Standard Golf’s E-ZEE White hole whitener system leaves holes with a clean, crisp, professional look that helps golfers see the back of the cup while putting.

The simple-to-use system is as easy as inserting the paint can into the E-ZEE tool, pushing down and rotating through the hole. The tool’s one-piece design means no assembly is required, and a built-in guard protects the cup and prevents overspraying.

A starter kit includes the tool and one case of the paint that is manufactured to maximize whiteness on dirt.

For more information, visit www.standardgolf.com.

EarthWorks, makers of organic fertilizers, promoted its 555 program at this year’s GIS.

The program consists of 5 ounces each of Trilogy 1-5-5, Cal-Vantage 6-0-0 8Ca and Protein Plus 14-2-5, which provides about one-tenth of a pound of nitrogen every two weeks.

EarthWorks’ organic materials are derived from kelp extract, fish meal, molasses and other sugars. Its program combines multiple carbon sources with liquid fertilizers allowing nutrients to remain stable and promoting microbial activity.

For more information, visit. www.soilfirst.com.

Agrium Advanced Technologies has some advice for superintendents suffering from job-related stress: “Spread it and forget it.”

That is the name Agrium assigned to its recently launched line of fertilizer blends designed to keep golf course turf green and healthy for as much as six months with just one application.

Spread it and Forget blends focus on Agrium’s Duration CR controlled-release fertilizer technology that the company acquired when it bought Pursell Technologies in 2006.

The controlled release means a slow and steady discharge of nutrients. The result, says Andrew Fereday, product marketing manager with Agrium, easily can translate into savings labor as well as product. A total of 2 to 2.5 pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet is all that is needed in most cases for a six-month period.

Duration features and polymer coating is derived from natural plant oils, and the controlled-release technology means less chance of leaching.

“There is no waste,” he said. “Everything you put down is used by the turf.”

For more information, visit www.agriumat.com.

I was having a beer at the Aquatrols booth during their Happy Hour at the end of a long day on the show floor when out of a corner of my eye I spotted a new gadget.

Joseph Berto was busy demonstrating the Shake ‘n Rake auto-sifting bunker sand screener to five or six people gathered around his booth.  Pretty neat little machine.

Imagine a RedMax reciprocating bunker edger without the engine, with an up-and-down shaking action of a screened clam rake attached to the end.  A loose analogy, but you get the visual.

Available in both manual and lithium-ion battery powered configurations, the Shake ‘n Rake sifts through a rake-full of dry or damp sand in seconds, removing pebbles and other contaminants (pine needles, pine cones and clippings) from low areas or along green sides where pebbles could get splashed up onto a green surface and cause mower damage.  It completely eliminates manual shaking and sifting, and can be used all day long by the operator – on one charge of the battery.

Berto was quick to note that the Shake ‘n Rake is intended for regular bunker maintenance and is not for complete bunker rebuilding or screening huge amounts of sand.

“We have been selling a similar product for five years to the equine industry for cleaning horse stalls, and more recently it was purchased by BP Oil to remove tar balls from Gulf Coast beaches during the oil spill cleanup,” Berto said. “Someone using one of our units on the beach mentioned that it would be great for golf course bunkers, so here we are! We’ve had a great show.”

It completely eliminates manual shaking and sifting, and can be used all day long by the operator – on one charge of the battery.

I immediately asked him why he doesn’t double the width of the rake for improved efficiency.

“It’s all about weight,” Berto said. “When you have an attachment out on the end of a four foot handle, even a few ounces makes a tremendous difference to the operator over the course of a day. And with a larger rake you would need a larger motor and a larger, heavier battery… so it’s not a simple as making the rake larger. The last thing you want to do is overburden the operator.”

“Part of the economy of using this machine is that no training is required, no fuel is needed and no extra utility vehicles are needed during the screening process,” Berto said.

The motorized Shake ‘n Rake is priced at $299, including the lithium-ion battery and recharger. They come standard with 1/4″ screen size to capture small debris in dry sand or can be ordered with an optional 3/8″ screen for damp conditions.

“Just try one of these on your worst problem bunker,” Berto said. “Once you try it, you’ll find it’s indispensable.”

Check ‘em out at http://www.shakenrake.com.

Agrimetal’s new Fairway Turbine Blower utilizes a 38 hp Kohler Command engine and is low-slung on the frame to enable near-horizontal air output from the nozzle, minimizing resistance to the air flow incurred by blowing downward.

The low-slung trailer frame has a belly pan to eliminate the potential for scuffing of the turf.

An “intelligent control system” stops the nozzle at a pre-set angle to the turf.

Phoenix Environmental Care used GIS to roll out two new products – Pegasus 82.5 DF fungicide and Monarch brand plant growth regulator.

Pegasus is Phoenix’s version of chlorothalonil in a dry flowable formulation. It is labeled for control of a variety of turf diseases. Easily dispersible, it Pegasus offers residual control of up to 14 days.

Monarch, which contains the active ingredient paclobutrazol, slows plant growth by inhibiting the process of biosynthesis thus influencing gibberellins in both cool-season and warm-season grasses.

For more information, visit www.phoenixenvcare.com.

Dakota Turf introduced the new all-electric Turf Tender 410, available in tow-behind, 5th wheel and truck-mounted versions. The all-electric operation eliminates the need for auxiliary hydraulics of any kind. The belt and spinner are driven and speed controlled electrically.

With booth space at a couple grand per 10×10, one way to stretch the value of an exhibitor’s investment is to go UP! We applaud Dakota’s “above the box” thinking by stacking a Turf Tender 410 on top of a Turf Tender 440.

It’s no secret that balanced nutrition is a cornerstone for a healthy lifestyle.

The folks at The Andersons believe the same holds true for turf, and have developed what it calls the A+ Complete Turf Health System designed to provide complete nutrition to the plant above and below ground.

The program includes The Anderson’s new Foltec line of foliar fertilizers, Contec DG dispersible granular fertilizers and DG Pro, a dispersible granular product that combines soil additives with a blend of fungicides, insecticides and herbicides. When combined with The Andersons’ computer-based TNT Turf Nutritional Tool, superintendents can develop a customized fertilization program from hundreds of combinations based on soil conditions, time of year, current weather patterns and more.

For more information, visit www.andersonsturf.com.

The new ED 130/180TS (1300/1800mm or 51″/71″ working widths) from Rotadairon (now distributed in North America by STEC) is a multi-function 3-pt hitch attachment that can verticut to 5mm, dethatch to 60mm, spike when the PTO is disengaged, roll with it’s full-width roller, power sweep if desired, and then pick up the mess with a 6.35 cu. ft. rear hopper with hydraulic dump.

The thing that caught my eye were the knives. Wicked sharp. Sharpened stainless steel, like a butcher’s knife. Unsharpened stainless and tungsten-tipped carbide steel knives are also available for more aggressive applications.

One cool thing about the knives is that they’re magnetically fitted to the shaft and then locked into place with one nut at the end of the rotor shaft.

The photo above is with the machine tipped up on end, showing front and rear rollers, shaft with stainless knives, turf brush and hopper.

Torque is defined as something that causes rotation or overcomes turning resistance.

During this year’s GIS in Orlando, Cleary Chemical launched its own version of Torque, a new fungicide chemistry that the company hopes superintendents will find worthy of working into their rotational programs.

With the new active ingredient Tebuconazole, Torque is labeled for use on warm- and cool-season grasses for control of a broad spectrum of diseases, including anthracnose, brown patch, dollar spot, gray leaf spot, necrotic ring spot, gray snow mold and yellow patch.

A low-use rate fungicide in an aqueous suspension formulation, Torque can be used preventively or curatively and provides 14-21 days of residual control for more turf diseases.

For more information, visit www.cleary.com.