JulyAugust 2020 Issue of Fore Your Information

FORE YOUR I N F O R MA T I O N Ju l y A u gu s t 2020 2019 President’s Cup Tournament Grizzly Ranch Golf Club Hosted by Michael Baty

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P R E S I D E N T ’ S M E S S AG E Wow, what an August this has been. To say we’re busy keeping things alive is an understatement. As everyone knows water management and a strong fungicide program are key to surviving these heat waves that we have all been experiencing.

I have seen some social media posts from members spraying preventive applications for Pythium. It’s never fun when we have to worry about Pythium, but Scott McCullough many of us have been there and we will get through it. I have learned from working in Auburn for so many years that we often have an inversion layer in the summer and it’s not uncommon for us to have lows between 70-80 degrees. It does not keep me up at night worrying about Pythium as long as the course is not overly wet.

We can control those spots by turning those stations down or off. For me I don’t allow the irrigation tech to spot water greens past 8:30 am. Since sticking to that I’ve never had issues. Our Association has many Affiliate members that are really educated on diseases and if all else fails they can assist you in sending a sample out for analysis.

The association ended up canceling the August meeting do to the heat and the Covid-19 restrictions. We’re still planning to have our President’s cup event at Grizzly Ranch on September 21st. I am really looking forward to this event because it’s at such a great location and is usually

BY

SCOTT MCCULLOUGH

well attended. We are also planning to do our annual awards at this event, the meeting invitation has gone out and the registration is on line so be sure to get your registration made as we are limited to the number of attendees..

Association news: Irene and Kim are sending out the annual dues renewals. Superintendent members will have the option to do a facility memberships. If you have multiple members of the Sierra Nevada GCSA you can now do a facility membership and possibly save some money.

It’s a great opportunity to have your assistant, mechanic, irrigation techs or any other staff be a part of our association.

I will begin working on the agenda for the Turf Tech in September. At this time, we don’t know if it will be a virtual meeting or the normal meeting. Educational speakers will be chosen with the virtual meeting in mind. Hopfully we will be able to do the normal meeting. Look for more updates in the future newsletter.

Lastly Mike Stieler, CGCS and Spring Creek C.C. will be hosting our Annual Scholarship & Research Tournament and our Election meeting on November 3rd. If you are interested in running for the board or if you’re on the fence about how much time commitment is required please reach out to Irene or any of the board members. For the Scholarship and Research Tournament, we will be holding the annual auction as a virtual auction. Get your donations in quickly so that we can start promoting our items.

I hope the last of summer is good to you and we look forward to seeing you at the September event.

2020 SNGCSA BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT Scott McCullough The Ridge Golf Course

VICE PRESIDENT Sam Samuelson, CGCS Wildhawk Golf Course

Dave Bermudez Del Rio Golf & Country Club

SECRETARY/TREASURER John Farley Teal Bend Golf Course DIRECTORS Tracy Shanahan Peach Tree C.C. Affiliate Representatives

Jason Wolf Lincoln Hills G.C.

Rodney Muller Sierra Pacific Turf

PAST PRESIDENT William Hamilton CGCS Lake Wildwood Association

Keith Hill, CGCS Hidden Valley C.C. Mark Stutsman

Michael Cunniff Clear Creek GC

Simplot Partners

Association Managers Irene Cline and Kimberly Milne

FORE YOUR INFORMATION Published by the Sierra Nevada Golf Course Superintendents Association EDITOR Bill Hamilton, CGCS OFFICE SNGCSA 3273 Richert Ave., Clovis, CA 93619 559-298-6262 Fax# 559-298-6957 sngcsaa@aol.com

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M E E T I N G DATES

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2020

2020

September 21, 2020

January 5, 2021

President’s Cup Tournament & Annual Awards Grizzly Ranch Golf Course Hosted by Mike Baty

Turf Tech Workshop The Ridge G.C. Hosted by Scott McCullough

November 2, 2020 Annual Scholarship & Research Tournament & Election Meeting Spring Creek Country Club Hosted by Michael Stieler, CGCS

December 3, 2020 Annual Holiday Tournament & Dinner Teal Bend Golf Course Hosted by John Farley Visit our On Line Industry Calendar for all event

https://californiagcsa.org/?page_id=3712

Visit us on line at SierraNevadaGCSA.com The SNGCSA is now on Facebook and Twitter.

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2020 SCHOLARSHIP & RESEARCH TOURNAMENT Unfortunately we had to postpone the Annual Scholarship & Research event to a later date this year. Fortunately, Mike Stieler, CGCS stepped up and has a date for us in November.

Mike will be hosting the event on November 3, 2020 at Spring Creek Golf & C.C. Once again Syngenta and Joe Ballmer will sponsor the tee prizes. We will be doing things a bit different this year which won’t be a surprise to anyone I’m sure. We will be holding our annual auction to raise funds for future scholarships as well as funds for research projects. The auction, however, will be an online silent auction that you will be able to participate in whether you are at the event in November or not. We will have the raffle as in the past and will hold the awards ceremony after golf with hosted hors ‘d ouerves. This will be in line with all safety measures.

We would like to thank all of our golf industry partners who have helped us in the past by providing equipment displays, items donated for the auction, sponsoring meals, and for those who sponsored tee signs and games on the course during the tournament. Superintendents, we also want to thank you for attending, bringing guests and bringing some great prizes for the raffle. Soon the SNGCSA Board of Directors will be asking you once again for donations for this year’s event.

Once again the money raised from this tournament goes to Scholarship and Legacy Awards, Turfgrass Research, Personal and Professional Development Program, and our Benevolence Fund.

We want to continue with the positive trend we have and we know we can’t do this without everyone’s participation.

We have already funded this years Scholarship and the Legacy Award that would have normally been done in July. We hope that you will be able to meet these individuals at the November event. Funds raised at this event will fund the scholarships for next years applicants.

Lets make this another great year!

Thank you, David Bermudez and Kurtis Wolford Co Chairmen

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2020 S C H O L A R S H I P R E C E P I E N T A N D 2 020 L E G A CY AWARD RECEPIENT We are proud to announce the 2020 Scholarship and Legacy Award winners. First we have the 2020 Turf Management Student Scholarship that went to Tom White.

Tom is enrolled at UC Riverside in Turf Management. The program will be somewhere between 15 to 24 months. He is presently working for Steve Fackler, CGCS at Serrano Country Club on the maintenance staff. Tom is enthusiastic about golf maintenance and learning about the agronomic and scientific side of our business. Tom graduated from Carmel Valley High School and then attended Colorado State as a communications major. He spent several years selling high tech electronics before deciding to follow his passion.

He loves being on the golf course and taking care and creating the best golfing environment he can.

Our 2020 Legacy award goes to Jack Samuelson. Jack is the son of Sam Samuelson, CGCS . Jack has been attending Willamette University in Salem, Oregon since 2017 and plans on graduating in 2021 with an Environmental Science Degree. His emphasis in on Natural Resources Management. Since attending college Jack has refined his career interests to the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Jack is a National Honor Society Member, California Scholarship Federation Distinguished Member, and Mortar Board Member at Willamette University. After completing his education

he hopes to make direct contributions to his chosen field through teaching, research, or a combination of the two.

Congratulations to Tom and Jack. We look forward to introducing them at the Spring Creek C.C. S&R tournament on November 3, 2020.

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F RO M T HE F IE LD

Jeff Jensen,

GCSAA Field Staff,

Southwest Region

GCSAA President John Fulling recently announced that the annual Golf Industry Show scheduled for the last week of January 2021 in Las Vegas will now be conducted in a virtual format Jeff Jensen the first week of February.

With the ongoing health concerns caused by the coronavirus, travel restrictions, global economy, monitoring of other national tradeshows and bans on large gatherings, it was decided by GCSAA and its presenting partners, The American Society of Golf Course Architects and Golf Course Builders Association of

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America that it was in the best interest and safety of all parties involved to move to a virtual format.

GIS 2021, “Your space. Your pace. All in one place.”, will take place the first week of February and will allow show participants the opportunity to attend from the safety of their homes or workplaces while still consuming all of the great content that GIS is known for.

Education, trade show and special events will take place live via the virtual platform and attendees will also have the opportunity to view or review the events/education/materials for an extended period after the conclusion of the live event.

Registration for GIS 2021 will open October 13 at https:// www.golfindustryshow.com/. At the time of this article, registration costs for the event are still being determined. The event will now be held the first week of February. A short demo video of the virtual platform is available at https:// player.vimeo.com/ video/447145809.

While moving to a virtual format was a difficult decision, it will allow those who have attended GIS in the past to

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save on travel costs this year and will allow many others who have never had the opportunity to attend, a chance too see what great opportunities and education that GIS has to offer. The safety of our members, vendors, sponsors and other attendees always comes first.

In other related news, an upcoming announcement on the status of the GCSAA Golf Championships scheduled to be held in Palm Desert, CA. January 23-25 will be made shortly.

I hope that you and your families are safe during these unusual times and we appreciate your continued support of GCSAA and our affiliated chapters. If I can be of any assistance to you, please don’t hesitate to contact me at jjensen@gcsaa.org and follow me on Twitter @GCSAA_SW for daily industry updates.

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2020 P R E S I D E N T S C U P G R I Z Z LY R A N C H G .C .

HOSTED BY MIKE BATY It’s been a crazy year of scheduling meetings, then cancelling meetings, and so on. It looks like we are finally getting an opportunity to keep on schedule with our Presidents Cup Tournament that has been scheduled for Grizzly Ranch on September 21, 2020.

Mike Baty, Host Superintendent, has been on top of all the Covid requirements and has a plan that should make our event successful and fun.

Its been 5 years since we have had the opportunity to play this beautiful course. Grizzly is ranked the #1 publicly-accessible golf course in the Sierra Nevada and #11 in California, It is known for its immaculate conditions and incredible

layout by Golf Digest. This recognition can be attributed to Mike and his crew.

The course is nestled between the high desert and the Plumas National Forest, The course was designed by Bob Cupp and has 7,400 yards from tips, but it has five sets of tees to accommodate every level of player which should make for an enjoyable day for all of our golfers.

Mike started at the club in 2004 as the Assistant Superintendent. In 2009, he was promoted to Superintendent. He was actually Mike Baty part of the “Grow In” at Grizzly Ranch and notes that as one of his “career highlights”. from the University of Georgia and completed the GCSAA Intern ProMike moved to Cal- gram. He then worked at Peach Tree ifornia from Texas Country Club and Serrano Country in1998 and took a Club and then El Dorado Hills Golf job at Beale A.F.B. Club before joining the team at where he made one Grizzly Ranch. In his free time, visit to the course Mike enjoys golf, horseshoes, and and knew that being bowling and being with his family. a Superintendent was what he wanted to do. He earned his We look forward to having the opportunity to see one another again Turf Certificate and what better location than Grizzly Ranch

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Duck Duck Turtle

Antibiotic Immunity Transmission to Algae

by Patrick Simmsgeiger, CLM

During these uncertain times related to Covid-19, there are still things we can do to prepare our businesses and properties for the new-norm which is certainly around the corner. Although this piece may initially add to your list of concerns, hope springs eternal that knowledge can be acted upon, and good stewards can make difficult decisions to protect all stake holders.

I remember my mother refusing to get a turtle for me as a pet. She understood that turtles transmitted salmonella, but she probably had no idea baby turtles also transmitted hepatitis-B. She told me not to touch the ducks in the neighborhood lake. She probably heard they hosted alphaherpes virus, which caused high mortality rates in ducks, geese and swans.

This disease first appeared in Long Island in 1967, transmitted from European flocks. In the last 50 years, these health threats have spread worldwide and normalized in the public mind. There is emerging evidence that turtles, ducks and geese, adapted to the diseases they carry, spread antibiotic-resistant bacteria. As an aquatic expert, what keeps me awake some nights is the possibility these bacterial strains could transfer their resistance to water algae.

Ducks and turtles are as ubiquitous to water environments as shells on a beach. These water species excrete waste with bacterium, which settles into soil already laced with antibiotic run-off from human activity. This long-term buildup becomes a habitat for new generations of bacteria. In a scientific study of a Meat Duck Farm conducted in 2017, the data indicated that the deeper the excrement layers, and the longer these layers went without removal, the more numerous the antibioticresistant bacterial species, plus the greater number of antibiotics to which these species showed resistance.

These bacteria also evolved resistance to Zinc, Copper and Cadmium. Copper is the primary element used to control algae and cyanobacteria in

water. A Harmful Algal Bloom(HAB) is the result of runaway algae and cyanobacteria growth when heat and nutrient loading are abundant, and eco -diversity is low. HABs can be extremely toxic.

Could algae learn antibiotic and copper resistance from bacteria?

Algae are in every environment on the Earth, having emerged as a simpler species about 1.7 billion years ago. Bacteria existed a couple billion years before that. Cyanobacteria preceded these by about 1 billion years, being the first life on this planet.

Clearly these species learned or stole abilities from each other, then continued to evolve to the present day. It would be very unlikely that this adaptive behavior has suddenly come to a stop. More likely, these microorganisms are reacting to human activity, feeding on modern waste, adapting to our chemicals, while they continue to compete and learn from one another. Microorganisms comprise the vast majority of biomass, which has always been true and will probably always be true; humans are a recent experiment.

Many aquatic companies that treat algae promise to eradicate the problem.

The fact is, algae colonies cannot be completely eliminated, only limited in size and reproduction by using proper tools and procedures. Not only are there immense varieties of algae and bacteria adapted to every environment, but

each cell of a species has the capability to create a daughter with new characteristics. If human teenage girls are tough, they have nothing on microorganisms. According to a recent estimate, there are about one trillion species of microbes on Earth, and 99.99 % of them have yet to be classified. Clearly, microorganisms have no problem evolving through adaption, with the newer species adapted to consume the most abundant form of nutrients, while resisting threats that limited their mother cells.

Once we accept the possibility of an inter-species exchange of resistance, what is the possibility this new algae strain would move out of its home pond? The same bird groups that excrete large amounts of waste also move from lake to lake. Birds visit all the water features in their territory but have a favorite spot; turtles

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Duck Duck Turtle Contnd from page 8 have a capacity to travel as well. The wind plays a large role in transporting bacteria and other microorganisms over long distances. Empirically, the entire Earth is covered by microorganisms well -suited to each set of conditions.

‘Survival of the Fittest’ is the rule, so there is every reason to believe that once a species can resist local defenses, it will find a way to spread to every nutrient source available.

Aquatic experts rely on a limited number of products to control algae, ultimately using copper as the active control ingredient, when more subtle treatments fail. Although antibiotic resistance is a problem all its own, it is algae’s resistance to copper that presents global concerns. But what can be done; is this an inevitable response of Nature to human activity? The most obvious step is to reduce human runoff into streams and lakes, which is a solution beyond the scope of aquatic managers.

Next is the cleaning of muck layers from lakes and ponds, which is effective and doable, but not cheap. This step is commonly delayed for years, even decades, for budget and permit reasons. The last solution is the control of bird and turtle populations, which is an easy action to consider, but socially and politically difficult to carry out.

Reducing bird and turtle populations first runs into regulatory issues.

These restrictions have nothing to do with The Endangered Species Act of 1973, but rather stem from public opinion. A complicated permit process, adding costs & delays, plus Public Relation issues are the bane of property managers and municipalities. Restrictions on turtle, bird and fish removal are commonly the final straw that defeats even a permitted plan. There is a San Francisco property that requires humane fish euthanizing, beginning with a gentle capture, then freezing, and finally a chemical soft-wash. After many years they are still looking for a contractor. Most water features in the United States are decades beyond their life-span for muck removal. This delay in cleaning exacerbates and encourages the biologic risks, while

also limiting water health overall.

Being alarmist in no way benefits a professional discussion, or any form of governance. Water management experts think in terms of years at a property, drawing on decades of experience.

Yet recent events have demonstrated how quickly the status-quo can change, how our assumptions about safety can become obsolete. In 1967, Avian Infectious Bronchitis Virus was studied as a crossover vector for human bronchitis.

Interestingly, this was the same year flocks were found dead in Long Island from a European infection. Today, we may be ignoring signs of a larger problem, where algae could incorporate antibiotic and copper resistance from bacteria, vectored through birds and turtles, which densely populate neighborhood water features. Even if we recognize the signs, our hands remain effectively tied by sentiment for these adorable creatures, many of which we encourage to live in our underserved lakes. ______________ Pat Simmsgeiger is the President of DWI, a Certified Lake Management company and manufacturer of aquatic products for 35 years and counting. Being a vital industry supplier, DWI is maintaining service to clients and consumers during the Covid -19 event with modified work practices and procedures.

References: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ pubmed/27744296 Accumulation of antibiotics and heavy metals in meat duck deep litter and their role in persistence of antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli in different flocks on one duck farm. - 2017 https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ ijmicro/2017/5798161/ Antibiotic Resistant Bacterial Isolates from Captive Green Turtles and In Vitro Sensitivity to Bacteriophages – 2017 https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/the -us-endangered-species-act The US Endangered Species Act of 1973 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl es/PMC375381/pdf/jvirol003290177.pdf Morphogenesis of Avian Infectious Bronchitis Virus and a Related Human Virus (Strain 229E) - 1967

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LINK FOURTIPLEX MORE THAN A BIOSTIMULANT

By Stan Adam, Wilbur Ellis Co.

SNGCSA has something to offer golf

facilities of every size the year. With the new Facility Membership, smaller operations will have access to resources for their whole team at a price point in line with their operation. With the Multi-Member Promotion, larger facilities will also have the opportunity to save when they add a staff member.

Facility Membership provides access to SNGCSA resources and services, particularly those that can help with training staff members, expanding their staffs knowledge, and creating opportunities all while creating a savings for the golf facility. To be eligible for Facility Membership, a facility must have a SNGCSA Superintendent member, The dues will then be $300 per year for the facility which includes up to 3 additional employees.

Through the Multi-Member Promotion, everyone on a maintenance staff can benefit from the information and professional development opportunities that come with SNGCSA membership, allowing them to improve the efficiency and profitability of the facility. For more information on this and to receive the Facility Membership application please contact the association office at 559-298-6262 or email us at sngcsaa@aol.com.

A

lmost 25 years ago, the Sierra Nevada Golf Course Superintendents Association sponsored a meeting that invited many of the manufacturers of biostimulants to present to the group.

At that time, biostimulants were relatively new to superintendents and some people perceived these products as “snake oils”. Fast forward to today, superintendents have an abundance of choices in this category.

Wilbur Ellis has a 100 year history of providing plant nutritional needs. LINK FOURTIPLEX was formulated with several key beneficial ingredients for soil nutrition to enhance plant health. Our focus was to include several of the key components (all in one jug) that provide for greater soil health and as result plant health.

PERFORMANCE ATTRIBUTES LINK FOURTIPLEX contains ingredients that are targeted to aid plants and soils in the following ways: • Reduce stress and increase plant vigor • Condition plants to withstand abiotic stress • Repair and restore plant health after/during stress events such as cold/heat, drought, traffic, disease/insect damage resilience and recovery, etc… • Improve root development and color response while avoiding excess growth • Is extremely compatible and stable in tank mixes PRODUCT INGREDIENTS LINK FOURTIPLEX provides maximized diversity by including several beneficial ingredients in one jug: • Seaweed extract from Ecklonia maxima, which is especially active at the root level • Contains the following L-Amino acids (Alanine, Arginine, Aspartic, Cystine, Glutamine, Glycine, Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Proline, Serine, Threonine, Tyrosine, Valine) to supplement the plants natural production and availability during times of stress • Molasses for stimulating and feeding native microbes • Potassium acetate for plant available potassium and acetate to yield acetyl-CoA and play a role in the glyoxylate cycle in plants • Humic acid for increased soil health, structure, root mass production and nutrient uptake • Salicylic acid and natural phenolic compounds to increase the likelihood of inducing the plant’s natural defenses against biotic and abiotic stresses • Glutamic acid which plays a central role in nitrogen metabolism and chlorophyll synthesis There are several Northern California golf courses that have given this new product a try. A recent Oregon State Anthracnose trial showed better turf health and density in the plots that included LINK FOURTIPLEX with fungicides vs. without. In addition, the formulation is tank mix friendly compared to other like products. LINK FOURTIPLEX is an all-in-one soil enhancement product that would round off any basic foliar program. Do you know the benefits of optimizing the nutrients in your soil? Simply introducing a building block like LINK FOURTIPLEX can take your plant growth to the next level, increasing vigor and help push through the stress periods.

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