Divot Mix

"With the competition out there, the courses are really making sure to have the best maintenance on their course. You used to have to play Kansas City Country Club to get really good greens. That's not the case any more." -- Adam Tilton, Overland Park, Kan., golfer in the Kansas City Star

Attacking slow play

As much as people complain about slow play, it would be easy to assume that eliminating it is impossible.

But Hershel Sarbin and Jim Brown, Golf After 50 editors, say that getting around the course in a reasonable amount of time isn't that complicated. In fact, because they think Over-50 golfers get an unfair share of the blame for the slow pace of play at some courses, they've compiled a summary of how to play efficiently.

Slow play, they say, is not an inherited trait. It is learned, and it can be unlearned. The answer is not fast play, but efficient golf. For the list, visit http://www.pgatour.com/story/7472930.

GCSAA Board ends headquarters location study

The GCSAA board of directors met July 19 in Chicago and accepted the recommendations of a member resource group that ends the current study to determine where the association's headquarters should be located.

Specifically, the board approved three recommendations presented to it by the Headquarters Location Resource Group June 18. Those include:

• Do not proceed to Phase II of the headquarters location study.
• Utilize GCSAA's recently developed strategic indicators to evaluate the impact headquarters location has on the association achieving its mission, vision and goals.
• Encourage the GCSAA board of directors to explore the possibility of establishing offices in the eastern and western regions of the country to enhance the delivery and implementation of member and chapter related programs and services, and to provide additional visibility for GCSAA and its members.

"We asked the resource group to determine if headquarters location has a material impact on the ability of the association to achieve its stated mission, vision and long-term strategic goals," said GCSAA President Mark Woodward, CGCS. "The resource group told us that question could best be answered in the next three to five years by evaluating the strategic indicators relative to the impact location has on achieving those targets. After that time period, the association's leadership will have a better measure as to whether location significantly affects organizational performance."

The association's leadership has discussed the concept of regional offices in the past. Other golf organizations such as the USGA and the PGA TOUR currently utilize satellite locations to conduct business. Woodward indicated an analysis of establishing GCSAA regional offices would likely begin before the end of the year.

The resource group was formed in the summer of 2003, acting independently of the GCSAA board of directors, to determine if the location of GCSAA's headquarters has a material impact on the ability of the association to achieve its stated mission, vision and long-term strategic goals.

Resource group chair Pat Finlen, CGCS and co-chair Tom Mason presented a report and set of recommendations to the board of directors after surveying a variety of constituent groups such as members, industry partners, allied associations, staff, media, etc. Other members of the resource group include: Bob Alonzi, CGCS; Ray Davies, CGCS; Kevin Downing, CGCS; Mark Esoda, CGCS; James Fitzroy, CGCS; Keith Ihms, CGCS; Todd Lupkes, CGCS; Sandy Queen, CGCS; and Bob Randquist, CGCS.

"We appreciate the time and effort the resource group dedicated to this issue," Woodward said. "The board believed it was vital that a high level of member input be utilized to address the subject and arrive at a sound decision. "

Click here for a review of the GCSAA's mission, vision and goals. For a detailed review of the association's strategic indicators, click here.

Ball hunters beware!

Golf course superintendents are no strangers to dealing with wildlife on their courses, after all, most golf courses are oases of green in the middle of civilization. In the U.S., it's not at all uncommon to see snakes and alligators on the course, depending on the region.

But Henry Martin, greenkeeper at Carbrook Golf Club near Brisbane, Australia, can boast of something a little more exotic than that; the lake on his course features sharks.

That's right, sharks!

In fact, golfers at the club have reported seeing sharks grabbing pelicans and jumping out of the water. The birds on the course generally steer clear of the water, leading golfers to call it Shark Lake.

Martin has seen at least one bull shark in the lake, which are regarded as one of the most dangerous and aggressive species. Their wide mouth helps in tearing off flesh and they can grow up to 10 to 12 feet long. They can swim many miles up estuaries, even into fresh water.

The obvious danger has prevented ball hunters from swimming in the lake, and the course estimates that it might contain up to 20,000 golf balls. For the complete story, visit The Sunday Mail online.

Record wet June in the south, record warmth elsewhere

Many areas of the South had some of the wettest June conditions on record, according to scientists at the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. Record dryness across southern California contrasted the extreme wetness in the South, while much of the Midwest had a cooler-than-average June. The global average temperature was the sixth warmest on record for June.

Scientists reported that the average temperature for the contiguous U.S. for June was 68.6 F (20.4 C), which was 0.5 F (0.3 C) below the 1895-2003 mean. The mean temperature was below average in 19 states across the center of the nation, extending into the Northeast.

Much of the West was warmer than average. Nevada and Florida had much-above-average temperatures for June. Alaska experienced record warmth for June, with a statewide temperature of 5.2 F above the 1971-2000 mean. Record-setting temperatures were also recorded in several Alaskan cities in June, including an all-time high of 93 F on Annette Island. The extreme temperatures made conditions favorable for widespread wildfire activity in the state.

Precipitation across the contiguous U.S. was much above average, ranking June 2004 the seventh wettest on record. Texas had its wettest June on record. Mississippi and Louisiana had their second and third wettest June conditions respectively. The heavy rainfall during the first week of the month resulted from severe storms in Texas and parts of the South and led to flooding in some areas.

Drought conditions in the Southeast in recent months eased as precipitation was above average across much of the region. But below-average June precipitation occurred in many areas of the West, where drought has persisted for the past five to six years.

Southern California and eastern Arizona had record or near-record dryness for June, exacerbating moderate-to-severe drought in the region. Reservoir levels also remained below average in many areas of the West, and at the end of June the percent of the western United States in moderate-to-extreme drought increased to 74 percent, based on a widely used measure of drought, the Palmer Drought Index.