Mississippi Turfgrass - Spring 2016

Spring 2016

The Mississippi Turfgrass Association Magazine

Designs on

improving the future of your course...

and Your Career

Fielding Dreams — Challenges of the Municipal Sports Field Manager Plus, 2016 Yard Dawg Classic

& Golf Course Management Workshop Registration

spring 2016

Contents • The Mississippi Turfgrass Association Magazine Features

8 Upcoming Event —

9 Cover Story —

2016 Yard Dawg Classic & Golf Course Management Workshop

Designs on Improving the Future of Your Course... and Your Career

14 Sports Turf Talk —

Fielding Dreams — Challenges of the Municipal Sports Field Manager

Departments

9

6 From the MTA President

7 Upcoming Event – MSU Turfgrass Field Day

7 News from MTA

17 Mississippi State Turf Team

17 Recent Awards and Honors

18 Calendar of Events

18 Index of Advertisers

Mississippi Turfgrass is the Mississippi Turfgrass Association magazine. Subscriptions are complimentary to MTA members. The statements and opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the association, its staff, its board of directors, Mississippi Turfgrass, or its editors. Likewise, the appearance of advertisers, or their identification as MTA members, does not constitute an endorsement of the products or services featured in any issue of Mississippi Turfgrass. Copyright ©2016 by the Mississippi Turfgrass Association. Mississippi Turfgrass is published quarterly. Subscriptions are complimentary to members of MTA. Presorted standard postage is paid at Nashville, TN. Printed in the U.S.A. Reprints and Submissions: MTA allows reprinting of material published here. Permission requests should be directed to MTA. We are not responsible for unsolicited freelance manuscripts and photographs. Contact the managing editor for contribution information. Advertising: For display and classified advertising rates and insertions, please contact Leading Edge Communications, LLC, 206 Bridge Street, Franklin, TN 37064, (615) 790-3718, Fax (615) 794-4524.

4 • Mississippi Turfgrass • spring 2016

14

President’s Message

Great Events

Ahead!

Paul Welborn

I

hope everyone’s spring applications are going well. Thanks for the great turnout at the MTA Hospitality Night at the GCSAA meeting in San Diego.

Your MTA Board has been hard at work making plans for the year, and we want everyone to take part. The Yard Dawg Classic & Golf Course Management Workshop is May 17, followed by the MSU Turfgrass Field Day on August 23, then the Deep South Turf Expo returns to Biloxi October 11-13. Plans are also in the works to revive the renowned MSU Turfgrass Short Course (tentative date: January 3 to 6, 2016).

The 14th annual Yard Dawg Classic will be May 17 at Dancing Rabbit Golf Course in Choctaw, MS. We decided as a board to try a new format for Yard Dawg this year, and it has been combined with the Golf Course Management Workshop.

Our guest speaker will be Mr. Nathan Crace, a Mississippi State University alumnus and Mississippi’s only member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects.

Golf course professionals can gain some CEU’s. After our educational program we will enjoy a round of golf. See the full write up on this event in this issue.

If you have not attended the MSU Turfgrass Field Day in a few years, you really need to make it to Starkville this year. If we are lucky, the weather will be just as beautiful as it was last year. The university turfgrass professionals will have a great educational day for us on Tuesday, August 23. At the end of the tour of the plots on the North Farm, we will have an Expo with more than 20 vendor booths. All of this will be capped off with lunch and MSU ice cream.

I want to challenge each of you to help promote both MTA and our industry.

We have a great association, and we all need to be working to make it stronger. I spoke to a group recently encouraging involvement in our association, and I try to not let an opportunity like that get past me. It is vital to our industry that we come together as turf professionals to promote what we do, educate the public, and support our professionals at the university in their efforts. If you know someone that is not involved in MTA, please encourage them to join. For a little over six dollars a month, a turf or landscape professional can help support his/her industry.

We need more golf, sports turf, sod, lawn care and landscape folks to join MTA. We also need kids to consider our field as a career. I encourage you to seek out opportunities to speak at high school or junior college career fairs, or even your local high school agricultural classes. You never know when you might spark interest in a high school student that is searching for a career.

Thanks for supporting MTA. I hope to see you at our upcoming events.

Paul Welborn

2015/2016 MTA President

Mississippi Turfgrass Association Box 9555 MS State, MS 39762 Office: (662) 325-0517 Fax: (662) 325-2705 www.msturfassociation.org Published by: Leading Edge Communications, LLC 206 Bridge Street Franklin, TN 37064 Office: (615) 790-3718 Fax: (615) 794-4524 info@leadingedgecommunications.com Mississippi Turfgrass Editor James D. McCurdy, Ph.D.

MTA OFFICERS

President Paul Welborn Lawn and Pest Solutions (662) 316-1347 Vice President Erick Coomer The Bridges Golf Course (228) 860-5292 Secretary/Treasurer Wayne Philley Mississippi State University (662) 325-2728 Past President Toby Thornton Shell Landing Golf Course (601) 507-4254 Administrative Secretary Linda Wells Mississippi State University Box 9555 MS State, MS 39762 Office: (662) 325-0517 Cell: (662) 769-7558 lmw218@pss.msstate.edu

Directors

Jordan Carlisle LADD’S (601) 818-7586 Jay Coalter Patrick Farms Golf Club (601) 317-1641 Dan Crumpton Oasis Sod Farm (662) 621-2040 Ken Edwards City of Gulfport (228) 861-5641 Jeremy Ely Sunkist Country Club (228) 669-6745 David Leon Turf & Aquatic Specialties, Inc. (601) 529-2458 Wayne Wells MSU Professor Emeritus (662) 418-4205

6 • Mississippi Turfgrass • spring 2016

upcoming event

MSU Turfgrass

Field Day August 23, 2016 The

2016 MSU Turfgrass Field Day will be held in Starkville, MS. This outdoor event is a great educational experience for all turfgrass professionals in the region. Tour stops include: St. Augustine and centipedegrass herbicide tolerance, Ultra-dwarf bermudagrass management, Pre- and post- emergence herbicides for crabgrass and goosegrass control, and turfgrass variety trials. The Expo will feature more than 20 vendor booths complete with machinery demonstration and door prizes. The event is capped off with lunch and ice-cream.

Please contact Dr. Jay McCurdy (jmccurdy@pss.msstate.edu) for details about vendor booths and potential gold, silver, and bronze sponsorship opportunities. v

News from MTA

In

the winter 2016 edition, several Deep South Turf Expo sponsors/exhibitors were omitted due to editorial deadlines.

As always, we are deeply committed to our sponsors and thank them for their support. The following were omitted:

Agromax LLC Ben Nelson Golf & Utility Vehicles Billy Bunker Bucyrus Equipment Co. Capillary Concrete Chattahoochee Turf Products ColorFlex Cowart Mulch Products Douget Ventures Dow AgroScience Ecologel Solutions Firefly Equipment FIS Outdoor Geoponics Corporation Global Turf Equipment GreensGroomer WorldWide Greensmiths – Fertigation

Gulf Coast Organic Humphries Turf Supply Huntsville Tractor & Equipment Jacobsen Ladd’s Master Craft PBI-Gordon Redexim Turf Products Regal Chemical Company Richardson Athletics STEC Equipment Tamanet USA The Andersons Triest Ag Group Turface Athletics/ Profile Products Weed Man v The Mississippi Turfgrass Association Magazine • 7

upcoming event

2016 Yard Dawg Classic & Golf Course Management Workshop May 17, 2016 DEADLINE TO REGISTER — May 6, 2016

Registration: 8:00–9:00

Fee

Workshop: 9:00–11:00

Tee off is promptly at Noon

Golf course management workshop 9:00–11:00

Team Entry Fee: $400 Individual Entry Fee: $100 Student Entry Fee: $50

Nathan Crace — American Society of Golf Course Architects.

Mr. Crace is principal designer for Watermark Golf and a frequent contributor for turf & golf magazines.

Lunch provided

Dr. Jay McCurdy — Assistant Professor, Plant & Soil Sciences, Extension Turf Specialist

The

14th annual Yard Dawg Classic Golf Tournament will be held at the beautiful Dancing Rabbit Golf Course in Choctaw, MS. This year’s event will feature guest speaker Nathan Crace, Mississippi State University alumni and Mississippi’s only member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects.

Mr. Crace is principal designer for Watermark Golf and is a frequent speaker for MSU’s landscape architect program.

Nathan’s expertise extends beyond land planning. He is a frequent contributor for turf and golf magazines. His freelance column “Lipouts” appears in a number of regional and national publications.

He is also an active advocate for the game of golf in modern ecosystems.

Golfers may form their own team or sign up as an individual (the tournament committee will assign individuals to teams). All proceeds from the tournament benefit MTA’s scholarship program and turf research at Mississippi State University. To register, complete the form and return via fax, email, or mail.

The event offers continuing education points for certified golf course superintendents. A $100 registration fee covers education, lunch, and golf.

Player List

Note: Your team members do not have to be MTA members.

They can be friends, family members, greens committee members, etc.

1__________________________________________________________ 2__________________________________________________________ 3__________________________________________________________ 4__________________________________________________________

Payment Information

o Check

o Visa

o MasterCard

o American Express

Make checks payable to MTA, and mail to: P.O. Box 9555, MS State, MS 39762.

If paying by credit card, your signed entry may be mailed to the address above or faxed to: 662-325-2705.

Credit card information — Can not be sent via email!!

Credit card #:_______________________________________________ Exp. date:_ _________________________________________________ Signature:___________________________________________________

Awards Ceremony Following the Tournament

Please bring a donation for door prizes (i.e., golf balls, gift certificate, putter, hat, round of golf, etc.).

MTA

Box 9555

8 • Mississippi Turfgrass • spring 2016

Mississippi State, MS 39762

662-769-7558

www.msturfassociation.org

lmw218@pss.msstate.edu

Cover Story

Designs on

Improving the Future of Your Course…

and Your Career

By: Nathan Crace, ASGCA Assoc., Principal & Golf Course Architect; Watermark Golf/Nathan Crace Design

H

ard to believe, but 2015 is officially in the rearview mirror. As we pass the off ramp to New Year’s and the College Bowl Season with the superhighway to 2016 squarely ahead of us, more news outlets are reporting that the economy is turning around and things are getting better every day.

Depending on your choice of twentyfour hour cable news coverage (and the point in the news cycle when you choose to check-in), America’s economy is either roaring back and poised to be the driving force behind a global recovery or we are hopelessly lost in a death spiral of joblessness, natural disasters, unsustainable national debt, and a staggering increase in the number of reality shows on television. So which is it? Are we continuing to dive headlong into the Mariana Trench of a deepening global economic abyss or have we rebounded and are now headed back toward the surface, poised to breach stronger than ever and sail on happily toward the future? Like most stories in life, perhaps the truth lies somewhere in between.

There is another option that I keep hearing muttered about on the nightly

news: maybe we have found a “new normal” where malaise and stagnant wages are fine for the majority of people, so long as they can still hammer a check every two weeks. Call me optimistic, but I think the fall stopped a while back and we are starting to rebound, ever so slightly—and not as quickly as those in Washington might want us to believe. But a steady improvement is better than a slingshot rebound. Of course, it might just be the new-found optimism that we see every election cycle, but things feel to have bottomed-out and are now poised to come roaring back. Don’t misunderstand: the rocket has not left the launch pad yet, but maybe we’re almost done fueling it and the engines are warming up. From a personal perspective, phone calls and emails to our office are ticking up with inquiries about renovations, practice facilities, and— dare I say it—new course design. Most encouragingly, these calls are not only from existing clients who tabled their projects years ago when the economy ground to a standstill, but also new clients looking toward the future.

Above: The tri-lobed pitching green at Annandale in the distance and the chipping green in the foreground.

It’s no surprise to anyone in the golf industry that things have been slow for the past eight years. The term “slow” might be too nice when one looks into the golf course construction industry since 2006. According to the National Golf Foundation (NGF), 2013 marked the eighth straight year that more courses in the United States closed than opened—by a long margin. In 2013, the NGF reports that only 14 new courses opened for play (actually up from 13.5 in 2012), but the total number that closed was 157.5. We’ll be generous and call it a market correction of the glut of courses built in the 1990’s and early 2000’s, but that is still a large disparity. Before you panic and start filling up the prepper pantry in your bomb shelter, there is good news.

Golfdom Magazine’s recently released annual “Golfdom Report” (January 2016) of industry insiders, golf course managers, and superintendents reveals some cautiously optimistic findings.

This is important because these are the players on the inside of the industry— not just golfers, professional economists, and the news networks’ talking heads.

The Mississippi Turfgrass Association Magazine • 9

How Would You Describe Your Expectations for the Golf Economy in 2016?

1%

Very Pessimistic Slightly Pessimistic

Neutral

Very Optimistic

11% 9% 23% 56% Slightly Optimistic Source: The Golfdom Report, Jan. 2016

Is Waters Of The United States (WOTUS) a Real Concern for You? It’s not something I’m really following

You bet it is

28% 56% 16%

It isn’t a concern for me

Source: The Golfdom Report, Jan. 2016

How Concerned Are You About the Results of the 2016 Election?

Concerned it means a lot to the business

52% 48% Not concerned, golf will roll on regardless of who wins

Source: The Golfdom Report, Jan. 2016

Of those surveyed about their expectations for the golf economy for 2016, 65% were either very optimistic or cautiously optimistic, while 23% were neutral, and 11% were slightly pessimistic. Only 1% of respondents reported being very pessimistic about the state of the industry for 2016. Digging deeper into the statistics, there were some reassuring stories from across the country 10 • Mississippi Turfgrass • spring 2016

regarding rounds of play increasing in 2015 over 2014 with expectations for that increase to continue into 2016.

Then again, the giant gorilla standing quietly in the dark corner of the room is the new Waters Of The United State (WOTUS) overreach by the EPA…but I digress. WOTUS is a story for another time when I’m not limited to three or four pages. That being said, the “Golfdom Report” found that WOTUS may be part of the cause for some of the pessimism in the industry as it rambles its way through the court system with the final outcome as yet unknown. The 2016 election was also on most course managers’ minds, but respondents were evenly split on how it would impact the golf industry.

Taken as a whole (and forgetting about WOTUS for the time being), the good news is that optimism is up and pessimism is down. What does that mean for you and your club or course?

As my college economics professor was fond of saying, “It depends.” What it does mean, however, is that maybe it’s finally time to pull those projects you metaphorically shelved years ago from the back of the bottom drawer and dust them off. It means it’s time to start planning for the future again and not simply maintaining the status quo. Optimism is afoot and you don’t want to be caught watching as the aforementioned economic rocket leaves the launch pad because you didn’t take the time to pick up your spacesuit from the cleaners.

Remember those ideas you had a few years ago to re-build a green or upgrade irrigation or renovate tees or re-build bunkers because the additional maintenance was taking your staff away from other areas of the course? It’s time to re-visit those ideas. There may be no better time in the last seven years than now to tackle that course-wide bunker renovation program or re-build those problematic greens that you’ve been fighting for years now. With market prices falling, golf course contractors are still looking for work for their crews and you can still lock-in significant discounts on construction compared to the pre-slowdown era. However, as the economic engine begins to warm up and interest begins to pick up in renovations, so do the laws of supply

and demand. As the contractors find their demand and their prospects increasing, so too does their price.

Just like it’s time to reconsider those bunker, tee, green, drainage, and irrigation renovations, it’s also time to think outside the box about things you can do to improve your facility that will attract new golfers. Over the past six years, I have designed and built seven practice facilities—including full ranges, practice greens, and (my favorite) full and comprehensive short game facilities.

It’s an odd niche that I stumbled into seemingly by mistake at first, before the epiphany that I had—in fact—come full circle. When I was a student in Mississippi State’s Professional Golf Management (PGM) program, part of my experience and training on my cooperative internships was teaching the game to golfers and helping them improve their game and subsequent enjoyment of playing. I naturally gravitated toward teaching the short game.

Why naturally, you ask? Because as a child growing up in Southern Indiana, no one in my family played golf; but my parents had enough land behind their house for me to fashion a short threehole par-3 course. Granted, I was only 11 years old or so; but if I was going to learn how to play, it was my only real option. So I mowed out “fairways” and “greens” with our riding lawnmower, borrowed an old 7-iron and some even older balls from a neighbor who hadn’t played in years, and began to teach myself how to play by watching Jack Nicklaus for a few hours on television each weekend. In later years, I even added sand bunkers to my course.

Because of the short length of the course, I quickly found myself hitting more old pitching wedges and less old 7-irons.

Soon, my school-day afternoons and entire summer days consisted of shagging hundreds of balls with an old pitching wedge. When that became boring, I started opening the face and trying to hit flop shots over trees, sheds, and neighborhood children who were brave enough to stand still for long enough. I was first exposed to playing the game by necessity—forcing me to become creative with my short game out of boredom. There were no 60 degree lob wedges in that day. When I

Continued

finally saved up enough money to buy a 56 degree sand wedge at K-Mart, I remember that it had a dot-punched face—not grooves. But it was on sale and in my leaf-raking-for-income budget. So now, some 30+ years later, I have come full circle because I have been unknowingly using those life experiences from teaching myself to hit those shots and my expertise later in life from teaching others how to hit those shots to design what I feel are the best short game practice facilities for players of all abilities and imaginations.

Practice facilities (and particularly short game facilities) are important to growing the game for a number of reasons. Flash forward to the recent economic slowdown and more courses are looking for ways to attract new players and retain existing ones without the expense of renovating the entire course. Likewise, golfers are looking for ways to work on their games and/or spend time with their families without having to spend four or five hours on the golf course to do it. These higher quality practice facilities fit the bill for both golf course and golfer. With a smaller capital investment by the course and a smaller investment in time by the golfer, an added amenity can be created that differentiates your course from the one down the street and sets you apart in a tightened marketplace.

Three such facilities (one at Annandale Golf Club in Madison, Mississippi, one at Tupelo Country Club in Tupelo, Mississippi, and one at Hattiesburg CC in Hattiesburg, Mississippi) are among the best for private clubs in the Magnolia State while Hattiesburg CC and two other facilities (at Ole Miss GC and at Mississippi State University GC) are among some of the top collegiate facilities— the short game facility at Hattiesburg CC was built in cooperation with the University of Southern Mississippi for the men’s and women’s golf teams as well as the membership. I know what you’re thinking, and before you say “Adding areas for me to maintain won’t help my bottom line,” consider this: a better practice facility will attract new golfers. New golfers bring added play and revenue. Added play and revenue necessitate a better budget. And a better

budget helps your bottom line. The cause and effect may not be as direct as you want, but there is a real connection.

Just as there is a direct two-prong correlation between bunker renovations and cost savings/increased rounds, so too is there a relationship between better practice facilities and increased play/ overall facility revenue.

Case in point is the aforementioned Tupelo Country Club. In 2010, I was commissioned to develop a master plan for the entire golf course and existing practice facility (which at the time consisted of an undersized practice tee, a never-used chipping green, and a putting green). During the planning and budgeting process, it was decided that the practice area would become Phase I and the golf course itself would be Phase II and completed at a later date.

Working with the club and course superintendent Jim Kwasinski, CGCS, we developed a plan to revitalize the driving range that included a practice tee large enough to accommodate the membership. A new tee measuring 100'

•

Cover Story

by 285' with internal drainage and a sand base now provides ample tee space that’s playable even immediately after a rain event with multiple target greens shaped to replicate actual greens as targets. Additionally, a 6,500 sq ft short game green with bunkers and chipping areas and a new putting green give ample opportunity for members to work on their short games without being crowded. But the most talked about feature of the new practice facility is by far the “Short Course” behind the driving range. While on a site visit during master planning, Jim and I stood on the back tee of the 7th hole looking out over an expanse of scrub and small trees behind the driving range. The conversation went something like this: Me: That’s a lot of wasted space.

Jim: Yep, the club almost sold it about ten years ago to a developer to make condos.

Me: It would be the perfect place for a par-3 course.

Jim: Yes it would.

[Both turn slowly to look at the

The Mississippi Turfgrass Association Magazine • 11

Cover Story • Continued

Tupelo Country Club’s new chipping green is part of an award-winning practice facility.

other as the epiphany hits both of us simultaneously] Jim: Why not?

Me: I need to find a piece of paper.

Soon, I was sketching out what would become unique in its simplicity of operation and complexity of design —a large expanse of fairway with two double greens and a triple green spaced within it and a handful of bunkers strategically dotted throughout. The only things missing were tee boxes— intentionally. I didn’t want Jim’s staff to have to stop and mow tees and move markers and I didn’t want members to feel forced to play certain holes in a certain order. It was designed to be freeform with “the only limitation being the golfers’ imaginations” [Note to self: Write that down—I need to trademark that saying]. Want to play nine par-3 holes with your kids? Perfect. Want to stay in one spot and work on greenside bunker shots then turn the other way and practice fairway bunker shots?

Perfect. Have an extra hour of time and you want to work on a number of short shots and wedge shots? Again, perfect. The short course facility worked so well that it has been written about in numerous industry publications around the world and (I’ve been told) even copied by other courses after they visited Tupelo CC (I won’t name names). At the end of the day, Jim’s staff has a few extra greens to mow and a few more acres of fairway to cut.

However, the impact on the club has been a renewed interest among golfers and a way to differentiate the club from the competition. It’s also a great 12 • Mississippi Turfgrass • spring 2016

way to advertise how nice the course itself will be once Phase II is completed.

Likewise, the short game facility at Annandale GC has been a boost to the club by providing a much-needed amenity to a membership with an above-average skill set. We transformed the old bentgrass nursery area into a spectacular facility with two chipping greens that offer varying lies, elevations, bunker shots, chipping areas, and yardages. Additionally, one of the green contains a “putting lobe” that is adjacent to the new teaching studio where members can have a private putting lesson. The short game facility is adjacent to the driving range, so players can practice short to long irons as well as greenside and fairway bunker shots. Again, Annandale superintendent Al Osteen, CGCS, has two extra greens to mow and a little more fairway area to maintain, but for a relatively small investment, the club has a facility that is used daily by the membership and sets it apart from other clubs in the area.

Another important thing to note: Al built his facility with in-house labor and one golf course shaper. Jim’s facility was put out to bid and built by a golf course contractor—proving there is more than one way to skin the proverbial cat.

The short game facility at Hattiesburg CC is big enough to hit wedge shots from 120 yards away to an elongated green that measure more than 9,000 square feet with a separate putting green tucked away into a private corner. Immediately adjacent to the driving range, it is not only easy to use, but beautifies the drive into the club.

If the economy is in fact about to take off and the future finally looks bright once again for the golf industry, you must be prepared and you must be ready to go when you get the call.

There’s no excuse for not doing your homework and being prepared if and when things begin to improve. There’s practically no cost in getting prepared, but there could be huge opportunity costs in not being prepared. Be smart, be prudent, and be ready. Worst case scenario: the economy stays flat for another year and you have a fine-tuned set of goals and a revitalized plan to make them a reality. With that in mind, here are three simple keys to being ready when the economic uptick finally becomes a financial jumpstart:

1. Stay Tuned In/Get Tuned In

Stay current on current events. This means more than reading just sports scores and keeping up with the Kardashians (you know who you are).

Take time every day to catch up on the news and know how it might impact you. If listening to who got shot on your local news every night is more than you care to sit through during dinner, opt for a business news network.

Fox Business or CNBC, for example.

Do you know what’s going on in the petroleum markets lately? Surely you’ve seen the difference at the pump when you go to fill up. So you must assume that you’re not the only one to feel that rush of dopamine to your brain when a full tank now costs you $30 instead of $75. That extra money in the collective pocket of the population translates into an increase in disposable income, including recreational spending. Is your course ready to take advantage of that?

How about that irrigation project you’ve been putting off? A drop in petroleum markets typically translates into a drop in the price of plastic products—like PVC pipe and drainage pipe—not only because of raw materials costs, but also transportation and shipping. Do you have asphalt cart paths at your course?

Petroleum is a key ingredient in asphalt.

Might be time to look at replacing some of those paths your members have been complaining about. We’ve all seen the stories of crystal meth addicts stealing copper wiring from commercial air con-

Continued

ditioning units and trying to cash it in because the price of copper has increased so dramatically. Did you know that innovations in irrigation like Rain Bird’s IC system drastically reduce the expense of copper wiring, not to mention the elimination of above-ground satellite controllers? Maybe it’s time to start looking at those projects again.

More than just watching the news, ask yourself how involved you are in making news. Are you on social media?

If you are, great! If not, you need to be (and while you’re there, follow me @ lipouts on Twitter. Trust me, it’s worth it). That said, you need to plan ahead for how you will use your social media sounding board. If you want to let people know what’s going on at your course and/or in your career, remember to KEEP IT PROFESSIONAL. If you like to sound off on politics, your favorite sports team, or you can’t help but retweet those off-color jokes you see from your college buddies, you really need two separate accounts: one personal and one professional. And since not many things in this day and age will sink a career quicker than a series of ill-conceived (or late-night drunken) tweets, do yourself a favor and use TWO DIFFERENT APPS on your phone to differentiate between accounts and help avoid the potentially career-ending accidental tweet. Don’t add yourself to the list of teachers, small business owners, and US Congressmen who have found themselves suddenly unemployed because they sent a tweet using the wrong account or sent a tweet for public consumption that they mistakenly thought was a direct message.

And while we’re at it, if you don’t know what a tweet is or if you’re confused by the previous sentence’s mention of the terms “tweet” and “direct message,” stay off of Twitter until you have a chance to study up. Better yet, find the nearest 14 to 22 year-old and ask him or her to explain it to you in layman’s terms. Your son/daughter and/or grandson/granddaughter and/ or his/her friends should suffice. The same goes for Facebook, blogs, and other forms of social media. Just like other advances in technology during the course of your career, don’t be left behind just because the changes don’t

make you feel warm and fuzzy. But remember, unlike the upgrade from hydraulic to electric irrigation, what you do on social media can potentially haunt you for the rest of your career if you’re not careful.

2. Do Your Homework

You know your bunkers are in awful shape. You know they have long surpassed the average useful life of sand bunkers (5 to 7 years for the sand, 5 to 10 years for the drainage, and 7 to 15 years for the bunkers themselves, depending on your climate and soil types) and you know you could actually save money on labor and materials by renovating the bunkers and better using the time you spend after every rain (pushing sand back up onto the faces and cleaning out the sediment that washes down and contaminates the sand) for other projects. So start doing your homework now and research what options are best for you. The same goes for irrigation, drainage, tees, greens renovations, etc.

When the time comes and the General Manager or the President of the Board stops you at work to ask you about capital projects, think of the satisfaction you’ll have from responding “Actually, I just updated a spreadsheet with some comparisons of cost benefit analysis and the savings from the renovations we need. I’ll email it to you before lunch.”

And think about the missed opportunity if your answer to “What do we need to do on the golf course?” is “Hmmm, I haven’t thought about it in a while.

Things have been pretty slow. Let me think about it and get back to you” or “We need to renovate the greens, but I have no idea how much it would actually cost.”

3. Plan Ahead

It’s never too early to start planning.

Just as you plan your budget, plan your family vacation, plan your retirement, or plan your fantasy football league, start by writing things down. Multiple studies have shown that the success rates of individuals who write down goals and re-visit them are exponentially higher than individuals who only think about their goals. And seek out advice from those professionals who can help you the most. As a member of

•

Cover Story

the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA), I spend a lot of time fielding calls with potential clients and answering their questions regarding which direction they should be headed.

Part of my job is helping superintendents prioritize improvements to their courses and package them into a well thought-out and organized proposal with real world numbers and time lines. Most ASGCA members (myself included) will make a site visit and spend some time helping you prepare this information with very little initial cost to help you get the ball rolling.

We know that with the right data and information at your disposal, your chances of successfully navigating the politics involved within your club are greatly increased. Again, we do this for the growth of the game and because the industry is strongest when we are able to work together to advance the success and sustainability of the game. So pick up that phone or click that mouse or swing by PetSmart and pick up that new carrier pigeon you’ve had your eye on, and reach out to us so we can help you get the thought process started. A wise man once said “It’s never too early to start planning, but it might be too late to catch up.” In the interest of full disclosure, no one told me that—I just made it up [Note to self: Write that one down too and trademark it with the “limitation/ imagination” one from earlier].

About the author:

Nathan Crace, ASGCA Assoc., is a member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA) and the only ASGCA member in Mississippi or Alabama. He is also a member of the Golf Writers’ Association of America and a published author. You can follow Nathan’s insight into golf and other topics on Twiiter @lipouts.

For more information on Nathan, visit www.nathancrace.com or www. watermarkgolf.com/design and for more information on the ASGCA, visit www.asgca.org Nathan appears in this publication by special arrangement. v The Mississippi Turfgrass Association Magazine • 13

sports turf talk

Challenges of the Municipal Sports Field Manager

By Ken Edwards, Manager at Gulfport SportsPlex, Gulfport, MS; and Barry Stewart, Associate Professor, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS

“If

you build it, they will come…”

At least that’s what worked in the 1989 film Field of Dreams.

But the big issues for those of us in the industry aren’t whether we can build it, or even whether they’ll come. The big question is who are they? And are they your target market? Can we afford to maintain the field(s) as safe playing surfaces? And are we able to service the growing demands of sideline coaches that demand Major League (1989) diamonds on Bad News Bears (1976) or The Sand Lot (1993) budgets.

A rising tide should lift all boats.

A lot of municipalities are trying to break into the multi-billion dollar sports tourism market. Youth Sports Tourism ages 6 to 17 raked in $8.7 billion dollars in 2014 on team sports (SportsFacility Advisor.com). So, let’s say your community wants a piece of the pie and decides to build a sports complex. Since it is built with city tax dollars, citizens are going to want first dibs. After all, it’s not just a field for traveling teams. Naturally, everyone in the community wants to try out the new fields. What happens in 14 • Mississippi Turfgrass • spring 2016

many circumstances is that other fields in the local community get abandoned or suffer from neglect. But if communities organize and take a proactive approach, everyone can benefit. A proactive approach would be to welcome citizens at the new facility but also make needed renovations at existing fields.

Failure to do so will mean all that has been accomplished was to add more poorly maintained fields. The construction of a new complex is an opportunity for the level of maintenance for all fields to rise.

Although the planning stages for a new complex are not rocket science, equal emphasis should be made to rejuvenate older fields or evaluate their utility in the changing local market.

This is an excellent time to examine the condition of the fields that already exist and renovate them if necessary.

If the existing fields are in particularly bad shape, consider renovating them first to make them safe, playable and aesthetically pleasant. This will keep the fields in use long after the new fields are built, reducing the number of local contact hours on the new fields.

You must control usage.

Overuse can become a big safety and playability problem. Develop a use schedule to determine maximum field contact hours. Decide who is going to use the fields and when. A typical use schedule for Gulfport Sportsplex is divided into two categories; League play and Tournament play.

Recreation League Play; March through July (Mon, Tue and Thu), 22 weeks, 3 nights per week or 66 nights. 2 games per night, 132 games X 1.5 hours = 198 field contact hours.

Tournament play; February through October (Sat and Sun), 36 events, 2 days each or 72 days, 9 games each, 648 games X 1.5 hours = 972 field contact hours. Plus two additional events, 5 days each or 10 days, 10 games each, 100 games X 1.5 hours, 150 field contact hours.

All total; 880 games = 1320 field contact hours per field per season.

That many contact hours could be considered excessive on most sports

TASK Mow Fields (9 Ball)(4 Soc)

MON

TUE

X

Mow Common Areas

WED THU X

Prep Infields

X

Clean Dugouts/water infields

X

X

X

36

16

16

X

18

90

X

9

18

12

12

24

24

8

8

4

8

3

6

X X

X

Adjust/Backlap Reels

X

Service Equipment/Paint Bases

X

Repair/Adjust Irrigation

X

X X

Spot Spray (Herbicide)

X

4

4

Spot Spray (Roundup)

X

4

4

4

4

Spot Spray (Pesticide)

X

Place Portable Fencing on/off field

X

Inspect Fields

X

X

Remove Trash

X

X

X

X

8

24

X

X

X

2

10

X

X

X

5

25

Coordinate Equipment Repair

X

3

3

Pick up Parts/ Supplies

X

3

3

Order Parts/Supplies

X

2

2

2

2

Maintain Records

A sports field manager’s responsibility is to develop a budget… that works. It’s also our responsibility to educate administrators on what it takes to maintain safe, playable, athletic fields that are aesthetically pleasing. In a recent conference session I asked a group of municipal sports field managers how many man

12

SUN

X

Weedeat/Edge/Blow

Something they don’t teach you in school.

Hrs per Week

SAT

X

Paint Soccer/Ballfield Foul Lines

fields but is possible if your budget supports it. Even with the budget, it depends upon having the right personnel, weather, and a little luck.

Budget is usually a contentious topic.

In many cases new complexes are built in municipalities with very limited maintenance budgets expecting a quick return on their investment. “We build it so they can come”, but the fact that “we must maintain it for them to come back” eludes many in municipal government. Most administrators lack knowledge or training relative to the care and maintenance of sports fields and think existing budgets are sufficient.

Another mistake is solid booking in to maximize returns.

Hrs per Task

FRI

X

Review/Prepare Time Sheets

X

1

1

Pick up Paperwork/Checks

X

3

3

2

10

Clean up Shop/Equipment

X

X

X

X

X

TOTAL HOURS

65

75

54

55

64

Other Required Functions Fertilizer/Chemical Applications

28 hours Monthly

Aerate Fields

60 hours per year (Mar/Aug)

Aerate Commons

40 hours per year (Mar/Aug)

Top Dress Fields

44 hours per year (Mar/Aug)

Monitor fields after hours and on weekends

As Needed

Bush Hog Commons/Wetlands

24 hours per year (May/Aug)

Overseed/Topdress

40 hrs per year (Oct)

Total Other Hours

396 Annually

313 (8)

Cover Story • Continued

hours per week it took to maintain one of their softball fields. I was somewhat surprised that no one knew for sure.

At the Gulfport SportsPlex we have developed a task/man-hour chart that identifies each and every task required to maintain sports fields under safe and playable conditions. To begin with, each performed to a high standard while being timed. Through this process we determined the amount of time it takes to maintain and game-prep each and every field as well as the surrounding landscaped areas. This document is in turn used to help build our budget.

We determined that it takes approximately 313 man hours per week to

16 • Mississippi Turfgrass • spring 2016

maintain a 13 field complex (35 acres).

That’s 8 employees on a 40 hour work week. I’ve learned over the years that when budgets are cut, the first things to go are personnel. I also use the task/ man-hour chart as a management tool to brief my director on matters concerning personnel requirements.

Another tool in my management program is a clear and concise monthly and seasonal maintenance schedule.

This schedule is published 6 months in advance and includes routine monthly maintenance such as fertilizing and spraying. All other cultural practices such as aerification, topdressing, and vertical mowing are considered show stoppers and listed as seasonal practices.

Show stoppers are those cultural practices that require us to shut down fields.

We all want nice fields, but nobody wants to hear that fields must be closed for maintenance. All of our fields are closed four weeks per year for cultural

maintenance practices. We close two weeks in May and two weeks in August.

During that time, aerification, verticutting, and top dressing are performed.

We field managers become the bad guys during time periods when fields are closed for maintenance. The best diplomatic solution for our department has been to keep maintenance separate from operations group. We work side by side on field use and maintenance schedules but maintenance comes first. We try not to butt heads and keep scheduling flexible whenever possible, but we just can’t aerate or verticut in January!!

The bottom line is this: when we cut people we must cut tasks. When we cut tasks we reduce safe and playable conditions. In my years of experience I find it impossible to do more with less without lowering the standards.

Some folks say “Build it and they will come”, I say “Maintain it and they will come back”. v

Mississippi State Turf Team Gary Bachman, Ph.D. Associate Extension/ Research Professor Specialty: Ornamental Hort.

Coastal Res. & Ext. Center Phone: (228) 546-1009 gbachman@ext.msstate.edu Clarissa Balbalian, M.S. Diagnostics Lab Manager Specialty: Plant Pathology Phone: (662) 325-2146 cbalbali@ext.msstate.edu Christian Baldwin, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Specialty: Turfgrass Mgmt.

Phone: (662) 325-8280 cmb907@msstate.edu Donna Beliech Area Extension Agent IV Rankin Co. Extension Service Phone: (601) 825-1462 donnab@ext.msstate.edu John Byrd, Ph.D. Professor Specialty: Invasive Weed Mgmt.

Phone: (662) 325-4537 jbyrd@pss.msstate.edu Keith Crouse, Ph.D. Associate Extension Professor Specialty: Soils Phone: (662) 325-3313 keithc@ext.msstate.edu

Geoff Denny, Ph.D. Associate Extension Professor Specialty: Commercial Ornamental Horticulture Phone: (662) 325-1682 gcd42@msstate.edu Alan Henn, Ph.D. Extension Professor Specialty: Ext. Plant Pathologist Phone: (662) 325-4535 ahenn@ext.msstate.edu Lelia Kelly, Ph.D. Extension Professor Specialty: Consumer Horticulture North MS Res. & Ext. Center Phone: (662) 566-2201 leliak@ext.msstate.edu

Mike Phillips, Ph.D. Department Head and Professor Dept.: Plant and Soil Sciences Phone: (662) 325-2311 jmp657@msstate.edu Wayne Porter, Ph.D. SE Regional Extension Specialist Specialty: Horticulture Phone: (601) 482-9764 wporter@ext.msstate.edu Michael Richard Extension Associate Specialty: Sports Turf Mgmt.

Phone: (662) 325-2311 mpr160@msstate.edu Jason Ruffin Research Associate Specialty: Turfgrass Mgmt., Turf Research Facility Manager Phone: (662) 325-2640

Blake Layton, Jr., Ph.D. Extension Professor Specialty: Ext. Plant Entomologist Phone: (662) 325-2085 blayton@entomology. msstate.edu

Barry Stewart, Ph.D. Associate Professor Specialty: Sports Turf Science Phone: (662) 325-2725 bastewar@pss.msstate.edu

James McCurdy, Ph.D. Associate Extension Professor Specialty: Turfgrass Extension Specialist and Weed Scientist Phone: (662) 325-2331 jmccurdy@pss.msstate.edu Wayne Philley, M.S. Senior Research Associate Specialty: Turfgrass Breeding and Evaluation Phone: (662) 325-2728 wphilley@pss.msstate.edu

Maria Tomaso-Peterson, Ph.D. Associate Professor Specialty: Turfgrass Pathology Phone: (662) 325-2593 mariat@pss.msstate.edu Jeff Wilson, Ph.D. Regional Extension Specialist Specialty: Ornamentals, Landscape, Turfgrass, Fruits and Vegetables North MS Res. & Ext. Center Phone: (662) 566-8019 jwilson@ext.msstate.edu

Awards and Honors

Brandon Hardin, Mississippi State University Sports Turf Superintendent receiving 2015 STMA “Field of the Year” award (pictured with Allen Johnson, Sports Turf Managers Association President).

Keair Edwards, Mississippi State University Senior, receiving the 2016 Safer Athletic Field Environments (SAFE) Scholarship (pictured with Matt Anderson, SAFE Board member, and Cathy Bradley, Chairperson).

Bart Prather and Mississippi State University Campus Landscape being congratulated by MSU President, Dr. Mark Keenum, for the Professional Grounds Management Society’s 2015 Green Star Award.

The Mississippi Turfgrass Association Magazine • 17

Calendar of Events

May 17

August 23

Golf Course Management Workshop and the 2016 Yard Dawg Classic Dancing Rabbit G.C. Choctaw, MS

Mississippi State Turfgrass Research Field Day Rodney Foil Plant Science Research Center Starkville, MS

October 11–13

Deep South Turf Expo Mississippi Coast Coliseum & Conference Center Biloxi, MS

Index of Advertisers Agra Turf, Inc...................................... 18

CoverSports USA................................. 16

KWMI/K&W Products, Inc....... Back Cover

Southeast Turf Maintenance............... 18

Agri-AFC,LLC......................................... 3

Humphries Turf Supply........................ 17

O2YS Corporation.................................. 7

Southern Athletic Fields..................... 18

Bayou Bend Turfgrass......................... 18

Jackson Sand...................................... 11

Oasis Sod Farm..................................... 7

Sur-Line Turf, Inc................................ 18

www.oasissod.com

www.surlineturf.com

Boshancee Nursery, Inc...................... 15

Jerry Pate Turf & Irrigation................... 5

Riebeling Farms, Inc............................. 7 Smith Seed Services........................... 18

The Turfgrass Group..... Inside Front Cover

www.theturfgrassgroup.com

www.agrainc.com

www.agri-afc.com

www.bayoubendturf.com www.boshanceensy.com

www.coversports.com

www.humphriesturf.com www.jacksonsand.com www.jerrypate.com

Digital Marketplace

18 • Mississippi Turfgrass • spring 2016

www.kwmiequipment.com www.o2yscorp.com

www.smithseed.com

www.southeastturf.com www.safdirt.com

Winstead Turf Farms.....Inside Back Cover

www.winsteadturffarms.com

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