66
FROM THE ROUGH SUPER SPOTLIGHT
Longtime Oregon golf
superintendent Tom Baty knows
the importance of forging new
ties in the turf industry and
maintaining lasting ones.
A trip last winter to China
underscored that point.
Baty, 57, traveled to Beijing
Forestry University with his
wife Connie at the behest of
former Michigan State University
classmate Thom Nikolai.
"I've got a good relationship with
Dr. Nikolai," Baty said. "We went
to school at the same time in the
mid-80s. We were roommates and
became friends."
Baty is in his 18th year as
superintendent at Bend Golf &
Country Club. Nikolai is a well-
known professor of turfgrass
science at MSU.
In 2003, MSU entered into a
collaborative education program
on turfgrass management with four
Chinese universities.
Never Stop Connecting
Never Stop Connecting
By
Teaching Abroad
Tom Baty poses in front of
Beijing Forestry University.
Photo/MSU
