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

Chapter 1: A Recap on Membership

Carey Sandland, Chapter Manager

Perhaps I will begin with some interesting stats from the SDGCSA events held in the second quarter of 2010. At my first event in April, 25 members attended the Affiliate Round Table luncheon held in Bonita. Six of these individuals were Board members. The cost for this meeting: $0. Of the 71 attendees at the Election meeting, we had 31 superintendent (or of a related class) members; 35 affiliate members and five guests. The cost for meeting and golf: $75/person. At the Spring Education meeting held in May, the attendance included 16 superintendent (or of a related class) members, five guests participating with a superintendent and five affiliates. The cost for this meeting, which included DPR 3hrs Law and Regs; 2hrs Other and .45 CEU GCSAA: $30/person. We had 116 players at the Annual Invitational in June. Cost: $165/person.

Moral of the story: what drives attendance?

With my first adventure in dues renewal processing complete, the SDGCSA membership is now close to 130 superintendent (or of a related class) members and just shy of 70 affiliate members. We have approximately 40 additional retired, lifetime and honorary members. It is worth mentioning that this year our San Diego chapter fortunately experienced only a minor drop in membership retention. Members who chose not to renew were generally as a result of a job loss or based upon the current economic conditions. We hope we can bring these members back to the Association at some point in the near future. continue

I never thought this day would come, but it has and I am extremely happy. My longtime friend and someone I have always admired, Gary Dalton is retiring from San Diego Country Club. Since the first day he arrived in San Diego from Illinois he has been a leader in the golf course industry. He has always been an innovator, trend setter, and someone who never settled for what was available. He created the tools necessary to have the best product. My father and Gary were the best of friends; he constantly challenged my father and would pull out his calculator to let my father know the cost per unit of a product was too high. Gary’s first superintendent job was at Stardust Country Club (Riverwalk GC) in 1975, this course regularly flooded, the sodium levels were extremely high, and the amount of traffic from play was significant. Gary handled every challenge and created a strong golf course with excellent greens. His reputation started to grow as one of the top superintendents in the country. In 1989 he accepted the job at San Diego Country Club where his reputation grew even greater. This golf course has terrible water; they tried a reverse osmosis system for three greens at one point. The soil is a heavy clay silt and the roughs had very thin turf coverage, with all of these and many more problems Gary worked SDCC into one of the premier golf course in Southern California. continue

SDGCSA Invitational Results

Fairbanks Ranch Country Club: June 14, 2010

Closest to the Pin

• Lakes #3: Dave Kovack 9’7”
• Lakes #7: Tyson Magginni 8’10”
• Valley #6: Steve Wilson 19’
• Valley #8: Brian Sandland 5’8”

Longest Drive: Lakes #6: Dan Russell (Pro’s)

Straightest Drive: Valley #3: Patrick Holden (All except pro’s)

2 Better Ball Gross (140) Kevin Kienast, Rick Ransburg, Renny Brown, John Ashworth

2 Better Ball Net (130) Ben Koehler, Grant Wingate, Steve Wightman, Neb Keeton

Better Ball Superintendent & Pro (67) Paul Zaremba, Ed Espinoza

Low Gross Superintendent (76) John Harkness

Low Gross Professional (75) Renny Brown

Low Affiliate Gross (83) Dave Kovack

Dear GCSAA members,

The purpose of this communication is to inform you of a leadership change at GCSAA.

Mark Woodward, CGCS, has resigned from his post as GCSAA chief executive officer to pursue other career interests, effective immediately. Mark has done a solid job managing the organization during one of the worst economic climates in our country’s history. His leadership also served to position GCSAA prominently for its research, programs and education regarding golf’s relationship with the environment. We wish him success in his future endeavors. continue

Check out all the photos from the Invitational!

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