CHIPS & PUTTS OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE POCONO TURFGRASS ASSOCIATION www.ptga.org Founded in 1936 VOL. 15 NO. 8 October 2009 October Meeting and Annual Election Glenmaura National Golf Club Jeff Koch, GCS Glenmaura National Golf Club will be the host for the final meeting of the 2009 golf season. This meeting will also be our Annual Meeting and Election Meeting. Attendance this year has been great thus far, and this gathering should also be another good one. Jeff Koch will be our meeting host. Jeff has been superintendent at Glenmaura National since October 2004. Prior to Glenmaura Jeff held the position of golf course superintendent at Wyoming Valley Country Club from July 2000 until taking the reins at Glenmaura National. Jeff also worked at Glenmaura as an assistant from 1998 to 2000 and before that was at Talbot Country Club in Maryland. Jeff is assisted by Lester Lear and Jack Rude, both graduates of Penn State University. Lester worked previously at Wyoming Valley Country Club and at Aronimink Country Club. Jack began his career out of school right here at Glenmaura National Golf Club. Glenmaura National was designed by Dr. Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry. The club was opened in 1993. The course is 6990 yards and plays to a Par 71. The course rating is 75.4 and slope is 149. Jeff and the staff are currently working on cart path installations, tee and bunker renovations, and rough renovations. They have completed the renovation of green and tee irrigation and installed new controllers to accommodate the additional heads. Both Eagle Irrigation and the Glenmaura staff were used to do this work. Glenmaura National is laid out on a 150 acre site with 4 ¼ acres of greens, 4 acres of tees, 30 acres of fairways, 30 acres of maintained rough and the rest of the area comprised of low maintenance fescue areas. The operation is run out of a 2500 square foot maintenance facility located at one end of the property. Another interesting fact about Glenmaura National is that the water for the irrigation system comes from a lake above the property and the elevation difference allows for irrigation using only gravity to supply the required pressure without the need for a pump station. After golf we will hold our annual elections for the PTGA Board of Directors. This is a great way to see (Continued on page 3) Page 2 President's Message..... Officers & Directors 2009 I would like to thank Scott Schukraft and Mark McCormick for hosting the September meeting at Huntsville. 90 players is the most I can remember at a meeting other than a clam bake. It was a terrific day, and hopefully, we can find our way back for another meeting. PRESIDENT Darrin Larkin, Panorama Golf Course Congratulations to the MET teams, I heard they finished in the middle 570-222-9260 of the pack. At least they weren’t last. Also, the PTGA sponsored a VICE PRESIDENT foursome for the outing at Lehigh C.C. to benefit Ed Zimmerman and Rick Anglemyer, Water Gap CC 570-424-6391 his family. The day was successful in raising a substantial amount for Ed and his family. TREASURER John Downer, Elkview C.C. 570-840-0078 Jeff Koch will be hosting the October meeting at Glenmaura National SECRETARY on the 15th. It is the annual election meeting. If anyone is interested in Ray Wadell, Elmhurst CC serving on the Board of Directors, please contact a Board member. 570-842-4705 Hope to see you there. DIRECTORS Steven Chirip, Grass Roots, Inc. 973-418-3468 Matthew Brown, Philadelphia Turf Darrin Larkin 215-340-5401 Greg Boring, Glen Oak C.C. 570-586-5791 Patrick Knelly, Sugarloaf Golf Club 570-384-4724 Editor’s Notes….. Thomas Height, Frosty Valley C.C. 570-275-4266 Chris Snopkowski, Wyoming Valley C.C. __________________________ CHIPS & PUTTS STAFF EDITOR Jim Gurzler, George Schofield Co. Well, our last regularly scheduled golf meeting is here and this 732-433-5474 means our annual elections are coming up. I would like to thank jim@gurzler.com Darrin Larkin for his service these past two years as president and Managing Editor wish him a great deal of success on the lecture circuit. I don’t think Melinda Wisnosky he will pull down what Clinton does, or maybe he will if we can get 570-388-2167 him drunk enough? Editorial Committee Darrin Larkin Matt Brown Should you like to get on the Board there are always spots Past President open on various committees to slowly get your feet wet. The Board Duane Schell, Blue Ridge Trail G. C. can never have too much help and your involvement allows us the 570-868-8113 opportunity to better grasp the needs of the membership. As an FYI, djschell@epix.net a bulk of the meetings for the Board take place in the winter when things are slow so you shouldn’t worry about not having enough time to give to the Association. Any in season work can be done via email or phone. So come on out and join the Association. Good luck this fall as the weather has already shown signs of winter. Hopefully, those aerating late will get good healing and the PTGA Office R.R. 1, Box 219 winter weather won’t come on too strong. Enjoy the holidays that Harding, PA 18643 are coming up and begin those family times with good health. Phone/Fax: 570-388-2167 Any opinions expressed in this publication are those of Jim Gurzler the author and/or person quoted, and may not represent the position of PTGA. Information contained in this publication may be used freely, in whole or in part, without special permission, as long as the true context is maintained. We would appreciate a credit line. Page Page 3 3 (Continued from page 1) that the association is working for you and your needs. If you would like to be on the Board speak to our outgoing president Darrin Larkin and make your interest known. It is a great way to give back to the Association. Support the Association and join the Board. or serve on a committee. This month, Grass Roots will be our meeting sponsor. Thanks to Steve Chirip of Grass Roots and Kevin Collins of Aquatrols for helping out. Thanks also to Jeff and the staff at Glenmaura National Golf Club for hosting the Pocono Turfgrass Association once again. Locations in NY, NJ, PA, CT Ph 973-379-9314 Fax 973-379-6504 Contact Fred Rapp Mike Yarussi Ken Givens Suppliers of all your irrigation needs Page 4 Suppressing Earthworm Casting James A. Murphy, Ph.D., Extension Specialist in Turfgrass Management & Bradley S. Park, Sports Turf Education and Research Coordinator but none represented more than 15% of the total Introduction population surveyed. Thus, Lumbricus terrestris is very The last month of summer typically brings likely the major earthworm species causing castings cooler weather and a steady increase in soil water problems on golf courses in the NJ/NY metropolitan reserves, which can ease irrigation demands and im- area. prove the vigor of golf course turfs. Unfortunate for Management Effects on Earthworm Casting some, these environmental conditions can also signal We have conducted management trials on the return of very active earthworm casting. two golf courses in the metropolitan area (Knollwood Earthworms can be found throughout world; Country Club and Meadow Brook Hunt Club). These however, few people realize that many species of trials evaluated the effect of several management earthworms were introduced in many places around practices on casting activity including fertilizer type, the globe including North America. Some research liming, acidification with sulfur, sand topdressing, and studies have evaluated the activity of earthworms the combination of sulfur application and sand top- introduced into forest ecosystems for potentially dressing. At the initiation of trials, earthworm casting harmful effects. was very active at Knollwood Country Club (KCC); Earthworms are typically active in the upper whereas, casting had been a problem but was cur- soil layer when the weather is cool and moist and rently limited at Meadow Brook Hunt Club (MBHC). some species will emerge from burrows to feed on We evaluated a number of fertilizers sources surface organic matter. The organic matter and soil that included the general types of i) natural organic, ingested by earthworms is mixed during digestion and ii) synthetic slowly available and iii) synthetic water then excreted as castings. Some earthworm species soluble. Three fertilizer sources of each type were will cast within the soil and rarely present a problem used in the trials. The fertilizer effect on casting ap- on golf course turfs. However, other species cast on peared to be related to the initial level of casting at the surface. In some soils, earthworm castings make the trial site. At MBHC, where casting was initially very up as much as 50% of the soil aggregates. Earthworms low, a fertilizer effect was not evident until the third will move deeper into the soil during dry periods but season of the trial when organic fertilizers doubled the will emerge from the soil when burrows are flooded by number of castings compared to either synthetic type rains. of fertilizer. No consistent differences in casting Species that cast on the soil surface can de- among fertilizer types were found at KCC where cast- posit up to ¼ inch of enriched topsoil per year. The ing was very active at the start of the trial. Thus, fertil- beneficial effects of castings include improved nutri- izer type may be more important on sites were cast- ent availability, soil aeration, and drainage, break- ing is not already high but there exists the potential for down of thatch, and stimulation of microbial activity. casting to increase (that is, earthworms are present The negative effects of castings on golf course turfs but casting activity is low). include dulling of mowers and the smothering grass, Liming produced a very small increase in cast- which decreases uniformity and playability of turf. ings in the trial at MBHC but the increase was so small Earthworm castings are also ideal seedbeds for the that it probably would not be detectable by a super- germination of weed seeds. Earthworms are also a intendent or golfer. Liming had no effect on casting food source for moles, skunks and other animals that at KCC where casting was already very active. Thus, dig while foraging for earthworms. stimulation of casting may be more likely with the use Earthworm Species on Golf Courses of organic fertilizer than liming. Our survey of earthworm species on seven golf Not surprisingly, topdressing had no effect on courses in New Jersey and New York collected 1,514 casting at MBHC where casting activity was already earthworms representing 8 species. Nearly one-half very low. However, earthworm casting was reduced (48%) of the earthworms collected were the species, by as much as 50% after three seasons of topdressing Lumbricus terrestris, also known as the night crawler. at KCC where casting was very active. This species is well known for creating deep, vertical Applications of elemental sulfur produced the burrows. These burrows are typically covered by mid- most rapid and dramatic effect of all treatments, re- dens (casts). Other earthworm species capable of ducing earthworm casting within the first season of casting at the soil surface were found in our survey (Continued on page 7) Page 5 Results from Huntsville Golf Club Our September meeting was a tremendous success! Thanks to Scott Schukraft and Mark McCormick for treating us to this great Rees Jones design. The day was wonderful from the lunch to the dessert and the golf in between. We had a greater attendance at Huntsville than we did at this year’s clambake which in and of itself should show the respect our Association has for this great golf course. Thanks to Mark Kuhns, Director of Grounds at Baltusrol Golf Club and our current GCSAA president for making the trip out to speak to our Association about the state of GCSAA and what services GCSAA offers beyond those seen in the forefront. All scoring was done using the Stableford System. This month we had our prizes broken down into Mem- ber and Guest classes. The following results were: Guest: Member: First Place Warren Savini with a 64 First Place Chris Butler with a 63 Second Place Tom Collum with a 58 Second Place Steve Chirip with a 57 Third Place Jerry Decker with a 56 Fourth Place Ian Kunesch with a 54 Skill Prizes were awarded as follows: Long Drive Chris Butler Closet to the Pin #15 Ron Wilchak Closet to the Pin #3 Tom Height Closet to the Pin #17 Ian Kunesch Closet to the Pin #5 Chris Butler Thanks go to Pocono Manor for being very generous and for bringing up a foursome. Thanks also for those great prizes for our participants. Thanks go out to our meeting sponsors Finch Equipment and John Deere Landscapes for helping with our meeting, as well. Page 6 Darin S. Bevard, Senior Director have a chance to dry on the turf before they are traversed by maintenance or golfer traffic. October 9, 2009 Now is a good time to take a look at tree plantings Regional Update and their impact on fine turf areas. We often fo- cus on sunlight penetration during the summer months, when in fact, fall and winter sunlight is The first prolonged period of cool temperatures has every bit as important. Often times, poor growing been accompanied with a drier weather pat- environments compound problems, especially on tern. Leaves are falling and are being cleaned-up putting greens. Bad growing environments pro- daily to minimize their impact on playability. Yes, fall duce weak turf. These are the first greens to ex- is here, and golfers are enjoying some of the best perience mechanical damage and other prob- playing conditions they have seen all season. There lems that lead to a decline in playability. During is still a lot of time to enjoy your favorite course. the fall when weather is favorable for recovery, One problem that continues to plague golf courses is sunlight penetration to these greens is generally earthworm casts, especially in fairways. The cooler worse because of the sun angle that slows recov- weather with some timely rainfall has provided ideal ery. If trees are not removed to improve the grow- conditions for earthworm casting activities. There is ing environment, this cycle will repeat itself to little that can be done to reduce casting activities, some degree year after year. Evaluate morning but maintenance programs can be implemented to shade patterns on greens and consider tree re- reduce the impacts that these casts cause. Mowing moval for the benefit of the grass that the game is fairways when they are dry can reduce the smearing played on. Hopefully, the fall weather continues to of worm casts and limit the amount of grass that is be reasonable to maximize golf participa- affected. It also reduces the impacts on mowing tion. With the wet spring and summer weather, quality. In some cases, dragging fairways prior to many golf courses need it! mowing will help to breakup casts. Remember, if you Always remember, the Mid-Atlantic Region have a bad earthworm casting problem, slightly in- agronomists are part of your agronomic support creasing nitrogen fertility will increase the grass team. If you have a question or concern, give us growth rate allowing better recover. Earthworm ac- a call or send an e-mail. Stan Zontek tivity is a sign of good soil, but it can create problems (szontek@usga.org) and Darin Bevard for maintenance and playability. (dbevard@usga.org) at 610/558-9066 or Keith In the southern portion of the region, bermudagrass Happ (khapp@usga.org) at 412/341-5922 fairway overseeding has begun at the few facilities that still use this practice. Pre-seeding applications of sulfonyl urea herbicides to control Poa annua have been performed or soon will be. Be careful with the timing of these applications. In more than one in- stance, these herbicides have been tracked onto bentgrass greens with mowers and/or foot traf- fic. Yellow, thinning turf can cause any superinten- dent to lose sleep. In most instances, the damage has been superficial, but be sure that these products Page 7 (Continued from page 4) tion increased from 60% on non-sulfur plots to 77 and application at both golf courses. Reduced casting 83% on plots treated with elemental sulfur at 4.5 and from sulfur application was observed throughout all 9.0 pounds per 1000 square feet, respectively, in the years of both trials and was as great as 97% compared trial at KCC. In a trial conducted at Forest Hill Field to untreated plots. Unfortunately, the potential to Club, elemental sulfur applied at 9 pounds per 1000 scorch (or burn) turf is the major concern with applica- square feet in March reduced the annual bluegrass tions of elemental sulfur (elemental sulfur is a strong population decreased from 51% to 20% by August. It acidifying soil amendment). As result, we initiated trials should be noted that turf suffered from scorch at to identify the maximum rate of sulfur that can be ap- these greater rates of sulfur application in these trials, plied without risk of scorching the turf. Although still which would very likely be objectionable to superin- preliminary, we have applied up to 3 pounds elemen- tendents and golfers. Therefore, further evaluation of tal sulfur (90% S) per 1000 square feet in a single appli- elemental sulfur rate effects on scorch and species cation during spring or late summer without damaging populations is needed before we can make sound fairway turf. It is important to mention that we have recommendations. used either a dispersible micro-granular or wettable Accordingly, we are interested in speaking powder formulation of elemental sulfur in our trials. We with superintendents that may have fairway sites suit- have purposely avoided using a product formulated able for further evaluations of elemental sulfur appli- as large sulfur granules, which will concentrate too cation. We are seeking trial areas of approximately much sulfur in one spot and very likely scorch (burn) 75- by 75-feet that would be reasonably uniform in the low-cut turf around those large granules. Scorch soil type and exposure. A reasonably uniform distribu- from excess elemental sulfur is slow to develop and tion of turf species and/or moderate to intense earth- takes a while to dissipate, so you want to avoid it. worm casting would also be desirable for our studies. We have noted an interesting side effect ob- Please contact Jim Murphy at mur- served in some of the sulfur trials; there was a popula- phy@aesop.rutgers.edu or 732-921-1683 if you are tion shift of the mixed-species fairway turf after ele- interested in discussing an elemental sulfur trial at mental sulfur application. Creeping bentgrass popula- your golf course. The Month of November is upon us and the Holiday Season draws near. The PTGA Board of Directors would like to wish the Members of the Pocono Turfgrass Association and their Families... A Very Happy Thanksgiving! Chips & Putts PATRON SPONSORS AERIFICATION AND OVERSEEDING IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE Andre & Son, Inc. John Vojick 570.278.1131 Atlantic Irrigation Ken Givens 973.379.9314 Rich Gdovin 570.278.1131 Finch Services, Inc. Joe Jaskot 215.534.2903 Finch Services, Inc. Paul Brandon 215.661.0390 Turf Equip. & Supply George Skawski 610.554.9366 Lawn & Golf Chris Butler 710.933.5801 Matt Brown 484-357-6312 EQUIPMENT PLANT PROTECTANTS Aer-Core, Inc. Dennis DeSanctis 610.608.3181 Andre & Son, Inc. John Vojick 570.278.1131 Andre & Son, Inc. John Vojick 570.278.1131 Rich Gdovin 570-278-1131 Rich Gdovin 570.278.1131 Fisher & Son Bob Seltzer 610.704.4756 Finch Services, Inc. Paul Brandon 216.661.0390 Genesis Turfgrass Brian Bachman 484.661.6105 Joe Jaskot 215.534.2903 Jim MacLaren 570-443-7154 Lawn & Golf Chris Butler 610.933.5801 Grass Roots, Inc. Steve Chirip 973.418.3468 Turf Equip. & Supply Matt Brown 484.357.6312 Lawn & Golf Chris Butler 610.933.5801 George Skawski 610.554.9366 Syngenta Lee A. Kozsey 610.861.8174 FERTILIZER SEED & SOD Andre & Son, Inc. John Vojick 570.278.1131 Andre & Son, Inc. John Vojick 570.278.1131 Rich Gdovin 570.278.1131 Rich Gdovin 570.278.1131 Fisher & Son Bob Seltzer 610.704.4756 East Coast Sod & Seed Kevin Driscoll 609.760.4099 Genesis Turfgrass Jim MacLaren 570-443-7154 Fisher & Son Bob Seltzer 610.704.4756 Brian Bachman 484.661.6105 Genesis Turfgrass Brian Bachman 484.661.6105 Grass Roots, Inc. Steve Chirip 973.418.3468 Jim MacLaren 570-443-7154 Lawn & Golf Chris Butler 610.933.5801 Grass Roots, Inc. Steve Chirip 973.418.3468 Lawn & Golf Chris Butler 610.933.5801 TOPDRESSING / SOIL AMENDMENTS GREEN AND TEE SUPPLIES Andre & Son, Inc. John Vojick 570.278.1131 Andre & Son, Inc. John Vojick 570.278.1131 Rich Gdovin 570.278.1131 Rich Gdovin 570-278-1131 Blue Ridge Peat Farms Gene Evans 570.443.9596 Fisher & Son Bob Seltzer 610.704.4756 Fisher & Son Bob Seltzer 610.704.4756 Genesis Turfgrass Brian Bachman 484.661.6105 Genesis Turfgrass Brian Bachman 484.661.6105 Jim MacLaren 570-443-7154 Jim MacLaren 570-443-7154 Grass Roots, Inc. Steve Chirip 973.418.3468 Grass Roots, Inc. Steve Chirip 973.418.3468 Lawn & Golf Chris Butler 610.933.5801 Lawn & Golf Chris Butler 610.933.5801 Support our Sponsors - They support us! PTGA MEETING SCHEDULE POCONO ROUNDUP 2009 Golf Schedule Condolences Nov 4 Sporting Clays Our condolences to Duane and Mary Schell on the Pocono Manor passing of Mary’s mother. Duane is superintendent of Blue Ridge Trail and our outgoing Past President. Nov 10-12 Penn State Turf Conference State College, PA Congratulations Nov 10-12 GCSANJ Crystal Conference Congratulations to Derrick Hudson of Bellewood on Crystal Springs Resort, Hamburg NJ the birth of his daughter, Cadence Ann. Cadence (6 core and 6 turf credits are available) was born on September 14, weighing 8 lbs., 2 oz. and was 20 inches long. Everyone is doing well. Dec 8-10 NJTA Expo Congratulations to Eric Reed of Valley Country Club Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, NJ who was awarded a scholarship to attend the Syn- genta Business Institute. It is a week long seminar Jan 12-14 Eastern PA Turf Conference hosted by Wake Forest University in North Carolina. Valley Forge PA Syngenta awards 25 scholarships per year for this pro- gram. POCONO TURFGRASS ASSOCIATION R.R. 1, BOX 219 POSTAGE HARDING, PA 18643 NAME & ADDRESS ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED.