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From the TurfNet NewsDesk

  • John Reitman
    Women comprise 24 percent of the total U.S. golfer population , but make up more than 30 percent of all new golfers. Three months after a state of the industry report that is either one of the most highly anticipated or feared dispatches in the golf business was rolled out at this year's PGA Show, the National Golf Foundation released its own communique. And this one paints a slightly rosier picture than the report given annually in Orlando by Pellucid Corp. and Edgehill Consulting.
    According to the NGF 2018 Golf Industry Report, 24.2 million golfers played 434 million rounds. Those numbers represent a slight increase in players and a nearly 5 percent drop in rounds played, but that's still better than the 20.8 million people who played 427 million rounds, according to the Pellucid/Edgehill report.
    Golf is an $84 billion industry that is adapting to cultural and behavioral shifts.
    Baby boomers, most notably white males, have been the game's bread and butter since the pre-selfie days of Old Tom Morris, but that is changing with that demographic in decline.
    While women comprise about 24 percent of the total golfer population in the U.S., girls make up about 36 percent of the junior sector and about 31 percent of all new golfers are female. Those numbers are more than double what they were two decades ago. Juniors as a whole represent about 10 percent of the total U.S. golfer market.
    The NGF says 198.5 18-hole equivalent courses closed throughout the U.S. in 2018, while 12.5 new 18-HEQ opened, for a net reduction of 180.5 facilities, or about 1.2 percent of the total supply. That's worse than the January report that indicated 120 courses closed and 30 opened, for a net loss of 90 18-hole equivalent facilities.
    Today's market is close to what it was 20 years ago when it ballooned, partly in response to the Tiger Woods phenomenon. In other words, the market is getting closer to self correcting to its pre-Tiger self. How quickly it reaches that destination, if ever, is a bit murky given generational and cultural shifts sweeping across the country.
    One area on which the Pellucid/Edgehill and NGF reports agreed was the influence of off-course golf activities, which are in turn creating an all-time interest in the game among non-golfers. A total of 33.5 million people, the NGF says, play golf and/or participate in off-course activities such as Topgolf or Drive Shack. That's about 1 in every 9 Americans. 
    In 2011, there were 10 Top Golf facilities nationwide. This year, there are expected to be 60 facilities across the country earning $1.5 billion in revenue. Last year, off-course facilities like Topgolf attracted 13 million visitors, 51 percent of whom identify as non-golfers, 70 percent are under 35 years of age and 32 percent of which are female. The good news is that about 29 percent of those who attend these off-course facilities. 
    If and when that interest results in more traditional on-course play is anyone's guess.
    The trick to growing the game and not becoming the next NGF (or Pellucid) statistic is to continue to embrace committed golfers, who account for 95 percent of rounds played and all golf-related spending, while also making the game more inviting and inclusive to newcomers and beginners - and not alienating either side in the process.
  • Jim Brosnan, Ph.D., of the University of Tennessee discusses Poa annua control during the recent #PoaDay event held in conjunction with AquaAid Solutions. Earlier this month, the University of Tennessee and AquaAid Solutions teamed to provide answers about controlling annual bluegrass for superintendents who do not have the time or resources to travel to ask the questions.
    #PoaDay is a virtual field day event hosted by members of the university's turfgrass and ornamental weed science team. The goals of the event, which was held on what appeared to be a brisk April 3 morning in Knoxville, are to make turfgrass managers aware of the emerging problem of herbicide resistance evolving in turfgrass weeds, particularly annual bluegrass and educate turfgrass managers about the different strategies available for annual bluegrass control.
    The event was broadcast live on Periscope by AquaAid Solutions, and a recording now is available for on-demand access on Vimeo.
    Follow @UTTurfWeeds or @Solutions4Turf on Twitter for more information.
    The event includes updates from field trials examining the effects of several herbicides applied at varying rates to control Poa annua in Bermudagrass at putting green and fairway heights as well as perennial ryegrass. A video of the proceedings will be made available this spring. 
    For more on weed control, please check out any of these TurfNet University Webinar archives.
    Summer weed control update: Jim Brosnan, Ph.D., University of Tennessee,
    Non-herbicidal strategies for control of Poa annua: Beth Guertal, Ph.D., Auburn University,
    Optimizing herbicide performance for better weed control: Jason Ferrell, Ph.D., University of Florida,
    New post-emergent herbicides for difficult-to-control weeds: Scott McElroy, Ph.D., Auburn University,
    Winter annual weed management: Jim Brosnan, Ph.D., University of Tennessee.
  • Golf course superintendents seeking options for growing warm-season grass that is better suited to handle the challenges associated with less-than-ideal irrigation water have a new tool at their disposal.
    The University of Georgia recently launched the Web site gapaspalum.com that is a comprehensive home for information, research and maintenance suggestions for seashore paspalum turfgrass. Backed by a team of researchers in agronomy, entomology, weed science, plant physiology, plant pathology and molecular genetics, the site provides scientific research on planting, growing and managing paspalum for a variety of uses, including golf courses and athletic fields.
    Developed by the University of Georgia, the site is a collaborative effort that includes Innovation Gateway, Georgia Seed Development and the Georgia Crop Improvement Association. 
    The Web site includes an archive of information on paspalum, including fact sheets, planting recommendations and university-produced news articles as well as an interactive blog. The site also includes an entire section dedicated to paspalum management, including a disease-identification guide, weed control, insect pest management and agronomic practices specific to growing paspalum.
    A research section includes more than a dozen scientific, peer-reviewed articles on topics such as pest management, irrigation water quality, plant breeding and fertility.
    Paspalum is becoming more popular for use on golf courses growing warm-season turf because of its salt tolerance and ability to withstand poor quality irrigation water, low fertility requirements, visual turf quality and playability.
    UGA has been ground zero for paspalum breeding and development, and four paspalum varieties currently on the market today - SeaStar, SeaIsle 1, SeaIsle 2000 and SeaIsle Supreme - were developed there.
  • Tod Blankenship, CGCS, (right) with Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers at Trappers Turn GC in Wisconsin. Call Tod Blankenship a giver.
    After more than two decades in turf management, growing grass still runs in Blankenship's veins. Working as a superintendent? Not so much anymore, although he does retain his GCSAA certification. Still, the former golf course greenkeeper and turfgrass researcher at Oregon State University is branching out on his own, offering turfgrass consulting, management and research services under the label Tblankenship LLC for superintendents, universities, chemical companies and whoever else across the Pacific Northwest might be in need of such services.
    "Independent research, precision management, remote mapping, digital analysis, consultation, or just listening," Blankenship said, describing his services. "I want to be out with the golf course guys, and I feel like there is a need out there."
    A graduate of the University of Wisconsin and a former graduate research assistant at Oregon State while working toward a master's degree under Rob Golembiewski, Ph.D., Blankenship possesses a unique skill set. Besides working for three golf courses in Wisconsin and a research university in the Pacific Northwest, Blankenship worked the past five as parks director for the City of Wilsonville, Oregon. That was a match that, let's just say had exhausted its useful life cycle on both sides, prompting Blankenship to explore new opportunities. A superintendent for 10 years at Wisconsin River, Big Fish and Trappers Turn golf clubs in Wisconsin, the day-to-day rigors as a greenkeeper and the hardship that schedule can impose on a wife and two young kids made returning to work as a superintendent impractical. His wife, LuAnn, made sure of that.
    "We decided I wouldn't be applying for too many golf course superintendent opportunities," Blankenship said.
    "My wife knows what I went through and what we went through as a family and I knew she would be against that."
    Although he is not too hot on the idea of being a superintendent again, Blankenship has a passion for helping those in the business and helping grow the game he loves.
    After conducting due diligence, drafting a business plan and discussing his plans with Golembiewski and others, all that is left to finalize his plan is tying up some loose ends with the IRS. He has taken the test to earn a remote pilot's license and is eager to help integrate new technology that can benefit superintendents but that many might not have the expertise, resources or time to utilize themselves. 
    "I want to help superintendents integrate all these new tools," he said. "Whether we like it or not, they are going to be part of turfgrass management from now on."
    Along with consulting, a large part of Blankenship's future likely will include independent turfgrass research, a job for which he is well suited as a former research assistant at Oregon State when Golembiewski, now a member of Bayer's Green Solutions Team, headed the turf program in Corvallis.
    The Oregon State program is in solid hands with associate professor Alec Kowalewski, Ph.D., and research assistant Brian McDonald, but as turf programs in neighboring states face declining numbers in faculty and student population, there are opportunities for independent contractors to fill those voids in extension work and research. In fact, rather than view Blankenship as an interloper, OSU's Kowalewski welcomes another researcher to help cover such an expansive area.
    "There is one place that does research on the West Coast, or at least the northern half of the West Coast," Kowalewski said. "We’re basically serving Oregon, Washington, Northern California, Idaho and Western Montana. If there is another person to do research in our area - great. 
    "If there is more capacity to do more research in Oregon, it’s going to be better for everyone. And Tod got his master’s degree here and did research here - he’s part of our program in my book."
    Blankenship relied heavily on advice from his former mentor before hanging his own shingle.
    "As I explained to Tod, if you look at the Pacific Northwest, Alec and Brian are filling a need for Oregon, but there are opportunities elsewhere in Washington, California and even into Canada to provide expertise and conduct research for that region," Golembiewski said. 
    "Ultimately, he cares and he wants to help people. At Oregon State, his expectations were to deliver a quality research farm and provide the ability to help the superintendent do his job. On the research side, he showed an attention to detail and was diligent in his research. He was out there seven days a week at the farm."
    When it comes to helping grow the game, Blankenship isn't just all talk. He and wife LuAnn are in the market for a nine-hole golf course that he said will be focused on bring fun back to golf and could serve as home base for his research and consulting operation. 
    "It might not be a traditional nine holes or 18 holes. I just want to try to get a club into people's hands. I know that sounds cheesy, but that's it. People don't have time for that five-hour commitment," said. 
    After watching the industry shrink for the past 13 years, he believes he would be getting in as a golf course owner at the right time.
    "I don't think golf is in a race to the bottom. I believe we've hit bottom and are climbing out of it," he said. "Those who are still in it are in it for the right reason.
    "It will be something I'll maintain and my family will be part of. No one is going to get rich, but that's how you have to make money in golf."
    Blankenship has been around the game and the industry long enough to know that any venture as a golf course owner or independent contractor will require patience before those efforts bear fruit.
    "He has no preconceived notions, he just needs to do quality work and contract research and provide that information back to the superintendent. It's a multi-faceted approach," Golembiewski said. "Nothing is going to happen overnight, and he understands that."
  • Turfgrass breeding, herbicide resistance and using drone technology to assist with turf research and management are just a few of the topics on the agenda for the 73rd installment of the Southeastern Turfgrass Conference.
    Scheduled for April 25, the event is held each year at the University of Georgia Tifton campus.
    This year's conference will include speakers from the University of Georgia, University of Florida and North Carolina State University.
    Information presented this year will include the latest trends in turfgrass breeding with a focus on cost efficiency. Particular emphasis will be on turf varieties that can produce acceptable turf quality with minimal input. This session also will include information on new hybrid varieties for use on golf courses and athletic fields and an update on the efforts of developing more wear-tolerant and disease-tolerant zoysiagrasses for professional applications.
    Other topics on the agenda include the importance of understanding plant physiology and its role in turfgrass management and how researchers are using drones to develop drought-resistant turfgrasses in the Southeast.
    The University of Georgia has been a leader in paspalum research and development, and this year's conference will include a session on a non-GMO herbicide resistance system designed to improve management of Bermudagrass and grassy weeds in seashore paspalum. 
    UGA turfgrass breeder Paul Raymer and his team are evaluating their current trials to determine which varieties will be released into the market.
  • Fifth-generation wireless technology could mean big changes for the golf maintenance industry, including how superintendents consume education. The advent of coming fifth-generation wireless technology promises to change the way we live and conduct business.
    Not only does 5G mean connections so fast it will dramatically improve web browsing and video streaming, it promises latency measured in single-digit milliseconds (try 1 millisecond on for size) that one scientific publication says is faster than the human brain can process. With processing speeds at least 20 times faster than 4G according to Verizon, 5G technology will have dramatic influences over online learning and medical procedures. For golf course superintendents, faster processing speeds will improve online learning opportunities (imagine a faster, improved TurfNet University Webinar experience and lag-free Randy Wilson videos) and could change in-person events and tradeshows (or the need for them) forever. In fact, lag time with 5G is so minimal that doctors in London, with the use of a virtual reality headset and robotic glove to control a robotic arm, successfully performed a surgery on a that was in another location.
    Think what such processing speeds can mean on the golf course, where it can influence record keeping, committee meetings, access to educational seminars, downloading and accessing data about course conditions and remote control of irrigation software.
    But such technology comes at a cost that is not always measured in dollars and cents.
    Fifth generation wireless might be faster than anything you've used to date, but the effects of shorter waves that easily can penetrate the human body have not been fully understood. That said, 5G technology has been give the green light in most places around the globe. There also is concern about possible threats of espionage and cyber security due to the potential for installing bugging and malware software into some Chinese-manufactured chips. 
    That threat is so real that the U.S. has outlawed use of Chinese-manufactured chips in U.S. government devices and could affect information sharing with allied governments using devices outfitted with the chips.
    Because wavelengths are shorter than those utilized by 4G and previous iterations of wireless technology, 5G technology requires far more antennas and repeater boxes to relay the waves. Rather than using the intrusive cell phone towers that dot the landscape, 5G technology uses smaller, more obscure boxes that must be installed every few hundred feet on utility poles, sides of buildings, etc. And each handheld device will transmit a focused beam (up to 20 watts) in search of the next relay station.
    A metal plate inside each phone between the circuitry and the display will attempt to protect the user's head from that penetrating beam, but users in crowded locations will be subjected to a constant matrix of beams. There is no consensus among scientists and medical professionals about what such exposure will mean now or to unborn generations as we store these radioactive devices in our pockets.
    According to the Web site HowToGeek, as many as 17 U.S. markets already have 5G technology and at least two dozen more are scheduled to come aboard throughout the year. AT&T is promising nationwide coverage by 2020.
    In Belgium, officials in Brussels have halted 5G testing in that nation's capital and put a pilot program rollout on hold until the effects of such intense radiation exposure can be studied further. 
    Despite the industry's push for 5G acceptance, there has been widespread opposition to the technology across the U.S., at least until health risks associated with it are better understood.
    Congress has accused the FCC for not doing enough to understand the risks. One town in California has voted to block installation of antennas and others have asked to halt advance of the technology until scientists have a better handle on its effects. At least seven bills asking for more information on electromagnetic fields emitted by wireless devices are being considered by legislators in Massachusetts.
    There are a lot of positives that will come with 5G wireless technology (and whatever iterations come after that). Indeed blazing fast TurfNet University Webinars and buffer-free streaming of Randy and Buddy are inviting ends-justify-the-means scenarios, but obviously there are health questions we deserve answers to (like a dose of brain cancer that makes a skillet to the head by Momma seem like a stroll up the 18th fairway) before this technology is widely adopted. In a world where government and big business - and the money that flows between them - are linked as closely as Romulus and Remus, we can only hope that common sense wins out over dollars and cents.
  • As golf fans focus on the next Masters champion, there's nothing quite like one of golf's major championships to remind us that game is pretty much carried on the backs of men.
    As U.S. demographics shift and the numbers of those middle-aged - and older - men shouldering a large share of rounds played decline in numbers, we are reminded, as we channel our inner-Martha Burke, that some things will have to change - and quickly - as more and more people in golf will continue to change careers. Nearly 2,000 golf courses have closed in the past 15 years, and fewer than 600 have opened, meaning there are about 1,400 fewer golf courses across the U.S. today than there were when Phil won his first Masters championship.
    If your course has managed to escape golf's grim reaper during the past decade-and-a-half, there's always tomorrow. Industry experts agree, with the loss of another 100,000 golfers last year (which brings us to a loss of about 10 million in the past two decades) there is more pain to come.
    Ultimately, whether a golf course succeeds or fails will depend on property-specific efforts that will appeal to, attract and retain new players, most notably juniors, minorities and women. That said, there are a few industry initiatives aimed specifically at making golf - the game and the industry - more appealing to women. Likewise, several turf industry suppliers, including Syngenta, Nufarm and Bayer, have made an effort the past two years to increase awareness among women to careers in the golf industry. It stands to reason that the more popular the game is among females, the more cognizant women will be to career opportunities in the industry. So, while women in golf and women in turf are two separate movements, they are linked.
    The Golf 2020 Women's Task Force seeks to increase awareness of and participation in golf among women by targeting its message and efforts to families, fans of the game and industry partners, according to the group's strategic plan. Other initiatives include a joint effort between the LPGA and the Executive Women's Golf Association, Women's Golf Day and the Invite Her campaigns.
    The good news is that these efforts appear to be having an impact. According to the National Golf Foundation, women comprise about 24 percent of all U.S. golfers, however, 35 percent of all newcomers to the game are females. That's good news for a business that has seen annual rounds played drop by 90 million from 518 million in 2000 to 427 million last year.
    Just like the game is never returning to its days of Tiger Woods-fueled hysteria at the turn of the century when 30 million people considered themselves golfers, rolling over and crying uncle is not an option either, as people choose to spend more time driving to kids travel sports leagues, playing video games and doing just about anything else that, unlike golf, does not take years to master. 
    The effort to attract more women to the game is not just a U.S. golf issue. The R&A last year also adopted a strategic plan designed to get more women to play golf and work in the industry.
    The R&A Women in Golf Charter, adopted about 11 months ago, seeks to:
    > strengthen the focus on gender balance and provide a united position for the golf industry;
    > commit national federations and organizations to support measures targeted at increasing participation of women, girls and families in golf;
    > call upon signatories to take positive action to support the recruitment, retention and progression of women working at all levels of the sport;
    > set individual targets for national associations for participation and membership and reporting progress annually;
    > develop an inclusive environment for women and girls within golf.
    Frankly, it is difficult to comprehend that making the golf business more inclusive merits conversation, yet here we are.
    According to statistics presented at this year's Golf Industry Show, 4.4 percent of the PGA's 29,000 members and 1.5 percent of the 18,000-member GCSAA are women. According to the GCSAA, 112 female superintendents are members of the association, and only 61 of them are head superintendents.
    The push to be more inclusive has become such a cause celebre that the R&A, which governs the game outside the purview of the USGA, says more than 100 other golf organizations globally have signed on in support of its mission, including the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association, which just recently endorsed the charter and is dedicated to "seeking to develop a culture that values women's involvement in pursuing a career as a greenkeeper."
    That group also includes Golf Canada, Golf Australia, New Zealand Golf, the Italian Golf Federation, England Golf, Scottish Golf, Wales Golf, the PGA TOUR; the European Tour, the Ladies' European Tour; the PGA, the Golf Foundation, the PGAs of Europe, the European Disabled Golf Association, the ANNIKA Foundation, IMG, VisitScotland and the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Golf.
    Endorsement at an organizational level is laudable and a good start, but eventually acceptance and implementation will have to trickle down to individual facilities, and the data show the golf industry still has a long way to increase real career opportunities for women.
  • Randy Wilson once said in a TurfNetTV video that dogs have "the No. 1 job in golf." 
    We could not agree more. Dogs chase geese and keep nuisance critters on the go. They run interference on golfers for the superintendent and generally serve as a calming influence in a world that often is anything but calm. And that is why TurfNet has been recognizing golf course dogs around the world since 2002 in the Superintendent's Best Friend Calendar, presented by Syngenta.
    There have been several facsimiles, but for almost 20 years, the Superintendent's Best Friend Calendar has been the original golf course dog calendar. If you have a dog that earns its keep at the golf course, enter a photo for consideration for next year's calendar.
    A panel of judges will select the 14 dogs for the calendar, including the cover and December 2019. Images should be taken horizontally at your camera's highest resolution setting. Also, try not to center your dog in the frame, as left or right orientation often can result in a more dramatic photograph. Nomination deadline is July 31. 
    Click here to submit a photo of your dog for consideration. Be sure to include the dog's name, age and breed; photographer's name; owner's name, phone number, email address; and the name of the golf course where the owner and dog both work. 
    For more information, email John Reitman. Submission deadline is July 31.
  • A teacher, mentor, career counselor and industry advocate, Jim McLoughlin (below right) also was involved in the development of Huntsville Golf Club, a Rees Jones design in Dallas, Pennsylvania (above). Over the course of 50 years in the golf business, Jim McLoughlin brought innovation and education to the industry he loved.
    The former teacher, coach, golf industry consultant and executive director of the Metropolitan Golf Association, the GCSAA and the Met GCSA, McLoughlin died March 9 at his home in Carlsbad, California. He was 84.
    A native of New York City and a graduate of the Fordham University School of Law, McLoughlin was at times a controversial figure in the golf business and a true industry pioneer. 
    "He told people how it was, and people don't like to hear that," said former Westchester Country Club superintendent Joe Alonzi, CGCS. "He didn't have a filter between his brain and his mouth, and I'm not saying that was a bad thing. Whatever he said, he said because he thought it would benefit the superintendent." 
    McLoughlin was the Met Golf Association executive director from 1966-1980 and served in the same role for the GCSAA for the next four years. He helped the MGA become the first association to offer computerized handicapping and he was instrumental in developing what is today the USGA handicap system. 
    During his tenure with the GCSAA, the association made changes to the education and certification program that remain in place today.
    A frequent speaker and educator on career-development issues and an industry in decline (for two years he wrote a column for TurfNet that covered both topics), McLoughlin was not afraid to rattle some cages to try to get others to see the future of the industry from his vantage point. His approach built a solid foundation of allies and adversaries alike, said Jim Prusa, a golf course developer who nearly a decade ago left the sagging U.S. golf market for a job overseas with SKY72 Golf Resorts in Korea.
    "I knew Jim McLoughlin at a time in golf administration when powerful dynamics were precipitating tumultuous change," Prusa said. "Jim was brilliant, highly educated and surely persistent — an uncommon man who could be an unwavering friend or a tenacious foe. He had many diverse interests with a vision that too few in golf could comprehend. Jim wrestled to try to get those in organizational leadership positions in golf to see what he saw as the future."
    As dedicated as he was to improving the industry he loved, McLoughlin was equally committed to helping others. During his tenure with the MGA he recognized that superintendents were the golf industry's real driving force, and he helped many in turf maximize their career potential.
    When Alonzi was interviewing for the Westchester job in 1992, a position he held for 23 years, he went to McLoughlin for help.
    "I asked him to look over my resume, and he made some comments, positive and negative. He agreed to clean it up and we also went over possible questions you might get in an interview," Alonzi said. "He told me how to express myself and even put some words in my mouth, to be honest. He is the reason I got the Westchester job."
    Scott Schukraft, a former superintendent and the owner of Elite Sports Turf and Landscape Management in Dallas, Pennsylvania, also credits McLoughlin for much of his success as a superintendent, general manager and business owner.
    McLoughlin was involved in the development of Huntsville Golf Club, a Rees Jones design that opened in 1992 in Pennsylvania, and it was then that he helped Schukraft prepare for the role of construction superintendent. 
    "I didn't have any real construction experience, but he ushered me through the whole process soup to nuts," said Schukraft, who stayed at Huntsville for 20 years, including 13 as general manager until he started his own business. "He gave me the confidence to transition from superintendent to general manager. He was there every step of the way. When I left there, the first guy I called was Jim, and he told me 'Scott, your best days are ahead of you.' He was right. He encouraged me to start my own business."
    McLoughlin's upfront personality and mentoring style was not for everyone, Schukraft said. 
    "When things don't go your way he told you sometimes you have to step back and look in the mirror and ask yourself what you have to do to get better and get to the next level," Schukraft said. "I never took what he said as criticism, I took it constructively.
    "He knew what he was talking about. I have nothing but respect for him. He helped me enormously throughout my career."
    During his MGA days, McLoughlin hired a communications director named David Fay, who later went on to become the longtime director of the USGA.
    "Jim McLoughlin was a cutting-edge golf administrator and leader, known for his keen, innovative thinking," Fay said in a MGA release. "He was — truly — a pioneer in developing the modern state/regional golf-association model, offering numerous services and programs to all golfers, not just the tournament-caliber players."
    Survivors include wife Mary Ellen and their children, Laura (Herb) Cunitz, Jim (Stacey) McLoughlin, Ken (Karen) McLoughlin, and several grandchildren.
  • Admit it: there are times when standing over a golf ball, whacking the you-know-what out of it and reveling in the release that comes with it is therapeutic. 
    For those who work in golf maintenance, there are plenty of things to stress over: golfers who grouse, seemingly, about everything and demand increasingly unsustainable conditions, lack of employer loyalty, labor and budget issues, and looming pesticide bans. But there is a good side to the game of golf, a side that often gets overshadowed by negativity.
    Sure golf is fun, and can be a good source of exercise, at least for those who walk and give a pass to the beer cart. Randy Wilson has even hinted at it in some of his TurfNetTV videos that cast a satirical eye on golf. But real scientific research suggests that the benefits of playing golf are far more than anecdotal. That is good news for an industry often in need of a public relations win.
    According to research conducted by the University of Edinburgh and published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, playing golf can help reduce the risk of anxiety, depression and dementia.
    The researchers noted that those who play golf have a lower mortality rate than non-golfers, and are less likely to suffer the effects of heart disease, diabetes, stroke and breast and colon cancer. They also noted that those who take part in moderate exercise activity, like golf, have a reduced risk for bodily injury.
    Just as real are the mental health benefits to playing golf.
    According to the Mental Health Foundation, a not-for-profit agency based in England dedicated to identifying and addressing sources of mental disease, as many as one in six adults experience some form of mental illness. Left unmanaged, the fallout can be depression, anxiety, domestic abuse and even suicide. 
    Jenny Roe, Ph.D., an environmental psychologist at the University of Virginia, stress can be compounded today thanks to the proliferation of digital media. Multi-tasking leads to decreased productivity and in the ultimate paradox, she said, social media, while connecting people via their electronic devices, isolates people from one another. Both instances can lead to increased anxiety and depression.
    Roe was not at superintendent Paul MacCormack's retreat last year, but she did talk about mindfulness and the role golf can play in achieving it.
    A professor of design and health and environmental planning in the UVA college of architecture and the director of center for design and health, Roe says just being present in a green space can help people manage their stress. 
    Some of the benefits of playing golf are detailed anecdotally in an article published by Syngenta entitled "Golf Saved my Life" as part of the company's Growing Golf campaign.
    The article shares stories of those who say playing golf helped them recover from their own battles with stress, anxiety and depression. They talk about how being outdoors is reinvigorating and how focusing on the game gives them a singularity of purpose so often missing in today's hectic lifestyle where the lines between work and family life have become so blurred it can be difficult to distinguish where one ends and the next begins.
    When it comes to alleviating stress and promoting mindfulness, science says one of the best sources of therapy is right outside your office door.
  • Kris Bryan (below right), the 2016 Golden Wrench winner, maintained a neat, organized shop at Pikewood National in Morgantown, West Virginia. We get it. Really good equipment managers are really hard to find, and when you find one, you don’t want your colleagues to find out. But we know they’re out there. Superintendents simply cannot produce the playing conditions golfers demand without a great mechanic to maintain equipment, innovate and invent new tools.
    Click here to show your equipment manager how much he (or she) means to your operation by nominating them for this year's award TurfNet Technician of the Year Award, presented by Toro. 
    Three finalists, as selected by our panel of judges, will be profiled on TurfNet and the winner will receive the Golden Wrench Award and a slot in an upcoming Toro Service Training Center session to further hone his skills.
    The deadline to nominate your tech is April 30.
    Judges will select three finalists - and ultimately a winner - based on the following criteria: crisis management; effective budgeting; environmental awareness; helping to further and promote the careers of colleagues and employees; interpersonal communications; inventory management and cost control; overall condition and dependability of rolling stock; shop safety; and work ethic.
    Previous winners include (2018) Terry Libbert, Old Marsh Golf Club, Palm Beach Gardens, FL; (2017) Tony Nunes, Chicago Golf Club; (2016) Kris Bryan, Pikewood National Golf Club, Morgantown, WV; (2015) Robert Smith, Merion Golf Club, Ardmore, PA; (2014) Lee Medeiros, Timber Creek and Sierra Pines Golf Courses, Roseville, CA; (2013) Brian Sjögren, Corral de Tierra Country Club, Corral de Tierra, CA; (2012) Kevin Bauer, Prairie Bluff Golf Club, Crest Hill, IL; (2011) Jim Kilgallon, The Connecticut Golf Club, Easton, CT; (2010) Herb Berg, Oakmont (PA) Country Club; (2009) Doug Johnson, TPC at Las Colinas, Irving, TX; (2007) Jim Stuart, Stone Mountain (GA) Golf Club; (2006) Fred Peck, Fox Hollow and The Homestead, Lakewood, CO; (2005) Jesus Olivas, Heritage Highlands at Dove Mountain, Marana, AZ; (2004) Henry Heinz, Kalamazoo (MI) Country Club; (2003) Eric Kulaas, Marriott Vinoy Renaissance Resort, Sarasota, FL.
  • As the campaign against herbicides containing glyphosate continues, another shot over the bow was fired upon the agri-chemical industry when the European Union announced plans to ban the use of chlorothalonil among its member countries.
    The ban from member countries came after a report submitted by the European Food Safety Authority claiming chlorothalonil poses health and environmental concerns. Those who oppose the decision say the pending ban is overly precautionary.
    The EFSA report claims that chlorothalonil is a threat to aquatic life, amphibians and even bumblebees. The report cited a Cornell University study that linked fungicides to pollinator decline. The EU also is considering a ban on neonicotinoid insecticides, that also are blamed for contributing to declines in pollinator populations.
    Chlorothalonil has been registered for use in the United States since 1966 and in Europe since 1964, and since then has been one of the most widely used fungicides in agriculture and turf because of its multi-site mode of action and thus its low potential for resistance. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency periodically reviews older chemistries, and chlorothalonil had been off patent for years and was an active ingredient in 210 fungicide products when the EPA reregistered it in 1998.
    The EU's decision was prompted by agricultural and environmental factors, and users there can continue to use chlorothalonil until existing supplies are exhausted, a period which is expected to stretch into 2020, according to reports.
    Chlorothalonil is known as an eye and skin irritant. It is a potential carcinogen in humans but has not been linked directly to any cases of cancer in people.
    The decision is another reminder that users here should consider advocating for continued use of such products that fall under such intense scrutiny and that their efforts should focus on responsible pesticide use before access to such products is restricted or banned. To that end, growers throughout the EU have said the ban will result in increased crop failure, rising food costs and a growing threat of resistance to other fungicides. For example, the National Farmers Union in the United Kingdom says the cost of wheat production could increase by as much as 12 percent.
    The news in the EU comes on the heels of repeated attacks of glyphosate use that culminated with the city of Miami approving a resolution to ban the use of herbicides containing glyphosate on city property.
  • For golf course superintendents seeking a glyphosate-free solution to weed control, Nufarm Americas recently launched Cheetah Pro a non-selective herbicide for control of grassy and broadleaf weeds. 
    With the active ingredient glufosinate-ammonium, Cheetah Pro is registered for use in 42 states and is labeled for control of more than 100 grassy and broadleaf weeds and sedges in a variety of golf, turf and landscape settings.
    It works quickly to control undesirable vegetation around ornamental trees, shrubs and potted plants, as well as landscape trim and natural areas. Cheetah Pro displays less translocation in grasses, which can help users create sharp boundary markers that are particularly helpful for golf and sports turf and precise trimming around ornamental beds.
     
    A soluble liquid formulation available in half-gallon and gallon containers, Cheetah Pro also has minimal residual activity in soil, which makes it an effective option for pre-plant weed control in turf and ornamentals. It also can be used to control many annual winter weeds, including annual bluegrass, in dormant Bermudagrass and Bahiagrass. 
  • Ice flow caused havoc at Quail Run Golf Course in Columbus, Nebraska, including turf and trees gouged by ice sheets (below). Photos by Roch Gaussoin via Twitter. Cover photo of Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Country Club by Tom Feller via Twitter. Imagine taking the same route to work, your child's school or the grocery store every day, then one day out of the blue being told "you can't get there from here."
    Flooding is a common occurrence on many Midwestern golf courses - in spring and summer. But flooding? On golf courses? In late winter? That is not so common.
    An unusually wet winter with frigid conditions followed by periods of rain and rapidly rising temperatures have resulted in circumstances the likes of which some in the Midwest never have seen before.
    Rising water levels and ice jams caused as ice flows break apart as temperatures rise clogged rivers and creeks throughout parts of the Midwest in mid March, compromised levees and bridges in several states and have left floodplain golf courses in an unfamiliar position - with winter dormant turf inundated with nearly freezing cold water. By the following week, water had begun to recede, but by then the damage had been done.
    In Nebraska, where flooding in some parts has been characterized as a 500-year flood by FEMA, the situation is so unique that University of Nebraska researchers are using it as a teaching moment for their students. 
    Roch Gaussoin, Ph.D., of the University of Nebraska believes the flooding conditions probably will not result in any long-term turf damage, with heavy emphasis on "probably".
    "Flooded turf survives better when it's dormant or the water is cold, but the ground was already saturated and we probably will get another couple of inches on a weekly basis through the spring," Gaussoin said. "It is going to be interesting to learn from this and go to multiple locations and watch the progress. There is so much silt on some courses, what do you do with that? We know what silt can do to a green. They can seal up. You know I'm not a fan of core aeration, but I think some guys are going to have to get out there and pull some cores.
    "This is going to take a lot of patience. We don't know what is going to occur. There is no crystal ball, because we've never seen anything like this before, and I've been doing this for 30 years. It's overwhelming."
    In Columbus, Nebraska, parts of Quail Run Golf Course were so severely damaged by glacial sheets of ice moving across the property that the boys high school state tournament scheduled for May already has been moved to another location. Flowing slabs of ice gouged the playing surface and caused tree damage several feet above the ground.
    According to a release from the city of Columbus that owns the course: "Damage at Quail Run is extensive. Staff is working on cleaning up damage on the section of the course north of the levee. We will be looking at reshaping a couple of holes so that there will be nine holes available on the north side of the levee. We are anticipating opening the north side of the course on Wednesday, April 10, 2019. Damage on the south side of the levee is extensive. Therefore, the holes on the south side of the levee will remain closed until further notice."
    "Until further notice" could mean next year, said Gaussoin, who has visited the course numerous times.
    With floodwaters expected, the crew set out to remove what they could from the golf course, including irrigation satellites that would have been crushed by the ice flow. As they were finishing up, they were doing so in knee-deep water.
    "It's a heavily treed course," Gaussoin said. "Everything in the path of the ice was compromised. Part of a cart path just fell off into the lake."
    Flooding across the state was so severe that several bridges were closed across eastern Nebraska and on March 14 the sheriff's office in Colfax County, an hour north of the University of Nebraska, declared all bridges throughout the county unsafe and unusable.
    In Green Bay, Wisconsin, superintendent Mark Storby posted a video on Twitter of his crew using chainsaws to cut through ice on the 18th green that was more than a foot deep.
    Just to the south, in Iowa, Tom Feller has seen a lot of flooding during his 18 years at Cedar Rapids Country Club. The course is located in a floodplain of the Indian Creek, which meanders about 10 miles south by southeast until it eventually empties into the Cedar River. But it has been more than a decade since he's since anything like what occurred this year at the 1915 Donald Ross design.
    "Water was 4 feet high in some areas. That's the highest it's been since 2008," Feller said. "Ice jams, rapid melt, it created havoc all over the place."
    Like Gaussoin, Feller doesn't believe damage to the turf will be extensive or long lasting - other than that 6-foot-wide chunk of the No. 6 fairway that was washed away by the Indian Creek.
    "On the positive side, the turf was not actively growing and we did not have the heat of the sun to contend with. We have a lot of silt and sand, but not being open yet allowed us to concentrate on clean up," Feller said. "And we haven't put out our pre-emerge yet, so we won't see weeds like you do after flooding in summer.
    "On the negative side, since we're not open yet, we're not fully staffed, so that is going to delay opening, probably by a couple of weeks. Our board knows, and they're OK with that. 
    "This is the first late-winter flood we've had here, so there are no more surprises. The scary thing is it's still March and we haven't been through April or May yet. That is typically when we get our hardest rains. The good thing is I've gotten really good at skimming silt and sand."
  • Rather than you going to a field day, the University of Tennessee and AquaAid Solutions are bringing the field day to you with this year's #PoaDay. If you want to learn more about the most up-to-date methods to control Poa annua but don’t have time to attend a regional field day, the University of Tennessee has your answer.
    #PoaDay is a virtual field day event hosted by members of the university’s turfgrass and ornamental weed science team. The goals of the event are to make turfgrass managers aware of the emerging problem of herbicide resistance evolving in turfgrass weeds, particularly annual bluegrass and educate turfgrass managers about the different strategies available for annual bluegrass control.
    The event is scheduled for 9 a.m. on April 3 and will be broadcast live on Periscope by AquaAid Solutions. Follow @UTTurfWeeds or @Solutions4Turf for more information.
    The event will include updates from field trials examining the effects of several herbicides applied at varying rates to control Poa annua in Bermudagrass at putting green and fairway heights as well as perennial ryegrass. A video of the proceedings will be made available this spring. 
    For more on weed control, please check out any of these TurfNet University Webinar archives.
    Summer weed control update: Jim Brosnan, Ph.D., University of Tennessee,
    Non-herbicidal strategies for control of Poa annua: Beth Guertal, Ph.D., Auburn University,
    Optimizing herbicide performance for better weed control: Jason Ferrell, Ph.D., University of Florida,
    New post-emergent herbicides for difficult-to-control weeds: Scott McElroy, Ph.D., Auburn University,
    Winter annual weed management: Jim Brosnan, Ph.D., University of Tennessee.
  • Bobby Jones Golf Course brings a private golf experience to daily fee golfers in Atlanta. Photos by Bobby Jones Golf Course It is only fitting that the inspiration to remake a golf course named for the great Bobby Jones came from one of his favorite layouts.
    When golf course architect Bob Cupp was hired in 2016 to redesign the compact Bobby Jones Golf Course from the ground up, he looked to The Old Course at St. Andrews and its numerous double greens as a way to get the most out of the 80 or so acres that comprise the state-owned track in Atlanta's Buckhead section.
    Initially, Cupp told representatives of the Bobby Jones Foundation that oversees the property and members from the late player's family that he had two choices - design and build a short 18-hole course with no practice range, or a nine-hole layout with one.
    "No one really liked that idea," said Bobby Jones superintendent Kyle MacDonald. "One night (Cupp) had an epiphany, and started thinking about St. Andrews and playing in different directions and double greens, and he came up with an idea that offered public golfers a better experience."
    With a dearth of affordable public golf within the Atlanta city limits, Cupp, who resided locally in Buckhead, was brought aboard for what turned out to be his last project. He was tasked with the goal of creating a quality public layout worthy of Jones' name. A practice facility that could help introduce newcomers to the game was a critical part of the project.
    "We need to get golfers back," MacDonald said. "A lot of younger people think golf takes too long, is too boring and is too rigid."
    Cupp completed the design before he died in August 2016, and his son, Bobby, ushered the project through to completion. The result of his vision is a reversible nine-hole course with double greens that average 10,000 square feet and multiple teeing areas for a layout that truly can accommodate players of all skill levels, a practice area and short course designed for kids and beginners. The updates, that will include a new clubhouse, were funded through donations.
    The project bucks golf's norms in more ways than one, including a fleet of Club Car golf cars with the Shark Experience. Developed in cooperation with the Greg Norman Co. and Verizon, the Club Car vehicles incorporate the Visage fleet-management system and come equipped with an array of music and entertainment options designed to appeal to an entirely new golfing segment.
    The golf course is where things really are different, and staff at BJGC are still fine tuning the system. 
    The property's Magnolia and Azalea layouts share nine double greens and each hole has eight teeing areas copied after the Longleaf teeing system that offers multiple teeing options allowing players to choose which best suits their game. Tees are marked only with plaques and are not color-coded or identified as men's or ladies' tees.
    "It's all one height of cut," MacDonald said. "They are defined as teeing areas, but there is no definition. You can easily tee off and end up on a tee box going the other way. There is no definition of what is a tee and what is not. When you're playing, it just looks like you are hitting from the fairway.
    "If you want to play 18, you play the same course twice. People think they can come in and play one way and turn around and play the other. We figured that won't work; you'll kill people out there. We alternate courses each day.
    "We are doing things outside the box. We have a more relaxed dress code, you can listen to music on the golf course, or even watch the (NCAA) basketball tournament."
    The TifEagle greens at BJGC currently are being mowed at 0.130 and the TifTuf turf grown everywhere else is maintained, for now, at about 0.75 inches. MacDonald does not even own a Stimpmeter and insists reaching a specific speed is never a goal.
    "For 99 percent of golfers, 11.5 (on the Stimpmeter) is too fast. If we do that, we'll lose golfers and we'll lose revenue."
    Ideal putting conditions instead are the result of working with the golf shop to find conditions that work for BJGC's clientele.
    "We'll see if that works," MacDonald said. "I've worked at courses where we lived and died by green speed every day. We want to make sure players can get through here in two hours. Our greens are so big, you can have a 150-foot putt. If the green is too fast, you could have a four- or five-putt situation. We don't want that."
    There will be times when golfers can play both directions at BJGC on the same day.
    "When we have a shotgun start, you play one course, then when everyone is ready to make the turn, you turn around and play the other one," MacDonald said. "We are still learning as we go."
    A graduate of the Auburn turfgrass program, MacDonald, 39, came to BJGC from private St. Ives Country Club in suburban Johns Creek.
    "There are not a lot of nice public golf courses in the city of Atlanta," he said. "We're coming from a private background. The challenge is to provide daily fee golfers with the kind of golf experience private member golfers get on a daily basis. That is our goal, to provide private club conditions and experience."
    Bobby Jones Golf Course opened in 1932 in response to the overwhelming interest in the game generated by Jones, an Atlanta native. The original routing was designed by Wayne Stiles and John R. Van Kleek and was part of Peachtree Creek Memorial Park. with its namesake striking the ceremonial first tee shot. 

    All areas of Bobby Jones Golf Course except greens are mowed at one height of cut. Described by MacDonald as a typical short, city-owned urban golf course, BJGC eventually fell into a state of disrepair.
    "There were dangerous blind shots, it was dilapidated, and there was no investment in it," MacDonald said. "It was a goat track. The Bobby Jones Foundation and the Bobby Jones family saw the course as a disgrace to Jones' name. They wanted to do something that would do justice to his name."
    The property was transferred to the state of Georgia in a land swap that allowed a private developer to buy the old Underground Atlanta for redevelopment.
    It was only fitting the elder Cupp turned to St. Andrews for inspiration. The Old Course was a favorite venue of Jones', and he was a favorite of the people of St. Andrews.
    He won the Open Championship at the Old Course in 1930 and his run to the 1930 (pre-Masters) Grand Slam started with him winning the British Amateur Championship there. In 2002, the town of St. Andrews celebrated the 100th anniversary of Jones' birth. Jones, who won the U.S. Open four times and three times won the Open Championship, died in 1971 at age 69. He was diagnosed with  syringomyelia in 1948, a neurological disorder that affects the spinal cord and eventually confined him to a wheelchair.
    Now, the course named after Atlanta's most famous golfer is hoping again to capitalize on his legacy to attract new players to the game.
    The project has not been without its challenges for MacDonald, assistant Jeff Weeks and the rest of the team. Since golf course irrigation systems typically are laid out to accommodate greens, tees and fairways.
    "We don't have roughs. My assistant and I went back and forth over how to catalog the irrigation system so that it makes sense," MacDonald said. 
    "We've readjusted patterns more times than I could count. We never saw that coming."
    Training his team on the nuances at Bobby Jones, like the number of the double greens on Magnolia and Azalea also has been a bit of a challenge.
    "Each green is double, so greens are 1 and 8 or 2 and 7, etc.," he said. "Training the staff on which green to mow or meet at has been a challenge."

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