so that we can all grow

professionally to better serve our courses, golf-

ers, and our future. Have a safe and happy

holiday season!

President’s Message- Continued from page 2 ratio of Superintendents to Affiliate attendance was 2:1 as 66% of

attendants were superintendents and 34% were affiliate members.

All of our meetings qualified for PDI. Out of six meetings, 3

received educational points totaling .55 and 3 received service points

totaling .30. This means we added value to meeting attendance as

you could accumulate points for your pesticide license and your

GCSAA class status, while networking, learning, getting away from

your course, etc.

Our chapter continued in its philanthropic endeavors by

awarding $6,250 in Charitable Contributions and Scholarships. This

amount doesn’t include the fund we raised at this years charity tour-

nament for the 1st Tee Programs. This will be voted on at the next

board meeting and will be disbursed immediately upon approval.

We want to work toward our mission of: “The GCSACC is dedi-

cated to providing value to our members through programs and services that en-

hance our profession”. Please be on the lookout for surveys asking how

we can do just that, add value to your membership or improve the

chapter to meet your needs and expectations. Your input is valuable

and will be used to shape our programs and unless we hear your ideas

and suggestions we cannot implement them. We, the Board and the

Members, can only add value to 2013 and beyond with your input.

Let’s work together to build a stronger association and improve the

value and professional image for us all.

Reflections Continued from page 1

Page 4: Nov/Dec 2012 Tee Off News

Page 4

TEE-OFF News

turns selecting a gift, but every gift

can be stolen up to two times as the

night goes on. Everyone really

seems to have a great time with this

and really looks forward to this part

of the evening.

As has been the case over

the past few years, this year’s event

will be on Saturday, December 8th,

at Window on the Water, overlook-

ing the harbor at Morro Bay. There

are plenty of hotels with easy walk-

ing distance and lots of shopping

opportunities for those of you who

come a little early. Something new

this year is golf for anyone who

wants to take advantage. Board

President Josh Heptig is making

some tee times available at Morro

Bay Golf Course on Saturday at a

reduced rate of $25.00 per person

including golf cart. Contact the

association office for more details if

this is something you want to do.

The nights events will kick

off at 6:00 with a hosted bar and

appetizers until around 7:00 when

we’ll sit down for dinner. The

three course meal will feature a

main course of your selection,

steak, chicken, fish, or vegetarian.

Finally at around 9:00 we’ll start

the gift exchange. You notice I say

around quite a bit. That’s because

the evening is about you and your

guests, not a time table. We have a

private room overlooking the har-

bor, and it seems like people come

earlier and leave later every year, I

think that means they’re having fun

and can’t wait to get started.

The cost of the event this

year as it has been for the last cou-

ple of years is $65.00 per person. If

you choose to add golf, that cost

would make your total expense for

the party at $90.00. Keep in mind

that if you are an association mem-

ber, and only want to play golf, you

can do that as well.

I hope to see many new

faces at this year’s event, but if

you’re unable to come, I wish you

and your family a Merry Christmas

and a Happy New Year.

Holiday Event Continued from page 1

In 2013 we will

begin a new bi-

monthly article

featuring asso-

ciation dogs.

Get your pic-

tures in so that we can feature your

four legged friends. This month we

feature your association office dogs.

Bailey and Layla say Merry Christmas.

Page 5: Nov/Dec 2012 Tee Off News

Page 5

TEE-OFF News

December 8, 2012 Annual Holiday Event

Golf at Morro Bay Golf Course

Dinner at

Windows On The Water

Morro Bay

January 7, 2013 Winter Educational Symposium

Sandpiper Golf Course

Host Superintendent

Tennessee McBroom

CEU’s and PDI

To be applied for

February 2013

Annual GCSAA Conference & Show

San Diego CA

February 6, 2013

California Room - USS Midway

Pre Registration is mandatory

Register on line at Californiagcsa.org

Meeting Schedule

Page 6: Nov/Dec 2012 Tee Off News

Around The Green By Michael Cline

Page 6 TEE-OFF News

Seems like only yesterday I

was writing one of these things for

the October newsletter and here we

are again. Not a lot going on since

October but there was some news

worth reporting.

Superintendent Trini Her-

nandez has returned to Rio Bravo

Country Club effective September

2012. Trini was released from his

position of General Manager/

Superintendent when upper man-

agement wanted to try a different

direction. During the several

months Trini was gone, it became

apparent you don’t replace all the

years of experience Trini had so the

owner asked him to return, but this

time as superintendent only. As

Trini said, a lot of work to be done

but we should get it back up and

growing in no time at all.

It was reported to me by

Superintendent Martin Moro-

zowsky, Seven Oaks Country Club,

Bakersfield that on November 1,

2012, the membership of the club

purchased the club and all assets

from Castle and Cook, the long

time developers and owners of the

club. As Martin told me, it was a

little concerning to lose your job on

October 31, only to be hired back

again on November 1, but that’s

what happened to all of the staff at

the club. Martin tells me this

should be a real positive effect for

the club so keep and eye out for

future improvements to be reported.

For those of you who have

been in the business for over 20

years, a sad note to

report. Bob Stuckey,

long time superinten-

dent at Madera Coun-

try Club passed away

this past September

after a long battle with

cancer. Bob was the

superintendent at

Madera for 30+ years

until his retirement.

Congratula-

tions to Superintendent

Mike Swing, CGCS

for a tremendous

Charities Tournament

this past November 5th.

After several start and

stops as the board tried

to secure a location for

our annual fund raiser,

Visalia Country Club

stepped up and again,

we had a tremendous

event. Great weather,

a nearly full field, great

food right off the grill

of Ewing Irrigation with Scott

Furtak and Phil Chan manning the

flames, made for a near perfect day.

The chapter will be able to make a

sizeable donation to “The First

Tee” of Central California and the

Central Coast. Again, I just want to

say, great job Mike.

Our featured member this

month is Steve Showers, Superin-

tendent at Airways Golf Course in

Fresno. Steve has an interesting

history as he grew up in the golf

industry and his laid back style be-

lies the fact that he is paying atten-

tion, and will call you on it if

you’re not doing your job or fol-

lowing the rules.

Steve just got back on the

board after a number of years in the

general membership so be assured,

he will be representing all of the

members of the GCASCC.

Steve Showers

First job in golf?

My first job in golf was as a 17 year

old crew member at the Arizona

Biltmore Country Club pushing a

21” rotary mower around all the

trees as I mowed the turf.

What was your first manage-

ment job in golf?

My first management job came in

1991 when I moved to Madera Golf

Course with then Superintendent

Mark Goodmanson. Mark was

only there a short while and ulti-

mately I assisted Lowell Stone at

the club until his first retirement.

What do you like to do when

you’re not at work?

When I’m not at work I love to go

with wife Carol to Pacific Grove

and just hang out. We have a fa-

(Continued on page 7)

For over 80 years the

specialty seed source for:

-Native Grasses and

Wildflowers

-Kikuyu, Paspalum,

Hybrid Bermuda

-Bentgrasses, Fine

Fescues, Ryegrasses

Golf Course Representatives:

Jim Culley 213-268-3193

Don Lewis 213-247-3266

Home Office: 800-621-0315

www.stoverseed.com

Page 7: Nov/Dec 2012 Tee Off News

Page 7 TEE-OFF News

Around The Green Continued from page 6

vorite little

hotel that

does some

wine tasting

and we just

unwind.

Who is

your favor-

ite sports

team and

why?

My favorite

sports team is the New England

Patriots. The why, occurred in

1969 when Joe Namath and the

New York Jets won the Super

Bowl which allowed my brother to

proclaim them as his team. I

needed to beat him so I needed a

team that would play them often,

so someone from their own league

and New England seemed like the

best choice. How was I to know

that Jim Plunkett would spend so

much time on this back side that

they could never win. I had to

wait for them to finally get good!

If you could pick one meal,

what would it be?

My favorite meal is Lasagna.

Can’t say why, if it needs to be

made a special way but it is my

meal.

What’s your favorite part of

being a golf course superin-

tendent?

My favorite part of the job is being

outside. I bet everyone in the

business says that but it’s the truth

What’s your least favorite

part of being a golf course

superintendent?

My least favorite part of the job is

all of the meetings. Meetings with

general managers, boards of direc-

tors, golfers, you know the usual.

What’s your favorite band?

My favorite band is Cold Play.

What’s your favorite song?

My favorite song is Viva La Vida

by Cold Play which means “Long

Live Life”

What’s your favorite movie?

My favorite movie is The Sound

of Music, now that’s a sensitive

guy.

As always, if you know of some-

thing that might interest the mem-

bership, just give me a ring or

send me an E-Mail at

[email protected], and I’ll

make sure to get it in the newslet-

ter. So until next time, I’ll see you

“Around the Green”

Steve Showers

Page 8: Nov/Dec 2012 Tee Off News

Page 8 TEE-OFF News

The purpose of this article is to share

the outcomes of last month’s

GCSAA Chapter Delegates Meeting,

and to offer my insight as a GCSAA

board member.

What is the overall health of

the association in terms of member-

ship, chapter composition, total reve-

nue and other metrics? In general,

while membership and revenues

have declined the past few years, the

association still has a strong finan-

cial base and continues to provide

valuable resources in serving its

members. Currently GCSAA has

17,500 members, of which 12,500

are Professional Members. Of these,

5,321 are Class A (including 1,575

certified), 3,403 are SM, and 3,776

are Class C. The representation by

facility-type is 49% from private

clubs, 30% from daily fee facilities,

13% from municipal facilities and

8% from semi-private golf facilities.

GCSAA has 99 chapters and 68 stu-

dent chapters in the United States

and Canada. In response to declining

revenues as a result of the recession,

GCSAA staff has decreased from

122 to 89 over the past four years. Its

revenues, once at a high of $22 mil-

lion now stand at $15 million.

Revenues have stabilized

during the past two years. We are

cautiously optimistic that we can

show a slight increase in 2013. Con-

ference and Show have experienced

a slight net revenue uptick and ex-

hibit fees have been raised to reflect

the market. However, these gains

have been offset to a degree by a 3-

4% drop in membership. Attracting

new and retaining current members

is a priority and will

remain so in 2013.

Expenses are

being managed by

maintaining appropri-

ate staffing levels, en-

hancing operating effi-

ciencies and being

prudent in our invest-

ing. We’ve also leased

space in the headquar-

ters building which

provides a new reve-

nue stream. Just like

many of us in our day-

to-day lives, the staff

at GCSAA is defi-

nitely “doing more

with less.”

Our strategy

to strengthen GCSAA

is a three-phase ap-

proach of investment -

- recovery - growth.

Investing in programs

to grow and serve the

membership, achiev-

ing recovery by allowing new pro-

grams to take hold and gain traction

through sustained operations.

The GCSAA Headquarters

building is more than 20 years old,

and like any structure, needs regular

updating. Of immediate concern are

the roof, sidewalks and parking lots.

Those will be repaired first. We will

also be undertaking a landscape

renovation and addressing needs of

the interior of the building.. The total

cost will be approximately $1.9 mil-

lion with the option to go as high as

$2 million if needed. Interest rates

are at a historic lows and it made

sense to borrow the money and make

the necessary improvements.

MSAG (Membership Standards Ad-

visory Group);

The MSAG was created by

the Board of Directors in 2011. It

was tasked with strategically exam-

ining GCSAA’s membership stan-

dards and to determine any recom-

mendations for the future. The

MSAG met three times in 2012, with

chair Sean Hoolehan, CGCS,

(GCSAA past president) presenting

the delegates several recommenda-

tions. The highlights include: simpli-

fying GCSAA membership classifi-

cations so that they are more clearly

identifiable, define our professional

members as opposed to all other

membership classifications, elimi-

nate the SM classification and re-

place it with a Class B designation.

The MSAG felt that if GCSAA truly

wants the Class A designation to

mean something in the marketplace,

it must be marketed appropriately.

Further, it believes that having a

Class A and Class B designation

helps employers and others differen-

tiate between classifications.

The MSAG also noted that

the integrity of the standards should

be seamless between GCSAA and its

GCSAA Chapter Delegates Meeting Update Rafael Barajas, CGCS Director GCSAA

Three locations to serve you

Lancaster Bakersfield Fresno

Page 9: Nov/Dec 2012 Tee Off News

Page 9 TEE-OFF News

GCSAA Update Continued from page 8

chapters with the Class A designa-

tion being consistent at both the lo-

cal and national level. Again, this

supports the goal of marketing Class

A and defining its value. If GCSAA

is promoting the Class A superinten-

dent as a professional who is focused

on continuing education and busi-

ness skills, the standards must be

consistent at the chapter level and

national level. At present, they do

not mirror one another.

The current affiliation agree-

ment was due to expire Dec. 31. The

delegates reviewed the new agree-

ment, which was scheduled to go

into effect on Jan. 1, 2013. There

were several changes – two very mi-

nor, changing out staff names and

raising the threshold for filing

amounts due to a change in the IRS.

However, one change which re-

quired chapters to change their Class

A member requirements to conform

with GCSAA’s was heavily dis-

cussed. Because of feedback given

during the Delegates Meeting in re-

gards to this provision and with

questions regarding the MSAG rec-

ommendations, the GCSAA Board

of Directors decided to extend the

affiliation agreement for one year.

Therefore, the current agreement in

place now will not expire until Dec.

31, 2013. This will give the Board,

Committees and staff time to review

how these recommendations and to

then ascertain their effect on chap-

ters and GCSAA.

In 2007, the Chapter Dele-

gates asked the Board of Directors to

create a system for future dues in-

crease proposals that would result in

smaller, and perhaps more frequent

increases as opposed to less fre-

quent, but likely larger increases.

Members believed these would be

easier to include in a budget. It was

agreed that increases would be based

on a review of the Consumer Price

Index (CPI). Every two years the

board analyzes the CPI to determine

if a dues increase should be pre-

sented. Since the last dues increase

was proposed in 2011, the board is

putting forth a dues increase pro-

posal for 2013. The CPI increased

5.07% in the 24-month period Octo-

ber to September. This two-year

CPI increase would equate to a $15

dues increase for Class A/SM and

$10 for Class C, which would in-

crease annual member dues to $355

and $180 respectively. The pro-

posed dues increase would allow the

association to continue the invest-

ment-recovery-growth strategy es-

tablished two years ago. Among the

key investments have been in the

field staff program and outreach to

employers, golfers and policymak-

ers.

In addition to the CPI in-

crease for member dues, the board is

recommending an additional $10

increase for Class A/SM and a $5

increase for Class C. This additional

amount will be used to offset an in-

crease in premium expense for the

member term life insurance benefit

that was triggered by a 200% claims

paid loss ratio over the last three

years, which has caused the insur-

ance premium to double (additional

$100,000 in expense). This would

make the proposed member dues

increase $25 for Class A/SM and

$15 for Class C, which would bring

the dues to $365 and $185, respec-

tively. The dues increase requires

the approval by a majority of the

membership at the February 7, 2013

annual meeting.

The Environmental Institute

for Golf (EIFG) fosters sustainability

by providing funding for research

grants, education programs, scholar-

ships and awareness of golf’s envi-

ronmental efforts. The EIFG serves

as the association’s philanthropic

organization. One of the EIFG’s

newest programs is Rounds 4 Re-

search. Rounds 4 Research is a

fundraising program whereby rounds

of golf (defined as a tee time for two

or four, generally with carts) are auc-

tioned to the public through an

online auction. Through this pro-

gram, participating organizations can

solicit donated rounds with a mini-

mum 80 percent of the proceeds be-

ing directed back to the organization.

The EIFG’s Rounds 4 Research is an

expansion of the innovative program

that was introduced by the Carolinas

Golf Course Superintendents Asso-

ciation, who in three years generated

nearly $350,000 to fund research and

government relations activities. The

scope had grown beyond what the

Carolinas GCSA could administer

and therefore they offered the pro-

gram to GCSAA. As GCSAA’s phil-

anthropic organization, the EIFG is

now administering the program.

The Rounds 4 Research auc-

tion will take advantage of the Bid-

dingForGood.com online auction

platform. Bidding for Good is a lead-

ing auction site whose sole purpose

is to support charitable giving by

linking buyers with nonprofit organi-

zations. The service is a natural fit,

with more than 650,000 registered

bidders, and rounds of golf as its top

-selling item. National communica-

tions efforts and grassroots efforts

from the participating organizations

will also drive golfers to the bidding

platform. These efforts will provide

a nationwide marketing opportunity

for the golf facilities who participate

in this worthy program.

If you have any questions

feel free to contact me via e-mail at

[email protected] or rbara-

[email protected] . You may also may

also reach me by phone at 562 691-

7110.

Page 10: Nov/Dec 2012 Tee Off News

Pictured at

right is

Lowell

Stone Foun-

der of the

Charity

Tournament

Page 10

TEE-OFF News

Golf Course Materials

Topdressing Sand - Bunker Sand

Decomposed Granite - Drain Rock

1/8” Minus Turf & Tee Bulk Humus

Brush Removal Call for competitive rates

David Knott, Inc. (559) 449-8935 or (559) 760-5387

Lowell Stone Charity Event Highlights

Pictured above are the 1st Tee of Fresno

representatives Denise Bonderant, Mike

Firpo, Eric Van Volkenburg, and Marvin

Wiggs. Below is Tom Johnson’s winning

team of Wayne Cole, Randy Craven,

Shane Lee, and Tom.

Below are

association

President

Josh Heptig

and Host

Superinten-

dent Mike

Swing, CGCS

Above is the team from Valley Oaks G.C.

The team includes Troy Thompson, Erin

Hensley, John Peterman, and Ryan Wiz

Ewing sponsored the lunch for all the attendees, the crew

included members Scott Furtak and Phil Chan. .

Tournament winners were treated to Visalia C.C. Gift

Certificates. 131 Players filled the field on a beautiful day

at Visalia Country Club to help raise funds for the 1st

Tee of the Central Coast and the 1st Tee of Fresno.

Page 11: Nov/Dec 2012 Tee Off News

Page 11

TEE-OFF News

Thank You to our Sponsors

Control Pump

Turf Time

Tulare

Golf Course

Page 12: Nov/Dec 2012 Tee Off News

PRESIDENT

JOSH HEPTIG

SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY

SECRETARY/TREASURER VICE PRESIDENT

BRIAN DAUM TROY THOMPSON

VALLEY CREST/PALO ALTO G.C. VALLEY OAKS GOLF COURSE

2012/2013 GCSACC BOARD OF DIRECTORS

STEVEN SHOWERS

AIRWAYS G. C.

TENNESSEE MCBROOM

SANDPIPER GOLF COURSE

BOB SCHNEIDERHAN

CAL POLY SLO

KEVIN EPPICH

TURF STAR

MICHAEL CLINE

WILBUR ELLIS COMPANY

BOARD MEMBERS

EXECUTIVE STAFF

IRENE CLINE/KIMBERLY MILNE

PHONE (559) 298-4853 FAX (559) 298-6957

EMAIL [email protected]

Californiagcsa.org/centralcaliforniachapter

SCOTT WALWYN

THE VILLAGE C.C.