student symposium a success

On Friday November 27th the first year class of turfgrass management  students at the University of Guelph held a symposium at the Guelph Cutten Club.  The symposium featured 3 excellent speakers and a short video and speech on Syngenta.  Our class of approximately 30 students raised almost five thousand dollars and had 120 filled seats of superintendents, lawn care specialist, and many more industry professionals.

The three speakers were Dr. Tom Hsiang who is a disease professor at the University of Guelph who spoke on some organic methods to controlling turf diseases, Ron Scheidel, president and co-owner of GreenHorizons Sod Farm who spoke on his family business and how they have diversified over the years, and Keith Bartlett, superintendent of St. Georges Golf Club who spoke on maintenance he is doing to prepare for the 2010 Canadian Open.  All the speakers were great and well appreciated by the audience.

My personal favorite was Keith Bartlett’s presentation on how St. Georges is preparing for the Open.  He emphasized on doing things right if you are going to major projects.  I also had the opportunity to speak with Keith about possibly doing my summer internship at St. Georges which I believe would be a great experience for myself.  To work on and make a product for PGA golfers to play on would be unbelievable.  He also stated there would be nothing happening to the 3rd green for the Open.

Pesticide free for 10 years

The city of Waterloo has been practicing pesticide free sportsfields for the past ten years.  Therefore, the recent cosmetic pesticide ban  in Ontario has not played a part in their operation at all.  City of Waterloo sports field supervisor and manager Trevor Hunter says: ” It is just something we have done and have learned to deal with.” Running a sportsfield operation is not the easiest thing to do.  This type of operation requires continuous attention to the fields, and a lot more cultural practices that consist of aerification, vertical cutting, over seeding, and even top dressing.

Not only has Trevor Hunter made all of the sportsfields pesticide free for a long period of time, he has also taken on some of his own practices as well.  While working with the city to rotate soccer games he will seed the goal mounds where there seems to be the most wear and tear of turf, he then places a large tarp over the new seed for two weeks to allow the seed to germinate with no disruption.  He also states that there will be some weeds on his fields but that is something that he has learned to tolerate over his years as a manager and he says the people using the fields tolerate it or don’t even notice  it anymore.

After running a pesticide free operation for the past decade, the city of Waterloo has saved a lot of money on pesticides and have contributed to a healthier surrounding in their city.  While other cities and sportsfield managers are struggling with the pesticide ban, Trevor and his staff are just going amongst their day to day jobs the same way they always have.

 

U of G summer internship program

Being in a two year turf management program is unlike any other University or College program.  It is very hands on, intense, and challenges students with real life situations.  One requirement to graduate is to complete a 15 week internship between your first and second year.  Although most students only do the 15 weeks you can take an extended internship and experience a different climate or region of the world in places like the Southern United States, South America, or Australia…just to name a few.

In the past, students have experienced internships at world class golf courses like Glen Abby, TPC Sawgrass, and even St. Andrews in Scotland.  With the first semester coming to an end students should have a good idea of where they want to do their internship and what they are expecting from their internship.  Whether it is going back to their home course, or going to a high profile club, it is all about what is right for you and what you want to get out of your experience.

For some students their internships will just be another summer job, but for most us, it will be considered the start of our professional career in the turf industry.  As for myself, I am hoping to get the most out of this opportunity that is possible.  I hope that when my internship is over I will have  more turf knowledge overall before entering  my second year with a great reference and also a chance to return to that course when I am done at the University of Guelph.

 

 

 

turf in tough times

On friday November 27th my classmates and I are hosting a symposium at the Cutten Club golf course in Guelph ON.  The theme of the symposium in Turf in tough times, doing more with less, and will address what different parts of the turf industry are doing to save a buck or two in these tough economic times.  We have a great list of speakers that consist of Ron Scheidel who is president of Green Horizons Ltd.( Leader in the local sod industry), Dr. Tom Hsiang, a University of Guelph turfgrass professor, and Keith Bartlett, who is the superintendent at St. Georges golf club, which is hosting the 2010 Canadian Open.

The symposium is calling out to all sectors of the industry including sod, golf, sports field, and lawn care.  The speakers will cover a wide range of the industy and  how they are managing there professions in the decline. From the cosmetic pesticide ban, to a decrease in budget on a golf course,  or from the scientific side of the industy .

Although there are three great speakers I am looking most forward to Keith Bartlett from St. Georges and how he is managing his course for a PGA tournament in July of 2010. The 27th should be a great day enjoyed by everyone who attends and will be a learning experience for most.  If you have an interest in what is happening in this rapidly changing industry you will not want to miss this experience.

Struggle to grow turf in the vally at the Abby

Glen Abby golf club(Jack Nicholas design) is one of Canadas premium daily fee golf courses and also host to the past two RBC Canadian Opens.  My classmates and I had the privilege to have a tour of the course and to talk about some of the issues of housting a PGA tour event.  One of the major issues that Scott Bowman( course superintendent) faces is keeping turf alive on some of the  holes at the Abby known as the vally holes.

The vally holes sometimes can only see upto two hours of sunlight a day which is very hard on the plant and for photosynthesis to occur in such short amount of time.  Scotts says it is even harder in the fall when there is less sunlight and daylight hours.  These four or five greens need extra maintenence such as more aerating, verticutting, grooming, topdressing, and fertilizer.  More of the cultural practices and not just getting out the sprayer.

The average golfer might see some of these greens today and believe that they are not upto par for such a high profile golf course.  When in fact they don’t take mother nature into consideration,  or they could stop for two seconds and think about the atmosphere around them or educate themselves about it.  Scott does the best of his ability to keep these greens beyond playable.  I can also say that they were mint for the Canadian Opens because I witnessed them myself  as I was a spectator at the Open.

Go Big or Go Home For Lambton

This past week my classmates and I took a field trip to the Lambton Golf and Country club in Toronto, Ontario.  Lambton is undergoing a full reconsrtuction on their golf course. This full reconstruction includes the excavation of over 400 trees, and a designer who will redesign their whole course.  The main reason for Lambton’s full reconstuction was to build a water resevoir that will be able to irrigate the golf course.  In the past, Lambton used three architects who designed their course and it was said that they lacked the golf course character that some other golf courses did not in their area. Presently, Lambton has hired one architect who is going to give the Lambton Golf and Country Club a character of its’ own.
 
It is very evident that Lambton is not experiencing a capital issue. Their expensive reconstruction project includes hiring of a world renown architect by the name of Reese Jones, they have changed to all USGA greens, bentgrass fairways and greens, and they have been importing loads of topsoil to place over their native soil, and a brand new irrigation system. Assistant Superintendent Chris Thompson states that he is very thrilled that he has and is going to be a large part of this reconstruction.

Someone might say it is the right time to do a major project like this. I believe for a golf club like this, and with the budget they have, why not?  After the project is finished it is said that Lambton will be one of the GTA’s nicest courses, and Reese Jones states that it might possibly be one of the nicest looking and playing holes in the country.  When all is said and done, I believe this large reconstruction will attract more members and give golfers an amazing golf experience everytime they step foot onto the Lambton Golf and Country Club.

Not Just Sod

If you were to ask someone who Green Horizon Group of farms were, they are most likely not going to be able to tell you.  But if you have sod in your front yard in Ontario there is a good chance in came from them.  Green Horizon farms over 5000 acres of sod across Ontario.  Other then sod they provide basically the full landscape, from mulch to topsoil, and have their own fertilizer franchise. They are willing to go above and beyond with next day delivery if specified.

 

Starting in 1975 with 35 acres to over 5000 today they have come along way.  In 1998 they invested in a golf course and built Willow Valley using all their own sod and seeding practices to start out.  In season they have 200 employees and 60 in the winter. In the early 90’s there was a huge innovation in the sod industry.  The automatic sod stacker was produced and was about to cut labour in half and do a lot of work in less time.  Green Horizon invested 1.4 million dollars in 6 of these machines.

 

From a small 35 acre family farm to over 5000 acres, a fertilizer, and a topsoil business. I think that Green Horizon has invested their money well and made good business decisions throughout their career.  If you are thinking about doing a major sod renovation or just a small job in your back yard be sure to talk to these guys and go with the best sod in the business.

Keeping Your Members Happy

One of the greatest challenges of being a golf course superintendent is that of keeping your members happy.  There is always the selective group of golfers who believe that the golf course should be in tip top shape everytime they step foot on the first tee. However, golfers do not know how hard the superintendent and their crew are working, or that they were out on the golf course until two or three a.m. aerating and topdressing in order for members to be able to tee off first thing in the morning and so the course does not have to be closed during the day.

This past golf season I experienced many unsatisfied golfers.  Not because the golf course was in bad shape, but for reasons that they would not understand due to the fact that they are uneducated with golfcourse turf issues.  Some of these issues consist of bunkers having no sand, and slow greens.   Meanwhile, it  could have rained two inches the night before and your bunkers would be soaked and packed down and your greens would be so saturated that you could not cut them that day.  These issues are more to the extreme but I think you know what I mean.

I feel that there is a need for golfers and members to become more knowlegdeable about what is talking place at their golf club and to be more involved with the superintendent.  I think some golfers are starting to ask more questions and that they are becoming more familiar to issues that are taking place.  However, I also believe that superintendents should attempt to keep members informed and upto date by possibly doing things such as blogging or posting daily or weekly updates in the pro shop.