Golfdom, January 2012

The Guys Got Guts Continued on page 16 PAUL CHOJNACKY KEEPS PASATIEMPO GOLF CLUB A STEP AHEAD B Y S E T H J O N E S 14 Golfdom January 2012 PHOTO BY ROB BABCOCK The native grasses under Paul Chojnackys feet crunch with each step The golf course superintendent at Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz Calif knows the grasses are still alive despite the way they look and the fact that only 1 10th of an inch of rain fell in the month of December These crunchy native grasses are a stark contrast to what was in this same area of the course just two seasons ago Two seasons ago this area was irrigated turfgrass Not anymore There are some homeowners who have lived here for the last 30 years they think we dont know what were doing That its just a bunch of weeds and that were killing all the grass You hear those comments all the time he says He tugs on some of the grass to show that there is resistance in the roots that these grasses are indeed alive Itll take time to establish all of these native areas The health of this grass really isnt in his hands anymore With no irrigation lines in the area its really in Gods hands now and maybe hopefully the spirit of Dr Alister MacKenzie who lived on the course The payoff if the grasses hold on and Chojnacky is confident they will is that it will return the 1929 Alister MacKenzie design even closer to its original look something Pasatiempo strives to achieve on a daily basis The way golf is moving especially in the state of California where water resources are so limited this is definitely the future Chojnacky says eyeing the yellowed native grasses There are going to be more courses that have to do this Were just a step ahead which is a good place to be Forward thinking and action There were many things that earned Chojnacky pronounced shu nos kee the honor of being named the recipient of the inaugural Herb Graffis Business Person of the Year award named after the man who founded Golfdom magazine see sidebar back in 1927 two years before Pasatiempo opened for play The award is meant for someone in the golf industry who through forward thinking and action made their golf operation more successful Chojnackys accomplishments at Pasatiempo made him an easy pick Consider some of the ideas and plans hes implemented and overseen As far as we can tell he was the first superintendent to utilize goats to clear brush in canyons an inexpensive alternative to using manual labor or chemicals he has implemented a plan removing 25 acres of irrigated land from the course creating a savings of 150000 annually he is in the midst of creating a new water storage system on the course to help relieve the course of its total dependence on city water and he is striving to keep Pasatiempo the most faithful MacKenzie course in the world Every day he has shareholder members and public players hes trying to satisfy Its a course with 80 years of history and a renovation program to implement Hes trying to