Get ready for a Jack attack

As you know if you subscribe to the Golfdom Insider, we'll have a story in our April issue of Golfdom that takes a look at Nicklaus' win at the Masters 25 years ago. Written by one of our regular superintendent writers, Ron Furlong, the story includes an interview with Billy Fuller, who was the superintendent of Augusta National at the time.

There's also going to be a documentary on Jack's win on ESPN next Wednesday... here's the press release:

On the 25th anniversary of one of the most memorable moments in sports history, ESPN Films
looks back at Jack Nicklaus’ win in the 1986 Masters in a one-hour documentary airing Wednesday, April 6, at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Yes Sir: Jack Nicklaus and the ’86 Masters will explore the magnitude of what happened on April 13, 1986, when the 46-year-old Nicklaus charged from behind and won the Masters for the sixth time. He became the oldest player ever to earn the coveted Green Jacket at a time when many believed the legendary golfer would never win another tournament.

The film includes fresh new perspective from Nicklaus, his son and caddy Jackie, and others such as Tiger Woods, Greg Norman and Tom Watson who offer special insight into Nicklaus’ achievement. In the film, Woods, who became the youngest ever to win the Masters 11 years to the day after Nicklaus’ historic win, and Nicklaus sit down separately to watch highlights of the 1986 Masters and discuss their golfing careers then and now.

"Jack Nicklaus' dramatic comeback to win the '86 Masters isn't just a golf story or even a sports story," said John Dahl, executive producer, ESPN Films. "It's a human story of a father and son coming together for something so inspiring that it resonates powerfully 25 years later. The film is a poignant look at that magical father-son journey."

The film follows three hours of live programming on ESPN from Augusta National Golf Club on April 6. SportsCenter at the Masters, a one-hour special, airs at 5 p.m. and will preview the 2011 version of the event. ESPN’s live coverage of the annual Masters Par 3 Contest airs from 3-5 p.m.

Hendren's Hyperbole! Episode 13 -- Can Tiger Cure Your Swing?

Welcome back to Hendren’s Hyperbole! I hope the NCAA Tournament games were kind to your bracket last week. In case you live under a rock the final four is set with Kentucky, Connecticut, Butler and VCU. Don’t be too hard on yourself Jonesy, it just wasn’t the Jayhawks' year. Before you know it college football season will be here and you’ll be on the hill with a cold beer in your hand.

If your bracket is toast, no worries, I have great news! Tiger Woods wants to help you with your golf swing!

That’s right, Tiger wants to personally help you with your golf swing through an application available for iPhones and iPads called Tiger Woods: My Swing. My Swing claims to help golfers of all levels improve their golf swing through video analysis and instruction from golf great Tiger Woods. With the My Swing application you are able to compare swings against every club in Tiger's bag.

I just have a couple of questions about Tiger Woods: My Swing. Don’t you think Tiger should worry about fixing his swing before he tries to help you with yours? If I wanted swing advice from a struggling golfer with a questionable swing I would ask advice from my Dad or Seth or a hundred other bad golfers I know. At least swing advice from my Dad doesn’t cost $9.99. What a joke. I’ll tell you what blows my mind: I guarantee thousands of brutal golfers are going to purchase this app and think it is going to improve their golf game. How about you mail me your $4.99 and I get Seth to give you swing lessons? I say the chances of your swing improving are about the same and you’ll be ahead $5. That is a hell of a deal! Think about it and let me know when to schedule your swing lesson.

How about Martin Laird! Laird rallied from three shots back with four holes to play to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Laird came out flat Sunday to fall three shots back but came back for a great win. The win puts Laird in forth in the FedEx Cup Standings. Tiger finished seven shots back in 24th place. I guess when you compare 24th place to Johnny Vegas not making the cut, Tiger must be gaining confidence?

Whatever, don’t forget to schedule you swing lesson with Seth. Just shoot me a comment to schedule your lesson and make your check payable to Hendren’s Hyperbole!

Till next time!

--Matt Hendren

Do you QR Code?

Do you recognize this funky-looking box?

Apparently if you take a photo of it with your smartphone, you can get a discount on Echelon herbicide from FMC.

I'll admit, this technology was new to me until recently. Adam Manwarren at FMC introduced me to how this stuff works while I was at the GIS (that's me and Adam in the photo, I'm the one who looks perplexed.)

But now, I think it's pretty cool... there are a couple of these "QR Codes" in each issue of Golfdom... you can learn more about products, like FMC's Echelon or about the Golfdom Summit... out and about, I can scan a QR Code on my boarding pass to track my flight, or I can scan a QR code on a movie poster to see an exclusive sneak preview (did this with "The Mechanic" recently.)

Manwarren is all over this technology, and in fact, he was all over it at the GIS, using it to his advantage to spread the word about FMC's products.

“The opportunity to use new communication technology like videos, QR codes, and social media and through the GIS app smartphones, as well as the Twitter feeds with hash tag opportunities created for interesting dialogue before, during, and even after the show," Manwarren told me.

So my question for you is... do you use this technology yet? Check out my poll and let me know!

Northwest Turfgrass Association names Ramsdell Exec Director

Some news from our friends out in the Pacific Northwest... always good to see a fellow journalist doing well in the turfgrass industry! Best of luck to you, Paul, from the crew at Golfdom! -- Seth

The Board of Directors of the Northwest Turfgrass Association announced that it has hired Paul Ramsdell to be the executive director of the association that provides turfgrass research grants throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Ramsdell will begin immediately with the NTA, whose Turfgrass Universities Research Fund has distributed more than $900,000 in research grants in the past 14 years and plans to break through to $1 million in the near future.

As the current executive director of the Western Washington Golf Course Superintendents Association, Ramsdell brings a growing knowledge of issues facing superintendents in the region.

“The NTA board has spent many hours and traveled many miles meeting and hashing out how the new NTA will look and we feel Paul is the person to help us reach these goals,” Tim Mack, president of the NTA and superintendent at Avondale Golf Club in Hayden Lake, Idaho, said. “I for one am very excited to work with Paul on this endeavor.”

Ramsdell, 53, will bring a wide range of experience to the position and ample knowledge of the golf industry in the Northwest. Before taking the position with the WWGCSA, he was the club manager of Kitsap Golf & Country Club in Bremerton, Wash.

Prior to that, he was the editor of the Pacific Northwest Golfer magazine and a senior editor with ESPN.com. He served as president of the Northwest Golf Media Association for six years and received its Distinguished Service Award in 2008.

A graduate with a degree in journalism from the University of Oregon, Ramsdell has worked for various newspapers including the Seattle Times, The News Tribune of Tacoma, The Register-Guard of Eugene, Ore., the Lewiston (Idaho) Morning Tribune and the Pendleton (Ore.) East Oregonian.
“I look forward to this opportunity,” Ramsdell said. “It’s been difficult for the NTA to be without an executive director for nearly a year. I believe I can offer stability and sustainability to get the association moving forward again. I hope to use my knowledge of the Northwest and my various contacts to support and promote turfgrass research wherever it is needed.”

As with the WWGCSA, Joyce Phillips, the former controller at Rainier Golf and Country Club in Seattle and Twin Lakes Golf & Country Club in Federal Way, will be the financial administrator for the NTA.

Ramsdell can be reached via e-mail at mpsparks90@aol.com or by phone at 253-219-8360 or 253-851-2930. The home address for the NTA will become 1802 Weatherswood Dr. NW, Gig Harbor, Wash., 98335

Hendren's Hyperbole! Episode 12 -- I hope my wife doesn't beat me!

Welcome back to another March Madness edition of Hendren’s Hyperbole! I hope everyone made it a priority to sign up for the Golfdom Bracket Challenge before the deadline last Thursday. If not it wasn’t due to a lack of effort on Golfdom’s part to get the word out! All together 57 people signed up! Not bad for our first go at a bracket challenge.

We also picked up two sponsors for this little game – SubAir and Rain Bird. Thanks guys! When you throw in that Golfdom is also in on the action, I think that means about a third of our field will score a prize of some sort.

As far as the bracket goes there is still a lot of basketball left to play so I won’t get into predictions as to who will win the bracket pool. It wouldn’t matter if I did because I am tied for 19th with several other people including my wife. I am never going to hear the end of it if she beats me! That can’t happen right? I would like to point out several Golfdom employees are toward the top of the list. Is this a coincidence? Has to be, after all I am the commissioner and I run a tight ship!

I don’t know if you caught the poll posted along with my last post but if you didn’t everyone feels the same way I do about Tiger. 100% of the people who participated in the poll don’t think I am being too hard on Tiger and like I have previously stated, majority rules here at Hendren’s Hyperbole! Granted, only eight people took the time to vote but I am sure everyone agrees with me that Tiger is a bum, even if they didn’t take the time to vote.

It has been the busiest week ever here in hyperbole land so that is going to have to be it for this week’s post. I will get back on track next week with some golf takes that will make you cringe a little.

Thanks for reading!

-- Matt Hendren

Rounds4Research 2011 nears

Mark your calendars fro April 10-17 to do some golf shopping for a good cause. Here are the details from the fine folks at the Carolinas:

Golf’s great online auction at Rounds4Research.com will run for one week only this year starting April 10. Golfers across the country will bid for tee-times at hundreds of courses across the Southeast including some of the most revered and exclusive facilities in the game. Nearly 300 courses from the Carolinas, Georgia and Virginia have already committed tee times. More than 1,000 tee-times at more than 700 courses were up for bid last year.

“Compressing the duration of the auction will make for a shorter, sharper experience for bidders,” says Tim Kreger, executive director of the Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Association, which administers the annual event. “They asked for it and we’re happy to oblige. This will be our third year and a lot of golf lovers know the drill by now. They want to bring the bidding to a head quickly and get out on their course.”

To date, Rounds4Research.com has provided around $130,000 in funding for turfgrass research. That research helps underpin the health and conditioning of every course and therefore the vitality of the industry as a whole, which delivers an economic impact in the order of $12 billion across the participating states of North and South Carolina, Georgia and Virginia. Research efforts also bolster the game’s record as an environmental steward by improving the efficiency of inputs and promoting resource conservation.

Prospective bidders can check out the daily-updated list of participating courses at Rounds4Research.com. They can also register for an email reminder as the auction launch nears.

Piloted by golf course superintendents, Rounds4Research.com is a joint project of the major allied golf associations in each participating state including course owners, club managers, golf professionals and the various state golf associations.

“In addition to its simplicity, the beauty of this project is really that it gives everyone involved in golf a chance to support the game itself,” Kreger says. “The fact is it doesn’t matter what sector of the game we are involved in, we all have a stake in making sure it is healthy. Our research institutions have been hit hard in this economy and we are proud that golf as a whole has been able to step up and ease some of the burden they face.”

This year’s Rounds4Research.com auction runs April 10 to 17.

Turf experts make their NCAA picks

Great news! SubAir is going to co-sponsor this March Madness Bracket Challenge with us! Thank you SubAir!

Here's the email that just went out to all the subscribers of Golfdom's e-newsletter Chip Shots:

Think you're the biggest college basketball fan in the industry? Golfdom and SubAir want you to prove it.

There are so many turf schools in the NCAA tournament -- 17 schools by our count -- that we know Golfdom readers have caught March Madness. That's why Golfdom and SubAir - maker of TurfBreeze fans - are hosting the first ever Golfdom March Madness Bracket Challenge! Click here to enter your bracket (join group # 19161 -- no password needed, but you'll need a Yahoo! account) and compete against your fellow turf professionals. Golfdom and SubAir will be providing prizes for the best brackets in the industry.

SubAir's TurfBreeze fans got a lot of greens through last year's awful summer. They know all about big fans. But are you a big fan? Prove it, and win some cool stuff!

To help you with your picks, we consulted with some fellow fans who are also turf experts to see who they're taking in their bracket...

Karl Danneberger, Ph.D., The Ohio State University

"Listen, nobody's going to beat us. We're awfully good. We're the best team in the nation, just like we're the best athletic program in the nation!

But we are in a tough region. Oh boy, we've got a lot of tough teams. We've got Kentucky, we've got North Carolina... you'd think we'd have gotten an easier road to the championship since our athletic director was in charge of the selection committee!

Ohio State is a nice mix of people. We've got the best freshman in the nation in Jared Sullinger, and we've Jon Diebler, who is a three-point sharp shooter, and he's been really hot lately. But this team is a nice mix of personnel, they're not too young, not too old.

The key to beating Ohio State is if you can guard Sullinger 1-on-1. Because if you double-team him, he'll kick it out and we'll hit the three-pointer.

I think it will come down to us and Kansas. That'd be a great game, wouldn't it?"

Jack Fry, Ph.D., Kansas State University

"I'm a season ticket holder for K-State basketball, so I follow the team closely.

For us, it depends on which team shows up. If we get the team that beat Texas on the road, then we'll be just fine, but if we get the team that managed to lose to Colorado three times, well, we'll be in trouble.

Some people in Manhattan have high hopes, and they'd tell you we've got a shot at making it to the Elite Eight. Me? Well... I have them getting knocked out in the second round by Wisconsin.

If Jacob Pullen is hitting his threes, and if he gets some support, we'll be fine. But Pullen has to be "on" for us to have any success.

The best turf school in the tournament? I can't say Ohio State, because I just can't. I'm sorry, but I can't give Ohio State or Michigan State, those Big Ten schools, any credit! So I guess I'll take K-State... or maybe Purdue, even though Purdue is a Big Ten school as well."

Clark Throssell, Ph.D., Golfdom magazine (former head of Purdue University's turf program)

"Purdue is going to get to the Sweet 16 for sure, and, it depends on how you're feeling, they could be an Elite Eight team, too. They've got a good big man and a good guard, and that's what it takes to make it in this tournament. JaJuan Johnson is their big man, he's awfully good, and they've got E'Twaun Moore, and he's tough.

You know, I won the office pool twice when I was with GCSAA, so I'm looking forward to being in the Golfdom pool that's been set up... those two wins may have been total luck, but I think I do know a thing or two about basketball. I'm not crazy for the Jayhawks like they are in Lawrence, but I do think this will come down to the Jayhawks and the Buckeyes.

And I'm taking the Jayhawks to win it all. They're tough to beat, and they have a great coach. Plus, last year when they lost to Northern Iowa? That was a tough lesson. That will only help them this year."

Hendren's Hyperbole! Episode 11 -- NCAA Tourney and Nick Watney's $12 million

Welcome back to Hendren’s Hyperbole! This might be my favorite week of the year. The NCAA tournament starts Thursday! March Madness is unbelievable year after year and once the first Thursday of the tournament rolls around everything else just fades into the background.

Hopefully KU is who Jones thinks they are so I don’t have to listen to him cry over an early KU exit! Rock Chalk Jayhawk, Jonesy!

In case you haven’t heard, let me fill you in on the great idea Jones and I had over a couple of beers a few weeks back. FYI, all great ideas are born over a couple of adult libations. Right?

Anyway, we're doing the first ever Golfdom NCAA Bracket Challenge! It is very easy to sign up for and it’s FREE! Just click here, then enter group # 19161 (no password needed.) Then fill out your bracket (don't forget to pick a champion), sit back, cheer on your favorite team and watch as your industry partners go down in a blaze of glory!

On to some PGA Tour golf: Nice work Nick Watney! Winning the Cadillac Championship against the field that was playing is impressive. Nick won by two strokes over Dustin Johnson with a final score of -16. Nick’s projected FedEx Cup standing after the win is 2nd.

I don’t know about you but if I had to predict a winner my last choice might have been Nick Watney. I don’t know a lot about Nick so I did some research and thought I would share a few facts because if I don’t know a lot about Nick I think it’s a fair assumption that you probably don’t either. Nick was born April 25, 1981 in Sacramento, Calif., and attended Fresno State, graduating in 2003. He has won 3 tournaments since 2007 and finished 2nd once. He has had 30 top ten finishes and 60 top 25 finishes. His career winnings total $12,565,377.

Over 12 million in winnings? Not too shabby!

My boy Johnny Vegas finished tied for 31st with a final score of -2. Not terrible if you consider the course and competition but I’m still disappointed. Come on Johnny, I know your better than that, or at least I thought you were! I’m still on the Johnny bandwagon and unless something unforeseeable happens I’m here for the long haul.

For your weekly Tiger update I have the following riveting information. Tiger finished tied for 10th with a final score of -8 and a final round of 66. I guess the thing that bothers me is when he was interviewed after the tournament he seemed somewhat content. When did Tiger start getting content? Is he starting to lose that killer instinct he was so well known for?

That’s going to do it for this addition of Hendren’s Hyperbole! Make sure to go fill out an NCAA Tournament bracket at www.yahoosports.com, group ID 19161. Until next week!

--Matt Hendren

Fire destroys maintenance facility at FarmLinks

I just got off the phone with Erle Fairly, president of FarmLinks. He informed me that everyone is fine, no people -- staff or fire fighters -- were injured during Wednesday morning's fire at the maintenance facility at FarmLinks GC in Sylacauga, Ala.

But the maintenance facility -- which housed some of the most cutting-edge equipment in the industry -- is a total loss.

"We believe the fire was started by lightning, we have the fire inspector here today... the fire started during a storm," Fairly told me. "These things are unfortunate, but we'll rally the troops."

Fairly also was thankful for the help of surrounding golf courses.

"This industry is close-nit, there's been no shortage of support. From industry partners, suppliers, superintendents... courses are already lending us equipment."

Photos courtesy of FarmLinks at Pursell Farms.

The Sharp Park drama makes my head feel like it's about to explode!

Editor's note: The following is the first blog post by new Golfdom contributor Chris Sorrell, superintendent at Eagles Ridge GC in Curwensville, Pa.

I just saw a little article on SFGate.com about Sharp Park.

It's a municipal golf course in San Francisco that has been under fire for some time concerning its impact on two endangered species: special frog and lovely snake. The claim is that the course is harming the animal populations. The interesting thing that is overlooked in this debate is that without the golf course, these two most marginal of God’s creations could not even live there!

The course that was built in 1932 by Golden Age architect Alister MacKenzie (which he actually writes about in his book “The Spirit of Saint Andrews”, pgs. 171-172) was “reclaimed from the sea.” This means that the land was raised from a wetland habitat to make it suitable for golf course construction. While this is not something that we would do today, there were no regulations preventing it then. It matters because in doing this it changed the standing water on the course from brackish water to fresh water. And these two species cannot survive in brackish water! Without the golf course being constructed these little critters would not even live there!

Everyone involved agrees that the course has a bad drainage problem that has resulted in conflict between maintenance practices and the creatures. The City of San Francisco has proposed a $10 million renovation to resolve the situation, but it is not good enough for opponents of the course who want to see it shut down and returned to a natural wetland. They even go so far as to criticize the city’s plan as being a waste of money because the “course will fail as sea levels rise.”

In that case, what is going to happen to the frog and the snake?

It doesn’t seem like concern for these slithery and slimy fellows is at the top of the opposition's agenda. Instead, there is an agenda at the top of their agenda.

Chris Sorrell is the superintendent of Eagles Ridge Golf Club in Curwensville, Pa. He has been a superintendent for four years. He studied turfgrass management at Penn State University. He is the father of two beautiful daughters and husband to an awesome wife.

Checking in from New England Regional Turf Show

Golfdom's Anthony Pioppi is currently up in Providence, R.I., attending the New England Regional Turfgrass Conference & Show. In Tony's words:

It appears to be about the same attendance as last year, maybe down a
little. I would say same amount of booths as 2010.

Listening to superintendents, part of the reason for guys not making
the trip is the fact that heavy weekend rains literally wiped away
every bit of snow off courses close to the coastline. Some had a foot
or more just last week. Some of those guys stayed home to get the
crews going. Long Island, Westchester County is without snow also and
a decent amount of supers come up from there as well.

Congrats to Golfdom's Anthony Williams!

(Pictured) for being named Outstanding Manager of the Year (Resort Division) at the Georgia Hotel and Lodging Association awards, and to Evergreen Resort at Stone Mountain for getting the Good Earth Keeping Award for the environmental work being done at Stone Mountain's conference center and hotel!

Hendren's Hyperbole! Episode 10 -- Announcing the Golfdom March Madness Bracket Challenge!

What’s up Hendren’s Hyperbole fans and random internet surfers who happen to stumble upon this awesome blog?

I’ll tell you what’s up! March Madness! That’s right; the NCAA tournament starts in nine days! There are few things that make me happier than watching Tiger struggle or the train wreck that is John Daly and March Madness just so happens to be one of those things. So I am pumped and unless you live under a rock or are a BYU fan, you probably are too!

Here’s the skinny. Over a few cocktails last Friday evening, Jones and I decided the only responsible thing to do about our March Madness itch is to host the first ever Golfdom March Madness Bracket Challenge. What could be more enjoyable than talking trash to fellow industry partners about their brutal bracket picks and winning some prizes in the process?

Answer: Nothing, nothing is better than prizes and a little trash talking!

Details as far as prizes are still in the works, so check back here for details but the group bracket is ready to go. You will find Golfdom’s Bracket Challenge on www.yahoosports.com under the group ID 19161. It’s easy to find and sign up for and best of all it’s FREE! Once you get to Yahoo Sports just click on Tournament Pick’em and sign up to join group 19161. NO PASSWORD IS NEEDED. Obviously, the brackets aren't set yet, but you can register now and the site will send you a reminder once the brackets are official. We'll also be sending out reminders next week as well.

Once you have your bracket filled out just sit back, let the madness consume you and make sure your smack talking is up to par! The good news is Yahoo runs this thing all by itself, so me and Jones won't be in a bar every weekend trying to score brackets. It's almost fool proof!

Let’s get on to a little golf…

Rory Sabbatini won The Honda Classic last weekend by one shot over Y.E. Yang. The win earns him 500 FedEx Cup points and the final spot in this week’s World Golf Championship-Cadillac Championship. The field is set with 69 players from 19 countries and includes all of the top 50 from the Official World Golf Ranking. Of the 69 players in the field 60 of them are inside the top 65 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

This week’s tournament should be awesome because all the who’s who of professional golf will be in the field including my boy Johnny Vegas. I am hoping he can get his stuff together, make a great run and be around come Sunday afternoon. If not, I guess I can always just watch the inevitable meltdown known as Tiger Woods.

Check back here and follow Golfdom on twitter for more details on Golfdom’s Bracket Challenge coming soon!

-- Matt Hendren

Turnin' the screw

You might remember I posted a photo of a bumper sticker here during the GIS in Orlando. The bumper sticker said, "My Rain Bird rotor is smarter than your rotor."

Well, I'm going through all this information from GIS about updates to rotors. Here's a little bit about what the Rain Bird folks gave me on their new 751 Rotors -- specifically, they're proud of the ease of adjustment on these new rotors. Also, they're backwards-compatible to any Eagle rotor built since 1992.

Here's part of the press release... look for more information on rotor improvements from other companies in the upcoming days...

Rain Bird 751 Golf Rotors make it possible for superintendents to easily and quickly adjust watering on greens, fairways or roughs as needed. These new rotors offer simple, top-adjustable rotation settings that retain the memory of their part-circle arc setting when shifting between full- and part-circle operations. This unique product is designed to offer quick adjustments for the life of the rotor with a turn of a screw.

It’s not necessary to completely replace an existing Rain Bird rotor in order to enjoy the benefits of the new 751 model. According to Lloyd von Scheliha, product manager for Rain Bird’s golf rotors, courses with older Rain Bird rotors currently installed can easily integrate the 751’s Rapid-Adjust Technology. “Unlike competitive products, Rain Bird’s new rotors offer backward-compatibility with every Eagle Rotor manufactured since 1992,” von Scheliha explained. “That means in many instances, superintendents can simply drop the new Rain Bird 751 internal assembly into their existing rotor cases, saving both time and money.”

In addition to Rapid-Adjust Technology, Rain Bird 751 Golf Rotors offer performance and durability. Field and laboratory tests have found the 751 Rotors to be up to 23 percent more efficient than those offered by the next-closest competitor. For more information about Rain Bird’s new 751 Golf Rotors with Rapid-Adjust Technology featuring Memory Arc, visit www.rainbird.com/golf or call 1-800-RAINBIRD.

Autographed Golfdom finds its home

I got a call this evening from Sean Tully, superintendent at Meadow Club in Fairfax, Calif. "I'm proud of us," he said. "We're both in our offices late on Friday."

Tully was returning my phone call about his winning the autographed copy of Golfdom. I wanted some details -- like, did Tully recognize how cool this magazine is? -- before I dropped this bad boy in the mail.

First of all, Tully definitely recognizes the coolness of this magazine. In fact, Tully collects old issues of Golfdom. His oldest issue dates back to 1965. "The cover story is about the construction of Spyglass Hill," Tully said. "I'm glad you guys do things like (the giveaway)... it's pretty damn exciting."

Tully, who has been at Meadow Club for ten years, is in his first year as the superintendent. He comes from a golfing family. He said his father, who passed some 20 years ago, would really get a kick out of the autographed issue of Golfdom.

"My Dad loved Palmer, he even smoked L&M's like he did," Tully said. Palmer is an honorary member at Meadow Club, but whenever he sees him he gives him his space. "He's just trying to play golf, you know?"

Tully also has a Nicklaus connection.

"My Dad was quite the golfer -- he qualified for the Greater Milwaukee Open in 1961. He used to brag that he beat Nicklaus as the low amateur, but I looked it up, and Nicklaus was invited to play, while my Dad missed the cut!"

Tully said he first found out that he won from his boss, who saw the notice in last week's Golfdom Insider e-newsletter.

"He told me, 'Did you see the Golfdom Insider? You won something.'" Tully says. "I said, 'Did I win an iPad?' Then I saw it was the signed issue. That's pretty cool, too."

So will the magazine be on display in his home or his office?

"Definitely my office at work," Tully says. "I have two daughters and a dog at home. Who knows what would happen to it there!"

Apel new GCBAA executive director

The Golf Course Builders Association of America (GCBAA) recently announced Justin Apel as the association’s executive director. The move was made effective at the GCBAA general membership meeting at the Golf Industry Show in Orlando.

“I’m excited to lead the GCBAA into what will be a defining period for the association,” Apel said. “I intend to use my knowledge of associations, government and technology to continue the advancement of the GCBAA.”

Since 2006, Apel has served the GCBAA as executive assistant and most recently as assistant executive director. Before joining the GCBAA, Apel was the information and education director for the Nebraska Association of Resources Districts, the trade association for Nebraska Natural Resources Districts, for four years. He also spent two years from 2000 to 2002 as legislative aide to Nebraska State Sen. Cap Dierks, who chaired the Agriculture Committee.

Apel holds a Bachelor’s of Agricultural Sciences from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He fills the role vacated by Paul Foley, who announced he was retiring after serving in the capacity since 2006.

Convo with Baltimore CC super Tim Kennelly

I was watching Saturday Night Live (sad, I know) the other night and I saw a (terrible) skit where comedian Russell Brand is a homeowner, and the TV crew from the Home Network comes to his house to tell him he's the grand prize winner. Brand gives no emotional reaction in response, much to the chagrin of the TV host. Hilarity, sadly, did not ensue.

But I was reminded of that skit as I picked up the phone to dial Tim Kennelly, superintendent out at Baltimore CC, the other day. I wondered, what would be his reaction when I told him I was flying him out to Pinehurst, N.C. in November to join us for the first ever Golfdom Summit?

Lucky for me, his reaction was better than Brand's.

"Any time you get an opportunity to learn and improve yourself in this industry, you have to take it," Kennelly told me. "It's an opportunity to grow professionally, that's the best way to put it."

Kennelly, like me, has never been to Pinehurst.

"I've met Bob (Farren, director of grounds at Pinehurst) before, and he invited me to come out and see it, but I've never had the chance to get down there. Now I will," Kennelly said. It would have been about a 7-hour drive from Baltimore to Pinehurst, if he had to drive it. "I've heard a lot about the work (Bill) Coore and (Ben) Crenshaw have done on No. 2... I'm excited to see it!"

While I had him on the phone, I asked him how the Golf Industry Show treated him.

"To be honest, I haven't been to the last two... This one was a lot smaller than the last time I went. But bigger isn't always better," he said. "I had meetings with the Bayers and the Syngentas... it was easier to get around to them. Before, you couldn't cover the entire place."

Kennelly did have one complaint about the show: the bad slot for the USGA on Friday morning, after many people had already left the show. Kennelly is a member of his local USGA Greens Section Committee, but still felt compelled to leave before the USGA's Friday session, to get back home at a decent hour.

"But it's just like taking care of a golf course -- it's never perfect. You can't make everyone happy," Kennelly laughed.

Hendren's Hyperbole! Episode 9 -- Winter doesn't rule

Greetings from the Hendren’s Hyperbole think tank in wonderful Kansas City! I don’t know about you but I am really, really, REALLY ready for spring! I have had about all the snow and sleet I can handle. I am ready to get the 2011 season rocking. It’s kind of funny because I'm always ready for winter to arrive so I can catch my breath. After about two weeks of winter I'm ready for spring to arrive.

I know, I know, I should just be happy living in the moment but that’s not me. I am always ready for the next challenge to present itself. Change is good and always welcome!

On a personal note, over the weekend I booked a weeklong trip for my wife and me to the Dominican Republic in April. We're looking forward to playing some golf but have no clue what courses to play. If anyone has information on courses to play and courses to skip fire me a comment!

Thanks to Leastman for your comment last week on John Daly’s brutal wardrobe and entertaining personal life. Comments from readers are what make or break Hendren’s Hyperbole, at least in my eyes!

Congratulations to Luke Donald for getting over the hump and capturing his first victory in the PGA in five years at the Accenture Match Play Championship. Luke has had 28 top ten finishes but just couldn’t get over the hump. It was an impressive victory and a long time coming. Donald played 89 holes during 6 matches and never trailed at any time. He also produced 32 birdies. That’s 7 more birdies than any other competitor. Luke only had to play the 17th hole once and never had to play the 18th hole. That is an impressive display taking on the top 64 players in the world. Nice work Luke!

Was anyone surprised Tiger got bounced by 16-seed Thomas Bjorn in the first round? I think the real surprise would have been if he didn’t. Tiger only managed to birdie 4 holes and conceded 3 holes, a lackluster performance even by Tiger's new standards. Like always here on Hendren’s Hyperbole, Tiger…..what a bum.

That’s going to do it for this week’s Hendren’s Hyperbole. Keep those comments coming and let me know if you have a PGA favorite or not-so-favorite you want to be put on blast here on Hendren’s Hyperbole. I'm always interested in knowing what readers truly want to read about.

--Matt Hendren

Let the BigDog mow

BigDog Mowers (manufactured not too far away from me in Hesston, Kan.!) has announced their "BigDog Days of Spring" promotion, which begins tomorrow and runs through May 31st.

Customers who test drive a BigDog mower (at participating dealers) will receive a “Bite This” t-shirt and qualify to win one of several prizes including a BigDog C-142 mower. Other prizes include $100 Visa Gift Cards, Tom Tom GPS systems, Flip Video Cameras, Apple iPods and Apple iPads.

Too early to think about dollar spot?

One of our regular Golfdom emails, "Putting down roots," just went out. Karl Danneberger, Ph.D., wrote this one about dollar spot.

If you'd like to sign up for the Golfdom emails -- we have several, ranging from disease alerts to behind-the-scenes stories making the magazine -- visit www.Golfdom.com and scroll down to sign up!

Dollar spot is the most prevalent disease on high quality turf in the northern temperate region of the United States. Dollar spot is most active within the temperature range of 59 to 86 degrees F with high humidity and leaf wetness. In general, warm humid days, cool nights and heavy dews are quite favorable for disease development. Although canopy moisture needs to be present, dollar spot is more severe on dry soils. Given the wide environmental conditions which dollar spot can occur makes it the centerpiece of any disease control program.

During winter the dollar spot fungus overwinters as dormant mycelium or sclerotial flakes. The amount present during the winter influences the arrival and severity of the disease in spring or summer. Researchers at several universities have reported that a fungicide treatment in early spring can delay the onset of dollar spot much later into the year. An application at approximately the second true mowing of the season (not counting removal of winter growth) has been effective in delaying the initiation and severity of dollar spot during the growing season. If dollar spot is a chronic problem, it may be worth experimenting with an early application.

-- Karl Danneberger, Ph.D.

10 totally random questions with GCSAA CEO Rhett Evans

By now you should have received your February issue of Golfdom, featuring a cover story on GCSAA's new CEO, Rhett Evans.

I had a great interview with Rhett for that story, and sadly, a lot of it wasn't able to make it into the piece due to space constraints. But I'll include the occasional sound bite from Evans here on the Golfdom blog when I have time.

For right now, I thought I'd post a fun part of our interview (that did not make the magazine) where I asked Rhett 10 random questions to learn a little more about his personality...

10 totally random questions with GCSAA’s new CEO, Rhett Evans

1. Who would play you in a movie about your life? Jean-Claude Van Damme
2. Greatest album of all time? “Hotel California,” the Eagles
3. Favorite professional sports team? Utah Jazz
4. How did you meet your wife? On a blind date 16 years ago
5. Greatest golf shot you ever hit? An eagle on a par 4, knocked it in from 220-yards with a 3-wood
6. Your favorite website? www.ironmanlive.com
7. What was your dream when you were a kid? To be a professional athlete
8. How many contacts do you have in your cell phone? Probably 250
9. What’s your preferred game to hunt? Wild turkey
10. What is your favorite gun? My Remington 300 Win Mag… by the way, I do not hunt turkey with that bad boy!

Hendren's Hyperbole! Episode 8 -- Watching the Idiot Bag, er, Box!

Thanks to everyone who took time to vote in last week’s poll. I think it is obvious that the majority of Golfdom readers agreed with my take on pro-ams. After all, of the whopping nine people who voted in the poll, three of which were my wife and parents, five of the votes, 55% were for the “pro-ams suck” option.

Let me explain how Hendren’s Hyperbole polls work. It’s an all-or-nothing deal. For better or worse I am an all-or-nothing kind of guy. Because 55% of the voters agreed with my take…… my take becomes fact! That’s your weekly look into the great mind behind Hendren’s Hyperbole! Let’s get on to some golf!

Aaron Baddeley won last week’s Northern Trust Open ending his two-plus year winless skid. More important the win punches his ticket to the Masters. The win puts Aaron in 4th place in the FedEx Cup point standings behind Mark Wilson, Jhonattan Vegas and D.A. Points.

Sorry Badds, but I don't want to write about you this week... I've been waiting to write about John Daly, and after seeing this picture… it’s time!



Yes, that is a TV on the side of John’s bag. What? A TV on a golf bag? That is ridiculous!

Apparently the TV flashes advertisements throughout his round. John said he got the idea from Rodney Dangerfield’s character, Al Czervic in "Caddyshack." What a coincidence! I model my golf course maintenance career after Bill Murray’s character, Carl Spackler! Hey-oh!

Besides the obvious reasons a TV stuck on the side of John’s golf bag is ridiculous, I have thought of a few more I would like to share with you:

#1 I don’t think sponsors are going to be advertising on Mr. Daly’s TV very long if he continues to miss cuts. He has only played in three PGA events in 2011 and of the three he only made one cut.

#2 When did golfers start relying on gimmicks to attract sponsors and make a few more dollars? When did golfers stop winning or at least competing and making cuts to earn a living? It’s bad enough that professional golfers are shameless walking billboards without introducing golf bags with TVs on them.

#3 Isn’t John Daly’s wardrobe a big enough distraction without adding a TV? I think John is trying to stay in the limelight despite his lackluster golfing with horrible, god awful outfits and now… a stinking TV. Hey John, how’s about playing some decent golf and drawing attention to yourself for your golf game and not a bunch of stupid clothes and gimmicks?

What is your opinion of John Daly’s clothing and golf bag TV? I have a feeling your thoughts are not going to be far off of mine.

That’s going to do it for this week’s Hendren’s Hyperbole. Keep those comments coming and look for the next poll coming soon!

--Matt Hendren

What in the Sandhill?

Cranes, that is.

More on them soon.

My three best moments of the day:

1. Called to talk with an old superintendent friend of mine, someone I haven't seen in a while. We caught up about my recent job change. Anyway, he mentioned to me that there is a photo I took of him and his wife together at the golf course some 8 or 9 years ago, that is to this day one of his favorite photos ever. Apparently I sent him the photo after the story came out, and he hung it up in his house. "Every time I look at that photo I smile," he said. "And sometimes it even reminds me of you, and when you came out here to the course to do the story." That's pretty cool, in my book -- to have a photo I took hanging up in someone's house, and, in a small way, being a part of that person's life.
2. I called another superintendent friend (I was on the phone a lot today) and as soon as he answered, he said, "29 meetings in 2 days?" quoting back to me something I wrote in my most recent Chip Shots Golfdom e-newsletter. You want to make a writer feel good? Quote something he wrote back to him.
3. The new Radiohead album came out a day early... and I've been rocking it all day.

It was indeed a VERY GOOD day.

So, back to the Sandhill Cranes.

We were playing golf at the GCSAA golf tournament at PGA National. We spotted these birds. I didn't know what they were, but one of our playing partners, Dennis DeSanctis, a regional rep for Syngenta, knew what they were.

He was able to walk right up to these birds! They didn't mind us at all. I snapped a few photos, and told Dennis I'd send him the pictures. So... here ya go, Dennis -- click on them and grab them off the site!

Wait, wait, wait... did you look at your watch?

During the Nick Price interview?

OK, I've gotten a few emails from people, asking me if I really had the audacity to look at my watch during my Nick Price interview.

And the answer is, "Yes, I did."

BUT I CAN EXPLAIN!!!

OK, it went like this: there were only two of us there to interview Nick during his "media round table."

As a journalist, let me tell you -- media round tables SUCK. Everyone is stuck getting the same answers, so the interviews are completely unoriginal.

Well, at the beginning of the "media round table," it was only me, Nick, and one of my rivals in the turf media industry. I proposed to my friendly rival that we split the 30 minutes that the GCSAA allocated with Nick. No round table -- two 1-on-1 15-minute interviews, peace on earth. He agreed.

Then two more competitors showed up. Damn.

But my rival liked my idea so he proposed we still do it, only splitting the time -- now down to about 25 minutes -- to 5 minutes each for the four of us. I asked the group, and everyone agreed it was a fair deal.

(Brief aside -- I think this set-up totally freaked out my old GCSAA pal Bill Newton, who handles the media for the association. Apologies, Bill! Thanks for being a good sport and letting us media guys flip the script on you.)

I told Scott Hollister from GCM to take the first 5-minutes. He's my old boss, after all, and the GIS is his party, best to step aside for the man. Scott began his interview while the rest of us stepped away.

Then the question was asked among the three of us: What if one of us selfish bastards decided to take more than 5 minutes? "Well, that wouldn't be cool," I said. Yeah, but what if?

I promised the guys that I would only take 5 minutes and not a minute more... and if I did, they could call me out on it.

Then I set up my video recorder and got ready to roll tape with Nick Price.

Twenty seconds into my interview with Nick, it occurred to me that I needed to be able to know how long this bad boy was running. I wanted to keep my end of the deal. I didn't want to go over 5 minutes.

Hence, the blatant glance at my watch.

No, Nick Price does not bore me. Quite the opposite, Nick cracks me up and I enjoy chatting with him.

Yes, I did look at my watch. But it was for good reason.

And at the end of the day, it adds a funny side-story to my interview.

And now you know!

Golfdom interview with Nick Price

I got great news in my email inbox yesterday morning... my interview with Nick Price at last week's Golf Industry Show was the most-viewed Golfdom video EVER! Thanks to everyone who gave it a look. Here it is below, in case you missed it.

My selling point on this video: You have to hear Price's take on greens committees (which is my last question of the short interview). It's classic.

But this is indeed a sign that Golfdom readers do enjoy quality industry videos... so plan on seeing more from your friendly Golfdom editor-in-chief!

To see the video click over to www.golfdom.com

Hendren's Hyperbole! Episode 7 -- Does Anyone Really Want to Watch Maury Povich Golf?

Welcome back to another riveting addition of Hendren’s Hyperbole! I hope everyone enjoyed the 2011 Golf Industry Show. Hopefully you followed Seth on twitter @Golfdom during the GIS and got yourself some sweet prizes. I think you all brought some of the nice weather back with you. Thursday the high is supposed to be 71 degrees! 71 sure beats the sub zero weather the country was engulfed by about a week ago.

Congratulations to D.A. Points for capturing his first PGA Tour win at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am with a final score of -15. D.A. teamed up with Bill Murray to also win the Pro-Am Team Championship. After the win Murray gave the following quote “I’m thinking of turning professional. I probably won’t because I’ve got other responsibilities.”

I realize Bill is a comedian but come on, give me a break! Comedy and golf DO NOT MIX! There is nothing funny about golf. Well, that’s not entirely true. Tiger was fined an undisclosed sum by the European Tour for spitting on the 12th green last Sunday in Dubai. That is funny!

Personally I hate pro-am tournaments. What a joke. I don’t care to watch a bunch of hacks beat it around the course. If I want to see a bunch of hacks firing chili peppers all over God’s green earth I can just look out my office window.

I really don’t care what all the no-talent hacks, who haven’t been relevant in about 15 years, if ever, have to say about anything! I’m talking about you Andy Garcia, Kurt Russell and Maury Povich! Really, Maury Povich had time to stop revealing paternity test results and play golf? Don’t even get me started on Bill Belichick or Chris Berman.

If I am going to watch golf on TV I want to watch professional golfers. I would rather watch the Nationwide Tour or the LPGA. Yeah, I said it. LPGA, women’s golf! BRRR! I just got a chill running down my spine! Never mind, I have reconsidered and at no time would I rather watch the LPGA over a pro-am.

Where do you weigh in on the pro-am golf tournament? Vote in our poll or fire me a comment and let me know!

--Matt Hendren

BASF's "Media Thousandaire" on YouTube

You can check out my questions and see how awkward I am in front of a crowd by watching the below YouTube clip, courtesy of BASF.

If you swing by the BASF Turf Talk Blog you can see the other contestants, too.

I'm happy to report I raised $1,900 for the Wee One Foundation, and was able to get 9 out of 10 questions right (with some help from my lifelines) before missing out on the last one.

All told, BASF's event raised more than $7,000 for charity. AWESOME!

My favorite moment: when I got the typewriter question, and I told the crowd, "You know... I've never used a typewriter before." I thought the crowd was going to attack me at that point.

But it's true! Despite my gray hair, I come from the digital age! I don't understand your prehistoric tools!

Here's the video:

GIS hangover

Plus, it doesn't help that my Jayhawks got whipped by K-State.

Anyway, we're back in the editorial office at Golfdom... just trying to pick up all the pieces still. Thanks to everyone who came by and said hello, wished us well, signed up for magazines/emails/Pinehurst/Twitter/etc.

Back to the real world!

Superintendent assaulted outside Peabody Hotel

There were a lot of positive stories this week at the Golf Industry Show, but there was also one scary story that could have ended a lot worse than it did: A superintendent was assaulted outside the Peabody Hotel near the Orange County Convention Center on Tuesday night.

The Midwestern superintendent -- who requested that we not use his name -- was walking with a friend at around 11 p.m. on Tuesday night when a car pulled up next to them. Two men got out, and before the superintendent knew what was happening, he was blindsided by a punch -- either a fist or a forearm -- in his right eye. The punch wasn't enough to knock the superintendent down.

The attackers had a gun and shouted for the men to get on the ground, but they refused. The two superintendents kept walking away. Lucky for them, the attackers lost their nerve and got back in their car to drive away.

The superintendent didn't get his wallet stolen, but his glasses were broken and his nerves were rattled.

"We were lucky these guys weren't pros," the superintendent told Golfdom on Thursday afternoon at the Golf Industry Show. "We would have been popped, we would have been dead. These guys were green."

The superintendent -- who had a scuff near his right eye -- said the attacker more or less "bounced" off of him.

"This guy thought he was tough, but he wasn't," the superintendent said. "He popped me and he didn't knock me down."

The superintendent has been coming to the GCSAA's annual conference and trade show for over two decades, and said the hardest thing for him was to believe it really happened.

"It took me a while to really get over it," he said. "Anything can happen. And it happened so fast."

The superintendent said his only reaction was to get away from the two men.

"I told (my friend), I just said, 'Keep walking!' And I kept walking away. They decided not to keep after me, so I went back to get my glasses, they were all smashed on the ground."

The superintendent said he did not report the attack to the police, but he did report it to both the Peabody Hotel and his own hotel. He also did not tell anyone with the GCSAA about the attack, because he didn't want to "make a big deal" about it. He said the attack wouldn't keep him away from any future Golf Industry Shows, but mostly it made him worry about his daughter, who was also at the GIS with him.

"She went out with her friends that same night... what if these guys went after her?" he asked.

Last day at GIS

This has gone by so quickly!

Come see me at the BASF booth at 3 p.m. playing Turf Media Thousandaire!

Congrats to Chris Zugel, superintendent at Whistling Straits, for winning a $50 gift card by following me @Golfdom on Twitter!

QUICK UPDATE: Everyone has been RAVING about the amount of traffic on the trade show floor. Peter Driver from Jacobsen told me it was the most traffic they've had in five years.

The show floor is visibly small... you can see both ends of the show with no trouble, which I don't know if I've ever been able to do that before.

I've got to get back out there... thanks for keeping up with us, I'm stockpiling information, interviews, etc., I'll post when I can but for sure I'll be sharing this in the upcoming weeks.

Off to the show!

Stay classy, Golfdom!

At Roy's with the fine folks of Rain Bird!

Sent from my Samsung Epic™ 4G

How many blades of grass do you think Syngenta helps out?

Oh... THAT MANY.

More from the Syngenta booth tomorrow!

Sent from my Samsung Epic™ 4G

Bumper sticker...

Would be perfect for a superintendent! At the Rain Bird booth, talking IC system and about how it reduces the amount of wire needed by a whoppimg 90%!

Sent from my Samsung Epic™ 4G

Bigfoot!!!

Sighting at the Valent booth! We'll investigate more soon...

Sent from my Samsung Epic™ 4G

Club Car's Visiage at GIS

Caught a presentation from Mark Langer, director of agronomy, Farmlinks GC, and Mike Read, talking about the Visiage golf fleet management system. It's GPS and cellular powered, so if your golf car gets stolen and ends up three states over, you can still find it via Google earth!

I'll have more info in a future issue of Golfdom!

Sent from my Samsung Epic™ 4G

Tomorrow the real work begins

So far so good at the GIS... but tomorrow, things are going to get crazy.

Had great meetings today with both John Deere and FMC... caught up with our friends at Syngenta... met up with both Clark Throssell, Ph.D., and Dave Kopec, Ph.D. ... chatted with my old pal Nick Price... and even had a few beers with the complete Golfdom team, which is something I've only done a few times since joining the team.

Keep checking in, I plan on sharing as much info as I can tomorrow!

If you're here at the GIS, please stop by the Golfdom booth and say hi!

For now... sleepy time. TOCA breakfast in the morning. Why just you wake me so early, TOCA???

REMINDER: I'm giving away prizes tomorrow! Follow us on Twitter, we're @Golfdom!

See you at the GIS...

-Seth

Just got done interviewing Nick Price

Great interview. Nick has such a great sense of humor. I videotaped the interview so I'll share it with you just as soon as I can.

One of the questions I asked: what do you really think about greens committees? Nick laughed and said, "one of the worst things ever invented! Who wants to take advice on how to do their job from a used car salesman?"

Sent from my Samsung Epic™ 4G

The booth is rockin'!

Great job by the Golfdom team today... we went from yesterday's mess to this masterpiece! You know what this booth looks like to me? A place where you could win a free trip to Pinehurst!

Sent from my Samsung Epic™ 4G

Hendren's Hyperbole! Episode 6 -- Two Gloves is Better than Some

Welcome back to Hendren’s Hyperbole! I hope everyone is enjoying the 2011 Golf Industry Show. Hopefully everyone made it to the show without too much trouble. I got stuck in Kansas City fighting the latest brutal snow storm. We are supposed to get another five or six inches tonight.

Enjoy the weather in Florida but don’t worry, I’m sure spring won’t have rolled around by the time you get back to wherever you call home. I’ll do what I can to save some snow for you.

Mark Wilson won the Waste Management Phoenix open Monday in the second playoff hole over Jason Dufner. This is the third playoff in five events this year. Normally I hate a Monday tournament finish but I had a sick kid so I got to stay home and watch what was left of the final round. There were only five holes left to be played Monday and for the most part it was a boring ending to a drug-out tournament but there was an epic meltdown on number seventeen.

Do you watch Big Break on The Golf Channel? Remember Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey? Two Gloves participated in Big Break USA vs. Europe and The Reunion. He is the first Big Break alumnus to earn a PGA Tour card, and played on the PGA Tour in 2008. He was not very successful.

Alright, enough back ground. Let’s get on to the epic meltdown! Two Gloves was two shots back with two holes to play. Time to freak out! Number seventeen is a drivable par four with water left of the green so eagle is not out of the question. Gainey hits driver. Any guesses as to where his drive went? Left??? Good guess! It wasn’t a horrible drive; the ball actually hit a pin high hazard marker and almost got the kick of a life time. In the end, the ball was in the water. Tommy was dropping two and hitting three. His third shot was poorly hit and rolled back into the water. NOOOO! Now he’s dropping four and hitting five! When it was all said and done Tommy got a seven on number seventeen and finished in a tie for eighth place.

He lost about $250,000 when he blew up. WOW! A quarter of a million dollars because of a mental error! $250,000 would buy a lot of gloves.

I was really rooting for Tommy Two Gloves. I don’t know if I was rooting for him because I remember watching him on Big Break or because he is the only professional golfer with a worse golf swing than mine. Either way, I hope Tommy can get it together after his meltdown and be atop the leader board later this year. Just get out of your head! You’ll be alright!

At least Two Gloves made the cut. That’s more than I can say for my boy Johnny Vegas! What happened Johnny? I talk you up over the past couple of weeks and this is how you do me! You miss the cut! Come on Johnny, you’re better than that, at least I thought you were! Don’t do that to me two weeks in a row or the gloves are coming off! Both of them!

--Matt Hendren

Another great night at GIS 2011

What a great evening. Some highlights:

-- ran into my friend Julio Diaz at the GCSAA bookstore. Usually it's hard to catch up with some people, but me and Julio bumped into each other on day one this year. I profiled Julio and his maintenance facility in the January issue of GCM. Always great to see el Padrino (the Godfather).

-- awesome party hosted by John Deere at Cuba Libre. Good food, good company and hand-rolled cigars. That was pretty much a home run. Great crowd, too. Wow!

-- checked in on the skeleton of the Golfdom booth... miles to go, but we'll get it there.

-- watched my jayhawks thump on hated rival mizzou!

-- got to buy my old designer/friend Roger Billings a shot of Jack Daniels on his birthday. Learned that senior science editor Teresa Carson became a grandma again (congrats!) Also got to watch the game with my old friends from GCM. Good times, great seeing those guys.

More tomorrow, I need sleep now!

-Seth

Sent from my Samsung Epic™ 4G

Places to be: DivotPack booth

I got an email from a new company that is unveiling their new backpack divot repair system at this week's GIS. They originally had an embargo (editor-speak for "do not publish until") on this information until Wednesday, but then they emailed me and said I could post their product early on the Golfdom Daily, so I said, "let's do it." Here's the information on the product below.

They'll be at GIS in booth 154, and note that they are offering a discounted price during the show. -SJ

DivotPack – a unique, patent-pending, dry sand mixture dispenser for repairing golf course divots – will be introduced at booth 154 at this week’s Golf Industry Show in Orlando.

DivotPack is a new divot repair system that comes in the form of a lightweight, soft-sided backpack. Dispensing a fast and accurate application of sand mixture through a gravity-fed tube, the mixture is released via a handheld control valve. Designed for comfort, the DivotPack divot repair system reduces fatigue, back strain and staff injury by replacing the tedious, time consuming and backbreaking practice of filling divots by hand.



“DivotPack makes repairing the scars left behind on the golf course a nonissue,” says Jeff Johnson, superintendent, The Minikahda Club. “The process is effortless and makes filling divots a breeze. Members are bound to notice an improvement in overall playing conditions and with the time and money we save on divot repair, DivotPack pays for itself in labor savings alone.”


DivotPack offers a three-gallon, dry divot mixture tank capacity with a flip top-lid and buckle closure that makes refills quick and easy, keeping staff on the job and providing a simpler way to repair divots.



DivotPack retails for $349 but the company is offering a GIS special of $299 plus tax, shipping and handling.

 For a demo or more information about DivotPack, stop by booth #154 or visit the company web site at www.divotpack.com.

beautiful day at the GCSAA championship!

Enjoying a nice round in 75-degree weather... wish you were here!

Places to be: the Bayer booth

Here is what I've heard from the Bayer folks:

On Thursday, Feb. 10th, Bayer will launch it's first natural product and a revolutionary way to deal with nematodes... a product called NORTICA.

That morning (sorry, press only, but don't worry, we'll be there!) Billy Crow, landscape nematologist, University of Florida, will share his latest research on nematodes and observations of Nortica... then Cynthia Gigandet, insecticide marketing product manager, and Richard Rees, product development team leader, will answer questions regarding the development of Nortica's development and use.

I know you can't make it for the press-only session from Bayer, but don't worry... your pals at Golfdom have you covered! And then stop by the Bayer booth Thursday afternoon to hear some of this information for yourself!

(Have some info to share regarding your GIS booth? It's not too late to email Seth at sjones@questex.com with this info! And if you've already emailed him with this info, now is the time to double-check with him that he actually plans to RUN IT!!!)

Hello from the GCSAA tournament

Hey everyone,

We got down here to West Palm Beach unscathed. Now we're just ready to play some golf and spread the Golfdom love.

So far, I'm impressed. The GCSAA crew puts on quite the event, from what I can tell -- and I haven't even set foot on a course yet! I never got to visit a GCSAA tournament in my previous career, so this is a first for both me and my sales guy, Jason DeSarle.

The most common thing I heard today was, "So, I heard you had to buy a membership!"

Well, sure I did! I was proud to buy one! I'm happy to be a card-carrying member now. It's exciting. (Now I just want to see that subscription to GCM start rolling in!)

We'll see how the golf goes tomorrow. It's already better than expected since I'll be rocking a new pair of shades and a range finder. Look for regular updates on both Twitter and the blog.

And the best news from south Florida so far? A handle of Captain Morgan... only $20. USEFUL.