ARCHIVE FOR: September, 2007
“I had two, one acre ponds on our course that had a lot of algae in them. I tried AquaKler Accelerator on one of the ponds and it was totally clear in two days! It remained clear thru the summer. I then applied AquaKler Accelerator on the second pond and the results were the same.”
Ted Pegram
Golf Course Superintendent
Bermuda Run Country Club
Bermuda Run, NC
“My main pond in front of the Clubhouse was so clogged with slime that I could not use the fountain. I spread AquaKler Accelerator from the bank completely around the pond. I was amazed to see the pond completely clear in two days! I then spread AquaKler in the pond and it remained clear. I got the same results on my other ponds.”
Brack Boyd
Golf Course Superintendent
Cross Creek Country Club
Mt. Airy, NC
September 20th, 2007
A superintendent since graduating from North Carolina State University in 1982, Robert “Bob” Young has mastered practically every circumstance possible for a professional turf manager. Beginning with his first position at a semi-private course in the countryside of Enfield, NC, through a stint as Director of Golf Course Operations at Lochmere Golf Club and Devil’s Ridge (where he oversaw the new course’s construction), to the complete renovations at Greenville Country Club and of his current course, Raleigh’s highly-regarded Carolina Country Club, he has seen it all.
A big part of what he has seen change since that first summer at age 12 is the growing understanding of what his eventual profession actually requires. “We were thought of years ago as somebody that just threw a little fertilizer out there and mowed the grass. The mentality at that time was that anybody could do it. But our field is a lot more technical than that. You have to be a Jack-of-all-trades; you have to be a people manager; you have to make a dollar go a long way; and you have to have mechanical and electrical knowledge. Superintendents have educated the industry to the complexities, so the demand for qualified people has gone up.”
It isn’t just the perception of the turf profession that has changed either, he points out, but also the day-to-day reality of the work. “Now you have to be efficient with computers, too. Matter of fact, when I was in high school I made fun of some of my buddies for taking typing. ‘You’re never going to have to know how to type!’ I told them. ‘What are you going to be, a secretary?’ Little did I know I’d need to be typing everyday once I became a golf course superintendent.”
Thanks in large part to the efforts of the national, regional and local professional organizations he has long been involved with and served, including tenure as President of the Triangle Turf Grass Association in 2001, the true nature of the technically demanding and complex responsibilities of a golf course superintendent are finally starting to become appreciated. When asked about the reasons for this shift in the general perception of the superintendent’s role within the golf community, Young credits an increased awareness of environmental concerns in general as making a big impact. “We’re having to utilize our natural resources a whole lot better than we have in the past. Our industry has changed to where you have got to be conscious of the products you are using being environmentally friendly. You know, like with run off issues of nitrogen into streams. That’s where the industry has really changed.”
But there is still an overall lack of public awareness of what a superintendent actually does. “I get introduced to people outside of the club everyday, and they ask what I do. When I tell them I’m a golf course superintendent, they say, ‘Oh, you get to play golf every day don’t you?’ I say, ‘Nah, that’s not really what I do. That’s the golf pro, not me.”
But this misperception is harmless compared to some others. “If all you do is go out and play golf 3 or 4 times a year, you won’t know what is really done there. The general public thinks that because the golf course is nice and green we’ve GOT to be using a lot of chemicals and fertilizers, more than they do on their yard. So the perception is that we’re using more water, more chemicals and more fertilizer, more of everything, to get a product that looks that good. In fact, we’re not using more, but we’re utilizing the products better. We’re using water more efficiently by using surfactants, but they don’t know all that. All they think is that we’re just dumping stuff out there, so no wonder it’s green.”
On the positive side, research into how much of an impact golf courses actually had on issues of pollution was the result of this kind of thinking, he says. The work, which continues to be done at universities like NC State and Clemson, has not only increased the industry’s knowledge but also has led to improved products and turfgrass management techniques.
An additional result of an increased interest in the possibly negative impact chemical treatments have on the natural world is that his job has been made somewhat easier. Young says this is because opportunities to educate his members have increased as awareness has gone up. He goes on to explain that golfers will now ask what is being sprayed on the turf, when in the past they wouldn’t have. “They want me to post in the Pro Shop whether or not I’m spraying greens that day so the members will know what it is we’re using. And the more we can educate the public that a lot of the products we use are environmentally friendly, the better. It gives them comfort that when they go out on the golf course they know I’m not spraying DDT, or something else from years ago, that can cause them health problems from coming into contact with it. It just gives them peace of mind to know the products we use are not harmful to them.”
Products and turfgrass maintenance techniques have clearly become increasingly more technical over the course of his 25-year career. In the largely traditional world of golf, one might reasonably expect ownership and members to resist some of these advances, but Young explains that isn’t necessarily the case. “Any time you can explain to a Board of Directors or a Greens Committee why you are using a certain type of product, or why it makes sense to do something a little differently than you’ve done it in the past, and you’ve got good performance out of a particular product, they normally don’t have a problem with that.” After a brief pause, and the hint of a smile, he adds, “If it’s cost effective.”
Mr. Young hopes to stay at The Carolina Country Club until he ultimately retires, as he feels he has found a home there. When pressed to share a tip, he recounts a story from years ago about how the only time he’s ever had true success keeping golfers off his closed practice green was when he posted a skull and cross bones warning of pesticide use. It probably wouldn’t work today though, because his members would know better.
September 6th, 2007
I was on the boat Tailwalker with Captain Scott Walker out of Hawks Cay Marina in Duck Key, FL on May 11th, 2007. I was with my wife Jackiy and friends Jeff Grube and Carey Patton on a full day charter fishing in the Gulf Stream some 20 miles out.
We were sight casting to fish along a weed line when we saw this monster. We threw a google eye at him for bait and he hit and the fight was on. I used spinning tackle with 20 lb. test and the battle lasted about an hour and fifteen minutes.
The fish weighed in at 59.2 lbs. and measured 65″ from nose to the fork of the tail. The days take included our limit of 40 dolphin - 4 of which were over 20 lbs.
As you can tell, I was a bit excited!
David Fenton
Golf Course Superintendent
Quail Creek Country Club
Naples, Florida
September 4th, 2007
Welcome to The Greenskeeper Online. Each issue of our turfgrass industry e-newsletter will feature a timely scientific article; tall-but-true tales from out on the water; and the occasional industry specific member profile, survey, tip or contest.
This site offers the full versions of abbreviated articles from our mailings, as well as the place to come to access archived issues. In either case, our intention is to create an informative publication for professional turf managers that is also enjoyable to read.
Best regards,
Rebecca and Team Turf
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September 1st, 2007
by Dr. Charles H. Peacock
NC State University
Despite the miserably extreme summer temperatures this year, after Labor Day there will be a change in the climate and thoughts will turn to fall overseeding especially for golf course fairways. This practice has been routine for almost 50 years in the southern US, but it always seems to have controversy. If overseeding is an option that is chosen for whatever reason, there are some considerations that should be made.
Bermudagrass usually stops growing and turns brown after the first hard frost. It remains dormant until temperatures consistently reach 60 F next spring. Overseeding provides color, uniform surface conditions, and wear tolerance. While the overseeding process is usually conducted in mid to late fall, preparing bermudagrass for overseeding is a year-long process. Bermudagrass must be healthy to withstand the harsh cultural practices and turf competition associated with overseeding.
Seeding Date
Successful overseeding can be done two to three weeks before the expected first frost date or when the soil temperature declines to 75 F. Overseeding in the Raleigh area is usually done between September 15 and October 1. Western and northwestern areas of the piedmont may be seeded one to two weeks earlier, whereas the south central and southeastern areas of North Carolina may be seeded one to two weeks later.
Overseeding Preparations
Close mowing just before overseeding is essential. Hybrid bermudagrasses should be thinned using a dethatching mower, and clippings and thatch should be removed with a sweeper. It may be possible to skip the dethatching process with common bermudagrass. Any coring should have been completed several weeks in advance and the cores dispersed by dragging. This prevents spotty germination.
Postseeding Care
Irrigation two to three times daily until the seedlings begin to emerge is critical. If water restrictions prohibit this, then whether to try overseeding at all should be questioned. Irrigate just enough to moisten the surface while preventing lateral movement of the seed. As seedlings emerge, reduce irrigation frequency to daily, and eventually irrigate only as needed. Begin mowing the grass at a height of 1/2 to 3/4 inch. Weekly mowing is often sufficient in late fall and winter, but mowing twice a week is the spring norm.
Fertilization
Do not fertilize with nitrogen during the initial time of overseeding because this may encourage the bermudagrass to compete with the young plants. Adequate levels of phosphorus and potassium should be maintained for good plant rooting. A soil test in the summer should have been done to determine if additional starter fertilizer is required. If not, applying these at the time of fertilization can help in the establishment process. Using a 0-10-20 at 1.0 pound of potassium per 1000 square feet (44 pounds per acre) can be beneficial. Begin to use nitrogen fertilizer shortly after shoot emergence and continue until cold weather halts the overseeding growth. This normally requires the application of 1/4 to 1/2 pound of nitrogen per thousand square feet every two or three weeks, or 1 pound of controlled-release nitrogen per thousand square feet every four to six weeks.
September 1st, 2007
TurfNET magazine reveiwed 40 top turfgrass undergraduate programs in the nation, and The Wolfpack took home top honors. Visit the Crop Science Department website to read the article and learn more about this premier program’s on-going studies.
September 1st, 2007
Throughout the history of golf, the ball mark repair tool has made its place into the golfer’s repertoire of necessary game equipment. Not much to them a first glance. They are inexpensive, popular as gifts and some courses actually give them away for free. Unfortunately, just because it has made its way into the golf bag does mean that all golfers use this tool religiously.
The average golfer does not realize that unrepaired ball marks take two to three weeks to properly heal, leaving behind unsightly, uneven putting surfaces. On the other hand, a repaired ball mark only takes half that time to heal.
A true aficionado of the game will fix his and others ball marks while his partner is putting. As industry professionals, how do we drive this point home to players? A simple demonstration sign in the staging area or lavatories can increase impact to your players so that everyone can enjoy turf uniformity.
Golf courses with a lot of play can benefit even more from this simple practice. Imagine if you could reach only 10% more players. Surely that would that offset the cost of a simple description placed in a highly visible yet discrete wall. Think about it… that would be a significant number.
With this approach, you are educating your players, reducing your workload, and enhancing your course’s appearance and playability, all with a simple task.
Ball marks on your greens can often be repaired better simply by providing a tool that is less likely to damage the turf’s root structure. Read about the shift in thinking when it comes to ball mark repair, and view some of the new products available by visiting these websites: GreenFixGolf.com MarkMender.com PitchProGolf.com
Got a Great Insight of Your Own?
Ideas for this area could come from anywhere, so we wanted to ask each of you for suggestions. Send us an unconventional technique golf courses could utilize to make players’ experiences better, and maybe we’ll print it our our next issue. Share your idea now.
September 1st, 2007