Mike Stieler,

CGCS, Superintendent at

Riverbend Golf Club in

Madera battled through a

tense back nine stretch to

capture his first GCSAA

National Championship on

Feb. 26 at the Nicklaus

Tournament Course at PGA

West in La Quinta, Calif.

Mike finished with a two-

day total of 1-under-par

143.

Mike had come

close in several previous

editions of the GCSAA

tournament without taking

home the top prize. He fin-

ished third in 2011 in Palm

Beach Gardens, Fla., fin-

ished fourth in 2010 in

Palm Springs after leading

the tournament on the back

nine in the final round, and

was a runner-up finisher in

the 2008 tournament played

in Orlando, Fla. There

would be no second place

this time around for Mike.

Entering the back nine with

a one-shot lead over three-

time champion Seth Strick-

land, from Miami (Fla.)

Shores Country Club, Mike

kept up his momentum to

take home the trophy. Well

deserved and well done,

Mike.

With the strength of

Stieler, the team champion-

ship was looking good. The

Central California Team

placed 2nd and included

Mike Stieler, CGCS, Rafael

Barajas, CGCS, Tom Elliott,

CGCS, Craig Johnson, and

Cordie Morgan. This was the

first ever win for our chapter

and brought us a nice check

of $1,395.00 for our chapter.

(See Page 7 for a picture)

This event was sponsored by

Toro.

Be sure to call and

congratulate the winners of

this years competition. We

are looking forward to 2013!

Stieler wins GCSAA National Championship

Central Cal Wins 2nd in Chapter Team Competition

TEE-OFF News March/April 2012

President’s Message 2

From the Field 4

Meeting Schedules 6

Mis A Meeting Miss A Lot

6

Around The Green 8

Equipment Demo Day Highlights

11

Inside this issue:

Official Publication of the Golf Course Superinten-

dents Association of Central California. The purpose of this publication is informa-tion and education for the membership. Published

bi-monthly by

GCSACC

5322 N. Leonard

Clovis, CA 93619

Phone (559) 298-4853

Fax (559) 298-6957

Email gcsacc@aol.com

Bob Schneiderhan,

Newsletter Chairman

Mike Scott, CGCS, Editor

30th Anniversary of the Al Glaze Memorial

Scholarship Tournament

Be sure to mark

your calendars for the up-

coming Al Glaze Memo-

rial Scholarship Tourna-

ment. This year we mark

our 30th Anniversary of

this tournament and there

will be many special

events to honor this tradi-

tion. Kevin Wiles, Super-

intendent at San Joaquin

Country Club in Fresno

will host the event on

Tuesday June 12, 2012.

Be sure to look for the in-

vitations that are coming

out soon. This is the only

fund raising event held by

our chapter and this year we

are hoping to include not

only Funds for Scholarships

but for Research as well.

For more informa-

tion you can go to our web

site at CaliforniaGCSA.org/

Central California Chapter.

Page 2

President’s Message by Michael Swing, CGCS

TEE-OFF News

Winter is

almost

over and

spring is

just ahead.

I guess it’s

too early

to call it a

drought

year, but in

the valley

we haven’t seen a whole lot of rain. I

always give thought to what kind of

summer we are going have based on

what we experience in the winter and

spring. I guess it really doesn’t mat-

ter, though, because it never turns out

the way I envision it. So trying to

guess what the weather will bring is

just that – guessing! But, there is one

thing you count on and that is our

meeting schedule and educational

programs. We have lined up great

golf courses and educational topics

that will benefit everyone. On March

27th we met at Hunter Ranch and host

Superintendent Jason Pautsch pro-

vided a great venue for us. My favor-

ite holes are #11, 12 and 13. With

that thought, I’m glad I packed extra

balls. Jason has always provided us

with excellent playing conditions and

the education was certainly a winner.

Josh Heptig and Brian Daum have

been working hard on putting the edu-

cational programs together and this

was one of the best.

April 9th, at my course Visalia

Country Club, we hosted the Equip-

ment Demo Day. All of the vendors

brought out the newest equipment on

the market. At the Golf Industry

Show you can only look. Here, we

got real hands-on experience and

were able to judge for ourselves the

merits of each piece of equipment.

This was a great time and several su-

perintendents took this opportunity to

bring their assistants, mechanics,

foremen, green chairmen, owners, and

special guests to the event (did I miss

anyone?). And, because of the gener-

osity of our sponsors the registration

fee for this incredible event was only

be $25, including food, beverages and

golf.

Thank You to our sponsors. Tom

Corralez of Mid Cal Tractor supplied

Continued on Page 3

Michael Swing, CGCS

Page 3 TEE-OFF News

Three locations to serve you

Lancaster Bakersfield Fresno

the continental breakfast. Scott Fur-

tak and Phil Chan of Ewing Irriga-

tion, Golf and Industrial, provided

their famous BBQ lunch. During

golf Graeme Parris of Parris Turf

Equipment quenched our thirst on

the course with plenty of beverages

So that is what has happened

in the last couple months. Mark

your calendars now and plan to join

us for the May meeting in Bakers-

field at River Lakes Golf Course.

Harry Dawson is planning some ex-

citing education and is looking for-

ward to seeing everyone at his

course.

Don’t forget to look for the 2012

Scholarship Applications that are

posted on line. We have opportuni-

ties for Turf Students and for Legacy

Awards for our Membership and

their children. This is our 30th An-

niversary of the Al Glaze Scholar-

ship Tournament and will be held at

San Joaquin C.C. on June 12, 2012.

This year we are raising funds not

only for Scholarships but for Re-

search as well. We are supporting

the California Turf and Landscape

Foundation in its efforts to raise

funds for research in California. So

be sure to come out and help.

President’s Message Continued from page 2 Welcome

New Member

Scott Walwyn, Class A

The Village C.C.

Matt Pearse Class E

Crop Production Service

Paul Barr Class C

San Luis Obispo CC

Kirk Christensen, Class C

Diablo Grande G.C.

Page 4

TEE-OFF News

From the Field Jeff Jensen, GCSAA Field Staff, Southwest Region

I hope this finds all of our

GCSA of Central California mem-

bers doing well and getting ready

for a great summer.

As a GCSAA Field Staff

Representative, one of my primary

objectives is to assist with the con-

tinued development of the Environ-

mental Institute for Golf (EIFG).

For those of you that don’t know,

EIFG is the philanthropic branch of

GCSAA and its mission is to foster

sustainability through research,

awareness, education, programs and

scholarships for the benefit of golf

course management professionals,

golf facilities and the game.

Recently, the EIFG received a

$1million donation from The Ken-

drick B. Melrose Family Foundation

to support the professional develop-

ment of golf course superintendents

through participation in the annual

GCSAA Education Conference and

Golf Industry Show. The Melrose

Family Foundation is supported by

Ken Melrose, the former CEO and

chairman of the Toro Co. The gift is

the largest in EIFG history.

As a donating member, I am

asking all GCSAA members to con-

sider contributing to EIFG to fuel

innovation through research, expand

knowledge of golf course manage-

ment professionals through educa-

tion, tell golf’s story through advo-

cacy and research and help bright

minds pursue their dreams through

scholarships. All donations, small

or large, will help preserve the

game, the profession and your way

of life.

Additionally, EIFG has a

completely new look and website

that provides up-to-date news, envi-

ronmental and sustainable education

and the ability to donate online.

Visit the new site at EIFG.org.

On a lighter note, I would

like to remind all superintendents

and fellow dog lovers that photos

for the always popular Dog Days of

Golf calendar are due by Aug. 1.

Sponsored by Lebanon Turf, the

winning dog will be chosen at the

Golf Industry Show next February

in San Diego. If your dog is the

winner, $3,000 will be donated to

your home chapter along with a

$500 donation to your local humane

society. To submit your dog, email

a high resolution photo to Lebturf-

dogcalendar@gcsaa.org.

As always, I appreciate the

opportunity to serve your chapters

and if I can be of any assistance,

please don’t hesitate to contact me

at jjensen@gcsaa.org. I look for-

ward to seeing you at upcoming

events.

Page 5

TEE-OFF News

May 23, 2012

Riverlakes Golf Course

Host Superintendent

Harry Dawson

June 12, 2012

Al Glaze Scholarship Tournament

San Joaquin Country Club

Host Superintendent

Kevin Wiles

July 2012 No Monthly Meeting

August 13, 2012

Tri Chapter Meeting Stone Brae C.C.

Hosted by Northern California GCSA

September 2012 Annual Election Meeting

Location to be determined

October 2012 Annual Charities Event

Madera Country Club

Date to be confirmed

Meeting Schedule

TURF PRO 2012

Dairy Creek Golf Course

2990 Dairy Creek Road

San Luis Obispo, CA 93405

June 13, 2012

September 12, 2012

November 14, 2012

Copper River Country Club

11500 N. Friant Road

Fresno, CA 93730

June 14 , 2012

September 13, 2012

November 15, 2012

Miss A Meeting—Miss A Lot by Josh Heptig

Page 6 TEE-OFF News

Our January meeting was

hosted by Dave Rosenstraugh at

The Alisal Ranch in Solvang.

Stepping out of my car onto this

property was an experience in it-

self. The grounds and facilities are

very well maintained and provided

a sense of “Old West” charm. The

guest rooms still do not have tele-

phones to this day and I think that

is a great thing in our fast paced

world in which we live in. The

Ranch includes a lake for fishing

and recreation, horses and stables,

a pool, tennis facilities, and of

course two golf courses.

We were welcomed with a

nice array of breakfast items by a

warm fire where everyone had a

chance to mingle and catch up with

friends before the meeting got un-

derway. Mike Swing welcomed

everyone to the event and intro-

duced Dave, our gracious host, and

our educational presenter for the

day, Pat Gross. Pat is the South-

west Regional Director for the

USGA and a great resource for

many of your turf problems or

questions. Pat’s topic was Golf

Course Maintenance Trends in

California. The presentation

started by discussing putting green

management and some helpful tips

regarding aeration and topdressing

practices in an effort to maintain

true surfaces with minimal disrup-

tion to golfers or your reels and

bed-knives. Pat provided insight

and solutions for brown ring patch

(waitea patch) and thatch collapse,

which are two relatively new dis-

eases that have plagued our region.

The turf issues continued with

chemical control ideas for Poa an-

nua reduction and seed head sup-

pression, as well as, the removal of

Swine cress from putting surfaces.

The hot topic of the day

was Coot control strategies that

other superintendents have tried/

are trying to control these winged

turf pests. Strategies included

green lasers, dogs, model boats,

monofilament fishing line, and

pink construction string. Atten-

dees discussed these ideas and

more in a great open forum where

many thoughts and ideas were

shared from locations in Fresno to

Santa Barbara and everywhere in

between. The presentation fin-

ished with new innovative tools

that add technological assistance to

the methods of our madness with

moisture sensors, custom fertilizer

mix tanks for your own mixture of

N, P, and K, and GPS guided spray

equipment that helps

monitor applications

and increase applica-

tion accuracy. The

presentation was fol-

lowed by a round table

discussion and updates

of GCSAA happenings

within our region and

nationally. The morn-

ing session was capped

off with a beautiful

spread for lunch

“Southwest Style”.

The food was great and

the time allowed for

more discussions and

visiting before we

broke for a gorgeous

day on the golf course.

Overall this

event was a great ex-

perience for the atten-

dees and was a perfect

example of the value

of our chapter meet-

ings. Our board strives

to add value to our

meetings by providing quality edu-

cational speakers, networking op-

portunities, and a little stress relief

by getting away from your facility

to see what another superintendent

is doing at their course. These op-

portunities are invaluable and can

help to rekindle the excitement and

enthusiasm that we all possess, but

often wanes as we get caught up in

our day to day routines. Each

meeting is an opportunity to im-

prove your bottom line by finding

that idea that will save you time

and money. I look forward to see-

ing you at our upcoming meetings

and if you have any thoughts or

ideas for meeting topics please do

not hesitate to contact me at (805)

781-1318 or jheptig@co.slo.ca.us.

Page 7 TEE-OFF News

Golf Course Materials

Topdressing Sand - Bunker Sand

Decomposed Granite - Drain Rock

1/8” Minus Turf & Tee Bulk Humus

Brush Removal Call for competitive rates

David Knott, Inc.

National Conference Awards For Central California Members

Central California receives their check

for the Team Championship. Receiving

the check were team member Rafael

Barajas, CGCS and Association President

Mike Swing, CGCS

Mike Swing, CGCS is hon-

ored for achieving 25 years as

a GCSAA Class A Certified

Superintendent Mike Stieler, CGCS wins the 2012 GCSAA

National Golf Championship

Around the Green by Michael Cline

Page 8 TEE-OFF News

A wild and wet early April

saw record rain fall in many locations

around the Central Chapter with one 2

day period seeing almost 2” of rain

and hail, and even a funnel cloud

sighting to go along with the thunder

storms. Luckily, no reports of exten-

sive damage from anyone so we’ll

take the rain and say thank you.

Superintendent Doug West-

brook continues the remodel of Paso

Robles Golf Course with new irriga-

tion, cart paths, and much more. Can’t

wait to see the final product and see if

we could hold a chapter meeting at

this great old course. I believe Ben

Swinney was the Central Chapter

President when I first join the

GCSACC in the early 80’s.

The Al Glaze Scholarship

Tournament is coming up fast and

San Joaquin Country Club Superin-

tendent Kevin Wiles is getting the

course in great shape. I don’t remem-

ber having a chapter meeting at San

Joaquin CC in like forever so make

sure you don’t miss this one, it will be

great.

I was recently reading the

GCS Magazine and I saw where Tony

Rudge was the Superintendent-

Member at Hunter Ranch, so I

thought I’d check in with Tony about

his new role at Hunter Ranch.

When I met with Tony, I

found out he was elevated to the role

of Golf Course Superintendent for

Hunter Ranch in September. Tony

reports to Jason Pautch who is the

Director of Golf Maintenance for both

Hunter and La Purisma Golf Courses.

Here are, 10 Things You Didn’t

Know About Superintendent Tony

Rudge.

First job in golf?

My first job in golf was at the Cal

Club in South San Francisco

working for Roger Robarge.

They called me the Spray Tech

(Continued on page 9)

Page 9 TEE-OFF News

Around the Green Continued from page 8 but you do anything and every-

thing required to get the job

done.

What was your first manage-

ment job in golf?

My first management job in

golf was also at the Cal Club

when I was named second as-

sistant. So at the time the Cal

Club had Roger as the superin-

tendent, Craig Johnson

(Belmont Country Club Super-

intendent) was first assistant

and I was second assistant.

What do you like to do when

you’re not at work?

When I’m not at work I love to

hike the Central Coast. I’ll

hike anywhere but I really love

right here where I am.

Who is your favorite sports

team and why?

My favorite sports team is the

Los Angeles Dodgers, I

love Dodger Blue but I

can’t really tell you why or

when I became a fan.

If you could pick one meal,

what would it be?

My favorite meal is a juicy

cheeseburger off my grill at

home.

What’s your favorite part of

being a golf course superin-

tendent?

My favorite part of the job is

getting to see a project move

from concept to completion.

Getting to see the job done is

really rewarding.

What’s your least favorite

part of being a golf course

superintendent?

My least favorite part of the job

is that lousy alarm clock every

morning!

(Continued on page 10)

Page 10

TEE-OFF News

For over 80 years the

specialty seed source for:

-Native Grasses and

Wildflowers

-Kikuyu, Paspalum,

Hybrid Bermuda

-Bentgrasses, Fine

Fescues, Ryegrasses

Golf Course Representa-

tives:

Around the Green Continued from page 9

What’s your favorite band?

My favorite band is someone

you’ve probably never heard of,

they’re called Ween. Just in

case, I’ll say the Beatles for those

who need someone a bit better

known.

What’s your favorite song?

I don’t really have a favorite

song, I like all kinds of music

just depends on how I’m feeling.

What’s your favorite movie?

My favorite movie is Blazing

Saddles, a classic comedy for all

ages.

As always, if you know of something

that you thing might interest our

members and want to get it in our

Around the Green article, just let me

know and we’ll get it in.

Have a great spring and we’ll see you

real soon Around the Green.

Tony Rudge

Scott Walwyn Appointed to

GCSACC Board of Directors

Scott Walwyn, Superintendent at

The Village Country Club, has

graciously accepted the appoint-

ment as the 2012 Board of Direc-

tor for the GCSACC Board of

Directors. Welcome to Scott and

we look forward to working with

him once again.

With a price of only $25 for the day it was the

perfect opportunity to share what our associa-

tion is all about. We have a special Thank You

to our equipment vendors. Hustler Equipment,

Andy Fernandez, Mid Cal Tractor, John

Deere, Pete Fre-

deen and Tom

Corralez, Turf

Star, Chuck

Talley and Bob

Dalton, Turf Star

Irrigation, Kevin

Eppich, Golf Ven-

tures West, Jaime

Ovalle, Parris

Equipment,

Graeme Parris, and Kern Turf Supply.

The 2012 Equipment Demo

Day was attended by over 50

people. This number is up from

our previous year and we are

hoping that it will continue to

grow. Some of the attending

Superintendents brought their

crews, including mechanics and

assistants. In addition we had

Club members and owners.

Page 11

TEE-OFF News

Equipment Demo Day Highlights

PRESIDENT

MICHAEL SWING, CGCS

VISALIA COUNTRY CLUB

SECRETARY/TREASURER VICE PRESIDENT

JOSH HEPTIG BRIAN DAUM

SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY VALLEY CREST/PALO ALTO G.C.

2011/2012 GCSACC BOARD OF DIRECTORS

TROY THOMPSON

RIVERSIDE G. C.

TRINI HERNANDEZ

BOB SCHNEIDERHAN

CAL POLY SLO

KEVIN EPPICH

TURF STAR

ANDY FERNANDEZ

AB TURF/HUSTLER TURF EQUIP.

BOARD MEMBERS

EXECUTIVE SECRETARY

IRENE CLINE

PHONE (559) 298-4853 FAX (559) 298-6957

EMAIL gcsacc@aol.com

SCOTT WALWYN

THE VILLAGE C.C.