Jump to content

From the TurfNet NewsDesk

  • John Reitman
    Part IV in an ongoing series about labor issues affecting the golf industry.   "Necessity is the mother of invention" is a proverb that first appeared 2,400 years ago in Plato's Republic. Those words have just as much meaning today at the Devou Golf and Event Center in Covington, Kentucky, as they did in 380 B.C. when the Greek philosopher put pen to papyrus for his historic manuscript.   A decade after an eight-year fairway-renovation project that replaced annual bluegrass turf with all Meyer zoysiagrass, the golf course at modest, city-owned Devou has what many associated with the project say are among the best fairways in the Greater Cincinnati area.   The unique project, that involved a sod cutter, a makeshift nursery and a whole lot of ingenuity, was borne partly out of choice, but mostly out of necessity.    With Devou's severely limited budget, severely sloping terrain, severely poor soil and severely humid summers, the challenges facing superintendent Ron Freking were, in a word, severe.    Neither the city of Covington, which owns the course, nor the management company operating it at the time were in a position to sink a half-million into a fairway renovation. The site, which sits atop a rocky bluff high above the Ohio River overlooking downtown Cincinnati, is ill-suited for cool-season turf for myriad reasons. For starters, the slick and sloping surface made it difficult for golfers to hold even well-struck balls on Poa annua fairways, and poor soils coupled with hot summers in the Ohio River valley presented a tall hurdle for someone managing annual bluegrass.    "This is never going to be a bentgrass course," Freking said. "Not with our budget and our water. It's not going to happen. And the zoysia is better in the summer anyway."   Freking and Ralph Landrum, the former PGA Tour pro whose management company held the operations contract at Devou at the time, decided it was best to go around the hurdle rather than over it. And a random patch of Meyer zoysia discovered during a clean-up project was the key to the project.   That small patch of Meyer was discovered decades ago while cutting down an overgrown area near the first hole.   "There was so little of it," Landrum said. "You could have covered it with two golf carts, it was so small."   According to local lore, the zoysia was pinched decades ago from Hyde Park Country Club during a restoration project at the Donald Ross design in Cincinnati's posh east side.   Freking babied the zoysia and eventually grew that small patch into a 1-acre nursery. The turf performed so well during the hot, humid summers that it soon became readily apparent that it could be a source for an in-house renovation the likes of which few have seen.   Freking used a sod cutter to pull 12-inch-by-18-inch pieces of Poa from the fairways and replace them with equal size pieces of Meyer sod. In fact, the Meyer performed so well during the Cincinnati area's rough summer weather that he was able to pull patches from it twice a year for the project, once in May and again in August.   "You can play on it all winter and beat it to death, and it's done, but it comes right back in the spring," Freking said. "By August 15, everyone else on the course was dead and the zoysia looked so good. It was like carpet off a roll. We knew that if we could get enough of it, we would have quality turf. We also knew getting from Point A to Point B would not be easy."   Devou general manager David Pena was a superintendent in those early days of the project at another Landrum-managed course 10 miles south of Devou in Florence. He and his crew were at Devou often helping on the project.   During the summer, the annual bluegrass would start to check out and the zoysia would be lush and green. In the shoulder seasons and through the winter, the Meyer would lie dormant in a checkered field of green Poa.   "It truly was a checkerboard. In those early days, it was ugly 365 days a year until it grew in," said Pena said. "Everyone trusted Ron and his foresite. The one thing that convinced you that it would work was how good the nursery always looked in the summer. He'd pull from it twice a year and the turf and it looked great, while the turf it was competing with was falling apart."   It truly was a checkerboard. In those early days, it was ugly 365 days a year until it grew in."  
    Laying the sod gleaned from Devou's own nursery took three or four summers, and the entire project took eight years to complete from sod to grow-in. And although it wasn't a perfect plan, it was an economical one for a municipal facility where green fees range from $12 to $38. The project was completed for pennies on the dollar compared with the projected cost of a full scale resodding project.    "We didn't pay anything for the grass," Freking said. "The only money we had in it was a little bit on fertilizer and some labor. We didn't spend $30,000 on the entire project, and if properly cared for, the City of Covington has great zoysia fairways for life."   Devou opened in 1922 as a low-budget nine-hole facility, and expanded to 18 holes in 1995. Back then, the construction of the second nine was completed in early fall. If the world of Meyer zoysia had a capital, Kentucky would be it, but because construction of the second nine didn't come until late in the year, it necessitated grassing over with cool-season turf.   "It wasn't finished until late September or early October," said Landrum, whose company managed Devou from 1986 to 2008. "And that meant zoysia was out."   Selling Landrum on the merits of the project wasn't tough. In fact, he'd been thinking about such a project for years before Freking got started in 2004.   "Devou never was a high-ticket place. When I took over, there was no irrigation system and no cartpaths,' Landrum said. "That course is too hilly for cool-season grass. You could stand in the middle of the fairway on a couple of holes and drop a ball out of each pocket, and one would have probably roll into the fairway on your right, and the other would have probably roll into the fairway on your left."   It wasn't a tough sell on customers also, as play hummed right along on the checkerboard fairways that    Ironically, Freking only recently learned that convincing his golf buddies on the merits of the plan was a tougher sell. Freking regularly plays with a couple of classmates - Dan Reekers and Chuck Bray - from his days at nearby Ludlow High School, where he graduated in 1980.   "About two years ago, we were looking at how nice the grass is and they told me that when we started this project, they thought I was crazy," Freking said with a chuckle. "I didn't know what to say. It kind of took me by surprise."   Pena and Landrum knew better.   "You have to give Ron a lot of credit for getting this project started and completed and keeping it going today and looking great," Pena said. "We have 200 golfers out here today. We're packed. Rounds and revenue are way up, and that is a reflection on Ron."   Still, Freking says the course he navigated probably isn't for everyone.   "I questioned myself a hundred times. When I looked at our terrain, our budget, our irrigation system and our water source, I saw no other way to get quality grass here. I didn't know what else to do," he said.   "I don't think I'd ever do it again. Not like that, anyway. Maybe I didn't know what I was getting myself into."
  • GreenSight acquires drone service
    GreenSight Agronomics, a 3-year-old drone services and solutions provider, has acquired the digital-transformation firm Turf Cloud Inc., thereby expanding GreenSight's ability to deliver more data, actionable information and efficiencies to turf managers across North America.    GreenSight's primary business centers on remote sensing and analysis, whereby daily drone flights deploying thermal and multispectral cameras deliver actionable data that enable course superintendents to reduce water consumption, better task labor associated with irrigation and moisture measurement, and achieve better outcomes with less fungicide, pesticide, and fertilizer applications. The firm's proprietary software also interprets drone-gathered data relating to thermal mapping and soil temperature.    GreenSight drones (www.GreenSightAg.com) fly autonomously. Data is uploaded and processed automatically using GreenSight's Cloud service. Client superintendents can access that data on any device and monitor changing turf conditions and stress levels on a day-to-day basis. All-in drone service packages from GreenSight start at $500 per month, with lease commitments ranging from 3 months to 12 months.      Greenworks expands line of battery-powered equipment
    Greenworks Commercial, a maker of battery-powered outdoor equipment for landscaping, turf management and golf maintenance professionals, introduced Greenworks Elite, a new product line available through the company's distributor network.    The new 40-Volt Elite system complements Greenworks' popular Commercial 82-Volt system. Greenworks' line of mowers, blowers, trimmers, edgers and more are powered by cordless lithium ion Smart Batteries that allow users to track battery charge status on smart phones, monitoring the tool's energy efficiency and run time.     The Smart Battery system utilizes a proprietary 40-Volt lithium-ion platform and are interchangeable between tools throughout the 40-Volt system. They also feature a USB connection so they can also be used to power other smart devices on-the-go, such as phones and tablets.    Like the Greenworks Commercial 82-Volt system, the Greenworks Elite 40-Volt tools combine brushless motor technology and a lithium-ion battery power plant to ensure run time and power that the company says is comparable to gas-powered alternatives.   Carolinas GCSA honors Clemson's McCarty
    Bert McCarty, Ph.D., of Clemson University has been named the recipient of the 2018 Distinguished Service Award from the Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Association. McCarty, professor of horticulture specializing in turfgrass science and management at Clemson, will receive the association's highest honor in November at the Carolinas GCSA Conference and Show in Myrtle Beach.   A native of Batesburg, South Carolina, McCarty is a graduate of Clemson and earned a doctorate degree in plant physiology and plant pathology from North Carolina State University. He has worked at Clemson since 1996 after nearly a decade at the University of Florida.   In 2014, he received the Fred Grau Award as the top national and international turfgrass science researcher from the 5,000-plus member Crop Science Society of America. He is also a Societal Fellow, the highest recognition the society bestows. In 2016, he was also selected as a Fellow by the American Society of Agronomy. In 2012, he won the prestigious Godley-Snell Award for Excellence as the top agriculture researcher at Clemson University, and is a three-time winner of the university's Board of Trustees Award for Excellence.   He is a frequent speaker at regional, national and international conferences and has authored or co-authored 11 books, as well as hundreds of book chapters, journal articles, research reports and nearly 600 scientific presentations and abstracts. In 2010 and 2013, his works received the Notable State Document Award from the South Carolina State Documents Depository System. 
  • A rejuvenated Tiger Woods might be back on the PGA Tour trail, but the course he was to build in the North Carolina mountains has been officially retired. At least for now.   The Cliffs of High Carolina project near Asheville, North Carolina was to include 1,000 or so luxury homes and a Woods-designed golf course as the centerpiece. The entire project, however, has been scrapped and the nearly 665-acre parcel on which it all was to be built is for sale.    There are seven Cliffs Communities throughout North and South Carolina, each with its own golf course designed by the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Fazio. The group says, according to published reports, that it is focusing its efforts on existing communities and has put the High Carolina project on hold, and maybe on a permanent basis.   The Cliffs at High Carolina project was first announced in 2007, but was slow to get off the ground because of a collapse in the real estate market the following year. By 2011, only about 50 homesites had been sold, bringing the project to a halt. Many familiar with the project say it was doomed thanks in part to the economy, the massive scope of the venture and a decline in Woods prominence on the PGA Tour.   The property is for sale by Carolina Mountain Properties for $15.9 million. It was listed in 2016 for $24 million.   The course was to be the first designed by the world's former No. 1 player, a distinction that now belongs to Bluejack National in Montgomery, Texas, which officially opened in April 2016.  
  • The nearly 100-year-old venue for this year's Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association annual meeting might have been reminiscent of the past, but TurfNet's body of work at the event is symbolic of a new wave of teamwork needed to keep pace with the way people consume information   Five people from TurfNet won seven first-place awards and seven second-place honors at the association's communications awards contest held May 4 during the group's annual meeting at the Cincinnati Netherland Hilton, an 87-year-old structure on the National Register of Historic Places.   TurfNet's John Reitman and Jon Kiger each won two first-pace and three second-place awards, and Kevin Ross, Randy Wilson and Hector Velasquez all received a first-place award   Kiger and Reitman shared first place in the new media division for podcasts on "The Hemphills, four generations of greenkeeping" and "Dick Bator: Mentor to many", respectively. Additionally, Kiger, who also was named Toca's Volunteer of the Year during the annual meeting, was honored for best use of social media with "Masters cup cutting video".   Reitman's second winning entry was the "Superintendent's Best Friend dog calendar" (best special project).    Wilson's irreverent take on the industry was recognized when he won for best use of opinion in a video titled "How to fix a starter"; Ross and his On Course series were singled out for best CD/audio visual presentation for his work at the "2017 Solheim Cup".   Finally, Velasquez, who produces a series of informative videos aimed at golf course equipment managers, earned the winning nod for best instructional video with "Don't blow your fuse". He also won runner-up honors in the category with a primer on "Plastic painting."   Other merit (second place) entries included: "Retirement only a word for OSU's Bug Doc" (writing for web site - Reitman); "For New York family, son's legacy lives on through foundation's work" (writing for web site - Reitman); "Industry report says baby boomers are propping up the game" (best series - Reitman; "Volunteering at the Irish Open" (best blog - Kiger); "Education trip to Ireland, Scotland and BIGGA BTME Conference" (best event - Kiger); "Superintendent of the Year presentation" (best CD/AV presentation - Kiger).   The Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association is a 200-plus member association comprising editorial, advertising and marketing professionals working in the green industry.
  • Timing is everything when it comes to controlling white grubs. Catch them early enough and they barely offer a challenge. Wait too long, and there is sure-fire trouble ahead, prompting Ohio State professor emeritus Dave Shetlar, Ph.D., to once say the best control for larger mature grubs is a 20-pound bag of insecticide. The brand or active ingredient is really irrelevant.   "Then you take the bag and drop it on them, because thats the only thing that is going to kill them," Shetlar has said.   Reports are circulating on the eve of white grub season that populations might be up this year in some parts of the country. There is no clear consensus among experts on the accuracy of that statement.   Some have said mild winters actually can hinder population growth, and harsh winter conditions, like those that prevailed through much of the country this year, can make grubs stronger.   "I think that is mostly b.s. Insects can handle just about anything winter throws at them," said Dan Potter, Ph.D., entomologist at the University of Kentucky and the winner of the 2011 USGA Green Section Award. "They have many adaptations to buffer them from the vagaries of a given winter."   Other than when to kill the juvenile versions of critters like Japanese beetles, masked chafers and green June beetles, little is known about what makes these bugs tick, especially the factors that influence swings in population. Or, if such variations even exist at all.   "I think thats just hearsay. Nobody has any real data on grub numbers increasing or decreasing, and doubtless it depends what region of the USA you are in" Potter said.   One thing that some of the leading researchers in the field of grub control can agree upon is the soil conditions that promote population growth.   "In my opinion, the most important variable that affects grub distributions is soil moisture," Potter said.   Beetles lay dehydrated eggs that need soil moisture levels of 10 percent to 11 percent to hatch.    "The beetles seek moist soil with grass roots in which to lay eggs. They will not lay eggs in very dry soil," Potter said. "When summer is very dry, my sense is that a higher percentage of the eggs are laid in irrigated turf. In essence, the grub population is concentrated in irrigated areas in such years."   Ohio States Shetlar says prolonged wet periods through the summer during the past several years have made for prime grub-laying conditions. "Over most of the eastern third of North America, the March through early July window has been wetter than normal for the last two to three years," Shetlar said. "This means that the soil conditions for the grub egg hydration has been excellent and has led to a steady increase in their populations."  
  • In 20 years as a turfgrass pathologist at Clemson University, Bruce Martin, Ph.D., has seen a lot. A lot of good and a lot of bad.   He hasn't seen anything like what he has this year in coastal South Carolina. That includes nearly three weeks of low temperatures below freezing in January in Myrtle Beach (the average is about 10 days, according to the National Weather Service).   The outcome is predictable at golf courses that have not invested in greens covers.   Martin said he estimates 20 percent to 30 percent of the courses in the Myrtle Beach area have experienced some turf loss this winter.    "This is the coldest I've seen ultradwarfs exposed to here since I've been here at Clemson. And that's been 20 years.   "I've visited quite a few golf courses that did not have covers," Martin said. "It's not a total wipeout, and if nothing changes they will be OK. But it's been a long, cool spring. We haven't had any Bermudagrass-growing weather yet, so these courses are open for play, but the Bermuda isn't actively growing. Conditions can only go in one direction - downhill. It's going to take quite a while for the Bermuda to come back in many areas."   Damage is so widespread that Bill Anderson, agronomist for the Carolinas Golf Association jokingly quipped at a recent meeting that he'd visited 50 courses in Myrtle Beach this spring, and 75 of them had shade issues.   By and large, Martin said, courses with covers did OK. Those that incorporated a second layer of protection, like pine straw, did even better, especially in late winter when average daily temperatures, according to the NWS were 3-4 degrees below the historic mean for March.   "You need another buffer between the cover the turf," Martin said. "It was really cold in January, then it warmed up in February and the Bermuda broke dormancy, then it got hammered back down with frost.   "A lot of guys don't like pine straw because it's hard to clean up, but it's better than dead grass."   Some superintendents also are incorporating the use of swimming pool noodles to at least create an air pocket between the cover and the turf.   Some areas will grow back on their own, but some of the areas with the worst turf damage could require sprigging new plant material.   Martin and Anderson of the Carolinas Golf Association warn that a run on organic material could result in a shortage of plant material.   Overseeding is another matter entirely, and the after effects won't be clear for some time, according to Martin.   "The ones who did overseed, they're looking pretty sweet right now," he said. "If they do have trouble with the Bermuda, they won't see it until June during transition. This is their high-dollar season right now, so if they're good now and have damage later, they'll gladly pay that bill. But if you have damage now, golfers will go elsewhere. Maybe a few more people will opt to overseed in the future. Covers are cheaper in the long run than overseeding. They're like insurance, you buy it hoping you never have to use it. If need them, you have them. If you don't need them, great, then you don't have transition problems, because there are always some transition issues."  
  • Toro just made it easier for equipment technicians to install new replacement reels in the company's mowers with its new Reels+ and EdgeSeries Reels+ systems.   Instead of mechanics having to install reels, bearings, seals and spacers separately, the Reels+ and EdgeSeries Reels+ provide everything a technician will need in a single, complete assembly.   These new reel systems are in direct response, Toro says, to customer feedback. The self-contained assembly will help streamline operations and reduce the time technicians spend replacing reel units. With the bearings already pressed on with required low-drag flock seals and spacers, technicians can save about 15-20 minutes per reel in installation time, Toro says.   The system also is an economical solution to making needed repairs as bearings, seals and spacers are sold at a discount from the individual part retail price for each component. Integrating the reels and components together also eliminates the guesswork for technicians and ensures the recommended bearings are utilized, which can contribute to the overall longevity of the cutting unit.   "With this launch, anytime Toro customers see the plus symbol (+) next to reels or EdgeSeries reels, they know theyre getting a fully integrated reel assembly, complete with bearings, seals and spacers," said Grant Adams, marketing manager at Toro. "We are confident that this new solution is going to simplify and streamline the maintenance processes in the long run, ultimately making a positive contribution to the bottom line of the operation."   In most cases, Reels+ assemblies will replace all Toro reels. In instances where reels do not require bearings, such as gang units, singular reel units will be available.  
  • It's easy and convenient to blame the weather for all of the problems that plague golf.   Too wet; too dry; too hot; too cold. Conditions are rarely just right in this game.   This year, however, those who like to pass the buck along to Mother Nature might have a point.   Lingering winter conditions have delayed openings throughout much of the northern tier of the country, and near-record cold temperatures a little farther south have created all kinds of challenges for superintendents managing warm-season grasses in the transition zone - and beyond. Until the next big story comes along, the 2018 golf season in much of the season appears to be defined by the weather.   Even Major League Baseball has recorded more weather-related delays in April - including many associated with snow and cold temperatures - than in any other opening month of the season in the past 32 years.   This spring, if you can call it that, has indeed been "wacky" and in some instances has affected application timing of pre-emergent herbicides, according to Dave Gardner, Ph.D., associate professor in the department of horticulture and crop science at Ohio State University, and one of the country's leading weed scientists.   In a Turf Tips video for the Ohio Turfgrass Foundation, Gardner discusses that the average temperature in Columbus was 46 degrees Fahrenheit through the first three weeks of April, compared with 59 degrees in 2017. The average daily high for the month has been just 56 degrees, which is 15 degrees behind schedule according to the National Weather Service. The average daily low of 36 is well off the historic average of 48 degrees.   In the end, this month is on track to be the coldest April in at least the past quarter century. Conversely, last April was the hottest in the past 25 years, according to the NWS.  
    I'm leaving because the weather is too good. I hate London when it's not raining." Groucho Marx
     
    "That does somewhat change up the timing of our herbicide applications, or actually does it?" Gardner said.    Phenological indicators for crabgrass applications, like forsythia bloom, have been the same this year and last despite the temperature differences, he said.    In the past few days, Gardner noted soil temperatures of 47 degrees in the top 2 inches at the OSU turfgrass research facility. With crabgrass emerging when soil temps are in the upper 50s, which likely will be in a week to 10 days, he says, so the time to treat for crabgrass in central Ohio is now. Although that is not a cookie-cutter solution, his advice provides a template for others to follow.   "Get your pre-emergents down now so they have a little bit of time to be activated, that is dispersed by rainfall in order to get that layer spread on the ground and effective."   In areas where winter annual broadleaf weeds are beginning to bloom, Gardner suggests making herbicide applications now before they seed. He recommends ester formulations because they are more suited to the prevailing conditions this spring.   "It's going to be far more effective," he said, "in the cool conditions that we're having this year."  
  • For the members of Longue Vue Club, it has been a slow and steady journey back to its roots when it was known as "The Millionaires' Club."
      Built by Robert White in 1922 and reworked in 1935 by A.W. Tillinghast, Longue Vue is located above the Allegheny River northeast of Pittsburgh in the town of Verona. It was founded as a playground for some of Pittsburgh's most well-heeled residents. And that's a mouthful in a city where the well-to-do include names like Westinghouse, Heinz, Carnegie and Mellon, and Oakmont literally is a hop, skip and a jump away.   Just a few years ago, members described conditions at Longue Vue as "unplayable" and "horrific", and members were fleeing for greener, drier, fairways at some of the 'Burgh's more famous layouts, including Oakmont, which is less than six miles away by car.   Since superintendent Josh Saunders was hired six years ago, the course has been restored to rightful and historic place among Pittsburgh's elite golf courses.   "When you think of golf in Pittsburgh, what do you think about? Oakmont, Fox Chapel, Field Club? Longue Vue flew under the radar. Now, I think we're in that conversation," Saunders said.   "That's not being conceded. That's just being confident because I know what we've accomplished the last five years."   When Saunders, a finalist for the 2013 TurfNet Superintendent of the Year Award, presented by Syngenta, arrived at Longue Vue, fairways and greens were soggy mix of 70 percent Poa annua and 30 percent creeping bentgrass with some annual ryegrass intrusion around the greens and in fairways.   Today, the course is a dried down version of its former self.   "I know we're in the Poa capital of the world, but those numbers are flipped," Saunders said. "Managing Poa in summer is challenging, but managing it in season is challenging too when Oakmont is right down the street. And now, we're 100 percent clean of ryegrass."   When Tillinghast left Verona, Longue Vue's tees all were neat and square. When Saunders walked the course during his interview, some tees were square, some were circles and some were a mixture of both.   "I told the members the first thing we were going to do was get rid of those squircles," Saunders said.    A native of Virginia and a graduate of VPI, Saunders is a Pete Wendt protege at Kinloch Golf Club near Richmond. He also interned at Westchester Country Club under Joe Alonzi as well as at Augusta National. He says the responsibilities heaped upon him by Wendt coupled with the challenges of managing turf in the Mid-Atlantic have helped prepare him for just about anything Mother Nature and Pittsburgh's golf market can throw at him.   "Pete's philosophy and the way he delegated responsibilities to his assistants made me feel like a head superintendent even when I was fourth in line," he said. "As I worked my way up from AIT to second to senior, I always felt in the loop. The amount of information I absorbed helped pave the way for my future. I will never go back to the Mid-Atlantic and grow grass because of what I learned there in those seven years, and I'm a Virginia native, but everything I learned there I will take with me the rest of my career.   "Maintaining turf in that area, I don't even know where to start. Every day was new and every day was a challenge. You couldn't rest. You had to be on your toes every day from a water standpoint and a disease standpoint."    
    That's not being conceded. That's just being confident because I know what we've accomplished the last five years."  
     
    Longue Vue currently is in the throes of a master plan with architect Jim Nagle, and current projects include a revamped practice area that will include an expanded driving range and enlarging the practice green from 3,000 square feet to 9,000 square feet.   Part of the reasoning behind work on the practice area is to keep up with the game's current trends.   "We want to keep current with where the game is going, and the trend right now is less golf and more practice," Saunders said. "This club deserves to be ranked, and our goal is to get a tournament. But we have some things we have to take care of before we can get to that point, and one of them is the driving range area."   Construction also is under way on a new maintenance facility.   Membership shares Saunders' zeal for attracting a tournament at some level.   "During his short tenure, he has done remarkable things and the course conditioning has improved dramatically," wrote Longue Vue member David Koi in his nomination of Saunders for TurfNet's 2013 Superintendent of the Year Award.   "With Josh at the helm, many of our members feel that Longue Vue has been restored to its long tradition of greatness."   Part of that return to greatness, Saunders said, was simply focusing on detail work.   "Tillinghast knew this property had tremendous potential. Somewhere along the way, they got away from the details, and I mean just down to mowing a straight line," he said. "It's OK not to be like Augusta every day, because if that is your goal, you're going to get some plant stress. So, if you get away from that, why not make every detail stand out to make the place pop? Those details are what the golfer sees every day."  
  • For those procrastinators who are still busy with last-second income-tax preparations, TurfNet has extended the deadline for nominations for the Technician of the Year Award presented by Toro.   Criteria on which nominees are judged by our panel include: 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.   Use specific examples when describing what he or she has accomplished - the more we know, the better your tech's chances of getting noticed.   CLICK HERE to submit a nomination using our easy-to-use online form. All finalists and the winner will be profiled on TurfNet.    Deadline for nominations has been extended to April 30. After that, heavy penalties will be incurred.   Previous winners are (2017) Tony Nunes, Chicago Golf Club, Wheaton, Illinois; (2016) Kris Bryan, Pikewood National Golf Club, Morgantown, West Virginia; (2015) Robert Smith, Merion Golf Club, Ardmore, Pennsylvania; (2014) Lee Medeiros, Timber Creek and Sierra Pines Golf Courses, Roseville, California; (2013) Brian Sjögren, Corral de Tierra Country Club, Corral de Tierra, California; (2012) Kevin Bauer, Prairie Bluff Golf Club, Crest Hill, Illinois; (2011) Jim Kilgallon, The Connecticut Golf Club, Easton, Connecticut; (2010) Herb Berg, Oakmont (Pennsylvania) Country Club; (2009) Doug Johnson, TPC at Las Colinas, Irving, Texas; (2007) Jim Stuart, Stone Mountain (Georgia) Golf Club; (2006) Fred Peck, Fox Hollow and The Homestead, Lakewood, Colorado; (2005) Jesus Olivas, Heritage Highlands at Dove Mountain, Marana, Arizona; (2004) Henry Heinz, Kalamazoo (Michigan) Country Club; (2003) Eric Kulaas, Marriott Vinoy Renaissance Resort, Sarasota, Florida. There was no award in 2008.    
  • "The transition zone is where we can grow cool-season grass and warm-season grass equally poorly."
    - A.J. Powell, Ph.D.
        When calculating climatological averages over time, it takes a lot of erratic highs and lows to find a happy medium. The winter of 2017-18 definitely qualifies as one of those wild lows.   Exhibit A: When Jim Brosnan, Ph.D., was making applications for goosegrass trials at the University of Tennessee turfgrass research center in Knoxville, lingering winter conditions in mid-April brought soil temperatures of 54 degrees Fahrenheit paired with air temps of 38 degrees and flurries blowing through the air.   Only two months earlier, eastern Tennessee was enjoying one of the warmest Februarys on record. Average temperatures for the month were highs of 62 degrees and lows of 44 degrees, which were, respectively, 8 and 10 degrees above the historic average. A record high of 81 degrees on Feb. 22 was recorded at the Knoxville airport, and overnight temperatures dropped below freezing on only six occasions throughout the month, according to the National Weather Service. Precipitation for the month was double the historic average.   "This is the oddest winter and spring I've seen since I've been here," Brosnan said.    "I've seen the full gamut in my travels this spring. I haven't seen any dead greens, but what I have seen is differential spring green up following stress. . . . By and large, I think everyone will come out fine with good growth. They'll just be lagging."   Last fall, the University of Arkansas released preliminary data on a research project by graduate student Eric DeBoer that helps establish thresholds for exposure of ultradwarf Bermudagrasses to cold temperatures, allowing superintendents to minimize the threat of winter damage and improving spring green up throughout the transition zone.   DeBoer's research tested Champion, TifEagle and MiniVerde ultradwarf Bermudagrasses using covers at 25 degrees, 22 degrees, 18 degrees and 15 degrees Fahrenheit. TifEagle and MiniVerde proved to be more cold tolerant than Champion.   According to the study, Bermudagrass greens covered when temperatures reached 15 degrees survived throughout the winter with improved spring green up. Covered greens even survived two days of extreme cold temperatures where overnight lows dropped to 0 degrees on consecutive nights.  
    The weather has definitely made for a kooky start to everything."
     
    Golf course superintendents throughout the transition zone who have made the switch to Bermudagrass during the past 15 years are covering their greens. Even among those who use covers, conditions have varied as they peeled them off, said Brandon Horvath, Ph.D., turfgrass pathologist at UT.   Some putting surfaces have been greener than others, while some have been more prone to typical spring disease pressure.   "Some turf has greened up under double covers or areas on covers where there is overlap, like along seams," Horvath said. "From a disease standpoint, we've seen all the usual suspects. In greens that have been double-covered, we've seen some pythium because it's been wet recently."   That list of usual suspects includes pythium, spring dead spot, leaf blight, take-all patch and fairy ring.    For those who might be set on a calendar for making fungicide applications, this year might be a good reason to move on from that thinking, Horvath said.   "Application timing is one of those things where it's easy to get into a run. If you're into a calendar-based thing, with the the weather the way it's been - somewhat cold still, but not terribly cold, you have to pay attention to that," Horvath said.   "For fungicides, we don't have indicators like forsythia blooms like you do with herbicides. Soil temperatures trigger when to make applications. When you have soil temperatures around 55 to 65 degrees, that's when you want to pull the trigger on those applications when soil temps are in that appropriate range. But with respect to periods like this when it gets colder, warms back up and gets colder again, you need five or six days of sustained soil temperatures to make those applications."   About 10 golf courses, mostly low-budget facilities, in western Kentucky have made the switch to ultradwarf Bermuda in recent years because they lack the budget to manage bentgrass through the state's hot, humid summers, said Gregg Munshaw, Ph.D., of the University of Kentucky.   "They only contact me if they have issues," Munshaw said. "They haven't contacted me yet this year, which means they're no problems, other than green up is just a little slower this year than they would like."   Like in Tennessee, Munshaw isn't predicting any long-term problems for the courses in western Kentucky, or anywhere else throughout the transition zone for that matter. Any damage occurring on greens should be relatively simple to fix, but will require patience from superintendents - and golfers.   "Unless there is widespread death, it's probably not going to be doom and gloom," he said. "If there is some loss, they might want to consider plugging from outside the greens, but that stuff spreads pretty well. The problem is what will members expect, or if you're a daily fee and you are relying on play coming in the door, are golfers going to come in and play if the grass is not there, or it's patchy? Because it might be late June until they are where they want to be, or maybe later. This isn't football, where you can wait until August. This is golf and you need to be ready now."   What is of more concern to Munshaw is what might happen to turf on the northern end of the transition zone if cold temperatures persist and the turf uses up the precious resources it needs to survive the winter.   "My only concern is the longer the grass stays dormant, the more it will burn up carbohydrates," he said. "If they are gone, and those places will struggle with green up. We need that turf to start waking up now."   The wild temperature swings throughout the transition zone from winter through mid spring have created some challenges for weed control as well, Brosnan said.    Warm temperatures in February led to some early green up and put into question whether it was safe to make applications for Poa control since the turf was beginning to emerge from dormancy.   At a recent Middle Tennessee chapter meeting, superintendents were discussing early damage from Poa control applications, Brosnan said.    "It was so cold in January, then in February the weather broke like there was no tomorrow," Brosnan said. "We had high temperatures and high amounts of rainfall. We exceeded the 30-year rainfall average in just about all the major cities in Tennessee.    "We reached 100 growing degree days in February, and that made for unsettling decision on Ronstar and Roundup. Then we'd have frost for the next four or five days. I know you're no longer accumulating growing degree days when it's that cold, but does that reset the clock? "The weather has definitely made for a kooky start to everything."
  • After exhausting its useful life for more than decade as a gravel pit nearly a century ago, a patch of land on the east side of Ann Arbor looked more like something out of a science fiction movie than it did a location for one of Michigan's most environmentally friendly golf courses.
      "If you look at the old photographs, when they finished mining, it was bald," said Corbin Todd, director of golf courses at the University of Michigan. "It looked more like the surface of the moon."   Today, Radrick Farms, a 1962 Pete Dye layout, and its sister course, the Alister MacKenzie-designed Blue Course, are leading the university's campus-wide efforts toward sustainability and environmental stewardship.   "Sustainability is the right thing to do," said Chantel Jackson, general manager at UM's Blue Course. "I don't care what field you're in, or who you work for, if you live here in Ann Arbor, you have to be aware of sustainability. It's a passion here, and it needs to be part of everyday life."   To that end, the courses have implemented several environmental programs that include an innovative construction method for the parking lot that helps manage surface water, conversion of managed turf to naturalized out-of-play areas, an unconventional rooftop on the renovated clubhouse of the Blue Course.   Along the way, each has earned certification from the Michigan Turfgrass Environmental Stewardship Program, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Clean Corporate Citizen Program with the help of the e-Par system. And progress is monitored and audited by the university's office of campus sustainability.   "Sustainability is rooted in our tradition," Todd said.    "We want to leave the property better than we found it. We want to be good stewards of our resources."   More than three decades before Dye converted land in eastern Ann Arbor into one of Michigan's best golf courses, the Cadillac Sand and Gravel Co. sold the mined out property to Frederick Matthei who restored the property from eyesore to pasture and farmland before donating it to the university in 1957. Five years later, it had become one of the first works of a young, up-and-coming architect from Indianapolis.   Today, Radrick is the only course in Michigan to be recognized by the Groundwater Foundation as a Groundwater Guardian Green Site, a program that acknowledges the work of turfgrass managers for their efforts to protect groundwater resources through "practices related to chemical use, water use, pollution prevention, water quality, and environmental stewardship". In 2012, the course received the Washtenaw County Environmental Excellence Award for Water Quality Protection.   "The university always wanted to keep that land natural. That's why they hired Pete Dye," Todd said. "They've always wanted to be good stewards of the environment, and that started way before sustainability was even a thing."   Across town, MacKenzie planted the Blue Course on the edge of the UM campus in 1929. While providing generations of students, faculty, staff and alumni with a classic golf experience, the course also has for many years doubled as a parking lot for the 107,000-seat Michigan Stadium directly across Stadium Boulevard. That hasn't hindered efforts at the Blue Course, as well as Radrick Farms, to lead the way toward sustainability.   Efforts there include an aggressive recycling program with an ultimate goal of zero-waste at the golf course (and throughout campus), converting managed turf to naturalized out-of-play areas, a green rooftop on the renovated clubhouse that includes a native planting program managed by superintendent Scott Rockov and utilizing permeable fill in the parking lot that aids in filtering surface water and minimizing runoff.   The university's golf operation has worked hard to communicate its efforts to customers.   "We have talking points for our staff," Jackson said. "There are enough things we are doing around the golf course to create questions, and we want to make sure our staff has the right information to give back to them."   The program clearly resonates with the university's environmentally engaged clientele.   "In Ann Arbor and at the University of Michigan, it is expected of us to be responsible environmental stewards," Jackson said. "We ask our customers in a survey if they are aware of what we're doing and if it is important to them, and they definitely care."   The efforts of the UM staff extend far beyond the golf course. Objectives such as sustainability and zero waste are campus-wide initiatives that fit into the university's goals of training the next generation of pace-setters.   "Our core value as a university is to build leaders of tomorrow," Todd said. "If we don't challenge them today, we don't have leaders of tomorrow."  
  • Part III in an ongoing series about labor issues affecting the golf industry.   Standing in a ditch and covered in muck, Miranda "Moe" Robinson looks the part of a golf course superintendent. As a graduate of the short course at the University of Guelph with nearly 15 years of experience in the golf industry under her belt, she also has the know-how needed to succeed in a man's world.   That still doesn't stop golfers at Summerlea Golf Club in Ontario from reaching some pretty far-flung conclusions about her ability or what she's doing on a golf course in the first place.   "I'm clearly a maintenance worker, but golfers consistently ask me if I have beer in my cart," Robinson (@Moes_cakes on Twitter) said.   "The last time someone asked me, I said 'are you (expletive deleted) kidding me?' If you say that to me once, you'll never say it again."   In all seriousness, Robinson said she can't complain too much. She tells stories of other women who've faced much worse in their pursuit of a career as a superintendent. She also tells stories of other industries where male counterparts were far less welcoming to women than they are in golf, such as the automotive industry.   "That was the worst job I've ever had. It was 1,000 times worse than this industry," she said of her time in the auto industry.    "I feel like I'm one of the lucky one. I haven't had the same issues a lot of women have had. I don't know if that's because my golf course is out in the country."   Robinson is part of a movement of women working to raise awareness of female superintendents and pave the way for others who want to follow in their footsteps.   "When women ask me, my first piece of advice is to be confident in yourself," she said. "You can't worry about what anyone else thinks of you. Everyone has to overcome that. If you're confident in yourself, there isn't anything you can't accomplish."   If Robinson is a pioneer in this movement, Leasha Schwab is its Lewis and Clark.   A superintendent for nearly a decade, including the past three years at Pheasant Run Golf Club in Ontario, Schwab (@LeashaSchwab on Twitter) organized a career-development symposium for women at this year's Golf Industry Show in San Antonio. The event started with a shoutout on Twitter and ended with about 80 women from throughout the golf industry packing a ballroom at the Marriott Riverwalk.   "I'm interested in talking to women who feel like they don't have a voice. That was the whole point at running that event at the Golf Industry Show," she said. "For anyone who hasn't had a chance to connect, it was an opportunity to meet each other and strike up a conversation."   And then some.  
    Schwab has watched as colleagues walked off the job when she was promoted from assistant to head superintendent, and like so  many others, she knows what it's like to have a golfer mistake her for a beer cart operator.   "That happens to me all the time," she said. "I've been at professional conferences when people have asked me 'whose wife are you?' It's not coming from a malicious place. When people say things like this, it can be harmful, but if I just bitch, I'm not going to have much influence. The only way to change people's perceptions of this industry is to educate them."   That all men don't welcome women into the world of golf might point more toward their own insecurities than anything else, says Amy Wallis, Ph.D., a professor of practice at the Wake Forest University School of Business. Wallis' expertise lies in differences of people from different cultures, races and generations and how that can affect performance in the workplace.   "There are certain areas of life that historically have been reserved for particular groups of people, and those people go to those activities because they feel comfortable and safe there," said Amy Wallis. "And when you think about the golf industry, a lot of men of privilege, and particularly white men of privilege are drawn to golf in part because it's a place where white men of privilege hang out. Some of them are there because of the comfort of that. Then you bring people who are different into that environment and it's like 'I don't know how to behave, so I'm going to behave in ways that I pretend that I'm joking, but I'm actually sending these subtle signals that say you don't belong here.' "   That level of discomfort that comes with others invading your space is not reserved only for men, Wallis said.   "I might join a gym that is a women-only gym because I feel more comfortable working out in a women-only gym. And if a man walked in I would probably be somewhat bothered by the fact that there was a man there, and I might treat him accordingly," she said. "I might make a joke about a man being there, because the context is one where I had an expectation where there would not be a man there.   "I think in golf there is still this perception that there is an invasion of people who are different. Some men might say they were drawn to golf because they knew how to behave there. There is a much bigger discussion we need to have about whether we even have the skills to welcome people who are different into our environment, and how do you develop those skills. Most of us don't spend much time developing those skills. We spend our time looking for areas where we fit in, rather than looking for ways to help other people fit in."   Breaking down those barriers is exactly why Schwab organized the event at GIS.   "I know what it's like to walk into a room of 500 men and feel like you don't belong," she said.    Jessica Lenihan credits a lot of men with helping promote her career since graduating from Penn State's four-year turf program in 2016. She worked on Kevin Hicks's crew at Coeur d'Alene until 2011 and is currently the assistant superintendent at Hayden Lake Country Club in Idaho.   "I've met a lot of great, supportive men who are willing to help out," Lenihan (@jklenihan5 on Twitter) said. "I've met a lot of people, too, who are total creeps and don't give you any respect at all. Granted, those have been few and far between.    "You have to work twice as hard to prove you know what you're doing. That doesn't bother me. Everyone in this business knows how to grow grass. Whether people believe you, I think that is the question that comes up for women in turf."   Schwab says she doesn't think a woman should have to work more to prove she belongs. You can do the job, or you can't, and that should be enough, she says.   "One of the reasons for my success is the men who have helped me along the way," Schwab said.    "We just want good people in general in this industry, so how do we change this?"   That means changing people's perception of culture in and out of the workplace, she said.   "People leave their jobs because they feel they don't belong, not because of money," she said.    "I don't have to be rough and gruff to show I belong. I think that's where women go wrong. If I have to pretend to be just as tough as the boys, I lose leadership capability and integrity because I'm not being myself. The alternative is to look at each person as an individual. If we work on that, that's where we can make the biggest impact."
  • As it's nickname implies, Minnesota has a substantial amount of groundwater. That's all the more reason for the state's golf course superintendents association to play a leadership role in helping conserve it - and make sure the industry has a stable source well into the future, says Jack MacKenzie, CGCS, executive director of the Minnesota GCSA.   "Just because Minnesota is the Land of 10,000 Lakes, that doesn't mean we don't have to be responsible for our water," MacKenzie said.   To that end, the association recently put the finishing touches on four publications that address best management practices for golf courses in Minnesota.   "In Minnesota, there are two kinds of water users: Either you have a permit, or your permit is suspended. Golf is a non-essential water user in Minnesota, so we're the first apple to be picked when it's time to reduce water use," MacKenzie said. "We're trying to make it so that golf has a modicum of protection. We're happy to dial back when it's time cut back. Just don't pull the plug on us. When you do that, we lose viability as a business."   In the works since 2012, the guides include a compilation of the greatest hits of work already completed by superintendent chapters in other states, including Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Colorado and Rhode Island.   Two events helped elevate the project's status at the state agency level - the Minnesota GCSA's mercury-mitigation program and a state court ruling that the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources restrict groundwater pumping from the environmentally sensitive White Bear Lake.   Mercury mitigation has resonated with the state department of agriculture, which regulates water quality in Minnesota, since Dan Stoddard took over as section manager for the department's pesticide and fertilizer management division.   "We'd been trying to push this for years. We were asking what we needed to do get this off the ground," MacKenzie said.    "The interim director, who I knew in college, asked what we can do to partner together. Because of the sudden impact of mercury, how do we work with golf courses so we can develop mitigation procedures for these properties? It opened the door for what has become a blooming relationship."   The same can be said for the state GCSA's newfound relationship with the DNR, since the latter has fallen under direction from the courts to reexamine how it grants groundwater use permits.   The association's "Best Management Practices Water-Use Efficiency/Conservation Plan For Minnesota Golf Courses" actually has presented the state DNR with a template it is using moving forward. Input from golf was welcomed and necessary since, according to MacKenzie, about 80 percent of the state's 500 or so golf courses use groundwater, including several in the White Bear Lake vicinity.   "We're all working together," MacKenzie said. "This will the template of water appropriations changes throughout the state.   "We're here to support the DNR, and we want them to know we are here to help. We are here to help them conserve water. Here is our environmental state, now just don't pull the plug on us."  
  • Smithfield Foods Inc. and Anuvia Plant Nutrients have reached a partnership to create sustainable fertilizer from all-biological materials.   Smithfield will supply Anuvia with renewable biological materials collected from manure treatment systems at Smithfield's hog farms throughout North Carolina. This project is part of Smithfield's efforts toward accelerating its carbon reduction while helping create renewable energy.   The project reuses organic matter found in hog manure to create a commercial-grade fertilizer that is higher in nutrient concentration than the original organic materials. End users thus are able to better manage nutrient ratios while using less fertilizer by applying precisely what they need. Because Anuvia's products contain organic matter, nutrient release is more controlled, resulting in reduced greenhouse gas emissions and a smaller environmental footprint.     Anuvia will utilize remnant solids from Smithfield that accumulate over time at the bottom of the anaerobic lagoons, basins designed and certified to treat and store the manure on hog farms, and to manufacture and sell commercial-grade fertilizer products.  
  • As Henry Ford's attorney, Horace Rackham made his fortune as an original investor in his client's pipedream of making four-wheeled motorized transportation affordable for the masses. Sharing his good fortune with others was important to Rackham, and as a turn-of-the-century entrepreneur and philanthropist, Rackham's name and record of his goodwill are peppered throughout Michigan.    His name adorns buildings at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Wayne State University in downtown Detroit and Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti. He donated land on Detroit's northside in suburban Huntington Woods for construction of the Detroit Zoo, and his contributions to science were so vast that a lizard (Xenosaurus grandis rackhami) found only in parts of Guatemala is named for him. Nearly a century ago, he hired Donald Ross to build what is reported to be the first golf course in Michigan open to the public on land adjacent to the zoo.   When Detroit mayor Mike Duggan recently threatened to close the course that bears Rackham's name, along with two other city-owned courses at Chandler Park and Rouge Park, one thing some in city hall seemed to forget was how much each means to its local community.   None of these courses will be confused with Detroit Golf Club or Oakland Hills, but each has a long history of offering affordable recreation to some of Detroit's most underserved communities.    Boxing great Joe Louis played many a round there, and Ben Davis, the first black golf pro at a municipal golf course, conducted lessons at Rackham for more than 50 years.   It's a legacy of which Rackham himself would be proud, said Pat Little, who plays in the women's leagues at all three courses.   "It would have been a shame if this course closed," Little said of Rackham. "All of these courses bring something to their local community."   Like many cities, Detroit is always seeking ways to cut operating expenses, and more than once the subject of closing the golf courses it owns has been thrown out as a potential solution.   Shuttering the city's public golf courses, including Rackham, which hosts about 40,000 rounds per year, seemed, for some, an unlikely place for for the city to cut expenses.   "If you're from around here, you've heard this before," said Jim Uehlman, Rackham Park's manager. "This has happened many times before. Any educated person in Detroit knows they're not going to close this golf course.   "We want golf in the city of Detroit to go up. We don't want it to go down. It's already been going down."   When the Detroit's management contract with Vargo Golf to operate the three courses expired in March and city council was unable to reach decision on a new labor agreement, Duggan threatened to close the properties, giving city council a week to come up with an alternative. Days before the courses could have closed, council approved a bid by North Carolina-based Signet Golf to operate the courses for the next two years. The city said it also received contract bids from Billy Casper Golf, Kemper Sports Management and Vargo.     A local company from nearby Oakland Hills, Vargo hired all employees and even owned the golf cars and equipment used at each course.   Signet's first move was to hire Uehlman to maintain some sort of continuity in the city golf structure. A week later, Uehlman was still busy collecting applications from former Vargo employees hoping to keep their jobs and new applicants seeking employment. Even Little, who plays Rackham several times each month, stopped in to volunteer her services to the course she loves.   "This is exciting," Uehlman said. "We're getting new carts, new equipment, new mowers.    "We've had probably 50 people fill out applications over the past few days."   The struggle over what to do with the three city-owned courses has been a consistent saga in Detroit. Estimates are that it could take as much as $8 million to make necessary upgrades to all three, thus prompting the talk of selling them.   Through the last several months, one option has included renovating Chandler Park and Rouge Park and selling Rackham. The Donald Ross design, however, is protected by deed restrictions that require it to remain a golf course, and there is not much of a market for golf courses in urban areas in need of repair.   And that's just fine with those who consider Rackham a community asset rather than a pawn in city politics.   "Everyone knows this course is here. People come from all over the city to play here," Uehlman said. "There's a lot of history here, from Ben Davis to Joe Louis. It's important to have this as a place for recreation for the community."  

×
×
  • Create New...