DR. MICHAEL HINDAHL, LINKS ANALYTICALTom CookAssociate Professor,Oregon State University:

My first contact with Mike Hindahl wasphone call out of the blue. He introducedhimself and mentioned that he was look-ing at developing a sand testing businessto serve the turf industry primarily in thePNW. After talking for a while we madearrangements to meet and discuss hisidea. Thus began one of the most enjoy-able collaborations I have everhad. Here was a guy with aPhD in microbiology, aresearch career in thePharmaceutical industry work-ing with important diseaseslike AIDS, and an obvious pas-sion for golf and he wanted tocombine his golf interests witha business that could serve theturf industry in a meaningfulway. This is not your usualcareer switch story.

Once we started talking, I men-tioned that while testing sandwas certainly a good way tostart, there were other things hemight want to incorporate intohis business. We started talkingabout environmental issues andthe need for monitoring servicesat golf courses. At that point hestarted to get excited about theprospects. Combining his interestin golf with his training a scien-tist and his naturally analyticalpersonality seemed like a perfectmatch. And it was. Mike jumpedin with both feet setting up moni-toring sites at numerous golf courses, ana-lyzing the research data, developingcooperative research projects with univer-sities, studying laws and regulations, andserving as a spokesman at meetings whereenvironmental issues were on the agenda.He single handedly crafted the OGCSAIPM manual and has become theacknowledged leader in environmentalissues affecting golf courses. All of thishas happened in the span of a few years.

I always enjoyed my time with Mike. Iremember when we both spoke at a LandPlanners meeting in Eugene he let meramble on with all my moralistic mes-sages and then quietly bailed me out oftrouble when people asked me about thedetails as in rules and regulations. Wedecided that with my BS and his brainswe could be a powerful force.

Mike was always been quick to come to

Corvallis and speak to my stu-dents or join us on field trips at golfcourses. Even though he tried hard he wasnever really very nice to me on the golfcourse. In spite of always losing to himand his old fashioned clubs, I have rarelyhad as much fun playing golf as I havewith Mike.

Most of all I enjoyed talking to Mike andmarveling at his dry wit and mellow dis-position.

If you asked a hundred different people towrite something about Mike, they wouldall say the same thing. He was a goodfriend and someone who always comesthrough with his end of the bargain. Hewas generous to a fault and altruistic. Hisuniversal good will affected everyone hehas came in contact with. We are all verylucky to have known Mike Hindahl.

Rod NelsonSuperintendent,Camas Meadows Golf Course:

Mike has almost single handedlyput the pacific northwest on thenational map for our environmentalaccomplishments. There is no waywe could pay for the tireless workhe has done on our behalf.

Steve MonaCEO,GCSAA:

Dr. Hindahl was a powerful cata-lyst for environmental progresswithin the golf industry for thenorthwest US. His technical back-ground, practical approach andcommitment to environmentalstewardship changed the cultureof golf course superintendentsand inspired many to implementprogressive management tech-niques. His insight, vision andtireless efforts were key elementsin the development of theEnvironmental Stewardship

Guidelines. The four sections of this man-ual, and in particular, the water qualitymonitoring materials, provided a pathwayfor golf course superintendents toadvance the environmental stewardship oftheir golf properties. Through his work,Mike became a trusted advisor for thegolf industry, the environmental commu-nity and regulators throughout the north-west. The GCSAA is proud of its affilia-tion with Mike and commends him on hisenvironmental leadership.

24 Turfgrass Management in the PNW - Summer 05

David PhippsSuperintendent,Stone Creek Golf Club:

Those of you that have had the privilegeto build a golf course, knows the trials ofputting the whole thing together. One ofmy biggest hurtles at Stone Creek GolfClub was the permitting of the wetlandmitigation areas throughout the property.

If it wasn't for thetechnical writing skills of Dr. MichaelHindahl, the project could have easilybeen postponed a year.

I had just become acquainted with Mikeearlier while working as Russ Vandehey'sassistant at The Oregon Golf Club. Mikehad been doing some of his earlier workon the water quality testing, but mostly hewas testing sand as a USGA approved lab.

Larsen Golf Construction had used Mikefor testing the sand for the greens at StoneCreek Golf Club so he was around quite abit. The wetland issues at the propertywere quite complex, since there were pre-vious violations that had occurred fromthe previous developer. The Corp ofEngineers and The Oregon Division ofState Lands were each requiring their ownset of plans and the biologist that ourengineers were using was having a diffi-cult time meeting the requirements of

each. It soon turned into an issue and acommunication barrier began between thebiologist and both, the Corp of Engineersand the Division of State Lands.

Realizing that we were running out oftime to be able to work within our weath-er window, we had to make a change.That is when I asked Mike if he could puttogether the data that was already collect-ed and assimilate it in a form that could beread and understood by the governmentalagencies.

Mike took the project on as a challengeand after a few meetings and some heavy"noodling" as Mike would say, the per-mits were issued and the project was backon schedule.

Mike continued to monitor the wetlandsand send in status reports to the State and

the Corp for the next year and a half. Wehave now hired a new biologist, and theywere able to pick up from where Mike leftoff without a problem. Mike remained aclose friend and was my sounding boardfor ideas while I served on the OGCSABoard. Mike truly had an analytical mind;he could not have picked a more appro-priate name of a business, LinksAnalytical.

There are so many stories out there inwhich Mike did the same thing for othersuperintendents. He took a simple con-cept of testing sand for golf courses andevolved into an all encompassing envi-ronmental golf business which hasobtained national recognition. What atreasure we have had in the service of Dr.Michael Hindahl.

Thanks Mike.

Part of Mike's Legacy was the creation of theEnvironmental Stewardship Guidelines for the OGCSA

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