Editor's notebook

Not as bumpy

Saddle Creek Golf Club has altered a bumpy process.

The public facility in Lewisburg, Tenn., 45 minutes south of Nashville, unveiled a creative response to greens aerification: 8-inch cups.

Superintendent Adam White’s crew completed the fall aerification program on Sept. 8. Along with thatch and other unwanted organic material, the crew removed its normal 4∑-inch cups, replacing them with the bigger ones for three straight days following aerification. Club manager Jason Sanders says associate golf professional Dameon Burns initiated the idea. “It seems like the most logical thing in the world,” Sanders says.

The concept was, well, a big success at Saddle Creek, a 6,700-yard Gene Bates design. “People are freaked out when they hear the word aerification,” Sanders says. “They think, ‘Oh, man, it’s going to be a nightmare.’ But nobody can make a 50-foot putt anyway, or at least the margins are slim. The bumpiness calls into question how good of a putter you are within 10 feet. We felt like 8-inch cups would counterbalance the, ‘Oh, man, I missed another putt because of the greens.’ It took away a bunch of … I guess it took away all the excuses.”

Despite the threat of poor weather, the course received steady business over the three days, with 150 golfers making their way to what Sanders calls a “Small Town USA” setting. A turnout of between 75 and 100 golfers would have satisfied Sanders. Saddle Creek announced the change to its regular players by sending out emails and posting information on its Twitter and Facebook accounts about the big cups. White and his crew needed one day to punch, topdress and groom the greens. If they didn’t use the big-cup idea, the course would have likely alternated nine-hole closings and openings on Sept. 8 and 9.

“Aerification is nails on the chalkboard to some golfers,” Sanders says. “You have some people that will say, ‘I’ll give you a couple of weeks to heal.’ That doesn’t have to be the mentality of the golfer. I think you can say, ‘Hey, look, come have fun.’”

Normal cultural practices will include aerifying the bentgrass greens in the spring and fall, with the spring being the bigger of the two. Big cups are expected to follow next spring’s aerification.
 

Stop wasting money

You’re probably putting down too many chemical applications, according to the first-year results of the Global Soil Survey. The report, which debuted in late September, is the culmination of a year of data collection from 28 soil test kits from around the world, examining what makes up the soil where turf is already performing well.

Superintendents submitted three kits per course, each taken from a part of the course with good-performing turf, from courses in the U.S., Canada, Japan and Thailand. The team behind the study, Dr. Micah Woods of the Asian Turfgrass Center, and Dr. Wendy Gelernter and Dr. Larry Stowell of PACE Turf, analyzed the soil’s nutrient levels to see what was present when turf grew strong. The report itself can be found at bit.ly/1podLCF.

What they found is that soil, even from a wide range of locations with various types of turf, probably doesn’t need as much help as we’ve been giving it. They compared the results of the soil tests to conventional industry guidelines for chemical applications for potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium and sulfur.

In each of these cases, at least 30 percent of the soil sampled tested below the medium level suggested by conventional industry guidelines. A total of 55 percent of the samples had less Mg than those guidelines, and for K and S, more than 80 percent of the samples came in under.

“The implication of that is that the conventional guidelines are too high, because turf managers are getting good soil with nutrient levels well below the conventional guidelines,” Woods says.

Woods joined us on the Superintendent Radio Network podcast (check it out at bit.ly/1vu24zv) to talk about the Global Soil Survey, and how being a part of it benefited both the course and the wider golf community.

Having a range of samples helps in validating revised Minimum Levels of Sustainable Nutrition guidelines for appropriate chemical applications. “This is an ongoing project, one that will see the guidelines get better and better, meaning more and more accurate, as more data are added to the project,” Woods says. “It has been exciting to see so many turfgrass managers get involved with this project, and we are looking forward to working with many more turf managers from around the world to compile an incredibly useful dataset of soil test results.”
 

Adding to the book collection

An 8:30 a.m. clubhouse meeting arranged by a general manager before a 9 a.m. shotgun start can add to a superintendent’s Saturday morning anxieties. In Matthew Wharton’s case, an unexpected weekend meeting increased the size of his turf library.

Following the directions of his general manager, Wharton, the superintendent at Carolina Golf Club in Charlotte, N.C., entered the clubhouse, where members Chris Hughes and Ed Oden handed him a letter signed by 63 members.

The letter had a heart-skipping start: “You have been here 10 years … and it is obvious you still don’t know what you are doing…” The letter quickly turned congenial and led to a symbolic gesture, as Hughes and Oden lifted a tablecloth and unveiled a collection of 14 old turf books they acquired at an auction for Wharton. Part of the collection was previously owned by Charles Tadge, who served as GCSAA president in 1979.

The books were published in multiple decades, with the oldest being Leonard Barron’s “Lawns and How to Make Them/Together with the Proper Keeping of Putting Greens,” which was released in 1914. The collection also included Charles V. Piper and Russell A. Oakley’s renowned “Turf for Golf Courses.”

“For any of us history and turf nerds, it’s just beyond cool,” he says. “I was just totally blown away.” Wharton studied under Dave Chalmers at Virginia Tech and keeps turf books in his office. Chalmers’ book collection always intrigued him. “I will never forget the first time I spent significant time in his office, just looking through books in his shelf,” Wharton says. “I still have a vivid recollection of that moment.”

Whenever Wharton stares at his office bookshelf, he should have a vivid recollection of another moment – a pleasant clubhouse meeting. “We all get into this business for a multitude of reasons, whether it’s the love of the outdoors, a love of the game of golf, etc… We all have that thing that motivates us,” he says. “But still no matter how hard we work, you want to know that those you are working hardest for value what you do, appreciate what you do and respect what you did. I think this gesture overwhelmingly did that for me.”
 

Hands-on learning

About 30 Chicago-area superintendents got to see research in action at this year’s Turf Science Live event at the Merit Club in Libertyville, Ill., Aug. 25. The event brought together new research as well as product demonstrations for superintendents with the kind of hands-on demonstration that wouldn’t normally happen outside the Golf Industry Show.

The superintendents went from station to station through the course to see displays from Jacobsen, Syngenta, Smithco and Turfco. Dr. Karl Danneberger of The Ohio State University was also around to talk about the preliminary results of his new bentgrass brushing research. The study, looking for the effects of using a brush one to three times each week with regular mowing, hasn’t produced damaged turf yet.

Superintendents saw the Turfco Wide Spin 1550 topdresser with programmable application rates, as well as talked about the importance of frequency of clip with Jacobsen. One demo watched closely by superintendents was the Smithco Sharpshooter system, a precision turf management sprayer that uses GPS technology to maintain efficient spray applications.

One other system got a surprise demonstration, as the course’s lightning alert system urged everyone off the course briefly in the face of an afternoon storm.
 

Intern search

Missed Dr. John Kaminski’s webinar sponsored by BASF? We have it covered. A replay of the webinar can be found on Golf Course Industry’s website. Kaminski, a GCI columnist and the director of the Golf Course Turfgrass Management Program at Penn State University, discussed creating a successful internship program at your golf course. Kaminski travels the country visiting his students at work. He’s seen all sides of the internship experience. Who knows? Maybe something in this webinar helps you land a future full-time employee.
 

Around the industry

Superintendents with Nemacur stockpiles received a major reprieve. The EPA granted a GCSAA request on use of existing stocks of Nemacur for golf courses until Oct. 6, 2017. The extension was granted less than two weeks before the Oct. 6, 2014 deadline for disposing all existing stocks of the insecticide.

We wrote about the dilemma the deadline posed for superintendents in our September issue (bit.ly/1nGDXI9) and options for nematode control in our June issue (bit.ly/1i5oXWW).
 

The EPA reached a settlement with DuPont for alleged violations of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) caused by the herbicide Imprelis. DuPont will pay a $1.853 million penalty to resolve allegations that the company failed to submit reports to the EPA about potential adverse effects of Imprelis, and sold it with labeling that did not ensure its safe use.

When customers applied the misbranded Imprelis, it led to widespread death and damage to trees, including many on golf courses. DuPont has submitted over 7,000 reports to the EPA of damage or death of trees – primarily Norway spruce and white pine – related to the application of Imprelis.
 

Another Donald Ross course has been restored. Wilmington Municipal Golf Course reopened Oct. 1 following a $1.5 million makeover. Reading the project’s tight schedule will accelerate heartbeats. Work started April 28, only 13 days after Duininck Construction was selected for the project. All 18 greens on the 85-year-old course were restored. Approaches, bunkers and the practice putting green were also restored, and irrigation and drainage were improved. The course receives an average of 60,000 rounds per year.
 

Golf Course Industry has a new home. GIE Media Inc., GCI’s parent company, settled into its offices at 5811 Canal Rd. in Valley View, Ohio, on Sept. 29. GIE had maintained two Northeast Ohio offices, with the majority of GCI’s staff working in Cleveland. GIE acquired its new building in March and has been making renovations and updates to the property. For those wondering, golf options abound near our new digs. We’re less than 15 minutes from numerous golf courses, including the Cleveland Metroparks gem Sleepy Hollow.
 

From the Feed

Many superintendents shared the same major project in September: fall aerification. Fortunately, superintendents are at their digital best during big projects. For this month’s Feed, we give you some witty aerification-related tweets.

Andrew Jorgensen @LowBudgetSupt
Final aerification is starting today. Or, as we like to call it: “find all of the shallow hydraulic tubes day”

Chuck Connolly @turfsupergcc
Like back to school is a stress relief for parents, punching holes is stress relief for superintendents

Paul Diegnau @diegnau
It appears we have a new record for rocks “discovered” with the fwy aerifier...a boulder among pebbles

Sean McCue @SKMQU
Going through the final pieces of equipment before aerification. 13 days til I “ruin” the golf course.

Steve Cook @OHCCTurf
Greens always look best the day after you aerify

Kevin Hicks @golfsuper1992
I feel like the only one in Twitter-turf land not aerifying today. Resort course. Got my ticket punched for Oct. 29 #waytoolate

Dan Tolson @mountainturf
Operation “healthy turf 2015” is ½ done! Back 9 green/tee aerification successful. Front nine closed tomorrow.


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