Ice, What we Know for Sure

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Ice... it has been the word of the year so far in 2014. Reports of damage from ice cover to putting greens are wide spread but at the same time hit or miss especially in the Detroit area. Some courses have seen significant damage while the course across the street has none. As you can imagine this is extremely frustrating to the members of these clubs and to the Superintendents who manage the turf. While much is being done at Michigan State with funding from the Michigan Turfgrass Foundation (MTF) by Dr. Kevin Frank and the Turf Team to try to study the reasons some turf has died and others have not we still do not know the answers.

Here is what we do know: As frustrating as this is to the golfers is is devastating to the Superintendent. As inconvenient as is it is to the members, it is something that has caused loss of sleep, fights with spouses, missing family activities, weight loss, mental anguish and fatigue for the Superintendent. As much as the golfers want the greens to be ready multiply that 100 fold to reach the desire the Superintendent has to get them open. We do know that every single Superintendent would have done anything to prevent this from happening, every single one. No one would have skipped a practice no matter what it is or how hard it would be if they thought it would help. There is no one more distraught, a very fitting description (dis·traught adjective \di-ˈstrȯt\ : very upset : so upset that you are not able to think clearly or behave normally) than the Superintendent about the damage. It will take time to recover, and there is no substitute for time. Not money, not effort not a single thing can substitute for time with the exception of a little help from Mother Nature which has yet to arrive.

Here is what we do not know: Why this has affected some greens and not others. What practices are best to prevent ice damage in the future regardless of what theories are out there based on what happened or did not happen this winter. We do not know if there is a best practice that can be stamped across all situations, in turf management there usually is not.

What disturbs me the most is when I hear of anyone saying that they did the right thing while someone else did the wrong thing. This is just pure speculation, if course A has damage and course B does not it is not because one Superintendent cares more, or did more than another. Anyone in this business knows you do not become or stay a Superintendent for long if you do not have passion for this work and for the results they produce. In this close knit community of professionals it is the exception to hear that one Superintendent is critical of another, especially on an issue that is as tenuous as this. I know this is the exception and very far from the norm, but even one comment to a member or guest can have a ripple effect that can lead to even more problems for a fellow Superintendent.

Please remember that we are all in this together and should support one another, you never know when Mother Nature will turn her wrath on you. With a short season already off to a slow start the pressure is immense to get the putting surfaces back open, and once open to get them up to what would normally be mid summer speeds. Please be patient and know that your Superintendent is doing EVERYTHING they can to get the course back to normal, and remember that they would give ANYTHING not to have this problem in the first place.

Adam Ikamas, CGCS
MiGCSA Executive Director
adamikamas@migcsa.org

MiGCSA wins Social Media Award at GIS

On Wednesday at the 2014 Golf Industry Show the MiGCSA was one of the recipients of the 2014 Golf Course Industry Social Media Awards presented at the Aquatrols booth. The Overall Social Media Award was presented to Executive Director Adam Ikamas, CGCS at 3:30. This award was given out by Pat Jones of GCI. Along with this award MiGCSA Member Adam Garr of Plum Hollow also garnered an award for his use of video, well deserved for his pioneering work in this field.

MTF Donations crest $100,000 since MiGCSA Inception in 2008

One of the most important and mutually lucrative relationships the MiGCSA has is with the Michigan Turfgrass Foundation. The MTF’s primary goal, as a foundation is to assist in the funding of the turf management programs at Michigan State University. Most of us are quite familiar with the MSU programs and know the high caliber of real world research that the Turf Team produces every year.

As Superintendents our members are among those most benefiting from the tremendous program at MSU. Those who had the opportunity to attend the turf program at MSU know they received a solid education, and we all know that the students coming out of the program each year will be valuable assets to Michigan golf courses and great additions to our workforce.

For these reasons and more, the MiGCSA feels it is necessary and a privilege to be able to contribute to the MTF’s efforts. Each year the MiGCSA hosts multiple fundraiser events which help fund the MTF. In 2008 the MiGCSA hosted four separate events in each district of the MiGCSA. In 2009 we hosted three. Each year, the MiGCSA Foundation committee distributes the proceeds from these events to the multiple parties but the vast majority goes to the MTF and then on to the MSU Turf Team. In 2008 the MiGCSA donated $15,000 to the MTF and in 2009 and 2010 we made another $15,000 donation. In 2011 the MiGCSA was able to add $10,000 to the donation for a total of $25,000 and in 2012 the donation was $16,800, and with the donation of $14,021 the chapter has crested the $100,000 mark since inception in 2008!

The 2014 check presentation from L to R: MiGCSA President Gregg Matthews, MiGCSA
Executive Director Adam Ikamass, CGCS and MTF President Brian Schweihofer
at the Michigan Turfgrass Conference. 

Michigan Golf Alliance

Last week on Wednesday 11/5 I met with the other three Executive Directors in the Michigan Golf Alliance for lunch in East Lansing. The attendees were Kate Moore of the Michigan Golf Course Owners Association, Kevin Helm with the Michigan Section of the PGA and David Graham from the Golf Association of Michigan.

The Michigan Golf Alliance was formed in 2011 and is an informal meeting of all golf parties in Michigan to discuss the industry and plan our Legislative Golf Day in Lansing at the Capitol building. We met to discuss the other impact our groups can have to promote golf in Michigan. All of us have our own member needs and goals, but the one thing that directly affects all of us is the goal to get more people to play more golf.

Even with the slow "return" of the economy I have yet to see it really help many golf course in our state. The cost of maintaining a course has not decreased and has gone up over the last 10 years, but this is with a slow decline of golfers either established or new.

We are exploring many options to get more people to play more golf. Including partnering with the Pure Michigan campaign and creating curriculum for schools to use to introduce golf to kids. We plan to meet again to decide where we would like to put our resources and time. If you have any ideas or directives you have seen work to bring more golfers into the game please let me know and I will take it to the Alliance.

Fundraisers, where the funds go

We are only a few weeks away from the Western Golf Day Fundraiser and about a month away from the 48th Annual Big Event. These are two of the three fundraisers the MiGCSA puts together every year, the first is the first Monday in June at Arcadia Bluffs. If you were wondering here is where the funds raised go.

none of the funds raised at these events go into the operation of the MiGCSA, 100% of these funds are allocated to our Foundation. The Board of Directors for the MiGCSA decide where these funds should be allocated based on our MiGCSA Foundation Charitable Contributions Policy Statement

It is the policy of MiGCSA Foundation to promote the Turfgrass Industry by making charitable contributions to qualified Turfgrass and Golf Foundation Charities and Student Scholarships affiliated with Professional Golf Course Superintendents and their families.  

The benefactors of these charitable contributions include, but are not limited to, the Michigan Turf Foundation, The Wee One Foundation, MiGCSA Heritage Scholarships and Academic Scholarships to Michigan State University Turfgrass students.  

This policy is administered by the Executive Director of the MiGCSA with approval from the MiGCSA Board of Directors. 

In the past these funds have been dispersed in the form of 4 Heritage Scholarships, these are awarded by the MiGCSA Scholarship Committee to dependents of MiGCSA Members who have applied and completed an essay on a topic set by the committee. Each one is worth $1,000 and up to 4 can be given in any one year. There are also two MSU Student Scholarships that are worth $1,500 each and are also awarded by the Scholarship Committee after interviews with MSU Students who apply and are current members of the MiGCSA. This year the Foundation matched Member Donations to the Wee One Foundation and sponsored the Wee One as a Platinum Tee Sponsor.

But as it has always been the number one recipient of these funds is the Michigan Turfgrass Foundation. Last year the MiGCSA donated more than $16,000 to the MTF. And the total donation sine the inception of the MiGCSA in 2008 is over $100,000!

Our hope is that we can branch out into the golf community with these events and get back to selling these events out. So please let your members, family and friends know of these great events.

MiGCSA Mid Year Review

The MiGCSA Fiscal year runs with the calender from January 1st to December 31st so I thought I would give a little 1/2 way update on the 2013 year for the Association.

Of course the #1 priority for the MiGCSA is our members, but just like a golf facility we can not service our members without a successful budget. Thanks mainly to overwhelming Industry Partner support including two new 2013 Silver members in Epar and John Deere Landscapes and an increase in level by Residex to Gold. As well as continued support from long time partners like Platinum: Syngenta, Bayer, BASF. Gold: Spartan Distributors, and Silver: Tri-Turf, Direct Solutions, Harrell's, WinField, J.W. Turf, Jacobsen, Great Lakes Turf and Rain Bird.

We have had a very successful membership renewal cycle as well and are up 36 members from the same time last year and up 91 from 2011. Our renewal starts in October of each year and we try to renew everyone throughout the winter.

With our largest ever Northern Fundraiser in the books it looks like a banner year for the MiGCSA Foundation as well. All of the funds raised at our three golf fundraisers go directly back into the turf industry in Michigan, and a vast majority goes directly to turf research at MSU with a donation to the MTF.

As of June 30 the financial report for the Association is positive, we are about $5,000 ahead of June 2012, and almost $15,000 ahead of budget. Thank you to all of our members and Industry Partners for making the MiGCSA one of the best chapters in the country, we hope to see you soon at one of our events.

Michigan Golf Alliance Summit

www.michigangolfalliance.com

This past Tuesday, 5/28 the Michigan Golf Alliance  held our first ever Golf Summit. Normally this group plans and participates in Legislative Golf Day, but this year we decided to have a golf summit. This was a 9 hole mixed scramble in the morning followed by lunch and a keynote speaker. After the keynote each members of the alliance spoke about their groups and their individual goals. The attendees were made up of Board Members and managers of the groups in the MGA. We were unfortunately rained out for golf, but still had a productive lunch and meeting. Jim Baugh spoke to everyone about the Get Golf Ready program that is making some great strides to capture and keep new golfers. If you would like to see his entire presentation filled with great stats on the golf industry and where we can improve you can download it here. Every group in the MGA is working hard toward a common goal of growing the game of golf, below you will see the introduction I gave to the group on the MiGCSA.

"Good afternoon and thank you all for taking the time to join the Michigan Golf Alliance today to continue to promote the game of golf in our great state. First off I want to personally thank Kate Moore and Jada Paisley from the Michigan Golf Course Owners Association, today’s event simply would not have happened if it were not for those two. My name is Adam Ikamas and I have been the Executive Director for the Michigan Golf Course Superintendents Association for the last two years. Before that I was the Golf Course Superintendent at Crystal Mountain Resort for seven years and I still consider myself more of a Superintendent trying to do the job of and Executive Director than an Executive Director doing a job for Superintendents. I started in the golf business when I was 17 and am very proud to be here today to represent the MiGCSA.

Our Association was formed in 2008 from 4 separate affiliated local chapters of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America the GCSAA. The oldest of these four chapters was started in 1948 in Detroit, so although the MiGCSA is young our associations are not. In these 5 short years we have grown our membership to over 750 golf industry professionals from Superintendents, Assistants and Equipment Technicians to sales people and students. Our mission statement and a daily working goal is that “The MiGCSA is dedicated to providing value to our members through programs and services that enhance our profession.” As many of you know the Superintendent can be one of the greatest assets to a golf course operation. The number one reason most golfers come back or go away is the condition of the golf course. Our hope is to make sure our members have access to all the resources they need to be successful, which more often than not is access to one another. The Superintendents in the MiGCSA are advocates for one another and regardless of facility type or market position they are a tight knit group always willing to lend a helping hand. It is an amazing part of the industry that is often not well understood from the outside. We also hope that we can get the message of the Superintendent as an integral part of a professional operation out in front of more golfers and others in the industry. Events like today are a great way to do this. I see the members of the MiGCSA as the front line in protecting our environment and dispelling the myths about golf courses being harmful to wildlife or the land, as we all know in this room that could not be farther from the truth. This is a powerful point for all of us to take home that every MiGCSA member golf facility no matter how big or small has a highly educated expert caring for the property every day and making decisions that are environmentally sound. There are few other places in our great state where such an abundance of wildlife and nature can be seen in such a relatively small area.
 
Personally I look at the Michigan Golf Alliance as a macrocosm of an individual golf facility. As you all know without communication between the managers at a facility there can be no hope for overall success. In the MGA we have the PGA representing the golf professional, the MGCOA representing the owner, the GAM as the member or golfer, the CMAA representing the Club Managers, the MTF representing the research that is so important to our MiGCSA Superintendents. Just like a golf facility it is imperative that we all work together for our one common overriding goal, more golf being played by more people. Regardless of our individual needs and goals this is the tie that binds us all together. I hope that when we all leave today we can carry the message of golf and of our allied associations back with us to our own corner of the state of Michigan and of golf. Thank you very much."