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| June 16, 2005 |
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Divot Mix"It's like playing in a straightjacket. They just lay you up on the rack and twist on both ends." -- Ben Crenshaw on playing in the U.S. Open Horsepower goes old school at Indiana course With the U.S. Open at one of America's most famous, classic courses this week, it's only appropriate that another old course is taking a step backward. At Christiana Creek Country Club in Elkhart Ind., golf course superintendent Mark Dennison, architect Paul Albanese and builders Dan Grassi and Dana Morrow are restoring the 1926 layout to it's former glory. But instead of just calling in the bulldozers, Albanese and Grassi decided to go old school and move some dirt with horse-drawn slip scrapers. According to an article in the The Truth the idea came out of a brainstorming session for ways to honor William Langford, the course's original designer.
"We were sitting around talking about it and I thought it was a joke at first,'' said Albanese. "But it's been a real treat. This is an old, classic style of course." In the end, modern equipment will be used to redo 25 existing bunkers and add three more, but at the 9th and 18th holes, the horsepower would come with hooves. The horses, Janet and Charley, belong to Otis Thornton, owner of Thorn Hill Farms in southern Elkhart County. And everyone in attendance took a turn behind the scraper, including reporter Bill Beck. For the whole story, visit The Truth. Arizona Republic does PoaIt might not be thought of as a desert dweller, but a wet winter has Arizona golf course superintendents thinking about Poa annua, according to an article in the Arizona Republic. "With the rain we had, the poa just exploded this year," Ernie Pock, the superintendent at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, said. "In some areas, we have lost the battle." The story also quotes superintendents Paul McGinnis, CGCS; Jim Parker, CGCS; and Phil Shoemaker. Parker, superintendent at Pinnacle Peak Country Club in Scottsdale, said, "We resurfaced our greens nine years ago and have been very diligent about keeping it out by handpicking it when seedlings start to appear. It's tedious, but it works if you keep up with it." For the whole story, visit http://www.azcentral.com. Building of the Green video now online Attendees of the 2005 Golf Industry Show got to see the amazing feat of building a real golf green in the middle of the trade show floor in only seven days. In a remarkable partnership, the Golf Course Builders Association of America and the American Society of Golf Course Architects, designed and built the green, then turned it over to GCSAA members for maintenance.
The Building of the Green Solutions Center was 12,000 square feet with the putting surface covering 2,500 square feet, and a pair of bunkers and surrounding slopes adding another 1,500+ square feet. The green included three lobes, with different pitches, and different slopes to maximize its educational potential for the superintendents who visited. Because two-thirds of the construction had already taken place by the time the show opened, GCSAA commissioned Epic Creative Communications to shoot a video documenting the process. That way, attendees could stop by to enjoy video footage of the earlier work. Now, the entire video is available online for anyone who missed the Golf Industry Show. To view it, visit http://www.superintendentsvideomag.com. The Golf Channel features superintendents on What's in the Bag? In July, The Golf Channel's What's in the Bag program is going to take a detour from it's "normal" coverage of sticks and balls, to take a look at the life of a golf course superintendent.
Normally What's in the Bag host Adam Barr gives golfers an inside look at the golf industry, golf equipment and technology, helping them gain valuable information to become a better golf shopper. But during the first week of July, it will switch from covering the hottest driver or the most comfortable shoes, to “A Day in the Life of a Golf Course Superintendent.” The show will feature a visit with Jon Jennings, CGCS at Chicago Golf Club, host site of the 2005 Walker Cup matches. The show is also scheduled to include interviews with several golf course superintendents from the 2005 Golf Industry Show. Jennings said The Golf Channel crew was there for his morning staff meeting, shot footage of equipment preparation and took a tour of the course. Then they covered mowing of the course from tee to green. They also shot footage of the Jennings' crew aerifying greens. Finally, The Golf Channel crew sat in on an organizational meeting with the USGA on Walker Cup setup and preparation. The show is scheduled to premiere Monday, July 4. It will repeat several times that week. Currently scheduled airtimes are:
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