Divot Mix

"The U.S. Open flag eliminates a lot of players. Some players just weren't meant to win the U.S. Open. Quite often, they know it." -- Jack Nicklaus

New Englander launches plan to "dog" ALS

Last year about this time, the illness of caddy Bruce Edwards and the magical walk he made with Tom Watson around Olympia Fields Country Club during the U.S. Open, captivated America.

Edwards passed away this April, but his story, as well as the story of PGA Tour player and fellow New Englander Jeff Julian has prompted semi-retired Canton Mass., businessman Paul Seery to think about using hot dogs to help raise money to fight amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

Although there is currently no cure for ALS, Seery thinks that one of the most common staples of the sports world, the hot dog, could help affect a cure by contributing to Driving 4 Life, a fund-raising arm of the ALS Therapy Development Foundation .

Seery is president of At the Turn, Inc. and had the idea of marketing hot dogs under the name Fairway Franks. The company's vice president is ex-Boston Globe Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Paul Szep, who created and established rights to a character named Fairway Frank. The group applied for and acquired the trademark rights to that name, and also acquired accompanying Internet domain names fairwayfranks.com and fairwayfrank.com.

But it was watching Watson and Edwards at Olympia Fields that sent Seery on a mission. ”I was moved beyond words,'' said Seery.

Seery wants to separate his product from others and, after contemplating the plight of Edwards and Julian, began thinking of devoting 50 percent of proceeds to Driving 4 Life. "We're looking for a manufacturer to produce Fairway Franks and do a licensing agreement with them to use the name," Seery said. "Driving 4 Life would get 50 percent." Contact Seery at 781-828-4453 or Driving 4 Life's Tyson Goodridge at http://www.driving4life.org/.

Student essay winners named

Three golf course management students have been selected as the 2004 Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) Student Essay Contest winners.

The Environmental Institute for Golf funds the contest and awards a $2,000 scholarship to the first-place recipient, $1,500 for second place and $1,000 for third. The contest, created in 1963, is open to GCSAA-member undergraduate and graduate students pursuing degrees in turfgrass science, agronomy or any field related to golf course management.

First place went to Phil Dwyer, a doctoral candidate at Michigan State University, for his entry, "Dollar Spot: A New Understanding."

Cory St. Clair, a junior at Purdue University, finished second for his entry, "Impact of RoundUp-Ready Creeping Bentgrass on Golf Course Management,"

Patrick McCullough, a master's candidate at Clemson University, was third for his entry, "Pre-emergence Herbicides May Exacerbate Genetic Instabilities of Ultradwarf Bermudagrass."

"Each year we see many outstanding applicants with a strong interest in improving golf course management practices," said GCSAA CEO Steve Mona, CAE. "The challenges of the profession continue to escalate. The future of the golf course superintendent profession will be in good hands with such exceptional students entering the profession."

Entries for next year's contest are due March 31, 2005. For more information visit http://www.gcsaa.org/career/pursuing/scholarships/essay.asp.

Television spots to air on The Golf Channel