As the ball turns

Thanks to all that came out to the Beat the Heat Race Day at Del Mar Fairgrounds on July 28th. It was a great day and a lot of fun. We plan to have another one in September so stay tuned and bring out your family or crew.

Congratulations to Chris and Sarah Davidson on the birth of their first child, Lola Pearl Davidson. She was born on July 6th, 2010 and weighed 6 lbs, 3 oz. Next time you are at Fairbanks Ranch, check in with Chris and see how fatherhood is treating him. Congratulations to the Radersma family as well. Gary reports that they had their third child, Garrett Douglas Radersma, on June 22nd. Sisters Elizabeth and Abigail have adjusted quite well and can’t seem to give Garrett enough hugs and kisses. Last but not least, and hot off the press, Randy Newhard’s daughter Kathryn (President of New Way Landscape) had twins on August 4th. Their names are Gabriel Juan and Olivia Jade and I am sure they will add an extra layer of excitement to the company.

That’s not all of the good news happening at New Way Landscape either! Last month at the California Landscape Contractor Association they won 1st place in the Large Commercial Landscape Maintenance division and 2nd place in the California Friendly Irrigation / Water Smart category for Stonebridge Estates in Poway. They also won 1st place in the Large Commercial HOA Landscape Maintenance division for The Lakes HOA at The Crosby in Rancho Santa Fe. Randy may have to build another shelf in the office for all those awards!

Congratulations are past due for Mark Grund of Mark Grund Enterprises and Eagle One Golf Products. He and his new bride Maura McCarthy-Grund were married at the courthouse five months ago. How many of you knew that?!! And if so, why didn’t anyone tell me!!!

It’s official! Jack Aldrich has stepped up to take Gary Dalton’s place as the superintendent at San Diego Country Club. I must say the course is in fine hands. I hope everyone got a chance to read the retirement article that Nick Spardy wrote about Gary Dalton in last month’s Inforemer. We wish Gary all the best and want to thank him for his innovation and contributions to the industry.
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Thanks to all that came out to play in the SDGCSA Invitational on June 14th. It was a great day and a good time was had by all. Word has it that the USGA contacted Brian Darrock at Fairbanks Country Club about pin placement for #14 at Pebble Beach after they heard all the groaning from the San Diego crowd about #9 at the Invitational. Congratulations to Paul Zaremba for his winnings the third year in a row! I heard he even played the same ball the last 16 holes! Tim Barrier was mistaken for Claude Van Damme after embarking on his second round of P90X workout insanity. Congratulations to Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club and La Jolla Country Club for hosting the 99th California State Amateur Championship. This is only the second time that courses in Southern California have hosted this tournament which is usually played at Pebble Beach. In the end, 22-year-old Scott Traves of Trabuco Canyon defeated La Jolla’s Harry Rudolph for the state amateur crown.

Congratulations to Mark Louder on his recent change to the superintendent at Canyon Lake Country Club which is managed by Valley Crest. Mark Wilson, the previous superintendent, has taken a position as the Manager of Grounds Maintenance for the Santa Ana Unified School District and will be responsible for the turf at over 54 schools! Nathan Radwick, formerly the Assistant Superintendent at The Bridges, has accepted his first superintendent job at Malibu Country Club. American Golf has just named Chris Thurber as Superintendent to manage the National City Golf Course. Congratulations and best wishes to all of you at your new facilities! continue

March is in the books, the time has sprung forward, days are longer, and while sunny skies have returned to San Diego, we still might see more rain through the month of April.  While March was a busy month with various people changing locations and the board hiring a new chapter manager, April will have plenty of action as well as the election meeting nears and spots look to be filled on the SDGCSA board.  First and foremost, we’ll focus on the latest golf industry news around San Diego.

Meadow Lake Golf Club recently hired a new superintendent, Alvaro Fitzsimmons.  Alvaro formerly worked as the assistant superintendent for George Winters at The Vineyard.  Congratulations to Alvaro on the new position!  Also up north, congratulations to Cameron Kreeger, a recent SDGCSA scholarship award winner, has been hired as the new superintendent at Rancho Carlsbad Golf Course.  Cameron previously worked for Kent Graff at Encinitas Ranch Golf Course.  In addition, Rancho Carlsbad is working on a new project to expand the driving range to twice its current size, with Gerald Ward serving as the contractor on the job. continue

By Teddy Rosztoczy, AA Equipment

February is in the books, spring is around the corner, and the rain continues to fall in San Diego. This past month was an eventful time in the golf industry as the annual GIS show rolled through town. Plenty of familiar faces were seen strolling the San Diego Convention Center; even the infamous Mike Ditka made an appearance. Thanks again to all the members and affiliates that contributed to making the California Room a successful event once again.

Speaking of familiar faces, Chris Nolf, formerly the assistant superintendent at Vista Valley Country Club, has taken a new position in sales working with Norm Davis and Planet Air, as well as representing Baroness Mowers. Congrats to Chris on the new job and good luck with the new position. Also, in affiliate news, John Perez, the former superintendent at Borrego Springs Country Club, has taken a position in sales with Turf Star in Indio. Congrats to John as well and good luck moving forward. Welcome to the dark side boys!

Also, over at Torrey Pines Golf Course, Jon Maddern CGCS has announced that he will be leaving San Diego in March. Jon is the Deputy Director/Golf Operations Manager for Balboa Park, Mission Bay and Torrey Pines Golf Complexes. Jon’s last day will be Friday, March 12th. He will then be moving to Salem, South Carolina where he will become the superintendent at The Cliffs at Keowee Falls. Congratulations on the new job Jon, we will miss you in San Diego!
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By Teddy Rosztoczy, AA Equipment

Well and eventful January 2010 in San Diego which included the Farmers Insurance Open, Member Appreciation Day, and plenty of rain and wind, has come and gone. First and foremost, thanks to John Martinez and his crew at The Journey at Pechanga for hosting our membership appreciation event. The course was in great shape and provided plenty of breathtaking views. Thankfully the weather cooperated and the course dried up beautifully.

The weather, however, did not cooperate very well with Torrey Pines Golf Course leading up to the Farmers Insurance Open. Just when Candice Combs and her crew had the course in perfect shape, five days of rain and wind resulted in washed out bunkers, trees blown over, and debris strewn everywhere. Thanks to the help of volunteers such as Mark Warren, Brendon Reaksecker, Nate Radwick and his crew from The Bridges, who helped run trash pumps, shovel sand and rake debris, the course was back in shape in no time. In the end, the hard work and coordinated efforts of Candice Combs, Bill Sinclair, Pat Holden, Wayne Carpenter and Ken Roberts were able to provide the PGA with a top notch golf course. Watching the tournament on television, one would never know that a fierce storm had hit the week prior.

This March, Steve Auckland and La Costa Resort and Spa will be hosting a brand new LPGA tournament. Presented by J Golf, the LPGA Classic will be played March 22 – 28. La Costa Resort and Spa signed a five year agreement with J Golf and the LPGA to host the event through 2014. So if anyone’s curious to check out the ladies side of the professional golf tour, head to La Costa at the end of March. continue

By Teddy Rosztoczy, AA Equipment

Happy New Years to everyone, hopefully everybody had a fun, safe Christmas and New Year’s weekend. Thanks to everyone who attended our Christmas and Holiday Gala at the Country Club of Rancho Bernardo. While times are tough, and the attendance was slightly down this year, it served as a great venue for people to bring their spouses, have a few drinks, a great dinner, and even a little dancing, thanks to none other than Joe Neri. Also, this past month, we had our annual Ray Spardy Memorial Golf Tournament benefiting scholarship and research, which once again proved to be one of the best events of the year. Many thanks go out to Phil Fitzgerald and his staff. Steele Canyon was in awesome shape, and the weather cooperated for once, nothing but sunny blue skies all day.

Coming up later this month, on Thursday, January 28th we will be hosting a Membership Appreciation meeting at The Journey at Pechanga. In an effort to give back to our membership, the association will be paying half the cost for each member, so the cost per member for this meeting will be only $75. This includes a continental breakfast in the morning, boxed lunches on the carts, heavy appetizers and prizes following the golf tournament. This will be a great event at a top notch golf facility for an unbeatable price. I know, I sound like a salesman, but you won’t want to miss it. Go to member appreciation events page to sign up immediately! continue

By Teddy Rosztoczy, AA Equipment

First and foremost, a belated Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Hopefully everyone had a fun, safe holiday weekend. Furthermore, a preemptive Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to everyone as the holiday season is upon us. Over Thanksgiving weekend San Diego finally received some rain, which was a nice change from the cold, dry, windy winter we’ve had thus far. Hopefully we’ll continue to see more rain moving forward. Speaking of moving forward, the SDGCSA has two of its biggest events coming up this December, plus another major event in January.

The annual Ray Spardy Memorial Golf Tournament benefitting scholarship and research will be held once again at Steele Canyon Golf Club on Thursday, December 10th. Thanks to all our membership who have contributed to our scholarship and research fund either through raffle prizes, sponsorships, or simply by signing up for our tournament. It should be another great event!
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By Teddy Rosztoczy, AA Equipment

October has come to a close and with it the completion of most fall projects. Courses have completed their overseeding along with fall aerification, now all we need is rain! I mentioned it last month, but thanks again to everyone who participated our Golf With a Hero Tournament. It’s one of the best events that we as an association do and all the military participants were very appreciative. This past month there was also some movement around the county. Our very own Vice President, Vince Zellefrow, formerly the superintendent at The Golf Club of California, has taken the superintendent’s position at Marbella Country Club, owned and managed by American Golf. Congrats to Vince on the new job and good luck!

November’s here, which means shorter days, cooler weather, and the holiday season is just around the corner. Our clocks turned back over the Halloween weekend, which was good and bad. It’s nice to have a little extra sunlight in the morning, however it’s brutal driving home from work when it’s pitch black outside. Looking forward, the association has two of its biggest events of the year coming up in the next couple months. continue

By Teddy Rosztoczy, AA Equipment.

For those of us who enjoy the heat in San Diego, August did not disappoint. Throughout the county a few records were broken, with temperatures breaking one hundred degrees inland and not a whole lot cooler along the coast. Alas, summer will be coming to an end soon, temperatures will cool down, and another Chargers season is right around the corner.

Thanks to everyone who attended our annual Just for Fun golf tournament at Vista Valley Country Club earlier this month. Special thanks go out to Ron Nolf and his crew! The course was in great shape and included a few new upgrades since the last time we held an event at Vista Valley. New tee boxes added distance along with amazing views, and made for a fun, challenging golf tournament. Congratulations go out to the team of Paul Zaremba, Ed Espinoza, Dan Yury, and Brian Schnese for taking home first place low gross with a score 59! Congrats also go out to the first place low net team of Ken Newcomb, Gary Vasquez, Shane Roth and Tim McGuire. Since it was a scramble golf tournament, there was also a team skins game which nobody won, and will carry over to our next Golf with a Hero tournament on October 5 at the Country Club of Rancho Bernardo. continue

By Teddy Rosztocky, AA Equipment.

Well, July in San Diego saw warm temperatures, humidity, basically all the elements that make a superintendent’s job of growing and maintaining greens real fun and exciting.  The fight for water rages on with restrictions in effect, rates increasing, variances being rejected and no rain in site.  Play around town seemed to be steady in June, but with the warmer temperatures in July, people have shied away from the heat and rounds have dropped slightly.  Hopefully temperatures will cool off and El Nino will return with some much needed rain.  Around town, a few projects are either in the works or have just been completed.

Earlier in July, Mike Greninger at the Titleist Performance Institute completed a two week turf reduction project in an effort to reduce water costs.  Mike removed 8 acres of turf from the perimeter of his facility and replaced it with decomposed granite.  In addition, Mike replaced all his water dependent blue rye grass areas with Bermuda grass.  Foremost Construction performed all the work installing the DG and Am-Sod provided the Bermuda sod.  Mike forecasts that in the next few years the water savings will offset the construction costs to do the project. continue