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2022 GCSAA Conference and Trade Show was worth the wait

By |  March 17, 2022 0 Comments

The last in-person Golf Industry Show was in February of 2020. So much has changed since then, including the name of the conference itself.

Last month — a span of a full two years between shows — brought back the annual GCSAA Conference and Show, returning to its former name. While attendance was down and the trade show was smaller, attendees, both exhibitors and superintendents, seemed to be unanimous in the opinion that the show was a success.

“I was a little apprehensive about attending for a number of reasons, but I’m glad I attended in person, versus last year’s ‘Internet Covid Conference,’” said John Harvey, ASGCA, president of John Harvey Golf Course Design and a cart path and bunker liner consultant. “Even though the trade show may have been relatively light on attendance, I feel the quality of networking and ensuing discussions were quite valuable to us. Builders, architects, supers, owners and management companies made an effort to stop by our booth and learn about Porous Pave and Sand Guard applications for their projects. It was great to reconnect with people and establish new lines of communication with potential clients. I give the week a 9 out of 10.”

“From an exhibitor standpoint, it was fantastic,” said Tony Kalina, Kalina Turf Consulting. “People were able to share time with us, it was relaxed. It wasn’t rush-rush, with three or four guys lining up saying, ‘hey, I’ve got three other stops to make.’ I love the low (attendance) number. I know no one wants to hear that, but we’re in the personal touch business. This show was incredible.”

Realizing this was a lowly-attended show, Golfdom is making an effort to bring this show to our readers. Along with this report on some highlights we saw at the show, we took a camera crew around the trade show floor and interviewed more than a dozen companies about what they were showing off at the San Diego show.

Attendees scope out the 185 E-Cut Electric Walk Greens Mowers at the John Deere booth. (Golfdom Staff)

Attendees scope out the 185 E-Cut Electric Walk Greens Mowers at the John Deere booth. (Golfdom Staff)

Heavy metal

Any golf trade show report should start with what we saw at the three major iron manufacturers, right?

At the John Deere booth, we met with Brad Aldridge, product manager, reels and rotary mowers. He showed us the 185 and 225 E-Cut Electric Walk Greens Mowers. Before you get too excited, note that these won’t be available until mid-to-late 2023.

They’re 48-volt lithium-ion battery-powered mowers that put out zero emissions at lower sound levels. And there are no hydraulic fluids on your greens.

“We’re estimating 50,000 square feet on a single charge. Your charge time from zero to 100 is going to be in the 5- to 6-hour range. Most people aren’t going to run it down to zero,” Aldridge said. “If you run it down to 20 percent and want to get it back to 90 percent, it’s an hour or two, a quick charge. The biggest charge time is from 90 to 100 percent — that will be about two or three hours.”

Another new feature on the mowers is adjustable height, with four inches of adjustment range. The mower features the same display from the 2700s and 2750s, so the operator can control mow speed, transport speed, frequency of clip, and there is also a clean-up pass mode.

At the Jacobsen booth, we spoke with Simon Rainger, vice president of turf for Jacobsen. He said that since Jacobsen has undergone a factory consolidation and a factory move since the last in-person show, they wanted to have a big presence to show customers that they are still a strong player in the industry.

The Eclipse 360 ELiTE was getting a lot of attention. Powered by a Samsung SDI lithium-ion battery system, the mower provides a high-quality cut with zero emissions, less maintenance, less noise and greater energy efficiency than other models. Rainger told me that the mower is so quiet that when they were doing a recent video shoot, the sound of the overhead drone shooting the video was audible, but the mower was not.

“This mower has been at Bay Hill for a while now, and it’s delivering on performance,” Rainger said. “People who haven’t considered electric, maybe they have preconceived notions, once they use this mower, they realize it’s the superior machine.”

At the Toro booth, we saw the new ProCore 648S was catching a lot of looks.

The guys from Toro told me they were careful not to mess up a piece of equipment that is so beloved in the industry. The new ProCore has 10 new patented improvements, including a “delayed drop” function where you can time precisely when/where you want the tines to go to work. Other improvements include a new information center on the handle that goes so far as to calculate how many cores you just pulled and how much sand you’ll need to fill those cores; and a tighter turnaround by bypassing three-wheel drive.

“Even if only 10 people showed up at this conference, we wanted to come to San Diego and be well represented,” said Simon Rainger, vice president of turf for Jacobsen. Pictured are (left to right) Matt Zaremba, director of strategy for E-Z-GO and Cushman at Textron Specialized Vehicles; Bill Roddy, group publisher, Golfdom; Seth Jones, editorin- chief, Golfdom; Rainger; Craig MacGregor, publisher, Golfdom; Gunnar Kleveland, president and CEO, Textron Specialized Vehicles, Inc.; Danielle Comstock, sustainability manager; Kevin Stoltman, president and CEO of North Coast Media; and John Collins, vice president and general manager, E-Z-GO. (Photo: Golfdom Staff)

“Even if only 10 people showed up at this conference, we wanted to come to San Diego
and be well represented,” said Simon Rainger, vice president of turf for Jacobsen. Pictured are (left to right) Matt Zaremba, director of strategy for E-Z-GO and Cushman at Textron Specialized Vehicles; Bill Roddy, group publisher, Golfdom; Seth Jones, editor-in-chief, Golfdom; Rainger; Craig MacGregor, publisher, Golfdom; Gunnar Kleveland, president and CEO, Textron Specialized Vehicles, Inc.; Danielle Comstock, sustainability manager; Kevin Stoltman, president and CEO of North Coast Media; and John Collins, vice president and general manager, E-Z-GO. (Photo: Golfdom Staff)

What’s next for Bayer?

The Bayer booth is always a place of high energy and high activity. This year the booth was outfitted like the clubhouse billiards room, but we didn’t see anyone taking the time to rack ’em — too much catching up to do.

For example, what’s next for Bayer? Last year at this time, the company announced it would divest its Environmental Science Professional business, which includes the company’s golf portfolio. I spoke to Mark Schneid, head of corporate operations, Americas, for Bayer, to learn what’s coming.

“We’re excited. We have some incredible potential owners looking at us who share our vision for the future. They share the aspirations we have. And we’re staffing up, we’re going to be hiring another 200 people globally before day one, about 100 of them in the United States,” Schneid said. “We’re building up a complete company to run as a standalone with the goal of being a market leader that has the strength of a basic but the flexibility and agility of a midsize company.”

Schneid said he expects the announcement of the new owner to come at the end of the year. He said the company will look the same in terms of people and product, but it will have a new name.

“Yes, we are not bringing the Bayer name. We won’t have the Bayer name in the future,” Schneid said. “But you know the Bayer name is nothing more than the people, than the products. And all of that will be there. A lot of the brands we had before Bayer took over the ship. We believe we are going to hit the ground running with or without the Bayer name.”

(Left to right) David Doguet, John Marman and Ken Mangum, CGCS, show off Stadium Zoysia, a grass Doguet says could eliminate the need to overseed. (Photo: Golfdom Staff)

(Left to right) David Doguet, John Marman and Ken Mangum, CGCS, show off Stadium
Zoysia, a grass Doguet says, could eliminate the need to overseed. (Photo: Golfdom Staff)

No more overseed?

It was time to talk turf over at the West Coast Turf booth. David Doguet, founder of Bladerunner Farms, was with longtime superintendent Ken Mangum, CGCS, now a consultant for Bladerunner.

Stadium Zoysia was on display. Doguet says it’s more aggressive establishing and is low maintenance. But the big difference is it has the best color in the industry, he says, for a zoysia. But an even bigger talking point is in what it could mean for overseeding.

“We don’t think you have to overseed anymore with this grass,” Doguet said. “A lot of courses in southern California and some of the desert areas where they do all this overseeding, we think that’s a thing of the past. We’re saying, at least in our mind, why overseed? You have this grass in this quality and color, you don’t need to.”

“The cost of overseeding, the water, the fertility, the mowing … we’ve got courses expecting to save over a million dollars a year, in operating cost, just by changing the grass,” Mangum added. “That’s a big return on your investment there. Plus, zoysia is the best playing surface in golf year-round.”

The first course in the nation to try Stadium Zoysia is Spanish Oaks in Austin, Texas. They’ll have it on tees and fairways. Doguet believes more courses will be announced soon, particularly in California and Arizona.

“We’re seeing high-quality clubs convert from older grasses to better technology,” Mangum added. “They’ll be much more environmentally friendly.”

Doguet’s parting shot to me: Watch Zoysia for greens, that’s the next big deal.

Rees Jones, ASGCA (far right) presented the 2021 and 2020 Herb Graffis Businessperson of the Year awards to John Shaw and Rick Mooney (second and third from left.) (Photo: Golfdom Staff)

Rees Jones, ASGCA (far right) presented the 2021 and 2020 Herb Graffis Businessperson
of the Year awards to John Shaw and Rick Mooney (second and third from left.) (Photo: Golfdom Staff)

Good things in small packages

Off the beaten path, we saw the Spray Caddie Golf Cup Cover. Instantly I thought of how many times I’ve looked into the golf cup and seen that morning’s spray application looking back at me. I’m not a germaphobe — one look at my golf glove can attest to that — but it still sends me to looking for a place to wash my hands.

Developed by Rob Roberts, an assistant golf course superintendent and licensed spray tech in Washington State with more than 25 years of experience, Spray Caddie shields staff and golfers from touching chemicals and other liquid spray applications that could discolor the inside of the cup. It also prevents the accumulation of sand in the golf hole during topdressing. It also saves your back because the cover is magnetic and comes with a stick that places the cover directly over the cup. Visit SprayCaddie.com to see it in action.

Rob Roberts, inventor of Spray Caddie Golf Cup Cover, gives a demo to Curtis Schriever, superintendent, Terradyne CC, Andover, Kan. (Photo courtesy of Spray Caddie)

Rob Roberts, inventor of Spray Caddie Golf Cup Cover, gives a demo to Curtis Schriever, superintendent, Terradyne CC, Andover, Kan. (Photo courtesy of Spray Caddie)

My trade show time was about exhausted by then. I also fit in lots of other meetings, seminars and presentations, including presenting the last two Herb Graffis Businessperson of the Year awards to Rick Mooney and John Shaw. Rees Jones was kind enough to say a few words. And we also recognized Shawn Emerson as the newest member of the Legends Initiative and held a lively panel discussion with him, Matt Shaffer, Bob Farren and Ted Horton. Oh, and I shouldn’t forget moderating the second annual FMC Superintendent panel.

As the show wound down, I talked to two more superintendents to get their takes on the return of the GCSAA Conference and Show.

“What you put into it is what you get out of it. I feel like it’s up to the attendee as much as it’s up to the exhibitor or the class presenter,” David Soltvedt, CGCS, The Club at Cordillera, Edwards, Colo., said. “You can walk around the trade show floor like a zombie, or you can engage in conversations and build relationships. I like (the show), there are a few open gaps where there would have been more people. But the big players are here, and that’s who I deal with mostly.”

“I enjoyed it. It was good, it was great to be back,” said Steve Shand, The Cliffs at Walnut Cove, Asheville, N.C., who I caught as he was walking by the Golfdom booth in the final minutes of the show. “It was light (attendance), but considering what we thought it was going to be, I think the traffic actually seemed to be a little better than what I expected.”

About the Author: Seth Jones

Seth Jones, a 18-year veteran of the golf industry media, is Editor-in-Chief of Golfdom magazine and Athletic Turf. A graduate of the University of Kansas School of Journalism and Mass Communications, Jones began working for Golf Course Management in 1999 as an intern. In his professional career he has won numerous awards, including a Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association (TOCA) first place general feature writing award for his profile of World Golf Hall of Famer Greg Norman and a TOCA first place photography award for his work covering the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In his career, Jones has accumulated an impressive list of interviews, including such names as George H.W. Bush, Samuel L. Jackson, Lance Armstrong and Charles Barkley. Jones has also done in-depth interviews with such golfing luminaries as Norman, Gary Player, Nick Price and Lorena Ochoa, to name only a few. Jones is a member of both the Golf Writers Association of America and the Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association. Jones can be reached at sjones@northcoastmedia.net.


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