managers associat ion the rocky mountain half-time€¦ · photograph for the photo quiz please...

M A N A G E R S A S S O C I A T I O N

C O LO R A D O

SPORTS TURFSPORTS TURFSPORTS TURF

Feature Article...HIGH COST OF FERTILIZER

DON’T MISS THIS EVENT!Lawnmower Man Open

July 16, 2014Fox Hill Club

SUMMER 2014

THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN HALF-TIMEAN OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE COLORADO SPORTS TURF MANAGERS ASSOCIATIONTHE ROCKY MOUNTAIN HALF-TIMEAN OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE COLORADO SPORTS TURF MANAGERS ASSOCIATION

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Are Your Bases Covered?Your Head Groundskeeper and crew need to negotiate rigorous – and often unpredictable – issues regarding the playing surface at your stadium.

That’s where the Sports Turf Managers Association comes in. STMA members are expertly equipped to deal with these issues and are up-to-date on all the latest information in the industry. Their expertise in resource utilization, operations management, and agronomics allow you to protect your players on the field and reduce your expenses while doing it.

Support your grounds crew’s STMA membership for access to the latest information, education, and industry developments. For over 30 years, STMA members have ensured their fields are among the safest, most playable and most beautiful around.

Are your bases covered? Is there an STMA member on your grounds crew?

To become a member, go online to www.stma.org or call 800-323-3875.

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SUMMER 2014 • THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN HALFTIME 1

PresidentDrew BarberTown Of EriePo Box 750Erie, Co 80516Phone: 303-926-2890E-Mail: [email protected]: Bylaws

Past President Charles KlafkaDouglas County Parks & Trails9651 S Quebec StLittleton, Co 80130Phone: 720-733-6990Fax: 303-470-0916E-Mail: [email protected]: Awards And Scholarships

Vice PresidentDave RaduegPolo Grounds3131 Braeburn Pl.Highlands Ranch, Co 80126Phone: 303-859-3245E-Mail: [email protected]: Newsletter, Seminars, Community Outreach

Commercial Officer Cody J FreemanGolf Enviro Systems10275 Ventura StCommerce City, Co 80022Phone: 719-491-0591E-Mail: [email protected]: Vendor Sponsorship, Scholarships And Bylaws

Commercial Officer Elect Amy GraffGreenone Industries193 N. Biloxi WayAurora, Co 80018Phone: 303-518-8999Fax: 303-795-9443E-Mail: [email protected]: Vendor Sponsorship, Newsletter And Golf Tournament

Directors

Debra ErwinCity Of Rock Springs1301 Clubhouse DrRock Springs, Wy 82901Phone: 307-352-1411Fax: 307-352-1516E-Mail: [email protected]

Paul SelchertS. Suburban Parks & Rec5500 Boatworks DriveLittleton, Co 80126Phone: 303-795-9856Fax: 303-347-6963E-Mail: [email protected]: Seminars, Community Outreach

Sun RoessleinNorth Area Athletic Complex19500 W 64Th PkwyGolden, Co 80403Phone: 303-215-3428Fax: 303-215-3429E-Mail: [email protected]: Seminars, Golf Tournament, Community Outreach

Cody WithamDicks Sporting Goods Park6000 Victory WayCommerce City, Co 80022Phone: 303-727-3731E-Mail: [email protected]: Newsletter

Executive Director/Website Coordinator Christi Clay191 University Blvd. #703Denver, Co 80206Phone: [email protected]

CSTMA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

President’s Message 2

Photo Quiz 3

CSTMA Board of Directors Biographies 4

20th Annual LawnmowerMan Open 7

Social Media Connection 8

CSTMA Raffle 8

Painting Your Field 10

Sports Field of the YearEntry Form 12

High Cost of FertilizerGot you Down? 14

2014 CSTMAScholarships 19

Rhizomatous Tall Fescueand RegeneratingPerennial Ryegrass 22

SUMMER 2014

The Rocky Mountain Half-Time is published quarterly by the

Colorado Sports Turf Managers Association

www.CSTMA.org

191 University Blvd., #703Denver, CO 80206Fax: 303-215-3429

Editor - DAVE RADUEGE-mail:

[email protected] A N A G E R S A S S O C I A T I O N

C O LO R A D O


2 THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN HALFTIME • SUMMER 2014

With the recent hail storms, tornadoes, and heavy rain storm it is clear that it is late spring in the Front Range and Rocky Mountains. With the long sea-son ahead of us I would like to thank all of you for choosing to participate in the CSTMA and to let you know that we are very excited about the opportunities that CSTMA has offered and will continue to offer throughout the year to you, our members.

I would like to take the oppor-tunity to thank the staff at Dicks Sporting Goods Park for hosting the Spring Seminar on April 29th, especially Phil McQuade and Cody Witham for their efforts above and beyond what was expected. Thank you for opening your doors to the CST-MA turf community and letting us learn and see how this type of world-class facility is main-tained. I would also like to thank the presenters, Phil McQuade

with Dicks Sporting Goods and Bob Raley with Direct Solutions, for expanding our knowledge on turf field care and fertility effi-ciency. Your commitment to the local sports turf community is very much appreciated.

Mark your calendar for the 20th Annual Lawn Mower Man Open Golf Tournament on Wednes-day, July 16th.This year the tournament will be held at The Fox Hill Golf Club in Longmont, CO. There are a lot of exciting changes that have been made this year. Visit cstma.org, under the CSTMA events tab to learn more about the event.

While visiting the CSTMA website, please take a look at all of the resources and features the site has to offer such as the membership directory and awards programs.

Once you sign in you will be

able to access the membership directory which can be a great resource to contact turf pro-fessionals, sponsors, and oth-er representatives of the turf industry. There is a wealth of knowledge at your fingertips and all you have to do is contact a fellow CSTMA member. The awards program offers an oppor-tunity to recognize a member’s facility or turf manager for their hard work and contribution to the sports turf community. Take a look at the eligibility require-ments and nominate.

The board of directors will continue to try our hardest to provide valuable learning opportunities and chances to expand your professional net-work. Please let us know if you have any idea or questions about CSTMA and how we can help serve you better.

President’s MessageDrew Barber, Town of EriePresident CSTMA Chapter


If you would like to submit a photograph for the Photo Quiz please send it to

CSTMA91 University Blvd. #703, Denver, CO 80206

call 720-935-3840 oremail [email protected].

If your photograph is selected, you will receive full credit. All photos submitted will become property of Colorado Sports Turf Managers Association.

CSTMA PHOTO QUIZCan you identify this sports turf problem?Problem: Gashes cut 3-4 feet long and 1-2 inches deep into the turf.

Turfgrass area: Polo Field

Location: Denver Polo ClubSedalia, Colorado

Grass Variety: Kentucky Bluegrass

SEE ANSWER ON PAGE 17.

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Christi’s career path has taken her from Minor League Baseball, to construction and renovation, website and graphic design, and finally brought her to her passion for sports turf. Christi worked for Jeffco Schools at the North Area Athletic Complex begin-ning in 2010, and was responsible for managing 2 natural grass fields which host varsity games for 6 local high schools, along with numerous other events. Since the spring of 2012, she has worked for the City of Glendale, helping to maintain the rugby specific natural grass Infinity Park, the synthetic practice field/public park, South Park, as well as all the public parks in the City. While her sports turf career has just begun, Christi has already been a member of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game turf management crew, and STMA’s Sporting Grounds Field of the Year turf crew. Her involvement in the CSTMA has long surpassed working in the field, serving as Executive Director of CSTMA since 2006. A native of Ironton, Ohio, Christi graduated from Denison University with her B.A. in Economics.

Hailing from Fairfield, IA, Cody Freeman got his taste of the sports turf industry by coaching high school baseball and foot-ball in his hometown. After college Cody worked at Iowa State University using his knowledge to assist the turf operations of all their sports fields. It was at ISU that he first cut his teeth and began to learn about the true meaning of being a turf manager. In 2006 he moved to Colorado for an opening with the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field. It was under the impressive management of Ross Kurcab that Cody began to hone his turf manager skills and was promoted to the Assistant Manager of the Turf Department. Cody moved on to an opening in the Jefferson County School District as a stadium manager. It was there he managed the ins and outs of hosting high school sports. Having the desire to be in the sales field, Golf Enviro Systems invited him to come aboard as their Sports Turf Specialist. Cody and his wife enjoy living in Colorado and absorbing everything this state has to offer. During his off hours, he enjoys throwing a fly line on any body of water, or hunting with his two yellow labs.

Cody is an active member of the National Sports Turf Managers Association having previously sat on the Education Commit-tee and the Chapter Relations Committee, a member of the Colorado Sports Turf Managers Association having held the President role in 2009, and currently serves on the Colorado Turfgrass Foundation as a board member.

Committees: Vendor Sponsorship, Scholarships and Bylaws

Drew first realized his love for turf and parks management while attending the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley where he received a Bachelor of Science in Recreation Management. During college he worked several seasonal parks mainte-nance jobs and knew that this was the profession that he wanted to pursue.

His career began with the Town of Avon, near Vail, where he was responsible for general grounds maintenance and spe-cial event support. During his time there he took every opportunity to learn about all aspects of turf and irrigation management. In 2004, he was hired on with the Town of Erie Parks and Recreation Department and is now responsible for the management of all athletic fields and playgrounds throughout the town. Drew truly enjoys the challenge of working with co-workers to find creative solutions to problems.

He and his wife enjoy attending local activities and events throughout the Denver-metro area. Drew strongly believes in developing your professional skills through participation in professional organizations and certifications. He recently completed an Associates of Applied Science in Horticulture: Turfgrass Management from Front Range Community College and is an active member of CSTMA ; serving on the board for five years and is currently the President. Committees: Bylaws

Dave Radueg entered the turf industry with a summer job as a greenskeeper at the Breckenridge Golf Club while pursuing his Bachelors in Environmental Studies from the University of Colorado, Boulder. After college Dave spent nights studying at Front Range Community College earning a Ceritficate in Turfgrass Management while working during the day. Dave’s advancement in the golf course industry included positions of Spray Tech, Irrigation Tech and Assistant Superintendent. In 2011 Dave chose to shift into sports turf management as the Manager of Turf and Grounds for J5 Equestrian, a professional polo team. With J5 Equestrian Dave is responsible for 55 acres polo field turf at 2 separate locations in Littleton and Sedalia Colorado.

Committees: Newsletter, Seminars, Community Outreach

CSTMA Board of Directors Biographies

PRESIDENTDREW BARBER

COMMERCIAL OFFICERCODY FREEMAN

COMMERCIAL OFFICERELECT

AMY GRAFF

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR / WEBSITE COORDINATORCHRISTI CLAY

VICE-PRESIDENTDAVE RADUEG

Amy Graff is the Sales and Marketing Director for GreenONE Industries in Highlands Ranch and a representative of quality soil amendment and topdressing materials for Humalfa Organic Fertilizer. She specializes in consulting for turf renovation and construction within the entire sports turf realm including the golf, schools and park and recreation as well as providing products and services for turf maintenance. Amy has been a part of the turf industry for her entire life and has served in many capacities from sales to organizational leadership including RMRTA, CSTMA, CPRA and RMSGA. She is proud and passionate of the turf industry in Colorado and is seeking a position on the CSTMA Board to help keep the association focused, strong and valuable for all members.

Committees: Vendor Sponsorship, Newsletter and Golf Tournament


DEB ERWIN , DIRECTOR I have worked for the City of Rock Springs since 1993. I began my career as a seasonal maintenance worker for the Paul J Wataha Recreation Area before moving onto the City

Street Dept. full time. Then back to the Paul J Wataha Recreation area in 1997 when the ball field specialist position became open. In this position we held numerous state and local softball /baseball tournaments including the Northwest Pacific Regional baseball tournament which was quite an honor.

Recently I applied for and accepted the position of Maintenance Crew Supervisor for the Paul J Wataha Recreation Area which consists of, 27 holes of golf, a clubhouse area, a four plex softball/baseball as well as two picnic/park areas with a pavilion and fishing pond. Committees: Golf and Seminars

Being raised in a family that was heavy into agriculture and livestock it’s no wonder that Chuck ended up in the profession that he is now in. It was quite a change for Chuck, moving to Castle Rock, Colorado in 1979 from Lewisville, Texas. Chuck grad-uated Douglas County High School and moved on to a two-year local community college before being asked to come to work for Douglas County. Starting from the bottom, Chuck learned the ends and outs of the turf profession from a variety of individuals including supervisors, co-workers and industry professionals.

Chuck worked his way up and was eventually promoted to Parks Supervisor approximately 18 years ago. Chuck attended his first STMA National Conference where he was drawn to the multitudes of different thoughts, teachings and actions of so many like him in his industry.

Chuck is now the District 1 Supervisor for Douglas County Parks, Trails and Building Grounds. He is currently responsible for roughly 23 acres of sports fields, 1 regulation synthetic soccer-field and 25 miles of soft surface trail within Douglas County.

Chuck and his wife Kim still live in Castle Rock. They have two kids, a daughter in college that attends UCCS in Colorado Springs and a son who is a senior and attends Douglas County High School. Chuck spends most of his vacations hunting, fishing and visiting family.

Chuck is currently the Past President of Colorado Sports Turf Management Association and a member of the Colorado Parks Recreation Association. Committees: Awards and Scholarships

AARON COLE , DIRECTORAaron was born in a small town in southeast Kansas where he spent his summers working on his uncle’s golf course. In 2003

he moved to Colorado and worked as a temporary employee for the Highlands Ranch Metro District. Three years later he was hired full time as a turf manager for the Highlands Ranch Metro District. Aaron has been with the district for almost seven years and helps maintain 22 parks with 164 acres of irrigated turf.

Committees: Seminars

PAST PRESIDENTCHUCK KLAFKA

SUN ROESSLEIN , DIRECTORTwelve years ago, I lucked into a summer job on the Lexington Legends Minor League Baseball team’s grounds crew. I had no

idea that part time job would change my career path and lead me to discover my passion for sports turf management. After mov-ing to Colorado, I spent a year working at the City of Thornton learning about landscape maintenance, design, and installation. While I enjoyed learning about landscape, I knew I wanted to get back to working in sports turf. Today I am in my eighth year with Jefferson County Schools Athletics Department, managing the North Area Athletic Complex, a natural grass football stadium and separate natural grass soccer stadium. In 2008, I was asked to join the Rocky Mountain Regional Turfgrass Association Board of Directors, and was involved in helping to put together the Annual Conference and Trade Show for four years. I really enjoyed representing the Sports Turf portion of this collaborative organization. Now an RMRTA Past President, I serve on the Research and Scholarship committee, responsible for awarding funding to deserving students and supporting industry research. I would like to continue being involved with scholarships from the CSTMA standpoint, and would also like to see a current employee scholarship created. In addition, for the past two years I have served as a member of the STMA Website and Ethics committees.

Committees: Seminars, Golf Tournament, Community Outreach

PAUL SELCHERT , DIRECTORPaul Selchert began his career as a seasonal employee at South Suburban Parks and Recreation thirteen years ago. He worked

his up to his current position as lead athletic technician through dedication and drive. Committees: Seminars, Community Outreach

CODY WHITMAN , DIRECTORCody is currently in his fourth year as the Assistant Turf Manager II at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. A native of Montana, he

earned his BS Degree in Landscape Horticulture from Montana State University in 2001. It was following graduation that Cody accepted a position in Colorado to work as a Landscape Designer and Project Manager in the Denver area. After seven years in the landscape business, he and his wife returned to Helena, Montana where he owned and operated his own lawn and landscape business for two and half years. With a desire to focus his career on Sports Turf Management, they relocated back to Colorado in 2010, where he became a member of the Dick’s Sporting Goods Park Turf Department.

Today Cody and his wife, along with their two young sons reside in the north metro area. He enjoys spending his free time playing with his boys, camping in the mountains, and taking care of his own yard. He has a passion for art and also spends time away from work painting and drawing. Committees: Newsletter


Going Green and Scoring Points!

www.humalfa.comAmy Graff 303-518-8999 [email protected]


On July 16th, the Colorado Sports Turf Managers As-sociation will hold the 20th

Annual Lawnmower Man Open at The Fox Hill Club in Longmont! This is fantastic private course just west of I-25 and Highway 119 and will provide the perfect setting for this tournament!

This long standing tradition is one of the most enjoyable events of the season and this year’s event prom-ises to be better than ever! Upon arrival at the registration table, all participants will receive a special gift to commemorate the 20th anniver-sary of this event as well as a pack-aged gift containing some essential items for your round. Golfers will also have the opportunity to pur-chase a mulligan/betting package at a reduced cost that will allow you to participate in the raffle, betting holes as well as the “must have” mulligans! Also included in this package is the chance to participate in a closest to the pin contest provided by our friends at L.L. Johnson on hole #4. The winner of this contest will take home a brand new mower! New this year, there will be a “Splash” contest at the driving range where participants will have the chance to make a shot into a pool of water. The best part is the ball doesn’t have to stay in the pool, it can merely splash in and you’ll win! You’ll get 2 attempts for just $5!

Another new feature for this year’s tournament is the SILENT AUC-TION! The items that will be available to bid on are fantastic and are sure to create a buzz amongst the field! There will be autographed memorabilia and brand new club sets just to name a few. You’ll have the chance to see all the items and place bids at the tee box on hole #1 with an additional opportunity to check and monitor your bids at the conclusion of the round at the clubhouse.

You’ll want to buy your raffle tickets early and often for this year’s event because the raffle prize pool will be unlike anything you’ve see in the past! Electronics, great gift cards and club sets are just a few things in the long list of items you’ll have a shot at! There will also be a special guest to MC the raffle! For those of you who participated in the tourna-ment several years ago when it was held annually at West Woods, you’ll recall flying atlases and multiple toasts known as “courtesy drinks” dished out by Mr. By Hanson and he will be on hand to bring back those old school fun times in honor of the 20th anniversary of the LMO!

Drink tickets? Not necessary. Thanks to our incredible sponsors, you’ll have access to complimentary beverages at hole #8 where you’ll find Newstripe, hole #11 features Graff ’s Turf Farms and hole #17 will

be hosted by Potestio Brothers. The beverage carts will also be out on the course with additional beverages and snacks for sale.

Again, this event promises to be the best ever and is capped at 112 golfers so don’t miss out! Here are a few things to help make sure you get in on the fun:

• Registration and full payment deadline is JUNE 20, 2014. You can register and pay online at www.cstma.org Cost is $95.00 per player and $380.00 per foursome

• Check in for the tournament is from 6:30 a.m.-7:30 a.m.

• 8:00 a.m. shotgun start with a modified scramble format

• If you have any questions or need any assistance in registering, please contact Executive Director, Christi Clay at 720-935-3840 or by email [email protected]

See you all on July 16th!

20th Annual Lawnmower Man Open is Around the Corner!

Amy Graff, CSTMA Commercial Director

Wednesday, July 16th, 2014Fox Hill Club • Longmont


CSTMA RAFFLECSTMA would like to offer you the experience of your career: Full Conference Registration

to the 2015 STMA National

Conference and Trade ShowDenver, CO.

CSTMA members will receive a one-time entry into our drawing. Additional entries can be earned by attending CSTMA events throughout the year; attend all four events and your name will be entered a total of five times. We believe this is a great way to extend to our members the opportunity to better your working relationship with others in your field and further our organization’s mission: to promote safer playing surfaces through providing opportunities for turfgrass professionals to gain insight and knowledge of turf maintenance practices.

The 2014 STMA National Conference was just held in San Antonio, Texas and was a tremendous success with amazing educational sessions. The 2015 STMA National Conference will be held right here in Denver and will be a conference you will not want to miss. Local vendors, professional sports teams along with NCAA venues will all be in attendance and will offer a variety of lectures and hands on learning that is second to none. Please clear you calendars so you can attend all our local events for 2014 and earn the opportunity to win a free registration to the 2015 STMA National Conference.

We want to provide more avenues for our members to stay connected.

CSTMA members can use social media for networking, sharing experiences with our peers and opening discussions about sports turf management. Please join us in our goal to keep all of our members as connected and informed as possible.

Like us on Facebook! Go to www.facebook.com/CSTMA and “like” our page to begin seeing our posts on your Facebook newsfeed. We will be posting information about upcoming events as well as photos from each event held. Feel free to post your own photos of your fields or your ongoing projects. We would love to see what you’re working on!

Follow us on Twitter @CSTMA_turf. On Twitter we can connect with turf industry professionals locally, nationally and internationally! Follow us to see our tweets on your timeline. We will tweet information about upcoming events, photos and re-tweets of turf related topics.

Join our LinkedIn discussion group “Colorado Sports Turf managers Association”. LinkedIn provides a great discussion forum to help you get information from other turf managers.

Members of our social media groups will be entered to win prizes at our CSTMA events!

The Social Media Connection

800.372.6639 or 303.789.3172

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In 20 plus year of being involved with paint striping equipment, I believe I have met exactly two

people that actually liked painting athletic fields and all the joys that go along with it. Most others fall into the category of; “If I didn’t have to paint another line…, If the coach asks me one more time if it’s going to be done by Saturday (while it’s pouring rain on Thursday) and the very worse, “If I see one more paint salesman…”

Having accepted all of that, paint-ing is the finishing touch after you have groomed your field and have it looking like a fairway. Have you ever seen a field of the year picture of just a grassy field without being paint-ed? A well marked field looks great while having the correct dimen-sions. And we all want the coaches and fans to say, “How do I get my field to look like that?”

So, to try and make this chore a little more manageable and some-thing you can take pride in, here are some bits picked up over the years. “Which paint is the best paint?” “Which paint do you recommend?” There are many excellent field mark-ing paints on the market ranging from very inexpensive to Wow! Some have optical brighteners, some state they will last longer, some are concentrated and some are ready-to-use.

To find the answer, the questions come back to you (Don’t they

always?). Does your turf grow 2” a week? If you are cutting off the stripes, does it really matter if the paint lasts a long time? Does it take forever to clean up the machine? Does the paint settle in the tank and clog filters? Time is money. Stopping to clear clogs is time consuming and pump repairs are not cheap either.

Do you like grey or white? Get samples and see what it looks like on your turf and under the lights if your park has them. To decide between Concentrate and ready-to-use, it is all about the final cost per gallon to stripe your field. Do you have the personnel and equipment to mix the paint? How much time to you spend mixing paint? If you thin the paint 4:1 instead of 1:1, what is your cost? Do you pay shipping to have it delivered? A concentrate may be less money to ship. Can the paint I choose make it two weeks instead of painting every week? And, should

I maybe get a better paint for my main field and use something less for my practice fields?

Types of paint: We do not recom-mend latex exterior house paint and Please, Do Not use dry wall primer. The very reasons those paints and primers are used to ‘seal’ and attach to a surface make them harder to clean from your paint spraying sys-tems. A word of caution on colors. Though there are many field mark-ing paints in white, when it comes to colors, some paint suppliers have to use a tint base in order to create a color. If you are having pump clean-ing problems whenever you use a color, ask your paint store if the tint base is interior or exterior. Interi-or will be easier to clean up. Plus, ask your paint store or rep about cleaning. Is water alone sufficient, or should you use a soap or cleaner. It might not be needed every time you spray, but maybe every other time

Painting Your Field Ray KrebsNewstripe, [email protected]


to keep equipment clean and save downtime and repairs.

Tips for applying: If you have heavy dew or wet grass, towing a length of pipe or better yet, a cocoa mat is a good way to knock moisture off of turf without damage. You still have to allow time for the turf to dry. You should also have at least an hour dry time before it rains for the paint to set up. Also striping a day or two after cutting (if your schedule will allow) will allow clippings to settle and not bounce up when using high pressure sprayers.

Layout and actual striping: It all starts with a base line that is usually parallel to the bleachers or run-ning track. Next it has to be square. Check the diagonal measurement from corner to corner. If they don’t match, it is not square. Just shift the opposite side line until your num-bers match. Once it is square, other measurements become easier to layout.

Plan your striping path to save steps and time. Do you end up having to travel a long distance without actual-ly striping? Are you crossing freshly painted lines or have to do a lot of adjusting to line up with the next line? Take a look at it the next time you stripe and you may be surprised to find areas where you can save time.

Straighter lines: Besides hand and eye co-ordination (which I sadly lack) guess what? The smoother the field, the straighter your lines will be. If you have dips and low spots, let the machine ‘walk through’ the dip, rather than trying to stay on your layout line. Focus a couple of

feet ahead as opposed to looking directly down at the spray head. It does take time and you may find it difficult at first, but the lines do get straighter. And if you start to “get off the line”, gently bring it back to the line over a couple of feet. A bowed line appears straighter than jagged ones from course corrections.

The marking of artificial turf usually involves temporary marking. This really comes down to experimenta-tion at this time as there are a lot of new removable products entering the market as well as systems/ma-chines for removing the paint. Talk

to the sales reps first then, lay down some lines off the field of play and see just what is involved in removing it. And, if the process involves flush-ing residue down into your crumb rubber and substrate, run some experiments. Place some of the paint in buckets or pans with the chemical used to breakdown the paint to see if it dissolves and will migrate through the substrate.

So join the two people who actual-ly liked striping, take pride in the finished product and we will see you next year in the Field of the Year competition.


COLORADO SPORTS TURF MANAGERS ASSOCIATIONROCKY MOUNTAIN SPORTS FIELD OF THE YEAR - ENTRY FORMDIRECTIONS: Please type or print clearly all information requested below. In addition to this entry form, each entrant must include a minimum of five (5) 5” x 7” color photos of the field/facility and maintenance procedures as well as a brief (one paragraph) description of the field or facility. Additional photos, descriptions and information are welcome.

Agency, school or park district owning/operating this field: __________________________________________________

Street Address: ______________________________________________________________________________________

City/State/Zip: _______________________________________________________________________________________

Type of field entered: ________________________________________________________________________________

Name of field/facility: _______________________________________________________________________________

Age of field: ____________________ Annual field maintenance budget:________________________________________

Name of person responsible for maintaining this field: ______________________________________________________

Phone #: ____________________________________________________________________________________________

How many acres of athletic turf do you maintain? Total overall acres maintained: _________________________________

Number of staff employed to maintain field/facility: Full Time __________ Seasonal _________ Overall staff __________

What type of irrigation: l Automatic l Manual Does your agency restrict irrigation? l Yes l No

Describe restrictions:* _________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Describe equipment used to maintain your field:* __________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Describe the maintenance program you employ (mowing height, fertilization, aeration, topdressing, seeding, etc.):*

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

How many months and/or days of the year is your field in use? _______________________________________________

What type and number of events are held on your field or facility?* ____________________________________________

Number of games played on this field or at this facility: ______________________________________________________

What special maintenance challenges do you encounter and what practices do you employ to mitigate them?* _______

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Why do you think your field is one of the best (please include any special or important circumstances you encounter)?*

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

* The use of additional or separate pages is encouraged.

I ___________________________________ certify that the information on this form and in the accompanying entry ma-terials is accurate to the best of my knowledge. I understand that no materials will be returned to me and may be used for publication in the CSTMA newsletter and/or web site.

Signature of Entrant ___________________________________________________________ Date __________________ Mail all entry materials to: CSTMA Awards 191 University Blvd #703 Deadline: October 24, 2014 Denver, CO 80206


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SOIL HUMUS

Humic matter is continuously being created and destroyed in soils under natural conditions. The most active portions are decomposed first. Soils cultivated over long periods of time with only NPK as inputs retain only the humus additions that are formed from any turfgrass residues left behind, which, in humid areas, is generally less than the native vegeta-tion used to provide.

Any addition of organic matter will increase levels of humus in the soil if given a long time to humify which, in turn slowly makes humic acids available to do the work of build-ing soil structure and providing other, more direct, benefits to the turf. However, in turfgrass manage-ment, addition of organic matter in the form of compost or manure is often prohibitive due to the need for constant use and the temporary problems with appearance, and the potential for layering due to the difficulty of incorporation into the soil profile.

A More Cost-Effective Solution

Naturally-occurring geological deposits of organic material exist which contain concentrated extract-able Humic Acids in the form of oxi-dized lignite, or Humates. Humates are composed of three fractions: Humic Acid, Fulvic Acid, & Humin.

Benefits

Humic Acid in the soil serves nu-merous functions. Among the most significant are:

• Physical modification of soil structure, increasing soil aggre-gate stability, improving water infiltration and aeration.

• Breaking down soil primary min-erals, releasing elements as avail-able nutrients.

• Holding nitrogen in reserve in the soil, making it available to turf-grass over time.

• Providing the environment and stimulus for microbial activity

• Organically complexing nutrients, making them bio-available to turfgrass

• Increasing root growth, root pen-etration and chlorophyll density, thus aiding in photosynthesis.

• Substantially increasing proteins, fiber, and sugars which improve quality and appearance.

Fulvic Acid chelates nutrients, taking them directly and readily into the plant, and produces a hor-mone-like response within the plant. This essential component makes Humates much more plant-active than other products.Humin is the insoluble fraction, consisting of larger molecules that act to improve soil structure and increase the water holding capacity of soils.

Economic Benefits of Humates

There is no better way to enhance the economics of turfgrass man-agement than to build soil humus and improve natural processes, such as microbial activity, that can be sustained over a long productive life. Building levels of natural Humic Acids has been shown to reduce the need for commercial fertilizers,

because of improved fertilizer use efficiency. This benefit alone will reduce waste and the environmental concern of leaching fertilizers and pesticides into the water table and surface waters. It has been shown, for example, that up to 80% of ap-plied N can be lost due to leaching in low CEC soils.

Soil Life Systems Humates are mined from the highest quality de-posits, processed and made available to the golf and turfgrass industries so that every manager can take advantage of nature’s storehouse of Humic substances. Application of Humates to any turfgrass will help to compensate for lost productivity that occurs with soil humus losses, and will help to speed the process of building up necessary reserves of humus in turfgrass soils under good management. SLS Humates are an ideal amendment for building soil test levels of organic matter in soils. Ideally, the organic matter fraction should be in the range of 1.5 – 2.5% by soil test.

Products Available

• Granular Humates – Soil Life Systems Greens Grade 1-2mm. Packaged in 50lb. bag

• Micromate – Dry Powder for Liq-uid Suspension. Packaged in 3 gal. pail – ready to mix.

Application Rates

The most beneficial application to build your soils and increase the levels of Humic Acid is with the Granular Humate, which should be

High Cost of Fertilizer Got You Down? You may be missing the most important component for making them work efficiently!

Bruce Reed, Mesa Verde ResourcesGary Schinderle, Golf Enviro Systems


applied to soils at rates starting from about 10-30 lbs/1,000 sq. ft., spring and fall. Applications of the gran-ular humate, in conjunction with aerification, appears to be the most effective.

We also recommend liquid applica-

tions for those who don’t have the ability to spread granular products or who prefer liquids. Micromate (in suspension) should be applied at 3 - 6 oz. per 1,000 sq. ft., 3-4 times during the growing season.

“Besides being the most import-ant factor in structure forma-tion, organic matter has also a fundamental effect on the physical properties of the soil (water-holding capacity) and determines to a large degree such physico-chemical properties as the exchange capacity and buff-ering properties; these properties are of great importance, not only in controlling the uptake of nutrients by the plant and their retention in the soil, but also in suppressing the deleterious effect of soil acidity.”

Dr. T.L. Senn – Clemson University

“The urgency to emphasize the importance of humic substanc-es and their value as fertilizer ingredients has never been more important than it is today. All those concerned about the ability of soils to support plant growth need to assist in educating the public. Humic substances are recognized by most soil scientists and agronomists as the most im-portant component of a healthy fertile soil.”

Dr. Robert E. Pettit – Texas A&M University

“Managing the organic matter of soils is the only way to have an effective organic management program. In my work with hun-dreds of golf course greens (sand based construction), we have discovered that organic fertilizers work well but are usually con-sumed totally and do nothing to increase the OM concentration on low CEC soils. Our use of Soil Life Systems Humates allows us to increase the OM concen-tration over time making these soils sustainable and less volatile from a nutrient stand point. Increasing the CEC of these soils is critical to long term viability and makes an organic fertilizer program work consistently.”

Gary Schinderle – Golf Enviro

GREENHOUSE DATA

Nutrient UptakeGreens Grade Humate applied at a rate of 10 lbs. per 1000 sq. ft. vs. Control

N P K Ca Mg S Fe Mn Zn Cu TOTAL

S.L.S. Humate 126.2 128.7 125 123.5 133.5 123.5 115.1 111.8 109.2 112.5 121

Control 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Conclusion: Applications of Humates can dramatically increase nutrient uptake by the plant.

Root Weight

Greens Grade Humate applied at a rate of 10 lbs. per 1000 sq. ft. vs. Control

Conclusion: Applications of Humates can dramatically increase root depth and mass.


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ANSWER TO CSTMA PHOTO QUIZ - PAGE 3This is what you would call an “elev-en.” Elevens are common occurrences on polo fields and are caused when a horse slides across the turf instead of digging in for a divot. Repairing these are no different than any of the other nearly 100,000 divots made during a single polo match. Sand, seed, water and a little TLC.

Photo Taken at the Denver Polo ClubSedalia, Colorado

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T1277 EG COLO STMA 2013_T1025-A Feb&Nov BB/EG Sprttrf04 13-03-03 3:46 PM Page 1

If you have any interesting photos and would like to submit them for the next newsletter, please contact us at [email protected].


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The 2014 Colorado Sports Turf Manag-ers Association Board would like to offer you a new look at continu-ing education or as-sisting in your degree program to be a Sports Turf Manager. In years past only students were able to receive these benefits. Please look over the different scholarship programs we now offer and think about furthering your education. CSTMA is committed to allowing all Sports turf person-nel the option to better themselves through this new program. Visit our website at www.cstma.org under CSTMA Resources, to download the applica-tion and instructions to get you started down the path to receive one of these great benefits.

Two Year Horticulture Student Scholarship- $500 each 2 Will Be Awarded• Student must be enrolled full time at a 2 year college in Colorado• Student must be a member of CSTMA• Enrolled to attend classes towards a degree or certificate in a sports

turf industry field Four Year Horticulture Student Scholarship - $1,000 2 Will Be Awarded• Student must be enrolled full time at a 4-year college in Colorado• Student must be a member of CSTMA• Enrolled to attend classes towards a degree or certificate in a sports

turf industry field

Employee Continuing Education Scholarship- $500 each 4 Will Be Awarded• Employee must be employed full time• Employee may not be enrolled full time at a college• Studies must be sports turf industry specific• Employee must be a member of CSTMA in good standing

CSFM Scholarship- $350 each• Must be a STMA & CSTMA member in good standing• Scholarship will be paid once completion of the CSFM certificate is

provided to the board. • Member must work in the Sports Turf Industry• Must apply before taking CSFM exam

National STMA Conference Scholarship (2015)• Must be a CSTMA member in good standing• Member must work in the Sports Turf Industry

Congratulations to Casey Steere, Colorado State University

4 Year Scholarship Winner

2014 CSTMA Scholarships


C O LO R A D O



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Rhizomatous Tall Fescue (RTF) and Regenerating Perennial Ryegrass (RPR) have been discussed quite a lot in the turf industry. There are three questions asked: 1.) What is RTF and RPR? 2.) Are they different from conventional tall fescue and perennial ryegrass? and 3.) Can they be used for sports fields?

Rhizomatous Tall Fescue (RTF)Before we can look at RTF in sports fields, we need to examine tall fescue itself, because not all the tall fescue is the same. Tall fescue [Festuca arundinacea Schreber; or Lolium arundina-ceum (Schreb.) Darbysh.; or Schedonorus arundinaceus (Schreb.) Dumort.] is actually a species complex of three different and distinct morphotypes. The three morphotypes are: 1.) Continental (CTF); 2.) Rhizomatous (RTF); and 3.) Mediterranean (MTF). Each of these mor-photypes differs significantly morphologically, genetically, physiologically and geographically. It has been proposed that these hexaploid (2n=42) tall fescues evolved separately on the north and south sides of the Alps and Pyrenees Mountain Ranges. Part of this proposition is also based on the fact that there is often a lack of observed infertility between crosses of the three ecotypes.

Continental tall fescue (CTF) is the morphotype in which the majority of the turf and forage varieties originate. This northern morphotype evolved in Europe, mainly north of the Pyre-nees and the Alps. The other two morphotypes (Rhizomatous and Mediterranean) evolved independently south of the Alps and Pyrenees Mountain Ranges. The southern ecotypes range from Iberia (Spain, Portugal), Northern Africa, and Italy.

CONTINENTAL TALLFESCUE (CTF) IS THE

MORPHOTYPE IN WHICHTHE MAJORITY OF THE

TURF AND FORAGEVARIETIES ORIGINATE.

Also, the RTF and MTF harbor endophytes that are genetically, biochemically and morpholog-ically distinct from N. coenophialun which is found consistently in the Continental (northern) ecotype.

CTF is winter dormant, summer active, with

or without short rhizomes (but inconsistently produces these rhizomes), and contains the Neotyphodium coenophialum endophyte. The ancestors of the Continental types are theorized to be Festuca fenas Lag. (syn.= Festuca arundi-nacea subsp. fenas (Lag.) S. Archang.) (2n=28) and meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis Huds.) (2n=14,28).

The Rhizomatous (RTF) morphotype is found mainly in the Pyrenee Mountains, northern Spain and Portugal. This morphotype is distin-guished by the presence of longer and higher number of rhizomes (than either the Continental and Mediterranean ecotypes), summer and late fall active, more active in fall and winter than Continental morphotype in mild temperate climates, but less than Mediterranean morpho-types. The ancestors of the RTF morphotype are theorized to be a Festuca fenas-like species and meadow fescue, because the endophyte, mor-phology, distribution and physiology of the RTF are different from the Continental type. Also, the high degree of sterility often observed in progeny of crosses between RTF and CTF is an indicator that the ancestry of the RTF group is probably different from the Continental TF.

The Mediterranean (MTF) morphotype ranges south of the Alps and Pyrenees, from Iberia (Spain, Portugal), Northern Africa, and Italy. This morphotype is distinguished by being winter active but lack of winter hardiness, summer dormancy, with or with short rhizomes (but inconsistently produces these rhizomes). Currently there are no Mediterranean types known to be used in turf. The few varieties of the Mediterranean ecotype commercially available are used for forage. The ancestry of the MTF is very different from the other two morphotypes (RTF and CTF), with the putative ancestors being even different species than those ancestors of RTF and CTF.

As mentioned, the Continental (CTF) morpho-type is the group from which the majority of all turf and forage varieties originate. There are only a few turf varieties known to have been devel-oped from the Rhizomatous tall fescue morpho-type germplasm. The Royal Barenbrug Group has released ‘Labarinth’ (US 6,677,507 B2 patent) and the following varieties developed under that patent: Barspider, BAR Fa7676, BAR Fa 9125, and BAR Fa 9017.

Studies have demonstrated that the RTF mor-photype makes significantly more rhizomes and longer rhizomes than CTF morphotypes, even on different soil types (Table 1 and 2).

THE ANCESTRY OF THE MTF IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHER TWO MORPHOTYPES

(RTF AND CTF), WITH THE PUTATIVE ANCESTORS BEING

EVEN DIFFERENT SPECIES THAN THOSE ANCESTORS OF

RTF AND CTF.

Rhizome studies have also be conducted on RTF and those CTF varieties that can produce some rhizomes. In one study nine varieties were measured: Labarinth (RTF); F1B (RTF); Blade Runner (CTF); Grande (CTF); Grande II (CTF); Titan (CTF); Titan LTD (CTF); Rendition (CTF) and Barrington (CTF). Twenty-five plants per replication (3 replications) were measured (75 plants per variety) for one year. The characters measured: 1) Number of rhizomes per plant; 2) percentage of plants with rhizomes (at least 1); 3) percentage of plants with more than one rhizome; and 4) average length of rhizome. The results showed that the RTF morphotypes made significantly more rhizomes (at least 20 times more than the CTF rhizomatous varieties), high-er percent of plants with rhizomes and longer rhizomes (Tables 3, 4 and 5). The RTF morpho-types will continue to make rhizomes even when mowed as turf.

Since RTF and CTF are different morphotypes we can now ask the question of how the RTF morphotype does on sports fields. Studies have also been conducted on the use of RTF ecotypes on sports fields at the University of Illinois. One of the studies evaluated RTF®, CTF, and Ken-tucky bluegrass (KBG) sod under mechanical traffic simulations. The traffic machine is a modi-fied Brinkman weighing ~2,000 lbs which applies both shear force and vertical compression to a depth of ~1/2 inch. Traffic was applied once a week with several passes per week for the month of August. The results were that intense traffic does reduce quality of all the entries studied, but that the RTF® + KBG and KBG sods were the best for traffic and the RTF® without KBG was as good as CTF + KBG. So, the rhizomatous tall fescue morphotype can be used in sports field situations. It has performed very well and users are re-purchasing RTF® as it performs for them. The root system and the rhizomes make a more stable rootzone on sand based sports fields. This means that less damage is done to those types of fields. RTF® is an asset for sand based sports field situations. For more information go to barusa.com.

Regenerating Perennial Ryegrass (RPR)Stoloniferous perennial ryegrass

[Lolium perenne L. subspecies stoloniferum (Lawson) Wipff]

Regenerating Perennial Ryegrass (RPR) is a subspecies of perennial ryegrass that produces stolons. Stolons can be classified into two types: determinate- and indeterminate-stolons. A


determinate-stolon is an above-ground hori-zontal stem which roots at the nodes and does not produce aerial shoots indeterminately, but the apical apex will eventually terminate with an inflorescence (e.g., referred to herein as Lolium perenne subsp. stoloniferum). An indetermi-nate-stolon is an above ground stem which roots at the node and from which shoots are produced progressively and this horizontal stem will never terminate with an inflorescence, but apical apex remains vegetative (e.g., bermudagrass and creeping bentgrass).

Perennial ryegrass is an important species for sports fields. Though perennial ryegrass is one of the most wear tolerant cool-season (temperate) turfgrasses available, the demand for more wear tolerance has increased due to increased use of sports fields, parks, golf courses, and recreational areas. Improvements in summer wear toler-ance have been achieved previously indirectly by increasing shoot density. Winter wear on European sports pitches has been reduced partly by empirical evaluation of wear resistance of ryegrass varieties using artificial wear machines with studded rollers and using those varieties most wear-resistant. These were only evalua-tions done on finished varieties to determine if some may happen to have some wear tolerance. However, no selections were performed and

no new wear-resistant varieties were developed from these studies. Traffic simulation is mainly performed to evaluate the wear-resistance of already released cultivars (e.g., for athletic field research). So, traditionally, especially in the USA, traffic tolerance is only a characteristic deter-mined once a variety has been commercially (or about to be) released, and not part of its develop-mental history. Whether a variety (not developed for traffic tolerance) has some traffic tolerance, is no indication that it can actually recover from traffic injury. In fact, we see that these varieties are not able to recover from the traffic damage. So, it is critical that perennial ryegrass being used on a sports field is bred from the beginning under traffic stress. Which is exactly the way the RPR, with a strong recuperative ability was dis-covered; under long term, intense, traffic stress.

The importance and benefit of RPR is only realized because it was developed under intense traffic stress. Subjecting millions of genotypes, for many years, to intense traffic wear reduced the population to approximately 3,000 initial se-lections. From these initial 3,000 selections only five populations of RPR were discovered.

This type of selection not only translates into better traffic tolerance, but also positive recovery potential from traffic damage because of its stoloniferous habit. Our studies have shown that just because a ryegrass is stoloniferous, does not mean it can recover from an intense traffic event. What we found out was that only the stolonif-erous varieties that were developed for traffic tolerance were able to recuperate from an intense traffic event. Though other ryegrass varieties can have some unintended traffic tolerances, they could not recover from the wear and actually have a negative recuperating potential (i.e. they don’t recover.). This means that after the traffic simulation was completed, varieties were then studied for their ability to recuperate from the intense traffic wear, the varieties not developed for traffic tolerance actually continued to decline and did not recuperate from the traffic damage. Whereas, those developed under intense traffic selections protocols (i.e. RPR) did recuperate and in fact increased in coverage (Figure 3). As the turf canopy is opened up by traffic, RPR be-gins to produce stolons to fill in the open areas. This was first reported from research performed at The Ohio State University.

So, is RPR for sports fields? Yes, it was developed from day one for sports fields. RPR has been since day one mostly used on sports fields and golf courses with tremendous success. A lot of sports turf managers are sending feedback as to how much they like the performance and the wear tolerance of the RPR.

OTS Highlight. Presented February 2012, Guelph, Ontario


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Are Your Bases Covered?Your Head Groundskeeper and crew need to negotiate rigorous – and often unpredictable – issues regarding the playing surface at your stadium.

That’s where the Sports Turf Managers Association comes in. STMA members are expertly equipped to deal with these issues and are up-to-date on all the latest information in the industry. Their expertise in resource utilization, operations management, and agronomics allow you to protect your players on the field and reduce your expenses while doing it.

Support your grounds crew’s STMA membership for access to the latest information, education, and industry developments. For over 30 years, STMA members have ensured their fields are among the safest, most playable and most beautiful around.

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