Meet the Agronomy Advisory Board

Written by Mike Woltz, Director of Business Development – Agronomy

In the article, “Fine-Tune Your Agronomic Budget” we published last month, I pointed out that, “Just like your greens committee, VGM Club is not always an expert. We count on your feedback and the expertise of our partners to build a program that works for you. We will always work to better that portfolio with existing and/or new partners. That will never change.”

Part of that quote was a teaser for what was to come. VGM Club is proud to announce we have put together an Agronomy Advisory Board to help streamline feedback from industry experts to build a program that works for you.

Meet the Board Members

• Andy Jorgensen – Head Golf Course Superintendent at On Top of the World Communities, Inc.
• Shaun Donahue – Head Golf Course Superintendent at Tidewater Golf Club
• Ryan McCavitt – Director of Golf Course Maintenance Operations at Bayou Oaks Golf Complex
• Jeff Holliday – Director of Golf and Grounds Maintenance at Salisbury Country Club
• Rick Tegtmeier – Director of Golf Course Maintenance at Des Moines Golf and Country Club

When we administered our initial questionnaire to the Agronomy Advisory Board, we asked what their own goals were in participating. The answers all followed a similar wavelength - Provide a resource to VGM Club in an effort to build an agronomic program for fellow VGM Club members.

The Agronomy Advisory Board met for the first time at this year’s Golf Industry Show. We wanted to relay one of the topics we discussed to you:

What does the future of the golf/turf industry look like? Is this the direction you feel benefits superintendents the most? 

Jeff: Golf is not going away, the future of golf is making it more affordable, accessible and fun.

Ryan: It seems to be trending in a positive direction. I think golfers expectations and the time involved in playing a round of golf are areas that may need the most change.

Shaun: They need each other unlike any other time in history. We need to provide the best possible conditions in the least expensive way.

Andy: I see a huge impact coming from additional regulations from an environmental standpoint affecting our industry. I also see technology playing a larger role in filling labor shortages via robotic mowers, larger mowing equipment and better efficiencies in the operations making an impact.

Rick: Right now it is very hard to find labor and to find qualified assistant golf course superintendents. I do think that there will be people coming back into this business once again but we are going to have a rough go of it for a little while until that happens.

These insights will be key as we reach out to the Agronomy Advisory Board when we, excuse the pun, dive further into the weeds. This was a broader questionnaire to better understand how the board views the golf industry as whole, and the diverse answers excite us. All of the board members bring different backgrounds to the table, and this will only work to strengthen the feedback when we work together in 2018.

From a VGM Club perspective, we could not be more excited to share this news with our members and to begin working with the Agronomy Advisory Board. In the job description administered to the board members, the position summary begins with, “to enhance and strengthen agronomy programming for the betterment of VGM’s membership through a community of industry leading VGM Club members.”

This is just the beginning. As we start rolling, please check back for insights from the Agronomy Advisory Board members, and much more. This is a great step in the right direction for all of us, I can’t wait to help your team grow in 2018 with the help of Andy, Shaun, Ryan, Jeff and Rick.

For more information on VGM Club and our Advisory Board, contact me at 888-686-6632.