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From the TurfNet NewsDesk

  • John Reitman
    UmbrellaWeather/T3 hurricane season update 
    The 2024 hurricane season already is off to a fast start with the earliest Category 5 storm on record with Hurricane Beryl. This storm went on to significantly impact Texas and then the Midwest and was blamed for at least 27 deaths. 
    Beryl likely is a precursor of things to come during the remainder of hurricane season, which runs through November, and there are preparations superintendents can start on now to be ready.

    2024 UmbrellaWeather/T3 hurricane season forecast made Jan. 22 (there have been no changes to this forecast since). Beginning in early to mid-August, conditions over the Atlantic will become more favorable for tropical system development. Combine this with record-warm water temperatures and a developing La Niña that will lower wind shear across the Atlantic basin, these tropical systems that develop will have conditions ripe for intensifying into hurricanes. Stronger-than-normal high pressure over the central and eastern Atlantic will favor some of these storms to track west toward the Caribbean, southwest Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, which is why there is cause for concern for increased hurricane activity.
    Why so much confidence?
    Record-warm temperatures in the Atlantic will be impactful to the U.S. Warm ocean temperatures act as fuel for hurricanes, and this season there is plenty of that.
    Conversely, colder-than-normal water temperatures expand over the Equatorial Pacific west of South America. This signals a developing La Niña. La Niña ocean patterns in the Pacific typically lead to above-normal Atlantic hurricane activity due to the pattern lessening wind shear over much of the Atlantic Basin and creating more favorable conditions for tropical development. Meanwhile, an El Niño tends to have the opposite effect on Atlantic hurricane activity. In fact, a La Niña tends to have twice as much hurricane activity than an El Niño in the Atlantic.
    Analogs also play a part in hurricane predictions. Analogs are past years that have similar background states to the current time period, and are used to make longer-range forecasts. Other hurricane seasons that have had warm Atlantic temperatures, and a developing La Niña and how those hurricane seasons fared can be used to predict this year's season.

    Ocean temperatures relative to normal. Red indicates above normal temperatures, and blue indicates below normal temperatures. NOAA image Some analogs used to predict the 2024 season
    1995 - 3 U.S. hurricane landfalls (1 major) - $17.9 billion in total damages 1998 - 3 U.S. hurricane landfalls (2 major) - $27.0 billion in total damages 2005 - 6 U.S. hurricane landfalls (3 major) - $198.4 billion in total damages 2017 - 2 U.S. hurricane landfalls (2 major) - $195.5 billion in total damages 2020 - 6 U.S. hurricane landfalls (3 major) - $45.4 billion in total damages U.S. average hurricane season
    4 U.S. hurricane landfalls 2.8 U.S. major hurricane landfalls $96.6 billion in total U.S. damages What areas will be impacted?
    This is the most difficult aspect of hurricane season forecasting. While exact tracks are on a storm-by-storm basis and can only be predicted once storms develop and are on the playing field, we can use analogs, climatology, and the current state of conditions to give us a picture of who is most at risk. US landfall impacts go through the roof during La Niña seasons. More storms = more chances for storms to impact land. 

    La Niña vs. El Niño hurricane activity in the Atlantic the past 30 years. Colorado State University image Highest chance of impact in 2024
    Very high risk
    Florida — 75% chance of a hurricane impact (normal is 56%) Louisiana — 56% chance of a hurricane impact (normal is 38%) North Carolina — 56% chance of a hurricane impact (normal is 38%) Texas* — 54% chance of a hurricane impact (normal is 36%) High risk
    Georgia — 46% chance of a hurricane impact (normal is 30%) South Carolina — 44% chance of a hurricane impact (normal is 29%) Alabama/Mississippi — 43% chance of a hurricane impact (normal is 28%) Moderate risk
    Virginia to Maine — vary from 10-30% chance of hurricane impact(normal is 9-20%) *Texas already has a hurricane impact, so this forecast will be for the rest of the season
    How to prepare
    Consider any long-range preparations or decisions that can be made with the information above in mind, such as removing or pruning "wind risk" trees, drainage improvements, etc.
    Those in the potential path of a hurricane should consider what short-range decisions will need to be made.
    For more information, follow UmbrellaWeather and T3 on X, or contact Garrett Bastardi of T3 Golf.
  • Time is winding down for assistant superintendents to register for this year's Green Start Academy.
    For nearly 20 years, the Green Start Academy has helped prepare hundreds of future golf course superintendents for the next phase of their careers. But time is running out for assistant superintendents to register for this year's conference that is sponsored by John Deere, Envu and Rain Bird.
    Aug. 1 is the application deadline for the 19th annual professional development and peer networking event scheduled for Dec. 11-13 at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina.
    "I think the Green Start (Academy) gives you a lot of tools to deal with the people aspect of the business," Country Club of Detroit assistant Tim Matty said in a Green Start promo video. "And that is vitally important as you do make the step from assistant to superintendent."
    The three-day education and networking experience is open to 50 assistant golf course superintendents and provides attendees with the opportunity to become immersed in lectures and roundtable discussions conducted by the golf industry leaders. According to the GSA website, the program is designed to provide "the best environment for assistant superintendents to impart essential knowledge and facilitate the sharing of industry best practices, with a clear focus on professional development."

    Green Start Academy provides assistant golf course superintendents with education and valuable networking opportunities. "In our industry, we're experts with agronomics, but we're not experts when it comes to networking and the business behind what we do," said Matthew Legg, assistant at Weston Golf Club". I think this is something that the Green Start Academy excels as is teaching assistants the bigger picture when it comes to golf course management."
    This year marks the fourth consecutive appearance for Green Start at Pinehurst, site of this year's U.S. Open Championship.
    The goal of the Green Start program is to drive personal and professional success by providing the tools and training needed by today's golf course superintendents while also giving attendees the chance to build relationships with peers and industry leaders.
    Previous Green Start Academy participants are not eligible, with the exception of the 2020 virtual class, who may reapply for consideration in this year's or a future in-person program. Applicants selected for this year's academy will be notified by Aug. 30.
    Click here to apply.
  • Syngenta recently introduced its Spiio soil sensor that measures a host of metrics to help golf course superintendents more efficiently.
    The latest addition to Syngenta's focus on providing superintendents with digital solutions to golf turf management is the result of a collaboration between Syngenta and Spiio, a subscription-based, precision agronomy system that automatically provides hyperlocal soil data to turf and landscape managers without manual collection or uploading. 
    Spiio records and reports hourly measurements of soil temperature, moisture, light and salinity at any area on the golf course through wireless cellular in-ground sensors, providing turf managers with the data necessary to maximize turf health.
    Some courses are using just a handful of sensors, while others are using several dozen, said Noel Popoli, Syngenta's digital platforms specialist for the Northeast.
    "It depends on the course," Popoli said. "The average number per course is about 10. Some use as few as four, and some have as many as 80 if it is a multi-course property."

    Syngenta's Spiio system measures soil temperatures, moisture and salinity. Syngenta photo How they are dispersed throughout the course also is the discretion of the user.
    "What we've found people usually do is put four or five in their greens, some in the fairways and one or two around the clubhouse if they work with a horticultural team," Popoli said. 
    Users can set soil conditions; establish custom thresholds; view daily, weekly and monthly trends; build and export custom reports; and view soil data on demand via mobile or desktop devices. With unlimited logins, other members of the maintenance team also can monitor the system and set environmental thresholds.
    The Spiio system measures soil temperatures from minus-4 degrees to 158 degrees Fahrenheit. They also measure volumetric water content in the soil and display salinity levels in dS/m, mS/cm or TDS.
    At just 7.1 inches in length, the sensors can be buried at any depth depending on where in the soil profile users want to monitor.
    "The technique we see most often is to put one in a green that is sort of middle-of-the-road, that's not too dry or not too wet," Popoli said. "Then they put one on the wettest green and one on the driest, so they can build a baseline of greens conditions."
  • James Houchen knew that bringing the U.S. Adaptive Open to Kansas would be an uplifting event, but even he was not prepared for the truly profound effect the USGA event would have on him and his community.
    "It's definitely the top event I've been involved with, hands down, times 10," said Houchen, superintendent at Sand Creek Station Golf Course in Newton, Kansas. "It was a lot of work, but it was a real pleasure because of what we were doing it for. It made you feel wonderful."
    That is no small claim from Houchen (at right), the grow-in superintendent at nearly 20-year-old Sand Creek Station. A 2006 Jeff Brauer design, Sand Creek Station was the site of the final U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship in 2014.
    "You think you have it bad," he said. "Then you watch them play."
    In its third year, the Adaptive Open was held on Pinehurst No. 6 in 2022 and '23 before coming to Sand Creek Station July 8-10. Houchen and Sand Creek Station general manager Dustin Housh attended last year's event in North Carolina to learn whether the tournament was something they might be interested in bringing to Kansas.

    A member of the Sand Creek Station maintenance team changes a cup in advance of first-round play at the U.S. Adaptive Open. USGA photo by Jeff Haynes "We approached the USGA about bringing it here," Houchen said. "We had been looking for something different."
    With the tournament continuing through different sites, next year's event will move on to Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Maryland.
    The championship in Kansas had 96 players — 73 men and 23 women — in flights in 15 categories: intellectual impairment (M-W), lower limb impairment (M-W), multiple limb amputee (M-W), neurological impairment (M-W), seated players (M-W), upper limb impairment (M-W), vision impairment (M-W) and short stature (M).
    Accommodating the 73 men and 23 women in the tournament with so many unique challenges required a great deal of work from Houchen, his team and the many volunteers who helped throughout the event.
    Among the preparations made in advance of the tournament included some tree work to help open the course and maintaining rough height at 2.5 inches.
    Making the course fair but challenging for the players requires steps one might not necessarily consider in the day-to-day operations of a golf course. 
    Sand Creek Station stretches out to about 7,500 yards from the back tees, but played from 3,800 to 6,500 for the adaptive tournament. 
    Squeezing the course to 3,800 required adding new teeing areas. Houchen achieved that by mowing some areas down to tee box height — about 0.75 inches — and building temporary tees into the fairways.
    Other adjustments incorporated rounding off the edges of some of the bunkers, creating easier entry and exit points, and marking others as ground under repair for the seated flights.
    "A few things we learned, you have to be mindful of things you don't always think about," Houchen said. "Steep slopes had to be marked off with signs and ropes. 
      "We had to make sure everything was safe, like fixing cracks in concrete cart paths."
    Green speeds were maintained at about 10.5 feet on the Stimpmeter. Since seated golfers are permitted to drive adaptive golf cars — both three- and four-wheel varieties — onto the putting surfaces. USGA staff monitored the effects of the cart traffic on greens using the G3 smart ball. Mostly, the USGA — and Houchens — is interested in conditions that can cause variations in green speed attributed to cart traffic. Houchens was still awaiting the USGA's findings.

    A golfer competes in the U.S. Adaptive Open in the seated players flight. USGA photo by Jeff Haynes "The USGA runs this just like they do any other tournament," Houchens said. 
    "However, we can't have conditions like you see on TV. We couldn't have greens too fast, and there were no crazy hole locations."
    About 200 volunteers worked the event throughout the week at jobs such as parking, scoring, guest services and serving as forecaddies. Many also helped with course maintenance.
    "The community really turned out to support this event," Houchens said. "We had five or six volunteers every day. They weren't the same ones every day. We had other superintendents, sales reps and vendors."
    Although next year's tournament will be played 1,200 miles away in Maryland, providing an outlet for one of golf's most underserved groups has left a lasting imprint at Sand Creek Station.
    The course is planning to work with the Central Links Golf Association, headquartered in Lenexa, Kansas, on creating and hosting similar events in the future.
    "It was an honor for the USGA to select us to host this event," Houchen said. "I can't say enough about how inspiring the players were.
    "Hopefully, we can work with the Central Golf Links Association to get another one like it."
  • FMC Corp. has agreed to sell its Global Specialty Solutions division to Envu. FMC Corp. photo via X Two years ago, no one had heard the name Envu before. Today, the company that was born in October 2022 out of the acquisition of Bayer Environmental Science by London-based private equity firm Cinven, is a leading provider of chemical solutions for the professional turf market. And it is getting bigger. 
    With headquarters in Cary, North Carolina, Envu — short for Environmental Science U.S., LLC — recently reached an agreement to acquire the Global Specialty Solutions segment of Philadelphia-based FMC Corp. for $350 million. The Global Specialty Solutions division of FMC includes its golf turf business. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year, pending regulatory approval. 
    Besides golf, FMC's Global Specialty Solutions segment also serves the pest control, lawn and tree care, nursery and greenhouse, vector control and industrial vegetation management sectors.
    "We see significant synergies and potential for accelerated innovation from the combination," Gilles Galliou, Envu CEO, said in the news release. "In addition, as the successful outcome of a carveout transaction ourselves, we believe we are the ideal partner to help GSS through this transition and maximize our collective potential."

    Environmental Science U.S., or Envu, was created in 2022 when Cinven bought Bayer Environmental Science. Envu photo via X Jennifer Poore of Envu's communications department told TurfNet that the company anticipates the FMC label for GSS products would be rebranded to Envu at some point as part of the transition, but the company was not ready to share further the details of exactly when that will occur. More details will be available after the acquisition is complete, Poore said. 
    Late last year, FMC announced plans to explore new strategic options for its Global Specialty Solutions division that includes the golf turf business. The company has since announced that it "no longer has a clear, strategic role in the company's mid- or longer-term goals," and that FMC plans to focus on its core business, which is agricultural crop protection, according to a release announcing the planned sale.
    "Global Specialty Solutions is a profitable business with a strong history of growth. We believe this agreement with Envu will provide the attention and resources it needs to continue thriving," Pierre Brondeau, FMC chairman and CEO, said in a news release. "With this divestment, FMC can focus solely on its core business."
  • As the head of the largest distributor of pesticides, fertilizers and specialty products for the turf industry, Jack Harrell, Jr. ushered the eponymous company through a process to become an employee-owned entity nearly a decade ago.
    A native of Lakeland, Florida, Harrell died July 13 after a brief battle with brain cancer. The company's CEO and chairman of the board of directors, Harrell was 68.
    "My family is saddened by the loss of my father, but we rejoice that he has gone home to Glory and is not in any more pain and suffering any longer," said company president and COO Jack Harrell III, in a news release. "His body (has) been restored, and he is at peace. My father was a great man who took care of so many people. Everyone else was always his main concern, rather than himself. We will all miss him but are so happy that he is rejoicing in heaven."

    Harrell began working at the family business in 1978 upon graduating from Georgia Southern University with a bachelor's degree in business management. He was named the company's CEO in 1991.
    Ormond and Lucile Harrell started the company in 1941 as a feed store in Lakeland. Their son, Jack Harrell Sr. took over the company after the elder Harrell died in 1964. 
    The company was built on and managed a series of core values — serve, honor and glorify God; take care of people; and grow the company's financial strength. Harrell, the company said in a release, that he lived by those values both at home and at work, ultimately guiding the company to employee ownership in 2016.

    Jack Harrell Jr. was a third-generation leader of the company started by his grandparents. Harrell's photo Harrell was heavily involved in the Lakeland community, where he lettered in football for the Dreadnaughts of Lakeland High School. He served on the board of governors for Lakeland Regional Health, he was chairman of the Bonnet Springs Park Board of Directors and the Parker Street Ministries Advisory Board.
    He and wife Tina were named philanthropists of the year by Lakeland Regional Health, and he was the recipient of the Distinguished Citizen Award from the Greater Tampa Bay Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

    In 2019, he received the Florida Turfgrass Association's Wreath of Grass Award that is presented to those who have shown outstanding service to the Florida Turfgrass Association and to the turfgrass industry. He was inducted into the Tampa Bay Business Hall of Fame in 2021. That same year he received the Jack with the Marie Roberts Lifetime Service Award from the Florida GCSA for significant contributions to the association and the golf industry.
    Survivors include his wife, Tina; sons Jack Harrell III and Will (Julia) Harrell, both of Lakeland; and grandsons Holton, Wells and John Harrell, all of Lakeland.
    A celebration of life will be held at 11 a.m., July 20 at Victory Church in Lakeland.
  • Just because she has left the world of turfgrass, Beth Guertal, Ph.D., has not forgotten her roots.
    "I still love turf, and I'm happy to get the opportunity to still do this," Guertal said after presenting a recent TurfNet webinar. "The GCSAA has me teaching next year, which I'm really excited about, and I'm also doing the British golf show next year."
    In February 2022, Guertal left her turfgrass position at Auburn after 29 years for a non-turf role at Kansas State University, where she works as a project director with the U.S. Agency for International Development to advance educational opportunities in agriculture in Third World countries. It is a job that comes with the satisfaction of helping others in need, while also being wrought with limits due to rampant crime that hinders safe travel throughout the country.
    Currently, most of Guertal's work is with a half-dozen universities in crime-torn Haiti, where she and her team of four have been busy developing virtual bachelor's and master's degree programs in agriculture, horticulture, ornamentals and, yes, even a little bit of turfgrass. She works with two universities in the northern part of the country, two in the South and two more in the capital city of Port-au-Prince. The program includes training farmers in the latest food-production techniques and a Haitian version of agriculture extension.
    "I work mainly in Haiti, and I'm probably going to get Guatemala soon, and do development work with the universities there to help them get on their feet," Guertal said. "In Haiti we are working on starting some certificate and degree programs in turfgrass management, because there are, especially in South Florida, a lot of Haitians who are interested in that."
    Her work in Haiti as well as agreements to speak at turf conferences worldwide were derailed for about eight weeks earlier this year, when her son Will, a lieutenant in the U.S. Coast Guard, became ill while aboard an icebreaker in Antarctica and was hospitalized in New Zealand.
    "Last year, I was supposed to speak at all those events, and my oldest son became critically ill in Antarctica on the Coast Guard cutter Polar Star," she said. "Two weeks before I was supposed to go to all those shows, because they all happen in February, I had to go to New Zealand to deal with Will. He was in the hospital for almost eight weeks, I mean I was in New Zealand for eight weeks. I had five turf speaking engagements scheduled, and I just canceled everything."
    Today, she and her team are looking to grow their program. They recently submitted a grant proposal that, if approved, will also have her working with universities in Cambodia, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, Senegal and Tanzania. 

    Beth Guertal, Ph.D. (left) still enjoys teaching about turfgrass. When she is not in New Zealand dealing with a medical emergency, or working in Haiti, Guertal usually can be found in her garage office in Auburn, Alabama, where she still lives despite her appointment to Kansas State. She and the rest of the team look forward to the day when they can safely travel again to Haiti.
    Her ability to travel to Haiti and within the country that occupies the eastern half of the island of Hispaniola has been limited of late because of escalating gang violence.
      Crime has steadily risen in parts of Haiti, namely in Port-au-Prince, since the assassination of president Jovenel Moise by Colombian mercenaries in July 2021, more than six months before Guertal began working with USAID.
    The homicide rate on the island has doubled in the past two years, and gangs were responsible for killing or kidnapping more than 8,000 people in 2023 alone.
    "In 2022, when the project first started, I could fly into Port-au-Prince and not feel like I was going to get kidnapped," she said. 
    After connecting with her Haitian colleague, they would drive about 2 miles to a regional airport to connect to destinations in the northern and southern parts of the country.
    "I wouldn't do that today, because I think you'd get kidnapped," she said. 
    "When it was at its worst, I got an email every day from USAID that if you were American, you could get your passport and one bag, get to the U.S. Embassy, and they would get you out of the country that day."
    Besides murder and kidnapping, roving gangs also pillage the country of nearly everything that is not nailed down. That list of pilfered objects includes livestock and computers from the universities that Guertal and her team work with.
    "It's been challenging. The gangs just take everything," she said. 
    "I would love to have gone to Haiti and lived there for a few months. This has been more frustrating than I thought."
  • A maintenance crew worker for the El Conquistador Golf Resort, died June 27 three days after being stung by a swarm of stinging insects at Pusch Ridge Golf Course near Tucson, Arizona.
    Rick Messina, 57, was working on the No. 8 hole at Pusch Ridge Golf Course in Oro Valley early in the morning on June 24 when he was stung by a swarm of undetermined stinging insects, according to a news release by El Conquistador. He died in a local hospital three days later.
    Professional beekeepers were called in and inspected the three-course, 45-hole El Conquistador property. They determined there were no hives or colonies on the property, and warning signs were posted throughout the course.
    The company said bees were responsible for the attack, but a leading entomologist points elsewhere, namely at the business end of a yellow jacket (shown at right).
    "It is unlikely that honey bees, or indeed any bees, were responsible for the incident unless the worker directly disrupted a honey bee hive, which apparently were absent, Dan Potter, Ph.D., professor emeritus at the University of Kentucky, said via email. "Individual honey bees foraging for nectar and pollen on flowers are docile and non-defensive, going about their business (unless stepped on with bare feet, picked up and held, etc.). They do not 'swarm' or mass-attack people unless there is an imminent threat to the colony (which triggers alarm pheromone release by guard bees that recruits resident workers to communal defense of the hive). This could occur if, say, a person chain-sawed a tree having a wild colony in a tree hole, or knocked over or roughly messed with the boxes of managed hive, but it sounds like no such scenario was involved.
    Potter, the 2010 recipient of the USGA Green Section Award, said it is more likely that the victim disturbed a nest of yellow jackets, which are a type of wasp.
    "It's MUCH more likely that the worker inadvertently disturbed a colony of yellow jacket wasps, which build their papery nests in cavities in the ground (e.g., rodent burrows), stone walls, shrubs and trees, tree trunks and stumps, among piles of stone, wood or lumber stacked outdoors, and in the walls and eaves of buildings, Potter wrote. "This could happen when mowing, pruning, removing logs or fallen trees, or other land care activities. These wasps are highly defensive and will attack and pursue perceived threats to the nest.

    Entomologist and USGA Green Section Award recipient Dan Potter," Ph.D., says yellow jackets probably are to blame in an attack on a golf course worker in Arizona. University of Kentucky photo According to the National Vital Statistics System, an average of 72 people die in the United States every year from stinging insects, including bees, wasps (including yellow jackets) and hornets.
    "Bees and wasps are not the same, Potter wrote. "Most human-encountered yellow jackets are alien invasive species, so control is warranted when they become a hazard. Bees are beneficial pollinators and the USGA and many other organizations are working with golf courses to encourage promoting pollinator habitat in naturalized roughs.
    "It is good for outdoor workers to be aware (or educated about) how to avoid encounters with stinging insects, to recognize symptoms of hypersensitivity in self or co-workers and to take appropriate medical precautions (e.g., carry an epinephrine auto-injector) if allergic.
    For more information on how to control wasps, hornets and yellow jackets, please visit this page authored by Potter's brother, Michael Potter, Ph.D., extension professor emeritus at the University of Kentucky and an expert in urban entomology.
    The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides the following recommendations for dealing with attacks from stinging insects:
    Removing the stinger: As soon as possible, use a thin, dull edge, like a credit card or table knife, to scrape the stinger out. Do not squeeze the stinger or use tweezers. Washing the area: Use soap and water to remove venom and reduce the risk of infection. Applying ice: Wrap an ice pack in a towel or cloth and place it on the sting for at least 20 minutes every hour to reduce pain and swelling. Elevating the area: If the sting is on an arm or leg, try to elevate it. Taking medication: Acetaminophen or ibuprofen can help with pain, while an antihistamine like diphenhydramine or loratadine can help with itching and swelling. Applying a paste: Make a paste of water and baking soda, and apply it to the sting to help neutralize the venom and reduce swelling and itching. Cover with a bandage and leave it on for at least 15 minutes. Hydrocortisone cream or calamine lotion also can be effective.
  • The city of Montreal has banned a list of pesticides that it hopes eventually will be a template for all of Canada to follow.
    Implemented in 2022 for residential users, the ban by the city's executive committee of 32 active ingredients will now affect golf courses, as well. The ban goes into effect Jan. 1, 2025.
    The ban includes fungicides like chlorothalonil and iprodione; herbicides like 2,4-D and glyphosate; as well as insecticides such as chlorpyrifos, carbaryl and all neonicotinoids.
    There are some exceptions that allow for use of 2,4-D for weed control between April 15-June 15, and chlorothalonil for control of gray and pink snow mold between Oct. 15-Dec. 1.
    Although several municipalities throughout Canada have implemented pesticide bans for residential use, Montreal is believed to be the first to apply such use restrictions to golf.
    The ban has been tested the past two years on one of the city's eight golf courses, and according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. the fairways exhibit patches of clover.

    Beginning Jan. 1, golf courses in Montreal will be subject to a ban of several common pesticides. Marie-Andrée Mauger, director of environment and ecological transition for the city of Montreal, said in a statement that she hopes other jurisdictions throughout Quebec and across Canada will follow her city's lead in an effort to protect "human health and biodiversity."
    Without options in place that do not result in patches of clover and other weeds, some believe such a ban is in contrast to the demands of golfers today.
    "In no way is this a surprise to me," said Miranda Robinson, operations manager for the British Columbia Golf Superintendents Association. "Quebec has led the charge on all pesticide restrictions in Canada, and this has been threatening us for years."
    A list of banned as well as approved alternatives is available here (in French).
    Fines for violating the new ruling range from $500 for first-time offenders to as much as $4,000 for repeat violators.
    Robinson said some superintendents in other parts of Canada have been withholding water and pesticides from out-of-the-way areas on their golf courses so members can see what they should expect when restrictions on synthetic pesticides and water come their way.
    Golfers, she said, were not impressed by the conditions that they might one day have to play under. She also believes superintendents would be well advised to embrace the future and learn how to work within such restrictions, the greenkeepers have in parts of Europe, where pesticide restrictions are in place.
    "We would be very smart," Robinson said, "to be sending our professionals to the UK to learn how life is going to be because the future is coming at us and education is what will save our profession as always."
  • There have been two constants in the North Carolina State University turf program for most of the past four decades.
    Fred Yelverton and Rick Brandenburg each earned his doctorate degree at NC State, then returned to work at their alma mater within a year of each other — in 1984 and 1985, respectively.
    As they came to NC State at nearly the same time some 40 years ago, they too have left in lockstep, with both officially retired effective June 30.
    In that time, each has become a recognized leader in his respective field, Yelverton in weed science and Brandenburg in turf pathology and entomology.
    They have spoken at literally hundreds of events in the Carolinas, nationwide and around the world, helping turf managers do their jobs more efficiently.

    A two-time cancer survivor, Fred Yelverton, Ph.D., nearly found himself in medical school years ago. "To be honest, I don't know if I can even put them into words," said Matthew Wharton, CGCS at Idle Hour Country Club in Lexington, Kentucky, who spent 17 years at Carolina Golf Club in Charlotte. "They're recognized around the world."
    With a combined 79 years of service at NC State, their retirement signals the end of an era in Raleigh.
    "Both have been pillars of the turf faculty group," said NC State professor and extension specialist, Grady Miller, Ph.D. "They have been here a long time. It's going to be a shock to the system that it's not Rick and Fred anymore."
    Recognized for the respective expertise, both men came to the turf industry by happenstance.
    Yelverton was set to enter medical school after earning a bachelor's degree in wildlife biology from NC State, but the events surrounding a hunting trip in eastern North Carolina led him to change the path of his career.
    In 1981, while deer hunting near Scotland Neck, North Carolina, Yelverton fractured three vertebrae when the tree stand he was in collapsed, sending him plummeting to the ground. It was while he was confined to the hospital in Greenville at East Carolina University, that he befriended an ECU medical student. 
    "I'd see him at 6 in the morning and at midnight," Yelverton said. "I asked him, 'What the hell. Are you here 24 hours a day?' He said 'As a matter of fact I am.' I told him I was going to go to medical school, and he said 'Good luck with that.'
    "After two weeks in the hospital, I decided a hospital was the last place I wanted to be."
    Brandenburg's journey into turf was not quite as dramatic but was equally unexpected. 
    Brandenburg knew nothing about turf when he returned to NC State after four years working in forage crops at the University of Missouri.
    "I had no experience in turf. My training was in field crops," Brandenburg said. "When I had the opportunity for this job, it was in forage crops, grains, peanuts and a little bit of turf. It didn't make any sense. It was a real mixed bag."

    Rick Brandenburg, Ph.D., started his career in fields like forage crops and peanuts. The duo say they came to turf at just the right time as conditions and technology were changing rapidly and there was a plethora of new turfgrass species in both golf and athletic fields.
    "We could not have picked a more optimal time," Brandenburg said. "The field was increasing in popularity rapidly. Turfgrass was growing rapidly. It was all there for us to mess up. Hopefully, things are in place for the next generation to progress forward."
    While plans to fill Yelverton's shoes have not been decided, Terri Bielleisen, Ph.D., who in 2015 also earned a doctorate degree from NC State, has worked on campus since 2017 and will fill the post vacated by Brandenburg.
    Work — and retirement — have taken on new meaning for Yelverton, a two-time cancer survivor. 
    Fifteen years ago, Yelverton was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. At the time, he had been extremely active physically. The only indicator that something was wrong were elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels revealed during a routine doctor's visit.
    "I had no symptoms," he said. "I was running marathons. The only red flag was that my PSA had gone up. The doctor who found that saved my life."

    Rick Brandenburg and Fred Yelverton have a combined 79 years of service at North Carolina State University. Both retired on June 30. While Yelverton was hospitalized at nearby Duke University Hospital, his oncologist discovered that cancer cells had spread to his lymph nodes. An examination of the lymph nodes revealed that Yelverton also was positive for a non-life-threatening form of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
    A program of chemotherapy and radiation killed the prostate cancer, but because the CLL was not life threatening, it has gone untreated. Still, 15 years later, Yelverton must have check ups every six months to ensure the cancer in his prostate has not returned and that the CLL remains in check.
    "There is nothing like walking up to the edge of the cliff to change your perspective on life," Yelverton said. "If you've walked to the edge of death, it helps you appreciate life more."
    The turf industry has changed dramatically during the duration of their careers. Height of cut has gone lower and lower as golfer demand goes up and up, making turf more susceptible to biotic and abiotic stress. In response, several new turf varieties have emerged, and advancements also have been made in technology, chemistry and agronomic practices all designed to make the job of superintendents easier.
    "Weeds, diseases and insects we see in North Carolina have increased dramatically in the last 20 years," Brandenburg said. 
    "It's not anything that anyone has done wrong. We've just created an all-you-can-eat buffet for them." 
    Both men have dedicated their careers to helping turf managers overcome these ever-increasing challenges.
    "The industry demanded our service," Brandenburg said. 
    "We helped develop practices to use products as efficiently as possible, at a cost level that makes sense and that society demands."
    Despite their retirement, both plan to continue consulting, Brandenburg independently and Yelverton will continue working with Clemson's Bert McCarty. The difference now is that how much time they devote to work in turf will be on their own terms.
    Brandenburg and his wife, Janice, will focus much of their time on family. Together, they have three children and two grandchildren, all of whom live in Raleigh. They also plan to travel, and have a trip to Prague scheduled for the fall.
    Yelverton and wife Kimberly will be headed to Ireland in the fall. He also enjoys inshore, saltwater fishing for flounder and redfish. As far as hunting and climbing into a tree stands, that's another matter entirely.
    "Hell no!" he said. "I haven't been in a (expletive deleted) tree stand since I fell out of one."
  • The bible for fungicide use to control diseases in turfgrass has evolved quite a bit in the past three decades. 
    When Paul Vincelli, Ph.D., began his career in plant pathology at the University of Kentucky in 1990, the publication titled Chemical Control of Turfgrass Diseases, was little more than a diagnosis guide and a catalog of products available at the time. The guide quickly became much more soon after his UK colleague Bill Nesmith, Ph.D., told Vincelli that turf managers wanted to know what works best for a specific disease, not just what is available.
    Eventually, Vincelli devised a rating system that graded product efficacy and the publication has become the go-to guide for diagnosing and controlling diseases in turf, and since 2017 has been administered by plant pathologists at other universities, namely Bruce Clarke, Ph.D., at Rutgers and Paul Koch, Ph.D. of the University of Wisconsin. Previous editions were made possible by efforts from turf pathologists at Purdue University and the University of Missouri.
    The guide, which is available as a free download through the University of Kentucky, contains information on more than two dozen common turfgrass diseases and how to control them.

    It includes conditions and seasons under which each disease thrives, how to make the correct diagnosis as well as agronomic and chemical solutions for each. 
    The guide proffers FRAC code, fungicide group, risk of resistance, mobility in the profile and trade names of each fungicide product covered. It also has key data for dozens of premixed and combination products. Perhaps the most important contribution of the guide is a grading system that assigns an efficacy rating for each disease.
    Diseases covered in the guide include algae, anthracnose, brown patch, brown ring patch, copper spot, dollar spot, fairy ring, gray leaf spot, gray speckled snow mold, large patch, leaf smuts, leaf spot and melting out, necrotic ring spot, pink snow mold, powdery mildew, Pythium blight, Pythium root dysfunction, red thread, Rhizoctonia leaf and sheath spot, rusts, slime molds, spring dead spot, summer patch, take-all patch, yellow patch and yellow and yellow tuft.
    Other tips offered are directions for proper application and the importance of testing products and evaluating whether fungicidal control is the best course of action for a specific site and application.
    A compendium of scientific research conducted nationwide, the publication concludes with a glossary of helpful links as well as acknowledgements of those whose work was used to compile the guide.
  • Syngenta has developed two new active ingredients for use in the company's Professional Solutions markets, both of which are pending label registration from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
    Isocycloseram is a broad-spectrum insecticide active ingredient that will be marketed as Plinazolin technology. Cyclobutrifluram is a nematicide and fungicide active that will be marketed as Tymirium technology.
    "These novel active ingredients complement our current portfolio by increasing the level of control, broadening the pest control spectrum and helping to mitigate resistance,"" said Scott Reasons, head of Syngenta Professional Solutions in the Americas.
    Plinazolin technology is formulated to control insect pests by contact and ingestion to quickly stop feeding. As the first mode of action for these professional markets in IRAC Group 30, Plinazolin technology also can be a resistance-management tool.
    Upon EPA registration it will be launched in the following Professional Solutions markets under the following brand names:
    Turf: Atexzo insecticide for control of annual bluegrass weevils, mole crickets, Bermudagrass mites, billbugs, caterpillars and European crane flies. Ornamentals: Vykenda insecticide for control of thrips, mites, leafminers, flea beetles and more. Professional Pest Management: Vanecto cockroach gel bait for control of all major cockroach species including German and American cockroaches. Tymirium technology will be launched as Trefinti nematicide/fungicide for control of sting, lance, root-knot and Anguina nematodes, as well as diseases such as spring dead spot and other soil-borne turf diseases. 
    In ornamental production, it will also offer control of Fusarium and powdery mildew. Unlike previous molecules in its category, Tymirium technology is designed to selectively target damaging nematodes, while sparing those that are beneficial for soil health and biodiversity.
  • "To lose patience is to lose the battle."
    — Mahatma Gandhi
    When it comes to developing new turfgrasses, no one can accuse David Huff, Ph.D., (right) of being impatient. 
    Charged with developing cutting-edge solutions for the turf industry when he was hired as a plant breeder at Penn State in 1994, Huff has been patiently working toward that goal of delivering something innovative to help his constituents.
    Huff has spent most of the past 30 years developing PA-33, the first commercially available seeded variety of Poa annua that has been tested on Penn State test plots as well as a handful of golf courses nationwide. Huff recently harvested the seed and is preparing it for sale later this year. Seed production, naturally, will be limited in the short term, said Huff who anticipates having 350-400 pounds for sale. Production could ramp up in the future if the endeavor is a commercial success, he said.
    The cost of production is about $100 per pound of seed. Although he still is calculating the final sale price, Huff said superintendents should expect something in the neighborhood of $625 for a 5-pound bag, which is a fraction of the cost of sod. A total of 10 pounds of seed is enough to cover an average 5,000-square-foot putting green, he said.
    PA-33, Huff says, is a high shoot density, dwarf perennial variety that is more tolerant to disease, heat and drought stress, is quick to germinate and provides coverage within about 21 days.
    More cost effective than sod, but slower to establish, PA-33 has a promising place in golf, say superintendents who have managed it during Huff's research phase.

    A mix of seeded Poa annua and creeping bentgrass at Laurel Creek Country Club in New Jersey. Photos courtesy of John Slade "I think that's the debate," said John Slade, superintendent at Laurel Creek Country Club in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. "If you're doing a greens renovation, you can buy sod and the course open more quickly, but you also have the option of seeding. 
    "If you have to do one or two greens, I think this will be the way to go."
    Developing a seeded Poa was not first on Huff's list when he came to Penn State.
    "I came in with a few ideas, like Kentucky bluegrass for fairways," Huff said. "People in the industry said to me: 'What else do you have?' 
    "If you look at the golf industry, Poa annua is a big part of it, but you couldn't buy seed for renovations."
    Huff did not believe it was possible to improve upon the Penn A and G series developed by his predecessor, Joe Duich, Ph.D., so he focused his efforts elsewhere.
    The aggressiveness and preponderance of so many bio-types of Poa annua led Huff to believe there was a place for a greens quality seeded variety.
    "Poa annua is a nice grass, but there are so many types it gets bumpy," he said. "If you have a uniform variety, you won't have that problem."
    He set out collecting Poa samples from golf courses coast to coast.
    "I started selecting and collecting samples in 1994," he said. "I was like a baseball scout, getting the best samples locally and from around the country."
    He collected several samples, whittling down the list until he had a dozen of the best performers under stressful conditions.
    Throughout the breeding process, one of his goals was to increase seed production without compromising the traits that make Poa annua such a good putting surface. 
    "At first I had a teaspoon full," he said. "Then I got an envelope full, then a bag, then a bigger bag. But I was losing the high shoot perennial nature I was looking for. It wants to become a seed-producing annual."
    Huff was not the first to explore development of a high-quality variety of seeded Poa annua. He found evidence of others' work in the field, including in the 1950s at UCLA, while other work was conducted at the University of Rhode Island. The most, however, was done at the University of Minnesota, where some varieties were released, but as seed production ramped up they reverted to what Huff described as a "wild, weedy annual type."

    Laurel Creek Country Club was one of five courses across the country chosen as a test site for seeded Poa annua that was developed at Penn State by David Huff, Ph.D. During the past 30 years of research, Huff learned a great deal about the habits of Poa annua, namely that it has transgenerational memory and is capable of "remembering" how it is mowed and where the seed was grown, traits that actually become embedded in the plant's DNA, which Huff says "violates the rules of genetics."
    "That's probably present in other turf species," Huff said. "It is so pronounced in Poa. That's its main operating system."
    PA-33 thrives under aggressive management, and superintendents should resist the temptation to manage it like a seeded bentgrass. Huff says his research has shown that seed production decreases the more PA-33 is mowed.
    "You really have to jump on it early. It thrives on that," Huff said.
    "The father (Poa supina) can't tolerate mowing below a tenth-of-an-inch. The mother (Poa infirma) can't tolerate mowing. Together, they can tolerate low mowing below a tenth-of-an-inch. I know it's counter intuitive. That's a head-scratcher."
    Brian Stiehler, superintendent at Highlands Country Club in Highlands, North Carolina, was one of five test sites around the country and had been growing PA-33 on his club's nursery. Recently he plowed up the nursery, not because of PA-33's performance, but because members at the club are wed to creeping bentgrass.
    "My nursery has always been an experimentation place," Stiehler said. "There has always been some Penn A4 on it. But seven or eight years ago, I gridded out the nursery with the most popular bentgrasses. It was like my own NTEP trial. I wanted to see what was the best bentgrass in case we ever redid our greens.
    "He developed the first harvested Poa seed, and asked if I would do a plot at Highlands. It did really well."
    The greens at Laurel Creek have not been rebuilt since the club opened in 1989. Initially grassed with PennLinks creeping bentgrass, the greens today are a bent/Poa mix.
    In the fall of 2022, a mix of Coho creeping bentgrass and PA-33 was seeded into Laurel Creek's new practice green as well as the practice range. He opted to mix the two varieties in an attempt to mimic conditions throughout the rest of the course.
    The quote he received for sod shipped from Pittsburgh came in at $20,000, making the choice of Huff's new variety an easy one.
    "We've spent the past year getting it down to height," Slade said. "The height of cut is down to match the rest of the golf course (at 0.100).
    "What I want to see is if it will decrease in seed production over time. We're not seeing that yet."
  • Arizona Grand Golf Course is an original Forrest Richardson design. Forrest Richardson Golf Course Architects photo For more than 30 years, Forrest Richardson (below right) has been designing and restoring many of the country's most prominent golf courses.
    His portfolio includes more than 50 original designs and renovation projects throughout the U.S., Mexico and Europe. He also has authored several books, including Course Brains (On Course Publishing, 2023, 69 pages), which poses a series of 25 questions for golf course stakeholders to generate their "course IQ" and plot a path toward future success. The book, which is available by digital download, was inspired in part by Richardson's mentor, Scottish architect — and former golf course superintendent — Arthur Jack Snyder.
    "Golf courses must realize that a decision to change and be better involves each individual decision you make — and that includes all of the sections and questions posed in this (little) book," Richardson wrote in the book. "Every decision in your path has the potential to bring about a more successful end result. No excuses for not striving for greatness. No apologies for not delivering a better product. No regrets for looking back and wishing you had done a better job." 
    After each topic, the book solicits an honest appraisal, or grade. At the end of Section 25, readers can tally the numeric value for each grade from each of the 25 questions. The total of all 25 will determine each course's I.Q.
    The grade choices are:
    140 and over Genius or near genius  120 -139 Very superior intelligence  110 -119 Superior intelligence  90 -109 Average intelligence  80 - 89 Dullness  70 - 79 Borderline deficiency  Below 70 Definitely feeble "I recommend having several people in your club take the test," Richardson wrote. "Compare the results and see where you might focus some time."
    The 25 items to be addressed are:
    Do you have a comprehensive evaluation of your managed turf area? Does your course drain well enough to not cause complaints, lost play time & extra cost? How are your greens? Bunkers, are they truly great ... or something less than great?  Is your course capable of yardage flexibility so it can be fun for all ages & abilities? Is your course attracting new players?   Are you guilty of selling just one "size" of golf?   Is your course a resource hog, or are you conserving water and power?   Is your course dangerous? Have you had a safety analysis performed?   Is your course policy smart, or policy happy?   Pace-of-Play? Does your course flow evenly, or do round times vary from okay to too long? How good are your practice opportunities?   Is your clubhouse up to par?   Is your image & marketing smart? Is the land you control being well utilized?   Mowing Priorities — Mow what matters!   Do you know your legacy?  Trees, trees & more trees...do you have too many or too few? Where does your course rank on embracing new technologies?  Is your irrigation system ready for the next several years...or is it costing you money?  Have you been open minded to bringing non-golfers into your facility?  What differentiates your course? Is your course ranked? How many awards and honors have you received? Who is your golf course architect? Is success an option at your course? In conclusion, Richardson wrote: "As Gary explains, 'Ford does not deliver a vintage 1970s car to the showroom. They deliver the best they are able to produce with all of the best ideas they can include at the price of the car.' In golf however, we see some very old and tired products being delivered and offered when there is no reason to settle for such a practice. Take a hotdog for example. If my attitude is that success is not an option, what is preventing me and my team from delivering the best hotdog possible? When success is a decision, the culture of your course will be to deliver successful, bright, good, award-winning, wow, tasteful and stellar service, goods, food— and golf. The 'A' grade is for those of you who can truly point to a culture where nearly every detail and every decision follows this thinking."
  • Simplot expands into Fort Myers area
    The J.R. Simplot Co. is expanding into southwest Florida with a new location scheduled to open soon in the Fort Myers area.
    Upon opening, the new location will offer a full range of products and solutions to help golf course superintendents and other turf managers grow healthy turf and ornamental plants.
    With the new location, Simplot Turf and Horticulture will have 26 locations in 17 states.
    Former golf course superintendent Andy Engelbrecht will be the regional sales representative servicing the golf market in the Fort Myers region. A graduate of the Penn State turfgrass program, Engelbrecht formerly was superintendent at Verandah Golf Club and Rotonda Golf and spent the past five years as a sales specialist with BASF. 
    As with the other locations, the Fort Myers team will support customers through building relationships and providing agronomic solutions.
    11 Garske scholarship winners named
    The GCSAA has named 11 college students as recipients of the 2024 Par Aide Garske Grants.
    Established in honor of Par Aide founder Joseph S. Garske, the Par Aide Garske Grant competition is funded by the golf course accessory company and administered by the GCSAA Foundation. For more than 20 years, the program has helped children and stepchildren of GCSAA members fund their education at an accredited college or trade school with one-time, one-year grants. There are eleven grants awarded for a total of $14,000. Grants are based on community service, leadership, academic performance and a written essay.
    The 2024 winners are: 
    Kiersten Bolon, Penn State, biochemistry, $2,500 — daughter of Thomas Bolon, Lake Forest Country Club Thistle Golf Club, Hudson, Ohio Jacob Shanahan, University of Arizona, finance, $2,500 — son of Tracy Shanahan, Peach Tree Golf & Country Club, Marysville, California. Hayden Fabulich, University of Florida, biochemistry, $1,000 — son of Scott Fabulich, Oceanside Country Club, Ormond Beach, Florida. Claire Marcinek, Temple University, nursing, $1,000 — daughter of Darrell Marcinek, Somerset County Park Commission, Somerset, New Jersey. Mia Waddle, Iowa State University, kinesiology/pre-physical therapy, $1,000 — daughter of Brandon Waddle, Lake Panorama National Golf Course, Panora, Iowa. Sarah Bagwell, University of Central Florida, $1,000 — daughter of Jason Bagwell, Gleneagles Country Club West, Chambers Bay Golf Course, Delray Beach, Florida. Trevor Keilen, Oakland Community Collego, computational data science, $1,000 — son of Andrew Keilen, Knollwood Country Club in West Bloomfield, Michigan. Riley Maronge, Auburn University, agricultural science, $1,000 — father of the late Andrew Maronge. Andrew Stewart, University of Central Florida, finance, $1,000 — son of Bryce Gibson, Interlachen Country Club in Winter Park, Florida. Jaclyn Kelly Skirhanich, Bentley University, accounting, $1,000 — daughter of Michael Skirkanich, Granite Links Golf Club, Quarry Hills in Quincy, Massachusetts. Mia Safrit, NASCAR Technical Institute, $1,000 — daughter of Steffie Safrit, TPC Piper Glen in Charlotte, North Carolina. Central Turf to open Florida location
    Central Turf and Irrigation Supply, a distributor of irrigation, lighting, drainage and landscape supplies, will open its newest location in Freeport, Florida.
    Established in 1990, Central Turf and Irrigation Supply is a family owned and operated wholesale distributor for irrigation, landscape, drainage, agronomic, sustainable products, lighting and grounds care equipment—with 60 locations in the U.S. and Canada.
    The Freeport location will offer one-stop shopping with inventory from several manufacturers, same-day delivery services, category experts, large-scale design services and hands-on training.
    Cabot Collection reaches deal with Audubon
    Audubon International recently entered into agreement making it the environmental stewardship partner for golf and resort developer The Cabot Collection. Cabot's portfolio includes Cabot Cape Breton in Nova Scotia, Cabot Saint Lucia, Cabot Revelstoke in British Columbia, Cabot Citrus Farms in Florida and Cabot Highlands in Scotland.
    Audubon International is an environmentally focused non-profit organization that offers members numerous certifications and conservation initiatives to protect their properties.
    In this partnership, Toronto-based Cabot is the first multi-property brand to enroll every golf course and surrounding built environment into Audubon International’s comprehensive, Platinum Signature Sanctuary certification program that was introduced in 2023.
    Platinum Certification brings an entire resort or community development under one certification umbrella, including golf courses, clubhouse facilities, lodging, real estate, restaurants and retail.
    Across its portfolio, Cabot currently has eight golf courses open for play, with three courses in development and future growth plans. Both of the acclaimed Cape Breton courses, Cabot Links and Cabot Cliffs, are individually certified in the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program and will move under the Platinum Signature Sanctuary umbrella along with its lodging, real estate, retail and restaurant facilities.
  • Operational sustainability is an ongoing goal in the golf industry. Not only is an increased focus on environmental stewardship the right thing to do, it also can help defray some of the negative public relations hurled at the industry from outsiders.
    Applebrook Golf Club in East Goshen Township, Pennsylvania, recently unveiled its latest step toward sustainability when it pulled back the curtain on its new and environmentally friendly Brecker Turf Care Center.
    The center is named for Jim Brecker, an Applebrook member who was on the committee to explore and undertake the project. The former CEO of the commercial construction firm of Irwin and Leighton in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, Brecker provided a great deal of know-how on such an undertaking, said Jared Viarengo, CGCS, Applebrook's director of grounds and club operations.
    "Jim brought a massive amount of expertise and knowledge to the project," Viarengo said via email. "His contributions were so enormous that the committee ultimately recommended to the board that the new facility be named the Brecker Turf Care Center in his honor. Jim, who in his career had built the most elaborate buildings, agreed at the end of the project that while the buildings were simple, the overall project was complicated — the land development approvals and all the additional specialized equipment that was outside the general contractor's scope."
    The facility replaces outdated buildings, and high-speed Internet, providing access to digital tools and resources while minimizing paper use. The building also includes employee locker rooms, break rooms and restrooms and a state-of-the-art shop. 

    The new maintenance facility at Applebrook Golf Club includes a concrete-encased fuel tank. All photos courtesy of Applebrook Golf Club The new facility is about 12,000 square feet with 1,100 square feet of mezzanine storage and aout 4,000 square feet of high-bay area and a lift, Viarengo said.
    The repair shop portion of the building is about 2,000 square feet and has its own office space, restroom, parts room, and separate area for sharpening equipment. Unlike its predecessor, it is also air-conditioned.
    "While we have only been using the new facility at full capacity for a few months, it has positively influenced staff morale," Viarengo said. "There is more energy to go around. It's a more professional work environment and better aligns with what we are working to accomplish on the golf course. Our crew went from a small break room with one undersized restroom and limited lockers to a facility with an appropriately sized break room, individual lockers in a drying room, and men's and ladies' restrooms with shower facilities. We are much better able to communicate with the entire team in the new breakroom, and we finally adopted an electronic job board, which we now have the space for and electrical power to use. The new facility has high-speed ethernet lines and boosted Wi-Fi for employees throughout."
    A few unique features that will reduce the environmental risk of Applebrook's operations are a new agricultural building and  a Carbtrol wash water recycling system equipped with a ConVault above-ground fuel storage tank on a concrete pad to contain spills. The tank is double-wall steel encased in concrete for impact and leak protection. 
    The club also focused on how it stores and mixes pesticides. Because the club had outgrown its manufactured steel chemical storage building, staff previously transported products out to the golf course to mix them. The new agricultural building includes PlantStar mix-load equipment that allows staff to mix spray product in large batches and fill the sprayers quicker and more efficiently than before. The building also has a sump floor to contain spills.
    "By prioritizing sustainability in every aspect of our operations, we aim to set a new standard for golf course management while preserving the natural beauty of our surroundings," said Chuck Lawson, Applebrook's president.
    There were many challenges and complications that made the project unique, said Viarengo.
    "The main one was that our golf maintenance facility resides on the East Goshen Township property. When the golf course was developed, the township acquired 100 acres of the original tract of land to build a park for the residents."
      The pharmaceutical company Smith Kline Beecham (now GSK) owned that tract of land, and the facility was in a few of the original buildings that subsequently were now on township property. With a complex agreement with the township, Applebrook acquired the lots with an easement to operate outside the buildings. 
    Golf course staff must cross a public road to get from the maintenance facility to the golf course. The original buildings comprised about 8,000 square feet, and club founders, motivated by the avoidance of new construction costs, deemed the old buildings adequate 24 years ago. Although construction was completed in just nine months, the planning process for the new facility took four years to navigate.

    Applebrook Golf Club members celebrate the club's new maintenance facility. "Our founding members were from Pine Valley, Aronimink, Merion and other area courses. As it so happens, these premier clubs had poor maintenance facilities," Viarengo said. "Based on the founder's frame of reference, they thought inheriting these old buildings and avoiding the cost of new construction was a home run. Where I came from in New York, the aging facilities were already being updated and improved. Within a decade of Applebrook opening, most courses I mentioned, and more, had reconstructed their facilities to a much higher standard."
    Because the club had a strict covenant with the township to operate a golf course maintenance facility in the middle of its park, the club was limited as to what it could and could not do regarding construction and storage of materials, Viarengo said.
    Adding to the complication, those buildings are next to a renovated farmhouse that serves as the Chester County Chamber of Business and Industry offices. 
    "Long story short, we had a lengthy approval process. Before we even got to the usual land development process, Applebrook had to get the entire agreement rewritten, and because of how the township acquired the land, the county had to be involved," Viarengo said. "The good news was that at the end of the day, while this was good for Applebrook, it was also a significant win for East Goshen Township, the residents and all the neighbors."

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