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Turfgrasss Management in the Pacific Northwest • December 2008 • Issue 2 |
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IN THIS ISSUE 62nd NTA Conference Dr. Roy Goss Helps WSU WSU and Palouse Ridge GC: Meet Linda Whitworth Giving the Washington State
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If you are unable to view the content, please follow this link. 62nd NTA Conference Suncadia proved to be a great venue for the 62nd Annual NTA Conference! Participants were treated to some amazing golf on Tumble Creek and the Prospector Golf Course. (click here for a pdf of golf tournament results and here for conference photos). The following are links to info covered in the educational sessions: A New Rhizoctonia Disease of Bluegrass Putting Greens Best Management Practices for Anthracnose on Annual Bluegrass Turf Turfgrass Fungicide List provided A special thanks to the Platinum Level Sponsors of the conference: Envirologic Resources Dr. Roy Goss Helps WSU Students to Attend the Turfgrass students are the future of our industry, a fact that has always been recognized and promoted by Dr. Roy Goss. Established in 1985, the Roy L. Goss Turfgrass Endowment at WSU provides funding for students to attend turfgrass-related educational opportunities. This year, the endowment helped 7 undergraduate and 2 graduate turfgrass students to attend the NTA Conference at Suncadia Resort. The students were able to attend educational sessions and network with potential employers, as well as play on two spectacular golf courses. Opportunities such as this for students are rare, as is the generosity demonstrated by Dr. Goss. For this generosity and his commitment to the turfgrass industry, the WSU Turfgrass Management Program would like to give you a big thank you to Dr. Goss. WSU and Palouse Ridge Golf Course—An Unbeatable Connection
Meet Linda Whitworth—New Executive Director, OGCSA
I am very involved with committee work at Royal Oaks Country Club where I’ve been a member since 1987. I spent 4 years on the Ladies’ Board at ROCC, serving as President in 2003. I also served for 1-1/2 years on the Long Range Planning Committee during which time we were able to get our current remodel project approved by the membership. I have been a member of the Green Committee at Royal Oaks for the past three years and am serving as Chair of that committee this year. After volunteering to help with the OGCSA Foundation Tournament this past summer I realized how important this organization and its members are to me. I applied for the position of Executive Director and during the interview process described this as my “dream job.” I am very happy to be working with the OGCSA and look forward to increasing membership as well as member involvement in all of their events. This is a challenging time for the golf industry, and I am excited to be a part of it. Giving the Washington State Golf Association Its Just Dues Paul Backman, Executive Director, Northwest Turfgrass Association and the Western Washington Golf Course Superintendents Association Some might think of the Washington State Golf Association (WSGA) as simply an association for golfers, but it is actually much more than that. It is natural for golfers to wonder, “What does the WSGA do for me?” However, I think a better question is, “What does the WSGA do for golf?” Most of us are aware of the primary services that the WSGA provides to its membership through annual dues:
The WSGA certainly does provide these services to its 80,000 members, and it does excellent work in that capacity. Yet there are other less well-known, but equally important, benefits that the WSGA provides to its members – and it is these benefits that I would like to share with you. Click hear to read more about what the WSGA does for the golf industry: |
Palouse Ridge GC at WSU is much more than a golf club. Palouse Ridge also serves as a real world research and teaching laboratory for the WSU Turfgrass Management program. In collaboration with Todd Lupkes, CGCS and Mike Bednar, Assistant Superintendent, WSU turfgrass researchers have conducted 6 research projects since construction began in 2007, with more projects planned for the future. This collaboration will undoubtedly provide answers to turf related problems, helping better our industry, both regionally and nationally. In addition, Lupkes and Bednar also educate turfgrass students through internships by giving them valuable real world experience in golf course maintenance and management. 
I have a long history with golf and the OGCSA. It has been a part of my life for nearly 25 years. I saw the organization from the supplier side as an “employee” of Norm Whitworth Turf Products for over 15 years. OGCSA meetings, tournaments and other events were an important part of that time. I also worked in the wholesale Lawn & Garden business for over 25 years with Excel Garden Products, where I held various positions including customer service, office manager, sales support manager and buyer.