RGGCSA Spring 2019 SuperNews

The SuperNews OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE RIO GRANDE GCSA

March 2019 President Jimmy Rodriquez Vice President Matt Hughes Secretary / Treasurer Roy Johnson Board of Directors: Paul Kerr Mac Blevins John Adams Matt Urban (Past Pres.)

Vendor Representative Bryan Klock Chapter Executive Carol Cloud GCSAA Field Rep John Walker

President’s Message Good Morning RGGCSA, When I started my first “Presidential” greeting back on Jan 3rd it was minus 3 on my drive in to work and minus 1 at the shop. Hope things are better where you are?

This is my inaugural presidential message coinciding with the 116th Congressional induction of new members of Congress. We have two new members in Washington D.C. representing our state in Deb Haaland and Xochitl Torres Small.

What an honor it is to be the 42nd RGCSA President since 1966. Jim Philomy is listed as the President of the chapter when it began in 1966.

Since then there have been, including Jim, two term presidents, so I may really be the 50th?

The RGGCSA board would like to announce two new members on the RGGCSA board. Both Chad Parron from Sandia and Matt Allen from Los Alamos have resigned from the board effective in November and December respectfully. Chad has pursued a great opportunity in Arizona at Wigwam Golf Club and Matt has resigned from Los Alamos for personal reasons and is deciding his next move currently. We all from the board have wished them well and have thanked them both for their leadership and service to the chapter. We did an internal search among the board in mid-December and two names came up immediately: Mac Blevins from Desert Lakes in Alamogordo and John Adams from New Mexico Tech in Socorro. We sent them both a request to see if they would be willing to fill the one year term positions vacated by Chad and Matt. Both have accepted and have been appointed to serve in the position of Director for the RGGCSA board for 2019. Needless to say we are excited to have them both join us on the RGGCSA board. Service to chapters is an ongoing concern with all chapters in the nation and this was great that two members were willing at very short notice to step up! Thank you again.

Continued on next page.

Jimmy Rodriguez RGGCSA President

President’s Message Continued We had our first meeting of the year down at Horizon Golf Club on Monday, January 21st with our host Marland Singleton. I for one was looking forward to heading south for two days this month.

Austin Turf & Tractor is a continuing Gold Sponsor for 2019 and was the title sponsor of this event.

Thank you Austin Turf for your continuing support.

For the first time in a few years we have sites for all our meetings this year.

Our next meeting in March was a bit different. This event was called the New Mexico-West Texas Golf Summit and held March 10 and 11. We combined with the Sun Country to bring this joint venture together. Both boards met independently Sunday afternoon then convened that evening for general discussions, dinner and presentations. On Monday, both groups had regular member meetings and then a few brave souls joined up for golf on a very soggy day. Plant Nutrient Solutions is a continuing Gold Sponsor for 2019 and was the title sponsor for this event. At our member meeting on Monday, Dr. David Kopec emeritus from University of Arizona was our education presenter and did his usual great job talking turf in a lively manner.

The May meeting is at Rockwind in Hobbs with our host Matt Hughes on Monday, May 20th.

Evergreen Turf is a Continuing Gold sponsor for 2019 and is the title sponsor for this event. This event will also be a bit different as we are joining up at this meeting with the West Texas Chapter of GCSAA. The July meeting is at Black Mesa with our host Aaron Sunderlin and Laurie Meredith, Monday July 15th. Harrell’s is a brand new Gold Sponsor in 2019 and will be the title sponsor of this event. Our Annual meeting will be at Albuquerque Country Club with our host is Joe Dosstter, Monday November 4th. Winfield Solutions is a continuing Gold Sponsor for 2019 and is the title sponsor for this event. We always hope to see you at the meetings in your area of the state. Remember all Superintendents that are not members can attend one meeting to check out what goes on. If there is a superintendent in your area, check see if they might like to go with you to the meeting.

A big heartfelt thank you needs to go out from me to our past two term President, Matt Urban. When Matt took the reigns as President, our current president had just resigned prior to the fall elections. So that was an immediate baptism by fire. All on the board understands, if you want, you can move slowly along to the executive positions. But the prior year had already seen quick change and that was not the case for Matt. With Matt’s service and leadership he has accomplished a lot over the two years as president and we all on the board hope to continue down this path.

Special note to all of our members to please submit articles you may have read or you have crafted to Carol for our newsletter. Vendors you too can submit articles. Projects you are working on, new technology coming down the line in your industry or just about anything you think members might like to read about.

Save the Date!

Joint meeting with the West Texas GCSA Details and registration coming soon at rggcsa.org

Research to focus on irrigating with non-potable water A joint university-industry project will look at better measuring soil salinity and moisture when alternative water sources are used for irrigation.

Jan 17, 2019 | | Originally posted on New Mexico State University News Center

Bernd Leinauer, New Mexico State University Extension turfgrass specialist, and his team have received a $750,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to work on making landscape irrigation scheduling technology more user-friendly, particularly when saline, non-potable water is being applied.

According to Leinauer, the grant is to investigate promising technology already in existence that hasn’t yet been widely accepted or employed. Environmental and computer engineers from the Colorado School of Mines and turfgrass specialists from New Mexico State have partnered with The Toro Co., a major landscape irrigation and maintenance equipment company, to determine how to incorporate soil sensors that measure both salinity and moisture into existing irrigation scheduling technology.

“Soil salinity and soil moisture are two measurements needed when non-potable, saline water is used as a water source,” Leinauer says. “In our project, we are using a market-available salinity and moisture sensor and developing a model that uses these data for irrigation scheduling.”

Continued on next page

Preliminary research has shown that as much as 40 percent of water can be saved or conserved if a soil moisture sensor is used to determine irrigation needs when using potable water. Users tend to overestimate the actual amount of water needed by a landscape area. Unfortunately, soil moisture technology is not widely used, which Leinauer says he finds odd. The problem seems to extend beyond just homeowners, with a lack of acceptance on the professional side as well.

“The other issue that complicates irrigation is that in the Southwest, particularly on larger turf areas, managers don’t use potable water, but rather alternative water sources like recycled water or other non-potable sources,” Leinauer says. “These waters are higher in salinity and salts that will accumulate in the soil, which affects the accuracy of the sensors. Moreover, salinity can affect plant growth, and accumulation in the soil needs to be avoided.”

The team’s project will develop the algorithms needed to use soil sensors that measure salinity and moisture for irrigation technology using non-potable water. They will also be working with The Toro Co. to help this technology gain wider acceptance in situations in which saline or non-portable water is used.

Leinauer and his team are working with Junko Munakata Marr, Ph.D., and Qi Han, Ph.D., from the Colorado School of Mines, and Josh Friell, Ph.D., senior research scientist with The Toro Co. The grant was awarded from the National Science Foundation program “Partnerships for Innovation” and requires that academia join forces with industry. “Our plan is to develop an irrigation algorithm at the Colorado School of Mines that can be used in irrigation controllers by Toro. The technology will be tested in the laboratory and in the field here at NMSU at our turfgrass research station,” Leinauer says.

The turfgrass industry in New Mexico and the Southwest relies heavily on irrigation water. Leinauer says this project could greatly help with the region’s water conservation programs.

“Without water, we aren’t growing anything, but water conservation is equally important, because every time we go through a drought, we learn that we are using more water than we should,” Leinauer says. “So any approach we can take to help with conservation is important.”

NMSU Extension Turfgrass Specialist Bernd Leinauer (Photo left) and his team received a grant of $750,000 from the National Science Foundation to make landscape irrigation scheduling technology more user friendly.

Giuliano Sciusco, (Photo right) a visiting New Mexico State University graduate student from Italy, calibrates experimental soil sensors. Photo courtesy of New Mexico State University

Title Gold Sponsor

What a great day in Horizon City! Thank you Marland Singleton for providing a great day and an even better golf course. A bit on the windy side.. But it’s El Paso, it’s supposed to be windy!

Thank you Austin Turf and Tractor for being our Title Sponsor and helping to make it a great day.

Karl Olson CGCS (right photo) gave a really useful presentation talking about course conditioning and operations. Interesting to hear about Karl’s experience with the USGA and prestigious courses around the country.

Thanks to all who participated and made it a great day!

Champions: (L to R) Robert Gonzales, Dan Blaeser, Jeff Rinard

Runner Ups: Jimmy Rodriguez, Brian Cloud, Anthony Garcia, Brian Hodges

Third Place: (L to R) Paul Cassidy, Steve Hendley, Larry Suzuki, Karl Olson

Photos from our great day at Horizon Golf Club in El Paso

Proximity Winners Marland Singleton (above) Robert Gonzales

Mac’s Journey Board Member Profile

By Mac Blevins | Desert Lakes Golf Course Does anyone want to be a golf course superintendent when they grow up? My first experience with golf course maintenance was as a kid growing up in Montana. My friends and I would sneak onto the country club at night and take golf balls out of one of the ponds. The real fun was dodging the night waterman. We never vandalized the course or anything, but it sure was fun running from those headlights and whoever was behind them.

I attended Montana State University in Bozeman and at the time, I thought I was prepping myself for a career in law enforcement. During my last two years at MSU I got a job working at Bridger Creek Golf Course for Dane Gamble, who was the superintendent and one of the owners. I had a blast there. I learned basic equipment operation and was exposed to the basics of golf course maintenance. I was also introduced to the fact that golf course maintenance is an actual career. MSU had a turf program, and a few of my fellow workers were in the program, and they are still enjoying successful careers in the industry.

Every facility or superintendent that I have worked for has left a lasting impression on me, and I still carry with me and implement those lessons every day. Dane would drive so slowly around the golf course. If he was giving me a ride somewhere it was painful to be in the cart with him driving at a walking pace. One day I asked him why he drove so slow. “What is the rush?” he asked. “You should never be in a hurry on the golf course” he continued. “There are times for speed, but generally you should have time to take your time, do things right and make them look good. Drive slow, look at things, take different routes around the course to see things from all angles.” To this day I hear Dane in my head telling me to slow down and smell the roses.

After graduating from MSU I moved to Denver, still thinking law enforcement was my future. I got a job as a laborer at Castle Pines Golf Club, thinking I would work there until I had saved enough money to go to the police academy. Castle Pines was eye opening. Going from Bridger Creek (daily fee, $250k operating budget) to Castle Pines (ultra-exclusive, God’s $ < Castle Pines’ $) allowed me to see two completely different ends of the golf spectrum. At the time, Castle Pines hosted The International, an annual PGA tournament. At Castle Pines I learned the details that go into maintaining a world class golf course, and that you can fix problems by throwing money at them.

After two years at Castle Pines my plans for the future started to change. I began to think more about a career as a grass janitor and less about being a cop. I explored education opportunities and decided to attend the two-year certificate program at Rutgers. The educational experience in New Jersey was awesome. Although I wasn’t ready to manage my own golf course yet, I now had the base of knowledge to begin my new career as a turfgrass professional.

Several months after graduating from Rutgers I became the assistant superintendent at Heritage Eagle Bend in Aurora, Colorado. Roe Sherbert would be my mentor here for the next 11 years. Eagle Bend is a gated, active adult community with an upper middle-end semi-private golf course. The golf maintenance and HOA maintenance operated out of the same shop, and Roe oversaw both operations. I went from being a fluorescent green assistant who could barely run a five-man project crew to effectively running the golf course. As my skill set grew, Roe was able to step back some from the golf course and turn more of his attention to the HOA side. Eagle Bend was where I became a professional turfgrass manager. Roe taught me how to navigate club politics, and how to handle members and customers. The most important thing that Roe taught me was how to manage and treat your employees.

Continued on page 14

2019

GOLD Sponsors

Title Sponsor - Annual Meeting November, Albuquerque CC, Abq. NM

Title Sponsor - May Meeting, Rockwind Community Links, Hobbs NM

Without your support we would not have a successful association!

Brian Hodges

Title Sponsor - January Meeting, Horizon Golf Club, Horizon, TX

Employee-owned since 2016.

Thank you for your trust in our products and 330+ employee-owners. We are proud to serve you.

ROBERT GONZALES

rgonzales@harrells.com (719) 648 - 3535

Title Sponsor - July Meeting, Black Mesa Golf Club, Santa Clara, NM

Title Sponsor - March Meeting, Sandia Resort, Albuquerque, NM

Roe knew that his success or failure hinged on the crew. Maybe you can’t be the highest paying employer, but by treating people fairly, honestly, and with respect, you can create a positive work environment that allows everyone to succeed.

After a fruitful 11-year run, it was time to fly the nest of Eagle Bend. I accepted the superintendent’s position at Three Lakes Golf Club in Wenatchee, Washington. Three Lakes is a daily fee, non-profit golf course. Luckily there was a lot of low hanging fruit, and we were able to make big improvements to the golf course. I learned a lot of valuable lessons as a first-time superintendent – how to creatively deal with challenges and how to stand on my own. I learned how to sell ideas to boards, and I learned how and when to leave at the end of the day.

I seriously doubt that any of us got into this occupation to get rich. We do what we do because we enjoy the work. That being said, we still have financial needs. I worked four jobs while living in Washington. In addition to my “real” job as a golf course superintendent, I also unloaded trucks at FedEx every morning before going to the course. I also was a liftie at the local ski area, and I plowed snow for a contractor. There was an unfortunate day where I worked all four in one day. I did the FedEx thing, went to the golf course for several hours, went up to the hill to work until dark, and then plowed snow in town until 3 in the morning. As much as I loved Washington, it was time to start looking for a position that didn’t require supplemental income.

So, after three and a half years in Wenatchee, I suddenly found myself driving a U-Haul to Yuma, Arizona. Warm season grass, over seeding, working for the government – what was I getting myself into? A good thing, as it turns out. I got my first exposure to warm season grass, I learned how to operate in a large bureaucracy, and I learned that golfers want to destroy your golf course whether it’s 15 degrees or 120 degrees outside. Overseeding, as much as a pain that it is, is something that I would recommend every turfgrass professional experience. Those two weeks after the seed is down, waiting for it to germinate, are as close as we come to our agricultural roots. You are the farmer waiting to see that crop come up.

Yuma was a valuable agronomic experience, but there were some things that weighed on me. I was managing both an 18-hole regulation course and an 18 hole par 3. I didn’t have an assistant; just a foreman, a mechanic, 3 full-time employees and 4 part-time workers. I felt like I was stretched very thin and couldn’t devote enough time to any one single issue. I also had a crew of 8 inmates from a local state prison that were dropped off every day. The inmates as humans were valuable workers, and they generally did a good job. However, being inmates meant you couldn’t treat them as humans. There were special rules for what they could and couldn’t do, and how you had to interact with each other. For lack of a better term, it turned out to be a lot of babysitting, either for myself or one of my crew. I am a golf course superintendent, not a chain gang boss. Also, it was just too hot in Yuma. Six or more months of highs in the 100’s and lows in the 90’s was miserable for me. You never know until you try.

On a scorching afternoon in early October I found myself on the GCSAA website cruising the job board. I fired off a few resumes and a week later got a call from the City of Alamogordo, New Mexico. After a successful interview and offer of employment, we decided to move again. I am very excited about the opportunity here in Alamogordo. I have a real assistant for the first time in my career, and I have an excellent staff, both in size and experience. I am now only responsible for 18 holes (which is plenty), and get to manage both cool and warm season grass. No overseeding and being 20 minutes from the mountains and a 30-degree temperature difference makes Alamogordo very enticing.

With the Alamogordo chapter of my life underway, I am hoping it is a long one. I am tired of moving.

I have been employed in this industry for 22 years, and I still look forward to the golf course every morning. I have learned so much from the superintendents and facilities that I have worked at, and I continue to learn every day. I still don’t know what I want to do when I grow up, maybe be a baseball player or an astronaut, but until then being a golf course superintendent is just fine.

In March, the Rio Grande GCSA teamed up with the Sun Country Amateur Golf Association, the PGA Sun Country Section and the Sun Country Junior Golf Association to be a part of the NM - WT Golf Summit at the Sandia Golf Event Center.

The two-day event was well-attended by members from all of these organizations and provided many opportunities to interact and network. On Sunday, the board of directors of the RGGCSA participated in the Sun Country Golf Awards Banquet following their regularly scheduled board of directors meeting. RGGCSA President Jimmy Rodriguez was asked to address the audience and did an outstanding job of talking about three major initiatives that the chapter is working on at the present time: 1. The creation of an Environmental BMP manual for the state of New Mexico, 2. Rounds 4 Research, and 3. The GCSAA Grass Roots Ambassador Program.

Jimmy took the opportunity to encourage the Golf Professionals and influential golfers in the room to become aware and involved to support these programs. It was truly an outstanding event and the Rio Grande board was treated with great respect and hospitality. Thank you to Sun Country Golf and Executive Dana Lehner for your hospitality and for coordinating the event. Mr. Lehner is a true friend of the association and stays in close contact in order to enhance all organizations.

Continued on the next page

The highlight of the evening was a keynote speaker named Kraig Kann, formerly of the Golf Channel and the LPGA. He provided a very inspirational talk titled, “Raising Your Game of Influence”.

If you get a chance to check him out on Twitter or his website, you'll be impressed.

@kraigkann

kannadvisory.com

The next day the Rio Grande chapter held their regular March business meeting in the morning. All eyes were peaking outside because the weather was not looking good in the afternoon and golf was shaky at best. New President Jimmy Rodriguez welcomed all attendees and provided a very good rundown of the association's current situation and plans for 2019.

Former president Matt Urban took a moment from the meeting and made a special presentation. Tom Glacken has been a fixture of the Rio Grande chapter for many years. He's the former Chapter Executive of the association and has attended and contributed for many years. For this reason, Mr. Glacken was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award. He was very touched by the recognition and thank the association profusely for this honor. Thank you Tom for your participation, service and leadership. We look forward to many more years of your participation when you aren’t visiting your children and grandchildren across the country in your prized motor home. Safe travels!

Our education speaker was a familiar face to the Rio Grande chapter.

Dr. David Kopec retired Professor Emeritus from the University of Arizona gave an always lively presentation that was very useful and enjoyed by all.

Dr. Kopec with lucky 50/50 Pot Winner Robert Gonzales

Plant Nutrient Solutions was our title sponsor for the day.

Mike Ikes made a quick thank you to all in attendance for their continued business and for the opportunity to support the chapter. Plant Nutrient Solutions has been a Gold Title sponsor since the program was initiated and we appreciate their continued support.

After a great lunch, only a few of the brave ventured out onto the golf course to battle the weather. By all reports, the day actually turned into a pretty tolerable and the golf course was in great condition.

Many of us had the opportunity to meet the new Golf Course Superintendent at Sandia, Bryan Taylor.

Welcome to New Mexico, Bryan! We hope to see you at all of our Rio Grande GCSA events!

Thanks to all who helped make it a great day!

Deep Tine Aeration Spring of 2019 Jimmy Rodriguez Soon we will getting set for another golfing season here in the “Land of Enchantment”. I have written and submitted a previous article about general aeration at my course. In that article I mentioned doing the extra steps to “take the negative and make it a positive” of core aeration. Everything we can do within our power to pick up the cores, fill all holes with sand, removal of excess sand and rolling of the greens promotes this positive thinking. The perception to the golfer becomes less evident, if the greens look almost normal. Yes, there are open holes, minimal surface visible sand and less bumpy putting surface than what they may have come to expect at their own home course. You end up with a happier golfer who was expecting the worst. Tom Watson once shot a 59 on aerated greens and no he was not doing an automatic “TWO PUTT”.

In this article I want to talk about doing vent aeration monthly or as often as you can. Some of you probably already use needle tines, or .25 inch (1/4”) spike tines, or bayonet tines, or use a Planet Air. In my case I do a deep solid tine with 8” depth .3125 inch (5/16”) solid tines and I also use my Toro 648 with a 6” depth .25 inch (¼”) solid tines.

I wish to do a disclaimer at this time that both of these operations are beyond manufacture recommendations but sometimes you have to go there and make it work!

My monthly venting program starts sometime early March with a deep tine of all of my 31 greens prior to my spring core aeration later in the month.

Continued on page 22

Brian Hodges New Mexico and El Paso Account Manager brian.hodges@austinturf.com (505) 710-3477 or toll free: 800-528-4290

For the deep tine aeration we use a John Deere 5055E tractor and a Weidemann Terra Spike aerator equipped with JRM 11.35” 8mm dimple solid tines. I crank the depth up to 7.25” and have the aerator set at 10 on the pitch.

This height adjustment puts the tine down and in the green right at 8” which is the working depth of the Terra Spike.

Before starting a new green the height is lowered one full turn on the height adjustment bar. This allows us to keep our depth at 8”- 7.5 “over the nine to ten greens per set of tines. I drive in “A” range and 1st gear. You have to start moving towards the green then as you clear the collar start the PTO and lower the aerator quickly. Leaving the green is the reverse. Look backwards and when the aerator is just about to the collar raise the aerator and shut off the PTO quickly. At that speed I can achieve a 2.5” hole spacing! But this is more like art than aerating with these small 5/16th inch tines.

You quickly find out to go straight and stay off the collars.

It has been a real learning process! I have bent many tines finding all the buried elephant in my greens and my collar edges.

Using a large tractor on your greens can be a bit tricky but it can be done. I am including several pictures of the process. You will see from the pictures the success and some trial and error on my part. I run the tractor and the aerator so the oops that happen fall on my shoulders.

The deep root hairs are carbohydrate storage for the plants and are a welcome site.

I have done this in the hot month of June just before monsoonal rain in July.

I hope this gives you some food for thought about doing deep tine aeration in the future. Venting of any kind is always beneficial to the course and for the most part unnoticed by golfers.