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Women's Golf Day is an excellent to way to introduce women to the game. The event gives them a comfortable and fun atmosphere to experience golf as a game, but also showcases how it connects people and fosters life-long relationships."
"Women's Golf Day is an excellent to way to introduce women to the game," said Mark Gore, vice president of golf for ClubCorp. "The event gives them a comfortable and fun atmosphere to experience golf as a game, but also showcases how it connects people and fosters life-long relationships." Women's Golf Day couldn't have come at a more opportune time. Men have been dropping out of golf at a steady pace during the past decade. Women, on the other hand, have, by and large, been drawn to the game and represent a growth opportunity. That all changed in 2015. There was a net gain of about 400,000 female golfers in 2014. According to the National Golf Foundation, that many females, and then some, left the game in 2015, dropping out out at a rate of 7.5 percent, which was more than double the rate at which men were leaving the game. Women make up less than 25 percent of the U.S. golfer population, but make 80 percent of the household budget decisions, and thus still represent a growth market. The trick is finding ways to lure them in. "Women play a critical role in the success of the golf industry," World Golf Foundation CEO Steve Mona said on the WGD web site. "Nearly 23 percent of all golfers in the U.S. are female and the creation of Women's Golf Day is an opportunity to increase awareness, participation, and showcase golf as a fun activity for people of all ages."
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Yeah, that's not about to happen. In fact, it can be argued that only Jack Nicklaus has made a larger impact on the golf industry on Florida's Treasure Coast and Palm Beaches than Dick Gray. And at age 73, he still has an edge that is reminiscent of an athlete with a chip on his shoulder. Seven days a week, he continues to attack his job the same way he targeted opposing "wrasslers" in high school and college back in Indiana in the 1950s and 60s - like he still has something to prove. "I see the world through the eyes of a guy who has been on the mat," said Gray, superintendent at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie. "When I see someone, I'm sizing him up. I'm looking for opportunities and holes so that if push comes to shove, I know where I'm going and he doesn't. And that's my world." Gray has spent a lifetime making good courses great, and despite his rough exterior, he has a unique approach to personnel management in an industry known for chewing up and spitting out the personal lives of those who work in it. For his years of dedication and lasting impact on golf courses from his native Indiana to Florida and a stop or two in between, Gray was named the winner of the 2016 TurfNet Superintendent of the Year Award, presented by Syngenta. Four years ago, PGA Golf Club wasn't on the precipice of disaster. It already had been pushed over the edge, said general manager Jimmy Terry, who was hired shortly after Gray to revive the association's flagship property. Fairways showed more weeds than turf and many greens throughout the property were flat dead. Terry said he has a photo depicting conditions before Gray's arrival that shows a green with mostly dead turf save for one square of sod so there was something to cut a cup into. After four years, the property is back, membership is up by more than 10 percent and Gray is overseeing a multi-phase renovation that will have the property looking and playing like it did when it opened in the early 1990s. Gray was chosen by a panel of industry judges from a field of six finalists that also included Tom Feller of Cedar Rapids Country Club in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Michael Golden of Longshore Golf Course in Westport, Connecticut, Brian Green of Lonnie Poole Golf Course at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, Kevin Seibel of Century Country Club in Purchase, New York, and Billy Weeks of Duke University Golf Club in Durham, North Carolina. That group was selected from a field of 228 total nominees. Criteria on which nominees are judged include: labor management, maximizing budget limitations, educating and advancing the careers of colleagues and assistants, negotiating with government agencies, preparing for tournaments under unusual circumstances, service to golf clientele, upgrading or renovating the course and dealing with extreme or emergency conditions. Gray deflected responsibility for his success to his crew back in Port St. Lucie. "There are 75 guys and gals back at the club who are the ball bearings that make everything run," he said. "I'm just the grease gun that keeps everything lubed up." That humble approach has been his trademark throughout his long and storied career that began in 1967 back in Indiana. He helped put Crooked Stick in Indiana on the map and has worked at a half-dozen clubs throughout South Florida over the past 34 years. He was the architect of record at The Florida Club in Stuart, which opened in 1996. He also was the construction superintendent, grow-in superintendent, head superintendent and general manager. Gray, who has been a friend and admirer of Pete Dye since they met at Crooked stick in 1969, is so old-school he rejects the title superintendent, instead, embracing the label of greenskeeper, which is on his business card. "I don't know what's happened in this business. Greenskeepers became superintendents, superintendents have become director of this or that," he said. "In the end, you're going to be judged on your ability as a greenkeeper, not as an accountant. You have to be able to put it in the ground."
In the end, you're going to be judged on your ability as a greenkeeper, not as an accountant. You have to be able to put it in the ground."
When it comes to relating to his mostly Spanish-speaking workforce, Gray constantly refers to them as "my guys." When he passes them on the golf course, he doesn't just wave and drive on; he stops, puts his arm around them and talks to them. "You can't manage them if you can't put your hands on them," he said. He knows all of them by name, he knows their wives and he knows their children. When he was invited to the Superintendent of the Year ceremony, he made it known that he wanted to stay behind at the golf course so he wouldn't miss a pizza party with his staff. "A lot of them have to come a long way to get to work here. They could work anywhere, but they choose to work here. That says something," Terry said. "They could work at a lot of places, but they come here. "Dick sees himself as a coach, and he coaches them up every day." That hardly seems like the work of someone who has become complacent after a lifetime of accomplishment. Previous winners include: Matt Gourlay, Colbert Hills, Manhattan, KS (2015); Fred Gehrisch, Highlands Falls Country Club, Highlands, NC (2014); Chad Mark, Kirtland Country Club, Willoughby, OH (2013), Dan Meersman, Philadelphia Cricket Club (2012), Flourtown, PA; Paul Carter, The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay, Harrison, TN (2011); Thomas Bastis, The California Golf Club of San Francisco, South San Francisco, CA (2010); Anthony Williams, Stone Mountain (GA) Golf Club (2009); Sam MacKenzie, Olympia Fields (IL) Country Club (2008); John Zimmers, Oakmont (PA) Country Club (2007); Scott Ramsay, Golf Course at Yale University, New Haven, CT (2006); Mark Burchfield, Victoria Club, Riverside, CA (2005); Stuart Leventhal, Interlachen Country Club, Winter Park, FL (2004); Paul Voykin, Briarwood Country Club, Deerfield, IL (2003); Jeff Burgess, Seven Lakes Golf Course, Windsor, Ontario (2002); Kip Tyler, Salem Country Club, Peabody, MA (2001); Kent McCutcheon, Las Vegas (NV) Paiute Golf Resort (2000).- Read more...
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- Note: Part II in a series of business-development issues affecting the golf industry
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Golf is hard. Golf is a game of positive aspirations. But it's also a game of negative feedback."
Two years of a modest increase in play combined with courses closing at a rate of about 1 percent per year are bringing the industry closer to supply-demand equilibrium. Koppenhaver's Pellucid says golf facilities are healthiest when the average number of rounds per facility is about 35,000. Right now, that number is about 33,200. If Baby Boomers continue to prop up the game at the current pace for the next generation or so, equilibrium will occur sooner rather than later. "At this rate, we will reach equilibrium in three to four years, not 10 years," he said. A total of 22 courses (in 18-hole equivalents) opened in 2016, while 176 closed, marking the 11th straight year that closings have outpaced openings. Since that trend started in 2006, there has been a net loss of 1,148 18-hole equivalents (EHE). Tracking the number of golfers in the game lags behind other industry markers by a year . . . which might be a good thing. The number of people playing the game is down, from 22 million in 2014 to 21 million in 2015. The zenith occurred in 2002 when 29.8 million people were in the game. Since then, golfer attrition was attributed primarily to males as women and girls flocked to the game, but no more. Female players also dropped out of the game in 2015, and at a much higher rate than their male counterparts. Each showed a net loss of about a half-million players, but there are only 5.9 million female golfers compared with 15.1 million males who play the game. Younger players also fled the game in 2015, with the 7-17 and 18-34 age groups accounting for nearly 700,000 of those losses. Oversupply is not the biggest problem facing golf, Koppenhaver said. The problem is not enough golfers. Koppenhaver said he thought by now that Baby Boomers would be the proverbial icing on the cake. Instead, they represent the flour, eggs and sugar in an otherwise icingless confection. "Instead of them being a dividend, the Baby Boomers are basically supporting our industry right now," he said. "Baby Boomers are playing more as they age. They are doing what we thought they would, but the under 30s are not doing what we did when we were under 30." Public courses are toting the water for the rest of the industry. A total of 372.2 million rounds were played on daily fee courses in 2016, which are up from 367.9 million in 2015 and 359.3 million in 2014. That number is down from the 381.1 million rounds played on public-access facilities in 2012 and mirrors the 372.2 million rounds played in 2009. The trend is much different at private clubs, where 88.4 million rounds played in 2016 are down from 88.6 million in 2015, and way down from the 100 million rounds played in 2012 and the 103.3 million in 2009. Koppenhaver discounts the popular notion that rounds at private clubs are irrelevant because of upfront dues. But a 14-percent drop in play over seven years can't be ignored. "(Private rounds) do matter," he said. "If they're not getting value from their membership, what do they do? They drop their membership. That decline means (private clubs) will go out of business." There are a host of reasons why golf is struggling, Lindsay said. It's expensive and it takes a long time to play, neither of which appeals to younger generations, and it's hard to play, which is the death knell for millennials seeking immediate gratification. "Golf is hard," Lindsay said. "Golf is a game of positive aspirations. But it's also a game of negative feedback." These numbers have rocked the golf equipment world, where combined sales of clubs, balls, shoes and gloves are off by a total of 7 percent. That's the worst year-to-year performance, Koppenhaver said, since 2009 and was enough to send Nike scurrying out of the stick-and-ball business altogether last summer. Right now, the $64,000 question is what happens in another 20 years when Baby Boomers no longer can carry the game on their shoulders. Lindsay's answer was of little comfort. "That's when all hell's going to break loose." - Note: Part I in a series of business-development issues affecting the golf industry
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The group includes superintendents from two university courses within 30 miles of each other, a multi-course property owned by the PGA of America, a Met-area country club and a nearby municipal property, and a Midwest classic-era layout that has returned to its roots.
The group was chosen by our panel of industry judges from a list of 228 nominees. Criteria on which nominees are judged include: labor management, maximizing budget limitations, educating and advancing the careers of colleagues and assistants, negotiating with government agencies, preparing for tournaments under unusual circumstances, service to golf clientele, upgrading or renovating the course and dealing with extreme or emergency conditions.
Finalists are:
Tom Feller, Cedar Rapids Country Club, Cedar Rapids, Iowa;
Michael Golden, Longshore Golf Course, Westport, Connecticut;
Dick Gray, PGA Golf Club, Port St. Lucie, Florida;
Brian Green, Lonnie Poole Golf Course at North Carolina State University;
Kevin Seibel, Century Country Club, Purchase, New York;
Billy Weeks, Duke University Golf Club, Durham, North Carolina.
(click on the link on each finalists name to read more)
The winner will be announced Thursday, Feb. 9 in the Syngenta booth during the Golf Industry Show in Orlando, and will receive a trip for two on the TurfNet members golf trip in October to Scotland, courtesy of Syngenta.
"Superintendents are all leaders who deserve recognition," said Stephanie Schwenke, turf market manager for Syngenta. "We are honored to partner with TurfNet on the Superintendent of the Year Award to recognize those who have made great sacrifices for their course and their team. We respect the humility, creativity and wisdom of this year's finalists as they represent the dedication it takes to be a superintendent. This award is about celebrating the success of superintendents and the daily challenges they overcome. I look forward to seeing everyone in Orlando and celebrating the success of this year's finalists as we announce the winner in our booth."
Previous winners include: Matt Gourlay, Colbert Hills, Manhattan, Kansas (2015); Fred Gehrisch, Highlands Falls Country Club, Highlands, North Carolina (2014); Chad Mark, Kirtland Country Club, Willoughby, Ohio (2013), Dan Meersman, Philadelphia Cricket Club (2012), Flourtown, Pennsylvania; Paul Carter, The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay, Harrison, Tennessee (2011); Thomas Bastis, The California Golf Club of San Francisco, South San Francisco, California (2010); Anthony Williams, Stone Mountain Golf Club, Stone Mountain, Georgia (2009); Sam MacKenzie, Olympia Fields Country Club, Olympia Fields, Illinois (2008); John Zimmers, Oakmont Country Club, Oakmont, Pennsylvania (2007); Scott Ramsay, Golf Course at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut (2006); Mark Burchfield, Victoria Club, Riverside, California (2005); Stuart Leventhal, Interlachen Country Club, Winter Park, Florida (2004); Paul Voykin, Briarwood Country Club, Deerfield, Illinois (2003); Jeff Burgess, Seven Lakes Golf Course, Windsor, Ontario (2002); Kip Tyler, Salem Country Club, Peabody, Massachusetts (2001); Kent McCutcheon, Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada (2000).
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The Schukrafts are among the lucky. Next month, their 17-year-old son Andrew will celebrate his first year with someone else's kidney filtering the blood that passes through his body. Life has returned as close to normal as it can be for a teenager in his final year of high school, say his mother, a school teacher, and his father, a former golf course superintendent near Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Days spent in dialysis have been replaced with more important things. "The first Saturday we didn't have to go to dialysis we got in the car and went on a college visit," said Heidi Schukraft. "We realized we'd taken a lot of things for granted." The Schukrafts don't take much of anything for granted anymore, and their story is one of luck, love and the power of limitless friendship. Only five months had passed from that day in August 2015 when Andrew Schukraft was diagnosed with an acute kidney disorder known as IgA Nephropathy and Feb. 17, 2016, the day he received a new kidney. His "new" kidney was supposed to come from longtime family friend Mark McCormick, the 46-year-old superintendent at Huntsville Golf Club in Shavertown, Pennsylvania, who, despite the age gap, turned out to be a perfect match for Andrew. Instead, it came from an unknown 19-year-old donor who was killed in a car crash two weeks before the transplant was scheduled to take place. The despair and anguish felt by one family opened the door to hope and healing for another. For an adult needing a kidney transplant, the average wait time for a deceased donor is 5-10 years. For a minor, the wait time can vary from a few weeks to a few years depending on the state. For Andrew, the wait time was estimated at about a year. That's not awful considering there is a constant list of about 2,000 children nationwide in need of a new kidney. The Schukrafts debated on whether to wait for a deceased donor, or seek a living donor willing to make such a sacrifice. "It was not an easy decision," said Scott Schukraft, now the principal of Elite Sports Turf and Landscape Management. He has been a TurfNet member since 1994. Ultimately, they decided to at least seek a living donor in hopes of speeding up the process for their son, who was undergoing dialysis four hours a day three days per week at a hospital an hour-and-a-half from home. Heidi started a blog to tell Andrew's story, since, after all, there is no real conversation starter when your end game is to talk someone out of a kidney. To the Schukraft's surprise, nearly two dozen people, including McCormick, stepped forward offering to help their son. McCormick's family and the Schukrafts have been friends for more than 20 years. It was Scott Schukraft, who in 1992, when he was superintendent at Huntsville, hired McCormick as an assistant. Today, their wives teach at the same school and McCormick's daughter, Payton, is classmates with Andrew, who spent a summer on a mower at Huntsville working for McCormick. When he learned of Andrew's condition, McCormick said stepping forward to help was an easy choice for him and wife Janel. "I talked to my wife about it, and she was all for it," McCormick said. "I've known Andrew since he was born. They needed help, and I was in a position to do something about it." McCormick, and others, stepped forward within weeks of Andrew's diagnosis, which came a week after what should have been a routine sports physical. A soccer player at private Wyoming Seminary school, Andrew tested positive for high blood pressure during the exam. Doctors, figuring nervousness might be the cause, told his parents to monitor his blood pressure at home and return in a week. Nothing changed throughout the week, and seven days later, Andrew's already-high blood pressure was even higher. Testing revealed Andrew's kidney condition, prompting that ominous call: "Get him to the hospital. Now!" "It was shocking news to hear at first," Heidi said. "We'd been at Hershey Park the day before, and he was having fun with his cousins. It didn't dawn on us that there was a major medical issue. We had no idea it was anything life-threatening." The next several weeks were a whirlwind of treatments for Andrew and a barrage of information for the Schukrafts to digest. Andrew spent eight days in the hospital receiving dialysis. His mother never left his side. "It was a lot of information, and I remember asking 'is this really happening?' " she said. "At the same time, he's looking to his parents for help. We had to keep our composure. I remember thinking 'I can't fall apart in front of him.' " IgA Nephropathy, also known as Berger's disease, inhibits the kidneys' ability to filter waste from the blood. Left untreated, the prognosis ranges from remission to total kidney failure.
It was Scott Schukraft, who in 1992, when he was superintendent at Huntsville, hired McCormick as an assistant..."
Once willing donors were identified, they were tested for a blood type match. Eventually, doctors whittled their list of volunteers to three and then one - McCormick - who then was subjected to a battery of tests to ensure his kidney was a match and that he was healthy enough to withstand the procedure. McCormick laughs now when looking back on the scenario. "I don't like needles. I don't like doctors. I don't like hospitals," he said. "I was a pretty unlikely candidate to go through something like that." With all systems go, the procedure was scheduled for March 3, 2016. Two weeks prior to the operation, the Schukraft's phone rang. It was Andrew's doctor calling to inform them that a deceased donor's kidney was available after a 19-year-old male was killed in a car crash on Valentine's Day. Given the deceased donor's age, doctors determined that 19-year-old's kidney would be a better match for Andrew. McCormick, who for months had prepared himself mentally for the upcoming ordeal, experienced a wide range of feelings. "When I found out, I was a little disappointed," he said. "It was kind of a strange mix of emotions. But at the same time, the important thing was for Andrew to get healthy. That was what mattered." So far, Andrew's body has accepted the new kidney quite nicely. He's off dialysis and with a regimen of medication, a modified diet and lots and lots of water to keep his new organ hydrated, Andrew's new kidney could last 20 years or more, his doctors say. He has since become an advocate and spokesperson for organ donation. The identify of the deceased donor and his family is kept anonymous by the Gift of Life donor programs. That didn't stop Andrew, who will graduate from high school in the spring, from penning a thank-you letter that the organ-procurement group passed along to the donor's parents. The Schukrafts are equally grateful to McCormick, who, along with the other potential donors, was welcome at any time to change his mind with no ill will. "We were humbled that someone was willing to do that for us," Heidi said. "At the same time, we knew that at any time if they decided it was not right for them, they should not be afraid to say that. It's scary." Instead, McCormick was unwavering in his commitment to helping Andrew. He was approved by doctors one day after another potential donor was rejected. "At first, you don't know if you're going to be a blood match. Then, they identify about three possible donors. Then they get down to one," McCormick said. "It's a bit of a gut-check moment when you find out you're the one, and that it's going to happen."
He provided relief and hope, because we knew he was there. As long as we had hope, we were able to function. He was our hope. He was our guy."
To this day McCormick's approach to his role is beyond humble. Since he never went under the knife, he believes he really didn't do anything to help the boy, his parents and his sister, Alaina, who will graduate in May from Elon University in North Carolina. "I still don't feel like I did anything," he said. "In fact, I didn't do anything." That thinking, say the Schukrafts, is absurd. Just knowing they had a willing donor helped them get through some difficult times and gave them one more thing to be grateful for that Christmas. "We got through Christmas because he decided to go through that testing, and that takes weeks," Heidi said. "He provided relief and hope, because we knew he was there. As long as we had hope, we were able to function. He was our hope. He was our guy."
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Until now. Maybe. A recent report detailing the day-to-day business practices of the Olympic Club helps shed light on the San Francisco club's efforts to pursue sustainability, corporate responsibility and being a good environmental neighbor in one of the country's most highly charged activist areas. The study was completed in cooperation with IMPACT360 and measured key indicators such as Olympic's energy use, water use, biodiversity, emissions, waste and recycling and what factors the club weighs when choosing vendors, suppliers and other outside business partners. The results were published in an 82-page corporate social responsibility report. Billed as America's oldest athletic club, Olympic has more than 10,000 members spread across two campuses that include a 35-acre oceanside site with 45 holes of golf and a downtown City Clubhouse that accommodates multiple sports and includes an 18-room hotel. The fact that such a robust effort was undertaken at a high-profile, and massive, club like Olympic can only help communicate the story that other golf and sports clubs have to share. "Since the report just came out last week, it is hard for me to measure any feedback from the community," said Olympic general manager Pat Finlen, CGCS. "I have received numerous emails from around the country from different agencies/associations. I have also received may emails from members who think this is the greatest thing as it tells our story. I am hoping to gain some local feedback in the coming weeks." People inside the golf business know all about Audubon sanctuaries, low-use-rate pesticides, part-circle sprinklers, environmentally sound BMP programs and superintendents deft enough to weave all of this together while also maximizing playing conditions. Too often, those outside the industry see golf courses as chemically induced sterile playgrounds for the elite. That's where IMPACT360 comes in. Started by Aubrey McCormick and Gina Rizzi, IMPACT360 offers sustainability consulting services, as well as collects environmental, social and economic information from a client golf course, distills it all into quantifiable data and combines it all into a corporate sustainability report designed to show how golf can positively impact the lives of those who play it as well as those who do not. Its CSR report on Olympic shows that the club goals include reducing or eliminating completely its negative impact on the environment, including power usage. To that end, the club's Lakeside campus that includes two historic golf courses, has converted 90 percent of all light bulbs to LED. The goal is to reach 98 percent. Likewise, 82 percent of the club's waste is recycled or composted. Olympic's efforts to expand biodiversity at the Lakeside campus have resulted in increased native plantings and installing pollinator-friendly habitat. As a result, at least 46 bird species have been recorded on property during Olympic's annual bird count IMPACT360's McCormick said her company is in talks to undertake similar projects at other golf courses. "We have been receiving positive feedback and many courses are finding interest in sharing their story around sustainability," McCormick said. "This report is the beginning of long-term impact we intend to help the industry achieve." The club also is a leader in water conservation, with 97 percent of Lakeside's use coming from recycled sources - namely nearby Lake Merced that also supplies water to Harding Park and the San Francisco Golf Club, all of which, like Olympic, rim the lake. Chemical use on the course is not quantified in the report, but it is recorded and reported to the necessary government agencies, Finlen said. The club's chemical use reporting also adheres to all G4 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines as well as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that IMPACT360 says are the global standard for reporting pesticide and chemical use. "This report," McCormick said, "is helping to set a standard around reporting that helps the general public gain a better understanding of how golf positively impacts their community and the environment."
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