TURFHUGGER

Fertility: Are You Ready For The Season Ahead?

2012-02-21T16:24:00.003-05:00

As the big thaw across Britain begins, our minds start looking forward to the season ahead and our thoughts turn to our maintenance programmes for the coming season. Without doubt one of the most crucial elements of producing good surfaces is how we apply nutrients to the plant. Too much all at once will produce soft, slow, spongy surfaces. Too little could thin out the sward encouraging diseases such as anthracnose. There has been a lot of talk over the past decade about how we have overfed our surfaces. This is probably true to some extent. Have some people now gone too far the other way? Could they be under-feeding their surfaces?

There are two basic things we can give plants to help them stay healthy. Water is obviously one (even fescue needs water), and nutrients the other. We all know about the NPK way, but I feel that time and method has moved away from this. It’s just not about NPK these days, but more crucially how and when you apply it.

At every seminar I have spoken at, the question is always asked ‘How much Nitrogen do you apply?’. It’s a valid question but always a loaded one. Giving a single figure doesn’t give an accurate representation. If I applied 100 units (kg) of N for the year, does it mean I applied 4 granular feeds with 25 units in each application? Did I apply it purely by foliar means or a combination of granular and foliar? All of these have different consequences on growth, performance and health. So instead of a number, think more deeply. First, think about what you want to achieve, then put a plan together that allows you to do so.

Be In Control Of Growth

When I started in the industry in the early nineties, granular feeding was choice of greenkeepers. Ask any greenkeeper then and he would say, ‘35g/m2 of sulphate/ammonia’. This was great for growing grass, but surfaces would be uncontrollable one week, and starving the next. The key to producing consistent growth on an even keel is to apply it on a ‘little and often’ basis. Drip feeding the N on instead of blasting it on all at once will produce consistent greens every day of the week. You have to try to be in control of growth and not let it control you.

So how do we do this? 20 years ago a greenskeeper would probably have said that the greens mower was his most crucial piece of equipment. Today I bet quite a few would say that the sprayer is the piece of kit that they can't do without. The sprayer's role has changed a huge amount over the years. It is now a crucial piece of armoury in the greenkeepers shed. During the season it may be out there daily applying to all playing surfaces. So what is the perfect programme for the greens?

One of my biggest issues with fertiliser companies arises when they suggest products and programmes. Usually it is a generic solution for all grasses, whether they be fescue, bent, poa or rye. This cannot be right. Different grasses obviously have different needs. A poa sward will be a lot more juicy at certain times than a fescue one. Poa will therefore need feeding sooner than the fescue as the nutrients applied will be depleted sooner. Before you come up with your 'perfect' programme, consider the needs of your particular grass species and design your plan based on maximizing that plant!

Soluble or Liquid?

Since the sprayer has become more popular I often get asked whether we should apply soluble or liquid feed. At the end of the day there is no difference (apart from price usually). The plant doesn't know whether it was in liquid formation or it came in soluble bags before it was applied. There are a lot of companies out there selling a ‘wonder product’. The sales pitch will be their secret formula that gets the product into the plant. But I ask you this. Do you think that a grass plant knows that product X is better than product Y? I don’t think so. What’s important to a grass plant is a) the nutrient source, b) the way the product is applied and c) how much nutrient is being applied at once. Once you know that then you can pick the correct product depending on price. If a liquid is more competitive, then buy that and vice versa.

Do your own homework

I get so frustrated when I hear that a greenkeeper has based their programme around the results of a fertiliser company's test results. We are skilled turf managers. We went to college or university to learn about growing grass. Fertility was one of the key areas, so why do we need a company to lay out our programmes? By all means ask their opinions, but do your own research. Get your tests, either soil or tissue, completed by independent laboratories. There are plenty of them about. That way you will be in charge of your own density and not reliant on a company (however good they are) whose core business is to sell fertiliser!

As we head in to spring we will all be thinking about our fertility programmes for the year ahead. First decide what you want to achieve this year. It might be to reduce your poa content, or to reduce your disease pressure in the summer months. Then think about your application methods; Granular or foliar or both. Finally, select products that will give you results at a competitive price. That at the end of the day is why we are turf managers!

Greg Evans MG
Consulting
Blog

Flush: Rain Bird 900/1100 Series vs Toro R-Series

2012-02-16T02:02:00.002-05:00

Do you have Rain Bird Eagle 900 or 1100 Series heads in a Rain Bird Sprinkler Body? Are you tired of ruining your paper uniforms? Toro has a suggestion for you.

Buffalograss Gaining Popularity on the Golf Course

2012-02-16T01:22:00.000-05:00

There’s been much discussion lately on the subject of water conservation within the golf course industry, and for good reason. As water demands outweigh water supplies in many areas of the country, several courses are starting to feel the pinch and are looking for ways to cut back on irrigation needs.

Methods such as rainwater harvesting have shown huge potential for water conservation in golf course management. Although rainwater harvesting is a great way to provide a free, steady, and sustainable supply of water, it’s only one side of the irrigation coin. Not only do we need to be able to supply a sustainable supply of water, but we need to consider using turfgrass species that don’t require much water to begin with.

One such alternative grass species that’s gained popularity in golf course use during recent years is Buffalograss (Bouteloua dactyloides). Buffalograss is a North American native common to the Great Plains region, and can be found stretching from Manitoba and Saskatchewan (although rare) all the way through 22 American states and on down into Mexico. Not only does it have a large natural habitat, but Buffalograss can adapt to work well throughout most of the west and even as far east as Virginia.

This warm-season native has been praised for its very low irrigation requirements, natural resistance to pests and disease, and slow growth rate. Weed suppression is another attribute, as a healthy stand of Buffalograss usually has no problem overpowering competing weeds. On top of all this, Buffalograss has a low need for fertilizer, responding very well to light applications of nitrogen at the rate of ½ to 2 pounds per growing season.

That’s all well and good, but what about its quality and playability on the golf course? Buffalograss is naturally a low growing grass, usually getting 4-7 inches tall. For many years, the use of Buffalograss on the golf course seemed limited to roughs due to its poor performance at mowing heights under one inch. But with recently developed cultivars such as ‘Prestige’, the potential for Buffalograss to transition from a rough grass to a fairway grass has never been better. Developed by the University of Nebraska, ‘Prestige’ requires only about one inch of water per month, is resistant to most turf insects and diseases, and can be cut to height of 15.6 mm, or approximately ½ inch.

Just how much water can a Buffalograss golf course save? In a 2001 article by James T. Snow, the National Director of the United States Golf Association's Green Section, he states:
“Several improved cultivars of buffalograss (Buchloe dactyloides), a native of the American Great Plains, have been developed by turfgrass breeders at the University of Nebraska. This grass can replace high water use grasses on fairways and roughs in a large geographic area of the Mid-West, resulting in water savings of 50% or more.”

It’s important to remember it’s not a miracle cure-all grass. There will be a few drawbacks to consider when thinking about Buffalograss for golf course use. For one, Buffalograss will go dormant in the cool winter months and will take longer in the springtime to green up than traditional cool-season grasses.

It does not tolerate shady conditions or over-watering, and some consider Buffalograss to be a lighter green color than traditional grasses. It’s important to analyze your unique conditions, climate, and irrigation requirements to see if Buffalograss would be a smart investment for your course.

Many golf courses have dramatically reduced their water, fertilizer, and pesticide use by replacing traditional turfgrass with Buffalograss. Together along with other sustainable practices such as rainwater harvesting, it is possible to dramatically reduce the large amounts of input required to maintain a professional golf course while still retaining the aesthetic value and playability that makes golf the beautiful (and in my case, humbling) sport it is.

_______

From his earliest days growing up in a small northern Utah town, Skylar could always be found in the great outdoors. He developed a great love of nature and appreciation for beautiful landscapes, both natural and manmade, which led him to pursue a career that would allow him to spend as much time outdoors as possible. With an educational background in Horticulture from Utah State University, Skylar’s many years of experience in the landscape/turf industry has taught him much about working with nature. This in turn led him to realize that the future of this industry rests upon sustainability and responsible agricultural practices. He works for Naturesfinestseed.com, a company that believes strongly in the principal of sustainability.

Kids Get Educated on "Green" Golf

2012-02-15T01:07:00.001-05:00

Check out this great little video from SmartPlanet.com

"Gary Ingram, the golf course superintendent at Oakland Metropolitan is teaching kids about what it means to be better environmental citizens through their program, the Oakland Turf Grass Initiative."

Toro Tours to "Master the Greens"

2012-02-14T15:37:00.002-05:00

In the spring and summer of 2011, Toro toured the US with the new TriFlex, TriFlex Hybrid, Greensmaster Flex and eFlex walk mowers. Here are some initial customer reactions to these units from stops along the way. Want to request a demo? Go here.

Promo Video for the TriFlex and TriFlex Hybrid

Promo Video for the Greensmaster eFlex/Flex Series

Getting a Closer Look at Your Turf

2012-02-10T14:04:00.001-05:00

Having a microscope at your property can help you do your job better. Being able to take a quick look at a suspect spot from the course could help save you money and/or heartache. The convenience of having a microscope at hand will also make it easy for random sampling or looking at a spot before you would usually send it in for diagnosis.

A basic microscopic disease identification class can give you the basics to identify the major turf diseases. I am not saying avoid the lab for diagnosis. This may give you an extra day or two before they come back with their results. If the pathogen is active it is pretty apparent under the microscope.

A basic microscope to be able to view spores from a pathogen will be a compound microscope. Something that will magnify the sample to 400x is what you will need for most pathogens. I also recommend that you get a binocular microscope for comfort. Having two eyepieces makes looking at a sample much easier. I also would not get a microscope without a movable stage. If you have to move the slide under the microscope by hand you will probably get very frustrated. Having a stage that is moved mechanically will save you time as your are looking at your samples.

You don't have to be a turf pathologist to make use of your microscope. A microscopic disease identification class can help or what I do is google the disease and you will find some pretty good pictures of the diseases you may be looking at and their spores. It also doesn't hurt to reach out through social networking as well. Recently John Kaminski from Penn State and Larry Stowell from Pace Turf helped explain a few things to help me understand some of the things that I was seeing under the microscope.

The cost of a basic compound microscope with the above mentioned features will most likely cost you around $750. If the microscope can help you avoid one application or save your greens from losing turf it should pay for itself very quickly. Having a microscope is just another tool in the bag that can make your job a little easier.

Orange and Gold makes for some serious Green

2012-02-03T11:17:00.001-05:00

Turf maintenance equipment giant Jacobsen has agreed to a global partnership with the Golf Environment Organization.

David Withers and Jonathan Smith seal the deal

The new arrangement will see the two organizations, which have been allied in Europe for some time, broaden their collaboration to promote awareness, understanding and solutions in the Americas and Asia as well as Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Back in March of 2010 the RJ National, Jacobsen's three-hole golf course located at their European headquarters on the outskirts of Ipswich, was by GEO.

Based on a long-standing relationship with Ransomes Jacobsen, Jacobsen’s UK subsidiary that has supported GEO’s pioneering work to help the industry embrace the environmental opportunities and challenges in sector, the new worldwide Jacobsen agreement will strengthen efforts and results.

GEO is a non-profit organization dedicated to sustainability in golf; building awareness, developing and administering golf’s ecolabel, GEO Certified, and delivering programs to help clubs and developments achieve the distinction.

GEO chief executive Jonathan Smith said: “GEO is privileged to have such a dedicated partner, committed to continued investment in the things that make sustainability more accessible and productive to golf businesses. Jacobsen has supported GEO from the very start and has made a significant difference in the development, delivery, and awareness of the solutions we provide for the golf community".

David Withers, president of Jacobsen, said: “Jacobsen is a global company and GEO has global relevance and solutions, with programs accessible worldwide in a growing number of languages and a high quality, credible and increasingly recognized international ecolabel for golf. Expanding our partnership to encompass all of the Jacobsen business units around the globe makes good sense, further aligns our outlook and will multiply many new positive outcomes.

“For the environment and the long-term strength of the industry, we want to help create more sustainable approaches, through our own product development and green initiatives and support for other credible, dynamic organizations. We are very proud to endorse and support the work GEO does to give people the motivation, guidance and solutions to take more and better action.”

How To: Golf Course Rainwater Harvesting Part 2

2012-02-02T07:13:00.001-05:00

See Part 1 of this series here.
...Now that’s all nice to see annual totals, but if we want to invest in the infrastructure to use this resource of ours wisely then we are going to have to get specific. The best way to do this is to find out exactly how much of this water you are going to use.

Part 2: How can I tie it in to my current system or maintenance routines?

To answer this question let's break it down into three parts: collection, storage and delivery.

Collection Method

Here we evaluate the effectiveness of 4 things - Material, Delivery, Climate and Other:

Material of roof

Is the roof constructed of standing seam metal, ethylene propylene diene monomer (EDPM), slate or tile? (different materials have different runoff coefficients i.e. metal is .95, concrete and asphalt is .9, tar and gravel is .8-.85)
Is the roof or exterior building walls capable of withstanding load or attachment of a "delivery system" (see below)?

Delivery (roof to storage)

Does it direct all catchment into a secure delivery system (gutters, eaves trough, piping/tubing, down spouts, chains, free-fall)?
Are there any leaves, debris or sediment being transported with the water?
Does the water need to be filtered? (debris or sediment traps?)
Is the whole delivery system above (height) the storage location?
What is the differential grade? (must be a negative grade from roof to storage)?

Climatic Influences

Is the delivery system winter proof?
Will it crack if frozen?
Does it have exposure to prevailing winds?
Should I cut overhanging branches down to prevent damage to the system?

Other Considerations?

Will it’s aesthetics come in to consideration?
Will it’s footprint effect my operations in any way?
How much maintenance will this require? (Time, Labor, $)
Any permits for building this infrastructure?

Storage Method

Catchment area and rainfall determine supply, and demand and loss dictates required storage capacity, so with that said lets figure out how much storage you need at your site.

The Turfhugger Rainwater Harvesting Calculation Table can help you evaluate the effectiveness of your potential project.

You can view a larger html version here, can download an excel version here, or access the blank Google Docs version here. I’ve included below an explanation for the table, calculations, listed some additional resources and gave some tips for the successful completion of the table. The info in this sample is meant for demonstration purposes only.

Total Roof Footprint
Remember that we want the footprint not total surface area. A flat top and a church can have the same footprint but the church would have a larger surface area...right? Right.
Have any doubts on how to collect this info? Use the http://pro.scribblemaps.com/ polygon measuring tool or ruler tools to determine length (X) and width (Y) like the image here, or walk it with a measuring wheel - either way, be accurate!

Use http://www.onlineconversion.com to convert from Meters to Feet or just use 1M = 3.280FT.
Then times X by Y. For example:
X = 30.62m x 3.280 = 100.43ft
Y = 18.39m x 3.280 = 60.31ft
100.43 x 60.31 = 6056.93 Sq ft = HRA

Landscape Area in Sq Ft
This is your area of intended use. It doesn’t have to be landscape, it’s just an easy case study to make. You could use this water for filling sprayers, washing equipment, drinking!

Rainfall Coefficient
Different materials have different runoff coefficients i.e. metal is .95, concrete and asphalt is .9, tar and gravel is .8-.85

Plant Factor
I use the following chart to figure out my relative plant factor:

Plant Type	Percent Range
	High	Low
Low Water Use	0.26	0.13
Medium Water Use	0.45	0.26
High Water Use	0.64	0.45

http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/water/az1052/harvest.html

Municipal Charge per 100 Cubic Feet
This is how much water is costing you per 100 Cubic Foot (CCF).
If you want to leave this out just type 0.

Average/max precipitation for your region.
Check these links for average monthly precipitation in American & Canadian cities. Alternatively try Googling “monthly average precipitation” for your city. It’s important to consider maximum rainfall levels, but because we want to make an economic case for the purchase it is best to use the average as the base.

Rainfall Harvest in Gallons
To Calculate your “monthly yield” or Rainfall Harvest use this formula:
RH = [Harvestable Roof Area X Amount of Rainfall X Rainfall Coefficient (material and slope)]
For example: 6056.93 x 162.7 x .95 = 936189.38mm
1 milliliter = 0.000 264 172 052 36 gallon [US, liquid]
Therefore 936189.38mm = 247.315 Gal.

Actual Demand in Gallons
For landscape water demand I use the formula of Demand = (ET x Plant Factor) x area x 7.48.
ET (go here for historical ET of American Zip Codes, sorry no Canadian:(, remember it is important to use a rate that is accurate)
Plant Factor (see above chart)
Area = Area in square feet
7.48 = the conversion of Cubic feet in to US gal. Most water companies provide totals in cubic feet so by using this unit in your estimates a comparison will be kept easy. This is the total amount of water that could be left in the storage tank and includes the total amount that fell during the month and whatever was not used from the month prior.

Historical ET
Remember to leave ET rate out of months where you do not intend on using this supply.
Go here for historical ET of American Zip Codes, sorry no Canadian:(, remember it is important to use a rate that is accurate.

Monthly Supply Surplus/Deficit in Gallons
This is the monthly total of unused or overused supply. This is figured out by subtracting Actual Demand in Gallons from the total Rainfall Harvest for each individual month.

Cumulative Storage Gallons
This is the total amount to date that has not been used. The highest amount will be the size of tank you’ll want! Using our example here we see you’d want at very least a 700 Gal tank. Remember to always round up as you don’t want to opt down in storage capacity.

Municipal Usage in Gallons
How much water did you have to buy?
1 cubic foot = 7.480 519 480 5 gallon [US, liquid]

Total $ in Municipal Source
This is how much money you would have to spend to cover your demand.

It’s best to fill out this table with data from the last three years to get an accurate picture of what the supply could be. Remember, for the initial year you’ll be operating out of a deficit because your using the tank for the first time, similar to if you must winterize your storage by emptying or disconnecting.

"Delivery" will be in Part 3 of this series.

How To: Golf Course Rainwater Harvesting Part 1

2012-01-31T23:10:00.000-05:00

For golf courses using municipal water sources (roughly 14% in USA) or a limited renewable source for irrigation, collecting roof rainwater may have considerable benefits. Harvested rainwater can later be used to supplement landscape applications in isolated areas, for young planted material, the growing of nursery stock, bunker surrounds and heavily stressed turfgrass. Whatever your intended use, when evaluating the possibility of collecting rainwater from a roof for the purpose of holding and applying there are 3 major things to consider:

How much can I collect? (Supply)
What is the impact on my maintenance routines? (Collection, Storage & Demand)
How do I deliver? What is my ROI?

I’ve provided some insight to this process using a few helpful resources, case studies and formulas. Enjoy!

How much can I collect?

The simple formula to calculate a Rainfall Harvest is RH = [Harvestable Roof Area X Amount of Rainfall X Rainfall Coefficient (material and slope)], this formula will help you if you choose to seriously evaluate the option of catching and storing rainwater. If you would like a simple way to see what your potential is then try out this free web-app at www.save-the-rain.com. You can get your answer in 3 easy steps:

Plug in your address, press "Go"
Find your building and click each corner of the building leaving a "point" on each corner. Press "Finished". This method measures the roof as if it were flat, which is a slightly more accurate approach then measuring the exact area as the pitch of the roof offsets the total area. Think of it as a harvestable footprint vs. total area.
Wait for the results... Eventually you'll get totals for the area of your roof, the amount of rain this area receives in a year, the amount harvestable and what this equals in toilet flushes, obviously we are not concerned with that last one if we plan on using this resource for irrigation purposes.
Don’t like Litres? http://www.onlineconversion.com/volume.htm

There are a few other online calculators that can be found at these addresses:
Rainxchange.com An awesome calculator for Average Rainfall of US Cities, Roof Yield, Demand, Storage and Supplemental Supply Needed
Braewater.com Google Map Powered
EasyCalculation.com Just a calculator

Here are two Apps for the iPhone - sorry Android & BlackBerries, no App for you :(
Rain Harvest
Rainwater Collection Calculator (meh)

See Part Two here.

Allianz Championship "One of the Greenest Tournaments in North America"

2012-01-31T12:06:00.000-05:00

PGA Champions Tour Event Partners With The Smart Group to Reduce Carbon Footprint, Set Goal of 100% Renewable Energy, and Drive Zero Waste by Vendors, Players and Spectators

The 12th annual Allianz Championship, set for February 6-12, 2012 at Broken Sound Club in Boca Raton, Fla., has announced plans to be one of the greenest golf tournaments in North America. To achieve this goal, the tournament will partner with The Smart Group, an organization of ecologists, scientists, educators, and academic researchers who help clients make sound decisions about environmental management.

The tournament plans to set green event benchmarks by developing a comprehensive carbon footprint event analysis, taking the initiative to power the event with 100% renewable energy, and implementing a zero waste program with education of spectators, players and vendors about the benefits of going green in their daily business and personal spaces.

This initiative is an extension of efforts made at the 2011 Allianz Championship, which was the first PGA Champions Tour event ever played on a GEO-certified course. Broken Sound Club is the first golf facility in Florida and only the second in the United States to achieve the GEO Certified award, an international sustainability assurance from the Golf Environment Organization.

“This is truly an ambitious, one-of-a-kind collaboration in sustainability,” said Allianz Championship Tournament Director Ryan Dillon. “We’re committed to ‘greening’ this event through a variety of channels including water use, energy and carbon footprint, environmental quality, landscape and ecosystems, and reducing travel and transportation mileage to and from the site for vendor staging, player transportation and event-goer transportation.”

As the first tournament on the early-season Florida swing of the PGA Champions Tour, the Allianz Championship is collaborating closely with the International Green Energy Council (IGEC), Golf Environment Organization (GEO), the City of Boca Raton, the PGA Champions Tour and Allianz Life, the tournament’s title sponsor and founding sponsor of the 2012 green initiative. The tournament’s green initiative is an extension of programs already being conducted by Allianz. For example, Allianz Life was recently recognized for the second straight year with the prestigious Energy Star designation for its campus in Golden Valley, Minn., putting it in the top nine percent of similar-size buildings nationwide. Parent company Allianz SE has developed around 70 products and services that help mitigate climate change or take environmental impact into account.

“Allianz Life and our parent company Allianz SE are committed to green initiatives within our business practices and celebrate the efforts of the Allianz Championship to take the concept of a truly green event to the next level,” said Nancy Jones, chief marketing officer for Allianz Life. ”We hope these actions serve as inspiration to other large events and a blueprint for how environmental sustainability goals can be achieved.”

The tournament will use a per-mile carbon offset fee generated from all players, vendors and attendees for travel by air and car to enhance the greening of Boca Raton. The total amount of these carbon offset fees will be used to buy trees for planting throughout the City of Boca Raton.

“There is so much potential to bring real world sustainability initiatives into direct contact with thousands of people through golfing events,” noted Jonathan Smith, Chief Executive of the Golf Environment Organization expressing his support for the initiative. “At the Allianz Championship, we see a precedent-seeking, committed golf event and active venue engaging with other event stakeholders to generate actions that will make a tangible difference while enhancing the reputations of all involved. We’re delighted that this trailblazing initiative will unfold at a GEO Certified™ venue, and that some of the pioneering work we have been undertaking around the Ryder Cup has provided a strong and effective model for the delivery of this exciting leadership program.”

See Press Release

Sprayer Pre-Mix Tank Project

2012-01-30T10:52:00.001-05:00

One of the most important cultural practices here at Stow Acres Country Club is spraying our greens, tees and fairways. On average, we spray twice each week. We have two dedicated sprayers, one 175 gallon Spraytek DS175 for greens and tees, and a 300 gallon Toro Multipro 5700 for fairways. Given the volume of the tanks, and the precision with which the sprays are mixed, it can take upwards of an hour to fully load the sprayer. Each spray is typically 2-3 loads, which requires 2-3 hours or more of mixing and loading the spray. This season, we decided to change the process up a little.

We built a Pre-Mix Tank to facilitate mixing the spray while the spray technician is in the field treating the turf. The first step in the process was selecting a tank. We used a 275 gallon bulk fertilizer tank. 275 gallons of water, at 8.35 lbs per gallon, weighs 2300 lbs. With this in mind, we built a pressure treated stand of the same design as a hot tub deck. The stand also includes an area to stand on while loading the mix.

The tank was then modified to fit our design. We cut in a bulkhead with straining screen. The mix tank is powered by a 3/4 hp sump pump that drives a sprayer fill valve, in line strainer screen with bypass, and agitation nozzles to keep the products adequately mixed prior to loading. The tank is filled from our 120 psi South Course irrigation. An inline strainer screen filters the water before entering the tank. A custom aluminum fill hose frame was built and hinged to the tank. To facilitate the arm swinging without binding the fill hoses, we installed swing joints at both pivot points (upper and lower fill hoses). A platform was mounted to the tank cage with a cutout for the calibrated mixing cup.

Once we started using the mix tank, the time spent by the spray technician at the shop between loads has decreased from an hour or more, to only 5 minutes.

After using the mix tank for a couple weeks, we added a few new features to make it more usable. To facilitate faster filling, we plumbed the irrigation water from the South Course directly into the tank. Filling the entire 275 gallon tank with the irrigation line takes under 5 minutes. To help screen out any of the debris that makes it through the irrigation lines, we installed a fine mesh strainer screen. There’s also a quick disconnect in line, in case we ever have to move the tank for some reason. In the event that the irrigation is not pressurized, a 3/4″ female hose thread swivel connector was installed to allow the hose from the well water to be hooked up to the fill line.

For ease of rinsing containers and the mix tank itself, we also installed a 6′ hose with quick connect and a nozzle to the fill line. Valves allow one or both to be operated at the same time.

For more information on the mix tank, feel free to comment on this post, or contact me at JParker@StowAcres.com.

________________
Justin Parker
Equipment Manager
Stow Acres Country Club
http://golfcoursetech.wordpress.com/

Justin is a devoted Christian, husband, father to two daughters, golf course mechanic, entrepreneur and web enthusiast.

Justin attended UMass Amherst, where he studied Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, and 3D Modelling and Animation and has completed the Turfgrass Management Certificate Program at Ohio State University. Justin works at Stow Acres Country Club in Stow, Massachusetts. Stow Acres is a 36 hole, semi-private, family owned facility.
In addition to working at Stow Acres, Justin owns Synergy Offroad, a 4×4 enthusiast ecommerce site.

Purple Tee's At Overlake

2012-01-29T14:36:00.000-05:00

The idea for the Purple Tee’s at Overlake Golf & Country Club came out of a committee meeting last year when one of our members who liked the idea of a shorter course came to the meeting prepared with some information about the Tee it Forward initiative and some of their recommended yardages for players of varying abilities. It was met with some skepticism and indifference, as many golfers don’t like to do anything that would give the perception of making the course easier, but we wanted to at least look into it as it was sincerely brought up to help both older members and younger members enjoy the game.

We ended up putting a small purple plaque in the fairway to use as the tee marker and decided to create a purple course and also a combo purple/gold course that could be played by anyone who wanted to play a shorter course. We decided to call it the Lil' Husky Course because purple and gold are the colors of the University of Washington which is across the bridge from us and their golf teams practice here, and many of our members are UW alumni. So far there has been minimal cost, our club president personally paid for the plaques.

One of our older members said that she was close to quitting golf completely because in her last round from the gold tees she hit over 50 5 woods in one round and was physically and mentally exhausted after a round of golf. When she played from the purple tees she hit fewer than 20 5 woods and enjoyed golf for the first time in a long time. She brought some of her friends out for a purple tee tournament. The field consisted of women members many of whom had dropped their golf membership because the course had become too long to enjoy. The Junior Golf program has used the purple tees as well and the men have been talking about possibly having a par 3 tournament playing the purple tees. I even went out last night and played a few holes from the purple tees, just because I knew I could get more holes in playing from the short tees, and get some nice short game practice.

The course yardage being discussed was 3000 yards, which seemed extremely short and I was having trouble even visualizing what that would look like. So I just did some math divided 3000 by 5223 which is our current gold (forward) tee yardage, then took each hole and multiplied each hole's forward tee yardage by the result of .57. What I came up with was holes ranging from 55 yards up to 250 yards. I went out on the course and couldn't believe how short these holes were, many of them were even with or ahead of the fairway bunkers, but as I looked at more of them I started thinking that these would be neat par 3's. So in the end it’s a 3000 yard purple course and a 4116 yard combo course which is a combo of the gold and purple tees. The arrows on the card tell you which tee to play on each hole. Both courses have been rated by the Washington State Golf Association for handicapping purposes.

We will see what kind of use they get over the next year, which will be their first full season, but so far they have been well received and seem to very successful.

___________________

Cory Brown has been an Assistant Superintendent for over 10 years, the last 5 of which have been spent at Overlake Golf and Country Club, in Medina, Washington.

Vampire Energy Loss

2012-01-26T13:08:00.000-05:00

Although the ROI on new energy saving technologies is pretty quick and justifies the investment, cutting the "Vampire Energy Loss" is an easy way to start saving some money at your facility without having to spend any money to do so. Vampire Energy Loss refers to energy that supplies power to electronic devices and appliances while they are "off" or in "standby"mode. Energy loss equals money loss. How much are we talking here?

The International Energy Association estimated in 2007 that standby/Vampire Energy Loss produced 1% of the world's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. To put the figure into context, total air travel contributes less than 3% of global CO2 emissions.

Standby power used by older devices can be as high as 10 to 15 watts per device, and occasionally more. Regulations coming into force in many countries following the One Watt Initiative restrict standby power of new equipment to not more than one watt from 2010, 0.5 watts from 2013.

So what can you do at your facility? Here are 4 simple things:

First off, unplug. Take it out of the equation if you can. Many turf departments have a tv in the lunch room for training purposes - Un plug it! That extra computer, grinders, chargers, radios, lights, fans, etc... Are you charging a power cart everyday throughout the winter? When not in use, unplug.
Power Strips. By attaching computers, appliances and battery chargers to a power strip you can easily shut down the lot in one switch. Stand by mode still sucks energy and computers re-boot pretty quickly nowadays. While your at it, if you have a A plasma TV at home, the Department of Energy says it costs approx. $165 a year for its standby power consumption.
Purchase low energy appliances. These are newer appliances with an Energy Star label.
Conservation. Remind your staff to turn off the lights in the bathroom, pump house, office, lunch room, etc when not in use. Here are a few posters, articles to print, and other resources to help educate your staff and keep it in their minds.

Top 10 Energy Saving Tips for Golf Courses

7 Ways to Reduce Energy Consumption on the Golf Course

Energy Star Conservation Poster with instructions to add your own logo!

Heres a whole bunch of Awareness posters, stickers and handouts for purchase.

Save Energy in the Workplace posters, signs, etc

PC World article - Unplug for Dollars: Stop 'Vampire Power' Waste

Calculate Home Energy Loss

Office Energy Conservation Checklist

Achieving ACSP Certification at Overlake GCC

2012-01-25T16:08:00.000-05:00

Shortly after I accepted the Assistant Golf Course Superintendent’s position at Overlake Golf & Country Club, it was a goal of mine to guide the club through the process of becoming a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary through Audubon International. I had been involved with the program at other clubs and knew what a great tool it could be to highlight environmental excellence at Overlake.

The first section of the certification process, Environmental Planning, was challenging for me as it involves a lot of information gathering. This section requires a description of all of your site information and development of a general plan on how you will institute all of your environmental programs. It also sets up your plan for the subsequent five sections, so I wanted to devote significant time to it.

I was tempted at first to take on everything myself, but soon found out that it was just too time-consuming to complete all of the paperwork, institute new environmental programs and manage the staff to ensure we were maintaining exceptional playing conditions on a daily basis. While course conditions continued to improve, and major projects were being implemented on the golf course, I was a bit frustrated with how slowly the Audubon program was progressing. I finally came to the conclusion that, in addition to my day-to-day responsibilities of managing the course, there just weren’t enough hours in the day to accomplish this undertaking on my own.

2nd Assistant Superintendent Marcus Harness and Horticulturist Lacey Leinbaugh explaining the difference between native and exotic plants to the students of St. Thomas School

I realized that I am fortunate enough to work with many highly educated and highly trained people, each of whom can bring their own expertise to the program. Audubon International encourages you to get as many people involved as possible, which allows the mindset of high environmental standards to permeate through the staff, members and the community as a whole. I began by forming a core committee of staff members who were each responsible for one section of the program. Lacey Leinbaugh, the club’s Horticulturist, assisted me on the Environmental Planning section as well as being in charge of Wildlife Habitat Management. Spray Technician Ryan Rosevear coordinated the Pesticide Use, Reduction and Safety section. Irrigation Technician Jeff Nass completed the Water Use section and 2nd Assistant Superintendents Chris Thornton and Marcus Harness completed the Water Quality Management and Outreach and Education sections, respectively. We also involved community members by working with teachers through the First Green of Washington program. The past two years, we have used the course to provide environmental learning opportunities for students from Interlake High School in Bellevue and St. Thomas School in Medina. As the program continues to grow we are adding more club and community members to our Audubon Resource Advisory Group.

Soon after organizing the Resource Advisory Group, we completed our Environmental Plan. We began to hold monthly meetings and set a goal to achieve certification by the end of 2011. The committee worked very hard to achieve this goal and in December, Overlake was rewarded by becoming a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary through Audubon International.

The second is of the goats working on a large patch of blackberry adjacent to the sixth hole.

One notable highlight of our environmental efforts included using a herd of goats for brush management in an area where it was not possible for staff to remove brush by hand. Overlake hired over two hundred brush goats for a week in May and they were able to clear several acres of undesirable blackberry and thistle. This would have taken our staff several weeks to complete the same task and taken valuable work hours away from the playable areas of the course. This also allowed us to reduce chemical usage, especially since this area lies in an environmentally sensitive no-spray zone.

Throughout this process we have continued to evaluate all of our programs and determine ways to improve both operational and environmental efficiencies. Some of our programs have had an immediate positive effect on the playability and presentation of the golf course. Maintaining the course in a firm, dry condition has resulted in a significant reduction of water usage. Irrigation and fertilization of many rough areas has been reduced and in some cases, eliminated altogether. Several out-of-play areas have been converted into “native” vegetation areas, where grasses have been allowed to grow long and native trees and understory plants have been planted and encouraged. The members at Overlake appreciate the club’s commitment to the environment and have embraced these changes, as well as the unique challenges that a firm, fast course provides.

Since achieving certification, Overlake Golf & Country Club has no intention of resting on our laurels. We continue to hold our Resource Advisory Group meetings; this year we will further examine each section of the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program to determine ways to continually expand our environmental programs. While we are extremely proud to have achieved certification, we believe that it is really just the beginning of what can be accomplished at Overlake. We look forward to continuing our commitment to the environment with the assistance of Audubon International in the years to come.

________________
Cory Brown has been an Assistant Superintendent for over 10 years, the last 5 of which have been spent at Overlake Golf and Country Club, in Medina, Washington. Scott Stambaugh has been Superintendent at golf courses in California and Washington and the Superintendent of Overlake GCC for the past 6 years. (Also, check out this local news story about their ACSP efforts)

Gelatin in a Golf Tee?

2012-01-24T03:57:00.000-05:00

This is new for me, a tee made from gelatin derived from collegen from animals skin and bones. As the video claims, we mostly see it in vitamin caps, but we also see it used in marshmallows, jello and cosmetics. As the Super says "bring it on!".

Manufacturer claims that when left on the golf course, GelTees will decompose in just a matter of days after being in contact with the ground and water.

Re-Purposing an Old Fairway Sprayer

2012-01-23T11:51:00.001-05:00

Last year we purchased a Toro 5400 fairway sprayer, considered by most to be the Cadillac of sprayers. This replaced our very outdated Smithco Spraystar 3000. The vehicle itself was in decent enough shape, with just over 1000 hours on it. The sprayer part of the machine was in dire shape, however. With bent booms, sporadic lift actuators, a temperamental foaming system, and outdated calibration technology, it was time to upgrade to a more efficient sprayer. The Spraystar 3000 sat unused last season.

We manage a large property here at Stow Acres. With such a historic country club, we spend a fair amount of time renovating and renewing features of the course to their intended beauty. Moving material across the course for this task has proven to be labor intensive and troublesome on the equipment. The 90+ years of golf played on some parts of this property has developed a character of undulating turf, which is sometimes tough on the lighter utility vehicles we have, which are constructed with aluminum frames and relatively small cargo beds. The need to move large amounts of dense material such as sand, soil, stone, and cart path material could be filled by the same machine that was built to carry 3000 lbs of water.

We began by stripping the Spraystar of it’s sprayer components. The booms, tank, pump, electronics, computer, foamer, and lines were all removed.

From there, we began to prep for paint. The acrylic windows were removed, all loose rust was sanded smooth, body filler was applied to any dented or mis-shapen area, and primer applied over those spots.

The vehicle was then painted GM Onyx Black with a one step urethane paint. The frame and gondola dump box arrived and were placed on the chassis.

The lift cylinder was installed and plumbed to the lift valve.

Lights were added to the roof, and a hitch constructed for trailering our Toro Procore 648 aerator.

With the lift cylinder in operation, we tested out a load of stone in the bed:

Custom decals finished off the project:

________________
Justin Parker
Equipment Manager
Stow Acres Country Club
http://golfcoursetech.wordpress.com/

Justin is a devoted Christian, husband, father to two daughters, golf course mechanic, entrepreneur and web enthusiast.

Justin attended UMass Amherst, where he studied Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, and 3D Modelling and Animation and has completed the Turfgrass Management Certificate Program at Ohio State University. Justin works at Stow Acres Country Club in Stow, Massachusetts. Stow Acres is a 36 hole, semi-private, family owned facility.
In addition to working at Stow Acres, Justin owns Synergy Offroad, a 4×4 enthusiest ecommerce site.

Wildflower Establishment at Golf Course Grow In

2012-01-22T20:30:00.000-05:00

In the West Texas Panhandle, Lubbock Texas, I had just completed a construction and grow in of a 265 acre golf Facility for Texas Tech University. Opening day was set for Sept 2003 and it went ﬂawless with Bobby Knight and Tom Arnold there to kick off the festive party for the University. While during that winter it was discussed about adding wildﬂowers to the course and around the 3,500 trees that were planted on the course.

I sat down with Zoe Kirkpatrick the author of “Wildﬂowers of the Western Plains” and she gave me her book on the subject. We toured the course and I showed her where I wanted to plant the ﬂowers. She was very pleased that we chose native West Texas grasses that were drought tolerant. She was kind enough to give me answers on the ﬂowers she preferred and the positives of adding wildﬂowers. The Year of 2005 the GCSAA gave a seminar on wild ﬂowers and the best route to plant them and the cultural practices needed for them.

I was interested in doing the project after talking to Zoe and taking the GCSAA class but it was on a list of projects that I had. Probably not even on the front page of projects because we were full throttle in soil amendments during the winter and drainage on the course. We have a small staff in the winter and because of the labor the project was pushed further back on the list. During that late winter in Feb I kept on getting pressure from one person and thus that project was now on the front page. Just like there are Physics Laws of the Universe there are unbroken Laws that superintendents deal with in the golf industry. One of the laws (probably number 15 of 200) is you will always have members that are tapped into the force of all knowing knowledge and THEY WILL GIVE YOU ADVICE (WHICH IS REALLY NOT ADVICE) but fact. I call them the DWS members for short. Depends Diaper Wearing Wannabe Superintendents, the DWS sith lord had me and thus that project was in the forefront. The sith lord said “let it be so.”

So in the spring I decided on the wild ﬂowers from the book given to me and the information from the GCSAA class. I had only a couple of criteria's that the speciﬁc species of ﬂowers needed to met.
(1) Some of the colors had to be red to match the Texas Tech Colors.
(2) Native species only.
(3) The leaves of the ﬂowers had to be on the less noticeable side.
(4) The leaves should not have thorns. One personʼs wildﬂowers is another personʼs noxious weed.

The three ﬂowers chosen for the ﬁrst project were Indian Blanket, Mexican Hat, and Brown Eyed Susan. We purchased the seeds from the internet and used the rates supplied by the supplier.

The project was to cover an acre of rough and had to be in an area mostly out of play and yet a highly visual area. So we did the left side of 1 green about 40 yards off the green across the path. Number 1 hole was a short hole and over 95 percent of the 2nd shot should be within 125 yards thus making the left side really out of play. The golfers would park there cart to get to the green and to get back into the cart. It was also connected to the Championship tee box on 2.

In April of 2005 we scalped the dormant grass and gilled the surface of the soil leaving a 1/4 inch grove in the soil. We mixed the seed with sand. The sand acted as a carrier and was spread out buy hand instead of fertilizer spreader. I was afraid I would get a uniform look instead of a random look given by nature. We did not add any additional water to the area. In the GCSAA class they said it would take at least a year, and up to 3 years, for germination. That knowledge was void from the DWS member because I got an earful about how we did not do the project and if we did do it, it was wrong because the seeds should have germinated by the end of that summer.

Well, in 2006 and 2007 we saw the fruits of our labor and the pictures provided show the results. I was very happy with the results. We planted some more wildﬂowers on the course and added some Mexican feather grasses in the rough to give it a natural look. The course now has a mix of color with West Texas native grass.

The DWS member never said anything positive about the results but just like the 15th law of golf course maintenance, I ran into another law that is probably number 62. If I have a project list of 20 things, odds are I will have enough labor to get projects 1-8 done but the DWS member will let me have it. All because you did not complete projects 9-20. If I was in a parallel universe I would have done projects 9-20 ﬁrst but DWS would have nailed me for not doing 1-8. Thus I will not win and I will have to succumb to the DWS sit lord. Rule number 1 is have a sense of humor on the job and do not take things seriously.

___________________________________
Eric Poul Johnson
806 445 3278
johnson61724512@att.net

Brookside Agronomist
GCSAA Class A superintendent 10 years
Contruction/Grow in Warm Season and Cool Season
25 years experience in golf industry
Specialize in water conservation, organics, poor water quality in alkaline soils. Based out of Arizona area covering the Nevada, Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas areas.

2012 Great Places Awards - Call for entries

2012-01-17T19:12:00.001-05:00

Golf courses serve multiple functions in our urban and suburban landscapes. Although they were originally designed primarily for recreation, our courses now play a role in urban storm-water management, habitat and corridor preservation, air quality improvement, and various other environmental functions. There is no doubt that a golf course in the year 2012 serves the community in more ways then ever before, even to those who've never picked up a golf club.

The Great Places Awards is all about honoring creative, multidisciplinary environmental design, planning, research and writing, of which the golf industry has no shortage of. The Environmental Design Research Association's (EDRA) Call for Entries for the 14th Annual Great Places Awards for Place Design, Planning and Research deadline is Friday, January 27, 2012. Click here for submission guidelines, rules and official entry form.

From the EDRA...

The Program
The Great Places Awards are unique among programs that recognize professional and scholarly excellence in environmental design. They are distinguished by their interdisciplinary focus, concern for human factors in the design of the built environment, and a commitment to promoting links between design research and practice.

We seek entries of exemplary work, inviting participation from a range of design and research disciplines, recognizing projects whose significance extends beyond any one profession or field. Projects should emphasize a link between research and practice, demonstrating how an understanding of human interaction with place can inspire design.

The Process
We invite participation from the full breadth of environmental design and related research activities, including architecture, landscape architecture, planning, urban design, interior design, lighting design, graphic design, environmental psychology, sociology, anthropology, geography and the physical sciences.

Each year we assemble a jury with diverse backgrounds in design, research, teaching and practice. The jury evaluates how each project, no matter what the discipline, addresses the human experience of welldesigned places. Special attention is paid to the transferability of research about human experience of place into design and planning practice.

The jury will select winners from four categories: place design, place planning, place research, and a book prize. The awards jury will convene in early 2012 at the College of Built Environments at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington.

Winners will be announced and presented on Saturday, June 2, 2012 at the EDRA Awards Banquet during the 43rd Annual Conference of the Environmental Design Research Association. The winning entries will be on display during the gala and will be publicized throughout the year.

Award Categories

Place Design
Any design project completed within the last five years (but long enough to assess how well it functions for its users) can be entered. Projects can consist of individual structures, spaces or elements, or groups that work together as a unit. They can involve the design of something new or the reuse of existing resources. The scale may be large or small. Each project should account for its relation to the larger environment of which it is a part.

Place Planning
Any plan that makes proposals for the future use, management or design of a place can be entered — including master plans, specific plans or elements, management plans, vision documents, or charrette proposals. Plans must have been sponsored by an organized entity (such as a public agency, community group, private business or institution), though they need not have received official approval.

Place Research
All types of research about the design and use of places can be entered, including (but not limited to) projects that document the form or perception of places or landscapes; evaluate the use or management of recent projects or established settings; or provide background for specific designs, plans or sustainable practices.

Book Award
Any book published in the last two years advancing the critical understanding of place and design of exceptional environments may be entered. The book may be primarily scholarly, practical, literary or visual. However, it must be currently available to the public through bookstores, commercial websites, or direct purchase from a publisher. Books may not be self-published. They must have been published for the first time in the last two years. They may not be re-edited or be re-released versions of older works.

Water Conservation Ads from Denver Water

2012-01-17T18:11:00.000-05:00

Denver Water aims to reduce overuse of the local water supply through educational campaigns. Check out these two hilarious videos and a story about the CommonGround Golf Course using recycled water.

Rainwater Harvesting - Roof, Parking lot, Filter, Storage, Irrigation

2012-01-17T08:30:00.000-05:00

Here's a quick look at a rainwater harvesting project at Boerner Botanical Gardens near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Ed Beaulieu of Aquascape, Inc walks us thru a rainwater harvesting system and a permeable paver patio which is designed to capture the rain water from the roof and the parking lot of the facility. Boerner Botanical Gardens can then utilize the rain water for irrigation on their property; as well as provide habitat for wildlife and protection of the downstream watershed by controlling erosion.

The Pile Up Green?

2012-01-16T13:12:00.000-05:00

The Pile Up Green or is it the Pileup green, or my favourite the Pushup green?

I was talking to a prospective client of mine in NJ, and did a double take, as he twice referred to his clubs old greens as pile ups. So, I had to interrupt and ask if I heard him correctly. He said I did, and that terminology was what the club referred to their original greens construction in their old archives and historical notes.

In 25 years in the business, I had never heard of the term applied to pre-automatic irrigation greens designed to hold rainwater. But, I love it because it just refers to the simplistic approach that was adhered to by all early era golf architects. By using the word "simplistic", I need to quantify that by also adding extremely ingenious as well, as evidenced by this green below at Shinnecock Hills GC:

The tilted tub is one of the most difficult "Redans" in the world, #7 @Shinnecock Hills GC NY

I find this shot of the piled up green as an obvious example at the beginning of the 20th century, of the construction savvy of these early golf architects. One could quickly opine that they built them this way to shed surface water off the green cavity. That is surely a big part of their intention here, but other factors were in play here as well. The first being the single yard earth scrapers used, which were dragged by horses. Back then, moving the above amount of dirt a long distance wasn't even considered, so they basically worked within the confines of the area where the green site was chosen, and carved up as much as dirt as possible, as close to the green site as possible and "piled it up". Smartly, before doing so, they would have scraped off the existing topsoil in the area, and "piled it up" adjacent to the proposed green cavity.

Once the desired amount of fill was achieved, the green cavity was usually cut in about 4-6 inches deep, and usually without any internal greens drainage, so as to create a bathtub which would hold rainwater in the greens cavity during the spring rains, so they didn't have to drag water to the green during the heat of the summer.

They then filled the greens cavity with the saved topsoil, and mixed in some sheep and horse manure, and voila, you had a greensmix that stood the test of time, or at least until golfer expectations demanded that all greens have PGA tournament conditions throughout the playing season?

Many clubs have come to the realization that in order to provide modern conditions on these old Pileups or Pushup Greens, they have to pull the plug on the aforementioned "bathtub", so as to avoid extreme summer soil temperatures caused by the high gravitational groundwater table installed by the original architect. This is when XGD Systems generally gets a phone call to come out and review the issues to see if our internal subsurface greens drainage process might be a good fit at their club. If it is a good fit, another perfect compliment is to possibly utilize XGD's re-grassing services, and you have basically rebuilt the green, without really rebuilding it, and keeping intact the original architects contours and intent.

Ahh, the pileup green, a new take to me anyways, on the timeless golf architecture classic of the pushup green.

Cheers, Poor Old Dirt & Grass Farmer

Golf Course Sustainability Through Rainwater Harvesting

2012-01-14T18:58:00.000-05:00

It’s been joked about in environmental circles that a golf course is nature under totalitarian rule. While many people might agree or disagree with this statement, the fact remains that traditionally golf courses have been viewed by environmentalists as not only being huge consumers of resources, but an environmental burden as well. Maintained turfgrass, by nature, requires quite a bit more water than the native vegetation that golf courses replace, especially in dry, arid climates. It’s no wonder why water consumption is perhaps the most heavily criticized aspect of golf course management. In areas that water demands are projected to exceed existing supplies in the coming years, golf courses are going to be forced to cut back on irrigation. Not to mention the current decline of the amount of people golfing due to the slumping economy. Add to that the rising costs of municipal water and it’s enough to make any golf course superintendent quiver in his khakis.

One answer to this dilemma has been found in the practice of rainwater harvesting.

The idea is very simple. Take what falls naturally from the sky, store it, and use it to irrigate when needed. This method, already widely popular in many European countries, has had a slow start here in North America. In fact, in some western states the practice of rainwater harvesting was illegal until legislation was recently relaxed. Some states, such as Utah and Colorado, considered rainwater as state property, explaining that rainwater fed state waterways and recharged underground aquifers. In the past, homeowners risked a citation for collecting and storing the rain from their roofs! Illogical or not, these laws kept part of the U.S. from even considering rainwater harvesting methods. This all changed in 2010 when rainwater harvesting was legalized in Utah, although they still set restrictions on the amount of storage containers and holding capacity of the containers. Colorado has relaxed their laws regarding rainwater harvesting as well.

The implications of rainwater harvesting reach far beyond residential use. Golf courses are embracing this idea as a way to supplement their existing irrigation systems. Courses that rely on municipal water supplies or a well can benefit especially from this alternative water source, as many times restrictions are placed on local water supplies and wells can sometimes experience fluctuation in the amount of groundwater available. The most common way golf courses make use of rainwater is with collection ponds. By strategically placing these ponds in areas that are naturally lower in elevation, it is possible to use gravity to drain the excess rainwater off the course and into these collection ponds. There it can later be pumped out and used for irrigation during times of limited rainfall. Brad Rozzelle, superintendent at the Spring Mill Country Club, explains how he has implemented this style of rainwater collecting.

“We do not have any creeks or streams running through the course,” Rozzelle explains. “We have one well and use rainwater runoff to fulfill our H2O needs. We have drains on five holes which feed directly into the pond.” Rozzelle, like many other superintendents, has seen the benefits of rainwater harvesting first hand. Along with storage ponds, other courses have experimented with collecting the rainwater from their clubhouses and storage sheds. This rooftop runoff can be channeled into cisterns that can hold anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand gallons at a time. This free water can then be used for everything from washing golf carts, irrigating practice greens, and even for flushing toilets in the clubhouse.

As rainwater harvesting becomes more popular in the coming years, it’s important to evaluate the unique conditions, climate, and irrigation supply and demand factors of your course to see if this practice could be beneficial. Many times the energy and water saved in the long run outweigh the initial installation costs, not to mention the community support that a project like rainwater harvesting at the local golf course generates. The challenges facing the golf industry are not going away anytime soon. In a sport heavily influenced by tradition, it will take creative, ingenious, and sustainability-minded individuals to lead the way. The future of golf depends on it.

Take the Guesswork out of Winter Mowing Frequency

2012-01-11T18:16:00.002-05:00

This blog post was published earlier here but has a few updates.

Lately there has been a lot of talk about sustainability in golf and reducing our reliance on chemicals. For the most part if we can reduce or manage the stresses that are affecting our turf we can manage the turf pests that have the potential to kill the turf.

How often do we need to cut our greens in the winter?

One of the most common stresses that we as turf managers force upon our putting greens is intensive mowing. Many superintendents mow their greens once or twice a day in the summertime to keep the putting greens consistent and smooth. In the summer this is often sustainable as the turf is growing and usually quite healthy. In the shoulder seasons as well as winter we often have to reduce our mowing frequency to match the changing growth rates of the turf. We have to take special care not to cut the turf too often or not enough. Cutting too much causes extra stress and cutting not enough will increase the chance of scalping unless the heights of cut are raised.

Most turf managers judge how often they cut in this uncertain growth period simply by looking at the turf. This is a great way of judging if the turf need to be cut and has been the principle method of mowing since the mower was invented.

On higher cut turf such as our tees, fairways, and rough it is quite obvious when the turf needs to be cut but on our closely cut putting greens the need for cutting isn't always as clear. Most superintendents manage their putting greens much more intensely than the other areas of the golf course as they are often the selling feature of the golf course. The putting greens are usually also the most susceptible to turf disease and pests as they are put in an almost constant state of stress.

Newly planted Poa annua (foreground) had no seed head
due to not being mowed in months.

This all became very clear to me this past summer when I made the observation that the turf on our nursery that was transplanted from cores from our Poa annua putting green aeration did not go to seed. More about this can be read here. After consulting with a number of my peers in the turf industry we determined that the turf didn't go to seed was because it was allowed to grow without the stress of mowing. Other studies out there have also shown that with less frequent mowing there is a significant increase in turf quality as well as a reduction in turf disease.

This got me thinking how I could minimize my mowing frequency especially during the shoulder season and winter when I have little control over the environmental conditions stressing the turf while maintaining a consistent height of cut. I came up with a rather crude method of measuring the rate at which the turf was growing which would in turn allow me to predict when the next mowing was needed.

Equipment Use form

Every time a piece of machinery is used on the golf course I have the operator fill out a Google form on my maintenance website with information about what was done and the machine hours. This is fed into a spreadsheet and is sorted to make sense. You can read more about this here. I added a entry to the form asking them how many times they filled the baskets on the mower. With this information along with how long it has been since the last cut I was able to come up with a constant figure (basket fills/day). This number will allow me to judge when the turf needs to be cut next. I also have a target value of at least one basket fill per cut. I don't want to send the mower out if I will get less than one basket of grass as in my experience at Pender Harbour this causes needless stress and will not significantly improve the playing conditions on the greens. If I collect more than 1 basket I am potentially removing more than 1/3 of the leaf blade which is typically not recommended. This figure will be different for every height of cut and mower setup.

This might seem like a lot of work but it is a simple as inputting one extra piece of information each day. The spreadsheet does the rest.

In the summer time I cut as often as I can to maintain the desired conditions on the putting greens. At the Pender Harbour Golf Club we only need to cut every second day and roll daily to achieve consistent fast-rolling greens. For this club this is the most economical means of achieving these conditions.

In the winter when the turf is growing much slower I can use the growth data that I have collected to predict when the turf next needs mowing. Not only does this allow me to reduce the stress of mowing on the greens but it also allows me to maximize my labour and mower efficiencies. I know that I am only cutting when absolutely necessary.

Now you're probably thinking that this in crazy and totally leaves out the "art" in greenkeeping and you are totally right. This not an absolute tool for me but more of a guide. I allows me to better judge when my putting greens need cutting. The last thing I want is to send the mower out on the course only to find out after that almost no grass was cut or that the greens were so long that they were scalped. Either of these previous scenarios causes me concern as I just caused my putting greens stress that wasn't needed or justified. This in turn potentially will increase my chemical use which isn't ideal.

I have received a few comments about using the greens mowers to remove leaf litter and debris from the putting greens to smooth them out. This is a good way of removing the debris but I prefer to use a blower as it causes absolutely no stress to the turf.

This tool also allows me to keep my cutting heights low and consistent year-round without the worry of causing my turf excess stress. There is debate in the industry that the height of cut has less to do with turf stress than frequency of cut and I totally agree. If you can maintain your turf in a consistent manner you can maintain good healthy sustainable turf no matter the height of cut. This tool helps me do that.

In a time when efficiency and sustainability are paramount it is imperative that we as turf managers do whatever we can to reduce waste and more closely manage the stresses that we subject to our turf. We can no longer base our decisions on a hunch or guess. We need to make informed educated decisions based on the facts.

For most people this is all you will want to read. The following is for the nerdiest of the turf nerds. Directions to use this spreadsheet as well as a link to the google docs template can be found here.

My spreadsheet for this growth data is complex and is tied into my entire operations so it isn't realistic to tell you how I did this but here is a look at my growth sheet that I use to see my growth rates.

This data if filtered out of my equipment use database to show only the data inputs that show clipping collection on my putting greens with my greens mower. The spreadsheet then calculates how long it has been since the last cutting in days and then computes the growth rate in empties/day or fills/day (they are the same). Then by using my optimum empties (or fills) per cut I can calculate the recommended cutting frequency in days. This then spits out the next recommended day that I should cut on. The recommended cutting frequency is made from the average growth rate of the past three cuttings to smooth out the prediction. This makes it easier to adjust to fluctuation in the growth rate. It is basically just the growth rate divided by the optimum empties per cut figure.

The above picture shows the most recent data that I have collected. I was measuring the clipping yields long before I made this spreadsheet so you can clearly see that I have been cutting my greens more often than I needed to. If I would have had this spreadsheet up and running earlier I could have eliminated at least 2 cuttings on my putting greens or about 30% of my total times cut since I began recording the data. Over time this will mean significant savings in labour as well as a reduction in the stress on the turf.

I also have the spreadsheet to generate a nifty chart that graphs the growth rate versus time. This will really be useful in the long run for almost everything we do on the course. This graph will illustrate growth trends we are seeing and be another tool that I can use to better manage my mowing, fertility, and other cultural practices to maximize efficiency and reduce stress on the turf.

4.5 Ways to Deliver Profitable Greens

2012-01-07T19:25:00.004-05:00

The golf industry is in a transition. Golf courses are having to compete for a piece of a smaller pie when it comes to golfing dollars. Superintendents and owners are employing different strategies to stay profitable. When competition is fierce, providing an exceptional product with lower expense is the name of the game. The following agronomic strategies will help make greens a profit centre within the golf facility.

1. Use the Most Efficient Inputs Available

Since the 1950's research has shown that foliar fertilizers are at least 4 times more efficient than granular and soil applied liquids. More recently, delivery technologies exist that provide 95+% efficiency. This means that to achieve an equal nutrient response in the plant using true foliar fertilizers you need 1/4 as much nutrient!

2. Produce Vigorous Turf that Can Survive Stress

Proper nutrition including biostimulants, amino acid and antioxidant technology will go a long way to reducing our dependency on fungicides. The cost of proper nutrition is marginal compared to the cost of fungicides. Michigan State University has proven that proper foliar nutrition combined with low rate contact fungicide is a much more effective approach than using systemic fungicides combined with marginal nutrition in reducing disease incidence.

Check out Page 21 (treatement 3 is foliar fert)

Study on page 11-17 (treatment 23 is foliar fert)

3. Drive Revenue by Maximizing the Length of the Paying Season

Golf revenue is commonly limited by poor conditions in the spring, reduced green fees after aeration and wet turf conditions. University research at Virginia Tech and Purdue, have verified that biostimulants and proper nutrition will speed recovery time when mother nature is not cooperating. Turf strength can be improved during low light, wet periods with the use of amino acid technology.

4. Test, Test, Test.

Soil physical and chemistry testing will help you make decisions most effectively based on science. Soil physical property testing may indicate that the usual aeration is not necessary, leading to less lost revenue. Chemistry testing will allow more of a prescription approach to fertilizing. Both types of testing will provide a glimpse into what the plant is experiencing, and allow proactive measures to avoid more costly decline and recovery down the road.

4.5. Provide a Product People Want to Play On

We're in an environment where we must compete with our neighbors for each golfing dollar. Good greens will attract golfers.

Mark Jull is a Turfgrass Nutritionist with TURF Canada Inc. in Calgary Alberta. After managing golf facilities across Canada for 12 years, Mr. Jull turned his focus to helping other superintendents maximize turf performance on greens. All suggestions are based on site specific conditions using Analync and ISTRC Soil evaluations. TURF Canada offers the most advanced turfgrass nutrition products through distribution of Floratine Products.

Website: www.turfcanada.com
Be sure to visit Marks blog: http://markjull.blogspot.com/
And Follow him on Twitter: https://scribe.twitter.com/#!/Mark_Jull

Jumping Ship: Minimizing the Risk from a Departing Employee

2012-01-04T20:46:00.001-05:00

The golf business may never see a more competitive time than that of 2012. All the more important to retain the right employees, but what are your rights if an employee leaves? What if they take your hard earned information with them to a competitor? For this we go to Mr. Rob Harris; lawyer, mediator, golfer.

We previously have discussed the kinds of issues that golf-related businesses should consider when drafting employment handbooks and structuring contractual agreements with their employees. This post will focus in greater detail on the risks that companies face when an employment relationship terminates, either due to resignation or firing. Golf-related businesses often face competitive risks from the prospect of a former employer working for a competitor.

Here are just a few examples of the kinds of employees that can cause harm if they join a competitor:

1. A sales representative with contact information for hundreds of customers or prospects.
2. An engineer for a golf equipment manufacturer who has knowledge of his company’s methods, formulas and know how.
3. A golf professional who has a substantial reputation and following among the club’s members.
4. A club manager who has a devoted staff that would follow him or her to the ends of the Earth.
5. A principal of a golf course developer who has substantial relationships among the financing community.

Astute companies, mindful of the competitive risks posed by employees who jump ship, plan for such contingencies through the inclusion of appropriate language in employment agreements and handbooks. Before turning to the details, we offer a word of caution. The law applicable to employer-employee relations differs substantially from one state to another. Certain states frown on an employer’s attempts to place restrictions on the freedom of former employees to pursue their careers. Thus, before seeking to implement any attempt to limit occupational freedom, an employer should seek appropriate legal advice to ensure that the desired measures are permitted.

Subject to legal acceptability in a particular state, there are three protective measures companies often take with their employees:

1. a covenant not to compete (sometimes referred to as a restrictive covenant);
2. a non-solicitation provision; and
3. a confidentiality agreement.

We will discuss each of these, in turn.

Covenant Not To Compete
Oftentimes, a company will include in an employment agreement a provision that prevents an employee from accepting a job with a competitor. The restriction lasts for a period of time which, given circumstances, can range from one month to a few years. The geographical scope, based on the nature of the business and the competitive universe, can range from a few miles to global.

There are obvious reasons why a golf-related business may wish to consider including a covenant not to compete in an employment agreement. First, a skilled employee can provide substantial value to a competitor. (Think about LeBron James’ remarks: “I’m going to take my talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat.”)

A second reason to consider a covenant not to compete is simply to deter key employees from resigning. An employer who has invested time, money and effort to develop an employee and his or her relationships can prolong the employment relationship by including contractual disincentives to resignation.

As noted above, states have different views about the enforceability of restrictive covenants. Certain states hold them unenforceable except in limited circumstances. Other states focus on the reasons for the termination of the employment relationship—an employee who resigns may find it more difficult to escape the restrictive covenant than an employee who is fired by the company. Most states evaluate the enforceability of the covenant based upon its duration and its geographical scope.

Non-Solicitation Provision
Companies often include contractual provisions that prohibit a former employee from soliciting the company’s customers, suppliers or employees. Non-solicitation provisions are especially beneficial to a golf-related business with a substantial sales force. A non-solicitation provision can prevent a salesperson from reaching out to his company’s customers or prospects when he joins a competitive employer.

Non-solicitation provisions also can effectively prevent a popular employee, especially a senior level employee, from taking co-workers to a new company.

Because non-solicitation provisions serve a different purpose than a covenant not to compete, companies sometimes include in contract documents both kinds of provisions. Thus, if a covenant not to compete does not prevent the employment altogether—either because the new company is not deemed to be a competitor or because the period of non-competition has expired—the non-solicitation provision still will provide the former employer with certain protection. Just as with covenants not to compete, courts will review non-solicitation provisions for reasonableness, based on geographical scope and duration. Generally, however, the courts are more deferential to such restrictions as they do not outright prohibit an employee from pursuing his occupation.

Confidentiality Agreements
Virtually all companies have information that is not publicly known and that the company views as confidential. For example, a golf club may not want its competitors to know its list of members, its list of membership applicants, the reasons it rejected the employment application of a candidate for superintendent, or its pricing and payment terms with vendors. An equipment manufacturer has supplier lists and prices, formulas, and know how. A golf course developer will want to safeguard the sources and bases for the data underlying its financial pro forma for a particular opportunity.

To prevent employees from disclosing such information, companies often ask their employees to sign confidentiality provisions or agreements. In most cases, these agreements provide employers with the ability to seek a judicial order to enforce the agreement when a breach occurs or is threatened. Sometimes, an agreement will link the provision to the payment of severance, which can be withheld if an employee breaches confidentiality.

Prudent employers will reinforce the confidentiality provision during an exit interview with the departing employee, to ensure that the employee understands his obligations.

Since confidentiality agreements (except in unusual circumstances) do not prohibit an employee from accepting employment with a competitor, courts are much likelier to enforce them.

Conclusion
Golf-related businesses have a variety of tools to protect themselves from harm that can occur from a departing employee. Choosing among available options should be based on the nature of the company’s business, the particular employee’s seniority and responsibilities, and the legal landscape applicable to the employment relationship.

[This article first appeared on the National Golf Foundation's emagazine, NGF Dashboard. The article may constitute Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions. It is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.]

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Rob Harris is an attorney, arbitrator and mediator who represents and advises business clients regarding contractual and other relationship matters that are critical to their operations. He publishes a website / blog called Golf Dispute Resolution (http://www.golfdisputeresolution.com) that tracks the intersection of golf and law, and managed a Linked In group with the same name. A fuller biography of Mr. Harris is available at http://www.levettrockwood.com and he can be reached at rharris@levettrockwood.com or (203) 222-3122.