Rees Jones signature course part of 4,000-acre planned Hilton Head community.
Rees Jones signature course part of 4,000-acre planned Hilton Head community Mosaic Clubs & Resorts has been retained to manage Bear Creek Golf Club, an elite private club on Hilton Head Island, S.C., according to Mosaic chairman, Whitney Crouse.
Bear Creek is a Rees Jones signature course that weaves through a pristine lowcountry setting in Hilton Head Plantation, a 4,000-acre master planned community framed by the Intracoastal Waterway and Port Royal Sound. The 6,804-yard, par 72 course opened in 1980, then underwent a comprehensive renovation guided by Jones in 2006. Jones is renowned for both his original designs and renovation work, earning the moniker of the “Open Doctor” for prepping renowned U.S. Open courses such as Torrey Pines, Bethpage Black and Congressional Golf Clubs. Jones designed Bear Creek with close proximities between green complexes and tees, making the course easily walkable. He also set aside extensive natural areas to encourage wildlife diversity and proliferation, one of the criteria that earned the club Audubon certification. Bear Creek also participates in the Go Green initiative. “It is an honor for us to assist Bear Creek, a club that boasts a very active membership and great golf course,” says Crouse. “It will be particularly rewarding for us to be back on Hilton Head Island and have Mosaic serve as stewards of this great club, one that I loved to play when I lived on the island.” Crouse began his career in the golf business on Hilton Head Island, rising to the role of general manager at Wexford Plantation. Crouse subsequently moved to Atlanta, where he founded club management company Affiniti Golf Partners. Affiniti has since become Mosaic Clubs & Resorts. Mosaic will be responsible for managing all golf operations, membership, dining, accounting and marketing functions at Bear Creek. Club president, Dick Males, says, “We are pleased to welcome Mosaic to Bear Creek. Mosaic offers the expertise, support systems and experienced staff to manage the club, maintain the quality of our golf course, and enrich the Bear Creek experience for members and guests.”
Don’t worry about being the top trend. Use social media to tell your story.
Five years ago, John Kaminski, PhD, got interested in social media almost as a hobby. When he realized its potential for promoting Penn State University’s Golf Course Turf Grass Management Program, where Kaminski is an associate professor and director of the program, he was hooked. Since then, he has used his experience to help people in the golf industry learn how to leverage social media. Here, Kaminski shares social media insights specifically for course superintendents. Why should a golf course superintendent consider using Twitter? There are lots of ways to use it. It’s my news source. You can follow CNN, ESPN and any type of information you’re interested in. It’s the only spot to get the latest information. You’re 45 minutes ahead of any mainstream media. It’s just instant. For work-related information, I like it for the interaction between superintendents and people in the industry. You can throw out a question and get the answer in seconds, or get directed to the right place. You can also start conversations. I’ll go on, pose a question, and the conversation will last all day among a handful of superintendents who are discussing issues and problems. It helps me stay current with the industry. What are some practical ideas for a course superintendent to share information on social media? When there is a problem with the course, it takes a lot of time to sit down and explain it to a member. Maybe that member tells someone else, and by the time it gets to the tenth person, the story is totally different. When you weigh that against the time it takes to write a short blog post, it’s time well spent. The message comes straight from you. I think it’s useful for putting out fires and setting the record straight. Secondly, it’s a good self-promotion tool. Course superintendents are often reluctant to sell themselves. How many of you have taken care of a problem on the course by 7 a.m. before anyone saw it? How easy would it be to document your work by taking a photo and sharing it through Twitter? It’s important to share those stories with members, and let them see behind the scenes a little. You can also use social media to promote your crew. How does Twitter stack up against other social media tools? Twitter is probably my favorite resource, but it’s just one of many. If you really want to dive into social media to promote your club or organization, you’ll have a very limited audience if you only use one tool. Twitter is a good starting place, but you’ll need many, many outlets to be visible. What tips do you have for people who are just getting started with social media?
• Start small, and don’t feel like you have to be everywhere right away. Follow a few key people. Ultimately, you’ll be dragged into the conversation, and your involvement will expand from there. • Be professional. It’s easy to become a little too loose with social media at times. When it’s a personal account, you’re representing yourself. When it’s a company or course account, you’re representing your employers. Remember that everything you say is public. • Don’t be afraid to be personal. Share personal stories. That’s what gets people interested. If you only post things that relate to deals, sales and things your business offers, you’ll have a very small audience. • If you want people to pay attention, you must post images and videos. You can’t just write comments. There’s something like an 80 percent increase in clicks when you have media associated with your posts. • Know your purpose. A lot of times, people think they need to have 1,000 followers. They may wonder what their impact is if they only have 50 followers. But if you’re managing a Twitter account for a golf course, and those 50 people are key members at your club, you could be having a much larger impact than you think. • Try not to get hung up on the numbers. Constantly evaluate who you are following, and who is following you. Use social media the way you want to use it. If that means you want to follow less or more people, it’s not a big deal. How can superintendents use social media without wasting time? Find tools to help you integrate, schedule and automate. I use TweetDeck and Twitterfeed to automate and schedule posts. I usually tell people to link their Facebook page to their Twitter account. If you have a blog, use Twitterfeed to link it to your Twitter page. Develop a flow on your blog of one or two posts per week, or per month. Your Facebook page might have a post every couple of days, and it can link to Twitter, where you might be posting once or twice a day—maybe more. So your blog has the least amount of content, Facebook has more, and Twitter has a lot. Follow Kaminski @iTweetTurf on Twitter.
Use social media to connect with and learn from other superintendents.
Justin VanLanduit started a Twitter account three years ago, but he mostly sat on the sidelines, unsure of how to use it until 18 months ago. Lured by testimonies from other golf course superintendents who praised Twitter’s value, he decided to give it a shot. “I started slowly getting into the flow of doing it, and now it’s become part of my daily routine to post and read what’s there,” says VanLanduit, a course superintendent at Briarwood Country Club in Deerfield, Illinois. It didn’t take long for VanLanduit to learn the ropes. Earlier this year, he received an award from GCI for best use of Twitter. Many courses use Twitter to reach out to members, but VanLanduit says that’s only part of its benefit. Mainly, he considers it a tool for becoming a better superintendent. “The amount of information I’ve gathered from it is unreal,” VanLanduit says. “I think any superintendent who signs up would kind of shake their head and think, ‘Wow, I’ve been missing out, here.’” The daily demands of maintaining a course aren’t always conducive for attending seminars and reading trade journals, especially during busy seasons. VanLanduit says Twitter delivers information in such a convenient way that professional development is naturally integrated into his work life. He especially likes the way Twitter instigates professional collaboration and camaraderie. “The other day, we were tweeting back and forth about using fertilizer on the outside of the green, on the collars and cleanup passes,” he says. “I think that’s a pretty good idea to keep those areas from stressing out like they do.” In a world where information is abundant, VanLanduit says Twitter also helps him quickly find content that’s most relevant to his situation. “Many times I open and read an article just because somebody posted it on Twitter and said how great it was,” he says. Getting started with Twitter doesn’t require an elaborate plan, in VanLanduit’s view. There’s little risk to starting with an informal, seat-of-the-pants approach. Newcomers should start slow and meander their way around. To keep your feed from overflowing with useless information, he advises beginners not to add people who aren’t work-related. Search and follow other superintendents, course members, researchers, chemical manufacturers and equipment makers. “Set up an account, and don’t worry about tweeting anything at first,” he says. “Eventually, you’ll find out that it’s a pretty neat place to be,” VanLanduit says. Follow VanLanduit on Twitter @TurfTank.
New AquaFlow 4.0 provides more functionality.
Toro has announced an upgrade to its popular AquaFlow drip irrigation design software, AquaFlow 4.0. To improve user access and convenience, AquaFlow 4.0 can be used online. The new program format includes expandable panels that automatically adjust to multiple screen and font sizes, and allow instant visibility of design decision results by scrolling. "Our customers asked for web-based functionality, and we responded," said Inge Bisconer, technical marketing and sales manager for Toro Micro-Irrigation. "In addition, we added many other requested features that make the program more informative and powerful than ever before." For example, pull-down menus allow users to easily create new customers and projects, and easily select program features, such as Mainline Design, Custom Laterals and Pipes, Options, Common Formulas and Help. In addition, lateral quantity per block, number of laterals per block, submain and mainline irrigation travel time, and submain velocity vs. distance are now reported. "AquaFlow is used in over 120 countries worldwide, so the new feature of allowing custom submain and mainline pipe sizes will be very popular in regions with nonstandard equipment," Bisconer said. AquaFlow supports Toro's Aqua-Traxx and Aqua-Traxx PC premium drip tape, Neptune flat emitter dripline, as well as BlueLine Classic and BlueLine PC premium dripline laterals. In addition, multiple pipeline choices include Toro Oval Hose, Toro Layflat and PVC pipe. As in previous versions, multiple slopes can still be entered for laterals, submains and mainlines. Submains and mainlines may be telescoped with multiple pipe sizes. An important feature of AquaFlow is easy comparison between two lateral choices via both data and a visually friendly, color-coded Uniformity Map. "Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words, or numbers," Bisconer said. "Design strengths and weaknesses are instantly revealed in AquaFlow's Uniformity Map." AquaFlow designs can be saved, exported and imported or users can print or save to a pdf. Users can also select from the English or Spanish language, and standard or metric units. Offline usage will still be supported if the program is downloaded, and a comprehensive user manual is available in both English and Spanish. "We know that making the right choices in drip irrigation design can be challenging," Bisconer said. "We believe that AquaFlow will help designers make better decisions to optimize the investment in drip irrigation." To access or download AquaFlow and learn more about drip irrigation, visit driptips.toro.com.
Companies will collaborate on product development.
Profile Products and American Excelsior have announced an international sales and marketing partnership. The partnership provides Profile with a full line of erosion control and turf establishment blankets, and turf reinforcements mats while offering American Excelsior the opportunity to significantly expand its international reach through Profile’s established international distribution network. The companies will work together to meet the demands of projects throughout the world and will collaborate on new product development. The products supplied by American Excelsior will be marketed under Profile’s legacy Futerra brand. "Profile is proud to be associated with American Excelsior and its long history of excellence in the erosion control and turf establishment business," said John Schoch, CEO and President of Profile Products. "We believe that partnering with American Excelsior is a major win for our customers, the industry and both of our companies. Profile operates throughout the world to provide environmental solutions for civil projects of all magnitudes. Our technical sales team is asked to provide solutions under every condition imaginable and with American Excelsior, we can now offer a broader range of options." Terry Sadowski, CEO and President of American Excelsior, agreed with Schoch, saying, "We have been evaluating the international market for several years and Profile is a perfect partner for us. Profile has an extensive network of distributors and technical sales people that offer an ideal channel for us to enter the international arena on a large scale. Profile has earned an excellent reputation throughout international markets and we are proud to partner with them."