The SuperNews OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE RIO GRANDE GCSA September President’s Message I have always loved the game of golf since I first picked up a club at age 5. After working my first 2018 summer at Silver City Golf Course while still in college, I knew this was the profession for me. I am not sure if it is age, or time served, but the past few seasons have had me asking myself “why do I put myself through this every year?” I recently read an article in the July edition of GCM titled “ The 10 commandments of SUCCESSFUL superintendents” by Dave Waymire CGCS who has 19 years with American Golf and 37 years as a member of the GCSAA. The article provided me with some answers to the “why?” question and rein- President forced what we have heard countless times over the years: good communication, finding balance, Matt Urban strong work ethic, delegate, planning and organizing, etc. were some of the topics discussed in the article. If you are struggling with any part of your profession and haven’t read the article I highly recommend you do. Vice President In flipping through the pages what especially caught my eye and caused me to stop on the article Jimmy Rodriguez was a small side piece entitled Press On. There were a couple of “Honorable Mentions” and interest- ing quotes that got my mind buzzing with thoughts. One of the suggestions that didn’t make the top Secretary / Treasurer ten was to “Keep a sense of urgency.” IT went on to say that we as golf course superintendents deal Matt Hughes with living turf on a daily basis. We are all well aware of that fact, but most don’t realize that If our facility needs attention, we need to be there or make sure someone capable is there to take care of Board of Directors: the issue. If we are short-handed for whatever reason on a holiday or weekend, we may not be able Roy Johnson to make the family cook out we promised to attend. Quoting the article, “There is no “calling it in,” Paul Kerr the buck stops with you.” Chad Parron I would imagine that most of us who have stuck with this profession for more than a few years cherish Caleb Buckley (Past Pres.) that sense of responsibility. It is sobering to think that your employer trusts you with hundreds of thousands of their dollars to spend making their tract of land a thing of beauty. Employees and golf- Vendor Representative ers come to you with their problems expecting you to solve them numerous times a day. When you step back and look at the overall picture, being a golf course superintendent is an enormous respon- sibility, but who better than “YOU” to do the job? At times this can seem very overwhelming and Bryan Klock difficult, but when stepping back also take note of the countless rewards this profession provides. Chapter Executive Seeing the sun rise almost every day, seeing that assistant or crew member promoted to bigger things, or watching your facility evolve and take shape over the course of a year are just a few of the blessings I have experienced over the throughout my career. Carol Cloud This is my final message as president of the RGGCSA. As president, the “buck stops with you” as GCSAA Field Rep well. The past two years have come and gone rather quickly, however, I believe we have made a positive impact moving forward. I benefitted from working with some fantastic individuals serving on the board in conjunction with our ED Carol Cloud. As I wind down and reflect, I can see that the John Walker association is in great shape and will be for years to come as long as we continue to have strong, committed leadership serving us. I will leave you with this final quote from Steve Burgraff CGCS in California: “Press on. Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education alone will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” Thank you all for the opportunity to serve the Association. Hope to see you all at future meetings. God Bless. Matt Urban RGGSAA President Member Article WHERE DO I GET THE RIGHT DRESSING SANDS? Bryan Klock, Buildology Inc. How important is it to your Golf Course Superintendent to get properly graded sands on their greens and fairways? What do they do when their dressing and topping sands are too fine or too course? How about the sand in the bunkers they work so diligently to keep up? Even better question, how important are these questions to your Golfers who have no idea how important these questions actually are. If you have a good Super, getting properly graded sands to the Golf Course is not only important, it is crucial to their operation. Crucial to save money, crucial in saving labor, and very crucial in keeping their Golf Course beautiful and playing true. Poorly graded sands, as all Superintendents know, cause a myriad of problems on the Course. A sand that is too fine will stop the growth of grass by clogging the root system, ultimately starving and killing the grass, too coarse of a sand, you will do the same. Not enough water will be retained within the root zone for the grass to thrive. Having too coarse of a top dressing sand on the greens makes for a difficult couple weeks of putting for your Golfers, resulting in complaints and possibly even “Free Rounds”. Too coarse or fine of a sand in your bunkers and your Golfers either can’t hit out or end up destroying the face of their club trying to hit out. Again, resulting in complaints and possible “Free Rounds.” Are you asking yourself this question right now: 1. So how do we ensure we are getting the correct sands? First, start by reviewing the USGA’s recommendations on what types and grades of sands should be used throughout your Course. These recommendations are, of course, a guideline and not a Bible. Every course will require something a little different than what the USGA recommends. This is where your local GCSAA Chapter is helping with their “Standard Operating Procedures” or SOP’s. The SOP’s are geared toward your specific location and conditions while still following USGA guidelines. Perfect example why you want to look at your local chapters SOP’s. A Green Side Bunker in Florida would need to filter more water than a Bunker in New Mexico. Same holds true for or a Putting Green. In New Mexico we would need a finer top dressing to re- tain more of the water whereas in Florida, the top dressing would need to be little courser to al- low more of the water to filter through. Pretty obvious as to why the sands need to be so differ- ent. Florida gets an average of 59” of rainfall per year, New Mexico only has an average of 14”. Second, find a good sand supplier that is knowledgeable on the different types of sand that are available in your area. Your supplier should also be able to analyze a “Sieve Analysis Report” (Report that gives a percent passing, or percent retained, on the different size particles in the sand. There are different Sieve Analysis Reports for the different types of sand required on a Golf Course) and produce sands that, when tested, give the same results as the Sieve Analysis Re- port from the USGA or your local chapter of GCSAA. This means they should have the capa- bility to screen and blend the sand into the dif- ferent mixes that would be required. Last but not least, make sure your Supplier has a QC Pro- gram. This is to ensure that every mix of sand is the same and consistent. This will only save your course time and money when the sand arrives. Lastly, and yes the most important, TALK and LIS- TEN to your GUESTS (Golfers). Yes, I said Guest. Your course is your home. Everyone visiting your home deserves to be treated like a Guest, not just a paying patron. Guests are the best source for feedback on our Courses. If they like it, they most likely will not say anything. But, you can be sure they will say something if they do not like it. As a Super, be proactive, as you drive the course on your daily routine stop a few Guests and get some feedback. Make up some com- ment cards that are handed out on the 18th Green asking specific questions like, “How did the bunkers play?” or “How true did the Greens roll?” Good, bad, or indifferent, your Guests will see you going out of your way to check on them and how you can better your Course for them. As we all know, this results in return business and recommendations. Good Sand Hunting to you all!!! Brian Hodges New Mexico and El Paso Account Manager [email protected] (505) 710-3477 or toll free: 800-528-4290 We had a fantastic chapter event at Cochiti Golf Club for our July meeting. It was a very fun venue and the education was superb! Thank you to our host Leon Trujillo and his staff for getting the golf course in such great shape for the event. Thank you to John King and Winfield United for being our title sponsor and making the event possible.