The big event coming up for the Saskatchewan Turfgrass Association is the Saskatchewan Turfgrass Conference being held in Regina.  The conference hotel is the Delta.  Co-chairmans Ray Popoff and Mike Kupchanko are lining up an excellent educational conference.  Some of the speakers are can’t miss! 
Do your Club and yourself a favour by attending this conference!

Congratulations to Dakota Dunes for being named Canada’s best new golf course by Golf Digest.  This links style course is located on rolling grass and sand hills on the Whitecap Dakota First Nation Reserve and was designed by Cooke-Carleton International.  The course is superbly maintained by S.T.A. member Darren Crilly and his assistant Marc Roberts.  Green fees are reasonably priced at $62.00 per round.  That includes a cart.

I recently read that not being able to keep your mouth shut is nothing but a bad habit.  Not only do you say things you shouldn’t, you also (1) wreck your reputation, (2) are labelled as untrustworthy and (3) hurt others badly in the process.

We continue to receive registrations for the 2006 Saskatchewan Turfgrass Conference in Regina.  If you are a Professional in the Turfcare Industry this conference is a must!  The seminars will have emphasis on local conditions.  There is something for everyone including irrigation and mechanical talks.  If you can, please pre-register.

Architect Donald Ross says “Putting greens constructed with relation to the length and topography of the hole are the making of a real golf course”.

At a well known Club in the Southern USA a questionnaire was sent to the members wanting to know what their expectations were on the conditions of their greens.   The number one response, by a country mile, was smooth greens with adequate pace.  Those who said the club should have super-fast greens were single digit handicap players... all 22 of them!

A number of S.T.A. members attended the G.C.S.A.A. Turf Conference and Trade Show in Atlanta.  All were impressed with the educational component of the show as well as the massive trade show.  Atlanta is the world headquarters for Coca-Cola as well as CNN.

During my hospital stay I received many visitors, all of whom brought reading material.   One book that stood out was from S.T.A. President Kevin Bloski,  “The Spirit of St. Andrews”.  This is one of the best books I’ve ever read.   Written by world renown golf course architect Alister McKenzie 70 years ago and only published in 1995, this book remains timeless.  It’s a tremendous read, a book you can’t put down.  Thanks a million Kevin!