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From the TurfNet NewsDesk

  • John Reitman
    Adverse weather might be blamed for keeping golfers off the course, but about 30 Chicagoland-area superintendents braved threatening skies for the second annual Turf Science Live.   Held at the Merit Club in Libertyville, Illinois, Turf Science Live is a multi-station field day demonstration that allows superintendents to get up close and personal and kick the tires on some recent offerings from Syngenta, Jacobsen, Smithco and Turfco.   The eight-station field day included information on new products as well as preliminary results on bentgrass brushing research being conducted at Ohio State University under the direction of Karl Danneberger, Ph.D. (above).   1. Make Spraying More Efficient, Convenient and Accurate: Jeff Churchill, Smithco
      Smithco displayed its aptly named Sharpshooter Capstan system at this year's Turf Science LIve.   Used in agriculture for many years, this technology from Smithco combines two nozzles and a solenoid at each nozzle location, allowing users to deliver 0.40 gallons to 4 gallons of product per 1,000 square feet at an operational range of 2 mph-10 mph.   The nozzles pulse at up to 19 times per second in a staggered opposite pattern designed for improved coverage.   The operator can change spray pressure and sprayer speed to get a larger droplet size and guard against drift in windy conditions.    Some users, according to Smithco, are reporting increased spray efficiency of up to 30 percent.   Keeping the Sharpshooter clean is key in maintaining efficiency.   "Cleaning is an important part of when after you are done spraying. Triple rinse should be practiced by everybody, but not everybody does it," said Smithco?s Jeff Churchill. "For those who have a good cleaning program, I never hear from them. Those who don't clean out their system as often as they should, those are the guys I'm getting calls from."   2. Using GPS to Guide and Control the Spray Vehicle: Steven Johnson, Smithco
      Another holdover from agricultural use, GPS-assisted spray technology helps prevent sprayer operators from applying to much or too little of a given product.   Smithco's GPS spray technology allows users to spray with or without a pre-set map. As-applied (no map) lets the operator simply turn on the sprayer and go, while GPS prevents any over-application by shutting down individual or multiple nozzles in the event of an overpass.   "It doesn't change how you spray now," said Smithco's Steven Johnson. "It just doesn't allow you to over-apply when you overlap an area."   Using the zone-mapping feature eliminates overlapping as well as missing an area completely. Nozzles will shut off if the operator goes outside the zone, and only the nozzles that are needed will be activated if the driver passes over skipped areas.   Smithco does recommend completing the job within 20 minutes of creating the map because of potential interference with the GPS signal as well as any shifts of the map due to slight orbital deviations in a satellite?s geosynchronous orbit.   "If you wait more than 20 minutes," Johnson said, "that map can shift up to a few inches."   3. Greens Brushing - When Does Physiological Stress Occur? Karl Danneberger, Ph.D., Ohio State University
      When the USGA approached Ohio State's Danneberger last fall about starting a study on the effects of brushing on creeping bentgrass greens, he never thought it would be so difficult to produce damage turf.   The study measures the effects of using a soft Jacobsen brush out in front of a walk mower. The Penncross plots are mowed six days a week at a height of 0.125 inches. One area is brushed once per week and another three times per week, with the brush set at 0.1 inches.    The brushed plots exhibit improved turf quality, rolling at about 12 on the Stimpmeter, and are healthier.   Even during times of high stress (with the Poa patches in the bentgrass showing signs of anthracnose) brushing hasn?t produced any damage. Danneberger has gone so far as to recently increase brushing up to five times per week with no negative effects, and will soon incorporate a medium brush into the trial at the OSU turf research facility in Columbus.   Not only does brushing help stand up the turf plant, says Danneberger, it also helps remove some of the organic matter.   4. Dialing in Frequency of Clip: Chris Fox, Jacobsen
      Increasing frequency of clip, says Chris Fox of Jacobsen, is almost like double-cutting in a single pass.   A measure of distance defined as how far the bedknife moves before another reel blade passes over it, frequency of clip is dependent on three factors, number of blades on a reel, reel speed and the walking speed of the operator (or rolling speed of a triplex).   First, it's important to get your hands around the idea that when discussing frequency of clip, a smaller number means increased frequency of clip. Using a reel with more blades, increasing reel speed rpm or operator speed can increase frequency of clip.   Fox (pictured here) used a Pelzmeter to demonstrate the effect of increased frequency of clip on putting conditions and turf quality on a Merit Club practice green.   While increased frequency of clip typically is a good thing when going from one side of the green to the other, it can be problematic in turns and on cleanup passes, where a high rpm rate in turns can produce turf stress.   Jacobsen is a pioneer in variable frequency of cut, which slows reel speed when the mower slows down on turns.   "When you slow down on a cleanup pass, it slows the reels also," Fox said. "They're not spinning too fast, and you don't get that burned look."   5. Maximizing Turf Performance and Stress Tolerance: Matt Giese, Syngenta
      There are many fungicide products on the market today touting benefits that produce results like a fertilizer or other nutritional product. In fact, the term "plant health" has become ingrained in the turf maintenance vernacular.   Matt Giese of Syngenta explained how some of these products work, and pointed to a Merit Club practice green as well as turf maintained at fairway heights that are part of a Syngenta fungicide program as proof.   Giese explained at virtually all strobilurin fungicides exhibit some plant health benefits, ranging from increased water use efficiency, increased levels of chlorophyll in the plant tissue, improved photosynthesis or a more well-developed root mass that reaches deeper into the soil profile.   Syngenta's entry into the plant health arena, Daconil Action, combines chlorothalonil along with a plant activator called Acibenzolar-S-methyl. If poured directly onto turf stricken with anthracnose, brown patch or dollar spot, Acibenzolar-S-methyl would do nothing. What it will do is trigger the plant?s inherent defense mechanisms.   "It gets the disease from the inside and the outside, from the chlorothalonil and the plant activator," Giese said.   6. Turf Application on Target: Luke Dant, Syngenta
      How a product is applied to turf is, according to the folks at Syngenta, almost as important as what is being applied.    To maximize product efficacy, it is important to get as much product on the leaf blade as possible. That means selecting a nozzle that gets as much product as possible onto as many individual leaf blades as possible. Properly calibrating and setting up a sprayer as well as selecting the right nozzle all are key parts of the equation.   The proper nozzles, such as those from Syngenta's XC line or TeeJet Technologies' TeeJet (pictured here), maximize coverage and help a superintendent?s bottom line. The rear-facing 06 air-induction nozzle creates an air bubble inside the nozzle that increases the droplet size to reduce drift.    Syngenta?s Luke Dant was able to show this during TSL by driving a sprayer over specially treated paper that changes color when it comes into contact with, in this case, water. Dant?s demonstration came just before a violent thunderstorm rolled in. Preceded by strong sustained winds and even stronger gusts, the air-induction nozzle outperformed other nozzles in the test by reducing drift when delivered at 50 psi and even 30 psi.   7. Precision Topdressing: Scott Kinkead, Turfco
      In the past, golfers weren't the only ones who had a reason to gnash teeth whenever it was time to topdress. Equipment operators didn?t much like it either, because
    different application rates for different parts of the course often meant doing greens one day and tees another. No more.   The Wide Spin 1550 topdresser from Turfco comes equipped with a handheld digital controller into which operators can pre-program up to four different application rates. That means the equipment operator can go straight from a green to the next tee and change sand application rates with the  click of a button.   And with a hopper measuring 80.5 inches wide, the 1550 has what Scott Kinkead says is the industry's widest hopper.   It also can distribute sand at up to 15 cubic feet per 1,000 square feet.   8. Increasing Seeding Success: George Kinkead, Turfco.
      Slit seeding is a great way to establish turf - when it works, says George Kinkead of Turfco. Problem is, according to Kinkead, it doesn't work as well as it should - until now.   The problem with slit seeding in the past, Kinkead said, is that seeders cut V-shaped grooves that don?t catch enough seed and don't result in sufficient seed-soil contact. Turfco's Triwave 40 seeder features wave-shaped discs that cut flat-bottomed grooves. These grooves catch more seed (leaving less on the surface, resulting in seed-soil contact that outpaces V-shaped slits.   Research conducted by Grady Miller, Ph.D., at North Carolina State University shows that slit seeding with the Triwave 40 results in a 30 percent higher germination rate and a germination rate that after two weeks is 50 percent higher than that realized with other machines. The secret, along with the flat-bottomed groove, is a distribution box that helps distribute seed where it is needed, casting aside what Kinkead called the scatter and hope process.
  • There is still time to register for one of turf's fastest-growing field days.   Scheduled for Sept. 11 at the East Tennessee Research and Education Center, the University of Tennessee Turf and Ornamental Field Day offers a full schedule of education on timely topics presented by more than a dozen UT researchers and graduate students.   Pesticide recertification credits will be available for attendees from Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi and North Carolina, and the entire program is approved by the GCSAA for 0.40 CEU.   Attendees also can register for a behind-the-scenes tour of Neyland Stadium, home of the UT football team since 1921.   Speakers and topics scheduled for this year's field day include:   Crabgrass Control After the Polar Vortex: Jim Brosnan, Ph.D. and Greg Breeden, UT;   Golf Course Disease Management: Brandon Horvath, Ph.D., Jesse Benelli, and David Shell UT;   The Working Science Behind Poly Tanks: Fred Whitford, Ph.D., Purdue University;   Managing Synthetic and Natural Turf Athletic Fields: Adam Thoms and Kyley Dickson, UT;   Environmental Buffers to Protect Water Quality: John Stier, Ph.D., UT;   Ornamental Grasses for Tennessee: Tom Samples, Ph.D. and Johnny Parham, UT;   Recent Advances in Technology & Tools to Help Manage Turf & Ornamental Pests: Amy Fulcher, Ph.D., Bill Klingeman, Ph.D. and Javier Vargas, UT;   What's Wrong with My Plants? ? An Overview of Common Ornamental Disease and Insect Pests in Tennessee: Frank Hale, Ph.D. and Alan Windham, Ph.D., UT;   Is This Your Lawn? An Interactive Session About Refurbishing Residential Lawns: Jim Brosnan, Ph.D., Tom Samples, Ph.D., Eric Reasor, Daniel Farnsworth, Shane Breeden, Kyley Dickson, and Javier Vargas, UT;   Pulp Fiction: Fact and Fiction on Managing Landscape Plants & Pests: Amy Fulcher, Ph.D., Bill Klingeman, Ph.D., Diana Cochran, Ph.D., and Phil Flanagan, UT;   Preparing Golf Course Putting Greens to Optimize Ball Roll Distance & Consistency: John Sorochan, Ph.D., Brandon Horvath, Ph.D., Corey Yurisic, Jesse Benelli, and David Shell, University of Tennessee.
  • For superintendents who battle localized dry spot, Underhill International has introduced Tournament-Ready Plus with Actosol.
     
    Tournament-Ready Plus with Actosol improves water's infiltration rate, allowing for more efficient irrigation coverage and reducing hand-watering in hydrophobic soils.
     
    Hydrophobic soils repel water and do not allow it to infiltrate down to the root zone, causing dry patchy areas. The pellets are used to supplement turf that has poor moisture-holding capacity by increasing water absorption onto soil particles.
     
    Available in 16 8-ounce pellet packs, Tournament-Ready Plus with Actosol is comprised of a proprietary blend of natural ingredients and surface-active agents, including humic and fulvic acid and micronutrients, Tournament-Ready Plus with Actosol modulates water movement laterally and vertically into the soil profile for up to 14 weeks after treatment.
     
    It also has root-enhancing properties and helps water infiltrate the soil with uniform moisture management and does not bind in the thatch layer or cause spongy turf.
  • When topics such as playability and customer service come up at Timber Creek and Sierra Pines golf courses, there is plenty of credit to go around. Golf course superintendent, Jim Ferrin says he couldn't do what he does with equipment manager Lee Medeiros. And when he's pressed about his skill as a mechanic, Medeiros says he owes it all to his assistant and the rest of Ferrin's crew.   This mutual admiration society is what makes things run so smoothly at these two courses at Sun City Roseville, a Del Webb active adult retirement community near Sacramento, California.   "Lee embraces technology. . . . He can handle almost any repair we need," Ferrin said. "But the essential thing is the team player concept he brings to the operation. If there are other projects that need to be done, he jumps in and does it. He helps us do other things so we can do the things we are responsible for. He goes above and beyond, and he encourages others to get involved in other things around the club."   Because of his expertise as a mechanic, skills at fabricating parts, managing an ever-shrinking budget and still find time to do all the little extra things that make work pleasant for his colleagues, Medeiros was named the 2014 TurfNet Technician of the Year.    Medeiros was chosen by a panel of judges from a list of three finalists that included Chris Adler of Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and Brian Aiken of Kings Point Golf Course in Delray Beach, Florida. Presented by Toro, the award is given annually to a golf course equipment manager who excels at a combination of the following criteria: crisis management, effective budgeting, environmental awareness, helping to further the careers of colleagues and employees, interpersonal communications, inventory management and cost control, overall condition and dependability of rolling stock, shop safety and work ethic.   Previous winners include Brian Sjögren, Corral de Tierra (California) Country Club (2013); Kevin Bauer, Prairie Bluff (Illinois) Public Golf Club (2012); Jim Kilgallon, Connecticut Golf Club (2011); Herb Berg, Oakmont (Pennsylvania) Country Club (2010); Doug Johnson, TPC at Las Colinas, Irving, Texas (2009); Jim Stuart, Stone Mountain (Georgia) Golf Club (2007); Fred Peck, Fox Hollow and The Homestead, Lakewood, Colorado. (2006); Jesus Olivas, Heritage Highlands at Dove Mountain, Marana, Arizona (2005); Henry Heinz, Kalamazoo (Michigan) Country Club (2004); Eric Kulaas, Marriott Vinoy Renaissance Resort, St. Petersburg, Florida (2003). No award was given in 2008.   As the winner, Medeiros, 59, receives the Golden Wrench Award and a trip to the Toro Service Training Academy at the company's Bloomington, Minnesota headquarters.   "I've been around some damn good mechanics in my day, but Lee does more things for you golf course-wise beyond what is job is than any mechanic I've seen," Ferrin said.    "If we topdress and mow right behind it, then there goes the edge on your reels. He knows this is not about what he does. It's about the golf course."   Medeiros doesn't see what he does as being anything special or extra.    "We're all part of a team here striving for the same goal, and that is to make the golf course successful and provide the best conditions we can for the people who play here - our customers," Medeiros said.    "I couldn't do this without my assistant Mohammed (Nawaz). He is a big part of our operation, my success and the success of the golf course. We couldn't do this without him and without the rest of the crew."   Medeiros has a long career in the golf business. He was an equipment technician at several courses in Southern California, including Pelican Hill Golf Club in Newport Beach as well as a regional position with ValleyCrest Golf, overseeing operations at 15 courses in Arizona, California and Texas.   During that time, he developed a great deal of expertise and plenty of opportunities to teach others the trade, something he still takes seriously today.   "I enjoy mentoring people. I've never been worried that someone is going to be smarter than me," he said. "I enjoy sharing knowledge and helping other mechanics.   "I've been around a while, and that has helped me develop some expertise with a company that insists on quality."   Aside from his ability to mentor and lead others and promoting the benefits of teamwork, Medeiros also is a skilled mechanic and manager. Conditions on both courses have never been better, and Medeiros maintains the equipment used to produce those conditions on a budget that is nearly half of what it was when he was hired eight years ago.   "I don't have to tell him what to do. When he knows what we've got coming up on the golf course, he knows what he has to do, what parts he needs and that he has to have everything ready for us," Ferrin said.   "If I had to tell the mechanic what to do all the time, I'd be crazy. I can't do it. He runs his department like it's his own little business, and he does it for me, the customer."  
  • A year after transforming a pot-holed pasture into a manicured sports field for boys and young men in the state's foster care system, Georgia golf industry members have built them a new baseball field. The project at Goshen Valley Boys Ranch in Waleska, about an hour north of Atlanta, was spearheaded by members of the Georgia Golf Course Superintendents Association. The association coordinated donations of labor, equipment and supplies necessary to complete the project in 72 hours.   Goshen Valley has six residences on a 300-acre cattle ranch and serves 10- to 21- year-olds many of whom have been victims of abuse or neglect. The ranch has the highest occupancy rate of any system facility in Georgia.   "The people who came together to make this baseball field a reality have angel wings on their backs," says Goshen Valley founder John Blend. "They all could have been at home with their feet up on a coffee table. But they came out in the heat and worked and now we not only have a baseball field but we have a venue that families are already using to try and rebuild connections."   The baseball field, which was sodded with Bermudagrass and is equipped with automated irrigation, is set beside a creek and the tranquility is proving a natural draw for visiting families.   "It's a very therapeutic setting the way it's been set up," Blend said. "For families looking to reunify and rebuild their ties with their boys this is a space they are really gravitating towards. So it's not just a place to play baseball or softball. It really serves a deeper purpose."   The baseball field construction was a service project for the Georgia GCSA assistant superintendents committee, which reached far and wide within the association to generate donations and attract volunteers. The same committee drove last year's construction of the 60,000 sq. ft. sports field that is now also used by Reinhardt College and the local high school. About 30 Georgia GCSA volunteers worked with Goshen Valley residents on the three-day project.     "It speaks volumes for the relationship between golf course superintendents and the industry vendors that they can come together so readily on a project like this," Blend said. "I mean for one group to make some phone calls and then the other group turns up with them in the middle of nowhere and produces this field of dreams is just remarkable. It's all the more impressive considering they already built a major sports field for us last year."   Georgia GCSA executive director, Tenia Workman, said her members were equally impressed by the dedication and effort shown by Goshen Valley residents.   "Our members were really touched by how hard those boys worked and how much they appreciated people taking the time to invest in them," she said "They really worked like Trojans. I think the project left a very positive mark on everybody involved."   The project entailed some challenges including a scarcity of sod after wet fall, cold winter and cooler than normal spring, said Scott Lambert, assistant golf course superintendent at Peachtree Golf Club in Atlanta.   "These kind of projects are also very difficult to volunteers attend due to the nature of our business," Lambert said. "There really is no good time to complete a project of this size but we received great support from across the industry. But as luck would have it, we were blessed with an unusually mild July week of mid 80s, with rain after we laid the sod. The Goshen Valley boys and staff were a great help. I am especially proud of the work ethic of members of our association. Everyone seemed to know where to go and what to work on at all times."     The Georgia GCSA's relationship with Goshen Valley stems from ties between the boys home and Billy Fuller, a former golf course superintendent and now principal of Billy Fuller Golf Design. Goshen Valley's new sports field is just one of a series of community projects the committee has engaged in recent years. Assistant superintendents and other Georgia GCSA members also have made significant contributions to Camp Will-A-Way in Fort Yargo State Park in Winder and Habitat for Humanity in Atlanta.   - Trent Bouts, Tee Media Consulting
  • The companies that brought zombie weeds and obnoxious trousers to the Golf Industry Show in recent years have combined to deliver another loud message to their customers.   FMC Corp. and Arysta LifeScience have reached an agreement in which FMC will develop and market Arysta's Disarm fungicide and Xonerate herbicide in the United States and Canada.   The agreement went into effect Aug. 12.   With the active ingredient amicarbizone, Xonerate is labeled for control of annual bluegrass in warm- and cool-season turf, including Kentucky bluegrass.   Xonerate should be applied in spring or summer, depending on geographic location, at least two to four weeks after turf has begun actively growing. Poa will begin to yellow within about two weeks and will be gone in three to four weeks.   Disarm, with the active ingredient fluoxastrobin, is labeled for control of a variety of common turf diseases, including anthracnose, brown patch, dollar spot, fairy ring, fusarium patch, gray leaf spot, pink snow mold, Pythium blight, spring dead spot, summer patch, take-all patch, Waitea patch and zoysia patch.  

  • Northern exposure

    By John Reitman, in News,

    An ongoing study in its first year at Ohio State University could help determine whether warm-season grasses are a viable option for some high-traffic areas on golf courses during times of summer stress.   Researchers at Ohio State will measure the viability and recuperative ability of four varieties of Bermudagrass for use during the summer playing season on golf course teeing grounds as well as practice range tees. The study, which is being conducted by OSU program coordinator Matt Williams, sports turf specialist Pam Sherratt and associate professor John Street, Ph.D., in conjunction with the USGA, also could shed light on whether any or all of those Bermuda varieties could be used to cover high school football practice fields.   "We're trying to find periods when we can use Bermudagrass on driving range tees, tee boxes and for practice fields to let them get off the cool-season grasses until October," Williams said.    After meeting with regional USGA Green Section agronomist Keith Happ last September, Ohio State researchers in March rolled out new plots of Patriot, Riviera, Latitude 36 and Northbridge Bermudagrass sod. Cup cutters and two-drum roller from Europe eventually will be used to simulate stress that the turf would be exposed to on a teeing area, Williams said. The roller, a contraption from the British company Sisis, has two drums, one of which spins faster than the other simulating traffic and divot wear.   The project hasn't been without its challenges so far. Since sodding took place in March, lingering winter conditions resulted in winter kill that necessitated resodding some isolated areas. Subsequently, prevailing cool summer conditions have forced researchers to maintain the turf at higher heights of cut than they had hoped for.   "This has not been a good Bermuda summer in Ohio," said Williams, who joked that Happ might have been turned down for the research if he'd asked after this year's winter rather than before it. "We've had plenty of water, but it's been mild, and the temperatures just have not been up there where it would thrive. We've spent the summer nursing it into condition."   Although this past five months have been an inhospitable one for growing Bermuda in Ohio, Williams said the research should be fruitful in the long term and could yield groundbreaking information for this part of the country. For example, a 250-mile stretch of Interstate 71 connects Ohio's three largest cities - Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati. The average high temperatures in August - 80 degrees in Cleveland, 83 in Columbus and 84 in Cincinnati - are far greater, especially for those desiring to grow Bermudagrass.   In Cincinnati, sports turf manager Darian Daily is growing Bermuda at the Bengals' practice facility outside Paul Brown Stadium. But does that mean other locations throughout the state will have the same or similar success? Time will tell, Williams said.   "The farther north you go, every degree counts," he said.    "I think 90 miles (the approximate distance between Columbus and Cincinnati and Columbus and Cleveland) is significant. It might not seem like it going from Cincinnati to Columbus, but another 90 miles and you're in Cleveland. The farther north you go, every degree counts."   Although this project is in its early stages, Bermudagrass research has been conducted at Ohio State for many years, and Williams isn't concerned that cooler conditions will inhibit the newest trials. In fact, long-term weather trends will only help validate the research.   "This is my eighth season here. We have 10,000 square feet of Bermuda here, and this is the first sign of winter kill here since I've been here," he said. "Are we going to see it moving forward? Is it going to be one out of three years, or one out of 10 years? Those things will help people evaluate whether it is worth it to grow Bermuda where they are."   Previous Bermudagrass research at Ohio State by Street that began as long as 15 years ago has included looking into prolonging color retention beyond summer.    "Can we extend the color and still beat it up into late September or early October?" Williams said. "You can't play football on it, or use it on a tee if you can't beat it up."

  • New breed of 'Cat

    By Peter McCormick, in News,

    Jacobsen has announced a completely updated TurfCat® out-front rotary in the 60-72" deck class.
     
    The traditional Jacobsen hydraulic-over-belt deck drive has been replaced by individual hydraulic motors on all spindles, which now feature sealed bearings to eliminate grease points. The hydraulic lines have quick couplers for easy implement exchange.
     
    Traction drive has also been updated to all hydraulic. Two- or four-wheel drive options are available. Combined, the new traction and deck drive systems eliminate all belts, pulleys, gearboxes, driveshafts and clutches for reduced maintenance and lower total cost of ownership.
     
    Powerplant is a 24.8hp Tier 4-compliant Kubota diesel.  Because it is below the 25-hp threshold, the Kubota engine is considered Tier 4 compliant without all the added filtration and other bells and whistles (and cost) associated with higher horsepower Tier 4 engines.
     
    Deck options include 60" and 72" rear discharge, 63" and 72" side discharge, and the 60" fine-cut flail mower popular for roughs, native areas and core processing.
     
    The weight transfer function previously performed by deck springs has been transferred to the deck lift cylinder, with a dial adjustment.
     
    Foldable ROPS is standard, and a premium suspension seat available as an option to the standard suspension seat. A cab, rotary brush, plow, snow blower and turbine blower are available to extend the utility of the TurfCat to all seasons.
     
    Availability is slated for August, 2014.
     

  • Different month, same story.   Despite four straight months of overall golf-friendly weather compared to a year ago, there was another year-over-year drop in rounds played in June, according to industry reports.   Rounds played, according to the Golf Datatech National Golf Rounds Played Report, were down 2.8 percent in June, compared with the same month from a year ago. For the year, play is down by 2 percent.   The nearly 3 percent decline marks the seventh drop in play in the past eight months, a slide that was interrupted only by a 1 percent increase in May.   The drop in rounds played also came despite four straight months of an increase in what golf industry analyst Jim Koppenhaver of Pellucid Corp. calls golf playable hours, which essentially is an inventory of all the daylight hours in which one could play golf factored against climatic influences, such as wind, rain, snow and severe cold that inhibit one?s ability to play. That number was up by 1 percent in June, compared with the same month a year ago.   Rounds were up by at least 2 percent in eight states, down by at least 2 percent in 29 others, and somewhere in between in a dozen others states. The study does not measure rounds played in Alaska.   The greatest gains in June were in Oregon, where play was up by 10 percent, followed by South Carolina, Massachusetts and Rhode Island at 9 percent each. Play was up by 21 percent in Orlando, Florida, but losses in other key markets translated into an overall gain statewide of just 1 percent.   The most significant losses for the month were, according to Golf Datatech, in Nebraska (down 18 percent), Alabama (12 percent), and Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee (all down 11 percent). The study surveyed rounds played at 3,620 private and daily fee facilities nationwide.  
  • Come mid-summer, you don't have to be in California to experience the effects of drought. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, abnormally dry conditions persist in parts of at least 35 states not named California.   An article in last winter's USGA Green Section Record might be more relevant now than it was when much of the country was blanketed in snow and ice and sub-freezing temperatures.   In Birmingham, Alabama, about an inch of rain fell in July, which was 4 inches behind the monthly historic average. It was a similar story in the Kansas City area, where monthly rainfall in July was 2.5 inches off the normal range.   The article, written by USGA Green Section agronomist Pat O'Brien offers a five-step water-management plan that includes: 1. track usage, 2. agronomic practices, 3. use of wetting agents, 4. use of soil moisture monitoring devices, 5. raising and leveling irrigation heads.   Items 1-4 seem pretty basic, but failure to monitor irrigation heads in the field sometimes can be among the most common causes of irrigation inefficiency.   Writes O'Brien: "When an irrigation head is positioned too low in relation to the playing surface, the trajectory of the water stream is disrupted when it strikes turfgrass immediately adjacent to the head. As the stream of water breaks apart and never realizes its intended path, irrigation coverage is inconsistent, with the turf nearest the sprinkler becoming too wet and the turf farther away becoming too dry.    "Sprinkler heads sink, or may appear to sink, for several reasons, including soil settling after installation or construction, traffic on top of the sprinkler due to mowers and other turf equipment, thatch buildup around the sprinkler, or regular sand topdressing programs raising the surrounding terrain."   O'Brien suggests being aware of heads that might be crooked or tilted or too low in relation to the surrounding area.   Coupled with other basic agronomic practices listed here, regularly monitoring and adjusting irrigation heads can help superintendents manage water more efficiently, especially during hot, dry summer conditions when efficiency is needed most.
  • For the past three years, Jacobsen supports turfgrass education by awarding scholarships to deserving students. Recently, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based manufacturer of turf management equipment awarded scholarships to 27 college seniors in North America who are studying turfgrass management.   Auburn University senior Matthew Golson, an intern with the Green Bay Packers, said the program helps ease the burden of paying for a college education for many students.   "As turfgrass students and interns, we are so fortunate to have opportunities of financial support from generous scholarship programs like Jacobsen's," Golson said. "For part-time workers and full-time hopefuls like us, this scholarship brings some peace of mind to turf students while we manage our educational and vocational experiences and work hard to make ends meet."   Jacobsen supports industry education through the Jacobsen Turfgrass Scholarship program as well as other initiatives including the Future Turf Managers Program, a week-long educational event for recent college graduates, and Jacobsen University, an in-house educational facility providing hands-on training to students, superintendents, technicians and sales representatives. In addition, Jacobsen donates equipment and resources to several turfgrass programs throughout the United States.   "At Jacobsen, we take great pride in the turf industry and are committed to supporting turf managers at all levels. Awarding scholarships to these deserving students is one way we are able to reward their current success and invest in the future of this industry," said David Withers, president of Jacobsen.  "We look forward to working with these turf managers for many years to come."   This year's recipients are: Brandon Bousema, Iowa State; Cody Chavez, Mt. San Antonio College; Andrew Christesen, Michigan State; Morgan Creighton, Olds College; Jonathon Fox, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College; Matthew Golson, Auburn; Micah Gould, Oregon State; Timothy Halvorson, Minnesota-Crookston; Wyatt Kotary, SUNY-Delhi; Jack Leising, SUNY-Delhi; Christopher Marra, Penn State; Kyle Mast, Rhode Island; Ryan May, Iowa State; Morgan McAdams, Southeast Missouri State; Luke McGhee, Wisconsin; Gerald Navarre, Michigan State; Spencer Nelson, Iowa State; Meagan Nunn, University of Guelph; Matthew Sorrell, Florida Gateway College; Mark Stoklosa, Kwantlen Polytechnic University; Zachary Strader, Texas A&M; Matthew Valeriani, University of Guelph; Joseph Villela, New Mexico State; Andrew Wilhelm, Purdue; Blake Willems, Arkansas; Cody Woods, Penn State; Tyler Zidik, Penn State.
  • At this year's Golf Industry Show, John Deere made a big splash when it introduced its A Series of fairway rough and trim mowers.
     
    To accommodate the new additions to the Deere lineup, the company overhauled the assembly line at its Turf Care Facility in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina. A video from John Deere provides an inside look into that assembly line and explains some of the changes necessary to maximize efficiency and quality of the production process.
     
    According to Deere, the new assembly line was three years in planning and was designed to offer what the company called "the ultimate in mistake proofing."
     
    It incorporates common tools and components as well as manufacturing processes between products designed to simplify the assembly process, thus minimizing the chances of mistakes. Safety checks include the use of cameras, not as a surveillance tool but to help identify and prevent mistakes, job orders that tell assembly line workers what part is needed for a specific task and LED lights that identify those parts.
     
    The goal is create a mistake-proof environment, makes assembly easier and allows for anyone else to step into any station and complete its given task.
     
    Stripping down the old assembly line was completed in two days, according to the video, and the new one constructed in less than four weeks.
  • A new mobile application from the American Phytopathological Society offers a host of diagnostic tools and treatment tips to help professional turfgrass managers identify and control a variety of common turf diseases.
     
    The app, called Turf MD, includes an overview of common turfgrass diseases, diagnostic tools such as photographs, symptoms, detailed information on disease development and conditions that, decision-support tools, disease-control strategies and recommendations and a directory of turf extension resources for additional information. 
     
    Diseases also can be cross-referenced by turf type.
     
    Developed by the American Phytopathological Society, the app's content is based on three APS Press books: Turfgrass Diseases, Third Edition (Richard W. Smiley, Peter H. Dernoeden, and Bruce B. Clarke); A Practical Guide to Turfgrass Fungicides (Richard Latin ; and additional images and keys found in the Turfgrass Diseases, Diagnosis and Management CD-Rom (Gail L. Schumann and James D. MacDonald).
     
    The app is available for iPhone and iPad for $2.99 on the Apple App Store.
  • Surveys and statistics reveal that golf course conditions are the most critical component in determining golfer satisfaction, not square footage of the clubhouse, diversity of apparel in the shop, or quality of food in the lounge. And the golf course superintendent has the single greatest influence on producing those conditions.
     
    But life at the top as a superintendent can be lonely. When conditions are good, praise often is heaped onto the staff in the golf shop. Often, it only is when something goes wrong that the work of the superintendent is singled out.
     
    If that is not enough, the superintendent not only must be a self-disciplined, multi-tasking agronomist in charge of managing the clubs most valuable asset, he or she also must be a multi-lingual manager, babysitter, therapist, accountant, electrician, hydraulics expert, ditch digger, arborist, environmentalist, integrated pest management specialist, turfgrass pathologist, entomologist, irrigation expert and mechanic.
     
    Since 2000, the TurfNet Superintendent of the Year award has been highlighting the accomplishments of golf course superintendents throughout North America.
     
    Presented by Syngenta, the Superintendent of the Year award program honors dozens of nominees each year for their work in producing great playing conditions often during times of adversity, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, drought, flooding, extreme heat, ice damage, or stress caused from insects and disease.
     
    If you know someone who fits this description, nominate him for the 2014 Superintendent of the Year award.
     
    Nominees are judged on their ability to excel at one or more of the following criteria: labor management, maximizing budget limitations, educating and advancing the careers of colleagues and assistants, negotiating with government agencies, preparing for tournaments under unusual circumstances, service to golf clientele, upgrading or renovating the course and dealing with extreme or emergency conditions.
     
    To nominate a deserving superintendent for this years award, visit the 2014 nomination page. For more information, email John Reitman.
     
    Nominations can be submitted by golf course owners, operators, general managers, club members, golf professionals, vendors, distributors and colleagues. Deadline for submitting nominations is Nov. 30.
     
    A panel of judges will select a list of finalists and a winner, who will be named at next year's Golf Industry Show in San Antonio.
     
    Previous winners of the award include Chad Mark, Kirtland Country Club, 2013; Dan Meersman, Philadelphia Cricket Club, 2012; Paul Carter, The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay (Tenn.), 2011; Thomas Bastis, California Golf Club of San Francisco (Calif.), 2010; Anthony Williams, Stone Mountain Golf Club (Ga.), 2009, Sam MacKenzie, Olympia Fields Country Club (Ill.), 2008; John Zimmers, Oakmont Country Club (Pa.), 2007; Scott Ramsay, Golf Course at Yale (Conn.), 2006; Mark Burchfield, Victoria Club (Calif.), 2005; Stuart Leventhal, Interlachen Country Club (Fla.), 2004; Paul Voykin, Briarwood Country Club (Ill.), 2003; Jeff Burgess, Seven Lakes Country Club (Ontario), 2002; Kip Tyler, Salem Country Club (Mass), 2001; and Kent McCutcheon, Las Vegas Paiute Resort (Nev.), 2000.
  • The annual bluegrass weevil is one of the most destructive pests on golf courses in the northeastern United States. Syngenta recently launched Ference, a new insecticide that gives golf course superintendents another tool in their battle with this troublesome and mobile pest.
     
    With the active ingredient cyantraniliprole, Ference offers increased control of annual bluegrass weevil through Syngenta's ABW Optimum Control Strategy, detailed here.
     
    Ference controls annual bluegrass weevil larvae inside the stem (first to second instar) and outside the stem (third to fifth instar). Because Ference controls all larval stages, it is especially well-suited to control the asynchronous summer populations. Ference is in the same class of chemistry found in Acelepryn insecticide and can stop damaging feeding of young larvae within minutes after ingestion of treated turf. It can be applied to all turfgrass areas on the golf course, including tee-box areas, roughs, fairways, greens and collars.
     
    "The active ingredient in Ference provides a new, extremely effective management tool for superintendents dealing with ABW infestations, particularly when multiple generations, or asynchronous populations, are present," says Mike Agnew, Ph.D., technical manager, Syngenta Turf and Landscape. "As insect resistance to pyrethroids continues to grow, we have to integrate alternative chemistries into our pest control strategies."
     
    Ference works in tandem with Acelepryn, Provaunt and Scimitar GC insecticides as part of the Syngenta Optimum Control Strategy that can be followed through WeevilTrak.com. Weevil Trak and the Optimum Control Strategy are supported by seven independent entomologists and 38 turfgrass consultants across the Northeast.
     
    Once limited to southern New England, annual bluegrass weevil now is found on golf courses as far west as Ohio and as far south as North Carolina, as well as in Ontario and Quebec. Weather conditions determine when adult ABWs become active, and larvae from ABW reproduction develop at different times. Once active, ABW cycle through reproductive stages quickly, producing up to four generations in any given season. Historically, detecting, monitoring and tracking ABW development requires different techniques because of these life cycles and thus treatment options have varied as well.

  • Flood of emotions

    By John Reitman, in News,

    There are times when Aaron Porter maybe wishes the members of his grounds crew at Fargo Country Club weren't quite so efficient.   With nine of 27 holes on the 100-year-old Willie Watson design in North Dakota prone to flooding from the Red River, Porter's crew of 18 has become very good at flood recovery work. That's a good thing, because in the six years that Porter has been superintendent at Fargo, the north-flowing river has overrun its banks onto the golf course 16 times, including this year. Nine of those floods, including this year's, are what the 40-year-old Porter calls "killers" in that they wipe out just about everything in their path.   Each time the floodwaters recede, Porter and his staff routinely have the course cleaned of silt, reseeded and ready for play in about a month. Such efficiency has made it difficult to sell members on a pricey flood-mitigation plan drafted by professional golfer and course architect Tom Lehman that would bring all of the holes out of harm's way.   "If I had a bad crew, maybe I could've gotten (the flood-mitigation plan) through by now, but we're so good at establishing ryegrass in this valley that I'm able to whip something together," Porter said.    As good as Porter and his crew are, the arduous task of recovery can take it's toll.   "All this sweat for what? So you can play golf on it for two weeks?" he said. "Because that's all we've had so far this year."   The Red River once was marked with acres of wetlands that held water and made flooding truly a 100-year event. But as more of that land is converted to agriculture use, flooding has become an annual occurrence during the past 15 years.   "We are a by-product of modern agriculture," said Porter, a finalist for TurfNet's 2009 Superintendent of the Year award. "The Red River Valley used to be part of the Prairie Pothole Region with slews and ditches. They've all been drained.   "All the water from those farm fields shears off the fields and right into the river. Now, after a 3-inch rain the river jumps 5 feet. It used to be 3 inches of rain never moved the river."   Most of the course has remained unchanged since Watson signed off on the design in 1914. Nostalgia, as much as anything, is to blame for the club's more established members not falling into line with Lehman's plan.   "The holes located down in the floodplain are beautiful, when they're not flooded. The other holes are as good as you will find anywhere," Porter said.    "Instead of this course being a 100-year-old classic, we flood. The holes that don't flood are great, but it's the holes that flood that take precedence. They are what we are known for."   Throughout the course, Fargo has bentgrass tees and Poa greens. The fairways that remain dry are a mix of old bluegrasses that have stood up to the test of time.   Although several holes are prone to flooding, Nos. 14-18 get the worst of it during summer. And each time, fairways are cleaned of silt then prepped and seeded with perennial ryegrass, for its quick establishment, at rates that Porter calls "ridiculous." Porter uses a three-way blend of Barenbrug's Regenerative Perennial Ryegrasses for quick establishment as well as for their regenerative properties.   Prep work includes running a spiker in multiple directions over the fairways, disrupting the top inch or so of the soil until it produces a smooth seedbed. The site is aerified and a spreader broadcasts seed at rates up to 15 pounds per 1,000 square feet, or as much as five times the normal rate, Porter said. A drum roller helps maximize seed-soil contact before fertilizer and water are applied to help the process along. Each time, the fairways are ready for mowing after about a week.   So far this year, Porter says he's used 8,000 pounds of ryegrass seed and at least 72,000 pounds since he started at Fargo.   "It's grass on steroids," Porter said. "It's unconventional. If I had time, I'd seed at 2 to 3 pounds per 1,000, but I don't have time. We just blow it in."   A graduate of Iowa State University, Porter was the North Course superintendent at Des Moines Golf and Country Club in Iowa before taking the job at Fargo. One of his former bosses at Des Moines says Fargo's members made the right choice for such a daunting and recurrent task as flood recovery when they hired Porter in 2008.   "He has always been a hard charger. He goes 100 percent in one direction," said Rick Tegtmeier, CGCS at Des Moines. "He's not afraid to make a mistake and he doesn't worry about consequences because he is so confident in his abilities."   Porter had no experience dealing with flooding when he accepted the job at Fargo in 2008. He's had plenty since, and he says he's learned from the best in assistants Bill Broeckmeier and Dave Lorentz, who have more than 40 years combined experience at Fargo.   "They are rock stars," Porter said. "We've gotten so good, that a month after a flood, our members have forgotten about it."   Although most of the damage is to fairways, some greens have been damaged through the years, as well, and that is becoming a problem. In five years, Porter has exhausted his nursery and has had to take from other areas of the course for sod.   "I've been robbing from everywhere I can rob grass," he said. "We've cut up a chipping green. Now, we're regrowing the practice green to use it for sod. We rob low parts of the fairways and strip the backs of tees that are not highly used."   With so much devastation year after year, Porter says it's a challenge to keep himself and his staff motivated.   "It's hard not to show your emotions and to keep motivated," he said. "But, I have a job to do, and I love what I do. There is nothing else I'd rather be doing besides working on a golf course, except doing it where we're not constantly recovering from flooding."  

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