MGCSA April 2012 Hole Notes

Hole Notes The official publication of the MGCSA

Vol. 44, No. 3 April 2012

What is he doing?

October 2012! Are you ready to compete for the cause?

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Upcoming Events May 7 Affiliate Appreciation Island View GC Host: Kurt Knox May 21 Spring Mixer Hidden Greens GC Host: Jason Swanson

What is in the picture above and what does it have to do with fine turf management? Read Jack MacKenzie’s In Bounds column and find out!

Page 2

June 11 The Scramble Golden Valley G&CC Host: Jeff Ische

Contents

Vol. 44, No. 2 March 2012

Feature Articles: Hidden Greens Site of MGCSA Spring Mixer Contributed by Jason Swanson, Superintendent at Hidden Greens

Next On The Tee: EAB Editor Dave Kazmierczak cgcs

dave@prestwick.comcastbiz.net

Monthly Columns:

9

pages 14-19

Written by Brandon M. Gallagher Watson, Rainbow Treecare Scientific Advancements

Super-In-Site: Brandon Schindele, Edina Country Club Written by John Meyer, Koch Agronomic

Presidential Perspective

Scottie Hines CGCS

page 5

In Bounds

Jack MacKenzie CGCS

page 7

Within the Leather

Dave Kazmierczak CGCS

page

pages 24- 29

pages 36-37

About the cover: Number 16, par four and quite a signature hole at Hidden Greens Golf Club, the site of the 2012 Spring Mixer. Join your fellow members for the first golf outing of the new season. Superintendent Jason Swanson will provide an exceptional venue. Thank you Jason and your green staff!!!

Meet Brandon Schindele, Superintendent at Edina Country Club, John Meyer’s first Super-In-Site review.

...Even More Content...

On Board:

MGCSA BOD members share their views

page 27

Thank You Reinders, Inc. for hosting the educational event on March 13 at Oak Ridge Country Club .

The Membership appreciates your Support!

page 22

Hole Notes (ISSN 108-27994) is digitally published monthly except bimonthly 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@mgcsa.org.

Page 3

Musing the Minutes: March 22, 2012

By Brian Brown, Secretary MGCSA

The MGCSA Board of Directors met on March 22 at Heritage Links Golf Club.

President Scottie Hines, CGCS called the meeting to order. Treasurer Paul Eckholm, CGCS reported that the dues have been slow coming in especially from out state.

Advertising revenue is low. Still working on account consolidation and over the next 8 months Eckholm & Mackenzie will finalize the work. The new consolidated accounts will go into effect on January 1. Some invoices are still being sent to TCI. President’s Report: Hines has been appointed to the GCSAA Government Affairs Committee. Hines will be going to Washington D.C. to represent GCSAA and MGCSA at meetings on Capitol Hill.

Business Office: Jack MacKenzie, CGCS reported that many calls have been coming in from members. MacKenzie is pursuing a member travel package so a group of superintendents can attend the 2013 Masters. MacKenzie is creating a Superintendent hiring package that will be sent to Clubs that will be hiring a new superintendent. Info included will be posting templates and industry salaries.

Arrangements/awards: Mackenzie reported that the MGA will be hosting the 6th annual Turfgrass Forum. Reinders is sponsoring the event. MacKenzie will apply for CEU’s from GCSAA. The Affiliate event is scheduled to be at Island View Golf Club. An out-state site board meeting is scheduled, and will include a MGCSA Meet and Greet 9-hole event. GCSAA requires chapters to complete a strategic plan every 2-years. Mackenzie will look at scheduling these meetings out state in the winter months. This multi-date event would include a MGCSA winter outreach event such as snowmobiling or downhill skiing. The courses that donate tee times for the research week have been contacted and the MGA is willing to promote the available tee times by emailing their 35,000 members .

Bylaws/Historical: Eckholm put together some possible proposed By-law changes.

These changes clean up wording and what actually happens. These changes will need to be voted on by the memberships. GCSAA sent their new Privacy Policy and the MGCSA will need to have a privacy policy online.

Communications: Dave Kazmierczak, CGCS reported that the 2nd digital Hole Notes went out as a 38 page edition. Porter reported that a 3-way folder has been created that can be accessed by MacKenzie, LCMB, and himself. The creation of the new data base and website is on the contract time table. Going forward we will have the analysis about website and Hole Note membership activity.

Conference/Education: Many speakers for the Green Expo have committed. The full day speaker for the March Mega Seminar has been contacted.

Fundraising/Industry Relations: The National Hospitality at the GIS made about $1,000. Some of the money is yet to come in. There was good attendance with 127.

The survey of the Affiliates shows that they want to keep the Hospitality at the GIS. MN Government Affairs: Eckholm reported that only a couple of bills have impact on our industry. A bill looks to be going through that would put all pesticide

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HOLE NOTES Official Publication of the MGCSA

2012 Board of Directors Officers

President Scottie Hines CGCS Windsong Farm GC

Vice-President Roger Stewart Jr. TPC Twin Cities

Secretary Brian Brown

Chisago Lakes GC

Treasurer E. Paul Eckhom 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

David Kazmierczak CGCS Prestwick GC

Matt McKinnon

The Legacy Courses

Bob Porter

Hiawatha GC

Jake Schmitz

Olympic Hills GC

Executive Director

Jack MacKenzie CGCS MGCSA

Presidential Perspective

by Scottie Hines CGCS Wow! What a crazy run of weather we have had. I can’t ever remember a spring like this here or out east. The only thing that seems to be even close to normal have been the last two or three days! Everyone has opened early. Courses are in great shape. I don’t know about you, but I have done more hand watering in April than ever. For those in the semi-private and daily fee facilities this has to be a great start to the season from a revenue standpoint! A great start for everyone from the turf side.

The only down side to this is by the time we get to Memorial Day in May, we are going to feel like it is July 4! That said, please take a minute and let that sink in. I have always said that Mother Nature has a sneaky way of meeting the average. When will this shoe drop? This spring, this summer or are we in for an early fall and winter? That answer I do not know. I do know we all work crazy hours through the meat of the golf season and our season is going to be at least a month longer this year. I hope, and encourage all of you to make plans now for an extra extended weekend or a few mornings off to catch up on the important things in your life…..family and sleep! Family is important and can easily take a back seat in years like this. I have a young family and I am currently trying to get something on paper to be sure I take that needed time!

I currently accepted a call to sit on the GCSAA Government Relations Committee. The committee is chaired by John O’Keefe, CGCS and co-chaired by Rafael Barajas, CGCS. I have to say I was a bit flattered and honored when I got

the call. Fortunately, my new owner, Dave Meyer and my GM, Jim Kidd, are very supportive of this.

I will be representing MGCSA and GCSAA April 16 – 18 in Washington DC. There is a busy slate of meetings on and around Capitol Hill. We meet with Representative Sam Graves (R-MO-6th) to introduce the GCSAA, We are Golf (WAG) and National Golf Day. We will be discussing the impact of the H-2B Visa program, NPDES, disaster tax relief for golf courses to name a few topics. I will have the opportunity to meet individually with the Minnesota State Representatives in face-to-face meetings. I am currently working with The MGCSAA GR Committee Chair E. Paul Eckholm, CGCS and our executive Director, Jack MacKenzie, CGCS for some talking points on issues that affect us locally. I will also have the opportunity to meet with our DC Lobbyists at the Reed Smith’s offices. Other topics that will be discussed include, but are not limited to: The Americans with Disabilities Act, fertilizers, labor and immigration, Pesticide laws and regulations, the value of golf and water management.

I must say this is going to be very worthwhile and educational trip. I am excited to be representing our great association at the national committee level and to be representing all GCSAA Members on Capitol Hill. Stay tuned for the update in my next column.

Once again, all the best for a successful 2012!

Respectfully, Scottie Hines, CGCS Windsong Farm Golf Course

Page 5

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In Bounds

by Jack MacKenzie CGCS Recently my wife and I returned from an extended trip out of the country to Italy. Long in planning and a dream of Kim’s we celebrated our marriage, our health and the good fortune we have been blessed with. An excursion of a lifetime, our relationship is stronger today than it has ever been before.

surround. Functional, yet certainly primitive by our American standards, the experience of logistical attack can be perplexing for the first time user especially if you may be ‘backed up’ after twelve hours in flight. I will say no more.

One observation I must make quite clear…95 percent of the rest rooms I utilized, both inside and out, were exceptional in their maintenance, cleanliness and presentation. The Italians take pride in their function amenities and it quite honestly made We saw the sites, ate the food, each experience better because of the embraced the culture and were attention to details they place upon the surprised and pleased by all of the ‘basics’. Many of the depositories were nuances of Italian life…well, maybe “pay to poop” so there were monies not all! In our country we are spoiled available to support the cause! I have with amenities to the point that we often take them for granted. Especially new appreciation for five-star facilities. when it comes to our biological needs: to be more specific our rest rooms.

How are you doing with your golf course biffy with its’ amenities? Are they too five star quality year around?

Almost all of the public facilities and Are your Johnny’s clean and bathrooms many of the private ones in Italy are buffed? (continued on page 29) very, very basic. Bluntly put, they are glorified holes with a porcelain

Page 7

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and fertilizer regulation under the control of the Department of Agriculture.

MTGF: Stewart reported that attendance to the Northern Green Expo was flat but revenues to the MTGF were up. The second floor rotunda at the Convention Center is being reserved for the MGCSA so that it can host an association gathering on Thursday of the NGE from 4:306:30. The use for the space will be free and the bartender service will be covered by the NGE. There will not be a TROE Center field day this year. Dr. Horgan would like to have associations conduct a board meeting at the U of M followed by an Open House for their association at the TROE Center. The MTGF budget for research support is $85,000. The breakdown is: $2,000 for white mold on bedding plants, $15,000 for Dutch Elm Disease resistance, $3,000 for online diagnostic tool, $50,000 for the TROE Center, and Page 8

$15,000 for MTGF Fellowship endowment.

Research: Mailings went out to the golf courses that donated tee times for the research week. The gun raffle raised money last year for research and another may occur this year with possible a different type of gun given away.

U of M report: Dr. Horgan is working on a possible TROE Center virtual Field Day with 3-5 minute video clips of research occurring at the TROE Center. The MGA will be giving the TROE Center $10,000 this year and possibly annually.

The MGCSA is looking at hosting a TROE Center blog on it’s website.

Submitted by Brian Brown, MGCSA Secretary.

Mechanical Matters Contributed by Matt Johnson, Equipment Manager at Stoneridge GC

Challenge: Johnson likes to check his reels in the flat position but doesn’t like getting down on the ground to do it.

Solution: Johnson cut a pair of two- inch square hole in his bench just under the top and inserted two-inch hollow metal tubing about 22” apart. Inside the first tubing is inserted a one and three-quarter piece of tubing that can slide out to become the platform the reel rests upon. Height and cut can easily be checked, and the inside tubes can easily be stowed under the bench when done.

If you or your Equipment Manager has any unique ideas, big or small, drop us a line and we will share it with your peers in the Mechanic’s Corner. jack@mgcsa.org

Page 9

Hidden Greens Golf Course...

a Hastings’ golf course “gem in the rough”

By Jason Swanson, Superintendent

Hidden Greens Golf Course in Hastings is a public golf course that was built by my parents and grandparents. They still own it today.

Farmers by trade, they knew little about the game itself, but owned the land and equipment to build a golf course back when golf wasn’t as popular as it is today.

My first actual memory of Hidden Greens Golf Course occurred when I was 5 years old, golfing with my parents who had just opened the doors on the then nine hole facility in Page 10

1976. I chipped in on the sixth hole, a par five for an approximate 13, and promptly declared chipping in to be far easier than putting.

I don’t remember much of the construction of the front nine, but my parents and grandparents say that I spent hours sitting off to the side and watching all of the equipment in action. They tell me that I was not much of a bother, except for the time that I sat on a ground hornet’s nest along the bank of the river on hole number eight. They really

like telling that story! I remember the construction well of the back nine in 1986. That is when I fell in love with the profession. I spent the entire summer at 15 years old driving tractors, dodging bulldozers, and learning a lot of very colorful language.

Fast forward 26 years later, and I am now the Superintendant of the still family-owned facility. I graduated in 1994 from Iowa State with a Turf degree. I came home at 23 years old to try to run a golf course at the same time as my family was building another 18 holes in northern Wisconsin. My grandfather, who ran Hidden Greens at the time, took some of our farm equipment and left

for two full summers to oversee the construction of Hidden Greens North in Solon Springs, Wisconsin.

When I took over the superintendent’s position, my assistant at the time was even less prepared than myself. Jay Caneff was a full-time farmer and worked for my great uncle his entire life. He had never held a golf club when he was hired at roughly the same time as I graduated. In hindsight, it is a full on miracle that we are still in business.

Jay turned out to be a turfgrass maintenance natural, and being single at the time, he spent countless hours at the course either working on the (continued on page18)

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Page 12

2012 TURFGRASS FORUM A Free Informational Discussion & Round Table for MGA Member Clubs and Members • Topics:

TURFGRASS HEAT STRESS: PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS THE LATEST ISSUES FACING GOLF COURSE TURFGRASS • Speakers: • Dr. Brian Horgan,

University of Minnesota Turf Extension Specialist

• Dr. Jim Kerns,

University of Wisconsin Turf Extension Specialist

• Mr. Robert Vavrek,

USGA Senior Agronomist, North Central Region

• Wednesday, April 25

8:00 a.m. ........................... Registration (coffee & rolls) 8:30 –11:30 a.m. ............... Presentations & Discussion

at Midland Hills Country Club

2001 Fulham Street, St. Paul, MN 55113

• This meeting is for: Course Owners, General Managers, Golf Professionals, Golf Course Superintendents, Club Presidents, Greens Chairs and any other MGA Members.

• There will be no fee for this forum.

• GCSAA educational points sponsored by Reinders.

• PGA MSR credits available.

• For Reservations: Joel Comstock, Regional Affairs Director of the MGA 952-345-3968 or joel@mngolf.org Please provide your name and golf course affiliation.

• REGISTER BY FRIDAY, APRIL 20

Page 13

What’s Creeping You Out Now Ideas In Pest Management

Next On The Tee: EAB

By Brandon M. Gallagher Watson of Rainbow Treecare Scientific Advancements

The arrival of emerald ash borer (EAB) to Minnesota has created challenges for municipalities and homeowners, but they are certainly not the only groups that need to make some serious decisions over the next few years. Many golf courses in the Midwest, similar to many municipalities in the Midwest, have a ton of ash trees, and having a plan in place will be crucial for the next couple of years.

EAB populations tend to start slow in a new location, as is the case here in the Twin Cities, with just a few trees found infested in the first few years. They will then increase exponentially and we will have thousands of trees dying each year for several years until the ash population is so reduced that the number of dying trees goes back down. Golf course managers will have unique challenges with EAB as the golf course management objectives differ widely from the objectives of a city

Page 14

forester. Concerns of members and patrons about how it will affect the appearance and the playability of the course, along with the concerns from the club’s ownership about costs will all have to be addressed.

EAB: Not as Hard as You Think Although the media coverage makes EAB out to be the worst problem in the history of trees, it is actually one of the easiest pests to treat, with numerous proven treatments.

The short story of EAB comes down to two options: either treat the trees or cut them down. There are a million different ways to write management plans, different treatment options, different ways to apply treatments, but it really comes down to the two realities: treat or remove. Another way to look at it is one way or another: EAB will cost you money for every ash tree on your course. Now, how much money it will cost, and when that payment will be due is dependent on many different factors. With an understanding of the options, a proactive

w?

Death is eminant if your ash trees are left untreated. The Emerald Ash Borer is an indescriminant and whloesale killer of trees. phot courtesy of the UDSA FS

management plan will help guide your actions for the next several years.

Start Planning Now

So what does a proactive management plan look like? Most start with an inventory. You may already know how many ash trees you have and where they are but, if not, now is the time to find out. Mapping the locations can be your guide for a management plan. Trees that grow along strategic lines for the game of play, trees shading tee boxes, trees in prominent locations such as near the

clubhouse or along key sightlines, will have a different approach than those in wooded areas. Once you have map and inventory of your ash trees you can start deciding what management strategies make sense.

One plan that has not proved successful is the ‘do nothing until EAB kills them, then cut them down’ strategy.

This can be an acceptable plan for some of the trees on a course, like those in woodlots or natural areas. However, for trees along the course of play, waiting for trees to get infested, then removing, presents its own set of obstacles.

Page 15

A row of ash trees being injected with insecticide using the Tree IV system provided by Arborject.

Getting bucket trucks on golf courses is many times not an option so even deciding which trees should be slated for removal based on access by removal crews should be a consideration. Ash trees that are infested with EAB are notoriously brittle, many national tree care companies have policies where they will not put a climber into an EAB infested tree due to safety concerns. If you cannot get a bucket truck out to remove a tree along the course, and getting a climber into the tree safely is also a challenge, it becomes easy to see why having a proactive management plan is far better than a reaction plan.

To Treat or To Remove

Removals will absolutely be part

Page 16

of every EAB management plan and treatments should part of them as well.

Even if the long term plan is to remove all the ash trees, the realities of having a compressed timeframe to do so in has led many managers to see treatments as a way to bide time for a staged removal plan so they are not stuck dealing with 1,000 dead trees on a course. Treatments can be performed by contract applicators, many local tree care companies offer full EAB management services, or treatments can be done by properly trained in-house grounds crews.

Three Ways to Protect Trees

There are three main active ingredients (A.I.) and three different application methods recommended by

universities to manage EAB. A proactive EAB management plan may feature just one A.I. and application method, or it may incorporate a full toolbox of treatment options. Each method and A.I. has benefits and drawbacks, which is why there is not a ‘one size fits all’ approach to EAB management.

Tree injection using the A.I. emmectin benzoate (TREE-age) is a popular method for EAB management.

This treatment has the advantage of protecting trees for 2 seasons and is the only treatment recommended if you are trying to save an infested tree. The

EAB can be treated with the soil injection of an insecticide called dinotefuron.

drawbacks of this method include a relatively higher cost of treatment and longer application time per tree. This means a crew can protected a few number of trees in a given time period, but none the less, this treatment makes sense for many trees in many situations.

photo courtesy of RTSA

The second method is a soil application at the base of the tree using imidacloprid (Merit, Xytect, others). This can be applied by either a simple soil drench method or by soil injection. The upsides of these treatments are the low cost

Page 17

of the product and fast application per tree.

However, these soil treatments cannot be performed in areas of high water tables and have not been very effective on infested trees. The treatments are only effective for one season so they will need to be applied annually. While imidacloprid treatments are no stranger to the golf course manager, effective treatments for EAB require a higher dosage than many turf treatments.

For this reason, be sure you are choosing an imidacloprid with highest label rate allowed as not all the products on the market will protect ash trees over fifteen inches in diameter.

A relatively new option for EAB management comes from a cousin to imidacloprid: dinotefuran (Transtect, Safari). Dinotefuran can be applied to the base of the tree just the same as imidacloprid, but has the advantage of working several times faster. This protects trees in a week or two rather than waiting 2-3 months for imidacloprid, a useful feature if applications of imidacloprid were not done in the spring.

A second application method, systemic

bark spray, has been gaining interest from golf courses lately. The product is mixed with water and sprayed on the lower trunk of the tree. It then enters the vascular system and moves throughout the tree. This method has lower product cost than the soil application methods and it takes just a minute or two to protect the whole tree for a year. This would allow an entire fairway lined with ash to be protected single applicator with a backpack sprayer in under an hour.

As said earlier – EAB is not a difficult pest to control so once you have decided which trees will get which management approach you can start implementing the plan. Keeping in mind that one way or another, EAB will have a cost for every ash tree in your care can help put all the options in perspective.

Do I spend money to remove this tree or spend money to keep this tree? Golf courses that have ash trees – which is seemingly every golf course in the state – will have to make their management decisions in the next few years whether they are ready or not. Are you ready?

About the author Brandon Gallagher Watson is a Communications Director and Tree Health Care Specialist for Rainbow Treecare Scientific Advancements (RTSA). He obtained his education from the University of Minnesota – College of Natural Resources for Urban and Community Forestry and was one of the first participants in RTSA’s summer internship program. An ISA Certified Arborist, Brandon holds a variety of tree industry memberships, including ISA, Arboriculture Research and Education Academy, Minnesota Society of Arboriculture, and California Arborists Association.

Page 18

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(continued from page 8) grounds or working on his game. Jay is newly married to his beautiful bride, Carol, and has inherited two children and three grandchildren. He has been an invaluable asset to Hidden Greens over the years. Imagine that for 20 years, you have had someone at your facility that you could trust completely on any weekend that you are away. I have had the great fortune to be able to take that precious short break, and know that the guy in charge when I am away will always be there for the course. That alone says more about him than my detailing his disease identification skills, or his ability to “sense” a hydraulic leak (both of which come in pretty handy).

which as most of you know is managed

by Bill Gullicks. It is rather unique that there are two independent, privately owned, 18 hole public courses side by side. We have taken advantage of each other over the years in the form of borrowing equipment, ideas, and the occasional emergency irrigation repair coupler.

Hidden Greens was cut completely out of the oak and pine woods that originally was my grandfather’s farm and hunting grounds. We were one of Joel Goldstrand’s early designs, and he was no stranger to tight, wooded, shotmaker tracks. We play only 6,300 from the tips and are a course where position off the tee is more important than blasting away. I still haven’t

As for myself, I am married now learned that lesson, and the driver is for 16 years to my wonderful bride, Lisa, and we have two great boys. Trey still in my bag (actually, I now have 2 drivers). Who doesn’t love a good 120 (nine), and Ryan (six), are the center yard punch out through dozens of of our world. We spend all winter chasing around the metro area playing trees to 15 feet? I recently conceded that we have predominantly poa/bent basketball. The boys are also big into football in the fall. Thankfully, hockey greens with blue/rye fairways. I always is a four letter word in our house. The put the bent first, and that is becoming boys currently look at my job as “work” something of an obvious case of denial. and have yet to realize how great it is

Jay and I would like to welcome going to be to actually grow up on the any of you in the industry to come golf course. I look forward to all of the fun that we will have as a family for play Hidden Greens this spring for years to come. It might help if I would the kick off of the playing season for the MGCSA. The golf events are a play more golf with them instead of great way to enjoy the game and each trying to convince them that picking other. Our entire profession spends sticks with dad is the most fun EVER! way too much time working for the game we love and not nearly enough

I should probably mention time playing it. I try to play in as many something about the course here. We events as possible every year, and am are on a 2 square mile State Game very happy to be able to host one at refuge just south of Hastings. We my home course. share a fence line with Bellwood Oaks, Page 22

On Board: Q & A

with a member of your BOD

An amazing and early spring...a blessing or a curse for golf courses?

Dave Kazmierczak CGCS, Superintendent at Prestwick Golf Club The early spring of 2012 will be both a blessing and a curse for us at Prestwick Golf Club.

We typically do not get a flood of play early spring and this one is no exception. We also tend to open later than most public courses, so we do not see an overabundance of revenue in a situation like this year. If the weather holds out, and it continues to be above average after the Masters, we then tend to see a real spike in play. (continued on page 20)

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On Board:

them to the reality that this season may cost more than any previous season, and especially the private side guys.

However, in a conversation I had with our

The next thing to address is the wear head pro, he stated that the real benefit of an and tear on the course. This is where the highearly, warm start to the year is not necessarily volume public guys are going to feel the most up front. He indicated that studies have proved pain in my opinion. The added rounds in the out that a good initial start sets the tone for the early season when the turf is not growing entire year. That is what we are all hoping for. at full capacity will cause eyebrows to raise We will need it because of the downside of a come June and July when there simply isn’t prolonged season. enough tee space to handle the play. Greens

The first of which is rather obviouswill feel the pressure too, along with fairways more time in the field means an expansion of and rough that will have taken maybe three, to expenses. These expenses were not counted on as much as five or six thousand extra rounds when the budget was made in early December. of punishment. Once again, full disclosure to Degree-day modeling aside, I estimate we are whatever supervisors or co-workers early on anywhere from four to six weeks ahead of pace. may be able to curb some unwanted questions That means four to six weeks extra of mowing and accusations later on this season. and general care if the season concludes at the

Lastly, for the Prestwick maintenance normal time in the fall. That means more labor crew anyway, is how to cope with the lack of time, more mower care time, more fertilizer labor. We rely on a mix of college kids, high and a few more pesticide applications. I am school kids and retirees to get us through the roughly estimating an extra $18,000 to $23,000 season, with two “full-time seasonal” guys to our expense ledger, and that estimate is on to help us in the shoulder months. It usually the conservative side. works out just fine as right about the time we

That is fine and dandy if we are full and need extra mowers, laborers, etc. the college making solid money while we are open, but as kids are getting out and are hungry for work.

I stated, we probably are not. If the weather is (Well, hungry for money, really, but I digress.) in the 50’s and there is any forecast for rain, Not this year. We will need them second week Prestwick resembles a ghost town. One or two of April and they will be a month out. I guess I nice days gets the grass growing, but won’t will have to get used to doing grunt work along fill the tee sheet consistently. That, coupled with the rest of my staff a little longer this year. with the fact that every public golfer is bargain I could try to find a few temporary guys to fill hunting at this time of the year, leaves mid to in the month but that doesn’t seem likely, and high end public courses left out of the early by the time we would have them trained in, I season revenue bonanza. would have a labor issue of too many guys.

For the private course superintendent, it

On the positive side, I like to think we has to be even worse. There is no extra revenue will be ahead of the game when it comes to realized for an early season. If they are lucky, projects. If we are not bogged down with the they do not have to open early but there still routine stuff, we should be able to complete has to be extra expenses for maintenance. It most of our project list before Memorial Day can’t be avoided. I would encourage every which will lend to a better quality course for superintendent to have a good conversation our golfers and a smoother time for the heart with whoever oversees their finances and alert of the season.

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continued.

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The MGCSA wishes to thank sorship of the Turf Disease Solutions seminar held March Club and hosted by SuperinThree industry specialists, Kerns and Kyle Miller shared

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Reinders, Inc for their sponControl and Plant Health 13th at Oak Ridge Country tendent Craig Hendrickson.

Dr. Karen Plumley, Dr. Jim their research and insights in

GCSAA Honors Certified Golf Course Superintendents Jerry Webb CGCS hits twenty-five year milestone Over “Twenty-five percent of GCSAA’s Class A members have achieved the highest level of recognition through the CGCS professional designation,” said GCSAA President Sandy G. Queen, who has also held the CGCS designation for 25-plus years. “This program requires their demonstration of a higher set of competencies in golf course management through testing and practical application.

Employers can feel confident they employ a career professional who has made a strong commitment to professional development.”

participate in 150 hours of continuing education and professional development.

Two-hundred thirty-eight GCSAA certified superintendents renewed their certification in 2011.

To qualify for GCSAA’s competencybased certification program, a candidate must have at least three years of experience as a golf course superintendent, be employed in that capacity and meet postsecondary educational requirements and/ or continuing education points. The candidate’s knowledge, skills and abilities are validated through the development of a portfolio consisting of their responses to skill statements, case-study scenarios and submission of work samples; an onsite inspection of their golf facility; and a rigorous six-hour examination covering competencies relating to agronomic, business, communication, environment and leadership domains.

GCSAA is a leading golf organization and has as its focus golf course management.

Since 1926, GCSAA has been the top professional association for the men and women who manage golf courses in the United States and worldwide. From its headquarters in Lawrence, Kan., the association provides education, information and representation to 19,000 members in more than 72 countries. GCSAA’s mission is to serve its members, advance their profession and enhance the enjoyment, growth and vitality of the game of golf.

Maintaining certified status requires renewal every five years after the initial date of certification. To fulfill certification renewal requirements, a candidate must

Jerry Webb CGCS, at the Riverwood National Vintage Golf Club in Otsego MN was recognized at the Celebrate Certification! reception at the GCSAA Education Conference in Las Vegas last month as attaining 25 years as a Certified Superintendent.

The EIFG is the philanthropic organization of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, and has as its mission to foster sustainability through research, awareness, education, programs and scholarships for the benefit of golf course management professionals, golf facilities and the game.

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Super - N- Site Brandon Shindele, Edina

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a Country Club Presented by John Meyer, Koch Industries

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Super-N-Site

Manners Matter

Former Edina Superintendent, Mike Kelly, introduced me to Brandon Schindele many years ago during one of my frequent sales calls on Mike. The ever professional Brandon would always go out of his way to catch up with me and say, “Hello, Mr. Meyer, how are you today?” I would look around the room and look for my dad. “Mr. Meyer,” I said, “That is my dad. Brandon, my name is John.” Brandon replied, “I know that Mr. Meyer. I just wanted to know how your day was.” Brandon continued that formal address for the years I called on Mike.

explained to me that his father had said that he was not allowed on the greens until he showed “respect for the golf course”.

That respect did not take very long, as you can imagine, as Brandon and his younger brother Patrick grew up on the Oak Glen Golf Course in Stillwater.

Childhood memories, we all have them. Brandon’s favorite was when he was 10 or 11 years old and “the perch were jumping out of the holes.” Brandon and his grandpa, uncle and cousin were ice fishing on Devils Lake, and it was just one of those days when the fish were really looking for a frying pan.

Brandon not only lived on Oak Glen, he worked there too.

He worked there the summers of 1993 to 1997 during high school and college for long time superintendent Pete Mogren.

The Stillwater native started his college career at the University of North Dakota.

Yes, a “Fighting Sioux”, and “Once a Sioux fan always a Sioux fan,” Brandon noted. And he continued, “I might get a little grief over that.” But that grief should be short lived as Brandon did graduate in Brandon: always polite and Turfgrass Science from The University of professional. It dates back to his childhood Minnesota. However, once a Sioux fan and the discipline instilled in him by his always a Sioux fan. father Mike. You see, when Brandon received his first set of golf clubs, his father In 1998 Dave Simeon, Superintendent did not allow him on the greens. Brandon at Edina Country Club at the time, hired Page 30

Brandon as an intern and later as the second assistant. When Dave left Edina in 1999, Edina promoted from within their own ranks, and moved Mike Kelly from first assistant to superintendent.

Mike then promoted Brandon to his first assistant. Brandon was Kelly’s right hand man a number of years before Mike took a position with Bayer Environmental Sciences. Edina Country Club brought in Mike Powers from TPC Twin Cities as the new Superintendent and Brandon continued on as Powers’ First Assistant. Powers left Edina in December 2010 and the hiring from within continued with Brandon being promoted to Superintendent.

the winter months are a time to take a breath and catch up on some of the things you did not get done during the busy season and it is a time to start planning projects for the upcoming golf season. Edina Country Club is no different. Brandon explained to me that even though it was the “off-season” he was still very busy with meetings on various projects the club is planning on doing this spring and summer. One major project the club is planning on is redoing the landscaping in front of the clubhouse.

So this summer when Brandon is out scouting the golf course at 5:30 AM during his morning drive around the golf course, he will need to take a drive by Like most northern area golf courses, the front of the clubhouse to see how the Page 31

project is progressing, which should take about two to three weeks to complete.

Upon interviewing Brandon, his day seemed to be like most superintendents… checking the crew, checking the heights of cut, scouting for disease, checking with Pro Shop, checking the weather, etc. etc. etc. I don’t want to bore anyone with those details. We all know those days of summer are very long and the time on the job probably never ends. But what does Brandon do after he leaves Edina Country Club?

He spends quality time with his bride of five years, Hilary, at their Eden Prairie home. There they talk about their day and catch up on their busy lives. Hilary is a Nurse Anesthetist at Fairview University Hospital and you can probably only imagine the stories she may have. When it comes time for dinner, perhaps Brandon will look into his newly acquired “BBQ Bible” and pick out a recipe for a big fat

Page 32

rib eye and throw it on the charcoal grill until it is pink on the outside and red in the middle. As for the brats, he knows when they are done because they are “popping and spitting back at you”. Now that kind of makes me hungry.

Brandon does a marvelous job at Edina Country Club, but as Brandon notes, he cannot do it alone. He has a wonderful staff of assistants in Jeff Mold, Ben Arvidson, and Brian Grill. I have always heard a good mechanic can make or break a superintendent and there is no better mechanic in the golf industry than “Red” Maenke. Red has been with Edina since 1967. How about that for longevity? Red makes Brandon’s and the crew’s job so much easier. The rest of the crew numbers 32 during the golf season and seven during the off season. So if you are ever in the Edina area, give Mr. Schindele a call and perhaps he will give you a tour.

Edina Country Club

Built: 1923 Initial Architect: Tom Bendelow First Superintendent: Joe Rush (1921-1964) Following Superintendents: Bill Johnson Dave Simeon Mike Kelly Mike Powers Brandon Schindele Recent Renovation Architect: Tom Lehman / Chris Brands Grass: Greens: T1 Creeping Bentgrass Tees: Dominant Extreme 7 Fairways: Dominant Extreme 7 Rough: Bluegrass, Ryegrass, Fescue

Authors note: In January I contacted our NEW Executive Director of the MGCSA, Jack MacKenzie and our NEW Hole Notes Editor Dave Kazmierczak to express my interest in writing an occasional column or article for the magazine. Like any publisher and editor of a Superintendent magazine, they readily accepted my offer.

I thought I could offer a different perspective since I travel 75% of my time outside of Minnesota. My intent is to write an occasional article featuring a current or past member of the MGCSA. In my previous life when I lived in Chicago, I helped their editor out as well, writing articles about current members. I must have started something because the column is still in their monthly magazine today. Today it is called the “Super-N-Site”.

We don’t have a name yet for this column and I don’t want to steal their name, but I will take my idea back and utilize here in Minnesota.

I had the absolute pleasure to sit down with Edina Country Club Superintendent Brandon Schindele a couple of weeks ago. I have known Brandon for close to ten years now and figured he would be a perfect “victim” for my first column on members of the MGCSA. Hole 7 photo on page 22 by Peter Wong Page 33

Ohh la la!!! Golden Valley Golf and Country Club is ready for “The Scramble� a new competition that combines the two biggest four man scramble events hosted by the MGCSA. Jeff Ishe, the Executive Director of Property and Sports Operations, hosts the big event on June 11th. Pictured above is hole number 8, a daring par three with risk and reward for the talented and a lot of fun for the rest of us! See you there.

HERFORT

G o l f

NORBY

C o u r s e A r c h i t e c t s

Phone: 952.361.0644 Fax: 952.361.0645 e-mail: golfnorby@earthlink.net web: www.herfortnorby.com

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In Bounds (continued from page 6) How do they smell? Is the paper soft enough? Warm, water or sanitizer?

Beyond your bathrooms how about the bunker rakes, cups, ball washers and garbage cans. Are they too beyond reproach? Perhaps on opening day, but what about in late August?

Statistically the average golf course allocates approximately 1.5 percent of the annual operating budget (not including water consumption) upon their ‘basic’ amenities and accessories. Wow, wow… no really…WOW, that isn’t a whole lot for a peripheral, yet very personal part of the game that the players take for granted.

Sure one splintered handle upon the course isn’t going to spoil a round but how about three or four, a chipped ball washer, missing tee towels or sun faded flags. Of course they don’t have a lot to do with the basics of golf, but their presentation will effect your players perception of your track and in the long run their expectations.

When the course is great, the weather fine and scores at least average a small blemish in the total picture may be over looked, or even one or two. However, at the end of the summer when everything and everyone is getting a bit weathered and tired even the littlest of things

will shout catastrophic, cataclysmic and abhorrent blasphemies about your management style and or lack there of.

At courses I have worked upon we usually spent one quarter of the national average each year to keep the amenities in par with player expectations. By the end of the year we had fewer rakes than when we started, slightly bleached flags and towels, a couple of chips in the ball washers and spotty cups. Was the experience as good on the last day of the season as it was on April first? Were expectations diminished through out the round as imperfections added up?

Sure excuses can be made for anything and everything including simple wear and tear. But at what price…surely 1.5 percent is a minimal investment in enhancing player appreciation…even if they don’t notice it directly. Their subconscious perceptions will however and the difference may impact their desire to play.

One thing is for certain…the population of Italy and all the tourists who visit wouldn’t tolerate ill kept and nonfunctioning bathroom amenities. And I am darn glad of it! In life if the basics are well kept everything seems to work out in the end.

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Within the Leather

by David Kazmierczak CGCS Greeting and

September. That will not happen here though. salutations This is Minnesota. It never gets too hot here, and from balmy the extra season will be nothing but a blessing Minnesota! for all. Or will it?

Or, as the

I addressed change a couple months locals like ago, and as far as I am concerned, I am getting to call it: “The Spring Breaker’s Paradise.” five quarters for a dollar this spring, maybe six.

Come experience our brown, cool beaches Check with your pro shop to see how much on dark, freshly melted lakes. Enjoy the scrub “change” this “change” in the weather patterns brush starting to leaf out and the last of the is netting your operation. After last season there ginormous parking lot snow piles releasing are plenty of golf courses that can use the extra their watery content. But most of all, enjoy our revenue this year. Yet, how is this very big freshly growing golf courses with tight fairways, change going to affect your operation? soft, receptive greens and none of those nasty

The On Board question in this edition tree leaves to swat down a wayward shot. It’s of Hole Notes asks that question. I encourage paradise! everybody to read it and get some perspective on

If your General Manger or Golf Pro how one superintendent thinks this early season has run this promotional idea past you the last will impact their lives. Hopefully it will get you couple weeks, do not be alarmed. Everybody to seriously think about your situation. The laws gets caught up in the moment occasionally, and of physics state that for every action, there is a can you blame them? The month of March 2012 reaction, for every up, a down, for every good, will go down in the history books as the most a bad. It is called equilibrium and nature has a outrageously, wonderfully warm and sometimes way of making everything right in the end. If that downright hot March ever. Unless, of course, is the case, we may all be in for a very unique you are one of those people who love the snow season, and at minimum, a very long season. and cold. If you are one of those, this is not

As I started speculating at just how the column for you. advanced the growing season was when I was To put it simply, this is the March of writing the On Board article when my foreman my dreams. This is the spring I have been at Prestwick came into my office and started hoping for since I left the Kansas City conversing about a few general topics and ended area 13 years ago. Down there, the course it with a summation in one sentence. A quick, was always waking up around the first short line that summed up one fraction of what week in March, and flying by the third we were about to embark upon in the time ahead. week in March. We always conducted I started thinking to myself what other phrases I spring aerification on the Monday of was going to hear this year that were out of the the NCAA Basketball Championship ordinary. Over the next few days, I didn’t need to game. It was my favorite time of the dream up the questions, comments or concerns, year down there because it was not they came flowing to me in waves from various too long before the heat ramped sources on the golf course. up, and stayed up, until late

They came from the Pro Shop, the Page 36

Restaurant, and the Maintenance Shop. They came from members, staff, and delivery drivers. Everybody had a piece of advice, or an observation, or a general assessment of how great the spring was and how it was going to affect our operation both good and bad. With that much material, how could I comprise the best of them and share with others?

Then it dawned on me- the Top Ten List.

When I was in high school David Letterman had just started up his Late Night Show on NBC following the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

(Some of you reading this probably do not even know who Johnny Carson was which shows my age and kind of depresses me, but I will move on.)

The Late Night Show, which turned into the Late Show currently airing on CBS was a quirky, edgier show than its watered-down mainstream self is now. I used to stay up late whenever I could when I was in high school without getting caught by my parents concerned about my lack of sleep. They had reason to worry. By the time I got to college it was almost a religion with the guys I hung out with to stay up and catch Dave- at least until the Top Ten list came on. The Top Ten list was the highlight of the show, and I guess still is today.

My friends and I would occasionally come up with silly subjects just like on the real show and try to compile a top ten list on our own, usually on top of a few beers. Sometimes we would come up with some pretty funny stuff, until the next morning when we realized we really did not have a clue. I have a lot of respect for the writers of those shows, who have to produce material on a daily basis.

So here it goes- my first real attempt at a Top Ten List after about a 25 year layoff. I tried to pick the best lines both real and imagined for:

“Top ten abnormal things upper midwest superintendents will hear this year”

10- “What’s the big dog doing lapping fairways with a rough mower? Don’t you have people for that?”

9- “Didn’t that Tee on number 14 used to have grass on it?”

8- “I can’t help but notice you have spent your budget on chemicals and fertilizer. It’s June. Care to elaborate?”

7- “I know it’s April 3rd, but why are these greens so slow?” (Maybe not so abnormal)

6- (From a member on March 14th) “Think I should get my crabgrass preventer on my lawn by the end of the week?” For the record: he did.

5- “What are your thoughts on a hybrid Bermuda for the range tee?”

4- “The greens are great but the edges are starting to look like the top of your head.”

3- “Boy you guys are going to have it easy this year!”

2- (March 20th) “Wow look at that tan. Did you just get back from Mexico or something?” (Unfortunately, no.)

…and the number one abnormal thing an upper mid-west superintendent will hear: 1- “Boss, I think the new IPM program is really working. It looks like the mole crickets are eating the goosegrass.”

Despite the various concerns listed above, I do think this will be solid season for most golf courses. Here is hoping that all of you enjoy the ride, take it all as it comes, be prepared for anything and above all take time to smell the flowers along the way.

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