Golfdom • September 2023 • Starter

Russ Myers, former superintendent at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla., recently resigned from his post to join Hanse Golf Course Design.

Hanse restored the course in 2019 prior to the 2021 Senior PGA Championship and 2022 PGA Championship.

Myers hosted a pair of PGA Championships at Southern Hills, once in 2007 and again in 2022. He also served as superintendent at Los Angeles Country Club from 2009 to 2015.

“I feel like we all go through phases in our career. The superintendent career has been good to me,” Myers says. “There was a point when I was introduced to the guys (at Hanse Golf Course Design), and I really enjoyed working with them. I felt that joining their team is a good opportunity for me to learn more, and to also move into the next phase of my career.”

The club has begun a search for its next superintendent, according to general manager Nick Sidorakis. Myers will begin his role with Hanse Design in October, with an end date for his time at Southern Hills not yet determined. Myers says he will continue to live in Tulsa after his move to Hanse’s firm.

FMC ADDS FORMER AGRONOMIST

FMC appointed Jeff Rice as a market specialist for the Mid-Atlantic territory for sales of its GSS Professional Solutions division products.

He served the last eight years as general manager and director of grounds at Oak Creek Golf Club in Upper Marlboro, Md. He has managed cool- and warm-season turf in the Washington D.C. metro area.

Rice also holds a turf and golf course management degree from the University of Maryland.

REGISTRATION OPEN FOR GOLF AND WATER SUMMIT

The National Golf Course Owners Association, the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America and the Southern California Golf Association recently announced the Colorado Basin Golf and Water Summit.

The one-day event is designed to provide golf course professionals with historical, current and forward-looking research, perspectives and guidance with water usage. The event will be held Oct. 12 at the Vdara Hotel and Spa in Las Vegas, Nev.

Attendees will be briefed on current federal and state-level policies, the impact of water reduction/restriction and what the future holds for these affected states. Education will also include a discussion of the best long- and short-term practices for maintaining operations and keeping golf course businesses viable, as well as how to communicate water usage changes to customers.

Golf agronomy professionals in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming are welcome to register.

FIREFLY AUTOMATIX SHOWCASES ELECTRIC MOWER

FireFly Automatix recently debuted its first all-electric (EV) M100-AV mower at the Turfgrass Producers International convention at DeBuck’s New Lawn Sod Farm in Belleville, Mich.

The company says the M100-AV can operate without on-site supervision and includes LiDAR-enabled obstacle detection and avoidance for safety. FireFly’s newest mower also provides path planning, so no boundary wires are needed.

Powered by a LiFePO4 battery, the M100-AV can mow up to 25 acres per charge at 7 acres/hour speeds and recharge in two hours. The machine requires no gasoline and has no operating emissions.

⦁ Four independent electric drive motors synchronized with two independent steering motors.
⦁ Wide stance and balanced weight distribution.
⦁ A RoloRocker cutting unit.
⦁ SyncLift position-based lift technology.
⦁ Drive motors engineered for a 100,000-plus hour life and low required maintenance.

The company is currently accepting pre-orders and anticipates delivering the first production models this fall.

Do you think, in a year from now, we’ll still be sharing ideas/thoughts/questions on Twitter, or will we have been forced to find a new platform by then?

OK, I follow you on Twitter. What’s the big deal with golf course superintendents bringing their dogs to work? — Eric Holliday (below-average golfer)

I’ve had three different turf dogs in my career. My first, Dahmer, lived on a couple of different golf courses for 13 years; my second, Trinity, made 17 ½ years; my current dog is Lita.

The main thing all three dogs have in common is that they are mutts. Dahmer was lab and shepherd, Trin was so mixed breed we could never pin down exactly what she was and Lita is 50 percent golden lab and 50 percent black German shepherd. The first two were rescues and my brother, Drew, and I got Lita and her brother Sammy from a farmer in Pennsylvania.

I can give you the practical reasons why we bring our dogs to the course. Dogs chase away geese — and we hate geese, but not enough to harm them. Lita is passionate about her required duties and takes it personally whenever the geese return. She is ever-vigilant and an incredible swimmer.

Dogs make the crew happy! We arrive at work at ungodly hours, and everyone is greeted by a dog that is excited to see them, especially if you bring a treat. If you ever have to deal with a pissed-off golfer, here’s a trick. Bring the dog with you when you talk to them on the course. Nobody ever bitches at me while Lita is licking their hand or rolling over for a belly rub.

The personal reasons are the real reasons too. I have a running buddy everywhere I travel on the golf course. I used to laugh when this whole deal about “emotional support animals” started popping up several years ago.

Ask any golf course superintendent with a dog, we started that trend! We all have rough days; we all have small victories that we’d never tell another person about and there are times when you only need a good listener. I’ve relied on dogs as psychiatrists, confidants and secret keepers my whole life. In my eyes, I don’t have a dog, Lita has a human.

AUDUBON ADDS TO ITS CERTIFICATION TRACKS

Audubon International recently added nearly 20 new members to its Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary (ACSP) for Golf Certification and Green Lodging Certification tracks.

From April to July, 11 golf clubs from throughout the United States, as well as one club in Bogota, Colombia, enrolled in the ACSP for Golf Certification program. In the U.S., there are six new members from California and one each from Alabama, Colorado, Hawaii, Missouri and South Carolina. Five new Green Lodging Certification program enrollees are from Amelia Island, Fla.

“We continue to welcome a steady stream of new enrollees in all of our certification programs, and we invite all operators to join us in planning and implementing a more sustainable future for their businesses and the planet,” Christine Kane, CEO of Audubon International, said.

GCSAA AWARDS EDUCATION GRANTS

Fourteen Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) chapters received one-time education grants administered through the GCSAA Foundation in partnership with ClubProcure. The education grants total $12,000 and range from $700 to $1,000 per grant.

ClubProcure has donated a total of $27,000 in support of the GCSAA Foundation, establishing the chapter programming grant initiative, including a $5,000 donation supporting the Larry Powell Scholarship. ClubProcure also donated $10,000 to the annual fund.

Central Illinois GCSA
Central Texas GCSA
Connecticut Association of GCS
GCSA of Arkansas
GCSA of Cape Cod
GCSA of Central California
GCSA of New Jersey
GCSA of New York
Hawaii GCSA
Metropolitan GCSA
Nebraska GCSA
San Diego GCSA
Sierra Nevada GCSA
Southern Nevada GCSA

Hazeltine National partners with Love Golf Design ahead of ’29 Ryder Cup

Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn., recently announced a long-term partnership with Love Golf Design to develop a comprehensive master plan ahead of the 2029 Ryder Cup.

The club says the partnership follows a year-long process of exploring, conversing with and interviewing the country’s leading architects.

“My brother Mark, our architect Scot Sherman, and I are thrilled to be working with Hazeltine National Golf Club to reimagine the golf course and get ready for the 2029 Ryder Cup,” said Davis Love III. “I’ve played major championships here and while serving as the captain of the 2016 Ryder Cup, the support we got from Hazeltine for our Ryder Cup Team was incredible.”

The master plan will identify areas of improvement on the course’s greens, bunkers and fairways. It will also offer infrastructure improvements, including routing and irrigation.

Hazeltine — opened in 1962 — is a Robert Trent Jones design. Over the next two decades, Jones partially redesigned the course, including rerouting the 16th and 17th holes. The club also saw design input from his son, Golfdom editorial advisory board member Rees Jones.

Matthew Woodcock
@MattWoodcockGCS
Owner and Superintendent, Old Erie Golf Club, Durhamville, N.Y.

Some days are better than others. Meet my grandfather’s best friend. Hasn’t played golf in 3 years. We surprised him by borrowing one of these carts. The tears flowed today that’s for sure.