A New Service for the New Year

By Ty McClellan, Agronomist
January 20, 2009

On December 18, 2008, the USGA Green Section hosted its first on-line conference in the Mid-Continent Region. This event was spearheaded by Jim Moore, director of Construction Education, and Bud White, director of the Mid-Continent Region. While Jim coordinated and moderated the meeting, Bud, Todd Lowe (agronomist from the Florida Region), and I gave presentations. The presentations summarized trends in the Mid-Continent Region observed over the past year as well as key points to consider for 2009. Todd Lowe gave a great presentation on the current status of methyl bromide and Nemacur, and discussed potential alternatives for both as they will likely become unavailable.


Screen snapshot displaying our new on-line meeting capabilities that should enhance the services of the Green Section at no cost to attendees.

Of the 70 TAS subscribers who attended, reviews were positive indicating that the conference was an overall success. Invitees included Mid-Continent TAS subscribers and both Mid-Continent and Florida Green Section committee members. It proved to be an effective means of enhancing communication between the Green Section and superintendents from all corners of the region. The best part was the technology used allowed the meeting to be broadcast at no cost to the attendees. Looking forward, plans are being discussed to use webcasts to share routine regional updates and they may also offer an effective method for disbursing information about specific projects or challenging environmental conditions.

"In summary, this first effort at providing USGA Green Section content and expertise via webcasting proved very successful. We have learned a great deal from this first meeting that will help make future meetings even better. Given the current economic climate, there is little doubt that people will find it much harder to travel to educational meetings. The successful implementation of on-line Green Section educational conferences could not come at a better time. This is an exciting new tool for the Green Section to serve the game of golf and the industry of golf course maintenance." - Jim Moore, USGA

Moving on to the topic of Turf Advisory Service visits, this is a good time to remind everyone that January is the month that annual invoices are mailed to golf courses in our database. This mailing provides an opportunity to take advantage of the $500 discount by paying for your 2009 TAS visit in advance. If your course does not receive a mailing by mid-February, please call and we will add you to our database and send an invoice.

The Turf Advisory Service fee schedule for 2009 is as follows:

Half-day TAS visit:

$1,800 (payment received before May 15, 2009)
$2,300 (payment received after May 15, 2009)

Full-day TAS visit:

$2,600 (payment received before May 15, 2009)
$3,100 (payment received after May 15, 2009)

Note that a $500 discount is offered for visits paid prior to May 15 ^th . These prepaid, discounted visits can be scheduled anytime during 2009. Paying for your visit early allows us to be cost-effective in coordinating our travel schedule and, in this way, we are able to pass the savings on to you.

Here's wishing you a great 2009!

If you would like more information about a Turf Advisory Service visit, do not hesitate to contact either of the Mid-Continent regional offices: Ty McClellan at tmcclellan@usga.org or (630) 340-5853 or Bud White at budwhite@usga.org or (972) 662-1138.