Attention-grabbing highlights from GIS

Cark Throssell

What caught your attention at the recent Golf Industry Show in San Diego? I hope you were able to attend the GIS and take advantage of the education offerings, trade show, networking and the city of San Diego. My time was spent on the trade show floor, networking and exploring a little of San Diego before the trade show started. Here is what caught my attention.

The products and services on the trade show floor are a sight to behold. I am amazed by the wide variety of products for sale, and they remind me of the diverse skills that superintendents must possess in order to get their jobs done. However, many tasks that are a superintendent’s responsibility are not represented at the trade show, tasks like carpentry, electrical work, plumbing, swimming pool maintenance and many others.

I was struck by what seemed to be a large number of products targeting sand bunker maintenance, including a number of companies offering bunker liners for sale. All those things having to do with bunkers tell me that golf courses are spending a considerable amount of time and money maintaining sand bunkers.

If the golf industry is serious about reducing the cost of golf and the cost of maintaining golf courses, perhaps it needs to focus its attention on reducing the number of sand bunkers on golf courses. Sand bunkers are part of the history of golf and should be part of the future of golf. But it’s time to carefully evaluate how many bunkers are really needed on a golf course, as well as the size and shape of each bunker, with an eye to reducing maintenance costs.

As long as I’m discussing bunker maintenance, has anyone come up with a method to reduce the time spent edging bunkers? Time spent in this endeavor always seems to surface in conversation with superintendents as an expensive task that they would like to minimize. Share your ideas with me, and I’ll share them with Golfdom readers.

Irrigation products, too

Like sand bunker products, there was an array of irrigation-related products on display in San Diego. There’s no question that irrigation systems and all that it takes to keep them functioning are vital to the success of a golf course. But again, if the golf industry is serious about conserving water and reducing maintenance costs, it’s time to seriously evaluate how much irrigated turf is necessary on a golf course.

There is nothing like reducing the number of irrigation heads on a golf course to save money and conserve water. Admittedly, this is a difficult step and will take an adjustment by golfers and superintendents to learn to appreciate turf that is less than vibrant green. While cutting back on the amount of water we are applying to turf is helpful and a step in the right direction, major water savings and dollar savings will come by reducing the amount of irrigated turf.

Where are the students?

The university professors I talked to during the GIS all mentioned as a pressing problem the declining enrollment of students majoring in turf. Enrollment drives many aspects of a university, including the number of professors hired to teach and conduct research in a specific discipline like turfgrass science. There is a direct connection between the number of turf students and the number of turfgrass faculty members. If turf student enrollment remains low, it will be difficult as current turf faculty retire for universities to fill vacant turf positions with new faculty members.

On a more positive note, San Diego is a great place to hold the GIS. And in keeping with the theme of reducing expenses, has the time come to attend GIS every other year?