Minnesota Golfer - Directory 2018 - 38

MGA NEWS
Finding: Faster Greens Result
in Slower Pace of Play
Swing Time at
the Golf Show
It's time again for the " great
Minnesota putt together. "
The 28th Annual Minnesota
Golf Show, sponsored by
Venture Bank and presented
by 1500ESPN, returns
February 16-18 to the
Minneapolis Convention
Center. Show organizers have
all your favorite events and
activities in store, including
free golf lessons, an indoor
driving range, the $100,000
Pontoon Putt presented by
Nelson Marine (a portion of
the proceeds to benefit the
First Tee Foundation), and
more than 18,000 square
feet of golf merchandise
and apparel for sale from
retailers such as 2nd Swing,
Golf USA, Kinley Golf Sales,
Martin Wholesale, and North
Iowa Golf.
The first 1,000 paid attendees
will receive free green fees
from the River Valley Golf
Trail, while the first 1,000
paid attendees through the
door on Saturday will receive
a free golf pass to one of 19
local golf clubs.
GOLF SHOW INFO
Golf Show Hours
Fri., Feb. 16, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 17, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Sun., Feb. 18, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Admission
Adults (18 and older): $13
Youth (17 and under): Free
Tickets are available at the
door for $14.
P
arker Anderson, a research scientist with the University of Minnesota's Science
of the Green, a joint research initiative between the U and the USGA, recently
published results from a new green speed and pace of play study which explores
the relationship between golf course conditions, such as green speed, round times and
player experience. They found faster green speeds equal longer rounds: one foot of green
speed equals 6.39 seconds per green per golfer, or 7.67 minutes in total round time for a
foursome. In some instances, rounds took as much as 30 minutes longer for a one-foot
increase in green speed.
Overall, playing experience decreased as green speeds increased, but Anderson says
more research is needed to understand how pace of play is impacted by other variables,
such as mode of transport, golfer handicap, hole locations, course conditions, fairway
and green sizes, cart policies and intervals between tee times. Interestingly, this research
and GPS golfer data has significant implications for the economic, environmental
and social sustainability of golf course management, Anderson writes on the blog at
scienceofthegreen.umn.edu.
Les Layton 1947--2018
Les Layton, 70, formerly of St. Paul, Minn.
by way of Little Canada, passed away
January 14 in Florida. An accomplished
golfer and avid hockey player, Layton
won the club championship at his home
course,
Dellwood Country Club, and
played league hockey well into his 50s.
During his time as a student at the
University of Minnesota, Layton worked
for the Sun Current, and later was a successful
news reporter at the St. Paul
Pioneer Press and Miami Herald. After
returning to the Twin Cities, Layton
joined Whitney Worldwide Inc., a St. Paul
sales and marketing communications
company, serving as its president from
1983 to 2008.
Warren Rebholz, then executive director,
tapped Layton as an elected director of
the Minnesota Golf Association in 1982.
After the MGA acquired a computer in the
mid-1980s, Layton modernized the nonprofit's
methods of communicating with
its growing membership.
" Les was instrumental in getting
the Minnesota Golfer magazine off the
ground, " said Brian Delgado, a former
MGA communications
director, adding,
" he was a wonderful
writer, editor
and mentor. "
Layton helped
staff transform the Minnesota Golfer
newsletter into a colorful, informative
golf magazine which mailed to more than
64,000 MGA members across the state.
" Les took the job of being an MGA
director seriously, " said Guy Green, a former
assistant to Rebholz.
After Layton's retirement from the
MGA board, he continued to
involved,
Junior Committee,
serving on the association's
Communications
Committee, and later, the magazine's
editorial board.
" He was always productive,
always
attended meetings, but never tried to run
the show, " recalled Green.
There will be a gathering at Mueller
Funeral Home in White Bear Lake
on Feb.
8, 5-8 p.m., and a funeral
service at St. Andrew Lutheran Church in
Mahtomedi on Feb. 9 at 11 a.m., with a
one-hour visitation preceding the service
and a luncheon following.
stay
38
MINNESOTAGOLFER Directory 2018
mngolf.org

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Minnesota Golfer - Directory 2018

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