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From the TurfNet NewsDesk

  • John Reitman
    Doug DeVore of Desert Mountain in Scottsdale, Brandon Hoag of Glens Falls Country Club in Queensbury, New York, and Evan Meldahl of Bayou Oaks at City Park in New Orleans, are the three finalists for this year’s TurfNet Technician of the Year Award, presented by John Deere.
    The winner will be profiled in the coming weeks on TurfNet and will receive the Golden Wrench Award and the opportunity to volunteer at next Year's Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, or admittance into a training session at the John Deere factory training center in Morrisville, North Carolina.
    Criteria on which candidates are judged include: crisis management; effective budgeting; environmental awareness; helping to further and promote 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.
    Click on the links below to read about each finalist.
    Doug DeVore, Desert Mountain, Scottsdale, Arizona
    Brandon Hoag, Glens Falls Country Club, Queensbury, New York
    Evan Meldahl, Bayou Oaks at City Park, New Orleans, Louisiana
    Previous winners include (2019) Dan Dommer, Ozaukee CC, Mequon, WI; (2018) Terry Libbert, Old Marsh Golf Club, Palm Beach Gardens, FL; (2017) Tony Nunes, Chicago Golf Club, Wheaton, IL; (2016) Kris Bryan, Pikewood National Golf Club, Morgantown, WV; (2015) Robert Smith, Merion Golf Club, Ardmore, PA; (2014) Lee Medeiros, Timber Creek and Sierra Pines Golf Courses, Roseville, CA; (2013) Brian Sjögren, Corral de Tierra Country Club, Corral de Tierra, CA; (2012) Kevin Bauer, Prairie Bluff Golf Club, Crest Hill, IL; (2011) Jim Kilgallon, The Connecticut Golf Club, Easton, CT; (2010) Herb Berg, Oakmont (PA) Country Club; (2009) Doug Johnson, TPC at Las Colinas, Irving, TX; (2007) Jim Stuart, Stone Mountain (GA) Golf Club; (2006) Fred Peck, Fox Hollow and The Homestead, Lakewood, CO; (2005) Jesus Olivas, Heritage Highlands at Dove Mountain, Marana, AZ; (2004) Henry Heinz, Kalamazoo (MI) Country Club; (2003) Eric Kulaas, Marriott Vinoy Renaissance Resort, Sarasota, FL.
  • Although stay-at-home orders around the virus were a source of uncertainty, the plan at the Minikahda Club in Minneapolis was to get ready for play - whenever that might be. Photo by Minikahda Club via Twitter The picture has not been a pretty one for golf during the better part of the last two decades. Shifting demographics, cultural and generational differences have resulted in a steady decline in popularity during the past 15 years, resulting in a net loss of about 8 million players.
    When the economy goes in the dumper, golf usually is not far behind. In fact, it often precedes it. So, when the country - and the world for that matter - went on lockdown in March, many likely thought the virus signaled a death knell for golf. In some respects, that assumption was correct, as several courses already experiencing financial hardship closed.
    When Golf Datatech released its monthly rounds-played report for April, the story it told was predictable considering many courses were shuttered and people were advised to stay home save for activities like going to work or the grocery store. Rounds played for the month were down 42 percent compared to April 2019.
    Jim Koppenhaver, principal of Pellucid Corp., wrote in April that the losses for the month "likely represent the 'as bad as it gets' scenario based on more states/courses opening starting 5/1 as well as restrictions on operations being relaxed."
    Although Koppenhaver predicted better times ahead in May, it is doubtful even he could have foreseen what was to come.
    Rounds played were up - a lot - everywhere. It seemed - and this is an obvious and intentional oversimplification - like a lot of those 8 million people lost since 2006 came back. Although Golf Datatech's report for May is not due for another couple of weeks, it is pretty obvious that numbers are going to be way, way up.
    Courses that had laid off workers in March were caught off guard when golfers flooded back to the course. 
    Bayou Oaks at City Park, a city-owned 36-hole facility in New Orleans, was completely rebuilt after being wrecked 15 years ago by Hurricane Katrina. With a new Rees Jones-designed golf course that opened in 2017, the property relies heavily on outings and tournaments for revenue, much of which it contributes to the Bayou District Foundation that is dedicated to helping the community in New Orleans' Gentilly neighborhood. With many activities canceled due to the virus, it would not have been a stretch in March to paint a bleak picture for Bayou Oaks as well as the foundation it serves. 
    That painting better have been in watercolor.
    The course never closed, throughout the virus and play has been steady, in fact, in May it was downright crazy.
    More than 9,000 rounds were played just in May over Bayou Oaks' 36 holes.
    "With everything closed, I think people thought 'Why not go outside and play golf?' It was the safest thing you could do" said Bayou Oaks superintendent Ryan McCavitt. "We saw a lot of people who haven't played in a while, or who had never given it a shot until now. Hopefully, golf takes something that was negative and turns it into a positive."

    Ken Nice, director of agronomy at Bandon Dunes Resort, took advantage of the downtime due to the virus to catch up on cultural practices. Photo by Bandon Dunes Resort Jeff Johnson, superintendent at Minikahda Club in Minneapolis recalls the angst and uncertainty when golf - and so much more - closed in March in Minnesota.
    "No one knew how long it was going to go on or what all of this meant," Johnson said. "My thought was to just get the golf course ready to open, whenever that was. The quarantine didn't hurt us too much, it was still too cold. The week after Easter (April 12), it was still in the 20s."
    Johnson was able to keep a skeleton crew on board and brought back his team on April 17. 
    Since then?
    "Everybody's been busy around here," Johnson said. "Private and public."
    Naturally, expectations were a little different among the members at Minikahda, most of whom were just happy to have the chance to play. The course was regressed in 2018, and didn't open for play in 2019 until June 25.
    "They didn't get a chance to play the course last spring, and they didn't get to play first thing out of winter this year," Johnson said. "They were just happy to have the chance to play."
    For the first time since it opened in 1999, Bandon Dunes closed in April due to the virus. With half of his staff still in place, Ken Nice, director of agronomy at the six-course property on Oregon's Pacific coast, took advantage of the downtime for some cultural practices he otherwise would have to squeeze in.
    "We have a 12-month season. We never shut down," Nice said. "Since we didn't have golf, this gave us an opportunity to do some things we normally wouldn't be able to do. We were able to aerify and do some other things that are normally too disruptive to golf."
    The resort, which is scheduled to host this year's U.S. Amateur in August, reopened May 11 and has been busy ever since.
    Nice estimates daily play has increased by about 50 percent since reopening.
    "Golf, it seems to me, is doing better than a lot of industries," he said. "It has a lot of selling points: open space, fresh air and it's not congested."
  • Muirfield Village Golf Club director of grounds operations Chad Mark and his team are ready to take on two PGA Tour events in two weeks in July, including the first professional golf event with fans. File photos by John Reitman  
    For the past few weeks Chad Mark has done little more than work, eat and sleep, but mostly it has been work. And it is going to be that way for at least a few weeks longer. That is the price one pays when getting ready for something few if any of his colleagues will ever have to face - two PGA Tour events - on the same golf course in consecutive weeks. One will have fans, one will not.
    The Workday Charity Open is scheduled for July 9-12 and will be held without spectators. The Memorial Tournament will follow July 16-19 and will be the first professional golf tournament since March to have fans.
    "I haven't been home before 8 o'clock in weeks," said Mark, director of grounds operations at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. "I go from home to work, and from work to home. That's about it. When we're done here, I have to go do PGA Tour Radio next."
    Two golf tournaments in two weeks, in Ohio, in July, including the first to allow fans since the world went into hiding three months ago, all on a layout owned by Jack Nicklaus. 
    Although the circumstances are unique, the person in charge of pulling it all off is uniquely qualified, Nicklaus said.
    "The back-to-back tournaments at Muirfield, if anyone was going to handle it, I think it's in the hands of the right person," Nicklaus said.
    If there is pressure on Mark, who has been at Muirfield since 2017, it sure isn't showing.
    "When I told our staff before the announcement was made, because I wanted them to hear it from me, we were out in the courtyard, and you could see the excitement in the younger guys. And you could almost see the jaws drop in the guys who know what it takes to put on a tournament," Mark said. 
    "Sure, you know you have to perform, but the staff is pumped about it. We have so many good people on this staff, and that is what is going to get us through this."
    Muifield was identified for double-duty when the Memorial Tournament, originally scheduled for the first week of June, was postponed due to stay-at-home orders in place in response to the Covid-19 virus. It was moved to July 16-19 when the British Open, scheduled for Royal St. George's, and the PGA Tour's corresponding Barbasol Championship in Nicholasville, Kentucky, both were canceled.
    There also was a hole in the PGA Tour schedule the week before the Open Championship and the Barbasol, a slot reserved for a future event that eventually will be held in the San Francisco area and will be associated with NBA star Steph Curry. Holding two events in consecutive weeks at the same location limits travel and contact points for players during the virus and made sense for a Tour trying to get back on its feet.
    Mark and his team provide Muirfield's members and their guests with tournament-like conditions on a daily basis, and he is more than up to the task of pulling off the Tour's doubleheader, said the club's owner.
    "First of all, Chad is a very, very good superintendent, and he understands that this is a club that the members like to use the course also," Nicklaus said. "Meaning, he tries as hard to prepare the golf course for the members every day as he does for the Memorial Tournament, which is very important to me and I think very important to the members.
    "He doesn't get flustered. He takes on a lot and is very calm about it. I think he has great confidence in his abilities to do things."
    The new leadoff event will be sponsored by Workday Inc., a financial management software company. The Memorial's title sponsor is Columbus-based insurance giant Nationwide, and its beneficiaries include Nationwide Children's Hospital and the Nicklaus Children's Healthcare Foundation.
    A scheduled renovation project that will begin the Monday after the Memorial and includes new greens, tees and fairways as well as new irrigation, probably didn't hurt the PGA Tour's chances to sell the idea to Muirfield and Nicklaus. In hindsight, the visibility of the course and its owner coupled with Mark's enthusiasm and ability (he was the recipient of the 2013 TurfNet Superintendent of the Year award) make the club in suburban Columbus the perfect venue for such an undertaking.
    "Golf is like every other sport, they're looking for ways to keep players in one spot, because there is a whole deal with getting players to different cities and getting testing," Mark said. "The Tour threw it out there to (Memorial Tournament director) Dan Sullivan and (Muirfield general manager) Nicholas LaRocca. I think if we weren't closing the week after that it never would have gotten legs. The stress from two PGA Tour events in July might not have been the best thing to do, but the fact we are closing down and building new greens as soon as we are done with the Memorial, we talked about it more. Obviously, Jack had to say it was OK, and I think his view is that if it helps the Tour, helps keep players safe, helps our charities and helps everybody involved, then it's good for golf and that was good enough for him."

    There will be no grandstands at Muirfield for the Memorial Tournament in July. Allowing fans, even on a limited scale, in the gates at Muirfield required approval even Nicklaus could not grant.
    On June 5, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine approved a request from Muirfield to allow at least some fans for this year's Memorial as long as the club adheres to safety and social distancing protocols in response to the virus. The tournament will be limited to 8,000 fans who must wear masks and submit to daily temperature readings. There will be no grandstands, and all points of sale will be cashless.
    The PGA Tour has held two made-for-TV events so far and returns to tournament play this week at Colonial. There will be three other events before Tour players descend on central Ohio, but all will be without fans until the Memorial, which is likely to be the first major U.S. sporting event with spectators. The last golf tournament held with a gallery was the Arnold Palmer Invitational in early March. Professional golf and virtually everything else came to a halt the following week in response to the coronavirus.
    Since the news broke in late May that Muirfield would host back-to-back tournaments, Mark and assistants James Bryson and Adam Daroczy have been hard at work to develop a work schedule that makes the most of their staff of 45 that includes 22 turf school graduates or interns and a limited crew of volunteers.
    "We have a good plan to keep the guys fresh and go into this so we can rotate people and give them days off and have a good Memorial," Mark said. "I'm more worried about my guys than I am about the golf course."
    There will be no grandstands when fans return to golf next month at the Memorial Tournament.
    The back-to-back events will be the first of its kind in golf since 2014 when the U.S. Open and U.S. Women's Open were held in consecutive weeks at Pinehurst No. 2.
    Unlike 2014, when the U.S. Open was played first, Muirfield's marquee event will be played after the Workday tournament.
    Since Roger Maltbie won the inaugural event in 1976, the Memorial has developed a reputation for providing conditions, including fast greens and tall rough, that rival those found in the U.S. Open. This year's schedule will allow Mark and his team to Tour conditions for the Workday event and conditions the following week that the Memorial has become known for. Neither event, he said, will get the short shrift.
    "The meetings we are having now, and the discussions I'm having with our agronomist from the Tour and the rules official from the Tour are all positive and in an effort to protect what the Memorial brand is and to have a great Memorial," Mark said. "It's not that we're not going to give the first tournament all we've got, but the Memorial is different from other Tour events. Week to week, the greens are going to be significantly higher than they are at other Tour events and the other part is we have longer rough. A lot of players come to play the Memorial with fast greens and long rough and it's two weeks ahead of the U.S. Open, and it was a great prep for that."
    He also knows providing Memorial-like conditions for two consecutive weeks would result in stressed greens for Muirfield's signature event and hole locations week to week that would be eerily similar.
    "If we were that fast for Week 1, we know we would stress some things out. The Tour needs different hole locations for Week 1 so it's not the same tournament two weeks in a row," Mark said. "We're going to have to lower target green speeds quite a bit. We'll come down almost 2 feet from the Memorial for Week 1 so we can utilize hole locations that quite frankly we can't use during the Memorial because the greens are so fast it would be too hard. So, we'll slow down greens and hopefully that will help the greens from getting too far away from us."
    The day after the Memorial concludes, LaBar Golf Renovations will begin a restoration project that includes rebuilding all greens and tees, new irrigation and new fairways.
    But what about those infamous Memorial-like green speeds that can approach 14 on the Stimpmeter? Can Mark and his team reach those conditions? In Ohio? In August?
    "Oh, we'll get there," Mark said. 
    "There would be a lot more pressure on us if we had two tournaments and had to let members play the rest of the summer, and I wouldn't want them to suffer with bad conditions. But, we don't have to have the course open after the tournament."
    "All of us sometimes get into trouble, because we're all so into what we do. I wondered if this was even feasible. The staff is pumped about, so we developed a plan to knock both out of the park. But, me being me and Jack being Jack, are we going to be satisfied holding the greens back? I'm going to have to hold myself back."
     
  • Members at Sharon Heights Golf and Country Club in California have been appreciative of what Josh Lewis and his team were able to do when the golf course was closed for nearly two months. Photo by Josh Lewis via Twitter If Tom Cook ever taught a class at Oregon State on how to manage a golf course when a virus sweeps the globe, Josh Lewis never took it.
    The superintendent at Sharon Heights Golf and Country Club in Menlo Park, California, Lewis said managing his staff and the course in the shadows of Stanford University has been a new experience.
    "I must have slept through that class on how to manage a golf course through a global pandemic," Lewis said. "I have no idea how to do this. There is no playbook. There is no right or wrong. I'm trying to be as educated as possible in my decision making."
    As the golf industry navigates through various stages of reopening depending on location, stay-at-home orders because of the virus meant different things in different areas, and thus reopening has been just as different. What seems to be the same just about everywhere, however, is a golfer base enthusiastic about returning to play and equally understanding about any limitations they might encounter on the golf course. 
    Sharon Heights was among the first golf courses in San Mateo County to close when it shuttered its doors on March 13 until May 3 when public health officials said it was OK for golf courses to reopen. 
    Like all of us who were inundated with conflicting and inconsistent information in the early days of the stay-at-home period, Lewis had no idea what the future would bring, or how long the course would be closed.
    "From the minute it escalated and became a serious deal, the club moved swiftly and responsibly in shutting down," Lewis said. 
    "It was like a triage unit: What were our priorities? Our priorities were our people and we have to make sure we take care of them. We are surrounded here at the club by smart people who understand the economy and business better than most people on the planet, and soon it became evident that there was going to be significant health and economic impact."
    Maintaining the golf course was left to Lewis, two assistants and an A.I.T. with staggered schedules to limit exposure to each other.
    Plotting a path forward in a vacuum of reliable information came through, as often is the case with superintendents, conversations with other superintendents.
    "We phased everything in with longer tee time spacing to manage traffic and there was a commitment to make sure we were in compliance with county mandates," Lewis said. "We had a text chain of 15 or 16 superintendents asking each other how we interpreted these mandates. We wanted to be able to stay ahead of things as they came down."
    When the course reopened, players were happy to play and less concerned with perfect conditions.
    Members were playing 160-170 rounds a day at Sharon this week, a number that is nearly double the average for this time of year, Lewis said.
    "Our members get it. They have been very supportive," he said. "There was a lot of communication about what we had been doing and what we were not doing. Credit to the staff, we were still able to overdeliver on what they were expecting. We didn't have everything done, but we were good down the middle, and they were appreciative of that and surprised what we had gotten done under the conditions."

    Throughout the spring, Vero Beach Country Club in Florida has faced what superintendent Shane Wright described as 'record play.' Photo by Shane Wright via Twitter Unlike most golf courses across the country, Vero Beach Country Club in Florida never closed throughout the various stages of the virus. Stay-at-home orders in Florida were implemented on a county-by-county basis. Indian River County, where Vero Beach is located, along with Martin and St. Lucie counties comprise Florida's Treasure Coast, which got its name when a fleet of Spanish galleons carrying gold wrecked offshore during a storm in 1715.
    Unsure how the virus would affect play, the Vero Beach CC cut superintendent Shane Wright's  allotment of labor hours from 650 per week to 400. That didn't last long.
    Many of the club's seasonal residents from northern locales, who often stay in Florida until mid- to late April, have yet to leave, said Wright, himself a native of Middletown, Ohio. As labor was cut in anticipation of a decline in demand for rounds, play actually rose 30 by percent.
    Golf courses in the area were so full, Vero Beach CC members could not bring guests, Wright said. Daily fee courses along the three-county Treasure Coast were so busy they temporarily limited play to county residents, who were required to show proof of residency because so many golfers were streaming north from Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties, where courses were closed, a fact confirmed by Dick Gray, superintendent at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie.
    Fortunately for Wright, cuts to labor were made in March, before Bermuda growth kicked in.
    "Expectations were reduced," Wright said. 
    "We have Chicago members who haven't gone home. People are playing golf like it's going out of style.
    "Normally we get in season about 90 to 105 rounds (per day). We're consistently getting 135 to 150 rounds a day without guests. We were breaking records for play into May."
    Wright is still down four bodies and because of increased play he has had to delay or postpone offseason summer projects.
    "We have more work and less people," Wright said. "That's what superintendents do. We're always adapting. It's what we do on a daily basis."
  • Glen Albert Brandt was the quintessential entrepreneur and a true pioneer in the field of liquid fertilizer. 
    In 1953, he founded the company that eventually became Brandt, a leader in the agricultural and turf fertilizer markets, and that in 2014 acquired Grigg.
    Brandt died June 7 in Springfield, Illinois. He was 94.
    A native of Farmingdale, Illinois, Brandt was preceded in death by his wife, Peggy, and parents Albert and Margaret. Survivors include sisters Evelyn Brandt Thomas and Shirley Brandt Hagen, son Rick (Kristie) and daughter Terri Gustafson (Tom), four grandchildren, many nieces, nephews and cousins and special care giver, Janet Zeigler. 
    He founded the forerunner to Brandt 67 years ago when at age 27 he began custom-applying anhydrous ammonia for local farmers.
    Before his days as an entrepreneur, Brandt briefly attended Springfield Junior College in his native Illinois before enlisting in the U.S. Merchant Marines in 1944. He returned home after three years of service to help his father farm and soon after was drafted into the Army in 1950. After serving two years in the infantry in Korea he received an honorable discharge and returned to Pleasant Plains to continue farming with his father.
    Starting in 1953, he led a line of companies that would become Brandt Inc. From Brandt & Gardner Gas Station to Brandt’s Fertilizer Service to Brandt Chemical Co. to Brandt Consolidated Inc., He presided over the company’s rapid growth and set a vision for the future. In 1986, at age 60, he stepped aside as CEO of Brandt’s Fertilizer Service and Brandt Chemical Co., to serve as chairman of the board. In 1990, Brandt oversaw the formation of Brandt Consolidated Inc., the company that became Brandt Inc. in January.
    G.B., as he was known by his friends, was an active leader in the agrochemical industry. He served as the president of the National Fertilizer Solutions Association in 1972. The NFSA later spawned the Fluid Fertilizer Foundation, before becoming part of the Ag Retailers Association. In 2000, BRANDT was named Ag Retailer of the Year by the Ag Retailers’ Association and Ag Retailer magazine. In 2007, the ARA gave Glen its prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award.
    in 2015, G.B., along with sister Evelyn, was named the Illinois State Ag Ambassador. A patron of the Memorial Medical Center Foundation, charter member of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation and a member of the development committee for Lincoln Land Community College, G.B. was always visible and charitable toward his community. He was also a licensed pilot. In his youth he was a founding member of the band Boogie Woogie Brandt and the Barrelhouse Boys.
    G.B. remained active in the agricultural business that bears his name until his passing. He was a vocal member of the Brandt Board of Directors, serving as a consultant the past several years. In addition, he was heavily involved in a number of other related Ag companies as an owner and a board member including Springfield Plastics, TradeMark Nitrogen and Precision Tank, which is now part of Precision Build.
    Memorial donations may be made to The Brandt Foundation, or mail to Brandt Global Headquarters, 2935 S. Koke Mill Road, Springfield, IL 62711.
  • During the past three decades, entomologist Dave Shetlar, Ph.D., has made a living by knowing what makes bugs tick. Heck, he even carved a nickname out of it. Since he retired three years ago from Ohio State, Shetlar, aka, The Bug Doc, admits there are times when the insects know best.
    When someone asked him recently whether a mild winter followed by a wet spring would have an adverse effect on white grubs this summer, Shetlar laughed before answering: "I always tell people my money is with the insects. They've been around since the last ice age. They've seen it all, and they've lived through it all."
    The reality, says Shetlar, who in retirement still conducts entomology extension work for Ohio State, is grubs are marvels of evolution and as such there is no real accurate predictor of of grub populations from year to year.
    "We always lose some grubs whether it is a warm winter or a cold winter," Shetlar said. "In fact, a warm winter can be more deadly. When it's cold, the grubs go into winter dormancy and they are not metabolizing their fat storage. When it's a warm winter, if it is warm enough, the grubs can begin to metabolize and use fat storage. They're also more susceptible to fungal diseases and bacterial conditions."
    Shetlar's colleague at the University of Kentucky, Dan Potter, Ph.D., agreed that there often are more questions than answers when it comes to white grubs.
    "I gave up a long time ago trying to predict grub populations," said Potter, the recipient of the 2010 USGA Green Section Award. "If I could do that, I would've made a fortune."
    Through June 3, nearly 25 inches of rain have fallen so far in 2020 in Lexington, Kentucky, where Potter lives. That's about 6 inches more than the historic average. It is even more dramatic in Shetlar's hometown of Columbus, Ohio, where 26 inches of precipitation have fallen to date this year, which is 10 inches more than the norm, according to the NWS.
    Many adult beetles that overwintered as larva and pupa, will emerge any day now. And they will have to make their way through a saturated profile to take flight. A little water at the surface is not likely to impede their progress, Potter said. 
    "I haven't seen any Japanese beetles yet. I think the flight is going to be late because it has been so cool," Potter said. "We're behind about a week or two in growing-degree-days. 
    "The grub population can withstand soil saturation. It takes a lot to drown a white grub."
    White grub/beetle eggs need moisture to remain viable. How wet or dry it is in July, when female beetles lay those eggs won't much affect the grub population, but it could affect where those populations are concentrated.
    "If the soil is saturated, they're likely to be more spread out," Potter said. "If it's dry, they will be primarily concentrated in irrigated turf."
    Some beetles will lay eggs in higher areas during wet periods and in low-lying areas when it is dry, hoping to take advantage of any available surface water. There also is evidence that female Japanese beetles can see at least some color and thus will never enter brown turf when seeking a place to lay their eggs. They also can sense soil moisture, Shetlar said. 
    "If it's not moist enough," Shetlar said, "they'll leave and go to another area."
    Because the eggs require a moist host, Bug Doc also noted evidence of masked chafer adults waiting for just the right conditions for egg laying before emerging from the underground lair.
    "When the rain stops in June, there is not much emergence until there is a rainfall event," he said. "It doesn't have to be much, but once there is rain then all hell breaks loose the next three nights. There is no reason for them to come out if it doesn't rain."
  • CLICK HERE TO REGISTER - "MANAGING SPORTS TURF . . . WHEN THERE IS NO PLAY"

    To say 2020 has been a challenging year would be an understatement of epic magnitude, and the turfgrass management world has not been immune.
    Some golf courses have been open, otherS closed and some used as public parks while they have been closed. As the economy and the golf industry begin to reopen, sports field managers still are in a unique position. They have to keep fields in shape and ready for play, but when play will resume still is a mystery.
    What does this mean for sports turf managers as they navigate through uncharted territory, keeping fields ready for play during a time when the first action on the field probably still is weeks or even months away? 
    John Sorochan, Ph.D., professor of turfgrass science at the University of Tennessee will address this topic in a free TurfNet webinar - Managing sports turf … when there is no play - on June 17. The event is sponsored by Brandt.
    The NFL has not solidified plans for play this season. Likewise, there is no solid timetable yet for college football, though we learned that several players have tested positive for Covid-19 as they began returning to campus this week.
    Major League Baseball owners and players have not been able to reach an agreement on a shortened season, and some owners have said they would be OK if the season was canceled entirely, a fate that likely awaits the minor league system this summer as well. While there might not be baseball, some facilities are doing what they can to generate some revenue, including renting out stadiums for private functions.
    In this free webinar, Sorochan will address expectations during a hiatus, how this uncertainty affects cultural practices not getting so aggressive that there is insufficient time for recovery before that first event.
    Click here to register.
  • Bayer has reached a deal to settle most of the thousands of cases alleging that its weedkiller Roundup is responsible for causing cancer among its users.

    Bayer has set aside $8 billion to settle an estimated 50,000 to 85,000 existing cases, according to published reports by Bloomberg and Fortune. The company has earmarked another $2 billion to cover future claims, the reports say. In exchange, Roundup will remain on the market and attorneys involved say they will stop advertising for and accepting new claims against Bayer, which bought Monsanto, the maker of Roundup, in 2018. 
    As many as 125,000 suits have been filed against Monsanto alleging that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, is responsible for the plaintiffs' non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
    Leverkusen, Germany-based Bayer continues to appeal some of the early verdicts, just three of which resulted in jury awards of more than $2 billion damages, which were later reduced by a judge to $191 million. 
    The first trial in the ongoing Roundup saga, which resulted in a $289 million verdict for the plaintiff in August 2018, went before a California appeals court this week. Bayer asked the court to set aside the verdict or at least order a new trial, according to Reuters. The results of that case could affect the payout each party receives in the settlement, said an arbiter working between attorneys on both sides. Awards will range from a few thousand dollars per claim to a few million, Fortune said.
    Bloomberg suggests Bayer has a strong chance to win its appeal in California, but adds that if the court upholds the earlier ruling it could result in Bayer paying more in its settlement and in future cases.
    At the center of the glyphosate debate are conflicting reports by the World Health Organization and the EPA. In 2015, the WHO concluded that glyphosate was a "probable" carcinogen. The EPA, on the other hand, has said that there is no evidence indicating that glyphosate causes cancer based on the results of more than 800 tests and studies.
    Bayer's stock value has taken a hit since 2018, dropping by as much as 62 percent. Stock prices currently are down about percent since the acquisition in 2018.
  • Golf course superintendents growing warm-season grass and those who manage cool-season turf do not typically have much in common. This year, however, many of them have at least one thing in common - their golf courses are very wet, and in many cases have been completely under water.
    It is 2020, after all.
    From Iowa to Michigan to Florida and just about everywhere in between, golf courses have been inundated with spring rains, and social media is packed with photos and videos of golf courses under water.
    The worst of it appeared to be in Midland, Michigan, where the Currie Golf Courses, a 27-hole municipal operation that also includes a par-3 layout, were flooded by the Tittabawassee River when two dams, one each on Wixom and Sanford lakes, failed on May 18 and sent water rushing downstream leaving both lakes drained.
    Midland is the global operations hub for Dow Chemical, and 10,000 of its residents were ordered to evacuate.
    Before the disaster, rainfall in central Michigan in May was double the monthly average by May 27, prompting Michigan State's Kevin Frank, Ph.D., to publish a primer on the Michigan State Turf Extension website on water damage ranging from just a few inches to several feet.
    Just how bad turf damage is after a flood depends on temperature, silt and mud in the water and turf type.
    When temperatures are in the 50s and 60s, like they have been throughout much of the eastern U.S. until the last week or so, cool-season turf often is better equipped to be submerged for a period of time.
    "At this time of year, except now that it has been smoking hot the last couple days, you can see (water) on there a week and no damage with submersion," Frank said. "The  problem is siltation. Creeks and rivers carry a tremendous amount of soil.
    "On soccer, football and baseball fields, I see people go in with a Koro and skim that off the surface. I've also seen places where water was there a week and there was no soil along with it and it's just a matter of letting it dry out. I've also seen where it floods, and, like today, if it happens to be 90 degrees, the turf doesn't last nearly as long, and it gets so bad so fast you can't stand the smell of it."
    Some cool-season grasses are more susceptible to damage than others. 
    Frank wrote that submersion-tolerance ratings were excellent for bentgrass, medium for Kentucky bluegrass and merely fair for annual bluegrass and perennial ryegrass.
    "Turfgrass species differ in their ability to survive flooding," Frank wrote. "Unfortunately, there are no hard fast numbers such as Kentucky bluegrass will survive five days and creeping bentgrass 15 days under water."
    As temperatures rise, the amount of time the turf spends submerged is directly related to damage.
    "Flooding may cause the turf to turn yellow or brown," Frank wrote. "The discoloration is related to the turf losing its ability to take up nutrients. It doesn't take long once turf is submerged for soil oxygen levels to decline and root hairs to begin to die. As the root system becomes impaired, nutrient extraction and water uptake will be limited. Keep this in mind once the water has receded as the turf may benefit from a light fertilizer application."
    Thinning areas might require reseeding with perennial ryegrass, or regrassing entirely. 
    If floodwaters bring silt, and they often do, it is important to get the sediment off the turf as quickly as possible. That can mean moving it off with a hose or, if it has dried out, breaking it up first with an aerifier and then removing it.
    Frank wrote there is an easy do-it-yourself method for determining damage level, if there is any at all, in the turf.
    To assess if submersion has caused injury, Michigan State University Extension advises extracting several plants from the flooded site and cutting a horizontal cross section through the crown. If the crown is white and firm, it has survived. If the crown is brown and mushy, it's dead.
  • CLICK HERE TO NOMINATE YOUR TECH FOR THIS YEAR'S AWARD!
    Would your equipment manager appreciate some ongoing education at the John Deere factory, or an opportunity to gain additional hands-on experience working at a high-profile tournament? Would your operation benefit if your tech had such an opportunity?
    If you answered "yes" then nominate your golf course equipment manager for the golf industry's first award for mechanics - the TurfNet Technician of the Year Award, presented by John Deere. The deadline for nominations is May 31.
    Nominees will be judged on a variety of criteria: crisis management; effective budgeting; environmental awareness; helping to further and promote 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. 
    The winner will receive the Golden Wrench Award (a real gold-plated wrench) from TurfNet and admittance to either a training session at the John Deere factory training center in Morrisville, North Carolina, or the opportunity to work at the 2021 Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
    CLICK HERE to nominate your tech.

    2015 Golden Wrench winner Robert Smith of Merion Golf Club. Previous winners include (2019) Dan Dommer, Ozaukee Country Club, Mequon, WI; (2018) Terry Libbert, Old Marsh Golf Club, Palm Beach Gardens, FL; (2017) Tony Nunes, Chicago Golf Club, Wheaton, IL; (2016) Kris Bryan, Pikewood National Golf Club, Morgantown, WV; (2015) Robert Smith, Merion Golf Club, Ardmore, PA; (2014) Lee Medeiros, Timber Creek and Sierra Pines Golf Courses, Roseville, CA; (2013) Brian Sjögren, Corral de Tierra Country Club, Corral de Tierra, CA; (2012) Kevin Bauer, Prairie Bluff Golf Club, Crest Hill, IL; (2011) Jim Kilgallon, The Connecticut Golf Club, Easton, CT; (2010) Herb Berg, Oakmont (PA) Country Club; (2009) Doug Johnson, TPC at Las Colinas, Irving, TX; (2007) Jim Stuart, Stone Mountain (GA) Golf Club; (2006) Fred Peck, Fox Hollow and The Homestead, Lakewood, CO; (2005) Jesus Olivas, Heritage Highlands at Dove Mountain, Marana, AZ; (2004) Henry Heinz, Kalamazoo (MI) Country Club; (2003) Eric Kulaas, Marriott Vinoy Renaissance Resort, Sarasota, FL.
  • For superintendents seeking extended control of some of golf's most common and troublesome diseases, Posterity fungicide from Syngenta is now registered for use in California.
    With the active ingredient pydiflumetofen, Posterity is an SDHI fungicide that has exhibited 28-day control of a variety of diseases including dollar spot, Microdochium patch, spring dead spot and fairy ring in managed turfgrass, according to research trials at Penn State, Rutgers, Clemson and Connecticut. 
    According to research, the active ingredient in Posterity binds tightly to target pathogens for maximum disease control.
    Posterity, which was launched by Syngenta in 2018, is now registered in all states, except Alaska and Hawaii, and also has been OK'd for use in Washington, D.C.
    "As superintendents in California prepare for the season ahead, they now have access to an innovative fungicide that can help keep their turf free of dollar spot and spring dead spot," said Stephanie Schwenke, turf market manager at Syngenta. "With the registration of Posterity, we are excited to provide a solution that offers the exceptional disease control they need."  
    Preventive applications of Posterity are recommended beginning in the spring, prior to the expression of fairy rings, as soil temperature exceed 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Posterity also features curative properties and can be used for extended preventive applications for continued protection. Fall applications for spring dead spot should begin as soil temperatures hit 70 degrees followed by a repeat application 28 days later.
  • This was supposed to be a year like so many others in the colorful history of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. It has been anything but thanks to, well, you know.
    In the shadows of Los Angeles skyscrapers for nearly 100 years, the L.A. Coliseum has a history like no other venue in sports.
    Since it was built in 1923 in the waning days of President Warren Harding's administration, the coliseum has been a venue for the 1932 and 1984 Olympics, was home to the NFL's Raiders and Rams and was the site of the Pro Bowl for more than two decades. Super Bowl I was played at the coliseum in 1967 and it is where the Miami Dolphins won Super Bowl VII to complete the NFL's only undefeated season. 
    The Dodgers, yes the Dodgers, played in the coliseum for four seasons, and UCLA played its home football games there for nearly a half-century. Located next door to the University of Southern California, it has had a bit part in more than a dozen movies and TV shows and several commercials have been shot at the coliseum and countless concerts have been played behind its trademark peristyle. USC, which has fielded 11 national championship teams and seven Heisman Trophy winners, has played its home games at the coliseum since it was built 97 years ago.
    Clearly, a lot has happened at the coliseum throughout its history, but for the past three months it has been as dormant as Bermudagrass in February.
    Every day for almost four years, coliseum grounds manager Scott Lupold  (right) has known exactly what event was coming next, and when it was coming. 
    With college football's future for the 2020 season uncertain, concerts canceled or postponed, corporate events on hold and a ban on film crews, Lupold knows he still has to keep the coliseum field ready. Ready for what and when? That's a different matter entirely.
    "I'm still busy," Lupold said. "I just don't know what we're getting ready for." 
    The year started off like any other. New sod, Bandera Bermudagrass overseeded with ryegrass grown on plastic from West Coast Turf, was laid in February over a new sand-based field system that replaced the hardpan native soil medium that had existed pretty much since Day 1. 
    USC spring football and a music festival were first on the schedule. Another Bermuda sod field without the rye was to be put down in July in advance of USC's football season. 
    That was the plan, anyway.

    The iconic peristyle of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is symbolic of one of the great venues in all of sports. All photos by John Reitman "That field was only supposed to be here from February through June," Lupold said. "It's overseeded Bermuda that is heavy with rye, and that's what we wanted at the time.
    "Now, we have to shift gears from promoting the ryegrass to getting this Bermudagrass going, because we might have to play on it. I was anticipating a new sod field in July, but it doesn't look like that is going to happen."
    If there was one advantage golf course superintendents had over sports turf managers this spring was the near certainty that golf would bounce back just about everywhere long before other sports.
    At the coliseum, as he naturally transitions from ryegrass to Bermuda, Lupold is breaking his schedule into three-week increments so he can have the field ready as quickly as possible when Los Angeles County reopens, which, according to public health officials, could be as soon as July 4. 
    "We're trying to do it naturally because we just don't know when we will be expected to have it right," Lupold said. "If I spray out the ryegrass and the Bermudagrass isn't coming in the way it should, and then I get a call that things are opening up and someone wants to get in here, then we could be in real trouble.
    "We've been able to verticut once and lowered height of cut from 8 hundredths to .250 and now at about three-eighths, and we've gone from about 95 percent ryegrass to 60-40 ryegrass, and now we're in a decent spot. We can do any of our cultural practices and be back in three weeks, then reassess and go back at it. We are working in two-week to three-week increments. We're making strides, but we can't go too far."
    At the University of Florida, sports turf manager Jason Smith thought he probably would be preparing the field at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium for the NCAA College Softball Tournament Super Regionals. Instead, he and his team of seven have been busy getting ahead of schedule on about 17 acres of football, baseball, softball, soccer, lacrosse and track fields.
    He remembers well the day of March 12, when the sports world came to a crashing halt.
    Smith and his team were in the midst of baseball and softball season and were just getting ready to lay sod on the university's new baseball stadium.
    "We had a baseball and a softball series that weekend, and we were just getting ready to sod the following Monday and Tuesday," Smith said. "We were kind of freaking out because we thought they were going to shut down the construction site, and I wanted to get that sod down. Our sod came from Pike Creek in Adel, Georgia and the contractor was from Georgia. We were afraid they might shut the roads down or limit travel. We kept plugging along, and nothing halted. It all worked out well for us getting the new field established."
    In the early stages of the quarantine, each department in the university athletic association was asked to identify the bare minimum practices necessary to keep running.
    "I told them I have to be able to mow Monday, Wednesday and Friday," he said.

    Skipping overseeding last fall at The Swamp at the University of Florida has helped sports turf manager Jason Smith get a jump on getting the field ready for this year. "Then I started coming in at 4 (a.m.) and jumping on the aerifier, and I'd knock out 2 to 3 acres before the rest of the guys got in a 6. I made it around the fields aerifying and they came up behind me cleaning up. Then I rolled straight into verticutting. It was fun for me to come in early, throw in the ear buds and get some equipment time and not worry about meetings or phone calls."
    At Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, the university's football facility known infamously as The Swamp, Smith typically would overseed the Celebration Bermudagrass in the fall for the last couple of games of the season. With only two home games in the last seven weeks of the 2019 schedule and a new stand of TifTuf, Smith skipped overseeding last year.
    "I had a chance for the field to recover for the Vanderbilt game and another window of opportunity to get ready for Florida State in the last game of the season," Smith said. 
    "We're trying to set ourselves up for this season because we don't have to transition out of ryegrass."
    If there is football. Schools have been cleared to bring players back to campus beginning June 1. Whether that occurs is up to each school and conference individually, but whether Florida or the Southeastern Conference will do so is likely, but has not yet been decided.
    Although Smith is ahead of where he normally would be, the pace makes him feel like something is off.
    "The way we're doing things takes longer, and it feels like we are behind, but we're not. We're doing things a lot earlier than usual," Smith said. 
    "Right now, we should be preparing for the softball super regionals. This should be the last weekend of postseason stuff at home, but we're already transitioned out, already had a round of aerification and verticutting. Look at where we'd normally be; we're way ahead of the game."
  • Qualifier events have been canceled for this year's U.S. Open at Winged Foot, which has been rescheduled for September. More than any other game, golf is one built on a foundation of tradition. 
    One of golf's most enduring institutions - non-exempt players competing for a spot in American golf's national championship - has gone by the wayside, for a year anyway.
    Citing difficulties associated with the virus, the USGA announced this week that it has canceled all local and final qualifying for this year's tournament at Winged Foot in Mamaroneck, New York, which has been rescheduled from its traditional place in June to September as governing bodies in sports struggle to find ways to hold competition this year.
    The news makes the U.S. Open simply another in a long line of sporting events that will be contested this year with an asterisk next to it in the record books.
    Losing out on a chance to compete in the U.S. Open is unfortunate for many amateurs. But in what hopefully is a one-off year, it is the right call, and probably the only real solution the USGA had. And after all, Bobby Jones, the game's most successful amateur player, is not walking through that door.
    Managing the qualifier system under perfect conditions must be a logistical challenge. During the virus, the USGA said, it was simply impossible. Saying it does not have enough tests or the procedures in place to ensure the safety of all players, caddies and other personnel associated with each event, the USGA canceled 120 local and final qualifiers for non-exempt players at sites in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Japan. Contributing to the USGA's decision is the severity of the Covid-19 virus in New Jersey, where the association's headquarters is located. The virus has hit New Jersey especially hard, and the USGA said it would be impossible to staff its qualifiers this summer due to safety restrictions. 
    Even if there was a way to make qualifying work, the USGA was caught between a rock and a hard place. Conduct qualifying events, and run the risk of exposing dozens if not hundreds of people to the virus; cancel them and face criticism for crashing one of golf's great traditions.
    After automatic qualifiers and special exemptions, the U.S. Open typically gets about half of its traditional 156-player field through qualifier events. The field has been reduced to 144 players this year, and all non-exempt slots will be filled by invitation. 
    Last year, 74 players earned their way into the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, including just 19 amateurs. That list of qualifiers also included names like Aaron Baddely, Luke Donald, Jason Dufner, Rory Sabbatini, Sam Saunders and Zac Blair.
    Despite the USGA's long relationship with amateur golf, only one, John Goodman in 1933, has won the U.S. Open since Bobby Jones won the last of his four titles as an amateur in 1930, The last amateur to finish as runner-up was Jack Nicklaus in 1960 when he finished second to Arnold Palmer at Cherry Hills. The last Open champion to go through 36-hole qualifying was Lucas Glover in 2009.
    Sure, the USGA possibly could have come up with some sort of contingency that would allow for at least some of its qualifiers to be held this year with on-site personnel running each event and at least taking temperatures of players, caddies and other personnel on a daily basis. But given the circumstances, USGA officials probably made the right call to cancel qualifying in a sports year that will be dominated by special circumstances.
    Major League Baseball, the NFL and college football all are working on contingency plans so there is at least some level of competition this year. Golf's major associations are doing the same.
    No matter what it did, the USGA was in a no-win situation. 
    Although canceling qualifier events is not a perfect situation for amateur players who hold a significant place in the history of the U.S. Open, it is worth remembering the USGA is like a lot of other bodies governing sports. All are doing what they believe is right to restore some order to their respective games - even if it is not perfect - and to do so in a way that maximizes safety for everyone involved.
    After all, Bobby Jones is not walking through that door.
  • The coronavirus might have silenced summer concerts, but it has not stifled a husband-and-wife team from St. Louis who take their show on the road every night via social media, not to make money, but to lighten the spirits of others during the lockdown.
    Paul Hurst is a former superintendent and one of five co-owners of Greenspro, the Missouri-based distributor of products to the turf industry. Together, he and wife Kristie are known on the local club scene as "Midlife", and they have been playing local establishments for years. 
    "We knew some guys who were playing bars and restaurants," Paul said. "And we'd play for them during their breaks."
    "And we shouldn't have," Kristie interjected. "Because we were terrible. We were embarrassingly bad."
    They must have gotten better, because their side hustle grew to about 200 performances in 2019, including a long-term booking at the Four Seasons Hotel in St. Louis. That job came to a halt after Missouri Gov. Mike Parson implemented the state's shelter-in-place order on April 3 in response to the Covid-19 virus.
    It was after urging by Jeff Baxter, one of the partners in the Greenspro operation, that the Hursts post their work online. Since April 5, the couple has been recording what they call daily Covid Sessions in the kitchen of their home and posting them online. They began April 5 with "Believe" by Cher and just posted session No. 40 on Thursday - "East Bound and Down" by Jerry Reed, a tune better known as the theme song from Smokey and the Bandit.
    In their kitchen "studio" often can be seen a beer or glass of wine that is never full.
    "Our escape is music," Kristie said. "We just try to turn off everything that is happening and go into our music."
    Their covers include other groups like 38 Special, The Band, Fleetwood Mac, Steve Miller, Tracy Chapman and many more. Much of why they share their music online is to provide a brief moment of escape for others. 
    Most of their daily sessions get several dozen "likes", but their inaugural video has been viewed nearly 700 times. Another, Kristie said, has been watched more than 3,500 times.
    "Not bad for a couple of nobodies," she said.
    "Music can be a very emotional subject," Kristie continued. "I hate to use the word escapism, but it is an avenue for us to escape, and we hope others, even if they are laughing at us over how out of tune we are, we are hoping it triggers something in them that leads to joy, happiness or laughter. That is our intention.
    "Music has been a welcome respite for us, and for those who have had the pleasure of listening to us, or have suffered through our videos."
    Putting the exclamation point on how informal these sessions are have been the occasional beer or glass of wine visible on the counter. That has morphed into vendors sending can holders, caps and other swag. Their unofficial sponsors have included the likes of Brandt, Nufarm and Syngenta, and they are scheduled to play at this year's Carolinas GCSA Show - if there is one.
    The Hursts met while both were attending the University of Missouri. Kristie began singing in church choirs when she was about 6 years old. Paul picked up a guitar a dozen years ago, but wasn't in much shape to remember a lot about the experience.
    He was visiting a friend when he picked up a guitar and the two played "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd. He had been drinking, but he enjoyed playing enough to want more.
    "I was drunk," he said. "And as I walked home I swore I was going to teach myself to play guitar."
    He taught himself to play through a series of online instructional videos by Marty Schwartz.
    Their group, Midlife, was formed as Paul asked Christie to sing along as he tried to learn songs.
    "I'm no Eddie Van Halen," he said.
    Maybe not, but thankfully Kristie sounds a lot more like Natalie Merchant than she does David Lee Roth.
    Were in not for all those years of paying their dues in St. Louis clubs, Midlife probably never makes it onto Twitter.
    "We didn't develop talent, we developed courage," Kristie said. "Those first two years, I was terrified every time we performed. Then two years into it, I figured they're not throwing food at us, or kicking us out. Maybe we're not that bad after all."
  • It seems like it has been a year or more since a virus about which we knew little brought life as we knew it to a virtual standstill.
    The golf season was just heating up in mid-March with only about a month to go until the Masters Tournament when governors across the country began implementing shelter-in-place orders. 
    In a world suddenly filled with unknowns, there are some things of which we are certain. We know the virus is serious and deadly and that people are sick and dying. We know the economy is in the tank. And we know that experts in each field are telling us the worst for both is yet to come. We know our educational system - with some exceptions - is struggling to adequately prepare children for the future in an online environment. We know we do not control our lives and the world around us quite like we thought we did. And we know the psychological toll has been devastating and that its effects will be felt for years.
    If you are feeling undue stress related to the coronavirus, you're not alone. 
    Human Resources Executive, a publication dedicated to the HR industry, reported last month that 69 percent of workers in the U.S. admit that the coronavirus has caused the most stressful time they've known. This from a workforce that mostly includes those who lived through 9/11. 
    For the nearly 37 million Americans who are currently unemployed, stress levels no doubt are much higher. For the 31 percent in the HRE poll who gave the coronavirus era a collective "meh", I want some of what they're drinking.
    The virus will actually infect few of us, which does nothing to lessen how dangerous it is. Just ask Karl Danneberger at Ohio State. It's effect on our psyche will be far more reaching. 
    As humans we are social beings. We are not wired to be locked away from each other for weeks. Families have been separated. Nursing home residents and hospital patients are denied visitors. We have no idea when this will end, or if it ever will. We don't know what the world will look like on the other side of this, but we know it won't be the same. 
    Although our interactions with others outside our immediate families have been put largely on hold, it does not absolve us of our responsibility to be kind to others. Our chances to do so are fewer these days, but they are still there for those who look. We all are going through a lot; be kind to others and to yourself. 
    The reasons for increased stress levels are real, and pretty much all of them center entirely around financial and health issues, both physical and psychological. After that, what else matters? Right now, not much.
    After flirting with record lows for much of 2019 and early 2020, nationwide unemployment reached nearly 14.7 percent in April, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. It's the highest mark on record since the Fed began tracking such data in 1948. 
    We face a barrage of data every day from multiple sources, all of whom admit they don't fully have their arms around what makes this virus tick, and more importantly, what stops it from ticking. And with no end to virus protocols in sight, most of us are armed with more questions than answers about the future. 
    Even as sectors of the economy begin to open around the country, the virus will get worse before it gets better - and so will the economy.
    The Wall Street Journal reported last month that the projected unemployment rate this summer will peak at 16 percent in the third quarter. We're pretty close to that already. Economists from Goldman Sachs have said that number could go as high as 25 percent, while a Federal Reserve economist said 32 percent is not out of the question. Sixteen percent unemployment is scary, 25 percent would match that of the Great Depression, while 32 percent could cause irreparable damage to the economy, according to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
    The economics of the situation bring into play a host of questions. Will I have a job tomorrow, next week or next month? Will I be able to retire - ever? How do I send my kids to college?
    For those already on the wrong side of the labor statistics, many of whom are still struggling with the unemployment systems in their respective states, the questions become much more grassroots: Will I be able to feed my family or keep my home?
    Stages of reopening the economy vary by state. Some industries are open, some are not, and when they will be able to reopen is, in many cases, a mystery. What we know is that many businesses, sadly, will never reopen, including some golf courses. Those that do reopen will do so under a new set of guidelines that some elected officials and public health professionals suggest remain in place until a vaccine is developed as some areas of the country have transitioned from a goal of "until we flatten the curve" to "until we find a cure." Many of the world's best minds are racing to be the first to develop a cure, but given nature's ability to outwit medical science (the common cold, flu, HIV and cancer), there is no guarantee a vaccine is coming.
    To date, nearly 90,000 U.S. deaths have been blamed on the coronavirus, and that number is expected to approach 150,000 the summer.
    Schools nationwide from kindergarten through college have been shut down since March. Some universities already have announced that they will offer only online studies in the fall semester. Others are working on plans and contingencies to reopen in the fall, but there is no concrete plan in any state that guarantees students will be seated at a desk in a classroom come fall. A lot of what-ifs.
    Some teachers unions are threatening to no-show for in-person school without enough tests for faculty, staff and students. Some states have announced hybrid plans that include a mix of in-person and online education.
    Although some schools and universities have thrived in an online environment since Al Turgeon and Penn State introduced distance learning in 1998, online-only instruction caught most schools with their pants down this year and most have a lot of catching up to do if a virtual classroom exists again in the 2020-21 school year.
    The toll this experience will take on all of us, whether from a physical or mental health perspective will be immense, so be kind to others. You never know what someone else is going through at this time, but you know they have a lot on their minds. We all do.
  • Left Hand Robotics introduced the new and improved version of its robotic mower that doubles in winter as a snow-removal device.
    The 2020 model of the RT-1000 can be used to mow common and out-of-play areas helping free up labor for other tasks. 
    Powered by a two-cylinder, 37hp Vanguard engine, the RT-1000 operates over a GPS-mapped route that is accurate within a centimeter, the company says. It is equipped with lights, cameras and lidar and radar sensors so others can see it and that allow it to come to a complete stop when someone or something blocks its path. When the path is clear, the unit automatically starts moving again. Two emergency stop buttons allow a human operator to manually halt the unit if necessary.
    The unit has a width of 34 inches, and at 1,250 pounds, rides on four 20-inch-by-10-inch turf-friendly all terrain tires. 
    With a 5-inch ground clearance, an attachable broom can remove snow up 3 inches in depth over large areas.

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