2016 Golf Industry Show

Last week I attended the Golf Industry Show in San Diego.  The GIS is an annual conference and trade show that brings together golf course superintendents, owners, architects, and suppliers from all over the world. The conference features several days of educational seminars followed by the annual trade show.   The following is a brief synopsis of my week at the conference.

Seminar - Enhanced Weed Management for Cool-Season Turfgrass
     While I have extensive knowledge of weed management in all types of turfgrass, chemical and cultural methods for managing weeds is always changing.  This class provided the latest research and methods for managing annual bluegrass in bentgrass which is a major problem for many golf courses including ours.  Additionally, I learned of new electronic resources for weed control information through several land grant institutions.

Seminar - Cool-Season Putting Green Improvement - Changing Species or Cultivars, Interseeding or Regrassing
     Since we use a lot of bentgrass seed every year, this proved to be a valuable class. New genetic research has led to significant improvements in bentgrass cultivars.   As we continue to interseed our greens, tees, and fairways with these new varieties, we have the ability to reduce water and fungicide usage and increase the playability of the surface.  This class highlighted the pros and cons of changing cultivars along with the latest improvements which will help us select the best type for our conditions.

Learning about new bentrgrass varieties.

 

Golf at Torrey Pines South Course
     I again had the opportunity to play in the TurfNet "Emerald Challenge" where Superintendents from North America played against Superintendents from Ireland.  While we lost the challenge this past October in Ireland, we rose to the occasion and brought the Hurley Trophy back home while playing at the famed Torrey Pines South Course.  The course was in spectacular condition and the weather could not have been better.

Hole #3 - Torrey Pines

North America brings back the Hurley Trophy

Trade Show
     As usual, the trade show was exceptional.  Everything from equipment, fertilizer, chemicals, consultants & designers, building products, and computer programs are displayed throughout the trade show floor. I takes me almost 2 days to walk the show floor, talk to vendors, and see what new products are available.  Like many, I truly enjoy this part of the convention as it gives me the opportunity to see some of smaller niche products that just might help our operation improve its efficiency or help us deliver a better product for the membership. 

Ewing Irrigation

The Jacobsen booth gets busier every year!

Busy on the trade show floor.

Finally the best part of the show was the interaction with my peers.  The amount of knowledge that I gather from simply “talking turf” with the guys is immeasurable. I would like to thank everyone at HFCC for providing me the opportunity to participate in the GIS and for understanding the value in continued education. By attending the trade show and participating in the educational seminars, I have consistently been able to bring back useful information that has benefited the Club both in savings and efficiencies, not to mention the agronomic information that improves the course.