Elkington, Swayze Eye Golf Landscaping Niche REWARD
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DEVELOPMENT Elkington, Swayze eye golf landscaping niche By J. BARRY MOTHES popular program," Swayze said. accelerated rate. Major Land- HOUSTON, Texas — Austra- "But maintaining trees is always 'They're getting aeration, fer- scapes was launc- lian pro Steve Elkington has a put on the back burner. If you tilization, irrigation," said Swayze. hed last July. It reputation for being something put it in the ground, somebody Those faster-growing trees also has yet to sign on of a modern renaissance man. has to take care of it. People compete directly with the turf that to a full-blown Besides a silky smooth, clas- usually don't take into consider- surrounds them for water. project, but Sway- sic golf swing, and a taste for ation the maturity of a tree. You "One thing I've noticed in the ze said the com- understated, elegant clothing, design with a 10-year plan but south is that you get a lot of live pany is very close Steve Elkington (right) and arborist Jack Swayze. Elkington, who once received an what do you do with them in 15, oaks planted on the course and to working on a art scholarship, also nurtures an 20 years. Trees become sacred." it's tough to grow turf under project in south Texas. He said "Landscape architects design elaborate collection of flowers, Something many golf course them," said Swayze. 'They plant Major also will seek to become from their perspective," said bushes and trees at his Houston designers and even greens com- them along the fairway and they actively involved with advising Swayze, "but we're also looking home and has a cultivated eye mittees fail to consider, said get bigger over time and they can and assisting golf courses inter- at the management side, what's for detail and aesthetics. Swayze, is that trees planted or kill the turf, not to mention block ested in achieving certification easiest for the superintendent to Now, Elkington wants to take left along fairways grow at an a lot of shots." from Audubon International. maintain." that flair and bring it to everyday golf courses. He calls the con- cept "golfscaping" and, along with associate Jack Swayze, a longtime professional arborist, he's launched an intriguing, if still untested new business called Major Landscapes. The more predictable diver- sion for professional golfers in recent years has been to open "signature" golf course design operations. Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Weiskopf, Ben Crenshaw, Gary Player, Fuzzy Zoeller, Johnny Miller and more recently Davis Love, Nick Faldo and John Daly are all examples of this. It's probably not a coinci- dence that all of them, with the exception of Love, have also won at least one of professional golfs four major grand slam events. And now comes Elkington, the winner of last year's PGA Cham- pionship at Riviera and one of the rising stars on the Tour. Elkington, however, isn't fo- cusing on designing golf courses. Not yet anyway. In- stead, he and his associate Jack Swayze have launched a com- Photo courtesy of: Hartfeld International Golf Course pany on the concept of "golfscaping"—in essence, land- scaping a golf course from a pro- REWARD? THE NO-WAIT, fessional, expert perspective. NO-WORRY HERBICIDE. Golfscaping, in Elkington and Swayze's vision, means integrat- ing grasses, plants and trees top waiting around for Roundup onto a golf course in a way that not only increases the natural Sand Finale to go to work on weeds. beauty and aesthetic experience of playing the course, but also With REWARD herbicide, you see results makes the golf course healthier on broadleaf and grass weeds in as little as and easier to maintain for the Roundup Finale REWARD superintendent. For existing one day after application. Providing quick, 1 Day After 1 Day After 1 Day After courses, they said "golfscaping" Treatment Treatment Treatment can revitalize the appeal and effective control on golf courses, around solve maintenance problems. residential and commercial turf, in green- For more information, contact Elkington, 33, has had a life- your Zeneca representative, or call long interest in horticulture. A Houses, nurseries and right-of-ways — even recent profile of him in Sports 1-800-759-2500. Illustrated was titled, "In Full in aquatic situations. Without worry about Bloom." He is the master de- signer behind Major Land- the surrounding non-target vegetation, fish scapes. His associate, Swayze, has and wildlife. Put the no-wait, no-worry worked in and closely with the REWARD golf course industry for more than herbicide to work for you. REWARD. Aquatic and Noncrop Herbicide 23 years. For the last 20 years, Swayze has worked out of the Houston area for DaveyTree Com- pany. One of his frequent tasks was helping golf course superin- tendents diagnose problems with trees, plants and turf. Swayze said a chronic problem on new and existing golf courses Always read and follow label directions carefully. is the overplanting of trees. REWARD® is a trademark of a Zeneca Group Company. Finale is a trademark of AgrEvo. "Planting trees is always a Roundup is a trademark of Monsanto Agricultural Company. ©1996. Zeneca Inc. A business unit of Zeneca Inc. CIRCLE .