Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Enjoy this issue of "Chip Shots".  There are lots of published articles, videos and other links to informative pieces.  Don't forget to click on the colored links where indicated.

Sustainability
Recently, I was asked to author an article on sustainability for Board Room Magazine, which contained a different perspective from a superintendent just a few months ago.  While I won't share the article (which will appear later this year) I will share that I learned a tremendous amount in researching the topic.  This issue is likely to grow in importance in the near future as water and chemical use becomes more costly and faces more scrutiny.

Most of the article focuses on the use of warm-season grasses, such as bermuda and zoysia in normally cool season regions for fairways, tees and practice areas.  Among other resources, I found considerable material provided by the USGA, including this article  on environmental and economic sustainability that contains a bunch of information.  Additionally, the Director of the Mid-Atlantic Region of the Green Section, Darrin Bevard was kind enough to talk with me and share some insight on the issue of warm season turfgrass varieties in cool season locations and I later found his article  on the topic to be of considerable interest.  This is an interesting topic that I'm certain will take center stage as more courses feel both economic and environmental pressure to use resources more wisely.

Events & Publications

GPA President, Larry Hirsh recently attended the Philadelphia Area Club Managers Hospitality Show at Aronimink Golf Club.  Great Food! Of course, there were many GM's in attendance and we had the opportunity to learnmore about their clubs in the process.  Hirsh's next scheduled presentation will be to the national meeting of the Appraisal Institute where he will moderate a panel on the topic of "Specialization in Appraisal" in Austin, TX on August 5, 2014.

Hirsh recently published the following article in  Board Room Magazine entitled "Where do You Want to Swim?" This article addresses the issues clubs face when they seek to compete directly with other clubs rather than distinguishing themselves from their competition.

Hirsh also recently published a two-part series in "Parks & Recreation" on the management of municipal golf courses, which can be found at the following links - Part 1 and Part 2.

Since it's always my mission to encourage all (especially those of us in the golf industry) to get out and "Go Play" I share the picture above where my son, Jack (16) and I recently won our flight in the Secession GC (SC) Reunion (Father-Son) event, but even more spectacularly our good friends Alan and Ian Dorfman (3rd and 4th from right) captured the overall title with a 45' putt (Ian) in the shootout and a spectacular pitch to 3' (OFF THE CLUBHOUSE PORCH!) (Alan) in the chipoff.  What a blast!  In addition, yours truly had an interesting shot that resulted in a most unconventional par save.

The Practice Tee - Selling Your Golf Property 

One of the most important things you can do if you're considering selling a golf course property is to plan your "exit" effectively.  At GPA, when we assist owners in marketing their golf course properties we strongly advise that owners do two things thoroughly:

1. Every property owner should develop an EXIT STRATEGY.
2. Compile all the items a buyer will want in a Due Diligence List.

To learn more about how GPA can help your golf course or club plan or accomplish a sale, contact us by emailing Larry at Larry@golfprop.com, visiting our website at www.golfprop.com, calling us at 610-397-1818 or SKYPE at AIRLARR.

GPA is the nation's leading golf property real estate firm and has completed more than 2,500 consulting, appraisal and brokerage assignments in 45 US states, Canada, the Caribbean and Europe.  Currently, we are actively working on assignments in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Connecticut,Vermont & Wisconsin.