Golfdom, August 2010

Algae Control Without Chemicals Join the Clubs SonicSolutions is a major component of our pond management strategy For the past several years our irrigation pond has stayed algae free SonicSolutions has helped us obtain certification status with the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program Matt Ceplo Superintendent Rockland Country Club NY Within a week or two after start up the algae in the pond died Since then the pond has remained algae free It is now the cleanest of our six ponds without the use of any chemical algaecides Michael Jr Rohwer Superintendent Shadowridge Country Club CA I installed the SonicSolutions units when my ponds already had algae in them I was completely surprised how quickly they killed the algae and lowered my chlorophyll levels Gonzalo Vargas Coco Beach Golf Resort Puerto Rico Controls Algae With Ultrasonic Waves Green Solution No chemicals Low maintance Simple to use Environmentally safe Safe for fish plants or other aquatic life Solar available Ask us about our 3 Month Rental Demo Algae Control Without Chemicals 1 866 KO ALGAE 1 866 562 5423 sonicsolutionsllc com conditions but that was not the goal Such a statement by Hyler or Gross on television might have helped But with all due respect to the men in navy blue most viewers leave the room when NBC gives us those contractually obligated chats The words need to come from a variety of sources starting with better informed announcers and supplemented with clever ad campaigns like the relentlessly overplayed spot featuring a young man who makes a hole inone that is only witnessed by the oldest living and latest working course maintenance worker in America Considering the ad was filmed years ago and the young man is in college maybe its time to freshen up the branding And what better excuse to move in some fun short and very sweet messages that help the public understand what green golf means More urgently these ads need to be about costs Just the kind of thing the old money types at the USGA dread since after all they are in the business of governing the game not the bottom line Yet the majority of golfers will only listen if they can find something relatable in a message about brown golf Mike Davis left the USGAs senior director of rules and competitions confers with Jim Hyler at Pebble Beach Superintendents all over the country who have crunched numbers on native area conversions or presented cost benefit analyses of reduced water usage can tell you theres nothing like showing people a bottom line savings In other words the USGA and its Green Section needs to ramp up its investment in grants to researchers developing new grasses or give cash away to show who can show a correlation between sustainable practices and cost reduction Unfortunately Hyler takes over a USGA with a lot less money to play with and a gutted grants program But one budget that hasnt been slashed is the marketing dough And right now the fight to save the game and provide a foundation for its future in America means convincing golfers there will be long term financial benefits to sustainable practices passed along to them Because its all about them as the last few months likely have proved to Hyler and the USGA folks who are pursuing a noble cause Geoff Shackelford is a long time contributing editor to Golfdom and author of the magazines back page column Shack Attack 50 Golfdom August 2010 Continued from page 49