Eastern North Carolina Turfgrass Association

ENCTA Members and Colleagues;

The fall of the year is a time for Superintendent’s to catch up with colleagues, relax and spend a little time with family. On October 14th, the Eastern NC Association competed against the Cape Fear Association for the Coastal Cup at Cypress Landing Golf Club. Although, we did not come out on top, everyone had a great time competing. This is a great event and we are already looking forward to the match next year.

Many members of the ENCTA traveled to Myrtle Beach for the annual CGCSA Conference and Trade Show in mid-November. What an excellent event and a great opportunity to take affordable education. Thank you to all of the staff of CGCSA and the board members for making this a success. It was a great show this year. The last two years a member from ENCTA has taken home $5000 as the winner from John Deere 27-hole challenge; this year we were not so lucky.

On December 4th, the members of ENCTA came together at Kinston Country Club for the annual membership meeting. Outgoing board members Daniel Lancaster from Wedgewood Golf Course, Chris Pearson from Green Resource and Brian Williams from North River Golf Club were honored and presented with plaques of appreciation for their service. Buckley Brockmann was honored and presented a plaque as out-going vice president; he has accepted another job and has gotten out of the turf industry. Andy Ipock from the Country Club of the Crystal Coast has been chosen to fill the vice president position. The new board members elected for 2-year terms were Bo Barefoot from Precision, Chris Parham from Greenville Country Club and Josh Stutts from Brandywine Golf Club.

ENCTA is extremely fortunate to have outstanding support from all of our sponsors. 2014 has been an excellent year for the association and we would like to thank you all and encourage all of our members to support companies that help make ENCTA and our industry so successful. Please visit our website at www.encta.org and our Facebook page for more dates and
information on our 2015 schedule. We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Stanley Elliott, CGCS
ENCTA President
Cypress Landing Golf Club
252-378-5743

NEXT MEETING: Thursday January 22, 2015 Annual Pesticide Meeting Wayne Community College Goldsboro, NC

MEETING SPONSORED BY: GREEN RESOURCE

Please call Southern Seeds by Monday January 19 at 1-800-682-1102, so we can make adequate accommodations or use E-vite to inform us that you are coming, but do not use both.

Thursday December 4th Kinston Country Club Kinston, NC Annual Business Meeting Host: Dean Baker, CGCS

PLEASE CALL SOUTHERN SEEDS BY FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28TH AT
1-800-682-1102; SO WE CAN MAKE ADEQUATE ACCOMMODATIONS OR USE E-VITE TO
INFORM US THAT YOU ARE COMING; BUT DO NOT USE BOTH.

ENCTA Members and Colleagues,

In August, we were at The Emerald Golf Club in New Bern where Andy Priest from the Carolina Golf Association (CGA) spoke on the rules of golf and how to mark you golf course. Phil Kilmer and his staff had the golf course in excellent condition for those of us who were fortunate enough to play golf.

In September, we had our largest crowd of the year show up at The Sound Golf Links at Albemarle Plantation in Hertford to hear Dr. Leon Lucas do his last meeting for the ENCTA. He spoke on what he saw on golf courses during his travels this summer. Dr. Lucas is retiring at the end of the year from the CGA. He is a fixture in the turfgrass industry here in the Carolinas and he is going to be missed. He was giving a Lifetime Membership to the ENCTA along with some other gifts. Mike Horton and his staff had the golf course in championship form for the ENCTA championship. Wade Faircloth from Taberna Country Club had the low round of the day at 77 to win the overall championship edging out Drew Ramsey from Cutter Creek Golf Club who shot an 81. Bill Jones from Southern Seeds was the net champion with a net of 65.

In October, we will be having our annual Coastal Cup matches against the Cape Fear Association at Cypress Landing Golf Club. This once a year grudge match has been lopsided for the last couple of years and the ENCTA are really looking forward to the opportunity to bring home the cup this year.

We will wrap up our year with our annual business meeting on December 4th at Kinston Country Club. At the annual meeting, we will be electing three new board members and honoring outgoing board members. The outgoing board members are Chris Pearson with Green Resource, Daniel Lancaster with Wedgewood Golf Course and Brian Williams with North Shore Golf Club. I want to thank those guys for all of their hard work that put in for the last two years.

The ENCTA board of governors is so thankful for the support that we have received from our many sponsors this year. Please let us know if there is anything that the association can do to better. Please visit our website at www.encta.org and our Facebook page for more dates and information on our 2014 schedule.

Stanley Elliott, CGCS
ENCTA President
Cypress Landing Golf Club
252-378-5743
elliottyardboy@gmail.com

ENCTA Members and Colleagues,

Late summer as everyone knows in the golf course management industry is a time when we must focus most of our effects and energy on the responsibilities at our respective golf courses. Those who manage bentgrass greens are counting the down the days until they can aerify and have consistent 60-degree nights while those of us who manage ultradwarf bermudagrass greens have plenty to do with the cultural practices that go along with our management.

We are pleased to announce that the winner of the 2014 Bill Sutton Scholarship is Cassidy Willoughby, who is the daughter of ENCTA past President Richard Williams, who passed away in 2012; and the niece of ENCTA board member Brian Williams. Cassidy graduated in June from South Lenoir High School. She had an overall cumulative GPA of 4.7 and was in the top 5 of her class. Cassidy will be attending UNC-Chapel Hill, where she will be majoring in Biology.

July gave the members of ENCTA and their families an opportunity to get together after hours at a Wilson Tobs baseball game. Dale Edmonds with the City of Wilson hosted the July meeting and Vandemark Sod Farms sponsored the event. Rob Woods with Wayne Community College grilled a fabulous brisket that everyone enjoyed. Buckley Brockmann, Vice President of ENCTA, son Dash threw out the first pitch of the game and Cassidy Willoughby, daughter of the late ENCTA President Richard Williams, was presented with the Bill Sutton Scholarship before the rained out game. The food, attendance and organization were exceptional; except for the monsoon that washed out the game.

Our August meeting will be at the Emerald Golf Club in New Bern. Phil Kilmer will host the meeting on August 21st and a representative from the Carolina Golf Association will be our speaker and he will be speaking on “How to Mark Your Golf Course”. This should be very informative topic for Golf Course Superintendents. I am sure Phil cannot wait to show off his new Champion bermuda greens.

On September 18th we will travel to The Sound Golf Links at Albemarle Plantation where Dr. Leon Lucas will give us a presentation on what he has seen in his travels this summer in the Carolinas. Dr. Lucas will be retiring at the end of the year and this will be a great opportunity to wish him the best with your attendance. We all would like to think Dr. Lucas for every thing that he has done for us throughout the years. Michael Horton will be host and will have the course in fabulous condition and the greens should be rolling great for the Annual ENCTA Championship.

The ENCTA board of governors is so thankful for the support that we have received from our many sponsors this year. We all look forward to the summer winding down and everyone’s stress levels getting back to normal. Please let us know if there is anything that the association can do to better. We would like to invite all of our members to our next few meetings. Please visit our website at www.encta.org and our Facebook page for more dates and information on our 2014 schedule.

Stanley Elliott, CGCS
ENCTA President
Cypress Landing Golf Club
252-378-5743

NEXT MEETING: Thursday September 18th The Sound Golf Links @ Albemarle Plantation Hertford, NC Speaker: Dr. Leon Lucas Topic: What We Saw In The Summer Of 2014? Host: Michael Horton

Please call Southern Seeds by Friday, September 12th at 1-800-682-1102; so we can make adequate accommodation or use e-vite to inform us that you are coming; but do not use both.

Cypress Landing Golf Club Recognized for Environmental Excellence

Published 7:44pm Wednesday, August 13, 2014

From Audobon International

CHOCOWINITY – Cypress Landing Golf Club has retained its designation as a “Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary” through the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses, an Audubon International program.

Participation is designed to help course personnel plan, organize, implement, and document a comprehensive environmental management program and receive recognition for their efforts. To reach certification, a course must demonstrate that they are maintaining a high degree of environmental quality in a number of areas including: Environmental Planning, Wildlife & Habitat Management, Outreach and Education, Chemical Use Reduction and Safety, Water Conservation, and Water Quality Management.

“Cypress Landing Golf Club has shown a strong commitment to its environmental program. They are to be commended for their efforts to provide a sanctuary for wildlife on the golf course property,” said Doug Bechtel, executive director of Audubon International.

Cypress Landing Golf Club is one of 18 courses in North Carolina and 902 courses in the world to receive the honor. Golf courses from the United States, Africa, Australia, Central America, Europe, South America, and Southeast Asia have also achieved certification in the program. The golf course was designated as a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary in 2011. After designation, courses go through a recertification process every two years.

This year the recertification process, coordinated by Stanley Elliott, CGCS, Golf Course Superintendent of Cypress Landing Golf Club, Stan Cohen, Audubon Advisory Chair, and many volunteers from Cypress Landing, required a visit by a local community representative. Jacob Searcy of North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension Services was given a tour of the course and sent his observations to Audubon International. “Cypress Landing Golf Club and the surrounding community have made great efforts to make the golf course a desirable place for both golfers and wildlife,” reported Searcy. “Cypress Landing serves as a fine model for other Eastern North Carolina golf courses to imitate.”

“We see the site visit as an important component of a course’s recertification,” stated Bechtel. “It provides an objective verification of some of the more visible aspects of the course’s environmental management activities. In addition, it offers an opportunity for golf course representatives to share publicly some of the voluntary actions they have taken to protect and sustain the land, water, wildlife, and natural resources around them.”

About Audubon International

Audubon International is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) environmental education organization dedicated to providing people with the education and assistance they need to practice responsible management of land, water, wildlife, and other natural resources. To meet this mission, the organization provides training, services, and a set of award-winning environmental education and certification programs for individuals, organizations, properties, new developments, and entire communities.

For more information, contact Audubon International at 120 Defreest Drive, Troy, NY 12180, 518-767-9051, e-mail at acsp@auduboninternational.org, or visit the website at www.auduboninternational.org.

NEXT MEETING: Thursday August 21st Emerald Golf Club New Bern, NC Speaker: Andy Priest, Carolina Golf Association (Director of Championships & Association Operations) Topic: Course Set-Up and Marking Host: Phil Kilmer

Please call Southern Seeds by Monday August 18th at 1-800-682-1102; so we can make adequate accommodations or use E-vite to inform us that you are coming, but do not use both.