Category: GCSAA News

The OGA-OGCSA Superintendent Spotlight is a new monthly feature which highlights one of the many outstanding superintendents across Oregon and Southwest Washington. The course superintendent does the yeoman’s work – they’re tabbed with keeping our region’s green grass facilites in top notch shape. Make sure to follow this monthly special to learn a little bit more about these unsung heroes.

This month we shine the spotlight on Craig Hilty, who is in his 16th year with Rogue Valley Country Club in Medford, Ore.

Describe your facility in 10 words or less: 
A 27 hole Country Club in beautiful Southern Oregon!

What is a little-known fact / fun fact about your facility? 
Annually host The Southern Oregon Golf Championship, the largest Amateur Match-Play tournament held on a single course in the U.S.

What is your best 18-hole score at your facility? 
Let’s just say I’m not challenging any course records 🙂

What’s the biggest challenge your facility presents to you as superintendent?
Finding creative ways to continually improve our property with with a budget that is never quite enough.

What led you down the path of becoming a superintendent?
After working three years maintenance in High School, I couldn’t believe a job this fun could be a career!

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve witnessed or done as a superintendent?
Watching a Workman MXD float across the pond- Who knew the plastic bed would be so buoyant!

Do you have a superintendent dog? 
Yes – Charlie who is a Dachshund-Shepard mix (don’t ask me how that works). He’s a one-year old who serves as the club mascot / goose and widgeon chaser.

Ducks, Beavers or other? 
WAZZU

Grapes, hops or milkshake? 
Hoppy

Tiger or Phil? 
Lefty

Jack or Arnie? 
Jack

Excluding your current facility, what is your favorite golf course? 
Bandon Dunes- All of them, but I will always be patial to the original Bandon Dunes Course

What’s your favorite tool in your tool box? 
My trusty soil moisture probe

What’s your favorite major tournament?
U.S. Open

Let’s say there’s a three-day weekend coming up—what are you going to do? 
Take the travel trailer and family up in the mountains, outside of cell range!

What would you invent right now to make your professional life easier?
A clone to sit in committee and board meetings.

If you could change a Rule of Golf to make your life easier, what would that be? 
Wow, way more than one rule, it needs simplified to loose the pretentious feel and anything to speed play up.

If your owner decided to plow up your course and make it a farm. What crops would you suggest? 
Grapes, becoming a viticulturist sounds interesting.

How much sand do you accidentally take home in your socks over the course of a year? 
4.75 tons

Who is your idol in the golf world? 
Bob Barker!

What is one piece of advice you would give to someone wanting to become a superintendent? 
Be transparent with yourself, staff, members and the Superintendent profession will reward you each and every day!

• Click Here for a Full Listing of Superintendent Spotlight Monthly Features

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The Oregon Chapter of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) is dedicated to providing education, a forum for communication, and the enhancement of the image of its members. The Oregon Golf Course Superintendents Association will be viewed as an organization that promotes the growth and enhancement of golf, provides networking opportunities to all members, encourages leadership and professional development opportunities, supports environmental stewardship, notes the importance of research and development to provide exceptional playing conditions.

Click Here to Learn More About the OGCSA

Christopher Condon, Director of Agronomy at Tetherow wins Environmental Award of Excellence.

Portland, Ore. (Oct 4, 2017):  The Oregon Chapter of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (OGCSA) has recognized Christopher Condon, Director of Agronomy at Tetherow as the recipient of the Michael S. Hindahl Environmental Award of Excellence.  This award will be presented On October 24, 2017 during the OGCSA Environmental Meeting at The Oregon Golf Club.

Tetherow is an Audubon International Certified Signature Sanctuary; and was the first golf course in Oregon to achieve the certification. Tetherow’s pledge to ensuring environmentally sound philosophies and practices are integrated into nearly every aspect of the course development and on-going agronomic practices that support sustainability and environmental excellence.

Chris Condon has been the driving force behind Tetherow’s environmental success. Chris has been at the golf course since first breaking ground in 2006. He has been part of every aspect of the club’s construction including the re-naturalization of the clubs natural areas. Recognition of Chris and Tetherow is well overdue.

Tetherow Features:

• Golf course acreage totals 160 acres.
• Tetherow is grassed with fine fescue which requires fewer inputs.
• There are 9 acres of lakes and wetlands.
• Nearly half of the total acres, 73 of the 160 acres, were left natural or were re-naturalized.
• Rock piles and snags were retained to provide shelter for natural animal habitats throughout the resort.
• First in Oregon designated as a Bronze certified signature sanctuary by Audubon International 9/17/2008
• One-million-dollar re-naturalization project following construction
• The club has a webpage dedicated to “The birds of Tetherow”
• First Green host golf course
• Working with the East Cascades Audubon Society to improve the nesting habitat for the Lewis’s woodpecker.
• Bat boxes are placed around the course and brush piles are utilized for creating special habitats.
• Lakes are stocked with bluegill and black crappie

About the Michael S. Hindahl Environmental Award of Excellence
Named in honor of the late Michael S. Hindahl who was a friend of the Oregon Superintendents and an environmental advocate. Hindahl had a PhD in Microbiology and worked for Oregon Health Science University researching AIDS. With a passion for golf and a desire to apply his skills to the industry, he helped the Oregon Superintendents pioneer its Environmental Stewardship Guidelines.  Just prior to his passing in 2005, Oregon Superintendents gained national notoriety by winning the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America’s President’s Award for Environmental Stewardship for their work with the Guidelines.  It is the intent of the Oregon Golf Course Superintendents Association to recognize superintendents and their facilities that have shown leadership and environmental fortitude that exemplify the life of Michael S. Hindahl.

The Oregon Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (OGCSA) held their 2017 Annual Meeting on May 23. In addition to the business meeting, elections and a keynote speaker, there were several awards presented. This year a very special award was given to longtime OGCSA member superintendent, Robert (Bob) Senseman, CGCS.

Senseman was presented with the OGCSA Hall of Fame Award. The OGCSA Hall of Fame was established in 1995. The purpose of the OGCSA Hall of Fame is to recognize and honor a member’s lifetime work and service to our industry. This award is the pinnacle of all awards in the OGCSA. A recipient of this award must meet certain criteria to be eligible; such as having minimum industry involvement of 20 years and the individual must have given service to the OGCSA and its members though board service, committee service, as an advocate or volunteer. A few notable past recipients of this award are: Harvey Junor, Tom Cook and Dick Fluter.

Senseman’s involvement with the OGCSA and other affiliated industry organizations through the years certainly deserves to be recognized with this award. His membership goes back over 30 years and has included many years as an OGCSA board director and a term as chapter president in 1993-1994. In 1994, Senseman was also awarded the OGCSA Superintendent of the year award. In 2013 Bob was presented with the Richard Malpass Distinguished Service Award, which is yet another highly recognized award within the OGCSA. Senseman has also been closely involved with the turfgrass program at Oregon State University for many years and has served on the Oregon Turfgrass Foundation Board since its inception in 2001.

This is just the ‘tip of the iceberg’ when it comes to speaking about Senseman’s long list of achievements in the turfgrass industry. He is currently the Superintendent at Oswego Lake Country with a pending retirement date for June 2017. He has served as the Superintendent at OLCC since 1995. Prior to OLCC, Senseman held the position as Superintendent at other notable clubs such as Columbia Edgewater Country Club and San Louis Obispo Country Club. Time spent as a USGA Agronomist for the North-East region is also a noteworthy experience on Senseman’s resume.

Above all the accolades, Senseman is a family man, having been married to his lovely wife, Mary, for 46 years. They have 2 children; daughter, Christy and son, Michael. He has also been a longtime friend and mentor to so many in the turfgrass industry.