Soil Temperatures...

Rick Tegtmeier, Des Moines Golf & Country Club, West Des Moines, IA:

"I used to think that once the soil was frozen the temperature of it would not change much. I thought freezing was freezing. A few years ago we installed some remote soil probes that monitor the soil, and it proved I was very wrong in my thoughts. Last year we saw very little fluctuation in the soil temperatures at the freezing mark because it did not get very cold at all. This year once the snow blanket had melted we started seeing the soil temperatures react to the ambient temperatures. As you can see in the following chart if the air warms up the soil follows suit, as it gets colder so does the soil.

We really like seeing the frost get into soil and act as a natural way to break up the soil. This freezing and thawing helps to expand and contract the soil to help it loosen up and become more mellow in the spring. So, below freezing can mean a lot of different things to different people. For us, this winter it is a good thing to have the natural aerification at work to help our soils. Now some more precipitation would be a great thing!"

Visit Rick's blog at dmgcc.blogspot.com.

"Success Occurs When Opportunity Meets Preparation"

Jeff Johnson, The Minikahda Club, Minneapolis, MN:

"People don't plan to fail, the just fail to plan."
"A goal properly set is halfway reached." — Zig Ziglar

"I'm always a sucker for a good quotation. In fact, I keep a little booklet in my office of favorite quotes assembled by Zig Ziglar. Knowing how important planning is for the upcoming season, I spend a great deal of time developing a thorough and comprehensive maintenance schedule for the upcoming season (just in case you are wondering what I do in the winter season). Utilizing successes and failures from past experience, information shared from fellow superintendents, continuing education seminars, self-research, and assistance from local vendors are all avenues which are considered when formulating a comprehensive maintenance schedule.

Developing a blueprint for the upcoming season takes a great deal of thought and consideration. All cultural and nutritional practices need to be considered. When first developing our schedule I consider the timing of applications, products that will be used and rates of the products being applied and how they fit within the golf calendar. Once that has been established I am then able to develop a calendar of events based on these applications. All potential application data can then be entered into our SPaRKS web based program.

...even though we have a specific objective there are times we need to vary from the plan based on weather, growing conditions or changes to the golf calendar."

There are many aspects that need to be considered when developing a strategy for each area of the golf course. As we enter the season I want to make sure we have a comprehensive plan and schedule in place, because even though we have a specific objective there are times we need to vary from the plan based on weather, growing conditions or changes to the golf calendar. By developing our applications now we know what products we expect to use, how much we estimate will be utilized and the cost associated with the implementation of the programs. When planning, I typically design the program for a worst case scenario with rates and frequency of use, ultimately being more than we will need to use that season.

The areas that require planning are as follows; greens, collars, weak greens, tees, weak tees, fairways, fairway weak spots, green banks, bunker banks, intermediate rough, rough, high traffic areas, the practice tees, practice fairway, practice range rough, gardens, large cotoneaster hedge, and club house lawns. Within those areas we need to consider topdressing applications (for greens, tees, approaches, fairway weak spots) soluble fertility applications, granular fertility apps, fungicides, insecticides, wetting agents, growth regulators, core aeration, solid tine aeration and deep tine aerification practices.

Once all the data is entered, I can then use that information to make sure our expected fertility applications are at the rates we desire and within the budget we have been allocated..."

Once each individual application is scheduled on the calendar, then the tedious task of developing each individual fertility and fungicide application begins. I utilize a program called SPaRKS Superintendent Version software (very inexpensive) that is tailored to golf course operations. Through this software I am able to develop each application in advance. Once all the data is entered, I can then use that information to make sure our expected fertility applications are at the rates we desire and within the budget we have been allocated. The software also allows us to print application sheets for each individual application, record the information as well as print reports that show us fertility rates, final product costs and usage. I can then utilize this information for future planning and ordering of product based on past years needs and requirements.

The beauty of it all: we have a solid comprehensive plan in place before the season begins. But, even the most well thought out plans change. As superintendents we know changes occur and we need to adapt to the environment. We work in an ever-changing environment so this is nothing new for us. But I feel better knowing what products we plan on using, the timing of the applications, the total expected cost for the season and we have the calendar in place to help us remember what our plan is. Once we go into battle its very easy to lose focus of plans we made in January and having a plan keeps us on track so we can provide the best product we possibly can for our members."

"Our daily objectives should include an honest effort to improve on yesterday." — Zig Ziglar

Visit Jeff's blog at minikahdagrounds.blogspot.com

Under Pressure...

John Slade, Laurel Creek Country Club, Mount Laurel, NJ:

"Over the winter we are pressure washing the bridges on the golf course. This is a time-consuming job, with each bridge taking several days to complete. Since the irrigation system is shut down, a 300 gallon sprayer is filled at the maintenance facility, then used as the water source for the pressure washer.

The work is well worth the effort — the difference from before to after is remarkable. "

Scott Peters is thoroughly cleaning all of the nooks and crannies of the bridge on #8.

Visit John's blog at laurelcreeksuper.blogspot.com.

Blog writing tips from the Maestro...

Peter McCormick, TurfNet, Cornwall, VT:

"I read a lot of blog posts each week while selecting those to appear here in the Aggregator. Some posts are very good, some not so much.

What makes a good blog post? Content and readability. Obviously one must select a topic that is of interest to others. Then, present it in a manner that is both easy to read and compelling enough to continue reading until the end.

Some random tips for presenting your blog (and yourself) in the best light:

• Know your audience. Are you writing primarily for club members or for other superintendents? If the former, don't assume they know ANYTHING about the simplest things you take for granted. Explain, in as few words as possible without being patronizing or condescending. Steve Cook does a great job of this. His posts are brief, expanatory and illustrated with pertinent photos.



• Post often. Weekly is good. The topic doesn't have to be earth-shattering. Many things that you encounter during your day would make a compelling blog topic (keep a camera handy). If you don't post for a while, don't draw attention to it by apologizing for it. Just forge ahead.


• Use short paragraphs. Nothing will make a blog reader click away faster than huge blocks of unbroken text. Use visual tricks like bolding the first clause of every second or third paragraph, use blockquotes (the larger red text you see here) or inserting a right-aligned thumbnail image... even clip art you can find on the web (Google Images is a great source).



• Don't overdo the exclamation marks!! Nothing is that exciting, particularly for double or triple marks!!! "

  Don't overdo the exclamation marks!! Nothing is that exciting, particularly for double or triple marks!!! This is very much a 'boy who cried wolf' thing. The more you use them, the less impact they have.



• Avoid frequent use of "I think" or "in my opinion". This is your blog; if you're writing it, you think it.


• Edit harshly, and then edit again. Walk away after writing and come back to edit. Hemingway once said to "write drunk; edit sober." When it comes to words, less really is more. Read chunks of text by themselves to see if they make sense. You know what you're trying to say... make sure others will too.


• Don't rely on spell-check. Try reading backwards to catch typos.

I'll be back at some point with more."

New Year, New Opportunities...

Brandon Collins, Country Club at Woodmore, Mitchellville, MD:

"Each winter, I write a post about how the management team in the Green Department sits down and evaluates the previous season. Like many other Superintendent's, we all take detailed notes throughout the playing season about what is working, what isn't, and what we could do better the next year. The majority of these notes are about agronomic practices, fertility and chemical schedules, and personnel management. No matter how good of a season we had in the previous year, we never fail to find many areas for improvement.

How could we, 'the grass cutters', have more of an impact on the success of our facility?"

This year, we made a decision to take these meetings/brainstorming sessions one step further. Rather than just looking at the basic functions of our Department, we challenged ourselves to look at the Club operation as a whole. How could we, 'the grass cutters', have more of an impact on the success of our facility?

This was on my mind one day when I stumbled across an article in Golf Course Industry Magazine. Henry DeLozier wrote an article entitled 'Golf and the Next Generation.' In it, he highlights three important changes that are taking place in the Golf industry:

• Women are Leading the Way
• Financial Stability is Critical
• Environmental Sustainability Matters

It is becoming increasingly common for women to make the financial decisions in a household. So we, along with the Pro Shop and help from several members, sought to find a way to set up the golf course that is more appealing to the average woman golfer.

The goal was to make club selection for the women much closer to that of an average male golfer..."

Our first attempt involved putting temporary tees in mowed-down areas of the roughs. The goal was to make club selection for the women much closer to that of an average male golfer. For example, the majority of men will hit a 5-iron down to an 8-iron in to #1. From the forward tees, most women were having to hit a 3 wood on their second shot. We moved tee markers forward in an attempt to get women hitting their mid irons in to the green. The concept went over great with those who elected to play the temporary tees, but we still had logistical problems with the installation and maintenance of these tee boxes. Many were not in irrigated areas and adding a new tee box on every hole brings a significant amount of added cost to the maintenance budget.

The compromise to this is that we have moved the red tee markers in to flat areas in the fairways at these desired locations. They will still be maintained with the fairways but provide a different experience for our women golfers than they would be able to get at most other Clubs. An added benefit to this new set-up is that these tees will also give juniors and beginners a great introductory course to learn to play the game.

So now that we have provided our women with a new, and hopefully more pleasurable golf experience, how do we work on financial stability and environmental sustainability? We believe that the answer to both of these questions is to further embrace something that we have already been doing. This season, you will notice a significant amount of 'no-mow' areas and lake bank buffers around the golf course. We estimate that we can naturalize an additional 15 acres of rough around the golf course with a minimal impact on playability.

...if the feedback is anywhere from neutral to positive, we will have reduced the overall cost of maintaining the rough by 20%. "

It is important to stress that the spring will be a trial period for these areas. We will not be changing turf varieties, we will simply be reducing our mowing frequency as well as our chemical and fertilizer inputs. If we do find that we have an area or two that significantly slows play or looks out of place, we can always mow it down and regain the traditional look. If the overall feedback negative, we tried something and it didn't work. But, if the feedback is anywhere from neutral to positive, we will have reduced the overall cost of maintaining the rough by 20%. This includes shorter mowing time, reduced fuel consumption, as well as smaller quantities of chemicals and fertilizer. This will help to lessen our carbon footprint as well as improve the micro-environment that is our golf course. These 'no-mows' and lake bank buffers have been proven to reduce runoff of fertilizer in to surrounding bodies of water. Over time, we will see a reduction in the aquatic vegetation in the pond as a result of these areas."

Visit Brandon's blog at http://ccwoodmoregcm.com.

Sightseeing...

Shane Conroy, asst supt, Park Ridge Country Club, Park Ridge, IL:

Pre-mix tank at Westmoreland. Ideal for mixing chemicals and quickly adding them to your spray tank.

"Yesterday a few of us from PRCC were able to get out and visit some other local golf courses and get an in depth look at their maintenance facilities and practices. The three courses we visited were Westmoreland Country Club in Wilmette, Winnetka Golf Club in Winnetka and North Shore Country Club in Glenview. Each facility was very different and it was a great opportunity to see nearby shops and bounce ideas off of other industry leaders. Below are a few highlights of the tour.

Hydraulic lift at NSCC. Oscar was hoping to take this back to PRCC.	New pump house at NSCC. The brand-new facility has new pumps and multiple tanks available for fertigation.
Pre-mix tank at NSCC with the larger fertigation tanks on either side.	Not something you see very often at a golf course shop.

Visit the Park Ridge blog at parkridgeccgrounds.blogspot.com.