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From the TurfNet NewsDesk

  • John Reitman
    Allentown Municipal Golf Course in Pennsylvania. Photo by Chris Reverie If a song title were used to define the work schedule of golf course superintendent for the past 19 months, a Beatles classic like Eight Days a Week, or Hard Day's Night, might be appropriate.
    "My job was always 24-7 before Covid," said Anthony Williams, CGCS at the TPC Four Seasons at Las Colinas in Irving, Texas. "Now, it seems like it's 25-8."
    From record play, Covid and quarantines, unparalleled labor challenges, inflation, supply chain issues and golfer demands that conflict with all of the above had made the past year-and-a-half a series of hurdles worthy of an Olympic performance.
    Supply chain issues have plagued many industries (drive past a new-car lot sometime), and golf is not immune. A shortage of parts, components and microprocessors, not to mention increased cost of fuel have made getting resources from A to B harder for just about everything and everyone. That includes grass seed, which is famously in short supply.
    When Chris Reverie, superintendent at municipal Allentown Golf Course in Pennsylvania, looked into buying seed this year, he figured it would be more expensive than the $1 per pound or so he was accustomed to paying in the past. What he was not ready for was a price that was up exponentially, from a final cost of about $2,000 to $7,000.
    "I thought 'Holy cow! That's not possible,' " Reverie said. 
    "The shortage of seed is affecting everyone."
    Difficulty in acquiring parts and components is just as difficult.
    Reverie still is awaiting delivery on a new utility vehicle.
    "We ordered it in November," he said. "And it's still not here."
    All around the country the stories are similar, only the names have changed.
    "Equipment manufacturers are dependent on the supply chain even when it is working perfectly," said Steve Agin, superintendent at Ruby Hill Golf Club in Pleasanton, California. "Now, when you don't have two or three components, they can't finish manufacturing something. Some equipment we ordered in the third quarter won't be here until May."
    It is not all bad news. Many golf courses are seeing record amounts of play, including Ruby Hill, located about 40 miles east of Oakland.
    Agin found unexpected help throughout the summer when he hired high school students who balked at an eight-hour schedule, but were able to work five hours a day doing detail work that would otherwise go unfinished.
    "Five years ago, you'd stomp your feet, and that's for you; but now I need you, so I have to make it fit," Agin said.
    "We're all in the same boat. You have to be flexible. Those who are not are going to have a hard time."
    Arcis, the company that manages Ruby Hill, is reinvesting in many of the better-performing properties in its portfolio.
    "We had a good year for golf, and now weddings are back up and running. We've had good growth in membership, as well," Agin said.
    "Their approach, in properties where it makes sense, is to invest to make the golf course better."
    In the Dallas area, where play is at a fever pitch at the Four Seasons, Williams is feeling the pressure to make sure conditions match demand at the property's resort and member courses, even if he does not always have the help he needs.

    Ruby Hill Golf Club in Pleasanton, California.   "The labor issue is as crazy as I've ever seen it," said Williams, who has been a superintendent for more than 30 years. "The labor pool that was already small is almost dried up. There are a lot of people in the (Dallas-Fort Worth) Metroplex, but not a lot of them want to come to work at 4:30 in the morning. You have to pay $16 to $18 for entry folks, or you're not going to have any entry folks. And then, you have to raise up your experienced workers.
    "We're doing budgets now for next year. The price of everything is going up. You can't find parts, so when a mower goes down and you need a specific part, you can place an order, but they can't give you a guarantee when you'll get it."
    When ordering fertilizer, Williams said some sales reps can only guarantee bids up to 14 days out, because of fluctuations in price.
    "Before, you just tried to get the best deal. Now, you're trying to forecast," Williams said. "In six months, who knows what the cost and availability will be like. It's unprecedented."
    Golfers are not much interested in labor shortages, or problems associated with availability of parts. They want a great golf course.
    Williams recently achieved the title of master greenkeeper through the British and International Golf Greenkeeping Association, in part to satisfy his quest to make himself the go-to expert at the Four Seasons. 
    "Business is good. We're doing a zillion rounds, but how do you keep the course in excellent condition with all this play?" Williams asked. "There is more work than ever, and way less labor available, but the expectations are the same.
    "You have to present yourself as the expert, and qualify yourself as the voice for whatever is necessary. Just when you think you've seen it all, something new comes along that you never envisioned would happen."

    TPC Four Seasons Las Colinas in Irving, Texas. He also established an organic garden near the clubhouse that has been a hit with members. He even has gone so far as to organize a garden party for members.
    "We are golf people working for a hotel," he said. "You have to show expertise and criticality. Where guys get into trouble is when they think too small. Never compromise the vision. Adjust, but show progress - even in crazy times. If you do that, you're going to stand out. You have to get off the mower and preach this story every way you can."
    As a consultant at his own Aspire Golf, Tim Moraghan visits a lot of golf courses. He also meets with many members and green committees. He works to educate those from the administrative side of the operation just how challenging course maintenance is in times of record play and record labor shortages, including why three people on a maintenance team cannot maintain by hand more than a dozen acres of bunkers each day.
    He suggests superintendents use hard numbers, not vague terminology, during the budgeting process.
    "Everyone needs more money for staff, but clubs don't want to pay for that," Moraghan said. "If you're not going to pay for it, then what do you want, and what can you give up.
    "One thing I learned from the best guys in the business was to know your numbers. Know how long something takes, know the cost per ounce, the cost per gallon, how much everything costs, because they understand numbers."
    When the pandemic struck it exposed the cracks and imperfections in every industry, not just golf. For example, some suggest the semiconductor industry, which has brought many associated markets to their knees, is not expected to ramp back up to pre-covid production levels until 2023. Many in golf believed that 2021 would be the year to rebound out of Covid. The reality is no one know when issues affecting golf, such as labor, supply chain will, if ever, rebound.
    "Everybody is battle weary," Williams said. "We thought 2021 would be the rebound year, but it was really just an extension of 2020. Now it looks like 2022 is going to be the crucible, where all this stuff is going to come home to roost, where the stress is going to max out, and where the financial piece is going to start dropping. We thought we were in a marathon, but now it looks like we are in an ultra marathon."
    And what about that 25-8 schedule?
    "We have to be better than ever," Williams said. "As an agronomist, I'm excited for the challenge. As someone with a wife and a family, I'm not sure how I'm going to make that work."
    First in a multi-part series
  • Bayer won its first court decision amid a seemingly endless trail of allegations that its non-selective herbicide Roundup is to blame for causing cancer in thousands of litigants.
    In a decision that left both sides claiming victory, a Los Angeles jury ruled against plaintiff Destiny Clark, who claimed that Roundup was to blame for the Burkitt's lymphoma that killed her son, Ezra, attorneys said Oct. 5. According to court documents, Ezra Clark was 4 years old when he was diagnosed in 2016 with Burkitt's lymphoma, a rare form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
    Destiny Clark said her son often accompanied her when she applied Roundup to the family residence. She sued Bayer for failing to adequately warn her of the cancer risks of using glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup.
    Roundup has been blamed for causing non-Hodgkins lymphoma in thousands of people since Bayer bought Roundup's maker, Monsanto, in 2018 for $63 million.
    "While we have great sympathy for Ezra Clark and his family, the jury carefully considered the science applicable to this case and determined that Roundup was not the cause of his illness," Bayer said in a statement.
    An attorney for Clark said they will consider an appeal.
    "We're disappointed for the boy and his family," Fletcher Trammel, an attorney for the defense said in published reports. "We have multiple Roundup cases set across the country over the next year and look forward to trying them."
    In 2020, Bayer settled more than 100,000 of those cases for $11 billion, and set aside another $4.5 billion for potential future settlements, that currently count in excess of 30,000 additional claims. So far, four trials have been decided by jury. The Clark case is the first to be decided in Bayer's favor. According to Bayer, about 90 percent of all lawsuits originated in the consumer market.
    Bayer won its first court decision amid a seemingly endless trail of allegations that its non-selective herbicide Roundup is to blame for causing cancer in thousands of litigants.
    In a decision that left both sides claiming victory, a Los Angeles jury ruled against plaintiff Destiny Clark, who claimed that Roundup was to blame for the Burkitt's lymphoma that killed her son, Ezra, attorneys said Oct. 5. According to court documents, Ezra Clark was 4 years old when he was diagnosed in 2016 with Burkitt's lymphoma, a rare form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
    Destiny Clark said her son often accompanied her when she applied Roundup to the family residence. She sued Bayer for failing to adequately warn her of the cancer risks of using glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup.
    Roundup has been blamed for causing non-Hodgkins lymphoma in thousands of people since Bayer bought Roundup's maker, Monsanto, in 2018 for $63 million.
    "While we have great sympathy for Ezra Clark and his family, the jury carefully considered the science applicable to this case and determined that Roundup was not the cause of his illness," Bayer said in a statement.
    An attorney for Clark said they will consider an appeal.
    "We're disappointed for the boy and his family," Fletcher Trammel, an attorney for the defense said in published reports. "We have multiple Roundup cases set across the country over the next year and look forward to trying them."
    In 2020, Bayer settled more than 100,000 of those cases for $11 billion, and set aside another $4.5 billion for potential future settlements, that currently count in excess of 30,000 additional claims. So far, four trials have been decided by jury. The Clark case is the first to be decided in Bayer's favor. According to Bayer, about 90 percent of all lawsuits originated in the consumer market.
  • The event formerly known as the Golf Industry Show went virtual out of necessity in 2021. Even if next year's version of what is now called the GCSAA Conference and Trade Show returns in-person, the virtual side is here to stay.
    GCSAA chief operating officer Bob Randquist, CGCS, said this year's virtual show filled a longstanding void of bringing education and information to golf course superintendents who for one reason or another have been unable to attend the show. Offering a virtual experience next year and beyond is more about filling that need for members than it is a response to a global pandemic.
    "One thing we talked about over the years is how to best serve our members who cannot afford to attend for a variety of reasons, such as cost reasons, commitment reasons," Randquist said. "A virtual show affords the opportunity to do that."
    The 2021 GIS that was scheduled for Las Vegas was canceled because of the pandemic. A virtual show was held in its place Feb. 2-4 with the platform open to visitors until March 6. The event attracted about 9,500 attendees, and from that group, there were nearly 47,000 views of 88 educational sessions. Although transitioning to a virtual-only format in 2021 was a necessity, an in-person show is the preference of the GCSAA and its members.
    "We were pleased with the (virtual) show," Randquist said. 
    "Our conference surveys showed that our members were pleased with the show, but it also indicated a strong preference for a physical show."
    The survey says attendees also want a shorter show.
    Next year's show is scheduled for Feb. 5-10 in San Diego. Although that includes a full five days of events, the trade show will cover just two days (Wednesday and Thursday) and will be preceded by a two-hour kickoff on Tuesday. 
    "We have talked about, prior to Covid, how to compress the show, so people don't have to be there as long," Randquist said. "The challenge is how to squeeze it all into three days. The trade show floor will be open Tuesday from 5 to 7 p.m. We expect people to get in, meet people and get down to serious business the next two days."
    In the event a physical show goes off as planned, there will still be a virtual component, but it will not be held on the same schedule as the live event. A secondary virtual show would be held over a 32-hour period Feb. 23-24, and the education will differ from that offered in the live conference.

    Anthony Williams, CGCS, John Cunningham, CGCS, and Carlos Arraya, CGCS, at the last live Golf Industry in 2020  in Orlando. Photos by John Reiitman "It will be a good balance for superintendents, assistants, equipment managers and others who don't have the ability to go to a physical show," Randquist said. "The extended on-demand viewing that was available during the virtual show was one of the more popular aspects. A virtual show (next year) will have a period of on-demand viewing for people to consume."
    And although the GCSAA is planning for an in-person show, nothing is certain. The severity of the spread of Covid cases is on the decline in California, but a lot can change between now and February. If Covid conditions in California were to worsen, another all-virtual event could be on tap again.
    "Obviously, we are monitoring that closely," Randquist said. "We are staying in touch with convention center staff in San Diego."
    Current protocols in place by the California Department of Public Health require proof of a Covid-19 vaccination, or a negative Covid test within 72 hours for all indoor events of 1,000 people or more. The department will revisit those protocols Nov. 1. 
    Reports of new Covid cases in California have been steadily dropping for four weeks. That is a statistic the GCSAA is monitoring closely. Randquist said the GCSAA is waiting until Nov. 1 before announcing any further information on a live show, including whether the association is prepared to tell members they must be vaccinated or show proof of a negative test to enter their own education conference and trade show.
    "Those discussions are still going on within our board. I wish I had an answer, but those questions are part of our contingency plans," Randquist said. "We have regular board video conferences, and those discussions will occur soon. It is on our schedule, but we have not staked out a position on that at this point."
    Even if the California Department of Public Health does not ratchet down protocols for dealing with the pandemic, requiring a vaccine or negative test might not be a moot point by February. 
    On Sept. 29, U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-California) introduced the U.S. Air Travel Public Safety Act, that if passed into law also would require all passengers on domestic airline flights to either be fully vaccinated, have recently tested negative for Covid-19 or have fully recovered from the virus.
    In the event Covid conditions worsen, another all-virtual event could be in the offing.
    "Yes, we are talking about contingency plans," Randquist said. "If the pandemic were to worsen, or the California Department of Health edicts become more severe, we could go all-virtual. We don't plan on that based on what we are hearing, but we would be foolish not to plan for that."
    A wholesale move of the physical show is not part of any contingency plan.
    "No, the logistics are impossible. That is not part of any consideration we have," Randquist said. "It's not feasible. It is impossible to find a place large enough that is available. Those places already are booked up."
  • Glenwood Golf Club, the oldest public course in Richmond, Virginia, will be converted into a 290-home development. The message has been loud and clear for quite some time: Golf courses are mere playgrounds for the well-to-do, and the public would be better served if the land on which they are located would be repurposed for the greater good. High-density and affordable housing, green space and commercial real estate often are solutions to golf course acreage that are thrown about.
    From 2006 through 2020, 2,162 golf courses closed nationwide (624 opened or reopened). After nearly a century of service to golfers in Richmond, Virginia, Glenwood Golf Club is the next 18-hole property facing closure. After a redevelopment plan was approved by county officials, Glenwood will be converted to a nearly 300-home residential community with public green space. But it is likely not the kind of transformation that will satisfy many of the game's vocal detractors.
    Open since 1927, Glenwood is the oldest public golf course in Richmond. With prime tee times going for $30-$40, it hardly is a retreat for Richmond's well-heeled residents. Eventually, however, it will house some of them. 
    The Glenwood story conflicts with the recent trend of public outcry to transform recreational venues for the elite into park space and real estate for use by common folk. Glenwood has weekend morning green fees of $29 for walkers, or $41 with a cart. According to plans submitted to the Henrico County Planning Commission, the project will have 290 single-family homes priced between $300,000 and $400,000. 
    Godsey Properties originally submitted plans in February to Henrico County commissioners to buy the property from owners Harry Griffin and Frank Adams and convert Glenwood into a 320-home development. The initial plan was rejected by the commission, which eventually approved a revised proposal in July that included just 290 homes and lot zoning changes. 
    The owners bought the property in 1996 for $4.5 million. The land today is assessed by the county for a value of $1.32. Godsey Properties has agreed to buy the parcel for $3.5 million, according to published reports.
    The plan also includes preserving existing trees, walking trails, a park and playground, two pavilions and retaining existing ponds. A stream that runs through the golf course will separate two phases of the project.
    The developer anticipates the project will be completed in 2027.
  • Between issues related to water-use and restrictions, BMPs and pesticides, employee and guest safety as it relates to a global pandemic, labor and wages, guest workers, wetlands management, zoning, and positive and negative PR related to sustainability issues, there are countless opportunities for golf course superintendents to practice government relations work.
    On Oct. 4, Craig Kessler (right above) and Kevin Fitzgerald (right below), director and assistant director of governmental affairs, respectively, for the Southern California Golf Association, will present a free TurfNet University Webinar titled The importance of government relations and advocacy in golf.
    CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
    In this Webinar, Kessler and Fitzgerald will discuss the many opportunities golf course superintendents have to practice government relations and why doing so is important. This and all TurfNet University Webinars are sponsored by Brandt.
    A former attorney, Kessler has spent the past 11 years as the director of government affairs for the SCGA and before that he was the executive director of the Public Links Golf Association of Southern California. That background adds up to many years of experience working on labor issues and public affairs, including nearly a quarter century of government relations and advocacy on behalf of golf. Kessler is especially passionate about defending the merits of municipal golf.
    Kessler's background includes experience as a USGA committeeman, chairman of the Los Angeles Golf Advisory Commission, member of the Ventura Golf Advisory Group, member of the Los Angeles County Junior Golf Foundation Board of Directors and the First Tee of Los Angeles advisory committee. He has worked closely and regularly with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, one of the country's largest utility providers, on establishing water use regulations.
    All TurfNet University live Webinars and archived recordings are free for everyone.
  • John Steiner, left, accepts the Minnesota GCSA Distinguished Service Award from chapter president Scott Thayer. Photo by Jack MacKenzie via Twitter Customer service, continuing education, staying up to date with current practices and methods, a strong code of ethics and displaying a passion for science. Those are just a handful of the traits that have helped John Steiner, CGCS, accomplish what few in this business have - on-the-job security at the same location for parts of seven decades.
    Steiner, 69, has worked at White Bear Golf Course in Dellwood, Minnesota every year but once since 1967, including as a caddie, member of the crew, assistant superintendent and finally as head superintendent for the past 42 years. The only interruption in his service at White Bear came when he spent the summer of 1969 working for his uncle Jimmy Hines on the crew at the former Desert Air Golf Course in Palm Desert, California.
    "I've just always tried to give golfers what they want, and that is the best possible product that I can produce. I try to be receptive to the things they want," Steiner said. "I've also always tried to be trustworthy. That has gone a long way. I've always had a good rapport with a lot of the members. When you love what you do, it's pretty easy."
    Steiner recently was the recipient of the Minnesota GCSA Chapter's Distinguished Service Award. 
    During Steiner's 54 years at White Bear, a 1915 Donald Ross design, much has changed in the turf business, namely the ever-changing demands of golfers, the problems that arise as mowing heights go down and the equipment and products they use to manage the turf.
    "It has become a lot harder as the years go on," Steiner said. "And it seems to keep getting harder as golfer demands go up."
    In the 1970s, Steiner was mowing roughs with a five-gang unit and fairways with a seven-gang Toro Parkmaster.
    "The changes in equipment and irrigation have been the biggest changes," Steiner said. "I've seen a lot of change over the years."
    Being a successful superintendent . . . for more than 40 years . . . at the same place . . . requires relying on science. In Steiner's case, it means much more.
    Steiner keeps up with current technology and management practices through continuing education, networking, seminars and even trusted sales reps.
    When faced with an unknown disease that threatens to wipe out wide areas of turf, most golf course superintendents are pretty content to carve out a sample and send it off to an expert for analysis.
    The key word is "most."

    Since Steiner graduated from Minnesota in 1976 and became superintendent at White Bear in 1979, he has spent a significant amount of time peering at slides through a microscope, attempting to diagnose one of those diseases that nag at greenkeepers.
    "I did it simply because I wanted to," Steiner said. "I wanted to be good at it, and I didn't want to be dependent on someone else for the information."
    To many of his colleagues, he is known as Dr. Steiner.
    Many of those same colleagues have used him as their turfgrass pathologist - helping to diagnose diseases on the golf course.
    "I've chatted with a number of people about things over the years," Steiner said. "There are people who called and bring things over, turf samples with disease on them."
    He places the samples in a plastic bag to hold in moisture then stores them overnight in the service bay at the golf course to keep them out of air-conditioning. He usually has plenty of material for the microscope by the following day.
    "I think one of the most outstanding attributes that makes John deserving of this (MGCSA Distinguished Service) award is the respect he has among his peers," former White Bear Yacht Club general manager Linda Carroll said recently in Hole Notes, the publication of the MGCSA. 
    Steiner credits Carroll and current White Bear GM Chris Nathlich for supporting him throughout his career and late University of Minnesota turfgrass science professor Don White, Ph.D., for mentoring him early in his career and helping grow his love for science. 
    Although looking at living organisms that attack and kill turf might seem like work, it is a labor of love for Steiner.
    "The thing with pathology is I just always loved it. I studied forestry pathology and plant pathology, and I love looking through a microscope at disease," Steiner said. "I've learned a lot about mushrooms, and mycology is a major passion of mine. Fungi and bacteria are the causes of most plant diseases. I've spent a lot of time grabbing everything I could find and looking at it through a microscope."
  • Yale Golf Course, routinely ranked among the country's top campus layouts, will get a facelift, courtesy of golf course architect Gil Hanse. The intent is to restore the course to its original design that was created by Seth Raynor and Charles Blair Macdonald.
    Yale would not comment on the cost or timetable with the project, but it is believed to carry a price tag of about $25 million, according to The New Haven Register. That includes $15 million for the renovation and $10 million for maintenance endowment, according to the newspaper.
    The past year-and-a-half-plus has been tough at Yale Golf Course. The No. 1 campus golf course in the Golfweek's Best list, Yale was closed in March 2020, but a small crew was kept on to maintain the course and complete projects. 
    The course opened briefly in the fall of 2020 the finally reopened this year in April.
    The Register said Yale settled on Hanse because of his experience restoring Macdonald and Raynor layouts.
    Although the timeline for the project has not been made public, Yale is poised to host an NCAA Division I regional next May.
    When Yale reopens, it will do so as a daily fee.
  • Target Specialty Products recently launched Turf Fuel Infinite, a low use rate soil surfactant that includes multiple ingredients formulated to provide consistent soil moisture throughout the profile, promote better stress management and faster recovery. 
    Turf Fuel Infinite, which contains two chemistries called DiuTuron and Templar, is safe for use on cool- and warm-season turf from tee to green.
    DiuTuron is a patent-pending polymer technology that Target says improves the residual effectiveness of the product in the soil. Templar reduces heat and drought stress by enhancing the plant's natural defense mechanisms, the company says. 
  • As scientists travel along the path toward discovery, often there is no telling where that journey  will end.
    Enter Arthur Nonomura, Ph.D. 
    Senior vice president and chief science officer for Brandt iHammer, Nonomura has devoted his career to helping others through science and, to that end, has developed innovations that promote healthy plants and healthy people who grow them.
    Nonomura, who along with golf course superintendent Mike McBride, is the man behind Brandt's iHammer line of plant nutrients, also holds patents on products that he says help people feel better.
    While the iHammer line has been helping golf course superintendents grow healthy turf for nearly two decades, Nonomura's latest discovery is the Defense line of healthy hydration products sold under the hellowater (sic) label, a line of wellness water products. Twenty years in the making, Defense beverages had been in research and development, and just finally made it to market in June. Nonomura says his product is designed to boost the body's natural self-defense mechanism, the cytochrome P450 enzyme complex.
    Nonomura and McBride met more than a decade ago, some time after the former served as a Fellow at the University of California-San Francisco and the latter was superintendent at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.
    Together they eventually formed iHammer in 2004, and the company came under the Brandt umbrella in 2014. Philosophically speaking, there is not much difference between creating a plant nutrient or healthy shot of water.
    "Brandt is very entrepreneurial and is always looking for new technologies, from the functional beverage to the agriculture industry," McBride said. "These are life-changing to a lot of people, and we're involved because of our innovative technology and ability to move the ball down the court."

    Brandt iHammer founders Mike McBride (left) and Arthur Nonomura, Ph.D. Nonomura also has developed a line of healthy water that he says boosts the body's natural defense system. Photo courtesy of Mike McBride In an era where we tend to put "me" first and the bottom line seems to dictate just about any conversation, Nonomura's work on developing what now is the Defense line of hellowater has been nothing but benevolent in nature. As a matter of fact, he began research on a healthy hydration product with California's farm field workers in mind.
    "I'm all for making people feel better," Nonomura said. "That includes making plants that are healthy and increasing people's quality of life. It's hard to sell products based on altruism, but that is what I am being here – seeking the greatest benefits to humankind. I wish to help people feel better."
    It was through years of research looking for ways to maximize health based on natural products that Nonomura, who earned a doctorate from the University of California, first thought he could do the same for people by creating a beverage that hydrates the body and helps it eliminate toxins.
    "Stress inhibits the health of the turf plant, and stress affects the health of people, too," Nonomura said. "We have this natural chemical defense system that can be inhibited by exogenous chemicals. When you inhibit the cytochrome P450 complex, your body has reduced its natural defenses. You must maintain a robust defense system, such that your cell's sentinel, P450, can identify these exogenous chemicals and get rid of them."
    Nonomura's research has been wide-ranging. During the Middle East Oil Embargo of the 1970s, when he was a doctoral student at Cal, Nonomura worked in collaboration with the laboratory of Nobel Laureate Melvin Calvin to find and cultivate a plant for growing gasoline—sustainable biofuels. After graduating from Berkeley, he undertook scientific investigations at UCSF, which is dedicated entirely to health sciences. It was while Nonomura was delving into how and why viruses infect animals and people, that he began working with cytochrome P450, the natural defense mechanism in every living thing. While his work eventually led to the advent of iHammer, it also paved the way for his Defense line of healthy water.
    "I have been investigating cytochrome P450 since I graduated from the Cal," Nonomura said.
    "When looking for an antiviral, you try to draw on everything in the life sciences to figure out how a virus infects people and the mechanisms response to an infection. You take into consideration all things. In biology, you have to get involved with all aspects of life to figure out what approach to take, and the answer often comes from putting concepts from a multiplicity of seemingly unrelated fields together.
    "And with a system wide instrument of discovery like the University of California, you have the resources to investigate the science of all things."
  • During a recent TurfNet University Webinar on weed management, Jim Brosnan, Ph.D., professor and head of the turfgrass weed science research and extension program at the University of Tennessee, also discussed the importance of accurate weed identification. 
    The University of Tennessee Mobile Weed Manual can be a useful tool in identifying weeds and how to control them. Designed to help users select the proper herbicide for use in turf and in ornamentals, the free guide is available on the App Store and Google Play for use on phones and tablets. There also is a desktop version also is available.
    Users can find herbicide solutions either by referencing a list of specific weeds, turfgrass or herbicides. Digital images also help users with identification of more than 130 types of grassy and broadleaf weeds. Complete with a new user interface, the guide includes labels and safety data sheet information for more than 100 pre- and post-emergent herbicides.
    The guide also offers efficacy and tolerance data for herbicides on 20 varieties of turfgrasses and more than 2,000 ornamental species.
  • Assembly Bill 672 targets publicly owned golf courses in California, such as Balboa Park in San Diego (above), for conversion to affordable housing and open public space. The bill, which died in committee in April, will resurface in January with new language that could make conversion of many golf courses much more attractive to the public. Municipal golf in California survived a frontal attack last spring from those who would rather see public courses converted to affordable housing. Rather than surrender after such a resounding defeat, however, detractors of public golf in the nation's most populous state have deftly planned a flanking move that might be difficult for the golf industry to repel.
    Assembly Bill 672, introduced in February by Cristina Garcia, who represents California's 58th district in Los Angeles County, targets municipal golf courses as potential sites for affordable housing units and open space, died in committee in April. However, the bill has been amended as of September 1 with changes, including an influx of public assistance and the elimination of certain zoning requirements. In a state starved for affordable housing, these changes likely will have mass appeal in California when the proposed legislation reappears in session in January as a two-year bill.
    Initially, the bill proposed removing the state's municipal golf courses from the protections provided by the Park Preservation Act, Surplus Land Act, California Environmental Quality Control Act, and local zoning prerogatives – all for the purpose of redeveloping them into housing tracts.
    The newest version of AB 672 makes available $50 million from the state's general fund "to provide grants to cities, counties, and cities and counties to incentivize making publicly owned golf courses in densely populated areas available for housing and publicly accessible open space," the bill states. The most recent iteration of the bill also removed zoning requirements and the need for an environmental impact statement in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act.
    Initially, AB 672 was referred to the Assembly's Housing and Community Development Committee and Local Government Committee, but did not meet the April 30 deadline to pass through both, and thus died an instant death.
    In its current form, AB 672 likely will get much more attention than it did the first time around. Although the bill would make it easier for communities to keep their publicly owned golf courses if they so choose, it also paves the way plow up many others.
    The Southern California Golf Association, which has been proactive in tracking the progress of and changes associated with AB 672, says that the state's golf industry should, in response, align itself with other public recreational outlets, including parks and athletic fields, rather than an elitist recreational pursuit, which so often is perceived as synonymous with golf.
    To be eligible for state grant money to convert land currently utilized by public golf into affordable housing, municipalities must meet a host of requirements, including:
    > The agreement ensures that at least 25 percent of all new dwelling units developed on the former golf course are affordable to, and occupied by, low-income households.
    > At least 15 percent of the development is publicly accessible open space.
    > No more than one-third of the square footage of the development, excluding the portion reserved for open space, is dedicated to nonresidential uses.
  • With elevation changes approaching triple digits, LedgeRock Golf Club has an abundance of breathtaking views. Getting any kind of equipment, especially a spray rig, on those same high, steep slopes can be a challenge. Throw in the requisite labor shortages facing just about every golf course from coast to coast, and it does not take long for weeds to take over the most hard-to-reach places on the 2006 Rees Jones design near Reading, Pennsylvania.
    In the past, FitzGerald has had members of his crew spray those steep slopes by hand, but the recent labor crunch has forced him to divert that manpower elsewhere on the golf course. As a result, it did not take long for summer weeds to overtake many of those areas that comprise as much as 15 acres.
    "Everything I can put a boom sprayer on is great, but the places I can't get a boom sprayer on are not," said LedgeRock superintendent Alan FitzGerald. "There has to be a better way."
    A conversation with a friend in the agriculture industry yielded a potential solution - using a drone to spray those areas where traditional rigs cannot go. Drones have been used to dust crops since 1987, according to Agronomix.com, a web site dedicated to the science of plant breeding, but it is new technology in golf. FitzGerald believes LedgeRock might be the first and only golf course to dabble in drones for anything other than photography and videography.
    While golf courses around the country have struggled to find enough help since the pandemic began, LedgeRock has done a decent job at avoiding a labor crisis by tactics that include increasing pay incrementally. Still, FitzGerald's staff is down by more than 20 percent this year, which is enough of a shortage that he cannot send people into those slopes to spray by hand.
    "For me, the labor is the big thing. This is more efficient," FitzGerald said. "If I can get to these awkward areas and save labor, that's a win-win. If it takes work off my plate, if these drones get bigger and can carry more, I see more of a future for flying. As I like to say, laziness is the mother of invention."
    A drone pilot from Rantizo, an Iowa-based firm licensed to spray herbicides in several states, including Pennsylvania, has conducted two test flights over LedgeRock. And FitzGerald has seen enough that he already plans to bring them in next year for preventive herbicide applications. The drone operator maps out the coordinates, and the spray perimeter is controlled by GPS.
    Rantizo's drone utilizes Real Time Kinetic positioning to ensure accuracy of application.
    "We do deal with a bunch of terrain," said Juan Cantu of Rantizo. "We overcome that by a radar system on our drones to follow the terrain. This drone application is perfect for site-specific application. It reduces chemicals being put out and knows exactly where it should go. Our drones are equipped with RTK accuracy, so we are within sub-inch accuracy." 
    In the first test run, the drone operator sprayed turf paint into the bunkers as a demonstration. FitzGerald was intrigued enough to bring them back to test herbicide on some of the awkward weedy areas on steep fescue-covered slopes.
    During the second visit, the operator sprayed two acres of slope covered with fescue and all manner of summer weeds. It takes longer to spray areas of equal size on a golf course compared with a farm field because the spray rates are greater for golf, requiring more frequent fill-ups. The operator flies the drone 5 feet above the surface. At 5 gallons per acre, the operator covered the entire 2-acre area in two flights, and tree cover makes reaching some areas - even by air - impossible. Still, the allure of spraying areas where hand applications are difficult if not impossible is enough to warrant the procedure.
    "It was more cost effective than I expected. Once it is mapped and the preliminary work is done it is pretty efficient," FitzGerald said. " He can spray three to five acres an hour. The next time he comes, that area is already mapped out. What took an hour-and-a-half last time to set up now takes five minutes. Down the road, when everything is mapped out, the production cost will go down a lot.
    "It is a luxury, but it also is a labor savings, which is everything these days. If I had two guys out there, they could be out there for a month to get everything right. The speed and convenience will save labor, and I can get them to other things that they normally couldn't get to."
    The genesis behind the idea for drone spraying came earlier this year when FitzGerald took a long, hard look at one of those difficult-to-reach areas by the 18th tee.
    "We had not been able to spray there in years," he said. "And it looked like crap."
    The sheer size of acreage of fairways and roughs makes spraying those areas unrealistic, but the technology can be used to spray bunker edges and other tight spots, FitzGerald said.
    "Bunker banks are a headache for us, too," he said. "The sprayer skips, and it's hard to get to everything.
    Drone spraying is not necessarily for everything on the golf course, and it's not for everyone. It's a little slow for the rates we have to spray, but it is going to save me a lot of labor in the long run, because we can shift labor around to where we need it. We'll see what the herbicide does in the next day or two, but I'll definitely bring them back next year to do more."
  • Damage caused by Hurricane Ida forced moving the PGA Forme Tour Championship from The Ridge at Back Brook in New Jersey (above) to Huntsville Golf Club in Pennsylvania (below) with less than a week's notice. Photos courtesy of Mark McCormick Many golf courses boast of being tournament ready all the time. Mark McCormick, superintendent at Huntsville Golf Club in Dallas, Pennsylvania, is proving it.
    When damage by Hurricane Ida at The Ridge at Back Brook in Ringoes, New Jersey threatened to cancel the PGA Forme Tour Championship this week, PGA Tour officials moved the tournament to Huntsville GC 100 miles away. 
    Golfers have Brandon Matthews, a Forme Tour player, to thank for saving the tournament. Matthews, a native of nearby Pittston, Pennsylvania, grew up playing Huntsville and suggested to Tour officials that it would be a capable replacement for The Ridge at Back Brook. 
    Tour officials visited the property Sept. 4 and gave it the thumbs-up for the tournament with just five days' notice.
    "It was nice when the officials from the Tour came up and told us that Huntsville already was good enough to host their event," McCormick said. "It makes you proud when your hard work is noticed."
    The Ridge sustained serious damage in the wake of Hurricane Ida, which made landfall Aug. 29 in Louisiana then tracked northeast dumping as much as 10 inches of rain in its path. Rainfall amounts in the Ringoes area ranged from 7-10 inches in a 24-hour period on Sept. 1-2.
    With only a few short days to prepare for the PGA Forme Tour event, McCormick could not change much at Huntsville. Turns out, he didn't have to.
    "We discussed green speeds and where the Tour wanted them, and that was very doable," McCormick said. "We cut the rough Sunday, then just let it go through the tournament."
    The compressed 72-hole event began Sept. 8 and will conclude Sept. 10.
    Like most golf course operations nationwide, Huntsville has felt the sting of a labor crunch. McCormick usually has 20-25 employees through the summer that includes his full-time staff of eight. This year, he had only about 15 people on staff, including his full-time crew. His part-time help, which comprises mainly high school students, is gone with the start of a new school year.
    "It has been a tough year overall for labor," McCormick said. "When school starts, all our guys leave.
    "My full-time guys came through and worked over the weekend and through the Labor Day holiday."
    He also has recruited about 10 volunteers to help out, including some area superintendents and his former boss and mentor, Scott Schukraft.
    A former superintendent, Schukraft is the owner of Elite Sports Turf and Landscape Management. He also was the superintendent at Huntsville and served as the club's general manager for 20 years. Schukraft hired McCormick straight out of Penn State as his second assistant at Huntsville in 1992, and promoted him to superintendent in 1999.
    Schukraft's first client when he started Elite was Misericordia University, where he maintains the baseball field. He has recruited a few players off the roster to help throughout the tournament.
    "They're just going to be doing manual labor for the golf tournament; filling divots and raking bunker edges," Schukraft said. "There was no time to train them on anything else. If there is an emergency, then they will do whatever is needed. In an emergency on a golf course, you can never have enough resources in your back pocket, and I just now got a flash flood warning on my phone, so who knows?"
    As a former GM and grow-in superintendent at Huntsville, Schukraft still has an emotional attachment to the property and is happy McCormick has a chance to show it off.
    "Mark is one of the finest superintendents in the country. I've never met a harder worker. He has dedicated himself to that club and his profession," Schukraft said. "The conditioning of that golf course considering the resources he has is unbelievable, and he has done it consistently. This year has been difficult with weather, staffing, Covid, yet the conditions are impeccable.
    "Mark is not looking for any recognition. He has busted his butt to make that golf course what it is. Then with no staff when you have a Tour event thrown at you, you know you've done OK."
  • Spotted lanternfly, an invasive species native to Asia, is a threat to several kinds of trees throughout the U.S. Photo by Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture It is basic military strategy to call for air support when fending off the advances of an invading force. The U.S. Department of Agriculture did just that in its fight against the spotted lanternfly, an invasive insect species from Asia that threatens to cause havoc to native trees and crops.
    The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine division is partnering with the U.S. Air Force to find ways to mitigate the spread of spotted lanternfly on military aircraft and other large container vessels. The Air Force picked the 436th Civil Engineer Squadron pest management section out of Dover Air Force Base in Delaware as the lead test hub for future Spotted Lanternfly mitigation practices.
    Native to China, the spotted lanternfly was first detected in the United States in 2014 in Berks County, Pennsylvania. Like other invasive species, it is believed to have entered the country aboard shipping containers. Adult females lay egg masses on a variety of objects - boxes, crates, cars, anything it can land on - which allows it to spread throughout the world. Left unchecked, spotted lanternfly can cause damage to crops, ornamental trees, vineyards and forests. Its preferred host is the tree of heaven, itself an invasive species.
    Three chemicals were tested, including 10 percent d-Phenothrin, Callington Aircraft Insecticide and Callington 1-Shot.

    First detected in the U.S. in Berks County, Pennsylvania in 2014, the spotted lanternfly is now found in at least 10 states. Photo by Cornell University Three 1,200 cubic foot shipping containers were used to simulate an aircraft cargo area where six modified plastic food containers, each containing spotted lanternflies, were placed in each shipping container, then exposed to a specific insecticide prior to closing the door and left for 15 minutes. Mortality counts were taken at predetermined time intervals. According to the Air Force, the 1-Shot, a mixture of d-Phenothrin and Permethrin, was most effective.
    Spotted lanternfly has been detected in Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia and is a threat to the following tree varieties besides tree of heaven: almond, apple, apricot, cherry, maple, nectarine, oak, peach, pine, plum, poplar, sycamore, walnut, willow and grapevines.
    Here are some tips for helping mitigate the spread of the invasive spotted lanternfly.
    > Check Your Vehicle: Before leaving a parking lot or work site, inspect vehicles for spotted lanternfly egg or insects. Check doors, sides, bumpers, wheel wells, grills, and roofs.  If found, destroy any eggs or insects you find.
    > Inspect Items Being Moved: Check shipping containers, propane tanks, pallets and other items being stored outdoors before they are moved off-site. Inspect incoming goods for egg masses and insects. 
    > Park with Windows Closed: The spotted lanternfly and its nymphs can enter vehicles unsuspectedly. When parked, make sure to keep windows closed. If possible, try to park 15 feet away from trees if in a quarantine zone.
    > Remove and Destroy Pests: Crush nymphs and adult insects. Scrape egg masses into a plastic bag containing hand sanitizer or rubbing alcohol to kill them. Treatment information can be found through PennState Extension or your local cooperative extension service
    > Remove Host Trees: Spotted lanternflies prefer the ailanthus tree, also known as “Tree of Heaven.” Try to remove trees from the business property to avoid attracting spotted lanternfly.
    > Report Sightings: Report sightings to your state's agriculture extension service.
  • By now, everyone has seen the widespread damage being caused this summer by fall armyworms, either in person or in a photo posted to social media by some other unlucky soul. Wide swaths of brown turf attributed to the voracious appetite of this inch-and-a-half-long pest are common from Texas and Florida, northward to Canada and almost everywhere in between.
    The far-reaching damage has left many turf managers with a couple of questions: How do I get rid of them? Will they return in similar numbers next year?
    University entomologists have plenty of advice on how to kill the pests, but are not so confident when discussing future activity. In fact, when it comes to predicting fall armyworm activity for the following year, Rick Brandenburg, Ph.D., admits there are many more questions than answers. 
    "I've thought about why armyworms are so numerous this year, and I've been asked about that a lot," said Brandenburg, professor of entomology at North Carolina State University. "When you look back at spring and summer, it was different everywhere, so conditions were not consistent. It was a perfect storm for armyworm damage, but what does that perfect storm look like? 
    "We don't know a lot about their migration patterns. We might see them in May and June, or June and July. It just varies. The earlier we see them, the more serious the damage. But then, that's not always the case. There are a lot of factors, and things are so sporadic. We don't get a chance to study them year-over-year in the same location, and that's why we have a lot of questions. I'm glad I don't know more about them than I do, or my phone would never stop ringing."
    What Brandenburg and his colleagues do know is that damage from fall armyworms is rarely permanent and likely is not a sign of things to come in subsequent years.
    Fall armyworms cannot overwinter in freezing temperatures. They are native to southern Texas and Florida, but the adult moths catch a wind to migrate hundreds of miles to other areas each year. Once the moths land, they lay egg masses, each containing 300-500 eggs (as shown on the photo above by Rick Brandenburg), typically on overhangs and objects over turf. When the eggs hatch, thousands of caterpillars will drop onto the turf surface and begin feeding.
    CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ARMYWORM CONTROL
    FROM TERRI BILLEISEN, PH.D. OF NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY
    "We see them here in North Carolina every year. It's rare when someone in North Carolina doesn't get hit with them," Brandenburg said. 
    "They really love hybrid Bermuda. We see them every year, but I haven't seen them like I am this year. I haven't seen them like this in 30 years."
    Armyworms do not just pop out of the egg on an eating binge. They have to grow into the role, said Dave Shetlar, Ph.D., professor emeritus at Ohio State. Armworms have been wiping out large areas on lawns, sports fields and golf courses for several weeks.
    Shetlar said in a recent OSU Turf Team video that he has been inundated with emails from people saying their lawns, athletic fields and putting greens have "suddenly disappeared."
    "No, they didn't suddenly disappear," Shetlar said as he pointed to a photograph of an armyworm that has been dining outside the Ohio Turfgrass Foundation Research Center at Ohio State. 
    "This caterpillar looks like a fifth instar. That caterpillar has probably been there for three weeks. And the problem is when they are in the first, second and third instar, they're little tiny caterpillars, and you don't see very much from them. When they get into that fourth, fifth and sixth instar, they're big, fat and sassy. A sixth instar caterpillar can eat probably 100 times more food per day than that little first and second instar."

    Although fall armyworms regularly migrate out of their native area, massive outbreaks like the one on display this year occur only every five to seven years in areas in a northern climate. The moths can hitch a ride on upper-level winds and can even get swept up from the Gulf rim in a hurricane or tropical storm, like Hurricane Elsa, which made landfall in North Florida on July 6 then spawned nearly 20 tornadoes during the next three days through the Southeast then up the East Coast before re-entering the Atlantic off Newfoundland. The timing of the aligns perfectly with this year's armyworm outbreak, Shetlar said.
    "In high-speed winds, they can be blown 500 miles in 24 hours," Shetlar said. 
    CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ARMYWORM CONTROL
    FROM DAVE SHETLAR, PH.D. OF OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
    Although armyworms and cutworms look rather similar, the former are much harder to kill - when they get fat and sassy.
    Shetlar suggests several chemistries for effective control of fall armyworms. Pyrethroids offer a quick curative solution. Diamides are effective preventive options. Some also can be used for curative control, but also can be expensive.
    Thanks to slightly cooler temperatures north of the transition zone, many courses in the Midwest and Northeast already are reporting recovery just days after experiencing near devastation.
    "Turf will recover from fall armyworm damage," Brandenburg said. "If you have good fertility, good temperatures and good moisture, it will recover."
    One of the questions Brandenburg often faces is whether outbreaks like this year are an indicator of what is to come in the future. 
    "I don't think it does," he said. "I think it's a new start every year.
    "But, if warm-season turf doesn't have time to recover heading into winter, it is going to struggle. For example, if warm-season turf gets hammered in September, then it gets cool in October, it is going to have a hard time recovering, and if it hasn't recovered before the first frost, then it is going to struggle coming out of spring."
  • Since it was registered in 1965, chlorpyrifos has been reviewed several times by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for tolerance reassessment, reregistration and most recently, as part of its ongoing registration review.
    Chlorpyrifos is an organophosphate insecticide used for a large variety of agricultural uses, including soybeans, fruit and nut trees, broccoli, cauliflower, and other row crops, as well as non-food uses. It also has been used on golf courses to control some insect pests. It has been found to inhibit an enzyme, which leads to neurotoxicity, and also has been associated with potential neurological effects in children, according to the EPA.
    As a result, many states have banned the use of chlorpyrifos, and the EPA banned its use in the consumer market. On Aug. 18, the EPA announced it will stop the use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos on all food products.
    In a final rule, the EPA is revoking all tolerances for chlorpyrifos, which establish an amount of a pesticide that is allowed on food. In addition, the agency will issue a Notice of Intent to Cancel under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to cancel registered food uses of chlorpyrifos associated with the revoked tolerances.
    The steps taken by the EPA are in response to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' order directing the EPA to issue a final rule in response to the 2007 petition filed by Pesticide Action Network North America and Natural Resources Defense Council. The petition requested that EPA revoke all chlorpyrifos tolerances, or the maximum allowed residue levels in food, because those tolerances were not safe, in part due to the potential for neurodevelopmental effects in children.
    While farmers have historically relied on chlorpyrifos, its use has been in decline due to restrictions at the state level and reduced production. Additionally, some alternatives have been registered in recent years for most crops. There are also other chemistries and insect growth regulators available for certain target pests.
    This action will also be incorporated into the ongoing registration review for chlorpyrifos. After considering public comments, the agency will proceed with registration review for the remaining non-food uses of chlorpyrifos.

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