Where in the World is Lew?

China Golf Show 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Lewis Sharp) — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 16:11:00 +0000

Golf in the Asian market is booming at an all-time high and brought international
exhibitors to the 2010 China Golf Show held at the China National Convention Center located at the Olympic Village in downtown Beijing. The show is a combination of all aspects of golf from maintenance, architecture, pro shop equipment, apparel, indoor golf, driving range, tourism, and so much more under one roof. It is the PGA show and the GCSAA Golf Industry Show all tied into one show. This is very impressive for a country who is just emerging as a golf powerhouse and will continue to do so with the world’s best golf designers flocking there to find work. The build-it-bigger mentality follows with some of the largest golf facilities being built in China. With equally large clubhouses resembling palaces, the golf courses are dream facilities for any golfer. Designers need qualified superintendents to fill positions for these dream facilities and are looking to the States and other countries to fill these jobs. It will be interesting to watch as this mighty powerhouse grows.

Ecological Golf

noreply@blogger.com (Lewis Sharp) — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 16:54:00 +0000

Perhaps more than any other sport, golf's relationship with the natural world is one of its defining characteristics. As relatively large green spaces, often with a variety of natural and semi-natural vegetation, and typically with sizeable out-of-play areas, all golf courses have the potential to contribute to the conservation of nature and promotion of biodiversity.
All golf facilities should take the opportunity to maximize the ecological value of their courses. It is an incredibly creative and rewarding process that won't simply benefit wildlife, but members, visitors and staff - all who will appreciate more diverse and naturalized surroundings in which to work and play.

The big question is...how to do that? How to create ecological richness and diversity in a way that compliments golf?

We would like to hear what you are doing at your course...

2010 World Forum of Golf Architects

noreply@blogger.com (Lewis Sharp) — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 16:37:00 +0000

My trip last week took me across the pond to the home of golf, St. Andrews.
The event was the World Forum of Golf Architects, consisting of architects from all over the world and industry partners like Tee-2-Green. The discussions focused on golf course sustainability in design, renovation, and the future of golf. The hot topics were Water (efficient irrigation, salt water, grey water, brackish water and water harvesting), Naturalization (using fewer acres of high maintained turf in the rough),Turgrass Science (selecting the right turfgrass for the course), Bunkers (reducing the amount), and other related topics. Another topic of discussion was the idea of building shorter courses for players of all ages, handicaps, and abilities to allow everyone to play. Providing courses that can be played in less than 4 hours with limited hazards could be appealing to more than just the high handicappers with the limited recreation time most people have these days.

As a former superintendent and golf course manager, it was great to see them talking
about topics that affect us on a daily basis as well as our livelihood. With budgets becoming tighter, we need to look at the best use of our courses and how to draw more players into the game.

“If you watch a game, it’s fun. If you play, it’s recreation. If you work at it, it’s golf.”
-Bob Hope

2010 Canadian CGSA Turfgrass Meeting Toronto

noreply@blogger.com (Lewis Sharp) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:19:00 +0000

OH Canada …

My visit takes me up north to Toronto , Canada , and the 2010 Canadian International Turfgrass Conference. I truly enjoyed the educational conferences and the trade show, along with meeting some of our fellow superintendents north of the border. One of the highlights was to stand in a ballroom full of red and white hockey shirts, balloons, and Canadian flags to watch the 2010 USA v. Canada hockey game. Even with the American team losing by one point, my gain was to see the national pride that was displayed by the fans who truly love the game ... a memory I will not soon forget.

While attending the show, one of the hot topics on which I thought may be worth starting a discussion is “winterkill.” This came up in discussions in meetings, on the conference show floor, and in the local CGSA publications that were distributed. Feedback I would like to receive includes what you do to prevent winter damage on your course; and, if you do have damage, what is the best way to recover. I felt this topic may be a great one since this winter seemed to affect more states with above-normal snowfall and ice.

Some ideas for topics to begin with:
Covers or no covers
Do you remove the ice or not? If so, how…
Top dressing with black sand
Raising mowing height before winter
Fertilizer to use in the fall and the one to use in the spring to jump start
Watering before, during and after

Let’s talk it up and share our knowledge.

GIS 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Lewis Sharp) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 01:15:00 +0000

I want to welcome everyone to my first post, and I figure the best way to do that is to say a big “Thank You” to everyone who stopped by the Tee-2-Green booth at the Golf Industry Show. We had such a great time meeting all our new friends from around the world and catching up with all our old friends who have been loyal to our product. I also need to give a shout-out to all the players of the Seed of Fortune game that was such a big hit again this year. The turf students were such a joy to meet and watch compete against each other.

I would like to hear from you about the 2010 GIS show.

Welcome to Lew's Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Lewis Sharp) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:31:00 +0000

I am Lew Sharp, T2G's golf course consultant. We created this blog to keep you up to date on golf course projects on which I am assisting. I hope to provide tips, ideas, and photos from golf course visits around the world. I look forward to sharing my experiences with you in the hope that you might discover a new management technique or innovative way of solving a problem. Please follow my blog and feel free to add any comments.

Thanks, Lew