golf course management - august 2015
DESCRIPTION
A publication of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of AmericaTRANSCRIPT
Golf Course Management Magazinewww.gcsaa.org • August 2015
Offcial Publication of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America
INSIDE: Picking the perfect bunker sand PAGE 56
ReturnWhistling Straits readies for another major championship turn PAGE 44
GCM
2015 MVT winner 34
Grassroots growth 64
Seeding success 89engagement
Join the Conversation
@ToroGolf©2015 The Toro Company. All rights reserved.
AERATORS THAT MAKE THE
MOST OF YOUR TURF.
AND THE MOST OF YOUR TIME.
It’s simpleTURFONOMICS
Call: 800-803-8676
Visit: toro.com/cultivation
ProCore®
648
ProCore®
864
ProCore®
1298
Whether you need a greens or a fairway aerator, Toro ProCore
aerators will help you work more efciently. Consider the
ProCore 648. It’s the only greens aerator that has its wheels set
within and ahead of the aeration swath to avoid running over freshly
aerated turf and aeration cores, making core cleanup quicker and
easier. What’s more, it aerates 18 greens in about seven hours.
For fairways, the 64-inch ProCore 864 and the 98-inch ProCore 1298
with articulating coring heads utilize the same time-proven coring
head technology of the ProCore 648. The result is not only the
most durable large area aerators available today, but also the
most productive for your course.
Toro® ProCore® aerators. Innovation and durability for unmatched productivity.
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.
Wherever golf is played.
The right accessories improve course conditions and make golfers want to come back for more.
More than ever, you have to wow golfers with your golf course. That’s because the No. 1
reason golfers give for not returning to a golf course is “poor course conditions.” But there’s
more to course conditions than greens, tees, fairways and bunkers. Consider accessories –
something golfers see, touch and feel on every hole.
Having well maintained, proper golf course accessories is a crucial part of course conditions.
They make an important and lasting impression on golfers and reinforce the course’s (and
your) reputation. Quality accessories from Par Aide can improve course aesthetics and
playability while saving you time and money. Find out how we can make your accessories
budget work harder than ever.
P A R A I D E . C O M 8 8 8 - 8 9 3 - 2 4 3 2
The new A Model Mowers from John Deere.
Now your presence can be felt on every pass. Thanks to the TechControl display on our new A Model
mowers, the Turn Speed screen lets you slow down a mower to a percentage of the mowing speed
as the cutting units are lifted after a pass, greatly reducing scuffng. You can also plug in mow
and transport speeds, service reminders and receive diagnostic feedback quickly and accurately.
And all of your operators can now mow in a more consistent fashion.
The power to control your course is now in your hands. To sign up for a demo, visit John Deere.com/Demo.
Trusted by the best courses on Earth.
Proper turns have been out of your control. Until now.
61999
JohnDeere.com/Golf
Our exclusive, passcode-protected
Tech Control™ Display lets you program
commands for your operators.
10 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
CONTENTS08.15
44
56
64
72
Repeat businessWith its dramatic lakefront
vistas and 967 (!) bunkers,
the Straits Course at Whistling
Straits is ready for yet another
turn in the major championship
spotlight.
Scott Hollister
The quest for the perfect sandAt the heart of every great
bunker is a great bunker sand.
Knowing what to look for (and
where to look for it) is the key to
making the right choice for your
golf course.
Stacie Zinn Roberts
Growing a grassroots influenceGCSAA’s Grassroots
Ambassador program gives golf
a voice in the halls of Congress
by cultivating relationships with
policymakers at the local level.
Here’s how and why to lend
your voice to the chorus.
Kaelyn Seymour
A state of fluxExperts agree on the benefits of
ultradwarf berumdagrasses, but are
also paying heed to emerging chal-
lenges facing those who manage
these warm-season turfgrasses.
Sam Williams
On the cover: The third hole on the Straits Course at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wis., the host of this month’s PGA Championship. Photo by Montana
Pritchard/The PGA of America
12 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
INSIGHTS
Improving turfgrass establishment with multiple-depth seeding Planting turfgrass seed at more than
one depth may increase the odds of
establishment in non-irrigated fields.
John Grande, Ph.D.
Robert Shortell, Ph.D. 89
RESEARCH
Cutting EdgeTeresa Carson
Ed
95
16 President’s Message
18 Inside GCM
20 Front Nine
30 Photo Quiz
82 Through the Green
94 Verdure
96 Product News
100 Industry News
106 Climbing the Ladder
106 On Course
107 Coming Up
107 On the Move
108 In the Field
110 New Members
110 Newly Certified
110 In Memoriam
112 Final Shot
ETCETERA08.15
34ShopCuriosity fuels an
MVT winner
Scott Hollister
AdvocacyWOTUS: Defined,
but not done
Chava McKeel
TechnologyOn course with the
Apple Watch
Bob Vaughey, CGCS
EnvironmentLighten up
Megan Hirt
36e403832Turf
Grazin’ in the grass
Teresa Carson
Snow mold fungicide persistenceHow long do snow mold fungicides persist
in variable winter conditions, and how does
persistence affect disease control?
P.L. Koch, Ph.D.
J.C. Stier, Ph.D.
J.P. Kerns, Ph.D.
84
14 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
GCSAA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President JOHN J. O’KEEFE, CGCS
Vice President PETER J. GRASS, CGCS
Secretary/Treasurer BILL H. MAYNARD, CGCS
Immediate Past President KEITH A. IHMS, CGCS
Directors RAFAEL BARAJAS, CGCS
KEVIN P. BREEN, CGCS
DARREN J. DAVIS, CGCS
JOHN R. FULLING JR., CGCS
MARK F. JORDAN, CGCS
Chief Executive Offcer J. RHETT EVANS
Chief Operating Offcer J.D. DOCKSTADER
GCM STAFF
Editor-in-Chief SCOTT HOLLISTER
Managing Editor MEGAN HIRT
Sr. Science Editor TERESA CARSON
Associate Editor HOWARD RICHMAN
Sr. Manager, Creative Services ROGER BILLINGS
Manager, Creative Services KELLY NEIS
Traffc Coordinator BRETT LEONARD
GCSAA This Week/Turf Weekly
Editor ANGELA HARTMANN
ADVERTISING 800-472-7878
Director, Corporate Sales MATT BROWN
Sr. Manager, Business Development JIM CUMMINS
Sr. Manager, International Development ERIC BOEDEKER
Account Development Manager BRETT ILIFF
Account Managers SHELLY URISH
KARIN CANDRL
GCM MISSION
Golf Course Management magazine is dedicated to advancing the golf course superin-tendent 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 profes-sion and members’ careers, the magazine contributes to the enhancement, growth and vitality of the game of golf.
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. ©2015 by GCSAA Com-munications Inc., all rights reserved.
JOH
PET
BILL
KEIT
RAF
KEV
DAR
JOH
MAR
J. R
J.D.
SCO
sho
MEG
mhi
TER
tcar
HOW
hric
ROG
rbill
KEL
kne
BRE
bleo
ANG
aha
MAT
mbr
JIM
jcum
ERIC
ebo
BRE
bilif
SHE
suri
KAR
kca
Golf Course Management MagazineOffcial Publication of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America
Best of All Worlds®
www.LebanonTurf.com 1-800-233-0628
Emerald Isle Solutions True Foliar Mg Mn 6-0-0 contains two
forms of nitrogen along with magnesium and manganese in
an ideal ratio and seaplant extract. This premium grade foliar
fertilizer is perfect for tank mixing with other Emerald Isle
products due to a precision balanced nutrient design. And
because all True Foliar liquid fertilizers are absorbed through
transcuticular pores and stomatal openings, Emerald Isle
products deliver excellent response and overall performance.
Visit our website for more information.
• Magnesium (Mg) is a
component of chlorophyll
production and critical in
metabolic functions,
including cell respiration.
• Manganese (Mn) is a
critical element in
photosynthesis.
• Contains seaplant extract
which provides vitamins,
amino acids, cytokinins
and other proprietary
biostimulants.
We understand how demanding and ever-changing each day is at the golf course. That’s why we developed golf
course agronomic programs featuring both Country Club MD and Emerald Isle Solutions products to assist
superintendents in maximizing their turf’s performance; whether with a complete seasonal fertility program or with
specifc situations like a tournament prep, quick divot repair or aerifcation.
Visit www.countryclubmd.com and click on the “Downloads” tab to view all the agronomic programs, or contact
your LebanonTurf distributor.
Core Fertility - Cool Season Putting Greens
Core Fertility - Warm Season Putting Greens
Tournament Prep / Quick Divot Repair / Growth Regulator Tank Mix
Aerifcation / Overseeding Program
Best of All Worlds®www.LebanonTurf.com • www.countryclubmd.com
Facebook: /LebanonTurf - Twitter: @LebTurf1-800-233-0628
16 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
During my time on the GCSAA Board of Directors, and most notably during my term this year as association president, I have had the opportunity to travel far and wide, to meet golf course superintendents from nearly every corner of the country. And inevitably during those interactions, the conversation turns to the value of membership in GCSAA.
I’m gratifed that most know exactly what they get out of being a member of our asso-ciation, and that they routinely communi-cate those benefts to their employers. But for some, those benefts aren’t as clear. They ask me earnestly what GCSAA membership de-livers to them aside from a subscription to this magazine and the annual Golf Industry Show.
Fortunately, recent months have presented plenty of excellent examples of the benefts of GCSAA membership, examples that go far beyond a magazine and an educational con-ference. They highlight programs and services that support not only individual superinten-dents, but also the industry as a whole — true membership benefts if ever there were any.
The frst of those examples is Rounds 4 Research, which completed its 2015 online auction of donated rounds of golf in June and raised more than $112,500 for turfgrass re-search and educational efforts. Since launch-ing nationally in 2012, Rounds 4 Research has brought in more than $400,000.
While most are likely aware of this pro-gram and its purpose, what might not be as well known is just how impactful Rounds 4 Research can be on individual superinten-dents. This is a national program that delivers a decidedly local beneft. Because funds that are raised through these auctions are funneled back to the chapters and local turfgrass organi-zations who helped obtain the rounds of golf that were put up for auction, the research ef-forts those funds help are ones that are most important to turfgrass managers in those areas.
For example, the Carolinas GCSA raised more than $22,000 through this year’s auc-tion, more than any of the program’s other 50-plus fundraising partners. That money will stay local, powering research work that seeks to solve turfgrass challenges specifc to the Carolinas. So, even if you’re a superintendent who has never heard of Rounds 4 Research be-fore now, the fruits of that project’s labors will one day beneft both you and your facility.
Another example of an underappreciated member beneft is the GCSAA Grassroots Ambassador program, which celebrated its frst anniversary last month. The program was designed to pair a GCSAA member with every member of Congress — all 535 of them — as a means to create a more visible, proactive government relations mechanism, one that will beneft both the association and the golf industry as a whole. As of that one-year an-niversary, the program had 174 participants representing 45 states.
So how does something like that beneft rank-and-fle members of GCSAA? In count-less ways, actually. Having a strong, regular presence on Capitol Hill and ongoing con-versations with lawmakers ensures that they know about golf and about golf course su-perintendents. They know the many benefts the game contributes to our society. They also know the issues that are important to us and the challenges we face.
That work builds a foundation of trust, one that pays off when legislation or regulations arise that could potentially affect our business. That was certainly evident during this year’s debates over the EPA’s “Waters of the United States” regulations. While work on this issue remains ongoing, it was clear throughout that the efforts of programs such as the Grassroots Ambassador program had paid dividends. There are far more allies of golf in Washing-ton than detractors now, which is good news for all superintendents, regardless of whether you’ve met your own senators and representa-tives. You can read more about the Grassroots Ambassador program on Page 64 of this issue of GCM.
As these two initiatives illustrate — along with numerous others just like them — the benefts of GCSAA membership come in many forms. They might not all be as visible as this magazine or the annual GIS, but trust that all of them have been created with an eye toward member service, advancing our shared profession and enhancing all aspects of the great game of golf.
John J. O’Keefe, CGCS, is the director of golf course man-
agement at Preakness Hills Country Club in Wayne, N.J.,
and a 35-year member of GCSAA.
John J. O’Keefe, CGCS
Making membership work for you
Another
example of an
underappreciated
member beneft
is the GCSAA
Grassroots
Ambassador
program, which
celebrated its frst
anniversary last
month.
(president’s message)
SILVER PARTNER
How your course looks and plays. It’s why golfers show up and why they come
back. Apply DURATION CR® controlled-release fertilizer. This polymer-coated
enhanced effi ciency fertilizer precisely delivers nutrition so your turf can stand
up—round after round. With nutrient release of 45, 90 and 120 days, you
can tailor programs that save time, money and optimize labor. Partner with
DURATION CR® fertilizer. To exceed expectations. On your course.
Consult with your distributor for more applied advantages, or visit KochTurf.com.
DURATION CR® and the DURATION CR logo are trademarks of Koch Agronomic Services, LLC. KOCH and
the KOCH logo are trademarks of Koch Industries, Inc. © 2015, Koch Agronomic Services, LLC. T&O-14-11568. Controlled-Release Fertilizer
Your course. Your reputation.
ENHANCE BOTH.
T H E P O W E R T O M A K E T H I N G S G R O W
18 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
The cone of silence on the hill at Cham-bers Bay said it all.
If you expected to hear rebuttals from director of agronomy Eric Johnson and su-perintendent Josh Lewis about some of the sentiments of professional golfers who took exception to certain aspects of Chambers Bay, well, you were out of luck.
Up there on that hill, where the mainte-nance facility is located, it was all about tak-ing care of business amid the noise from down below before, during and after the U.S. Open.
Whether it was this golfer calling the fne fescue greens broccoli or that golfer compar-ing them to caulifower, Johnson and Lewis mostly refrained from publicly voicing their responses. For me, a graduate of Kansas State University, it brought to mind the phrase that Wildcats’ legendary football coach Bill Snyder often uses.
Keep sawing wood.That is exactly the approach that Johnson
and Lewis chose to take.“It’s not like we were going to change the
world in two days. We were trying to be pro-active, not reactive,” Johnson recently told me. “We just had to roll along, stick to the plan, achieve the goals of the USGA.”
Darin Bevard, the USGA’s director of cham- pionship agronomy, applauded their efforts.
“Eric, Josh, their team and our team, kept doing what we do on a daily basis. They did a great job adapting to whatever came along,” Bevard says. “Some of the background noise ... they were confdent in what they were doing. It didn’t affect them one way or another.”
Record heat in the state of Washington didn’t help their cause. It began long before players arrived.
“May was effectively August for us,” John-son says. “It already was in the 80s in May.”
“It’s an outdoor game,” Bevard says. “Sometimes the weather can throw us a curve-ball. The stress on the golf course leading up to it (U.S. Open) was less than ideal for us.”
The USGA hoped to have frm greens, but controlling them wasn’t simple. Greens were watered in the morning of championship week, yet the annual bluegrass perked up, cre-ating cause for concern.
“The poa defnitely didn’t cooperate for us all the time,” Johnson says. “The goal was to
make sure frmness didn’t get away from us. I thought we did pretty well.”
As for some of the bounces on greens, Johnson says, “They could have been other things than just annual bluegrass. They could be ball marks, rocks out of bunkers, small pebbles. That might’ve been part of it.”
Ken Nice worked for Johnson and Lewis as a volunteer, but he is no newcomer when it comes to fne fescue. As director of agron-omy at Bandon Dunes, Nice understands how much Poa annua is an issue.
“It’s a different animal,” he says.Still, Nice was impressed by how those in
charge accepted the challenge.“It was a seamless effort by Eric and the
whole staff. Look at the defnition of ‘pro-fessionals’ — that’s how they handled it,” Nice says.
Reaction from the general public to Cham-bers Bay was mixed, says Matt Allen, general manager of KemperSports, which operates the facility.
“I was a little surprised by how many peo-ple just still aren’t prepared to tolerate brown turf, this assumption that brown is ‘dead.’ And certainly, in the case of fescue, brown is not ‘dead,’ ” Allen says.
Allen gave high marks to Johnson and Lewis, including their ability to ignore the negative chatter.
“I think they did a great job shaking it off,” Allen says. “It would have to be hard because you invest so much of yourself in that out-come, and to be judged as they were by a small number of people so harshly ... but that’s life.”
Will Chambers Bay hold another U.S. Open? Allen says, “Personally, I believe it’s a matter of when rather than if.”
If he’s right, will fne fescue still cover Chambers Bay? Johnson expects it will.
“A positive characteristic of this golf course grass is it plays frm, fast, with mini-mal inputs,” Johnson says. “I don’t think we’d change a whole lot.”
If Johnson and Lewis are still there when that happens, Allen would be pleased.
“I’ve had few, if any, sleepless nights thanks to my confdence in them,” Allen says.
Howard Richman is GCM ’s associate editor.
Howard Richman
Twitter: @GCM_Magazine
Defending their turf
(inside gcm)
Jordan Spieth, U.S. Open champion, with the grounds maintenance team, headed by director of
agronomy Eric Johnson and superintendent Josh Lewis. Photo courtesy of David Phipps
His offce is a mere 125 miles south of the Arctic Circle. Prospective
employees where he works are heavily vetted for obvious reasons. Hours
for golfers who play on what he creates mimic those of Waffe House at
certain times of the year.
You know — open 24 hours.
George Howe, CGCS, gets it that his situation at Chena Bend Golf
Course falls into the “unique” category, but not solely because he is the
lone certifed golf course superintendent in the state of Alaska.
Dig this: “You could mow at 1 in the morning — if your neighbors
don’t get mad at you,” Howe says.
Sunlight is abundant from May to July at Chena Bend, located on
a military installment known as Fort Wainwright, a U.S. Army post near
Fairbanks. In that time frame, the sun sets shortly after midnight but
returns at 3 a.m. In between, Howe says, there is bright twilight. That
is why some golfers enjoy a rare opportunity to play a round in the wee
hours of the morning.
“We actually have a group that comes every year. Their goal is to see
Northern exposure
Photo by Alex Holam
2015 PGA Championship
By the NUMBERS
how many holes they can play,” he says.
Howe, who is 66 and a 34-year member of GCSAA, is
a Vermont native who landed in his wife Coral's home state
of Alaska. There, he helped manage the dentistry business
of his father-in-law, whose health was failing.
Eventually, he returned to turf management. Today,
Howe is responsible for 125 acres of turf, including bent-
grass greens and a bluegrass mix on the tees and in the
fairways. The dense summer sunlight keeps Howe busy
at a facility that can be played by three-star generals or
any member of the public. Chena Bend, which is 18 holes,
averages nearly 14,000 rounds per year.
“It’s easy to grow (grass). You can overseed a green
and see it pop in four days,” says Howe, who has an assis-
tant, an equipment manager and usually 10 seasonal em-
ployees. “The grass grows like crazy. For leagues that start
at 5 (in the afternoon), we should probably mow again.”
Sunlight begins diminishing this month at Chena Bend.
By late September, play will be reduced. Howe says tem-
Sometimes, it’s the little things that matter most.
For Bill Keene, the golf course superintendent at
Blacksburg (Va.) Country Club, one of those little things
is the way wet grass clippings have a tendency to collect
on the lip of the catch buckets on his John Deere triplex
greens mowers. When those clippings pile high enough,
they block other clippings from reaching the bucket, send-
ing them back into the reels and, ultimately, back onto the
surface of his Poa annua greens. It’s a minor issue, to be
sure, but one that requires a bit of extra cleanup time on
those damp, cool mornings when it occurs.
When he mentioned this in passing to one of the John
Deere sales representatives on hand for a customer ride-
and-drive event that Keene took part in at Pursell Farms
and Farm Links Golf Club in Sylacauga, Ala., in May, Keene
discovered the solution to his problem was almost as sim-
ple as the problem itself. The company offers a small ex-
Attendees had an opportunity to test-drive John Deere’s new A Series fairway, rough and trim mowers during a customer event at Farm Links GC in Sylacauga, Ala., in May. Photo by Scott Hollister
1.8
70
mill
ion Amount in dollars that
Rory McIlroy took home for winning the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla GC in Louisville, Ky.
Total number of volunteers who will be
on-site to assist in golf course maintenance
efforts at Whistling Straits
Feet above sea level of the 518-yard, par-5 15th hole on the Straits Course
80
Total truckloads of sand (approximately 80,000 cubic
yards) that were transported to the site during the construction
of Whistling Straits
13,126
190Number of temporary structures that will be constructed to support this year’s PGA Championship at Whistling Straits
28Height in inches of the
Wanamaker Trophy
27Weight in pounds of the Wanamaker Trophy
peratures (which can rise into the 90s in summer) can
drop to below freezing by early October. That won’t be as
chilly, though, as it can get.
“I’ve seen it 61 below. Kids can stay on the play-
grounds up to 20 below. When it gets to 60 below, the
schools close,” Howe says. “At least we don’t get a lot
of wind.”
Chena Bend, though, does have its share of fox, mar-
mot, and one particular species that ends up on the din-
ner table.
“The moose really is pretty good,” Howe says.
So is the opportunity to work at Chena Bend.
“I feel lucky to have the opportunity to provide a quality
course to the men and women that are stationed here and
that serve our country, and to the members of the greater
Fairbanks community that also enjoy playing at Chena
Bend Golf Course,” Howe says.
— Howard Richman, GCM associate editor
A John Deere show-and-tell at Farm Links
tender for those buckets, which moves the lip closer to
the reels and makes it easier for even the wettest of clip-
pings to fnd the bottom of the bucket instead of settling
on the lip.
For Keene, that one little bit of information made the
trip to Alabama worth it, and highlighted in his mind the
value of such events for working superintendents.
“It’s always good to get hands-on … and having their
guys here to answer questions is a big plus,” says Keene,
a 13-year GCSAA member. “Being able to throw stuff at
them about the machines we operate, the things we like
about them and the things we don’t, is defnitely valuable
to me as a working superintendent.”
At this particular event, which brought in groups of
superintendents and sports turf managers from Virginia
and Kansas, John Deere featured its recently launched A
Series fairway, rough and trim mowers, which all include
24 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
the TechControl display system, a function that allows turf
managers to preprogram things such as mowing, turning
and transport speeds. For most attendees, the event at
Farm Links was their frst opportunity to put these new
machines through their paces.
And Farm Links proved to be the perfect venue for this
event. The frst “research and demonstration” golf course
in the U.S. has hosted more than 10,000 golf course pro-
fessionals since it opened in 2001, with its greens, tees
and fairways serving as a showcase for, frst, Pursell Tech-
nologies’ Polyon fertilizer products (the company was sold
to Agrium in 2006, before that company was subsequently
acquired by Koch Agronomic Services in 2014), and, later,
for unique and innovative products from a host of other
industry partners.
Even though the pace of visitors to Farm Links has
slowed some in recent years, the facility’s director of
agronomy, Mark Langner, says events such as the one
hosted by John Deere will likely always be a part of the
experience at Farm Links.
“This is still in our DNA. It’s who we are. And we don’t
ever want this to go away,” the 22-year GCSAA member
says. “It may be smaller now than it was, but it’s starting
to pick back up, and this is an example of that. It’s still very
invigorating for us.”
— Scott Hollister, GCM editor-in-chief
Life beyond Augusta National for Benson
The forefather of SubAir Systems will soon be a grand-
father.
But if you think that Marsh Benson — who retired
April 30 following 26 years at Augusta National Golf Club
in Augusta, Ga., most recently as its senior director of
golf course and grounds — is riding off into the sunset,
think again.
Oh, Benson and his wife, Becky, certainly are excited
to become frst-time grandparents in October. His retire-
ment provides the opportunity to spend time with their
daughter Casey, who will give birth this fall. The rest of
the time, though, Benson plans to remain active in the golf
course industry as a project consultant and perhaps even
inventor, if the opportunity arises.
“There’s some unique projects I’m working on,” Ben-
son, 60, tells GCM, projects he prefers to keep under
wraps for the moment.
Ship’s anchor. The nautical motif touches several aspects of the 36-hole Harborside International Golf Center in Chicago, so named
for its proximity to Lake Michigan. The 216-yard, par-3 15th hole on the Port Course features an anchor-shaped island of turf set afoat in the middle of this fairway bunker. Ryan Tully, a 14-year GCSAA
member, is the GCSAA Class A superintendent at Harborside. Photo courtesy of Harborside International Golf Center
Art of the bunker
Apple. Apples are aplenty — as both a theme and the fruits themselves — at Apple Tree Golf Course, situated amid a century-old apple orchard in Yakima, Wash. This bunker forms the leaf on the 17th-hole island green, with players accessing the green via the fruit’s “stem” walkway. John W. Hull, a 20-year member of GCSAA, heads maintenance at Apple Tree.Photo courtesy of Apple Tree Golf Course
“Old Crabby.” Pincers primed, the Dungeness crab guards the third hole at The Cedars at Dungeness in Sequim, Wash.,
where three-year GCSAA member Ken Chace serves as superintendent. A flling of red volcanic cinders from Bend, Ore.,
enhances the resident crustacean’s realistic look.Photo courtesy of The Cedars at Dungeness
Snoopy. The beloved beagle on Highland National Golf Course’s 15th hole is an homage to “Peanuts” creator Charles M. Schulz, who learned how to play golf at the course in St. Paul, Minn., in the 1930s. Denise Kispert, a 20-year member of GCSAA, serves as the GCSAA Class A superintendent at Highland National.Photo by Google Earth
Wildcat’s paw. The mascot of Kansas State University has left its mark on the ffth hole of Colbert Hills Golf Course
in Manhattan, Kan., where Matt Gourlay, CGCS, leads maintenance. Even the bunker’s sand sports school spirit,
imbued with KSU’s signature purple.Photo by Roger Hammerschmidt
411
Golf course bunkers come in all shapes and sizes, but some of those shapes and sizes are more
unique than others. This month, we feature some of the more distinct and, in some cases, colorful
bunkers we’ve come across. If you have a bunker that you think is a worthy member of this club, let
us know about it on Twitter. Share your photo with the hashtag #artofthebunker, and don’t forget to
tag @GCM_Magazine.
Marsh Benson
26 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
Contest winner earns trip to Whistling Straits
Murray Calhoun goes out of his way to praise GCSAA
Class A superintendent William Smith. Because of it, Cal-
houn will be going away.
Calhoun, 71, won the “Thank a Superintendent” pro-
motional sweepstakes offered by GCSAA. The prize: a trip
for two to this month’s PGA Championship at Whistling
Straits Golf Club in Kohler, Wis.
“I can’t even remember what I wrote about him
(Smith),” says Calhoun, who plays the Country Club of
Columbus (Ga.) three times a week. “It isn’t hard to say
nice things about William. He is a quality guy who does
great work.”
Smith, in his 26th year at the Country Club of Colum-
bus, says, “I was fabbergasted that one of my members
had won the trip. Mr. Calhoun is always one who is cordial
and thanks me for what I do on a fairly regular basis.”
GCSAA received more than 1,100 entries for the
sweepstakes, which ran in April and May. The sweep-
stakes is part of a larger commercial campaign that in-
cludes professionals such as Jack Nicklaus and Rory
McIlroy encouraging golfers, “If you love golf like I do,
thank a golf course superintendent.”
The “Thank a Superintendent” campaign enters its
second phase this fall, when GCSAA will introduce another
sweepstakes.
Rounds 4 Research raises $112,500
The 2015 Rounds 4 Research auction raised a total
of $112,500.
Rounds 4 Research, which is designed to support
turfgrass studies, sold more than 670 rounds in a June
online auction. The program is managed by the Environ-
mental Institute for Golf (EIFG), the philanthropic organi-
zation of GCSAA.
The Carolinas GCSA raised more than $22,000, which
made it the leader among more than 50 fundraising part-
ners that donated rounds to support turfgrass research at
the local level. The top bid was $3,435 for a two-night stay
and eight rounds of golf offered by Bandon Dunes Resort
in Bandon, Ore. The high bid for a tee time for four golfers
was $1,720 for the chance to play Somerset Hills Country
Club in Bernardsville, N.J., a famed A.W. Tillinghast course
and host of the 1990 Curtis Cup.
“Playing at Bandon Dunes was on my bucket list, but
the most gratifying result of the auction for me is knowing
that the funds will go toward a better golf experience for all
of us,” said Dr. Robert Stout, who submitted the winning
bid for Bandon Dunes.
The Rounds 4 Research campaign is supported by a
$50,000 donation from The Toro Co. The program has
raised more than $400,000 since being launched in 2012.
Elite eight for Olympia FieldsOlympia Fields joins an exclusive club this month.
When it hosts the U.S. Amateur on Aug. 17 through
23, Olympia Fields will become the eighth American
course to host the U.S. Open, PGA Championship, U.S.
Senior Open and U.S. Amateur.
“Bring it on,” says Sam MacKenzie, CGCS, director of
grounds at Olympia Fields.
It truly is a special year at the Illinois course. Olym-
pia Fields is also celebrating its 100-year anniversary in
2015. MacKenzie, a Michigan State University graduate
who has been at Olympia Fields since March 2006, over-
saw renovation of the North Course, site for match play
at this month’s event. He says his two superintendents,
Chase Bonnell (South Course) and Andrew Paxton (North
Course), deserve so much credit for their efforts.
“They’ve been terrifc. They want the challenge,” says
MacKenzie, a 33-year GCSAA member. “We strive, as
superintendents, to show our facility at its best. This is a
great opportunity to show our facility.”
Troll mourned and remembered
When Joseph Troll, Ph.D., died June 14 at age 95,
the turfgrass industry lost a legend. Jon Jennings, CGCS,
of Shinnecock Hills Golf Club lost a mentor and a friend.
“ I can wholeheartedly say that Dr. Troll was one of the
key individuals that provided the pathway for my career,”
says Jennings, a 31-year GCSAA member. “His strength,
direction, and ability to listen inspired me to do the best I
could do personally and professionally.”
Troll taught Jennings and so many others as a pro-
fessor at UMass, where he began in 1957. Troll received
GCSAA’s Distinguished Service Award in 1983 and the
USGA Green Section Award in 1991. He was also honored
with the Canadian GCSA Distinguished Service Award and
was inducted into the Western Massachusetts Golf Hall
of Fame.
Jennings recalls Troll’s Friday morning class at 8 a.m.,
a session that was a can’t-miss situation. It also sounds as
if Troll ran a tight ship.
“No hats, no gum, be on time in attendance and as-
signments, all good building blocks for future turf manag-
ers,” says Jennings, noting that one of Troll’s catchphrases
was “Keep turf a little hungry.”
When former Troll student Brian Chalifoux landed at
Olympia Fields Country Club, Troll called on behalf of Jen-
nings to see about an internship opening.
As Benson begins a new chapter in his life, he wants
to shine a light on some of those who helped pave his way.
Among them is his father, Bill, who raised him to be re-
spectful and work hard. Legend Joseph M. Duich, Ph.D.,
who died in 2013, was a steady guide for Benson, who
participated in the two-year program at Penn State. Duich,
Old Tom Morris Award recipient in 2006, was a pioneer in
Penncross bentgrass.
“The things he taught us certainly changed my life,”
Benson says.
Benson mentioned Ron Sinnock, inducted last year into
the Georgia GCSA Hall of Fame, as an individual who was
instrumental in his professional growth, as was Billy Fuller,
former superintendent at Augusta National when Benson in-
terned there in 1981. Jim Armstrong, former general man-
ager and executive director at Augusta National, and current
chairman Billy Payne also shaped Benson.
“These were all people who always thought big and
pushed to make a difference,” Benson says. “I’ve been
blessed with great mentors and great life experiences.”
As superintendent at Augusta National, Benson won-
dered whether there was a way to improve air/water ratios
and manage their control in the profle without disrupting
the surface. Benson produced SubAir Systems, which was
frst installed in 1994 under the No. 13 green at Augusta
National. By 2001, all 18 greens featured SubAir Sys-
tems. Today, numerous golf courses, such as Gleneagles
in Scotland, have it, as do a wide variety of professional
sports teams.
“I’m very proud of it, mostly because it has become
a tool of the industry. You want as many tools as you can
in order to have the best success,” says Benson, who in
1997 was promoted to the title he possessed until his
retirement.
Benson will forever be grateful to Augusta National for
allowing him to be an achiever.
“I love the place so much. I enjoyed every day so
much,” says Benson, whose frst superintendent job in
Augusta was years earlier at Gordon Lakes Golf Club at
Fort Gordon. “Because of Augusta National’s desire to get
better every year, the attention to detail, the drive for qual-
ity, it attracts people there, top to bottom, who give 150
percent. For me, that was a great thrill. It absolutely was
the best job in the world. Period.”
And to think, decades ago Benson thought he would
become a golf course architect. Well, somebody in the
family took that path. His son, Scott, is a golf course archi-
tect associate for Beau Welling Design.
As for the industry, Benson feels it is headed in the
right direction. “The people we have in the industry are
brighter and brighter every year,” Benson says.
With Benson still part of its fabric, how comforting
is that?
— Howard Richman, GCM associate editor
William Smith (left) and Murray Calhoun
28 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
Preservation act in Tennessee
Local ownership acquired the Country Club of
Bristol, the Kingsport Times News reports, with the
hope of preserving the club, which was founded in
1894. www.timesnews.net/article/9089109/coun-
try-club-of-bristol-has-new-owner-new-golf-course-
operator
Illinois course up for discussion
Neighbors adjacent to Highland Park Country
Club have voiced their concerns over potential plans
to disrupt the golf course, according to the Chicago
Tribune. Highland Park CC, by the way, is celebrating
its 50-year anniversary. www.chicagotribune.com/
suburbs/highland-park/news/ct-hpn-country-club-
golf-course-tl-0709-20150701-story.html
What’s in a name?
City offcials in Brush, Colo., are deliberating
what to name the golf course the city acquired this
year, according to the Brush News-Tribune. It previ-
ously was known as Bunker Hill Country Club. www.
brushnewstribune.com/contact-us/ci_28402244/
council-taking-more-time-name-golf-course
In the
NEWS
“Brian hired me sight unseen based upon the word of
Dr. Troll,” Jennings says.
Yet it may have been that frst day of class with Troll in
1982 that set the tone for Jennings.
“He said, ‘Take a look around you. In fve years, half
the class will be doing something other than managing a
golf course.’ That statement scared me to death,” Jen-
nings says. “I wanted to be a golf course superintendent
more than anything else, and I was committed to being
successful through hard work.”
— Howard Richman, GCM associate editor
NovaSource expands fungicide recall
NovaSource announced July 1 that it was expanding
its recall of two fungicides it produces, ArmorTech ALT 70
and Viceroy 70DF.
The manufacturer had announced in June that it was
recalling certain batches of those two off-patent fungi-
cides, distributed by United Turf Alliance and United Phos-
phorous Inc., respectively, following reports of turf damage
to bentgrass/Poa annua greens, collars and surrounds at
Tweets
RETWEETS
Matt Powell @MPowell_4
The best part about turning the
@GCSAA calendar to July. #mrjuly
Mel Waldron @3sticksCGCS
Anyone who questions the effectiveness
of the Thank a Superintendent campaign
check @GCSAACEO article in @GCM_
Magazine June 2015 issue.
Lubbock CC Turf @lubbockccturf
Lubbock CC's frst ever Wimbledon
Whites tournament setup on a nursery.
@GCM_Magazine @GCSAA_SoCentral
Steve Wright, CGCS @wrightsteve19
Happy retirement to our good friend
Chuck Borman CAE of the Carolinas
GCSA. #oneofakind @CarolinasGCSA
@GCM_Magazine
Don Mahaffey @grassdude
Finished Univ New Mexico irrigation
renovation in April, UNM reports water
savings of 1.6M gals in May '14 vs May
'13. #greatjobUNMstaff
golf courses along the East Coast. The July announce-
ment expanded that recall to cover all stocks of those
two products, regardless of their production dates and
batch numbers.
NovaSource, a business unit of Tessenderlo Kerley
(TKI), found evidence that these two products were con-
taminated with the herbicide sulfometuron methyl during
the formulation process. Superintendents with either ALT
70 or Viceroy 70DF are asked to not apply either product
and to return current inventories to the point of sale or to
the product distributors for full credit, including reimburse-
ment of costs associated with the return.
Additional information and updates on this issue can
be found at either www.alt70info.com or www.viceroyturf-
info.com.
Michigan tops listMichigan, with 671 facilities, is No. 1 in states with
the largest supply of publicly accessible golf facilities, ac-
cording to the National Golf Foundation.
Florida is No. 2 (641); California is No. 3 (634); New
York is No. 4 (579); and Texas is No. 5 (557).
Joseph Troll, Ph.D., (center) fanked by Jon Jennings, CGCS, (right) and Mike Chrzanowski in 2011. Photo courtesy of Jon Jennings
30 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
Turfgrass area: Putting green
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Grass variety: Poa annua/bentgrass blend
(a)Depressed circular area
Turfgrass area:Rough
Location:Sanibel Island, Fla.
Grass variety: Sea Isle I seashore paspalum
(b)
PROBLEM
Presented in partnership with Jacobsen
Two green rectangular areas
Answers on Page 104
(photo quiz)
PROBLEM
By John MascaroPresident of Turf-Tec International
32 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
Teresa Carson
Twitter: @GCM_Magazine
Grazin’ in the grass
On Sunday, July 12, 2015, Novak Djokovic defeated Roger Federer to win the men’s cham-pionship at Wimbledon and retain his position as the No. 1 tennis player in the world. To cel-ebrate the hard-fought victory, Djokovic knelt on Centre Court and ate a few blades of grass — just as he’d done when he defeated Federer last year at Wimbledon, and previously when he defeated Rafael Nadal at the same venue in 2011.
After the 2011 match, Djokovic said the turf “tasted quite well, really.” And then after his second win at Wimbledon, Djokovic admitted, “I had a little bit of a soil, as well. But neverthe-less, it tastes like the best meal that I ever had in my life probably.”
As for the 2015 vintage? “It tasted very, very good this year. I don’t know what the groundspeople have done this year, but they’ve done a great job.” And he explained why he likes the taste of victory to include a bit of Centre Court: “It’s a tradition, obviously. As a kid, I was dreaming of winning Wimble-don, so, like every child, you dream of doing something crazy when you actually achieve it — if you achieve it — and that was one of the things.”
Folks who are interested in turfgrass main-tenance can’t help but wonder exactly what Djokovic was eating. At this year’s press con-
Presented in partnership with Barenbrug
(turf)
grass. In May, weekly rolling frms the sur-face of the courts, and in June, water restric-tions set in. During the tournament itself, the grass gets “a little bit of water,” according to the offcial website, to keep it going despite the daily abuse. On Middle Sunday, the one day when play is suspended during the two-week tournament, the turfgrass gets a breather and a drink — a carefully determined amount of water that will help it survive another week of high-level tennis. Moisture content is mea-sured daily to make sure it does not exceed the desired level of 15 to 20 percent at root struc-ture, which is 50 millimeters (about 2 inches) below the surface. Moisture readings are taken through pre-drilled, capped holes nearly hid-den behind the baselines at Centre Court and four other grass courts.
Nine tonnes (9.92 short tons) of seed are used every year for seeding and reseeding, and 6 tonnes of soil (6.61 short tons) are used to level each grass court at the end of the summer.
All of this is accomplished by head groundsman Neil Stubley and a staff of 16 that is temporarily expanded to 28 during The Championships.
So, is this grass good enough to eat? By na-ture, grass is organic (as Djokovic pointed out), and much of the grass at Wimbledon is re-placed annually. A few blades of grass after each championship win is probably not going to hurt the world’s No. 1 tennis player.
Teresa Carson is GCM ’s science editor.
ference, he said, “I was assured that it’s glu-ten-free, it’s not processed, completely or-ganic and natural, and I could eat it. It was obviously nice to repeat this tradition and doing the thing I do after I win the title here in Wimbledon. ... I hope people are not an-noyed by that.”
According to Wimbledon’s website, the turf that Djokovic fnds so tasty is 100 percent perennial ryegrass. There are approximately 54 million grass plants on Centre Court, which has a total turfgrass area of 902 square meters (1,079 square yards). In total, there are 41 grass courts at Wimbledon — 22 practice courts and 19 Championship courts. Before 2001, the grass mix was 70 percent perennial rye-grass and 30 percent creeping red fescue. After working with the Sports Turf Research Insti-tute (STRI), Yorkshire, U.K., the decision was made to use 100 percent perennial ryegrass on all of the grass courts at Wimbledon to in-crease both durability and playability.
With daily mowing during the Cham-pionships, the grass is maintained at 8 mil-limeters (0.314 inch), the optimal height for tournament play as determined by the STRI researchers. During the regular play-ing season, however, the turf is mowed every other day.
Obviously, in tennis, ball bounce is criti-cal, and the amount of bounce is determined more by the soil than the grass. To obtain ideal bounce for tournament play, every ef-fort is made to keep the clay soil hard and dry, which is a tad rough on the perennial rye-
Novak Djokovic maintained his tradition of snacking on a few blades of grass from Centre Court after defeating Roger Federer in July to win the Wimbledon championship. Photo © Stefan Wermuth/Reuters/Corbis
34 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
Cory Phillips will be the frst to tell you that he has an inquisitive mind, an innate curi-osity that is especially attuned to all things me-chanical.
He comes by that quality naturally, catch-ing the bug from his father, Rickey, who worked in the family-owned logging business and was also a high-voltage electrician in the coal mining industry in central Alabama. “He taught me about electricity, about hydraulics, about how things work mechanically,” the ju-nior Phillips says.
That curiosity spurred his educa-tional choices, as he studied to be a machinist at Shelton State Community College in Tusca-loosa, Ala. It spurred his professional choices, too, as he combined his inquisitive nature with a love for the game of golf in work as a golf course equipment manager.
And as anyone who has worked with Phil-lips will tell you, his curiosity has been a key asset as he’s progressed throughout his career, including in his current stint as the equip-ment manager supervising two Atlanta-area golf courses: Horseshoe Bend Country Club in Roswell, Ga., and the Golf Club of Georgia in Alpharetta.
And when Phillips learned he had been selected as the winner of GCM’s 2015 Most Valuable Technician Award, presented in part-nership with Foley United, he credited that cu-riosity and the lessons learned from his father with pushing him to those heights.
“I just like knowing how things work,” he says. “I like knowing how they’re put together and why they’re put together the way they are. To me, it’s exciting to try and interpret what was going on in an engineer’s mind when they built something. I like fguring all that out.”
Sam Welch, the GCSAA Class A director of agronomy at both Horseshoe Bend and the
fgure out. Then you’d go in, fgure it out, and when you left, you were the hero. You got one of their machines back up and going. It was a great feeling.”
Life on the road, however, wasn’t always such a great feeling, which is what led Phillips to Horseshoe Bend in 2011. Three years later, that facility’s owner purchased the Golf Club of Georgia, which has left both Phillips and Welch juggling two properties and the chal-lenges that come with that. They do have help in those efforts, though, with individual course superintendents and equipment managers at each facility.
Phillips says winning the MVT Award and all that goes with it — a $2,500 cash prize, an all-expenses-paid trip to the 2016 Golf In-dustry Show in San Diego — has been an over-whelming experience and one of the most grat-ifying of his career.
“Everyone says this, but I don’t know that it has sunk in,” Phillips says. “I don’t know many guys who do what we do for any kind of outside recognition, but it is defnitely reward-ing to realize that others recognize the kind of work that you do.”
Scott Hollister is GCM ’s editor-in-chief.
Curiosity fuels an MVT winner
(shop)
Cory Phillips has been applying his talents as an equipment manager to not just one, but two Atlanta-area golf facilities, Horseshoe Bend CC in Roswell, Ga., and the Golf Club of Georgia in Alpharetta. Photo by Scott Hollister
Scott Hollister
Twitter: @GCM_Magazine
Golf Club of Georgia, says he sees that quality in Phillips on an almost daily basis. It has im-pressed him since Phillips took on the job in July 2011, and it motivated him to nominate him for this year’s MVT honor.
“When we were looking for an equipment manager … our John Deere rep at the time recommended we talk to him,” Welch says. “We interviewed him and right off knew that he was the kind of person we were looking for. We haven’t regretted that decision for a second ever since.”
Phillips brings a broad range of experiences to the maintenance facility, experiences he started building in his frst job in golf at North River Yacht Club in Tuscaloosa. When he and his fancé moved to Atlanta a few years later, he found work as a mobile service technician for Jerry Pate Turf & Irrigation, a Toro Co. distrib-utor covering much of the southeastern U.S.
It was a job that constantly fed Phillips’ inquisitive nature, as he moved from one me-chanical challenge to another at golf courses all over that part of the country, along with his partner in the endeavor and now one of his best friends, Trent Manning, who now serves as the equipment manager at Ansley Golf Club in Atlanta.
“It was great having a new, fresh problem all the time,” Phillips says. “It was almost instant gratifcation because you’d show up at a golf course that was having a problem they couldn’t
36 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
It’s August, and the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers have offcially published a fnal rule that determines what a “water of the United States” (WOTUS) will be moving forward under the Clean Water Act (CWA). That is, unless Congress passes legislation this fall that forces the agencies to go back to the drawing board to come up with a different rule (which GCSAA is supporting), or unless one of myriad now-pending lawsuits renders the rule invalid. The fnal Clean Water rule was pub-lished in the Federal Register on June 29 and goes into effect Aug. 28.
The rule interprets the CWA as covering those waters that require protection in order to restore or maintain the chemical, physical or bi-ological integrity of traditional navigable waters (TNWs), interstate waters and the territorial seas. With the rule, the agencies have attempted to establish that certain waters are jurisdictional by rule (federally protected), as well as limit the need for case-specifc analysis to determine whether a water body is federally protected.
In the fnal rule, the agencies defne WOTUS to include eight categories of jurisdic-tional waters. The frst four categories are juris-dictional by rule in all cases.
1. Traditional navigable waters (TNWs)2. Interstate waters3. Territorial seas4. ImpoundmentsThe next two categories of water are also ju-
risdictional by rule in all cases because the agen-cies think they can have a signifcant nexus to TNWs, interstate waters or territorial seas.
5. Tributaries (defned for the frst time)6. Adjacent waters (not just adjacent wet-
lands)
Tributaries are waters characterized by the presence of physical indicators of fow — bed, banks and an ordinary high water mark (OHWM) — and that contribute fow directly or indirectly to a TNW, an interstate water or the territorial seas. The fnal WOTUS rule con-tinues to regulate ditches that are constructed in tributaries, that are relocated tributaries, or that, in certain circumstances, drain into wetlands.
“Adjacent waters” are bordering, contigu-ous or neighboring, including waters separated from other designated WOTUS by constructed dikes or barriers, natural river berms, or beach dunes. Wetlands, ponds, lakes, oxbows, im-poundments and similar water features may be considered “adjacent.” “Neighboring” means:• Waters within 100 feet of a TNW, inter-
state water, territorial sea, impoundment or tributary
• Waters within the 100-year foodplain of waters listed above, but no more than 1,500 feet away
• Waters located within 1,500 feet of TNWs, territorial seas or Great LakesThe fnal two categories of waters are only
jurisdictional if a case-specifc analysis shows they have a signifcant nexus to TNWs, inter-state waters or territorial seas.
7. Prairie potholes, Carolina and Delmarva bays, pocosins, and western vernal pools in California and Texas coastal prairie wetlands
8. Waters in 100-year foodplain of TNW, interstate water or territorial seas, where the water body is beyond 1,500 feet away; or waters that lie beyond the agency limits and within 4,000 feet of a TNW, interstate water, territo-rial sea, impoundment or tributary
The fnal WOTUS rule has many exemp-tions. These include, among others:• Irrigated areas that would revert to dry
land if irrigation ceased• Artifcial lakes or ponds created on dry
land, such as irrigation ponds• Small ornamental waters created on
dry land
(advocacy)
Chava McKeel
Twitter: @GCSAA
• Erosional features, such as gullies, rills and other ephemeral features not meeting the defnition of “tributary”; non-wetland swales; and lawfully constructed grassed waterways
• Groundwater, including groundwater drained through subsurface drainage sys-tems
• Stormwater control features constructed to convey, treat or store stormwater that were created in dry landThe agencies added to the fnal rule clarify-
ing language that states that many exemptions must have been created in dry land. However, there is no agreed-upon defnition of “dry land.”
The golf industry needs to pay attention to these newly defned WOTUS, as they can im-pact course development, renovation and man-agement. You may need to obtain a CWA sec-tion 402 permit for chemical spraying activities from the EPA or your state, or a CWA section 404 permit for fll and dredge activities from the Corps or your state. GCSAA hosted a technical WOTUS webinar at the end of July, and the recording is available for viewing on GCSAA TV at www.gcsaa.org. The EPA and the Corps will also issue further guidance later this year on how they plan to implement the rule.
As the regulations take effect this month, superintendents should start walking their golf courses to assess what is currently jurisdictional on the property and what may become juris-dictional in the future. Are any water features identifed as exemptions built in dry land? Superintendents should consult topographic maps, and may need to bring in an environ-mental consultant for help identifying juris-dictional waters on the property. GCSAA will continue to add compliance resources to its website as they are developed, and, as always, members should contact the GCSAA govern-ment relations department at 800-472-7878 for additional assistance.
Chava McKeel is GCSAA’s director of government relations.
Ponds and several other water features on golf courses may be newly subject to additional protection by the federal government starting Aug. 28. Photo by karamysh/Shutterstock
WOTUS:Defned, but not done
150 years
They’re back for more.
Always read and follow label directions.
Lexicon, Intrinsic and Xzemplar are registered trademarks of BASF. © 2015 BASF Corporation. All rights reserved.
Prepare your turf for Labor Day with
the Holiday Spray Promotion.
Summer is the time to control disease and help your turf withstand summer stress
and grow more efficiently. Keep your course in peak condition by applying
Lexicon® Intrinsic® on your greens and Xzemplar® fungicide to control early fall
dollar spot on your fairways.
For details about the Holiday Spray Promotion, visit betterturf.basf.us/holidayspray.
Call your distributor and save today, then enjoy worry-free, beautiful turf for the rest of
the summer.
Get up to 8% earned
credit on our most
innovative fungicides
until August 31.
38 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
Lighten upFor summer days spent inside the un-air-
conditioned maintenance facility of Minne-sota Valley Country Club (MVCC) in Bloom-ington, Minn., Mike Brower describes his former stay-cool strategy with a sigh: “Lots of fans.”
Before 2010, the temperature in the space where some employees log seven hours a day would regularly climb to uncomfort-able heights. It wasn’t until the then-26-year-old building’s roof began to leak that Brower, the GCSAA Class A superintendent at Min-nesota Valley and a 27-year association mem-ber, was able to seize upon an idea to soften the swelter: a white roof.
“We needed a new roof because of the leak-age, but at the same time, we wanted to be proactive about the building’s temperature by putting in a white roof that would refect the sun’s energy,” Brower says.
The concept is simple: Light colors re-fect light, while dark colors absorb it. Many of us are mindful not to don dark attire on a hot, sunny day in order to keep as cool as possible. Similarly, for sky-facing surfaces such as roofs, a lighter hue will pass along less heat to the space below.
For an AC-free building such as Brower’s, the swap from dark to light on the structure’s cap can drop the internal temperature as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit, says Heather James, a board member of the White Roof Project, a New York City-based nonproft dedicated to funding and spreading the word about white roofs. For buildings in climates with consistently hot days, James says white roofs can achieve as much as a 40 percent reduction in cooling costs.
Type of climate is a huge factor in the ef-fectiveness of any white roof, but James says
the tactic does make sense in northern regions despite the seemingly logical assumption that buildings would beneft from the extra warmth come winter. “You do get some heat impact from a black roof in winter, but not as much as you’d necessarily think,” says James, who cites the less direct angle of the sun, fewer hours of sunlight and snow cover as circumstances that slash the perceived wintertime advantage of a dark roof.
And while white roofs (also known as “cool roofs”) garner much interest because they lessen fnancial costs, the naturally cooler spaces they create translate to reduced environmental costs as well. “Every time you crank up fans or crank up the air conditioning, you’re using a lot of electricity,” James says. “When you cut your electricity use, you cut the carbon dioxide emissions generated by the power plant.”
At MVCC, the black-tar-and-gravel “built-up” roof on the 12,000-square-foot maintenance facility was replaced with a white roof in fall 2009 by All Elements Inc., a roof-ing contractor in Monticello, Minn. The new system is a Duro-Last single-ply, 40-mil vinyl membrane, which is a lone sheet of spe-cially formulated material that never gets more than 10 degrees warmer than the ambient tem-perature, says Dan Jernberg, an estimator and roof consultant with All Elements.
In addition to their personal-comfort and planet-conscious merits, white roofs offer a few more perks. Because they don’t overheat, they’re less prone to warping and cracking, which means fewer repairs and a longer life span. Per-haps the best part? “The cost is right in line with other types of roofs,” Jernberg says. “Every time we go up against a proposal for a built-up roof,
Presented in partnership with Aquatrols
(environment)
the Duro-Last white roof typically beats that price by about 25 percent.”
Brower says his almost-6-year-old white roof, which was comparable in cost to what a roof identical to the old one would have run, has held up nicely, and that a lower indoor tempera-ture was immediately noticeable. So pleased is he that when the time rolls around to replace the roof on MVCC’s nearly 20-year-old club-house, another white roof is a strong possibil-ity. “Why not do our part for the environment while at the same time getting the new roof we need? It’s a win-win,” says Brower, who is in his 14th year as superintendent at the club.
Minnesota Valley is a Certifed Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary, and also counts among its sustainability efforts having all food waste picked up by a local farm to be transformed into compost.
“We’re committed to the environment, and that has always motivated us to think about, with anything we do, how we can be more sustainable and environmentally friendly,” says Brower, who encourages other superin-tendents to explore white roofs as an option for increased interior comfort and decreased eco-logical impact (fnd more info and a cost-sav-ings calculator at www.energy.gov/energysaver/articles/cool-roofs). “Roofs are something that you don’t often get up on, and if it’s out of sight, it tends to be out of mind,” Brower says. “Many people may not realize the opportunities that are right up on their roof.”
Megan Hirt is GCM ’s managing editor.
Megan [email protected]
Twitter: @GCM_Magazine
A crew from roofng contractor All Elements Inc. installs the white roof atop Minnesota Valley Country Club’s maintenance facility. Photo courtesy of Mike Brower
800-257-7797 | www.aquatrols.com | 1273 Imperial Way Paulsboro, NJ 08066
Aquatrols was founded in 1955 with the introduction of the
world’s frst commercially sold soil surfactant. Though the
products and technologies have changed over the past
60 years, our focus remains the same. We are committed to
changing the way the world grows by developing and supplying
innovative products and solutions for sustainably managing
soil-water-plant interactions. We pride ourselves on being the
industry leaders, true innovators that fnd new ways to make
better use of water and other limited resources. Our dedication
to research and development and a focus on you – the customer –
drives us in all that we do. With a nod to the past, we look
forward to the future and many more decades of changing
the way the world grows.
PROUDLY CHANGING THE WAY
THE WORLD GROWS FOR 60 YEARS
®
40 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
After owning and using the Apple Watch for almost a month, I thought I could pro-vide an early opinion on its usefulness and application for golf course superintendents. To be completely honest, my frst impressions weren’t the most positive, but, over time, I grew to see how the Apple Watch could be helpful to those in our business.
Like most “smartwatches” on the market, the Apple Watch doesn’t actually do much on its own. It doesn’t offer any life-changing apps, it won’t provide hours of entertainment, and it won’t deliver an experience much dif-ferent from that of your current smartphone. The frst few days I used it, I was actually quite unimpressed. It buzzed when something needed attention and occasionally told me I needed to move around a bit more, but that was about it.
After about a week, though, I began to appreciate what the Apple Watch was actu-ally doing for me. Most notably, it allowed me to keep my phone in my pocket. If I had to guess, I’d say I used to pull my phone out of my pocket 200 times a day. Every time I’d receive a text, phone call, email, weather up-date or score update for my favorite baseball team, my phone would buzz and, inevitably, I’d stop what I was doing to see what notice I had just received.
The fact of the matter is that of those 200 times a day, maybe 10 of them actually required my immediate attention. Perhaps it was a phone call I was waiting for, a text I needed to answer or an email that had some urgency to it. All the rest was really just white noise, distracting me from my current task or, more importantly, from the people I was working with at the time. It’s not until you’re
(technology)
Bob Vaughey, [email protected]
Twitter: @rollinghillsgcm
and use the watch to control the music. It also gives me yardages on the course, and I can still see the information I need in relation to my job. The activity functions measure how far I’ve walked, my heart rate and a host of other health-related stats. I can also take notes on things I see around the course, update my to-do list, and text my crew when necessary.
So while the Apple Watch doesn’t do much that your current smartphone can’t do, it does very well the one thing I want it to do when I’m on the golf course, around members, in the clubhouse or in meetings: It allows me to put my phone away and avoid many of the un-necessary distractions that can come with it.
Bob Vaughey, CGCS, is the director of agronomy at Rolling
Hills Country Club in Palos Verdes, Calif., and a 12-year
GCSAA member.
keeping your phone tucked away that you realize how often you’re on it, whether it’s in meetings, on the golf course or even during dinner at home.
What the Apple Watch does is serve as a conduit between you and your phone. At frst, I had my watch mirror my phone exactly. Everything my phone notifed me about would appear on the watch. Slowly, I started limiting the notices I received on my watch to just texts, phone calls, emails, weather updates, updates from my home secu-rity system and my baseball scores. If it wasn’t an update on one of those things, I decided it wasn’t worth stopping what I was doing or interrupting a conversation I might be having to look at.
When one of those messages does come through, all it takes is a simple tap on the wrist and a brief glance, and I get all the in-formation I really need. In addition, when I do use the Apple Watch for its core purpose — telling time — not only do I see the time, but I also get a quick update on the weather, my next appointment and my activity level for the day.
The Apple Watch has also helped me man-age some perceptions around my club, which has a no-cell-phone policy. Even though that rule doesn’t apply to staff, I used to be reluc-tant to have members see me using my phone on the course. The watch has been benefcial to me in that situation.
Another area where the Apple Watch no-ticeably comes in handy is while actually play-ing golf. I like to walk and usually play alone, listening to music on headphones while I do. Now, I can keep my phone in my golf bag
On course with the Apple Watch
44 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
Photos courtesy of EPIC Creative
46 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.1546 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
Let’s get this out of the way at the beginning — fve years is actually a pretty long time.
Presidential terms don’t last fve years. In a fve-year span, three Olympic games can be contested. The average Hol-lywood blockbuster takes less than three years to flm, pro-duce and distribute. Construction of the Superdome only took four years.
But if there is one area where fve years isn’t considered all that long, it’s in the world of major championship golf. In particular among U.S. facilities that host these events, fve years can go by in the blink of an eye.
With the logistical and agronomic demands that accom-pany modern major championships and the planning re-quired to meet them, it’s common for venues to go a decade or more between hosting duties, if only to let the dust settle on one before they begin worrying about another. As a point of fact, among U.S. facilities that have hosted multiple ma-jors in the last 40 years, the average length of time between those big events has been just under 11 years.
That’s one of the reasons that this month’s PGA Cham-pionship at Whistling Straits is so notable. For the world’s best golfers, their trip to the Straits Course in Kohler, Wis.,
The golf course maintenance leadership team at the Straits Course at Whistling Straits (clockwise, from left to right): Joe Sell, Straits Course assistant superintendent; Derek Loda, Straits Course assistant superintendent; Chris Zugel, CGCS, Straits Course superintendent; and Mike Lee, CGCS, manager of golf course operations for Destination Kohler.
The fve years
between majors at
Whistling Straits is
the second-quickest
major turnaround
since 1970.
08.15 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 47
Aug. 13 through 16 will seem like old-home week, as it was just fve years ago that the same championship was contested on these links.
Outside of Open Championship hosts in the U.K., which churn far faster than their U.S. counterparts, the fve years between visits to Whistling Straits is the second-quickest major turnaround since 1970, behind only Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., another PGA of America favorite that hosted PGAs four years apart, in 1996 and 2000.
You’d think something like this would ratchet up the pres-sure ever so slightly on the men and women charged with pre-paring Whistling Straits for the PGA, in a too-much-to-do-and-not-enough-time-to-do-it sort of way. But if you mention it to Mike Lee, CGCS, the manager of golf course mainte-nance for both Whistling Straits and its sister property in the Kohler Co. family, Blackwolf Run; Chris Zugel, CGCS, the Straits Course superintendent; or any of their troops inside the maintenance facility, the strongest response you’re likely to get is a shrug of the shoulders.
Why the nonchalance? In short, experience and lots of it. Experience in hosting majors. Experience in managing one of golf ’s most unique landscapes. And, maybe most of all, experience in working together and riding out the peaks and valleys that inevitably come with relationships that, in some cases, date back nearly two decades.
Power of partnershipsOne is a lifelong Wisconsinite with deep roots in the
state’s golf course management community. The other is a Boston native who grew up in Atlanta and has followed his turfgrass dreams from Colorado to Wisconsin to Florida and back to Wisconsin again.
But even though they traveled different paths to get to where they are today, the pairing of Lee and Zugel have found plenty of common ground in their work at Whistling Straits.
Sand-sationalSo just how many bunkers are there on the Straits Course at Whis-
tling Straits?
If you ask the golf course maintenance staff, which we did in compiling in-
formation for the GCSAA Tournament Fact Sheet (www.gcsaa.org/newsroom/
tournament-fact-sheets) for the 2015 PGA Championship, you’ll get a very
precise count of these hazards: “A lot.”
If you’re one of those people who is hung up on “actual numbers” and
“statistics,” you could ask Ron Whitten, Golf Digest’s senior editor, architec-
ture, who may be the only person who has actually counted the bunkers there
— and not just once, but twice.
“967,” is his authoritative answer. Well, at least it was in 2010, the frst
time he made his count. Whitten wouldn’t reveal his most recent tally before
it was published in the August issue of Golf Digest (“I’m not going to scoop
myself,” he says), but he did at least offer that the number was “different” this
time around, although not dramatically so.
Whatever that new number turns out to be, a little context will help illus-
trate just how out-of-the-ordinary the Straits Course is in this regard. Consider
that the total number of bunkers on the last two courses to host PGAs —
Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., in 2014, and Oak Hill Country Club in
Rochester, N.Y., in 2013 — is 65 and 84, respectively.
Obviously, the sheer number of bunkers at Whistling Straits is a product
of design, of Pete Dye’s work to turn a former U.S. Army antiaircraft training
facility along the banks of Lake Michigan into the windswept, links-style show-
stopper that it is today. But that doesn’t lessen the course’s uniqueness in the
world of American golf.
“You just never know what’s up Pete Dye’s sleeve,” says Whitten, who
worked for GCSAA and GCM before taking his talents to Golf Digest.
Kerry Haigh, the PGA of America’s chief championship offcer, admits the
bunkers at Whistling Straits “bring some maintenance and setup challenges,
for sure.” Most notable is the fact that some of those bunkers will fall outside
of the ropes during tournament play, meaning balls that fnd their way into
those areas could come to rest in footprints, next to empty hot dog wrappers
or up against any other manner of obstacle not normally found in a traditional
bunker. Dustin Johnson learned plenty about the distinctiveness of Whistling
Straits’ bunkers in the fnal round of the 2010 PGA, when he was penalized for
grounding his club in an area he didn’t think was a bunker.
The uniqueness of the bunker situation at Whistling Straits requires an
equally unique management plan, Haigh admits, saying the bunkers will re-
ceive an added level of vigilance from both maintenance and rules offcials.
“We do have protocols in place for checking the bunkers almost on a
daily basis,” he says. “We’ll have two offcials on each nine doing nothing but
checking bunkers inside the ropes. They are something we have to manage,
but they really are what make this property so unique and what help create
some really spectacular golf holes.”
— S.H.
The 520-yard, par-5 fnishing hole on the Straits Course.
48 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
“I think if you asked someone to write down each of our characteristics and then showed them to someone else, asking them to guess which one was which, they’d have trouble fguring it out,” says Zugel, an 18-year GCSAA member. “They’d probably wonder, ‘Is this Mike or is it Chris?’”
Lee is the senior statesman of maintenance operations at Destination Kohler, having joined the team in 1993 as a superintendent at Blackwolf Run. As the courses at Whis-tling Straits were coming online — the Straits Course in 1998, the Irish Course in 2000 — he assumed his current role overseeing main-tenance on all 72 holes at the resort.
“Mike will let you know where you stand,” Zugel says of his boss. “Personally, I like that. I have a pretty thick skin so if something goes wrong, he’ll let you know. But he does that because he wants you to learn from that. It’s been a good relationship.”
Zugel has plenty of tenure at Whistling Straits, too — he started as an intern on Whis-tling Straits’ Irish Course in 2000 — but he has tested the waters elsewhere on a few occa-sions. After his internship, he left for a job in Florida (“My only requirements were I wanted to be an assistant and I wanted to live near a beach,” he says). After returning to Wisconsin and Destination Kohler in 2002, he left again in 2008 to become the head groundskeeper
Signatures of a Pete Dye design, such as the railroad ties that rim the 17th green on the Straits Course, are plentiful at both Whistling Straits and Blackwolf Run.
for the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. After just one year, he was back to lead efforts on the Straits Course.
“Chris is a quiet competitor,” says Lee of the former competitive cyclist. “He brings that into the workplace also, and expects a lot out of himself and his crew.”
Lee has always viewed Zugel’s two stints away from Wisconsin as badges of honor as opposed to points of concern, moves that are ultimately paying off for Whistling Straits. “In both cases, he was looking to advance his career, obtain additional experience,” the 30-year member of GCSAA says. “That has al-ways impressed me, and it’s fortunate for us that he brought what he learned back here.”
“There’s obviously something special here if I would leave twice and come back twice,” Zugel says. “I’ve been lucky to do the things I’ve been able to do and learn what I learned in those opportunities, and I’ve been lucky to have the opportunities to learn and grow here, too.”
Kerry Haigh, the PGA of America’s chief championship offcer, who works closely with both men on matters of course conditioning and setup related to the PGA Championship, says, “One of the reasons we’re so comfortable coming back to Whistling Straits after just fve years is the quality of the staff there, and that starts with Mike and Chris. There is a
“One of the
reasons we’re
so comfortable
coming back to
Whistling Straits
after just fve years
is the quality of the
staff here, and that
starts with Mike
and Chris.”
— Kerry Haigh
50 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
knowledge of the facility, its history, and what can and can’t be done there. That knowledge is invaluable to us.”
Institutional knowledgeThe value of experience, of local knowl-
edge in golf course management, probably isn’t lost on any working superintendent. Knowing areas that are susceptible to disease, where shade might be an issue, where food-ing tends to occur during heavy rains is a huge boost to any golf facility, regardless of whether it hosts a major.
At properties such as Destination Kohler, with as unique a set of course designs as any in the country, that knowledge is borderline priceless. “These are dramatic landscapes,” Lee says. “They’re all Pete Dye courses. There is a lot of detail required in terms of know-ing functionally where things are on the golf course. If you had to come in and learn all this cold, I’d think your frst two or three years would be pretty rough.
“Having a team as experienced as ours who knows this property the way that they do is a defnite beneft.”
As much as it benefts daily golf course maintenance, it pays an even bigger dividend when it comes to preparations for major tour-
naments. And few facilities can match Whis-tling Straits’ experience in that regard. This month’s PGA Championship will mark the fourth major the Straits Course has hosted since 2004 (see chart on Page 52). Add in a pair of U.S. Women’s Opens on Blackwolf Run’s River Course (1998 and 2012), and you get a team of turfgrass professionals as well schooled in the art of tournament prep as any in the world.
“It’s nice because there are so many people who were here in 2010, who were here in 2007 for the Senior Open, and even beyond that,” Zugel says. “They’ve seen a lot ... and I know when we need something done, that we have the staff here that can do it better than any-body anywhere.”
Of course, all the experience in the world doesn’t mean much if you don’t know how to take advantage of it, and the team at Whis-tling Straits has that part down to a science. It’s a relatively simple science, one that focuses on the fundamentals, on making things just a little bit better every day, but it works. Lee refers to it as “doing the common in an un-common way.”
“Emily Shircel, who was here in 2010 as an assistant, used to say, ‘If you always did what you always done, you always get what
“These are
dramatic
landscapes. ... If
you had to come
in and learn all this
cold, I’d think your
frst two or three
years would be
pretty rough.”
— Mike Lee, CGCS
Straits Course superintendent Chris Zugel, CGCS (right), has found a home at Whistling Straits during a career that has included stints in Florida and as the head groundskeeper for the Milwaukee Brewers.
52 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
you always got,’” Zugel says. “It was kind of goofy and we’d always joke about it, but she had a point.
“We try to keep things simple here, try not to get too complicated, but I’m an extremely competitive person, almost to a fault. I want to make things better. I like to strip things down to their basic parts and then fgure out what we can do differently so that the end product is just a little bit better than it was before.”
Details matterWhat makes efforts like that easier,
whether they’re related to daily maintenance activities or preparations for a PGA Champi-onship, is a dedication to data collection and analysis that is unparalleled in golf course
management. Even as others have begun to embrace similar techniques as the concept of precision turf management takes hold in the industry, the gang at Whistling Straits and Blackwolf Run seem like they’re a little ahead of their time.
Most of these strategies have trickled down from the boardrooms and business practices of the Kohler Co., but Lee and his team have adapted those to ft into a golf operations en-vironment. Each task on the golf course has its own unique number, some 60 tasks in all, with data tracking everything from labor to water and chemical usage to cutting heights to bunker maintenance, all recorded on a daily basis.
“It’s institutional knowledge, but kept in a very orderly, organized way,” Zugel explains. “It gives us tools so we can easily see what is working and what isn’t. For the PGA, we don’t want to spend time on something we know didn’t work out last time around. It helps us plan and gives us a much better chance at suc-cess than if we just kind of thought, ‘Well, I think this worked last time.’ With this data, we know if it worked or not.”
That level of detail has found a function in Whistling Straits’ tournament preparations with the creation of checklists that have guided work since way back in 1998 when the Wom-en’s Open frst came to town. The checklists ensure that almost every aspect of tournament preparation — from agronomic specifcs to co-
A familiarity with the property and with hosting major championships provides the maintenance team at Whistling Straits an advantage heading into this month’s PGA Championship. Shown here are the 9th and 18th greens on the Straits Course.
Major destinationWhistling Straits and Blackwolf Run, the two 36-hole facilities at the Destination Kohler
resorts near Sheboygan, Wis., have hosted six major championships since 1998, more
than any other facility in the United States.
Year Event Host
1998 U.S. Women’s Open Blackwolf Run, River Course
2004 PGA Championship Whistling Straits, Straits Course
2007 U.S. Senior Open Whistling Straits, Straits Course
2010 PGA Championship Whistling Straits, Straits Course
2012 U.S. Women’s Open Blackwolf Run, River Course
2015 PGA Championship Whistling Straits, Straits Course
54 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
ordination of the nearly 70 volunteers who will be on site — is nailed down and understood before the tournament ever tees off.
“In my view, it’s the most valuable docu-ment that we have related to the tournament,” Lee says, “because it evolves and is based on what we’ve learned from all the other events we’ve hosted. It drives the whole planning pro-cess and leaves us in a place that, hopefully, when the tournament starts, everything is al-ready clear in everyone’s mind.”
Another piece of the pre-tournament puz-zle for Whistling Straits are annual “mock-up” weeks the team stages in advance of major tournaments. These test-drives correspond as closely to the actual week of the tournament as possible — last year’s mock-up, for example, took place a week after the PGA Champion-ship at Valhalla — and provide an opportu-nity for the crew to dial in details such as cut-ting heights and green speeds in conditions that will mirror what they’re likely to encoun-ter during the actual event, at least as closely as Mother Nature will allow.
“Things change from year to year. It might rain one year, diseases might be more or less active, the growth of the grass might not be happening like normal,” Zugel says. “But it’s just another part of the plan that prepares us for events like this, another opportunity to learn about how we can go do better once tournament week actually rolls around.”
Comfortable, but not satisfiedWhen you take all of this into account —
the veteran staff, the previous tournaments, the meticulous data collection, the practice-
makes-perfect attitude — it’s hard to imagine there is a better prepared team of golf course management professionals than those who will be tending the Straits Course for this month’s PGA Championship.
Others on the team certainly feel prepared. “Mike has done such a good job with having a template of what we need to do, what we can expect from a tournament … that there is a defnite comfort level with what we’ll face in August,” says Joe Sell, a 12-year GCSAA member who, along with Derek Loda (a three-year association member), serves as assistant superintendent on the Straits Course.
And even Lee admits to an increased level of comfort with each passing major. “I don’t have a sense anymore that we might be miss-ing something major. We have all of these ex-periences and information to draw from. That anxiety is gone because we know what we’re going to do in so many situations.”
Don’t confuse that comfort for compla-cency, though. Lee, Zugel and the rest of the team at Whistling Straits may be satisfed with their readiness for the PGA Championship, but there is always room for improvement, with another major turn, the 2020 Ryder Cup, looming just fve short years away.
“It’s a constant in the back of my mind, and I know it’s a constant in the back of Chris’ mind, too,” Lee says. “Things might look great and run great, but there are always areas you can make better.”
Scott Hollister ([email protected]) is GCM ’s editor-in-
chief.
Live from Whistling Straits If it’s happening in golf course man-
agement at this month’s PGA Champion-
ship at Whistling Straits, GCM and GCSAA
will have it covered. Beginning Sunday,
Aug. 9, real-time, behind-the-scenes
reports will be available in multiple forms,
including on GCM’s blog, From the Desk of
GCM (www.gcm.typepad.com), the Twitter
accounts of both GCM (@GCM_Magazine)
and GCSAA (@GCSAA), and GCSAA TV
(www.gcsaa.tv).
ON THE AIR
Thanks to the previous tournaments hosted at both Whistling Straits and Blackwolf Run, there is a quiet confdence surrounding the maintenance team on the Straits Course. And another major, the 2020 Ryder Cup, looms on the horizon.
56 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
The quest for the perfect sandAt the heart of every great bunker is a great bunker sand. Knowing what to look for (and where to look for it) is the key to making the right choice for your golf course.
With a sand wedge in hand, a golfer approaches a deep bunker on your golf course. As he walks up to the edge of the hazard, he squints and sees it. The top of his ball, barely visible, is nearly buried in the sand — the dreaded fried-egg lie.
He bellows out a swear word, cursing himself for his lousy play. And he may be right. He may have hit a bad shot. Or, if the sand in that bunker was not chosen correctly by the golf course architect, the club owner, or you, the superintendent, he may be wrong. That fried egg might not be his fault. It might be yours.
That’s right — sand selection can and does impact playability. It can also affect bunker maintenance, drainage and overall course aesthetics. That’s why selecting not just the prettiest sand but the right sand for your golf course is so critical.
In a study published by the USGA in 2008, Cale A. Bigelow, Ph.D., and Douglas R. Smith, Ph.D., at Purdue University described the general guidelines for bunker sand selection this way: “From a golf course manager’s perspective, an appropriate sand for golf course bunkers would be one that maintains frmness, drains quickly, does not easily erode from slopes after moder-ate rainfall or irrigation, and is sized similar to those used for sand-based root zones so when
Stacie Zinn Roberts
AT THE TURN
(bunkers)According to USGA-funded research, the right sand for bunkers “maintains frmness, drains quickly, does not easily erode from slopes,” and is similar in size to the sand used in root zones. Photo courtesy of Rain Bird Corp.
58 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
it is splashed onto the putting surface it does minimal damage to the mowing equipment when picked up during mowing and does not negatively impact the composition of the sand-based root zone over time.”
Rules of thumbGolf course architect Jan Bel Jan, who is
based in Jupiter, Fla., says within all of those criteria, her general rule of thumb in select-ing a bunker sand is to choose the “same sand you’ll use to topdress.”
But even with that rule of thumb, the USGA research cites several criteria for sand selection, including particle size and shape, which determine whether sand is too uniform or too soft and will produce washouts or fried-egg lies.
“You need a variety of particle sizes,” says Bel Jan, a member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects and a 20-year member of GCSAA.
USGA recommendations for root-zone sand mix and the research on bunker sand line up for particle size distribution. A ma-jority (at minimum, 60 percent) of the sand
particles in the bunker-sand mix should be medium and coarse sand in the 0.25-1.0 mm range. No more than 20 percent should be fne sand (0.15-0.25 mm), and less than 10 percent should be very fne sand, silt or clay (0.002-0.15 mm). At the opposite end of the spectrum, less than 10 percent should be very coarse sand or fne gravel (1.0-3.4 mm).
“Some bunkers have a crust on them. You walk through and leave holes like poking into a pie crust,” Bel Jan says. Bunkers that crust generally have too much silt or clay in the sand mix.
Particle shape is also important. Bel Jan says having sand all the same “spherical shape, like marbles” is undesirable. Instead, she says, “The more angles it has, the better it stacks. The better it stacks, the less it will wash. It will be more stable and prevent the fried-egg lie.”
The USGA research measures shape by examining relative sharpness of the edges (angularity) and the overall shape (sphericity or roundness).
“These characteristics can have a strong in-fuence on surface frmness and resistance to erosion,” the USGA report says. “For example,
Golf course architect Jan Bel Jan says superintendents should choose the same type of sand for bunkers and topdressing. Photo courtesy of Jan Bel Jan
“The more angles
it (a sand particle)
has, the better it
sticks. The better it
sticks, the less it
will wash.”
— Jan Bel Jan
60 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
a low-sphericity, very angular sand generally has a high surface strength and would likely stay in place in bunker faces. By contrast, a high-sphericity, rounded sand is more likely to be soft and more prone to erosion during reg-ular maintenance or following irrigation and rainfall events.”
Sand type, source and amountThe material the sand particle is made of
should also be evaluated. The USGA research says silica sand is “preferred since it resists weathering and retains its original shape lon-ger.” While other materials may be suitable for bunker sand use, the USGA research warns “limestone sands are more prone to weath-ering” and may break down into fner par-ticles over time, which “can affect drainage and playability.”
The location of the sand mine or source should also be considered. Using sand pro-duced close to your location, as long as it falls within recommended specifcations and ranges, could have a huge impact on bunker construction budgets. “Sand is heavy. If you have to ship it from somewhere, it could run $15 to $30 per ton, which could be the cost of the sand itself, or more. The sand could be $15 to $30 per ton,” Bel Jan says.
Finding local sand isn’t an issue for Bob Far-ren, CGCS, director of golf course and grounds management at Pinehurst Resort. The famed facility’s nine golf courses sit atop the Sand-hills of North Carolina, and the use of local, native sand is part of the character and strategy of most of the resort’s courses, but especially Pinehurst No. 2. Designed by Donald Ross and restored to Ross’ original design by Ben Cren-
Bob Farren, CGCS (second from left), and his crew stand in the rough at Pinehurst No. 2, where native sand from the site is used for bunkers. Photo by John Gessner
ATTACK ANTHRACNOSE
FROM ALL ANGLES.
EXCEPTIONAL CONTROL OF FOLIAR BLIGHT AND BASAL ROT ANTHRACNOSE INFECTIONS
CONTACT FUNGICIDE WITH MULTI-SITE MODE OF ACTION
FRAC GROUP 14 FUNGICIDE
IMPORTANT RESISTANCE MANAGEMENT TOOL The beginning and end of anthracnose control.
TM
INTRODUCING AUTILUS™
FLOWABLE TURF FUNGICIDE, FROM AMVAC. THE BREAKTHROUGH FUNGICIDE FOR ANTHRACNOSE CONTROL.
In 2013, turf researchers at Penn State University discovered activity by PCNB on Colletotrichum cereale, the fungus that causes
anthracnose. This fnding led to the frst new use of this classic turf fungicide active ingredient in more than 30 years.
©2015 AMAVC Chemical Corporation. All Rights Reserved. AMVAC, AUTILUS, AEP and the Beaker are trademarks owned by AMVAC Chemical Corporation.
Always read and follow label instructions. www.amvac-chemical.com
AV-2015-AUTILUS200WS
62 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
shaw and Bill Coore prior to the 2014 U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open, No. 2 doesn’t just highlight the local sand — it embraces it.
Before the restoration, Pinehurst No. 2 had 110 to 115 bunkers on the course, Farren says. Following the restoration, only “about 30 defnable margins of turf” frame the bunkers that meander across the layout as an integral part of the design.
Most of the sand used on the course was from the site itself and falls within the guide-lines recommended by the USGA. Additional sand comes from a sand pit 20 miles down the road and is of the same type and quality as Pinehurst’s native sand. “We are spoiled be-cause it’s available to us locally,” says Farren, a 35-year GCSAA member.
The amount of sand installed in a bun-ker, not just the type of sand, should be con-sidered, Farren says. “Usually people put too much sand in them to begin with. Four inches is a good number. Most specs call for 4 to 6 inches. If I were to build one, I’d start at 4 inches. It’s better to have not enough sand as opposed to having too much.”
A colorful choiceColor is another factor to consider when
selecting bunker sand. “It’s important because it’s one of the most visible aspects of the golf course. Everything else is green,” Bel Jan says. “The bunkers will be some shade of white, cream, tan, beige, or, in the case of Old Works Golf Course, they could be black.”
Yes, black.Built on the site of a former copper smelt-
ing plant, the Jack Nicklaus-designed course uses black slag in the bunkers. The slag was the byproduct of the copper smelting process at the plant that operated on the site from the 1800s to the middle of last century.
“It’s angular, not spherical like regular sand. If you grabbed it, it has the feel and the consistency of fne bunker sand, but it’s heavy because of the metals still in it,” says Josh Thurner, the GCSAA Class A superintendent at Old Works who has been at the Anaconda, Mont., facility for the past 16 years.
The slag certainly creates a signature look to the course, but Thurner says there’s more to it than that. “You can mark me down as biased, but it doesn’t compact, doesn’t get soft, and just because of the way it lays, unless you really drive a ball, you never have a fried egg.”
Though the material is not native, per se, it is locally sourced. A tremendous pile
“The bunkers will be
some shade of white,
cream, tan or beige,
or, in the case of Old
Works Golf Course,
they could be black.”
— Jan Bel Jan
of the slag sits just outside of town. Thurner says the slag pile, if loaded onto railroad cars, would form a train that would stretch from San Francisco to New York City. Although the 12-year GCSAA member says he’d rec-ommend the material for golf and landscape use, anyone wanting to buy it is out of luck. A company that uses the slag to make grinding wheels now owns that supply, and it intends to use most of the resource for itself. But don’t worry about Old Works; they have been allo-cated enough of the slag for use in the course’s bunkers for the next 150 years, Thurner says.
The greens at Old Works are built to USGA recommendations, but Thurner says he’s not concerned about getting the slag into the soil profle. “I aerify the greens every year, and it’s very uncommon to see slag in the profle. It doesn’t travel very far, and the bunkers are not super close to the greens,” Thurner says.
If there is a drawback to the black color of the bunker sand, it’s the heat it generates. In summer, turf bunker edges can get a bit crispy if not hand-watered. On the bright side, though, Thurner says, “The bunker edges don’t need to be edged as often because the heat stunts the growth. But it can be hard on my guys when they have to work in the bun-kers, because it is hot.”
Color coordinatesColor should be considered not just for
look, but for the appropriateness to the lo-cation. At Old Works, it’s indicative of the history of the place. At Augusta National, the bright white sand is so much of a signa-ture that both Bel Jan and Farren alluded to something called “The Augusta National Syn-drome” when it comes to white sand.
After watching the Masters on television, club members will often request the same sand at their course, Bel Jan says.
“They think, ‘If it’s good enough for Au-gusta, why isn’t it good enough for me?’ That may be the only Augusta-type thing they can afford. It inspires people to want to have the same appearance at their club, whether it’s right for them or not. Most people like the re-ally white sand, but in some places, it’s not as good as having something with a softer edge to it. In Florida, you get into very white sand with very intense sun, and it’s blinding.”
Farren agrees.“The beauty of Augusta National is the
sharp edges of the bunkers, the formality of it, but that’s also the beauty of No. 2, the native area. There’s no specifc formula for success,” he says.
Still, Bel Jan says, “If the membership likes the white sand, then that’s fne. The color is just a matter of preference.”
So, if color is the most subjective and the least important contributor to playability and ease of maintenance, Bel Jan suggests letting members decide the color.
“If the superintendent can fnd the sand that has good playability quality and good drainage quality, those should be the things that he selects, and then let the membership, the governors, pick the color. If you have three sands that are relatively equal, in three slightly different colors, let them make that choice. It’s safer,” she says.
Stacie Zinn Roberts is the president of What’s Your Avo-
cado?, a writing and marketing frm based in Mount Ver-
non, Wash., and a frequent GCM contributor.
www.tifeagle.com
TEAM
UGA
®
Visit Us On The WebAnd Find Out Why No-Till TifEagle
Is Yout Best Choice ForHigh-End Putting Greens.
A Lot of Superintendents areSwitching Back to TifEagle
Bermudagrass Greens
1.
2.
3.
4.
Because TifEagle is the only genetically stable ultradwarf on the market. Our 21 year track record proves it. The other twoultradwards have simply not stood the test of time, and moreand more clubs are beginning to realize just that.
If you want to get in touch with a superintendent near youwho has recently replanted TifEagle, send us an email at [email protected].
Since then hundreds of clubs have made the switch toTifEagle, or the switch back to TifEagle. Why?
TifEagle Bermudagrass was first planted on a practice green atthe Landings Club near Savannah GA in 1994. That’s over 21years ago. Pretty impressive.
64 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
Growing a grassroots infuenceGCSAA’s Grassroots Ambassador program gives golf and the golf course management profession a voice in the halls of Congress by cultivating relationships with policymakers at the local level. Here’s how and why to lend your voice to the chorus.
In July 2014, GCSAA took its government relations efforts to a new level by launching the Grassroots Ambassador program. The objective was simple — to strengthen GCSAA’s ability to advocate for its interests by becoming more proactive rather than reactive. Fifty-fve GCSAA members signed up last summer to serve as ambassadors, a role designed to foster positive, pro-ductive relationships with members of Congress in order to ensure GCSAA has a political voice in all 50 states.
“To be able to sit down one-on-one and be able to explain how issues impact all of our mem-bers and how they affect my specifc facility is critical to the industry,” says GCSAA President John O’Keefe, CGCS, of the ambassador program.
Since the inaugural summer 2014 class, 119 more members have come on board as ambas-sadors, giving the program a total of 174 participants from 45 states. (The only states currently without representation are Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota and Rhode Island.) One year into the initiative, GCSAA has much to celebrate, and even more to look forward to from the program’s efforts in the years to come. And with all states still having openings for ambassadors, there’s plenty of space for more GCSAA members to join the cause.
Get with the programThe magic number for the ambassador program is two: Ambassadors are appointed for two
years, and the average time commitment is two hours per month (one hour for training, and an-
Kaelyn Seymour
AT THE TURN
(advocacy)At Stone Mountain (Ga.) Golf Club, (from left to right) former Congressman Earl Hilliard of Alabama, Robert Woolridge, Congressman Hank Johnson, grassroots ambassador Anthony Williams, CGCS, Mereda Davis-Johnson, Xeron Pledger and Eric Hubbard gather to share environmental and advocacy stories. Photo courtesy of Anthony Williams
66 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
other hour for taking actions and reading gov-ernment relations publications). Each ambas-sador is also required to make two “touches” with his or her member of Congress per year. This could be at an August recess activity or a town hall event, at a meeting in the district offce or even a less-formal gathering at a local coffee shop. An ideal step would be arrang-ing a site visit for a member of Congress or his or her staff to come out to the course to learn about golf course management.
The fexible nature of the Grassroots Am-bassador program’s requirements allows mem-bers to make it work around their schedules. For their service, members are recognized with .50 education point and .25 service point for each completed year of service.
What’s the process for becoming a grass-roots ambassador? Potential ambassadors can sign up anytime via Government Relations Online (under the Community tab of www.gcsaa.org), by contacting the government rela-tions department at 800-472-7878, or by con-tacting their regional feld staff representative. (Though sign-up is always open, ambassadors are split into four classes for record-keeping purposes, with an ambassador’s offcial ap-pointment beginning in January, April, July or October.) The government relations de-partment also accepts nominations for poten-tial ambassadors. Ambassadors must be a pro-fessional member A, SM or C, be a member
Top: Grassroots ambassador Michael Upchurch (left) and GCSAA Southeast feld staff representative
Ron Wright, CGCS (right), meet with Rep. John Fleming at Strawn’s Eat Shop in Shreveport, La.
Photo courtesy of Ron Wright
Bottom: Grassroots ambassador Paul McGinnis, CGCS (left), of Eagles Nest at Pebble
Creek in Peoria, Ariz., with Arizona Congressman Trent Franks. Photo courtesy of Paul McGinnis
“When I frst
heard about
the Grassroots
Ambassador
program, I wanted
to be part of it. I
thought it was a
terrifc opportunity
to share the story
of the professional
golf course
superintendent.”
— Paul McGinnis, CGCS
No one knows the value
of GCSAA membership
better than you.
Help recruit new members. Get rewarded.GCSAA.org/member-get-a-member
Receive a $50 gift certifcate for each new member* that you recruit. Certifcates can be used for
GIS registration, educational
opportunities, GCSAA
merchandise and donations
to the EIFG.
For each new member that you recruit you will also receive one entry into
the grand prize drawing for
an all-expenses** paid trip
to the 2016 Golf Industry
Show in San Diego.
Secondary grand prizes include four (4)
Full Pack registrations to
the 2016 Golf Industry
Show.
* A new member is defned as someone who has not been current with their GCSAA dues for more than two years (excludes Equipment Managers).
** Grand prize includes airfare, GIS registration, and hotel accommodations for four (4) nights.
68 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
of a chapter, and receive endorsement from a chapter president, executive or feld staff rep.
After being properly vetted, all potential ambassadors are sent a welcome email from the government relations department with a confrmation page to sign. After ambassadors sign the sheet, they have offcially been desig-nated a grassroots ambassador.
“When I frst heard about the Grassroots Ambassador program, I wanted to be part of it. I thought it was a terrifc opportunity to share the story of the professional golf course superintendent,” says Paul McGinnis, CGCS, who was the frst person to be offcially ap-pointed a grassroots ambassador, returning his signed confrmation page just three hours after being invited to participate in the pro-gram on July 24, 2014.
Education to make an impactTraining is at the heart of the ambassa-
dor program. In the frst year of the program, the government relations department offered ambassadors nine Web-based educational sessions. The January 2015 event focused on enhancing ambassadors’ political savvy by breaking down how a bill becomes a law. In March 2015, ambassadors learned about the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed “Waters of the United States” rule in order to prepare them to take action on National Golf Day on April 15 by writing letters to, call-ing and tweeting their members of Congress. Other educational-session topics have focused
on how to set up a meeting with your member of Congress and the impact of the 2014 mid-term elections on the golf industry.
The ambassador program was also the cat-alyst for the successful #golfvotes campaign during the midterm elections, presented dur-ing the November 2014 training session in which the ambassadors learned about how to get out the vote. For the campaign, each am-bassador was tasked with making sure the em-ployees at his or her course were registered to vote. For the social media aspect of the cam-paign, ambassadors were asked to post a photo of themselves with their “I voted” sticker on social media with the “golf votes” hashtag. On Election Day, the campaign totaled 192 tweets and reached more than 416,000 Twit-ter timelines.
The Grassroots Ambassador program con-tinued its opening-year success at the Golf In-dustry Show this past February, where more than 80 ambassadors turned out for the in-augural Ambassador Bootcamp. Grassroots educator Amy Showalter of the Showalter Group trained the ambassadors on how to be more effective grassroots advocates. Ambassa-dors left better prepared to make contact with their members of Congress, and each also re-ceived a packet full of information and new Congressional leave-behinds to help them in their endeavors with meeting with members of Congress.
In February 2016, the Golf Industry Show in San Diego will debut an added feature to
Congressman Lynn Westmoreland (center, facing the camera) speaks with Georgia GCSA members at Sunset Hills CC in Carrollton, Ga. Photo by Tenia Workman
The Grassroots
Ambassador
program continued
its opening-year
success at the Golf
Industry Show,
where more than
80 ambassadors
turned out for
the inaugural
Ambassador
Bootcamp.
70 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
ambassador training, with those ambassa-dors who attended bootcamp in San Antonio participating in a master class that will allow them to discuss and share tips and ideas on best practices for fulflling ambassador duties. Those ambassadors who didn’t have the op-portunity to attend bootcamp in San Anto-nio, or those who are newly appointed since the winter of 2015, will attend the same basic bootcamp offered in 2014.
Looking aheadThe goal is to have 535 members partic-
ipating in the program by the end of 2020. This number represents a GCSAA mem-ber matched with every member of the U.S. House and Senate. At this maximum capac-ity, the Grassroots Ambassador program will ensure that GCSAA’s voice is heard in all 50 states on issues that affect golf course opera-tions, giving us a robust army of advocates for members to rely on.
“I would encourage other superintendents to get involved in this program,” says McGin-nis. “I have found my contact, Congressman Trent Franks, to be friendly and very recep-tive. He has been very supportive of issues concerning the golf industry. I was apprehen-sive at frst, wondering what kind of reception I would get from Rep. Franks, but after a few minutes, we were having a great conversation.”
The GCSAA Grassroots Ambassador pro-gram has big plans for the future. In January 2016, ambassadors in Iowa will live-tweet the Iowa caucus process to inform members of how the presidential selection process works.
An Ambassador of the Month program will be introduced to recognize ambassadors’ outstanding work. Google Hangouts will be added once a quarter to welcome new ambas-sadors to the program and answer any ques-tions they may have before diving in, and the program will continue to build on the suc-cess of #golfvotes, with the entire GCSAA membership encouraged to participate in the #golfvotes campaign for the 2016 presiden-tial election.
GCSAA’s government relations and advo-cacy efforts are wide-ranging, and the Grass-roots Ambassador program plays an integral role in supporting these efforts. The industry continues to face challenges ahead, and the as-sociation needs its members to advocate for its interests moving forward. Grassroots efforts are only as good as member involvement, so fnd some time to join GCSAA’s Grassroots Ambassador initiative today.
“If we are not at the table, then we are on the menu,” says Ken Gorzycki, CGCS, direc-tor of agronomy at Horseshoe Bay (Texas) Re-sort and a grassroots ambassador. “We’ve got to be out front, telling people our message. Giving people the facts. We’ve got to be united and show numbers and show credibility.”
Kaelyn Seymour ([email protected]) is GCSAA’s gov-
ernment relations specialist.
The GCSAA Grassroots Network
In addition to the Grassroots Ambas-
sador program, GCSAA also began its
Grassroots Network in July 2014. The
Network is an avenue for individuals who
aren’t eligible or don’t wish to be ambas-
sadors to still assist the association’s gov-
ernment relations efforts. Network mem-
bers can include educators and turfgrass
scientists, for instance. The Network is
GCSAA’s larger grassroots army, called
upon when immediate, targeted action is
needed on an issue. Network members
are notifed of Congressional activities
before the general GCSAA membership,
and they receive Greens & Grassroots,
GCSAA’s government relations e-news-
letter. You can sign up for the Grassroots
Network the same way you’d sign up to
be an ambassador: Head to Government
Relations Online (under the Community
tab of www.gcsaa.org), contact the gov-
ernment relations department at 800-
472-7878, or contact your regional feld
staff representative.
GCSAA’s
government
relations and
advocacy
efforts are wide-
ranging, and
the Grassroots
Ambassador
program plays
an integral role
in supporting
these efforts.
Rep. David Joyce of Ohio (left) with grassroots ambassador Jeffrey C. Austin of Quail Hollow Resort & Country Club in Lyndhurst, Ohio. Photo courtesy of Jeffrey C. Austin
We recognize that it takes a team to perform at the highest level.
That’s why we’ve expanded ours.
GCSAA is now offering a membership
classifcation for Equipment Managers,
and from now through December 31, 2015
your Equipment Manager can enjoy a
complimentary membership.
For more information and to request
a member application, call (800) 472-7878.
72 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
A state of fuxExperts agree on the benefts of ultradwarf bermudagrasses, but are also paying heed to emerging challenges facing those who manage these warm-season turfgrasses.
“T ere are known knowns. T ese are t ings we know t at we know. T ere are known unknowns. T at is to say, t ere are t ings t at we know we don’t know. But t ere are also unknown unknowns. T ere are t ings we don’t know we don’t know.”
— Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
This famous quotation may have been about U.S. defense policy, but Rumsfeld could have just as easily been talking about the conundrum surrounding three of the top ultradwarf bermu-dagrass varieties in 2015 — Champion, Mini-Verde and TifEagle.
Over the course of two months last year, I interviewed 18 industry leaders about reports of off-types and possibly even mutations that had been showing up on Champion and Mini-Verde greens, especially in Florida. Most of these reports were in greens that were 10 to 12 years old, while some were appearing in greens from newer, supposedly pure, production stock.
I talked with golf course superintendents, golf course builders, turfgrass breeders, producers and growers, architects and designers, agronomists, consultants, weed specialists, and, of course, representatives of the USGA Green Section to get their feedback on these reports. Among those, Patrick O’Brien, director of the USGA’s Green Section’s Southeast Region, summed it up in pretty straightforward terms.
“We’re seeing what I call ‘spots’ in a fair number of ultradwarf greens, and they can originate in one of three ways,” O’Brien says. “In the frst case, the off-types actually come from the golf course itself — more specifcally, from other bermudagrass varieties in the surrounds or fairways.
Sam Williams
AT THE TURN
(agronomy)This healthy TifEagle putting green shows why ultradwarf bermudagrasses have become such a popular warm-season choice. However, re-ports of some off-types have turfgrass managers search-ing for reasons why. Photos courtesy of Sam Williams
74 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
It’s what most people call ‘self-contamination,’ and it can happen with every grass — with TifEagle, Mini-Verde, Champion, Tifdwarf and the seashore paspalums. We know it’s happening, even at high-end clubs.”
“The second cause of the problem usually traces to the grass you bought. Keep in mind that some ultradwarf producers are dealing with genetically unstable varieties, so they’ve got to constantly monitor to make sure they stay as pure as possible.
“The third possibility is from a mutation right there on your putting green from the ultradwarf itself. I would say this is probably happening fairly infrequently, because most of these off-types have a poor survival rate at that height of cut.”
Most of the other turfgrass experts I spoke with agreed with O’Brien’s assessment. There seems to be an ultradwarf off-type within Champion and Mini-Verde greens that’s sub-tly different — a patch that grows at a differ-ent rate and can affect how the green putts, which is always a concern. The off-type may also be present in TifEagle, but so far there have been no reports of putting problems with those greens.
What follows are the insights of many of the experts I spoke with about the situation, as well as thoughts on how superintendents can monitor and deal with off-type challenges on ultradwarf greens.
Pinpointing the problemI particularly wanted to get the perspective
of Earl Elsner, Ph.D. The former director of the Georgia Seed Development Commission
has been involved with bermudagrasses since 1964 and has visited hundreds of production felds and golf courses throughout the world. Still living in Athens, Ga., Elsner began by ex-plaining that it’s now generally accepted that Tifgreen 328 is genetically unstable.
“If a plant carries the Tifgreen allele (gene) and is not true-to-type Tifgreen, it originated as a mutation of the Tifgreen DNA or from one of Tifgreen’s mutant offspring,” Elsner says. “Unfortunately, Champion and Mini-Verde have parentage that leads back to Tif-green 328.”
That’s not the case with TifEagle, however, according to TifEagle breeder, Wayne Hanna, Ph.D., also from the University of Georgia. “I obtained dormant stolons of certifed Tifway II from a plot maintained by Dr. G.W. Bur-ton at the Coastal Plain Experiment Station in Tifton, Ga., so my grass is a direct descendent of certifed Tifway II versus Tifgreen 328,” Hanna says, which may explain why TifEagle appears to be a genetically stable variety.
“The biggest challenge facing superinten-dents is trying to determine if this is an on-site problem or a production farm problem,” El-sner continues. “In other words, did (the su-perintendent) buy it with the stolons or sprigs? That’s the challenge. It might not have been in the grass you bought, because contamination can occur after you establish your greens.
“This same scenario can happen with the ultradwarfs. During the frst few years, you might not be able to see it or fnd it, because it’s so small. That’s because a mutation starts out as one cell and then expands into a runner and then becomes a plant.
Above: Patrick O’Brien, southeast director, USGA Green Section.
Right: Off-type ultradwarf bermudagrass sam-ples being studied at the University of Tennessee.
“The biggest
challenge facing
superintendents is
trying to determine
if this is an on-
site problem or a
production farm
problem.”
— Earl Elsner, Ph.D.
76 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
“If you plant absolutely pure material and there’s a mutation that occurs on the golf green, it will only be one plant. It won’t be multiple spots on the green. And it won’t be multiple spots on several greens. It will be one spot. You could conceivably end up with two or three spots if that mutation originated in a cupping area that you moved around. It probably started mutating from the get-go, but usually doesn’t show up until three or four years down the road.
“If you have two mutations, then they’re probably different. The likelihood is that they’re different plants. And you may have a purple one on one green and a light green one on another green. If it came from the farm, you might be planting mutations that occurred 10 years ago. At the producer level, a mutation or off-type also starts out as one plant. But then we harvest and send some of those to the golf course and spread some back around in our production felds. Soon we har-vest again and repeat the process, so you can see that it doesn’t take long to have an expo-nential increase of off-types at the farm level unless great care is taken.”
A matter of geneticsElsner addressed another thorny issue:
Why is it that Champion and Mini-Verde both have documented off-type problems while TifEagle is supposedly still clean?
“You’ve got to assume that TifEagle would have off-types like the other ultradwarfs,” El-sner says. “But possibly when Wayne Hanna irradiated his original plant material, he may have altered the genetic structure. TifEagle may be a little bit different from that stand-
point. So there’s a chance that TifEagle doesn’t produce the same kind of off-type plants as Champion and Mini-Verde. Other than that, you’ve got to go back to the way TifEagle has been managed at the production farm level. The rebuilding of the plant stock every fve years has obviously had a very posi-tive effect, as well as the certifcation program (all varieties from the University of Georgia are subject to this program, managed by the Georgia Crop Improvement Association). The certifcation program has certainly helped train growers what to look for.
“Not everybody agrees with me, but I think if a golf green is planted with morpho-logically uniform sprigs and you’re careful to keep contamination out of it from encroach-ment, or from wherever, it’ll stay pure. There are lots of examples of Mini-Verde, Champion and TifEagle greens that are as pure today as the frst day they were planted — 10, 12, 15 years ago. In my opinion, issues with on-site mutations in well-managed ultradwarf greens are very, very rare.”
Based on his work with both Mini-Verde and TifEagle, Elsner thinks a majority of the mutations at the production farm level never create problems on golf greens. Only a select few mutations end up being an issue — and a mutation may show up on a green in south Florida, but not on one in Atlanta.
Why is that? “Almost all of the bermuda-grass stays green in south Florida during the winter. It doesn’t go dormant, but it doesn’t grow very much. There are, however, some genotypes that have signifcant growth during the short days and cool temperatures of south Florida winters,” Elsner says. “So, let’s take a
Earl Elsner inspects a TifEagle green that has obvious encroachment.
“Not everyone
agrees with
me, but I think
if a golf green
is planted with
morphologically
uniform sprigs ... it’ll
stay pure.”
— Earl Elsner, Ph.D.
Recognizing golf course superintendents and golf courses for their
commitment to environmental stewardship
www.gcsaa.org/elga
Deadline for entries is October 1, 2015
2015GCSAA/Golf Digest
Environmental Leaders in
Golf Awards
R ognizing golf co p i d t
Apply now!
Presented in partnership with In support of
78 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
golf green and assume that some of those mu-tations have more growth in the winter than any of the ultradwarfs. If that’s the case, dur-ing the wintertime, our ultradwarf is just sit-ting there while the mutation is growing and getting a competitive advantage.
“There’s also been the suggestion that some of the mutations are less responsive to Primo. So if you use Primo year-round, you’re suppressing the ultradwarf but not the mu-tant. Add in the short days and cool nights, and the mutant has a huge advantage.”
Elsner also points out that some recent university work will show that issues with Primo are common across the entire south-eastern U.S.
Production precautionsHanna, also a USDA/ARS plant breeder,
was well aware of the purity issues surround-ing Tifway 419 and Tifdwarf, and was de-termined to keep his TifEagle bermudagrass from the same fate. When the grass was frst released in 1998, a limited number of licenses were issued to growers who agreed to abide by strict management protocols designed to pro-mote purity and stability. Hanna also required that every grower replant new material every fve years.
Georgia’s TifEagle certifcation program played an important role in preserving the variety’s purity as well, according to Terry Hollifeld, the director of the Georgia Crop Improvement Association. “We require three inspections per year on every licensed pro-duction farm: one during the May-June time frame, one during July-August, and the fnal
Champion Turf Farms principal Mike Brown.
during September-October,” Hollifeld says. “Experience has taught us that the best time to fnd off-types is early spring or late fall, when the grass is either greening up or reacting to colder nights. And our summer inspection is the best time to fnd troublesome weeds.”
Mike Brown of Champion Turf Farms in Bay City, Texas, was happy to detail the steps the company takes to keep its production material clean. “First of all, we only utilize a nursery for sprig production for fve years, and when we start a new feld, we go back to a sin-gle sprig. It requires a tremendous amount of labor, but we can go from the greenhouse to a full 8-acre feld in just one year,” Brown says. “Another thing that works really well for us is that when we start a new Champion feld, we plant it on acreage that has historically been in St. Augustinegrass. St. Augustine is like our nursery crop, because it’s the easiest grass in the world to identify and to kill. We never have a problem with St. Augustine coming up in one of our new Champion production felds.
“Bottom line: We guarantee every set of greens we put in. We lay our heads on the chopping block, because if there’s a problem, we fx it at our expense.”
Fixing the problemSo, what’s in the pipeline to not only iden-
tify these issues of bermudagrass off-types, but also solve them? Jim Brosnan, Ph.D., a turfgrass weed scientist with the University of Tennessee, and his graduate student, Eric Rea-sor, have already begun investigating.
Brosnan says early reports of “weeds” or other grasses popping up in ultradwarf greens
East Lake GC in Atlanta converted from bentgrass to Mini-Verde bermudagrass greens in 2008.
08.15 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 79
didn’t concern him until a course visit in 2011 highlighted the problem in living color.
“It was like seeing a ghost,” he says. “It had a pronounced polka-dotted appearance, which was very noticeable. As I started to see this more and more, I decided to make a com-mitment to fnd out what was going on, to fg-ure out how to help people manage this, be-cause at the end of the day, it’s fundamentally a turfgrass weed-management problem.”
Motivated to get to the bottom of the mys-tery and equipped with suffcient funding, he and Reasor got to work, visiting 26 golf courses in 2013 — mostly in Tennessee, but also in Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas and Mis-
Eric started measuring and recording attri-butes like stolon diameter, internode length, leaf length, leaf width, leaf length-to-width ratio and overall biomass production — all from that one stolon.”
Additional tests conducted by Brian Schwartz, Ph.D., a plant breeder at the Uni-versity of Georgia, revealed something else: None of the off-type grasses collected were related to common bermudagrass or to Tif-way 419. Instead, all were related to the Tif-green family.
“And that’s a big data point for us from a management standpoint,” Brosnan says. “Be-cause to me, that indicates that we’re likely not dealing with material that has migrated in from the roughs or collars. That being said, we need to do more work with molecular tech-niques to confrm this theory.”
sissippi. Collectively, these courses featured all three ultradwarf cultivars — Champion, Mini-Verde and TifEagle.
“Our objective was to document the his-tory of those greens,” Brosnan says. “What were they before they were ultradwarfs? What was the renovation process? Was it a no-till conversion? Was it a fumigation? A complete rebuild?” The pair also dug into management techniques, from applications of plant growth regulators to aerifcation, vertical mowing and topdressing regimes.
Next, they harvested any grass they identi-fed as an off-type, which they defned as “any grass that had a different visual appearance than the grass they wanted to be there.”
“It might be something with a coarser or wider leaf, or a different color, or something with a bit of a different growth habit,” Bros-
nan says. “We harvested anything that was just plain different, along with the ultra- dwarf that was there, and took all of our samples back to Knoxville for further study.”
That study revealed off-type grass in the three ultradwarf cultivars. There was little consistency among those off-types, however, with the researchers noting dif-ferent colors and textures. “They were all over the ballpark in terms of their morphol-ogy,” Brosnan says. “It was even more pro-nounced when we took the cultivars we har-vested and propagated them in greenhouse conditions from just one stolon. We saw really big differences in their morphology.
“It was like seeing
a ghost. It had
a pronounced
polka-dotted
appearance,
which was very
noticeable.”
— Jim Brosnan, Ph.D.
This Champion ultradwarf bermudagrass putting green in Tennessee shows signs of an infltration of off-types and was on one of the courses studied by Jim Brosnan, Ph.D., from the University of Tennessee.
Terry Hollifeld, the director of the Georgia Crop Improvement Association.
80 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
Further work is underway, but Brosnan thinks he and Reasor have already accomplished much with their research to date.
“Our frst goal in this research effort was to document that this prob-lem existed and then work to build research-based strategies for manag-ing these off-types or mutations. When you look at bentgrass greens, you commonly see segregation, but it doesn’t affect putting quality. That’s not the case with off-types of ultradwarf putting greens, based on what we’ve learned thus far,” he says.
University of Tennessee turf weed scientist Dr. Jim Brosnan (left) and gradu-ate student Eric Reasor (right) inspect ultradwarf off-types.
“Programs to manage these
off-types will essentially
improve both ultradwarf
putting green aesthetics and
putting quality.”
— Jim Brosnan, Ph.D.
“Programs to manage these off-types will essentially improve both ultradwarf putting green aesthetics and putting quality. That’s the real focus of this project,” Brosnan says. “Eric’s genetic work will essentially justify these grasses as being weeds of ultradwarf greens requiring spe-cialized management. We’re also going to evaluate the response of these grasses to variable rates of nitrogen and Primo under controlled condi-tions, as well as under both optimal and suboptimal weather conditions for bermudagrass growth. Our hope is that these studies will help us put some building blocks together to see what a good management program might look like in the feld.”
Following Brosnan and Reasor’s work as they attempt to get a handle on the “known unknowns” of this ultradwarf bermudagrass conundrum should prove very interesting.
Sam Williams runs Sam Williams Advertising, a marketing, advertising and freelance writing
frm based out of his home in Sautee Nacoochee, Ga.
82 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
In June, I had the pleasure of visiting New Zealand and meeting a number of golf course superintendents who are managing courses with minimal inputs.
A handful of courses in New Zealand still use sheep to mow (graze), a practice that started in Scotland hundreds of years ago. An equip-ment dealer at the New Zealand Fine Turf Seminar joked that the sheep could be painted red, green or orange and have a logo pasted on their side for advertising purposes — they’re providing direct competition for mower sales. One superintendent commented that the sheep are walking mowers that supply turf nutrition, sweaters for the golfers and, after they’ve served their purpose, food for the table. How many of your mowers do that?
Sheep grazing the golf course could cre-ate some interesting situations regarding the Rules of Golf. The sheep themselves are “outside agencies” according to the Rules — a ball de-fected off one would simply have to be played where it lies. If a lamb were to inadvertently kick a golf ball, the ball could be replaced if the location on the course is known (Rule 18-1). Otherwise, the spot would be estimated, and the ball dropped (Rule 20-3). Sheep excrement would be considered a “loose impediment” and could be moved as outlined in Rule 23.
Electric fences are used around greens to prevent the sheep from wandering onto the putting surface and leaving ball-roll-hindering hoof prints. The fences and the stakes sup-porting them would have to be treated as “im-movable obstructions” (Rule 24-2). The golfer would identify the nearest point of relief where stance and swing would no longer be affected by the fence, and the ball would be dropped within one club length. Imagine striking the ball with a pitching wedge and meeting a fence carrying a few hundred volts on your follow-through. The resulting scream would likely tempt your fellow competitors to create a new local rule related to noise on the golf course.
Brendan Allen, president of the New Zea-land GCSA and superintendent at The Hills, an exclusive club in Queenstown, New Zea-land, refected on the time he spent as an ap-prentice at the nine-hole Te Akau Golf Club on the North Island. Not only were sheep used on the course, but some fairways at times served
as practice areas for horse jumping. With all of those domesticated animals, the facility was beginning to resemble a farm more than a golf course.
Out of a group of 150 superintendents in New Zealand, I met no fewer than four hard-working gentlemen who were the sole paid em-ployees at their 18-hole facilities. I’m not sug-gesting that U.S. golf courses attempt this; the climate in New Zealand — relatively cool tem-peratures, periodic timely rainfall and slow-growing turf — is better suited for operating a facility on a bare-bones budget.
New Zealand is home to more than 400 golf courses, and the country is also a popular golf tourist destination. Many courses are main-taining mixtures of colonial bentgrass (brown-top) and Poa annua on putting greens. In most instances, the poa is winning the battle. There are innovators in every group, however.
In Wellington, New Zealand, I had the opportunity to visit Royal Wellington Golf Club, where superintendent John Spraggs is convinced that creeping bentgrass is the right choice for New Zealand greens. Royal Wel-lington is not a low-budget operation — it refects a quality you’d fnd at the nicest pri-vate clubs in the U.S. After a recent remodel, Spraggs led the conversion of greens to creep-ing bentgrass, and others have already begun to follow his lead. At the same time, John has taken a lower-maintenance approach to man-aging certain areas of the golf course, identify-ing natural spaces and other out-of-play areas where no maintenance is required.
The U.S. and New Zealand are facing simi-lar golf-related issues: too many golf courses for the number of golfers, and a need to increase participation in the game. Golf course super-intendents in both countries are being asked to manage their facilities with fewer resources, and they’re rising to the challenge in clever and inventive ways.
Jack Fry, Ph.D., is a professor of turfgrass science and
the director of the Rocky Ford Turfgrass Research Center
at Kansas State University in Manhattan. He is an 18-year
educator member of GCSAA.
Jack Fry, [email protected]
Baa, baa, black sheep
The sheep could
be painted red,
green or orange
and have a logo
pasted on their
side for advertising
purposes — they’re
providing direct
competition for
mower sales.
(through the green)
Precisely measures
the right depth (2.25”)
The predominant moisture
and salinity exchange
occurs in the top 2” to 2.5”
POGO is a professional, all-in-one system obtaining
superior insight into course conditions, allowing
better decisions to be made eficiently and cost
efectively for presenting the finest conditions
possible.
Unmatched precision.Better decisions.
pogoturfpro.com/gcm
1.800.452.5272
Integrated, professional-
quality GPS receiver
Records exactly where
each sample was taken.
Integrated WiFiThe best user interface for
POGO is the smartphone
already in your pocket.
No need for calibration, ever.
Consistent accuracy in all turf and
soil types with no maintenance.
PATENTED reliability and research-grade accuracy
Depended on by USDA, NOAA, leading irrigation
companies, and many universities for over 10 years.
Measures ALL 3 of the most influential turf variables.
MOISTURE SALINITY (EC) CANOPY TEMPERATURE
+
-
Create GPS mapping, IPM logs, pin sheets, DU analysis, customized reports
and much more!
Condition trends Irrigation analysis Pin sheets
84 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
Improving turfgrass establishment with multiple-depth seedingPlanting turfgrass seed at more than one depth may increase the odds of establishment in non-irrigated felds.
John Grande, Ph.D.
Robert Shortell, Ph.D.
Successful establishment of seeded turf-grass requires extensive inputs including soil preparation, fertilizers, lime, pesticides, and most important, adequate soil moisture. Supplemental irrigation often is unavailable or cost-prohibitive. Drought conditions are a common cause of seeding establishment fail-ures, and these failures can pose signifcant economic and environmental consequences.
In temperate climates, a limited window of opportunity is available for establishing cool-season turfgrasses, and seeding failures often are not confrmed until the primary establish-ment window has passed. Therefore, meth-odologies that improve successful seeding establishment can play an important role for turfgrass managers.
Reseeding into a failed stand is frequently not feasible because of unfavorable climatic conditions such as cold temperatures or ex-cessive heat. Without appropriate turfgrass cover, seeded areas may become eroded and require extensive work to re-establish. Soil erosion, along with fertilizers, pesticides and other inputs, represent signifcant sources of
environmental impact. In addition, reseed-ing cool-season grasses in the spring poses a greater risk of failure than late-summer/early-fall establishment.
Turfgrass management textbooks sug-gest uniform shallow seeding (2,4), but note that larger seeds, such as tall fescue (Fes-tuca arundinacea), can emerge from signif-cantly deeper depths (up to 1 inch [2.5 cen-timeters]), whereas smaller seeds should be planted near the surface (2). However, deep seeding of turfgrass can deplete the seed’s endosperm food reserves, resulting in death of the seedling before emergence (4). Other recommended and accepted practices include uniform seed cover at the desired rate, fol-lowed by soil incorporation and compaction to provide good seed-to-soil contact. How-ever, a signifcant percentage of turfgrass es-tablishment uses seed mixtures of large- and small-seeded species, such as perennial rye-grass (Lolium perenne) and Kentucky blue-grass (Poa pratensis), which further compli-cates the science behind planting practices.
The concept of planting turfgrass seeds
at multiple depths has not been addressed in turfgrass management textbooks (2,4). Rec-ommendations related to forage grass species established in arid and semi-arid regions at various seeding depths has been investigated, but establishment success or failure from mul-tiple seeding depths has not (3). For instance, a study of four grass species — perennial ryegrass, Matua prairiegrass (Bromus wilde-nowii Kunt .), bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.) and orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) — planted at 0.4, 1.2 and 2.4 inches (1, 3 and 6 centimeters), respectively, indicated a lower percentage of seed emergence as plant-ing depth increased (3). A study of perennial ryegrass comparing two seed weights found heavier seeds (which likely contain more food reserves in the endosperm) were able to emerge from greater planting depths even though germination rates were similar for seeds of both weights (1).
The success or failure of planting is the most important issue in the dynamics of non-irrigated seeded turfgrass establishment. Vari-ables affecting establishment can include, but
In a greenhouse study, tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass were planted at three depths. Note root depth and mesocotyl length at greater planting depths. Photos by John Grande
08.15 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 85
are not limited to, the amount and location of soil moisture; soil type; tilth and compaction; environmental and climatic conditions before and after seeding; seeding rate; species com-position; and planting depth.
Through experience, turfgrass managers address multiple factors with management in-puts to improve the chances of establishment success. For example, mulching seeded sites, although costly, can improve seed germina-tion and establishment by maintaining soil moisture in the seed zone.
Multiple-depth seeding insurance
To examine the concept of multiple-depth seeding, a non-irrigated athletic feld site was seeded with a tall fescue/Kentucky bluegrass mixture (90%/10%, respectively, by weight) at 350 pounds/acre (64.24 kilograms/hect-are). A standard cultipacker seeder placed seed from the surface to a depth of 0.3 inch (0.76 centimeter) in a silt loam soil. After seeding, a portion of the feld was rototilled to a depth of 4 inches (10 centimeters) to incorporate seed at multiple depths. A fnal pass with a culti-packer compacted the soil.
Soil preparation caused the soil to be dry from the surface to a depth of approximately 2 inches (5 centimeters), but soil moisture was noted 2 inches below the surface. At 14 days after seeding, several grass seedlings per square foot emerged from the rototilled area. The area seeded with the cultipacker seeder at a depth of 0.3 inch or less had no seedling emergence, and dry soil was observed in the seeding zone. In the rototilled area, tall fescue plants emerged from seed incorporated by the rototiller to a depth of 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5 centimeters).
Emerged tall fescue seedlings exhibited re-duced vigor likely from depleted endosperm from deep planting, but the emerging leaves were green and actively photosynthesizing. Because seedlings emerged from as deep as 2 inches, roots were developed as deep as 4 inches. In the absence of rainfall, the tall fes-cue seedlings continued to grow from deep roots that were able to obtain moisture.
On the basis of these observations, stud-ies were initiated to examine multiple-depth seeding of perennial ryegrass, tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass.
Greenhouse studies
In greenhouse trials, emergence of pe-rennial ryegrass, tall fescue and Kentucky
bluegrass planted in sifted silt loam soil was compared at three seeding depths. One hun-dred seeds were placed on the soil surface in eight-inch (20.3-centimeter) pots and cov-ered with the appropriate amount of soil to equal the seeding depth desired. Perennial ryegrass and tall fescue were seeded at 0.25, 1.0 and 1.75 inches (0.64, 2.5 and 4.4 centi-meters), and Kentucky bluegrass was seeded at 0.25, 0.75 and 1.25 inches (0.64, 2.5 and 3.3 centimeters).
As seen in Figure 1, at 21 days after seed-ing, with favorable soil moisture and tem-peratures under greenhouse conditions, 16% of the Kentucky bluegrass, 26% of the tall fescue and 44% of the perennial ryegrass emerged from the deepest planting depths for each species (1.25 inches for Kentucky bluegrass and 1.75 inches for tall fescue and perennial ryegrass). At the shallow and more traditional depths, a greater percentage of seedlings emerged. Greenhouse studies can have limited feld application, but the results of this study further reinforced the concept of using multiple seeding depths to develop adequate seedling populations.
Field studies
The dynamics of establishing a popula-tion of turfgrass plants to produce a successful
Greenhouse seeding depth
stand include many interacting and often un-controllable variables. High seeding rates hold the possibility of developing very high seedling populations that could result in dense, overly competitive stands and establishment failure. Fortunately, under feld conditions, turfgrass seedlings are able to compensate for a rea-sonably wide range in population, producing more or less growth based on seedling density.
It was hypothesized that, under feld con-ditions, if excessive soil moisture occurred when plants were seeded at multiple depths, the deeper-planted seeds would fail to estab-lish because of excessive anaerobic soil condi-tions, whereas seeds located near the surface would establish successfully. With dry upper-soil conditions, seeds planted near the surface would have inadequate moisture to germi-nate, but seeds sowed at greater depths would emerge and develop into a healthy stand.
Materials and me ds
To reinforce the data from the greenhouse study and to further investigate the concept of turfgrass seeding at multiple depths, a feld study was carried out from 2003 to 2004 on a silt loam soil at Rutgers University Snyder Re-search Farms in Pittstown, N.J. The study was planted on June 30, 2003, to evaluate seed-ling emergence during summer conditions
Figure 1. At 21 days after seeding, with favorable soil moisture and temperatures under greenhouse conditions, 16% of the Kentucky bluegrass, 26% of the tall fescue and 44% of the perennial ryegrass emerged from the deepest planting depths for each species (1.25 inches for Kentucky bluegrass and 1.75 inches for tall fescue and perennial ryegrass). Because of its smaller seed size, Kentucky bluegrass was seeded at shallower depths. Means within the same species and marked with the same letter are not statistically different.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
0.25
0.75
1.0
1.25
1.75
Seeding depth (inches)
% s
eedl
ing
emer
genc
e
Perennial ryegrass Tall fescue Kentucky bluegrass
A
B
B
AA
B
A
B
C
86 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
of high temperatures and reduced soil mois-ture. Seeding rates for tall fescue, perennial ryegrass and Kentucky bluegrass were 355, 349 and 113 pounds/acre (397.9, 391.2 and 126.7 kilograms/hectare), respectively. The seeding rates were approximately 25% higher than typical to take into account multiple-depth seeding. Plots were 20 feet long × 5 feet wide (6.1 meters × 1.5 meters). For each spe-cies, each plot was divided into thirds, with one subplot for the control and two plots for multi-depth seeding.
The control in this study is the widely ac-cepted practice of seeding turfgrass using a cultipacker seeder (shallow/surface planting up to 0.3 inch deep). This is a two-step pro-cess of tilling the soil in preparation for seed-ing and then planting the seed on the surface of the tilled soil.
The control treatment was compared to using a rototiller to incorporate seeds at multi-ple depths after surface seeding. Subplots were rototilled at depths of either 2.5 or 5 inches (6.4 or 12.7 centimeters). After rototilling, a cultipacker was used to improve seed-to-soil contact and reduce fuffy soil characteristics. Previous observations indicated rototilling incorporates the seed at multiple depths, but not as deep as the set rototiller depth, likely because the grass seed is lighter and less dense than soil particles.
No rainfall occurred from eight days be-fore seeding — during feld preparation — to seven days after seeding. On the seventh day after seeding, 0.34 inch (0.86 centimeter) of rain was recorded, and daily high tempera-tures averaged in the high 80s F.
Field study resultsObservations at 15 days after seeding indi-
cated turfgrass was establishing with all three seeding techniques, but shallow seeding with the cultipacker seeder produced the greatest seedling emergence. Soil moisture conditions during the early phase of the study were not considered “drought conditions,” with two signifcant rainfall events occurring on days 7 and 9. The photo (Page 87, top) illustrates an important seeding concept: germination was greater in the tractor tire tracks because the tires compacted the soil, improving seed-to-soil contact.
A soil cross-section of the perennial rye-grass was excavated 15 days after planting in the area rototilled 5 inches deep. The photo of the cross-section (Page 87, bottom) indicates
Top: A common cultipacker seeder used to seed research plots.
Bottom: After shallow seeding with a cultipacker, plots were rototilled at 2.5 inches or 5 inches deep to move seed deeper into the soil. Plots were then re-compacted with a cultipacker to increase seed-to-soil contact.
08.15 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 87
deeper-planted perennial ryegrass seeds were able to emerge from a soil depth of approxi-mately 1.5 inches, with root growth up to 3 inches deep where increased soil moisture lev-els were observed. Deeper-germinating seeds had longer mesocotyl vertical extension, al-lowing leaves to emerge.
At 36 days after planting, the percent groundcover data for the two larger-seeded species ranged from a minimum of 55% for tall fescue (5-inch rototilling) to 93% for pe-rennial ryegrass (2.5-inch rototilling) (Figure 2). The 0-0.3-inch-deep seeding with a tradi-tional cultipacker produced 80% groundcover for both perennial ryegrass and tall fescue.
The smaller-seeded Kentucky bluegrass had much lower percent groundcover ratings 36 days after seeding, which would be ex-pected as Kentucky bluegrass is much slower to establish than the larger-seeded tall fescue and perennial ryegrass. However, in both the 2.5- and 5-inch deep rototilling treatments, Kentucky bluegrass seedlings emerged at ap-proximately one-third the rate seen with the traditional surface seeding.
Visual observations of the feld study at 48 days and at one year after seeding indicated all three seeding techniques — surface seed-ing with a cultipacker seeder and incorporat-ing seeds with a rototiller set at 2.5 inches or 5 inches deep — provided excellent turfgrass establishment for perennial ryegrass and tall fescue. Kentucky bluegrass did not establish well, especially with the rototilled incorpora-tion of seeds. Summer seedings of Kentucky bluegrass would be considered high-risk, espe-cially on non-irrigated sites.
Conclusions
Unpredictable soil moisture conditions during unirrigated turfgrass establishment represent a common cause of failure. Multi-depth seeding may prove to be a cost-effective technique that enhances turfgrass establish-ment success while providing a level of insur-ance against a range of environmental condi-tions that could lead to establishment failure.
The increased expense from the higher seeding rates needed for multi-depth seeding may be justifed when viewed in terms of the overall cost of establishing turfgrass. The po-tential risk of excessive seedling populations resulting from the higher seeding rates was not an issue in this study.
Possible additional benefts from multi-depth seeding also include deeper initial root-
Top: Establishment of (left to right) tall fescue (TF), perennial ryegrass (PR) and Kentucky bluegrass (KB) at 15 days after seeding. Dark green portions of each plot are standard shallow seeding. Lighter green areas refect emergence from the rototilled portions of each subplot. Note the increased germination in tire tracks from improved seed-to-soil contact.
Bottom: A soil cross-section of a perennial ryegrass plot rototilled 5 inches deep was taken 15 days after planting. Generally, seeds germinating below 2 inches indicate “suicidal germination.” Note the depth of the root system and soil moisture where the deeper-germinating seeds have emerged.
TF
PRKB
88 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
The
RESEARCH SAYS
• When compared to results from seeding with
a cultipacker, some tall fescue, Kentucky
bluegrass and perennial ryegrass seeds in
greenhouse studies, and in field studies using
a rototiller, emerged from significantly greater
depths.
• Particularly during dry periods, deeper-germi-
nating seedlings initially produced deeper root
systems than shallow-germinating seedlings,
enhancing the amount of soil moisture available
to the seedling.
• In field studies, a rototiller set at 2.5 or 5 inches
deep incorporated seeds throughout the soil
profile but generally above the rototiller depth
setting.
• Field studies confirmed that seeding at multiple
depths is possible and may enhance success
in seeding turfgrass on non-irrigated sites; tall
fescue and perennial ryegrass established more
successfully than Kentucky bluegrass.
ing and seedling crowns below the soil surface protected from wear traffc.
A local sod farm (Leons Sod Farm, Pitts-town, N.J.) seeded a sod feld with a blend of tall fescue/Kentucky bluegrass at 350 pounds of seed per acre (90%/10% by weight). The grower used a cultipacker with spring teeth set to 3 inches deep to incorporate the surface seeding. Field observations by the sod grower indicated the process was successful.
Acknowledgments
We thank Leon Sod Farms, Pittstown, N.J., for assistance in establishing our trials.
Literature cited
1. Arnott, R.A. 1969. The effect of seed weight and
depth of sowing on the emergence and early seedling
growth of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne ). Grass
and Forage Science 24(2):104-110.
2. Christians, N.E. 2011. Fundamentals of turfgrass
management. 4th edition. John Wiley and Sons,
Hoboken, N.J.
3. Sanderson, M.A., and E.F. Elwinger. 2004. Emer-
gence and seedling structure of temperate grasses at
different planting depths. Agronomy Journal 96:685-
691.
4. Turgeon, A.J. 2011. Turfgrass management. 7th edi-
tion. Prentice Hall, Englewood, N.J.
John Grande ([email protected]) is director at
Rutgers University Snyder Research Farm, Pittstown, N.J.,
and Robert Shortell is director of technology transfer at
StollerUSA, Houston, Texas.
% ground cover rototilling
Figure 2. At 36 days after planting, groundcover for the larger-seeded species ranged from a minimum of 55% for tall fescue (5-inch rototilling) to 93% for perennial ryegrass (2.5-inch rototilling). The 0-0.3-inch-deep seeding with a tradi-tional cultipacker produced 80% groundcover for both perennial ryegrass and tall fescue. Means within the same species and marked with the same letter are not statistically different.
Establishment of (left to right) tall fescue (TF), perennial ryegrass (PR) and Kentucky bluegrass (KB), 48 days after seeding. Both surface seeding with a cultipacker and incorporating seeds at 2.5 and 5 inches resulted in successful establishment for perennial ryegrass and tall fescue.
Rows of (from left to right) tall fescue (TF), perennial ryegrass(PR) and Kentucky bluegrass (KB) one year after seeding. Plots in the foreground of tall fescue and peren-nial ryegrass are the shallow-seeded controls followed by 2.5-inch and 5-inch rototilled seed incorporation. Note that establishment was least successful for the Kentucky bluegrass.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Perennial ryegrass Tall fescue Kentucky bluegrass
% g
roun
dcov
er 3
6 d
ays
afte
r se
edin
g
Rototiller 5-inch depth
Rototiller 2.5-inch depth
Cultipacker (control)0-0.3-inch depth
AA
AB
B
B
A
B B
A
TF PR
KBPRTF
KB
08.15 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 89
Snow mold fungicide persistence How long do snow mold fungicides persist in variable winter conditions, and how does persistence affect disease control?
P.L. Koch, Ph.D.
J.C. Stier, Ph.D.
J.P. Kerns, Ph.D.
When should you apply fungicides to con-trol snow mold? For many superintendents in temperate regions of the world, that can be a tricky question. Gayle Worf, Ph.D., former Wisconsin turf pathologist, always said to have the sprays complete “before climbing into the tree stand.” For most, however, that would mean having the course sprayed by mid-November. Warm temperatures, rainfall and/or a lack of snow cover can persist for weeks or even months following a November application, depending on the location and the particular conditions that winter. When the snow fnally does arrive, it is unclear whether protection remains against winter diseases such as gray snow mold (Ty ula in-carnata), speckled snow mold (T. is ikarien-sis) and Microdochium patch/pink snow mold (Microdoc ium nivale).
Because little can be done to protect the turf once snow arrives, it is imperative for a superintendent to know before snow cover whether there was a signifcant loss of pro-tection. In addition, if snow cover dissipates during a midwinter thaw, it is important to know whether fungicide protection has been depleted, leaving the turf susceptible to infection.
at determines et er pesticides will last?Six primary physical and chemical pro-
cesses affect the persistence of turfgrass pes-ticides in the environment: solubility-based movement in water; sorption and desorp-tion to plant and soil surfaces; volatilization; plant uptake; biotic degradation through mi-crobial metabolism; and abiotic degradation through sunlight (that is, photodegradation) or pH activity (3). Many of these processes have been studied extensively in typical spring or summer conditions (1) but remain
The Environmental Institute for Golf provided partial funding for this research through a grant to GCSAA.
Top: Microdochium patch on a golf course fairway following snowmelt. Photo courtesy of Kevin Ross, CGCS, Country Club of the Rockies
Bottom: The experimental area at the O.J. Noer Turfgrass Research Facility in Madison, Wis., in January 2013. The snow-covered plots are on the right and left sides, and the plots that were not covered with snow are in the middle. Photos by Paul Koch
90 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
meters). The main plot was the presence or absence of snow, and the subplots were the fungicide treatments.
The fungicide treatments consisted of a non-treated control, chlorothalonil, iprodi-one, and a tank mixture of both chlorotha-lonil and iprodione. Chlorothalonil was ap-plied as Daconil WeatherStik (Syngenta) at 5.5 fuid ounces/1,000 square feet (1.75 mil-liliters/square meter), and iprodione was ap-plied as Chipco 26GT (Bayer) at 4.0 fuid ounces/1,000 square feet (1.27 milliliters/square meter). The tank mixture consisted of both Daconil WeatherStik and Chipco 26GT applied at 5.5 and 4.0 fuid ounces/1,000 square feet, respectively. The applications were made one day before the frst signifcant snow-fall of each year: Dec. 6, 2009; Dec. 3, 2010; Dec. 28, 2011; and Dec. 19, 2012. Within 24 hours of each snow event, snow was removed from the designated non-snow plots with a shovel and placed onto the adjacent snow-cov-ered plots to ensure a minimum snow cover of 4 inches (~10 centimeters) for the duration of each winter.
Approximately one hour following the fungicide application, two 4-inch-diameter cores were extracted from the center of each plot using a power drill with a hole-saw at-tachment. On snow-covered plots, a small area of snow was cleared before sampling and immediately replaced following sample col-lection. One core from each plot was taken to the lab for fungicide analysis using a commer-cially available enzyme-linked immunosor-bent assay (ELISA) kit, and the second core was taken to a growth chamber for incubation following inoculation with M. nivale. Repeat samplings were conducted every one to three weeks based on winter conditions until snow-melt in the spring.
Results and discussion
Because of technical problems with the fungicide assay kits, fungicide concentration of iprodione was not measured during the frst winter of the study, and chlorothalonil was only measured in the fnal two winters. Each winter of the study offered unique weather conditions that likely led to the unique pat-terns of fungicide depletion in each year. The winter of 2009-2010 was relatively average in terms of both snowfall and temperature for Madison. Regardless of whether the plots were sprayed with chlorothalonil or iprodione and whether they were covered in snow, pro-
Top: After the soil had frozen, cores were sampled using a power drill with a 4-inch hole-saw attachment.
Right: Microdochium patch 28 days after inoculation with Microdochium nivale in the controlled-environment chamber. The core on the left was treated with a fungicide, and the core on the right was not.
poorly understood in a winter environment. On one hand, the presence of snow insulates the turf from the low temperatures and may provide a relatively warm, moist environment that increases the rate of fungicide depletion. On the other hand, a lack of snow may cause photodegradation, which can also lead to in-creased rates of fungicide depletion. A precise knowledge of winter fungicide depletion will aid turfgrass managers in suppressing winter turfgrass diseases in a more predictable and effcient manner.
Study rationaleThis study was implemented in direct
response to a series of winters in Wiscon-sin from 2004-2005 to 2007-2008 that had well-below-average snow cover. The primary objectives were to determine the impact of snow cover on the persistence of iprodione and chlorothalonil on creeping bentgrass, and
to determine the minimum concentration of both fungicides required to maintain accept-able Microdochium patch (pink snow mold) suppression in a controlled environment. We hypothesized that the absence of snow would increase fungicide depletion because of photo-degradation and result in more rapid Micro-dochium patch development.
Materials and methods
The study was conducted for four con-secutive winters beginning in 2009-2010 at the O.J. Noer Turfgrass Research Facility in Madison, Wis., on a stand of Penncross creep-ing bentgrass maintained under fairway con-ditions. The experimental design was a split block with four replications and an individual plot size of 6 feet × 6 feet (1.8 meters × 1.8
08.15 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 91
tection from Microdochium patch in the con-trolled environment lasted approximately 30 days before a rapid increase occurred in early January (Figure 1). This increase occurred less than one week after a 1-inch (2.5-centimeter) rainfall, suggesting that this rainfall signif-cantly reduced the amount of disease protec-tion present.
Winter 2010-2011
The following winter saw below-average temperatures, above-average snowfall, and no rain events throughout the entire season. Disease protection with both fungicides was extended relative to 2009-2010, with the ini-tial development of disease in 2010-2011 oc-curring in mid- to late January as opposed to the frst week of January (Figure 2). A second and more signifcant increase in disease was observed with both fungicides on both snow treatments in the second half of February.
Although chlorothalonil concentration was not measured in 2010-2011, iprodione concentration was, and it dropped initially in mid-January before a second and more signif-cant drop in late February. Though no signif-cant rain events occurred during the winter of 2010-2011, two signifcant warming events occurred at approximately the same times that disease severity increased and iprodione con-centration decreased. The frst event occurred in mid-January, with a period of three to four days of average high temperatures at about 38 F (3.3 C). The second event in late February was more dramatic, with about one week of average high temperatures reaching into the mid-40 F (~7 C) range. This indicates that, even in the absence of rain, temperatures above freezing can increase fungicide deple-tion regardless of snow cover.
Winter 2011-2012
The winter of 2011-2012 was among the warmest on record for Madison and led to de-pletion of both fungicides within 21 days of the initial application (data not shown). The inability to keep snow on the plots made the data diffcult to interpret in 2011-2012, and those data are not presented here.
Winter 2012-2013
The winter of 2012-2013 had above-av-erage temperatures, above-average snowfall, and several signifcant rainfall events during the month of January. For turf under snow cover, iprodione concentration fell rapidly
Growth chamber: Disease severity, 2009-2010
Figure 1. Microdochium patch severity on creeping bentgrass in the growth chamber following treatment with iprodione (A) or chlorothalonil (B) during the winter of 2009-2010. Initial samplings occurred one hour following fungicide applica-tion on Dec. 6, 2009. Blue bars with dates indicate rainfall events in excess of 0.1 inch (2.54 millimeters). Individual points represent average disease severity values of four replications at seven- to 21-day intervals following fungicide application until fnal snowmelt in spring.
Days to 50% snow mold
Snow cover Fungicide 2009-2010 2010-2011 2012-2013
Snow no fungicide <7 <7 30
iprodione 32 47 46
chlorothalonil 42 60 37
tank mixture 48 88 42
No snow no fungicide <7 <7 30
iprodione 34 45 30
chlorothalonil 34 53 40
tank mixture >115 76 38
Table 1. Approximate days to 50% snow mold on creeping bentgrass cores sampled in Madison, Wis., during the winters of 2009-2010, 2010-2011 and 2012-2013. Cores were treated with either iprodione, chlorothalonil or a tank mixture of both before the frst signifcant snowfall of each winter, and were kept under snow cover or free of snow cover the entire winter.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Snow
No snow
Rain dates
12/7/09 12/21/09 1/4/10 1/18/10 2/1/10 2/15/10 3/1/10
12/7/09 12/21/09 1/4/10 1/1810 2/1/10 2/15/10 3/1/10
Mic
rodo
chiu
m p
atch
sev
erity
(%
)
A. Iprodione
B. Chlorothalonil
12/24/09 1/23/10
1/23/1012/24/09
92 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
increases fungicide depletion regardless of whether snow is on the ground. In addition, prolonged disease protection was often ob-served when both fungicides were applied as a tank mixture as opposed to either fungicide applied individually (Table 1). This observa-tion is well documented in the feld, with two or three active ingredients often required for acceptable snow mold suppression in areas of high disease pressure (2). However, it is inter-esting to note that the increased protection provided by tank-mixing fungicides did not result in increased persistence of either fun-gicide, as the concentration of each fungicide decreased in a similar manner whether it was applied alone or as part of a tank mixture.
Lastly, it is important to note that the dis-ease development noted previously occurred in a controlled environment under constant conditions optimal for infection. The only year signifcant snow mold occurred in the feld plots was in 2010-2011, when signif-cant gray snow mold was observed under the snow-covered treatments. What this indicates is that even though we measured rapid fun-gicide depletion in each year, in three of four years, the level of initial fungal inhibition and/or environmental conditions in the feld were such that disease development was mini-mal. This suggests that even when it is clear that fungicides have depleted to a signifcant degree, it is not clear whether a reapplication is required to maintain acceptable disease con-trol until spring.
Conclusion
Fungicide persistence in a winter environ-ment is complex and affected by a wide vari-ety of factors. The results presented here have demonstrated that rainfall, snowmelt and temperature all potentially play signifcant roles in the depletion of snow mold fungi-cides during the winter months. Conversely, and contrary to our hypothesis, photodegra-dation did not appear to have any impact on fungicide persistence during any year of our study. These results indicate that a snow mold fungicide applied in late fall will likely deplete rapidly in the presence of melting snow or sig-nifcant rainfall. However, fungicides applied in late fall will likely persist for months re-gardless of snow cover in the absence of melt-ing snow, rainfall or prolonged periods with temperatures above 32 F (0 C). Armed with this information and weighing other factors such as additional expense, club expectations
Disease severity and iprodione concentration, 2010-2011
Figure 2. Microdochium patch severity (A, B) and iprodione concentration (C) as affected by snow cover on creeping bentgrass treated with iprodione (A, C) or chlorothalonil (B) during the winter of 2010-2011. Initial samplings occurred one hour following fungicide application on Dec. 3, 2010, in Madison, Wis. Blue bars indicate periods of above-average temperatures.
shortly after application, but iprodione con-centration remained consistent on turf with-out snow cover until the end of January, when it fell precipitously (Figure 3). Chlorothalonil concentration, regardless of snow cover, de-clined consistently throughout January and had reached nearly undetectable levels by the end of the month. Disease development mir-rored the fungicide concentration results, al-though disease did develop more rapidly on turf treated with iprodione relative to turf treated with chlorothalonil. Three signifcant rainfalls during the month of January likely
infuenced the depletion of both fungicides regardless of snow cover. However, the rapid depletion of iprodione under snow cover in early January, when temperatures were warm enough to cause melting, indicated melt-ing snow also contributed to faster depletion of iprodione.
The longest duration of Microdochium patch protection provided, regardless of fun-gicide or snow cover, was in 2010-2011 (Table 1). This was also the only winter without any signifcant rainfall events, again indicat-ing that rainfall during the winter months
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
Mic
rodo
chiu
m p
atch
sev
erity
(%)
12/1/10 1/1/11 2/1/11 3/1/11 4/1/11
12/1/10 1/1/11 2/1/11 3/1/11 4/1/11
12/1/10 1/1/11 2/1/11 3/1/11 4/1/11
A. Iprodione
B. Chlorothalonil
C. Iprodione concentration
Snow
No snow
Above-average temps
Ipro
dion
e co
ncen
tratio
n (µ
g/gr
am)
08.15 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 93
Acknowledgments
Partial funding for this research was pro-vided by the Environmental Institute for Golf, the Wisconsin GCSA and the Northern Great Lakes GCSA. Special thanks to Chad Grimm of Blackhawk Country Club in Madi-son, Wis., and Dan Dinelli, CGCS, of North Shore Country Club in Glenview, Ill., for sup-plying the Microdo ium nivale isolates used in the study.
Literature cited
1. Daniels, J., and R. Latin. 2013. Residual activity of
fungicides for control of brown patch on creeping
bentgrass. Plant Disease 97:1414-1419.
2. Koch, P.L., and J.P. Kerns. 2012. Preventative
fungicide applications for the control of snow mold
on creeping bentgrass, 2010-2011. Plant Disease
Management Reports 6:T010.
3. Sigler, W.V., C.P Taylor, C.S. Throssell et al. 2000.
Environmental fates of fungicides in the turfgrass envi-
ronment. Pages 127-149. In: J.M. Clark and M. Kenna,
eds. Fate and Management of Turfgrass Chemicals.
American Chemical Society, Washington D.C.
Paul L. Koch ([email protected]) is an assistant profes-
sor in the department of plant pathology at the University
of Wisconsin-Madison; John C. Stier is an assistant dean
and professor in the College of Agricultural Sciences and
Natural Resources at the University of Tennessee, Knox-
ville; and James P. Kerns is an assistant professor in the
department of plant pathology at North Carolina State Uni-
versity, Raleigh.
The
RESEARCH SAYS
• Both iprodione and chlorothalonil depleted
rapidly following winter rainfall or snowmelt
events.
• Both fungicides depleted rapidly during a period
of abnormal warmth in the absence of rainfall
or melting snow in 2010-2011, possibly as a
result of increased microbial or plant metabolic
activity.
• Photodegradation on plots without snow cover
did not affect fungicide persistence.
• Tank-mixing both fungicides provided prolonged
disease suppression, although not because of
increased persistence of either fungicide.
Disease severity and fungicide concentration, 2011-2012
Figure 3. Microdochium patch severity (A, B) and fungicide concentration (C, D) as affected by snow cover on creeping bentgrass treated with iprodione (A, C) or chlorothalonil (B, D) during the winter of 2011-2012. Initial samplings occurred one hour after fungicide application on Dec. 28, 2011, in Madison, Wis. Blue bars with dates signify rainfall in excess of 0.1 inch (2.54 millimeters).
and potential environmental exposure, the su-perintendent can make an informed decision about whether a fungicide reapplication dur-ing the winter months should be made. On a more general level, this research provides cru-cial initial information on the overall behav-
ior of certain fungicides in a winter environ-ment. This is traditionally an area of limited research, but one that is important in devel-oping more effcient and effective snow mold fungicide programs.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
A. Iprodione
B. Chlorothalonil
C. Iprodione
D. Chlorothalonil
12/17/12 12/31/12 1/14/13 1/28/13 2/11/13 2/25/13 3/11/13
12/17/12 12/31/12 1/14/13 1/28/13 2/11/13 2/25/13 3/11/13 3/25/13 4/8/13
12/17/12 12/31/12 1/14/13 1/28/13 2/11/13 2/25/13 3/11/13
12/17/12 12/31/12 1/14/13 1/28/13 2/11/13 2/25/13 3/11/13 3/25/13 4/8/13
1/10/13 2/10/13
1/10/13
1/29/13
2/10/13
1/10/13
1/29/13
2/10/13
1/10/13
1/29/13
2/10/13
1/29/13
Mic
rodo
chiu
m p
atch
sev
erity
(%
)Ip
rodi
one
conc
entr
atio
n (µ
g/gr
am)
Mic
rodo
chiu
m p
atch
sev
erity
(%
)C
hlor
otha
loni
l con
cent
ratio
n (µ
g/gr
am)
Snow
No snow
Rain dates
uptake across all nitrogen rates, while at the second location, nitrogen uptake increased by 70 percent. Simply put, when clippings were returned to the plots, there was more nitrogen in the turfgrass.
So, the turfgrass grew more and took up more nitrogen when clippings were returned. But what about quality? At both sites, quality improved as the nitrogen rate increased. The return of clippings did not always substantially improve turfgrass quality, but it did not harm turfgrass quality either. At one site, turfgrass quality was never affected by clipping return, and at the second site, quality improved signif-icantly on fve of 15 rating dates. Differences in turfgrass quality and nitrogen use across sites were thought to be a function of the wa-ter-holding capacity of the differing soil types, with one soil having better water-holding ca-pacity than the other. Because the studies were not irrigated, turfgrass quality may have also been affected by soil water-holding capacity, regardless of the nitrogen source.
Overall, dry matter yield and nitrogen up-take increased when clippings were returned to plots, regardless of nitrogen rate. Because quality was either improved or not harmed by clipping return, turfgrass managers could con-sider reductions of 50 percent in nitrogen fer-tilization if clippings are returned. Although the practice is not suitable for putting greens, clippings from putting surfaces could be ap-plied to fairways or roughs.
Source: Kopp, K.L., and K. Guillard. 2002. Clipping management and nitrogen fertiliza-tion of turfgrass: growth, nitrogen utilization, and quality. Crop Science 42:1225-1231.
Beth Guertal, Ph.D., is a professor in the department of
crop, soil and environmental sciences at Auburn University
in Auburn, Ala., and the editor-in-chief for the American
Society of Agronomy. She is a 19-year member of GCSAA.
94 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
Beth Guertal, [email protected]
Twitter: @AUTurfFert
To return, or not to return, that is the question
(verdure)
It’s well known that grass clippings con-tain nutrients, and when those clippings are removed from fairways or roughs, nutrients that could be recycled back into the growing turf are lost. Even though clipping removal is a common practice in course management, there’s really not too much research on the subject — studies that examine the effect re-turned clippings can have on turf quality and nutrient use. So, for two years, Kelly Kopp, Ph.D., and Karl Guillard, Ph.D., performed research at the University of Connecticut to evaluate the impact of nitrogen rates and re-turn/removal of grass clippings on turfgrass. The study was intended as “home lawn” re-search, but the implications for clipping man-agement extend to any managed turfgrass.
The study was conducted at two locations. Both research areas were a mix of common Kentucky bluegrass, common creeping red fescue and various perennial ryegrass culti-vars, all mowed at 1.5 inches (3.8 centimeters) without irrigation. Treatments were nitrogen rates of 0, 88, 175 or 350 pounds nitrogen/acre/year (0, 98, 196 or 392 kilograms nitro-gen/hectare/year) applied as a mixture of urea (~60%), methylene urea (~5%) and ammo-nium nitrate (35%) fertilizer, with that total nitrogen applied as three split applications. The nitrogen treatments were combined with two clipping treatments: all clippings removed from the plots, and all clippings returned to the plots. If clippings were returned to the plots, they were applied to the same plots from which they had been harvested. Data collec-tion included turfgrass quality, nitrogen con-tent in the clippings, and nitrogen use eff-ciency by the turfgrass.
There was often an interaction between nitrogen fertilization rate and returning the clippings. When clippings were returned, there was more clipping growth (dry matter production) at lower rates of nitrogen fertiliza-tion. Across all nitrogen rates, returning the clippings boosted grass clipping production by around 64 percent. Along with producing more growth, the addition of the clippings in-creased nitrogen uptake. At one research loca-tion, returning the clippings doubled nitrogen
Because quality
was either
improved or not
harmed by clipping
return, turfgrass
managers
could consider
reductions of
50 percent in
nitrogen fertilization
if clippings are
returned.
08.15 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 95
CUTTING EDGETeresa Carson
Effects of sand-capping depth and subsoil on fairway perfor-mance, irrigation and drought resistance
Sand capping (also known as “plating”) of golf course areas is not necessarily a new con-cept in golf course construction and mainte-nance, but it has gained popularity in recent years, especially on fairways. The trend has been driven by the need for improved turf-grass growing and playing conditions, espe-cially in areas where low-quality irrigation water and/or fne-textured native soils exist. Sand capping can add signifcant expense to a construction/renovation budget, and, be-cause of that, less-than-optimal depths of sand are often used. Although no specifca-tions currently exist for specifc depth or par-ticle size distribution of capping sands, the recommended depth depends on the proper-ties of the sand and on environmental condi-tions such as rainfall and evaporation rates, providing a balance of water to air-flled po-rosity for optimal growth of grass. This three-year project is evaluating Tifway bermuda- grass performance and rooting character- istics under four capping depths (0, 2, 4 and 8 inches [~5, 10 and 20 centimeters]) atop two subsoils (clay and sandy loam). The sand
capping × subsoil treatments are being man-aged under two irrigation levels during the study to better understand their effects on ir-rigation requirements and water relations in soils. During the fnal year, a 60-day drought will be imposed on plots, and dry-down and recovery/survival characteristics will be eval-uated. This study should provide valuable information for proper design and manage-ment of sand-capped fairways to achieve op-timal turf quality and performance. — Wes
Dyer; Ben Wherley, Ph.D. ([email protected]);
Kevin McInnes, Ph.D.; and Jim Thomas, Texas
A&M University, College Station
Effects of brushing on bent-grass morphology and putting surface quality
Putting greens are a small portion of the golf course, but they are also the most in-tensively managed portion. Putting greens are unique in that the golf shot is played along the turf surface — not through the air, as with the other golf shots. Because of this uniqueness, cultural practices that im-prove the quality of the putting surface are extremely important and, at the same time, stressful to the turf. Brushing is a practice
Photo by Ben Wherley
that makes the turfgrass plant stand up-right before being cut. Creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera) is the primary turfgrass species used on greens, but it has a prostrate growth habit. Brushing promotes vertically oriented leaf tissue, which helps the plant tol-erate lower mowing heights. Greater vertical growth promotes higher shoot density, which helps reduce the competitive ability of some weeds. However, the mechanical or abra-sive nature of brushing can potentially cause physiological injury to the turfgrass plant. Over the past year, our research has mea-sured MDA (malondialdehyde), photochem-ical effciency, and some visible changes, such as leaf texture and green speed, to evaluate the effects of brushing frequency and in-tensity on turf visual quality and on the po-tential for physiological injury. — Dominic
Petrella; Chenchen Gu; Karl Danneberger, Ph.D.;
and Dave Gardner, Ph.D. ([email protected]),
Ohio State University, Columbus
Teresa Carson ([email protected]) is GCM’s science editor.
The research described in these summaries is funded in part by USGA.
Photos by Dominic Petrella
BRUSHED
CONTROL
96 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
(product news) Worksaver Inc. introduced the Sweep
Action Material Bucket (SAMB) for cleaning
large properties and construction sites. The patent-
pending design allows the SAMB to collect demolition
debris, brush or small rocks with one tool, offering time
and cost savings. Two models are available: the SAMB-72,
with an overall width of 72 inches, and the SAMB-84, with
an overall width of 84 inches. The front grapple operates
in a sweeping motion to pull debris or brush into the unit
for effortless site cleanup. The grapple design retains
the debris, allowing the operator to handle uneven-sized
material without it falling out of the bucket. Bolt-on side
plates can be removed to reveal cutouts to handle loads
of varying sizes. Contact Worksaver Inc., 217-324-5973
(www.worksaver.com).
Efco introduced a new split-broom brush
cutter for the DIY user, the DS 2400 D. The
split-broom powerhead is compact and lightweight, with
a no-tools coupling system for mounting the various
attachments to use in all seasons. Each attachment is
managed separately and can be purchased as the need
Progressive
Progressive Turf Equipment is
offering the Pro-Flex 120B Contour Rough Mower in industry green.
Historically, more than half of all Pro-Flex
120s sold since 1999 are connected to a
John Deere tractor. Customers can choose
either the traditional Progressive red paint
or green. Other than the color, the features
and specifcations of the green Pro-Flex
120B are exactly the same as those of a red
Pro-Flex 120B contour mower. Changes in
recent years to Pro-Flex include automatic
belt tensioners, maintenance-free blade
spindles, and 100-hour greasing interval
PTO shafts that reduce maintenance time
and lower overall operating costs. It also
has fve independent foating decks. Contact
Progressive Turf Equipment, 519-527-1080
(www.progressiveturfequip.com).
Countour
MOWER
Worksaver
08.15 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 97
arises. Using only one engine for all applications means
simplifed maintenance and refueling of just one tank,
and also reduces the space required for transport or
winter storage. The 21.7-cc, 2-stroke engine delivers
1.2 horsepower, featuring generous torque output
with minimal fuel consumption, according to Efco. The
compact dimensions of the engine unit and balanced
weight distribution of the tool assure a good level of
maneuverability and control in all working conditions
and applications. Contact Efco, 800-800-4420 (www.
efcopower.com).
Weed Recede is an all-in-one mulch bag made
from a soil-degradable material. The packaging is safely
installed in the soil and acts like a weed barrier, which
the company says helps retain moisture and eliminates
billions of plastic bags from being disposed of in landflls
and oceans. Bob Hawkinson, co-founder of TLC-Total Lawn
Care Inc., is the inventor of Weed Recede. Contact Weed
Recede, 904-699-0046 (www.weedrecede.com).
Heritage Action fungicide from
Syngenta is now available for sale in golf, sod
and sports turf markets. Heritage Action offers hybrid
technology that couples the proven disease control of
Heritage fungicide with a boost of acibenzolar-S-methyl
(ASM) for enhanced biotic and abiotic stress management.
Heritage Action stimulates fve plant proteins that
effectively manage biotic and abiotic stressors. The
result is enhanced energy production, drought tolerance,
heat tolerance, photosynthesis and pathogen defense,
the company says. Heritage Action defends turf against
more than 20 diseases, including anthracnose, Pythium
diseases, bacterial wilt and brown patch. Contact
Syngenta, 866-796-4368 (www.syngenta.com).
The Cushman Hauler Pro-X golf utility
vehicle features an electric 72-volt drivetrain that
provides the range and performance of a gas UTV but
in a silent, electric model to meet golf course needs.
The 72-volt drivetrain technology offers up to 50 fully
loaded miles of range on one charge, making it easier for
superintendents to travel across large courses without
having to stop to charge the battery. Pro-X has a max load
Weed
SOLUTION
FMC released Solitaire WSL, a water-soluble
liquid herbicide formulation offering increased
application effciency while controlling more than
40 weeds. Solitaire contains a surfactant for
faster plant penetration, and will not settle out
or separate when mixed with water. Designed to
combat crabgrass, sedges and broadleaf weeds in
a single application, Solitaire eliminates the need
to tank-mix with other herbicides. Solitaire is an
optimized, dual-action formulation of sulfentrazone
and quinclorac that the company says controls
goosegrass, ground ivy, chickweed, closer, spurge
and other troublesome weeds. It may be used on
seeded, sodded or sprigged turfgrasses that are
well established. Contact FMC, 215-299-6000
(www.fmc.com).
Efco
Weed Recede
capacity of 1,000 pounds and comes
standard with a 9.5-cubic-foot cargo bed.
A 14.9-cubic-foot bed is also available
as a factory-installed option. An optional
limited-slip differential provides greatly
improved traction on wet and loose turf
while protecting fairways from damage
caused by wheel slippage. Contact
Cushman, 706-798-4311 (www.cushman.
com).
Toro’s GeoLink system uses GPS
satellites, mapping software and individual
spray-nozzle control to treat greens and
fairways with precision. It is designed to
achieve consistent, accurate application,
which means better coverage with less
water. It all translates to bottom-line
savings. Also, Toro has upgraded its
AquaFlow drip irrigation design software.
The latest version includes a search
feature that helps users identify and
select the desired Toro tape or dripline
model more easily and more quickly.
Users now also have the ability to search
for product models by fow rate. In
addition, the upgrade includes an updated
database with improved fow exponent
X and fow coeffcient K values for Toro’s
Neptune fat emitter dripline product line.
AquaFlow design software is available
Cushman
NATURALLY CONTROLS NEMATODES ON CONTACT.
Nematodes wreak havoc on your turf’s roots and harm the playability of your
course. Promote a healthy root system with MultiGuard Protect®. This natural liquid
nematicide works to manage nematodes on contact and won’t leave harmful residue
on your course. Protect your turf from nematodes by striking at the root of the
problem with MultiGuard Protect®.
Learn more at multiguardprotect.com or call 908-272-7070.
STRIKE AT THE ROOT
OF THE PROBLEM
© 2014 Agriguard Company, LLC.
says. It is ideal for cleaning up diseases
during transition times from spring to
summer and fall to winter on all types
of turf. The fexibility of Velista allows for
application to greens, fairways, collars
and the rough. Contact Syngenta, 866-
to all registered users online or can be
downloaded to a computer from www.
driptips.toro.com. Contact Toro, 800-367-
8676 (www.toro.com).
Macro-Relief from Macro-Sorb
Technologies uses a specifc
amino acid complex to lower the osmotic
pressure of plants, which allows plants to
bring in more water. The result is designed
to produce a healthier turfgrass plant,
even if grown under salinity stress. Contact
Macro-Sorb Technologies, 856-266-9440
(www.macrosorb.com).
Otterbine released “Picture-
It” with Otterbine, a new online
app that allows you to imagine how any
Otterbine pattern would appear on a water
feature. Accessible through www.otterbine.
com, there is no need to download a
program to use, and the app is available
anywhere with an Internet connection.
Velista fungicide from Syngenta
is now registered in California. Velista
is a solution for controlling key turf
diseases such as anthracnose, dollar spot
and brown patch. Velista is among the
industry’s frst succinate dehydrogenase
inhibitor-class fungicides, the company
796-4368 (www.syngenta.com).
Spot Golf LLC announced exclusive
global license of FlightScope tracking
technology. It is designed to power the
Spot Golf game system that company
08.15 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 99
executives say will respect and preserve
the appeal of traditional golf while adding
fun and challenging games to Spot Golf
driving range game center facilities
currently being planned. Combining
state-of-the-art ball and club tracking
technology with exciting game software,
social media engagements, and customer-
centric food, beverage and entertainment
options, Spot Golf hopes to attract tech-
savvy golfers, millennials and “gamers,”
which refers to the 67 percent of U.S.
households that play video games. Contact
Spot Golf, [email protected].
Bernhard Grinders supported
Royal County Downs Golf Club at the Dubai
Duty Free Irish Open, hosted by the Rory
Foundation. Royal County Downs used
Bernhard’s Express Dual 3000
and Anglemaster 3000 precision
grinders to ensure greens remained
in pristine condition throughout the
tournament, the company says. Contact
Bernhard Grinders, 888-474-6348 (www.
bernhardgrinders.com).
Aquatrols has received
signifcant patent protection in Japan
for its groundbreaking Seed
Enhancement Technology.
The inventor named on the Japanese
patent is Matt Madsen, Ph.D., research
ecologist at the USDA’s Agricultural
Research Service and a longtime Aquatrols
cooperator. “This patent is a signifcant
step for us as more countries recognize
the innovative nature of what we are
doing to optimize seed performance using
simple strategies,” Madsen says. The
technology is expected to have widespread
applications in the turfgrass, agricultural
and native seed markets, the company
says. Contact Aquatrols, 800-257-7797
(www.aquatrols.com).
ProGanics Biotic Soil Media
from Profle Products is designed
to achieve twice the vegetation cover and
three times greater biomass. The topsoil
alternative is eco-friendly, with completely
renewable materials. It holds more
moisture, and it’s sprayed like a hydraulic
mulch for easy application. Contact
Profle Products, 800-207-6457 (www.
profleproducts.com).
Only $4.99
Includes peer-reviewed…
• Keys and images for disease diagnosis
• Management recommendations
• Links to turf extension information
The American Phytopathological Society
The Doctor is IN!The Latest ‘App’-lied Tool for Turf Professionals!
Try a demo for FREE!
Search ‘Plant Health from APS’ in your iTunes or Google Play™ store to get started!
#M
87
92-4
/201
5
100 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
Jacqueline Applegate, Ph.D., was appointed
head of Bayer’s Environmental Science
division. Most recently, Applegate was Country Head of
Australia and New Zealand. Applegate, who has also
become a member of the Bayer CropScience Executive
Committee, is based at the unit’s headquarters in Lyon,
France. She succeeds Gunnar Riemann, Ph.D., who Bayer
says left the company to pursue other career opportuni-
ties. During her 23-year career at Bayer, Applegate has
held several management positions with Environmental
Science, most notably as president of its North America
business from 2010 to 2012. Applegate, who earned a
Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Iowa State University, frst
joined Environmental Science as head of global portfolio
management. “I am delighted to return to Environmental
(industry news)
The Outdoor Power Equipment Institute
(OPEI) Research and Education Foundation and
Scholastic announced the winners of TurfMutt’s national “Be a Backyard Superhero” essay contest. Each of the grand-prize winners received
a $5,000 grant to improve the yards and green
spaces at their schools. The kindergarten-through-
second-grade grand-prize winner was Jordan Evans
of Trophy Club, Texas. Evans attends Samuel Beck
Elementary School. The grades-three-through-
fve grand-prize winner was Liam Ellis (pictured)
of Sewickley, Pa. Ellis attends Aquinas Academy
of Pittsburgh. Scholastic received 790 contest
entries. “These students are superheroes. It was
inspiring to read the contest entries and see how
many students are vocalizing a desire to take care
of green spaces and be part of a community that
makes a difference because of TurfMutt,” says Kris
Kiser, president and CEO of OPEI. “Helping children
have an appreciation now for green spaces and
an understanding of how to take care of them will
mean that they value them for life.”
Science and take on global responsibility for a business
that helps foster healthy environments in which we all live,
work and play,” Applegate says. She began her career with
Bayer in 1992 as process development chemist in Product
Supply, located in Kansas City.
Billy Casper Golf (BCG) won the Helios
HR Apollo Award for talent development. The
Apollo Awards honor organizations that focus on the future
by promoting employee development and engagement
practices to achieve overall business goals. BCG was
recognized for innovative training programs, including
its proprietary “ACE the Guest Experience,” Building Our
Buffalo mentorship program, Billy Casper Golf University,
and BCG Superintendent Institute. Under “ACE the Guest
Experience,” the company’s 7,600-plus in-season em-
ployees at all levels learn how to work together to provide
outstanding service to every golfer, every round, every day.
The Golf Business and Industry Con-
vention (GolfBIC), presented by the UK Golf
Course Owners Association and the Or-
ganization of Golf & Range Operators,
is being moved to run concurrently with the British
and International Golf Greenkeepers
Association (BIGGA) Turf Management
Expo in Harrogate, U.K., in January. “This event will at-
tract even more key decision-makers to BTME, reaffrming
how important a week for the entire golf industry the third
week of January is,” says BIGGA CEO Jim Croxton.
The Toro Co. named Dan Winteron director
of marketing for its irrigation and lighting businesses. Win-
teron, an 18-year veteran of Toro, replaced Peter Moeller.
Moeller was promoted to managing director of business
Helios HR Apollo Award
Backyard
SUPERHERO
Applegate
08.15 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 101
Phase
TWOTripp Davis and Associates completed the
second phase of a restoration of Spring Lake Golf Club in New Jersey. Spring Lake was
originally designed by George Thomas in 1910. In
1918, A.W. Tillinghast restyled greens and bunkers.
Key to the latest restoration work was moving a few
bunkers and tees to make the course relevant for
the modern game, Davis says.
GolfBIC
Spring Lake
102 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
development. Winteron started his career as a fnancial planner, and then moved into a
product management role as lead for several key new products. He later was promoted to
marketing manager, overseeing the Irritrol brand and product portfolio. Most recently, as
senior marketing manager, he oversaw both the Irritrol and Rain Master businesses, includ-
ing the sales and marketing functions. In his new role, Winteron oversees the residential/
commercial irrigation, golf irrigation and lighting businesses.
Drew Aloisi was hired as the new director of sales for Schiller Grounds
Care. Aloisi is serving Bob-Cat, Ryan and Steiner brands. Aloisi came to Schiller fol-
lowing various sales positions at Polaris Industries and MTD Products. He most recently
worked as a national accounts manager for Meyer Products. Aloisi holds a bachelor’s
degree in business administration from John Carroll University.
Adam Garr has joined Syngenta as a territory manager for the turf business in
Michigan, and Chris Threadgill is representing the company as a territory manager
for the ornamental business in the Midwest. Garr, previously a superintendent at Plum
Hollow Country Club in Southfeld, Mich., received a golf turf management certifcate
from Michigan State University and a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of
Michigan. Threadgill received a bachelor’s degree in agronomy, turfgrass management
and a Master of Science degree in horticulture, nursery production from Oklahoma State
University. Threadgill, who has more than 28 years in the industry, most recently worked
with growers in a sales territory for Valent U.S.A. Corp.
The state of Tennessee approved a statewide, multiyear contract for outdoor
maintenance equipment and utility vehicles from The Toro Co., Club Car
utility vehicles, and 1st Products/AERA-vators for use by all state agencies,
local governmental entities, private nonproft institutions of higher education, and other
authorized users. Also, the state awarded Jerry Pate Turf & Irrigation a state
contract for Toro commercial and residential landscape contractor equipment, as well as
Echo power equipment.
Eight students are recipients of the 2015 Georgia GCSA Legacy Scholar-
ship. The scholarships, totaling $7,250 this year, offer educational aid to children and
grandchildren of Georgia GCSA members. Karli Durden won the highest scholar-
ship for the second year in a row. A biology major at the University of Georgia, Durden is
the daughter of Joe Durden from Augusta National Golf Club and Augusta Country
Club. Other recipients and their relatives are: Ryan Cunningham, son of Tim
Cunningham, CGCS, Coosa Country Club; Joshua Abrams, son of Mark
Abrams, Wolf Creek Golf Club; Hannah and Morgan Kepple, daughters
of Ralph Kepple, CGCS, East Lake Golf Club; Alex Kicklighter, son of
Hampton Kicklighter, CGCS, Dublin Country Club; Ben Murray, grand-
son of Buzz Howell, retired; and Preston Kell, son of Lawrence Kell, The
Chimneys Golf Course.
After nearly three years of inactivity, Capital Canyon Club in Prescott, Ariz.,
reopened for play July 1. The Tom Weiskopf-designed layout underwent extensive renova-
tions, and a total restoration of the previously dormant golf course was completed. “We
couldn’t be more excited to introduce a vastly improved golf course to our members. Tom
Weiskopf visited the club last month, and we have some exciting new changes being
developed,” says Paul McLoughlin, director of golf operations at Capital Canyon Club.
The University of Georgia held a groundbreaking June 24 for its new turfgrass
research and education facilities on its campuses in Griffn, Tifton and Athens. Besides
university representatives, local, state and industry offcials met on the Griffn campus
to offcially mark the university’s continued commitment to an industry that provides
87,000 full- and part-time jobs throughout the state. “Turfgrass is one of Georgia’s largest
agricultural commodities, and the future of the turfgrass industry, now valued at nearly $8
billion, is very bright,” says university president Jere W. Morehead. The college has served
the turfgrass industry for more than 60 years, beginning in the 1950s with a warm-season
turfgrass breeding program.
Brentwood Country Club in Los Angeles completed the renovation of its course
by architect Todd Eckenrode and Origins Golf Design. Renovations
08.15 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 103
included the rebuilding and shaping of four
greens, plus slight adjustments on all other
greens; capturing additional hole locations;
rebuilding green surrounds; and reconfg-
uring approach areas with a return to the
original strategy, which is more receptive
to run-up approach shots and the ground
game. Bunkers now refect a more classic
styling and placement. In the process, the
course was lengthened to 6,948 yards.
The National Club Association
(NCA) welcomed Club Car into the
NCA Corporate Partner Pro-
gram as the newest Executive Partner.
With more than 50 years’ history serving
private clubs, Club Car’s new relationship
with NCA refects the frm’s commitment to
innovation and advancing the club industry.
As an Executive Partner, Club Car is taking
on many new and extended projects with
NCA, including targeted editorial contribu-
tions in Club Director and NCA Connect; in-
structional educational webinars co-hosted
with NCA; and professional advice during
the “Ask the Experts” series online and at
NCA-hosted educational conferences.
The National Golf Course
Owners Association (NG-
COA) has released a comprehensive
set of guidelines for the online distribution
of tee time reservations. Endorsed by the
PGA of America, the guidelines set forth
a framework for third-party, online agents
and golf course owners and operators
to conduct business together. Key points
include allowing for better control and
price integrity of tee time inventory, includ-
ing barter rounds; clarifying alternative
payment modes for services; delineat-
ing independent and bundled services,
including POS, tee sheet management and
tee time distribution; and restricting online
agents from purchasing course names
and other keywords and terms for SEO. To
assist NGCOA members in implementing
the guidelines, the organization is hosting
a series of webinars.
“Setting Up Golf Courses
for Success” is an industry-wide
guidebook to course setup. It debuted
in digital form in June on www.pga.
org. The collaborative guide contains
new industry research, and it addresses
a critical factor that inhibits enjoyment
of the game for many women — golf
course setups that are not tailored to
the customer and the customer’s ability
level. The book provides research, case
studies and self-assessment tools for
facilities to use when considering course
setup, and it’s supported by the PGA of
America, GCSAA, USGA, American Society
of Golf Course Architects, Club Managers
Association of America, LPGA, National
Alliance for Accessible Golf, and National
Golf Course Owners Association. The book
was authored by Arthur D. Little, the senior
trustee of the Royal Little Family Founda-
tion, with support from the golf industry
organizations.
Comet USA/Efco has appointed
Robert Parsons as its western
regional sales manager for the U.S. and
Canada. Parsons has more than 20
years of experience in the outdoor power
equipment industry, including working as
distribution sales manager for Tanaka and
territory manager for Pace Inc. Parsons
is also a frefghter for the Clarendon Hills
(Ill.) Fire Department.
Everris, Fuentes, Nu3,
Novapeak and F&C fully united
to form a global leader in specialty
fertilizer solutions under the name
ICL Specialty Fertilizers.
The company’s focus continues to be
on fulflling the needs of end users
and growers. ICL Specialty Fertilizers
is dedicated to meeting the needs
of ornamental horticulture, specialty
agriculture, and turf and amenity.
Bernhard Grinders partnered
with Ohio-based distributor Shearer
Equipment. A full-line John Deere
dealer, Shearer is educating golf courses
and sports facilities across northeast Ohio,
northwest Pennsylvania and northern West
Virginia about the benefts of Bernhard’s
trademark Express Dual and Anglemaster
machines, as well as its other products.
The cities of Euclid, Ohio, and Fernandina
Beach, Fla., extended partnerships with
Billy Casper Golf (BCG) to
manage Briardale Greens Golf
Course and Fernandina Beach
Golf Club, respectively.
Aqua-Aid Inc. has appointed GLK
Turf Solutions as the new dealer for
the state of Texas. Aqua-Aid is the North
American manager and importer for the
Campey Imants equipment line.
104 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
By John MascaroPresident of Turf-Tec International
Presented in partnership with Jacobsen
The two green rectangular spots on this Poa annua/bentgrass green in South
Africa are areas that have not been affected by anthracnose. The blotchy areas
outside the green squares have anthracnose. As with most disease issues, the
exact cause is hard to nail down. However, the green, healthy squares were
areas that had been resodded from this green’s surrounds, and one thing is
for sure — they were not being affected by the disease. The assistant superin-
tendent speculates that the root zones of the resodded areas prevented them
from being susceptible to anthracnose, because they contained much more
organic content than the rest of this green. Another possibility is that the areas
differ in water-retention capabilities and have different root-zone temperature
fuctuations. In addition, the height of the newly turfed sections had only just
reached the equivalent height of cut as the rest of the surface (0.137 inch, or
3.5 millimeters), which also may have protected it from the anthracnose. The
green was treated with a curative treatment of fungicide, and the areas eventu-
ally recovered.
Photo submitted by Guy Kilu, the assistant superintendent at The Steenberg Golf Club in Cape Town, South Africa. Andre Gerber is the head superintendent there.
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 email it to [email protected].
If your photograph is selected, you will receive full credit. All photos submitted will become property of GCM and GCSAA.
The depressed circular area of paspalum in this course’s rough area is the result
of mowing a temporary tee for a Masters-type par-3 tournament the golf club
holds each year. The superintendent and a member create an 18-hole par-3
course on the existing course, and then the superintendent mows down some
of the rough areas to make the temporary tees to play from. On the frst cut,
the superintendent mows the turf down from 1½ inches to a half-inch, and then
topdresses the turf fairly heavily. Within a couple of weeks, the scalped circular
areas have become good and green and are ready for a logo and yardage to
be sprayed on them for the event. It’s one of the club’s biggest member events
each year, and the staff gets really creative with it. Some of the holes resemble
cross-country golf, and the pins are put in very tough — almost unfair —
positions. The top photo shows the circular area about two months after the
initial scalping. Because paspalum is a dense turf with less vertical growth than
bermudagrass, the circle remains visible. The second photo is of a tee on an
existing par 3, which also shows the layout for the event.
Photo submitted by Kyle D. Sweet, CGCS, who heads maintenance at The Sanctuary Golf Club in Sanibel Island, Fla., and is a 24-year GCSAA member.
(photo quiz answers)
(a)PROBLEM
PROBLEM
(b)
106 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
Q: What is your favorite piece of equipment?
A: The (Toro) Sand Pros. I like ripping around on them. They move pretty quickly.
Q:When is your birthday?
A: Jan. 8. It’s the same birthday as Elvis Presley. I couldn’t be more pleased about it. I’m pretty honored that his birthday is the same day as mine (von Wiegen, by the way, is 26).
Q:If you had to pinpoint your most prized possession, what would it be?
A: Probably my frst brand-new car. It was a 2014 Chevy Cruze. It’s gunmetal gray.
Q:What are the benefts of working for Jeff Plotts (director of golf course operations)?
A: His knowledge. He has a willingness to share that knowledge, whether it’s about soil conditions or budgets.
Q:What type of music is on your iPod?
A: I’m into the ’60s and ’70s, classic rock. I like The Beatles. (Led) Zeppelin. Pink Floyd.
Q:What is the last book you read?
A: “Fundamentals of Turfgrass Management.”
Q:How often is your last name misspelled?
A: Quite often. Sometimes it isn’t even pronounced correctly (it sounds like von wee-gan). And it’s a lowercase “v,” with a space.
— Howard Richman, GCM associate editor
Getting to know youBetween wiping down tables and hauling plates to the kitchen, Nick von Wiegen often peered out the window during his days as an 18-year-old busboy at Painted Mountain Golf Resort in Mesa, Ariz. “I saw the crew working outside. It looked pretty cool,” von Wiegen says. In time, von Wiegen joined them, which ultimately helped shape his career. “The general manager asked me to come to his offce. He told me he had an opening on the grounds crew,” von Wiegen says. “I thought it would be a good ft. The exercise, the outdoors — it grabbed me and hooked me.”
Nick von WiegenWas: Student, Rutgers University
Is: Assistant superintendent at TPC of
Scottsdale, Scottsdale, Ariz.
(climbing the ladder)
ON COURSEAug. 6-9 — PGA Tour, Barracuda
Championship, Montreux Golf & Country
Club, Reno, Nev.; Doug Heinrichs, CGCS.
Aug. 6-9 — PGA Tour, World Golf
Championship-Bridgewater Invitational,
Firestone Country Club (South), Akron, Ohio;
John DiMascio, CGCS.
Aug. 6-9 — Web.com Tour, Digital
Ally Open, Nicklaus Golf Club at Lions Gate,
Overland Park, Kan.; Gary Sailer, CGCS.
Aug. 7-9 — Champions Tour, Shaw
Charity Classic, Canyon Meadows Golf
& Country Club, Calgary, Alberta; Kenneth
MacKenzie, superintendent.
Aug. 10-16 — USGA, U.S. Women’s
Amateur, Portland Golf Club, Portland, Ore.;
Jason Dorn, GCSAA Class A superintendent.
Aug. 13-16 — PGA Tour, PGA
Championship, Whistling Straits,
Sheboygan, Wis.; Chris Zugel, CGCS;
Michael Lee, CGCS, manager, golf course
maintenance.
Aug. 13-16 — LPGA, Cambia Portland
Classic, Columbia Edgewater Country Club,
Portland, Ore.; Gordon Kiyokawa, CGCS.
Aug. 13-16 — Web.com Tour, Price
Cutter Charity Championship presented
by Dr. Pepper, Highland Springs Golf Club,
Springfeld, Mo.; Derek Wilkerson, CGCS.
Aug. 14-16 — Symetra Tour, W.B.
Mason Championship, Thorny Lea Golf
Club, Brockton, Mass.; James Medeiros,
CGCS.
Aug. 17-23 — USGA, U.S. Amateur,
Olympia Fields Country Club, Olympia Fields,
Ill.; Samuel MacKenzie, CGCS.
Aug. 20-23 — PGA Tour, Wyndham
Championship, Sedgefeld Country
Club, Greensboro, N.C.; Daniel Knight,
superintendent.
Aug. 20-23 — LPGA, Canadian Pacifc
Women’s Open, Vancouver Golf Club,
Vancouver, British Columbia; David Kennedy,
GCSAA Class A superintendent.
Aug. 20-23 — Web.com Tour, New
Sentinel Open, Fox Den Country Club,
Knoxville, Tenn.; Scott Severance, CGCS.
Aug. 20-23 — European Tour, Made in
Denmark, Himmerland Golf & Spa Resort,
Farso, Denmark.
MEMBERS ONLY
08.15 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 107
Aug. 21-23 — Champions Tour,
Boeing Classic, TPC Snoqualmie Ridge,
Snoqualmie, Wash.; Ryan Gordon, GCSAA
Class A superintendent.
Aug. 27-30 — PGA Tour, The Barclays,
Plainfeld Country Club, Edison, N.J.; Travis
Pauley, GCSAA Class A superintendent.
Aug. 27-30 — LPGA, Yokohama
Tire LPGA Classic, RTJ Golf Trail Capitol
Hill-Senator Course, Prattville, Ala.; Robert
Wingo, golf course maintenance director.
Aug. 27-30 — Web.com Tour, WinCo
Foods Portland Open presented by Kraft,
Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club-West Hollow, North
Plains, Ore.; Bill Webster, CGCS.
Aug. 27-30 — European Tour, D+D
Real Czech Masters, Albatross Golf Resort,
Prague, Czech Republic.
Aug. 28-30 — Champions Tour,
Dick’s Sporting Goods Open, En-Joie Golf
Club, Endicott, N.Y.; Anthony Chapman,
superintendent.
COMING UPAug. 6 — Kansas Turfgrass Council
Conference & Trade Show, Olathe, Kan.
Phone: 785-532-6173
Email: [email protected]
Aug. 11 — OTF Field Day, OTF Research
& Education Facility, Columbus, Ohio.
Phone: 614-285-4683
Website: www.ohioturfgrass.org
Aug. 12 — North Carolina State
Turfgrass Field Day, Lake Wheeler
Turfgrass Research Lab, Raleigh, N.C.
Phone: 919-513-1131
Website: www.turffles.ncsu.org
Aug. 12 — Industry Day, Bob-O-Link
Golf Club, Avon, Ohio.
Phone: 216-469-9287
Website: www.nogcsa.com
Aug. 13 — 2015 Pollinator Summit:
Designing for Pollinators, Minnesota
Landscape Arboretum, Chaska, Minn.
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.mgcsa.org
Aug. 25 — Mississippi State Turfgrass
Field Day, Starkville, Miss.
Phone: 662-325-2331
Email: [email protected]
Sept. 3 — Northern Ohio GCSA Hall of
Fame Induction Ceremony, Northern Ohio
Golf Association, North Olmsted, Ohio.
Phone: 216-469-9287
Website: www.nogcsa.com
Sept. 3 — Oregon State University
Field Day, Corvallis, Ore.
Phone: 541-737-3695
Website: horticulture.oregonstate.edu
Sept. 10 — Chicago District Golf
Association Turfgrass Field Day, Midwest
Golf House, Lemont, Ill.
Phone: 630-257-2088
Oct. 4-5 — 69th Annual Northwest
Turfgrass Association Conference, Coeur
d’Alene Resort, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
Phone: 406-273-0845
Website: www.idahogcsa.org
Oct. 13-15 — Deep South Turf Expo,
Mississippi Coast Convention Center, Biloxi,
Miss.
Phone: 334-821-3000
Website: www.deepsouthexpo.org
Oct. 19-20 — Inland Empire GCSA
Fall Meeting & Trade Show, Coeur d’Alene
Casino Resort Hotel, Worley, Idaho.
Phone: 406-273-0845
Website: www.idahogcsa.org
Oct. 27-29 — Peaks & Prairies GCSA
Fall Meeting & Trade Show, Holiday Inn,
Billings, Mont.
Phone: 406-273-0845
Website: www.idahogcsa.org
ON THE MOVEALABAMA
Andrew W. Rasch, formerly (SW) at Auburn
University, is now (C) at Cambrian Ridge in
Greenville.
Kyle Sheheane, formerly (C) at Vestavia
Country Club, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at
Burningtree Country Club in Decatur.
Zachary M. Tolleson, formerly (C) at
Lagoon Park Golf Course, is now (C) at
Peninsula Golf and Racquet Club in Gulf
Shores.
ARIZONA
Andrew O. Hitchcock, formerly (C) at
Blackstone Country Club, is now (Supt. Mbr.)
at Blackstone Country Club in Peoria.
Scott M. Jeschke, formerly (C) at The
Estancia Club, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at The
Estancia Club in Scottsdale.
ARKANSAS
Jacob B. Hulme, formerly (C) at Baton
Rouge Country Club, is now (C) at Diamante
Country Club in Hot Springs Village.
108 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
Mid-Atlantic Chase RoganMany are well aware of the brutal conditions the Mid-Atlantic
region experienced this past winter. Horror stories of devasta-
tion on greens swept through the grapevine. Undoubtedly, turf
kill was widespread. Such situations require a lot of labor and
patience for recovery, and often our golfer clientele doesn’t fully
understand the unpredictability of winterkill, nor the time and
effort needed to recoup putting surfaces. Sometimes, however,
they do understand, and it’s always nice to hear positive feed-
back from them during trying times. That’s why we were de-
lighted when we received a phone call from Valley Country Club
(Sugarloaf, Pa.) member Larry Klemow, praising the hard work
of his superintendent, Eric Reed, CGCS. Reed has been busy
babying his greens back to health after a challenging winter. He had nearly 20 percent damage on his greens coming out of
winter — the worst he’s ever had. With the help of a group of industry friends who volunteered, he restored approximately
8,000 to 9,000 plugs by taking live turf from the edge of greens to replace the damaged plugs. This method allowed him to
complete the work as quickly as possible, as it eliminated the travel time of having to haul in plugs from another location. In
working through restoration, Reed said communication with his greens committee was important for setting realistic expecta-
tions for recovery time. As is typical with winterkill, pinpointing exactly what caused the damage is difficult, but Reed thinks
it was a combination of crown hydration and ice cover. In preparing for next year, he says he plans on being diligent with his
potassium fertility, as well as improving surface drainage by stripping and lowering the greens’ collars. He was also quick to
acknowledge those who lent a helping hand in the winterkill recovery efforts: Brian Bachman, Genesis Turfgrass; Charlie Miller,
CGCS, The Springhaven Club; Patrick Knelly, Sugarloaf Golf Club; Matt Kuchta, Sugarloaf GC; Joe Horan, Sugarloaf GC; Chris
Snopkowski, Wyoming Valley Country Club; Scott Kotula, Wyoming Valley CC; and Chuck Usher, Blue Ridge Trail Golf Club.
Northwest David PhippsAs soon as I heard the U.S. Open was coming to the Northwest, I
knew I would soon be able to check off the top item on my bucket
list. While golf was in the national spotlight, the USGA and the First
Green Foundation decided to use the opportunity to promote a new
campaign highlighting the First Green. As part of the campaign, a
30-second TV spot aired on Fox during the U.S. Open. The segment
showcased the First Green’s initiatives to reimagine golf courses as
educational venues for children to learn about science, technology,
engineering, math and sustainability through the lens of the golf
course habitat. You can view the ad online at www.gcsaa-northwest.
blogspot.com/2015/06/first-green-initiatives-highlighted.html. The
First Green was also invited to take part in the U.S. Open community
celebration event on the Sunday before the tournament began. More
than 500 children participated in the five learning lab booths, exploring topics such as insects, water, soils and math. The entire
First Green board participated, including Steve Kealy, Jeff Gullikson, CGCS, Karen Armstead, Cathy Relyea, Lynn McKay, Jeff
and Annie Shelley, and myself. I also invited some superintendent volunteers who were in town to help the agronomy team: Scot
Dey, Mission Viejo (Calif.) Country Club; Andrew McDaniel, Keya Golf Club, Itoshima, Japan; and Masaru Shimizu, Kasumigaseki
Country Club, Kawagoe, Japan. Steve Kealy’s assistants, Kyle Young and Nick Magnuson, also joined in and did an outstanding
job teaching the soils lab. Dey, McDaniel and Shimizu manned the hitting cage. There was nothing but smiles all around, and
we couldn’t have pulled off the entire day without everyone’s help.
For the latest blog posts from all of GCSAA’s feld staff representatives, go to www.gcsaa.org/community/regions.aspx.
(in the field)
CALIFORNIA
Steven M. Bump, formerly (A) at Auburn Lake
Trails Golf Course, is now (A) at Lake of the
Pines Country Club in Auburn.
Adam Kloster, CGCS, formerly (A) at Industry
Hills at Pacifc Palms Conference Resort, is
now (A) at Valley Crest Golf Maintenance in
Calabasas.
Jon D. Maddern, CGCS, formerly (A) at PGA
West Private Golf Courses, is now (A) at Jack
Nicklaus Course at PGA West in La Quinta.
Scott C. McLeod, formerly (A) at The Tuscan
Ridge Club, is now (A) at Lake Almanor West
Golf Course in Chester.
Glenn A. Miller, CGCS, formerly (A) at Golf
Center of Palm Desert, is now (A) at United GLI
Inc. in Bermuda Dunes.
Matthew D. Nowlen, formerly (C) at Laguna
Lake Golf Course, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at
Laguna Lake Golf Course in San Luis Obispo.
Julio F. Silva, formerly (C) at Morongo Golf
Club at Tukwet Canyon, is now (Supt. Mbr.)
at Morongo Golf Club at Tukwet Canyon in
Beaumont.
COLORADO
Pam S. Brown, formerly (Supt. Mbr.) at
Keystone Ranch Golf Course, is now (Supt.
Mbr.) at The River Course at Keystone in Dillon.
Timothy Davies, formerly (C) at Eagle Ranch
Golf Club, is now (EM) at Eagle Ranch Golf
Club in Eagle.
Justin Fischer, formerly (C) at Golf Club at
Bear Dance, is now (C) at Plum Creek Golf &
Country Club in Castle Rock.
Nick Pientka, formerly (Supt. Mbr.) at
Western Hills Golf Club, is now (C) at Cherry
Creek Country Club in Denver.
FLORIDA
Tyler D. Casey, formerly (Supt. Mbr.) at Bonita
Bay East, is now (A) at West Bay Golf Club in
Estero.
Robert L. Cook, formerly (A) at Walden on
Lake Houston, is now (A) at Walt Disney World
Golf Courses in Orlando.
Michael D. Crawford, CGCS, formerly (A) at
TPC at Sugarloaf, is now (A) at PGA TOUR in
Ponte Vedra Beach.
Todd B. Draffen, formerly (A) at Wilderness
Country Club, is now (A) at The Old Collier Golf
Club in Naples.
Wes Eavey, formerly (Supt. Mbr.) at Falcon's
Fire Golf Club, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at The
Villages Championship Golf in The Villages.
Jeff E. Floyd, formerly (I), is now (A) at
Barefoot Bay Golf Course in Sebastian.
Michael Henderson, formerly (A) at Barefoot
Bay Golf Course, is now (A) at Windermere
Country Club in Windermere.
William T. Hiers, CGCS, formerly (A) at The
Old Collier Golf Club, is now (A) at The Club at
Mediterra in Naples.
e Mid
(in
Jeff Gullikson uses balls of tape to demonstrate at-traction between molecules of water during a learning lab for kids at the U.S. Open. Photo by David Phipps
Dead turf at Valley Country Club coming out of winter, before
the restoration project led by Eric Reed, CGCS. Photo cour-
tesy of Eric Reed
08.15 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 109
David T. Hults, formerly (AS) at Prestwick
Golf Club, is now (C) at Prestwick Golf Club
in Ormond Beach.
Craig R. Ironside, formerly (Supt. Mbr.) at
OneSource Landscape & Golf Services Inc.,
is now (Supt. Mbr.) at ABM Golf Services
in Tampa.
Justin I. Jacobsen, formerly (C) at The
Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Silver Lake,
is now (C) at Wildwood Country Club Inc. in
Crawfordville.
Matthew R. Jones, formerly (A) at King
and Bear Golf Course/World Golf Village,
is now (A) at Creek Course at Hammock
Dunes in Palm Coast.
Eric T. Oster, formerly (C) at Kensington
Golf & Country Club, is now (C) at Coral
Oaks Golf Course in Cape Coral.
Michael P. Shields, formerly (C) at The
Polo Club of Boca Raton, is now (A) at
Delray Beach Golf Club in Delray Beach.
Daniel T. Smokstad, formerly (C) at Royal
Poinciana Golf Club Inc., is now (C) at The
Club at Grandezza in Estero.
Jack Stephens, formerly (C) at King and
Bear Golf Course/World Golf Village, is now
(C) at Slammer and Squire Golf Course/
World Golf Village in St. Augustine.
Dale H. Stump, CGCS, formerly (A) at
Landirr Inc., is now (A) at Rio Pinar Golf &
Country Club in Orlando.
Payton D. Tucker, formerly (C) at Windyke
Country Club, is now (C) at The Club at
Mediterra in Naples.
Matthew S. Turner, formerly (AA), is now
(A) at Hawks Nest Golf Club in Vero Beach.
GEORGIA
Kevin Sams, formerly (C) at The Country
Club of Roswell, is now (C) at Seaside Course
at Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simons Island.
ILLINOIS
Craig Kight, formerly (A) at Hamlet Golf
& Country Club, is now (A) at Eagle Brook
Country Club in Geneva.
Robert B. Lively, formerly (A) at Flossmoor
Country Club, is now (A) at Edgewood Valley
Country Club in La Grange.
Nick Mott, formerly (C) at Pekin Country
Club, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at The Oaks Golf
Course Inc. in Springfeld.
IOWA
Keith A. Peterson, formerly (A) at
Burlington Golf Club, is now (A) at Indian
Hills Country Club in Wapello.
Michael Phillips, formerly (C) at
Saddlebrook Course at Saddlebrook Resorts
Inc., is now (C) at Sioux City Country Club
in Sioux City.
KANSAS
Kerry Golden, formerly (Supt. Mbr.) at
Forbes Public Golf Course, is now (Supt.
Mbr.) at Lake Shawnee Golf Course in
Topeka.
LOUISIANA
Brandon L. Reese, formerly (A) at TPC of
Scottsdale, is now (A) at TPC of Louisiana
in Avondale.
MAINE
Nicholas Lessner, formerly (C) at Sankaty
Head Golf Club, is now (C) at Boothbay
Country Club in Boothbay.
MARYLAND
Ryan B. Higgins, formerly (S) at the
University of Maryland, is now (C) at
Woodmont Country Club in Rockville.
Paul E. Masimore, CGCS, formerly (A)
at Night Hawk Golf Center, is now (A) at
Marlton Golf Club in Upper Marlboro.
James M. Weaver, formerly (C) at
Woodmont Country Club, is now (Supt.
Mbr.) at Sligo Creek Golf Course in Silver
Spring.
MASSACHUSETTS
Jess E. Hamilton, formerly (C) at The Golf
Club of New England, is now (AF) at MTE
Inc. in Tewksbury.
Chase C. Puffer, formerly (AS) at
Wilbraham Country Club, is now (C) at
Wilbraham Country Club in Wilbraham.
Norman W. Tessier Jr., formerly (C) at
Ledgemont Country Club, is now (A) at
Ledgemont Country Club in Seekonk.
MICHIGAN
James L. Bluck, CGCS, formerly (A) at
Forest Dunes Golf & Country Club, is now
(A) at Arcadia Bluffs Golf Club in Arcadia.
Michael Burt, formerly (C) at Knollwood
Country Club, is now (EM) at Knollwood
Country Club in West Bloomfeld.
Jeff M. Campbell, formerly (C) at Quaker
Ridge Golf Club, is now (C) at Oakland Hills
Country Club in Bloomfeld Hills.
Chris Gast, formerly (A) at Martin Downs
Country Club, is now (AF) at Residex in Novi.
Brian Moore, formerly (C) at Chicago Golf
Club, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at Forest Dunes
Golf & Country Club in Roscommon.
MISSOURI
Matthew V. Czarnecki, formerly (C) at Old
Hickory Golf Club, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at
City of St. Peters Golf Course in St. Peters.
Mike S. Daugherty, formerly (A) at Sunset
Hills Country Club, is now (A) at Tower Tee
Golf Course in St. Louis.
John E. Morse, formerly (C) at Paradise
Pointe Golf Course, is now (A) at Paradise
Pointe Golf Course in Smithville.
MONTANA
Natalia J. Arlint, formerly (C) at Hilands
Golf Club, is now (C) at Polson Bay Golf
Course in Polson.
NEVADA
Greg D. Niendorf, formerly (C) at Las
Vegas Country Club, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at
Las Vegas Country Club in Las Vegas.
NEW JERSEY
Robert J. Bailey, formerly (C) at Old
Memorial Golf Club, is now (C) at Mountain
Ridge Country Club in Caldwell.
James R. Russo, formerly (C) at Trump
National Golf Club-Bedminster, is now
(C) at Metedeconk National Golf Club in
Jackson.
NEW YORK
Bryan J. Culver, formerly (A) at Westwood
Country Club, is now (A) at Audubon
Course at Amherst Aubudon Golf Course
in Buffalo.
Scott Winkelman, formerly (A) at
Lakeview Golf and Country Club, is now (A)
at Marcellus Golf Club in Marcellus.
NORTH CAROLINA
Steven R. Neuliep, CGCS, formerly (A) at
Silver Fox Golf Club, is now (A) at Etowah
Valley Golf Course in Etowah.
Scott A. Schukraft, formerly (A) at
Huntsville Golf Club, is now (AA) at
Elite Sports Management Group Inc. in
Kernersville.
Jade Wicker, formerly (C) at Riverwood
Golf Club, is now (C) at The Preserve at
Jordan Lake Golf Club in Chapel Hill.
Keith C. Wood, formerly (A) at Sedgefeld
Country Club, is now (A) at Quail Hollow
Club in Charlotte.
NORTH DAKOTA
Jason Spitzner, CGCS, formerly (A) at
Moorhead Country Club, is now (A) at
Edgewood Municipal Golf Course in Fargo.
OHIO
Kevin Barth, formerly (Supt. Mbr.) at Pine
Brook Golf Course, is now (Supt. Mbr.) at
Lake Forest Country Club in Hudson.
Jason L. Cline, formerly (C) at Belmont
Country Club, is now (C) at Tamaron
Country Club in Toledo.
John Gornall, formerly (C) at Lancaster
Country Club, is now (A) at Lancaster
Country Club in Lancaster.
Thomas C. Judd, formerly (C) at
Losantiville Country Club, is now (Supt.
Mbr.) at Losantiville Country Club in
Cincinnati.
Gregory S. Pattinson, formerly (A) at
Indianwood Golf & Country Club, is now (A)
at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania.
Luis A. Pinto, formerly (ISM) at Pestana
Vila Sol, is now (S) at Ohio State University
in Columbus.
PENNSYLVANIA
Randall M. Super, formerly (A) at Pine
Meadows Golf Club, is now (A) at Valley
Green Golf Course in Etters.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Harold G. Davis, formerly (A) at Waterway
Hills Golf Club, is now (AA) at National Golf
Management in Myrtle Beach.
Matthew J. DiMase, formerly (Supt.
Mbr.) at Black Diamond Ranch, is now (A)
at Haig Point Club in Hilton Head Island.
TENNESSEE
Gary W. Southerland, formerly (C) at
King's Creek Golf Club, is now (Supt. Mbr.)
at Egwani Farms Golf Course in Rockford.
TEXAS
Tyler J. Andersen, formerly (Supt. Mbr.)
at Atlanta Athletic Club, is now (Supt. Mbr.)
at University of Texas Golf Club in Austin.
Douglas Emch, CGCS, formerly (A) at
Painted Dunes Desert Golf Course, is now
(A) at Horizon Golf & Conference Center in
Horizon City.
Brian K. McMinn, formerly (Supt. Mbr.) at
The Atchafalaya at Idlewild Golf Course, is
now (Supt. Mbr.) at Riverside Golf Course
in Victoria.
Brian Tomaka, formerly (C) at Shady
Oaks Country Club, is now (C) at Lakewood
Country Club in Dallas.
Richard D. Webster, formerly (A) at
Great Southwest Golf Club, is now (A) at
Thorntree Country Club in DeSoto.
WASHINGTON
Cory A. Fadenrecht, formerly (C) at
Bermuda Dunes Country Club, is now (C)
at TPC at Snoqualmie Ridge in Mercer
Island.
Josh Harty, formerly (C) at Downriver Golf
Course, is now (C) at Indian Canyon Golf
Course in Spokane.
WISCONSIN
Thomas R. Speltz, formerly (Supt. Mbr.)
at Lake Arrowhead Golf Course, is now
(Supt. Mbr.) at Cedar Creek Country Club
in Onalaska.
CANADA
Robert A. Clark, formerly (C) at Muskoka
Lakes Golf & Country Club, is now (Supt.
Mbr.) at North Bay Golf & Country Club in
North Bay, Ontario.
110 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 08.15
CHINA
Roger S. Goettsch, CGCS, formerly (A) at
Edgewater Golf Course, is now (A) at Citic
Shanqin Bay Golf Club in Wanning City.
SINGAPORE
Steve Shepherdson, formerly (AF) at
IMG Golf Services, is now (AF) at Asia Golf
Design & Consulting.
Hsien Liang Teh, formerly (ISM) at Marina
Bay Golf Course, is now (ISM) at Orchid
Country Club.
NEWLY CERTIFIEDJeremy Biswell, CGCS, Belmar Golf Club,
Norman, Okla.
Benjamin McGargill, CGCS, Wynstone
Golf Club, Barrington, Ill.
Andrew Sheehan, CGCS, Milltown Golf
Club, Dublin, Ireland.
NEW MEMBERSALABAMA
Chad E. Eldred, EM, Birmingham
ARIZONA
Jason M. Fontana, EM, Buckeye
ARKANSAS
Gilbert D. Uribe, EM, Fayetteville
CALIFORNIA
Ramon Baltazar, EM, Murrieta
Mauricio Garduno, EM, Bonita
Jacob M. Gleghorn, EM, Folsom
Donald P. Messler, Class C, Beaumont
COLORADO
Patrick D. Amann, Supt. Mbr., Golden
Nathan T. Burdick, Associate, Aurora
CONNECTICUT
Brendan F. McDermott, Class C, Avon
FLORIDA
Laurence P. Cain, EM, Boca Raton
Robert Finch, EM, Naples
Tyler J. Gray, Class C, Boca Raton
Ethan C. Spence, Student, Citra
John R. Wirnsberger, Supt. Mbr.,
Panama City
Mark M. Wonacott, EM, Boca Raton
GEORGIA
Timothy Colvin, Supt. Mbr., Vidalia
Graham J. Coppolino, Student, Tifton
Thomas B. Doles, Supt. Mbr., Macon
HAWAII
Randal Costales, EM, Lanai City
ILLINOIS
Jason Smith, EM, Carbondale
INDIANA
Anthony P. Holman, Supt. Mbr., Wabash
Trey R. Miller, EM, Montgomery
David C. Vanleeuwen, Affliate, Carmel
KANSAS
Dan M. Ortiz, Student, Manhattan
Troy Snow, Supt. Mbr., Valley Center
Kel M. Walters, Student, Manhattan
KENTUCKY
Kevin Craig, EM, Prospect
MICHIGAN
Andrew D. Brandt, Student, East Lansing
MINNESOTA
Kameron D. Hanson, Associate,
Mendota Heights
Kyle Kading, Class C, Minneapolis
Jim Petersen, Affliate, Rice
MISSOURI
Zachary J. Erb, Class C, Springfeld
Kyle A. Kniesim, Class C, Springfeld
William M. Mulkey, Class C, Neosho
Charles F. Schawwecker, Student,
Columbia
Maron Towse, Supt. Mbr., Neosho
MONTANA
Jesse Bury, EM, Billings
NEBRASKA
Alex L. Dredge, Student, Lincoln
NEW JERSEY
Rich Cresci, EM, Deal
NEW MEXICO
Zackary T. Baker, Student, Las Cruces
NEW YORK
William Fronk, EM, Clifton Park
Paul F. Goon, EM, Binghamton
Douglas S. Schrader, Class C, Buffalo
Evan J. Vadala, Class C, Farmingdale
NORTH CAROLINA
Spencer Lee Blackburn,
Student, Raleigh
Deidra Cotton, Affliate Co. Rep.,
Research Triangle Park
Nicholas E. Funderburk, Supt. Mbr.,
Wilmington
Eugene J. Mckinney, EM, Southport
Tylor B. Richard, Class C, Southport
Creighton T. Sloan, Student, Charlotte
NORTH DAKOTA
Mitchell R. Ronning, Student, Fargo
PENNSYLVANIA
Brad Bartlett, EM, Malvern
Michael Lawrence, EM, Philadelphia
Ian McKinnon, Student, State College
Brandon Razo, Student, State College
Chad D. Todd, Class C, State College
SOUTH CAROLINA
William G. Ford, Class C, Lancaster
Roy R. Metzendorf, Class C, Walterboro
TENNESSEE
Zach R. Bilbrey, Class C, Fairfeld Glade
Dakota M. Ealey, Student, Martin
Tommy P. Justus, EM, Pigeon Forge
Brandon H. Porch, Student, Knoxville
TEXAS
Ricky D. Estrada, Student, Huntsville
Ryan C. Reimer, Class C, Fort Worth
Mark C. Soto, Supt. Mbr., Laredo
Gregg A. Wertz, Class C, San Antonio
UTAH
Jacob K. Jacobson, Class C, Provo
VIRGINIA
Robert L. Sheehan Jr., Class C,
Manakin Sabot
Shaun N. Terry, Class C, Richmond
Clinton D. Weeks, Class C, Warrenton
WISCONSIN
Michael O. Stein, Supt. Mbr., Milwaukee
AUSTRALIA
Jarryd S. Graham, Student, Pascoe Vale
Rod Mackie, Student, Murdoch
CANADA
Wade Borthwick, EM, Victoria,
British Columbia
David W. Casselman, ISM,
Williamsburg, Ontario
Dennis R. Casselman, ISM,
Williamsburg, Ontario
Cory Lloyd, Supt. Mbr., Aurora, Ontario
Robert J. Mulville, ISM, Kingston, Ontario
Mark J. Stoklosa, Student, Surrey,
British Columbia
Billy G. Terris, Affliate, Haileybury, Ontario
Steve Van Bakel, Class C, Aurora, Ontario
IN MEMORIAMJim Penkwitz, 80, died April 2, 2015. Mr.
Penkwitz, a 26-year member of GCSAA,
retired as a police sergeant before pursuing
work in the golf course management
industry. The same year he retired from
the police force in 1986, Mr. Penkwitz
joined the grounds crew at Quit Qui Oc Golf
Club in Elkhart Lake, Wis. He eventually
became superintendent there, a position
he held until he retired in 2006. Mr.
Penkwitz was an avid golfer, and he was
also a starter for Dodger Pines Country
Club in Vero Beach, Fla. Mr. Penkwitz is
survived by his wife, Lois; children, Michael
(Ann Ziegler) Penkwitz, Karen (Wayne)
Hogue and Jeffrey (Teresa) Penkwitz;
sister, Ann DeTroye; grandchildren, Jason
(Valerie) Hogue, Kellen (Jamie) Hogue,
Lori (Mitchell) Adams, Marla (Clayton)
Brath and Leanna Penkwitz; and great-
grandchildren, Amelia, Hanna, Molly Hogue
and Wilson Adams.
Randy L. Sheline, 56, died May 8,
2015. Mr. Sheline, a 33-year member of
GCSAA, spent more than three decades
at Tanglewood Golf Club (now Glenross
Golf Club) in Delaware, Ohio. He is
survived by his wife of 20 years, Kathy
Sheline; stepsons, Terry Sealover and
Al Sealover; siblings, Sharon (Wayne)
Hendrix, Diana (Bobby) Brown, Richard
(Laura) Sheline and James (Becky)
Sheline; and step-grandchildren, nieces,
nephews and cousins.
William “Bill” Waltz, 74, died March
23, 2015. Mr. Waltz, a 46-year member
of GCSAA, was co-owner of Waltz Golf
Farm, which was established in 1964 at
303 W. Ridge Pike in Limerick, Pa. For
years, the location was the site of a free
July Fourth freworks display. In 1972, it
was converted to Waltz Turf Farm, then
changed over to Turtle Creek Golf Course
in 1996. Mr. Waltz donated the golf
course for the Limerick police association
and fre company to use for their annual
golf event. Mr. Waltz is survived by his
wife, Barbara Waltz; daughters, Lisa
Waltz (Mark) Morocco and Sandy Waltz
(John) Welsh; brother, Raymond M. Waltz;
and sisters, Louise Waltz Morrison and
Kathryn Waltz Smith.
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 mail-ing 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.
08.15 GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT 111
PLATINUM PARTNERS
John Deere Co. ................................................4-5 (800) 257-7797 .............www.johndeere.com/Golf
The Toro Co. .................................................. IFC-1 (888) 664-7489 ..........www.toro.com/leaderboard
GOLD PARTNERS
Bayer Environmental Sciences ............ 41*, 55, 65 (800) 331-2867 ............ www.backedbybayer.com
Jacobsen ...................................................31, 105 (800) 232-5907 ......................www.jacobsen.com
Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC ................. Cover 4 (909) 308-1633 ..................................................... .............www.syngentaprofessionalproducts.com
SILVER PARTNERS
The Andersons, Inc. .......................................... 11 (800) 253-5296 .............. www.AndersonsPro.com
Barenbrug USA ................................................33* (800) 547-4101 ......................... www.barusa.com
Baroness / Kyoeisha USA ................................. 19 (707) 283-0610 .........................www.baroness.us
BASF ................................................................ 37 (888) 566-5506 .................www.betterturf.basf.us
FMC Professional Solutions ......................... Cover (800) 235-7368 .......... www.fmcprosolutions.com
Foley United ...................................................... 35 (800) 225-9810 .................. www.foleyunited.com
Koch Turf & Ornamental .................................... 17 (888) 547-4140 ............ http://www.kochturf.com/
Lebanon Turf ................................................14, 15 (800) 350-6650 ................www.lebanonturf.com/
Par Aide Products Co. ......................................2-3 (888) 893-2433 ........................ www.paraide.com
PBI Gordon Corp. ............................................... 21 (800) 884-3179 .................... www.pbigordon.com
Precision Laboratories, Inc. .............................. 51 (800) 323-6280 .................www.precisionlab.com
Quali-Pro ........................................................... 49 (888) 584-6598 ......................www.quali-pro.com
R & R Products Inc. ........................................... 99 (800) 528-3446 ....................www.rrproducts.com
Tee-2-Green Corp. ................................... 42-43, 69 (800) 547-0255 .................... www.tee-2-green.com
ADVERTISERS
American Phytopathological Society, The .............. 99 ..............................................................................
AMVAC .............................................................. 61 (888) GO-AMVAC ........www.amvac-chemical.com
Aquatrols Corporation ....................................... 39 (800) 257-7797 ..................... www.aquatrols.com
Better Billy Bunkers .......................................... 23 (615) 847-8877 ......... www.betterbillybunker.com
BoardTronics...................................................... 6-7 (800) 782-9938 ....................www.boardtronics.com
Buffalo Turbine ............................................... 102 (716) 592-2700 ..............www.buffaloturbine.com
Champion Turf Farms ......................................... 8-9 (888) 290-7377 ..........www.championturffarms.com
East Coast Sod & Seed ................................... 111 (856) 769-9555 ............... www.eastcoastsod.com
GCSAA Services ............. 41*, 67, 71, 73, 77, 79, 80, (800) 447-1840 ...............................www.gcsaa.org
GCSAA TV .......................................................... 75 ..........................................................www.gcsaa.tv
Georgia Seed Development Commission .......... 63 (303) 431-7333 ........................ www.tifeagle.com
Grigg Bros. ........................................................ 53 (888) 623-7285 .....................www.griggbros.com
Growth Products Ltd. ........................................ 25 (800) 648-7626 ...........www.growthproducts.com
Milorganite ..................................................... 107 (800) 287-9645 .................. www.milorganite.com
MultiGuard ......................................................... 98 (908) 272-7070 ............www.multiguardprotect.com
Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies, Inc. .......... 13 (604) 408-6697 .............................www.ostara.com
Penn State University ....................................... 57 (800) 233-4973 .........www.worldcampus.psu.edu
PlanetAir Turf Products ..................................... 27 (877) 800-8845 .........................www.planetair.biz
Smithco, Inc. ............................................. Cover 3 (877) 833-7648 ........................www.smithco.com
Stabilizer Solutions, Inc. ..................................... 103 800-336-2468 ..............www.stabilizersolutions.com
Steven’s Water Monitoring ................................ 83 215-908-0044 ................. www.stevenswater.com
TRIMS Software International Inc. .................. 111 (800) 608-7467 ............................www.trims.com
Trojan Battery Company ...................................... 29 (800) 423-6569 . www.trojanbattery.com/competition
Turf Screen ....................................................... 59 (267) 246-8654 .................... www.turfmaxllc.com
* Denotes regional advertisement
Bold denotes affliate member
ADVERTISING INDEX & MARKETPLACE
EAST COAST SOD & SEED596 Pointers Auburn Road • Pilesgrove, NJ 08098
www.eastcoastsod.com
856-769-9555
BENTGRASS SODGreens Height • Tee/Fairway Height
FESCUEFine • Blue/Fine • Tall
BLUEGRASSRegular • Short-Cut
INSTALLATION AVAILABLE
Ph
oto
gra
ph
er: D
arryl Glinski •
Title: G
CSA
A C
lass A golf course superintendent •
Cou
rse: B
anBury G
olf Club, Eagle, Idaho •
GC
SA
A m
em
bersh
ip: 1
5 years •
Th
e sh
ot: Follow
ing a late-season
thunderstorm last O
ctober, Glinski caught this im
age near the 18th tee of his course, located just north of B
oise, Idaho. He w
as overseeing the release of water from
a series of irrigation lakes on the property
in an attempt to avoid any overfow
onto his fairways w
hen “the sun peeked through a small opening in the clouds. The lake w
as amazingly calm
, and the sun created a brilliant refection of the clouds and
surrounding landscape,” Glinski says. •
Cam
era
: Fujiflm X
P50
Save up to 30% on chemicals and33% on labor annually.Few products in the industry offer a RETURN ON INVESTMENT like this:
• Start with the industry’s finest sprayer, factory-fitted with the Smithco/
Capstan® SharpShooter,® Blended Pulse Technology and GPS enabled Raven
Envizio Pro.
• Start experiencing ANY application rate from 0.4 gal per 1,000 sq ft.
ANY operating speed from 2 to 10 mph. CONSTANT preset pressure
necessary to control drift. AUTOMATICALLY.
• Never overspray again. See a GPS “As-Applied” map on your monitor.
THE POWER OF
Projected Annual Savings on $50k Chemical Budget
Low Speed Over Application Overspray Savings Overlap Savings Total Potential
(up to) $1,250 (up to) $12,500 (up to) $1,250 $15,000
Smithco Star Command
Check out special financingplans on our website.
“’’
The Star Command saved us
money by reducing overlap and
labor costs. We'll never go back
to standard rate controllers.
Adam Bagwell; Crane Creek CC, Boise, ID
