Divot Mix

"It is really a great thing to know that although a man can be paid for playing a game he loves, he can at the same time play for the honor of his team and his country." -- Samuel Ryder, 1931

Final call for Environmental Leader entries

There's still time to document your commitment to environmental stewardship by applying for the 2004 GCSAA/ Golf Digest Environmental Leaders in Golf Awards. Entries are due to GCSAA by Oct. 8. With the simple click of a button, you can apply online at http://www.gcsaa.org/resources/awards/elga/elga.asp . Applications also are available by calling GCSAA member/customer solutions at (800) 472-7878.

The ELGAs, presented in partnership with Syngenta Professional Products and Rain Bird Corp., Golf Division, recognize superintendents and golf courses for their commitment to environmental stewardship in the areas of resource conservation, water quality management, integrated pest management, wildlife/habitat management and education/outreach.

Custom captain's cars featured at Ryder Cup Matches

There's no doubt that the custom four-passenger golf cars used by Ryder Cup captains are special, Club Car has made certain of that. But their ultimate fate depends a lot on the whim of the captain.

Sam Torrance treats his like a classic automobile, taking it out of storage only on “very special occasions.”

On the other hand, Curtis Strange donated his to a charity auction, where Charles Barkley's slam-dunk bid of $50,000 purchased a piece of Ryder Cup history.

For three days every two years, during one of golf's premier events, these two distinctive golf cars manufactured by Club Car take on a strategic role and move to the center stage of the golf world. After the matches, the leaders of the U.S. and European teams get to take them home.

“My Ryder Cup car is so personal and special to me that it is under lock and key in my garage,” said Torrance, who captained the victorious European team in the 2002 Matches at The Belfry in Sutton Coldfield, England. “This is much to the annoyance of my children, who keep wanting to get it out and drive it around the garden.  It only comes out on very special occasions."

Strange, who captained Team USA in the 2002 Matches, donated his car to the Jimmy V Foundation for cancer research in Raleigh, N.C. Barkley bid $50,000 for the car during the Foundation's annual golf tournament. After the 1997 Matches, U.S. captain Tom Kite donated his car to an auction benefiting the Children's Hospital of Austin, but remembers no benefactor as generous as Barkley.

Hal Sutton, this year's captain for the United States, said he plans to give his to his four kids.

This week, Sutton and European captain Bernhard Langer will use the Precedent golf cars to maneuver the Oakland Hills Country Club course, hoping to be in the right place at the right time. As they do, their red and blue cars will be almost as visible as the players themselves.

Club Car began providing the custom golf cars to Ryder Cup captains at the 1997 Matches at Valderrama Golf Club in Sotogrande, Spain. In addition to the captain's cars, Club Car also is providing 250 additional vehicles to support maintenance and television crews and medical personnel..

For more about the Precedent visit http://www.clubcarprecedent.com.

Oregonian covers Roundup Ready bent progress

The golf course management industry has followed the development of Roundup Ready bentgrass with interest over the past several years, but the process of getting approval for distribution has proven to be arduous. Now reporter Alex Pulaski of the Portland Oregonian has taken a look at what's happened and how it has affected the turfgrass seed industry.

Pulaski's article looks at why the approval has taken so long and examines " the complex scientific, regulatory and market hurdles agricultural producers face in developing new, genetically modified, or GM, crops…"

The complete story is available on the Oregonian Web site.