The Nebraska Golf Course Superintendents Association would also like to thank Rhett Evans, CEO, Golf Course Superintendents Association of America for taking part in our ceremony and honorary tee shot.

Rhett Evans, CEO, GCSAA, takes a swing during the honorary tee shot at the first tee box.

Club/ Course:                    Arbor Links Golf Course

Address:                              6038 H Road

City:                                       Nebraska City, NE 68410

Contact:                               Curt Grieser

Contact Address:             Same as above

Phone:                                 402-416-7039

Email:                                    curt@arborlinks.com

Educational:                       2 or 4 year degree in Turf desired

Experience Requirements:          Previous golf course work required

Special Requirements:                   Assist in planning and supervising the maintenance of greens, tees and fairways; schedules work; and supervises and schedules the employees and use of equipment including safety training. Responsibilities include pesticide and fertilizer applications, calibration of sprayers; irrigation repair and maintenance; hand watering. Maintains accurate pesticide records and has current pesticide license or ability to get one.

Salary Range:                     Negotiable

Benefits:                              Health/ Dental Insurance; 401K plan; golfing privileges; uniforms supplied; discounted meals; paid vacation.

Position closes:                 Friday, May 18^th, 2012

Date Available:                  Immediately

Comments:                        Arbor Links is a private 18- hole facility located in Nebraska City, Nebraska. Greens, tees and fairways are bent grass with bluegrass roughs and native areas.

Superintendent, Crooked Creek Golf Club

As my service to NGCSA progresses I find myself becoming more passionate about what we do.  Helping to preserve the game, along with our ecosystems that we call golf courses all of a sudden seem to fit into the big picture more and more all the time.  At first I thought, OK I’m going to serve just because I was asked to.  Then when I’m off the board I’ll just go back to being a superintendent.  I found out that it isn’t that simple.

I’m not just going to go back to being a superintendent.  I’m always going to be a superintendent, but not unless I continually strive to better our industry and protect what we conserve.  We don’t just take care of our golf courses so that people can enjoy a great round of golf.  All of us care for our canvasses as though they were our own; we know that we are tied to these ecosystems.  If we contaminate, exhaust our resources, mismanage the symbiotic relationships within our ecosystems there will be consequences that effect ecosystems outside of our own.  When that happens, a negative chain of events can happen that eventually affect our own existence.  Now, I know that seems a bit extreme, but consider an example where we start trying to conserve water at an extreme stage of a drought , wild fires break out and fire ravages an entire area effecting every living organism in that area.  Were we actively engaged at the right times to help facilitate oncoming environmental disasters?

This is where our service comes in.  Instead of us just being superintendents at our facilities, we need to strive to be active in our associations and communities to educate, experiment, document, and share our knowledge to help protect and better our environment.  Not only will the service that we conduct better our communities, facilities, and the game of golf, but it will better cement our place in the game and improve upon our value to our employers and players.

A great example of this just happened during our March meeting at Lochland Country Club, when after our meeting Craig Ferguson invited every superintendent out to his practice wedge facility where his members are able to practice their wedge shots (hence the name I suppose) where Craig and his staff had been performing their own experiments on poa annua.  Craig didn’t have to invite any of us out there to show us what he was doing on his course.  He didn’t have to share any of his findings or ask a bunch of questions of his peers.  But he did, and I think that those of us that took some time out of our day to tag along with Craig out to his experimental areas to engage in dialog about what is working and not working for us as managers are all a little better informed.  And for engaging us at the March meeting I thank you Craig.  He didn’t have to engage us, but he did.  We don’t have to be engaged outside of boundaries of our golf courses, but we should be.  It not only is the right thing to do, but I find it makes our jobs as superintendents easier and a whole lot more enjoyable.  Engagement is one way to better ourselves and those around us!

In the weeks, months, and years to come we all have a chance to be engaged outside of our courses, and I challenge you to attend a meeting, hold a field day at your course, get a couple of superintendents in your area together once in a while to play golf or anything else that you might enjoy to get a few of you together.  You will be surprised what comes of events that are not associated with your individual employers.  By the time this newsletter is in your hands “Nebraska Golf Day” will already have happened, and I hope a few of you were able to attend and support the WE ARE GOLF event at Wilderness Ridge Golf Club in Lincoln.  Events such as these don’t seem at the time to be very important to a lot of us, but sometimes we forget that it is not always a question of what did we actually do at this event, but were we there?  Did I support something that is not only important to me, but also to those that this game is important to?

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a multi-disciplinary approach to pest control utilizing numerous alternative control measures.  It means developing a program that uses a combination of preventative, cultural, mechanical and chemical practices.  It doesn’t mean abandoning chemical control, but relying on it less.  Following these principals will probably save us money, but just as important, will support our objective to be good stewards of the environment.

I would like to share a few “non-traditional tools” from my pest management arsenal.  Shotguns, pellet guns, explosive devices, sirens, traps, dogs, cats, senior citizens, and lava soap are just a few examples.  Before using any of these devices make sure you are adhering to all federal and state regulations.

Gun powder is a great invention and has been around for centuries.  Traps are self-explanatory.  Many times traps are used in conjunction with baits and we may relocate our targeted pest.   Dogs and cats can be predatory creatures that will attack and harass certain pests.  I had a dog, Wilber, that was my companion for many years.  He was a “rescue dog” acquired from the humane society.  Being of terrier bloodline, he had an aggressive attitude and absolutely despised the thirteen lined ground squirrel.  As we would patrol the course searching for these pesky creatures, he would attentively sit in the passenger seat of my cart.  When we approached our target I would say, “here we go!” He would immediately come to attention and wait for me to give the signal.  He would literally “fly” off the seat and encapsulate the victim.   I would record his conquests on the staff’s informational dri-erase board.   Wilber was truly part of our staff and seized 87 ground squirrels in his record setting year.  (Someday, I would like to make a beer commercial about Wilber.)

Senior citizens can be our best friends or worst enemies on the golf course.  This group of age-less retirees is usually “free-spirited” and “independent thinkers”.   Often these individuals do not like each other and will refuse to share a cart.  This translates into a five-some playing with five golf carts.  I affectionately refer to this tee-time as the FOF group.   These “Five Old Farts” will exhibit erratic driving patterns.   Judging from their cart tracks in the early morning dew, they are trying to eradicate excessive earthworm populations. This is an example of a pest controlling a pest.

Mice are rodents that are a nuisance creature that can devour our grass seed inventories.  But I recently noticed they were eating through the paper wrapper on unused lava soap on the shelf.  They were also gnawing on the bar in the soap dish.  Being really annoyed, I placed a chunk of lava soap on a spring loaded mouse trap.   It really works!   I was successful for four straight nights!  Good-bye cheese and peanut butter.   Consider this your “Tip of the Day!”

William K. Bieck, CGCS

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