Briefs TPC at Sawgrass wins players' vote By Vern Putney ways through greens. Best architect: Story, page 27 hristmas came afewhours early "The practice area was immaculate, the Best golf course builder: Story, page 27 for Fred Klauk, superintendent practice tees better than many tour fairways." Best resort developer. Story, page 45 at Sawgrass' TPC Stadium Levi did not play Callaway Gardens be- CCourse in Ponte Vedra, Fla., an cause of conflict. apprehensive stop on the PGA Tour late last and regained reputation soon after that bleak Early poll results showed well-scattered March. 1990 period when Sawgrass was torn apart course support, but it finally came down to a Tour pros, extremely critical in 1990 of the verbally by the players and flayed in the two-course race. layout's somewhat ragged appearance, in press. Doral Country Club, in Miami; TPC of December voted it the best conditioned re- Hard as it was not to share such good news, Scottsdale in Phoenix, Ariz., TPC at Las sort course on the 1991 tour schedule. Klauk held off announcement until Sawgrass' Colinas in Irving, Texas, and TPC at The News of this turnabout, relayed to Klauk at "family" gathering the next day. Woodlands in Woodlands, Tex., shared third place in the voting. LAKE CITY CC PLANS CO-OP a TPC Christmas party at nearby Marsh The balloting by mail and phone was dra- Landing Country Club, was cause for further matic. With five minutes to deadline in the Other courses favored were Harbour Town Lake City Community College would like celebration, and stamped Klauk, his staff and voting, had moved Callaway Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, S.C., to hear from courses interested in being TPC as the comeback story of the year. Gardens Country Club of Pine Mountain, Kingsmills Golf Club, Williamsburg, Va.; summer co-operative training sites next First to learn of the glad tidings were Ga., into a tie. Innisbrook Resort, Tarpon Springs, Fla., and summer. Klauk's wife, Peggy, and PGA Commissioner Then came a call from Wayne Levi of New TPC at Star Pass, Tucson, Ariz. All programs in golf course operations, Deane Beman, an annual holiday attendee. Hartford, N.Y., 1990 PGA Tour Player of the Klauk and his crew of 52 forged perhaps landscape technology, and turf equipment Beman shared Klauk's elation. He had Year. "Sawgrass," he said emphatically. "It the biggest turnaround in tour history. management require co-op. huddled with Klauk to discuss redemption was in perfect shape, from tees through fair- Continued on page 43 The school is looking for quality sites that will provide meaningful training for the stu- dents. They are asked to notify the school im- mediately of how many golf course, land- scape, and/or golf mechanic students their sites could effectively handle. The students will be making the employer contacts for site selection. More than 20 golf course mechanics will be available for employment starting in May. People should contact John R. Piersol, chairman; Division of Golf Course Opera- tions; Landscape Operations; Lake City Community College; Rt. 3, Box 7; Lake City, Fla. 32055. Views are magnificent, USGA ADDS WESTERN AGRONOMIST but the challenge most Patrick Gross has joined the U.S. Golf difficult for the mainte- Association Green Section as an agronomist nance crew at the Resort in its Western Region office. at Squaw Creek in Gross, head superintendent at Industry Olympic Valley, Calif (Calif.) Hills Golf Course's Eisenhower Course the past three years, will work with Western Region Director Larry Gilhuly and agronomist Paul Vermeulen out of the Pebble Squaw Creek living under no-chem rules Beach, Calif, office. Gross will make Turf Advisory Service By Doug Saunders Army Corps of Engineers. The persistent fertilizers to the weekly water used, has been visits in California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, The first hints of winter have hit the High concern at every stage was the effect of any spelled out and must be adhered to at all Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Sierra. For Carl Rygg, head superintendent of runoff of nutrients and pesticides into the times. This makes for a very restrictive pro- 'With the growth in that area of the coun- the Resort at Squaw Creek, the time has come creek that flowed through the proposed gram under which Rygg must work. The use try, we decided we needed a third person for to put his game plan into motion. course site. of herbicides is limited to only Roundup, but that office," said USGA Green Section National The challenge for Rygg is unique in golf The Sierra Club filed suit over the validity this nonspecific herbicide is virtually useless Director Jim Snow. course maintenance. He must develop a sys- of the Cape Cod Study findings as they per- in developing a championship quality golf Gross was also superintendent at Shandin tematic plan to protect the grasses of this new tained to a mountain environment, and ob- course, Rygg said. Hills Golf Course in San Bernadino and as- course from the ravages of the difficult winter tained the stipulation that a complete simu- "The CHAMP program — which is 12 sistant superintendent at Hacienda Golf Club weather at this mountain setting. His task is lation for that study be performed on the site. volumes in length and contains five chapters in La Habra Heights. even more difficult because he must develop The developers had this done over three of specific stipulations — also allows me to He has a bachelor's degree in ornamental a system that won't have the normal tools at a years at a cost of $500,000. use MCPP-2,4-D but only after I have tried horticulture from California State Polytechnic superintendent's disposal-fungicides and After 27 plan changes and numerous hear- every feasible method of weed eradication I University. herbicides. ings, final approval was obtained in 1988. But can," Rygg said. "I plan to use a large labor The Resort at Squaw Creek is a Robert the restrictions imposed made the Resort at force to hand-pick weeds. But if I have a force INDEPENDENT STUDIES SOUGHT Trent Jones Jr.-designed course that opened Squaw Creek an immense maintenance chal- of 25 workers and a weed problem continues, Golf Course News is calling for leads on turf last September in Olympic Valley, Calif. Lo- lenge. I must hire more workers in an attempt to runoff research that has been done or is cated at 6,200 feet at the base of Squaw Valley "The final approvals by the planning com- eradicate it. The cost of such programs is not planned at golf courses. USA, the site of the 1960Winter Olympics, the mission set up a Chemical Application Man- of concern, as is pointed out in the CHAMP. In order to add substance and bulk to the 18-hole layout winds up onto tree-lined agement Plan (CHAMP) that explicitly con- "It is only at the time that a weed problem body of scientific knowledge, we are asking mountainsides and flows out onto an Alpine trols all phases of golf course maintenance," becomes bad enough to affect the interest of superintendents and others to let us know meadow that contains many acres of fragile Rygg said. "Their intention was to put specific the paying customer to play, and it can be about any research they know about. wetiands. controls upon the course that would protect shown that severe economic hardship to the Please contact Stuart Cohen at Environ- The valley receives an average of300inches the creek and not adversely affect the natural golf course operators has occurred, and I mental & Turf Services, Inc., 11141 Georgia of snow a year and from September until early aquifer of the meadow." have done everything possible manually, Ave., Suite 208, Wheaton, Md. 20902. June can see everythingfrom monsoonal rains But in its hopes to be thorough, the board that I could go back to the review board to Cohen will follow up any lead and compile to the heaviest snowstorms imaginable. obtained input from one source on what it obtain permission to use Weed Be Gone." the results to be summarized in a report for In securing permits to build the course, the would take to maintain a course with mini- The CHAMP also names specific brands the industry. developers, Perini Land and Development, mum chemical use in a mountain environ- of products that may be used for fertilizers, Cohen said he has discovered instances of went through countless hearings over seven ment. The suggestions of this one source herbicides and fungicides. This takes away isolated, limited studies of golf course runoff years. became the rules for the Resort at Squaw the option of shopping for the most economi- or leaching. Usually, those studies are never Permits needed to be secured from two Creek. cal product, again making normal mainte- publicly released, he said. local boards, one regional board, and the Every phase of maintenance, from types of Continued on page 25 Wadswoith Sawgrass takes Tour's resort honors Continued from page 42 Continued from page 17 knowledgeable and most demanding—tour staff and pay attention to detail," Kubly said. Windtree Golf Course, Nashville, Tenn.; Sun- The course that Nature had savaged with pros. "I'm always happy to be included on a bid list set West Golf Club, Raleigh, N.C.; and The winter wind and storm fury was attacked and "We were very focused the entire year and with them. It lets us know that the developer Oaks Golf Clubs, Muscle Shoals, Ala. renovated by man on a major scale. Needed accomplished our goal,"he said. wants a quality job. A local contractor's bid Others under construction are Bentcreek changes were defined. He cited this "team" for making it possible: could blow us both out of the water, but the Golf Club, Lancaster, Pa.; Glenmore Golf An earlier end to daily Bob Clarkson, assistant on the Stadium local contractor wouldn't deliver what Club, Charlottesville, Va.; Glenmaura Golf play prior to the tour- course; Gene Baldwin, assistant at the Valley Wadsworth and we do." Club, Scranton, Pa.; Hyatt Golf Course, San ney was deemed ad- course; chief mechanic Mark Sanford, land- Cotter returned the praise. Antonio, Texas; Sapphire Country Club, visable. Shutting down scape assistant Lee Rowe and office manager "Landscapes Unlimited is an excellent con- Cashiers N.C.; and Wildwing Plantation, the course the Mon- Cathy Macormic. tractor and is doing some outstanding work, Myrtle Beach, S.C. day before tournament Gary Wilder and Callaway Gardens' too," he said. Kubly, a registered landscape architect, practice was a practi- Mountain View layout, most testing of the Lincoln. Neb-.based Landscapes Unlimited received his bachelor's degree in landscape cal stroke. resort's 63 holes, made a remarkable run for received 9 percent of the architects' vote. The architecture in 1971 from the University of The course was tour laurels. Time wasn't on their side. staff includes 80 full-time and another 40 to Wisconsin. He worked in the golf course Fred Klauk closed in the fall for Wilder, superintendent at Harbour Town 80 part-time employees. Among them are five construction and design field five years be- winter seeding. The and a veteran of 10 tourney events, was con- project managers, 15 construction superin- fore opening Landscapes Unlimited. week's shutdown permitted uninterrupted tacted last March by Callaway Gardens offi- tendents and 20 shapers. 'The biggest change I've seen is the amount germination of the grass. cials. The Buick Southern Open, a 27-year "Very simply, we try to deliver quality," of work," Kubly said. "When I first got out of A free-trimming program added course sun- fixture at Green Island Country Club in Co- Kubly said. "We have a strong back-up staff to school, I thought all the course work would dry light lumbus, Ga., had been switched to Callaway help out on projects throughout the country." up in afewyears. There has been alot more work Three months before the late March event, Gardens Sept. 26-29. Despite the slow economy, revenues are than I ever thought there would be." three persons were added to the workforce. Wilder was offered the job of whipping the B expected to exceed $20 million this year. Guettler & Sons Inc. was the choice of 5 Ball marks on all greens were seeded. There course into tournament shape. Bunkers were "We've been barraged by people looking percent of the architects. The Fort Pierce, were no fairway divots. Sawgrass was ready. to have priority. Wilder, who had much sand for work," Kubly said. "We're working at 95 Fla. firm has served primarily the Southeast- , who had led the chorus of experience, arrived early in May and launched percent of capacity. But a lot of our work is in ern since 1954. Peter F. Guettler criticism in 1990, this time observed, "Per- renovation operations. the Northeast, which is being hit hard by the is chairman of the board. fect." The course was closed for the summer. recession. Subcontractors up there have been Guettler course openings in 1991 included Fellow Australian and winner Steve Wilder rebuilt bunkers that contained from offering to work at some very low prices." the Fairwinds Course at St. Lucie County Elkington said, "I don't think there's a harder one to two feet of sand. Greens received major Landscapes Unlimited averages six to 10 Golf Course, Ft. Pierce; Valkaria Airport Pub- course in the world to play than this one when stripping and fumigating attention, and fairways course openings annually, Kubly said. Open- lic Golf Course, Palm Bay, Fla.; and Windsor there is this kind of wind (42 miles per hour were sprayed heavily with a plant growth regu- ings in 1991 included Woodloch Pines Golf Golf Course, Vero Beach, Fla. the second day), but course conditions lator that encouraged grass to grow from side to Club, Hawley, Pa.; Uwharrie Point, Albemarle, Courses under construction are Northport couldn't be better." side and thicker. The ball set up well as the result N.C.; Eagle Run West Country Club, Omaha, at the Lake, Lake Ozark, Mo.; Old Tabby Golf Klauk, who said his mission in 1991 was to of this concentrated treatment Neb.; Jackson Country Club, Jackson, Tenn.; links, Spring Island, S.C.; and Sandridge, make the course the best ever, did just that in Prosrespondedfavorablytotheintense course Huntsville Country Club, Huntsville, Ala.; Indian River County, Fla. a rousing vote of confidence from those most face-lifting, as witness the flood of voting backing.

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