chipspms OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE Dunded ¡n POCONO TURFGRASS ASSOCIATION 1936 www.ptga.org VOL. 11, NO. 9 JANUARY 2006 ASSOCIATION What are you doing (or What did you do) on Ground Hog Day Written by: Aaron M. Yoder and William C. Harshman, Instructors in Turfgrass and Agricultural Equipment at Penn State University, 814-863-8124 js}^ e b g u w Here's a sure cure for February doldrums. It is also a good alternative to feeling blue because you didn't get invited out to Puxatawny; and you are just hooked on your shed full of toys, oops, equipment. Then here is a list of things to do to winterize the equipment. . . if you haven't already. And besides, properly winterizing your equipment will prevent unexpected and un­ needed downtime in the spring. Remember that following the manufacturer's recommenda­ tions, found in the equipment's owner's manual, is the best advice; but if that is not available, the second best advice is to use the following recommendations, at a minimum: Open the shop doors and start every gasoline engine. Run them until they begin to cough and sputter signifying that the fuel is about gone. Take off the air cleaner or gas tank cap and apply a little light weight oil, equivalent commercial carburetor cleaner or fuel stabilizer. The last few gasps might just prevent the stale gas from turning to varnish over winter. For diesels.. . no fuel treatment is needed for storage; only add a fuel additive if you are going to use them in cold weather. While the air cleaner is o ff . . . clean it. After you reinstall the air cleaner, use the compressed air to blow all the debris off of the en­ gine and shroud. Might as well check the spark plug too after it is cooled. Clean, gap, or replace as needed. Does it have a radiator? Blow out the debris; check the solution for freeze point, and top off the reservoir. Check the oil level. Remove the battery from the chassis and charge it fully; it is best to store the battery in a warm location. (Continued on page 5) President’s Message....... As I sit and write this letter I am looking out the window at the sun Officers & Directors 2006 and green grass, and find it hard to believe it is mid-January. Usually, this time of year, I am catching up on reading articles from the 12" stack of trade magazines that accumulated on my desk this past year. Instead, we are outside pruning trees, clearing brush, cleaning up PRESIDENT debris as if we are getting ready to open. It is however nice to get the Duane Schell, Blue Ridge Trail G. C. 570-868-8113 mid- winter thaw for those of you who did not get your dormant feed djschell@epix.net or snow mold control out. Of course we all know Mother Nature will VICE PRESIDENT pay us back with a foot of snow in mid March. Darrin Larkin, Panorama Golf Course The PTGA Board has been working on the golf schedule for the 570-222-9260 upcoming year. We are looking forward to playing some new courses TREASURER and visiting some we have not seen in a few years. I look forward to John Downer, Elkview C.C. 570-840-0078 seeing many of you at the meetings and hopefully we will see some j_s_downer@juno.com new faces this year. The board has done a great job in keeping SECRETARY meeting costs reasonable these past few years and I think it has shown Jeff Koch, Glenmaura National C.C. in attendance. Hopefully we will never see another meeting like the 570-457-8733 one we had at Skytop two years ago. The course was great, the food SERGEANT AT ARMS was great, but unfortunately I was the only superintendent who was Steven Chirip, Grass Roots, Inc. 973-418-3468 able to enjoy it. Those of you who were present know what I am referring to. DIRECTORS Rick Anglemyer, Water Gap CC In conclusion, I hope all of you enjoyed your holidays and are 570-424-6391 taking some time to relax and enjoy the off season. Before we know it Andrew Jubinski, Finch Turf spring will be here and we will be out battling golfers, weather, weeds, 570-378-3043 insects and all the other challenges we are presented with. glenturf@epix.net Duane Schell Matthew Brown, Philadelphia Turf 215-340-5401 CHIPS & PUHS STAFF Editor’s Notes........ EDITOR Jim Gurzler 201 - 294-9673 My 2 cents worth. 2006 brings us a postal increase of .02, from 37 cents to 39 jim@gurzler.com cents. A staggering increase of 5%. Would you take an increase in your budget Managing Editor of 5%, would your commercial rep settle for a 5% increase in sales for the year. Melinda Wisnosky Both I think would be a resounding YES! Editorial Committee That is an interesting thing a 2 cent increase. I can't think of the last time I received an invitation to a neighbors BBQ, a friend's birthday, or a basket bingo. Jeff Koch Matt Brown But for those people with friends this postal increase might just offset the cost of printing those two cent stamps since most people now are moving toward se­ Past President cure electronic bill payment, purchasing, newspapers, sale flyers, and other such Eric Reed, Valley C.C. normally "snail mailed" items. Even our own Chips and Putts is now available on 570-788-4277 Barley5@ptd.net line. Which brings me to my point via the great circle route; do you use the inter­ net? Do you prefer electronic versions of things? This is a way our Association can rein in costs without increasing our budget. Let Melinda or myself know that you would prefer to receive your newsletter online and we will put you on the notifi­ cation list. Although if you want to be vindictive you can send articles, pictures, com­ mentaries, and other news that would cause us to produce larger, more costly issues. This would be appreciated by myself and our membership as there are many of you out there with great ideas, opinions, and experiences that would PTGA Office benefit your colleagues. R.R. 1, Box 219 Harding, PA 18643 February approaches and so does the golf show, have a great time in At­ Phone/Fax: 570-388-2167 lanta. Remember to stop by the Allied Association Hospitality Suite on February 9 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Any opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author and/or person quoted, and may not represent Thanks to Carmen Magro and Aaron Yoder of Penn State University and Rick the position of PTGA. Information contained in this Tegtmeier, CGCS for their articles. publication may be used freely, in whole or in part, without special permission, as long as the true context is Jim G urzler maintained. We would appreciate a credit line. Pocono Turfgrass Association 2006 Scholarships The Patterson Scholarship for Turfgrass Related Studies The Pocono Turfgrass Association is now accepting scholarship applications for the Patterson Scholarship. The deadline for application is March 31, 2006. The Pocono Turfgrass Association Scholarship for Non Turf Related Studies The Pocono Turfgrass Association is now accepting applications for a non-turf related field of study scholar­ ship For complete application guidelines and exact requirements please see the website www.ptga.org or con­ tact Duane Schell at the address below. Applications should be submitted to: Duane Schell Scholarship Committee Chairman Blue Ridge Trail Golf Club 260 Country Club Drive Mountaintop, PA 18707 FROST ?? Observed Air Temperatures and Wet Bulb Temperatures During a Cold Event Many of you will be delayed by frost in the weeks to come. Many of you will then ask the question "How can we have frost when the temperatures are above freezing? " So I thought I would give you some inter­ esting frost facts. There are several factors that come into play when you are talking frost and how it forms; of course tem­ peratures, dew points, wind speed, humidity are all important but the most important one is the Wet Bulb Temperature. The Wet Bulb temperature is the temperature air cools to when water is added in the equation. We are <ß' ^ S’ ^ all familiar with this phenomenon. You feel colder JV? V / / / /