B u s i n e s s

briefs P B I / G o r d o n , M i t s u i T e a m U p Kansas Ci ty-based PB I /Go rdon made an

agreement wi th Mitsui Chemicals Ag ro Inc.

of Tokyo that gives PB I /Go rdon market ing

rights to d inotefuran in the United States

golf market, as wel l as certain rights in other

professional turf and ornamental markets.

Mitsui Chemicals Ag ro is a subsidiary of

Mitsui Chemicals. Dinotefuran is a neonic-

otinoid insect ic ide that will be marketed by

PB I /Go rdon in t w o formulat ions, a 2 0 S G

(soluble granule) for turf and a 10SL

(soluble liquid) for ornamental insect pests.

Product availability is expected in 2 0 1 0 . The

trade name and pricing of the product wil l

soon be announced. "As a Uni ted States

market ing partner wi th Mitsui, we are exci ted

to bring dinotefuran to the U.S. golf and

professional turf and ornamental markets,"

said T o m Hof fman, v ice president o f product

development for PBI /Gordon .

V a l e n t A p p o i n t s B l o m e a s E V P , COO J im B lome was named execut ive vice presi-

dent and chief operat ing off icer of Walnut

Creek, Calif .-based Valent U.S.A. In his

new role, B lome wil l oversee all day-to-day

operat ions of the company's agricultural,

professional and consumer products busi-

ness units in the United States and Canada.

In his new position. B lome will work closely

wi th Valent's leadership team to cont inue

the company's growth, wh ich in recent years

has included several introduct ions o f new

products and active ingredients.

I n d u s t r y W i l l M i s s M i k e D a l y Mike Daly, whose industry career spanned

more than 2 0 years, passed away in Apri l

Briefs continue on page 12

N E W S W I T H A H O O K

LEBANONTURF'S MIKE SISTI MOVED BY PARTICIPATING IN RENEWAL & REMEMBRANCE EVENT AT ARLINGTON NATIONAL B y M i k e S i s t i

There are more than

3 3 0 , 0 0 0 men and women — veterans and military casualties from every war our na-

tion has fought since the Civil War — buried on the 6 2 4 acres o f Ar-lington National Cemetery. O n e day each year the green industry has the unique privilege o f rolling up its col-lective sleeves and paying its respects.

This was the first year I partici-pated in the event. I thought I was prepared for the emotion I would

experience, but I was wrong. M y work group, which included

several veterans, was assigned the lim-ing detail for 2 5 5 acres o f turf. Other groups were deployed to different parts o f the cemetery to aerate, plant and prune, as well as cable and brace trees and install lightning protection.

W e had been working for only a short time when we heard the sounds of a funeral procession. First the band members; then the caisson team o f seven white horses, one with a soldiers boots turned backward in the stirrups; and a horse-drawn car-riage holding a casket draped with an American flag.

W e stopped our work, turned o f f our machines and removed our caps. W c stood in silence for several minutes as one of 2 9 funeral proccs-

Continned on page 16

E d i t o r ' s n o t e : Mike Sisti, marketing manager for Lebanon Turf, was among more than 400 members ofthe green industry who spent July 13 in Washington helping maintain the grounds at Arlington National Cemetery as part of the 13th annual Renewal & Remembrance event conducted by the Professional Landcare Network. Many of the landscape and lawn-care pro-fessionals also visited lawmakers on Capitol Hill on July 14 to discuss issues facing the industry.

Off The Fringe

Genuine Jim NICOL HOSTS A SECOND PGA CHAMPIONSHIP, BUT, NO, HE'S NOT MORE RELAXED ABOUT IT

It seems like just yesterday we profiled J i m Nicol in Golf-dom as a preview for the 84th PGA Championship at Hazeltine National G o l f Club in Chaska, Minn. But it

was seven years ago! T h e 57-year-old Nicol and Hazeltine are back this year to host another PGA Championship, set for Aug. 10-16, at the Robert Trent Jones Sr.-designed track.

Nicol is a Minnesota boy, who grew up in St. Cloud, about 7 5 miles northwest o f the T w i n Cities. He began his golf course maintenance career when he was 14, mowing greens part-time at St. Cloud Country Club. Nicol joined the course's maintenance crew full-time soon afterward. He enjoyed the job and loved working outside. He began to entertain thoughts o f a career in the field when he gradu-ated from high school.

"Every year [after the season], I watched the [St. Cloud] su-perintendent get in his car and drive to Florida for the winter, Nicol said. "I thought to myself, T h i s guy has it figured out. ' »

Times have changed, and Nicol might not head South every

winter, but he's enjoying life as a superintendent. Golfdom caught up

with him recently to talk about host-ing his second PGA Championship.

Are you a l i t t le more re laxed prepar ing for the tou rnament th is t ime around? Not really. T h e r e is always some new challenge, and one should never relax under these circumstances. What ' s t h e key to prepar ing for a t ou rnamen t l ike t h i s? Surround-ing yourself with good people, which I believe I have. What ' s your b iggest agronomic chal lenge on t h e golf course in ge t t ing ready for the t ou rnamen t? Making sure the course will be able to handle the intensity for seven days in August. Last t i m e t h e PGA Championship w a s held here, you had an uncoop-erat ive and cold spr ing to g row grass. How was t h e spr ing th is year fo r g row ing grass? Not good. W e have winter damage that is slow to rccovcr due to the cold, dry spring. W c have been too dry as Beth page was too wet. In 2002, the course played 7,350 yards. W h a t w i l l i t play th is year, and w h a t changes have occur red to the course? T h e course

Continued on page 16

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since 1964

Quotable "Only 18 percent of golfers have registered handicaps. So I ask you, 'Who are we building golf courses f o r ? ' " — Golf Course Architect Bobby Weed on the misguided direction the golf course industry has taken by building courses that are too difficult for average players.

"It 's hard to believe I was swinging a club at that age . But she certainly has my temper She doesn't l ike for me to help her hold a golf club. She' l l figure it out for herself . Sounds very familiar." — Tiger Woods on his daughter Sam, who recently turned 2years old. Tiger admits Sam is a chip off the old block.

Off The Fringe Bus iness

briefs Briefs continued from page 8 f rom brain cancer. He was 52. Daly's love

for the game of golf and respect for super-

intendents in the industry began during his

college years when he worked on a crew at

a course near his chi ldhood home in West

Des Moines, Iowa. Af ter working as an as-

sistant superintendent, he transitioned to

the manufacturing side and held numerous

positions with chemical companies includ-

ing Ciba, Novartis and Bayer Environmental

Science. H e progressed through his career

serving in roles such as field sales represen-

tative, regional sales manager, market and

brand manager and director of marketing.

"Mike was a thinker," said Neil Cleveland, di-

rector of the U.S. Green Business for Bayer

Environmental Science and a long-time

friend. u He saw things from a dif ferent point

of view. You could always count on Mike to

bring fresh ideas and unique solutions." •

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Off The Fringe Looking 'Fine' and Dandy FINE FESCUES MAKING THEIR MARK, ACCORDING TO SEED RESEARCHERS By Ron Hall

Until recently, fine fescues

have, to some extent, been the

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with fine fescues. T h e fine-leafed, bunch-type grass, known for its cold tolerance and environmental benefits, has boosted its popularity.

" T h e idea o f looking at alternative grasses that use less fertilize and water is what we're looking a t , " said W a y n e H o r m a n , at the recent Scotts Profes-sional Seed/Pure-Seed Testing Field D a y in Rolesville, N . C . " T h e s e are attributes o f fine fescues, along with their ability to survive and look good in moderate shade."

H o r m a n , national accounts man-ager for Scotts Professional Seed, said golf course superintendents especially arc getting the message, often taking out five to eight acres o f other species and replacing them with fine fescues because o f the savings to their fertilizer and water budgets.

" W e ' r e going to try to take these grasses a step further," said H o r m a n about the breeding and selection pro-gram at the North Carol ina research farm. " W e ' r e going to try everything with them."

Kevin Turner , who heads Scotts Professional Seed Oregon program, reiterated Horman's c o m m e n t s regard-ing fine fescue's usefulness. "F ine fes-cue is an under-utilized grass," he said.

O n e visitor to the field day said fine fescue is a grass that "really wants to be left alone and ignored, and generally doesn't like a lot o f fertilizer, water or even a lot o f maintenance."

As an interesting side note to the field day, David Huff , P h . D . , associ-ate professor o f turfgrass breeding and genetics at Penn State University, said there is confusion surrounding the identification and marketing of the various types of fine fescues, generally broken down into creeping red, chew-ings, sheep and hard fescues.

Huft suggested renaming the types as blue hard fescue and American sheep fescue to tell them apart and to aid archi-tects and others when they specify a par-ticular type o f fine fescue for a project. •

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Off The Fringe PRIVILEGE Continued from page 8 sions scheduled for this day moved past us and to the gravesite of another American hero. Then we turned on our machines and got back to work, reminded that, on this most hallowed ground, we were united as a team, united as an industry and united as Americans.

T h e next day, many of us traded our work clothes for coats and ties to visit lawmakers on Capitol Hill. I had meetings with Pennsylvania Congressman J i m Gerlach and with aides for New Jersey Congressmen Rush Holt and Rob Andrews.

I wish I could say I left Washington feeling that our messages concerning pending water legislation, health carc for small businesses and immigration labor laws were heard loud and clear. T h e r e arc ob-viously some lawmakers who understand the issues and others w h o just don't get it when it comes to the contributions of our industry and the corresponding need for their support. It was a strong reminder we need to continue the education process, and that the 13''1 Renewal & Remem-brance event can't be our last. •

JIM Continued from page 10 will play somewhere around 7 , 6 5 0 yards. T h e r e arc too many changes to list since 2 0 0 2 . W e repositioned 18 bunkers, added 10 bunkers and added length on 12 holes. In 50 words or less, descr ibe how the course's greens w i l l play for the t ou rnamen t? They will be at championship speeds and fairly firm. They are bentgrass/Poa (until next summer), and our main goal is have them smooth. There are subtle breaks, which make them a little tricky when the speed is up.

Has J i m Nicol changed at al l s ince the last PGA Championsh ip? M y hair is a lighter color, and I might have mellowed some. How do you handle the pressure t h a t comes w i t h s tag ing a t ou rnamen t l ike t h i s? Stay focused and remain true to what the mission is. Get some sleep and take a little time for family and friends. You also need to depend on the lead crew members. Who's your favor i te player on t h e PGA Tour and why? T i m Hcrron is

a great guy who I have followed since his high school days. He calls me " J i m m y " and gives me a cigar once in while when he is out here. T o m Ixhman is also very kind but no cigars. W h a t w i l l you do Sunday n igh t a f ter the tou rnament? Have a short celebration with the crew and get ready for the outing on iVlonday morning, I 'm going to take the following weekend of f (I hope) to fish and . . . •

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