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Upcoming Events February 29
Hospitality Night at Gordon Biersch Las Vegas
May 21
Spring Mixer Hidden Greens GC Host: Jason Swanson
Contents Vol. 44 | No. 1
January/February 2012
Feature Articles: Tom Prosheck, Distinguished Service Award Winner 2012 Written by Rob Adams, Suerintendent of The Ponds At Battle Creek
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10 Keys To Successful Golf Course Annuals
15
Written by Carolyn Johnson, Filed Outdoors Spaces Inc. www.fieldoutdoorspaces.com
Editor Dave Kazmierczak cgcs
How Do Plants Defend Themselves From Pathogens?
Written by Dr. Jim Kerns, Deparetment of Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
10-13
dave@prestwick.comcastbiz.net
Monthly Columns: Presidential Perspective
5
In Bounds
7
Scottie Hines CGCS
Jack MacKenzie CGCS
Within the Leather Dave Kazmierczak CGCS
24-25
About the cover: Tom Proshek, the 2011 Distinguished Servce Award winner, is all smiles as he displays his coveted crystal trophy! It will surely take a place of promenance in Tom’s Man Cave! Congratulations Tom for all the effort you have put into making our Association a special organization to belong to.
...Even More Content... Industry Insight: Sycronizing Disease Management and Aerification
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By Kyle Miller, Senior Technical Specialist, BASF Professional Turf a nd Ornamental
Thank You 18 Hole Challenge Affiliates The membership appreciates your Support!
Lucky winners of the 18 Hole Challenge Drawing! See the Collage on pages 16 and 17
16-17
Hole Notes (ISSN 108-27994) is digitally published monthly except bi-monthly in November/December and January/February by the Minnesota Golf Course Superintendents’ Association, 10050 204th Street North, Forest Lake, MN 55025. Jack MacKenzie CGCS publisher. Please send any address changes, articles for publication, advertising and concerns to jack@
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Musing the Minutes: January 19, 2012 By Brian Brown, Secretary MGCSA The MGCSA Board of Directors met on January 19, 2012 at Windsong Farms Golf Club President Scottie Hines, CGCS called the meeting to order. Treasurer Paul Eckholm, CGCS reported that the year-end financials have a couple of entries that need to be made to place income into correct categories. With the management changes each area of the business is being looked at to find any possible financial savings. Eckholm will send the expense reports to the committee to analyze their expenses. All bank accounts have been switched over. Communications: A letter was received from the U of M regarding the donated money towards the matching grant endowment. A thank you letter and gift certificate was presented to past president Diegnau for his hard work. Leann Cooper for GCSAA contacted the association about attendance to the Chapter Delegates meeting March 27 and 28. President’s Report: Hines welcomed new directors Kazmierczak, Porter, and Glader. He also welcomed Executive Director MacKenzie. Hines has an open door policy and desires input and questions that the board of Directors and Membership may have. Hines assigned directors to committees and combined committees: Editorial and Communications, Awards and Arrangements, and Membership and Human Resources. MTGF David Oberle requested that the Vice-President of the MGCSA and at least one other member serve on the MTGF Board. Vice-President Roger Stewart and Jeff Ische will serve on that board. Arrangements/Banquet: Gullicks reported that the line-up for events for this year is set except for the vendor appreciation. The annual meeting survey had 69 returned of the 168 in attendance. Respondents stated that the events that they most likely would attend were: Green Expo, Mega Seminar, and the Wee One Tournament. The least likely included the Spring Mixer and the Scramble. The committee is looking at some new types of events. Business Office: MacKenzie has been working at pulling the databases together. Many versions of software were utilized in the past and the files need to be transferred to new software. The communications and editorial committees will meet after the board meeting to make a plan on; database management, website development, communication tools, Hole Notes and membership correspondence. The committee will report to the board with recommendations and costs. Hospitality night is set up at GIS. Thank you letters have been sent to 18-hole vendor participants.
Official Publication of the MGCSA
2012 Board of Directors President Scottie Hines CGCS Windsong Farm GC
Vice-President Roger Stewart Jr. TPC Twin Cities
Secretary Brian Brown
Chisago Lakes GC
Treasurer E. Paul Eckholm CGCS Heritage Links GC
Directors Joe Churchill Reinders Inc.
Eric Counselman Somerby GC
Kerry Glader
Plaisted Companies
Bill Gullicks
Bellwood Oaks GC
Jeff Ishe
Golden Valley G&CC
Bylaws/Historical: Eckholm has found a few bylaws that should be changed. He will work on wording and report back to the board at the next meeting. Eckholm has been scanning past Board minutes so that the association will have an electronic record.
David Kasmierczak CGCS
Conf. /Ed: Counselman reported that he will submit the speaker line-up for the 2013 Green Expo. He will be meeting with the Green Expo educational committee next week to finalize the education line-up for next year.
The Legacy Courses
Environmental: Ische reported that the Environmental committee will talk with the prior Environmental Award winners to promote the award. Industrial relations: Glader reported that the meeting with the vendors at the Green Expo went well. The group is excited about the new Executive Director. Glader will talk with the vendors about the large amount of money spent on the GIS Hospitality Night when there isn’t a local Hospitality Night at the Green Expo. Public Relations: The MGCSA President will be on the Public Relations Committee. 4
HOLE NOTES
Prestwick GC
Matt McKinnon Bob Porter
Hiawatha GC
Jake Schmitz
Olympic Hills GC
Executive Director Jack MacKenzie CGCS MGCSA
Presidential Perspective by Scottie Hines I would like to start by saying thank you to all for the support as I enter the position of MGCSA President. I can assure you this is quite an honor, in my opinion. The last several years as a Board member have been quite an education. The daily operations of the Association aside, the passion that the Board members, past and present, serve with is remarkable! I want to take this opportunity to thank all who have or are serving this great association. I would also like to thank everyone who gave me support, encouragement, well wishes and a pat on the back during the short period of unemployment as Windsong locked the doors in early December. Believe me, there were several anxious weeks there. In fact, I considered withdrawing my name from consideration as MGCSA President. I felt taking that roll while not being gainfully employed within the association would be a mistake. The Board and several past presidents encouraged me to follow through on becoming President. With that echoing in my head I decided to remain on the ballot. As it turns out, shortly after that Windsong has a new owner, I get re-hired in my former position and it seems things hardly skipped a beat. If someone knew something a heads up would have been nice! I have been working in the golf course maintenance field for almost 30 years now. Serving on the Board or any committee is a small way for me to give something back to the industry that has been so very good to me. I would encourage all to entertain the opportunity to serve in this capacity. I am proud and humbled to be in the position I am right now.
The MGCSA is entering a new and exciting day with the hiring of a true Executive Director, Jack MacKenzie, CGCS. Jack will serve us well as the industry sees more regulation and scrutiny. His presence at the Capitol on our behalf will be invaluable as we move forward. Jack’s outgoing personality will be an asset as well as we try to grow our association in membership and member services. He is currently working on a new and much improved MGCSA website, BMP’s, learning accounting and all else that goes along with running the daily operations of our association. I am looking forward to working with Jack as we enter a new day for the MGCSA. In closing I would really like to mention my wife, Kristin. The last two months was as bumpy a road as I have ever been down. Unemployed with a 2 year old and a 6 month old was quite an anxious time. I cannot put in words how much her support and love helped me weather that storm, as short as it was. I believe we are stronger for having gone through this turmoil. My point here is we have very difficult jobs. Very rewarding jobs, but difficult. On many occasions we don’t get to spend the time with our families during the golf season. I had three weeks of being a “stay-at-home dad”. The three short weeks with my kids will be forever in my daily thoughts. I enjoyed every minute of it! As we enter the 2012 season take a few minutes to reflect on your life, family, friends, loved ones, and colleagues. We as golf course superintendents are a very lucky bunch to have the support of these people. Never in my life has this been as clear as it is today! Best wishes in the coming yearScottie Hines, CGCS
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GOLF
In Bounds by Jack MacKenzie “You know Dad, adjusted to its max that bench lays at a steep angle to the floor. If you reset it I guarantee the change will make your crunch work out more productive.” My daughter was right. The relatively easy 150 daily sit-ups from a flat position had become rather routine. The steeper angle not only forced me to work harder, but the change was a pleasant alternative…once my 52-year old muscles became adjusted to the new regime! The new chapter in my life as your Executive Director is also a welcome change. Although I relished my tenure walking in your shoes upon my golf course, the long hours and hard mental and physical work in the peak season had begun to wear upon me. Some might say it was ‘burn-out’. After a series of long discussions with my wife last summer, I landed upon a decision to keep an open mind should an appealing opportunity present itself and be mentally ready to make a move. When the position of ED was offered for proposals last September it occurred to me that this could be a whole lot of fun, personally challenging and also beneficial to my family life. With those rewards in mind I pursued the position with great interest. My game plan was simple… improve member services, representation and bring our group’s association back to a personal level. For too long the out state constituents of the MGCSA have been…well, just plain too out state. With this distance tagged along a subtle disconnect, a perception of a “good old boy” hierarchy and perhaps some inherent resentment. In my outline for the Association I emphasized the presence of the MGCSA throughout our region. Divided into six sections, I proposed the Executive Director pursue out state mini meetings
with local members. In the summer it would be a nine-and-dine concept with nine holes of golf followed by lunch. Perhaps Dr. Horgan joins in and presents a lively round table discussion or the latest research from the TROE Center. Or maybe it is just an open turf forum. In the winter it would be lunch-n-lanes with bowling at a local ally being the social draw. Have you ever wanted to go to the Masters? Then lets go!!! As a group and with our gold GCSAA membership cards we could make an annual pilgrimage to Augusta. Fly out Wednesday afternoon; take in the tournament on Thursday and Friday followed by a return trip Saturday. We could relish our newly developed friendships while watching the final round in our living rooms Sunday. “Friends” that is what it is all about. When we get together it is very simple to talk turf and fine to talk golf, but both are fairly superficial. With all we have in common as an industry of intelligent and driven individuals one would like to believe that our ‘friend’ base goes beyond just talking grass. To that end the Hole Notes publication will be taking a new turn as well. Under Dave Kazmierczak’s guidance we will be getting close and personal with a new series of columns intended to draw out the ‘individual’ in each of us and break down the inhibitions created by one topic discourse. Another column idea is called Snapshot. Not unlike Peer to Peer but with a regional focus. Across our state we have some daunting challenges coming our way in water use and management, pesticide application and nutrient fate. With your support I will be a presence at the State Capital and amongst state agencies to promote the industry as a lobbyist or even simply an educator. This challenge pumps me up as I look at the positive changes our industry can implement. Change. In pursuit of this new vocation I also realized that change would be needed with our web site. Recently, under the guidance of our resident (continued on page 24))
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Tom Prosheck: DSA 2011
By Rob Adams, Superintendent of The Ponds At Battle Creek Golf Course
Tom Proshek is the 2011 recipient of the 2011 Distinguished Service Award. At this year’s MGCSA Recognition banquet Superintendent Tom Proshek was given the Distinguished Service Award for his many years of service on the MGCSA Board and committees. He served on the scholarship and research committees for a total of six years and then was eager to run for a board position. Tom served as the arrangements chair for five years bringing us many great venues for MGCSA golfing events and introducing the popular October Shootout at The Horse and Hunt Club. If you haven’t gone yet it really is a blast. Tom also has been a key supporter and contributor to the planning and implementation of the Wee One Foundation Tournament, held at North Oaks the previous two years. He and Brackett’s Crossing, the club where Tom is superintendent, have hosted many meetings and events throughout his membership in the MGCSA. Tom is also the main organizer for the Southern Superintendents meetings that are held in the winter months. His time and effort are greatly appreciated by the MGCSA. Thank you
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for your continued support and congratulations on receiving the Distinguished Service award. It is much deserved. Now that the formal introduction is done, who is this guy? Tom is the Superintendent at Brackett’s Crossing Country Club in Lakeville Minnesota. He has been the superintendent at Brackett’s since 1995. His start in the industry began back at New Prague Golf Club where he lived just up the street from the course. As a youngster he emptied garbage cans and peeled corn for the men’s league. His talent and drive at these tasks was quickly recognized and he was promoted to the pro shop staff where he earned the coveted title of “Cart Boy”. At age 16, looking for more of a challenge, he took the leap and was hired on the maintenance staff and thus began his storied career in the industry, but it took some time to make that permanent. Tom was a pretty good athlete in High School where he played golf, basketball and football. His abilities on the gridiron lead him to the University of St Thomas where he was able to be the backup quarterback/tackling dummy. Not seeing a future as a professional athlete he majored in Human Resources but continued working summers at the golf course as a plan B. Upon graduation from college he worked as a manager for three years at a printing
Distinguished Indeed!!! company but never lost the bug to be outdoors working on the golf course. When the ink fumes finally got to him, he knew he had to make the move to something that he really enjoyed, working on the golf course. He enrolled at Anoka Hennepin Technical College majoring in Golf Course Management. Before he even graduated he was hired at Wildflower Golf Course in Detroit Lakes. The course was just being built, so his first experience as a superintendent was growing in a new course. He found it very challenging, and a great learning experience. Tom worked for three years establishing the course, and delivering tournament-like conditions. In 1995, wanting to be closer to his family and the twin cities area, he was hired as the Superintendent at Brackett’s Crossing. Tom was hired by Tom and Peggy Smith after they had purchased the course in 1993. Under their guidance and vision for the golf course Tom was able to really expand his knowledge and experience as a Golf Course Superintendent. He has tackled numerous renovation projects including drainage, irrigation installation, green and tee construction and an aggressive planting plan. He has added numerous gardens and native areas to the course, and watched the course grow into an outstanding facility. Tom wanted me to be sure to thank the owners, Tom and Peggy, as well as the General Manager, Steve Allen, and pro shop staff for all their support over the years. It has been his pleasure to be part of a great place. When Tom is not at the golf course or on his cell phone he still plays a little golf. Not as much as when he was young, when he played
27-54 holes a day. He enjoys extreme sports like curling, bowling and watching NASCAR. Tom is an avid Twins and Gopher Hockey Fan and still gets back to the University of St Thomas to relive his glory days while running the scoreboard for the hockey team. He is somewhat of a motor head, and enjoys riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle or 1955 Ford pickup. He does know how to check the oil and tires on both of them. After many years as a bachelor, he finally met a lady that could handle the Clint Eastwood pictures in his house enough for a second date, and they were married 12 years ago. The pictures have since been moved to the garage. His wife Sandy has a beautiful daughter, Melina, and Tom has taken over some of the car pooling duties to school, soccer games and other screaming young girl events. He is currently working with Melina teaching her how to drive because she just turned 16, and passed her driver’s license test. He really does enjoy the family life, and is still very close with his two older brothers and younger sister. His brothers still come and work for him on weekends. Well, that is probably more than you ever wanted to know about Tom Proshek. He is a good friend, and it was a great learning experience and a lot of fun working for him for almost nine years. He is pretty modest and doesn’t really stand out in a crowd. He is pretty short, but the people that know him really appreciate his friendship and honesty. He is a great supporter of the MGCSA and a deserving recipient of the Distinguished Service Award. Thank you, Tom. Your service and support it is really appreciated. Rob Adams
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What is Creeping You Out Now? Ideas In Pest Management
How Do Plants Defend Themselves from Pathogens? Jim Kerns, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison With the development of fungicides claiming to induce natural plant defenses as a means of disease control, I thought it might be nice to review how a plant defends itself naturally. Yes plants do have a natural defense system, but it is nothing like a mammalian immune system. There are some commonalities, but plants do not have an intricate army of specialized cells to combat microbial invaders. Rather, plants use specific molecules such as proteins, organic molecules such as salicylic acid, or individual elements like calcium to signal an invasion from a pathogen. What’s confusing about plant defense is there are two different pathways plant pathologists believe to be responsible for alerting the plant to pathogen infection (Figures 1 and 2). The two terms commonly used are systemic acquired resistance and induced systemic resistance. These are not the same pathway nor do they affect all pathogens. Systemic acquired resistance refers to the phenomenon that an infected leaf sends a signal to the rest of the plant prior to pathogen infection, which in turn confers resistance to the pathogen. This particular pathway relies on salicylic acid as a key molecule to induce this phenomenon. Specifically researchers have found this pathway to primarily affect biotrophic (pathogens that require a living host) pathogens such as viruses, rust fungi and powdery mildew fungi. However, the dollar spot fungus responds to this pathway as well. Research from our lab indicates that removing the salicylic acid pathway makes the model plant, an Arabidopsis, more susceptible to the dollar spot fungus. Renee Rioux is currently conducting this work in my program. Our goal is to use this plant (think of it as the white mouse of the plant world) to glean more information about the interaction the dollar spot fungus has with a host and to see if we can apply what we learn from this dicot plant to a turfgrass system. At first we were skeptical of using a dicot to make inferences to a monocot system, but after carefully documenting the infection process in both species an Arabidopsis maybe a good tool. Furthermore, a new product called Daconil Action from Syngenta is hitting the market next year. This fungicide combines chlorothalonil with acibenzolar; the latter induces the salicylic acid pathway in plants. Daconil Action has performed well in our trials at the OJ Noer. We have seen dollar spot control extended from 7 to 10 days with regular Daconil to 14 days and we also observed decent Pythium suppression (Figure 3). Currently there is a lot talk about this product and some of the talk is incorrect. In particular this product is not going to extend the residual efficacy of chlorothalonil to 21 days. We observed good control on a 14day interval, which is a longer residual that we typically see with chlorothalonil by itself (Figure 3). Keep in mind that our trials are designed to induce dollar spot and the control windows we observed could be slightly extended or decreased depending on the conditions and management practices at your course. I mentioned that acibenzolar induces the plant innate defense response; well in order to take full advantage of this material the product needs to be applied preventatively! However, applications of this product in any climatic condition did not push turf over the edge. It is possible to see a slight discoloration, but nothing that would be considered injurious to the plant. Finally as mentioned previously, the salicylic acid pathway seems to work only on
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pathogens that have a biotrophic habit or phase. Thus dollar spot, anthracnose and Pythium blight are all either controlled or suppressed with this product. The brown patch fungus however, does not appear to be affected by the salicylic acid pathway, leaving just chlorothalonil (not strong on brown patch) to control the fungus. The other defense pathway plants use for defense is the jasmonic acid pathway. It is a very similar pathway to the salicylic acid pathway, but this pathway seems to be more effective against necrotrophic pathogens like Rhizoctonia solani (brown patch). The difference between these two pathways is the molecules used for signaling. The phenomenon triggered by jasmonic acid is induced systemic resistance (ISR). The product Civitas is thought to induce the jasmonic acid pathway in plants. Currently Dr. Tom Hsiang at the University of Guelph is investigating the effects of Civitas on ISR and has shown that when applied early enough ISR is activated. This could be an explanation for the results we observed with tank mixtures of Civitas and lower rates of fungicides for snow mold control (Figure 4). Plant defense is an extremely complicated process that involves an intricate system of signaling molecules and proteins. It is important for golf course superintendents to start understanding the natural plant defense systems because products are on the market that stimulate these defenses. The more you know about the plant and how it defends itself will help you make an educated decision on the value of some of these products. Figures:
Figure 1. Flow chart of how a plant defends itself. Notice the importance of salicylic acid (SA) in the flow chart.
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Figure 2. Comparison of systemic acquired resistance to induced systemic resistance in plants. Both are considered key defense pathways for plants and currently the thought is they are almost interchangeable. Yet there still is a difference in the types of pathogens these pathways are effective against.
Figure 3. A) Dollar spot control with Daconil Action and other fungicides. Daconil Action was applied on a 14 day interval as were the other fungicides (except for Concert which was applied on a 7 day interval) and this rating was conducted on September 20th, 2011. B) Pythium control with various fungicides. All products were applied only once on July 14th, 2011 and each plot was inoculated one day later.
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Figure 4. Control of snow mold with novel fungicide products, which included mixtures of Civitas and various other chemistries. Alone Civitas did not suppress snow mold development, but when mixed with standard fungicides, some at fairly low rates, excellent control was achieved.
About Our Guest Writer Jim Kerns is an Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist in the Department of Plant Pathology at UW-Madison. Jim’s program focuses on the biology, epidemiology and management of turfgrass diseases prevalent in the Midwest.
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Ten Keys: To Successful Summer Annuals
by Carolyn Johnson with Field Outdoor Spaces, Inc.
You know turf grass, but you might not be as confident with annual planting beds. Your members expect there to be color and drama around the club house and tee boxes as well as the swimming pool, tennis courts and dining areas. Here are some keys to successful use of annuals on golf courses.
10 Keys to Successful Golf Course Annuals 1. Get member input up front. A small committee of members who can help prioritize planting plans and give the thumbs or limited comments and feedback to the planting beds can prevent headaches later on. 2. Use bold colors and large swaths of plants – the further a bed is from viewing points the bigger each sweep of plants should be and the bolder the color should be. Especially avoid the color blue, unless you are using a lighter color behind for contrast. 3. Rely on “tried and true” annuals for the bulk of your beds – we use a lot of brightly mixed impatiens and bedding begonias in the shade. Plants like zinnias, salvias, marigolds, and celosias in the sun. These plants are also a lot cheaper per flat - making your budget go further. 4. Make high impact areas more dramatic – the front of the club house, outside doors and main windows and in pots and planters. This is where the latest and greatest cultivars and most striking combinations are worth the extra cost. 5. Plant early. It will take at least three weeks for an annual bed to take off, so you want to get the beds in as soon as possible. We plan for the second or third week of May – have blankets ready if there is a late frost. 6. Prep beds with compost and slow-release fertilizer – compost adds organic matter, conditions the soil and slightly lowers the pH. 7. Fertilize every other week with MiracleGro or similar fertilizer. 8. Check soil moisture often and adjust irrigation – it is easy to lose plant material when the irrigation has not been optimized for the plant material. On golf courses it is probably more likely to be too wet than too dry if it is irrigated. 9. Protect from deer and rabbits immediately after planting with spray or other deterrent. Reapply often. 10. Weed and pinch weekly. Annual beds don’t take a lot of maintenance – doing it weekly will actually decrease maintenance in the end. Have a team go through and spot weed, monitor the plants, and prune back each week. Even with fairly extensive plantings we complete this in one day with two people. One week is weeding and pruning; the next week is fertilizing with a little weeding www.fieldoutdoorspaces.com
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ole Challenge Sponsors!
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Past Presidents gather for a photo op during the 2012 Northern Green Expo: (from left to right) BACK ROW: Dennis Hendrickson CGCS, Scott Hoffman CGCS, Paul Diegnau CGCS, Kerry Glader, Keith Scott CGCS, Rick Fredericksen CGCS, Jim Nicol CGCS, Fred Taylor CGCS, Dale Caldwell CGCS, Kevin Clunis CGCS. FRONT ROW: Scottie Hines CGCS, Tom Fisher CGCS, E. Paul Eckholm CGCS, James Bade, Rick Traver Jr. CGCS, Bill Johnson, Larry Vetter and Gerry Murphy. The group gathered to share relevant ideas and reflect upon the future of the Minnesota Golf Course Superintendents
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Doug Zobel 952-201-9499
952-949-3889
(from page 7) technology guru Bob Porter, the Board of Directors approved the implosion of our existing web site and creation of a new and dynamic information on-line destination for membership of the MGCSA. User friendly, broad based, point and click capable, the site will offer everything you have always wanted and more to come as technology continues to change. Change, change, change. You know it won’t happen over night. And there will most assuredly be bumps along the road. Delays, glitches, redundancies, mistakes, blunders and inadvertent situations; however, change will happen and with it will come growth of our Association. We, insert Jack here, has to be patient for it will not all happen over night. Indeed I too need patience for just ten weeks ago I was like you are at this moment, focused upon something I knew how to do very well…being a turf manager. Today I am a publisher, a web master, administrator, accountant, function manger, association liaison and above all else your humble executive director willing to help you to be a better member and thus develop a better Association. Should you have any issues please do not hesitate to call me at 651 324 8873 of a simple e-mail at jack@mgcsa.org will get you a prompt response. Glancing over my shoulder I see the bench is beckoning me for another session in abdominal distress. Followed by a twenty minute elliptical, my workout will hopefully eliminate the muffin top associated with administrative and executive management staff. Damn. I hate working out, but I love working out…especially now that my daughter has encouraged me to modify my habits and take advantage of a change in course. 22
Industry Insight
Synchronizing Disease Management and Aerification with Intrinsic brand Fungicides Shows Improved Turfgrass Recovery
By Kyle Miller, Senior Technical Specialist, BASF Professional Turf & Ornamentals Aerification is a crucial part of maintaining healthy turfgrass on golf courses. As thatch accumulates, the root zone receives less oxygen, which stresses the turf. While some courses are more prone to thatch accumulation, all courses perform cultural practices to control excessive thatch. To alleviate thatch buildup, superintendents aerate using spikes or tines to remove thatch and allow for improved air movement in the soil. Puncturing soil or removing soil plugs helps prevent the roots from suffocating by circulating oxygen and nutrients. On average, turfgrass recovery requires more than a week after spiking, and two to three weeks after core aerification. Minimizing that recovery time so that turfgrass playability is back to normal is a priority for both superintendents and players. Root volume and quality is vital to the turf’s health, as well as its aesthetic appearance. Researchers and superintendents are discovering that managing disease with the broad-spectrum active ingredient pyraclostrobin provides additional physiological plant health benefits that extend beyond disease control. These pyraclostrobin-based products are known as Intrinsic™ brand fungicides from BASF and include Honor® Intrinsic brand fungicide and Insignia® SC Intrinsic brand fungicide. Research indicates that the improved turfgrass effects delivered by these products include: » Increased plant efficiency via more efficient photosynthesis. » Better use of nitrogen. » Increased plant tolerance to stress through a decrease in ethylene production. » Increased antioxidant activity. Superintendents managing disease with pyraclostrobin-based fungicides are experiencing thicker more voluminous turfgrass roots. When applied 2-7 days prior to aeration, and at the high rates of both Honor Intrinsic and Insignia Intrinsic, superintendents are also experiencing more rapid turf recovery. In addition to improved aerification recovery times, superintendents using Intrinsic brand fungicides are also experiencing increased tolerance to turfgrass stresses, such as heat, drought, and cold, compared to untreated specimens. These stress tolerance attributes are in some cases helping superintendents decrease their dependency on irrigation and lower fertilizer and chemical inputs used to manage their turfgrass. While aerification has become a necessary inconvenience for turfgrass professionals and golfers, Intrinsic brand fungicides based on the active ingredient pyraclostrobin, are helping turfgrass bounce back healthier Summary: Aerification improves long-term turfgrass health and playability but creates short-term turfgrass stresses and player inconveniences. Some superintendents synchronizing Intrinsic™ brand fungicides that contain the active ingredient pyraclostrobin, get broad-spectrum disease control and experience faster turf recovery after aerification. And faster. Always Read and Follow Label Directions.
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Within the Leather by David Kazmierczak, CGCS It was an overcast day at Kansas City Country Club in late March 1994. March in Kansas City is hit or miss as far as nice weather goes but it was cooler than normal that day and we didn’t get going on this job until early afternoon. I was the 2nd assistant at the time leading a couple crew members in the selective removal of several large black walnut trees located in a native area between the 11th hole and the 13th/14th tee area. It had been decided by somebody that there were a few too many trees in that area and the idea was to open things up for some air movement on this part of the course. I’m quite sure it took a lot to get to that decision point. After all, KCCC was a private club that has stood the test of time. Like any old club the matter of trees was and probably still is quite a hot-button political issue and the three of us had been given the dastardly task of tree removers- a job akin to Jack the Ripper to some. My biggest concern was getting verbally dressed-down by one of those individuals, and how I would handle it. The temperature that day was cool but we had worked up a pretty good sweat and had pealed at least a couple layers off before deciding to take a break. While we rested against our utility vehicles two members had happened upon the 13th green and made their way in their cart towards the 14th tee. It was unusual to see any members on the course in March 24
at KCCC, much less a pair well north of retirement age but there they were making their way towards us. As they passed by I could hear the elder of the two who still had quite a set of pipes on him. “They’re cutting down the walnut forest,” I heard him exclaim somewhat bewildered. Great, I thought in my mind. Here it comes. Both of them are going to come over here and start berating me on the evils of cutting down the magnificent timber and how dare I this and how could you that and I’m going to have a talk with your boss and so forth. The cart stopped and the other member mumbled something I didn’t quite catch but along the lines of “things change”, and then came the line. “Change is only good if you get five quarters for a dollar!” he bleated with every fiber of his being. I remember seeing a little line of spit or snot or some bodily fluid fling from his craggy face as he pronounced his disdain for our days’ activity. Then, with every orifice of my body puckered and ready for the battle, to my astonishment they both simply walked towards the 14th tee, meekly hit their golf balls, got in their cart and drove on. I guess they decided we weren’t the ones to force their opinions on at that moment. That was fine with me. I quickly fired up my chain saw and got back to work. But then I started thinking. Wow! What a line. Change is only good if you get five quarters for a dollar. Not quite “So I’ve got that going for me- which is nice,” (Carl Spackler) or “So you’re saying there’s a
chance,” (Jim Carrey’s line in Dumb and Dumber) but pretty darn good none the less. You could use this line in any situation that involved change, and be sure to get at least a quizzical look. You can say it and mean it (against change), or say it sarcastically (for change). Little did that old member realize his contribution to my arsenal of one-liners. The flag at KCCC has long since flown at half-staff for him, but his magnificent line of old-time thinking lives on, which it did early fall last year. I was sitting in my office talking with an associate and the subject of Hole Notes going all digital came up, the first time I had heard of it. “Change is not good unless you get five quarters for a dollar!” I yelled at him quite proud of the fact that I was again able to use the clever old line. But wait a minute- did I mean it or was it satire? How did I really think about that proposition? I have always been late to the technology party. Not cleaning up the tables, last call-late but certainly not “I know how to tap that keg,” early. I have resembled the old KCCC member in some regards and certainly when it comes to taking away my printed copy of anything.
Newspapers, magazines, books- it is just what I’m used to and I can’t change. Or can I? Life is all about change, constant change. They should have added change along with death and taxes as the only sure things in life. Not only is change constant, but it seems to be growing exponentially. If you told me I would be doing half the things I am doing now with communication ten years ago I would have said you are nuts. E-mail? Hated it. I can’t check that every day. Now, it’s three or four times a day with no questions or issues. Texting? That’s complete garbage. If you can’t pick up the phone and talk to me, then forget it. I refuse to be one of those sniveling kids with that device pressed so close to their face and their tiny fingers working like spiders weaving a cellphone web. Now, I text every day and it is the main way I communicate to crew members when they are not at the course, and I always get responses. Fast, simple and concise. So why not have Hole Notes go digital. What am I afraid of? Staring at a computer? Surely I will be able to get it on my mobile devise, and maybe share with others. You know-
communication? It will be much more interactive, and won’t stack up in the bookcase. In fact, I won’t even need a bookcase. I will be able to summon any old articles with a touch of my smart phone, and it will save the association a bunch of money. I guess I like the idea so much- I want to be the editor! O.K.- that decision was not made because of Hole Notes going digital, but you get my point. This new direction is a good thing. Granted, it will take some getting used to and will come as a bit of a shock for some, but if it forces MGCSA members into the technology era then it will be a good thing. Change is going to happen and the faster, more open-minded individual will then reap the benefits in the long run. Embrace change. Make it your friend. Not just for this publication but personally and professionally. It is going to happen, so do not be like the old KCCC member. Do not be searching for the fifth quarter while life zooms past you.
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