Shadow Ridge Country Club

Omaha, NE

Shadow Ridge Country Club, a private 18 hole facility, is seeking a Second Assistant Superintendent.  The candidate must be organized, detail oriented and posses a strong work ethic.  In addition, the candidate must have or be able to obtain a Nebraska Pesticide Applicators License within 60 days of employment.

Education:           Two or four year degree in turfgrass management or related field

Experience:         Two years experience in golf course maintenance

Salary:                  Commensurate with experience

Duties:                 Golf course maintenance

Application of pesticides and fertilizers

Irrigation maintenance and repairs

Flowers, trees and shrubbery

Benefits:              Health Insurance

Paid personal time off (PTO)

Local chapter membership dues

Uniforms

To apply

Send résumé to: 

Mary Boyle, CGCS

Shadow Ridge Country Club

1501 South 188 Plaza

Omaha, NE  68130

(402) 333-7994

mary@shadowridgecountryclub.com

Application deadline:     February 24, 2012

Position available:          March, 2012

Job Description:      Golf Course Superintendent beginning March 1, 2012

for 9 hole public course in rural setting of southern Gage County.

Duties:     In charge of fertilizing, mowing and maintenance of the golf course fairways, rough, greens and tees.  Also maintenance, repair and installation of underground sprinkler system.

Oversee and coordinate volunteer and part time work for neatness, exactness and conformance to policies and procedures of the Club.

Oversee needs and maintenance of equipment, materials and supplies including application of fertilizers and chemicals.  Assist in the preparation of

specifications, estimates, and bids for equipment, & fertilizers/chemicals.  Also assuring the tools and equipment are properly maintained and kept in proper working condition.

Preferred Qualifications:                   Ability to perform a variety of supervisory and skilled tasks in the maintenance and operation of golf course buildings and grounds.  Use excellent customer service skills, establish and maintain effective working relationships with other employees, board members, and all members of the general public.  Supervise part-time employees and volunteer help as required.

Knowledge of landscaping to improve golf course design and to recognize the need for proper planting, spraying, and related care.

Knowledge of fertilizers, fungicides, and chemicals used in the golf course maintenance.

Knowledge of how to properly calibrate and use equipment to apply chemicals and fertilizers.

Able to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.

Compensation:                   Nine Months/year, March 1^st to October 31^st .

$25,000 – $30,000 Salary

Resumes:           Accepted until February 10, 2012

Email resumes to wymorecountryclub@yahoo.com

Or via USPS to Larry Schmidt

6114 East Sycamore Rd.

Wymore, Ne 68466

For more information call Larry Schmidt 402-450-8472

900 Cross Creek Road

Cambridge, Nebraska  69022

January 12, 2012

Cross Creek Golf Links is an 18-hole championship course located in southwest Nebraska.

Cambridge is a very progressive rural community, with diverse businesses, including an ethanol plant-Nebraska Corn Processing LLC, a highly regarded School system, new hospital-Tri Valley Health System, Ag Valley Cooperative, Twin Valley Public Power District, Pinpoint Communications, and Frenchman-Cambridge Irrigation District, to name a few.

Job Description and Requirements:

-Prepare and manage all facets of the golf course including fertilization, aerification, irrigation, grooming, along with disease, insect and weed control.

-Interview, hire, train and manage employees needed to assist with all facets of the golf course.

-Plan and implement proper irrigation and water management of the golf course.

-Maintain and repair all equipment and keep proper maintenance records of all repairs completed and needed on equipment.

-Maintain and repair rental cart fleet and keep all records accordingly.

-Prepare annual budget and keeping within the established budget of $400,000.00 for club house and course operations.

-Communicate directly with Greens Committee and Board of Directors, orally, electronically, or written, with any information vital to the golf course operations.

-Be accommodating and friendly with all members, guests, fellow employees and represent and promote the game of golf honorably.

Cross Creek Golf Links is a 7,200 yard course, established 1986, the second nine added in 2001.  The course has L93 greens with field control irrigation.

This position will allow the superintendent to improve the playability and appearance of a truly great designed course, into perhaps, one of the finest and fairest golf courses in the region.

Compensations will include: dues to NGCSA, continuing education, and course membership, with a wage and benefit package.  Wage is negotiable between the range of, $40,000.00 to $50,000.00, depending upon experience and abilities.

Deadline for all applications is February 10^th , 2012.

Please send all inquiries to:  Matt Faw

PO Box C

Cambridge, Nebraska  69022

Email: mcfaw@swnebr.net

Cell: 308-695-4444

Any outdoorsman knows the importance of properly positioning his target within the cross hairs.  Unfortunately, the golf course industry is frequently in the cross hairs of regulators and public scrutinists.  As a superintendent it’s not comfortable being the target.  As an industry we should be proactive and responsive in a professional manner.  We should be forthright, transparent, support accurate scientific research, recognize our shortcomings and deficiencies, and work toward improvement.

This article is inspired by a personal experience at the 2011 National Groundwater Conference.  The conference is attended by a diverse group of people representing the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, university researchers, engineering and water consultants, natural resource districts, agriculture producers, community representatives, U.S. Geological Survey, public health departments, politicians, public policy centers, and private industry.  All of these professionals are brought together by the Groundwater Foundation’s vision of “a world with sustainable, clean groundwater where everyone understands how it impacts their life and acts responsible and responsively on its behalf.”

The three-day conference provided a wealth of information on the latest technologies, scientific facts, and success stories.  Attending a conference outside the strict parameters of your own profession creates an opportunity to network and learn from others with a different perspective. Their outlook and point of view may differ from ours.  It was shocking for me to hear a panelist representing agriculture make a comment that “golf courses use twice as much water and fertilizers” as he does.  These comments need to be backed with hard facts and figures.  This is the same industry that the Nebraska GCSA approached last year when they sponsored a radio advertisement with a similar statement.  The panelist’s comments are an attempt to justify their industry’s usage at the expense of another.

I could counter his statement and present facts that an average 18-hole golf course uses only slightly more water than it takes to produce 80 acres of their commodity.  In addition, turf in Nebraska requires a 7-8 months irrigation season compared to two or three months for his crop.  I can also refute his comment concerning fertilizer use.  Every geographic location, every crop and commodity and every turf variety and species will have different water and nutrient requirements.  The real issue at hand is the efficient use of these inputs.  The current  trends in golf course design is to reduce highly managed turf with native grassed or natural areas that require reduced or total elimination of resource inputs. At Heritage Hills Golf Course, I have reduced water consumption 30% and nutrient usage 40% in the last fifteen years.  And, I am continually striving to do better with new technologies that offer improved strategies and solutions.

My statements are based upon facts and a commitment to continuous improvement.  Much of our efforts can be supported by scientific research as well. An important question would be, “how would these conference attendees, media and public know if we didn’t tell them in a proactive and professional manner?”  In addition and like the ag producer, I am justifying my own operations.

It’s time for everyone to step back and review their water policies and actions.  The golf course industry has support.  In 2006 the Environmental Institute for Golf, the philanthropic organization of Golf Course Superintendent’s Association of America, conducted the initial GCSAA Golf Course Environmental Profile survey.  This information provides baseline data for documenting environmental practices over time.  The data will also help us respond to governmental inquiries and answer the public’s questions about environmental
issues.   We can monitor our own operations and the industry’s progress with this information as well.

But it is not just a matter of possessing this scientifically backed knowledge.  We also must be our own best advocates and share these facts, as well as our own personal experiences, with the public and the very groups that may question our practices. Whether at our own facilities, through our local media, or in organized platforms like the Groundwater Conference, we have to take an active role in spreading the industry’s message.

Water is a lifeline for all living organisms. There will never be any more of it and the quality will likely never get any better. It is treated as a commodity by many users.  The Groundwater Foundation is an organization where all concerned parties can sit at the same table.  Everybody who uses water needs to ask hard questions of themselves and not “target” other consumers. The turf industry’s use of water cannot claim to “feed the world”. Nor should golf be considered the number one priority use for water.  But, our industry does provide
many benefits to the environment, to the economy and the quality of life.

The future will be a time of transition from the unimpeded water consumption of the past to a fair and reasonable regulated use that protects water resources while still allowing the economy to thrive. Politicians and regulators need to be informed and supplied with accurate and useful facts concerning the environmental and economic benefits of our industry.  We need them to create common sense environmental policy.  That doesn’t mean water use in the future will be inexpensive or painless, but it does mean that the value and cost of water will increase. Economists will say as the cost of water increases, the importance of water will escalate.

Environmentalists and economists don’t often agree. Environmentalists strive for conservation and protection of a natural resource.  Economists study the science of the production, development, consumption, and profit of a commodity.   As superintendents, we need to support both philosophies, but how do we achieve both? Everyone will need to compromise, sacrifice, and embrace common sense
regulations.

Like it or not the golf course industry is in competition for an exhaustible water supply.  We will need to illustrate and communicate to others outside our industry circle that we are competent and trustworthy.  It’s not fun being in the cross hairs.   We have several
options.  One, we could run and hide to avoid being the target.  Two, we could arm ourselves and fight back and create a conflict where nobody wins.  Or three, we put on protective armor lined with scientific data, collaborate with our detractors and other users and set
our sights on achieving sustainable and practical water policy for everyone.  I choose option three!

Bill Bieck,
CGCS

]]> http://ngcsa.org/western-waves-2/feed/ 0 http://ngcsa.org/presidents-message-3/ http://ngcsa.org/presidents-message-3/#comments Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:53:38 +0000 kisseles http://ngcsa.org/?p=936  Continue Reading »]]> In a time where the digital age is not only upon us,
but is almost the standard, I still put a very large value on a hand shake and
phone call.  I am not going to deny the
level of efficiency that we are able to sustain in our daily lives whether it
relates to work or our personal lives.
But as we all discuss how great it is to have texting, Facebook,
Twitter, and any other means of digital communication, we are forgetting how
important that “personal touch” is.

I want to use a personal experience in which I just had
a week ago to draw from.  I have a friend,
Dan, whom I have gotten to know the past five years through playing different
leagues of pool with.  Dan and I have
always talked about going on a bird hunt together but just never seemed to get
it done.  I think most of the problem is
I am a city boy, from the city, and Dan is from outside of town, where I don’t
have the resources of good hunting ground.
Well I finally got a call a week after Thanksgiving asking me if I was a
decent shot with a .12 gauge.  I said
yes, but that was with clay targets as I had not gotten out on a good bird hunt
for some time.  He said don’t worry about
it, the hunt was an organized “Box Hunt” and he just wanted to get a fun team
together.  So with jumping at the chance I
was also able to get fellow superintendent Nevin Kotera to go along, as we
needed one more person.

How this hunt progressed the rest of the day was far
better than I could have imagined.  The
forth guy in our group whom I had never met happened to be a neighbor to
Nevin’s grandparents, small world!  So we
had a dynamic group that just had a blast walking the fields that day.  How do I know that?  Well, when I forget my shotgun in my car and
the rest of the guys in the group are willing to trade off letting me hunt with
their gun while they walk empty handed.  With
all that, we didn’t even see a bird for the first two hours.  We didn’t even care because we were having
such a good time working the dogs on the hunt, telling stories, things you do
on a hunt together.  And did I mention
that we walked around all-day in the rain?
The fields were so saturated from the 1.5 inches overnight that fell
there was no place for the rain that day to go but in my boots!

With the convening of the hunt we headed back to the
bar where all the teams in the “Box Hunt” gathered to count their scores and
hand in the birds.  The best thing that I
almost forgot to mention was that the birds that were shot all got cleaned and
fried up for all us competitors to eat while sharing our stories from the day’s
fun.  But the first thing that happened
when we got back to the bar and shed our wet gear where the handshakes
afterwards, the acknowledgment of the great afternoon, and how we all need to
get together and do it all over again sometime.

A lot of the activities that we do throughout our daily
lives we are able to have our cell phones on us, or we’re sitting around a
computer that’s on.  We seem to always be
“plugged in”.  Experiences like this past
weekend allow me to realize how important it is to pull the plug, get away from
the electronic life and enjoy what is in front of us.  Instead of taking a digital picture of
everything, stop and try to make a memory out of it, in your mind.  And when you’re really grateful for something
or someone, at least pick up the phone and call them if you can’t tell them in
person.  I know that I personally try to
work with the same principles that governed that last hunt.  Don’t forget that the sport of golf is the
same way!  What’s the first thing you do
on the last green?  That’s right, you shake hands…