RANDQUIST ELECTED GCSAA PRESIDENT
Robert M. Randquist, CGCS, director of golf course and grounds at Boca Rio Golf Club in Boca Raton, Fla., was elected president of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) at the association’s annual meeting Feb. 11.
The annual meeting was held in conjunction with the GCSAA Education Conference (Feb. 7-11) and Golf Industry Show (Feb. 9-10) in Orlando. A member dues increase of $20 annually for Class A members and $10 annually for Class C members also passed. Randquist will serve as president until the 2012 annual meeting and election.
Randquist is a 34-year GCSAA member, and has been at Boca Rio Golf Club since 1998. Previously, he was superintendent at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla., for 19 years, where he hosted the 1982 and 1994 PGA Championships, the inaugural 1987 USGA Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship and the 1995 and 1996 PGA Tour Championships. Randquist has a bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering from the University of Oklahoma. He serves on The Environmental Institute for Golf Board of Trustees, is a member Palm Beach GCSA, and a past president of the Oklahoma GCSA. Randquist is also a member of the Florida Turfgrass Association and the USGA Green Section committee. Visit GCSAA at www.gcsaa.org.
PSC INTRODUCES NEW MODEL
PSC would like to announce the Model 1200 FAN, a very powerful two speed fan. This fan is normally used for large trucks, buses and RV’s. The 1200 fan puts out two or three times the amount of airflow of other golf cart fans. This 12 volt fan will work with any 12, 24, 36 or 48 volt vehicles. For 8 volt batteries, when two are hooked in series to equal 16 volts PSC provides a 4 volt reducer.
Three mounting options are available. Heavy duty mounting brackets are provided for left or right windshield post mounting or a dash mount. One unique feature is that once mounted the fan may be repositioned to any new position and the fan will simply stay there, no tools are required.
For additional information please contact our web site at www.golfcartheaters.biz .
YAMAHA MOTOR CO., LTD. OPERATING PLANS
Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. wishes to express its sincere condolences for the victims of the devastating earthquake and tsunamis that struck Japan’s northeastern seaboard, and to extend its deepest sympathy to the bereaved families.
Yamaha Motor, Co., Ltd. announced its updated operating plans for its golf car factory. The operating plan listed is for March 29 and April 1st. Operating plans for April 4, and onwards will be announced April 1.
March 28: Limited production. March 31-April 1: Production suspended.
ANVIL™ SELECTED BY TEAM® INDUSTRIES, FALLBROOK® TECHNOLOGIES IN INITIATIVE TO DEVELOP ELECTRIC VEHICLE TRANSMISSION PROTOTYPES
Announcement Means High Gear for Tomberlin’s Anvil and Other Low Speed Electric Vehicles
The Electric Initiative by the Tomberlin® Automotive Group (TAG) receives a ringing endorsement from Minnesota based TEAM Industries along with California based technology development company Fallbrook Technologies (Fallbrook). The companies announced a partnership to develop electric vehicle transmission prototypes. The first initiative under the agreement is for the Tomberlin Anvil™, a street-legal Low Speed Vehicle (LSV) offering a range of more than 40 miles.
“We see the partnership with TEAM and Fallbrook as a critical step forward in our efforts to evolve the market for electric vehicles. It’s an affirmation of our work to create an Electric Commuter Class Vehicle (ECCV) in America,” says Mike Tomberlin CEO of TAG. “The ECCV is aimed at the 35 mph class for use as a city car. The City Car concept will happen in America, the question is who will lead it, the US, Europe or Asia/ President Obama has made it clear this country needs to lead in technology and jobs. These partnerships are the way that private industry, not government, will lead the way.”
“We are equally committed to improve both the performance and battery life of electric vehicles,” said Rob Smithson, Fallbrook’s Vice President of Business Development and CTO. “Our NuVinci® product line is ideal for this purpose, and designed to allow an electric car motor to operate in a more efficient manner by continuously optimizing the electric powertrain for driving conditions.”
“We’re continually searching for leading suppliers capable of providing technologies to make our eco-friendly automobiles more compelling and exciting than anything else like it on the market,” said Mike Tomberlin. “That means offering improved hill climbing, acceleration and towing capacity as well as other rider benefits in our vehicles. Developing systems that enable electric vehicles to enhance performance is a key step towards achieving that goal, thus we are very pleased to support the Fallbrook-TEAM development initiative for those reasons.”
Production of the resulting powertrain will occur at TEAM Industries’ Minnesota-based facilities. “Working with Fallbrook on this initiative makes perfect sense for us,” said Tony Passanante, Senior Director of Marketing and Strategic Planning for the company. “Our core competency is designing and manufacturing systems that transmit power and put it to work quietly and efficiently.”
Unlike conventional gear and clutch transmissions, the NuVinci continuously variable planetary transmission (CVP) uses a set of rotating and tilting balls positioned between the input and output components of the transmission that tilt to vary the speed of the transmission resulting in a seamless and continuous transition to any ratio within its range.
“TEAM Industries is committed to developing innovative products that advance electric vehicle driveline systems,” said Passanante.
See more about Tomberlin at www.tomberlin.net.
MASSIVE GOLF CARNIVAL PLANNED FOR ASIA
Singapore: The beach resort city of Pattaya in Thailand will be transformed into a hub of activity for golf in November this year.
This bustling and vibrant international playground will play host to all of the annual conferences and exhibitions organized by the Asia Pacific Golf Development Conferences (APGDC).
The following are the event dates:
2011 Asia Pacific Golf Summit – October 31-November 2.
2011 Golf Course Superintendents of Asia Summit – October 31-November 2.
2011 PGA Conference of Asia – November 3-4.
2011 South East Asia & India Golf Merchandise Exposition – November 4-6
“This year’s events will all be staged back to back over a one week period stretching from October 31 to November 6,” revealed Mike Sebastian, managing director of APGDC, the owner and producer of the events. “It makes good business sense for us to cluster all the shows and to stage it as a golf pageant directed at both the industry and consumers alike,” said Sebastian
All of the events will be staged at the sprawling world-class Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Centre (PEACH). The host hotel for the events will be the plush five-star Royal Cliff Beach Resort. The theme for the 2011 conferences will be centred around “Affordable Golf”. “We believe that this theme lends itself to growing the game of golf in the region and at the same time, laying special focus on the need to ensure that operating and maintenance costs of golf courses are kept affordable – we need to change the mindset going forward that golf is no longer a recreational past time for the elite and wealthy, Sebastian said. “We are now working to put all of the programme details together and we are confident that our events are going to rock for 2011,” concluded Wong.
FAIRPLAY ANNOUNCES VOLUNTARY RECALL OF CERTAIN 2010 & 2011 EVE LSV VEHICLES TO INSTALL FUSES
GRAND JUNCTION, COLORADO, FEBRUARY 15, 2011 – Fairplay Electric Cars, LLC, today announced that it will conduct a voluntary Safety Recall (NHTSA Campaign # 11V-039) involving approximately 1,600 of their 2010 & 2011 Model Year EVE LSV vehicles produced from late July of 2009 to the end of December 2010 in order to replace a 20 amp fuse with a 7.5 amp fuse and install a new fuse holder with a 20 amp fuse on the 12 volt side of the accessory system. Due to lack of proper fuses, in limited circumstances, a short in the wiring could cause the wiring to melt and potentially catch fire.
No other EVE LSV vehicles are involved in this recall, and Fairplay is not aware of any accidents or injuries related to this condition.
The fuse assembly required to repair this problem will be provided to all authorized EVE LSV dealers or if required, to a qualified repair center, free of charge.
Registered owners and EVE LSV dealers of the involved vehicles will receive an interim notification advising them of this recall by first class mail beginning in mid-February of 2011, along with instructions for what to do to rectify this condition and how to minimize the possibility of a short in the wiring and asked to make an appointment with any EVE LSV dealer or qualified repair center to have the remedy performed at no charge. Fairplay will also post this information on its EVE LSV website www.evelsv.com.
Registered owners and EVE LSV dealers who have not preformed the repair will receive a second notice by first class mail in approximately end of March of 2011, reminding them to perform the necessary installation of the fuse assembly.
Authorized EVE LSV dealers or qualified repair centers will install the proper fuse assembly, which includes the new 7.5 fuse, fuse holder, connectors and illustrated instructions at no charge to the owner. The estimated time of the repair is 45 minutes.
Detailed information and answers to questions are available to customers at www.evelsv.com/recall and a special EVE LSV recall phone number 1-970-257-0346.
FAIRWAY’S MINI COOPERS
The popularity of those cutesy, British-made Mini Cooper cars wasn’t lost on Steve Richardson, marketing director of Fairway Golf Cars, as a way to boost golf car sales. “We wanted to offer some real diversity to golf car enthusiasts,” Richardson said, tipping his hat to Fairway General Manager Mark Stanley, who came up with the idea and production of the unique design. Production of the new Mini Cooper model, exclusive to Fairway Golf Cars, just started on the assembly line in an undisclosed location in the Coachella Valley.
In four months, Fairway Golf Cars have built seven Mini Coopers, which sell for $8,995 “in any color in the Mini Cooper range.” “The funny thing is that three of the first four we sold were bought by people who owned real Mini Coopers,” Richardson said. “There are many Mini Cooper car enthusiasts here. We have orders for another four.” The Mini Cooper golf car, which takes about 10 days to build, is one reason for solid sales of all Fairway golf carts this year .
Richardson said sales and trade-ins slowed initially two years ago as the economy soured. People were hanging on to the golf cars they had. “We have always been financially prudent and maintain a high level of personal service which brings us repeat business,” Richardson said, noting Fairway has about 30 custom golf cars in inventory.
“We see the economy slowly bouncing back,” he said. “We see a renewed interest in golf cars and in replacing their (customer’s) golf
Word-of-mouth referrals are a major reason why Fairway Golf Cars has been in business for 25 years.
“When customers come in who have purchased a car here and need a light bulb or something, we don’t charge them for those kinds of things,” Richardson said. “That’s why they come back. We treat our customers the ‘Fairway,’ which is why it’s our motto.”
