Check out the latest Fore Your Information: Mar/Apr 2012 for Sierra Nevada!

Check out the latest March/April 2012 TeeOff News for Central!

Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-LA-5th District) has introduced a joint resolution which seeks Congressional disapproval of the H-2B programmatic rule. If approved by both houses of Congress, and signed by President Obama, the joint resolution will block the H-2B programmatic rule from going into effect on April 23, 2012.

Please take time today to help push for passage of House Joint Resolution 104! Click Here to visit the site.

Also, as a reminder, don’t forget to sign up below for a free webinar to learn more about the new programmatic rule changes.

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On February 10th, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced the H-2B Comprehensive Final Rule which will take effect on April 23, 2012.Materials, including fact sheets, are available here and here. In an effort to assist employers on compliance with changes to the program, DOL has set up three Webinars – information below. These webinars will provide employers the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the requirements of the new rule and have questions answered in real time by senior Department officials.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012, 1:30 pm – 4:00 pm, EDT

Public Access URL: click here
Teleconference information:
Dial-in #: 888-810-9161
Participant passcode: 7393731

Tuesday, March 20, 2012, 1:30 pm – 4:00 pm, EDT
Public Access URL: click here
Teleconference information:
Dial-in #: 888-810-9161
Participant passcode: 7393731

Tuesday, March 27, 2012, 1:30 pm – 4:00 pm, EDT
Public Access Webinar URL: click here
Teleconference information:
Dial-in #: 888-810-9161
Participant passcode: 7393731

2010 ADA Standards for Recreational Facilities

As the Governmental Relations Committee has been forewarning golf course superintendent’s and general managers the new 2010 ADA Regulations for Recreational Facilities goes into effect on March 15, 2012. This may impact your golf facility.

This new 2010 law covers the following golf facilities:

Title II covers golf course facilities overseen or operated by a governmental body (city, state, or federal). A transition ADA compliance plan should already be in effect at these facilities.

Title III covers privately owned or private country club golf facilities that are accessible to the public (private clubs who host outside golf tournaments or social functions fall into this category). A work plan should be in effect before March 15, 2012 or as soon as possible after the law goes into effect.

If you are a completely private club (no public access) such as California Golf Club or Cypress Point Club then you do not need to meet the new 2010 ADA Regulations. Their status protects them from having to comply with the law. However Augusta National Golf Club (home of the Masters) has to because they host an outside golf tournament every spring.

To comply with the 2010 American with Disabilities Act (ADA) Standards for Accessible Design and Recreational Access as well as California’s Code of Regulations (Title 24) and avoid the possibility of a complaint driven lawsuit from a disabled person or advocacy group trying to access your golf facility each Title II and Title III golf facility must provide a defined continuous path of travel throughout their entire facility: parking lot, practice areas, buildings, golf course and on-course amenities. If there are barriers to a continuous path of travel they must be removed, or a plan to remove them (Title II Transition Plan and Title III Work Plan) Each barrier poses the possibility of a lawsuit. There is a monetary value for each violation. There are also new regulations in effect for new construction at golf facilities that you must comply with the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design.

There is no grandfathered “in” clause.

40% of the federal ADA lawsuits originate in California (San Diego and the Bay Area are hot beds for ADA litigation). Since the ADA is a complaint driven law “drive by” litigation can take place without your knowledge. If you do not meet the ADA requirements of a sink, drinking fountain, ball washer, or access to a teeing ground on your golf course, or aisle width, counter height, dressing room bench height in your pro shop (just to mention a few of the regulations) you could be subject to a law suit.

What can you do? You can access the 2010 ADA Recreational Guidelines at ada.gov/regs2010 and see where your facility may be in violation. The GCSAA, Access Board and USGA Green Section also have produced information on becoming ADA compliant. You can use this information to audit your own facility.

In many instance golf facilities are using ADA golf course consultants to produce Transition and Work Plans to meet ADA regulations. Contact Jim Alwine Governmental Relations Co-Chairman, sgccturf@sbcglobal.net, for some referrals to these services. Make sure they are advocates for you.

In regards to the necessity of providing an adaptive golf car at your golf facility it might be a good idea to begin planning to do so. This is not part of the current 2010 ADA law as of yet but is currently being discussed by the Department of Justice and a decision is due out soon.

Patrick R. Finlen, CGCS, was elected GCSAA vice president March 2, 2012, at the association’s annual meeting in Las Vegas. He also serves as a member of the board of trustees for The Environmental Institute for Golf (the philanthropic organization of the GCSAA).

Finlen has been director of golf course maintenance operations at The Olympic Club in San Francisco since 2002. Finlen and The Olympic Club will host the 2012 U.S. Open. Previously, he served as director of golf course maintenance at Bayonet and Black Horse Golf Course in Seaside, Calif., golf course and grounds manager at Quivira Lake and Country Club in Lake Quivira, Kan., and superintendent at Cypress Point Country Club in Virginia Beach, Va. He has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Rockhurst College in Kansas City, Mo.

A GCSAA member for 27 years, Finlen is a member and past president of both the California GCSA and the GCSA of Northern California. He is also a past president of the Heart of America GCSA.

A native of Washington, D.C., he and his wife, Denise, currently reside in Half Moon Bay, Calif., and have a daughter, Jennifer, and a son, Nick.

Rafael Barajas, CGCS, was elected to the GCSAA Board of Directors March 2, 2012, at the association’s annual meeting in Las Vegas. Barajas was appointed a GCSAA director at the annual meeting in 2001 in Orlando.

Barajas has been the superintendent at Hacienda Golf Club in La Habra Heights, Calif., since 1995. Previously, he served as the superintendent at Palm Desert (Calif.) Country Club, the director of golf course maintenance at Desert Lakes Golf Club in Fort Mohave, Ariz., and as a superintendent at various courses for American Golf Corp. He has a certificate in turfgrass management from the University of California, Riverside.
A 26-year GCSAA member, Barajas has served on a number of association committees and task groups. He has also been a representative for the GCSA of Southern California at the chapter delegates meetings.

Barajas is a member of the Hi-Lo Desert GCSA, a member and the current president of the GCSA of Southern California, and the current vice president of the California GCSA. He resides in La Habra Heights, Calif., with his wife, Yolanda, their daughter, Veronica, and three sons, Daniel, Rafael Jr. and Marco Antonio.

2010 ADA Standards for Recreational Facilities

As the Governmental Relations Committee has been forewarning golf course superintendent’s and general managers the new 2010 ADA Regulations for Recreational Facilities goes into effect on March 15, 2012. This may impact your golf facility.

This new 2010 law covers the following golf facilities:

Title II covers golf course facilities overseen or operated by a governmental body (city, state, or federal). A transition ADA compliance plan should already be in effect at these facilities.

Title III covers privately owned or private country club golf facilities that are accessible to the public (private clubs who host outside golf tournaments or social functions fall into this category). A work plan should be in effect before March 15, 2012 or as soon as possible after the law goes into effect.

If you are a completely private club (no public access) such as California Golf Club or Cypress Point Club then you do not need to meet the new 2010 ADA Regulations. Their status protects them from having to comply with the law. However Augusta National Golf Club (home of the Masters) has to because they host an outside golf tournament every spring.

To comply with the 2010 American with Disabilities Act (ADA) Standards for Accessible Design and Recreational Access as well as California’s Code of Regulations (Title 24) and avoid the possibility of a complaint driven lawsuit from a disabled person or advocacy group trying to access your golf facility each Title II and Title III golf facility must provide a defined continuous path of travel throughout their entire facility: parking lot, practice areas, buildings, golf course and on-course amenities. If there are barriers to a continuous path of travel they must be removed, or a plan to remove them (Title II Transition Plan and Title III Work Plan) Each barrier poses the possibility of a lawsuit. There is a monetary value for each violation. There are also new regulations in effect for new construction at golf facilities that you must comply with the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design.

There is no grandfathered “in” clause.

40% of the federal ADA lawsuits originate in California (San Diego and the Bay Area are hot beds for ADA litigation). Since the ADA is a complaint driven law “drive by” litigation can take place without your knowledge. If you do not meet the ADA requirements of a sink, drinking fountain, ball washer, or access to a teeing ground on your golf course, or aisle width, counter height, dressing room bench height in your pro shop (just to mention a few of the regulations) you could be subject to a law suit.

What can you do? You can access the 2010 ADA Recreational Guidelines at ada.gov/regs2010 and see where your facility may be in violation. The GCSAA, Access Board and USGA Green Section also have produced information on becoming ADA compliant. You can use this information to audit your own facility.

In many instance golf facilities are using ADA golf course consultants to produce Transition and Work Plans to meet ADA regulations. Contact Jim Alwine Governmental Relations Co-Chairman, sgccturf@sbcglobal.net, for some referrals to these services. Make sure they are advocates for you.

In regards to the necessity of providing an adaptive golf car at your golf facility it might be a good idea to begin planning to do so. This is not part of the current 2010 ADA law as of yet but is currently being discussed by the Department of Justice and a decision is due out soon.

Jim Ferrin, CGCS