New Assistant Superintendent Joins GCM Team

The golf course maintenance department is excited to welcome our new Assistant Superintendent, Dane Alexander, to our staff.

Dane comes to us from the Nicklaus Course at Colleton River Plantation in Bluffton, SC where he was a 2nd Assistant. While obtaining his Bachelor's Degree in Agronomy from Purdue University he interned at Colleton River and The Ford Plantation. During his internship at The Ford Plantation, Dane was awarded The Pete Dye Scholarship.

We are extremely excited to have Dane join the Golf Course Maintenance Team. If you see Dane on the course please introduce yourself to him and welcome him to The Ford Plantation.

Golf Course Restoration Mobilization and Ground Breaking Event

MacCurrach Golf Construction has begun mobilizing for the golf course restoration project. The initial process will take several weeks, as a variety of heavy machinery will begin to appear at Ford. Two staging areas will be used to accomplish the initial phase of mobilization: the back of the practice facility (which will remain open to Members through September 29) and the Golf Course Maintenance building area.

The following policy will apply to all Members, guests, and pets beginning at the close of business on Sunday, September 29, 2013. For the duration of the course construction, the entire golf course property, including cart paths, lakes, and practice facilities, is deemed to be a construction site. All members, guests, and pets are not authorized to enter the construction site from the close of business on September 29, 2013 through the end of the project. Only construction crews and properly credentialed staff will be allowed on the golf course property. For the safety of all involved, violations of this policy must be strictly enforced and may be subject to penalties. Members are requested to discuss this policy with all family members and guests.

We apologize in advance for any inconveniences and thank you for your cooperation with this important and necessary policy.

TFP Ground Breaking event took place on September 29th, 2013

The front Clubhouse lawn was the site of the celebration picnic.

TFP Board of Directors and General Manager Nick Cassala (far right) at the Ground breaking.

Left to right: CW Canfield (Director of Golf Operations), Dr. Bill Thompson, Restoration Committee Chairman and Green Committee Chairman (center) and Nelson Caron (Director of Golf Course Maintenance).

Over 70 members joined in for the ground breaking event and picnic.

Brooks Riddle New Senior Assistant at Yeamans Hall Golf Club

Brooks Riddle is now the Senior Assistant Superintendent at Yeamans Hall Golf Club. Brooks was an integral part of our golf course maintenance department and we were sad to see him go. We know that Brooks will be a great asset to Yeamans Hall as their lead assistant.

His wife, Emily Riddle, will be joining the Hollings Cancer Center at MUSC as an Oncology Case Manager. 

We will miss Brooks and his family, but are excited for this new opportunity.



Brooks Riddle standing on one of Seth Raynor's gems.

Here are a few pictures of Seth Raynor's, Yeamans Hall.

 

 

Golf Maintenance Celebrates the Holidays With a Feast

On Friday December 21, 2012 the Golf Course Maintenance Crew celebrated the Holidays with a grand feast of Turkey (provided by Bulloch Fertilizer Co.) corn, green beans, gravy, baked potatoes and a dessert cake. It was a great time for the staff and managers to relax, have fun and eat some good food. Nick Cassala, General Manager at The Ford, even stopped by to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and hand out Christmas Bonuses to the staff.

Alan Bussey, Equipment Manager, carves the turkey provided by Bulloch Fertilizer.

Nelson Caron serves up the side dishes as Mr. Nick Cassala, General Manager, looks on.

Golf Maintenance staff eagerly waiting in line for to get a piece of that Turkey. Good Job Alan!

Not much talking going on as everyone is enjoying the great meal.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

 From the Ford Plantation Golf Course Maintenance Staff:

Levi, Armin, Bersain, Mateo, Darinel, Jason, Eliezar, Jose, Angel, Pedro, Zach, Sean, Brian, Greg, Brandon, Jared, Brooks, Matt, Alan, John and Nelson

 

Assistant Experiences a Special Ryder Cup

Ford Plantation Assistant Matt Sumpter, volunteered for the Ryder Cup at Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois. His jobs ranged from final greens set up (Figure 1) to mowing bunker banks (Figure 2). The jobs at Medinah allowed all the volunteers to experience various aspects that go into preparing for a major golf tournament.





Figure 1. Matt Sumpter standing on the 15th green after final inspection at the Ryder Cup.

Figure 2. Matt is putting the final touches on green side bunkers.

Matt, a former intern from 2010, had special ties to the course. Having spent a summer helping grow in the renovated fairways and greens, the tournament was especially exciting. "To go back, see how the golf course has come together over the years since the renovation and hosting The Ryder Cup was special." says Sumpter. For Matt, the experience was topped off by the opportunity to get to work side by side with past classmates, former supervisors, and industry professionals from all over the world.

 

Matt’s Ryder Cup experience is highlighted with other Purdue Alumni in the article by Purdue Connections.

Ford Assistants Volunteer at The Wyndham Championship

Assistants Jared Nemitz and Brooks Riddle volunteered for the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina (Figure 1).   Their primary job for the week was taking moisture meter data to maintain consistent moisture in the greens (Figure 2).  This was an integral part of challenging the best players in the world with firm, fast and consistent playing surfaces.

Figure 1. View of #16 green and grandstands from #15 green.

Figure 2. Brooks Riddle taking moisture meter readings on a green at The Wyndham Championship.

 

Working with the staff at Sedgefield, other industry professionals and directly with the PGA Tour Competition Agronomist was a great experience. Furthermore, Jared and Brooks felt the most valuable part of the week was getting to observe firsthand the different management practices performed at a PGA Tour Event.

2012 Summer Interns

Brendan Davis and Steven Tyler were selected for the three month internship at The Ford Plantation and the Pete Dye Scholarship. Brendan is a sophomore from PurdueUniversity and Steven is a junior from the University of Georgia.

For the last three years, The Ford Plantation Golf Maintenance Department has been operating The Pete Dye Agronomic Scholarship program. This is a developmental internship program for young professionals with a passion for golf course maintenance. 

 This program has been met with enthusiastic support from the members of our club and universities.  Dr. Bill Thompson, Green Committee Chair, has graciously allowed interns to stay in his guest house, free of rent, during their three month internship. 

“The financial support we get for this program from our members is astounding. Without their help this program would not exist.” says Director of Golf Course Maintenance Nelson Caron.

Interns take part in all facets of golf course maintenance from daily course preparation (Photo 1) to spending time in the equipment area learning how mowers and equipment are set up (Photo 2). Along with learning the green side of our industry they also see what goes into managing the business side of our department (Photo 3). However, the capstone of the internship program is when each intern will get the opportunity to run the golf maintenance crew at the end of the summer.
 



Picture 1. Interns that come to the Ford Plantation are trained on a variety of equipment while they are here.



Picture 2. Interns take a hands on approach sharpening reels with Alan Bussey, the Head Equipment Manager.

Picture 3. Along with learning how to grow grass and operate equipment, they also learn what it takes to run the business side of golf course maintenance. 

If you would like to make a tax deductible donation to the scholarship fund please contact CW Canfield (cwcanfield@fordplantation.com) or Nelson Caron (ncaron@fordplantation.com).

During the week of September 22^nd through the 25^th, two of our assistants, Jared Nemitz and Brooks Riddle, volunteered for the PGA Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia.  Some of their tasks included mowing greens, cutting cups, and raking bunkers.  While working along side other industry professionals was a great experience, Jared and Brooks felt the most valuable part of the week was witnessing different management practices used to achieve championship caliber ultradwarf putting greens.

Two Golf Maintenance Staff to Leave for U.S. Army

Two of our golf maintenance staff, Casey Hill and Lee Quinn, have enlisted into the U.S. Military and will be leaving our department in September.

Casey enlisted under a 3 year contract for active duty. He will be going through basic training at Fort Benning, GA on October 11th. Basic training will last 22 weeks which will include training as a systems maintainer on the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The Bradley Fighting vehicle is an infantry support vehicle that has been in service since the 1960’s.

Casey Hill has been with us for just over a year.

Lee will be leaving for Ft. Sill, Oklahoma for basic training in early October. He has enlisted to be a Cannon Crewmember and will hold the rank of E-3. He hopes over time to deal with transportation and logistics, preferably by air, and end his military career as an officer in the United States Navy.



Lee Quinn has been with us for 6 months.

 We as a staff are incredibly proud of these individuals and hope for nothing but the best in their endeavors.

Brooks Gets Engaged!

We are happy to announce that last month Assistant Superintendent Brooks Riddle got engaged to Ms. Emily Merideth of Knoxville, TN.  The two met in Chattanooga, TN while Brooks worked at The Honors Course and have been dating for two years.  They will be married in February of 2012 in Knoxville, TN.  Please be sure to congratulate Brooks when you see him around the golf course!   

Emily and Brooks

Purdue Pathologists Stops By Ford!

Dr. Rick Latin, professor at Purdue University and author of the newly released book "A Practical Guide to Turfgrass Fungicides" visited the Ford Plantation on Wednesday. He took time from his busy book tour to meet with Jared Nemitz for a course tour and an afternoon of golf. Dr. Latin and Jared discussed various topics ranging from disease pressure at the Ford to chemical application techniques. It is always helpful to have industry professionals and professors visit to discuss various turfgrass issues that are dealt with at the Ford daily basis.

Richard Latin, Ph.D. Purdue University, at the GCSAA Show signing his newly released book, “A Practical Guide to Turfgrass Fungicides".

Turf Team Attends GCSAA Show in Orlando, FL

Last week our turf management team attended the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America Industry Show (GIS) in Orlando, Florida. Nelson, Jared, and Brooks participated in a wide variety of continuing education classes where they learned the latest research and management practices being used in the industry. 

The GCSAA Show offers many seminars ranging from turfgrass related educaion to professional development.

Along with taking multiple seminars, Nelson teamed with Dr. Eric Ervin from Virginia Tech and Troy Fink from the Country Club of Virginia to teach a one day seminar on organic matter control on putting greens. Leading this seminar was a great experience for Nelson and the three were honored by being asked to present their seminar twice at next years show.

Jared took a variety of seminars as well, but the highlight of his week was teaching a seminar on networking for assistant superintendents. This was Jared’s first time teaching a seminar at the GIS show and he has been asked to present this seminar again to superintendents in a webcast next month.

Brooks felt the most interesting part of the show was the trade show where he learned of the newest pesticides, equipment, and fertilizers among other things. Coupled with taking several educational seminars, he felt like it was a great GIS show.

Researching the newest equipment and advances in technology on the trade show floor is one of the highlights of the show.

Assistant Matt Sumpter participated with his alma-mater Purdue in the collegiate turf bowl competition. This is a four hour examination which test participants in comprehensive golf course management including, but not limited to; turfgrass ID and management, pest identification, business, and mechanical knowledge. We are happy to announce out of 85 teams, Matt’s team finished second.



Matt helped Purdue place 2nd at the 19th Annual Collegiate Turf Bowl Competition.



Research Project Highlighted in USGA Record

One of Jared Nemitz's research projects he worked on while attending Purdue University was recently featured by the United States Golf Association in the Green Section Record and USGA WebInsider.

Jared researched ball mark repair technologies and proper ball mark repair techniques with Dr. Cale Bigelow and USGA Agronomist Adam Moeller. Their findings were published in the Scientific Journal Applied Turfgrass Science and are featured in this short webinar by Adam Moeller.

USGA Green Section Record

Webinar:
Ball Marks on Putting Greens: Firmness and Repair Techniques are Crucial

Journal Article:
Surface Firmness and Repair Tool Affect Golf Ball Mark Recovery

Superintendent and Assistant Invited to Speak at the GCSAA Show in Orlando, FL!

Nelson Caron and Jared Nemitz have been invited to speak at the Golf Course Superintendent's Association of America Golf Industry Show in Orlando, FL next week.

Nelson will be speaking in the seminar "Greens Aerification and Water Management by the Numbers" with Dr. Erik Ervin from Virginia Tech and Troy Fink from the Country Club of Virgina. Nelson will be discussing how to optimize the health and playing performance of putting greens through sound aerification, topdressing, verticutting and hand-watering techniques.

Jared will be giving a talk aimed at current students and assistant superintendents on the importance of building relationships and networking in the golf course industry. His presentation is titled, "Networking Your Way to the Top: The Importance of Building Relationships".

Although Nelson and Jared have spoken at various conferences at seminars this will be the first time they have spoken at the Golf Industry Show. They are extremely excited about this great opportunity.

GIS SHOW WEB LINK

Golf Maintenance Welcomes Three New Staff Members!

   The golf course maintenance department is excited to welcome three new members to our staff; Equipment Manager, Alan Bussey; Assistant Superintendent, Brooks Riddle; and Assistant in Training, Matt Sumpter.

Alan comes to us from TPC Jasna Polana in Princeton, New Jersey where he was the Equipment Manager for four years. Prior to his time with the TPC network he was the Head Technician for the Golf Club of Georgia located in Alpharetta, Georgia. Alan holds a degree in Turf Equipment Management from Florida Gateway College, numerous manufacture training certificates and is a certified class “A” Golf Course Equipment Manager through the International Golf Course Equipment Managers Association. Alan brings not only his mechanical ability but also a wealth of knowledge to our staff including agronomic skills learned from being an assistant golf course superintendent for multiple years throughout north Florida.

In his free time Alan is an all around outdoors man, enjoying golf, both fresh and salt water fishing, hiking, and hunting; with annual trips around the country to support all four interest. Alan is accompanied by his wife of three years Sarah, a teacher of the blind and visually impaired, and their two “children” Sidni- an English Springer Spaniel, and Crash- a Collie mix.

Brooks comes to us from The Honors Course in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he has spent the past three years as the Head Spray Technician. Like Nelson Caron, he earned a B.S. in Turfgrass Science from North Carolina State University and completed internships across the country at some of the most storied golf clubs in the nation. These include Old Chatham Golf Club in Durham, N.C., Westchester Country Club in Rye, New York, The Honors Course in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and the famed Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania.

Brooks is an avid golfer and reads many books on the history and game of golf. Brooks is enthusiastic about the opportunity to work as an assistant superintendent and maintain the golf course at a high level while expanding his knowledge under the direction of Nelson Caron.

Matt is originally from Plymouth, Indiana and a recent December graduate from Purdue University with a B.S. in Turfgrass Science. Matt, has completed internships at some of the top clubs in the country such as Medinah Country Club in Chicago, IL, Victoria National Golf Club in Evansville, IN, Kinloch Golf Club in Richmond, VA, and Indiana National Golf Club in Plymouth, IN. Not only did he broaden his horizons completing internships and various work experiences Matt, also spent a semester studying abroad in Aberystwyth, Wales.


Along with golf, Matt, enjoys the outdoors and traveling across the country. Matt is excited to start his career with us and broaden his understanding of agronomics and business management.

We feel extremely fortunate to have Alan, Brooks and Matt join our staff, and are excited to see what the future holds for them and our department. When you see them on the golf course make sure you welcome them to the Ford Plantation.

The Pete Dye Internship Program to New Heights!

For the last two years, The Ford Plantation Golf Maintenance Department has been operating The Pete Dye Agronomic Scholarship program. This is a developmental internship program for young professionals with a passion for golf course maintenance. 

 

Figure 1-2. Interns take part in all facets of golf course maintenance including irrigation break repairs and chemical applications.

In December The Ford Plantation and the Savannah Community Foundation have teamed up to make the newly named Pete Dye Internship a 501(c)(3) tax deductible donation.  Professors from leading turfgrass universities (Georgia, Penn State, Purdue, Clemson, North Carolina State and Florida) will submit up to two nominees for the internship/scholarship program.  Nelson Caron and CW Canfield will submit these names to the Pete Dye Scholarship Committee comprised of Mike Killian, Steve Rabinowitz and Dr. Bill Thompson.  Selected golf course interns will receive a scholarship to be used for educational expenses.  Along with this scholarship they will also receive an hourly wage for the duration of the 3 month internship. Free housing, competitive wages and scholarship makes the Pete Dye Internship one of the most sought after internships in the country.

This program has been met with enthusiastic support from the members of our club and universities.  Dr. Bill Thompson, Green Committee Chair, has graciously allowed interns to stay in his guest house, free of rent, during the summer months.  “The financial support we get for this program from our members is astounding. Without their help this program would not exist.” says Director of Golf Course Maintenance Nelson Caron.

In 2009 we accepted two interns from Purdue, Brent Seyer and David Cooper.  Brent graduated from Purdue in January 10’ and is now working full-time at Augusta National Golf Club.  David Cooper will be graduating this fall and intends to join Valhalla Golf Club in KY full-time. This past summer we had two more interns from Purdue University, Dane Alexander and Kurt Hockemeyer. Dane will be interning at another golf club this upcoming summer.  Kurt is considering pursuing a Masters Degree from Purdue University when he graduates in spring.  The capstone of the internship program is when each intern gets to run the golf maintenance crew for 3-4 days at the end of the summer. David Cooper commented, “Running the crew for a week was the highlight of my summer. This is not something all interns get to do at other clubs.”

Figure 3.The highlight for most interns is managing the crew for 4 days at the end of the summer.

Figure 4. Last summer interns had an opportunity to spend a day with golf course architect Tim Liddy and engineer Ray Pittman.

The Pete Dye Internship Committee is currently accepting nominations for the upcoming 2011 summer.  If you would like to make a tax deductible donation to the scholarship fund please contact CW Canfield (cwcanfield@fordplantation.com) or Nelson Caron (ncaron@fordplantation.com).