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From the TurfNet NewsDesk

  • John Reitman
    Owner/operator Scott Malloy does it all at Shady Grove Golf Course in Ohio. To describe Scott Malloy as busier than a one-armed paper hanger would be an unfair comparison that puts too much pressure on all the one-armed paper hangers in the world. In reality, they couldn't keep up with the 59-year-old Malloy who has owned Shady Grove Golf Course in Findlay, Ohio for nearly three decades. 
    Malloy does it all at the humble-but-busy public, nine-hole facility where he is the owner, operator, general manager, superintendent, head teaching pro, accountant, payroll clerk, driving range manager, advertising executive, marketing manager and proprietor of an on-site restaurant. The property also boasts a busy mini-golf layout.
    "I've never looked back," said Malloy, who has owned Shady Grove since 1990. "I've enjoyed every minute of it."
    It's as if Malloy was destined for a life in the golf business. A native of Toledo, Malloy was born in the shadows of the historic Inverness Club, the 100-year-old Donald Ross classic on the city's west side that has been the site of four U.S. Open Championships, a pair of PGA Championships, the U.S. Senior Open (twice), a U.S. Amateur and this year's U.S. Junior Am and in 2021 will host the Solheim Cup.
    A standout junior golfer in the 1970s, Malloy played for a Findlay High School team that compiled a 51-0 record in dual matches during his days as a prep player - a background that would later figure heavily into his future plans. He went on to earn a finance degree from Ohio State with designs on entering the world of big business. He never knew at the time that business would be in golf.
    With a passion for the game that he couldn't shake, Malloy refocused his career choice and set his sights on becoming a teaching pro. He worked as an assistant pro at clubs in West Virginia, Indiana, New Jersey and Florida before eventually returning to Findlay, where his parents moved when he was 10 years old, to buy Shady Grove.
    "I'd been gone from Findlay for eight or nine years," he said. "I had no idea what the golf market and the teaching market would be like here."
    He caught the market as it was riding its high, and has withstood the lows while other courses in the area have struggled and some have closed.
    With no background in turf, Malloy first hired turf professionals to manage the golf course for him, but realized he had to become more vested in the ways of agronomy if he was ever going to have a firm grasp on his business. Through the years, he learned enough to take over the role of superintendent, thanks to the turf pathology department at Ohio State and trusted suppliers and sales people, and through attending seminars and state and regional turf conferences. 

    FootGolf has become a significant part of Shady Grove's revenue stream. "I needed to know more about (managing turf)," he said. "The conditions on the golf course were a reflection on me.
    "I eventually learned enough to take on being superintendent as part of my daily job."
    That finance degree from OSU has come in handy since the boom and bust that has seen about 2,000 golf courses nationwide close their doors since 2006, including several in northwestern Ohio. Shady Grove might be a nine-hole course in city of 40,000 that is surrounded by farmland in every direction, but Malloy is always seeking that next trend or tweak in the industry that will give his course an edge on the competition. 
    Throughout his tenure as owner of Shady Grove, Malloy has made a career of trying to bring the game to the area's underserved - namely kids and women. His goal has been to set his business apart from his competitors by taking advantage of his first love - teaching. When he's not mowing; applying fertilizers, fungicides and pesticides; picking balls off the range; ordering food for the restaurant; or manning the register in the golf shop, Malloy likely can be found on the range giving lessons.
    An app on his phone is connected to a motion detector near the golf shop and alerts him when the next potential customer has arrived, regardless of where he is on the property. And those customers are doing much more than just playing golf. Business at the restaurant, where wife Lisa is the manager, is always brisk and the mini-golf course helps generate extra revenue, too.
    "I couldn't have done this without her, especially when we were raising our kids," said Malloy, a father of three adult children, all of whom are Ohio State graduates.
    While seeking ways to grow the family business, Malloy toyed for years with the idea of joining the FootGolf craze, but always put it off saying he was too busy to take on one more initiative. After conducting his due diligence like any good finance major would, he finally took the plunge this year, and in the spring went across U.S. 224 to Walmart to buy several soccer balls. 
    The sport that combines golf and soccer has taken off at Shady Grove, and in its first year comprises nearly half of the operation's revenue.
    Corporate outings have caught on with the likes of Marathon Petroleum and Cooper Tire, both of which are headquartered in Findlay, local church and hospital groups and kids parties.
    "I'm always looking for something. I'm always listening to people and talking to people," he said. 
    "This isn't just about golf. We just keep looking for different revenue streams, just like every other business."
  • Armyworms and other opponents of chlorpyrifos were dealt a blow when the EPA recently ruled against banning the chemistry. For more than 50 years, chlorpyrifos has been effective at eliminating a host of insect pests, many of which are found in turf. For more than 10 of those years, those who object to its use have been trying to eliminate the chemistry from the market.
    Amid claims of adverse health effects attributed to long-term exposure, chlorpyrifos has been at the center of controversy for years, and several organizations have lobbied the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to cancel its registration.
    Earlier this summer, the agency decided against a ban on chlorpyrifos, which is commonly used in agriculture and also is effective in turf to control pests such as armyworms, cutworms and sod webworms.
    A request to ban the chemical was submitted by at least a dozen public advocacy groups as well as the states of New York, Washington, California, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland and Vermont in 2007. The EPA initially decided against a ban two years ago, and reiterated those same sentiments in July. At least six of those states mentioned here now are involved in a lawsuit against the EPA challenging its decision to allow the continued use of chlorpyrifos.
    It was banned nationwide for use in the residential market a decade ago, but still is registered for professional use in 49 states (Alaska). Some states have initiated limited-use rules and lawmakers in Hawaii have enacted a statewide ban that will go into effect in 2022. New York lawmakers also have passed a similar ban that is awaiting the governor's signature.
    Opponents say long-term exposure to the chemistry, which was patented by Dow in 1966, can cause neurological damage and claim that children are especially at risk. A data sheet published by Oregon State University says it does not bind to the soil and is not commonly taken up by plants, but is a concern in runoff. 
    The EPA in 2015 produced studies it said at the time backed up such claims, but has since reversed its own findings.
  • Jerry Coldiron, CGCS, was a man for whom joy and positivity were not sound bites or t-shirt slogans. They were an infectious part of his being, something he passed onto others without thought or intention. So upon his untimely passing in November, 2017 at the age of 60, we at TurfNet thought it only appropriate to join with his family to honor our long-time friend and member by establishing an award in his name.
    The Jerry Coldiron Positivity Awards are given annually to recognize individuals within the golf turf industry who live lives of positivity, caring, sharing and compassion for others… or who have experienced personal hardship due to illness, natural events or job loss… or who do something special for the natural world (a special thing to Jerry). 
    The first awards were presented at the 2018 GIS to 
    Marcos "Mike" Morales of the Buccaneer Golf Club in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands John and Peggy Colo, Jupiter Hills Golf Club, Tequesta, Florida Adam and Erin Engle, Lake Shore Yacht and Golf Club, Cicero, NY John and Nick Paquette, Indian Hills Country Club, Northport, NY The 2019 awards have been presented recently to Tenia Workman, executive director of the Georgia GCSA, and posthumously to Tom Morris, CGCS, 20-year member of the TurfNet hockey team who passed away at age 61 shortly after Jerry, in February 2017.
    True leaders inspire others not through words, but through actions. 
    For golf course superintendents in Georgia, Tenia Workman has been an inspiration for nearly 20 years. The executive director of the Georgia GCSA since 2002, Workman has overseen the development and implementation of a host of programs designed to promote the superintendent profession to constituencies inside and outside the golf industry, and has helped build and nurture a family-like atmosphere among members throughout the chapter.
    “Tenia made the Georgia chapter like one big family,” said Ralph Kepple, superintendent at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, where the award was presented August 20 during a lull in the preparations for the 2019 PGA Tour Championship. “She’s like a mother to everybody in the association. She’s the glue that keeps us together.”

    Tenia Workman with her award plaque at the East Lake Golf Club maintenance facility. She also received a check for $1000. Even when Workman was at her personal worst, like two years ago when she learned she had breast cancer, she was at her best professionally. Workman was diagnosed with cancer in 2017 and underwent a double-mastectomy shortly thereafter. 
    “Even when she was going through her cancer treatments, she still cared for everyone else,” said Anthony Williams, CGCS, director of golf course maintenance at the Four Seasons in Irving, Texas, and a longtime Georgia superintendent. “She is Saint Tenia in my book. She has been a superintendent wife forever so she knows when to push and when to hold ground and she's a standout in an industry that is often unforgiving, her example gives us all hope.”
    The awards namesake carried special meaning for Workman, who not only runs an association for superintendents, but is also married to one.
    “I didn’t know (Jerry), but just that this award is named after a superintendent, it means so much more to me,” Workman said. “I would do anything for the superintendents in Georgia. These guys are like family to me.”
    The Georgia GCSA recognized Workman’s contributions in December when the group named her recipient of the association’s President’s Award for continuing to serve members while undergoing treatments to fight cancer.
    In addition to an award plaque, Workman was presented with a check for $1000 for her personal use, however she sees fit, to do something fun or create joy for herself or her family. Jon Kiger of TurfNet made the presentation at East Lake.
    Peace, love and 3-part harmony
    Also receiving a Coldiron Award this year was Tom Morris, CGCS, a 25-year career superintendent, 20-year member of our TurfNet hockey team, hockey referee and bluegrass musician who passed away suddenly around Valentine's Day, 2018. His long-time partner, Nancy Jean Henry, organized a town-wide celebration of his life -- TommyFest -- in their hometown of Jamaica, Vermont, last summer. Peter McCormick and several other TurfNet members attended, and wrote about it here.

    Nancy Jean Henry and Tom Morris both led lives of "peace, love and 3-part harmony" - Tom's favorite expression.

    Tom Morris (r) enjoying a yuck with Joe "Squeak" Kinlin (Bey Lea GC, NJ) in 2005. As a bluegrass musician in a rural state, Morris had wanted to find a way to get musical instruments into the hands of those who couldn't afford them. Because so many of southern Vermont bluegrass musicians attended and played at the first TommyFest, Nancy Jean Henry made that the theme of this year's TommyFest 2019. She established a fund to purchase guitars, mandolins, fiddles and various percussion instruments, and encouraged those attending to bring a spare instrument to contribute. TommyFest 2019 was held July 6, which would have been Tom's 63rd birthday.
    Team TurfNet passed the hockey helmet around the dressing room at the Golf Course Hockey Challenge in Niagara Falls back in January, and those monies along with a $1000 award check were presented to Nancy Jean to help fund instrument purchases and the event itself.  Appropriately, the team's contribution was earmarked for buying the beer.

    Over 30 instruments were exchanged, with new owners paired up with volunteer instructors.

    What would a Vermont celebration be without folk art, including this caricature of Tom?
    Everyone who attended the first TommyFest brought a perennial plant for a memorial garden, the centerpiece of which was a Japanese Maple tree. The garden has flourished since last year, and a peek within the branches of the tree revealed Tom's classic palm-less hockey gloves gripping the trunk.
    Look closely and you'll see Tom's palm-less hockey gloves gripping the trunk of his memorial tree.
    About Jerry
    Jerry was a proud native of Kentucky and an alumnus of Eastern Kentucky University with a BS in horticulture and turfgrass management. He spent his entire 25-year superintendent career with Boone County (KY) Parks & Recreation, retiring in 2006 as director of golf course maintenance for Boone Links and Lassing Pointe Golf Courses.
    After retirement from active golf course management, Jerry and his wife Susan relocated to Boca Raton, FL, so Jerry could embark on a second career in sales, selling Toro and Club Car in the Caribbean islands for Hector Turf of Deerfield Beach, FL.

    Classic Coldiron. Jerry was a long-time active TurfNet member, joining in 1996 when online discussion and communication was in its infancy. He actively participated in the Forum, contributing over 400 posts to various turf- and non-turf related discussions over the years. 
    Jerry embodied the true TurfNet spirit of sharing, caring, compassion and camaraderie,” said Peter McCormick, TurfNet founder. “He was one of the central core of the TurfNet community. Always humble, Jerry loved to have fun and pump others up, encouraging everyone to live life to the fullest and enjoy every day. These awards will recognize those who have done the same in their own ways, and help us continue to shine Jerry’s light on the good of the world. He was a very special man.”
  • The VGR TopChanger is a tractor-drawn, PTO-powered water injection aerifier that introduces wet or dry sand or other amendments into the soil profile.  It is manufactured in the Netherlands by the VGR Group and distributed in North America by STEC Equipment of Anderson, South Carolina.
    The TopChanger incorporates water-blast roller cleaning and integral rear brushes to minimize cleanup.

     
     
  • DryJect soon will have a solution for superintendents who do not have access to or the budget for kiln-dried sand during aerification and topdressing.
    Through extensive research and development, DryJect has engineered a special hopper configuration that includes rotating agitation and staged screening with vibratory assistance to assure flow of damp and even wet sand through its all-in-one aerification and topdressing system.
    This new capability will be available through select DryJect regional service centers by October, with most outlets coming online through winter and spring of next year.
    Field testing revealed that damp and wet sand applied through the new hopper was distributed at a rate of about 90 percent compared with dry sand. The 10 percent discrepancy is largely from that same percentage of holes not receiving any sand. This is significant because 90 percent of the holes with sand were filled just as full as the kiln-dried process. For comparison, a 3-inch-by-2-inch spacing at an approximate depth of 4 inches with kiln-dried sand will deliver 5.6 cubic feet of sand per 1,000 square feet. Using damp or wet sand that has not been kiln dried will deliver 5 cubic feet.
    This new technology now makes the Dry-Ject process available in parts of the U.S. and Canada with limited or no access to kiln-dried sand. It also can help reduce the cost of aerification and topdressing procedures since damp or wet sand is less expensive than kiln-dried.
  • Copperleaf Golf Club superintendent David Dore-Smith says disaster preparedness includes prepping turf to deal with stress. Fashion trends might start in Paris, but challenges associated with pests, diseases and other issues affecting golf course maintenance often start in Florida, or at least manifest in a more advanced state and for longer periods of time.
    Hurricanes, nematodes, mole crickets and many troublesome diseases might not be unique to Florida, but many show up with a veracity often not found elsewhere.
    As Hurricane Irma began creeping up Florida's southwest coast on Sept. 10, 2017 at Category 4 strength, at least a dozen golf courses in the Naples area were in the midst of a renovation - including Lexington Country Club.
    When Lexington superintendent Laurie Frutchey returned to the course after the storm had passed, she reached out to a few trusted colleagues to seek input on what the event might mean to the renovation. Among those on her speed dial were Bayer area sales rep Zach Lane and Todd Lowe, the former USGA Green Section agronomist and now a member of Bayer's Green Solutions Team.
    Progress on the Lexington was set back two weeks. There were other renovation projects in the area that experienced setbacks measured in months, not weeks.
    "2017 was a brutal year," Lane said during a Bayer-hosted summit focused on the company's support of superintendents in Florida.
    Any support at all was just fine with Frutchey, who has been the superintendent at Lexington for the past 18 years. History has taught her that she can lean on Lane and Lowe when things aren't going so smoothly. So too can other superintendents across the region and throughout the state. 
    A year after the hurricane went through southwestern Florida, almost all the greens on Lexington's front nine were succumbing to a disease eventually diagnosed as fairy ring. Among those she called for help diagnosing Lexington's ailing greens were Lane and Lowe, who was a Florida-based Green Section agronomist for 18 years.
    "It took a lot of time on our hands and knees to figure things out," Frutchey said. 
    Once the problem was diagnosed, "it was a textbook case," Frutchey said.
    "You could see where it was attacking in the profile layer," Lowe said. "You could see an orange layer in the grow-in layer. 
    "It lasted all year."
     In-the-field support that sometimes includes recommending competitors' products is one of just a few things Bayer is doing to promote the careers of superintendents in Florida and elsewhere.
    Those efforts include the Green Start Academy held jointly with John Deere, that provides career development for assistants, and the Superintendent Grant Program that sends 10 superintendents to the Golf Industry Show. That program was expanded after Irma to include another five superintendents from hurricane-affected courses in Florida.
    Among them was Preston Stephenson, a regional superintendent for Pope Golf based at Misty Creek Country Club in Sarasota.
    He was fortunate to lose only three trees during Irma, but his modest team of eight did all the clean up work, removing layer upon layer of debris to get the course reopened in just three days.
    "You couldn't see the turf," he said.
    David Dore-Smith, superintendent at Copperleaf Golf Club in Bonita Springs remembers Irma well, too, including 30 inches of rain over two weekends, 300-plus trees that came down and using a chainsaw just to clear the road on which he lives just so he could get to work and clear more trees.
    Like other superintendents, he has a disaster-preparedness plan just for events like Irma, Dore-Smith also remembers phone calls from Lane and Lowe to remind him about other practices to manage his turf in advance of a hurricane, including some unlikely advice.
    Their concern was issues like take-all root rot, Pythium root rot and Bermudagrass decline.
    "We don't recommend just our own products," Lane said. 
    "I'll say it, we told him to use Primo (from Syngenta), blast the golf course then shut it down."
    Regardless of whether the disaster is weather related, or the sudden onset of disease or pest pressure, it is critical to remain calm and professional, said Gregory Jack, superintendent at TPC Treviso Bay in Naples.
    "How are you handling yourself? How are you presenting yourself? What are members seeing?" Jack said. "It's not always about growing grass. It's not always about what you're doing. It's about how everybody perceives you, or how everyone working around you sees you.
    "Are you getting enough information to others so they can see what is happening and going on?"
    Apparently, that same advice applies to vendors, too.
  • Shaping is nearly complete at American Dunes Golf Club, part of which will open next year. Photos courtesy of Jon Scott. It might be hard to find anyone in golf who does more for those in need than Jack Nicklaus. And it might be even more difficult to find a course more deserving of his benevolence than the 50-plus-year old track on the eastern shores of Lake Michigan that holds a special place in his heart.
    Whether it is helping provide a wide network of healthcare services for children throughout South Florida or donating his design services to some of his favorite pet projects, Jack Nicklaus has made a life of giving back to those in need. 
    Nicklaus' latest endeavor has been to donate his design services to the course formerly known as Grand Haven Golf Club, situated in the western Michigan town of the same name.
    Opened in 1965, Grand Haven Golf Club was designed and built on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan by the father-and-son architecture team of Bruce and Jerry Matthews. A half-century later, Nicklaus is redesigning the course that will serve as a living tribute to the armed forces and all who have served by being an avenue for raising funds to provide scholarships to members of military families.
    "I love the game of golf, but I love my country even more," Nicklaus said in a news release.
    Dr. John Rooney bought Grand Haven in 1988. Twenty years later, the course was the birthplace of the Folds of Honor program started by Rooney's son, Maj. Dan Rooney, a PGA professional and a pilot in the U.S. Air Force Reserves. Eleven years ago, the younger Rooney started the Folds of Honor program that provides scholarships to spouses and children of fallen or wounded service members. The newly renovated course will be a fundraising tool to support the scholarship program through a series of tournaments held in conjunction with the upcoming Patriot Golf Day. Nine holes are scheduled to open in October 2020 and the other nine in 2021.
    Rooney and Nicklaus have known each other for years, and the latter has been a supporter of Folds of Honor since its inception. The two crossed paths two years ago at The Bear's Club in Jupiter, Florida, where Rooney shared his vision for Grand Haven's legacy in the Folds of Honor program.
    "This family-owned golf course is where Fields of Honor started. Mr. Nicklaus has been a big supporter of Fields of Honor," Rooney said. 
    "With my parents getting older and me trying to figure out what to do with the golf course, the easy answer was 'plow it under and convert it to real estate in a thriving town.' The hard right was to try to save it.
    "Mr. Nicklaus asked me what I wanted the course to be, and I want it to be something that is reverent to God and country and what this can be to future generations."
    Nicklaus saw the genius in that vision and agreed to donate his services and those of his team at his North Palm Beach, Florida firm that has designed or renovated more than 400 golf courses in nearly 50 countries.
    He was on site this week, checking on the project's progress.
    "I don’t know that the golf course necessarily appealed to me," Nicklaus told the Grand Haven Tribune. "It was the idea of what it represents with the Folds of Honor. Dan Rooney has been a good friend for a long time. He's a good man. He started the Folds, and what they're doing, who they're honoring, what it does is something I'm very much moved by, so when Dan asked me to come and do it, it wasn't a big choice for me, regardless of what the property was. I didn't care what the property was.
    "Turns out it was a beautiful piece of property to do a golf course to honor Folds of Honor. A lot of people are really going to enjoy coming here to see the golf course, see what Dan has done to honor fallen soldiers and their families."
    Although the Nicklaus name is the big gun behind this project, getting the renovation from the drawing board to the dirt has taken an army of others who either have donated products and/or services or offered them at a steeply discounted rate.
    That list includes his design firm's senior design associate Chris Cochran as well as former staff agronomist Jon Scott, who volunteered his time a few years ago on another gratis project by Nicklaus, and has recruited others, including John Murtaugh of MCI, Bill Dunn of Seed Research of Oregon, John Maeder of Profile Products, Jim Thomas of Thomas Turf Services and dozens of others.
    "Our military servicemen and women deserve nothing less from us when they give the ultimate sacrifice for their country," said Scott, a Michigan native and resident. "That is why I wanted to be involved, and why so many of my industry friends have joined in this worthy renovation project. It is the least we can do to help Major Dan and the Folds of Honor Foundation."
    The course in Grand Haven, where Joe Verduin is superintendent is scheduled to reopen in October 2020 as American Dunes Golf Club.

    The project is in its final stages of shaping with seeding to begin later this month. It will combine the area's natural sand dunes with a woodland setting and will utilize native sand in greens and bunker construction.
    Folds of Honor raises money through a variety of fundraisers, including Patriot Golf Day, which is a series of golf tournaments at sites nationwide that is scheduled nationally over Labor Day weekend. Individual courses can, however, host events as they fit their individual schedules. 
    To date, the Folds of Honor program has awarded more than $130 million in scholarships, including 5,000 scholarships totalling $26 million for the upcoming school year, Rooney said.
    "That's all to spouses and children of those killed, injured or disabled," Rooney said. "The impact we have on others is what makes what used to be Grand Haven Golf Club relevant."
    Nicklaus' commitment to charitable causes has a long history. He is a longtime supporter of children's healthcare initiatives in South Florida, and two years ago, thanks to the support of Nicklaus and wife Barbara, the Miami Children's Hospital Network became known as the Nicklaus Children's Health System with its own fundraising arm, the Nicklaus Children's Hospital Foundation. 
    The Memorial Tournament held at Nicklaus' Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin has raised about $30 million for charity since the inaugural event in 1976. He also has been a longtime supporter of the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, a fundraising and research initiative by the University of Miami that targets spinal cord and brain injuries.
    This isn't the first of Nicklaus' outreach efforts to benefit golf courses. Three years ago, he donated his services to redesign and expand American Lake Veterans Golf Course on the grounds of the Veterans Administration Puget Sound Healthcare System in Lakewood, Washington. 
    "My agronomy services were included in that commitment, and I made about six visits to the site before and during construction," Scott said. "I was totally humbled and honored to be a part of such a great cause and met many individuals who were the beneficiaries of our efforts. I was also able to use my industry network to bring many more people into the project to make their own and their companies' contribution. It was one of the most satisfying of all the golf course projects I had worked on in my 18 years with Nicklaus Design."
    When North Palm Beach Country Club, a humble, city-owned course in Nicklaus' adopted hometown in Florida, needed a makeover, the Golden Bear did so - for a fee of $1.
    So, helping fulfill Rooney's vision was a natural fit for Nicklaus.
    "We're very proud at the Nicklaus organization to be a part of this," Nicklaus said, "very proud to be part of Folds of Honor's past, and very proud to be a part of its future."
    The course, which combines a natural dunes setting with a woodland theme, is in the final stages of shaping under the eye of Doug Graham of Graham Golf, with seeding to begin later this month. 
    Greens will be grassed with 777 creeping bentgrass developed at Rutgers University by Rich Hurley, Ph.D., Stacy Bonos, Ph.D., and Leah Brilman, Ph.D. Tees and fairways will be covered with Flagstick creeping bentgrass out of Michigan State and Seed Research of Oregon. Both were chosen for disease resistance.
    The new design and the natural setting promises to make American Dunes a unique golf experience.
    "Everybody is pouring their hearts and souls into this to create a legacy that is going to live beyond all of us," Rooney said. "It is going to be something from a pure golf experience, but that wasn't the dream. The dream was to do something that is reverent to the military and God and country. 
    "Sometimes, things have to fall apart to come together. I knew the site was nice, but it is going to come together to create a golf experience that will be in the rarest of air. We are within a four-hour drive of about 35 million people. I think it will be a pilgrimage-type effect, but people will be coming for a reason beyond golf."
  • Ryan Gordon has worked at the site of the Champions Tour's Boeing Classic since 2005, including the past eight seasons as head superintendent. Communication is critical to keeping any golf course operation running, but being able to read between the lines might be equally important.
    That's the case anyway at The Club at Snoqualmie Ridge in Snoqualmie, Washington, where superintendent Ryan Gordon and his team face some unique communications challenges every day.
    "I was born with a 90-percent profound hearing loss, which was a surprise because I have zero family history of deafness, so, I grew up with all hearing family members," Gordon said - by email.
    Gordon, 36, has been at Snoqualmie Ridge since 2005, the same year the club became the host site of the Champions Tour's Boeing Classic. He has been superintendent since 2012.
    Gordon's hearing impairment is something that he, his team and everyone else he works alongside at Snoqualmie Ridge have learned to overcome through utilizing non-verbal communications technology like Google Docs, the use of assistive-listening devices, some sign language and Gordon's own mad lip-reading skills. In fact, effective communication is such a non-issue that when pro golf's senior circuit tees off next week at Snoqualmie Ridge, no one who knows Gordon or is in anyway affiliated with the Boeing Classic will give his hearing - or lack of it - a second thought.
    In fact, while overcoming obstacles the rest of us take for granted, Gordon's story is one of inspiration.
    "I would say I've never met anyone who cared for a golf course more than Ryan does, and that bleeds out to other people," said Ryan Ingalls, operations manager for the Boeing Classic. 
    "He leads by example. He has to from a communications standpoint. He is the first one out to work on a bunker or do whatever else needs to be done, and that goes a long way."
    His tournament prep leaves tournament officials and Snoqualmie Ridge general manager James Hochrine in amazement.
    "I know he is one of the most-loved superintendents on the Champions Tour, because he so proficient," Hochrine said. "The Tour guys write down a list of things they need done, and it's all done two weeks in advance of the tournament when they show up. He is the most-prepared superintendent for a tournament I've ever seen. He's really detail oriented. He documents everything; the really good ones document a lot so they don't have to reinvent the wheel every year."
    Gordon can speak, but admits he can be hard to understand and that email exchanges might be the most efficient way to conduct an interview with the media. 
    Danny Vandecoevering, a former assistant at Snoqualmie Ridge and now an agronomist and sales rep with Wilbur-Ellis, recalls when he arrived at the course to volunteer for the 2009 Boeing Classic. It was the first time he and Gordon, then an assistant, had met.
    "He was in the shop waiting for me," Vandecoevering said. "I couldn't understand 75 percent of what he was saying. I remember feeling so bad for him. It was really uncomfortable."
    For Gordon, however, finding ways to communicate effectively are all he knows, including the use of a video relay service that allows him to talk over the telephone.
    "It works fairly well, but sometimes the tone of what I want to say to the other person can get lost through translation," he said. "It's not as good as a 1:1 conversation, but a fantastic tool in my toolbox."
    His most effective one-on-one communication tool is lip reading, which his colleagues say he is crazy good at.
    "Lip reading is something that I have always done out of necessity and I will also add that it's not just a full-on focus of following how the lips move," he said. "You combine the movement of the lips with facial expression, body language and movement, which will tell you a lot about what the other person is conveying, and when combined you can follow along in a conversation. However, there is also a little bit of common sense involved here, as well. I may only catch 60-70 percent of what is spoken and have to use my logic to fill in the blanks for things to make sense. It isn't a perfect system, but usually gets me in the ballpark."
    A 2005 graduate of Oregon State, Gordon first arrived in Corvallis on scholarship to the business school. After about a year he started second-guessing his career choice. While trying to find his way at Oregon State, Gordon, who grew up working on a nine-hole course and caddying for his father, eventually met Tom Cook and his longtime research assistant Brian McDonald. The rest, as they say, is history.
    "I switched majors my sophomore year and got a job working for a research assistant to the dean of the horticulture department," Gordon wrote. "We worked on cherry tree research on the university research farm, which was a lot of data gathering and pruning and a lot of fun. My first summer working on the farm, I got to know Tom Cook and Brian McDonald, who also had their research area on the same farm and that's when it clicked for me."
    Although he has used virtually every kind of assistive-listening device ever made, Gordon has become an excellent lip reader through the years. That is a handy skill in face-to-face interactions, but is of little use when the crew is scattered throughout the golf course. 
    While climbing his way up through the industry, Gordon was fortunate to work for and with people who saw him for his agronomic skills and were willing to meet halfway to establish effective communication, including using assistive-listening devices.
    "When I first arrived here at Snoqualmie Ridge as an assistant superintendent, my boss at the time, Rick Hathaway (now at Rock Creek Cattle Company) bought six T-Mobile Sidekicks to distribute among the staff, mechanic, spray tech, second assistant, himself and our foreman and paid for the monthly cell phone bill," Gordon said. "It was a fantastic gesture to make sure that I had the tools I needed to do my job to manage the crew and communicate effectively. I will always be appreciative to him not only for giving me the opportunity but also for thinking outside the box and stepping up to the plate so I could be successful.  
    "Everyone I have worked for has always been willing to go the extra mile to make sure that I was always in the know."
    Hochrine has worked at Snoqualmie Ridge for five years; the first two as director of golf and the past three as general manager. He didn't have much experience working with the deaf until working with Gordon. That didn't much matter, Hochrine said, because Gordon's abilities as a superintendent, agronomist and manager do the talking for him.
    "He is a brilliant superintendent, not a deaf superintendent, although he realizes he has to communicate differently than everyone else does. But he doesn't know any different because he has done it his entire life," Hochrine said. "He is the best at running a crew I've seen.

    "At first I thought I might need to learn sign language. That's not the case, although he has taught me some. He is an inspiration. At first, I thought 'how does he get through a day. When you start working with him, you realize he is just like everyone else. He just goes about things differently than everyone else has to."
    Since he relies on reading lips in one-on-one situations or in committee meetings, Gordon knows he has to command the room, so he can maintain a line of sight with anyone who speaks. If he has a meeting with an outside group, like city officials about water-related issues, he might ask Hochrine to attend so he doesn't miss anything, but he stands on his own as much as possible.
    "There is a lot of trust between us," Hochrine said. 
    "When he meets with vendors, he could easily pass that off to accounting, but he doesn't. I can't imagine how he does that."
    The challenges and work-arounds at Snoqualmie Ridge could define Gordon's career, but he doesn't allow that.
    "Nothing has stopped him from doing anything any other superintendent does," said Vandecoevering. "He steps up in front of the crew and is a great leader. He doesn't give himself any excuses, and he doesn't think of being any different than anyone else."
    While he was attending Oregon State, Vandecoevering had volunteered for the 2009 Boeing Classic when Hathaway was superintendent. Three years later, when Gordon was taking over as a new superintendent and was in need of an assistant, he reached out to Vandecoevering and offered him the position - contingent on completing work toward his degree.
    "What sticks out about my time with Ryan, when I started he was 29 and I was 22. It was my first assistant job and his first job as superintendent. There was some bonding there," Vandecoevering said. "Other things besides his hearing were much more important. He is such a great superintendent, the fact that he is hearing impaired was pretty secondary."
  • Golf is at a crossroads. The question is, will anyone react faster than Bryson DeChambeau to steer it down the right path?
    Watching DeChambeau take 2 minutes or more to study over numerous shots during the PGA Tour's Northern Trust Open, including an 8-foot putt on the eighth hole that he ultimately missed, was painful and frustrating. His actions showed a lack of regard for fellow Tour professionals, and listening to him rationalize slow play and even blame others, including caddies for walking too slowly between shots, was insulting.
    Pros, including Justin Thomas, Paul Lawrie, Rich Beem and Eddie Pepperell, and the media erupted in outrage prompting DeChambeau to try to change his ways and the Tour to say it will take a look at slow play but stopping short of any punitive action.
    The PGA Tour, PGA of America and the USGA, all have addressed the importance of pace of play for everyday golfers. But refusal to hold pros to the same standard is bad for the future of a game that is not exactly in the best of shape.
    Whether golf at a snail's pace occurs on Sundays on network TV or down the street at the local course, slow play can be traced back to money.
    It is maddening to watch and it is a blatant disregard for other PGA Tour players when DeChambeau stands over a putt for more than 2 minutes, or J.B. Holmes deliberates a shot for more than 4 minutes - with no action by the Tour. With the vast amounts of money to be made on the pro tour, it also is understandable why players agonize over a single shot. Still, it is unfair to others facing the same pressure and it is not entertaining, despite what DeChambeau says.
    Golfers cognizant of their USGA index or stressing over a $5 Nassau are equally obsessive about their own slow-play transgressions, while expecting their three-putt partners to pick up and get out of the way as quickly as possible.
    That's a problem.

    For more than a decade, golf has been bleeding players and golf courses at a rate never before seen. Among the obstacles to attracting new players or getting those who already play to do so more often have been difficulty, cost and time. Lessons can help solve difficulty, and there are plenty of low-cost options available. But there is nothing that can help you affect those playing ahead of or with you.
    For years, the USGA, PGA of America and PGA Tour have been at the center of industry-wide initiatives aimed at helping grow the game, and all have addressed the issue of pace of play with everyday golfers as it relates to growing the game.
    Pace of play at the highest level has been a problem for years, as well. The Tour's response to finding a real solution to the pace of play issue is as slow as DeChambeau himself.
    After the Northern Trust, the Tour has vowed to review its pace of play policy and even use its Shotlink technology to establish a pace of play report on all players, but stopped short of handing out stroke penalties for violators. 
    According to one PGA Tour official: "We are currently in the process of reviewing this aspect of pace of play and asking ourselves is there a better way to do it?"
    Translation: "Do as I say, not as I do."
    Golfers everywhere deserve better, and so does the game.

  • Devou Golf and Event Center has a history that dates nearly 100 years as well as a focus on matters that are important to golf moving into the future. 
    For nearly 100 years, the daily fee course in Covington, Kentucky has served golfers in from the northern tier of Kentucky and throughout the greater Cincinnati area.
    The golf course at Devou is nestled in an 800-acre park that sits atop a hill overlooking downtown Cincinnati and offers a host of other recreational alternatives. And the folks who manage it understand their commitment to golfers and non-golfers alike.
    Ron Freking has seen a lot of change at Devou Park since he arrived at this humble facility in the 1980s to work as a mechanic for his father, Jim, who was superintendent. Changes have included expanding from nine to 18 holes almost 25 years ago and implementing a unique fairway-renovation project that, although it took nearly a decade to complete, was done at virtually no cost. Most recently, it also has included the addition of native areas that, along with this hilly terrain, have helped transform Devou into a monarch waystation and haven for wildlife despite its urban location. A native of nearby Ludlow, Freking's story is one of hometown boy makes good.
    "We serve a lot of people, and it's a good feeling to get compliments on the golf course," Freking said. "To help the environment along the way is a feather in the cap. We get a lot of comments about wildlife and plantings. It might not register with you immediately what is going on here, but when you see a deer on No. 6, or a redtail hawk, people like that."
    Through the years, he has put up a host of bluebird boxes and over the past two decades has hung dozens of gourds that house purple martins, and all are full.
    "I need to expand and put out more gourds," Freking said. "Those birds weren't here before we put those out. We saw an occasional hawk or deer, but until 20 years ago there was no wildlife here. Now, it's everywhere. I've seen just about every kind of wildlife that is found in Kentucky."

    Of late, those efforts have included converting the course to a stopping-off point for an endangered species.
    Freking worked closely with Crystal Courtney, a certified arborist with the city, a few years ago to identify areas to convert to native plantings and where to plant a variety of milkweed species to attract monarch butterflies during their migratory commute.
    "That was very important to the park and the city," Freking said. "It was more than just PR. The park's advisory board wanted to do what would be beneficial to the habitat, the golf course and the park.
    "We planted swamp, butterfly and common milkweeds; we grew them from plugs. Some took off, some we had to plant a second time."
    Devou Park is home to more than just a golf course, half of which is nearly a century old. Miles of trails for hiking, jogging and walking wind through the park. Concertgoers have been attending events in the park's bandshell since 1939, and a new clubhouse in 2017 brought with it another new venture.
    The park has partnered with nearby Devou Cycle to start a bicycle-rental program that has been a hit with non-golfers, and probably some golfers, too. A system of mountain bike trails measure up to more than 3 miles in length with an overall elevation change of more than 300 feet.
    "The golf course and park are unique in that non-golfers can touch our golf course all around the perimeter on several holes with jogging trails and picnic areas," Freking said. "It's not like we have to go find people, they are coming to us, and it is important to show we are not out there spraying chemicals with no concern. We are taking care of our environment."
    The addition of the new clubhouse brought more stewardship opportunities for Freking.
    Prior to that project, stormwater traveled downhill off the course to the adjacent town of Park Hills. So much dirt was moved during construction of the clubhouse that the area captures a lot of runoff that today is piped to a retention pond by the first fairway.
    None of these efforts have deterred city-owned Devou from delivering conditions the defy its municipal status, and that is an accomplishment has been no small feat.
    When the course was in need of a fairway renovation, but neither the city nor the management company that held the maintenance contract at the time, were about to pay for doing that in the traditional manner. A strip-sodding program in which Freking laid out sod squares in a checkerboard pattern converted the fairways from annual bluegrass to Meyer zoysiagrass, which is suited for the area's climate that includes hot, humid summers and cold winters. This method was cheap, costing virtually nothing, but took eight years to complete. While it was friendly to the bottom line, the improved playing conditions have been met with approval by Devou Park's loyal customers.
    "The accolades have kind of snuck up on me," Freking said. "I didn't plan for that. With the things we've done in house, plus the new clubhouse, the number of people coming here to the park find out that the golf course is pretty decent too, and that has been really rewarding."
  • Among the archived Webinar recordings available on TurfNet is the July 16 session on spring dead spot control by Bruce Martin, Ph.D.
    Disease management, the latest on insect pest research, water management and career development are just a few of the topics tackled in TurfNet University Webinars during the past . .  .  12 years. Yes, 12 years.
    Since January 2008, TurfNet has been bringing golf course superintendents at least 20 educational Webinars per year. Some years, a few more. That’s more than 250 events in all.
    Superintendents always are facing untimely and unexpected challenges, and we have always recognized that it is not always possible to plan weeks in advance for even a one-hour seminar. To that end, recordings of all of our Webinars have been available on our archives page from the start. 
    Sponsored by Grigg and BASF, TurfNet University recordings include our most recent production, What’s new in spring dead spot control, by recently retired Clemson turf pathologist Bruce Martin, Ph.D., from July 16.
    Some other recent topics include
    Best management practices to control anthracnose by Bruce Clarke, Ph.D., of Rutgers University; SDHI chemistries . . .  by Ed Nangle, Ph.D., of Ohio State ATI; Balancing work and family by Lisa and Mike Goatley, Ph.D.; How to work with a green committee by Bradley Klein, Ph.D.; and The ABCs of putting green maintenance, a four-part series by Mike Morris, CGCS at Crystal Downs Country Club and Thom Nikolai, Ph.D., of Michigan State. Even if a break in an irrigation line, an impromptu meeting in the clubhouse or a sudden disease outbreak stands in the way of viewing a live webinar, the recordings are available for on-demand replay 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year.
    Just like our live webinars, all recorded archives are free for everyone. TurfNet members should be logged in to their account and non-members should register for a free guest account to view them.
  • Santa Clara Golf and Tennis Club in Northern California is scheduled to close in October to make way for an entertainment district adjacent to Levi's Stadium. Midterm grades are in for 2019, and the golf industry is close to being sent home on academic probation. Even taking into account that spring was pretty wet in much of the country, rounds played in June, according to Golf Datatech’s monthly industry report card, still were flat compared to the same month in 2018, and year-to-date participation in the first half of the year was down 1 percent when measured against the first six months of last year, making golf a C performer - at best. It is a trend that is all-too familiar.
    The inventory of golf-playable-hours was down 7 percent nationwide in June. A metric devised by Jim Koppenhaver at Pellucid Corp., GPH is essentially an inventory of the number of hours in a given time that are favorable for playing golf that accounts for factors such as daylight hours, precipitation and temperature. Granted, nationwide weather data is pretty useless, but it tells us that many parts of the country took on a lot of rain in the spring. A lot of rain. And flat growth tells us that, overall, there are no more people playing golf now than a year ago. In fact, if history tells us anything, we probably will find out that there are a million or so fewer golfers among us by January, when Koppenhaver and Stuart Lindsey of Edgehill Consulting deliver their brutally frank state of the industry address at next year’s PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando.
    Conditions have largely dried out since spring in many of those areas that experienced wetter-than-normal weather to kick off the golf season, but the rebound many owners and operators had hoped for has not been there. Of course, there are going to be pockets of success since progress is measured on a course-by-course basis, but the overall bump signalling that we finally have reached equilibrium between demand for rounds played and supply of golf facilities has not yet arrived.
    The biggest losses in June were in Kentucky (down 18 percent) and Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma (all down 14 percent). Play also was down in several golf-centric states like New York (7 percent), North Carolina (6 percent), South Carolina (4 percent), Florida (2 percent) and Pennsylvania (1 percent). 
    The biggest gains in June were in the Dakotas (up 14 percent), Virginia and West Virginia (11 percent) and New Mexico (10 percent), none of which are going to have much of an influence in overall numbers. California saw a gain of just 0.6 percent.
    The biggest year-to-date losers for the first six months of the year were again Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma (all down 10 percent). The largest gains in the first half of the year were made in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia (up 14 percent), the Dakotas (up 12 percent) and New Jersey (up 11 percent).
    The golf business underwent tremendous growth in the 60 years following World War II. What soon became an oversaturated market quickly began to self-correct by shedding underperforming courses and hastily planned layouts designed to help sell real estate.
    What many in the industry thought might be a brief trend that would last just two or three years, has turned into a movement that has carried on for a generation and has redefined the business.
    Since 2006, 2,135 golf courses have closed, while 620 have opened for a net loss of 1,515 18-hole equivalents. Included in that are 41 closures and 10 openings so far this year. One unexpected statistic that has become a welcome trend in recent years is once-closed courses reopening under new ownership. According to Koppenhaver, there are 10 such properties that have reopened this year.
    Among the courses scheduled to close this year is Santa Clara Golf and Tennis Club, a 1987 Robert Muir Graves design in Silicon Valley that will be shuttered to make room for an entertainment complex adjacent to Levi’s Stadium, the home of the San Francisco 49ers. The course is set to close Oct. 15. The list also includes the Country Club at Deer Run, a daily fee in Casselberry, Florida that succumbed in June to the challenges of competing in the crowded Orlando market.
    One thing we know, is that there will be dozens more before the end of the year as the market continues to self-correct with no apparent end in sight. 
  • Carlos Arraya, CGCS, is a living example that even the worst of tragedies can provide a teaching moment. something good can come out of something bad.
    His people-first management style is the result of two things - the philosophy of his mentor and former boss John Cunningham and a car accident that killed his son, Isaiah, in 2016.
    Called pillar management, his management style focuses on employees first with the idea that the best people will produce the best product. It's a management style that gives employees ownership of the golf course and playing conditions on a daily basis thus proving how important each member is to the team and the overall operation. It also is one of the reasons Arraya was named winner of last year's TurfNet Superintendent of the Year Award, presented by Syngenta.
    "Losing my son gave me a new perspective," Arraya said when he won the award at the Golf Industry Show in San Diego. "Tragedies really awaken people, or they make them go down a road they can't come back from."
    CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT A NOMINATION
    Nominations for Arraya's successor are now being accepted. A panel of judges will select five finalists and ultimately the winner from among the list of nominees. Click here to submit a nomination. Deadline for nominations is Dec. 31.
    Since 2000, the TurfNet Superintendent of the Year Award, presented by Syngenta, honors the accomplishments of golf course superintendents across the nation. 
    Criteria on which nominees are judged include: labor management, maximizing budget limitations, educating and advancing the careers of colleagues and assistants, negotiating with government agencies, preparing for tournaments under unusual circumstances, service to golf clientele, upgrading or renovating the course and dealing with extreme or emergency conditions.
    Previous winners include: Jorge Croda, Southern Oaks Golf Club, Burleson, TX, and Rick Tegtmeier, Des Moines Golf and Country Club, West Des Moines, IA (2017); Dick Gray, PGA Golf Club, Port St. Lucie, FL (2016); Matt Gourlay, Colbert Hills, Manhattan, KS (2015); Fred Gehrisch, Highlands Falls Country Club, Highlands, NC (2014); Chad Mark, Kirtland Country Club, Willoughby, OH (2013), Dan Meersman, Philadelphia Cricket Club (2012), Flourtown, PA; Paul Carter, The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay, Harrison, TN (2011); Thomas Bastis, The California Golf Club of San Francisco, South San Francisco, CA (2010); Anthony Williams, Stone Mountain (GA) Golf Club (2009); Sam MacKenzie, Olympia Fields (IL) Country Club (2008); John Zimmers, Oakmont (PA) Country Club (2007); Scott Ramsay, Golf Course at Yale University, New Haven, CT (2006); Mark Burchfield, Victoria Club, Riverside, CA (2005); Stuart Leventhal, Interlachen Country Club, Winter Park, FL (2004); Paul Voykin, Briarwood Country Club, Deerfield, IL (2003); Jeff Burgess, Seven Lakes Golf Course, Windsor, Ontario (2002); Kip Tyler, Salem Country Club, Peabody, MA (2001); Kent McCutcheon, Las Vegas (NV) Paiute Golf Resort (2000).
  • University entomologists are great at spreading the word about the threat of insect pests like white grubs. Their back yards, however, might provide an even stronger tell about potential infestations.
    When retired Ohio State entomologist Dave Shetlar, Ph.D., found hundreds of masked chafers in a backyard trap about a month ago, he suspected it might not necessarily be good news."Well, so much for a low grub year!" Shetlar tweeted along with the photograph.Grubs, the juvenile version of a variety of winged beetle species that number in the thousands worldwide, can be problematic in fine-cut turf where they feed on thatch, organic matter and root profile. Common grub species in turf include masked chafers, green June beetles and Japanese beetles.
    The liberal sample of adult masked chafers in Shetlar's yard and excessive rains throughout much of the eastern part of the country could be signs of pending grub damage.

    According to research, larvae overwinter in the soil, emerge as adults in early to mid-summer and lay their eggs just a few inches below the surface. Larvae hatch and feed on thatch, organic matter and roots in irrigated or otherwise wet turf before moving deeper into the soil in late autumn where they cease feeding then emerge as adults the following summer. They require moist conditions for eggs to hatch, so the adults are unlikely to lay their eggs in unirrigated turfgrass or areas that go dormant in summer.
    Found in all 50 states, grubs typically are most problematic in cool-season turf environments and in the transition zone.
    White grub damage typically is most evident in August and September. Symptoms of an infestation are gradual thinning, yellowing and weakening of the grass followed by scattered dead patches. As damage continues, the dead patches may increase in size, and apparently healthy turf areas may exhibit sudden wilting. The turf may feel spongy as you walk over the infested area. 
    Heavily damaged turf can peel away easily. If damaged areas do not pull back easily, the problem might be attributable to something else. Preventing grub damage might be as simple as learning the history of prior grub-related issues. Adult beetles are likely to return to lay eggs in areas where infestation has occurred in the past. Larger species, like the masked or European chafers, are larger and can do more damage than say the smaller Japanese beetle. Likewise, the European chafer has a longer life cycle, and can be feeding on roots earlier in the season and later into the summer. 
    According to studies, preventive applications of insecticides like neonicotinoids in late spring can help control first instar grubs in mid-summer. Many products labeled for curative control, while effective, typically have shorter residual activity.
  • SBI application deadline looming
    Applications for the 2019 Syngenta Business Institute program are due Aug. 13. Golf course superintendents can apply online to attend the popular professional development program. 
    During the three-day business-development and networking program, faculty from the nationally ranked Wake Forest University School of Business will focus on key topics, such as financial management, navigating generational and cultural differences, leadership skills, effective communication and negotiation tactics. 
    The program will be held Dec. 3-6 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Approximately 25 superintendents will be selected to attend. Since its inception, more than 250 superintendents have graduated from SBI. 
    In other news, the latest control solutions from Syngenta are now registered for use on California golf courses to help improve turf quality and playability. Appear II and Secure Action fungicides provide superintendents with enhanced control of some of the most prevalent turf diseases, while the Divanem nematicide spot treatment rate delivers stronger turf through proven, broad-spectrum nematode control.
     
    Secure Action includes a boost of acibenzolar-S-methyl (ASM) to help condition turf, so it performs at its best during the season and quickly recovers from biotic stress, like dollar spot, and abiotic stress, such as drought and heat. It also increases the dollar spot control interval from 14 to 21 days.
     
    Appear II controls  diseases like Pythium, while enhancing color, turf quality and stress tolerance in warm- and cool-season grasses. Additionally, it is fromulated for optimal resuspension and mixability with Daconil Action or Secure Action fungicides for use in an agronomic program to control additional diseases like anthracnose and leaf spot.
     
    The Divanem spot treatment rate of 12.2 ounces/10,000 square feet enhances control of nematodes, including Anguina, spiral, lance, root-knot and sting nematodes, while improving root quality for stronger, healthier turf that recovers more quickly from stress. The Divanem supplemental label must be in the user's possession at the time of spot treatment. Existing Divanem inventory may be used at the spot treatment rate, as long as the supplemental label is readily available.
    California OK's PBI-Gordon's Pedigree
    The California Environmental Protection Agency has approved PBI-Gordon's Pedigree Fungicide SC from PBI Gordon for control of a variety of diseases on warm- and cool-season turfgrass.
    With the active ingredient flutolanil, Pedigree is labeled for control of brown patch, fairy ring, leaf and sheath spot, large patch, red thread, pink patch, yellow patch, southern blight and gray snow mold in creeping bentgrass, Kentucky bluegrass, annual bluegrass, annual and perennial ryegrass, red fescue, tall fescue, Bermudagrass, zoysiagrass and St. Augustinegrass.
     
    Turfco adds front-mount seeder attachment
    Turfco added a front-mounted drop seeder attachment for use with its TurnAer XT8 aerator that lets operators aerate and seed at the same time, over the same aeration pattern.
    The drop seeder's 2.5 cubic-foot hopper holds up to 60 pounds of seed. Seed rate dispersal is controlled by a hopper-mounted dial. The seed box spreads seed across a 30-inch swath, matching the aeration pattern.
    Powered by a 22 hp Briggs & Stratton engine, the XT8 has the ability to cover up to 2 acres of turf per hour over any terrain.
  • The Toro Company and Steel Green Manufacturing recently settled their litigation, which is the result of a suit filed in federal court by Toro against Steel Green almost a year ago.
    According to a joint news release from both companies: In March 2018, Toro announced its acquisition of substantially all of the assets of L.T. Rich Products, Inc., a Lebanon, Indiana-based manufacturer of stand-on, zero-turn sprayers and spreaders marketed under the trade name "Z-Spray." Matt Smith, Mike Floyd, Scot Jones, Brent Mills, Craig Conyer and James Kepner were employees of L.T. Rich who continued to work at the L.T. Rich facility following The Toro Company's acquisition.
     
    In early July 2018, the employees listed above left their employment at the L.T. Rich facility to form Steel Green Manufacturing LLC, which manufactures stand-on, zero-turn sprayers and spreaders that compete with The Toro Company's line of Z-Spray products.  Prior to quitting, certain of the employees listed above removed a significant volume of information from The Toro Company's computer systems, much of which Toro considered sensitive, confidential, and trade secret.
     
    On October 1, 2018, The Toro Company filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana against Steel Green and its employees which alleged, among other things, that they had misappropriated trade secret information that belonged to The Toro Company, giving Steel Green an unfair advantage in bringing its products to market. Steel Green and its employees denied The Toro Company's allegations, and specifically denied ever using The Toro Company's information. Steel Green and its employees also assert that, before the lawsuit was filed, they returned to The Toro Company the storage devices that contained the information that the employees removed.
     
    The parties have reached an agreement to settle their differences. The settlement includes the Court's entry of an agreed injunction, in which Steel Green and its employees will refrain from certain activities, including the use of the information that certain of the employees listed above removed from The Toro Company's computer systems. The injunction also prohibits the sale of machines and parts by Steel Green during certain months in 2020. The other terms of the settlement are confidential. 
    "With the lawsuit behind us, we are ramping up production," said Brent Mills, general manager for Steel Green Manufacturing. "Our focus is on taking care of our customers and providing inventory to our dealers."

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