Divot Mix

"One of the advantages bowling has over golf is that you seldom lose a bowling ball." -- Don Carter, professional bowler

Arizona Republic focuses on golf, golf courses

This week in Phoenix's daily Arizona Republic, several writers took on the subject of golf and golf courses in the Valley of the Sun.

Among the topics they covered were: (Free registration at azcentral.com required)

• Seed money: It's more than a game; golf creates jobs, tax revenues, tourism
• The big sell: Money, unified effort are key to luring more golf visitors
• Golf course property no sure thing for builders
• Overbuilt: Green fees fall; new links on hold
• Scottsdale: Out of land and water, Scottsdale is built out
• SE Valley: Owners search for niches in crowded market
• Phoenix: Layouts require face lifts to compete
• West Valley: Dozens of courses planned in a boom waiting to happen
• Courses get creative to try to fill tee sheets
• Got game? Tour pros flock to Scottsdale, Paradise Valley
• Private clubs bounce back, maintain niche
• Technology turns toward forgiveness

In a related development, the Cactus and Pine GCSA and the USGA are planning an Arizona Golf Summit for Mar. 16, at the Arizona Biltmore.

Lynn Cannon, executive director of the chapter, said the summit is a product of the fact that, although golf is big business in Arizona, rounds of golf and the revenue generated has decreased at individual golf courses.

"Future demographic trends show that the Baby Boomers may not be interested in golf club membership and, as a group, have less time for a 4 ½ hour round of golf," she said. "Introducing the game to young people, especially minority youth, and to women will be critical."

The event has invited national and local golf industry leaders to provide insight into these issues and offer ideas for those who work in Arizona's golf industry or for avid golfers who want to see the game grow.

Among the speakers on national trends and opportunities for golf will be: Ruffin Beckwith, executive director of Golf 20/20; Sue Wegrzyn, executive director of the National Club Foundation; Paul Metzler, PGA of America; Steve Mona, CEO of GCSAA; Sara Hume, executive director of the Executive Women's Golf Association; Mike Tinkey, deputy executive director of NGCOA; and Anthony Zirpoli, USGA director of regional affairs.

Of special interest will be the presentation by Rudy Duran, who was instrumental in the development of Tiger Woods and went on to build a nationally recognized junior program at the Links Course at Paso Robles.

Arizona trends and opportunities will be addressed by Jeff Lessig, Southwest Section PGA; Mary Long, executive director of the Arizona Women's Golf Association, Henry DeLozier, vice president-golf for Pulte Homes and president of the Cactus and Pine Foundation; and Shawn Connors, president of the Golf Industry Association.

An afternoon roundtable brainstorming session will be recorded and the ideas sent to all golf course facilities to pursue creative ways to open golf to all facets of their communities. For more, contact Cactus and Pine GCSA, (480) 609-6778, http://www.cactusandpine.com/ .

NewsWeekly to go daily, for three days

GCSAA NewsWeekly is going to unveil a new concept, and a new look at this year's Golf Industry Show, Feb. 10-12.

Instead of one issue Thursday, Feb. 10, NewsWeekly will have three daily reports from the Trade show. On Thursday afternoon, NewsWeekly will arrive in your inbox with coverage by NewsWeekly and Golf Course Management staff on what happened during the first portion of the Conference, including the GCSAA Golf Championship.

On Friday and Saturday, there will be coverage of trade show happenings, awards, Opening Session and General Session.

RISE, CropLife America sue over phosphorous ban

Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment and CropLife America have filed suit against the City of Madison and Dane County, Wis., demanding that an ordinance banning the display, sale, or use of lawn fertilizers containing phosphorus be overturned.

The suit contends the ban violates state and federal preemption laws and, therefore, is illegal. This is the first time RISE has stepped into the courtroom as a plaintiff to defend the rights of industry members.

“The city of Madison and Dane County have overstepped their boundaries,” Allen James, president of RISE, said. “If we allow these bans to be instituted, we are completely ignoring preemption and what it stands for. Our products have been tested, retested, and registered by the federal and state governments for safety. As the industry representative, it is up to us to stand up for our companies.”

According to the plaintiffs, the ordinances put undue burden on lawn care and landscape companies. Since the county's ban differs from Madison's, companies would be expected to know not only the specifics of each ordinance, but also in which jurisdiction their customer resides. Wisconsin's state preemption, they say, prevents these local, confusing ordinances. The bans were slated to take effect on January 1.

Proponents of the ordinance believe that the reduction in use of inorganic specialty fertilizers containing phosphorus in their community will help eliminate unwanted algae blooms in local lakes.

While the plaintiffs agree that excess phosphorus contributes to the growth of noxious algae blooms in water, the lawsuit alludes to the bigger problem--the existence of Eurasian Water Milfoil in Dane County lakes which is an invasive weed that can reproduce by fragmentation. The county has been using mechanical harvesters for more than four decades in an effort to control these invasive weeds. Mechanical harvesting has exacerbated the problem and helped create algae blooms.

“The city of Madison and Dane County believe that their ordinances will help alleviate the algae problem,” Jim Skillen, manager of formulator issues for RISE, said. “It is truly ironic that not only are they breaking federal and state law by instituting these bans, but by removing inorganic, phosphorus-based fertilizers from the marketplace, they are going to increase the phosphorus load in local lakes over the long-term.” According to research from the University of Wisconsin Turfgrass Research Center, healthy, dense grass fertilized with phosphorus limits runoff to almost nothing, whereas, unfertilized turf can contribute 40 percent more phosphorus in runoff.

Fire-ant-attacking virus identified

The first known virus to infect the destructive and costly red imported fire ant was recently discovered by Agricultural Research Service scientists.

The ants, Solenopsis invicta , currently infest about 300 million acres in the United States. Although it is native to South America, it thrives in the United States because of a lack of natural enemies. The ants occasionally kill young, unprotected livestock and wildlife, and they inflict a painful sting that is sometimes deadly to humans.

Steven M. Valles, entomologist with the ARS Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology in Gainesville, Fla., and his colleagues there and at the ARS laboratory in Fort Pierce, Fla., have identified a new a virus that infects the ants. The entire genome has been sequenced, and studies suggest the virus, tentatively named Solenopsis invicta virus-1, may be an excellent biological control agent.

A survey in Florida locations found that approximately 23 percent of nests examined were infected with the virus. It infects all fire ant castes and stages, and Valles was able to successfully transmit the viral infection to uninfected fire ant nests.