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From the TurfNet NewsDesk


  • John Reitman
    The special local needs registration granted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to Avid miticide/insecticide by Syngenta for turf will expire June 30.

    The cancellation affects the use of Avid on golf course greens to control nematodes in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.   

    Superintendents will be able to use existing product until June 30, 2017 - one year after the cancellation date - under the 24© SLN.

    The Avid + Heritage fungicide and Avid + Heritage Action fungicide also are available for use under the 24© SLN until June 30, 2017.

    With the active ingredient abamectin, Avid offered turf managers with a season-long tool to help control nematodes. Research showed that the product was more effective in combination products rather than when used alone.

    This cancellation does not affect the availability of Avid for ornamental plants, which is still being produced and used under its current Section 3 federal registration.
  • When Kris Bryan learned he had been named a finalist for the Golden Wrench Award, he never thought he actually had a chance to win. It wasn't because he didn't believe he wasn't "good enough."
     
    "I didn't think I was old enough," said the 29-year-old Bryan, who has been equipment manager at Pikewood National Golf Club in Morgantown, West Virginia since 2005.
     
    "I found out a few weeks ago I'd been nominated, but I never thought I'd win it."
     
    Dispelling the myth that there is an age requirement for winning the Golden Wrench Award, Bryan was named the 2016 TurfNet Technician of the Year, presented by Toro.
     
    Bryan prepped as an auto mechanic before making the switch to golf course equipment.
     
    "It means a lot to be recognized. That's for sure," he said. "There are days when you sit back here 16 hours a day in front of these grinders. The guys bring equipment in that just went off a tree, or something. 'No one cares about me.' It definitely feels good. That's for sure."
     
    Bryan was chosen by a panel of judges from a list of three finalists that included Elias Matias of Pronghorn Golf Club in Bend, Oregon, and Jori Hughes of The Wilderness at Fortune Bay in Tower, Minnesota.
     
    Previous winners are (2015) Robert Smith, Merion Golf Club, Ardmore, PA; (2014) Lee Medeiros, Timber Creek and Sierra Pines Golf Courses, Roseville, CA; (2013) Brian Sjögren, Corral de Tierra Country Club, Corral de Tierra, CA; (2012) Kevin Bauer, Prairie Bluff Golf Club, Crest Hill, IL; (2011) Jim Kilgallon, The Connecticut Golf Club, Easton, CT; (2010) Herb Berg, Oakmont (PA) Country Club; (2009) Doug Johnson, TPC at Las Colinas, Irving, TX; (2007) Jim Stuart, Stone Mountain (GA) Golf Club; (2006) Fred Peck, Fox Hollow and The Homestead, Lakewood, CO; (2005) Jesus Olivas, Heritage Highlands at Dove Mountain, Marana, AZ; (2004) Henry Heinz, Kalamazoo (MI) Country Club; (2003) Eric Kulaas, Marriott Vinoy Renaissance Resort, Sarasota, FL. No award in 2008.
     
    As the winner, Bryan receives the Golden Wrench Award from TurfNet and a weeklong training session at Toro's Service Training University at the company's headquarters in Bloomington, Minnesota.
     
    Criteria on which nominees are judged include: crisis management; effective budgeting; environmental awareness; helping to further and promote the careers of colleagues and employees; interpersonal communications; inventory management and cost control; overall condition and dependability of rolling stock; shop safety; and work ethic.
     
    Criteria considered by Pikewood National superintendent Brett Bentley when he nominated Bryan center around his ability to keep equipment in top shape under extreme conditions, routinely going above and beyond the normal scope of his job and his ability to do just about everything under the shop roof and a lot outside it as well.
     
    Located atop a mountain in northern West Virginia, Pikewood National occupies about 200 hilly acres of a 700-acre parcel. Navigating those hills is a challenge for a gas-powered utility vehicle, much less a fairway mower. That terrain and dramatic elevation changes provide golfers with stunning view. They also create tremendous wear and tear on mowers and other equipment.
     
    "Kris has a great preventative maintenance program," Bryan said. "He does a very good job keeping equipment running.
     
    "He is a perfectionist, which is what we need."
     
    He also does a pretty good job at operating that equipment.
     
    During the height of the golf season, Pikewood National employs a staff of 20-25 people, many of whom are college interns. During the spring and fall, when those interns are in school, Pikewood National often is understaffed, and Bryan fills in, operating a mower when needed and helping during aerification and topdressing - the latter of which can a lot to ask of an equipment manager.
     
    He often serves as the club's plumber and carpenter - he helped plan and build a housing unit for the club's interns - and makes himself available to fix cars for his co-workers.
     
    "Chris will do things that a lot of equipment managers won't do," Bentley said.
     
    "Chris will come out and help us mow, help on the driving range tee, he'll fix stuff in the clubhouse," Bentley said. "He deserves some recognition."
     
  • March rounds up in East, down in West
      The warm winter that prevailed throughout the eastern half of the U.S. in February and March has had a predictable outcome on the game of golf.   Rounds played were up 13 percent in March compared with the same month last year, according to the Golf Datatech National Golf Rounds Played Report for March. Year-to-date participation is up 5.5 percent compared to the first three months of 2015. The report represents self-reported data from 2,750 private and daily fee courses nationwide.   The most significant gains were made in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, where play was up by 2,100 percent. Other triple-digit gains were made in New York (577 percent), New Jersey (417 percent), Pennsylvania (354 percent), Delaware and Maryland (210 percent), Michigan (161 percent) and Ohio (118 percent).    Double-digit gains were made in West Virginia (98 percent), Virginia (97 percent), Illinois and Indiana (88 percent), Kentucky (51 percent), Minnesota (42 percent), Georgia (31 percent), Tennessee (29 percent), North Carolina (28 percent), Mississippi (23 percent), Oklahoma and Texas (17 percent) and Iowa (15 percent).   There were some big losers in March, too, namely Florida, California, the Dakotas, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana and New Mexico, all of which experienced double-digit losses in March.     Central Turf launches organic insecticide
      Central Turf & Irrigation Supply, a wholesale distributor of landscape supplies, has launched Organic Insect Control to help control a host of summer insect pests.   A combination of cedar oil, phenethyl propionate and soap bark ethyl lactate, OIC is formulated to control ticks, ants, mosquitoes, stink bugs, gnats, fleas and more.   The all-organic formula is not harmful to beneficial insects such as bees, butterflies and earthworms, the company says.   The product can be applied with a traditional sprayer or can be used with a fogger device.   Central offers a fogger that operates from a propane tank for use in patio and deck areas.    OIC is sold in a 32oz bottle that treats up to 5000 square feet.   Wiedenmann honors top sales producers
      Wiedenmann North America recently named its top sales professionals and distributors.   Salesman of the Year was Shane Cornicelli of A-OK Turf Equipment in Coventry, Rhode Island. ShowTurf of Boynton Beach, Florida was named East Coast Dealer of the Year, while JW Turf of Hampshire Illinois was named Midwest Dealer of the Year. Dealer of the Year on the West Coast was Stotz Equipment of Escondido, California.   Most Improved Dealer was Greenville Turf & Tractor of Greenville, South Carolina.   The announcements were made at the company's annual sales meeting held in Savannah, Georgia.   BASF names new sales manager
      BASF recently named Bill Baxter as national sales manager for the professional and specialty solutions market.    Baxter has more than 25 years of experience in the agricultural crop protection and turf and pest control markets, with 17 years of sales management experience at BASF.    Throughout his career, Baxter has been active in industry associations, including the National Pest Management Association, the Professional Pest Management Alliance and Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment.
  • Since 2002, the TurfNet Superintendent's Best Friend Calendar has paid tribute to the most important job in golf - that of the golf course dog. Yes, 2002. That is much older than any other dog calendar out there.
      Each year, the original golf course dog calendar highlights 14 dogs and their tireless contributions to the game across the country and around the world.   Nominate your canine friend for a place in the 2017 TurfNet Superintendent's Best Friend Calendar, presented by Syngenta.   Some tips to improve your chances of winning: > Shoot at your camera's highest resolution setting. > Images should be taken in a horizontal format; we can't use vertical photos. > Get down to the dog's level; don't shoot down at them from a standing position. > Fill the frame with the dog as much as possible, but try not to center your dog in the frame. Left or right orientation often can result in a more dramatic photograph. > Avoid clutter and distracting backgrounds. > A scenic course background is fine as long as the dog is featured prominently.   All dogs must belong to the course or to a course employee and spend significant time there. Submit your best photo; multiple entries of the same dog are discouraged and will not improve your dog's chances of being selected.   A panel of judges will select the 14 dogs for the calendar. To nominate your dog, use our online nomination form. Deadline for nominations is July 31.
  • Monsanto's board of directors has rejected a buyout bid by Bayer AG, but appear to have left the door ajar for future negotiations.
      St. Louis-based Monsanto announced May 24 that its board of directors considered the $62 billion bid to be "financially inadequate," but went on to say it is open to "continued constructive conversations to assess whether a transaction in the best interest of Monsanto shareowners can be achieved."   News of a proposed and unsolicited takeover bid were confirmed by Monsanto on May 18. Monsanto's value, according to published reports, is thought to be about $42 billion.   An acquisition that includes Monsanto would be a coup for any entity moving forward as companies maneuver for position in the race to meet the food crop needs of a growing world population. Monsanto is the world's largest seed producer and a leader in genetically modified foods and seeds. Bayer AG, whose subsidiaries include Bayer Environmental Science, makes a host of products for the healthcare, agriculture and chemical industries.   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the world's population is about 7.3 billion. That number is expected to reach 8 billion by 2025, 9.2 billion by 2050 and 11 billion by 2100. An overwhelming percentage of that growth is to occur in developing countries in South America, Africa and Asia.    During that time, says the United Nations, about two dozen countries in Africa will more than double in population, India will overtake China as the world's largest country by population and Nigeria will supplant the United States as the planet's third most populous country.   Given those statistics, maybe Monsanto's board can afford to be picky on behalf of the company's shareholders.   "We believe in the substantial benefits an integrated strategy could provide to growers and broader society, and we have long respected Bayer's business," said Hugh Grant, Monsanto chairman and CEO. "However, the current proposal significantly undervalues our company and also does not adequately address or provide reassurance for some of the potential financing and regulatory execution risks related to the acquisition."   The Monsanto group also noted that there is no guarantee moving forward that a deal with Bayer, or anyone else, will be reached, and what such a deal would be worth. Any deal between Bayer and Monsanto would be subject to regulatory approval before becoming final.   It wasn't that long ago that Monsanto, the maker of Roundup, was the aggressor in takeover talks, trying on multiple occasions in 2015, to acquire Syngenta. Swiss-based Syngenta was acquired earlier this year by state-owned ChemChina for $43 billion. That move came on the heels of mega-merger of Dow and DuPont last December.
  • When Jackie Gleason moved his weekly television show from New York to Miami Beach in 1964, he famously proclaimed at the opening of each broadcast that the city was "the sun and fun capital of the world."   Gleason left an indelible mark on South Florida in the 1960s and 70s, and was a great ambassador for the game of golf, bringing the rich and famous and powerful to South Florida with him. But much has changed in the South Florida golf scene since Gleason hosted a PGA Tour event at Inverrary in Broward County throughout the 1970s.     When it comes to serving as a safe haven for immigrants seeking a better life, Miami has a longer history than most U.S. cities. As golf course operators around the country search for ways to attract a growing immigrant population, those in Miami also have more experience than most. But like their colleagues in other areas, Miami operators also struggle to attract non-native Americans to the game.   But instead of thinking there is something wrong with the game that warrants looking outside the ropes to other activities to attract people to the golf course, operators here have a different opinion on why golf is not attracting new players, at least those from minority communities.   "This is not an ethnic or racial issue," said Alberto Pozzi, who manages three municipal properties in Miami-Dade County. "This is a socio-economic issue.   "When minorities are doing well financially they play golf. There are waves of wealthy South Americans coming to Miami, and those who come at a high socio-economic level play a lot of golf. But the majority of immigrants coming into this country are starting at the bottom. Recreation is not a priority for immigrants unless they are well established economically."   Pozzi is a native of Uruguay who has lived in South Florida since 1977, and it appears there is merit to his claims that a stronger economy can go much farther than FootGolf toward improving the golf industry. He points to the U.S. Cuban American Golf Association in Miami-Dade County and similar groups for those from other Latin American countries as proof that the game has cross-cultural appeal. He says Miami has been the proverbial canary in the coal mine regarding the relationship between golf and immigrant populations in that the challenges others are seeing in recent years have been prevalent in Miami for decades.   Of course, no one seems to hold the secret to an improved economy either, or if they do, they certainly are not sharing it, making the plight of golf courses in Miami as real as those in other parts of the country.   "Miami is a microcosm of the industry as a whole," Pozzi said. "It's a precursor of trends that are now showing up in other parts of the country. Those trends started here many years ago. We have a large immigrant population, we are undergoing urban revitalization, but there has been no increase in the golfer population."   There is little current reliable data available on minority participation in golf. The National Golf Foundation's last published report on the topic is 6 years old. A more recent NGF report on golf participation indicates that of the estimated 19.5 million golfers in the U.S., 4.7 million are thought to be non-caucasian, according to NGF. That's the lowest number in nearly a decade.    Although information on the relationship between minorities and golf is hard to come by, Pozzi is on top of the trends that influence the golf business in South Florida. As the manager of three city-owned properties, he has to be. Pozzi operates Miami Shores Country Club in Miami Shores and Normandy Shores Golf Club and Miami Beach Golf Club, both in Miami Beach, and he says about 25 courses in Miami-Dade and Broward counties have closed in the past decade.    "It is a necessity now to know the trends and what is going on in the market all the time; what drives it; what your competitors are doing," Pozzi said. "You have to learn from the guy next door. Is he doing something creative or better than you are?"   Dade County once was a popular destination for the rich and famous as well as northern snowbirds, but no more.   Those snowbirds began moving northward along the coast in the 1970s, first to Fort Lauderdale, and now to places like Boca Raton, Delray Beach, West Palm, and even Stuart and Vero Beach. Although the tourist industry is still strong, those coming to Miami are now coming for a few days to a week rather than for three or four months. And they are coming from overseas, not northern U.S. cities. Of Miami-Dade County's 2.7 million residents, more than 60 percent are foreign born, according to the Center for Immigration Studies. The city's population has been more than 50 percent foreign born since the late 1980s.   "The heyday of Miami in the '60s and '70s of golf was driven primarily by snowbirds from the Midwest and Northeast retiring in Dade and Broward counties. That trend slowed in the late '70s and virtually stopped by the late '80s," Pozzi said. "Miami-Dade is no longer a magnet for retirees from the Northeast, and that has affected the golf industry significantly."   Today, only 13 daily fee facilities, four equity clubs and a handful of resort properties like the Biltmore and Doral, where even the Greg Norman-designed White Course closed and was sold earlier this year for development.   The courses that remain open are doing OK financially. Pozzi believes a revival of the golf business in South Florida will come, not as more facilities convert to FootGolf, but as the immigrant population becomes more acclimated and their lot improves financially.   "If you change the focus of what you are offering, then you become something else," he said. "Not that I am a traditionalist, but at what point do you become so inviting to other non-traditional golf activities just to get people to the golf course that you compromise what you are about? If you do that with something like FootGolf, then you're not a golf course anymore.   "I sound like a doomsayer sometimes in this industry, but those facilities that remain have benefitted by the trend of golf course closures. We are thriving and doing well because we are benefitting by others closing. We are understanding the new trends and what is happening in the marketplace. I think the immigrant population eventually will get around to embracing golf in the same numbers that native Americans do, but there is some lag time."
  • STRAFFAN, IRELAND --  In an effort to extend a hand with tournament preparation at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, five TurfNet representatives are playing key roles on the golf maintenance crew at The K Club in County Kildare. The tournament is played on the Palmer Course site of the 2006 Ryder Cup Matches. Course manager Gerry Byrne has had the TurfNet crew and about 20 other volunteers on site to help with final preparations for the event.  
      TurfNet's volunteer crew has a variety of experience.    Nate McKinniss is a fourth-year turfgrass student at Ohio State University and is interning this summer at County Louth Golf Club near Drogeda. He is mowing a variety of areas and filling divots in the evening shift.   Two Massachusetts-based technicians, Dana Chase of Glen Ellen Country Club and Pete Williams from Framingham Country Club, are helping resident technician Pat Freaney.   TurfNet's Jon Kiger and Mike O'Keeffe, manager of The Ohio Program, an international exchange program at Ohio State that offers internships abroad for horticulture, agriculture and turf students, both are on bunker raking in the mornings and filling divots in the afternoons. O'Keeffe's bunker-raking handiwork is pictured on the front page.   Outside volunteers were necessary for the event since many golf courses in Ireland due to economic conditions that still have many facilities operating with a reduced staff. The cool, damp winter and spring also have kept some potential volunteers at home to get their own courses ready for the golf season.   Byrne is glad to get the help, even from so far away.   "These volunteers were such a welcome addition to our team," Byrne said. "The guys integrated with the team to create a cohesive and dynamic force to deliver the tournament conditions for the event. They also brought a fresh impetus and passion to the team, which was much needed. It has been a very tough winter for the in-house guys and having the extra crew to support and work to deliver the event is a breathe of fresh air."   To learn more about the Irish Open experience, visit the TurfNet on Tour blog, sponsored by OGT and Sandtrapper.   -- Jon Kiger
  • A little-known company that for years has been providing soil-amendment products to help farmers increase their yield is touting one of its products as a low-cost solution to improve turf quality on golf courses with ailing soils.   Simple Soil Solution by Pure Ag Products of Salt Lake City is a combination of 21 beneficial bacteria, 19 mycorrhizal fungi, sugars, humic acid and other ingredients that when mixed with water can replenish soils at a cost of less than $12 per acre, the company says.   The product comes pre-mixed as a freeze-dried powder to maintain its integrity and protect it from the elements. It is available in packs that can treat areas ranging in size from 1 acre to 800 acres, says Kasey Stratton of Pure Ag.    "It's cheap because it is stabilized until it gets wet," Stratton said. "Because it is freeze-dried, you can store it for a long time. As long as it does not get wet and is not exposed to extreme heat, it will be OK."   Naturally occurring microorganisms can break down for a variety of reasons, including heat, lack of moisture, compaction and contamination from chemicals and organic byproducts. When used correctly, the company says, Simple Soil Solution restores those beneficial microorganisms and can produce benefits that include improved nutrient retention, root formation, turf quality, cation-exchange capacity, water-holding ability, heat and disease resistance and more.   Once the mix is added to water (1 cup of mix per 10 gallons of water covers 10 acres of turf), the solution must be brewed for 24 hours. In that time, the mix continually multiplies as each bacterium swims around looking for food, eating, producing waste and multiplying over and over. That brewing and application process requires a few additional items, including a brew tank and pump (which Pure Ag does not sell, but they can connect you to do the company that does) to agitate the mix and keep the food source available to the bacteria. One pump by itself can churn up to 1,600 gallons of the mix.    The cost of the product is about $11.25 per acre. And even with the other equipment needed for brewing and application, the cost per acre remains lows, Stratton says.   "The pump is where the personal interaction takes place," Stratton said.    "You have to keep the food source available to the bacteria. They will swim looking for food, eat, poop and split in two, then swim to find more food. Just one of them will split to to become 256 in less than an hour if you add oxygen."   Simple Soil Solution can be used in heavy doses as part of a recovery plan or as part of a long-term maintenance option.
  • Hall to induct Clearview's Powell
      Larry Powell, superintendent of historic Clearview Golf Club in Canton, Ohio, will be inducted into the National Black Golf Hall of Fame on May 21 in Peachtree City, Georgia.   Powell, 64, will join his sister, Renee, and father, Bill, in the hall of fame. Bill Powell designed, constructed and owned Clearview, which became golf's first integrated course and has been added to the National Register of Historic Places. Renee Powell was the second black woman to play on the LPGA Tour.   Larry Powell is in his fourth decade as Clearview's caretaker.   Ohio State's Bug Doc honored
      The Turf & Ornamental Communicators Association and Project EverGreen recently named Ohio State's David Shetlar, Ph.D. as the recipient of the 2016 TOCA Environmental Communicator of the Year Award.   Shetlar, a professor of urban landscape entomology, has been at Ohio State since 1990, and his areas of insect expertise include nurseries, urban landscapes, turfgrass and Christmas trees. The award recognizes individuals in the green industry for outstanding communications efforts about environmental issues. He received the award at Toca's annual meeting held earlier this month in Omaha, Nebraska.   Known as the Bug Doc, Shetlar is universally recognized as a researcher, educator, author and speaker. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees in zoology from the University of Oklahoma and a doctorate in entomology from Penn State University.   Previous winners include: 1999 - Mark Welterlen, former publisher Grounds Maintenance magazine; 2000 - Bill Love, W.R. Love Golf Architecture; 2001 - Tim Doppel, Atwood Lawn Care; 2002 - Doug Fender, former executive director, Turfgrass Producers International; 2003 - Allen James, former CEO, RISE; 2004 - Rod Dodson, Audubon International; 2005 - Jeff Gullickson, Spokane Country Club; 2006 - Kevin Trotta, grounds manager/IPM specialist; 2007 - Helen Stone, Southwest Trees & Turf magazine; 2008 - Allied Golf Associations of Colorado; 2009 - Drs. Larry Stowell/Wendy Gelernter, PACE Turf; 2010 - Christopher Gray, formerly Marvel Golf Club; 2011 - Anthony Williams, formerly Marriott Golf and golf course consultant; 2012 - Dr. Frank Rossi, Cornell University; 2013 - Phil Fogarty, Weed Man and Crowley's Vegetation Management; 2014 -Brandon Horvath, University of Tennessee; 2015 - Dr. Brian Horgan, University of Minnesota.   Koch strikes distribution deal with Harrell's
      Koch Turf & Ornamental has named Harrell's as its nationwide distributor for Polyon controlled-release fertilizer in U.S. professional markets.    Harrell's, a Lakeland, Florida-based manufacturer and distributor of products to the professional turf industry, previously was the sole distributor of Polyon fertilizer in professional markets in the eastern United States.   Polyon is a polymer-coated, controlled-release fertilizer through which dissolved nutrients slowly release through diffusion when triggered by ideal soil temperatures. After the complete release of the nutrients, the polymer coating eventually decomposes by microbial activity into naturally occurring soil elements.   Atlantic Golf and Turf adds to sales team
      Atlantic Golf and Turf has named Paul Jamrog and Joe Amone to its sales team.   Jamrog, of Barrington, Rhode Island, will focus on the north shore of Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. A former superintendent of more than 30 years, he also has more than two years of direct sales experience.   Arnone, of Ludlow, Massachusetts, will work with customers in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York. He comes to Atlantic after 3 years of experience in the sports turf and landscape markets.   Based in Turner Falls, Massachusetts, Atlantic Golf and Turf is a full-service supplier of seed, fertilizer, surfactants and more to the golf industry.   BioSafe, Anatis Biopretech reach supply chain agreement
      BioSafe Systems has reached an agreement with Anatis Bioprotection of Saint-Jacques-le-Mineur, Quebec, to serve as the supplier for the bioinsecticide BioCeres throughout North America.    BioCeres WP is an insect-pathogenic bioinsecticide using Beauveria bassiana fungus. It sticks to an insect's cuticle (outer shell) infecting the insect to the point of termination.    BioCeres is OMRI listed and broadly labeled for use in both greenhouse and field crops to protect against a variety of insects including aphids, whiteflies, spotted wing drosiphila and thrips.   Anuvia launches new plant nutrient product
      Anuvia Plant Nutrients recently introduced its GreenTRX 16-1-2-17S-3Fe plant nutrient. GreenTRX uses Anuvia's Organic MaTRX slow-release system that mimics soil organic matterto deliver vital nutrients to turf while enriching the soil.   GreenTRX 16-1-2-17S-3Fe represents a sustainable solution for the turf industry and supports the 4R Nutrient Stewardship initiative of the Right fertilizer source, the Right rate, at the Right time and with the Right placement for effective management of nutrient delivery. By using reclaimed organic materials, the Anuvia process produces a highly effective plant nutrient product while supporting the environment and contributing to the circular economy.    For golf courses, GreenTRX 16-1-2-17S-3Fe comes in granular, intermediate and elite sizes and can be applied using standard equipment. Nutrient delivery lasts six to eight weeks. Benefits include better plant nutrient use, excellent turf safety, reduced nutrient loss, even feeding, deep greening and improved soil health.
  • It has taken three golf course superintendents and multiple general managers, but Pasatiempo finally has the water it has been waiting so long for.
      The course in Santa Cruz, California, recently reached a deal with the nearby city of Scotts Valley and the Scotts Valley Water District that guarantees Pasatiempo no less than 35 million gallons of recycled water per year for 30 years. Construction is underway on infrastructure needed to store and pump the water. That work will be completed in about a year, said Pasatiempo superintendent Justin Mandon.   That is welcome news at Pasatiempo, which until recently had been among some of the hardest-hit courses in California's well-chronicled drought.   "Golf is supposed to be firm and fast. The problem was we had lost control of that," Mandon said. "The difference now is that we will have control over firm and fast."   Pasatiempo is the cradle of Alister MacKenzie's designs in the United State. Although it's not his first U.S. undertaking - that title is reserved for the Meadow Club in Marin County - MacKenzie maintained a residence on the course located within sight of the northern end of Monterey Bay.   In response to the drought, the City of Santa Cruz initiated cutbacks of 15 percent to 50 percent during the past two years, resulting in a lot of brown turf. Only recently, in early April, did the city remove restrictions, thanks to an El Nino winter that dropped 40-60 inches of rain on the western slope of the Santa Cruz Mountains. That was twice as much as San Jose received on the eastern side of the range, and it was enough to fill the Loch Lomond reservoir, from which the City of Santa Cruz draws much of its water.    Negotiations over recycled water for Pasatiempo have been ongoing with officials in Scotts Valley at least since 2006 when Dean Gump still was the superintendent there. A lot of faces have changed since then, but one thing has remained constant - Pasatiempo's need for water, and there is hard evidence that the idea of running recycled water to the course is one that took hold nearly 40 years ago.   Initially, Scotts Valley officials wanted to trade their dirty water for excess potable water owned by Santa Cruz. Those talks never really went anywhere.   "That was the original plan," Mandon said. "Scotts Valley wanted to trade for freshwater, but Santa Cruz was never interested in that."   The new deal is the result of a lot of hard work by parties on both sides, including Pasatiempo GM Scott Hoyt.   The SVWD treatment plant is 2.5 miles from the golf course. A line that runs from the plant to the Pacific, where it dumps millions of gallons per year, comes within a block of Pasatiempo. A year ago, Mandon unearthed a metered pipe that runs from that line onto golf course property that was installed in 1979 or 1980, according to records. The meter still reads all 0's, but will be ready to go once an underground storage tank and pump station are built at the golf course.   Pasatiempo paid the city of Scotts Valley and the SVWD a total of $1.6 million (that they divvy between them) for the rights to 35 million gallons per year for 30 years.     "This is the biggest home run (the city and water district) have ever hit," Mandon said. "They don't do anything different. We just pull the water before it goes into the ocean and hand them the money."   The water, which will enter the property as secondary treated water, will need an additional layer of filtration and chlorination to reach tertiary status. Mandon hasn't determined who that will be yet. But since the water is secondary treated, it won't require a licensed water professional. In fact, the State Water Resources Control Board provides a standard to maintain and is leaving it Mandon to find a way to reach it.   "They are leaving it up to us. We have to show the test results daily," he said.    "If it doesn't meet those standards, and alarm will sound and the system will shut itself down."   The 35 million gallon annual allotment is just 15 percent of the water the SVWD is discharging through the line that runs past Pasatiempo. And since the golf course is the only customer for that recycled water, it will have access to the excess until other users come forward in the future.   "Right now, it's all excess water," Mandon said. "There are no customers for it.   "This is the easiest thing they've ever had to do."  
  • Bayer Environmental Science has launched an online portal where golf course superintendents can find solutions to various turfgrass issues posted directly by members of the company's Green Solutions Team.   The Talking Turf blog includes a variety of categories in which Bayer's agronomic experts offer solutions relating to cool-season turf, warm-season turf, diseases/fungicides, insects/insecticides, nematodes/nematicides, and weeds/herbicides.   "As any superintendent knows, effective turf management is a non-stop and continuously evolving responsibility," said Laurence Mudge, Green Solutions Team Manager. "We hope the solutions and expertise provided in 'Talking Turf' will help add additional tools to superintendents' arsenals."   Each section features blog posts from the Bayer team that includes Mudge, Rob Golembiewski, Ph.D., Zac Reicher, Ph.D., and Derek Settle, Ph.D.   Current topics in the blog include Pythium root rot in cool-season turf, leaf spot and dollar spot in the transition zone, controlling annual bluegrass weevil, controlling goosegrass in warm-season turf and controlling goosegrass in cool-season turf.  
  • Thanks to a joint effort by researchers at Oregon State and Washington State universities, protecting bees in the field just got as easy as clicking on a smartphone widget.   The mobile app How to Reduce Bee Poisoning from Pesticides provides users with bee-toxicity ratings and other information on 150 insecticides, fungicides, miticides, slug killers and growth disruptors, all searchable by trade name and active ingredient.   "It's a smartphone world," said the publication's lead author, Ramesh Sagili, an entomologist and Extension bee researcher in Oregon State University's College of Agricultural Sciences. "Our stakeholders have been asking for an app to go along with this publication, and they're very excited that we now have one."   The app is an extension of the "How to Reduce Bee Poisoning" Web site that published in 2006. It sorts chemistries into three classes depending on toxicity level relative to bees: highly toxic, toxic and no bee precautionary statement on label. The ratings are based on the cautions and restrictions required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and listed on the products' labels. It also recommends best practices for managing pesticide applications to protect all bee species, not just honey bees.   The guide also provides estimates on residual toxicity. That information, which is not required by the EPA and might or might not be on product labels, was provided through research conducted by Louisa Hooven, assistant professor of horticulture at Oregon State.   "There was some information on residual toxicity in the previous edition," she said. "We expanded the number of products quite a lot, so we included residual toxicity information for those products for which that's known, and we updated the information for the products already listed."
  • It was a red-carpet evening for TurfNet in the Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association annual Communications Awards event.
    TurfNet walked away with nine first-place awards, one best-in-show award and eight merit (runner-up) trophies. The awards ceremony was held May 5 in conjunction with the TOCA annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska.   Jon Kiger won five first-place awards, a best-in-show and three merit awards. He also swept the special events category, winning a first and a merit award. His best-in-show award (his fourth to date) was for a video series on growing the game. John Reitman won two firsts, one of which was for a series of seven stories on the drought in California, and two merit awards. Randy Wilson and Dave Wilber each were first-place winners, and Peter McCormick, Kevin Ross and Frank Rossi, Ph.D., all won a merit award.   Here are all the TurfNet winners: Best in Show
    Photography, Video and Multimedia: Jon Kiger, "Growing the Game" First Place
    Best CD/audiovisual presentation: Jon Kiger, "Growing the Game" Best long video/DVD: Jon Kiger, "TurfNet Test Drives the GolfBoard" Best short video/DVD: Jon Kiger, "Convert a Surplus Mower into a Fairway Roller" Best Instructional video/DVD: Jon Kiger, "Installing an Improved Buffalo Blower Remote Switch" Best use of Editorial or opinion in a video/DVD: Randy Wilson, "The Worst Golf Course Superintendent Mistake I Ever Made" Special Events: Jon Kiger, "TurfNet Members Trip to Ireland" Editorial/Opinion Piece: John Reitman, "Golf Industry Needs a Mulligan" Series - two or more articles defined as a series: John Reitman, "The California Water Crisis" New Media: Dave Wilber, "Turfgrass Zealot: Josh Lewis - 2015 U.S. Open" Merit (Second Place)
    Best CD/audiovisual presentation: Jon Kiger, "TurfNet Returns to Ireland 2015" Best long video/DVD: Jon Kiger, "TurfNet Visits Trinity College, Dublin" Best Instructional video/DVD: Kevin Ross, "Cured In Place Pipe" Original Content Only: John Reitman, "Mentor, Friend and Teacher" Overall Media Kit Design: Peter McCormick, "TurfNet 2016 Media Kit" New Media: Frank Rossi, Ph.D., "A Voice of Reason Within the Golf Industry: an Interview with Jim Koppenhaver" Special Events: Jon Kiger, "TurfNet Emerald Challenge" Special Projects: John Reitman, TurfNet; Mark LaFleur, Syngenta; Martin Williams Advertising, "TurfNet Superintendent's Best Friend Calendar - The Many Faces of a Turf Dog".   Kiger, also a member of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of Ireland, also was recognized for a Merit award in the International Design Category for the GCSAI Greenside magazine, August 2015: "Remembering the RMS Lusitania" -- the sinking of which his great-grandfather was a survivor.   The Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association is a 200-plus member association comprising editorial, advertising and marketing professionals who work in the green industry.
  • The way Aubrey McCormick sees it, the golf business has a lot of good stories to share. What it doesn't have, she says, is a voice to tell them to those outside the game or on its fringes. 
      McCormick, who spent years working as a teaching and tour professional and even landed a spot on a popular golf reality TV series, believes she can be that voice. She even created her own company to help facilitate the process of finding those stories, providing the data to prove them and then go about telling them to the public.   The golf industry has been good at preaching to the choir about sustainability. What it has lacked is a voice with authority, with celebrity clout to help spread the message outside the ropes.   McCormick's company, IMPACT360, which she started with business partner Gina Rizzi, offers sustainability consulting services, but does so much more. IMPACT360 also collects environmental, social and economic information from a client golf course, distills it all into quantifiable data and combines it all into a corporate sustainability report designed to show how golf can positively impact the lives of those who play it as well as those who do not.   "I want to tell people what golf is doing and where the gaps are," McCormick said. "I want to help superintendents get the word out to the public about what they are doing."   As a college player and later a struggling tour pro, McCormick, 33, possesses the knowledge and experience of an industry insider. And through the years she has seen, firsthand, that providing great playing conditions and BMPs focused on sustainability can coexist. She also has seen the other side, working alongside activists who view golf courses as toxic dumps. Soon, when she completes work toward a graduate degree with a focus on sustainability, she will officially be an expert in the field.   "I have known for a long time that this is the message that needs to be told. I just didn't know how to do it," she said. "I wasn't as educated to the depths I am today.   "I understand that I was not a sustainability expert. I have to earn that. That's why I am getting an MBA in sustainable management."   After her college days, playing first at Daytona State College and later at Missouri State University, the Orlando, Florida native spent five years trying to work her way up the ranks as a tour player. She knocked on doors seeking her own endorsement deals and worked as a teaching pro before deciding in 2011 that she needed to try something else.   She spent a year working for Green America, a D.C.-based not-for-profit focused on achieving economic and social justice and environmental sustainability and taking jabs at those that it perceives do not share its vision. Such activism, which at times had golf in its crosshairs, was a bad fit for a former golfer who spent years soaking in the sustainability efforts of superintendents nationwide.   A year later, she earned a spot on the Golf Channel's Big Break reality show, which in 2012 took place in the Bahamas. It was then, while basking in the spotlight, that she realized she'd found an avenue to tell the message that she believed others needed to hear.   "The people I worked with at Green America couldn't believe that I played a sport that 'carpets the world with artificial turf,' " McCormick said.   "I now have more of a platform to talk about this. I need to fight for this. After seeing the environmentalist's' perspective, they're just not educated on this at all."   McCormick is scheduled to graduate this month from the Presidio Graduate School in San Francisco with an MBA that focuses on environmental sustainability. And her company's first official client happens to be less than 10 miles from the Presidio.   Pat Finlen, CGCS, general manager of The Olympic Club, first met McCormick during the 2013 Golf Industry Show in San Diego. It wasn't long after McCormick and Rizzi started IMPACT360 that he realized the newfound company and its vision of promoting sustainability was something that aligned with the club's philosophy.   "We kept in touch and when I learned she was getting an MBA from Presidio Graduate School we started talking about sustainability," Finlen said. "When she co-founded IMPACT360 The Olympic Club got serious about producing a Corporate Social Responsibility Report. Aubrey understands golf having played professionally on mini tours and its positive role in society.    "Doing a CSR is not required, it is a voluntary move on our part to tell the story of sustainability within our club. I wouldn't say we are the voice to tell golf's story. I do hope other courses follow our lead and take the step in telling their story as well."   With her company still in its fledgling state, McCormick says she hasn't ruled out trying to get back out on the competitive circuit, but it's not for reasons some might think.   The Olympic Club CSR report is due out next month, and it's no surprise that a facility that embraces its place in history, yet recognizes its role in a changing world, was the first to step forward.    Membership at this 156-year-old club recognizes their responsibility in being a sound environmental neighbor in one of the country's most politically charged cities. They also know that when armed with this information, they are obligated to share it.   Proving it practices sound BMPs is not always easy for a facility that borders the Pacific Ocean on one side and Lake Merced on the other. But, the club, along with others around the Lake Merced rim, has become a leader in the use of recycled water and other management practices, and it's time to tell that story.    "The Olympic Club is first and foremost an athletic club that happens to have some great golf courses," Finlen said. "Our message is clear: 'We have a positive impact upon life in the San Francisco and greater Bay Area. We are passionate about our club, the environment and the positive impact The Olympic Club has upon the community.' "   And now it has a voice to tell it.
  • For professional turf managers who need a lightweight mower capable of clearing wide swaths of land as quickly as possible, Jacobsen has released its HR800 16-foot-wide rotary mower.   Tipping the scales at 4,801 pounds (without the optional cab), the HR800 weighs as much as 2,000 pounds less than other mowers in its class. And with its 16-foot-wide mowing deck, it can cover 21.3 acres per hour at a mowing speed of 11 mph.   "What really sets the HR800 apart from its direct competitor are its light weight and an incredibly efficient use of power," said Jacobsen product manager Ben Bruce. "By utilizing a compact chassis design and high strength, high performance steel, there is simply less mass to move around, thus requiring less fuel, hydraulic capacity and power."   Powered by a 74.3 hp Kubota engine, the HR800 is Tier IV compliant, operates at a mowing speed of 11 mph and can reach cruising speeds of up to 20 mph.   The HR800 is the second mower in a new series of wide-area rotary mowers from Jacobsen. In February, Jacobsen introduced the HR700, the world's first and only 14-foot-wide rotary mower. The series is built on a common narrow platform that easily navigates through gates and onto transport trailers. The HR800 is almost two feet narrower than its direct competitor.    The HR800 comes standard with exclusive Tilt Sensor Technology, an advanced safety feature that automatically monitors and adjusts mower decks to prevent rollovers in hilly conditions.    "The whole HR series is centered around the operator experience and nothing is more important than operator safety," Bruce said.   The HR800's optional cab was designed to integrate seamlessly into the traction unit. The comfortable and ergonomic cabin provides reduced noise, vibration and is outfitted with air conditioning and heat, fan, ventilation windows, heated windshield and a premium air suspension seat.    Jacobsen's new SureStrength decks constructed with high-strength, high-performance steel deliver greater durability in a lighter, stronger design, and the Q AMP variable-rate steering provides optimal response to operator input to mow effortlessly around obstacles. In addition, a new AdaptiCut system automatically adjusts mow speed to ensure consistent cut performance, even through the thickest grass.    Individual hydraulic deck motors with self-lubricating integral bearings deliver cutting power to each blade with fewer grease points and require no daily maintenance.
  • With nearly 900 golf courses throughout the state, golf leaves a large footprint across California. Members of the California Alliance for Golf want to ensure it has an equally loud voice.
      Representatives of the California Alliance for Golf met April 27 with lawmakers in Sacramento to reach out to legislators to help them understand the efforts golf course superintendents make toward sustainability as well as other needs of the golf industry as a whole.   "California Legislative Day is a tremendous opportunity for the collective bodies of golf to continue the dialogue with legislators regarding the sport and the business," said Bruce Williams, CCGC, of the California Alliance for Golf.    The California Alliance for Golf represents all of the allied groups of golf throughout the state and works as an advocate of the game and those working in it.   The series of meetings also presented an opportunity for golf industry professionals from throughout California to learn about the state's long-term plans toward water conservation and conveyance. Other meetings focused on the game's economic impact in California, what golf courses are doing to conserve water, updates on recycled water and golf courses as habitat for native plants and wildlife.   This was the second year members of the golf industry descended on Sacramento to voice their opinions and concerns and listen to what lawmakers had to say. And much has changed since last year, said CAG secretary Jim Ferrin of Timber Creek and Sierra Pines golf courses in Roseville.   "Last year, nobody (in the legislature) knew anything about golf," Ferrin said. "Now, we go this year, and a lot more people know what we are talking about, and we are armed with better marketing material."   CAG, which represents the interests of superintendents, golf professionals, club managers and owners, also recently hired lobbyist Tony Rice of the firm Englander, Knabe and Allen, to represent the industry's point of view.   That added voice is critical since Gov. Jerry Brown ordered statewide cutbacks last April.   "We were identified as someone who uses a lot of water," Ferrin said. "We only use 1 percent of the water. When we tell people that, they remember us.   "We tell them that it's not true when they hear how bad golf really is. We tell them to call us and we'll be happy to tell them that golf isn't what they always see on TV."   Members of the golf industry plan another trip to Sacramento this summer, and Ferrin says it likely will be a regular trip for many years to come.   "I do think we have to go forever," he said. "We want to be involved politically and toot our horn. And we want a seat at the table and a voice in how money is being used."
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