Redexim Turf Products makers of specialty turf equipment, has renewed their 2023 Ozark Turf Assocation vendor membership.
Please thank Territory Manager Brad Lackey and Redexim for their support of our members, allowing the chapter to provide educational and networking opportunities.
At the Ozark Turf Association’s Annual Meeting this past January, the chapter added the Equipment Manager category to our by-laws to conform with GCSAA's affiliation agreement.
Since that first step, we would like to recognize our first official Equipment Manager, Jonathan Settle, Equipment Technician at Buffalo Ridge at Big Cedar Lodge. Joining him a few days later, were Randy Bracy, at Top of the Rock and Brenton Daniels at Ozark National. We know a few more are signing up for this category of membership. OTA members, if you have an equipment manager on your staff and you would like them to join, cost is only $30 for the year.
The OTA Board has approved to host an equipment manager meeting later this year. We are currently gathering information and will then look at a host facility.
PBI Gordon, makers of professional turf products, has renewed their 2023 Gold Partnership with the Ozark Turf Association.
We thank them for their support of our members, helping us provide meeting and networking opportunities. Please thank Heath Schesser, Sales Representative the next time you see him.
SiteOne, makers and distributors of various turf products has renewed their 2023 membership as a Gold Partner with the OTA.
SiteOne will also be our June Meeting Partner at our meeting at Hidden Valley Golf Links.
SiteOne will also be sponsoring closest to the pin prizes at the Scholarship and Research Outing, and both the March and June meetings.
We thank them for their support of our members, allowing the chapter to provide meeting and networking opportunities. Please thank Matt Delventhal, our long time Sales Representative and David Moore, Springfield Branch Manager, the next time you see them.
Syngenta, manufacturer of plant protective products has renewed their Gold Partnership for 2023 with the Ozark Turf Association.
They will also sponsor our lunch and post play snacks at the OTA Scholarship and Research outing in May at Silo Ridge Country Club.
In August, Syngenta will be sponsoring our Family Fun Night at the Springfield Cardinals, Double AA Texas League team of the St. Louis Cardinals. It is a fun night where we celebrate the end of the summer season with our families before school starts again. We’re grateful Syngenta supports this family time, and the families have a good time enjoying the “American Past Time” with food and fireworks.
Syngenta has been long time supporters of the OTA and Superintendents everywhere.
Please thank Paul Carlson, Syngenta Territory Manager the next time you see him.
The Ozark Turf Association would like to announce that Precision Turf Products, suppliers of turf equipment have renewed their Gold Partner status with the OTA.
We thank them for their support of our members, allowing the chapter to provide meeting and networking opportunities. Please thank Barry Siems, President/Owner the next time you see him.
Kolby Armbruster, Golf Course Superintendent at Ledgestone Country Club in Branson West, achieved Class A status last month with the Golf Course Superintendent Association of America (GCSAA). Kolby was recognized in the February 2023 issue of Golf Course Mangement.
The Ozark Turf Association would like to congratulate Kolby for reaching this milestone.
The definition of a Class A member is a golf industry professional; who possesses knowledge, skills and abilities through a combination of education, experience, professional development and environmental stewardship; and has met and continues to fulfill on-going Class A renewal requirements.
For members looking to earn Class A status, it consists of a combination of formal education, experience as a golf course superintendent, continuing education and providing proof of a valid pesticide license or passing the GCSAA IPM Exam. Class A membership demonstrates a personal commitment to lifelong learning, environmental stewardship and elevating the golf course management profession. It also shows employers that your achievements and competencies are documented and validated. For those looking to pursue Class A status, reach out to Shelia Finney, Senior Director of Member Programs at GCSAA, or our Central Field Representative Randy Robinson.
We would like to announce Midwest Turf the exclusive Distributor of Floratine in our area, and distributor of other turf care products, has renewed their Gold Partnership for the 2023 year.
Midwest Turf’s support allows the OTA to provide educational and networking events for our members to attend. We appreciate what their partnership does for our members. Please thank David Hunter, Owner, the next time you see him.
The Ozark Turf Association has released their 2023 meeting schedule.
We have 10 events scheduled so far with more events in the works, keep tuned to the website and emails for updates.
The next event scheduled is Friday February 17th, our annual bowling meeting at Enterprise Lanes in Springfield. This is followed by education meetings followed by golf at our March meeting presented by FMC, April and September meetings presented by Professional Turf Products, and our June meeting presented by SiteOne.
Our big fundraising event is on May 25th, the OTA Scholarship and Research Outing to be held at Silo Ridge Country Club in Bolivar. Syngenta is sponsoring the lunch and snacks after play while we wait for the scoring results.
In August we have our Family Fun Night at the Springfield Cardinals game, which is presented by Syngenta. This is a great night to bring the family out and watch our AA Texas League Springfield Cardinals and enjoy the post-game fireworks before the kids head back to school. The tentative date is Friday August 11th, with August 4 as our second choice. We are waiting for group sales to open to confirm.
Also, in August, August 28th, this year is the OTA Championships presented by Clear Creek Golf Car and Utility Vehicles, and Club Car. Lunch is provided by VanWall Equipment. This year’s event will be played at Highland Springs Country Club, the original home of the long running Price Cutter Charity Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour. The tournament was first played in the inaugural season of the Ben Hogan Tour.
We are working on the location and date of the OTA Christmas Party presented by Professional Turf Products.
We do have the location of the 2024 Education/Annual Meeting, it will continue to be at Highland Springs Country Club, sponsored again by VanWall Equipment with lunch provided by FMC. The January 2024 date is tentative scheduled for January 17th.
The March, April, June, Championship, September, Christmas Party and 2024 Education Day events are part of the 2023 OTA Prepaid Meeting Plan, you can save at least $50 by purchasing the plan. Contact the OTA for more details.
We are excited for the 2023 meeting calendar, and we hope to see many of our members at as many events as possible. We thank all of our members and vendor partners for making this schedule possible.
The Ozark Turf Association held their 2023 Education Day and Annual Meeting on January 18, 2023 at Highland Springs Country Club in Springfield MO. We had a great turnout of 56 attendees. Our speakers included Paul Jacobs, our regional USGA Agronomist, Dr. Wendell Hutchens, Assistant Professor of Turfgrass Science at the University of Arkansas, and Randy Robinson, Central GCSAA Field Staff. The meeting was presented by VanWall Equipment.
Paul presented his first topic “ The Year 2022 in Review, What Worked and What Didn’t”. Paul discussed some of the issues that golf courses had in 2022 and some of the reasons behind them. He really did his research when he provided our local weather data and was able to correlate how weather affected conditions.
Dr. Hutchens introduced himself to the chapter, he recently arrived at the beginning of the new year at the University of Arkansas. His presentation “Best Management Practices for Spring Dead Spot and Winterkill Prevention in Warm-Season Grasses” Dr. Hutchens talked about the different products to apply and their effectiveness. He also discussed the best timing to make applications and talked about how best to irrigate the products into the soil. He also presented the best options to get recovery from areas that were damaged.
The next talk Paul Jacobs led a Superintendent Round Table discussion on various topics that included aeration methods and timing, organic matter testing, which would lead to decisions concerning aeration and other cultural practices, we discussed labor issues, where Paul suggested we need to be more proactive in our recruiting efforts. We all shared in the discussion our thoughts and questions on the topics.
After a hot buffet lunch (where we believe the Mac and Cheese side was the big hit as many second helpings of it were plated). We had Randy Robinson present some updates that were happening at GCSAA. He talked about the expanded Conference and Show coming up in Orlando, the changes made to the Certified Golf Course Superintendent program, he mentioned the Assistant Superintendent Certificate Series, and the increasing popular, Certified Turf Equipment Managers Program and Equipment Management Certificate Program. Randy also mentioned filling out GCSAA surveys when they are sent out, especially the current GCSAA Salary and Benefits Survey. It could be helpful to provide data for our area in helping compete in the labor market. He also touched on the successes of the GCSAA Government Relations Team. We were also reminded about the upcoming Rounds 4 Research auction, the OTA participated in it for the first time last year. We raised $756 which was donated to the University of Missouri Turf Farm to assist them in their research efforts. The OTA Board announced that we will be participating in the efforts again, as we are committed to research that will be conducted in the upcoming seasons at the University of Arkansas. More on this research to be announced later.
After Randy’s presentation, we held our annual meeting. The minutes from the 2022 meeting were read as was the current treasury report. Both were approved. We gave the update on the current 2023 schedule.
Following the updates, elections were held. Maron Towse, Golf Course Superintendent at Schifferdecker Golf Course was reconfirmed to a second year as President. Chad Hoerschgen, Golf Course Superintendent at Millwood Golf and Racquet Club was reconfirmed as Vice President. Melvin Waldron III, CGCS, Golf Course Superintendent at Horton Smith Golf Course was reconfirmed as Secretary/Treasurer. Brad Seidt, Golf Course Superintendent at Lake Valley Golf Club, Jonathan Prange, CGCS, Golf Course Superintendent at Highland Springs Country Club, and Kolby Armbruster, Golf Course Superintendent at Ledgestone Country Club, continued their terms as Board Members. Barry Siems, Precision Turf Products and Mark Slaughter, GreensPro were reappointed as vendor board members.
Members approved the follow changes to the bylaws: Adding an Equipment Managers membership classification, changed the month of the annual meeting from December to January, and voted to change the wording of the official annual meeting notice to include electronic means of providing notice.
After those votes and seeing no new business was brought to the floor, the meeting was adjourned.
We would like to thank our Vendor Partners who attended the meeting and met with members during the breaks: Matt Strong with VanWall Equipment (Deere), Dr, Jared Hoyle with Corteva, Barry Siems with Precision Turf Products, Russell Cole with Kansas Golf and Turf (Jacobsen), Dave Moore with SiteOne, Brad Gray with Professional Turf Products (Toro), Wes Kleffner with Envu, Matt Bradley with FMC, Joey Johnston with Clear Creek Golf Cars and Utility Vehicles Club Car), Mark Slaughter with GreensPro, and Austen Gearheart with Advanced Turf Solutions.
The Ozark Turf Association (OTA) has renewed their affiliation with the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA).
The OTA is recognized as an affiliated chapter in good standing. The OTA Board of Directors appreciates GCSAA support and resources that our OTA members value and take advantage of.
The Ozark Turf Association awarded the 2022 – 2023 OTA Industry Scholarship to Mr. Dakota Carr of Hollister, MO. Dakota is a 2016 graduate of Morris High School in Morris OK and graduated from the College of the Ozarks in 2019 with a BA in Criminal Justice. He is currently attending Walla Walla Community College working on his Associates Degree in Turf Management, with a graduation date of 2024. He is attending Walla Walla through their virtual platform, while working as an Assistant in Training at Payne’s Valley under the direct mentorship of OTA Member, Steve Johnson, CGCS, Golf Course Superintendent, Payne’s Valley and Mountain Top at Big Cedar Golf under the leadership of Director of Agronomy, Jeff Steen, CGCS. Dakota currently holds a Missouri Pesticide License in Core and Category 3 Turf and Ornamental pest control.
The Ozark Turf Association Industry Scholarship is open to employees who work for OTA member’s facilities and are pursuing a career in the turf industry. Awards of $3,000 are given to recipients and funded by the OTA members through their annual scholarship and research outing held each year.
The Ozark Turf Association awarded the 2022-23 Karl Anderson Legacy Scholarship to Ms. Ivelisse Valentin of Ozark MO. Ivelisse is the stepdaughter of long time OTA member Chad Hoerschgen, Golf Course Superintendent at Millwood Golf and Racquet Club. Ivelisse is a 2022 graduate of Ozark High School, with the following honors: Summa Cum Laude, and a GPA of 3.75. Ivelisse is currently attending Ozark Technical Community College, in Springfield MO. Ivelisse is studying Applied Science – Graphic Arts and completed her first semester with a 3.2 GPA. Ivelisse previously worked at Millwood as a dishwasher, she is now working for Hutchins Advertising in a variety of roles relating to her studies. The OTA congratulates Ivelisse on her achievement.
The Karl Anderson Legacy Scholarship is named for long time Ozark Turf Association member Karl Anderson who worked for many years as the golf course superintendent at Hickory Hills Country Club. He and his wife Patsy did not have children of their own, but strongly supported the association’s scholarship efforts. Karl lost his battle with brain cancer in May of 2018. The Karl Anderson Legacy Scholarship is open to the children and grandchildren of OTA members. Awards of $3,000 are given to recipients and funded by the OTA members through their annual scholarship and research outing held each year.
The Ozark Turf Association held their annual Christmas Party presented by Professional Turf Products and hosted by Ledgestone Country Club on Saturday December 17th.
A social hour preceded a dinner choice of either Prime Rib, Spinach Stuffed Chicken, or Jack Daniels Smoked Salmon, served with sides of au gratin potatoes and vegetables. Dessert consisted of Cheesecake and/or cobbler with ice cream.
After the dinner hour, the attendees hit the casino gaming tables provided by B Sharp Entertainment, where players started with $500 funny money. The beauty of the set up was if one ran out of money, they were able to reload at another table. We had a Texas Hold-Em table, two blackjack tables and one spinney game table, more commonly known as roulette. After running out of money, some guests retreated to telling stories and catching up with each other.
At the end of the night, prizes were given to the players with the most money. In first place was Melvin Waldron III, CGCS, Golf Course Superintendent at Horton Smith G.C. sitting emotionless with steely eyes, (and therefore we need a sarcasm font), he won most of his money at the Texas Hold-Em table, where playing against fellow players instead of the house seemed to make the difference. Second place ended in a tie, with our sponsor Brad Gray, Professional Turf Products beating out one of our hosts, Kolby Armbruster, Golf Course Superintendent at Ledgestone Country Club, with an exciting game of “Rock, Paper, Scissors”. Both earned most of their bankrolls at the Texas Hold-Em table. Although Kolby earned most of his in the early going when blinds were less money. Fourth place was our Hostess, Katie Armbruster, she earned most of her money at the Blackjack and Roulette (or spinney wheel as she calls it) table. Fifth place also resulted in a tie between Maron Towse, Golf Course Superintendent, Schifferdecker Golf Course, and OTA President and Barry Siems, Owner of Precision Turf Products. Maron won the coin flip that they had. Barry still went home a winner, taking one of the Christmas ornaments Katie had made, as did all the winners.
We would like to thank again, our sponsor, Brad Gray and Professional Turf Products, our hosts Katie and Kolby Armbruster (who found B Sharp Entertainment for Casino Game Night) and all the wonderful staff at Ledgestone Country Club who prepared our food and drinks. We would also like to thank all our members who attended the festivities, we hope they enjoyed the evening.
We look forward to seeing our members at our next event, our Education/Annual Meeting Day presented by VanWall Equipment, January 18th, 2023, at Highland Springs Country Club. Keep an eye out for the agenda of the next couple of weeks.
OTA member Scott Crowell was working as the golf course superintendent at Bolivar Golf Course, City of Bolivar. His obituary follows.
Jeffrey Scott Crowell
November 4, 1964 - December 18, 2022
The Ozark Turf Association is announcing the Annual Meeting to be held on January 18th, 2023, at Highland Springs Country Club.
The meeting will commence at approximately 1:45 PM after the last speaker for our education day.
A ballot will come out with the agenda of the day and meeting.
We will be voting on the following bylaws issues:
Adding Equipment Manager to our membership categories to comply with the new GCSAA Affiliation Agreement
Changing the date of the annual meeting from December to January.
Expanding the avenues for announcing the Annual Meeting.
We will also be voting on retaining the following officers: President, Vice President, and Secretary/Treasurer.
We should have the agenda finalized and out in the next week or so. You can RSVP for the meeting starting now.
Cost will be $25 for members and their staffs, $30 for non-members. Details to follow with the schedule and on the website.
The Ozark Turf Association has released their 2023 Partner Program. This program allows our vendor partners to plan the support level that match their business plans and allows them to get the most value out of their sponsorship budget.
OTA members appreciate the support of our Partners as it allows the Chapter to provide affordable education and networking opportunities.
The plan is located on our website and our Partners will be able to choose on a first come first serve basis from the menu of options starting on January 4th. As payments are received, we will announce our Partners and the level of commitment to our members.
Tuesday, December 6th, 2022 9:42am
By Holly Stover
Frank Carlton (Carl) Carlisle age 74, Branson, MO
Frank Carlton (Carl) Carlisle was born February 7, 1948, in Sardis, Mississippi, to Tate Carlton Carlisle, Jr. and Mildred Marie Rushing Carlisle. He was the oldest of seven children.
In 1964, he married JoAnn Wright Carlisle in Raymond, Mississippi. They had two children: Christy and Chuck. He graduated from Mississippi State University with a degree in Horticulture and Turf Management.
Carl was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Wayne Carlisle; and grandson, Alex Michaud.
He is survived by his wife, JoAnn; daughter and son-in-law, Christy and John Michaud; son and daughter-in-law, Chuck and Amy Carlisle; and grandchildren: Amy (Caleb) Clark, Sydney Michaud, Silas Carlisle, Lampton Carlisle, Ensley Carlisle, and Tate Carlisle. Carl was affectionately known as Pops to his grandchildren. Other loving survivors include brothers: Rick (Kay) Carlisle, and Brian (Dionne) Carlisle; sisters: Patsy Berry, Barbara (Mike) Newman, and Mona (Aaron) Roebuck; sister-in-law, Lydia Carlisle; and numerous nieces, nephews, and other family members.
Carl’s passions besides family included: woodworking, photography, fishing, golfing, watching NASCAR races, and cheering on Mississippi State Athletics. His most cherished times were spent running RC cars with his grandkids. Carl was a Certified Golf Course Superintendent and was a member of the Golf Course Superintendent Association of America and Ozark Turf Association. During his long career, he had the opportunity to build several golf courses. These golf courses included ones on: Seabrook Island in Charleston, South Carolina, Mountain Ranch Golf Course in Fairfield Bay, Arkansas, and Branson Creek Golf Course in Branson, Missouri. Over the years he served as Deacon, Minister of Music, and volunteer at several Baptist churches. He was most recently a member of First Baptist Church of Branson.
The family will be having a celebration of life sometime in the spring or early summer. In lieu of flowers, the family ask that donations be made to one of the following: Terrace Home Health and Hospice (4650 South National Ave. Suite D2, Springfield, Missouri 65810), Alzheimer’s Association (www.act.alz.org), or First Baptist Church of Branson (https://fbcbranson.churchcenter.com/giving). Arrangements and cremation are under the direction of Cremations of the Ozarks. To leave an online condolence, please visit www.cremationsoftheozarks.com.
The Ozark Turf Association recently held their October meeting, sponsored by Professional Turf Products, at Millwood Golf and Raquet Club, in Ozark Missouri.
Linda Clark, Safety Coordinator for the Springfield-Greene County Park Board presented “Safety on the Golf Course” She touched on many safety items to be on the lookout at the golf course and did a description on what is involved in Safety Data Sheets. Attendees earned GCSAA education points.
After the presentation, attendees dined on some great brisket and sides. The brisket was so good, we ate it too fast to get a good picture.
After lunch we formed teams to play a 4-person team, 2-person best ball. The kicker was each team got a sleeve of lime green golf balls, and the ball rotated through each team member, which counted as one of their best balls. Everyone seemed to enjoy the twist, and no team lost all three balls. Otherwise, they would have had to take a double par on each hole for the green ball. It was interesting to see the differences between the best ball and green ball, they averaged about 10 shots difference.
The winning team surely used some home course advantage, consisted of Chad Hoerschgen Superintendent at Millwood, Jim Pyle, retired, Dave Moore, SiteOne, and Conner Antonetti, assistant at Hickory Hills Country Club. with a score of 152.
The second-place team of Gavin Arnold, assistant at Highland Springs C.C., Austin Edie, 2nd assistant at Highland Springs C.C., Barry Siems, owner of Precision Turf Products, and Melvin Waldron III, CGCS, superintendent at Horton Smith G.C. came in second with a score of 163.
We also gave out individual prizes: In first flight, Conner Antonetti shot a 76. and Barry Siems shot a 78.
In second flight, Austen Gearheart, with Advanced Turf Soulutions, beat out Matt Overton, superintendent at Holiday Hills Golf Club on the match of cards, with both shooting 92’s.
Proximity winners included 4 closest to the pin, and one long drive. The closest to the pin winners were:
On # 5 sponsored by Ermisch Golf Architecture - Austen Gearheart
On # 8 sponsored by Precision Labs - Barry Siems
On # 15 sponsored by Professional Turf Products - Gavin Arnold
On # 17 sponsored by GreensPro - Russell Cole, Kansas Golf and Turf
Our long drive winner sponsored by BWI, on hole # 2, playing from the white tees with the young guns, was old man Melvin Waldron, who while possibly being out driven by half the field, was able to keep his drive in the fairway, and take home the prize.
Thanks again to our host, Millwood Golf and Racquet Club, our speaker, Linda Clark, and our sponsors, Professional Turf Products, Chuck Ermisch Golf Architecture, Precision Labs, GreensPro, and BWI.
Our next meeting will be our Christmas Party, sponsored by Professional Turf Products, on Saturday, December 17th, at Ledgestone Country Club. Check future emails and the website for updated details.
The Ozark Turf Association (OTA) would like to recognize OTA member Jeff Steen, CGCS for completing his second Certified Golf Course Superintendent renewal cycle.
Jeff is the Director of Agronomy at Big Cedar Golf, in Hollister Missouri where he leads the Golf Course Superintendents and crews of Buffalo Ridge, Ozark National, Payne’s Valley, Top of the Rock and Mountain Top Golf Courses.
Jeff is also one of four Certified Golf Course Superintendents in the Ozark Turf Association an affiliated Chapter of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA).
The Certified Golf Course Superintendent (CGCS) designation is bestowed upon those who have demonstrated a high degree of knowledge in their profession. The CGCS designation is the most widely recognized in the golf industry and the highest recognition that can be achieved by golf course superintendents. Renewal cycles are every five years and must meet the following continuing education requirements.
They must either attain at least 15 points, of which a minimum of 9.0 must be education points. OR
Successfully complete the written examination, plus attain 5.0 points, with a minimum of 3.0 education points.
To renew their CGCS status, they must fulfill the IPM requirement (either by submitting their pesticide license information or taking the IPM exam).
If you are interested in becoming a Certified Golf Course Superintendent, contact GCSAA to get started.
Pictures from Jeff speaking at the Springfield Business Journal Event: “12 People you Need to Know” back in March. Here he shared how he got into the golf business and stories from his time working at Pebble Beach Golf Links, and how he relies on his team to provide memorable golf experiences to visitors of Big Cedar.
(Photos by Melvin Waldron III, CGCS)
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