Rock on!
Underhill's Franc Ortega doesn't miss a beat. Ortega jammed on his cajon with guitarist Jimmy Moore yesterday during Underhill's afternoon Tailgate Party reception. Ortega and Moore's Latin vibe range through the Golf Industry Show yesterday afternoon and would make one think that the two had played together for years. In fact, the two had just met that afternoon.

Celebrating turf health
Jose Milan and Jimmy Johnson of Bayer with World Golf Foundation CEO Steve Mona at Bayer's "Healthy Turf, Healthy Tomorrow" reception.

Thanks for the memories
Rick Brandt and Gary Grigg stand with GCI's Pat Jones with commemorative copy of Pat's "retirement" column about Gary.

Industry connections
Retired Carolinas GCSA Exec Chuck Borman and Joe O'Brien of First Tee do some catching up on the show floor.

Monster mash
If you’re in the mood for a good time and an exciting challenge, head over to the Direct Solutions booth (#1221). The company has targets set up and attendees get the opportunity to shoot Nerf guns to “defeat the monsters of the fairway.” The slogan at the booth is “Hit a monster, win a monster” and attendees who hit the target with their suction cup ammo win a can of Monster energy drink.

Born to be wild
Purchase a raffle ticket from the Golf Course Builders Association of America (GCBAA) for a chance to win a 2014 Harley Davidson Heritage Softail Classic. It's all part of the association's Chuck Cloud Memorial Raffle. While the bike is the grand prize, 50 additional tickets will be drawn to receive $100 back. The drawing will be held at today's closing celebration at 5 p.m. You can purchase a ticket ($100 each) at Booth #2984. Proceeds benefit the GCBAA Foundation's Sticks for Kids and scholarship programs.

Need for speed
Brandt/Grigg Bros featured NASCAR driver No. 51 Justin Allgaier. Justin was a super nice guy and talked to us about the thrill of driving a race car for a living and  his extensive phyisical training regimine to prep himself for the coming race season, which starts in two weeks.

Flower power
No, Aquatrols' Michael Hanisco wasn't a reality dating show contestant. Instead, he had a pretty tough job at the yesterday's show. Hanisco was charged with distributing 250 red roses to show attendees. It was all part of Aquatrols' "We Fix Relationships" campaign for its surfactant ("Are water repellency issues driving a waxy wedge into your soil/water relationships?"). And Hanisco didn't play favorites with attendees; he handed out the roses to men and women equally.

Welcome to the machine
Turf Republic's Bill Brown, who also writes a regular column for GCI, has not been turned into a cyborg. Instead, he took in the show with his nifty pair of Google Glasses, which he used to share images and video of the show via social media.

You'll be shocked -- shocked! -- to learn that the folks who run this event have occasionally not been thrilled with my tendency to be, well, candid about their show.

I've taken issue with attendance figures. I've bitched about bad registration setups. Perhaps I've even taken a shot at the association's political intrigues in the past. Hell, somebody has to do it.

So now, as I sit here assessing Day 1 of the actual show, you might be wondering, "What's Pat's beef this year?"

I got nothing.

Seriously, people are happy, the show is going smoothly and traffic and engagement on the floor were strong today. Kudos all around.

Suppliers feel pretty good (not great, but good) about the core club market. I've had a ton of conversations with supers and operations folks who are doing savvy things to fix their courses. It's as if many have finally woken up to the fact that there is still lots of money to be made in this crazy little business if you're smart and decisive.

In short, the flattish market doesn't mean that there isn't still a profitable sweet spot for facilities and manufacturers alike. Overall, I feel better about the direction we're going than I have in a decade.

In other happy news today, we shined a light on the best and brightest in social media at our TweetUp at the Aquatrols booth. We'll write more about all the winners soon, but two were particularly notable.

First, Micah Woods of the Asian Turfgrass Institute who is using social media like a virtuoso to lead the charge for education and research around the Pacific Rim. Just amazing.

The other very special honoree was Jason VanBuskirk of Stowe Acres CC in Massachusetts. Find out why here: http://bidmcgvb.wordpress.com.

What will tomorrow bring? Well, I do know that one of our industry's biggest companies has a very interesting announcement planned for tomorrow morning. Stay tuned for that.

And I'm sure the nice weather and normal ebb of the show will mean emptier aisles and the usual let-down. Maybe there will even be something to beef about! A curmudgeon can only hope.
 

2/5 Wednesday

Showtime!

Wednesday marks the first day of what has become a super two-day show. However, before the crack of dawn and most people had arisen there was a very important breakfast and meeting conducted by RISE. That organization is the Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment. Funded by many of the major players in the plant protectant and plant health markets this group does some outstanding things with a crack team of five individuals. They track political activity and legislation across the USA and stay ahead of issues that will affect the golf and turf industry. Several years ago this meeting attracted the board of the organization and also a few of the company representatives that sponsored the group. Today there were well over a hundred people there and it was a combination of corporate reps, media, researchers and golf course superintendents. I strongly suggest that all interested parties find out more about the great work being done and get behind RISE and be aware of what is happening in your backyard and across the country! For more info go to www.grassroots@pesticidefacts.org Grade for the work RISE is doing for us is A+.

The opening of the trade show is always an exciting time. Many people were outside with great anticipation when the show doors opened. By tomorrow we should have the full numbers on the show size and attendance. By gut feeling of attending 40 shows I can tell you that attendance was strong and floor space has grown since our last trip to Orlando.

A few new things this year were the many varieties of food to choose from. Carpets in all the main aisles and lots of booths with carpets so the feet were feeling great at the end of the day. Several of the booths I visited had maximum capacity with tremendous vendor/superintendent interaction. All in all it was a great day for the show and even better for GCSAA. Speaking of GCSAA they continue to excel. While GCSAA brings a nice contingent of staff, let’s not overlook the home team that has done so much to get ready for this event and remains in Lawrence, KS this week. It sort of reminds of the team in Houston when the astronauts went up. Without them things would not run as smoothly as they do. The team on the ground in Orlando is bright and chipper and working long hours this week. Be sure to take the time to thank them for their superb efforts to serve our membership. First day of the show gets a grade of A.

GCSAA TV was working the show and seemed like non-stop interviews. For those that cannot be here you can get a lot of info from tweets, Facebook, GCI webpage, etc.  Bill Brown, of Turf Republic even was working his Google glasses and spreading the word on social media and technology. Tom Vlach and Clay Breazeale from TPC Sawgrass attended one of the sessions that Bill Brown had and were excited about current and future technology. Something tells me that Bill Brown, Turf Republic and the GCI team will be covering The Players Championship in full force this May. I have some insider information on that so stay tuned!

Forty years ago most of the conference attendees were well dressed and carried themselves with a very professional appearance. Things change over time. About 20 years ago the trend was to have some dress more like it was casual Friday. Pleased to say that the number of attendees in professional attire far outnumbered the people that drag their feet in that area. If you want to be a professional and get paid like a professional then act and dress like a professional. Hats off to the industry and the superintendents for seeing the way and I give that a grade of A++.

Some may be unaware of the Musser International Turfgrass Foundation. That group has selected and given out an Award of Excellence for a couple of decades to the best PhD candidate in the world of turfgrass science. Once again some of the busiest guys in the industry met and selected this year’s winner. Too early to share the name but stay tuned for that announcement later. A short reception was held with former winners who are now some of the well-known next generation of researchers and educators. Great group, great program, and one of the many groups that gives back to the industry by recognizing the best of the best! Grade A+ but an incomplete on the story to be told a bit later.

Hospitality suite night is normally on Wednesday. So many places to go and so little time to do it. The people at Bayer had a wonderful event that I visited before heading over to the California Room, the Midwest Room and then the Michigan Room. Networking is a key component to career success. What better way than to share a few heavy hors d'oeuvre with friends and neighbors. For those of us that have moved from our former home bases it is a time to see old colleagues and reacquaint ourselves. I am not sure one hotel could handle every reception so many were held at different hotels and venues up and down International Drive. Hard to grade the many hosts of these events but would have to give most a B+. So you wonder why there is no A+ and I have to tell you that it is hard to beat the A+ I gave the California Room for their event on the aircraft carrier USS Midway in San Diego harbor last year.

This year’s show has seen its fair share of exciting events and great new products. However, one thing that’s always on every mind is: “Where can I find the best freebies?”

GCI took the time and walked the floor to scope the freebies for you. In no particular order, here are our top five.

 

Agrium Advanced Technologies is handing out Dipin’ Dots at booth #2420. Stop by and have your choice of chocolate, vanilla, or a mix of the two.


 

DLF International has a handful of freebies. Attendees can pick up an 85th GCSAA 2014 towel, a nice double-shouldered bag, and even get their business cards turned into a luggage tag. Stop over to booth #1721 to check them all out.


 

SipCamAdvan is giving away rain gauges and nice microfiber glasses cleaners. Booth #844 is where to head if you want those.

 

Jacobsen is passing out t-shirts, in both men’s and women’s sizes, over at booth #1553. Make sure to stop by before your size is gone.

 

Andersons is handing out small action figures in two styles, each featuring the logo on the front and back. They went fast Wednesday, so make sure to stop by early in the morning to get one. Booth #1853 is the place to visit if you want one of these guys.

 

There are plenty of other freebies on the trade show floor this year. If you find any good ones, make sure to tweet us which booth!