Webinar and Apple TV

Rick Tegtmeier, CGCS, Des Moines Golf & Country Club, West Des Moines, IA:

"Webinar - Web conferencing refers to a service that allows conferencing events to be shared with remote locations. These are sometimes referred to as webinars or, interactive conferences, online workshops. In general the service is made possible by Internet technologies and is broadcast over a computer to the end user. We have a couple of outlets for good quality educational webinars. Since DMGCC is a member of TurfNet, the webinars that they host and produce are free to the TurfNet member.

Then it dawned on me: I have Apple TV hooked up to the TV in the lunch room. If I could pick up the webinar on my iPad...

A couple of days ago TurfNet was hosting a webinar that featured Dr. Nick Christians from Iowa State University. The topic was about growing turf under heat and drought stress. I really thought it would be a great seminar for all of our management team to see. But the biggest problem that I had was how to get 8 people behind a computer screen and be comfortable for 1.5 hours. Then it dawned on me: I have Apple TV hooked up to the TV in the lunch room. If I could pick up the webinar on my iPad, I could then broadcast it to the staff in the lunch room. They could sit at tables and be more comfortable, they could take notes and we could have as many staff members watch as we wanted.

I sent a quick email to TurfNet's John Reitman right after break time that morning to see if he had any ideas on how it would work. John is the manager in charge of all webinars that TurfNet hosts. John was about as excited as I was. He set up a dummy webinar for me to try and we did a 'mock' webinar to see if it worked. I hooked up the iPad to the Apple TV receiver wirelessly and away we went. It worked flawlessly.

All of this was made possible from a $100 Apple TV box that we had purchased with some beer/pop can redemption money...

After we watched the webinar I asked our staff what they thought. They all really enjoyed it, they did not have to travel off site, they did not have to change clothes from their work clothes, it only cost the employer 1.5 hours of labor for them to get some quality education, and the biggest thing is they were comfortable and not sitting behind a computer screen trying to watch and listen.

Thanks John Reitman for helping us out and we will be doing more of these in the future!

All of this was made possible from a $100 Apple TV box that we had purchased with some beer/pop can redemption money. Even former Director of Grounds, Bill Byers stopped in to partake in the technology education session, Bill was amazed to see changes like that."

Visit Rick's blog at dmgcc.blogspot.com

Brief look at the future...

Patrick Gertner, CGCS, Potowomut Country Club, Warwick, RI:

"I'd like to update you on the ideas we are working on to improve your golf course this year. We are constantly driven to learn new and utilize technology and ideas from turfgrass researchers and successful superintendents across the world to improve your golf experience. (Not all ideas are set in stone...but most are!!)

We plan on introducing a program to provide 'hormone therapy' to make greens stronger and healthier. Through natural seaweed-based materials, our goal will be to fool the greens to speed or slow growth rates, and to manufacture roots throughout the growing season instead of the traditional spring and fall months. (Plant hormones are usually induced only by seasonal environmental changes but this program tells plants to behave differently than what the weather tells them.) Stronger root systems always correlate to higher quality turfgrass. Hormones will also be used to slow grass growth for increased green speeds.

Collars will be improved during 2013. Here are ideas we are planning:

Aluminum rear drive rollers on each greensmower will be sanded perfectly smooth this winter....

1. Aluminum rear drive rollers on each greensmower will be sanded perfectly smooth this winter. The thought here is that after years of use rollers have become scratched and scuffed. It is quite possible these slight imperfections injure plants on collars while mowers turn on green collars during daily mowing.


2. Thinking of #1 above, greensmowers will be moved and stored in the shop on thick rubber matting that will prevent future scuffing of the drive roller from sand and soil particles in the shop. Crew members will load and drop off the mowers only from the rubber mat.


3. Many clubs with collars issues institute different turning regimens for greensmowers (the likely culprit of collar damage.) We plan on providing mower operators pieces of plywood to place on the green collar that they will make their turns on.

Visit Patrick's blog at golfsuper.blogspot.com.

Winter equipment service...

Gale Hultquist, Wanakah Country Club, Hamburg, NY:

"This past summer bunkers were raked using two different tine lengths. The 3-3/4" tine length was used in bunkers near greens to promote a loose sand, where as the 2-3/4" length provided a firm lie in fairway bunkers.

Unfortunately the longer tines would grab the bunker liner and pull it out in many areas. The longer tines would also pull gravel out of the drain lines in the bunker floor and cause a stone issue. Presently there are a dozen or so bunkers contaminated with pea size gravel found throughout the sand profile that will need removed."

Visit Gale's blog at wanakahcccom.blogspot.com.

Back in the saddle...

Shawn Fopma, asst supt, The Wakonda Club, Des Moines, IA:

"Another holiday season is in the books and our entire full-time staff is once again back inside the ground's shop. So far this winter, all of our small engines, such as: string-trimmers, blowers, chainsaws, etc. have been serviced and winterized. Jaret Vasey has begun to break down all the greens mower units and will begin grinding reels later this week.

Four brackets on the sides of the sprayer frame and leg-stands make installation and removal of the sprayer attachment easier.

We recently received our new Toro 200 gallon sprayer (attachment for our Workman vehicle). During the majority of the season, this vehicle is used to spray greens, tees, and sometimes assists our larger sprayer on the fairways; however, this vehicle serves multiple purposes. This machine is also used to topdress our greens with sand. Therefore, John Phillips has mounted four brackets to the side of the sprayer so it can be easily removed and our topdresser can be installed. These leg-stands save us a tremendous amount of time when swapping our equipment back-and-forth during the season. "

Visit the Wakonda Club blog at http://wakondagrounds.blogspot.com/.

Sinkhole on 17...

Frank Duda, asst supt, Miacomet Golf Club, Nantucket, MA:

"One of the projects that we completed in the final weeks of 2012 was to fill in a sinkhole that had developed over the past couple of years in 17 fairway. Many of you may have noticed that the sinkhole had the shape of a bunker that used to be in that area. After doing some research and looking at the construction maps of the hole we found that the original redesign of the hole called for a bunker to be constructed in that area. For whatever reason the bunker was abandoned during construction, and we believe that the area was never properly compacted once the bunker was filled in and sodded over.

With the sod cut and rolled off to the side, we needed to add material to create a natural and smooth tie-in. After digging around our dump and finding material that was acceptable to use as fill we began hauling it to the site. Since this material was mainly composted aeration cores, we combined it with excess waste bunker sand to create a fill that was not as organic and would be firm enough to avoid creating a new depression as the area settles out. After rototilling to ensure the fill was sufficiently homogeneous we the leveled it with a sandpro and plow.

Once we had achieved a smooth tie in we rolled back out the sod and then topdressed the area with straight sand. Since we are not mowing the fairways and with the time it will have to work in, we applied a heavy amount of sand. This sand was then brushed and will help to smooth out any low areas or gaps in the sod, and will create a more uniform surface.

When the grass comes out of dormancy in the spring the project should be unnoticeable. We have found a couple other sinkholes around the course, but they appear to still be settling out at this time, and if we attempt to repair them before they finish sinking we will only create more work by having to fix them twice.

Visit the Miacomet blog at miacometmaintenance.blogspot.com.

The Brave Reality of Managing Grass...

Jason VanBuskirk, Stow Acres Country Club, Stow, MA:

"Although my relationship with Michael Stachowicz is not extremely close or extensive, after reading his recent blog post this morning, I felt immediately related to him. Any one person who can write with that much emotion and put it all on the line for industry professionals to read welcomes you into just little a view of his daily thought process. Someone of his stature, wisdom, skill, and work ethic offers this side of, "Hey, this is the real me and this is what I've dealt with" allows the reader to connect mentally.

So I called him.

His post demands publication in not just turf magazines, but clubhouse business and PGA magazines. It's the type of message that everyone that is invested in the game of golf should read.

I had never talked to him on the phone, but we talked for 30 minutes. Knowing full well all of the topics we would have in common through the blogosphere and twitter land, the conversation was enlightening and educating. After reading his post and then talking to him on the phone, I know this man is destined for continued and future success. His post demands publication in not just turf magazines, but clubhouse business and PGA magazines. It's the type of message that everyone that is invested in the game of golf should read. It's important, serious, emotional, and even a little psychological. Please read the following, you will not be disappointed.

Greenkeeping and the Emotional Toll by mstachowicz"

Visit Jason's blog at stowacresturf.com.

New Year's Resolution from the USGA...

Patrick Quinlan, Madison Golf Club, Madison, NJ:

"The following list is from the USGA Green Section. If followed by all members, it will make 2013 a great New Year.

Understand the importance of sand for greens and playing conditions. While sand can be a problem with ball roll when moisture is present, it is critical for quality greens, approaches, tees and, in many cases, fairways.

Fix all your ball marks and others if you see them. Fix them properly by pushing the displaced area back, rather than lifting the ball mark.

Fix all your divots and fill them properly. The '3-foot drop' technique not only does not work, it can also damage mowers.

Good bunker etiquette helps everyone and frees up resources for other areas of the course...

Remember your bunker etiquette. Bunker maintenance is labor intensive and therefore expensive. Good bunker etiquette helps everyone and frees up resources for other areas of the course.

Follow directional signs to minimize damage to turf. Paying attention to course signage reduces damage and greatly increases the likelihood of a good lie for your next shot.

Pick up your shells and peels. The shells of most nuts and the peels of most fruit are not rapidly biodegradable. Not only are they unsightly, if you don't put them in the trash someone else has to do it for you.

Understand that ultra-fast greens equal longer rounds of golf...

Keep all four tires on the paths. You are not on a public road so don't feel like you need to always move aside for oncoming or following traffic.

Understand that ultra-fast greens equal longer rounds of golf. Four putts and five hour rounds of golf are not fun for anyone.

A simple 'Thank you' can be a wonderful gift. Take the time to thank the staff that worked all year to produce a course that you enjoy playing."

Visit Pat's blog at mgcgreens.blogspot.com.