Thursday, May 24
Get a Great Round of Golf and Support a Great Cause that Benefits YOU!
As a golf course superintendent, one of the most important jobs I have is staying up-to-date with technology, chemicals, regulations, and new best practices for managing turf. To stay current and informed, turf managers in Ohio rely heavily on Ohio State University and the associated state and local extension agents. These turf scientists rely on taxpayer dollars, private funding, and the Ohio Turfgrass Foundation to keep cutting-edge research and technical support available to golf course superintendents, lawn, nursery and landscape companies, municipalities, sports turf managers, and the general public.
Unfortunately, the current state budget cutbacks resulting from the nationwide economic turmoil have put these important programs in peril. Key extension and research people with years of knowledge and service are being eliminated to meet the tighter budgets. This is not a good thing for our industry.
You may ask "why does this affect us?" Simply put, it makes your superintendent better, your course better, your bottom line better, and your environment better. With increased public scrutiny resulting from issues like algae in Lake Erie, water quality, pesticide bans, resistant weeds and diseases, increased demand for tourament conditions and shrinking maintenance budgets, the need for research and support has never been greater. Also, these people are there for YOU! Extension support is available to the public for lawn and landscape issues, soil testing, and unfathomable resources and information for the general public.
To answer the need for more funding, the Ohio Turfgrass Foundation has put together a fundraising effort called "Bucks for Turf". There is a great website with lots of good information and more importantly, a fundraising auction including sports tickets, memorabilia, and rounds of golf at some of the best golf courses in the U.S. How about a round of golf with Craig Krenzel at the OSU Scarlet Course? Kirtland CC near Cleveland? (FABULOUS track), NCR? Cog Hill Dubsdread Course? Baltusrol? CIC? You could even bid on a round of golf at Highland with 4 tickets to the Jamie Farr! There are too many to mention, so check out the sites below and get ready to bid! The first items are up for bid starting May 28.
You will get a crack at some unreal golf experiences and help a great cause. It really is a win-win!
Have a great Memorial Day weekend. See you on the course!
Click Here for Bucks for Turf Website and Information
Click Here to go directly to Auction Site
Tuesday, May 15
Sustainability....ugh...not just another buzz word.
I spent some time writing my June newsletter article today. I figured I would give my blog followers a sneak preview.
Recently, I was at a turf maintenance seminar about “sustainability” as it applies to golf course and turf maintenance. It would seem that the word “sustainability” has eclipsed “green” as the buzz word of choice in our industry. Sustainability, as defined by the Golf Course Superintendent’s Association of America is “the integration of environmental stewardship, social responsibility and economic viability as a critical and never-ending goal.” We are focusing not just on doing what is right for the planet and human health, but also keeping the golf and turf industry as a whole profitable and relevant.
In our corner of Ohio, the current state of the golf industry is no mystery. The amount of money spent on rounds of golf and club memberships has declined steadily and dramatically over the last several years. Along with that, the idea of golf courses as water-guzzling, pesticide-laden, environment-wrecking atrocities is still very prevalent. The algae blooms in Lake Erie, drought in 38% of the US, phosphorus issues all over the great lakes and eastern seaboard, and a lingering negative perception by non-golfers all make for a public relations nightmare. I doubt a government bailout would ever be extended our direction.
The other side of this is people like us in the grounds department that depend on the industry not for recreation but for a livelihood. In a recent survey by the Ohio Turfgrass Foundation, the turf industry in Ohio alone accounts for $4.6 billion annually in economic impact and 42,000 jobs between golf courses, lawn care, municipalities, and public entities.
From an environmental perspective, the maintenance of Ohio’s 4 million acres in turf also contributes greatly to the health of the planet. While trees tend to get all of the press, turfgrass is also excellent at sequestering carbon. An average home lawn can sequester 300 lbs of carbon per year, and a single fairway can grab almost 1500 lbs due to the increased density*. According to the US Department of Energy, a 50-year-old hardwood tree only grabs around 127 lbs!
The trick on our end is to manage things carefully so we aren’t putting more carbon into the turf maintenance in the forms of fuel, fertilizer, shipping etc. than we are getting out of the atmosphere. Watching carbon closely benefits the club in controlling costs. Here at Highland, new hybrid fairway mowers, filling unnecessary bunkers, unmaintained rough areas, reduced creek maintenance, more efficient watering techniques, use of more efficient chemicals and fertilizers, and many other small things have combined to get us started in the right direction. New and exciting research, chemicals, fertilizers, sprinklers, techniques, and fuel-efficient machines are coming available constantly. We strive each year to stay up-to-date with all of these and use what we can to move our facility forward environmentally while hopefully loosening up the bottom line and keeping the golf course in great shape.
Sources: *The Benefits of Turf, Pam Sherrat - http://buckeyeturf.osu.edu/, http://www.gcsaa.org/
Recently, I was at a turf maintenance seminar about “sustainability” as it applies to golf course and turf maintenance. It would seem that the word “sustainability” has eclipsed “green” as the buzz word of choice in our industry. Sustainability, as defined by the Golf Course Superintendent’s Association of America is “the integration of environmental stewardship, social responsibility and economic viability as a critical and never-ending goal.” We are focusing not just on doing what is right for the planet and human health, but also keeping the golf and turf industry as a whole profitable and relevant.
In our corner of Ohio, the current state of the golf industry is no mystery. The amount of money spent on rounds of golf and club memberships has declined steadily and dramatically over the last several years. Along with that, the idea of golf courses as water-guzzling, pesticide-laden, environment-wrecking atrocities is still very prevalent. The algae blooms in Lake Erie, drought in 38% of the US, phosphorus issues all over the great lakes and eastern seaboard, and a lingering negative perception by non-golfers all make for a public relations nightmare. I doubt a government bailout would ever be extended our direction.
The other side of this is people like us in the grounds department that depend on the industry not for recreation but for a livelihood. In a recent survey by the Ohio Turfgrass Foundation, the turf industry in Ohio alone accounts for $4.6 billion annually in economic impact and 42,000 jobs between golf courses, lawn care, municipalities, and public entities.
From an environmental perspective, the maintenance of Ohio’s 4 million acres in turf also contributes greatly to the health of the planet. While trees tend to get all of the press, turfgrass is also excellent at sequestering carbon. An average home lawn can sequester 300 lbs of carbon per year, and a single fairway can grab almost 1500 lbs due to the increased density*. According to the US Department of Energy, a 50-year-old hardwood tree only grabs around 127 lbs!
The trick on our end is to manage things carefully so we aren’t putting more carbon into the turf maintenance in the forms of fuel, fertilizer, shipping etc. than we are getting out of the atmosphere. Watching carbon closely benefits the club in controlling costs. Here at Highland, new hybrid fairway mowers, filling unnecessary bunkers, unmaintained rough areas, reduced creek maintenance, more efficient watering techniques, use of more efficient chemicals and fertilizers, and many other small things have combined to get us started in the right direction. New and exciting research, chemicals, fertilizers, sprinklers, techniques, and fuel-efficient machines are coming available constantly. We strive each year to stay up-to-date with all of these and use what we can to move our facility forward environmentally while hopefully loosening up the bottom line and keeping the golf course in great shape.
Sources: *The Benefits of Turf, Pam Sherrat - http://buckeyeturf.osu.edu/, http://www.gcsaa.org/
The great irony of divot repair is that members trying really hard to do the right thing by filling their divots often end up doing more harm than good. Below is an example of this from the edge of #9 fairway. Underneath this pile of green divot mix is a perfectly rectangular and fairly shallow divot. Instead of applying a nice layer of sand to fill the divot, a scoopful was simply dumped and left in place.
There are problems with this that members may not realize. First of all, the time and money we spend blending the mix with seed, compost, sand, and green paint makes me cringe when it is wasted like this. Second, this pile of sand, if not caught before hand, will be drawn onto our cutting units on the fairway mowers. These precision machines are carefully ground and sharpened to cut our fairways at LESS than a half an inch. Sand getting sucked into the unit can severly dull these blades and causing the quality of cut to suffer as well as stress the plant. MOST importantly, the divot will not heal quickly or properly with such an excess of sand piled atop it.
When using our soil-seed mix, please apply just enough to fill the divot and smooth with your scoop, club, or foot. It will help the divot heal more quickly and make me less likely to pull my hair out. Check out the "helpful links" section of the blog for a USGA video on divot repair and filling.
There are problems with this that members may not realize. First of all, the time and money we spend blending the mix with seed, compost, sand, and green paint makes me cringe when it is wasted like this. Second, this pile of sand, if not caught before hand, will be drawn onto our cutting units on the fairway mowers. These precision machines are carefully ground and sharpened to cut our fairways at LESS than a half an inch. Sand getting sucked into the unit can severly dull these blades and causing the quality of cut to suffer as well as stress the plant. MOST importantly, the divot will not heal quickly or properly with such an excess of sand piled atop it.
When using our soil-seed mix, please apply just enough to fill the divot and smooth with your scoop, club, or foot. It will help the divot heal more quickly and make me less likely to pull my hair out. Check out the "helpful links" section of the blog for a USGA video on divot repair and filling.
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| Sometimes less is more! |
Wednesday, May 2
Something's a little different on 13....
If you have played golf in the last two days, you were probably wondering WHAT was going on in #13 fairway bunker. If you played golf after today, you are probably wondering WHERE #13 fairway bunker went. With approval of the grounds committee and board, and in concert with the master plan, we have filled it in.
There are several reasons why this was a "no-brainer" in my mind to eliminate this trap. First of all, it is hidden behind the trees. It offers no aesthetic value, and is not useful as a target for any reason. Secondly, it is located well short of the normal landing area thus only punishes already very poor shots. Third, eliminating pointless traps is a great way to boost maintenance efficiency.
I know changing the course is often frowned upon, but Harold Weber, the course designer was not designing the course for todays longer hitters. Also, there are many traps that have been filled in over the years that were out of play or "double hazards" so to speak. You can see where bunkers have simply been filled on on #9, #14, #1. Unfortunately, these traps were simply filled with garbage (some of them have asphalt, concrete, leftover materials etc...). We are removing #13 entirely, with the goal that it look as if it was never there. There will be some coloration differences with the bluegrass sod that we covered it with, but they will blend out over time.
While it is a change to the original design, I hope we can all agree that in the true spirit of the game, common sense, and course architecture, Highland is better off without it.
There are several reasons why this was a "no-brainer" in my mind to eliminate this trap. First of all, it is hidden behind the trees. It offers no aesthetic value, and is not useful as a target for any reason. Secondly, it is located well short of the normal landing area thus only punishes already very poor shots. Third, eliminating pointless traps is a great way to boost maintenance efficiency.
I know changing the course is often frowned upon, but Harold Weber, the course designer was not designing the course for todays longer hitters. Also, there are many traps that have been filled in over the years that were out of play or "double hazards" so to speak. You can see where bunkers have simply been filled on on #9, #14, #1. Unfortunately, these traps were simply filled with garbage (some of them have asphalt, concrete, leftover materials etc...). We are removing #13 entirely, with the goal that it look as if it was never there. There will be some coloration differences with the bluegrass sod that we covered it with, but they will blend out over time.
While it is a change to the original design, I hope we can all agree that in the true spirit of the game, common sense, and course architecture, Highland is better off without it.
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| The trap was invisible from the tee. Traps should offer aesthetic value, target value, or "risk-reward" value for agressive lines. This trap only punished 165-yard slices into the trees, which is already punishment enough. |
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| First we stripped the sod off of the mounding around the trap. |
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| From either angle, all of the bunker edges were smoothed out. Unlike the other filled in traps on the course like #1 fairway trap and #9 fairway trap, we actually smoothed the grade so that it appears as if the trap was never there. |
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