OTA April Meeting Recap
/The Ozark Turf Association April Meeting presented by Professional Turf Products had a strong turnout despite the weather forecast. 32 attended the Bluemuda presentation given by Schifferdecker superintendent and OTA President Maron Towse. Brad Seidt, superintendent at Lake Valley Golf and Country Club, also gave his observations on the state of their Bluemuda fairways that they have had for a few years.
After the presentation those in attendance put a dent on plenty of pizza from Woody’s Wood-Fire Pizza in Joplin, but we couldn’t eat all of it. There were many different varieties of pizza, from traditional to nontraditional offerings.
After we ate, we decided to raffle off some prizes, since we were not sure if we could get any golf in.
First, we raffled off our golf prizes sponsored by Professional Turf Products.
First prize of $75 pro shop gift card went to new OTA member Jeremy Zinter, golf course superintendent at Crestwood Country Club, Pittsburgh Kansas.
Second prize of $50 was won by the bridesmaid again, Mark Slaughter of GreensPro. (He came in second place last month also.)
Third prize of $25 went to another new member, Jeff Adams, golf course superintendent at Frank E. Peters Golf Course, City of Nevada.
Closest to the pin on Hole # 4 sponsored by Advanced Turf Solutions, was Kolby Armbruster, golf course superintendent at Ledgestone Country Club.
Closest to the pin on Hole # 9 sponsored by GreensPro was Dan Kersting, golf course superintendent at Rivercut Golf Course.
Closest to the pin on Hole # 12 sponsored by Harrell’s was Russ Cole, Kansas Golf and Turf.
Closest to the pin on # 15 sponsored by SiteOne was Toby Burkhart, vice president of agronomy, Maxim Golf.
We should have asked them what actual club they would have used if we had played and described their shot.
After handing out the prizes, someone had checked the radar, that showed a break in the rain, and 12 brave, (I don’t know if that was the right word) souls decided to challenge Mother Nature. We were able to get about 11 to 12 holes in before rain started falling again. After a brief shower, the rain had stopped but us older golfers had stiffened up and we called it a day.
Thanks again to our meeting host, Maron Towse and Schifferdecker Golf Course, our meeting sponsor, Professional Turf Products, our proximity sponsors, Advanced Turf Solutions, GreensPro, Harrell’s and SiteOne. And a big thank you to our OTA members who showed up for the education and networking despite the weather forecast.
I did include in the gallery of pictures one of Horton Smith, first Master’s Champion, I should have had my picture taken with it. Both Springfield and Joplin like to claim Horton Smith as he has history in both places, but I do have the honor of working at the golf course named after him (in Springfield).
We will see everyone next at our Scholarship and Research Outing on May 23rd at Silo Ridge Country Club. Always a great turnout and event. Make sure to get your teams signed up!