Symposium features Golfweek’s Bradley S. Klein. Ph.D. as Keynote Speaker
Carmel Valley, CA- The Golf Course Superintendents Association of Northern California (GCSANC) in conjunction with the University of California Cooperative Extension will host its 30th institute and trade show on November 15-16 at Carmel Valley Ranch (Carmel Valley, CA). This educational conference, titled Resource Management for Golf and the Environment: Doing More with Less in Changing Times will feature industry experts discussing ways to conserve resources while maximizing operational efficiency.
The symposium will commence with keynote speaker Bradley S. Klein, Ph.D., award-winning author and architecture editor for Golfweek and founding editor of SuperNews. Klein’s interest in course design and maintenance span from his days as a PGA Tour caddie in the mid 1970s. Today he oversees Golfweek’s Best, a prestigious golf course rating program for Golfweek. Klein’s presentation will explore how superintendents have to adjust to an entirely new business model in which golf finds itself more ecology-minded and more budget-minded than ever.
According to Institute Co-Chairmen Ali Harivandi, Ph.D. and Rodney Muller, conference topics will span everything from managing key resources such as water and power to studying successful recycling programs that branch out to all operational components within a golf facility. Monday’s afternoon session features the highly-respected water expert Robert “Bob” Maddow, a partner with Bold, Polisner, Maddow, Nelson & Judson, who will discuss the reliability of irrigation water supplies for Nor Cal golf courses over the next few decades. He will also address irrigation water purchases from local water utilities, recycled water use as an irrigation supply, and new concerns about use of continuing or expanded use of groundwater for irrigation. Former General Counsel for the East Bay Municipal Utility District, Maddow’s background includes 18 years as chair of the legal affairs committee for the Association of California Water Agencies. Since leaving EBMUD he has represented numerous water, wastewater, and recycled water utilities as general and special counsel, and has worked on a wide variety of water and water supply problems for a number of golf courses (both private and public). He is currently an advisory board member for the California Water Law and Policy Reporter, a publication which keeps a pulse on regulatory actions and proposed legislation relating to water.
Addressing the topic of resource management is Andy Staples, ASGCA Associate, principal with the Phoenix-based firm The Golf Resource Group, whose business model focuses on sustainable development based on the use of green technologies to minimize impact on the environment. Staples work (at hundreds of golf facilities throughout the U.S.) includes long-range master planning of existing clubs. He has been viewed as an innovative leader in the area of sustainable golf course design and management. During his presentation Staples will focus on energy and water efficient design and its relationship to cost responsibility. While Staples focuses on design and management fellow presenter Larry Johnson, a certified golf course superintendent at North Ridge CC (Sacramento, CA) will discuss how to successfully implement a natural resource management plan. Johnson will share why it’s important to educate club members and golfers about minimizing turf, thus reducing use of water, chemicals, and labor. In addition to his primary job as a superintendent, Johnson is founder & owner of Irrigation Resource Management, LLC, which prepares him well when discussing the value of a natural resource management plan and how to maximize irrigation efficiency while minimizing electric power consumption.
Presenter Alan Colby, founder and president of TurfCentric, Inc. (Baton Rouge, LA) will share best practices and techniques for an equipment maintenance operation. Sub-topics will include: predicting scheduled maintenance, classifying all costs and labor, streamlining recordkeeping, pinpointing total cost of ownership, and maximizing residual value. Colby and his TurfCentric team have worked and/or collaborated with nearly every outdoor power equipment vendor in the golf & turf-related market.
Golf course superintendent Terry Stratton at the Little River Inn & Tennis (LRI&T) in Mendocino, CA, will share his story on how recycling efforts at a nine-hole public course have paid off for him and his owners. Stratton was considered an enviro folk hero by fellow superintendents when he paid his way to two annual GCSAA Education Conferences and Golf Industry Show (plus two members of his staff) with funds raised from collecting and recycling bottles and cans at his quaint resort course.
Stratton will also explain how he’s avoided using ground water when irrigating LRI&T, as the golf course captures winter rains in reservoirs (with siphons and gravity) moving irrigation water between reservoirs, and with no need for electricity. Stratton, recipient of the GCSAA-Golf Digest Environmental Leaders in Golf Award has obtained certification for LRI&T as an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary site and participates in the Green Golfer Pledge program. He’ll provide examples on how to communicate ecological messages to golfers and community residents.
From recycling to composting, Waste Management is a leader in environmental services for golf courses, which prepares them well to address the topic of “Making your Greens Greener” from an ecological perspective. Jay Ramos, Director of Waste Management’s Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in Monterey County and Rebecca Jewell, Recycling Programs Manager of the company’s MRF in Alameda County, will speak on their recent success at the PGA Tour’s Waste Management Phoenix Open and ongoing programs at Pebble Beach. “Recycling isn’t difficult but like any successful endeavor it requires planning,” said Jay Ramos. “We’re happy to share our experience and offer guidance to course superintendents throughout the region.”
Equally important to the green movement at GCSANC members’ courses, is water conservation and reduction in chemical run-off from commercial fertilizer. Waste Management will conduct a session on the use of compost and mulch. Ken Lewis, Director of Area Landfill Operations, and Stephen Andrews, a soil scientist at UC Berkeley and consultant to WM EarthCare, will speak about reducing water consumption and introducing natural nourishment to the greens. “Our product line of locally sourced and produced, 100% compost and mulch (WM EarthCare) can help courses reduce their carbon footprint and produce a greener environment,” said Ken Lewis.
The Institute focuses on subject matter which supports environmental sustainability for golf courses and surrounding communities. The conference is open to golf course superintendents, affiliate and allied members and includes an industry trade show and golf tournament at the fully-renovated Carmel Valley Ranch. The Institute is made possible through the sponsorship support of Waste Management, a leader in environmental services for golf courses. To learn more about Waste Management and WMEarthCare products and services visit: http://www.wmearthcare.com/. For conference registration please visit: http://www.gcsanc.com/. For GCSANC sponsorship opportunities call Barbara Mikel at 877.942.7262.
Contact:
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