Well the Dog Days of Summer are upon us. I trust that everyone has enjoyed how mild the weather has been except those that might be hoping to germinate some new seed or have had a slow transition out of spring. Don’t fret because I am sure that the heat will come soon enough. It seems that Mother Nature is playing with us and everything is behind by a month in accordance to the norm.

The Board of Directors has put together some great events in the upcoming months which I think many of you will not want to miss. Brendon Reaksecker, our esteemed Past President, has organized the 2Nd Annual Past Presidents Cup to be held at Bonita Golf Club on Friday, August 27th at 7:00 pm. I would like to invite anyone and everyone to come out to this social event for some live music and gathering to reminisce. On a second note, Brendon has been working with Brad Monroe at Cuyamaca College to enhance their Turf Management Class, and has developed a Mentorship Program for the upcoming year. For more information on this program we have outlined it in the Quarterly Update and will post it on the Website. continue

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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Purpose
The purpose of this program is to encourage local turfgrass students to pursue a career in golf course management by introducing them to established turf professionals that will openly share their knowledge, information and experience in the industry.

Scope of Program
The scope of the program consists of matching an established turf/landscape professional with a student from the Cuyumaca College Ornamental Horticulture Turf Management Class (174). The student/mentor pairing will be expected to complete the following components of the program. continue

Download the latest SDGCSA quarterly update. This PDF shows the latest news and events for upcoming SDGCSA activities.

Hello All,

For those who have not heard, we lost a true artist and craftsman over the week end as Ken passed on to the next step of life’s journey on Saturday. He was 67 years young. He graduated from Hoover in San Diego with the class of 1960.

He was a former San Diego Police Officer and had retired eight years ago from San Diego Country Estates where he was the Golf Course Superintendent. He had lived near Santa Ysabel with his wife Cathy for the last nineteen years in a home that his dad and friends had started out building as a simple family retreat back in the 1960s. Over the years Ken had transformed it, along with the efforts of his wife Cathy, into a very comfortable home for full time living.

Ken had fought a courageous battle with squamous cell lung cancer for almost two years. He passed with family and friends at his side, all praying for a peaceful transition, which he was granted.

Ken was a founding member of the Piston Pounders Car Club in 1959 and had attended recent reunions and local automotive events and shows, with his wife Cathy, often driving their black 1965 Falcon Coupe, in which he had recently installed a 5 speed transmission and had a whole bunch of louvers punched in the hood. That car has been in his family since it was new. He was a member of the old San Diego Timing Association (SDTA) in the 1950s and 60s and was a participant in local meets over years past. He was also instrumental in the opening and operation of San Diego Raceway at Ramona where he raced a 1963 Dodge and a Hemi powered Model A Coupe.

His most recent passion was garden railroading. He became interested about 9 years ago and proceeded to design and hand build a layout so impressive that it was featured in several publications including a German Magazine where they did a full color layout of his garden railroad and his hand created, built to scale, buildings, bridges, streams, lakes, loading platforms and other miniature scenery items. (Many of the higher end locomotives are built in Germany.) The layout consists of over 1/4 mile of track which he hand laid using miniature ties and spikes. He was an active member of the San Diego Garden Railroad Society and served as a club officer until recently.

Ken had many passions over his lifetime and enjoyed them all. He fished Pro Bass Tournaments for over 20 years and won or placed in many.

Not the least of his passions were his children, grandchildren and the love of family and friends. He cherished them all.

He was always ready with a helping and qualified hand to assist in whatever you were doing. For all who knew him, he will truly be missed.

A Celebration of Ken’s Life is planned for 11:00 am, July 31, 2010 at:
First Congregational Church of Ramona
404 8th at D St
Ramona, CA.

And away we go! I hope everyone is enjoying this mild summer so far and I hope it continues. We have scheduled a Social outing for all members of the Association to take place on July 28th at the Del Mar Race Track. I hope everyone can take a moment to appreciate all they have and come out for an enjoyable day at the races. We all tend to get caught up in that grind of everyday work and this is a chance to put all that aside and just get away with your friends and peers. I would also encourage everyone to bring your family, coworkers, friends and anyone else you deem worthy.

Many thanks go out to Brian Darrock and the folks at Fairbanks Ranch Country Club. The Annual Invitational there on June 14th was fantastic and a great day was had by all. I personally enjoyed seeing those of you that I don’t get a chance to visit with regularly and take a moment to catch up, mainly because my golf game gives me no personal satisfaction. The course was great, the food was exceptional, and the weather made me wonder why I ever left the area. continue

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