Chapter delegates ready to convene in Lawrence/Kansas City

Receiving vital GCSAA updates, hearing from candidates running for the board of directors, and being engaged in the association are the vital objectives for attendees at the annual GCSAA chapter delegates meeting, held in Lawrence and Kansas City on November 7-8.

The annual event, which invites one chapter delegate from each of GCSAA's 98 chapters, provides a voice in association activities.  The chapter delegate is then asked to relay information on the progress of the association back to their local constituents.

There are a few new items on the agenda in 2017.

First, a new delegate mixer will take place Tuesday, November 7, at the Airport Hilton from 3 to 4 p.m.  This will allow both first-time delegates and experienced delegates to introduce themselves and ask questions about the event.

Tuesday evening will be highlighted by the President's Message, a CEO update and success stories from the Rounds4Research program and the 50 by 2020 BMP initiative.

Attendees will be part of a full day of activities on Wednesday, November 8.  Delegates will travel, by bus, from the Airport Hilton to GCSAA headquarters at 7 a.m.  The agenda Wednesday includes the following:

• Welcome and Overview
• Government Affairs Updates
• Task Group Updates
• The First Green Program
• Update on the Election Process
• Governance Updates
• Small Group Discussion
• Town Hall Session
• Candidate Presentation and Breakouts

Over the past year, the GCSAA has hired a new legal team who will share information on the Code of Ethics.  In addition, delegates will receive a full briefing on proposed bylaws changes and the election process.  The election will take place during the annual meeting at the Golf Industry Show this February in San Antonio.

One of the more popular agenda items is the Town Hall meeting.  Extra time has been added to the session to ensure attendees are up to speed on items discussed during the meeting and for delegates to ask any questions they have on GCSAA initiatives.

Following the session, full outcomes are provided to each chapter and the delegates.

We are looking forward to another exceptional event.

As part of the process, a delegate orientation webinar was held in October. View here.

Great visits to Western Kansas

Class A member Kevin Shook at Point Rock GC in Elkhart, Kansas. Just beyond the white fence is Oklahoma.

Much of my travel for August included various facility visits throughout the region.  During the process of interacting with members and non-members, I always feel welcomed when visiting one of the many clubs across the Central Plains.

In late August, I made a trip to Southwestern Kansas and caught up with folks from Dodge City, Garden City, Elkhart and many places between.  While superintendents are knee deep in their summer schedules, the visits allowed me to appreciate the work GCSAA members do, not only at their facility, but their community as well.

Shook stands near No. 7, a signature par 3.

One such visit was to a nine-hole facility in Elkhart. The city sits right on the Oklahoma border and very near the Colorado state line.  Kevin Shook is a 19-year GCSAA member and serves as a Class A superintendent at Point Rock Golf Club.

Remember my point about superintendents helping their communities?  Well, Kevin is a perfect example. In addition to the golf course, Kevin also oversees maintenance for the city airport, parks and grounds.  And if that isn't enough, he coaches various sports in the winter and spring, all helping the city.

You may also ask, why would a superintendent in an area far away from the big city, continue to support his national association and local chapter?

"Information sharing and networking are the two biggest reasons," stated Shook. "I know you can get information by using Google or other search engines on the internet.  But, speaking with people, hearing ideas and sharing information is much more valuable than that," he said.

While Point Rock is a 9-hole facility, the course boasts an excellent driving range and short-game area.  The course is used by high schools during the fall and spring seasons.  The course is an important part of the community.

"We value junior golf," notes Shook.  "While we charge a small fee for juniors to play, we feel its important to get kids involved in the game."

Thanks to a local grant, the club charges juniors just $1 to play.

Great work is being done, at facilities large and small.  It's also great to see the game of golf as an important part of a community.

Solheim Cup showcases Iowa and women's golf to the world

What a great opportunity I had August 17-18 to attend and volunteer at the Solheim Cup at Des Moines Golf and Country Club in West Des Moines, Iowa.  Over 100 individuals were able to assist Rick Tegtmeier, CGCS, MG, as the course showcased exceptional golf to the world.

In fact, the 2017 Solheim Cup broke an all-time attendance record, attracting nearly 125,000 fans!  It is noted that nearly 50 percent of those attending were from outside of Iowa.  It was a victory for women's golf and golf in Iowa!

Working various shifts, I helped with the blower crew, fixing divots and interacting with others who were rolling greens and approaches or cutting cups.  Ultimately, it was a great chance to interact with many members I knew, but also form relationships with others from the area.

I was even able to watch some golf and interact with former GCSAA Field Staff  Representative John Miller, who is an agronomist with the LPGA Tour.  John continues to speak highly of GCSAA, but was also appreciative of the work Rick and his team completed during the years of preparation.

Kudos to the state of Iowa! Here's a behind-the-scenes peek at the volunteering experience.

With John Miller, former GCSAA field staff representative and current LPGA Tour agronomist

Learning my duties for the day: blow crew!

Working with the blower crew.

Making sure cups are cut correctly.

Filling divots with the team.

An impressive fairway lineup.

Watch Rick Tegtmeier, CGCS, MG, talk about Solheim Cup preparation.

Kudos to superintendents and hosting state and regional events!

For many of us, it's pretty common to realize the great work golf course superintendents do on a daily basis.  At GCSAA, it is our focus to recognize the work of our members. The time and effort crews and volunteers dedicate to get a golf course in exceptional condition can be endless.

Ultimately, the end result is a venue of which players, fans and everyone associated can be proud.

July is also a busy time with facilities hosting events.  Not the type of event that is on television or seen by thousands of fans, but those where the best players from a state or region compete for a title.  These events may be run by state or regional golf associations, PGA Sections, or another local governing body.

Right now it is peak state amateur season in the Central Plains.  In many of these states, players have earned the right to play based on qualifying rounds.  For these individuals, it could be the largest, most important event they will play all season.

I had the opportunity to see and speak with Loren Breedlove of the Kansas City Country Club in Mission Hills, Kansas, as the course played host to the 107th Kansas Amateur between July 18-23.  144 players earned the right to compete for the championship.

Hosting the highest-profile amateur event in the state takes planning and preparation.

"We adjust the schedule of our staff, including split shifts," said Breedlove, who's been at KCCC for 37 years, 33 of those years as the superintendent.

In addition to staffing, reading what mother nature is predicting and working with the Kansas Golf Association staff is at a premium.  Temperatures the week of the state amateur were in the triple digits.  Knowing players want "firm and fast" is a touchy balance when the heat indexes are 110 degrees.

"We worked with the KGA and they were supportive of understanding that we didn't want to lose turf, but maintain the course to a high level," said Breedlove, a Kansas State University graduate.

A downed tree from a powerful storm right before the state amateur final match at the Kansas City Country Club. Photo courtesy Kansas Golf Association.

Then, to top it all off, a major storm surge hit the Kansas City area on Saturday night, the night before the championship match.  Large trees were downed from the storm.  Suddenly, getting the course playable was the priority.

KGA Tournament Director Casey Old summarized the efforts of Loren and his staff with the cleanup  in a tweet: "We won't be able to thank Loren Breedlove and his crew at KCCC enough for getting this course playable.  They are the stars today!"

While Kansas City Country Club was completing efforts at the state amateur, the work for a superintendent in Dodge City, Kansas, were being put to the test as well.

Mariah Hills GC is a public facility in the southwestern part of the state.  Ninety-three junior golfers, both boys and girls, advanced to the Kansas Junior Golf Association Section Team Championship through season-long regional qualifying events.  A trip to the championship was the reward.

Matt Lowery, superintendent at Mariah Hills GC in Dodge City, Kansas

Member Matt Lowery has been the superintendent at Mariah Hills for 17 years.  The Dodge City native notes the area embraces hosting larger events and the preparation for this tournament was focused on small items that make a major difference.

"Hosting this type of an event requires extra hours and a focus on our detail work," noted Lowery.  "At full staff, we can have nine people, but our regular staff is five."  The exceptional condition of the course was noted by players, parents and the Kansas Junior Golf Association staff and volunteers.

Mariah Hills recently installed an updated irrigation system and is using effluent water.  That has helped keep conditions exceptional, as the high-plains climate can be fickle.  The facility has been host to the National Junior College Athletic Association national championship during his time as a superintendent.

Ultimately, superintendents across the country are focused on providing exceptional playing conditions, even though the weather may have its own forecast.

Gary Sailer, superintendent at the Nicklaus Golf Club at Lions Gate in Overland Park, has been prepping to host the annual Web.com Tour's Digital Ally Open between July 27 and July 30.  Up to six inches of rain fell overnight on July 26, cancelling play Thursday, July 27 and forcing a 36-hole final round Sunday.

Kudos to all for the exceptional job you do all year.  Best of luck for a successful conclusion to the 2017 season.

What you can find during your walks on the road

This month I've traveled to Kentucky, Iowa and Oregon.  With the long summer days, I enjoy getting up early and starting out with a walk.  If I can get a full one-hour walk in, I'm energized and ready for the events, presentations or meetings in which I am participating.

When I was in Louisville, the Kentuckiana chapter hosted, and I had the chance to meet individually with John Ballard and Roger Meier of their board.  The event was held at the University of Louisville Golf Club where John took over as superintendent just over one year ago.

I spent an afternoon with John as he explained the changes and vision he had for the club.  The university is supportive of a top-notch golf facility.  The University of Louisville GC is roughly 25 miles east of downtown.  So with the event being in that location, I booked my room accordingly.

The morning of the event I woke early and began my walk.  There weren't many walking trails near the hotel, so I decided to wing it and made my own route.  I took a sidewalk downhill and noticed a nice lake, park benches and plenty of wildlife.  As I continued, I saw numerous semi-trucks in the back of a large facility.  Interestingly, these semi-trucks were all "Papa John's" semis.

As I walked around the building, I saw a piece of paper on the grounds.  Curiously, I walked over and picked it up, looked at it, and found Papa John's coupons.  Large for the price of a medium and buy one pizza get the second of equal or lesser value for half off!

How ironic that 20 miles east of downtown Louisville I came across the headquarters for one of the largest pizza chains in the country?  Could not have come across this any better than if I planned it.  As I continued to walk the grounds, workers started trickling into the parking lot.  Something I'll remember the next time I order a pizza!

The following week, I traveled to Iowa to meet with the chapter as they held their state meeting at the Tournament Club of Iowa in Polk City.  I stayed in Ankeny, north of Des Moines.  The morning looked ominous.  The area has been very dry from most of mid-May through early June when I arrived.  This morning looked different.  So, I took a leap of faith and began my walk noticing dark clouds and that rain was possible.

Again, I needed to coordinate my own route.  Walking paths weren't very accessible...again...

As I crossed a busy street and followed a sidewalk, about a half mile down I ran into the Iowa headquarters for Monsanto.  As I continued another quarter mile, I looked and crossed the corporate headquarters for Casey's General Stores.

Bear with me for a moment.  If you're not familiar with Casey's, it's a convenience store chain with gas, homemade donuts and pastries...and of course one of the best slices of breakfast pizza you can find! The regular pizza is pretty good as well!

Two national headquarters...both specializing in pizza on consecutive trips in consecutive weeks?  What are the chances?

There's something to be said about getting your exercise on the road.  You never know what you'll run into?

Now I'm hungry!

GCSAA welcomes John Walker as South Central field staff representative

In April, we received word that Brian Cloud, South Central field staff representative for nearly six years, was moving on from GCSAA to work with an allied industry representative.  From there, the wheels moved forward to fill the position.

Brian had excellent experience as a superintendent, chapter executive, and chapter official prior to joining GCSAA as a field staff member.  While his shoes are tough to fill, we are excited to announce John Walker will be the new representative starting June 1.

John Walker visits with Matt Noble of Pioneer Golf Course, Lincoln, Nebraska in November 2016. John will become the South Central field staff representative beginning June 1. He will be based in the Houston area.

Many of you know John from his experience serving on the GCSAA board of directors.  For those of you in Nebraska, you may remember our board outreach visit to the Nebraska Golf Summit in November.  John was able to speak to members of the Nebraska GCSA and represent the GCSAA during the event which featured local allied groups from the state.

As part of the trip, we made various site visits, including a visit to Matt Noble's facility in Lincoln, Pioneers Golf Course.  We were able to tour the golf course and glean information from Matt about what makes the course successful, challenges faced and how to solve problems John was a great sounding board as we met with Matt's staff.

This is a key component in being a successful field staff member.  It is vital to listen to your needs and concerns, while providing opportunity to share information that members can use to improve their career.

We welcome John to this new role! He'll work in the South Central region serving members, advancing the profession and enhancing the enjoyment, growth and vitality of golf across the globe.

Please reach out to John, or any of us, and have a great summer!

Is the "mission" vital?

In the first quarter of 2017, I've had the opportunity to help facilitate 11 strategic planning sessions across the country.  These sessions are a vital service GCSAA provides to chapters and members.

There have been various programs enacted.  Many of our goals and action items are to increase membership, drive participation/attendance at local meetings and try to become more active and engaged with students at the middle school or high school level.  It is import to introduce young people to the superintendent profession.

As part of these sessions, we also ask what the expectations are of the group.  We feel this is an important part of the process.  As a facilitator, this helps sense the direction for the meeting.

Following a Strengths, Challenges, Opportunities and Risk (SCOR) analysis, it is important for participants to prioritize the items most vital for them and the success of the organization.

Of the 11 sessions facilitated thus far, the most interaction and engagement has come from the next step of the exercise: Developing or reworking the current mission statement of the organization.

Some mission statements were pulled from a copy of a bylaws document that lists the purpose of the organization.  In many cases, this hasn't been refined in years.  Many mission statements simply list what the organization does.  For example, a mission statement that mentions scholarships, research, education doesn't really dig into the "why."  These are important operational items for a chapter, but is this really why the chapter exists?

All this aside – many mission statements are simply words.  Words embedded into a document that is rarely, if ever, referenced.  Successful organizations follow their mission statement.  A mission statement isn't to be memorized, it is to be known, shared and lived.

Part of our strategic planning process is asking the group to work together or independently to compile the chapter or organizational mission statement.  Ultimately the mission asks, "why does our group, organization, business exist?"

During these meetings, we have had great discussions on the mission statement.  There have been many creative concepts and ideas.  GCSAA's mission is to serve members, advance the profession and enhance the enjoyment, growth and vitality of golf.  At the chapter level, there are pieces of GCSAA's mission statement that apply, however each chapter is unique.

Many exceptional leadership educators advise all of us to have our own personal mission statement.  It defines the "why" of what you represent on a daily basis.  In addition to a personal mission statement, I encourage your department to take a deep dive into the "why" you are serving your clients and how you as a golf course management professional can make an important impact on the customers at your facility.

Ultimately, you should ask yourself, "Is the mission vital?"  If not, how can we get there?

2017 Chapter Leaders Gather for Annual Symposium

2017 Chapter Leader/Executive Symposium Keynote Speaker Paul Long

Forty-three leaders from 27 affiliated chapters strengthened their leadership skills at the 2017 Chapter Leader/Executive Symposium, March 14-15 at GCSAA headquarters in Lawrence, Kan. The symposium is funded, in part, by the Williams Leadership Endowment Fund through the Environmental Institute for Golf (EIFG).

This annual event allows chapters to send a volunteer leader and association staff. The program is intended to strengthen each chapter’s leadership team, build on successes, and learn new concepts and ideas to support chapter effectiveness. Attendees participate in sessions focused on a broad segment of volunteer and association management topics with plenty of time to network with their peers from around the country. GCSAA staff also highlighted the various ways the association can assist in chapter operations. In addition, the attendees broke off into separate groups focused on issues related to association management and development.

GCSAA CEO J. Rhett Evans opened the session focusing how attendees can “Make a Difference.” Evans paralleled William H. McRaven’s experience as a former United States Navy Admiral involved in special forces operations and the oversight of the Navy Seal program.

“Making a Difference” is about excelling at the little things so you will be ready to succeed when bigger opportunities arise. It is also about needing a good team, moving forward and being your best during dark moments. Improving is about starting the day by completing a task, taking risks and never giving up.

Chapters also had the opportunity to learn from one another.

Randy Robinson from the Iowa GCSA discussed events leading to a banner year in 2016. The chapter implemented a “VIP” or Valued Industry Partner Program with affiliate members, completed and published results from a recent golf course water study and unveiled a new website.

Joseph Haskins from the Mid-Atlantic chapter outlined how their year-long match play championship is a success.

Adam Ikamas of the Michigan GCSA and Brian Laurent of the Miami Valley GCSA discussed member engagement, social media concepts and a strategy for message delivery.

Following programmatic updates on Best Management Practices, Rounds4Research and Government Affairs updates, Shelia Finney, senior director of member programs discussed upcoming GCSAA initiatives, including a new member onboarding program to enhance outreach efforts, membership growth and retention strategies and member access with GCSAA’s new website.

Tuesday’s session concluded with roundtable groups focusing on:

• Holding Creative Education Events
• Student Involvement
• Enhancing Communications and Operations
• Rounds4Research Implementation
• Hosting Quality Golf Events

This session allowed for sharing of Best Management Practices and was well received by attendees.

Wednesday morning, Paul Long, the founder of a concept called “Fundamism” was the keynote speaker and highlighted Fundamism and Leadership. The session was interactive, allowing attendees to rate how they are an effective leader and areas to improve.

He used simple techniques to be accountable to yourself and others. Paul also discussed successful strategies for working with millennials.

GCSAA Chief Operating Officer J.D. Dockstader concluded the education session with highlights on the Golf Industry Show, intel from the member needs assessment and key programs for the success of members.

"To me, it's important to know what the association is doing and bring back that information to my area," said GCSA of New England Chapter Executive Don Hearn, CGCS, retired. "It allows me to provide them with a perspective that I couldn't get just sitting and looking at a website."

Hearn was GCSAA’s 51st President, elected in 1987.

The objectives for the 2017 Chapter Leader/Executive Symposium included:

• Gain practical skills and knowledge to help you successfully lead your facility and your chapter
• Explore the challenges and changes impacting today’s association operating environment
• Build an ongoing professional network of peers and share best practices and innovative ideas
• Receive updates on programs and initiatives that are of interest to chapters from GCSAA

So - what's next?

I'm scribing this post just hours from heading to the GCSAA Golf Championships and Conference and Show in Orlando. My parents were spot on when I was a child. They reminded me the more experienced we become, the quicker time passes.

January was a blur. I was in the office five business days during the month, but what a great way to start off the year! After attending the Michigan GCSA Annual Meeting and Past President's dinner, I was able to also speak and attend annual meetings in Iowa and Minnesota. The month concluded speaking at the Ontario GCSA conference in gorgeous Niagara Falls, Ontario, facilitating a three-day retreat with the Minnesota GCSA and facilitating a strategic planning session with Shane Conroy and the Michigan chapter.

The gorgeous Niagara Falls, Ontario

But as my parents also taught me: You must have something to look forward to. By looking ahead, it provides energy for the days and months to come.

From the chapter outreach perspective, facilitating strategic planning sessions continues to be a priority. Right after conference and show, Kevin Doyle and I will be working with the Northeastern and Hudson Valley chapters in New York.

If these sessions are similar to those in Minnesota and Michigan, it's a foreshadowing of progress and engagement. Chapters are looking at the long-term opportunities for success. At times those long-term opportunities need short-term planning and vision. Through these efforts, we continue to show value to our members and chapters. That is the essence of our outreach efforts.

Iowa GCSA President Chauncey Barry presenting at Iowa GCSA Annual Meeting

At conference and show, our new BMP initiative was unveiled. We thank the representatives from states and chapters who attended Thursday's BMP session. We will continue to answer questions and be there to help with the implementation. Fifty states by 2020 is the goal.

I can't stress enough that the vision of our department to accomplish "we." That's between our members, chapters, GCSAA, and affiliate and allied groups. We are using a team approach and we welcome your questions or concerns.

I look forward to seeing many of you down the road soon. Please reach out to me or any of our field staff representatives. We are here to serve, with the emphasis on we.