INSIDE:
GCM
A new option for Southern superintendents PAGE 68
Official Publication of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America
Avoiding résumé pitfalls 40 Tips for teeing grounds 58 Reducing brown ring patch on Poa 86
Leading man Keith A. Ihms, CGCS, takes the reins as GCSAA’s 2014 president
PAGE 44
Golf Course Management Magazine www.gcsaa.org • March 2014
C1_March14.indd 1
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INSIDE:
A new option for Southern superintendents PAGE 68
GCM Offcial Publication of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America Official
Avoiding résumé pitfalls 40 Tips for teeing grounds 58 Reducing brown ring patch on Poa 86
Leading man Keith A. Ihms, CGCS, takes the reins as GCSAA’s 2014 president
PAGE 44
Golf Course Management Magazine www.gcsaa.org • March 2014
™
Chapter 2
TIME ISN’T MONEY. PRODUCTIVITY IS. The challenge today isn’t simply to maintain a beautiful golf course. It’s to maintain it on a budget. To succeed, you need to work smarter, more effciently and more economically than ever before.
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Think people don’t notice the accessories? On a golf course every detail is important. So make sure your accessories work as hard as you do to enhance the image of your golf course.
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44
Carry on
New GCSAA President Keith A. Ihms, CGCS, achieves the pinnacle of his profession despite a void that makes the moment bittersweet. Howard Richman
Equal footing A golf course architect offers 12 teeing ground tips for superintendents, green committees, women golfers and golf course owners. Kari Haug, MLA, EIGCA
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It’s super zoysia!
The products of years of turfgrass breeding have replaced creeping bentgrass at some courses in the South, restoring superintendents’ peace of mind. Mark Leslie
• On the Cover: New GCSAA President Keith A. Ihms, CGCS, from the Country Club of Little Rock in Little Rock, Ark. The cover photo of Ihms and the images that accompany Howard Richman’s profile of GCSAA’s 78th president were taken by Joel Schmidt.
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GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 03.14
INSIGHTS
Turf
32
Every breath you take Teresa Carson
Shop
34
Shop chemicals for the modern plastic world Scott R. Nesbitt
Advocacy
36 Environment 38
Journey begins in Minnesota Jack MacKenzie, CGCS
Water-conscious and responsible Mark Johnson
Career
40
Résumé pitfalls to avoid Carol D. Rau, PHR
RESEARCH
86 9 5 78
Disease updates
Cutting Edge
Reports of previously unknown diseases, sightings in areas where diseases have not been seen previously and other news of turfgrass diseases.
Teresa Carson
Reducing brown ring patch severity on Poa annua greens
Brown ring patch is similar to other Rhizoctonia diseases, but does not react the same way to fungicides. Steven J. McDonald, M.S. Richard Grala Bruce B. Clarke, Ph.D.
ETCETERA03.14 16 President’s message 18 Inside GCM 20 Front nine 30 Photo quiz
12
76 Up to speed 96 Product news 100 Industry news 106 Climbing the ladder
GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 03.14
106 On course 107 Coming up 108 In the field 109 New members
112 Newly certified 113 On the move 115 In memoriam 120 Final shot
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Golf Course Management Magazine Offcial Publication of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America
GCM MISSION
Golf Course Management magazine is dedicated to advancing the golf course superintendent profession and helping GCSAA members achieve career success. To that end, GCM provides authoritative “how-to” career-oriented, technical and trend information by industry experts, researchers and golf course superintendents. By advancing the profession and members’ careers, the magazine contributes to the enhancement, growth and vitality of the game of golf. GCSAA BOARD OF DIRECTORS President Vice President Secretary/Treasurer Immediate Past President Directors
Chief Executive Offcer Chief Operating Offcer Chief Business Development Offcer
KEITH A. IHMS, CGCS JOHN J. O’KEEFE, CGCS PETER J. GRASS, CGCS PATRICK R. FINLEN, CGCS RAFAEL BARAJAS, CGCS DARREN J. DAVIS JOHN R. FULLING JR., CGCS MARK F. JORDAN, CGCS BILL H. MAYNARD, CGCS J. RHETT EVANS MATT SHATTO J.D. DOCKSTADER
GCM STAFF Editor-in-Chief Sr. Managing Editor Sr. Science Editor Associate Editor Sr. Manager, Creative Services Manager, Creative Services Traffc Coordinator Traffc Coordinator
SCOTT HOLLISTER shollister@gcsaa.org BUNNY SMITH bsmith@gcsaa.org TERESA CARSON tcarson@gcsaa.org HOWARD RICHMAN hrichman@gcsaa.org ROGER BILLINGS rbillings@gcsaa.org KELLY NEIS kneis@gcsaa.org SHELLY URISH surish@gcsaa.org BRETT LEONARD bleonard@gcsaa.org
GCSAA This Week/Turf Weekly Editor
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To learn more, call or visit us online.
The articles, discussions, research and other information in this publication are advisory only and are not intended as a substitute for specifc manufacturer instructions or training for the processes discussed, or in the use, application, storage and handling of the products mentioned. Use of this information is voluntary and within the control and discretion of the reader. ©2014 by GCSAA Communications Inc., all rights reserved.
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(president’s message)
Following the family tradition Growing up in central Texas, benevolence and giving back were more than just occasional feel-good gestures. They were family traditions, as real as Sunday dinners and Texas Keith A. Ihms, CGCS A&M football. keith.ihms@sbcglobal.net Both my mother and my father were hardworking, focused individuals with little time for nonsense. Mom ran a tight ship around the house, while my dad was a sunup to sundown farmer. But despite the long hours they put in, they both always had time for their children and they always had time for helping out and giving back, whether on the local school board or through their church. That ethos and that dedication to service defnitely rubbed off on me. When I took my frst head superintendent job at a course When I took near Houston, one of the frst things I did was volunteer to serve in my local superintendent my frst head chapter. That continued throughout each of the stops I made on my career path, and adsuperintendent job vanced to service at the national level with GCSAA. And as I begin my term as the assoat a course near ciation’s 78th president, I am humbled by the Houston, one of trust that GCSAA’s membership has placed in me and I am dedicated to serving you with the the frst things I did same passion, focus and determination that I have tried to bring to all of my previous opwas volunteer to portunities to serve. serve in my local One of the most notable ways that I believe I can serve GCSAA members as your superintendent 2014 president is by keeping the association on the same steady, positive path that I believe chapter. we have followed over the past several years. Those who have come before me have helped to assure that your association has successfully weathered tough times and economic challenges while still keeping an eye on the future, and I fully intend to make sure we continue doing business in this manner. To me, that means celebrating successes and doing our best to build upon them. Successes such as our feld staff program, which is now fully staffed with nine highly talented individuals spread across the country helping to facilitate better engagement between our affliated chapters and the national association. Keeping this program moving forward and identifying potential expansion in certain strategic parts of the country is defnitely one of my priorities in 2014. Another success we all can take pride in is
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GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 03.14
the Rounds 4 Research program, which generated nearly $150,000 last year for turfgrass research projects at the local and regional levels. Keeping this vital pipeline fowing and making sure those who beneft most from the program — our nation’s golfers — are aware of its impact are both goals that will have my undivided focus over the next 12 months. I also believe that previous national boards of directors and other groups of member volunteers deserve considerable credit for their work on membership standards. The impact of that work can be seen every day across our industry, as superintendents receive better compensation and increased recognition for the role they play in the overall health and success of a golf facility. As an offshoot of that work, we have been examining GCSAA’s membership classifcation structure — currently, there are 12 different classifcations of membership — and how we might simplify that for the beneft of both the member and the GCSAA staff. I feel this is an important initiative for the association, and I assure you it will be a key target for me throughout the coming year. But individual points of emphasis will not be what drive me during my year as your president. Continued successes in these areas and many others are certainly satisfying, but it is my belief that a dedication to a broader focus, a dedication to always pursuing what is in the best interest of the GCSAA member, is a much nobler goal. We will experience our share of wins and losses in the coming year, but I am convinced that if everything we do centers upon what is best for our members, then my efforts in giving back to a profession and an association that I hold so dear will be well worth it. Please know that I am always available to hear your thoughts, feedback and opinions about GCSAA’s products and services, so feel free to reach out to me at keith.ihms@ sbcglobal.net with any questions or concerns you might have.
Keith A. Ihms, CGCS, is the director of grounds maintenance at the Country Club of Little Rock (Ark.) and a 33-year member of GCSAA.
WE’VE HIT THE TARGET FOR 2014
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Tis new design further improves pre-mow grooming on greens creating a better mow quality, a more consistent surface, and faster speeds. Te performance bar has been raised. Simply put, we’ve hit the target with these changes and it’s what everyone’s been looking for and requires. You simply can’t afford to be without the next level of efficiency. © 2014 GreensGroomer WorldWide, Inc. All rights reserved. Patents Pending
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(inside gcm)
Conquering chaos theory Scott Hollister shollister@gcsaa.org twitter: @GCM_Magazine
Without question, we make more friends, dig up more story ideas and learn more about the people who read GCM during (GIS) than at any other point during the year.
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GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 03.14
Golf course superintendents are no strangers to distractions getting in the way of real life. Every time a superintendent thinks he or she has the day-to-day routine of golf course maintenance down pat, something inevitably comes up to shatter that routine. A big tournament, Mother Nature, a special project … you name it. At this time of year, the staff of GCM can totally sympathize with those superintendents. Because regardless of what we do to make the monthly production of the magazine as planned and as calculated as possible, there’s just no way to get around the chaos that typically envelops our work on the March issue, thanks to a little disruption that seems to pop up on the calendar every year at this time — the annual Golf Industry Show. Now, we won’t talk much about our week in Orlando in this issue. It’s not because we don’t want to — hey, even those of us in the print business understand the brevity of the modern news cycle. Instead, it’s more a matter of timing, or the lack thereof. The amount of time between our staff’s return from show and our deadlines for the March issue just don’t allow us the opportunity to do justice to a full post-GIS wrap-up in this issue, so we wait until April. But those same restraints don’t apply to our assessment of how a week out of the offce affects our work on this particular issue of GCM. When you take a carefully plotted four-week process and scale it back to just three weeks, you fnd yourself in the same boat as superintendents whose daily work gets waylaid by a member-guest tournament or an irrigation project. You’re bound to face a few challenges. Don’t confuse our discussion of those challenges with whining, though. No need to break out the tiny violins while reading this column. To a person, our staff absolutely loves our time at the Golf Industry Show. It annually provides us with our best opportunity to connect with readers, to interact with GCSAA members and to fnd out what’s working and what isn’t in the pages of the magazine. Without question, we make more friends, dig up more story ideas and learn more about the people who read GCM during that week than
at any other point during the year. But a week on the road (and for me, closer to 10 days on the road, thanks to my involvement in staffng the GCSAA Golf Championships) does take its toll. And the only reason I bring it up in this column is to give you a little additional context as you read this month’s magazine, and maybe, so you’ll marvel at the work turned in by our staff in the same way I marveled at it while I edited and proofed this issue. There’s this month’s cover story on new GCSAA President Keith A. Ihms, CGCS, for example, written by Associate Editor Howard Richman. It’s a deep and sometimes heartwarming look at the Arkansas superintendent and the path he took to get to where he is today, and it’s worth a read for any GCSAA member curious about where the association’s 78th president plans to focus his attention in the coming year. Considering the March issue is our putting greens issue, freelance writer Mark Leslie’s feature on the use of zoysiagrass on greens is defnitely noteworthy. In our part of the world, it’s not uncommon to see zoysia used as a fairway grass, but its use on greens is another story entirely. It’s not exactly a trend yet, but Mark does a great job of examining the phenomenon that, at worst, gives superintendents in some parts of the country another potential putting surface to consider. You’ll also fnd stories in this issue on the creation and maintenance of forward tees, the control of brown ring patch on Poa annua greens and ways superintendents can improve their résumés during the job hunt. In short, you’ll fnd everything that you’ve come to expect from GCM in this issue, whether it took us three weeks or four weeks to fnish up. Despite the abbreviated schedule, I never worried much about our team being able to produce a relevant and readable issue this time around. We’d done it before, and I knew we’d do it again. Still, it’s nice when your staff makes you look like a prophet, so I hope you’ll enjoy the fruits of their labor in this issue. Scott Hollister is GCM’s editor-in-chief.
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It may be a stretch to compare Orlin Reinbold to Bo Jackson. Reinbold, though, certainly has lasted a whole lot longer. You know Bo, right? He was the 1980s two-sport specialist who played baseball for the Kansas City Royals in the spring and summer before transforming into a running back for the Los Angeles Raiders in the fall and winter. A severe football-related hip injury eventually caught up with Jackson, who continued to play baseball but never realized his full potential in either sport. Reinbold (pictured, to the right), however, seems to be excelling in two different felds. Besides ownership of Landmark Turf & Native Seed, Reinbold has planted roots in the brewery market. Reinbold is majority co-owner with Jason Miller (pictured left) of Orlison Brewing Co. in Airway Heights, Wash. The twosome took control of the fedgling
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GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 03.14
business and have done well enough that they are in expansion mode. Specializing in lagers, Orlison Brewing Co. is now selling its products in grocery stores across the Great Northwest. “My accountant has been a naysayer,” Reinbold says, “but now, looking at the numbers, he says we can make it. It’s on a better fight path.” Entrepreneur may best describe Reinbold, 63. In fact, it runs in the family. His grandfather, August Reinbold, oversaw one of the frst reclamation seed properties in the 1940s. Orlin graduated from Washington State University with a degree in agriculture and horticulture. Later, he taught people about the business and ran a greenhouse before showcasing his creative side to the world. In 1995 he developed Moisture Smart, an evaporation gauge designed to simplify watering lawns and yards. The reception for Moisture Smart was underwhelming. “It was the greatest invention ever,” Reinbold says, “but it never went
Acres of greens on the average 18-hole golf course in the U.S.*
27,531
Acres of creeping bentgrass vs. acres of bermudagrass on putting greens in the U.S.*
anywhere. People had to go out and read it. Maybe the time wasn’t right.” The timing of Reinbold’s decision to fully enter the brewery business occurred in December 2012. He had invested six fgures in the previous owner’s brewery. When it started to struggle, Reinbold and Miller, who ran a seed production feld for Reinbold, bought it outright. “I thought ‘If you’re good in a certain feld, can you take that knowledge and go into another sector and make it work there?’ That was the challenge,” Reinbold says. Although they are in no huge rush, Reinbold and Miller are considering expansion beyond Washington, Idaho and Oregon. They have Nevada and Colorado on their radar. “It’s starting to catch steam,” says Miller, 39. Miller says he and Reinbold each have their strengths but combined they offer the perfect union. “Orlin is marketing and sales (which he learned supplying 150,000 poinsettias during the holidays years ago in the Inland Empire). I’m hands-on design,” Miller says. “He’s young in spirit. If I had his pep and attitude … it’s what we all strive for. We blend so well. We just want to make things better.” Reinbold doesn’t classify himself as a beer drinker. A beer taster? You bet. His favorite product they make at Orlison, where their motto is “Brew No Evil,” is Underground. It’s a stout lager that includes ample roast barley and black malt. Although the brewery is quenching his thirst for branching out, Reinbold’s ties to the seed industry remain well established, largely because of its importance to the masses. “Grass seed ties the nation together. The whole infrastructure is based on grass. That’s what holds everything together,” Reinbold says. “I think we’re still providing a need for the industry.” — Howard Richman, GCM associate editor
vs. 9,195
40
%
U.S. golf facilities conducting winter overseeding on greens*
47,525 Acres 2:1 Margin by which
of turfgrass maintained as greens in the U.S.*
Lubbock, Texas, edged out Fairbanks, Alaska, as “The Toughest Weather City Tournament 2013” †
$ 312 million
Charitable impact of Florida’s golf industry‡
1889
Year Bernhard and Co. forefather John Atterton submits patent for frst blade grinder *Golf Course Environmental Profle, Environmental Institute for Golf † Joey Young, www.turfdiseases.org ‡ SRI International/GOLF 20/20
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Coal Creek Golf Course in Louisville, Colo., suffered serious damage in a 2013 food. Photo courtesy of Kevin Norby
Major storm damage won’t sidetrack Colorado course Coal Creek Golf Course in Louisville, Colo., sustained major damage from storms and foods last August. Now, it appears that those events weren’t enough to prevent the completion of renovations to the course. Golf course architect Kevin Norby of Herfort Norby Golf Course Architects was hired by the city in 2011 to complete a long-range capital improvement plan for the course directed at improving overall course conditions and identifying the need for long-term improvements. The devastating August food — which toppled trees, damaged cart paths and parking lots, washed out bridges and bunkers, damaged the irrigation system and covered tees, greens and fairways with rock and silt — created what appeared to be insurmountable challenges.
Led by Norby, though, renovation plans are back on the table. In fact, limited work has been done to remove downed trees and silt. The majority of the repairs, however, won’t be completed until a comprehensive assessment of the damage and an application to the Federal Emergency Management Agency is complete. Norby hoped to begin construction by this month, depending on weather conditions. “Our goal is to complete all of the necessary repairs by the end of the summer to allow time for the course to mature and be open for play in the spring of 2015,” says Norby, who is working with golf course contractor Landscapes Unlimited to repair the damage and make the necessary capital improvements.
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Cleverly done: Olympics superintendent revealed Much was made about the recent 50th anniversary of the frst appearance on U.S. television by four lads from England, best known as the Beatles, who debuted Feb. 9, 1964, on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” In more modern times, another Englishman is doing something pretty monumental of his own. Neil Cleverly, a 15-year GCSAA member, was named superintendent for the Olympic golf course that currently is being built in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Olympic Games there in 2016 mark the frst time since 1904 that golf is on the Olympics menu. Cleverly told GCM that this was a rare opportunity that was worth taking. “When you put everything together, the uniqueness of it, it’s self-explanatory what it means,” says Cleverly, previously the superintendent at Riviera Cancun Country Club in Mexico. “But this is not just about the superintendent. I’m just part of the team.” Gil Hanse, architect for the Olympic golf course, says
Mother Nature Creates the Canvas, GCSAA Members Help to Make it a Work of Art
GCSAA members have been managing golf’s masterpieces for more than 85 years. Make sure your most valuable asset is under the watchful eye of a GCSAA member, bringing a focus on enjoyment for the golfer, proftability for your facility and responsible stewardship of the environment.
To learn more about GCSAA members and what they can do for your facility, visit www.gcsaa.org.
GCSAA earns industry honor GCSAA notched a frst place award in the 21st annual ING Industry Honors. The association won the Print Advertisement-Trade Publications category for “Work of Art.” The complete caption for the ad, which was designed by Kelly Neis, GCSAA’s senior manager, creative services, was “Mother Nature Creates the Canvas, GCSAA Members help to make it a Work of Art.” GCM Editor-in-Chief Scott Hollister accepted the award on the association’s behalf Jan. 23 at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla.
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GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 03.14
Cleverly is quite the team player. “He is doing a great job,” Hanse says. Cleverly, 55, has an intriguing background. For 16 years he was part of the British military. “I served Queen and country,” he says. He was raised in the London area, served as a caddie and worked on a golf course there. In time, Cleverly landed in America. He was an intern for 18 months more than a decade ago at The Old Colliers Club in Naples, Fla., for Tim Hiers, CGCS. “It was right after 9/11,” Hiers says. “Neil is a very intense, inquisitive, driven guy. We were doing a project with brackish water and paspalum, and I assigned him a research project, collecting important data. What he did with it helped us cut out four to fve years of the learning curve. He was just an incredible researcher.” The Olympic course at Reserva de Marapendi features paspalum greens and zoysia fairways. Cleverly, who speaks three languages (English, French and Spanish), is learning Portuguese. There is no need to teach him why golf course management is special. He knows this is the life for him. “My philosophy is if you love what you do for a living, you never really work a day in your life,” Cleverly says.
Bayer announces Plant Health Academy class Twelve golf course superintendents were chosen for the second annual Bayer CropScience Plant Health Academy. The academy is one of four educational opportunities available to GCSAA member superintendents as part of Healthy Turf, Healthy Tomorrow, an initiative Bayer developed in collaboration with the GCSAA’s Environmental Institute for Golf (EIFG) to advance plant health research and education for superintendents. The class is: Kelly Barker, Santa Rosa (Fla.) Golf & Beach Club; Todd Bohn, Wolf Creek Golf Club, Olathe, Kan.; Brett A. Chapin, The Redding (Conn.) Country Club; Michael J. Dunk, CGCS, The Trophy Club, Lebanon, Ind.; Brian C. Green, Lonnie Poole Golf Course at N.C. State, Raleigh, N.C.; Timothy J. Hahn, Greystone and Shadows Golf Courses, Walworth, N.Y.; Andrew Jorgensen, CGCS, On Top of the World Communities Inc., Ocala, Fla.; Vincent A. Pavonetti, CGCS, Fairview Country Club, Greenwich, Conn.; Heath Puckett, CGCS, Cypress Lakes Golf & Country Club, Muscle Shoals, Ala.; Chris Steigelman, CGCS, The Landings Club, Savannah, Ga.; Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, Springfeld, Mo.; and Robert J. Williams, Stockton (Calif.) Golf & Country Club. The Plant Health Academy’s two-part immersive plant health curriculum involves classroom training at GCSAA headquarters in Lawrence, Kan., March 3-5; and in-thefeld training at the Bayer Development and Training Center in Clayton, N.C., Sept. 24-26. To fund Healthy Turf, Healthy Tomorrow, Bayer invests a percentage of StressGard Formulation Technology product sales each year from 2013 to 2015 — a minimum commitment of $300,000 over three years. These funds are also directed toward GCSAA-executed initiatives that support the mission of EIFG.
John Deere sets record frst-quarter earnings Deere & Co. announced net income of $681.1 million for the frst quarter of 2014 that ended Jan. 31. That total was an increase over the same period in 2013 ($649.7 million). Worldwide net sales and revenues for the frst quarter increased 3 percent to $7.654 billion ($7.421 billion last year at the same time). Net sales of worldwide equipment operations increased 2 percent for the quarter. Deere’s equipment operations reported operating proft of $891 million for the quarter compared with $837 million last year. In agriculture and turf, sales increased 2 percent for the quarter due largely to price realization and higher shipment volumes, the company reports. Deere’s worldwide sales of agriculture and turf equipment are forecast to decrease by about 6 percent for fscal 2014. In the U.S. and Canada, industry sales of turf and utility equipment are expected to be up about 5 percent this year as a result of improved market conditions.
TOCA launches Hall of Fame The Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association (TOCA) is doing more than just celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. TOCA announced it is establishing a Hall of Fame to honor those who have “made outstanding contributions to the turf and ornamental industry.” For the frst class that is being inducted, nominations were being accepted until March 1. Those selected will be recognized at an awards banquet at the annual TOCA meeting May 8 in New Orleans. The recipients of TOCA Distinguished Service Awards will be grandfathered into the Hall of Fame. Those honorees are Bob Tracinski, Owen Towne, Margaret Bell and Den Gardner. Also, TOCA is establishing the TOCA Foundation to support TOCA internships and scholarships.
Past GCSAA president battling cancer Mike Wallace, CGCS, is a fghter. That type of trait comes in handy these days. In January, Wallace had a four-hour-plus surgery to remove a hyperparathyroid gland that left him with an extremely raspy voice. “My staff loves it because I can’t yell,” says Wallace, facilities manager at Simsbury Farms Golf Course in Simsbury, Conn. That matter, though, is only half the battle. Wallace
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plications during it. Fortunately there were not, but he also was told that his voice may not return to normal. As usual, Wallace won’t allow the glass half empty notion to fy with him. “I’m optimistic everything will be fne,” Wallace says. also has a rare form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. “It’s very slow-growing. It won’t kill me,” he says. What else would you expect to hear from a man who faces adversity in a manner that is both admirable and courageous? Wallace, after all, has quite a history of overcoming obstacles. Twice in the 1990s he lost election bids to become part of GCSAA’s Board of Directors. Wallace may have been down, but he certainly was not out. In 2002, Wallace proved it. In that year, he was elected as the 66th president of GCSAA. Wallace, 63 and a 36-year member of GCSAA, already has leaped one of those previously mentioned obstacles. He was informed before the surgery that he might permanently lose his voice if there were any serious com-
Miss GIS? No worries Just in case you could not be at GCSAA’s Golf Industry Show in February in Orlando, no need to fret. GCM had it covered. See for yourself in the April issue of GCM. From the Opening Session to what was new and improved on the trade show foor, GCM was there to document it.
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Valent, Nufarm join forces Valent U.S.A. Corp. and Nufarm Americas Inc. announced last month that Valent entered into an agreement that appoints Nufarm as the executive distributor of its branded products for professional turf, ornamental and aquatic uses in the U.S. Valent and Nufarm are combining the product portfolios of the two companies into one broad portfolio that will be sold by Nufarm in the U.S. and will feature Nufarm’s leading product offerings such as Escalade and Millennium Ultra Herbicides, as well as its Cleary line of fungicides and other Valent brands such as Safari and Arena insecticides, SureGuard and Clipper herbicides and Tourney fungicide. Under the agreement, Nufarm is offering the entire line of Valent branded products for professional golf course, lawn and landscape, production ornamental and aquatic use under the Valent brand name. The agreement excludes Valent’s business in the agricultural crop protection, seed protection, consumer home and garden, industrial vegetation management, forestry, pest control, timber treatment, public health and animal health markets.
PGA of America, USGA announce championship sites Multiple golf courses have been chosen to be the host sites for upcoming PGA of America and United States Golf Association (USGA) championships. • Philadelphia Cricket Club was selected to host in 2015 the 48th PGA Professional National Championship pre-
sented by Club Car, Mercedes-Benz and Omega. The dates are June 21-24. Daniel Messerman, GCSAA Class A superintendent and director of grounds, is a 14-year member of the association. • Wellesley (Mass.) Country Club will host the 2016 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship. The dates are Sept. 17-22. William M. Sansone, 12-year GCSAA member, is director of golf course operations. • Waverley Country Club in Portland, Ore., will have the USGA’s U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur in 2017. The dates are Sept. 9-14. GCSAA Class A superintendent Brian Koffer, a 13-year member of the association, oversees the course.
Attendees get social at Syngenta Business Institute The 2014 edition of the Syngenta Business Institute offered its usual menu of high-level business and personnel management instruction to a group of 24 superintendents from around the country who gathered at the Graylin Conference Center in Winston-Salem, N.C., in early December. It also offered up a heavy dose of social interaction, as more than half of the attendees shared their real-time experiences at SBI through social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter. And since it played such a big role in the week, GCM asked some of the attendees to share their impressions of the week in 140 characters or less, true Twitter style. Here’s what they had to say: @TCCcaddyshack: The 2013 SBI was one of the most rewarding education opportunities I have been to. All education directly related to everyday business! — Ryan Borne, Terradyne Country Club, Andover, Kan.
@turfman81: The combination of collegiate level business classes along with great networking opportunities and camaraderie made SBI13 an absolute success! — Scott Hall, Raritan Valley Country Club, Bridgewater, N.J.
@CreekSupt: Incredible three days of business training for the supt. Highly engaging and interactive, sometimes full contact. Wow! Thanks @SyngentaUS #SBI13
garter snakes at the golf course. Three years ago, environmentalists (including Sierra Club) fled a lawsuit to shut down the golf course, arguing that the golf course operation threatened area wildlife. The lawsuit ultimately was dismissed in 2012 by a federal judge. Famed architect Alister MacKenzie (who also designed Augusta National Golf Club) designed Sharp Park. The municipal golf course is more than 80 years old.
— Matt Kregel, The Club at Strawberry Creek, Kenosha, Wis.
Rooney honored by ASGCA
Tweets
RETWEETS Adam Garr @Superin10dent Let’s go ahead and fle this under Plan Z. It’s working amazingly well. pic. twitter.com/SZUp1R91uH
Kevin W. Frank @MSUTurf Another sampling of Poa survival candidates from HTRC, 50 days under ice. pic.twitter.com/Chbw93K3bP
Nick Janovich @njanovich Back from an awesome ski trip. Offce has fresh paint and foor is waxed. Ready for #spring. #turfgrass
Brian White @WccBrian Got the sweeper out today cleaning up the rough. pic.twitter.com/ DiQdS0ws0y
Scott Thayer @LegendsTurf Fresh snow on the Back deck of the clubhouse #powdersnow#wishiwass kiing http://instagram.com/p/ kh653CPd-b/
Parker Ferren @ParkerFerren Perfect day to sling some sand! pic. twitter.com/1CziaF4MzZ
Kasey Kauff @KaseyKauff Ronstar + fert being applied today by @McCTurf and Dennis pic.twitter. com/rtBZGc3fI
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@gcsupt: Best business education a super can get. Lots of education along w/ great food, late-night billiards and free ice cream. A memorable week. — Jeff Smelser, Galveston (Texas) Country Club
@boaz576: Biggest takeway: the problem with being a leader is it’s infectious. Do you want others to catch what you got? #SBI13 — J.R. McCroskey, Wild Dunes Resort, Harbor Course,
Maj. Dan Rooney, founder of the Folds of Honor Foundation and Patriot Golf Day, is the 2014 recipient of the Donald Ross Award from the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA). It will be presented May 5 during the 68th ASGCA Annual Meeting in Tulsa, Okla. The award is named for ASGCA’s honorary frst president, and is presented to an individual who has made a positive contribution to golf and golf course architecture. Rooney is majority owner of The Patriot Golf Club in Tulsa.
Mount Pleasant, S.C.
Sharp Park moves forward with plans Environmentalists lost another battle with the city of San Francisco over Sharp Park Golf Course in Pacifca, Calif. The City Planning Commission rejected a call to require a full environmental impact report on a construction project at the golf course, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Environmentalists believe the work, which includes clearing reeds and sediment from a pond and waterway, threatens California red-legged frogs and San Francisco
Former PGA of America CEO lands new position Former PGA of America CEO Joe Steranka joined Buffalo Communications as chief global strategist to further expand the frm’s leadership position and springboard growth in the broader sports and lifestyle categories worldwide. Steranka, who led the PGA of America for seven years, resigned his post there in 2012.
In the
NEWS The designÕs the thing for longtime GCM contributor
Anonymous gift buoys Nebraska golf course
Mark Leslie, a regular editorial contributor to GCM, has branched out into the world of book publishing, and his most recent effort, “Putting a Little Spin On It: The Design’s The Thing,” about the world of golf course design, is discussed in Leslie’s hometown paper, the Lewiston-Auburn Sun Journal. www. sunjournal.com/news/lewiston-auburn/2014/01/19/ monmouth-author-takes-diffent-spin-golf/1478338
A nearly $7 million gift to nine different groups and organizations in the small Nebraska town of Milford (population 2,156) has left those who work at the town’s ninehole golf course speechless after Thornridge Golf Course found its way onto that short list. The Lincoln Journal Star has the story. http://journalstar.com/news/local/ milford-s-millions-anonymous-gift-has-jaws-dropping/ article_5888b3db-9603-5b0f-bdd4-5ff47760d651.html
South Dakota course to expand
Trump shifts course on plans in Scotland
Elkhorn Ridge Golf Club in Spearfsh, S.D., opened nine holes three years ago. Now, according to the Black Hills Pioneer, work is beginning to make it an 18hole facility. www.bhpioneer.com/local_news/article_ f2dfc3a0-794c-11e3-b080-0019bb2963f4.html
Businessman Donald Trump withdrew a planning application to build a golf course in Scotland, Herald Scotland reports. It may have something to do with his legal battle there over an offshore wind turbine development that is being built nearby. www.heraldscotland.com/news/ home-news/trump-withdraws-planning-application-tobuild-another-golf-course-in-scotland.1392292721
By John Mascaro President of Turf-Tec International
(photo quiz)
Turfgrass area: Tee
Location:
(a) PROBLEM
Montgomery, N.Y.
Grass variety: Creeping bentgrass/ryegrass
Brown turf on edge of tee
Turfgrass area: Putting green
Location: Jackson, Miss.
Grass variety: Tifdwarf bermudagrass
(b) PROBLEM
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Depressions on surface of turf Answers on page 104
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GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 03.14
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Teresa Carson tcarson@gcsaa.org twitter: @GCM_Magazine
(turf)
Every breath you take
Pesticides Herbicides 2,4-D benefn carfentrazone-ethyl clopyralid dithiopyr furoxypyr isoxaben mecoprop-p oryzalin oxadiazon pendimethalin penoxsulam prodiamine rimsulfuron sulfentrazone sulfosulfuron triclopyr trifuralin
Fungicides acibenzolar azoxystrobin chlorothalonil cyazofamid fudioxonil iprodione mancozeb myclobutanil propamocarb-HCl propiconazole thiophanate-methyl Insecticides acephate bifenthrin chlorantraniliprole halofenozide imidacloprid indoxacarb permethrin thiamethoxam
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GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 03.14
From Augusta National to Pebble Beach, turfgrass maintenance on golf courses generally requires some pesticide applications. Past feld studies have indicated that, during the course of play, golfers in some locations may inhale levels of certain chemicals that exceed the reference doses associated with chronic diseases. (A chronic reference dose is the daily exposure over a 70-year lifespan that produces no harmful health effects — excluding cancer. The incremental cancer risk is measured separately.) However, those previous studies were limited to the northeastern United States, few chemicals were tested, and some of the chemicals tested are no longer used on golf course turf. The studies were limited in scope because of the expense involved in conducting the research on a large geographic scale with a large number of chemicals. A new study by engineers Hywel Wong, Ph.D., and Douglas Haith, Ph.D., uses mathematical modeling to expand the reach of previous work to include 37 chemicals and the entire continental United States. By developing a fate and transport model, the researchers circumvented the diffculties involved in conducting a real-world study with numerous research sites and human experimental subjects. The model was tested against feld experiments at the University of Massachusetts Turfgrass Research Center that measured concentrations of eight pesticides. The authors found that testing of the mathematical model has proved that it is sound, and “it does not seem likely that a more accurate model would produce higher risk estimates.” As of February 2012, all pesticides in the study (see the sidebar) were registered in the U.S for use on fairways, but only 25 were labeled for greens. Based on the relative size of different areas of the golf course, the model assumes that golfers spend 7 percent of a round on tees, 8 percent on greens and 85 percent on fairways. The model also assumes that golfers play one round of golf every day of the year, but are not otherwise exposed to these chemicals. Location is important because weather affects evapotranspiration, volatilization fuxes and concentrations. Nine locations were selected to correspond to climate and
plant hardiness zones in the U.S. Mean annual temperature, mean annual growing season precipitation, and months of the growing season were collected for: Albany, N.Y.; Atlanta; Bismarck, N.D.; Columbus, Ohio; Fresno, Calif.; Houston; Madison, Wis.; Olympia, Wash.; and Roswell, N.M. Mean annual temperatures ranged from 41 F in Bismarck to 68 F in Houston. Fresno had the least rainfall (5.3 inches), and Houston had the most (36.1 inches), but the two cities shared the longest growing season (March-November). Wong and Haith conclude that “most (at least 60 percent) of the 37 pesticides” showed “negligible volatilization losses from golf course turfs,” and losses from the rest “ranged from 0.2 percent to 10.4 percent of annual applications.” Differences in volatilization loss depended on the chemical used and the location (which affected weather and timing and frequency of applications). Using chronic reference doses and cancer potency factors, the authors could not fnd any “evidence of health risk to golfers from inhalation of these pesticides.” The results of the study were published as “Volatilization of pesticides from golf courses in the United States: mass fuxes and inhalation health risks” by Hywel Wong and Douglas A. Haith, in the December 2013 issue of the Journal of Environmental Quality 42:16151622. Teresa Carson is GCM’s senior science editor.
Scott R. Nesbitt ORPguy@windstream.net
(shop) Chemical tools old and new are a critical part of an efficient service shop. Photo by Scott Nesbitt
Shop chemicals for the modern plastic world A review of the shop’s chemical “tools” may bypass problems with modern materials, especially the widely and increasingly used plastics. Like ours, your review may also encourage you to stock up on some old standbys that are still excellent aids. Here are some items noted among the lubricants, cleaners and more specialized products that landed on our new shelving after we organized the shop during the long, cold winter. The list includes brand names of products for which we’ve found no generic substitute or competitive product that’s sold here in northeast Georgia. Read the label before using any chemical. Many are extremely fammable and must be stored and handled properly. Unless you are absolutely certain, take the time to test a chemical on plastics, composites, paint and other fnishes. Some chemicals have unwanted reactions with metals, particularly aluminum and copper, brass and bronze. If you are transferring a chemical to another container, like a pump can, make sure the labeling is clear. Don’t repeat my ruination of a plastic-lined (and expensive) Bowden-type throttle cable system that froze when the wrong oil was applied to unstick it. Here are some notable chem tools: Spray lubricant for plastics. This is what I grab frst when I need a light oil. It works on everything and it won’t ruin plastic pieces in-
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GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 03.14
side a sticky ignition lock. DuPont Tefon Non-Stick Dry-Film Lubricant (spray and liquid). Forms a slick surface that improves sliding items, like saw blades, hinges, locks and cutting blades. Especially good for coating shafts before installing oil seals. Leaves a corrosion-resistant coating that makes light bulbs easier to replace. PB Blaster Penetrating Catalyst. A remarkable spray that frees up rusted fasteners. It can damage rubber and plastic, and the fumes upset some folks. Give it time to soak in. T read cutting oil. An old sulfur-bearing standby for running a tap to clean up spark plug holes or other threads. Use as lubricant when drilling holes in metal to lengthen the service life of drill bits and reduce breakage of small bits. We keep it handy in a clearly labeled metal pumper can. Strong citrus-oil cleaners (Goo Gone and Goof Off are major brands). Vital for removing oily, gummy, greasy residue, tape residue, wax, pine sap and other gunk. It will break down latex and some other paints after long exposure — good for cleaning, bad for surface prep before painting. Carburetor cleaner spray (generic). Removes burned-on oil and fuel residues, loosens many paints — helpful when preparing a surface for welding. When it has propane or butane propellant, makes a good engine-starting spray. Use non-fammable brake cleaner when working with hot surfaces. Non-detergent motor oil. Keep a few quarts in stock — it’s specifed in pressure washer pumps, air compressors and some
other equipment. Keep in a metal pumper can for a quick shot of general-purpose midweight lube. You may have to order it, as many stores don’t stock it. Non-alco ol regular gasoline and 50:1 non-alco ol 2-cycle mix. Used for the frst fueling of equipment that’s new or newly serviced. Eliminating ethanol in fuel removes one more factor that might disrupt the initial start-up. Rubber/vinyl spray ad esive. For quick and often permanent repair of labels, seat covers and other light materials that are destined to become detached. A light shot holds gaskets in place for easy assembly. Comes in a heavier form that works as an adhesive or to protect electrical wiring terminals from humidity. Mass air fow sensor cleaner. This is a plastic-safe electronics cleaner that works nicely to clean all manner of electrical contacts, motor commutator/brush assemblies and other assemblies. Leaves no residue. Petroleum jelly. Just sticky enough to hold little springs and things in place when assembling small carburetors. Washes away easily when exposed to gasoline or petroleum products. Good for small skin scratches and is a decent hand-cleaner. Helps protect vinyl from oxidation.
Scott R. Nesbitt is a freelance writer and former GCSAA staff member. He lives in Cleveland, Ga.
Jack MacKenzie, CGCS jack@mgcsa.org
(Advocacy)
Journey begins in Minnesota
Several years ago, the MGCSA had begun reaching out to public and private entities in search of allies and potential detractors.
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GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 03.14
It was Tuesday, April 2, and my day as the executive director for the Minnesota Golf Course Superintendents Association had started out fairly normal. Then the “call to arms” came from the Minnesota Golf Association. The state’s House fnance committee was going to implement a tenfold increase in water permit fees upon golf courses across the state. What was worse, golf was being targeted, as the game is perceived to have deep pockets, be a polluter of the environment and a water waster. Fortunately for the state’s golf industry, the MGCSA board of directors had been active in recent years discussing environmental stewardship, BMPs, water conservation, nutrient fate and sustainable turf management practices. Specialists had been brought in for educating our members, other successful state programs (Florida, Pennsylvania, Colorado and Georgia) were studied, water crisis conferences were attended and professional support was sought from GCSAA and our own University of Minnesota. The MGCSA had done its homework and knew the issues. The result was a fairly comprehensive environmental stewardship program that focused on water quality and availability. It included BMPs, crisis water management, pollution control implementations and even told the “good story” of golf courses. The package was introduced to the state’s four big golf industry allies with the intention of uniting all of golf’s strong leaders and presenting an industry-regulated response to an impending water crisis for the Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) review and endorsement. From there we hoped to have a policy put into law protecting our water rights. Unfortunately, not all great plans make it to fruition, and our conception became mired in bureaucratic mud as the DNR went through administration changes. Although the initiative seemed to be dead in the water, we found a new champion for our plan through indirect networking. Several years ago, the MGCSA had begun reaching out to public and private entities in search of allies and potential detractors. Through volunteer member support, the
MGCSA established a presence at important state Senate and House hearings regarding water resources. We joined our green ally, the Minnesota Nursery and Landscape Association, for “Day on the Hill” activities. And perhaps of most importance, the association had representation at many agency meetings through a new relationship with the Environmental Initiative, a non-proft organization whose mission was to bring public and private groups together to solve nature-related challenges. Last August saw the frst of three meetings thus far with the Minnesota Bureau of Water and Soil Resources, the umbrella agency for all state agencies including the DNR, Department of Agriculture and Pollution Control Agency. Our friends at the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources have recommended that the Minnesota golf industry develop a program that would emulate the Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certifcation Program as promoted by the Department of Agriculture. The DNR would have infuence upon water quantity and the Minnesota EPA’s water quality decisions. The goal for all entities would be resource “certainty” in exchange for environmental stewardship. Courses that participate in the program would receive assurances that they would not lose their economic viability due to excessive regulation. The MGCSA appreciates that the process has only just begun and the hoped-for state statutes are years down the road. However, the challenges associated with environmental stewardship are not new, and the “Land of 10,000 Lakes” is not immune to the misperceptions the public has of golf and golf courses. Through education, the creation of coalitions, continuous presence and networking, the association has come a long way in ensuring the availability of the resources necessary for professional turf managers to do their job.
Jack MacKenzie, CGCS, is the executive director of the Minnesota Golf Course Superintendents Association and a 32-year life member of GCSAA.
(environment)
Mark Johnson
mjohnson@gcsaa.org
Water-conscious and responsible
Water responsibility Among the most important issues facing the future of golf is water use. In some parts of the country, courses require large amounts of water to irrigate the landscape. For several decades, the golf industry has recognized its responsibility to reduce water use and become less reliant on potable irrigation sources. This multi-faceted approach includes development of: • New grass varieties that use less water or can tolerate poor-quality water • New technologies that improve the effciency of irrigation systems • Best management practices in course maintenance that result in less water use • Alternate water sources to reduce or eliminate use of potable water • Design concepts to minimize area maintained with grasses requiring less water • Educational programs for golf course superintendents about water conservation
The real facts about golf course water use • 92 percent use wetting agents to aid in water retention and effciency • 83 percent report protection of water wells • 78 percent use hand-watering techniques for increased precision • 65 percent report upgrades to irrigation systems • 15 percent utilize municipal water supplies www.wearegolf.org
Presented in Partnership with Aquatrols
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GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 03.14
It’s March, and for some organizations and individuals, there is a major focus on water because National Groundwater Awareness Week is the 9th through 15th and World Water Day is the 22nd. These events are important because they promote awareness, conservation and water-quality protection. We know that many golf course superintendents and others in the industry are already on point in regard to effcient and effective water management. However, what do many individuals outside our golf-centric group know about water management on golf courses? Also, should our efforts stop here or continue? Both of these events provide opportunities to demonstrate water management practices, educate stakeholders and commit to continuous improvement. Consider the information from the We Are Golf website in the sidebar. This message is important, and we can further demonstrate our current efforts as well as our commitment to continuous improvement. Environmental programs like the Groundwater Foundation’s Groundwater Guardian Green Site Program, Audubon International, eParUSA, Golf Environment Organization and others provide the means to help document, demonstrate and communicate efforts at individual golf facilities. They provide the platform for continuous improvement. What’s the value of investing time and resources in such a program? Brett Hetland, CGCS at Brooks Golf Course in Okoboji, Iowa, explains that, “a value of participating in the Groundwater Guardian Green Site Program and with Audubon International is marketing, promoting our best management practices, demonstrating environmental stewardship and documenting the work we are doing.” Hetland’s facility is located in the “Great Lakes Region of Iowa” where there are seven watershed groups and a constant awareness of environmental issues, especially water management. Being proactive and working with watershed groups and regulatory agencies helps to achieve success. “It is better to be proactive than reactive to regulations that will be enforced,” states Hetland, a 19-year member of GCSAA.
Like many superintendents, Hetland worked on the facility’s irrigation system, reduced irrigation of non-play areas, and initiated hand watering to help ensure effciency. Initially, he estimates that they reduced water use by 5-10 percent, but he didn’t stop there. They installed variable-frequency drives on the pumps and updated one pump station to improve effciency. They reduced their irrigation run time by four hours, which also conserves energy. When the course added nine new holes, they implemented a wetland system that collects the backwash water from a nearby water tower and collect about 45 acre-feet a year for irrigation. The nine new holes do have a water well, which has the appropriate protection practices in place as well. Incorporating design, best management practices and technology has helped with water management at the facility. Hetland implemented a drought contingency plan, which he later supplemented with the Iowa GCSA’s drought plan. This drought plan was a cooperative effort between the Iowa GCSA and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Water Supply Division. This three-stage restriction plan is ready and in place when necessary. These efforts, as well as others (like those undertaken by the Georgia GCSA), demonstrate how being proactive can help facilities even before they are faced with drought or water restrictions. Facilities that demonstrate and communicate their efforts and commitment do help the golf course industry as well as themselves. The value of these efforts may have an economic return on investment as well as a long-term return for the image of the game.
Mark Johnson is GCSAA’s associate director, environmental programs.
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Carol D. Rau, PHR careeradvantage@sunfower.com
(Career)
Avoiding résumé pitfalls
I have analyzed thousands of résumés and have found that, although most professionals know the importance of a résumé, it is the most glaring example of a career tool becoming an obstacle for professionals seeking a job.
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During my 20 years as a professional in the feld of recruiting and conducting career consulting, I have witnessed many examples of what not to do in the career arena, particularly with résumés. I have analyzed thousands of résumés and have found that, although most professionals know the importance of a résumé, it is the most glaring example of a career tool becoming an obstacle for professionals seeking a job. In this month’s column, I have highlighted common pitfalls so you can avoid them as you advance your career in the golf and turf industry. Résumé is too long. This one can be diffcult, particularly if you have been in the golf and turf industry several decades. We are often asked by GCSAA members, “How do I condense all my experience into a one-page document? What is an acceptable length?” The answer is based on many factors, including years in the industry, number of past employers, professional involvement and the level of job you are seeking. Typically, one page is enough for student and assistant superintendent résumés, but once you have been in the industry 10-15 years, it is acceptable, and probably necessary, to have a two-page résumé. More information is not necessarily helpful. Is it realistic to expect a hiring committee that receives 100-plus résumés to take the time to read several pages of yours? The key points and qualities you have to offer will be lost in too much text. Listing only employmen istory. Résumés are marketing tools, not just a list of past employers, job titles and duties. Be aware that all the other candidates will have the same, if not more, experience performing similar tasks and holding similar job titles. Instead, use the experience section of your résumé to set yourself apart, convey your achievements and the qualities that make you uniquely capable. Also include a section at the top of the résumé that highlights what you have to offer, particularly with points directly related to your target employer. Typos and/or grammatical errors. In a business where attention to detail is paramount, your career documents are an important way to demonstrate this skill. If you list “detail-oriented” on your résumé, but have an error that could have been easily corrected with proof-
reading — what do you think the reader will believe? I recently spoke with a superintendent at a top-50 course who had just received a résumé from a candidate who spelled the name of his golf course wrong in the cover letter. That candidate may have been a top contender for the job, but understandably was never considered. And don’t trust a spell-checker since it doesn’t fag incorrect word meanings. Emailed résumé as MS Word fle. When emailing any career documents, always convert to a PDF and only send the PDF fle. This guarantees the recipient will view your document exactly as you formatted it. MS Word fles can look different on various computers, the printing can be off dramatically, and the document can be altered by the recipient. Unprofessional email address. Be certain that your contact listings are professional. I recommend getting a free email account with a professional listing to use for career purposes if your personal email address is questionable. And don’t forget to have a professional voice mail message. Avoid these pitfalls and you will be well on your way to using a résumé as a marketing tool, not an obstacle, to set yourself apart in job searches and ultimately advance your career.
Carol D. Rau, PHR is a career consultant with GCSAA and is the owner of Career Advantage, a career consulting frm in Lawrence, Kan., specializing in golf and turf industry careers. GCSAA members receive complimentary résumé critiques by Rau and her team, résumé and cover letter creation for a reduced member rate, along with interview preparation and portfolio consultation.
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Keith Ihms. CGCS, oversees the Country Club of Little Rock. This Arkansas gem was built in 1902, and some members still play with old hickory sticks. Photos Š Joel Schmidt
Carry on New GCSAA President Keith A. Ihms, CGCS, achieves the pinnacle of his profession despite a void that makes the moment bittersweet. Howard Richman
I “In the world we live in today, someone as authentic as Keith is rare.” — Keith Foster
n times of need, especially when the welfare of others is at stake, each second represents a valuable opportunity for newly elected GCSAA president Keith A. Ihms, CGCS. Time is precious, something not guaranteed. He knows. His grieving heart tells him so. There are no stipulations attached, nothing he wants reciprocated for these kind and important gestures from deep in the heart of this Texan. Ihms, director of grounds maintenance at the Country Club of Little Rock (Ark.) has proven in good times and bad that he is a dependable servant who answers the call time and time again. Just ask golf course architect Keith Foster. He practically needed to duck for cover while standing in front of the members at Bent Tree Country Club in Dallas to deliver renovation proposals. “The members started booing me,” Foster says, “and Keith is sitting in the front row, giving me a thumbs-up. Later he put his arm around me, says he loved the presentation. In the world we live in today, someone as authentic as Keith is rare.” Fifteen months ago, Pastor Robert Weiss of King of Kings Lutheran Church in Little Rock was left in the dark after an ice-coated pine tree fell and damaged his parsonage, knocking out power. “Keith and his wife Nita (her real name is Anita) invited me to come stay with them for a few days,” Weiss says. “That’s how Keith is. If anyone needs help or encouragement, he reaches out.” What makes the Ihmses’ generosity so noteworthy in this particular act is that they were on the verge of facing end-of-life decisions, a scenario neither Keith nor Nita fathomed only four years after they married. Three months earlier, Nita had been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma. According to the National Cancer Institute, it is a rare type of cancer in which malignant cells are found in the lining of the chest or abdomen. “For them to do that for me, near the end of Nita’s life … the love those two shared was wonderful to see,” Weiss says. Today, barely more than 13 months since he lost the love of his life, Ihms has arrived at an intersection where personal tragedy meets professional triumph. Ihms has enriched his industry and asked for nothing in return, but individuals, country clubs and major organizations such as GCSAA rushed to his side in time of heartache. Their encouragement is a driving force for Ihms — GCSAA’s 78th president — as he attempts to continue moving GCSAA forward.
Ihms with horticulturist Nathan Britt near the recently dedicated clock behind the 18th green.
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“My country club has been unbelievably supportive, as have our GCSAA members. Their caring and compassion is unreal,” says Ihms, 56. “I received emails from GCSAA members, some of which I only shook their hand, yet they have taken this time to comfort me. That’s what this business is all about.” From the Aggies to Arkansas By the time he was 13, Ihms was prepping for his future. As a youth in Llano, Texas, a small town northwest of Austin known for its abundant deer population, Ihms earned cash doing night watering at a nine-hole course. By day he’d golf there, and the wheels started turning. “I knew I liked golf and I knew I liked the outdoors,” says Ihms, who learned the importance of being a volunteer and serving from his mother, Janet, who was in the front row when as a youth he spoke in front of 500 people at a 4-H convention in Chicago. “It was a pretty good life.” Ihms enrolled at Texas A&M. Oh, he thought about being an engineer until, as he says, “I realized my math skills probably would not make that an enjoyable experience.” Upon learning there was a degree for turfgrass science, Ihms pursued. His decision sounds like a case of perfect timing. The legendary Dr. James Beard was the face of the program at Texas A&M during that period, when the rhizotron was developed and groundbreaking work, such as an overseeding system for warm-season grasses, materialized. Ihms credits Joe DiPaola, a graduate assistant at that time, for helping mold his future. DiPaola, currently global lawn and garden research and development head for integrated solutions at Syngenta, recalls icon Dr. James Watson as a frequent visitor who would go to Beard’s house for dinner and kick around theories way past the 10 o’clock news. “It was a special moment in time. It created a long-lasting network that paid dividends for the industry and for the individual,” DiPaola says. “A&M was at the center of it. We were building facilities. We were a team. They were creative times.” When he departed Texas A&M in 1979, Ihms landed his frst professional position as an assistant at River Plantation Country Club in Conroe, Texas. His frst superintendent job was at Golf Crest Country Club in Pearland, Texas, followed by jobs at Walden on Lake Houston Golf and Country Club in Humble,
Man with a vision GCSAA member classifcations. Field staff. Rounds 4 Research. China. PGA of America and United States Golf Association. This is by no means a multiple-choice quiz, but Keith A. Ihms, CGCS, certainly could be a man with the answers. As he settles in for his term as GCSAA president in 2014, Ihms has an agenda of ideas. A key target: Coming to a resolution and possible reduction on the total of member classifcations, which currently includes more than a dozen. “Do we want to simplify it? If I had a goal, I would hope that the board of directors this year would be able to, by the time of the Chapter Delegates Meeting (in October), say, ‘This is what we think. What do you think?’ We need to decide,” says Ihms, director of grounds maintenance at the Country Club of Little Rock (Ark.). Ihms also ponders expansion for GCSAA’s feld staff, which has grown to nine individuals who cover the nation’s membership chapters. Ihms envisions some regions with two feld staff members. “An example is maybe in the D.C. area there’s a person who can help in government relations,” he says. Capitalizing on Rounds 4 Research’s success in 2013 is another objective for Ihms. Administered by the Environmental Institute for Golf (EIFG) and presented in partnership with The Toro Co., Rounds 4 Research has raised approximately $175,000 for turfgrass research and education. A crucial factor is ensuring the end users support the program. “The ones hitting on the tee are the benefciaries of that program,” Ihms says. “They’re the ones who are beneftting from the research.” GCSAA’s international footprint has widened in recent years. Ihms hopes to build on those relationships, including in China, where GCSAA supports industry trade shows and education. Expanding staff devoted to international efforts should be considered, he says. Ihms likes GCSAA’s positioning as it looks ahead, with the goal of becoming the global leader in golf course management by 2020. He says GCSAA’s relationships with the PGA of America and USGA are evolving and becoming stronger, which is important to GCSAA’s future status. “We’re going to be involved in some of their initiatives, whether it’s growing golf or pace of play. We serve an important role in that because our association has the boots on the ground that can affect it,” Ihms says. “We all want the same thing because if we don’t grow golf or we don’t make golf more enjoyable, none of us are going to be happy.” GCSAA has weathered bumps in the road. Ihms, though, realizes the journey is far from over. “Financially, I think we’ve done a good job and we’re sound. We’re smaller, obviously. We on our board don’t like it smaller because it’s a dollar number, so it impacts our programs overall,” Ihms says. “We feel we’re in a good position, but that being said, we still have to stay very diligent in what we’re doing.” — H.R.
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Top: Ihms (right, standing) receives a congratulatory handshake from Quinton Johnson after receiving a turfgrass scholarship from the Texas Turfgrass Association in 1978. Photo courtesy of Keith A. Ihms, CGCS Bottom: A view of downtown Little Rock from the approach shot to the No. 2 green.
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Texas; Pine Forest Country Club in Houston; and Bent Tree. Those are the days Clint Ihms, Keith’s son, remembers (when he was a baby, Clint had a case of colic and the only way to calm him was for Keith to cart him around in a golf car during the early hours of the morning). Not only did the Ihmses regularly win the honor of Yard of the Month, Clint was totally convinced he had the coolest dad on the block. “I got to fy with him on the Texas A&M team football plane in 1998 to a game,” Clint says. “When he did some work for the Houston Oilers, we had season tickets. That’s special stuff.” Dallas, though, was too big for Ihms’ liking, so when an opportunity surfaced at the Country Club of Little Rock in 2005, he was intrigued. When the club called to ask if he would fy in for an interview, Ihms pounced. In time, the trip proved to be a package deal of sorts. Ihms not only got a new employer. He also found his soul mate. Finding his niche This was no time for Ihms to be without his cell phone. The February trip was all mapped out nine years ago when Ihms boarded a Southwest fight from Dallas to Little Rock. He would land, jump in a taxi and arrive at the Country Club of Little Rock to interview at 1 p.m. for the superintendent position. Ihms only had been to Little Rock once, when he accompanied the daughter from his frst marriage, Cathey, to an Irish step dance competition. It rained the entire three days they were there. His second visit to Little Rock turned stormy as soon as he got into that taxi.
The driver apparently wasn’t well schooled in Little Rock geography. With no GPS and Ihms inexplicably forgetting his cell phone, their trek, which should have taken 20 minutes from door to door, resulted in a nearly twohour disaster. “The driver got lost,” Ihms says. “He couldn’t fnd the place. He took me to every other course (including the Country Club of Arkansas). At one point he asked me, ‘Has this course been here very long?’ I told him it has been here since 1902. By then, I was in panic mode.” Finally, with only 90 minutes of his fourhour allotted window at the country club remaining, Ihms arrived. “There was someone standing outside the front of the club waiting for me,” Ihms says, “but a couple of people on their committee who had been there to meet me already had left. For a second I thought that nothing was going to come out of this fasco.” The moral to this story: Showing up late for an interview doesn’t necessarily equal doom. “When he came in for his interview, I was so impressed at his calm demeanor,” says Dr. John Moore, a member of the Arkansas Golf Hall of Fame and president of the Country Club of Little Rock when Ihms was hired. “He came in and apologized for being late, told us the story, and he said, ‘If I may, would you let me just talk about myself and what I think is important in a superintendent’s job, and what I would do and what I wouldn’t do?’ He basically took over the interview process in a very calm and assured manner.” Moore noted that in the club’s history it had only employed a handful of superintendents. Ihms, who no longer was seeking steppingstones, ultimately joined that small fraternity. “Point is, we try to hire a good man. And when we’ve got a good man … we like longevity if you’ve got the right person,” Moore says, “and I liked everything about Keith.” The Country Club of Little Rock is nestled in the Pulaski Heights neighborhood on the eastern edge of town. It features breathtaking views of the downtown skyline and stages an annual four-ball event that has been a fabric of the club for nearly a century. The club even has welcomed a guy named Bill Clinton before the Arkansas governor became president of the United States. Politicians seem to know how to work a room, accumulating supporters with often just a smile and a kind word. Ihms quickly gained their trust at the club. “He’s one of those guys that kind of grows on you,” says Hayden Franks, greens commit-
Top: Country Club of Little Rock General Manager/Chief Operating Offcer Blaine Burgess (next to Ihms) and Class A PGA Professional Darrell Shelton review restoration plans for the course from 2010. Bottom: Country Club of Little Rock GCSAA Class A superintendent Brandon Wright, whom Ihms calls his “right-hand man,” on the 17th fairway.
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tee chairman at the club. “The more you get to know him, the more you think of him.” Unparalleled work ethic doesn’t hurt. “That sucker works a lot harder than most doctors,” says Franks, a dermatologist. “Keith and his staff (featuring assistant Kyle Bunney, superintendent Brandon Wright and equipment manager Jeff Brewer) made the business of the greens committee easy. The course looks so good that it looks like we’re doing our job well.” Wright says, “He’s good about giving us opportunities to try to grow ourselves.” Byron Freeland, former club president, insists Ihms is a rare breed. “When he tells us something, we don’t have to second guess it. It’s his attention to detail,” Freeland says. “I’ve never heard anybody criticize the superintendent, and that is unusual. That is remarkable, actually.” The silent treatment works in that instance, but Ihms is vocal. His ability to communicate resonates from his staff to the clubhouse. “Keith and I are very close,” Country Club of Little Rock PGA professional Darrell Shelton says. “I try to fnd out more about what he’s doing than what I tell him I’m doing. He’s always seemed to have great direction on what he wants to accomplish.” When Ihms tours the course with gen-
eral manager/chief operating offcer Blaine Burgess, there is a routine that has come to be expected. “Every time I go out there (golf course), he’s pointing something out, whether it’s a tree dying or a green that’s not getting enough sunlight,” says Burgess, who admires how Ihms meshes with everybody from the entry-level laborer to past board presidents. “We do something like a checkbook accounting system every week so I can see where he stands. He kind of stands above because he is so organized and detail oriented — not only on the golf course but also in his administrative duties. It’s just the overall package that he brings to the table.” A major renovation in 2010 reunited Ihms with Foster, who eventually landed the renovation job for Bent Tree several years earlier. Now, the Country Club of Little Rock secured his services for a redesign. “I saw Keith through the design lens, construction lens and the technical lens,” Foster says, “and he was fantastic. I love to see my work better than it is. I told him, ‘You made my work better than it is.’ I say that, even though to this day when he sees me he boos me.” When Nita died, Foster spoke that morning with Ihms. In fact, they spoke often after she was diagnosed.
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Top: Ihms and the heartbeat of his staff. To his left is Britt; back row, from left to right, are service technician Jeff Brewer; assistant superintendent Kyle Bunney; Wright; and spray technician Josh Majors.
of the family. It was wonderful he had that support. It didn’t surprise me.”
Bottom: Ihms discusses mowing patterns with Jesus Salcido.
“When I moved here from Dallas, it was for both personal and business reasons, and I actually found both things that I was looking for.” — Keith Ihms
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“He handled it far better than I could have done it,” Foster says. “How does that not shake you to the core? Every time we’d hang up, I’d think ‘Keith is such a wonderful man.’ So many people care about Keith. His impact is wide.” The Country Club of Little Rock’s patience and support during Nita’s illness still moves Ihms. “The club has been tremendous, and I want them to know it,” says Ihms, a 33-year GCSAA member. “The club has a huge amount of tradition. But it’s about the people there.” Moore says, “We try to make Keith feel part
Coping with tragedy The phrase “What a difference a day makes” is so cliché. In the case of Keith and Nita Ihms, it’s so right. Neither Keith nor Nita had found love for years after their frst marriages dissolved. Like thousands of others, they joined the dating revolution and signed up for eHarmony, hoping to fnd love at frst click. Even that, however, wasn’t doing much for Nita. “She had a trial membership,” says Nita’s sister Teressa Robinson. “She was not going to renew it.” Nita was on her fnal day of that trial when it happened, and isn’t that often the case in a love story, that something falls into your lap when you least expect it? Keith, who was at peace in his work and enjoyed hunting and collecting coins, rocks and arrowhead artifacts, still was missing a key piece to his life. He gave eHarmony a try, too. Nita’s profle proved to be intriguing. The feeling was mutual. Their frst date included a walk across the Big Dam Bridge. Keith laughs as he recalls his hands sweating like a 16-year-old’s as he took Nita’s hand in his, a connection that grew stronger daily. “When I moved here from Dallas, it was for both personal and business reasons,” Ihms says, “and I actually found both things that I was looking for.”
Left: The wedding picture of Keith and Nita Ihms from Nov. 14, 2009, at the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, Ark. Photo courtesy of Keith A. Ihms, CGCS. Right: Ihms checks on the irrigation system for the 16th green.
“I told him 25 years ago he’d be president. He spoon-fed me, taught me everything about the business, shared everything freely. You couldn’t fnd a better guy.” — Wally Smith
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Nita loved fowers, iced tea with lemon, freshly made guacamole, asparagus and strawberries. When her daughter Kalli graduated from nursing school, Nita beamed. When Kalli was studying to become a registered nurse, Nita often spent days and nights taking care of Kalli’s daughter, McKinley Grace, who called Nita Nana. A year after Keith and Nita met, they were married Nov. 14, 2009. Ask anyone and they will tell you this pairing was destiny. “Nita was amazing. She brought out the best in him,” daughter Cathey says. “He was even better when they were together.” Orlan Ihms, Keith’s oldest brother, says: “The two of them ft like gloves. He glowed.” Robinson says her sister adored Keith. “She had fnally found her knight in shining armor,” Robinson says. Ihms’ mettle would be tested when his father Lester, who was Keith’s hero because of how hard he worked without ever raising his voice, became ill in 2012. Later that year, in September, Ihms returned to Little Rock from a GCSAA board meeting and they received the news of Nita’s illness. One month later, Lester Ihms died at the age of 97. Once Nita’s illness was diagnosed, Ihms was regularly by her side with his club’s blessing. It is one reason why he feels so indebted to them. Nita’s daughter Jennifer Campbell watched as Keith accompanied her mom on every doctor visit and set alarms to ensure Nita received each dose at the precise time. “They put needles in her lungs twice a week to drain fuid yet she hardly ever complained,” Ihms says. “She did what she needed to do though she knew she wasn’t going to survive it and at the same time
she still worried about everyone else.” Anita “Nita” Faye Ihms died Feb 23, 2013. She was 57. “They were over the top for each other. It’s heartbreaking to me that I can’t help him more,” Campbell says. The thought of her often still brings tears to Ihms’ eyes. She loved to travel, and not having her by his side when he embarks on numerous journeys that come with being GCSAA’s president hurts. “I know she is proud of him and thought he would be a great president,” Robinson says. “This will be very good for him in several ways. The frst year is always hard. This will keep him busy, if you know what I mean.” Wally Smith, who was general manager when he hired Ihms at Bent Tree, is certain GCSAA has its man. “I told him 25 years ago he’d be president,” Smith says. “He spoon-fed me, taught me everything about the business, shared everything freely. You couldn’t fnd a better guy.” The clock is ticking on his time in offce. Ihms plans to make the most of it. For himself. For the Country Club of Little Rock. For GCSAA. For Nita. “It’s a big responsibility, and I take it seriously,” Ihms says. “It will be sad, not having her there. They tell me as time goes on things that make you sad will make you smile. So that’s what I’m hoping for.” Howard Richman (hrichman@gcsaa.org) is GCM’s associate editor.
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Equalfooting A golf course architect offers 12 teeing ground tips for superintendents, green committees, women golfers and golf course owners. Kari Haug, MLA, EIGCA
Photo by Kzenon/Shutterstock.com
Over the years, I have often heard my women golfng partners comment about the poor condition of our teeing grounds. The dismay usually is related to an excessively offset tee that is small in size, has a poor angle to the landing area in the fairway, has poor turf conditions or simply sets the hole up to play too long. While we know there are many really great superintendents caring for our courses, sometimes the women’s tees are overlooked. These tips are intended to be a hopeful reminder to help golf course management make improvements that will produce a better golf experience for women.
Unfortunately, the forward tee is frequently located downhill from an elevated back tee, diminishing a thrilling view or visual access to the hazards that lie ahead.
Sometimes, women’s tees are overlooked during course improvement projects and have settled and become lumpy over time. Photos courtesy of Kari Haug
Location, location, location In addition to simply being a poor golf course design, a tee that is offset excessively to the far edge of the fairway is offensive to women. In a game that is loaded with psychological nuances, a tee that is pushed off to the side (often with an incorrect angle and/or distance to the landing area) is a dismissive non-verbal message that pushes women to the side in more ways than just physical location. It also sets us up for failure on the golf course, making the game much more diffcult than it would be if the teeing grounds were properly designed. While some offset might be appropriate in some cases, extremely offset tees should be corrected as soon as economically feasible. Size matters The teeing ground is where everyone is supposed to get an equal footing to start each hole, equally maintained, leveled and appropriately sized. A teeing area that is too small limits choices for tee shot setup and limits turf recovery from wear and tear. This is not the intended starting condition for a golf hole. Since more divots are taken on the teeing ground on a par-3, a larger tee size is required for turf recovery than the tee size on par-4s and par-5s. Women’s tees have historically been underbuilt, and are in critical need of expansion in many cases. A larger tee will increase choice in regard to fnding a level stance and setting up a tee shot, will facilitate mowing, and will allow for turf recovery and improved turf health on the teeing grounds. Do you see what I see? Elevated tees are more important for women than men since we are on the average about 5 to 6 inches shorter than men. The visibility of golf hazards that stir emotions is just one of the psychological attractions of the game of golf. Unfortunately, the forward tee is frequently located downhill from an elevated back tee, diminishing a thrilling view or visual access to the hazards that lie ahead. An unseen hazard does not stir the emotions like a visible one. This robs women of some of the excitement of playing the game and may be just one element that contributes to the high attrition rate among women golfers. The solution: elevate the forward tees as much as possible while still harmoniously integrating them into the landscape. This may mean choosing a tee location at a higher elevation or disturbing more area during construction of the tee, but it will be worth the effort for the women. Not only does elevation affect visibility, so does lateral location (offset) of the tee. Make sure the driving angle allows clear visibility to the intended landing area for both right- and lefthanded golfers. Add sunlight, then water and drain well Tees that are located way off to the side of the fairway are often plagued by overhanging tree limbs that block sunlight to the grass, which impairs the health of the turf on the tee surface. Tree limbs also block shots, visibility, or otherwise limit access to the fairway. Think about your left-handed women as well as your right-handers. Please contact your forestry service, or better yet, rebuild those tees in a better location. Additionally, women’s tees historically were sometimes constructed in the “push-up” style, meaning the native soil was pushed up, leveled off and turfed with minimal irrigation or drainage installation.
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Many women’s tees are underbuilt. The photo on the left shows a tee that is only 6 feet wide. The two tees in the photo on the right share fewer than 200 square feet.
Drives from the women’s tee that end up in the same lousy long rough every time probably have an improper driving angle or poorly designed mowing pattern.
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A worse situation is where tees were simply mowed into the fairway. These types of tees are very diffcult to maintain to standards equal to the back tees. New forward tees should be “constructed” with appropriate soil, turf, and suffcient irrigation and drainage. They should not just be pushed up, or worse, simply mowed into the fairway. A temporary tee will get you temporary members and dissatisfed women golfers. Hire a qualified EIGCA or ASGCA architect In-house construction of a tee is quite possible, but in-house design is sometimes a disaster. In-house design choices made by superintendents, course owners, the club pro or women’s club members are often regretted. Professional tee design is not expensive and well worth the money in the long run when done by designers who thoughtfully consider play from the women’s tees. Gimme a break (please?) Benches, ball washers, hole signs and trash cans are generally standard equipment on most tees. However, when women’s tees are located moderately ahead of the men’s tees, there is rarely a bench in sight. With a little design creativity, these oncourse amenities can be easily integrated in a minimalist manner in order to preserve harmonious views from the back tees. Amenities are not needed on every tee, but a few rest areas would be greatly appreciated. On the other side of this coin are the amenities that crowd the tee. Just because amenities are requested, that doesn’t mean we want the bench and the ball washer on the actual teeing area or crowding what little space we have.
Ensure a proper angle to the landing area Proper angles are particularly important on dogleg holes. Hint: The inside of the dogleg is usually not the correct angle to the landing area. The golf course architect can help to ensure proper angles and distances to landing areas such that women are not hitting through fairways, blocked from making shots or forced to negotiate a larger portion of a hazard than the players from the men’s tees. Improper angles and distances to dogleg turning points often make the game much more diffcult for women. Also, angles play a signifcant role in the direction a ball will roll if a drive lands on a hillside with a glancing angle versus a shot that lands on the hillside straight away. Drives from the women’s tee that end up in the same lousy long rough every time probably have an improper driving angle or poorly designed mowing pattern. How far is too far? Forced carries (including over long rough) can exhilarate or defate a golfer when he or she steps onto the tee. Indeed, one of the compelling attractions of the game of golf is the challenge presented by hazards that need to be carried, but if the carry distance is insurmountable, it only defates the sense of well-being that is found by golfers on the course. Instead of a forced carry, a better hazard type from the most forward tee would be a “strategic hazard” design, which allows the golfer to decide how much of the hazard they can carry. This type of hazard is much more playable than a “forced” carry for high handicappers. If there is a graduated second tee in place for women who have a low handicap, a surmountable forced carry is appropriate.
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Often, the forward tee is offset excessively to the far edge of the fairway, creating improper angles and distances to dogleg turning points. Overhanging tree limbs also block shots and visibility of the green.
To this day, most courses still play too long for the average woman golfer. No wonder the game seems so diffcult.
Can we level the playing field? It is often diffcult to fnd a level area in order to take a stance and address the ball on the women’s tees. Sometimes one large irrigation head is in the middle of a very small tee, making it diffcult to set up a clear teeing area for tournament play, or just to fnd a level stance when playing for fun. On some tees, the entire tee is moderately sloped. This is particularly bad when the slope is back to front, setting up a downhill lie on a tee shot. Also, as tees age, they settle and get lumpy. Many women’s tees were built 30 years ago and have not been renovated. Maybe it is time? Is your course too long? Decades ago, famed golf course architect Alice Dye published tee design guidelines for a “Two Tee System for Women.” In order for courses to be manageable for the average woman golfer, she recommended that a course should play 4,800 to 5,200 yards. In a recent Minnesota study, only approximately 50 percent of the courses sampled had a tee built at this recommended distance. Furthermore, when a women’s tee was built, only one was built. To this day, most courses still play too long for the average woman golfer. No wonder the game seems so diffcult. Equity, please. Three would be great, but two will do As indicated above, Dye recommended that the women’s tee system include two tees, similar to the teeing grounds for the men. The Minnesota study referenced above found that only approximately 20 percent of the time was a second tee built at an appropriate distance for women. Unlike the men, whose tees usually provide three choices in course length, women continue to have limited choice with
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only one tee. Furthermore, the study found the average distance between the women’s tee and the frst men’s tee (the next tee choice) was approximately 940 yards. This jump in distance is too far for women to work on graduated distance challenges that will improve their game. When women’s games improve such that they start hitting drives through fairways or beyond landing areas, a second tee is needed — or even a third. Imagine where women’s golf could be today if the tees had been built to Dye’s recommendations years ago. Tokenism? No, thank you Not only do women need to be at the decision-making table, but we also need to have a voice in making the decisions. When planning a women’s tee design and renovation or new installation project, make sure your women’s clubs are well represented on the design committee and/or greens committee. Women need to step up and take part in course renovations or new design activities. Representative participation will enhance the process and outcome of the project. Women need to have a bigger voice in the game if the game is to grow and be sustainable for years to come.
Kari Haug (www.karihaug.com) is an associate member of the European Institute of Golf Course Architects (EIGCA) and president/CEO of Kari Haug Planning & Design Inc., a golf course architecture company that specializes in sustainable golf course design and women’s golf. She is also a former physical therapist who has extensively studied environmental impacts on mental and physical health and wellness.
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GREEN LINE TEE SIGNS Stylish. Low maintenance. Weather-resistant tee signs. All signs include club logo, hole number, par, yardage with optional hole layout. Sign comes pre-drilled for easy installation. Please specify if you do not want the signs drilled when ordering. Green Line Mounting Post sold separately. Includes six color-matched mounting screws. CUSTOMIZED GREEN LINE CURVED SIGNS WITH LAYOUT 23 ½"H x 17 ½"W x ½"D (60 cm x 44 cm x 1 cm)
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AT THE TURN By Mark Leslie
Diamond zoysiagrass replaced bentgrass on the greens at Tanglewood Resort & CC in Pottsboro, Texas. The course’s managers say the conversion, in 2007, brought “peace of mind.” Photo courtesy of Milt Engelke, Ph.D.
(business)
It’s super zoysia! The products of years of turfgrass breeding have replaced creeping bentgrass at some courses in the South, restoring superintendents’ peace of mind.
Diamond zoysiagrass has made the leap from fairways and tees to putting greens.
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Life-preserver. Game-changer. Course-saver. Sounds like a tall order for Superman, let alone a turfgrass. Yet the object of these accolades is indeed a simpler life form: zoysiagrass. And its praise has quickly spread from Texas to the Southeast at golf courses where Diamond zoysiagrass has made the leap from fairways and tees to putting greens. The 2007 conversion from bentgrass to Diamond zoysia “absolutely saved our course,” says Mike Fish, director of golf at the Arnold Palmer-designed Tanglewood Resort & Country Club in Pottsboro, Texas, which annually hosts two major college competitions. For Tanglewood, he adds, “bentgrass was a nightmare,” but zoysia “has brought peace of mind — being able to sleep in the summertime.” “I hadn’t had a summer vacation in 20 years,” says GCSAA Class A superintendent Bob Land of Oconee Country Club in Seneca, S.C., who converted nine holes from bentgrass to Diamond zoysia in May 2012 and the second nine last June. “If you’ve got bent, you have to stay around because if anything can go wrong, it will when you leave. I used to wake up every morning worrying if I would have any greens (alive). Now I sleep better.” “From a superintendent’s standpoint, they actually get their lives back,” says Harold Kincaid, whose company leases and manages the municipal Reynolds Park Golf Course in WinstonSalem, N.C., which was converted from bentgrass to zoysia in 2012. “I’m a big defender of guys on the turfgrass side,” says Kincaid, the general manager and PGA professional. “They would wake up in the middle of the night with sweats about losing their
Top: Rolls of Diamond zoysia are installed on the prepared green surface. Photo courtesy of New Life Turf Bottom: Bob Land says speed “is pretty darn good” on the zoysia greens at Oconee CC in Seneca, S.C. Photo courtesy of Bob Land
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greens. With Pythium blight, it’s happened to a lot of courses, and they die in a couple days.” Kincaid poses the analogy of having Diamond zoysia or a new ultradwarf bermudagrass, compared to bentgrass. “During the summer months, they’re working out like going to the gym. And that’s when our business is the busiest: when the days are long. Our best revenue months are May through August and yet that’s when bentgrass is at its weakest, on emergency-room life support. Which green would you rather have — a green at its strongest or weakest during your busiest time?” “It’s a game-changer,” agrees Milt Engelke, Ph.D., professor emeritus at Texas A&M, who, with the late Jack Murray, Ph.D., of the USDA, traveled to Asia in 1982 and brought back 787 unique specimens of zoysiagrass. From that and other collections made over the years, several of the new zoysiagrasses have risen to national and international prominence. Murray also created the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP), which was initiated in the early 1980s. “Diamond stood out from all of the rest,” recalls NTEP executive director Kevin Morris, who had just been hired by Murray at the time. “Diamond is unique. You put it in a trial and mow at 1 inch and don’t get any clippings.” But zoysia is so slow-growing that most people wrote it off as an unworkable variety for putting greens. “We thought a sod grower would have to
sell it at such a high price,” Morris reasons. “But somehow they got it to grow in and sell it and fnd a niche for it.” “They” are Engelke and John Brown, president of New Life Turf sod farm in Norway, S.C. Yet Engelke, one of the country’s foremost turf breeders who has released seven other zoysia varieties, defers to Brown: “I give John Brown all the credit in the world for taking this to the greens. He’s done yeoman’s work and has a group of superintendents who are absolute believers. It’s a game-changer.” In turn, Brown credits other pioneers in the use of zoysiagrass on golf courses: Fish, who took a long look at the short-range green and large practice surface built by Doug Petersan at Austin Golf Club in Spicewood, Texas, and then made Tanglewood the frst regulation course to install Diamond greens; and Ken Mangum, CGCS at Atlanta Athletic Club, whose Diamond zoysia tees and fairways won high praise during the 2011 PGA Championship. After several years of experience changing greens to Diamond, Brown asserts, “We’re past the ‘proving stage.’ We’ve converted some quality golf courses from bermudagrass or bentgrass to Diamond, and we’re literally reducing the pesticide load on those greens — so much so that the savings in fungicides will pay for the renovation in a matter of four years.”
Pushing the boundaries Besides Tanglewood, Oconee CC and Reynolds Park, the zoysia converts include the George Fazio Course at Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort, Hilton Head, S.C.; Pilot Knob Park, Pilot Mountain, N.C.; Lakeview Golf Club, in Piedmont, S.C.; River Falls Plantation, Duncan, S.C.; The Creek Golf Club, Spartanburg, S.C.; Charlotte (N.C.) Golf Links; Big Cypress Golf Club, Lakeland, Fla.; Sapona Ridge Country Club, Lexington, N.C.; and Par III West, Greenwood, S.C. Though these are mainly Carolinas facilities, Brown has expanded sales into Georgia and Tennessee and has engaged longtime turf expert Tommy Nalls of Classic Course Services to help him in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and beyond. In fact, Engelke says zoysiagrass grows naturally between 45 degrees north latitude and 45 degrees south latitude. But its agronomic and fnancial advantages over bentgrass increase the farther south the comparisons are made. And different courses have converted for different reasons — agronomic, fnancial or aesthetics (read: retaining trees). Got a problem with shade? No worries with zoysia. Too much heat and humidity? Ditto. Salt? No problem. According to Engelke, zoysia even outperforms paspalums in that regard by actually remediating the salt out of the soil. “It has salt glands and actually pulls salt out of the soil and puts it on the leaves, where it’s removed by mowing. During peak season it does require clippings be gathered, however,” he says. “Paspalums tolerate salt, but at some point you have to fush it out.” The most important reason for some courses to change is their fnancial survival. “We couldn’t afford (to continue with bentgrass),” says Land at Oconee CC. “Looking to the future, we had to change to something we could afford. The pesticides, fungicides, water and labor simply cost too much.” At Tanglewood, Fish says, “With the fnancial situation in golf we didn’t want to spend the (money for) chemicals, water and labor and watch the bentgrass wilt in July and August, which is what it did the previous four years. Some years were better than others, but the greens needed syringing in the afternoons, more chemicals, a huge amount of labor. “But with zoysia, the hotter it gets, the better they get,” he continues. “It doesn’t need nearly the amount of water. The only issue is, in the spring we get a little fairy ring. It’s just a cosmetic thing that won’t kill the grass but has a very distinct look. We spray a product
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Bentgrass-to-zoysia greens converts include the Fazio Course at Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort in Hilton Head, S.C. Photo courtesy of New Life Turf
and it goes away.” Fish says that in its worst year Tanglewood spent $55,000 in chemicals to maintain bentgrass. “That’s not including fertilizers,” he says, “and even then there’s no guarantee [bentgrass will survive]. Besides that, we needed to walkmow the bent; now we can ride.” Chemicals for the zoysia greens total just $7,000 to $8,000 a year, Fish says. The results are in “I love it,” says Gary Newcomb at Big Cypress. “We’ve had no issues with it at all.” “I’m very happy with (the conversion),” says Land. “Better still, my greens and members are getting happier every day.” “Since the new greens were installed [at Reynolds Park], we’ve had nothing but rave reviews,” says Tim Grant, director of the Winston-Salem Recreation and Parks Department, who has decided to make the switch at the city’s second layout, Winston Lake Golf Course. At Reynolds Park, Kincaid says the zoysia greens roll differently from bent. “They’re very durable. We have in excess of 200 rounds on a good day and the next morning they look like the morning before. “It’s amazing how they grow. When it’s 100 degrees, our greens are lush while old courses with bentgrass are struggling just to stay alive, spending $1,000 to $2,000 a week on fungicides and we’re not doing any of that. “In the summer time we’re not hand watering and applying fungicides. We do have to topdress more with fner sand because the zoysia’s so aggressive. We verticut more and have groomers on both our riding greens mowers.
The cost of conversion Brown says the average golf course contains 2.5 acres of greens, and the size of a course’s greens largely dictates the cost of conversion. While the cost for Oconee CC’s smallish 80,000 square feet in putting surfaces was approximately $100,000, the cost for 19 greens at Reynolds Park was $220,000. The estimate for Winston Lake is $237,500. Proponents of zoysia greens argue that the lower maintenance costs and shortened shutdown time to install it, compared to the alternatives, mitigate that outlay. “I know we saved a lot of money the frst year — at least $20,000 to $25,000,” says Land. “You can ride-mow these greens and there’s no hand-watering, both of which save on labor.” Brown says he converts nine holes at a time in as little as 10 to 12 days, so that courses can keep their revenue stream fowing. The conversion itself can be done by various methods. At Big Cypress, says Newcomb, a GCSAA Class A superintendent and 21-year member of the association, “We sprayed everything out with Roundup/Fusilade, stripped them 2 inches deep, then rototilled 6 inches deep and added amendments to get things back in shape. After applying Basamid, we waited eight or 10 days to give it time to work. Four days after the sod was laid, golfers were playing the course.” A second method has the golf course’s crew kill the existing turf with Roundup. The sod crew then strips the greens to 1 or 2 inches deep (a one-day process), the golf course crew aerifes the greens, and then the sod crew lays down a layer of sand, smoothing out rough
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spots and installing the sod. At Oconee, Land took another approach: the greens were aerifed, Brown’s crews used a sod-cutter to strip off the top inch, the course was fumigated with Basamid (“or methyl bromide if you can get it,” Land says) and watered heavily for two weeks. Finally, Brown’s crew foated the greens and sodded them. Kincaid says if he were to do anything differently, it would be to add 2 inches of sand instead of 1 inch — something they did on the second nine — when foating the green before sodding. Land agrees with having a deeper layer of materials: “I like a green to be good and smooth before laying the sod so you don’t have to use so much topdressing. I’d use a lot more sand beforehand to get the surface as smooth as possible. “Our frst nine holes were a learning process,” he adds. “I had to roll them every day for about 30 days. The second nine we had learned our lesson. We made sure the surface was a lot smoother the second nine.” Land says zoysia takes a while to grow in and for the seams to come together well. He recommends topdressing heavily at frst, but warns against fertilizing, which, he says, can cause the zoysia to get thatchy and then “you’ll be sorry.”
Negatives, anyone? When considering a conversion, every course faces unique circumstances. Kincaid at Reynolds Park says, “If I’m going to have a PGA event and I’m at a private club and I want the greens to Stimp 12 to 13 in the summer months, I’ll look at (an ultradwarf bermudagrass). But at a municipal golf course looking for playability, not wanting to cut trees and with minimal change in slopes, I’d highly recommend Diamond. “It entirely depends on the golf course you’re operating. We want people playing golf, to keep playing it and introduce new golfers to the game, so our goals are different than a private club aiming at a major amateur or professional tournament.” A major concern for some superintendents is that zoysias, because of their upright growth, generally putt slower than bentgrasses or ultradwarf bermudas. Brown maintains that “seven to eight months of the year we can have Diamond rolling 11 to 13 [on the Stimpmeter]. The only time it’s an issue is in the dead heat of summer when its speed is around 9.” Fish says, “What we battled in the beginning was speed. We worried about getting fast enough. That was a question the frst year. We Stimped at 9. It grows so fast in the summertime that that’s when they actually slow down.
The speed now is higher than anyone would have predicted. It’s at 11.5 in the wintertime and 9.5 to 10 in the summer. We’re a member and resort course so we don’t need anything more than that. “Our second concern,” he adds, “was excessive frmness. But through venting, the frmness has been moderated and gotten much better.” Land simply says Oconee’s speed “is pretty darn good.” Kincaid says Reynolds Park mows at 0.01 inch, while Pilot Knoll Park has been as low as 0.085. “In the summer months we have above 9 on the Stimpmeter. I don’t want people 3-putting, but (I want) to keep play moving and (to see) people enjoying themselves,” he says. Another thing people overseeing maintenance don’t mind about zoysiagrass greens is shorter workdays. “My guys love them because we get to go home at 3:30, not 7,” says Oconee’s Land. Once zoysiagrass gains a toehold, Nalls says, “I think we will turn another curve in the turf industry.” A frequent contributor to GCM, Mark Leslie is a freelance writer based in Monmouth, Maine, and the author of “Putting a Little Spin on it: The Grooming’s the Thing.”
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(up to speed)
Two for the show! Thomas A. Nikolai, Ph.D. nikolait@msu.edu
In a world where information is available immediately via the Internet, I believe the turfgrass conference is still the most reliable method to stay up to speed on the newest advancements in our industry.
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In a world where information is available immediately via the Internet, I believe the turfgrass conference is still the most reliable method to stay up to speed on the newest advancements in our industry. The conference has several advantages over other forms of information gathering. The most obvious advantage of attending conferences is the trade show foor. Yes, you can look at equipment on the Internet, but there is nothing like being able to touch all the new machines and make product comparisons at one site or chat with fertilizer and pesticide representatives about advancements in their products. After chatting with industry reps, the attendees can compare notes with their peers to make an educated investment. Another less obvious advantage, unbeknownst to most superintendents, is that research is almost always presented live before it is published in trade journals. This is because most groundbreaking research is not available to the public until it is initially published in a scientifc journal. Unfortunately, earning publication in a scientifc journal not only takes months, but often years. The fact of the matter is that by the time many research results appear on the Internet, many of the fndings are old news to those who regularly attend conferences. This fact is not lost on turfgrass researchers. This conference season I was brought up to speed by Chas Schmid, a graduate student at Rutgers University, presenting data on how he achieved decreases in anthracnose with proper potassium fertilization. I was equally enlightened as Aaron Patton, Ph.D., from Purdue University, demonstrated how to kill bermudagrass in cool-season grass — remarkable — and how to use new chemistries to prevent dandelions from fowering. The scariest presentation I sat in on this past season was given by Jim Brosnan, Ph.D., University of Tennessee, who was citing cases of herbicide resistance. Fortunately, those in attendance were taught how to avoid this problem on their golf courses or how to remedy the problem if their weeds were already showing signs of resistance. With that said, the presentations that captivate me the most are often given by golf course superintendents. This conference season I saw
Mike Morris, CGCS at Crystal Downs Country Club in Frankfort, Mich., lead a conversation about the benefts of HDPE pipe. Other presentations that stuck with me include Curtis Tyrrell, CGCS, from Medinah (Ill.) Country Club, demonstrating his preparations for the Ryder Cup; Aaron McMaster recapping the complete renovation of Orchard Lake (Mich.) Country Club; Kyle Sweet, CGCS at The Sanctuary Golf Club, talking about aerifying into seashells on environmentally sensitive Sanibel Island; and innovative (or crazy) Matt Shaffer of Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa., who rolls his fairways, double-rolls his greens and rarely topdresses his putting surfaces. These professional testimonials keep me in touch with the industry more than anything I can fnd on the Internet. This brings us to one of the most important advantages of attending conferences, which is socializing with peers. At lunch the tables are full of debate about the morning presentations. Obviously, these conversations continue following the afternoon sessions and, with little effort, the presenter can be engaged in the discussion. The scrutiny that takes place is an integral part of the unique experience that allows participants to decide if it is possible for them to implement any of the strategies discussed during the conference at their golf facility. Don’t get me wrong, the Internet is a tremendous communication tool, but nothing beats the sheer volume of knowledge and educational resources that can be gained from a well-planned conference. Certainly, cost to attend conference is a legitimate concern and the Internet is far less expensive and a tremendous tool. But remember, you get what you pay for.
Thomas A. Nikolai, Ph.D., is the turfgrass academic specialist at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Mich., and a frequent GCSAA educator.
Disease updates Editor’s note: Each year, GCM publishes reports of previously unknown diseases, sightings in areas where diseases have not been seen previously and other news of turfgrass diseases. The following reports were previously published in the journal Plant Disease.
(Report) First report of Curvularia inaequalis and Bipolaris spicifera causing leaf blight of buffalograss in Nebraska Buffalograss (Buc loe dactyloides [Nutt.] Engelm.) is a warm-season turfgrass native to the mid-plains of North America having
exceptional heat, cold and drought tolerance. In the past few decades, many turf-type buffalograss cultivars have been commercially released. During the summer of 2011, foliar blight was observed on buffalograss lawns in Lincoln and Waverly, Neb. Disease symptoms were common when buffalograss was growing above 86 F (30 C) and in drought conditions. Disease symptoms began as dark
Patches of thinning buffalograss are the result of leaf blight caused by Curvularia and Bipolaris species in mid-summer in Lincoln, Neb. Photos by B.S. Amaradasa
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brown, oblong leaf spots, followed by leaf tip dieback and eventual blighting of entire tillers. Leaf infections would progress into patches of thinning turf. Diseased leaf pieces were cultured and observed under a microscope to identify the causal organisms. Two fungal species having conidial morphology of Curvularia and Bipolaris were isolated. Colonies of Curvularia isolates grown on potato dextrose agar at 77 F (25 C) appeared velvety and dark greenish to grayish black after one week, while Bipolaris cultures were brownish gray with olive-green margins. The two species were identifed as Curvularia inaequalis (Shear) Boedijn and Bipolaris spicifera (Bainier) Subram. Conidia of C. inaequalis were mostly straight to slightly curved, 17.4 to 37.1 × 7.2 to 12.6 micrometers, pale brown to brown, and three to four septate. Conidia of B. spicifera were 18.5 to 30.3 × 7 to 11.4 micrometers, ellipsoidal or oblong, light brown and three-septate. DNA testing was used to confrm the identity of the two pathogens. Pathogenicity of the two species was tested on the buffalograss cultivar Prestige. Stolons of Prestige were established in 4-inch (10-centimeter) square pots flled with potting medium. The pots of buffalograss were kept in an 86 F greenhouse with a 12-hour photoperiod for 12 weeks. One isolate of
each species representing each collection site (two isolates per each species) was cultured on potato dextrose agar plates, and conidial suspensions of 1.5 × 106 spores/milliliter in sterile water were prepared. Each isolate was inoculated to three pots of Prestige by spraying 15 milliliters of spore suspension per pot. Control pots of Prestige were sprayed with water. Pots were sealed in transparent plastic bags, and every other day, the bags were opened for a few hours and the plants were sprayed with water to encourage infection. Isolates of C. inaequalis were more virulent, with initial symptoms of foliar spots appearing seven days after inoculation, followed by leaf tip dieback and necrosis of infected
tillers. Bipolaris spicifera isolates induced similar symptoms 14 days after inoculation. Control pots were asymptomatic. Curvularia inaequalis and B. spicifera were successfully re-isolated from symptomatic tissue. To our knowledge, this is the frst report of identifcation of foliar blight causal pathogens on buffalograss in Nebraska. Source: Plant Disease, February 2014, 98(2):279. http://dx.doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-05-13-0487-PDN B.S. Amaradasa, Ph.D., is a post-doctoral research associate and K. Amundsen, Ph.D. (kamundsen2@unl.edu), is an assistant professor in the department of agronomy and horticulture, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Neb.
Leaf spots and leaf tip dieback are initial symptoms of buffalograss leaf blight.
(Report) First report of Ustilago cynodontis causing smut of bermudagrass in Washington state Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) is an important perennial turf and forage grass that is typically grown in warm, tropical and subtropical climates. Smutted inforescences of bermudagrass were observed and collected in Benton County, Wash., in October 2012 in an unmanaged, naturalized area located near the banks of the Columbia River and adjacent to large expanses of managed turf containing bermudagrass. The climate in this area is favorable to bermudagrass because of the relatively mild winters and hot, dry summers that usually occur in this region. The infected plants occurred in patches alongside healthy plants, and several disease foci were observed along a 328-foot (100meter) transect of non-contiguous bermudagrass. The disease was severe wherever it occurred. Diseased inforescences were distorted, frequently failed to fully emerge and develop, and were covered with black-brown teliospores, which serve as resting spores of the fungus. Teliospores (n = 80) were irregularly globose to subglobose, 5.3 to 7.0 × 4.5 to 6.2 micrometers (mean 6.4 × 5.9 micrometers) and 6.2 to 8.8 × 5.3 to 7.0 micrometers (mean 7.0 × 6.5 micrometers), with a smooth wall approximately 1 micrometer thick, and were consistent with previous descriptions of
Healthy (left) and diseased (right) bermudagrass inforescences collected from a naturalized riparian area in Washington state. The diseased inforescences on the right were found to be infected with bermudagrass smut, which is caused by the fungus Ustilago cynodontis. Photos courtesy of Jeremiah Dung Ustilago cynodontis teliospores. Teliospores germinated within 24 hours when plated on 0.2% malt agar at 61 F (16 C) and produced four-celled basidia in an arrangement also consistent with U. cynodontis. Basidia gave rise to lateral and terminal, ovoid-tolong ellipsoidal basidiospores. Basidiospores budded or germinated by hyphae and produced lateral or terminal aerial sporidia. Col-
lectively, the morphology of the teliospores, basidia and sporidia were similar to previous descriptions of U. cynodontis. DNA was extracted from sporidia of three single-spored isolates grown in malt extract broth. Genetic testing of the three isolates showed that they exhibited 99% to 100% identity with U. cynodontis strains previously deposited in GenBank. Representative
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specimens were deposited in the WSU Mycological Herbarium as WSP 72345 to WSP 72348. This is the frst report of U. cynodontis causing smut on bermudagrass in Washington state and represents the northernmost record of this fungus in North America. The occurrence of U. cynodontis in Washington suggests that the pathogen may exist in other
hot and dry areas of northwestern North America where bermudagrass can be associated with recreational, landscape or natural settings. Source: Plant Disease, February 2014, 98(2):280. http://dx.doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-05-13-0560-PDN J.K.S. Dung, Ph.D. (Jeremiah.Dung@oregonstate.edu), is
an assistant professor in the department of botany and plant pathology, Central Oregon Agricultural Research Center, Oregon State University, Madras, Ore.; L.M. Carris, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the department of plant pathology, Washington State University, Pullman, Wash.; and P.B. Hamm is station director and professor emeritus in the department of botany and plant pathology, Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Oregon State University, Hermiston, Ore.
(Report) Dollar spot disease on the oceanside sedge Trichophorum cespitosum Sclerotinia omoeocarpa is a fungal pathogen that causes dollar spot disease on more than 40 plant species, mostly in the family Poaceae, and is considered the most widespread pathogen of golf course turfgrasses in the St. Lawrence River region. In June 2011, lesions were observed on tufted bulrush, Tric o orum cespitosum (Poales, Cyperaceae), on the seashore near Peggys Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada. Single bunches had up to 40% of the leaves affected. The foliar symptoms were large hourglassshaped lesions, up to 2 inches (5 centimeters) long, with a straw-colored portion capped at two ends by dark zone lines on surrounding green foliar tissue. These lesions were similar to dollar spot lesions found on turfgrasses such as Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis). A fungus was isolated from symptomatic leaf segments and, after three days of growth on nutrient agar at room temperature, white fuffy mycelia covered the entire petri dish. Brown columnar structures began to form in the colony centers after seven days with abundant aerial growth, and cultures became cinnamon-colored after 14 days. Dark brown or black substratal stroma were formed on or in the agar, and cultures appeared dark brown from the bottom. DNA was extracted and amplifed using ribosomal DNA primers ITS1 and ITS4, and the DNA fragment sequenced (GenBank Accession No. KF447776). The sequence showed a top match of 522/524 bp identity with the ITS sequence of an isolate of S omoeocarpa, with the next 40 top matches also identifed as S. omoeocarpa. This was an un-
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Dollar spot lesions on tufted bulrush (Trichophorum cespitosum) on the seashore near Peggys Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada. Photos by T. Hsiang
expected fnding, so attempts were made to test the ability of this isolate to cause disease on turfgrasses. Two-week-old seedlings of Penncross creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera), Touchdown Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis) and Express perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) were inoculated by placing 0.2inch (5-millimeter) diameter mycelial plugs from fve-day-old cultures onto the leaves of plants grown in small containers, and incubating under enclosed humid conditions throughout the test. White aerial hyphae on the leaves and straw-colored leaf lesions were observed by seven days after inoculation on Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass, but no lesions or hyphal growth were observed on creeping bentgrass. No signs or
symptoms were observed on leaves where sterile agar plugs were used as inoculum. These tests were repeated three times with the same results, and a positive control was included by using an S. omoeocarpa isolate known to be pathogenic to creeping bentgrass under the same test conditions. Disease was observed on creeping bentgrass with the control isolate but never with the isolate from T. cespitosum. Sclerotini omoeocarpa was reisolated from the lesions on Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass to satisfy Koch’s postulates. To the best of our knowledge, this is the frst report of S. omoeocarpa on T. cespitosum worldwide, involving an isolate that was found to cause disease on Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass, but was not pathogenic to creeping bentgrass in vitro.
TIFEAGLE
SOARS AT PRESTWICK C.C. “To be honest, Champion Paul Kaufman-Superintendent was on my mind early on, Prestwick Country Club because it was the sexy, Myrtle Beach SC in-vogue pick. But I put in a test green with TifEagle, MiniVerde and Champion, and after 2 years of playing around with all three, I got to see the limitations and strong points of each grass. I also looked at a lot of TifEagle courses. In the end, my bosses and I agreed that TifEagle was by far the best ultradwarf for Prestwick.” You’ll find TifEagle Bermudagrass at the spectacular Prestwick Country Club in Myrtle Beach SC. This links-style gem was designed by Pete Dye and his son P.B. Dye and opened in 1989. Superintendent Paul Kaufman is responsible for the day-to-day management and upkeep of this top-flight course that features towering dune-like berms, stairway bunkers and bulkhead-protected greens. It was Paul along with his bosses who made the decision to go with TifEagle. “Our Tifdwarf was really beginning to show its age and was getting to be almost unmanageable. On top of that, the Myrtle Beach area is so competitive. There are almost 100 courses here now in what’s essentially a one-mile by 30-mile strip, and the majority of them have ultradwarf
greens. From a competitive standpoint we were just lagging behind. So I put in a combination test green with TifEagle, MiniVerde and Champion and evaluated all three grasses for over two years. I also looked at a lot of other clubs, and talked to a lot of other superintendents, We decided to no-till and shut the course down on June 18th. Believe it or not, we were open for play on September 1 with superb new TifEagle greens.” Take a tip from Paul Kaufman. Whether you’re renovating your existing greens or planning a brand new facility, insist on the best. Specify certified TifEagle Bermudagrass by name. You can sod it, sprig it or even no-till it under the right conditions. Visit us on the web at www.tifeagle.com, or call 706 542-4525 for more information. TEAM
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UPGRADE TO TIFSPORT CHAMPIONSHIP-QUALITY BERMUDAGRASS Get a leg up on your competition. Upgrade to certified TifSport Bermudagrass like the Davis Love-desiged Retreat course at the Sea Island Golf Club in Sea Island GA. It has great color. It recovers very rapidly from heavy traffic, injury and droughts. It has a finer texture than Tifway 419 and most other bermudagrass varieties. It’s extremely cold tolerant, and its upright leaf blade orientation
and stiffness mean better ball lies in cut fairways and roughs. It also has a pleasing, uniform appearance, even during dormancy. Players love the way it plays, and you and your crew will appreciate how easy it is to manage. TifSport. It’s ideal for fairways, roughs and tees. For more info and a list of licensed TifSport growers visit our website at www.tifsport.com or call 706 552-4525.
Retreat Golf Course-Hole#6 Sea Island Golf Club - Sea Island GA
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The original host was not used in pathogenicity tests because it is considered an endangered species in many locations. These fndings extend the known host range of S. omoeocarpa and may indicate another source of inoculum of this fungus, especially for oceanside golf courses. We are continuing research to fgure out why this isolate could cause disease on tufted bulrush, perennial ryegrass and Kentucky bluegrass, yet not on creeping bentgrass. The answers may lead to a better understanding of the
genes involved in pathogenicity and eventually help to improve disease management. Source: Plant Disease, January 2014, 98(1):161. http://dx.doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-07-13-0703-PDN T. Hsiang, Ph.D. (thsiang@uoguelph.ca), is a professor and F. Shi is a research associate in the School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. This work was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
Dollar spot lesions on Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis) in mid-summer.
(Report) First report of Xanthomonas translucens causing etiolation on creeping bentgrass in Illinois, Kentucky and North Carolina Symptoms of etiolation, which is an abnormal elongation and yellowing of tillers, have been observed on creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.) putting greens for decades; however, symptoms are typically transient and not problematic. Reports of etiolation have become more frequent recently, and research supports the involvement of bacteria. During stressful summer periods in 2011 and 2012, 62 creeping bentgrass putting green samples were submitted to the North Carolina State University Turf Clinic exhibiting symptoms of etiolation, chlorosis and/ or general decline. Microscopic examination of stem and leaf tissue often showed bacterial streaming from the xylem tissue. Symptomatic tissue was surface disinfested in sodium hypochlorite (10% Clorox) for fve minutes, blotted dry and rinsed in sterile distilled water. Disinfested tissue was placed in a small drop of sterile distilled water on a glass microscope slide and cut to allow bacteria to stream into the water for two minutes. The resulting bacterial suspension was streaked onto three nutrient agar plates and incubated at 86 F (30 C) overnight. Bacterial colonies varied in morphology, and those present in the greatest number based on morphology were re-streaked to isolate individual colonies. Bacterial isolates were tentatively
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identifed to species using rDNA sequencing. Sequencing results showed isolates obtained from six locations (Illinois, Kentucky and North Carolina) having a positive match to Xant omonas translucens. Additional research is needed to confrm pathovar designation as X. translucens isolates were similar to both poae and graminis pathovars. A representative isolate was also examined for carbon source utilization resulting in a positive identifcation of X. translucens. This isolate was used to inoculate six-week-old seeded Penn A-1 creeping bentgrass plants maintained at a height of 0.4 inch (1 centimeter) in 1.38-inch (3.5-centimeter) diameter conetainers. Scissors were dipped in a cell suspension and used to cut healthy creeping bentgrass plants at a height of 0.4 inch, and the remaining suspension was applied to the
foliage until runoff using an atomizer bottle. Non-inoculated plants were cut and misted using sterile water. After inoculation, plants were placed in a sealed clear plastic container for 48 hours and then transferred to the growth chamber bench (86 F) receiving irrigation twice daily with distilled water. Etiolation was rated within each of the four replicates by counting the number of etiolated leaves that were easily observed as signifcantly higher than the rest of the turf canopy. Plants inoculated with X. translucens exhibited etiolation of the youngest leaf within 48 hours, whereas the non-inoculated plants did not. Symptoms were similar to observations in the feld, as etiolated leaves were chlorotic and easily extracted from the turf surface. Microscopic examination showed bacterial streaming and identifcation of bac-
Comparison of inoculated (left) to non-inoculated (right) Penn A-1 creeping bentgrass maintained in the greenhouse at 86 F. Etiolation symptoms were continually observed in turf inoculated with Xanthomonas translucens as shown here at four weeks after inoculation. Photo by J.A. Roberts
teria (using the previously described methods) was positive for X. translucens. Etiolation symptoms persisted over multiple weeks, but a decline in turf quality was not observed. Etiolation has been previously suggested as a precursor to bacterial wilt, caused by X. translucens pv. poae, on annual bluegrass (Poa
annua L.), and Acidovorax avenae has also been shown to produce etiolation on creeping bentgrass. To our knowledge, this is the frst confrmation of X. translucens as a cause of etiolation in creeping bentgrass. Source: Plant Disease, 2014, in press.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-05-13-0565-PDN Joseph Roberts, M.S., is a graduate research assistant; Lane Tredway, Ph.D., is an associate professor; and David F. Ritchie, Ph.D. (david_ritchie@ncsu.edu), is a professor and Extension specialist in the department of plant pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C.
(Report) First report of stubby root caused by Trichodorus obtusus on zoysia and bermuda in South Carolina In September 2011, diagnostic samples were taken from Tifway bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon Ă— C. transvaalensis) tees and from Emerald zoysiagrass (Zoysia japonica) roughs of a golf course in Charleston, S.C. Additional samples were taken from a sod farm located near Charleston from a feld of Empire zoysiagrass. The soil was sandy loam, and the samples were taken at a depth of 4-6 inches (10-15 centimeters) from symptomatic turf. Symptoms on bermudagrass and zoysiagrass included stubby roots and lightly to severely chlorotic or dead patches of irregular sizes and shapes. Nematodes were extracted by sugar centrifugal-fotation and counted. The predominant nematode species recovered was a stubby root nematode, Tric odorus obtusus Cobb. Nematode densities were 30 to 170/6.1 cubic inches (100 cubic centimeters) of soil (average 94, n = 5) at the sod farm, and 30 to 230 (average 107, n = 7) at the golf course. Tri odorus obtusus has been reported as a pathogen of bermudagrass in Florida, where it is more damaging than Paratric odorus minor, the other stubby root nematode commonly associated with turfgrass. In Florida, a density of 120 T. obtusus/6.1 cubic inches is considered high risk. We have encountered several additional samples from across South Carolina with similar or higher densities since our frst diagnosis. Infested soil (94 individuals/6.1 cubic inches) collected from the sod farm was put into columns and planted with Empire sod and maintained in the greenhouse. After 140 days, the population density increased to an average of 230 individuals/6.1 cubic inches
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(Above) Trichodorus obtusus female from South Carolina (length = 1,235 micrometers). (Right) Root symptoms of the stubby root nematode, T. obtusus, on zoysiagrass. Photos by Brad Shaver
of soil. Plants were prone to wilting, and new root growth showed symptoms similar to those observed in the feld. Morphologic and morphometric identifcation of T. obtusus was made by examining male and female specimens in temporary water mounts. Males had ventrally curved spicules with three ventral precloacal papillae, with the posterior papilla just anterior to the head of the retracted spicules, one ventromedian cervical papilla anterior to the excretory pore, and tail with non-thickened terminal cuticle. Females had a deep, barrel-shaped, pore-like vulva, and one or two postadvulvar lateral body pores on each side. Males and females had distinctly offset esophagus. Females (n = 10) were 1,100 to 1,440 (1,250) micrometers long, body width 40 to 53 (45) micrometers, onchiostyle 63 to 75 (67) micrometers, and V 583 to 770 (673) micrometers. Males (n = 10) were 1,076 to 1,353 (1,222) micrometers long, body width 33 to 45 (39) micrometers, onchiostyle 62 to 69 (65) micrometers, and spicule 55 to 63 (59) micrometers. A section of the rDNA region was sequenced from individuals representing the two locations. A search revealed no similar
sequences to those of our two populations. As such, it appears that these are the frst sequences of this portion of the rDNA for T. obtusus, although a different, non-overlapping portion was found under the synonym T. proximus. To our knowledge, this is the frst report of T. obtusus on zoysiagrass and the frst report of the species on bermudagrass in South Carolina. Source: Plant Disease, June 2013, 97(6):852. http://dx.doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-10-12-0932-PDN J B. Shaver is a graduate student in plant and environmental sciences; P. Agudelo, Ph.D. (pagudel@clemson. edu), is an associate professor and nematologist; and S.B. Martin, Ph.D., is a professor in turfgrass pathology in the School of Agricultural, Forest and Environmental Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, S.C.
Steven J. McDonald, M.S. Richard Grala Bruce B. Clarke, Ph.D.
Reducing brown ring patch severity on Poa annua greens Brown ring patch is similar to other Rhizoctonia diseases, but does not react the same way to fungicides.
Symptoms of brown ring patch start as small yellow rings with green grass in the center and can ultimately reach a few feet in diameter. The yellow rings can turn an orange or brown color as the disease progresses, and the pathogen may eventually kill affected turf. Photos by Steve McDonald
We have conducted joint research studies on the management of brown ring patch since 2010. From a feld research perspective, this disease has been challenging to work with because it is diffcult to fnd naturally infected putting greens with uniform disease incidence and severity. The main body of research presented in this paper comes from work conducted in 2010 and 2011 on a putting green in New Jersey that exhibited an unusually uniform distribution of brown ring patch symptoms. Additional data were obtained in 2012 and 2013 from smaller research trials on putting greens in Pennsylvania with less severe disease pressure. Brown ring patch has become an important disease of annual bluegrass (Poa annua) putting greens in the Northeastern region of the United States since 2007 (6). The disease Brown ring patch is caused by Waitea circinata var. circinata (sometimes referred to by its asexual stage R izoctonia circinata var. circinata) and is a serious disease of short-mowed annual bluegrass turf throughout much of the cool, humid regions of the United States. In New Jersey and much of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions, this disease is often observed from early spring — when annual bluegrass is breaking dormancy — through late spring. However, in cooler regions, it can be a problem during the summer when air temperatures range from 65 F to 95 F (18 C to 35 C). Although the same pathogen can also signifcantly damage roughstalk bluegrass (P. trivialis) and creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera) (4,6), our
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Fungicide products Fungicide Affirm 11.3WDG Banner MAXX 1.3ME Briskway 2.7SC
Fungicide group
Manufacturer
polyoxin-D
polyoxin
Nufarm/Cleary
propiconazole
DMI
Syngenta
azoxystrobin + difenoconzaole
QoI + DMI
Syngenta
Chipco 26GT 2SC Chipco Signature 80WDG
Active ingredient
Study years†2010
2011
C
C, P C
iprodione
dicarboximide
Bayer
Aluminum-tris (fosetyl-AL)
phosphonate
Bayer
triticonazole
DMI
Bayer
thiophanate-methyl
benzimidazole
Nufarm/Cleary
C
C, P
chlorothalonil
chloronitrile
Syngenta
C
C, P
C
Chipco Triton Flo 3.1SC Cleary 3336 4F Daconil Ultrex 82.5WDG Endorse 2.5WP
C
C, P C, P
C
C, P
polyoxin-D
polyoxin
Arysta
Headway 1.39ME
azoxystrobin + propiconazole
QoI + DMI
Syngenta
Heritage TL 0.8ME
azoxystrobin
QoI
Syngenta
C
C, P
Medallion 50WP
fludioxonil
phenylpyrrole
Syngenta
C
C, P
Medallion 1SC
fludioxonil
phenylpyrrole
Syngenta
Pentathlon 4LF
mancozeb
dithiocarbamate
SePRO
ProStar 70WG
flutolanil
SDHI
Bayer
Secure 4.17SC
fluazinam
pyridinamine
Syngenta
Tartan 2.4SC
triadimefon + trifloxystrobin
DMI + QoI
Bayer
Torque 3.6SC
tebuconazole
DMI
Nufarm/Cleary
C, P
tebuconazole + polyoxin-D
DMI+ polyoxin
Nufarm/Cleary
P
penthiopyrad
SDHI
Syngenta
P
Velista 50WDG + Banner MAXX 1.3MEC
penthiopyrad + propiconazole
SDHI + DMI
Syngenta
P
Velista 50WDG + Daconil Ultrex 82.5WDG
penthiopyrad + chlorothalonil
SDHI + chloronitrile
Syngenta
P
Velista 50WDG + Heritage 50WDG
penthiopyrad + azoxystrobin
SDHI + QoI
Syngenta
P
Torque 3.6SC + Affirm 11.3WDG Velista 50WDG
2013
C, P
C C
C C, P C
C, P C, P
C
C, P
â€
Each fungicide was applied as curative (C) or preventive (P) in each trial year.
Table 1. Fungicides tested (in alphabetical order), their active ingredients and fungicide groups, and research sites.
research with this disease was conducted exclusively on annual bluegrass. Symptoms of brown ring patch start as small yellow rings (0.25-2 inches [0.635-5 centimeters] wide) with green grass in the center and can ultimately reach a few feet (>0.5 meter) in diameter. The yellow rings can turn an orange or brown color as the disease progresses and, in some cases, the pathogen may eventually kill affected turf. After a severe outbreak, the rings may be sunken, are extremely slow to heal and can adversely affect golf ball roll. In addition, rings of this disease often appear as a series of smaller interconnected crescents, rather than the fairly circular rings typically observed with yellow patch (R izoctonia cereale), a pattern that can
often be used in the feld to distinguish between these similar diseases. Because of the destructive nature of brown ring patch, superintendents usually resort to frequent fungicide applications to manage it. In previous research, brown ring patch effcacy data from California, Virginia and Illinois demonstrated that there was variation in fungicide control depending on the number of applications made and whether treatments were applied on a preventive or curative basis (2). There have also been laboratory studies evaluating fungicide effectiveness, but few feld fungicide effcacy trials have been reported in the northeastern United States. Furthermore, since brown ring patch has only recently been recognized as a disease of
annual bluegrass turf, limited data are available about the impact of preventive and curative fungicide applications or the impact of post-application irrigation on fungicide performance. Because the pathogen survives in the lower canopy and thatch, fungicide placement may also affect disease control. Earlier research Researchers in California investigated the impact of nitrogen fertilizer source and the vegetative suppressant Primo MAXX (trinexapac-ethyl, Syngenta) on the severity of brown ring patch (5). Their research indicated that increasing fertilizer inputs (from 0.5 to 1.0 pound nitrogen/1,000 square feet [2.4 to 4.8 grams/square meter]) reduced the
03.14 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT
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solani), but their effect on brown ring patch has only recently been evaluated.
Curative fungicide trial, 2010 Treatment No./name
Rate/1,000 square feet
% brown ring patch† April 16
April 28
May 7
Curative treatments applied April 8, 2010 1. ProStar 70WP 2. Endorse 2.5WP
2.2 ounces
10.0 a‡
6.9 ab
14.0 bcd
0.9 ounce
7.2 a
8.0 ab
17.0 a-d
3. Heritage TL 0.8ME
2.0 fluid ounces
7.9 a
2.8 b
1.5 d
4. Banner MAXX 1.3ME
2.0 fluid ounces
11.9 a
24.4 a
32.3 ab
5. Cleary 3336 4FL
4.0 fluid ounces
5.9 a
12.7 ab
10.6 cd
3.25 ounces
9.3 a
19.1 ab
23.3 abc
6. Daconil Ultrex 82.5WDG 7. Chipco 26GT 2SC
4.0 fluid ounces
9.4 a
11.7 ab
13.3 bcd
8. Tartan 2.4SC
2.0 fluid ounces
10.8 a
6.8 ab
13.0 bcd
0.5 ounce
7.1 a
9.6 ab
8.6 cd
9. Medallion 50WP 10. ChipcoTriton Flo 3.1SC 11. Not treated
0.75 fluid ounce
7.8 a
6.9 ab
13.6 bcd
—
18.7 a
26.1 a
35.0 a
† Percent plot area blighted by brown ring patch was rated on a scale of 0%-100%, where 0 = no disease and 100 = entire plot area blighted. ‡ Means followed by the same letter are not signifcantly different from one another. Means were separated using Tukey’s HSD test, P = 0.05.
Table 2. Impact of curative fungicide applications on brown ring patch disease on a predominantly annual bluegrass putting green at Fiddlers Elbow Country Club, Bedminster, N.J., 2010.
severity of brown ring patch, although this has not typically been the case with other R izoctonia diseases (3). Moreover, Primo MAXX (5 fuid ounces/acre [0.365 liter/ hectare]) applied alone appeared to slightly increase disease severity when compared to the water control, but the combination of Primo MAXX and nitrogen fertilizers had no signifcant effect on the disease when compared to nitrogen applications alone (5). There have been no reports, however, on the impact of other plant growth regulators (PGRs) — such as Proxy (ethephon, Bayer) or Embark (mefuidide, PBI-Gordon), which are commonly used in spring to suppress annual bluegrass seedheads on greens — on this disease. Golf course superintendents maintaining predominately annual bluegrass putting greens generally apply either Embark or a tank mixture of Proxy and Primo MAXX before seedhead formation is visible (in the “boot” stage). This stage can be identifed by examining the base of the stems of annual bluegrass for swelling or bulging. A change in the stem base indicates that seedheads have begun to form. Seedhead suppressants are most effective when applied just before
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or at the time of swelling (1). Applying these PGRs several days after swelling has occurred or when seedheads are visible is generally less effective (1). Field observations suggest that outbreaks of brown ring patch may be enhanced by applications of these products; however, there are currently no reports in the literature to support this hypothesis. Our research The objectives of our research were to evaluate classes of fungicides commonly used on turf for their ability to control brown ring patch on a preventive or curative basis, to assess the impact of post-application irrigation on fungicide effcacy and to determine the impact of selected PGRs on disease severity. Two fungicides, Velista (penthiopyrad, Syngenta) and Secure (fuazinam, Syngenta), were still experimental materials when they were evaluated in our studies. Velista, which belongs to the carboxamide (succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor; SDHI) class of fungicides, is expected to reach the turfgrass market in 2014; and Secure, a contact fungicide, was brought to market in 2012. Both of these chemistries provide good to excellent control of brown patch (caused by R izoctonia
2010, 2011 and 2013 fungicide trials General materials and me ds All of the fungicides, active ingredients, fungicide groups, manufacturers and application timings used in this study are outlined in Table 1. Our two main brown ring patch fungicide trials were conducted on the 11th green of the Meadow Course at Fiddlers Elbow Country Club in Bedminster, N.J. Turf consisted of a mixed annual bluegrass and creeping bentgrass (70:30, respectively) putting green mowed at 0.125 inch (3.2 millimeters) fve days per week with a triplex reel mower. Extremely severe and uniform symptoms of brown ring patch had been observed on this green for approximately six years before our study, even though the superintendent had applied fungicides for control. Our treatments were applied in a water carrier volume of 2 gallons/1,000 square feet (81.5 milliliters/square meter) using a CO2pressurized boom at 38 psi (262 kpa) with 8008 EVS fat-fan nozzles. Treatment rates and application dates are shown in Tables 2 and 3. Plots were 5 feet × 5 feet (1.5 meters × 1.5 meters) and were replicated four times in a randomized complete block design. A different location of the green was used for each study. Plots were visually rated for percent symptomatic turf on a scale of 0% to 100%, where 0 = no symptoms and 100 = entire plot area blighted. Disease control was considered commercially acceptable if less than 5% of the turf area was blighted. Methods specific to the 2010 curative fungicide efficacy study The entire green was treated with the PGR (seedhead suppressant) Embark at 22.5 fuid ounces/acre (1.64 liters/hectare) on April 2 and 3 (total of 45 fuid ounces/acre [3.28 liters/hectare]). All fungicide treatments were applied once to a dry canopy on April 8, 2010.
2010 curative fungicide results Brown ring patch severity was low (<10%) at the initiation of the study, but the disease was uniformly distributed throughout the trial area. It’s important to note that the objective was to evaluate the effect of a single “early-curative” fungicide application on this disease. Most fungicides slowly reduced symptom severity over the study pe-
% brown ring patch, 2011 Treatment No./name
Rate/1,000 square feet
% brown ring patch† April 25
May 2
May 11
Preventive treatments applied March 22, April 11 and April 25, 2011 1. ProStar 70WP
2.2 ounces
1.00 cd‡
3.9 cd
2.5 cd
2. Affirm 11.3WDG
0.9 ounce
0.00 d
4.5 cd
4.3 cd
3. Heritage TL 0.8ME
2.0 fluid ounces
3.00 cd
3.5 cd
3.3 cd
4. Banner MAXX 1.3ME
2.0 fluid ounces
1.25 cd
14.5 bcd
15.5 cd
5. Cleary 3336 4FL
4.0 fluid ounces
37.3 ab
46.5 a
56.5 a
3.25 ounces
5.0 bcd
7.3 bcd
7.3cd
7. Chipco 26 GT 2SC
4.0 fluid ounces
22.8a-d
27.3 a-d
28.8 a-d
8. Tartan 2.4SC
2.0 fluid ounces
6.3 bcd
7.0 bcd
7.0 cd
0.5 ounce
3.3 cd
4.5 cd
4.5 cd
6. Daconil Ultrex 82.5WDG
9. Medallion 50WP 10. Chipco Triton Flo 3.1SC
0.75 fluid ounce
2.3 cd
3.3 cd
4.0 cd
11. Torque 3.6SC
0.9 fluid ounce
5.0 bcd
5.3 cd
6.0 cd
12. Pentathlon 4LF
10.0 fluid ounces
5.3 bcd
8.3 bcd
9.5 cd
6.0 ounces
14.8 a-d
20.8 a-d
22.5 bcd
0.5 ounce + 3.25 ounces
9.8 bcd
10.8 bcd
9.5 cd
0.5 ounce + 1.0 fluid ounce
8.5 bcd
11.8 bcd
12.0 cd
0.5 ounce + 0.2 ounce
4.0 cd
2.5 d
1.5 d
13. Chipco Signature 80WDG 14. Velista 50WDG + Daconil Ultrex 82.5WDG 15. Velista 50WDG + Banner MAXX 1.3ME 16. Velista 50WDG+ Heritage 50WDG 17. Velista 50WDG 18. Torque 3.6SC + Affirm 11.3WDG 19. Secure 4.17SC
0.5 ounce
5.0 bcd
10.5 bcd
13.0 cd
0.6 fluid ounce + 0.9 ounce
1.3 cd
1.5 d
2.0 d
0.5 fluid ounce
29.0 a-d
32.5 abc
33.8 a-d
Curative treatments applied April 25, 2011 20. ProStar 70WP
2.2 ounces
25.8 a-d
19.5 a-d
15.9 cd
21. Affirm 11.3WDG
0.9 ounce
22.0 a-d
13.5 bcd
11.5 cd
22. Heritage TL 0.8ME
2.0 fluid ounces
30.5 a-d
8.0 bcd
9.0 cd
23. Banner MAXX 1.3ME
2.0 fluid ounces
18.0 a-d
18.5 a-d
21.3 bcd
24. Cleary 3336 4FL
4.0 fluid ounces
27.5 a-d
36.3 ab
51.5 ab
3.25 ounces
31.5 a-d
25.0 a-d
23.5 a-d
26. Chipco 26GT 2SC
4.0 fluid ounces
26.5 a-d
25.8 a-d
27.0 a-d
27. Tartan 2.4SC
2.0 fluid ounces
45.3 a
29.8 a-d
26.5 a-d
0.5 ounce
17.8 a-d
9.5 bcd
9.3 cd
25. Daconil Ultrex 82.5WDG
28. Medallion 50WP 29. Chipco Triton Flo 3.1SC
0.75 fluid ounce
33.0 abc
17.8 a-d
16.8 cd
30. Torque 3.6SC
0.9 fluid ounce
28.8 a-d
15.5 bcd
18.0 cd
31. Pentathlon 4LF
10.0 fluid ounces
27.8 a-d
27.5 a-d
35.5 abc
6.0 ounces
22.3 a-d
22.5 a-d
25.0 a-d
0.5 fluid ounce
16.8 a-d
19.0 a-d
26.5 a-d
—
28.8 a-d
46.0 a
52.3 ab
32. Chipco Signature 80WDG 33. Secure 4.17SC 34. Not treated †
Percent plot area blighted by brown ring patch was rated on a scale of 0%-100%, where 0 = no disease and 100 = entire plot area blighted. Means followed by the same letter are not signifcantly different from one another. Means were separated using Tukey’s HSD test, P = 0.05.
‡
Table 3. Impact of preventive and curative fungicide applications on brown ring patch disease on a predominantly annual bluegrass putting green at Fiddlers Elbow Country Club, Bedminster, N.J., 2011.
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many commonly used turfgrass fungicides as possible in this study.
Curative fungicide trial, 2013 Treatment No./name†
Rate/1,000 square feet
% brown ring patch (2013)§ April 25
May 1
May 15
1. Headway 1.39ME
3.0 fluid ounces
9.5a‡
3.8b
0.0b
2. Briskway 2.7SC
0.5 fluid ounce
9.5a
5.8b
0.0b
3. Briskway 2.7SC
0.725 fluid ounce
10.0a
2.3b
0.0b
4. HeritageTL 0.8ME
2.0 fluid ounces
7.0a
3.3b
0.0b
5. Medallion 1SC
2.0 fluid ounces
10.0a
2.0b
0.0b
6.8a
20.5a
11.0a
6. Not treated †
Treatments were applied on April 25 and May 9, 2013. Means followed by same letter are not signifcantly different. Means were separated using Tukey’s HSD test, P = 0.05. Percent brown ring patch was rated on a 0-100% scale, where 0 = no disease and 100 = entire plot area blighted.
‡
§
Table 4. Brown ring patch as affected by curative fungicide applications on a predominantly annual bluegrass putting green in Boyertown, Pa., 2013.
riod, but no treatments provided complete control. On April 16 (8 days after application), there were no signifcant differences between treated and untreated plots (Table 2). By April 28 (20 days after application), only plots treated with Heritage TL (azoxystrobin, Syngenta) had less brown ring patch than the untreated control. Disease severity peaked (35% turf area affected) on May 7. On that date, all treatments, except Banner MAXX (propiconazole, Syngenta), Endorse (polyoxin-D, Arysta), and Daconil Ultrex (chlorothalonil, Syngenta), exhibited reduced disease severity compared to untreated turf. However, only Heritage TL provided acceptable control (<5% disease severity) by the end of the study. Met ods specifc to t e 2011 effcacy study Preventive treatments were initiated on March 22 and were reapplied on April 11 and 25. Curative treatments were applied once (April 25) when there was 18% to 33% brown ring patch present and were therefore considered “late-curative” (rescue) treatments. The entire green was treated with Embark TO for annual bluegrass seedhead suppression in mid-April at the label rate. 2011 preventive fungicide results Symptoms initially appeared on April 11 as orange-yellow to brown rings, 0.5-2 inches (1.3-5 centimeters) in width, and eventually ranged from 3 inches to 2 feet (7.6-61 centimeters) in diameter. Data representing the impact of preventive and curative fungicide
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GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 03.14
treatments on brown ring patch are presented in Table 3. No fungicide treatments provided complete control of brown ring patch, due to the severity of the disease epidemic. Brown ring patch severity peaked in this trial on May 11 at 52% turf area affected following a period of cool, humid and overcast weather. Turf receiving preventive fungicide treatments typically had signifcantly less brown ring patch than the untreated control, but this was not the case for most of the curative treatments. Preventive fungicide treatments that provided acceptable disease control throughout the study included Affrm (polyoxin-D, Cleary/Nufarm); Chipco Triton Flo (triticonazole, Bayer); Heritage TL; Medallion (fudioxonil, Syngenta); and Prostar (futolanil, Bayer); as well as tank mixtures of Torque (tebuconazole, Cleary/ Nufarm) + Affrm; and Velista + Heritage. Preventive treatments that had the highest levels of disease (that is, disease severity equivalent to the untreated control) were: Chipco 26GT (iprodione, Bayer); Chipco Signature (Aluminum-tris, Bayer); Cleary 3336 (thiophanate-methyl, Cleary/Nufarm); and Secure. From this study, it was apparent that, although these fungicides are useful for controlling other turfgrass diseases, they should not be used alone where brown ring patch pressure is high. It should also be noted that some of the fungicides in this study were not labeled for the control of brown ring patch and therefore were not expected to suppress this disease, but we felt it important to assess the disease suppressive activity of as
2011 curative fungicide summary No curative treatments provided acceptable control of this disease (<5% turf area infected), presumably due to the severity of the epidemic, the late timing of the curative treatments and the fact that only one application was made after symptoms appeared on April 11. While the level of curative brown ring patch control in this trial was generally fair to poor (8% to 52% turf area blighted), Affrm, Heritage TL, Medallion and Torque had signifcantly less disease than untreated turf on the majority of the rating dates. It’s important to note that disease severity of turf treated with late-curative applications of Banner MAXX, Cleary 3336, Chipco 26GT, Chipco Signature, Daconil Ultrex, Pentathlon (mancozeb, SePRO), Secure or Tartan was equivalent to the untreated control. Therefore, as previously mentioned, such fungicides should not be relied on as standalone treatments, especially when brown ring patch is present. Met ods specifc to t e 2013 effcacy study An additional curative feld trial was conducted in 2013 on an annual bluegrass research green located in Boyertown, Pa. Treatments were applied on April 25 and May 9 using the methods previously described for our 2010 and 2011 fungicide trials. The site was treated with Primo MAXX at (5 fuid ounces/acre [0.365 liter/hectare]) every 14 days from April 25 throughout the duration of the trial. Turf was mowed at 0.125 inch (3.2 millimeters) fve days per week with a Toro Flex 21 hand-reel mower. Disease severity was assessed (pre- and post-treatment) as percent turf area blighted by brown ring patch using the methods previously described for our 2010 and 2011 trials. Disease control was considered commercially acceptable if less than 5% of the turf area was blighted. The 2013 trial included two pre-mixed fungicides that were not included in our 2011 study — Briskway (azoxystrobin + difenoconazole; Syngenta) and Headway (azoxystrobin + propiconazole; Syngenta) — and were compared to Medallion as well as Heritage TL, which, in our 2010 and 2011 trials, had proven to be effective when applied on a curative basis.
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Following the completion of our trials, we saw a greening response in areas that had been severely blighted. This symptom is likely due to a breakdown of organic matter (thatch) and a release of nitrogen and other nutrients resulting in enhanced greening that could be confused with Type II fairy rings. 2013 curative fungicide summary The treatments were initiated on April 25 when brown ring patch was evenly dispersed throughout the study (7% to 10% disease), and there were no differences among the plots (Table 4). By May 1, all treatments reduced brown ring patch compared to the non-treated control (21% turf area infected). Brown ring patch severity decreased in untreated turf after May 1 with the onset of warmer air temperatures and, by May 15, complete control was observed for all fungicide treatments. Brown ring patch severity was moderate in this trial (7% to 21% in untreated turf). The data indicated that all of the fungicides tested (Briskway, Headway, Medallion SC and Heritage TL) provided acceptable disease when applied twice on a curative basis under moderate disease pressure.
Annual bluegrass growing in the aerifcation holes from the previous autumn was seemingly unaffected by brown ring patch. This could be due to several reasons, but less organic matter and improved turf quality are likely two factors.
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GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 03.14
Fungicide suggestions for the management of brown ring patch To our knowledge, the 2011 trial reported here is the frst to evaluate a broad range of
fungicide chemistries commonly available in the turfgrass market for both preventive and curative control of brown ring patch. These data confrm previous research showing that fungicides such as Affrm, Heritage, Medallion and ProStar, which are known to be effective against other R izoctonia diseases, also provide high levels of brown ring patch control (2). Briskway and Headway are pre-mixed fungicides that contain a DMI (difenoconazole and propiconazole, respectively) combined with azoxystrobin (the active ingredient in Heritage TL). Our data from 2013 indicate that these pre-mixes are as effective as Heritage for the control of this disease when applied curatively under moderate disease pressure. Post-application irrigation and efficacy of curative fungicide treatments, 2011 Two of the most effective fungicides in our 2011 trial, representing two different chemical classes, were selected to evaluate the effect of post-treatment irrigation on curative control of brown ring patch. Heritage TL (2 fuid ounces/1,000 square feet [0.64 milliliter/square meter]) and Chipco Triton Flo (0.75 fuid ounce/1,000 square feet [0.24 milliliter/square meter]) were applied once curatively on April 25. The study was arranged as a split-plot design (each plot had an irrigated and non-irrigated half) with four replications. Water (0.15 inch [3.81 millimeters]) was supplied to the irrigated half of each plot immediately following fungicide application (within 5 minutes) using a watering can. Post-application irrigation improved brown ring patch control on turf treated with Chipco Triton Flo, but not Heritage TL (data not shown). Although these results are informative and suggest that post-treatment irrigation may improve brown ring patch control for some fungicide chemistries, additional research is needed before defnitive statements can be made since only two products were evaluated for one year in this small pilot study. Additional field observations Where brown ring patch was severe in our trials, a signifcant degradation of thatch occurred (visual observations), especially in untreated plots. Following the completion of our trials, we also saw a greening response in areas that had been severely blighted. This has previously been reported (6) and is shown
All PGR treatments resulted in better turfgrass quality when compared to the untreated control (data not shown). In the plots where seedheads were suppressed, turf remained a dark green color, and ball roll would likely have been more uniform.
in the photo. This symptom is likely due to a breakdown of organic matter (thatch) and a release of nitrogen and other nutrients resulting in enhanced greening that could be confused with Type II fairy rings (dark green stimulated turf in a circular patch). Fungicide applications targeting these fairy ringlike symptoms would likely have no effect if the patches were caused by brown ring patch. Another interesting feld observation was that annual bluegrass growing in the aerifcation holes from the previous autumn was seemingly unaffected by brown ring patch. This
could possibly be due to deeper rooting in the aerifcation holes resulting in improved plant health or because fertilizer had collected in these areas and enhanced turf vigor. It is apparent from this observation that further research is needed to determine the impact of aerifcation and rooting on brown ring patch. Effect of spring applications of PGRs on disease severity, 2012 This small trial was conducted on the same putting green at Fiddlers Elbow Country Club as our 2010 and 2011 fungicide trials, but in
03.14 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT
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a different quadrant of the green. The PGRs Primo MAXX (5 fuid ounces/acre [0.365 liter/hectare]), Proxy (217.8 fuid ounces/ acre [15.9 liters/acre]), Primo (5 fuid ounces/ acre) + Proxy (217.8 fuid ounces/acre), and Embark (22 fuid ounces/acre [1.6 liters/hectare]) were evaluated for their effect on brown ring patch and seedheads, in comparison to an untreated control, at early spring application timings and rates typically used on golf courses throughout the Northeast. All treatments were applied on March 20 and April 5, 2012, and turf was maintained as described in our 2011 fungicide effcacy study above. This trial did not receive applications of any other PGR or fungicide treatments in spring 2012. All PGR treatments resulted in better turfgrass quality when compared to the untreated control (data not shown). This was primarily due to increased seedhead formation on untreated turf resulting in a whitish-brown color that lowered visual quality estimates. Embark, Proxy alone and Primo + Proxy treatments reduced seedheads compared to untreated and Primo-treated turf on the majority of rating dates in this study (data not shown). In the plots where seed-
RESEARCH SAYS • Limited data are available on the effect of preventive versus curative fungicide applications, posttreatment irrigation and PGR use on the severity of brown ring patch. • Preventive fungicides that provided acceptable disease control included Affirm, Chipco Triton Flo, Heritage TL, Medallion and Prostar, as well as tank mixtures of Torque + Affirm and Velista + Heritage. • Curative fungicide treatments did not always provide acceptable control of brown ring patch. • Post-application irrigation appeared to improve curative disease control when Chipco Triton Flo (but not Heritage TL) was applied, and turf treated with Proxy + Primo had greater brown ring patch severity than the untreated control; however, additional research is needed to confirm these observations and to more fully understand the impact of post-treatment irrigation and PGRs on this disease.
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GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 03.14
heads were suppressed, turf remained a dark green color, and ball roll would likely have been more uniform. Although all PGRs in this study except Proxy alone exhibited “numerically” more brown ring patch (greater disease severity) than untreated turf, only turf treated with Proxy + Primo had signifcantly more disease than the untreated control on one rating date (data not shown). These data suggest that PGR treatments that provide a high level of annual bluegrass seedhead and foliar growth suppression during spring may intensify brown ring patch disease on annual bluegrass putting greens. However, since this study was only conducted for one year, additional research is needed before this theory can be confrmed. Integrated management of brown ring patch Brown ring patch is a unique turfgrass disease that does not respond to management and environmental conditions in the same way as other diseases caused by R izoctonia. Historically, many R izoctonia diseases of cool-season turf have been associated with high levels of fertility and are not known to be affected by PGRs (3). Brown ring patch thrives under a wide range of temperatures that, in some regions, can be present from March through November. Our observation that turf in aerifcation holes was less affected by this disease confrms some previous reports suggesting that the amount of thatch, organic matter and compaction may play a role in disease severity and control (3). Superintendents should realize that maintaining greens under conditions of low nitrogen fertility and aggressive PGR use (high rates and/or short application intervals) to enhance playability may lead to enhanced disease pressure and an increased reliance on fungicides to manage brown ring patch on annual bluegrass greens. Therefore, when environmental conditions favor disease development, less aggressive PGR use — as well as adequate irrigation, nitrogen fertility and fungicide applications — should be used to reduce the potential for severe brown ring patch epidemics. If PGRs are being used to suppress seedheads in early spring and the course has had a history of this disease, it would be prudent to make preventive applications of one of the fungicides found to be effective in this and other studies. Since fungicides are still
strongly relied on for brown ring patch management, selection of effective products is important because many of the fungicides commonly used on golf courses are not effective against this disease. Moreover, if brown ring patch becomes active, superintendents should not expect rapid symptom remission because research has shown that it typically takes 14-21 days or more for signifcant recovery to occur. Repeated fungicide applications on a 14-day interval and increased nitrogen applications will aid in recovery if conditions remain conducive for disease development. Acknowledgments We thank Fiddlers Elbow Country Club for the space and fexibility to conduct these trials on greens that remained in-play for the duration of the trials. We also thank Bayer, BASF, Cleary/Nufarm, DuPont, PBI-Gordon, SePRO and Syngenta for providing product and support for these trials. Literature cited 1. Dernoeden, P.H. 2013. Creeping Bentgrass Management. 2nd ed. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Fla. 2. McDonald, S.J., D. Settle, L. Stowell et al. 2009. Chemical control of brown ring patch. Golf Course Management 77(8):82-88. 3. Smiley, R.W., P.H. Dernoeden and B.B. Clarke. 2005. Compendium of Turfgrass Diseases. 3rd ed. APS Press, St. Paul, Minn. 4. Toda, T., T. Mushika, T. Hayakawa et al. 2005. Brown ring patch: A new disease on bentgrass caused by Waitea circinata var. circinata. Plant Disease 89:536-542. 5. Wong, F.P., C. Chen and L. Stowell. 2009. Effects of nitrogen and Primo MAXX on brown ring patch development. Golf Course Management 77(5):117-121. 6. Wong, F.P., and J.E. Kaminski. 2007 A new Rhizoctonia disease of bluegrass putting greens. Golf Course Management 75(9):98-103.
Steven McDonald (steve@turfgrassdiseasesolutions.com) is the founder of Turfgrass Disease Solutions LLC, Spring City, Pa., and an instructor in the Professional Golf Turf Program at Rutgers University. Richard Grala is a senior feld technician with Turfgrass Disease Solutions LLC. Bruce Clarke is the director of the Rutgers Center for Turfgrass Science and chairman of the department of plant biology and pathology and a 2014 recipient of GCSAA’s Col. John Morley Distinguished Service Award.
CUTTING EDGE
The research described in these summaries is funded in part by the Environmental Institute of Golf.
Teresa Carson
Photo by Kevin Laskowski
Automated irrigation and traffc on annual bluegrass and creeping bentgrass
BMPs’ infuence on anthracnose disease control in annual bluegrass turf
Managing annual bluegrass (ABG) and creeping bentgrass (CBG) at set levels of irrigation is becoming a common practice. The objectives of this study were to determine how three set irrigation levels controlled by an automated irrigation system (16%, 12% and 8% water fraction volume [WFV]; integrated sensor system ISS) under various levels of traffc affect the performance of CBG and ABG greens. The frst year of data shows overall ABG requires more water to maintain the target WFV. For example, at 8% and 12% WFV, ABG used ~0.5 inch more water per month than CBG. Grass species did not play a role in the amount of water leached, but the level of irrigation did. Target WFVs maintained higher than expected soil volumetric water content (VWC) as measured by hand with time domain refectometry. At 16% WFV, season average VWC was ~28%; at 12% WFV, VWC was ~22%; and at 8% WFV, VWC was ~18%. In addition, a total of ~15 inches of rain occurred during the study (June–September 2013). We recommend close constant monitoring of VWC when using automated irrigation systems that report WFV. Physiological and hormone results will be reported after two years of data. — Emily Merewitz, Ph.D., and Kevin
Over the past decade, management practices such as mowing height, sand topdressing and nitrogen (N) fertility have been shown to infuence anthracnose severity, but it is not known whether these practices interact to affect disease severity, fungicide effcacy or playability of turf when used in combination. Two
Frank, Ph.D., Michigan State University
feld trials were initiated on annual bluegrass (ABG) turf to investigate these questions. Trial 1 examined the effects of mowing height, N fertility and fungicide programming on anthracnose severity. N fertility and fungicide programming and the interaction between these factors accounted for a majority of the disease response during the two-year study. Acceptable disease control was achieved with reduced fungicide rates or fewer thresholdbased applications of fungicides when greater N fertility and higher mowing height were applied. Trial 2 examined the effects of mowing height, N fertility and sand topdressing on anthracnose severity and playability of ABG turf. Similar to trial 1, greater N fertility provided the greatest reduction of disease severity, but mowing height had the greatest impact on ball roll distance. Low mowing height (0.09 inch) consistently produced ball roll distance ≥ 10 feet. — Charles J Schmid, James W. Hempfing, Bruce B. Clarke, Ph.D. (clarke@aesop.rutgers.edu), and James A. Murphy, Ph.D.
Teresa Carson (tcarson@gcsaa.org) is GCM’s science editor.
Photo by James W. Hempfing
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(Product news)
Pump
TECHNOLOGY Armstrong Fluid Technology launched Adept, a software selection program for commercial and residential pumps. Intuitive screen designs allow users to view line drawings, multi-curves, photos, voltage, motor size, inlets, outlets, accessories, seal operating limits, seal options, construction options and more than a dozen motor options. Key features include Quick Pick (users can add a product to their schedule with just a few clicks); Composite Curve Selection (patent-pending process of selecting a pump based on its operating range); and Smart Memory (Adept remembers your input and preferences so that you don’t need to duplicate any effort). Contact Armstrong Fluid Technology, 416-755-2291 ext. 611 (www.armstrongfuidtechnology.com)
Bandit Industries launched the Card Breaker System for hand-fed and whole-tree drum-style chippers. The Card Breaker works similar to a screening system, restricting oversized material from exiting the machine. The system is optional for most Bandit drum-style chippers, creating an even higher quality wood chip that is well suited for use in expanding biomass energy markets, the company says. “By creating a better chip, our customers can have a better product to sell on the biomass fuel market,” Bandit industries sales manager Jason Morey says. Contact Bandit Industries, 800-952-0178 (www. banditchippers.com). BASF’s Xzemplar fungicide and Lexicon Intrinsic brand fungicide now are registered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Both products contain the active ingredient fuxapyroxad, brand name Xemium. Air-O-Lator Corp. says that its Enterprise II is an energy- and cost-effcient option for aerating and that it is simple to install. The Enterprise II delivers air 4 feet below the surface of the water tank, mixing the water and keeping the odor down. Contact Air-O-Lator Corp., 800-821-3177 (www.airolator.com).
Sunburst Thermal Weed Control Equipment introduced SpHot Weeder, a hand-held fame weeder that uses less propane while simultaneously being more effective and less hazardous, the company says. It is ideal for fence lines, gravel driveways, parking areas, permeable pavement, etc. The technology contains and directs fames and heat that make it effective and effcient. Contact Sunburst Thermal Weed Control Equipment, 541345-2272 (www.thermalweedcontrol.com).
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Rosie’s Natural Way is showcasing the Dubbletten Urine Diverting Toilet. It is a sustainable waste management system that captures valuable nutrients while decreasing pollution. The separated-bowls design reduces water consumption by 80 percent through separate fushing systems for liquid and solids. Urine is diverted separately to a holding tank; contents can then be used as a nutrient-rich liquid fertilizer for agriculture or gardens. Dubbletten can be used in a building trying to achieve environmental standards such as LEED or Living Building Challenge. Contact Rosie’s Natural Way (www. rosiesnaturalway.com).
The Bobcat Co. released its new Tier 4 excavators: E42, E45, E50 and E55. They include a non-DPF (diesel particulate flter) engine solution. These four medium-sized M-series machines provide operators with all of the same performance benefts of the previous interim Tier 4 models. The machines also feature a new forward-mount instrumentation system that presents operators with many of the functions, aesthetics and visibility that come with other Bobcat loaders. Tier 4 non-DPF solution was achieved by designing an ultra-low particulate combustion (ULPC) engine. The ULPC is accomplished through a specially designed engine combustion chamber that signifcantly reduces the amounts of particulate matter created during combustion. The new engines used in E50 and E55 excavators have a 12 percent increase in torque. The new Tier 4 excavators feature a machine protection system that monitors, manages and shuts down the engine if needed. Contact the Bobcat Co., 800743-4340 (www.bobcat.com).
Lauren Wilson
Application
The United States Golf Association (USGA) launched an enhanced version of its Rules of Golf mobile application for iOS and Android devices. The application features a smart-search capability that connects users to the rules information contained in the most recent versions of the Rules of Golf and the Decisions on the Rules of Golf books. Part of the update is a streamlined sharing process for the distribution of the Rules and decisions via email. Direct links to www.usga.org have been added for quick access and for sharing with others. Additional features will be added to the app during 2014, including information regarding the Rules of Amateur Status. Rules of Golf is free and available for download via the iTunes Store or Google Play. More information is available at www.usga.org/mobile. Access to the Decisions on the Rules of Golf also is available for free for a limited time and will become an in-app purchase option beginning April 1.
Ace Torwel Inc. announced the Economizer Mini Pickup Truck and Utility Vehicle Spreaders in 1â &#x201E;3-yard capacity. The Mini spreader is designed for universities, homeowners and professionals. It is ideal for small narrow spaces, such as sidewalks. It spreads sand, salt, seed, lime fertilizer and other coarse materials. Made in the U.S., the Mini V-box spreaders are lightweight, made of 50/52 series aluminum (hopper) and 304 stainless-steel (frame) construction. They feature a quiet, durable 5.5-hp Honda gas engine with built-in overload protection. Operators can easily control the fow of material with an in-the-cab control panel that features on/off motor switch and on/off conveyor switch. A 35-foot cable for installation is included. A sealed rubber delivery system with belt over pintle chain supports continuous smooth fow of materials. All-aluminum material defectors with adjustable spreading width from 4 inches to 24 inches cover small and large areas. Contact Ace Torwel, 888-878-0898 (www.acetorwel.com).
TRAINING FMC Corp. offers new videos demonstrating proper guidelines for liquid pesticide applications. The videos take viewers step-by-step through applications of Talstar Professional Insecticide both outdoors and indoors and are part of an FMC initiative to promote environmental and product stewardship. Lauren Wilson, a technical representative for FMC and a licensed commercial applicator, demonstrates how to prepare for an outdoor application, including removing all pets, toys and people from the area. She then shows the proper personal protective equipment for applicators, how to prepare for an indoor application, proper storage of pesticides and how to prepare for an accidental spill. Contact FMC Corp., 215-299-6000 (www.fmc.com).
Larson Electronics developed the LEDA-10W-E26 Directional 10-Watt LED A19 style bulb. It is designed to ft in standard light bulb sockets and provides durability and multi-color adjustability that makes it ideal for industrial and commercial applications. It provides 1,050 lumens of light while only drawing 10 watts. Contact Larson Electronics, 800-369-6671 (www. larsonelectronics.com).
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Offcial Publication of
ProtoSports announced a campaign to fund the production of a new video stand for all types of Smartphones that will lend a helping hand to golfers, among others. The X Mount provides an affordable, lightweight design that can be used in golf cars with the clamp attachment for GPS or videos and use the cross-clip backing to turn the alignment rods into a mobile monopod to record swings anywhere on the golf course. Contact ProtoSports, 706207-0915 (www.protosports.com). Precision Laboratories introduced Border Turf & Ornamental Spray Performance Adjuvant. Border is designed to improve spray droplet adhesion and coverage on leaf surfaces and reduces off-target movement of spray mixes. It allows turf managers to maximize the effcacy and ROI of their plant protection and foliar nutrient products, the company says. Contact Precision Laboratories, 800-3236280 (www.precisionlab.com). Liquid Goose Repellent from Bird-B-Gone is a non-toxic liquid goose repellent used to make grass areas unpalatable to geese (it’s also safe around humans and pets). The active ingredient in Migrate Goose Repellent is non-toxic
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grape extract methyl anthranilate. The extract irritates birds’ trigeminal nerves and mucous membranes; they do not like the sensation caused by the extract and will avoid the area being treated. Liquid Goose Repellent is applied to grass or shrub areas where geese have been grazing. When geese go to graze on the treated areas, they will realize there is no longer a food source and move on. One gallon of Liquid Goose Repellent covers approximately 16,000 square feet for one application. The liquid repellent lasts three months outdoors and won’t wash off with rain or water. Contact Bird-B-Gone, 800392-6915 (www.birdbgone.com). Witt Industries announced the Paramount Series for its extensive line of waste and recycling receptacles. The Paramount Series is designed with a stainless steel body and contemporary perforated circle pattern to create a classic look. The series is made in the U.S. from 100 percent post-consumer recyclable heavy-gauge stainless steel for indoor or outdoor use. Contact Witt Industries, 800543-7417 (www.witt.com).
Submit items for “Product News” to hrichman@gcsaa.org
GCSAA Partners SupportYour Future PLATINUM PARTNERS
GOLD PARTNERS
SILVER PARTNERS
GCSAAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s industry partners support you and your profession through the funding of GCSAA education programs, scholarships, leadership opportunities and networking events. They are dedicated to you, your profession and your GCSAA. Support our partners and together we can all continue to strengthen the golf course management industry.
(Industry news)
Association
DONATES
The GCSANJ Foundation presented a check for $39,893 to Wendell Beakley, GCSAA Class A superintendent at Washington Township Municipal Golf Course in Blackwood, N.J. The money raised for Beakley was in memory of his wife, Augusta Joy (A.J.), who died of cancer. GCSAA donated $2,500 from the emergency fund, and the GCSANJ Foundation’s fundraiser supplied the rest.
E-Z-Go is celebrating its 60-year anniversary this year by holding special events, including ones it staged at GCSAA’s Golf Industry Show and also the PGA Merchandise Show, both in Orlando. “E-Z-Go is excited to celebrate its diamond anniversary this year, and to mark six decades of leadership in light transportation and service to the golf industry,” E-Z-Go President Kevin Holleran says. “We are also humbled because we know that our success would not be possible without the support of our customers in the golf industry, many of whom have been loyal to E-Z-Go throughout its existence.” The company was founded June 13, 1954, by brothers and Army veterans Bev and Billy Dolan in a one-room machine shop in Grovetown, Ga., near Augusta. The frst E-Z-Go cars, dubbed
Model 100, were built using surplus 24-volt electric motors originally intended to power wing faps on the B-17 Flying Fortress. KemperSports has acquired three additional properties. The Castle Course at Northern Bay Resort in Arkdale, Wis., is now being managed by KemperSports. The Castle Course at Northern Bay, located 30 miles north of the Wisconsin Dells, features an 18-hole course that was ranked No. 4 on Golf Digest’s list of Best New Public Golf Courses in 2006. In addition, KemperSports was selected to manage Greeley Country Club in Greeley, Colo. The member-owned club originally was a nine-hole course built in 1920 by Tom Bendelow. Also, KemperSports was picked to manage Cantigny Golf in Wheaton, Ill. The 27-hole facility is a Certifed Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary.
The Castle Course
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Lifetime
AWARD
Maureen Clark is the new product
At the 2014 Hawaii Golf Ho’olaule’a Awards Banquet, Russell Dodge, CGCS Retired, received the Lifetime Achievement Award and Robert Medeiros Jr. was honored with the Superintendent of the Year award. The board of directors of the Aloha Section PGA and their peers chose Dodge and Medeiros. Dodge (pictured to the right) landed his frst superintendent position at Kaluakoi Golf Club Molokai in 1977. Dodge, who became certifed in 1985, also served at Waikapu in Maui, Koele & Manele in Lanai, Sandalwood in Maui, Kapalua and Kahili & King Kamehameha in Maui. Medeiros (pictured far left) has been at Kiahuna Golf Club in Kauai for 19 years. He was one of the frst superintendents to convert golf course turf to seashore paspalum. In 2005, Kiahuna was named Water Conservationist of the Year.
HackGolf is a movement by industry leaders to make the game more fun. The group of industry leaders includes Ted Bishop, president of the PGA of America; Mark King, CEO of TaylorMade Adidas Golf; and Joe Beditz, CEO of the National Golf Foundation. “We have to recognize the fact that we (the industry) have not been able to fx the massive exodus of consumers from our game,” King says. “Traditionalists are resisting concepts that will elicit real change, so it is time that the people have a voice and can share their ideas to reverse this trend.” King and his group are calling on golfers everywhere to submit ideas that will re-energize golf and attract new players. Their website is www.hackgolf.org. “This is an industry-wide experiment,” says Bishop, a fve-year member of GCSAA. “We don’t have the answer, but by tapping the collective creativity of millions of golfers who love this game as much as we do, we will fnd the solution. Then, as an industry, we need to demonstrate the courage to implement non-traditional solutions.”
manager at Dow AgroSciences. She is executing the portfolio marketing strategy and implementing product launches, marketing research and communication plans. Clark originally joined the Dow AgroSciences sales team in 2008. In 2009, she was assigned a turf and ornamental representative role in western Florida. In 2013, Clark moved to Indianapolis as the Marketing Excellence Through Technology (METT) implementation leader for the crop protection business. Clark replaces Andy Kaler, recently named district sales manager for the Pacifc Northwest district in coastal crops.
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The Golf Course Superintendent’s Association of New England (GCSA of New England) elected its 2014 board of directors. They are: Mark Gagne, president, Walpole Country Club; Scott Lagana, CGCS, vice president, Oak Hill Country Club; Mike Luccini, CGCS, treasurer, Franklin Country Club; David Johnson, secretary, Wianno Club; Jeff Urquhart, trustee, Milton Hoosic Club; David Stowe, CGCS, trustee, Newton Commonwealth Golf Course; Peter Rappoccio, trustee, Concord Country Club; Donald D’Errico, fnance chairman, Spring Valley Country Club; Jason VanBuskirk, golf chairman, Stowe Acres Country Club; Brian Skinner, education chairman, Bellevue Golf Club; Earl (Tom) Albert, newsletter chairman, Hopedale Country Club; Jason Adams, past president, Blue Hill Country Club; and Mark Casey, affliate trustee, MTE Turf Equipment Solutions. The GCSA of New England also announced Richard Zepp, CGCS, recipient of its Distinguished Service Award. Zepp is director of maintenance at Cyprian Keyes Golf Club in Boylston, Mass. United Fertilizer Technologies (UFT) has been re-launched, according to Ben Wilson, president of Wilson Group Companies. UFT manufactures the Protene brand of granular and liquid plant nutrition products for the turf and landscaping industries. UFT’s leadership team consists of Wilson, David Barnes (Southeast Partners), Brian Smith (Arizona Sports Turf) and Ned Herod (formerly of Herod Seeds). UFT initially plans to focus on marketing Protene, a proprietary line of specialty fertilizers. The Rhode Island GCSA (RIGCSA) awarded $10,500 in scholarships, each worth $1,750. The recipients: Ciara Cummiskey, University of Rhode Island; Marcy Eichner, Suffolk University; Michaela Iacono,
Bristol Community College; Alexander McLeod, Yale University; Katherine Sykes, Brigham Young University; and Alicia Chase, New England College. She also received the Ryan Reynolds Legacy Scholarship. Each year RIGCSA hosts a golf tournament and all proceeds go to providing scholarships to deserving students and funding research at the University of Rhode Island. The 32nd annual event is scheduled this year for Point Judith Country Club in Narragansett, R.I. Bayer CropScience announced its two Plant Health Scholarship recipients: Michael K. McNamara, GCSAA Class A superintendent at TPC Prestancia, Sarasota, Fla.; and John Petrovsky, superintendent at Greenbriar Woodlands Golf Club, Toms River, N.J. Each receives a $2,500 scholarship to be used toward continuing education in the area of plant health. Melanie Stanton is the new executive director for Turfgrass Producers International (TPI). She came to TPI from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons in Arlington Heights, Ill., where she served as accreditation manager. Before that, Stanton was account executive for The Sherwood Group in Northbrook, Ill. John Patton is the new vice president of international sales for Landmark Turf and Native Seed. Patton’s experience in the seed sales and distribution industry began while working on his family’s sod farm in Maryland. Most recently, Patton worked for DLF Pickseed USA as vice president of international sales. He is a 1987 graduate of Virginia Tech. Kevin Nettles of Dallas Athletic Club is the recipient of the 2013 edition of the A.C. Bearden Superintendent of the Year as honored by the North Texas Golf Course Superintendents Association. Nettles and his father, Clyde, were featured in the October issue of GCM for their four decades of service.
The Nettleses have been the course’s only superintendents since 1971. The Ohio Turfgrass Foundation (OTF) announced its annual scholarship recipients. They are: Geoffrey Barber, Peter Braun, Kyle Danneberger, John DiFranco, Gregory Myers, Andrew Northeim, Reese Overly, Jordan Schmidt, Tyler Turner and Rebecca Wicker, all from The Ohio State University; Ross Clady, Owens Community College; Jason Cox, Rutgers University; Amy Day, Cincinnati State Technical and Community College; and Max Szturm, Clark State Community College. The students are pursuing degrees in turfgrass management or a related feld. Each receives fnancial aid ranging between $1,000 and $2,000. Since its inception in 1961, the OTF has awarded nearly $500,000 in fnancial aid to more than 325 students. Turf Solutions Group (TSG) is designing and building two softball felds, a soccer feld, two youth soccer felds and a multipurpose feld to accompany the baseball feld previously built for Mercy Street, a non-proft service for impoverished youth ages 5 to 14 in Dallas. TSG provided a master plan for the sports complex followed by a 3-D image that could be easily previewed from any device. The images helped convey what the facility will look like before actually being built, which helps Mercy Street explain the expansion to the donors to their non-proft organization. Mercy Street’s goal is to instill core life values through recreation to more than 400 youth in the baseball and softball programs and more than 1,000 youth in the soccer program. Global Turf Equipment (GTE) named Debbie Nipper vice president of marketing. Concurrent with her duties as vice president of client and vendor operations for sister company International Club Suppliers (ICS), Nipper is overseeing
all marketing and advertising initiatives for GTE. Event planning, social media, PR, internal and external communications, international client services and distribution opportunities fall under her authority. Nipper, formerly employed as vice president of operations at Golf Ventures, has more than 18 years of industry experience in the sales, service and marketing of golf course equipment. Streamsong Resort Lodge in Streamsong, Fla., offcially opened Jan. 17. The 216-room luxury lodge is part of a facility that features golf courses Streamsong Red, designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, and Streamsong Blue, designed by Renaissance Golf Design (Tom Doak). Darrell Crall was named chair of Golf 20/20. Crall, chief operating offcer at the PGA of America, succeeds Mike Hughes, chief executive offcer of the National Golf Course Owners Association, who served as chair from 2010 to 2013. Golf 20/20 is a unique collaboration of all segments of the golf industry, from associations and manufacturers to golf course owners and operators and the media. It was designed to unite and activate the industry around key strategic initiatives that increase participation and retention, involvement and interest in the game. Wiedenmann North America LLC was honored as Importer of the Year for Wiedenmann GmBH, a manufacturer of turf equipment for the care of grounds, lawns, athletic felds, and golf courses. Wiedenmann North America, LLC is headquartered in Savannah, Ga. Elevation Marketing announced its offcial brand launch and incorporation at the company’s Arizona headquarters. Previously known as Canyon Communications, the full-service marketing communication agency will continue to incorporate leading-edge technology, including digital, mobile and social strategies and tactics as part of larger B2B marketing communica-
tions services through the launch, the company says. All of the more than 25 staff members remain with the company. Keep America Beautiful (KAB) and Coca-Cola’s 2014 Recycling Bin Grant Program is designed to expand and support recycling in communities across America. The program is funded through a $350,000 grant from the Coca-Cola Foundation. Since 2010, more than 34,000 recycling bins have been distributed through the program. In the past six years, 4.4 million people have been reached through the program, with 450 organizations receiving grants. This year, Coca-Cola expands its investment in the bin grant program to include a specifc focus on two-year community colleges. The program expects to award more than 4,500 bins, resulting in a projected 1.6 million pounds of recyclable materials collected during their frst year in use. Professional golfer Robert Allenby is the recipient of the Golf Writers Association of America’s (GWAA) 2014 Charlie Bartlett Award presented by Aberdeen Asset Management. The award is given to a playing professional for unselfsh contributions to the betterment of society and is given in memory of the GWAA’s frst secretary. Allenby, an Australian who has
played on the PGA Tour since 1999, holds the annual Robert Allenby Golf Day and Gala Dinner for charity. In 23 years, it has helped raise more than $26 million to aid children with cancer. GCM editor-in-chief Scott Hollister and associate editor Howard Richman are members of GWAA. Toro launched its Legacy Grant Program and Annual Production Donation Program. The Legacy Grant Program supports non-proft organizations in their efforts to beautify and preserve outdoor environments. Grants also will be made to organizations whose projects encourage and educate the public about the effcient use of water. The Annual Product Donation Program will support organizations with equipment and irrigation donations that assist in maintaining their facilities and achieving impact in their communities, such as beautifcation of their outdoor landscapes. Online applications are at www.toro. com/community and will be accepted through March 31, 2014, from non-proft organizations located within 30 miles of a Toro community.
Submit items for “Industry News” to hrichman@gcsaa.org
(photo quiz answers) By John Mascaro President of Turf-Tec International
(a)
PROBLEM The brown turf on the edge of this tee was caused by maintenance equipment. A bank of turf near this cart path was sprayed with glyphosate. The following day, a mower operator, who was unaware of the previous day’s application, drove through this area while mowing the tee. This transferred some of the still-active herbicide onto the tire and deposited it onto the turf, leaving behind these 20- to 30-foot strips of brown turf. It’s a mystery why the glyphosate was still active the day after it was applied; however, cool and damp weather may be the culprit. It was decided that if the turf did not improve after a day or two, it would be reseeded. Photo submitted by Timothy J. Walker, CGCS at Winding Hills Golf Club in Montgomery, N.Y., and a 15-year member of GCSAA.
(b)
PROBLEM
The depressions on the surface of this putting green were created by hail. What is amazing about the photo is not just the damage, but the extent of the damage. This storm occurred in March just as the bermudagrass was starting to come out of dormancy. Even though the semi-private golf course was closed on this Monday, a group of about 60 golfers were on the course when the superintendent received word that a severe thunderstorm was approaching. The golf-ball- to tennis-ball-sized hail started falling about 2 miles from the course, and all the golfers took shelter in the clubhouse while the crew put as many golf cars as they could ft into the cart barn. The hailstorm lasted more than 20 minutes and continued on another 2 miles after it passed over the golf course, leaving a 4-mile path of destruction. The hail not only damaged all 18 greens, tees and fairways, but also broke car windshields and put holes into the stucco walls and roofs of homes on the golf course and the surrounding community. The greens were rolled, verticut and topdressed; fairways were rolled and mowed. The turf, which had not begun actively growing when the storm struck, took quite a while to recover. The members understood the situation. Photo submitted by John (Jay) Coalter, the GCSAA Class A superintendent at Patrick Farms Golf Club in Jackson, Miss., and a 25-year member of the association.
If you would like to submit a photograph for John Mascaro’s Photo Quiz, please send it to: John Mascaro, 1471 Capital Circle NW, Suite #13, Tallahassee, FL 32303, or e-mail to john@turf-tec.com. If your photograph is selected, you will receive full credit. All photos submitted will become property of GCM and GCSAA.
Presented in partnership with Jacobsen
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GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 03.14
SUPERIOR QUALITY-OF-CUT. SURPRISINGLY AFFORDABLE. LF510
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1.888.922.TURF | www.jacobsen.com ©2013 Jacobsen, A Textron Company/Textron Innovations Inc. All rights reserved.
MEMBERS ONLY
ON COURSE
March 6-9 — PGA Tour, World Golf Championship-Cadillac Championship, Trump National Doral, Miami, Fla., Don Thornburgh Jr., superintendent.
(Climbing the ladder)
March 6-9 — PGA Tour, Puerto Rico Open presented by seepuertorico.com, Trump International Golf Club, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.
Justen Reitzel Was:
Assistant superintendent Bowling Green (Ohio) Country Club
Is:
Superintendent/owner DeMor Hills Golf Course, Morenci, Mich.
Justen Reitzel went shopping. This, however, was no ordinary purchase, not just a brief stop at the convenience store for a pack of gum. In March 2013, Reitzel and his wife, Kristy, bought DeMor Hills Golf Course in Morenci, Mich., located near the Michigan-Ohio border. “Kristy got tired of riding around in the golf car with me, so she learned the game and took a genuine interest in it,” says Reitzel, a 16-year GCSAA member. “My career goal was to be a superintendent, but the last few years we started thinking about buying a mom-and-pop type of course. I would manage the course and Kristy would run the clubhouse. We told each other if we’re going to do it, let’s do it while we’re young and go at this thing.”
Q: How did your time as an assistant prepare you for this? A: I learned how to manage daily work schedules, employees and equipment and how to budget time and resources. But more personally, I learned what kind of superintendent I wanted to be in regard to how I wanted to manage course conditions and employees.
Q: What is best about being owners? A: We have a vision for our golf course and how we want to improve it. We decide what the priorities
are and how to budget for them. It’s nice knowing that the decisions end with us.
Q: What is your philosophy as a superintendent? A: Do things the right way when no one is watching. Take pride in your work. If it is worth your time,
then it is worth your effort.
Howard Richman, GCM associate editor
GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 03.14
March 13-16 — PGA Tour, Valspar Championship, Innisbrook ResortCopperhead Course, Palm Harbor, Fla., Ryan Stewart, superintendent.
March 13-16 — Web.com Tour, Brasil Championship presented by HSBC, Sao Paulo, Brazil. March 13-16 — European Tour, Trophee Hassan II, Golf du Palais Royal, Agadir, Morocco.
Getting to know you
106
March 6-9 — Web.com Tour, Chile Classic, Prince of Wales CC, Santiago, Chile.
March 14-16 — Champions Tour, Toshiba Classic, Newport Beach CC, Newport Beach, Calif., Ronald Benedict, superintendent. March 20-23 — PGA Tour, Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard, Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Orlando, Fla., Matt Beaver, GCSAA Class A superintendent. March 20-23 — LPGA, LPGA Founders Cup, Wildfre Golf Club at JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa, Phoenix, Ariz., Todd Norton, director of grounds. March 20-23 — Web.com Tour, Panama Claro Championship, Panama Golf Club, Panama City, Panama. March 21-23 — Champions Tour, Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic, Fallen Oak, Biloxi, Miss., Matthew Hughes, GCSAA Class A superintendent and director of grounds. March 22-24 — Symetra Tour, Florida’s Natural Charity Classic, Lake Region Yacht & CC, Winter Haven, Fla., Juan Perez, superintendent.
March 27-29 Ñ European Tour, Eurasia Cup presented by DRB-HICOM, Glenmarie G&CC, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
March 27-30 Ñ PGA Tour, Valero Texas Open, JW Marriott TPC San Antonio (Tex.), Tom Lively, CGCS, director of golf course operations.
March 27-30 Ñ LPGA, Kia Classic, Aviara Golf Club, Carlsbad, Calif., Kevin Kienast, CGCS. March 27-30 Ñ Web.com Tour, Chitimacha Louisiana Open, Le Triomphe CC, Broussard, La., Scott Poynot, GCSAA Class A superintendent.
COMING UP
March 3-4 Ñ Peaks & Prairies GCSA “Almost” Spring Meeting, Holiday Inn Downtown Parkside, Missoula, Mont. Phone: 406-273-0791 Email: lori@ppgcsa.org Website: www.ppgcsa.org March 3-5 Ñ South Dakota GCSA
30th Annual Turfgrass Seminar and Trade Show, Best Western Plus Ramkota Hotel & Conference Center, Sioux Falls, S.D. Phone: 605-484-2003 Website: www.sdgcsa.org
March 5 Ñ North Florida GCSA Green Committee University Program, Timuguana CC, Jacksonville Phone: 772-546-2620 Website: www.nfgcsa.com
March 5 Ñ Northern Great Lakes GCSA Educational Conference, Green Bay, Wis. Phone: 906-424-4176 Website: www.nglturf.org
March 6 Ñ GCSAA Webcast: Plan Now to Update Your Turf Care Center Contact: GCSAA Education Phone: 800-472-7878 Website: www.gcsaa.org/education/ webcasts.aspx March 6 Ñ Annual Golf Summit Golf Alliance of Washington, Everett G&CC Phone: 253-858-2266 Email: lgilhuly@usga.org Website: www.wwgcsa.org
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March 6 — Spring Education in conjunction with sustainable urban landscape conference at Cuyamaca College, El Cajon, Calif. Phone: 760-845-7045 Website: www.sdgcsa.com
(In the field)
Northwest David Phipps Of all the things that you did as a youngster in school, what do you remember the most? For me it was the field trips. Whether it was the trip to the Nabisco factory in first grade or the trip to the “Oregon Outback” in seventh grade, each of those made an indelible mark in my mind. This is the mission of the First Green Foundation, to provide an outdoor learning experience for young children on a golf course that will be remembered for years to come. Using the golf course as a laboratory, the First Green Foundation utilizes a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) learning curriculum. The First Green Foundation will help golf course superintendents connect with local teachers and provide their golf courses as outdoor laboratories. The USGA, in partnership with Chevron, just awarded the First Green Foundation a $155,750 grant to expand the program into Southern California and continue into Oregon and Northern California. If ever a program has targeted advocacy for the game of golf, the First Green fits the bill. It teaches students the benefits that golf provides to the environment and community. This enables superintendents to promote the game by way of dispelling myths as well as growing the game. Giving the children an introduction to golf at an early age will no doubt pay dividends down the road as we need to add more golfers to the sport. Please consider hosting your own field trip. If you have any questions, I am always available to help. You can contact me at: dphipps@gcsaa.org. You can also visit the First Green website, www.thefirstgreen.org.
Southwest Jeff Jensen Bill Rohret, CGCS, a former golf course superintendent and now a spray technician at Highland Falls Golf Club in Las Vegas, and his wife, Dian, recently received the 2013 Citizens of the Year Award from the Southern Nevada Chapter PGA for their volunteer efforts with Special Olympics Nevada. The Citizens of the Year Award is given annually by the chapter to those who provide exemplary efforts within their community. Rohret, a 37-year life member of GCSAA, and his wife started volunteering with Special Olympics Nevada in 2001 after their children, James and Nicole, left for college, leaving the two as empty nesters. The couple coach a number of sports, including basketball, golf and track, to adults and children with intellectual disabilities. “I have had the opportunity to work with some great PGA professionals during my career, and to be recognized by the Southern Nevada chapter is truly humbling,” Rohret said. “Working with Special Olympics athletes has changed my life, and I look forward to assisting the organization in the future.”
For the latest blog posts from all of GCSAA’s feld staff representatives, visit www.gcsaa.org/ community/regions.aspx.
March 12 — 30th Annual Forum, Naperville (Ill.) Country Club Phone: 630-243-7900 Email: luke@cagcs.org Website: www.cagcs.org March 13-17 — USGA/GCSANC Regional Conference, Diablo (Calif.) Country Club Phone: 559-298-6262 Email: californiagcsa@aol.com Website: www.californiagcsa.org
March 18 — Central Texas GCSA Turf Show, Olympia Hills, Universal City, Texas Phone: 512-507-8233 Website: www.ctgcsa.com
March 25 — USGA Golf Summit of Oregon, Waverley Country Club, Portland Phone: 877-375-1330 Website: www.ogcsa.org
March 27 — South Florida GCSA Expo, Fort Lauderdale Phone: 800-732-6053 Website: www.floridagcsa.com March 31-April 1 — Affordable Golf Symposium, Dairy Creek GC, San Luis Obispo, Calif. Phone: 559-298-6262 Email: gcsanc@att.net Website: www.californiagcsa.org April 1-5 — Aquaponics Technology and Design Workshop, Apopka, Fla. Phone: 407-886-3939 Email: PAES.General@pentair.com Website: www.PentairAES.com April 22 — Mini Field Day, University of Tennessee Research Center, Knoxville Website: www.tgcsa.net
May 1 — Intermountain GCSA Spring Event sponsored by RTM Phone: 801-282-5274 Website: www.igcsa.org
May 7 — University of Arizona Karsten Field Day, Karsten Turf Facility,
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Tucson Phone: 480-609-6778 Email: Carmella@cactusandpine.org Website: www.cactusandpine.com
May 21 — Miami Valley GCSA Field Day, Windy Knoll, Springfeld, Ohio Phone: 937-294-6842 Email: info@otgt.org Website: www.mvsupt.com
To learn if you can receive education points for any of these upcoming programs, visit the External Education Listings in the education section at www.gcsaa.org/ education/externaled/current.aspx.
NEW MEMBERS
ARIZONA Chris Lomas, Class C, Flagstaff Jonathan R. Williams, Supt. Mbr., Tucson ARKANSAS Blake A. Willems, Student, Fayetteville
CALIFORNIA Drew Nottenkamper, Associate, Pebble Beach Daniel A. Schuberg, Class C, Yorba Linda Brandon T. Smiley, Class C, Corning COLORADO Chris M. Ehalt, Class C, Elizabeth Ben D. Hobstetter, Student, Fort Collins CONNECTICUT Curtis W. D’Anna, Class C, West Hartford Andrew H. Nisbet, Student, Storrs DELAWARE James M. Allison, Associate, Wilmington Joseph Lee, Supt. Mbr., Middletown FLORIDA Robert J. Christian, Supt. Mbr., Indian Lake Estates Mark Cummings, Associate, Fort Myers Raymundo D. Gomez-Hernandez, Class C, Naples J Drew Harrison, Class C, Amelia Island Brad Keith, Supt. Mbr., Daytona Beach Jonathan J. Lake, Class C, Orlando Robert Murphy, Associate, Fort Myers Patrick T. Pearson, Student, Fort Pierce Caitlyn N. Sill, Student, Fort Pierce
Annika Sorenstam, Honorary, Orlando Shane R. Willey, Class C, Lakeland Allen L. Wilson, Class C, Tarpon Springs Steve Woods, Associate, Fort Myers
MISSISSIPPI Benton Hodges, Student, Mississippi State Jed C. McCoy, Student, Mississippi State
GEORGIA Brandon M. Akins, Student, Athens Carson M. Chittum, Student, Tifton Wes R. Denmon, Class C, Acworth Jonathon L. Fox, Student, Tifton John W. Godlewski, Supt. Mbr., Atlanta Thomas D. Richey, Associate, Atlanta Joshua M. Sullins, Class C, Covington
MISSOURI Kyle J. Booth, Class C, Maryville Brett Loman, Educator, Columbia Robert W. Ralston, Class C, Kansas City
ILLINOIS Tony Arro, Affliate Co. Rep., O’Fallon Kelly L. Kuchelmeister, Supt. Mbr., Rockford Andrew S. Narlow, Class C, Flossmoor INDIANA Jada Powlen, Student, West Lafayette IOWA Brad Benson, Supt. Mbr., Ames Colton R. Metzger, Student, Ames KANSAS Logan J. Slattery, Student, Manhattan KENTUCKY Taylor Frey, Class C, Louisville MAINE Jay A. Lashar, Class C, Kingfeld MARYLAND James P. Halley, Student, College Park Casey J. Rezendes, Affliate, College Park MICHIGAN Nathan D. Buban, Student, Auburn Hillss Eric C. Chestnut, Student, Brimley Andres Gonzalez-Onieva Johansson, Student, Brimley Jeff LeBlanc, Class C, Canton Steve W. LeDuc, Class C, Ann Arbor Trent M. Limban, Student, Brimley Josh G. Phillips, Student, Brimley Christopher K. Sobeck, Supt. Mbr., Orchard Lake MINNESOTA Matson Gravelle, Student, Minneapolis Travis Heifner, Supt. Mbr., Janesville Brenda J. Miller, Educator, Crookston Nick Ryan, Associate, Lakeville David J. Sinkel, Class C, Maple Plain
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MONTANA Joshua D. Brewer, Student, Bozeman Andrew Leiter, Student, Bozeman Rob J. Partain, Student, Bozeman NEBRASKA Ray O. Behling, Student, Elmwood Dale P. Ostrander, Student, Lincoln Jarod W. Spurlin, Student, Lincoln NEW HAMPSHIRE Doug M. Fuller, Class C, Nashua Dean Scarito, Associate, North Hampton Stuart Spooner, Class C, North Hampton NEW JERSEY Wesley L. Fleetwood, Student, New Brunswick Jessica A. Hall, Class C, Denville Thomas Havelka, Class C, Spring Lake Heights Cory O’Neil, Student, New Brunswick Nick Oram, Student, New Brunswick Michael Percudani, Class C, Marlton Richard Plemel, Student, New Brunswick NEW MEXICO Robert Gonzales, Supt. Mbr., Socorro Jacob R. Morgan, Class C, Farmington Chace J. Powell, Student, Farmington NEW YORK Dennis R. Alexander, Class C, Rochester James A. Decarvalho, Class C, Bronxville Keith Hallock, Student, Delhi Yu Huang, Class C, Plandome Wyatt W. Kotary, Student, Delhi Tyler R. LePore, Student, Delhi Jeffrey Niemczyk, Class C, Riverhead Daniel Mitchell Pollack, Student, Cobleskill Andrew A. White, Class C, Mamaroneck John J. Yursa, Associate, Mamaroneck NORTH CAROLINA Jill N. Ploetz, Educator, Raleigh Karl F. Trost, Class C, Winston-Salem
OHIO Stuart Diamond, Student, Columbus Callum D. Edwards, Student, Columbus Chen Fang, Student, Columbus Dale R. Gregory, Student, Columbus Diarmaid Peter Henley, Student, Columbus Travis Irwin, Class C, Chillicothe Thomas A. Jones, Student, Columbus David J. Kinnear, Student, Columbus Stewart Laver, Student, Columbus Joe A. Lhotsky, Class C, Wooster Elliot Lindsay, Student, Columbus James McCann, Student, Columbus Njabulo F. Mdluli, Student, Columbus Robert Moore, Student, Columbus Benjamin T. Stoner, Student, Columbus Gabe S. Timbs, Student, Columbus Nathan John Turner, Student, Columbus Benjamin L. Williams, Student, Columbus OREGON Kabe C. Hockema, Student, Corvallis Phillip V. Mauss, Student, Corvallis PENNSYLVANIA Thomas M. Goyne, Student, University Park Rickie L. Knorr, Supt. Mbr., Milton Adam Kokinda, Educator, Lehighton
Kyle R. Krause, Student, State College Charles F. Main, Class C, Bedford Ryan R. Royer, Supt. Mbr., Skippack Aaron D. Zinader, Class C, Beaver RHODE ISLAND Colin A. Zegarzewski, Student, Kingston SOUTH CAROLINA Ryan Jowers, Student, Conway Harold R. Mcculler, Supt. Mbr., Murrells Inlet Kelly E. Shaw, Class C, Hilton Head Island Randolph M. Wilson, Class C, Blythewood TENNESSEE Jesse J. Benelli, Student, Knoxville Scott B. Boyle, Educator, Knoxville Jordan E. Clark, Class C, Loudon Joseph P. Fedun Jr., Student, Knoxville Dalton T. Wayman, Student, Knoxville TEXAS John Aguillon, Affliate, San Antonio Sarah C. Glenn, Student, Lubbock Cody Janssen, Class C, Granbury Jake Johnson, Student, College Station Ben Lauber, Class C, Fredericksburg John M. Searway, Student, Lubbock Cole Watts, Student, Lubbock
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Justin Weeaks, Educator, Waco VIRGINIA Ferris Crilly, Affliate Co. Rep., Manassas Adam Das, Affliate Co. Rep., Manassas Ross S. Giserman, Student, Blacksburg Chris McCarthy, Supt. Mbr., Gainesville WEST VIRGINIA Carrie Moore, Educator, Morgantown WISCONSIN Logan Ferrise, Associate, Oconomowoc Kevin Jacky, Associate, Sheboygan Bruce R. Schweiger, Educator, Madison Jon Slock, Student, Madison WYOMING Craig Hanson, Associate, Sheridan AUSTRALIA Ian Widocks, Associate, Rose Bay BAHAMAS Anthony Thompson, Associate, Nassau CANADA Philippe Bigras, Class C, Blainville, Quebec
Ryan J. Campbell, Student, Guelph, Ontario Travis T. Ekelund, Class C, Calgary, Alberta Aidan J. Fitzgerald, Student, Guelph, Ontario Jeremy D. Hubbard, Associate, Kitchener, Ontario Ryan Jackson, Class C, Gormley, Ontario Graham B. McDowell, Class C, Kitchener, Ontario Alexander J. Taylor, Student, Guelph, Ontario Barry Taylor, ISM, New Liskeard, Ontario Kelly Watkins, Affliate, Delta, British Columbia COLOMBIA Diego A. Gomez, Student, Bogota Nicolas A. Gomez, Student, Bogota COSTA RICA Erick Rodriguez Lopez, ISM, Guanacaste Luis A. Navarro, ISM, Santa Cruz CZECH REPUBLIC Jiri Dvorak, ISM, Vysoky Ujezd
GERMANY Viktor R. Franke, ISM, Swisttal
SWEDEN Håkan P. Stålbro, Educator, Danderyd
GUATEMALA Carlos E. Recinos, ISM, Edifcio Torre Azul Astry M Soto, ISM, Guatemala
SWITZERLAND Charles F. Charmot, ISM, Vandoeuvres Marc Charrel, ISM, Aigle Juan C. Duran, Class C, Ascona Christoph Ehinger, Associate, Hittnau Raymond Garrouste, ISM, Ascona Andri Jorger, ISM, Domat/Elms Renato Milani, ISM, Vesbier Gerard Nardini, ISM, Bougy-Villars Roman Nolle, Class C, Bad Ragaz Claudio Valaulta, ISM, Sagogn Claudio Wellinger, Class C, Sagogn
IRELAND Aine Daly, Affliate Co. Rep., Wiklow John Killoran, Affliate Co. Rep., Wiklow Brendan Scott, Affliate Co. Rep., Wiklow MALAYSIA Mohamed Nasir N. Abdul Hamid, Affliate, Johor Bahru Mohd Nizam Othman, ISM, Kuala Lumpur SINGAPORE Lawrence A. Walsh, Affliate, Singapore SOUTH KOREA Iksun Lee, ISM, Yongin-si SPAIN Juan Munoz, ISM, Madrid Moha Hector Rodriguez de la Torre, ISM, San Miguel de Abona
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Michael J. McKenna, Associate, Dubai UNITED KINGDOM Ian Morrison, ISM, Ascot
NEWLY CERTIFIED Michael Brunelle, CGCS, Upper Montclair Country Club, Clifton, N.J.
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ON THE MOVE
ALABAMA Rusty W. Lambert, formerly (Supt. Mbr.) at The Club at Mediterra, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at Shoal Creek Golf Course in Birmingham. ARIZONA John E. Davis, formerly (A) at We-Ko-Pa Golf Club, is now (A) at Pinnacle Peak Country Club in Scottsdale. Kenneth M. Newcomb, formerly (A) at Coto de Caza Golf & Racquet Club, is now (A) at Anthem Golf & Country ClubPersimmon Course in Phoenix. Matt A. Noreus, formerly (Supt. Mbr.) at We-Ko-Pa Golf Club, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at Tatum Ranch Golf Club in Cave Creek. ARKANSAS Dustin McNaughton, formerly (S) at Colorado State University, is now (C) at Hot Springs Country Club in Hot Springs National Park. CALIFORNIA Robert J. Badovinac, formerly (C) at Scalawags Golf Club, is now (C) at Eldorado Country Club in Indian Wells.
Jeff D. Couwenhoven, formerly (A) at Woodcreek Golf Club, is now (A) at Resort at Squaw Creek in Olympic Valley. Robert W. Henderson Jr., formerly (AS) at Country Club of Missouri, is now (C) at The Bridges Golf Club in San Ramon. Geoffery Plovanich, formerly (C) at The Olympic Club, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at The Olympic Club in San Francisco. Peder E. Rauen, formerly (C) at Golf Club at Quail Lodge, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at Arrowhead Country Club in San Bernardino. COLORADO Joshua L. Hess, formerly (S) at Colorado State University, is now (C) at Ironbridge Club in Glenwood Springs. Robert W. Lowry, formerly (A) at Centre Hills Golf Club, is now (A) at Fitzsimons Golf Club in Aurora. Seth Swanson, formerly (C) at Heritage Todd Creek, is now (C) at Littleton Golf & Tennis in Littleton. Chet L. Wilmes, formerly (Supt. Mbr.) at Fitzsimons Golf Club, is now (C) at Murphy Creek Golf Course in Aurora.
CONNECTICUT Frederick T. Doheny, formerly (C) at Oak Hill Country Club, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at Greenwich Country Club in Greenwich. Lucas B. Lownes, formerly (Supt. Mbr.) at Muirfeld Village Golf Club, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at Aspetuck Valley Country Club in Weston. Ryan P. Segrue, formerly (Supt. Mbr.) at Lake Isle Country Club, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at Longshore Club Park in Westport. Casey P. Sheehy, formerly (S) at Iowa State University, is now (C) at Silver Spring Country Club in Ridgefeld. FLORIDA Nicholas Flynn, formerly (A) at Greenbriar Woodlands, is now (A) at Falconâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fire Golf Club in Kissimmee. James D. Huntley, formerly (Supt. Mbr.) at Stoneybrook West Golf Course, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at Orange Lake Resort & Country Club in Kissimmee. Patrick Lewins, formerly (A) at Naples Grande Golf Club, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at La Playa Golf Club in Naples. Justin R. Lowery, formerly (C) at Country Club of Birmingham, is now (C) at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach. Kyle E. McCarty, formerly (C) at Kelly Greens Golf & Country Club, is now (C) at Pelican Preserve Golf Club in Fort Myers. Colby Paiva, formerly (Supt. Mbr.) at Jupiter Hills Club & Village Course, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at Lost Tree Club in North Palm Beach. Eli N. Rahz, formerly (C) at Avila Golf & Country Club, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at The Club at Mediterra in Naples. Brad Reano, formerly (AF) at One Source Golf & Landscape, is now (AF) at Show Turf of South Florida LLC in Boynton Beach. Mark A. Salomone, formerly (C) at Highlands Reserve Golf Club, is now (C) at Pines Course at Pompano Beach Golf Course in Pompano Beach. Keith M. Viola, formerly (C) at The Quechee Club, is now (C) at BallenIsles Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens. Nathan Wallace, formerly (C) at The Loxahatchee Club, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at Jupiter Hills Club & Village Course in Jupiter. GEORGIA Raymond S. Griffn, formerly (Supt. Mbr.) at Real Turf Solutions, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at Perry Country Club in Perry. ILLINOIS Matthew M. McDonald, formerly (C) at Midlothian Country Club, is now (C) at Naperville Country Club in Naperville.
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Daniel E. Stahl, formerly (A) at Indian Boundary Golf Course, is now (A) at Highland Woods Golf Course in Hoffman Estates. Alex J. Stuedemann, formerly (Supt. Mbr.) at TPC Twin Cities, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at TPC Deere Run in East Moline. Peter J. Westfall, formerly (S) at Purdue University, is now (C) at Biltmore Country Club in Barrington.
NEVADA Jody G. Farber, formerly (AS) at Las Vegas Country Club, is now (AF) at Stotz Equipment in Las Vegas.
Ryan L. Wharton, formerly (S) at Penn State University-University Park, is now (C) at Heatherwoode Golf Club in Springboro.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Eric J. Whitmore, formerly (C) at New Haven Country Club, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at Atkinson Resort & Country Club in Atkinson.
PENNSYLVANIA Derek R. Mohler, formerly (C) at River Crest Golf Club, is now (C) at Waynesboro Country Club in Waynesboro.
INDIANA Jim J. Wallace, formerly (Supt. Mbr.) at Medinah Country Club, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at Delaware Country Club in Muncie.
NEW JERSEY Earle E. Casteen, CGCS, formerly (C) at Linwood Country Club, is now (C) at Sea Oaks Country Club in Little Egg Harbor. James A. Strutton, formerly (I), is now (Supt. Mbr.) at Golf Course of Concordia in Monroe Township.
LOUISIANA Kevin A. Bell, formerly (Supt. Mbr.) at El Conquistador Course, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at Contraband Bayou Golf Club at Lauberge du Lac in Lake Charles. Zach Mays, formerly (C) at Old Overton Club, is now (C) at Squire Creek Country Club in Choudrant. Thomas J. Schlick, CGCS, formerly (A) at The Davey Tree Expert Co., is now (A) at Windy Hills Ranch in Broussard. MARYLAND Garrett C. Emerick, formerly (S) at University of Maryland, is now (C) at Swan Point Yacht & Country Club in Issue. MASSACHUSETTS William Creed, formerly (S) at Rutgers University/Cook College, is now (C) at Essex County Club in Manchester. Daniel Seifert, formerly (C) at Golf Club of Cape Cod, is now (C) at Duxbury Yacht Club in Duxbury. MICHIGAN Justen R. Reitzel, formerly (C) at Bowling Green Country Club, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at DeMor Hills Golf Course in Morenci. MINNESOTA Cole L. Besser, formerly (C) at Windsong Farm Golf Club, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at Pioneer Creek Golf Club in Maple Plain. Gary J. Deters, formerly (C) at St. Cloud Country Club, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at St. Cloud Country Club in Saint Cloud. MISSISSIPPI James McCurdy, formerly (S) at Auburn University, is now (E) at Mississippi State University in Mississippi State. MISSOURI Justen Patterson, formerly (C) at Forest Hills Country Club, is now (C) at The Legends in Eureka.
GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 03.14
NEW YORK David W. Dudones, formerly (A) at North Jersey Country Club, is now (A) at Westchester Country Club in Rye. Paul W. Johnson, formerly (C) at Pine Hollow Country Club, is now (C) at Rockville Links Club in Rockville Centre. Timothy Joyce, formerly (AF) at Metro Turf Specialists, is now (AF) at Synergy Turf Supply in Wappingers Falls. Jason F. Sartwell, formerly (C) at Champlain Country Club, is now (C) at Glen Oaks Club Inc. in Old Westbury. NORTH CAROLINA Samuel H. Green Jr., formerly (A) at Eagle Point Golf Club, is now (A) at AquaAid Inc. in Rocky Mount. John C. Harrison, formerly (Supt. Mbr.) at Beau Rivage Resort & Golf Club, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at Porters Neck Country Club in Wilmington. Corey J. Hraczo, formerly (C) at Carmel Country Club, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at Badin Inn and Golf Club in Badin. Ryan L. Hull, formerly (S) at Rutgers University/Cook College, is now (C) at Methodist University Golf Course in Fayetteville. Cory J. Huskey, formerly (Supt. Mbr.) at Olde Liberty Golf & Country Club, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at Wendell Country Club in Wendell. OHIO Michael D. Bibler, formerly (S) at Rutgers University/Cook College, is now (C) at Sylvania Country Club in Sylvania. Jeff Laycock, formerly (C) at Columbus Country Club, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at Columbus Country Club in Columbus. Jeff J. Reich, formerly (C) at TPC Rivers Bend, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at TPC Rivers Bend in Maineville.
RHODE ISLAND Matthew Klida, formerly (C) at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at Metacomet Country Club in East Providence. SOUTH CAROLINA Gavin Johnson, formerly (Supt. Mbr.) at West Course at Belfair Golf Club, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at Haig Point Club in Hilton Head Island. Brian M. Murray, formerly (A) at Wexford Plantation, is now (A) at Palmetto Hall Golf Club in Hilton Head Island. Mike A. Weinreich, formerly (Supt. Mbr.) at Kings North at Myrtle Beach National Golf Course, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at Myrtle Beach National Golf Course in Myrtle Beach. TEXAS Daniel W. Boley, formerly (A) at Waterview Golf Club, is now (A) at Stonebridge Ranch Country Club in McKinney. Aaron M. Clary, formerly (C) at Oak Hills Country Club, is now (C) at The Hills of Lakeway-Flintrock Falls Course in Austin. Jeffery M. Garza, formerly (C) at Plantation Golf Resort, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at Brookhaven Country Club in Dallas. Alan C. Pursley, formerly (C) at Newport Dunes Golf Club, is now (C) at Whispering Pines Golf Club in Trinity. UTAH Brack I. Crouch, formerly (C) at The Short Course at Cordillera, is now (AS) at Talisker Club At Tuhaye in Park City. Jason T. Moon, formerly (AF) at Turf Equipment & Irrigation, is now (A) at Swan Lake Golf Course in Layton. VIRGINIA Christopher M. Hinesley, formerly (C) at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at Loudoun Golf & Country Club in Purcellville. David S. McCall, formerly (E) at Virginia Tech, is now (E) at Glade Road Research Facility in Blacksburg. Brian G. Minto, formerly (C) at Leewood Golf Club, is now (C) at Willow Oaks Country Club in Richmond.
WASHINGTON Earl E. Caswell IV, formerly (A) at National Golf, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at Gamble Sands in Brewster. Ken Reimers, formerly (C) at Harbour Pointe Golf Club, is now (AS) at Legion Memorial Golf Course in Everett. Josh A. Truan, formerly (C) at Pebble Beach Co., is now (C) at Gamble Sands in Brewster. Greg Van Hollebeke, formerly (C) at Golf Club at Redmond Ridge, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at Golf Club at Redmond Ridge in Redmond.
PHILIPPINES Nicer Landas, CGCS, formerly (ISM) at Golforce Inc., is now (ISM) at Turfgrass Management Incorporated in Alabang, Muntinlupa City.
WISCONSIN Keith A. Happ, formerly (E) at USGA Green Section Mid-Atlantic Region, is now (E) at USGA Green Section, North-Central Region in Elm Grove. Brennen W. Herther, formerly (C) at Oconomowoc Golf Club, is now (C) at Wisconsin Club in Milwaukee. Rich R. Leider, formerly (AF) at Reinders Inc., is now (AF) at Lexington Commons Condo Assoc. Inc. in Fond Du Lac. Patrick L. Reuteman, formerly (S) at University of Wisconsin-Madison, is now (C) at Westmoor Country Club in Brookfeld.
Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s note: The information in this report was pulled from GCSAAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s member database on Jan. 21, 2014.
BRAZIL Neil A. Cleverly, formerly (ISM) at Riviera Cancun Country Club, is now (ISM) at Rio 2016 Olympic Golf Course in Rio de Janeiro. CANADA Jordan Barber, formerly (C) at Muirfeld Village Golf Club, is now (C) at Beacon Hall Golf Club in Aurora, Ontario. Adam C. Calver, formerly (ISM) at Nirwana Bali Golf Club, is now (ISM) at Cabot Links in Inverness, Nova. Jason W. Dowling, formerly (A) at MacDonald Island Park Corp., is now (A) at Big Bay Point Golf & Country Club in Ontario. Mike Temple, formerly (C) at Champaign Country Club, is now (C) at Woodside Greens Golf Club in Simcoe, Ontario. Colin Young, formerly (C) at Beacon Hall Golf Club, is now (ISM) at LeBovic Golf Club in Stouffville, Ontario.
SPAIN Daniel Carretero, formerly (ISM), is now (Supt. Mbr.) at RCGLP-Research Center in Santa Brigida. Miguel Angel Merchan Gonzalez, formerly (ISM) at Golf Campo de Layos, is now (ISM) at Golf de Valdeluz in Guadlahara.
IN MEMORIAM George H. Fillmore, 89, died Aug. 24, 2013. Mr. Fillmore was a 38-year member of GCSAA. He retired from Jackson, Mich., County Parks and Recreation following 41 years of service, many of those spent at Cascades Golf Course. A World War II veteran, Mr. Fillmore also was a member of the Michigan GCSA, a member of the Fraternal Order of Police and lifetime member of American Legion Post 29. He is survived by his wife, Doris; son Corky (Paula) Fillmore; and daughter Caren Leady; sister Clara (Bill) Adams; grandsons Chris (Aimee) and Jon (Dana) Fillmore; great-grandchildren Jessica, Zac, Riley and Dash Fillmore; sister-in-law Irene Fillmore; plus several nieces and nephews. William P. Madigan, CGCS Retired, 73, died Dec. 28, 2013. Mr. Madigan, a 48-year member of GCSAA, retired from The Country Club of Jackson, Mich., after 36 years of service. He served in the U.S. Army from 1960-66. Mr. Madigan is survived by his mother, Mildred; sister Patricia Van Bonn; brothers Dennis and Kerry Madigan; sons Brent (Kimberly), Bryan (Lara) and Bruce Madigan; and grandchildren Ian, Nathan, Molly, Sean and Sara.
GCM (ISSN 0192-3048 [print]; ISSN 2157-3085 [online]) is published monthly by GCSAA Communications Inc., 1421 Research Park Drive, Lawrence, KS 66049-3859, 785-841-2240. Subscriptions (all amounts U.S. funds only): $60 a year. Outside the United States and Canada, write for rates. Single copy: $5 for members, $7.50 for nonmembers. Offce of publication and editorial offce is at GCSAA, 1421 Research Park Drive, Lawrence, KS 66049-3859. Periodicals postage paid at Lawrence, Kan., and at additional mailing offces. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to: Golf Course Management, 1421 Research Park Drive, Lawrence, KS 66049. CANADA POST: Publications mail agreement No. 40030949. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to P.O. Box 122, Niagara Falls, ONT L2E 6S8.
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Georgia Seed Development Commission ... 81, Insert (303) 431-7333 ........................ www.tifeagle.com
Nufarm ............................................................ 112 (800) 345-3330 ..................... www.nufarm.com/US
John Deere Co. ................................................4-5 (800) 257-7797 .............www.johndeere.com/Golf
Quali-Pro ............................................................ 11 (888) 584-6598 .........................www.quali-pro.com
Golf-Lift Div. Derek Weaver Co., Inc. ............... 117 (800) 788-9789 .........................www.golf-lift.com
Peat, Inc. .......................................................... 117 (800) 441-1880 ........................... www.peatinc.com
The Toro Co. ..................................................IFC-1 (800) 752-0463 ..............................www.toro.com
Standard Golf Co. ................................... 65, Insert (866) 743-9773 ................ www.standardgolf.com
Greenleaf Technologies................................... 102 (760 )485-2936 .....................www.turbodrop.com
Penn State University ........................................ 111 (800) 233-4973 .............www.worldcampus.psu.edu
Tee-2-Green Corp. ......................................... 42-43 (800) 547-0255 .................... www.tee-2-green.com
GreensGroomer Worldwide, Inc......................... 17 (888) 298-8852 ext. 500 .................... http://www. greensgroomer.com/
Pifer ................................................................. 116 (888) 442-8442 ..........................www.pifergolf.com
GOLD PARTNERS Jacobsen ...................................................31, 105 (800) 232-5907 ......................www.jacobsen.com Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC .......Cover, Cover 4 (909) 308-1633 ..................................................... www.syngentaprofessionalproducts.com
SILVER PARTNERS Andersons, Inc., The.......................................... 25 (800) 253-5296 .............. www.AndersonsPro.com Barenbrug USA ................................................. 33 (800) 547-4101 ......................... www.barusa.com Baroness ............................................................ 19 (707)283-0610 ............................ www.baroness.us BASF ................................................................ 51 (888) 566-5506 .................www.betterturf.basf.us Bayer Environmental Science ......................13, 73 (866) 550-8785 . http://www.backedbybayer.com/ golf-course-management Club Car ........................................................ 66-67 (800) 445-6680 ........................... www.clubcar.com Floratine Products Group .................................. 77 (901) 853-2898 ....................... www.foratine.com Lebanon Turf ................................................14-15 (800) 350-6650 ............... www.lebanonturf.com/ Par Aide Products Co.......................................... 2-3 (513) 470-0160 ...........................www.paraide.com
ADVERTISERS AgSource Harris Laboratories ............................ 102 (402) 476-0300 ........ http://harrislabs.agsource.com Aquatrols Corporation ....................................... 39 (800) 257-7797 ..................... www.aquatrols.com BoardTronics...................................................... 6-7 (800) 782-9938 ............................boardtronics.com Bobcat ............................................................... 23 (877) 745-7813 ...... http://bobcat.com/mowtosnow6 Broyhill Inc. ..................................................... 116 (909) 343-2100 ........................ www.broyhill.com Central Garden and Pet ..................................... 107 (816) 221-9189 ............................www.central.com Champion Turf Farms ......................................... 8-9 (888) 290-7377 ..........www.championturffarms.com East Coast Sod & Seed ...................................... 116 (856) 769-9555 ...................www.eastcoastsod.com FMC Professional Solutions .............................. 55 (800) 235-7368 .......... www.fmcprosolutions.com Foley United ...................................................... 83 (800) 225-9810 .................. www.foleyunited.com Frost Services ..................................................... 98 (800) 621-7910 ......................... www.frostserv.com GCSAA Services........................... 65, 81, 91, 98-99 (800) 472-7878 ...............................www.gcsaa.org
PBI Gordon Corp......21, 103, 107, 109, 111, 113, 115 (800) 971-7233 .................... www.pbigordon.com
Grigg Bros. ........................................................ 69 (888) 623-7285 .....................www.griggbros.com Growth Products Ltd. ........................................ 29 (800) 648-7626 ...........www.growthproducts.com Helena Chemical Company ............................... 71 (901) 752-4414 ........... www.helenachemical.com Hunter Industries................................................. 37 (760) 744-5240 .......................www.huntergolf.com Johnston Seed Co. ......................................... 56-57 (800) 375-4613 .................. www.johnstonseed.com Kelly’s Green Team ............................................ 117 (660) 627-5500 ..............www.kellysgreenteam.com King Ranch ......................................................... 49 (800) 445-2602 ....................... www.miniverde.com Kochek ............................................................ 117 (800) 420-4673 .........................www.kochek.com Landmark Seed .................................................. 53 (800) 268-0180 ............www.turfandnativeseed.com Lastec ............................................................. 109 (866) 902-6454 ..........................www.lastec.com Linear Rubber Products ..................................... 117 (800) 558-4040 .....................www.rubbermats.com Milorganite ...................................................... 110 (800) 287-9645 ..................... www.milorganite.com
PlanetAir Turf Products ..................................... 27 (877) 800-8845 .........................www.planetair.biz Plant Food Co. Inc. .......................................... 113 (800) 562-1291 ................. www.plantfoodco.com Richway Industries ............................................ 118 (800) 553-2404 ...........................www.richway.com Select Source ..................................................... 75 (877) 235-0043 ................http://selectsourcellc.net/ Smithco, Inc................................................. Cover 3 (877) 833-7648 .......................... www.smithco.com Steven’s Water Monitoring ................................... 74 (215) 908-0044 ...................www.stevenswater.com SubAir Inc. ...................................................... 118 (800) 441-1880 ............. www.subairsystems.com TRIMS Software International Inc. .................. 118 (800) 608-7467 ............................www.trims.com Trojan Battery Company ...................................... 35 (800) 423-6569 . www.trojanbattery.com/competition Turfco................................................................. 63 (800) 679-8201 ............................. www.turfco.com Turf Screen ......................................................... 61 (267) 246-8654 ....................... www.turfmaxllc.com Wiedenmann North America ............................. 85 (866) 790-3004 .........www.wiedenmannusa.com
MultiGuard ......................................................... 41 (908) 272-7070 ............www.multiguardprotect.com
Bold denotes affliate member
BENTGRASS SOD
Greens Height ¥ Tee/Fairway Height
FESCUE
Fine • Blue/Fine • Tall
BLUEGRASS
Regular • Short-Cut INSTALLATION AVAILABLE
EAST COAST SOD & SEED 596 Pointers Auburn Road • Pilesgrove, NJ 08098 www.eastcoastsod.com
856-769-9555
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GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 03.14
Cover and Protect Bridges with
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1. Quick Coupler Key with Relief Valve
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3.
03.14 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT
117
118
GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 03.14
Photographer Eric S. Morrison, CGCS • Title Director of Golf Course and Parks Maintenance, Town of Groton, Conn. • Course Shennecossett Golf Course • GCSAA membership 18-year member • The shot On the morning of Feb. 4, during what Morrison describes as a “never-ending winter,” he captured this shot of the winter wonderland that had developed at Shennecossett Golf Course from behind the course’s 14th green. And “never-ending” may actually be the best way to describe the winter in that part of the country; on Feb. 13, the Groton area felt the brunt of a winter storm that dumped more snow and ice on the region. • Camera Nikon Coolpix S9300
Do you have a photograph that you’d like the GCM staff to consider for The Final Shot? You can submit photos for consideration by e-mail to thefnalshot@gcsaa.org or to GCM editor-in-chief Scott Hollister at shollister@gcsaa.org.
‘‘
The Smithco Star Command Spray System
saved us major time and chemistry at my last course…so when I moved to Quail Hollow,
my first purchase was another Star Command. Chris Deariso; Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte, NC
’’
3 integrated modules make the hard-to-believe happen.
Start with the finest sprayers made, factory-fitted with the Smithco/Capstan® SharpShooter,® Blended Pulse Technology and GPS enabled Raven Envizio Pro.
• Spray at speeds from 2 to 10 mph at a wide range of application rates. Automatically. • Never overspray again. Monitor shows an “As-Applied” map of the application. • Save up to 30% on chemicals and one-third on labor annually.
Then start enjoying all this: application rates from 0.4 gallons per 1000 sq. feet (GPT) to as much as 5 GPT at operating speeds from 2 to 10 mph and at any pressure necessary. AUTOMATICALLY.
Get the whole story at...
You'll see an “As-Applied” map of all this on your monitor as it’s taking place. Each nozzle automatically and instantly shuts off over areas that have already been sprayed and back on over unsprayed areas.