Tom Hill rode with me for two days on April 14 and 15 to see what life is like behind the wheel in the Georgia/Atlanta markets. We met with Ken Mangum at The Atlanta Athletic Club where he told us about his preparation for the 2011 PGA Championship Tournament. Ken has been extremely happy with the results he’s seen with Trinity on Zoysia Patch and plans to continue its use.  While riding with me and after visiting with customers, Tom was able to see how the weather has impacted the Southeast.  
 
I took a Sports Turf Managers Association group, which included managers from The University of Georgia, Georgia Tech and The University of West Georgia, to FarmLinks on April 23-25.  The itinerary was set-up specifically for the STMA groups—the “on the course tour” even took place at a local baseball and football field where the guys talked shop. It was a great learning experience to listen to these guys discuss their different management styles.  I definitely learned a lot.
 
The biggest news out of this group was Plant Health. The University of

Georgia and Georgia Tech managers plan to spray Insignia on their football fields this fall to help aid in turf recovery after the football games. We are planning to demo a few areas to see how the fields respond over the course of the season. I’m optimistic we’ll see good results. A big issue for these guys is trying to breathe life back into turf after the grass has been beat up all weekend.  
 
Following my time at FarmLinks, I stayed the weekend for the

Talladega race festivities. I knew it was going to be a great weekend when I ran to town to get a hair cut and witnessed an Elvis American Idol competition in the parking lot of Wal-Mart in Sylacauga… Uhhhh Seriously…
Everything about this weekend—the presentation, golf tournament (my team finished third), the crawfish boil and the race—was a success. Several superintendents I know who are intense NASCAR fans emailed me following the race. A few mentioned they were spraying Insignia this week. I attended the Georgia Turfgrass Association’s board of directors meeting last Friday. It is getting harder and harder for people to get well permits in the state of Georgia . The process of getting a well is a long—patience required—process and some people aren’t willing to sit it out.
 
On Monday May 5 ^th , I attended the GGCSA Spring Fling, where a golf tournament was held to raise money for turf research in the state of

Georgia.  BASF was an Platinum sponsor of the event, it was a great turn out for the sake of Turf Research.  

That’s it for now, ya’ll be good.