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From the TurfNet NewsDesk

  • John Reitman
    ProtectMAX Southside is registered for post-emergent control of sedges, kyllingas and many grassy and broadleaf weeds in warm-season turf. Harrell's photo For turfgrass managers seeking an additional tool for post-emergent control of sedges and broadleaf weeds, Harrell's recently launched ProtectMAX Southside herbicide.
    With the active ingredients sulfosulfuron and metsulfuron-methyl, ProtectMax Southside is labeled for selective post-emergent control of many annual and perennial sedges and grassy and broadleaf weeds in warm-season turf on golf courses, athletic fields and sod farms, as well as in commercial, industrial, institutional and residential applications.
    ProtectMAX Southside is labeled for control of dozens of sedges and weeds, including green kyllinga, yellow nutsedge, purple nutsedge, tall fescue, Dallisgrass, Virginia buttonweed, annual bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, dandelions, dollarweed, spurge and white clover and many others.
    The product can be applied at 1.5 ounces per acre twice per year, according to the label. It may not be applied through an irrigation system or anywhere runoff might be a concern. 
    ProtectMAX Southside should not be applied to turf already under stress from insect pests, disease drought or poor fertility and all measures to prevent drift on to non-target species should be taken.
    A Group 2 herbicide, ProtectMAX Southside should be rotated with other Group 2 chemistries, and can be tank mixed with other products from other groups. 
    ProtectMAX Southside is approved for use in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
    In other news from Harrell's, Jack Harrell III (right) officially took over as the company's chief executive officer and chairman of the board of directors on Aug. 15.
    Harrell is a fourth-generation leader of the company that was started in 1941 in Lakeland, Florida by his great-grandfather Ormond Harrell, and succeeds  his father Jack Harrell Jr., who died in July at age 68 after a brief battle with brain cancer.
    Jack Harrell Jr. had been the company's CEO since 1991.
  • Since Pete Dye carved it out of the dunes along Wisconsin's Lake Michigan shoreline, Whistling Straits has etched its name among golf's great destinations.
    Owned by the Kohler Co., the maker of small engines and bathroom fixtures among a variety of solutions for other markets, Whistling Straits is part of the company's 72-hole golf Mecca north of Milwaukee. Its courses have been the site of several major championships, and recently were chosen by the USGA to be the host of three more — the 2028 U.S. Amateur, 2033 U.S. Junior Amateur and the 2037 U.S. Girls' Junior. 
    Wisconsin has a strong history of championship golf, and Whistling Straits, with its colorful past, is at its forefront. 
    Whistling Straits is located on a site that during the 1950s was a U.S. Army air base. Wisconsin Electric bought the installation in 1960 with the idea of building a nuclear plant on the site before eventually selling it to the Kohler Co. in 1995, and the company's public-access golf complex opened in 1998. In the years since, Kohler's flagship layout, the Straits Course, has been the site of four national championships and other high-profile events.

    The USGA has tapped Whistling Straits in Wisconsin as the site of the 2028 U.S. Amateur, 2033 U.S. Junior Amateur and the 2037 U.S. Girls' Junior. Destination Kohler photo The 2004, 2010 and 2015 PGA Championships; 2007 U.S. Senior Open; and the 2021 Ryder Cup Matches all were contested on the Straits Course, that, along with the Irish Course, was designed with Irish links-style golf in mind. 
    Kohler's other property, Blackwolf Run, is home to the River and the Meadow Valley courses. A composite of the two served as the layout for the U.S. Women's Open in 1998 and again in 2012.
    A total of 17 USGA championships have been contested in Wisconsin, including the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills in Milwaukee, two U.S. Senior Open Championships (2007 at Whistling Straits; 2023 at SentryWorld) and one U.S. Amateur (2011, Erin Hills).
    Erin Hills, a 2006 Hurdzan-Fry design 30 miles northwest Milwaukee, also will be the site of the 2025 U.S. Women's Open, and Sand Valley Resort in Nekoosa also was recently picked to play host to four USGA championships over the next decade — the 2026 U.S. Mid-Amateur, 2029 U.S. Junior Amateur, 2030 U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur and 2034 U.S. Girls' Junior.
  • Could real estate golf be making a comeback?
    At least in some markets, the answer to that question appears to be "yes."
    Since a recession fueled by a real estate bust a generation ago, golf course supply vs. demand has been on a course of self correction for the past 18 years. The number of golf courses in the market has been on a steady decline since 2006 as the market seeks equilibrium. 
    According to the industry's mid-year report card and projections for the remainder of the year, that gap between the number of golf courses that have closed vs. new construction projects appears to be narrowing.
    The game's comeback has been aided by a global health crisis during which many newcomers took up golf and many others who previously left the game rediscovered it. Covid has brought a near-record number of golfers playing record-high rounds, and that increased play has closings and openings inching ever more slowly toward equilibrium. Among those rebounding markets is real estate golf, although it has a much different look than it did during the game's construction boom when almost anyone could buy a home with a golf course view.
    For those looking for someone to praise for golf's construction boom of the 1990s and 2000s as well as someone to blame for its bust during the past two decades, developer Charles Fraser might be a good place to start.
    Considered the father of real estate golf, Fraser was a 1953 graduate of Yale Law School who, in the 1960s, took over his father's timber interests on a forested South Carolina outpost called Hilton Head Island. Amenities like a golf course, Fraser believed, could help make even the most mosquito-infested land attractive to prospective home buyers.
    Although Fraser's most famous creation, Sea Pines, is hardly the run-of-the-mill golf real estate development, the resort on the southern end of Hilton Head attracted copycats seeking to cash in on a similar model during the next several generations.

    Real estate golf is on the rebound in places like Florida and Texas. Photo by John Reitman Eventually, overpriced homes and overvalued golf courses sharing the same dirt pulled the rug out from beneath both, forcing a hard reset that is still felt nearly 20 years later. Although that model has largely been on the decline for most of the past two decades, some version of it could be making a comeback.
    During the past 18 years, thousands of golf courses have closed, and a few have opened. Figure in the sparse openings that have occurred each year, and there has been a net loss of more than 1,600 golf courses in 18-hole equivalents since 2006, the first time since 1946 that there were more closings than openings. That trend has repeated itself every year since.
    About 2,360 golf courses have closed their doors since the market steered onto a course of self-correction in 2006. Lately, closings have hovered around 100 per year, but some years, like 175 closings in 2017 and 155 in 2020, have been worse than others. 
    That number has been coming down for the past three years. A total of 93 courses closed in 2021, 97 in 2022, 78 last year and, according to the National Golf Foundation, fewer than 40 have closed through the first half of 2024. 
    A total of 13 new courses opened between Jan. 1 and June 30 this year, with at least that many expected to open by the end of the year, according to NGF editorial director Erik Matuszewski.
    In all, more than 120 golf courses projects are in some stage of planning or construction in the U.S. That includes more than 70 golf courses under construction, with another 50-plus in the active planning stage, according to NGF, making this year the most active golf course construction market in more than a decade, Matuszewski said. There are dozens more in the early stages of planning.
    The difference between real estate golf 20 to 30 years ago and what is going in the ground now is dramatic. Much of what occurred previously was an unsustainable model of high-end daily fee or semi-private golf propping up real estate interests. Much of what is being built today in places like South Florida is anything but public access.
    The most active markets are Florida and Texas, where several new courses have opened recently, including some very high-end real estate projects like Panther National in Palm Beach Gardens. That property has 139 sites for multi-million dollar homes ranging from 4,000 to 10,000 square feet. According to NGF, more than a third of all new courses, whether under construction or in some state of planning, are in Florida and Texas.
    Apogee is a 54-hole facility west of Hobe Sound owned partly by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross. Free of private real estate, Apogee will include villas for member use.
    When it is completed, The Ranch, also west of Hobe Sound, will have 36 holes, a 10-hole practice layout, 12-hole short course and 360-degree practice area.
    Just how big is the golf boom in Martin County? There are at least nine 18-hole layouts within a 10-mile drive.
    Another 20 courses, according to NGF, are under construction in Florida or in the final phases of planning.

    There has been new and renewed interest in golf during the past four years. Photo by John Reitman Fueling that comeback, in part, was a global health crisis during which many newcomers took up golf and many others who previously left the game rediscovered it. Covid has brought a near-record number of golfers playing record-high rounds, and that increased play has closings and openings inch ever more slowly toward equilibrium.
    Since Covid, the game has been adding an average of nearly 1 million players per year, and continues to grow. The 23 million golfers who played last year are the most since a record 29 million players in 2006.
    Rounds played in 2021 matched a record high of 518 million rounds, a mark that had stood for 21 years, and was topped again last year by another 2 million rounds.
    It is unknown whether this boom, or at least a shift to equilibrium, will stick this time, or result in another bust. But whichever occurs, Charles Fraser should get some of the credit, or some of the blame.
  • Skip Heinz not only maintains the equipment to keep Royal Poinciana Golf Club in top condition, he also has dedicated his career to promoting his profession. Royal Poinciana Golf Club photo
      Skip Heinz, CTEM, was due for some good news. Heinz, the certified turf equipment manager at Royal Poinciana Golf Club in Naples, Florida, recently was named the recipient of the 2024 Edwin Budding Award. Named for Edwin Budding, the inventor of the lawn mower, the award is presented annually by the GCSAA "to an equipment manager or related innovator, technician or engineer who has made a significant impact on the golf course and turf industry."
    The announcement was released Aug. 13, but Heinz learned in late May that he had been named the winner. The news arrived shortly before his wife, Deb, lost a lengthy battle with breast cancer on June 12.
    "When I told her I had been nominated for an award and won it, she gave me a thumbs up as if to say 'way to go, you deserved it,' " Heinz (right) said.
    The son of a superintendent, Heinz grew up around the game. His father, Robert, was a longtime superintendent at Key West Country Club in Florida. The younger Heinz also has spent time as a superintendent and assistant superintendent before becoming an equipment technician and manager.
    He will receive the award at the 2025 GCSAA Conference and Trade Show in San Diego.
    "I was really excited about the award, but probably not as much as I should have been, because I was sitting by my wife's side," Heinz said. "Her condition had deteriorated pretty badly, and I was humbled by that."
    His expertise in the shop was recognized 20 years ago when he won the 2004 TurfNet Technician of the Year Award. That award was presented annually from 2003 to 2020 to an equipment technician who excelled at any of the following 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.
    Heinz is among those who founded the International Golf Course Equipment Managers Association almost 20 years ago, and the award is a culmination of a career dedicated to increasing the visibility and promoting the equipment technician profession.
    He also was a driving force behind IGCEMA’s assimilation into GCSAA in 2015, and has played an active role in the association's efforts to provide opportunities for equipment managers. Heinz served on the association’s inaugural Equipment Manager Task Group that established certification programs for fellow equipment techs.
    Past Budding Award recipients: 2023 - Gary Bogdanski; 2022 - Trent Manning, CTEM; 2021 - Helmut Ullrich; 2020 - Mike Kriz; 2019 - Jim Nedin; 2018 - Hector Velazquez; 2017 - Chuck Totten; 2016 - Ed Ward; 2015 - Stephen Tucker; 2014 - Roland McPhearson; 2013 - Tom Hurst; 2012 - Dana Lonn; 2011 - Wes Danielewicz; 2010 - Vollie Carr; 2009 - Eddie Konrad; 2008 - Eric Kulaas; 2007 - Ed Combest.
  • It is that time of year again, when superintendents from the Gulf Coast to Canada might find themselves fighting off fall armyworms.
    Other than the fact that armyworms can cause significant damage in golf course turf as well as row crops, little is known about what makes them tick, move or even eat.
    The caterpillars that are the bane to many golf course superintendents are the larval stage of the fall armyworm moth, known scientifically as Spodoptera frugiperda. Intolerant to cold, fall armyworms are native to South Florida and South Texas in the U.S., as well as other tropical zones globally, but its destructive habits stretch far beyond its native range thanks to its ability to migrate hundreds of miles on a tailwind. 

    Fall armyworms are voracious feeders in their larval stage. Mississippi State University They prefer Bermudagrass, but with multiple generations possible throughout the summer, and each new adult able to move hundreds of miles, they can be found as far away as the Midwest, Northeast or even southern Canada by autumn under the right conditions.
    Researchers agree that hot, dry conditions are optimal for armyworm activity, but there seems to be little predictability as to when and why they are worse in some years, such as the widespread infestation of 2021.
    The adult moths do not feed during their short stage of the armyworm life cycle, but they are voracious as they progress through the larval caterpillar stage. Fortunately, there are many effective tools available to manage them.
    Larva, according to Dave Shetlar, Ph.D., professor emeritus at Ohio State, can do little damage as first, second or third instar stage. By the time they reach their fourth or fifth instar stage, or when they are a half-inch or more in length, it might be too late. Damage manifests first as what might appear to be drought stress, but can quickly become catastrophic. Therefore, scouting can be critical, says the USGA Green Section.
    Left untreated, hundreds of armyworms might be present once damage becomes noticeable. Researchers at Michigan State suggest a pyrethroid labeled for use on turfgrass, including bifenthrin or cypermethrin. OSU’s Shetlar also suggests chlorantraniliprole (Acelepryn) or pyrethroids for curative control as well as diamides for effective preventive control.
    The female adults lay masses, each containing up to 1,000 eggs, on vertical objects in or adjacent to turf, such as ballwashers, 150-yard markers and directional stakes (right). The eggs hatch at their new home in just a few days, where they fall to the ground and soon begin feeding.
    The migratory life cycle of the armyworm is a curious one. The caterpillars later pupate and eventually emerge as moths. Unable to overwinter outside their native habitat, armyworms will die at the first frost, and the process will begin all over again the following year as new adults head north from Texas and Florida.
  • An airplane crash landing on a California golf course brought renewed attention to the need to shout "fore" on the links.
    The small private plane, identified as a single-engine Piper PA 28, crashed onto a putting green Aug. 4 at the Haggin Oaks golf complex in Sacramento after losing power shortly after takeoff from nearby McClellan Airport.
    According to reports, the plane had reached an altitude of about 400 feet when it lost power and crashed onto the Haggin Oaks complex, where it carved up a practice green then skidded across the pavement before coming to rest against the golf shop. The crash took out a bench and damaged the outside of the golf shop as the aircraft scraped the building before coming to a stop.
    No injuries were reported, other than a few scrapes on the pilot, although a startled golfer can be seen on surveillance video  leaping out of the way as the plane slammed to the ground.
    The event was captured on surveillance cameras, and the crash footage has gone viral to the amazement of Terry Daubert, general manager of Haggin Oaks, and president of Morton Golf Management, which owns and operates the facility.
      A small plane created quite a stir when it crashed onto the practice green of a California golf course. Image courtesy of Haggin Oaks "It's pretty shocking, right?" Daubert said. "I think what makes it more spectacular are two things: One, nobody got hurt, so that makes it easier to talk about; and two, we got exceptional video because we have two cameras in position to see the flight of the plane as it came in. We've heard it has been picked up by more than 1,000 news outlets as far away as Germany.
    "It's amazing no one was hurt. A few inches this way or that, and this could have been really disastrous."
    The plane remained in place for three days after the crash roped off with yellow police tape, as National Transportation Safety Board officials completed their investigation.
    Superintendent Rick White and his team had cut out most of the damaged turf and resodded the area almost immediately, Daubert said. The half of the practice green that was unaffected remains open. The side under repair will reopen in short order.
    "It will reopen in another week, maybe two at the most," Daubert said. "It won't be long."
    Haggin Oaks is no stranger to vandalism from troublemakers operating cars, motorcycles and golf cars, but damage from an airplane is a first. When Daubert, who was not on property at the time of the event, learned about the crash over the phone, he thought the caller was talking about a miniature remote-control model.
    "When one of our other partners told me a Cessna-type plane had landed on the golf course, I didn't know he meant a real airplane," Daubert said.
    "We've had worse than that by a car or someone doing wheelies on the green and tearing it up."
    Haggin Oaks is one of the most popular golf courses in the Sacramento area, and Daubert is thankful the damage was limited to the turf, pavement and side of the building.
    "We're not the busiest golf course, we're not the most lavish and we're not the cheapest either, but we are the most centrally located in Sacramento for golfers," he said. 
    "No one was hurt, there was minimal asphalt damage, minimal green damage, some clean up and we have to make some repairs, but hey, that is what insurance is for."
  • Andrew Jorgensen, CGCS (below), was named the winner of the Florida GCSA Distinguished Service Award at the group's annual meeting at Sailfish Point Golf Club (above). Above photo from Florida GCSA The awards continue to pile up for Andrew Jorgensen, CGCS.
    Jorgensen (right), the director of community maintenance operations for On Top of the World Communities in Ocala, Florida, recently was named the recipient of the Florida GCSA Distinguished Service Award. He received the award July 19 during the association's annual meeting held at Sailfish Point Golf Club on Hutchinson Island near Stuart.
    The award is presented annually to a member "who has performed outstanding achievements as a golf course superintendent and who has given his time unselfishly in promoting golf course management and unification of the Florida GCSA."
    Jorgensen serves on the Florida GCSA committee, but was caught by surprise during the meeting when he was named the DSA winner. 
    "I was very surprised and humbled to receive the award," Jorgensen said in a news release. "You never serve thinking you’re going to get awards, you do it because it's the right thing to do."
    Before being named director of community maintenance operations in 2022, Jorgensen had been director of golf course maintenance operations, overseeing 81 holes of golf for On Top of the World Communities since 2005.
    Jorgensen earned an associate's degree in 2000 from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, Georgia, and a certificate in turfgrass management from the University of Georgia in 2013. He has been a superintendent since 2002 with stints at Southern Woods Golf Club (now Citrus National) and Sugarmill Woods Golf Club, both in Homosassa, Florida, and World Woods Golf Club (now Cabot Citrus Farms) in Brooksville, Florida. He immersed himself in service almost immediately, hosting a Seven Rivers GCSA meeting and golf outing. 
    "That was my first foray, and I quickly realized the value of being involved and it just grew from there," he said. "Serving has been especially helpful to my career. Getting to know as many people as I have, if I have an issue, I know help is just a phone call away."

    On Top of the World Golf Club in Ocala, Florida. OTWGC photo A past president of the Florida GCSA, Jorgensen was the 2020 recipient of the Florida Turfgrass Association Wreath of Grass Award, presented annually to someone who has shown "outstanding service to the FTGA and to the turfgrass industry."
    He also earned the GCSAA President’s Award for Environmental Stewardship in 2022, and the Environmental Leaders in Golf Award in 2014 and 2017.
    "Andy is as dedicated to his profession and his colleagues as you can possibly be," said Jennifer Bryan, Florida GCSA executive director. "I really don’t know of anyone who devotes more of their time and energy to the golf course superintendent profession as a whole. And he always does with a smile and encouragement for those around him."
    In other happenings at the meeting, Jason Zimmerman, CGCS director of greens and grounds at The Nest Golf Club in Bonita Springs, was elected the association's president. Zimmerman, a Michigan State graduate who has been at The Nest since 2006, takes over from Parker Ferren, CGCS at Copperleaf Golf Club, also in Bonita Springs. Ferren will serve a term as immediate past president. Ryan Swilley, CGCS at The Dye Preserve Golf Club in Jupiter, was elected vice president. Dustin Plemons, superintendent at municipal Cleveland Heights Golf Club in Lakeland, is new secretary-treasurer.
  • Tropical weather update via T3 golf

    Tropical Storm Debby's projected path. National Weather Service graphic Tropical Storm Debby continued to ravage the Southeast with heavy rainfall as it made its second landfall Thursday.
    Debby came ashore about 2 a.m. Thursday near Bulls Bay, South Carolina, with winds of 50 mph. The storm was tracking northward at 10 mph with winds of 40 mph.
    The storm made landfall Monday on the west coast of Florida near Steinhatchee as a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of 80 mph and moved out to sea again Tuesday east of Charleston at 5 mph with winds of 65 mph before coming ashore again Thursday.

    Projected rainfall totals from Tropical Storm Debby. NWS graphic Debby has been blamed for at least seven deaths so far, spawned a tornado that heavily damaged a school in central North Carolina. The storm has left rainfall totals of a foot or more and flooding throughout parts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, but is projected to continue to weaken as it stays over land throughout the week from North Carolina to Maine and eventually into Canada.
    Debby's tracking speed will continue to increase over land as it moves across North Carolina and Virginia and bears down on Washington, D.C., by Friday morning. The storm is predicted to be over northern Maine and quickly will be out of the picture in the U.S. by Saturday morning. Rainfall predictions range from 1 to 8 inches along Debby's projected path.

    Flash flooding potential from Tropical Storm Debby. NWS graphic The chance of flash flooding remains a concern along Debby's path, with the greatest threat in the central parts of North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York.
    This information is provided by meteorologists Garrett Bastardi and Herb Stevens of T3 Golf. Stevens is a former TV meteorologist and one of the original on-air personalities when The Weather Channel debuted in 1982. He has been providing weather reports to the skiing and golf turf industries for more than 20 years with Grass Roots Weather. In 2021, Stevens and Bastardi launched T3 Golf which provides golf course superintendents with short-term forecasts at a local level.
    For more information, follow UmbrellaWeather and T3 on X, or contact Garrett Bastardi of T3 Golf.
  • Robert Nielsen, CGCS, has a long history of working with government agencies on behalf of superintendents in New York. Now, the longtime greenkeeper at Bedford Golf and Tennis Club in Westchester County is ready to bring the same dedication to golf courses and superintendents nationwide.
    Nielsen (right), who has been at Bedford for 42 years, including the past 33 as head superintendent, recently was named as the GCSAA representative to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee.
    The committee was established in 1995 to provide policy advice, information and recommendations to the EPA. The PPDC, which includes dozens of representatives from a wide range of backgrounds, provides a public forum to discuss a variety of pesticide regulatory developments and reform initiatives, evolving public policy and program implementation issues associated with evaluating and risks from pesticide use.
    Nielsen was approached by Chava McKeel, the GCSAA's director of governmental affairs, to succeed association director of environmental programs Mark Johnson when his four-year term expired. Terms are for one year and are renewable for a maximum of four years. 
    "There are a lot of people they could have asked to do this," Nielsen said. "I am honored and humbled that they thought of me."
    Working in the country's strictest pesticide environment, Nielsen is well suited for the EPA committee role. He is the president of the New York Golf Course Environmental Foundation and vice president of the New York State Turfgrass Association. He also played a key role in establishing best management practices in New York and was the recipient of the GCSAA Excellence in Government Affairs award in 2019. Last year, Nielsen and Bedford won the Met Golf Association's Environmental Leaders in Golf award.
    "Bob has been a long-standing advocate for environmental stewardship at Bedford Golf and Tennis Club receiving the MGA Arthur P. Weber Environmental Leaders in Golf Award, an award given to an MGA member club that has demonstrated environmental stewardship through golf course maintenance, construction, education and research," McKeel said. "Bob helped spearhead the development of the New York State Best Management Practices for Golf Courses and has worked hard to develop relationships with county, local, state and federal policymakers and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation."
    The PPDC comprises 43 members from government, environmental and public interest groups, including the American Bird Conservancy, Center for Biological Diversity, CDC National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Tribal Pesticide Program Council, USDA Office of Pest Management Policy, Pollinator Partnership and Weed Science Society of America.
    Before saying yes to the invitation to join the committee, Nielsen attended a meeting (that occurs via Zoom) last November to decide whether the EPA work was something he would be interested in doing. He liked enough of what he saw, and his appointment was finalized in January. The group meets online each April and November, with various subcommittees meeting more regularly. 
    Nielsen's hope is to become more active at the subcommittee or working group level where he believes he can have a greater influence by educating others about what superintendents do, and just as importantly, what they don't do.

    Bob Nielsen, CGCS, has dedicated his career at Bedford Golf and Tennis Club in New York to governmental and environmental affairs. "This is a diverse group," Nielsen said. 
    "Everyone works together, but we all have different goals. I hope to show them that golf courses are not the polluters that everyone thinks we are."
    While there are many who believe golf courses and environmental stewardship are mutually exclusive, Nielsen points to how naturalized and out-of-play areas provide a thriving habitat for many species of wildlife and pollinating insects.
    "No one talks about how much habitat we provide on golf courses that is not affected by pesticides," he said. "We are 138.6 acres (at Bedford), but 35 of those acres are woods or wetlands where there is no impact whatsoever of pesticides. A lot of people don't get that.
    "Anyone who knows anything about wildlife knows they live on the edge of the forest, and golf courses provide that all over the property."
  • A tool that can be used to control many insect pests found on golf courses might not be available for much longer.
    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing a ban on acephate, which has been registered since 1973 for use on golf course turf for control of many common turfgrass pests, including mole crickets, fire ants, cutworms and armyworms.
    Acephate also is a common pesticide used on several varieties of agricultural crops as well as non-agricultural use, including forestry and mound treatment of mounds in residential landscapes. The proposed ban, which has one exception, is the result over the concerns of acephate affecting drinking water supplies.

    The EPA has proposed a ban on acephate, which is registered for control of several insect pests, including mole crickets. University of Florida photo "This decision is based on EPA's updated human health draft risk assessment (HH DRA) and drinking water assessment (DWA) that were released last year, which showed significant dietary risks from drinking water for currently registered uses of acephate," the EPA wrote in its decision. "EPA also identified worker, homeowner, and ecological risks that would be mitigated by the proposed cancellations."
    Acephate inhibits the target's acetylcholinesterase enzyme. This process also occurs in mammals, including people, depending on level of exposure, according to the EPA. Neurological effects can include tremors, fatigue and nausea.
    The proposed exception is for tree injections, because those treatments cannot affect groundwater, according to the EPA.
    The proposed ban has been a hot button issue for those on both sides. As of Aug. 1, a total of 133 comments were filed during the public comment period. Although most have come out in favor of the ban, several have come out in support of acephate use, because it is effective and economical. Those speaking out in support of acephate use include the departments of agriculture of Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina and Tennessee; several seed and crop trade organizations; the University of Arizona Pest Management Center; and the North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension Service.
  • Jim Pavonetti, CGCS, was a bit shocked when Audubon International tapped him to serve on its board of directors, but no one else should be surprised by the move given his history and passion for environmental stewardship.
    Pavonetti (pictured top right) was among three new members recently added to Audubon's board of directors, joining David Robinson, CGCS (middle right), senior director at Marriott Golf and J.C. Chi (bottom right), founder of Atlanta-based Kuo Diedrich Chi Planners and Architects, a firm that serves the club, resort, retail and residential industries.
    The superintendent at Fairview Country Club in Greenwich, Connecticut, Pavonetti has a deserving resumé. He is a nine-time recipient of the GSCAA Environmental Leaders in Golf award and is a member of the town's Sustainability Committee that implements sustainable environmental policies and practices to make Greenwich "a vibrant, resilient, safe and sustainable town."
    "I was so honored and surprised to be asked to join the board of directors for Audubon International," Pavonetti told TurfNet. "My passion for environmental stewardship and promoting this to others made this a perfect opportunity to take that next step."
    The mission of Audubon International is to promote and help create sustainable practices in golf, lodging and hospitality and sustainable communities by providing a template for certification of its members.
    "The new board members certainly add a considerable amount of experience and new ideas to an already incredible group," Pavonetti said. "That is always helpful. The board is made up of some really extraordinary people, so I can see some exciting things happening as we start to work together effectively. I have been to one meeting so far, and I can tell you that there are some great ideas being considered already."
    Robinson earned a bachelor's degree in turfgrass science from Penn State  and an associate's degree in golf course management along with a certificate in turf equipment management from Lake City Community College (now Gateway College) in Lake City, Florida. He served as superintendent at JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort, Golf Club and Spa in Naples.
    As an Audubon board member, Robinson is looking forward to helping the association grow its number of certified facilities, strengthen programs and build on overall golf sustainability awareness.
    "I am honored to be elected to the board," Robinson said in a news release. "Audubon International has been Marriott Golf's foundational sustainability program for nearly 20 years. I look forward to working closely with the organization to help build their presence within the industry and further promote golf sustainability."

    Jim Pavonetti, CGCS, has been recognized on several occasions for his environmental stewardship work at Fairview Country Club in Greenwich, Connecticut. That work includes providing a haven for wildlife (below). Photos by Jim Pavonetti, CGCS With more than 30 years of experience in the club-design industry, Chi has gained expertise in the areas of golf development feasibility, amenity master planning, facility programming and design implementation of golf and recreational facilities. He has led efforts in the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and throughout Asia.
    "I wholeheartedly take it seriously," Chi said in the release. "On a personal level I have time to devote to outreach and going beyond the commitments I have with my profession. I'm challenging myself to be more proactive and have a positive impact on other people, my projects, and my club clients–and to help expand the network."
    Pavonetti, a product of the Rutgers turf program, recognized the benefits of an association like Audubon that is focused on environmental sustainability in golf long before he became superintendent at Fairview in 2008. He believes helping educate the next generation of superintendents is part of his responsibility of serving on the Audubon board of directors.
    "I was an assistant superintendent when Audubon International first came on the scene and promoted environmental programs and their certification programs. I always knew that this would be something I would naturally pursue once I became a head superintendent," he said. 
    "What I hope to accomplish as a board member, though, is to find ways to effectively promote these programs to those entering the golf maintenance and field maintenance businesses and entering turf schools. If we can make the same impact on the younger generation as it was made to me when all of this was new, then I think this will cause a resurgence in participation in this program. When you couple the GCSAA's Best Management Practices initiative, it should be an easy transition to go to that next level and pursue achieving Certified Sanctuary status."
    He also knows that it is important that others, especially those outside the golf industry, know about such efforts so they have maximum impact.
    "My goal is to promote these programs to the decision makers and general golfers," he said. "If these programs effectively get on the radar of country club boards, management companies, course owners, general managers and golf professionals, then I think it will become more persuasive and rewarding for a superintendent to work towards Certified Sanctuary status. If it becomes important to that audience, then it could be a subject that is brought up in interviews for big jobs, bonuses, and raises. That should make superintendents and assistants that are on the fence, go the distance."
  • UmbrellaWeather/T3 hurricane season update 
    The 2024 hurricane season already is off to a fast start with the earliest Category 5 storm on record with Hurricane Beryl. This storm went on to significantly impact Texas and then the Midwest and was blamed for at least 27 deaths. 
    Beryl likely is a precursor of things to come during the remainder of hurricane season, which runs through November, and there are preparations superintendents can start on now to be ready.

    2024 UmbrellaWeather/T3 hurricane season forecast made Jan. 22 (there have been no changes to this forecast since). Beginning in early to mid-August, conditions over the Atlantic will become more favorable for tropical system development. Combine this with record-warm water temperatures and a developing La Niña that will lower wind shear across the Atlantic basin, these tropical systems that develop will have conditions ripe for intensifying into hurricanes. Stronger-than-normal high pressure over the central and eastern Atlantic will favor some of these storms to track west toward the Caribbean, southwest Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, which is why there is cause for concern for increased hurricane activity.
    Why so much confidence?
    Record-warm temperatures in the Atlantic will be impactful to the U.S. Warm ocean temperatures act as fuel for hurricanes, and this season there is plenty of that.
    Conversely, colder-than-normal water temperatures expand over the Equatorial Pacific west of South America. This signals a developing La Niña. La Niña ocean patterns in the Pacific typically lead to above-normal Atlantic hurricane activity due to the pattern lessening wind shear over much of the Atlantic Basin and creating more favorable conditions for tropical development. Meanwhile, an El Niño tends to have the opposite effect on Atlantic hurricane activity. In fact, a La Niña tends to have twice as much hurricane activity than an El Niño in the Atlantic.
    Analogs also play a part in hurricane predictions. Analogs are past years that have similar background states to the current time period, and are used to make longer-range forecasts. Other hurricane seasons that have had warm Atlantic temperatures, and a developing La Niña and how those hurricane seasons fared can be used to predict this year's season.

    Ocean temperatures relative to normal. Red indicates above normal temperatures, and blue indicates below normal temperatures. NOAA image Some analogs used to predict the 2024 season
    1995 - 3 U.S. hurricane landfalls (1 major) - $17.9 billion in total damages 1998 - 3 U.S. hurricane landfalls (2 major) - $27.0 billion in total damages 2005 - 6 U.S. hurricane landfalls (3 major) - $198.4 billion in total damages 2017 - 2 U.S. hurricane landfalls (2 major) - $195.5 billion in total damages 2020 - 6 U.S. hurricane landfalls (3 major) - $45.4 billion in total damages U.S. average hurricane season
    4 U.S. hurricane landfalls 2.8 U.S. major hurricane landfalls $96.6 billion in total U.S. damages What areas will be impacted?
    This is the most difficult aspect of hurricane season forecasting. While exact tracks are on a storm-by-storm basis and can only be predicted once storms develop and are on the playing field, we can use analogs, climatology, and the current state of conditions to give us a picture of who is most at risk. US landfall impacts go through the roof during La Niña seasons. More storms = more chances for storms to impact land. 

    La Niña vs. El Niño hurricane activity in the Atlantic the past 30 years. Colorado State University image Highest chance of impact in 2024
    Very high risk
    Florida — 75% chance of a hurricane impact (normal is 56%) Louisiana — 56% chance of a hurricane impact (normal is 38%) North Carolina — 56% chance of a hurricane impact (normal is 38%) Texas* — 54% chance of a hurricane impact (normal is 36%) High risk
    Georgia — 46% chance of a hurricane impact (normal is 30%) South Carolina — 44% chance of a hurricane impact (normal is 29%) Alabama/Mississippi — 43% chance of a hurricane impact (normal is 28%) Moderate risk
    Virginia to Maine — vary from 10-30% chance of hurricane impact(normal is 9-20%) *Texas already has a hurricane impact, so this forecast will be for the rest of the season
    How to prepare
    Consider any long-range preparations or decisions that can be made with the information above in mind, such as removing or pruning "wind risk" trees, drainage improvements, etc.
    Those in the potential path of a hurricane should consider what short-range decisions will need to be made.
    For more information, follow UmbrellaWeather and T3 on X, or contact Garrett Bastardi of T3 Golf.
  • Time is winding down for assistant superintendents to register for this year's Green Start Academy.
    For nearly 20 years, the Green Start Academy has helped prepare hundreds of future golf course superintendents for the next phase of their careers. But time is running out for assistant superintendents to register for this year's conference that is sponsored by John Deere, Envu and Rain Bird.
    Aug. 1 is the application deadline for the 19th annual professional development and peer networking event scheduled for Dec. 11-13 at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina.
    "I think the Green Start (Academy) gives you a lot of tools to deal with the people aspect of the business," Country Club of Detroit assistant Tim Matty said in a Green Start promo video. "And that is vitally important as you do make the step from assistant to superintendent."
    The three-day education and networking experience is open to 50 assistant golf course superintendents and provides attendees with the opportunity to become immersed in lectures and roundtable discussions conducted by the golf industry leaders. According to the GSA website, the program is designed to provide "the best environment for assistant superintendents to impart essential knowledge and facilitate the sharing of industry best practices, with a clear focus on professional development."

    Green Start Academy provides assistant golf course superintendents with education and valuable networking opportunities. "In our industry, we're experts with agronomics, but we're not experts when it comes to networking and the business behind what we do," said Matthew Legg, assistant at Weston Golf Club". I think this is something that the Green Start Academy excels as is teaching assistants the bigger picture when it comes to golf course management."
    This year marks the fourth consecutive appearance for Green Start at Pinehurst, site of this year's U.S. Open Championship.
    The goal of the Green Start program is to drive personal and professional success by providing the tools and training needed by today's golf course superintendents while also giving attendees the chance to build relationships with peers and industry leaders.
    Previous Green Start Academy participants are not eligible, with the exception of the 2020 virtual class, who may reapply for consideration in this year's or a future in-person program. Applicants selected for this year's academy will be notified by Aug. 30.
    Click here to apply.
  • Syngenta recently introduced its Spiio soil sensor that measures a host of metrics to help golf course superintendents more efficiently.
    The latest addition to Syngenta's focus on providing superintendents with digital solutions to golf turf management is the result of a collaboration between Syngenta and Spiio, a subscription-based, precision agronomy system that automatically provides hyperlocal soil data to turf and landscape managers without manual collection or uploading. 
    Spiio records and reports hourly measurements of soil temperature, moisture, light and salinity at any area on the golf course through wireless cellular in-ground sensors, providing turf managers with the data necessary to maximize turf health.
    Some courses are using just a handful of sensors, while others are using several dozen, said Noel Popoli, Syngenta's digital platforms specialist for the Northeast.
    "It depends on the course," Popoli said. "The average number per course is about 10. Some use as few as four, and some have as many as 80 if it is a multi-course property."

    Syngenta's Spiio system measures soil temperatures, moisture and salinity. Syngenta photo How they are dispersed throughout the course also is the discretion of the user.
    "What we've found people usually do is put four or five in their greens, some in the fairways and one or two around the clubhouse if they work with a horticultural team," Popoli said. 
    Users can set soil conditions; establish custom thresholds; view daily, weekly and monthly trends; build and export custom reports; and view soil data on demand via mobile or desktop devices. With unlimited logins, other members of the maintenance team also can monitor the system and set environmental thresholds.
    The Spiio system measures soil temperatures from minus-4 degrees to 158 degrees Fahrenheit. They also measure volumetric water content in the soil and display salinity levels in dS/m, mS/cm or TDS.
    At just 7.1 inches in length, the sensors can be buried at any depth depending on where in the soil profile users want to monitor.
    "The technique we see most often is to put one in a green that is sort of middle-of-the-road, that's not too dry or not too wet," Popoli said. "Then they put one on the wettest green and one on the driest, so they can build a baseline of greens conditions."
  • James Houchen knew that bringing the U.S. Adaptive Open to Kansas would be an uplifting event, but even he was not prepared for the truly profound effect the USGA event would have on him and his community.
    "It's definitely the top event I've been involved with, hands down, times 10," said Houchen, superintendent at Sand Creek Station Golf Course in Newton, Kansas. "It was a lot of work, but it was a real pleasure because of what we were doing it for. It made you feel wonderful."
    That is no small claim from Houchen (at right), the grow-in superintendent at nearly 20-year-old Sand Creek Station. A 2006 Jeff Brauer design, Sand Creek Station was the site of the final U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship in 2014.
    "You think you have it bad," he said. "Then you watch them play."
    In its third year, the Adaptive Open was held on Pinehurst No. 6 in 2022 and '23 before coming to Sand Creek Station July 8-10. Houchen and Sand Creek Station general manager Dustin Housh attended last year's event in North Carolina to learn whether the tournament was something they might be interested in bringing to Kansas.

    A member of the Sand Creek Station maintenance team changes a cup in advance of first-round play at the U.S. Adaptive Open. USGA photo by Jeff Haynes "We approached the USGA about bringing it here," Houchen said. "We had been looking for something different."
    With the tournament continuing through different sites, next year's event will move on to Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Maryland.
    The championship in Kansas had 96 players — 73 men and 23 women — in flights in 15 categories: intellectual impairment (M-W), lower limb impairment (M-W), multiple limb amputee (M-W), neurological impairment (M-W), seated players (M-W), upper limb impairment (M-W), vision impairment (M-W) and short stature (M).
    Accommodating the 73 men and 23 women in the tournament with so many unique challenges required a great deal of work from Houchen, his team and the many volunteers who helped throughout the event.
    Among the preparations made in advance of the tournament included some tree work to help open the course and maintaining rough height at 2.5 inches.
    Making the course fair but challenging for the players requires steps one might not necessarily consider in the day-to-day operations of a golf course. 
    Sand Creek Station stretches out to about 7,500 yards from the back tees, but played from 3,800 to 6,500 for the adaptive tournament. 
    Squeezing the course to 3,800 required adding new teeing areas. Houchen achieved that by mowing some areas down to tee box height — about 0.75 inches — and building temporary tees into the fairways.
    Other adjustments incorporated rounding off the edges of some of the bunkers, creating easier entry and exit points, and marking others as ground under repair for the seated flights.
    "A few things we learned, you have to be mindful of things you don't always think about," Houchen said. "Steep slopes had to be marked off with signs and ropes. 
      "We had to make sure everything was safe, like fixing cracks in concrete cart paths."
    Green speeds were maintained at about 10.5 feet on the Stimpmeter. Since seated golfers are permitted to drive adaptive golf cars — both three- and four-wheel varieties — onto the putting surfaces. USGA staff monitored the effects of the cart traffic on greens using the G3 smart ball. Mostly, the USGA — and Houchens — is interested in conditions that can cause variations in green speed attributed to cart traffic. Houchens was still awaiting the USGA's findings.

    A golfer competes in the U.S. Adaptive Open in the seated players flight. USGA photo by Jeff Haynes "The USGA runs this just like they do any other tournament," Houchens said. 
    "However, we can't have conditions like you see on TV. We couldn't have greens too fast, and there were no crazy hole locations."
    About 200 volunteers worked the event throughout the week at jobs such as parking, scoring, guest services and serving as forecaddies. Many also helped with course maintenance.
    "The community really turned out to support this event," Houchens said. "We had five or six volunteers every day. They weren't the same ones every day. We had other superintendents, sales reps and vendors."
    Although next year's tournament will be played 1,200 miles away in Maryland, providing an outlet for one of golf's most underserved groups has left a lasting imprint at Sand Creek Station.
    The course is planning to work with the Central Links Golf Association, headquartered in Lenexa, Kansas, on creating and hosting similar events in the future.
    "It was an honor for the USGA to select us to host this event," Houchen said. "I can't say enough about how inspiring the players were.
    "Hopefully, we can work with the Central Golf Links Association to get another one like it."
  • FMC Corp. has agreed to sell its Global Specialty Solutions division to Envu. FMC Corp. photo via X Two years ago, no one had heard the name Envu before. Today, the company that was born in October 2022 out of the acquisition of Bayer Environmental Science by London-based private equity firm Cinven, is a leading provider of chemical solutions for the professional turf market. And it is getting bigger. 
    With headquarters in Cary, North Carolina, Envu — short for Environmental Science U.S., LLC — recently reached an agreement to acquire the Global Specialty Solutions segment of Philadelphia-based FMC Corp. for $350 million. The Global Specialty Solutions division of FMC includes its golf turf business. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year, pending regulatory approval. 
    Besides golf, FMC's Global Specialty Solutions segment also serves the pest control, lawn and tree care, nursery and greenhouse, vector control and industrial vegetation management sectors.
    "We see significant synergies and potential for accelerated innovation from the combination," Gilles Galliou, Envu CEO, said in the news release. "In addition, as the successful outcome of a carveout transaction ourselves, we believe we are the ideal partner to help GSS through this transition and maximize our collective potential."

    Environmental Science U.S., or Envu, was created in 2022 when Cinven bought Bayer Environmental Science. Envu photo via X Jennifer Poore of Envu's communications department told TurfNet that the company anticipates the FMC label for GSS products would be rebranded to Envu at some point as part of the transition, but the company was not ready to share further the details of exactly when that will occur. More details will be available after the acquisition is complete, Poore said. 
    Late last year, FMC announced plans to explore new strategic options for its Global Specialty Solutions division that includes the golf turf business. The company has since announced that it "no longer has a clear, strategic role in the company's mid- or longer-term goals," and that FMC plans to focus on its core business, which is agricultural crop protection, according to a release announcing the planned sale.
    "Global Specialty Solutions is a profitable business with a strong history of growth. We believe this agreement with Envu will provide the attention and resources it needs to continue thriving," Pierre Brondeau, FMC chairman and CEO, said in a news release. "With this divestment, FMC can focus solely on its core business."

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