Golfdom, January 2012

And the Winner Is 18 Golfdom January 2012 Continued from page 17 2500 per acre foot Thats some of the most expensive water in the country definitely in the state of California he says Plus if water restrictions come up the course is at the mercy of the city In the summer of 2009 the course was told it had to cut back 30 percent of its water usage If it didnt respond the city could fine it or even shut the water off Chojnacky says The club was spending 85000 a month during the dry months to keep the course green The club happily approved a plan to reduce the amount of irrigated turf from 100 acres to 70 acres Areas clearly out of play were selected to go back to natural another move MacKenzie would appreciate Youre going to save by not having to water first and foremost Also not having to fertilize its a lot less labor and you dont have to go out there and spray Chojnacky says It equals a saving of about 150000 a year most of it in water savings Investing in water Chojnacky and the team at Pasatiempo didnt want to stop there when it came to water savings As Chojnacky says being a step ahead is a good place to be The course is working with the city of Santa Cruz and neighboring Scotts Valley to store up to 1 million gallons of water on the course The plan is to one day irrigate turf with a combination of fresh city water well water and effluent water Chojnacky estimates the course will save 40 Chojnacky has rejuvenated Pasatiempos native grasses and reduced the amount of irrigated turf on the golf course saving the club 150000 annually PHOTO BY SETH JONES Reduced irrigated areas of the golf course with new irrigation system saving 150000 annually First to utilize goats on a golf course saving his course 95000 Working with the City of Santa Cruz to create a new water storage area to enable the course to keep its own water and face fewer water restrictions Tasked with making Pasatiempo the most intact Alister MacKenzie design in the world Keeps a regular blog updating golfers about course conditions www pasatiempomaintenance com His willingness to share his insight as evidenced by presenting at the recent Symposium on Affordable Golf in North Carolina and hosting the 2010 Northern California Field Day Why we chose Chojnacky Last Fall Golfdom asked readers to nominate candidates for the first ever Herb Graffis Business Person of the Year Award We had a lot of great candidates but one stood above them all Heres a rundown of some of the things that made us select Chojnacky