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From the TurfNet NewsDesk

  • John Reitman
    Nearly a century of golf history at the University of Minnesota ended this fall.
    Citing financial challenges and the increasing cost of maintenance, the University of Minnesota has closed the 96-year-old Les Bolstad Golf Course and plans to sell the 140.9 acres on which the course is located, according to the university.
    Designed in 1929 by Tom Vardon, the course officially closed its doors on Oct. 30. The course employed about 60 University of Minnesota students in a variety of roles.
    According to the university: "The golf course does not generate funding needed for the extensive repairs and upkeep that would ensure its ongoing viability."
    The property will be sold as-is, including all existing infrastructure and buildings. The adjacent John W. Mooty Golf Facility and associated short game outdoor training area, used by the university's golf teams, as well as Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium that is used by the women's soccer team are not part of the sale.

    The University of Minnesota closed the Les Bolstad Golf Course permanently on Oct. 30. The course has been serving the university and the local community since 1929. Playing 6,259 yards from the back tees, the golf course was home to both accomplished college players as well newcomers to the game and everyone in between.
    The university's golf teams, while continuing to practice on the adjacent site, will play home matches 15 miles away at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota.
    The golf course was identified by university officials as a potential area of opportunity for sale as far back as 2021. Proceeds from the sale will be earmarked for use in "areas more directly aligned with the core mission of teaching, research and service."
    The course's namesake, Les Bolstad, was the youngest U.S. Public Links Championship winner in 1926, at age 18, a record that stood for almost 40 years. He joined the University of Minnesota golf team the following year in 1927, where he won two Big Ten championships. 
    After a professional golf career, Bolstad was named coach of the university's men's golf team in 1947, a position he held for 30 years.
  • In an event that should resonate with the golf community, more than a dozen shelter dogs have new homes thanks to an adoption event held annually at the Equip Expo.
    The TurfMutt Foundation's seventh annual Mulligan's Mutt Madness, held in partnership with the Kentucky Humane Society at Equip Exposition in October in Louisville, helped find new homes for 13 shelter dogs. Brandon McMillan, an Emmy-winning dog trainer, TV personality and host of the show Lucky Dog, was on hand at the event where TurfMutt presented a $10,000 donation to KHS. 
    "It's incredible that 13 lucky dogs left Equip to start their new lives with people who have a soft spot for the green industry and dogs in need," said Kris Kiser, president and CEO of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute and the TurfMutt Foundation.
    First-time Equip attendee Annie Brock adopted Skid, a chihuahua.
    "He was super calm for a chihuahua, and that's really what I liked about him," she said. "Skid is doing great here at our farm in Illinois. He loves my other two dogs and he and my daughter are already best buds." 

    A total of 13 shelter dogs were placed in permanent homes thanks to the TurfMutt Foundation and the Equipment Exposition in Louisville, Kentucky. Jessica Shinkle, an event manager at the Kentucky Expo Center, the site venue for Equip, took home Rose. 
    "I always go to the Mutt Madness to look at the cute pups, but when I saw Rose, I knew she would be a great playmate for our 2-year-old dog, Jack. He is super gentle with Rose, and we are very pleased with our new addition." 
    Over the years, Mutt Madness has placed more than 100 dogs in forever homes. Mulligan, the namesake dog for the event, was adopted by Kiser at the 2019 Mutt Madness event.
    "It's hard to beat seeing great dogs find great people," said Alisa Gray, president and CEO of the Kentucky Humane Society. "This year, we had Equip attendees coming to our shelter the next day to adopt dogs they met at the event."
    In its 16th year, TurfMutt was created by the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute's TurfMutt Foundation and has reached more than 70 million children, educators and families since 2009. The foundation is title sponsor of "Lucky Dog," the Emmy-winning television show in support of dog rescue and rehabilitation.
  • CMF Global Inc. and Prinsco have teamed up to provide turf professionals with a one-stop shopping experience for irrigation and drainage pipe.
    CMF Global, the maker of the AquaFuse line of high-density polyethylene irrigation system solutions for the golf and turf industry, has entered into a strategic partnership with Prinsco, a manufacturer of HDPE drainage and water-management products.
    Through this alliance, CMF Global and Prinsco will provide irrigation and drainage solutions and support for golf course architects, consultants and contractors worldwide in one place.
    By leveraging their combined strengths, the companies aim to provide reliable, sustainable water management solutions that promote efficient and successful project outcomes throughout the golf and turf sectors.

    "Our partnership with CMF Global is a natural fit because we're both deeply committed to the idea that relationships matter," read a Prinsco news release. "Working with a partner who shares our values-led approach allows us to better serve our customers with a high level of personal attention and expertise."
    With headquarters in Willmar, Minnesota, Prinsco is a fourth-generation, family-owned company that operates with a foundation of core values—hard work, integrity, relationships, and humility. The company marked its 50th anniversary this year. Prinsco began manufacturing products for agricultural water management and over time expanded to include stormwater solutions for commercial construction, retail products for residential use and septic systems for the onsite wastewater market.
    San Diego-based CMF Global specializes in high-density polyethylene solutions, offering a wide range of products including pipes, valves, fittings, fusion machines and small hydroelectric equipment for irrigation and infrastructure projects worldwide.
  • The late artist formerly known as Prince was looking into the future in 1982 when he told he was going to "party like it's 1999."
    Unlike Prince, Thom Nikolai, Ph.D., (at right) of Michigan State University is, in a sense, going back in time to that same era to repeat much of the same rolling research he made famous two decades ago. 
    After conceding that most golf course superintendents were up to speed on his rolling research, Nikolai, who was dubbed Dr. Green Speed, dismissed the topic during speaking engagements quite a while ago.  
    "I stopped discussing rolling in talks probably seven or eight years ago. I figured everybody knew about it by now," Nikolai said.
    That is, until a roller company recently approached him to pick up where he'd left off when they noticed roller sales. Shortly after the 2024 GCSAA conference in Phoenix, he received funding for a multi-year study to show the many benefits of lightweight rolling on golf course greens.
    "They want me to do everything I've already done. Well, why?" he said "None of these young guys want to roll anymore. They don't care about the research I did in the '90s."
    Nikolai recounted a recent speaking engagement where his window to speak was chopped down from 90 minutes to 30 minutes to make time for an unrelated outdoor demo.
    As Nikolai explained the benefits of rolling, attendees who knew nothing about the practice implored him to continue past his appointed stop time.
    "When I stopped, people's mouths fell open and they were dead silent," he said. "Then they asked me if I could go on. I told them I could talk for an-hour-and-a-half. They said, 'can you go for 20 more minutes?' They said they thought rolling killed grass."
    Some of those findings in that early research that changed the way educated superintendents manage greens today surprised even Nikolai.
    His early trials consisted of alternating mowing and rolling every other day, rolling every two days and eventually rolling daily without any negative effects on turf health. In fact, quite the opposite was true.

    Thom Nikolai, Ph.D., changed the way superintendents maintain greens with cutting-edge rolling research two decades ago. He is now conducting multi-year rolling research project to educate those who missed the message the first time as well as to get the results published. Tru-Turf image "I was afraid to tell people what I'd found," Nikolai said. "I knew they would be afraid of compaction.
    "I have not seen a change in bulk density. I've seen a change in pore size, but not enough to influence bulk density."
    The economic benefits of rolling do not require peer approval.
    "Have you ever seen anyone have to backlap a roller? Have you ever seen anyone change the reels on a roller?" he asked. "Me either."
    Nikolai's groundbreaking research on the benefits of rolling greens became the cornerstone of cultural practices for many superintendents.
    "On Mondays we're closed, but we roll six days a week all year," said Ross Miller, CGCS at The Country Club of Detroit. "We mow based on clipping yield when we reach a half-quart of clippings per thousand (square feet). We can maintain green speed with rolling."
    His work showed anecdotal evidence of many other benefits besides just a smoother putting surface. 
    Dr. Green Speed's top 10 reasons to roll
    Improved golfer satisfaction by producing a smoother putting surface Economic impact — a program of alternating mowing and rolling every other day, or rolling daily and mowing less often is cheaper than mowing daily and still allows the superintendent to maintain consistent green speeds Disease resistance — his research showed that plots that were rolled had less incidence of dollar spot than control plots Rolling improves topdressing incorporation Reduced cutworm activity — mowing followed by rolling is thought to pick up cutworm eggs that are laid on the turf surface Improved plant health by raising height of cut while still maintaining desired green speeds Increased moisture retention without an increase in compaction, which resulted in a reduction of localized dry spot Reduction of broadleaf weeds, moss and algae Improved seedbed preparation Rolling before mowing can reduce the threat of scalping by reducing what Nikolai calls thatch swelling The benefits exhibited in his research, however, were purely anecdotal, and none of the work conducted at the Hancock Research Center on the MSU campus and other locations like Crystal Downs Country Club in Frankfort, Michigan, was refereed or published in a scientific journal.
    He knows rolling works, but what he hopes to prove in this latest research is the science behind those benefits, or the "how" it works.
    "Where we were double-rolling in March, to be honest, looked terrible, but it looked awesome in April," he said. "It greens-up in April two to three times faster than the check plot, and the snow mold disappears almost overnight.
    "I know that rolling decreased dollar spot more than nitrogen. Why? I don't know. I didn't publish the research. I'm getting really good at saying this for an answer: I don't know."
    He does have his theories. Now, he just has to prove them as he embarks on his second year of the study.
    "Rolling does a couple of things," he said. "It keeps soil temperature colder, I think that's because it holds more water after rolling. We've also found that rolling has resulted in strongly improved bacteria populations in soil. Diseases are caused by fungi. More bacteria in the soil may take away the food source for the disease and put beneficial nutrients in the plant. That would be my hypothesis. 
    "We just took more samples, and we're going to look at it again. I'm the person who knows better than anyone else that you need two years of data to publish it."
    A second round of research will give him that opportunity.
    "I was dumbfounded when I was asked to do that research again," he said. "I thought I solved that problem already. What did I do wrong? I thought I beat that horse to death."
  • In three decades as a plant scientist at his alma mater, Clemson University professor emeritus Bert McCarty, Ph.D., has developed a global reputation for his expertise in turfgrass science and weed biology and control.
    McCarty recently was named the recipient of the GCSAA Outstanding Contribution Award. The annual award recognizes "someone who has made a significant contribution to (GCSAA) membership, through outstanding contributions for the golf course industry." McCarty will receive the award Feb. 2 at the 2026 GCSAA Conference and Trade Show in Orlando.
    "His commitment and passion for turfgrass science over the last four decades is a prime example of what the Outstanding Contribution Award celebrates," said GCSAA CEO Rhett Evans.
    It was as an undergraduate at Clemson, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1981, that McCarty first considered a career serving the golf industry.

    Bert McCarty, Ph.D., of Clemson University recently was named the recipient of the GCSAA Outstanding Contribution Award. Photo courtesy of Trent Bouts "At that point, I knew I wanted to go into turf, and at that time golf was the most lucrative portion of turf," McCarty said. "A professor advised me to do an internship at a golf course, and that was what I was doing — intern, summer help, gofer. Whatever. What I did, I really enjoyed, and I knew that was the life I wanted to live. I wanted to be a professional turf person."
    McCarty went on to earn a master's degree in turfgrass management in 1983 from North Carolina State and returned to Clemson where he graduated in 1986 with a doctoral degree in plant physiology and pathology.
    His career included a stop at the University of Florida before returning to Clemson in 1996.
    During his career, McCarty's name has become synonymous with cutting-edge weed science and he has been a trusted voice in researching new herbicide chemistries.
    McCarty authored or co-authored about 20 books, including “Best Golf Course Management Practices,” which became a useful tool in helping researchers and superintendents develop BMP guidelines and publications, including one for golf courses in North and South Carolina that he authored in 2014 with Jim Kerns, Ph.D., of NC State.

    Bert McCarty, Ph.D., (left) of Clemson University and colleague Jim Kerns, Ph.D., of North Carolina State University co-authored BMPs for golf courses in the Carolinas in 2015. File photo He has contributed to dozens of other books, authored 120 peer-reviewed journal articles, 175 extension service publications and has delivered hundreds of in-person presentations around the world.
    McCarty's dedication and service to the golf industry has resulted in several awards. McCarty received the Distinguished Service Award given by Clemson's College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences. Other awards include the Carolinas GCSA Distinguished Service Award in 2018, and the 2014 Fred Grau Turfgrass Science Award presented by the Crop Science Society of America "in recognition of significant career contributions in turfgrass science during the most recent 15 years." He has been named a Fellow of both the CSSA and the American Society of Agronomy.
    "I like teaching. I like site visits," McCarty said. "I like being at golf courses, trying to figure out issues, problems and solutions. I don't do near the research I used to, but I do the things now that interest me, things that have the potential to impact the industry in a positive way. It's been a great run for me. I enjoy the business. I enjoy the university lifestyle. I still teach and do research. Very few days of mine are alike. Every day is different. It's been a great run."
    Past winners of the award are: Larry Stowell, Ph.D., and Wendy Gelernter, Ph.D., PACE Turfgrass (2025); Tenia Workman, Georgia GCSA (2024); Fred Yelverton, Ph.D., North Carolina State University (2023); Jack Fry, Ph.D., Kansas State University (2022).
  • The company that has become synonymous with high-level golf in Wisconsin soon will begin work on a new golf experience that should appeal to players of all levels.
    Kohler Co. announced plans for Purebred Farm, a 14-hole course that will be located near Blackwolf Run in the company's namesake village. 
    King Collins Dormer Golf Course Design of Chattanooga, Tennessee, will design the course. Construction is scheduled to begin this year and open in fall 2027. Blackwolf Run is home to two regulation golf courses — the River and Meadow Valleys — and The Baths, a 10-hole, par-3 layout.

    A King Collins Dormer Golf Course Design rendering of the proposed No. 7 hole at the 14-hole Purebred Farm Golf Course in Kohler, Wisconsin. The firm's portfolio includes Sweetens Cove in South Pittsburg, Tennessee, and completion of a master plan for famed Royal Dornoch in Scotland.
    Spanning 47 acres and about 4,900 yards, the walking-only, multi-loop Purebred Farm layout will feature a mix of par 3s, 4s, and 5s inspired by Golden Age golf architecture. The course utilizes the area's natural prairie and river valley landscapes without impacting native wetlands and preserving existing hiking trails, demonstrating the company's commitment to both sustainability as well as growing the game. Kohler's historic Tomczyk Cabin – a lodging option in the Kohler Cabin Collection – will transition into a rest station.
    "Our new course will reflect a minimalist design style in an environmentally conscious way," Dirk Willis, vice president of golf, landscape and retail for Kohler Hospitality told Golf Business News. "We will use the natural terrain when setting locations for tees, fairways and greens."
    Other projects on the drawing board for Kohler include groundbreaking of The Serve, a premier racquet sports facility, and renovation of The Carriage House at The American Club Resort Hotel.
  • For crew members seeking grassroots education in golf course management science and principles, the GCSAA recently launched its Greenkeeper Certificate program.
    The entry-level program is part of the GCSAA's workforce development initiative.
    To earn the certificate, crew members must successfully complete six webinars, pass an exam and demonstrate proficiency in turfgrass prep and maintenance, equipment use and safety, teamwork, communication and golf course etiquette.
    "Labor continues to be a top challenge for the golf course management industry, and GCSAA is committed to helping our members find, train and retain qualified crew members," said GCSAA chief executive officer Rhett Evans. "The Greenkeeper Certificate program offers the opportunity to train crew and recognize high performers, which we hope will encourage them to continue along a career path in the industry."

    The GCSAA Greenkeeper Certificate program provides entry-level employees with basic instruction on golf course management science and principles, as well as equipment use and safety. Photo by John Reitman Key concepts of the entry-level instruction program are:
    Turfgrass prep and maintenance Equipment use and safety Teamwork, communication, golf course etiquette Webinar instruction, an exam and skills demonstration No time limit to complete the program Click here for more information, or to register.
    In other news, Steven Spatafore, (right) director of agronomy at Los Altos (California) Golf and Country Club, has been named the recipient of the GCSAA's 2026 Emerging Leader Award.
    The award recognizes an individual "who serves the industry as a superintendent with less than five years of experience" or a student or assistant superintendent "who displays continuous growth in service and leadership".
    Spatafore interned at Valhalla, Cypress Point and Pasatiempo. After graduation from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, he spent one year as an assistant-in-training at Pebble Beach and as an assistant superintendent at Contra Costa Country Club in Pleasant Hill, California.
    He was promoted to superintendent at Contra Costa in September 2020 and served in that position until June of 2025 when he was named as the director of agronomy at Los Altos Golf and Country Club.
    A past president of the Northern California GCSA chapter, Spatafore serves as a mentor for associates just as former supervisors did for him. He is active in the GCSAA Grassroots Ambassador program, Government Affairs Committee and PAC Board and has participated in meetings with members of Congress and their surrogates during the past two editions of National Golf Day.
    Spatafore will receive the award during the 2026 GCSAA Conference and Trade Show in February in Orlando.
  • Last month, the PGA Tour was exploring options for an alternate location for its season-opening event in Hawaii after drought conditions rendered the event's regular venue unplayable. 
    On Oct. 22, the Tour decided to cancel The Sentry outright, citing logistical challenges that included shipping deadlines, tournament infrastructure and vendor support. The event was scheduled for Jan. 5-11 at The Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort in Lahaina. Instead, the Tour's official season will begin the following week at The Sony Open in Hawaii at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu.
    "Since it first became a possibility that the PGA Tour would not be able to play at The Plantation Course at Kapalua due to the ongoing drought conditions on Maui, we worked closely with our partners at Sentry to assess options for contesting The Sentry in 2026," PGA Tour Chief Competitions Officer Tyler Dennis said in a Tour news release. "While it is unfortunate to arrive at this decision, we are appreciative of the collaboration and dedication from Sentry Insurance, a tremendous partner of ours."

    Extreme drought conditions on Maui led the PGA Tour to pull its 2026 season-opening event from the Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort in Lahaina last month. The Tour intended to secure an alternate location, but announced Oct. 22 that the tournament has been canceled for next year. Photo courtesy of Kapalua Resort and Alex Nakajima The Sentry field was to include the top 50 players from the previous year's FedExCup standings, plus those players who won a PGA TOUR event in 2025.The tournament was the Tour's season-opening event from 1986 to 2013, a slot it filled again in 2024. Sentry Insurance became the tournament's title sponsor in 2018.
    The PGA Tour announced Sept. 17 that The Sentry would not be played at Kapalua after Tour officials visited the site and concluded the condition of the Plantation Course had been "significantly compromised" by the drought and water limitations.
    Early in September, Maui County Water Supply imposed Stage 2 water restrictions, which call for a cease of all non-essential for commercial and industrial purposes, according to the county's rule, which does not specify restrictions for golf. 
    A Stage 2 water shortage is enacted when anticipated demand in an area is projected to exceed available water supply by 16 percent to 30 percent.
    The resort said last month it had used almost no water throughout September.
    TY Management Corp., the owner and operator of the Kapalua Resort and its two golf courses, along with a local homeowners association and a commercial farm operation filed a lawsuit last month in Maui Circuit Court against Maui Land and Pineapple, a land and real estate development company, that manages a series of ditches and streams that supply the resort and other users in the area with water. The suit alleges that Maui Land and Pineapple has allowed the ditch system to fall into disrepair, leading to a lack of water for users.
  • Not everyone would climb aboard a plane, fly half way around the world just to work for a few hours then head back to the airport and return home without ever checking into a hotel.
    Bruce Martin, Ph.D., not only would do that, he did do that.
    A plant pathologist and extension service specialist at Clemson University for more than 30 years, Martin's expertise in diagnosing, preventing, treating and diagnosing turf diseases built a following among golf course superintendents in the Carolinas, throughout the country and around the world.
    A native of Conway, Arkansas, Samuel Bruce Martin died Oct. 16. He was 71.

    Longtime Clemson University plant pathologist Bruce Martin, Ph.D., (right) was a pioneer in disease identification and management. USGA photo "He was in high demand around the world because of his applied knowledge," said Martin's colleague at Clemson, weed scientist Bert McCarty, Ph.D. "He got a call from a golf course in Hawaii. They had a disease they'd never seen before, and they wanted him out there. He flew all day, spent three or four hours on the golf course, caught a red eye, and was home again the next day."
    It was that kind of expert knowledge and accessibility paired with his respectful, down-home Arkansas nature that made Martin a giant in the industry with superintendents and colleagues alike. In September, Martin was inducted into the Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame.
    "There are guys you respect and who you want to hear talk. He was one of them," said Fred Gehrisch, CGSA at Highlands Falls Country Club in Highlands, North Carolina. "When he spoke, you shut up and listened. In fact, all the Ph.D.'s, they shut up and listened to him, too."
    Martin was a 1976 graduate of Hendrix College, located in Conway, where he earned a bachelor's degree in biology. He earned master's and doctorate degrees in plant pathology from the University of Arkansas and North Carolina State University, respectively. 
    He had been working at a research station in Connecticut when his wife was hired at Clemson's Pee Dee Research and Education Center in Florence, South Carolina. He spent his first year in South Carolina working at Horry-Georgetown Technical College. There he established a turfgrass diagnostics lab in 1987 to help superintendents in the Myrtle Beach area.
    The next year he started his 31-year career at Clemson University, where he began work in tobacco and field crops.
    He studied under Leon Lucas, Ph.D., at NC State, and credited his mentor with influencing his career in turf pathology and how he worked tirelessly to help superintendents.
    "I visited a lot of golf courses with Leon," Martin once told TurfNet. "You don't realize when you're that young that what you are diagnosing makes a big difference to the superintendent, but it does. Leon helped me understand that."
    Carolinas GCSA Executive Director Tim Kreger remembers Martin for being accessible to superintendents and dedicated to helping them. He recalled a visit to Martin's Clemson office at the Florence research center.
    "There were boxes stacked chest high," Kreger said. "I asked what they were and he told me 'those are soil samples that I have to get done by the end of the weekend.' "

    Bruce Martin, Ph.D., (right) with Clemson colleague Bert McCarty, Ph.D., (left) and retired North Carolina State weed scientist Fred Yelverton, Ph.D. Photo courtesy of Bert McCarty From providing diagnoses of turfgrass issues to conducting cutting-edge trials, Martin became noted for developing a host of fungicide programs to combat myriad diseases under a variety of conditions.
    "He was the first turfgrass pathologist in the South in the sense that he not only looked at traditional diseases, but also issues we were not so sure about," McCarty said. "And he got stuff figured out."
    When Martin delivered webcasts or spoke at events, it did not matter if superintendents were growing warm- or cool-season turf. He usually came with fungicide programs designed to help superintendents everywhere.
    "What he did was give you options," Gehrisch said. "He had programs for cool-season, warm-season or a mix, because that was his clientele. He came armed to give everybody options, and that's a powerful tool."
    Martin was the first in 2001, along with Larry Stowell, Ph.D., the founder of PACE Turf, to diagnose and name Rapid Blight (Labyrinthula terrestris), a disease in cool-season turf typically caused by irrigation water that is high in salt content.
    When Martin recommended fungicides to prevent or recover from disease, superintendents knew they could trust that he was providing them with solutions that would work. And those solutions typically included chemistries from a wide range of chemical companies.
    "His impact will be felt for decades. He solved problems that nobody else could, like when he identified Rapid Blight," said Carolinas GCSA Executive Director Tim Kreger. "His programs are used all over the world."
    Martin and McCarty, his Clemson colleague and schoolmate from their time at NC State, almost single handedly saved golf for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. When the golf course was overwhelmed with a fungal disease weeks before play in the Summer Games was to begin, officials in Brazil called Clemson.
    "The course was slammed with what turned out to be Mini Ring," McCarty said. "Few people outside South Carolina knew about it and how to work on it. He and I went down there, and he knew what was going on right away. We developed a management plan and had that solved in a few weeks."

    Bruce Martin (right) playing croquet with J. Bradly Shaver, Ph.D., of Helena Agri-Enterprises (left) and Fred Gehrisch, CGCS, COO and general manager of Highlands Falls Country Club in Highlands, North Carolina, during a site visit to the course with Clemson University students. Photo courtesy of Bert McCarty His expertise drove attendance at regional and national shows and educational events.
    "Everybody wanted to hear him," Kreger said. "His seminars always sold the most seats, and that was because of the information he was sharing. And it was always updated and current."
    Martin was always searching for news solutions to old problems while also searching for fixes to problems no one had yet identified.
    As a turf pathologist, he took it upon himself to learn all he could about turfgrass nematodes that plagued superintendents throughout the Carolinas and elsewhere. 
    After speaking at the Carolinas GCSA Conference and Show on nematology for a few consecutive years, he suggested the show bring University of Florida nematologist Billy Crowe, Ph.D., in to share his expertise with attendees.
    "He had no ego at all," Kreger said. "He was very collaborative."
    In 2005, Martin was named one of the 10 most influential people in the South Carolina golf industry by the South Carolina Golf Course Ratings Panel. His accolades include the Carolinas GCSA Distinguished Service Award, the Clemson Alumni Award for Distinguished Public Service and the GCSAA Col. John Morley Award in 2014.
  • Talk about taking the road less traveled.
    Bryan Barrington's career started more than 20 years like that of many other superintendents: turf school, followed by a couple of stints as an assistant before finally becoming a head greenkeeper. 
    For the past five years, his career as an agronomist has been anything but ordinary.
    A graduate of the University of Rhode Island turfgrass management program, the 57-year-old Barrington (right) is co-founder of Alliance Golf, a Farmington, Connecticut hospitality management company founded in 1999 with partners Josh McKim and Phil Craft. The company owns three New England golf courses and manages a fourth. Barrington not only is co-owner of the company, he also is vice president of agronomy overseeing conditions and superintendents at all four properties.
    One of those courses is The Club at Oxford Greens, a daily fee in Oxford, Connecticut where Barrington was superintendent since grow-in in 2005.
    Fast forward to the Covid era, when golf was still in a spiral, and the club's owners were looking to sell.

    Bryan Barrington has been associated with The Club at Oxford Greens since grow-in 20 years ago.   "One of the owners stayed in as an owner, and he asked me and my now partner Josh McKim if we would be interested in owning it," Barrington said. "I thought, well, if I'm going to be doing this I might as well get a piece of the action."
    Before Oxford Greens, Barrington grew-in Red Tail Country Club, a Brian Silva design in Devens, Massachusetts that opened in 2002. He swore then he would never do another grow-in.
    "I was getting married while doing the grow-in. I was stressing, losing weight and there were the sleepless nights," Barrington said. 
    "So, when it was all done, I was like, 'whoa, I'm not doing that again.' "
    Against his own advice, Barrington followed with the Oxford Greens project. It was the allure of starting with a blank canvas and creating something from it that drew him back in.
    "I told myself I wasn't going to do it again, but, you know, I loved it. I loved every part of it," he said. 
    "So, when another one came up, I threw my hat in and ended up doing my second one. I think it was the whole process of forest to dirt to seeding to fertilizing to grow-in and then to opening. The attraction for me was the whole scenario of seeing something come out of a blank piece of land."
    Alliance Golf has since made other acquisitions.
    The company also owns Silo Point Country Club (formerly Heritage Village) in Southbury, Connecticut and Red Tail, and manages Tunxis Country Club in Farmington, Connecticut. The group recently sold the private Blackhawk Country Club in Stratford, Connecticut.
    It was at Blackhawk where Alliance adopted autonomous mowing technology with a fleet of Husqvarna units.
    When the group purchased Blackhawk, the property was facing labor challenges and to that end needed some attention. It also needed new equipment. It was the perfect opportunity to explore new technology.
    "If you buy a traditional fairway mower, you have to put a body in it. You have to find someone to sit in that seat," Barrington said. "We would have needed two mowers, and that is two bodies just sitting. Blackhawk only has 18 to 20 acres of fairway. It's not a massive amount, so that's where we dug our heels in.
    "If we could get two more bodies, then great. But, we could also have them doing other things."

    Silo Point Country Club is one of three courses owned by Alliance Golf. It made more sense financially and from a conditioning standpoint to go autonomous and have employees paying more attention to the golf course.
    "Do we want someone sitting on a fairway mower every day, or do we want someone edging bunkers and weed-whacking?" he asked. "It made sense to have people dedicated to detail work."
    None of Alliance's other properties have the infrastructure on the golf course to support charging stations for autonomous mowers, Barrington said. However, he thought enough of the technology that he would utilize it again if he could.
    "We don't have the power to ever station throughout the golf course, which is a limiting factor," he said. "You need 110 (volt) to power the charging system. We would have to run new line throughout the golf courses, which would be a pretty big expense."
    So what is next for Alliance?
    Golf in Connecticut has been strong since Covid, so the group is focused on growth.
    "We've thought every year after Covid, 'when is play going to drop?' We're not seeing the drop," Barrington said. "Golf has been up at all of our properties. 
    "We recently sold Blackhawk, but we are pursuing another one to make up for that. We own three right now, but we'll be back at owning four golf courses and managing all five."
  • No one can accuse architect Dave Zinkand of drawing up cookie-cutter golf course designs.
    Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Zinkand Golf Design recently completed work on The Reversible, a unique nine-hole layout at Medina (Ohio) Country Club that is designed to appeal to scratch golfers while simultaneously providing an experience that should appeal to higher-handicap players as well as newcomers to the game.
    As its name suggests, The Reversible features a pair of nine-hole loops that can be played in opposite directions. Built on the site of Medina's former nine-hole Lilac Course, The Reversible's Purple course is played in a clockwise direction from the first tee while the Green course runs counter-clockwise.
    Each par-31 routing at the club near Cleveland begins with a downhill par-3 to one of two large double greens and continues in opposite directions along a collection of par 3s and 4s spread over rolling terrain before concluding with par 3s with double greens for the finish. 
    Da
    A rendering highlights the unique layout of the Purple and Green courses at The Reversible at Medina Country Club in Ohio. Graphic by Zinkand Golf Design Strategic bunkering and multiple routes to hole locations provide a test for low-handicap players, while wide landing areas provide plenty of room off the tee for less-experienced golfers. Ample green surrounds and rugged bunkering with fescue brows hearken to the game's past.
    Zinkand said the idea for the reversible layout was not initially part of the plan, but was a design change he made after being hired by Medina to build a new nine-hole layout in a floodplain with a creek running through it.
    "The land has just enough movement to make it ideal for reversible golf," Zinkand said.
    Construction began in summer 2024 with Majestic Excavating of Seville, Ohio handling the earthwork, and Frontier Golf of western Pennsylvania completing the construction.
    The project is part of a Zinkand-led master plan at Medina that also includes an overhaul of the club’s practice facilities complete with a state-of-the-art indoor/outdoor teaching academy. Construction has begun on a new clubhouse and the plan eventually will include a restoration of Medina's 18-hole golf course that opened in 1967.

    The Reversible includes numerous teeing options as well as double greens to provide golfers with a unique experience. Photo by Zinkand Golf Design Owner Bill Cosgrove, CEO of Union Home Mortgage, acquired Medina in 2022, and was the club's third owner in less than two years. The club had fewer than 60 members then and today boasts more than 400. Changes have been afoot at Medina ever since. A year after Cosgrove bought the property, the former Lilac course lost three holes to a training facility and other projects.
    Zinkand Golf Design leans on three principles in its golf course projects: strategic options, sense of adventure and sense of place.
    Mission accomplished.
    It took club management time to even comprehend the plan when Zinkand approached them with the idea of a reversible layout.
    "I remember seeing the renderings for the first time and it almost takes you a minute to wrap your head around it," Medina general manager Kirby Manown told Crain's Cleveland Business last year. "You see how it flows in one direction and you’re like, 'All right? What are the sight lines for the other direction?' It’s really almost like one big loop and the concept is just so unique about how you can come to the greens from different angles and different directions."
  • Aquatrols recently named Ben Pease, Ph.D., as territory manager for its Midwest region.
    Pease (at right) has several years of experience in turfgrass science, research and applied agronomy. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin where he earned bachelor's and master's degrees, before earned a doctorate in turfgrass management at Iowa State University.
    A former greenkeeper, he worked on the crew at Whistling Straits in Mosel, Wisconsin, and was an assistant golf course superintendent at Cherokee Country Club in Madison.
    His experience also includes positions as a research specialist at the University of Wisconsin, North Carolina State and Iowa State, and most recently spent the past four years as an agronomist for The Andersons.
    A highly respected turfgrass physiologist, he has dedicated his career to advancing turf performance and sustainability through innovative research and education.
    Pease's expertise is in turfgrass physiology, soil science, nutrient management and stress tolerance. Throughout his career, he has authored many peer-reviewed papers in journals such as Agronomy Journal, Applied Turfgrass Science and Crop Science.
    "His industry experience coupled with the strong relationships he’s built with distributor partners and industry leaders will assist in securing Aquatrols' leadership position well beyond the borders of his Midwest territory," said Wes Hamm, Aqualtrols' director of sales.
    Based in Paulsboro, New Jersey, The Aquatrols Co. is part of Lamberti, a global specialty chemicals manufacturer headquartered in Italy.
  • Recovery from winter damage on a golf course can be a costly endeavor in more ways than one, but developing a program to minimize the threat can be, financially speaking, as expensive or more.
    According to a multi-university study, the average cost to recover from winter injury caused by factors such as crown hydration, desiccation, ice encasement, exposure to low temperatures, snow mold and winter stress ranges from $6,000 to $8,999. Expenses associated with preventing that damage can cost twice as much, according to the study conducted by researchers at the University of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin, Michigan State University and the University of Massachusetts.
    The study comprised responses to an online survey from 96 golf course superintendents. The results were published recently in the Journal of American Society for Horticultural Science.
    "This wasn't scientific, peer-reviewed research, but it gives us good numbers to work from moving forward," said study co-author Paul Koch, Ph.D., at the University of Wisconsin.
    Other authors attached to the study were Doug Soldat, Ph.D, Eric Watkins, Ph.D., Chengyan Yue, Ph.D., and Uma Parasuram, Ph.D., of Minnesota; Kevin Frank, Ph.D., of Michigan State; and Michelle DaCosta, Ph.D., of Massachusetts. Click here to read the complete results of the study.
    Creeping bentgrass was the predominant turf on greens, tees and fairways, with Kentucky bluegrass comprising most of the rough area acreage. Annual bluegrass, among the most susceptible varieties to winter damage, covered 33 percent of the greens in the survey, 23 percent of fairways, 20 percent of tees and 16 percent of rough areas.

    A survey of nearly 100 golf course superintendents revealed ice encasement is a common concern during winter. Photo by Kevin Frank, Ph.D., Michigan State University Even in areas growing cool-season turf, winter damage is only an occasional issue.
    "It's been 12 or 14 years since the last big winter damage event in Wisconsin," Koch said. "Winter damage is probably not on anyone's radar until there is a big ice event."
    Ice encasement was the most common cause of winter damage reported, with 70 percent of the respondents citing it as an issue, followed by crown hydration (59%), snow mold (54%), desiccation (46%), low temperatures (26%), de-hardening (15%) and other (6%).
    It should come as no surprise that the survey revealed that annual bluegrass is more susceptible to winter damage than other cool-season turfgrasses. 
    Specific to annual bluegrass, de-hardening was reported by 71 percent of respondents, followed by crown hydration (56%), low temperature exposure (48%), ice encasement (46%), desiccation (40%) and snow mold (27%).
    Methods of prevention vary not only from one turf variety to another, but also between types of damage. Ice encasement can be prevented by removing ice after a long period of time, other crown hydration, and a one-time investment in greens covers can help minimize the threat of crown hydration, exposure and desiccation. Snow mold prevention is a recurring expense that can have limited effectiveness.
    A recent snow mold event affected fairways on golf courses throughout southern Wisconsin.
    "Fairways got hammered, but most of it was gone by May," Koch said.
    "They're probably thinking why spend $10,000 on snow mold prevention in fairways if I only get it every 10 years."
    Incidence of snow mold is weather dependent, and treatments can have limited effectiveness depending on local conditions. Efficacy can be shortened by repeated rain or snow events, especially early after applications are made, and by extended winter conditions at the end of the season.
    "Any time there is snow melt or rain, (fungicides) can wash away pretty quickly," Koch said. "It's not like we didn't get any impact, but at some point it is going to dissipate and won't persist all winter. How much injury there is from fungus also depends on how much snow we get late in the season when the product is out of reserves."
    The goal of the study was to assign costs to recovering from winter damage as well as trying to prevent it.
    On average, the costs of preventing winter injury ranged from $12,000 to $17,999 per year per golf course, according to the survey. Additional costs of inputs to recover from winter injury were between $6,000 and $8,999 per year per golf course and included weed-control products, seed, fertilizer, equipment and labor.
    Survey respondents were asked to report average annual revenue loss due to delays in golf course openings caused by winter injuries and revenue loss due to delayed openings in years with considerable winter injuries. 

    According to survey results it can cost more to prevent winter damage than it is to recover from it. USGA photo The average annual revenue loss in normal years ranged from $3,000 to $5,999, and $6,000 to $8,999 in years with considerable winter injury. About half of the courses reported no revenue loss due to delayed openings from winter injuries, and about a quarter of respondents reported revenue losses of less than $5,999. A total of 3 percent of those responding reported revenue losses exceeding $75,000.
    Researchers also attempted to identify the cost of winter injury per acre by using the self-reported acreage data from the survey. On average, the cost of preventing winter injuries was approximately $200 per acre, with a median of $121 per acre. However, some golf courses spent more than $3,000 per acre. 
    The additional cost to recover from winter injuries in years with normal winter injuries was about $89 per acre on average and went up to $147 per acre on average in years with considerable winter injuries. 
    Finally, the revenue losses averaged about $115 per acre in years with normal winter injuries and $159 per acre in years with considerable winter injuries. Some courses reported no revenue loss, while some reported higher losses up to $3,055 per acre.
    The research team concluded that the study can help superintendents make informed decisions when managing turf for winter damage. They also wrote that further research with a larger sample size would result in better data.
    "We would have liked more respondents," Koch said. "We probably could fix that by making a shorter survey. If they're too long, people don't want to do it."
  • When considering golf's most historic layouts, city-owned Delray Beach Golf Club probably is not top of mind for many.
    With nine holes designed by Donald Ross in the 1920s and a second nine added three decades later by Dick Wilson, the course in South Florida has a history that stacks up against many more well-known tracks. And it is due to get a needed facelift. 
    Plans are in the works for a $27 million restoration of the course that opened in 1926. City officials say the project will be funded through a revenue bond and repaid over 25 to 30 years from green fees, not taxpayer dollars, according to the proposal. That plan goes before city boards for finance and contract approval on Oct. 14 and Oct. 21, respectively, according to city manager Terrence Moore. 
    Golfers and residents of Delray Beach have lobbied for an update of the course for several years. A host of proposals submitted by several developers were rejected by the city commission in 2023. Many of those proposals included some sort of public-private development that involved constructing residential housing or a hotel to help offset the cost of the project.
    "Quite frankly, this has been a well-regarded plan for a number of years, since before I got here," said Moore, who has been city manager since 2021. "This is a tremendous push to bring the course up to current standards."
    Led by the Jupiter, Florida firm of Sanford Ferris Golf Course Design, the restoration will include a complete overhaul of the golf course, including everything from tee to green as well as the clubhouse. The project is expected to begin in November, and will take about a year to complete, Moore said.
    With green fees priced at just $33 for 18 holes and $18 for nine, Delray Beach stays busy, with more than 50,000 rounds annually. That brisk business is why officials are confident the city can repay the bond using revenue derived solely from green fees.

    With nine holes designed by Donald Ross and nine by Dick Wilson, city-owned Delray Beach Golf Club is set to get a $27 million renovation. DBGC photo   "There is a great deal of excitement surrounding this project," Moore said. "We look forward to providing the city and residents the golf course they deserve."
    Delray Beach has a long and storied past.
    The original Ross-designed nine holes at Delray Beach opened in 1926. 
    By the 1930s, Delray Beach hired Wilson, then an aspiring architect, as club pro and head greenkeeper in the early days of his golf course design career. Closed during World War II, Delray Beach reopened in 1945, and city officials elected to add a second nine holes and commissioned Wilson for the job, with the routing opening in 1950.
    After the opening of the second nine, Delray Beach Golf Club became a favorite of many Tour Pros, such as Tommy Armour, and celebrity Jackie Gleason, who was the namesake of a PGA Tour event from 1972 to 1980 at Inverrary Country Club in Lauderhill, Florida, was a regular there.
    Wilson's original designs include the North and South courses at NCR Country Club in Dayton, Ohio and the Blue Course at Trump Doral in Miami, which was a fixture on the PGA Tour from 1962 to 2016. He completed restoration projects at many other well-known facilities, such as The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts; Winged Foot Golf Club (West Course) in Mamaroneck, New York; Aronimink Golf Club near Philadelphia; Bel-Air Country Club in Southern California; and Cog Hill Country Club (courses 3 and 4) in Lemont, Illinois near Chicago.
  • There is good news, and there is better news for the golf industry through August.
    The good new is rounds played in August were up in every state in Golf Datatech's Monthly Rounds Played Report. 
    The better news is that after a record-setting year for rounds played in 2024, the golf business appears headed for another year in the black as the season begins to wind down in much of the country.
    According to the report by Golf Datatech, rounds played were up in every state for August, compared with the same month in 2024. The report measures rounds played in 49 states — sorry, Alaska — and Washington, D.C. Not one state, nor the nation's reported a drop-off in play for the month.

    Golf rounds played were up in August in every state in the country compared with the same month last year, says Golf Datatech. Photo by John Reitman Leading the way were Delaware, Maryland, Minnesota, D.C., New Jersey and Texas, all reporting a 14 percent year-over-year increase in rounds played, compared with August 2024. Other states with double-digit increases were Nevada (13%), Iowa and Missouri (12%), Virginia and West Virginia (11%) and Michigan (10%).
    With what historically are about 80 percent of nationwide rounds played in the books by the end of August, according to Jim Koppenhaver of Pellucid Corp., nationwide rounds played through August are up 1.4 percent, compared with the first eight months of last year. An increase in participation, even if it is a slight one, is a positive sign for an industry coming off a record 532 million rounds played in 2024.
    Favorable weather conditions likely played a role in the game's coast-to-coast popularity in August. 
    According to Koppenhaver, there was a 4 percent increase in Golf Playable Hours in August. GPH is a metric compiled by Pellucid Corp. to measure the total number of daylight hours suitable for playing golf, taking into account weather factors like precipitation and temperature.
  • For nearly a decade, Brentsville District High School in Virginia has been leading the way in preparing high school students for possible careers in turfgrass management. 
    "We want to teach students the basics of turfgrass science and get them prepared to earn a degree," said Drew Miller, Ed.D. (right), director and founder of the Brentsville Turf Toro Grounds Academy in Nokesville, Virginia. "I don't want it to be like when I went to school where on the first day I was like 'What's a stolon?' "
    The academy is now on a trajectory that Miller once could only dream about.
    What started in 2017 with 63 students, has grown to 240 members with support from the school district as well as Toro and its Washington, D.C., area distributor Turf Equipment and Supply Co. In July, work began on a new 6,000-square foot building that will include lab space, workshops and multi-purpose areas. Construction is scheduled to be completed before the start of the 2026 school year. Also planned is a research putting green and trial plots for research projects in addition to the 30 acres of athletic fields and other grassed areas Brentsville students already maintain. The program has carried the Toro name since last year when the company and Turf Equipment and Supply stepped forward with support.
    The new building was made possible by support from the school, Prince William County Public Schools Superintendent LaTanya McDade and school board members who put a capital-improvement project on the proposed budget, as well as school board members and local elected officials who approved the plan.
    The school board approved the plan at its February meeting, and local government officials did the same in May.
    "We spent a lot of time going to different people, companies and even hedge funds trying to find philanthropic dollars to fund the facility," Miller said. 
    "I was at the (2024) SFMA (Sports Field Management Association) conference in Daytona when I got the call from a school board rep that they were going to put it on the capital-improvement plan.

    The Brentsville Turf Toro Grounds Academy in Virginia is training the next generation of professional turfgrass managers. All photos by Drew Miller "It was a surreal moment. I thought 'This is really going to happen.' This is something before I never dreamed would happen."
    The academy has a state-of-the-art equipment fleet thanks to Turf Equipment and Supply, and only a 26X26-foot steel shed in which to store it.
    The program had outgrown its facilities in more ways than one.
    "We had gotten to the point where people in the industry took notice of what we were doing," Miller said. "We have students who three years out of college are head golf course superintendents. Our graduates are working in Major League Soccer, the NFL and Major League Baseball."
    Solar panels will be placed on the roof and the building will have a water-retention-and-filtration system that will be a source for everything from an equipment wash pad to flushing toilets. The program’s goal is to achieve LEED Platinum environmental certification while teaching students to become environmental stewards. It would be the first facility in Prince William County to attain LEED status.
    The new building will help attract more students, and a shop with a lift, reel grinder and welding station will help expand the program to train future golf course and sports field equipment managers.

    A new 6,000-square-foot building will include an equipment manager's shop complete with lift and reel grinder, lab space and multi-purpose rooms to host events. Multipurpose facilities in the building can be used to host field days and a variety of other events, Miller said.
    Currently, all turf at Brentsville is one of several varieties of Bermudagrass. Research plots will offer the chance to grow cool-season grasses, as well, and Miller says plans will include partnering on university research trials. He already has sent out or received interest from Virginia Tech, Penn State, Ohio State and Tennessee.
    "We've been in touch with Mike Goatley at Virginia Tech," Miller said. "We've heard from John Kaminski at Penn State, and we have reached out to John Sorochan at Tennessee, who is doing research for the World Cup. We would like to be involved in something like that."
    "This will give our kids the opportunity to work with university professors and graduate students. We want to connect our students with the people who have seen the research in the field."

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