Blog

Coach K's Leadership Advice

dena@waupacasand.com (Dena DiVincenzo) — Mon, 13 May 2013 02:54:25 +0000

By: Dena DiVincenzo

Duke Basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski talked with our company today…sort of. Several members of the Waupaca Sand & Solutions team was fortunate to attend a leadership conference that Krzyzewski spoke at.

What did the four-time NCAA champion and two-time Olympic champion teach us?

Coach K shared his experience with coaching 2012 US Olympic men’s basketball team. He was tasked with molding a group of individual NBA superstars including LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Carmello Anthony, into a super team.

As the leader of that squad, Coach K decided that the US Olympic team should not have any rules. He believes that rules are externally applied…but standards are internally owned. In lieu of rules, Coach K allowed the team to create the team's standards. The team owned their agreed-upon standards and followed them out of respect for each other.

One example of the standards they set, was a commitment to play defense. In the team’s first practice, Kobe Bryant, uncharacteristically, never took a shot. Instead, he focused his practice time on the defensive end of the floor. What an outstanding example set by the team’s on-court leader. The US Olympic team’s commitment to their standards enabled them to meet goal of winning a gold medal in London 2012.

We were privileged to hear Coach Krzyzewski speak. It was a great reminder to work hard to uphold the standards we set for ourselves and our company.

Melt That Ice: Black Topdressing Sand In Action

dena@waupacasand.com (Dena DiVincenzo) — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 13:33:54 +0000

Golf course greens in Wisconsin have been under snow and ice cover for too long. With the spring thaw coming late, some golf courses are taking action to get their turf exposed to sunlight. This green in the Fox Cities was covered in ice for most of the winter.

The superintendent applied ThawDust Black Topdressing Sand in late March. One day later, the snow and ice was melted and the green's surface temperaure was starting to warm. ThawDust is made from our Fines Free Topdressing Sand, so there is no risk of causing layering damage to your greens. Try some today to speed ice melt and spring turf recovery.

Waupaca Sand's New Topdressing Sand Dryer

dena@waupacasand.com (Dena DiVincenzo) — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 18:50:27 +0000

Because we love cool pictures of manufacturing equipment…Here’s the crew installing our new topdressing sand dryer. Top-of-the-line equipment to make top-of-the line USGA golf course topdressing sand.

How Is Infield Mix Made, and Why Does It Matter?

dena@waupacasand.com (Dena DiVincenzo) — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 18:46:16 +0000

How is baseball infield mix made? Why does it matter? What is Engineered Infield Mix?

There are three basic methods used to make infield mix:

Harvested A harvested infield mix is simply made by digging the material out of the ground and using it as-is. The material can be a topsoil, or something below the topsoil layer, such as a loam or dirty sand. The material may be screened to remove stones, but not always. Harvested infield mix is often cheap, but it’s typically inconsistent.
Byproduct In the Midwest, it is common for infield mixes to be made from byproducts of the sand manufacturing process. When sand is washed, the water separates the small silt and clay particles from the sand. That “dirty” water is piped to a pond, where the particles settle out. When that pond is dredged, the silt and clay are dried and shipped as infield mix. As with harvested mixes, byproduct infield mixes are often cheap, but almost always inconsistent. Plus, the amount of silt and clay found in byproduct infield mixes are often way too high to make a good, playable infield.
Engineered To make engineered infield mixes, the manufacturer starts by knowing what percentages of sand, silt, and clay they want the finished mix to have. Then, they laboratory test raw material components to find a combination of raw materials that will produce the desired infield mix. Those materials are then precisely blended together and tested for consistency throughout the manufacturing process.
Why does it matter how infield mix is made? The sports turf industry has been evolving. That evolution has brought higher expectations of how baseball fields are supposed to look and perform. Users want their local park and rec fields to look and play like major league ballfields. Those higher performance standards have also pushed manufacturers of sports turf products to improve the quality of infield mixes. As an industry, we are moving closer to having set standards for what infield mixes should be made of. In the past, nobody knew what kind of “dirt” was being sold and installed on infields. Now, engineering infield mixes to adhere to proper specifications is becoming the norm.

Turf Education Winter 2013

dena@waupacasand.com (Dena DiVincenzo) — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 15:00:15 +0000

As winter sets in, our drivers park their sand delivery trucks, and start up their plow trucks. In the office we look forward to keeping up with the latest industry trends at the Midwestern turf conferences.

Educational opportunities abound this winter, thanks to the efforts of our great local organizations. We hope to see you at one of these events:

January 8-9
Illinois Turfgrass Foundation
TURF Conference
Oak Brook, IL
http://iturf.org/Default.aspx?pageId=1432658

January 15
Wisconsin Turfgrass Association
Turfgrass Research Day
Online & Madison, WI
http://www.wisconsinturfgrassassociation.org/EXPO.htm

January 15-19
Sports Turf Managers Association
National Conference
Daytona Beach, FL
http://www.stma.org/

January 24-26
Illinois Association of Park Districts / Illinois Park & Recreation Association
Soaring to New Heights Conference
Chicago, IL
http://www.ilparksconference.com/

February 6-7
Golf Course Superintendents Association of America
Golf Industry Show
San Diego, CA
http://www.golfindustryshow.com/

February 20
Illinois Sports Turf Managers Association
Winter Educational Workshop
Minooka, IL
http://www.ilstma.org

- The Waupaca Sand & Solutions Team

Our Favorite Golf Sand Calculators

dena@waupacasand.com (Dena DiVincenzo) — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 17:28:07 +0000

How many cubic yards are in a ton of sand? How much sand do you need to topdress your greens, or build a new bunker?

To help answer those questions, use our favorite material calculators:

Converting Sand
Weight to Volume and
Volume to Weight

Longhand:

1 ton of sand = 0.74 cubic yards

1 cubic yard of sand = 1.35 tons

Use the dry sand value on this calculator:

Topdressing Sand Calculator

Calculator from the Purdue University Department of Agronomy-Turfgrass Science

Bunker Sand Calculator

Calculator from the Purdue University Department of Agronomy-Turfgrass Science

Filling an Area (Building a Green or Tee Box)

Longhand:

Area in square feet x desired depth in feet = Cubic Feet

Cubic feet divided by 27 = Cubic Yards

Cubic yards x 1.35 = Tons

Tons x (100% + percentage needed for compaction & waste) = tons required

Stone Pathway Calculator

Learn how much aggregate you need for your new pathway or landscape area.

Total Area of a Golf Green

Measure the length from the green from the center to the edge at every 10° around the center to yield 36 observations. Then, compute the mean of measurements, using that mean as the radius.

Longhand: Mean Radii = (the sum of radii) / (the sum of measurements taken) and Area = 3.14 x (Mean Radii x Mean Radii

Take A Bad Infield and Make It Better

dena@waupacasand.com (Dena DiVincenzo) — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 14:54:54 +0000

Your infield is bad. It just doesn’t play the way it should. It’s too greasy when it’s wet, and it’s a dust cloud when it’s dry.

But you’re stuck with it, right?

Replacing the infield dirt is out of the question. You can’t afford the cost or the time to rebuild the field. And throwing down expensive drying agents is breaking your budget.

What else can you do?

Now, you can improve your infield mix with minimal cost and disruption by changing its sand, silt, and clay structure. Just call Waupaca Sand. We will:

Visit your field to professionally take representative samples of your infield.
Have your infield mix tested by an independent laboratory
Then, we’ll use our proprietary analytical system to specify how to best amend your field.

Incorporate the specified sand, silt, and clay amendment with your existing mix, and regrade the field for an improved infield for less money.

Schedule a field visit today.

Don’t Use “Replacement Sand”

dena@waupacasand.com (Dena DiVincenzo) — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 16:02:25 +0000

During the Packers-Seahawks game, we felt the ramifications of using replacement referees. The NFL chose to use inexperienced referees who made inconsistent calls. That decision negatively impacted the Packers’ season and the integrity of the NFL.

Don’t make the same mistake.

When caring for your golf course, only used consistent sand made by an experienced producer. Trust your topdressing and bunker sand only to qualified producers of golf course sands. Make sure your sand is tested to meet USGA® standards. And confirm that testing shows the sand to be consistent year after year.

It may be tempting to use cheaper lower-quality sands. But, consider the negative impacts it could have. Unless those sands are manufactured specifically for golf course use, they could cause layering in your greens, puddles in your bunkers, and other maladies on your course.

For the integrity of your golf course…don’t use replacement sand.

Football Field Construction: Building The Wolves’ New Den

dena@waupacasand.com (Dena DiVincenzo) — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 19:51:56 +0000

It was a perfect night for football as the Manawa Wolves played the first home game on their new field.

In March, Faulks Bros. Construction, Waupaca Sand & Solutions’ parent company, broke ground for the school’s new natural grass football field and track. Over the summer, it was amazing to see the site transform as our crews performed earthwork and installed the new growing media. By the time September rolled around, the field was ready for the team’s home opener.

The long list of donors who made the project possible were honored at a halftime ceremony. A loss to the powerhouse Amherst High School team was the only negative of the evening for the proud Manawa community. However, we’re certain the Wolves will celebrate many wins on their great-looking new field.

The Hunt For Red September

dena@waupacasand.com (Dena DiVincenzo) — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 14:56:01 +0000

A pale brown infield looks so…ordinary.

We’re seeing a trend. Ordinary baseball fields are becoming extraordinary by installing red infield mix. From major league baseball stadiums to little league ballfields, more field managers are using red products to showcase their best fields.

Why is the color red becoming more popular? We think it’s because the contrasting colors simply look great. What’s more beautiful than a deep red infield and sharp white lines against lush green grass on a sunny summer day?

Fall is the best time to transform your baseball field from ordinary to extraordinary. If you prepare your field now, it will be ready when you need it in spring. Don’t wait and take a chance that the weather will allow you to work on your field before scheduled spring games begin.

Ask us how Sure-Hop Home Run Red Infield Mix, AAA Sure-Hop Red Infield Mix, Red Tread Warning Track Stone, and Red Diamond Infield Topdressing can make your field look and play better than ever before.

Baseball Stadium Rises Again in New Orleans

dena@waupacasand.com (Dena DiVincenzo) — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 15:32:28 +0000

Another victim of Hurricane Katrina will soon have new life. Waupaca Sand & Solutions’ sister company, SportZmix, recently provided mound clay for the renovation of Wesley Barrow Stadium in the Pontchartrain Park area of New Orleans.

The stadium was devastated by Hurricane Katrina nearly seven years ago. Afterwards, the once-great field was never repaired. Tall weeds were growing through the stands. Debris was still scattered across the area. The stadium is now undergoing a $5.3 million renovation.

After the renovation, Wesley Barrow Stadium will host a Major League Baseball Urban Youth Academy. The Urban Youth Academy will offer free year-round programs to promote baseball among minority children. The academy also emphasizes keeping youth in school and off the streets.

The revitalized stadium will feature SportZmix’s red clay in the pitching mound, batters boxes, and bullpen areas. SportZmix also consulted in the production of the growing media for the replanted turf areas.

We are proud to have played a small part in bringing baseball back to this community.

Golf Course ADA Compliance: What You Need to Know

dena@waupacasand.com (Dena DiVincenzo) — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 13:14:03 +0000

More public golf courses are being required to abide by Americans with Disabilities Act standards. The standards themselves are not new. However, in spring of 2012, the Department of Justice began requiring “newly constructed and altered” golf facilities to be compliant with the 2010 ADA standards.

http://www.ada.gov/2010ADAstandards_index.htm

For the first time, ADA standards apply to tee boxes, putting greens, and driving ranges. The DOJ explains how ADA compliance relates to golf facilities that are open to play by the public:

“Newly constructed and altered golf facilities must have either an accessible route or golf car passages with a minimum width of 48 inches connecting accessible elements and spaces within the boundary of the golf course. An accessible route must be provided to the golf car rental area, bag drop-off areas, and other elements that are outside the boundary of the golf course. One or two teeing grounds (depending on the total number provided) per hole must be accessible.

“If weather shelters are provided, a golf car must be able to enter and exit the shelters. Certain percentages of practice teeing grounds, practice teeing stations at driving ranges, and putting greens must be accessible.”

http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/factsheets/2010_Standards_factsheet.html

What exactly does “newly constructed and altered” mean? According to Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group, “Redesigning a clubhouse, parking lot, restaurant, bar or other public amenity is generally a code-trigger alteration requiring ADA compliance. Redesigning a tee box, fairway or green is considered to be a code-trigger alteration. General course maintenance or changing the pin location, or relocating a bunker are not considered alterations.”

http://hotellaw.jmbm.com/2012/02/new_ada_standards_for_golf.html

If you are unsure if your course needs to be in compliance, we recommend you get a compliance audit done by a professional.

If you need ADA compliant pathway materials, but don’t want the unnatural look of concrete or asphalt on your course, Waupaca Sand & Solutions can help. Learn about TrailBlaze, our ADA compliant cartpath stone. http://www.trailblaze.info/

Long Jump Pit Sand: No Longer a Leap of Faith

dena@waupacasand.com (Dena DiVincenzo) — Thu, 10 May 2012 18:42:42 +0000

A turf manager’s most important job is ensuring athlete safety. For track long-jumpers this includes building them a safe sand pit to land in.

The days of filling jump pits with any old sand from the local gravel pit are over. Thanks to improvements in science, materials testing, and education, we are now equipped to make better decisions when selecting long jump pit sand.

When choosing sand for a long jump pit, follow four guidelines:

Say No To Gravel – Use a sand with few particles larger than 2mm in diameter. Otherwise, jumpers are in danger of getting cut by sharp stones.
Make Silt & Clay Go Away – Silt and clay are the very small particles found in most sand deposits. Choose a manufacturer that removes silt and clay during sand processing. A sand containing too much silt and clay will get muddy when wet and hard when dry.
Sand Size Matters – Find a sand which contains mostly particles sized between 1.0mm and 0.15mm in diameter. This allows for fast water drainage and the right amount of stability.
Get In Shape – Use sand with “rounded” to “sub-angular” particle shapes. Avoid angular sands which can lock together and form a hard surface.

Remember these maintenance tips to keep your pit in top condition:

Tarp the pit when not in use to keep sand dry and clean.
Rake the sand regularly to maintain a level surface.
Add additional sand when necessary to maintain regulation height.

Campaigning for Golf on Capitol Hill

edavis@waupacasand.com (Ellen Davis) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 18:21:00 +0000

National Golf Day 2012 Recap

By: Ellen Davis

Last week at the fifth annual National Golf Day in Washington D.C. I had the opportunity to represent the Golf Course Builders Association of America (GCBAA). I was proud to advocate for all of the small businesses that make up the golf industry in the U.S.

On National Golf Day the golf industry reaches out to members of Congress. The golf industry’s goal for the day was working towards the adoption of two pieces of legislation. We urged representatives to support HR 9, The Small Business Tax Cut Act of 2012, which provides deductions to businesses with fewer than 500 employees. We also advocated for HR 2718 and S 1456, The Disaster Tax Relief Act, to help storm-damaged public golf courses get back on their feet

We began the day by joining the Nebraska Congressional delegation at their weekly breakfast. Since the GCBAA’s office is headquartered in Lincoln, we felt it was important to spend extra time with Nebraska’s two Senators and three Representatives who attended the breakfast.

Following breakfast, I joined others in the GCBAA delegation in individual meetings with Members of Congress. We met with Senator Ben Nelson, (NE) Representative Senator Mike Johanns (NE) Representative Ted Poe (TX), Legislative Counsel for Representative Emanuel Cleaver II, (MO) Jennifer Shapiro, ESQ., Representative Collin Peterson (MN), and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX).

State delegates heard statements throughout the day that the golf industry has grown to become a $76 billion industry (larger than the motion picture and recording industries combined), donates more money to charities than any other sport in America, and provides more than two million jobs in the United States with a total wage income of over $61 billion. Groups shared the common message on how golf has a positive human, economic, environmental and health impact.

Also participating in National Golf Day were the PGA of America, World Golf Foundation, Club Managers Association of America, Golf Course Superintendents Association of America and National Golf Course Owners Association.

Introducing “Starry Night.” A new landscape stone…from a galaxy not too far away.

dena@waupacasand.com (Dena DiVincenzo) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 18:07:06 +0000

Astronomers look up to the night sky to see amazing star formations. Landscapers can just as easily look below their feet.

Starry Night landscape stone resembles the night sky shimmering with stars. The stone’s dark color contrasts landscape features. Light-colored flecks twinkle like stars, highlighting your work.

Bring a unique, classy touch to your next landscape project. People will ask you what galaxy that beautiful stone came from.

Should There Be A National Standard For Infield Mix?

dena@waupacasand.com (Dena DiVincenzo) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 14:40:39 +0000

Should all infield mixes be the same? Can a little league infield use the same mix as a major league infield?

How much sand, silt, and clay are ideal? What sizes should the sand particles be? How can you scientifically measure the difference between “good dirt” and “bad dirt?”

ASTM F2107 provides some guidelines for what an infield mix should be comprised of. But, should a true standard specification be created for infield mix?

SportsTurf Magazine recently posed similar questions to many experts in the baseball industry. Waupaca Sand & Solutions was asked to give its opinions on those topics. We shared our experience with manufacturing infield mixes, knowledge of raw materials, and our customers’ preferences with the editor of SportsTurf.

Click here to read the article.

Infield maintenance is an art and a science. Because of that balance, the discussion on infield mix standards will likely be ongoing for a long time.

What’s At the End of the Rainbow?

dena@waupacasand.com (Dena DiVincenzo) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 17:56:44 +0000

Golfers are hitting the links before St. Patrick’s Day, thanks to this unbelievably warm weather.

The weather also had us wondering if a pot of gold had appeared in our sand.

After a recent spring shower, this rainbow appeared outside of our office. It seems to end in one of our production locations. However, the operators who were working there reported that they had not seen leprechauns. They claim that the only materials onsite were sand, gravel, and soil, but no gold.

In spite of that report, we hope the warm weather is bringing you a pot of gold. We hope that these early rounds are bringing your facility increased revenue and are launching a very successful year.

GIS Preview: The Best Sand in the Desert

dena@waupacasand.com (Dena DiVincenzo) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:32:07 +0000

When you fly into the Las Vegas airport (or find yourself on a rooftop bar), you’ll see plenty of desert sand. But, next week, the best sand in Las Vegas will be at the Design & Construction Center on the GIS show floor.

At the Design & Construction Center, you’ll see nearly life-sized models of greens profiles. All of that beautiful sand, construction mix, and gravel was donated by Waupaca Sand & Solutions. These are photos of the models as they’re being packed to ship.

Members of the Golf Course Builders Association of America will be making presentations discussing the greens construction process. The Design & Construction Center will also feature appearances by architects, superintendents, and owners sharing tips for maintaining each type of green, as well as tees and bunkers.

While at the GIS, check out the displays to see the best sand in the desert…imported from Waupaca!

Golf On Groundhogs Day

dena@waupacasand.com (Dena DiVincenzo) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:15:33 +0000

It’s Groundhog’s Day! Many are musing about what a difference a year makes. One year ago today the Midwest was hit by a historic snowstorm. Today’s forecast high in Chicago is 48 degrees.

Some of our customers are taking advantage of the mild weather to install bunker sand. Some are filling divots from golfers that are squeezing in rare January and February rounds. A few are even topdressing! It’s amazing that this type of work is being done during a Midwestern winter.

Today Punxsutawney Phil predicted six “more” weeks of winter. If the next six weeks are comparable to our winter up to this point, we’ll be looking forward to six more weeks of golf!

Winter Isn’t Snow Time, It’s Show Time

dena@waupacasand.com (Dena DiVincenzo) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:15:49 +0000

As winter drags along, chances are rebuilding your pitchers mound or the drainage on your soccer field aren’t foremost in your mind. However, when the snow is falling, we are working overtime fine-tuning our products for your spring needs.

Waupaca Sand & Solutions recently returned from the Sports Turf Managers Association national conference. We spent days learning about the latest innovations in infield mixes, clays, and turf care. The conference was also a great opportunity for us to talk with athletic field managers from across the United States. We discussed their challenges and discovered how manufacturers like us help make their lives easier.

As we talk with our customers over the next few months, we hope to discuss some of these innovative ideas with you. Come see us at the Wisconsin Turfgrass Association Winter EXPO, Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association Conference, Illinois Sports Turf Managers Association Winter Workshop, or Golf Industry Show.