CONNECTICUT- CLIPPINGS Connecticut Association of Golf Course Superintendents Devoted to sharing knowledge and experience for better turf September, 1991 Volume 25, No. 3 CONNECTICUT ASSOCIATION OF GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS President Vice President Secretary Treasurer Immediate Thomas Watroba Steven L. Rackliffe, CGCS John F. Streeter, CGCS Scott M. Ramsay Robert Chalifour Past President Directors & Committee Chairpersons Scholarship & Research Public Relations Education Membership Newsletter Golf PPUC Social & Welfare Rep. to the Board Peter Pierson John Motycka David Stimson, CGCS Frank Lamphier John F. Streeter, CGCS Peter Lewis Peter Pierson Philip Neaton Stephanie Zanieski Connecticut Clippings is an official publication of The Connecticut Association of Golf Course Superintendents. Newsletter John F. Streeter, CGCS, Editor Photos by Jeff Rogers & Dave Basconi The object of this Association is to encourage increased knowledge of golf course management and greater professionalism through education, research, exchange of practical experience, and the well-being of each individual member. What’s Inside? Clipping Recycling Grass Catcher.... Scoreboard...... PPUC................... GCSAA President Responds To New York Attorney General's Report O The GCSAA, responding to a report published in late July by the New York State Attorney General's Office, called the report "unsupported by fact, inaccurate and misleading. The report, Toxic Fairways: Risking Groundwater Contammar tion From Pesticides on Lond Island Golf COWSSS, is based on a survey of 52 golf courses on Long Island, N.Y. The report claims that the golf courses surveyed are treated with as much as seven times more pesticides per acre than are used to grow food crops. The report implies that the chemicals could pose a risk to local groundwater supplies. GCSAA President Stephen G. Cadenelli, CGCS, stated, A number of points from the report are unsupported by fact, inaccu­ rate or misleading. The primary thrust of the report seems to be that simply because these materials are applied on golf courses, they will de facto enter groundwater. Yet, no scientific evidence is cited in the report to support this notion. In fact, actual moni­ toring and sampling studies suggest that there is very little movement of materials applied on courses -even in more vulnerable soils than those found on Long Island." ___ A major independent study completed on Cape Cod, Mass., and other university studies at Cornell and Pennsylvania State Uni­ versity show that golf course chemicals do not pose a threat to groundwater supphes when properly applied. "Any suggestion that turf chemicals, when professionally and properly applied, will enter groundwater under golf courses in any amount su 1- cient to pose risks to humans is without foundation in science, Cadenelli said. Cadenelli continued, "The report and the news release that pre ceded it refer to the fact that pesticides are applied to courses for ’merely aesthetic' reasons. Plant protectants are used to control diseases, insects and unwanted plants that cause damage to a very valuable piece of property. Golf course superintendents manage golf courses in an environmentally responsible manner to ensure that there are acceptable conditions for golf and to protect the significant investment that golf courses represent Golf course are businesses: they provide thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in property taxes. The value of land around the golf course is also enhanced, creating a larger volume of tax revenues from homes and businesses located nearby. Properly maintained turfgrass actually benefits an entire com­ munity by preventing erosion, cleansing the air of pollutants, acting as a "heat sink" that cools the atmosphere, maintaining much-needed greenspace in urban settings, providing habitat for thousands of species of birds and wildlife, and filtering pollutants from rain and irrigation water. "Golf course superintendents were putting the principles of integrated pest management into practice long before 'IPM' became a government buzzword." Stephen G. Cadenelli, CGCS, President of GCSAA More and more golf courses around the country are utilizing effluent (reclaimed wastewater) for their irrigation purposes. The natural filtration properties of turfgrass allow this waste- water to be disposed of on golf courses and be cleansed before it reaches the groundwater supply. Cadenelli continued, "Golf course superintendents were putting the principles of integrated pest management into practice long before 'IPM' became a government buzzword." Integrated pest management, or IPM, is the utilization of turfgrass management strategies that are economical and have the least possible effect on people, property and the environ­ ment. Reduced pesticide usage is an important element of any IPM program. "Given the expense of chemicals and our own deep concerns about protecting natural resources, why would we use them unnecessarily? Modem emphasis and education is on using pesticides 'curatively,' as a doctor would use a specific medi­ cine to treat a specific problem. Ask those who know - extension agents, pesticide regulators, educators - and they will tell you that golf course superintendents are leading the way in implementing IPM practices," said Cadenelli. Maria Cinque, turf specialist at the Cornell Cooperative Extension on Long Island, backed up that statement, "We at the Cornell Cooperative Extension have been teaching IPM practices for the last 10 years. Many of those practices are used by golf courses on Long Island," Cinque said. "I believe that the amount of pesticides has definitely been reduced during this period," she continued. Cadenelli noted that superintendents nationwide are using fewer and fewer chemicals more effectively each year. "It seems ironic that this report is issued at a time when we're using better materials in increasingly small amounts. If there isn't a problem now, I don’t see how there could be one in the future," he said. The report itself stated that: "There is no reason to believe that any water now supplied to Long Island exceeds safe drinking water guidelines for any pesticides." The Stephen B. Church Company GROUND WATER SPECIALISTS INDUSTRIAL • MUNICIPAL • ENVIRONMENTAL • Gravel Wells • Monitor Wells • Pumps, Sales, Service, Rentals • Recovery Systems • Well Rehabilitation • Pump Tests • Ground Water Exploration • Well Abandonment P. O. BOX 67 • SEYMOUR, CT 06483 (203)888-2132 • FAX (203)888-1863 - 2 - Clipping Recycling William M. Best, Associate Professor University of Connecticut College of Agriculture and Natural Resources One of the major problems with removing clippings is their disposal. Most often they end up in landfills which are becoming filled at an ever increasing rate with debris of all kinds. This has caused great concern with limited land and the problems associat­ ed with landfills. It has been estimated by the National Solid Wastes Manage­ ment Association that grass clippings make up 75% of our yard wastes, the remaining portion made up of leaves and brush. It has been further estimat­ ed that grass clippings take up more room in landfills than leaves. The problem has become so acute in some areas of the country that some states and towns are formulating plans to ban grass clippings from landfills. A study is presently being conducted at the Plant and Soil Teaching and Research Farm, Storrs, CT on a peren­ nial ryegrass and Kentucky bluegrass turf to study clipping recycling. The research is designed to investigate the effects of grass clippings on the biological activity in a turfgrass com­ munity, their effect on the physical and chemical properties of soils and nutrient recycling under a turfgrass sward. The length of the project is three years, 1990-1992. Data collected to assess the effect of 413-637-2592 Mark Armstrong Verti-Drain Service / Armstrong^Tuf f 56 Lime Kiln Road, Lenox, MA 01240 clipping treatments on the turfgrass sward are: 1. Total weight of clippings pro­ duced per year, 2. Root growth and development; 3. Visual ratings for disease activity, turfgrass quality (color and shoot development) and nitrogen deficiency symptoms; 4. Weed populations using a quadrat method; 5. Earthworm activity using counts and weights from worms collected within a three square foot area of each plot; 6. Analyzing for leaf tissue nitro­ gen, phosphorous and potassium for each harvest to determine nutrient recycling; 7. Nitrogen leaching; and 8. Measuring soil properties which include bulk density, water permeabili­ ty, macropore space, soil organic mat­ ter, available soil nutrients and soil acidity. The total clipping yield for the 1990 growing season was greater in plots in which clippings were returned com­ pared to the clipping removed treat­ ment, a result of the nitrogen recycled. The treatment in which clippings were recycled returned 135 Lb N per acre while plots in which clippings were collected removed 108 Lb N per acre. Nitrogen deficien­ cy symptoms in the leaves appeared at the latter part of the growing season in the clip­ ping removed plots. Diseases of red thread, rust and leaf spot were evi­ dent at certain per­ iods over the - 3 - growing season with greater disease in­ cidence occurring in the clipping re­ moved plots. Earthworm activity was greater in the clipping recycling treat­ ment. Also, water infiltration rates were higher in clipping returned plots, probably a result of the increased earth­ worm activity. Although an increase in the bent­ grass populations on fairways has been reported by removing clippings, returning clippings even in this cir­ cumstance will save time, energy and essential nutrients. An alternative to clipping removal for increasing the bentgrass population is to rehold or reduce fertilizer nitrogen on fairways. Studies we conducted over the past eight years have shown that bentgrass populations increase several fold by doing this. Each method is accom­ plishing the same results by reducing available nitrogen thus providing bent­ grass a competitive advantage over annual bluegrass. Recycling the essential plant nutri­ ents, savings on energy by reducing fertilizer use, promoting earthworm activity with its contribution to better soil conditions for plant growth, and our part to clean up the environment by helping to solve our landfill and disposal problems are important bene­ fits to be gained by returning grass clippings from mowing to the lawn. There is presently a national move­ ment by the turfgrass industry to pro­ mote clipping recycling. The results from this study will provide informa­ tion based upon sound research of the benefits to be derived by doing so and strengthen the industries effort in promoting national awareness on this important issue. Grass Catcher CONNECTICUT ASSOCIATION OF GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS^ friend and colleague, Les Kennedy, CGCS, superintendent at Oak Lane Country Club, is at this very moment installing washed sod purchased from Tee & Green Sod, Dave Wallace, pror- pietor, on his newly constructed 11th green. I'm sure Les will be presenting this process and its results in the near future. CAGCS announces Scholarship Recipients The Scholarship & Research Com­ mittee awarded scholarships in the amount of $400 to the following people for 1991: Recipient - Sponsor Jonathan Zuk - Greg Bradley Greg Holcomb - Ron Holcomb Cynthia Stachura - Doug Stachura Grier Wallace - Mike Wallace Ian Wallace - Mike Wallace Diana Kotowicz - Steve Kotowicz Kurt Osterman - Bob Osterman Patrick Lucas - Patrick Lucas Billy Abetz - John Motycka Also, Mary Lizauskas was awarded the Richard Parsons Scholarship for the U-Mass Winter School Program. The Committee has also awarded $1,000 to the support of turf research at the University of Connecticut which will be headed by Dr. William Dest. Wallace children receive GCSAA Legacy Award Scholarships Ian and Grier Wallace, children of Mike Wallace, superintendent at the Hop Meadow Country Club recently received $1,500 each as recipients of the First Annual GCSAA Legacy Award Scholarships. USGA Green Section announces 1992 Regional Conferences March 17,1992 Albany, New York March 19,1992 Long Island, New York March 24,1991 Boston, Massachusetts CAGCS Welcomes New Members Jonathan Case - Rolling Greens Steve Dolinak - Dow Elanco Paul Jamrog - The Orchards Club Michael Driscoll - Glastonbury Hills Scott Lake - Hawthorne CC Richard Lewis - CC of Farmington Gerald Mills - Hartford GC Bruce Moore - Eastern Land Mgmt. Jonathan Peters - Turf Grass Student Congratulations to Brian and Mindy Pope on the birth of their new baby boy - Jonathan! TEE AND GREEN SOD, INC. Specializing In Bentgrass and Fine Fescue Sod Dave Wallace 401/295-1870 (Home) 401/789-8177 (Office) P. O. Box 418 Exeter, RI 02822 401/789-3895 (FAX) Ice cools off Colonial's Greens You think you had a bad summer? When the U.S. Womens' Open arrived at the Colonial Country Club in Texas this past summer, the +90° daily heat again brought out the innovative ways that help superintendents get by difficult periods. In order to keep the bentgrass alive on their greens, the grounds crew embarked on the "ice mission". Yes, 30 to 50 lb. bags of ice were used on each green in an effort to save the bentgrass from the oppresive heat So, count your blessings! Washed Sod A new breakthrough in the sod busi­ ness has and will enable superintendents to overcome that perennial fear of sod­ ding that new green or tee. The biggest fear about sodding a new green or tee is the probability of the soil layer that comes with the sod not matching the new mix. That problem has now been elimi­ nated with the advent of washed sod. This simply means that there is now sod available that has been put through a process of washing all the soil off the sod so that it comes to you completely in tact with no soil bar­ rier. In fact, my - 4 - Kennedy Captures CAGCS Championship ( T V a rnrc nf the Oak Lane Country Club, breezed his way to low horiors in the Annual CAGCS Golf Championship. The ChnmpiousMp which was helt1 over £e course numbers for this year's gross trophy. . overall winner this year. ’tTsXZS. F™hr Lamphier, Aspehrck Vaiiey, once again iool home U» gross uoph, and ’tSSX“duX O."Zy. successfully defended his gross irophy, while Roger Barrett of Hart Seed was the net winner. Complete Championship Results Inndicap 0-10 11 - 18 19-27 28-36 Senior Affiliate Gross Les Kennedy Greg Wojick Jerry Mills Phil Neaton Frank Lamphier Mike Dukette Net Ward Weischet Mike McDermott Tom Fletcher A1 Adaskaveg John Mulhearn Roger Barrett Oak Lane Takes Home CAGCS Invitational The ream Uom Oak lane Counuy Club capped ihe win the trophy matching cards with the team n a —Valiev Tbp tp^m from Aspetuck Valley. The team was presented the traveling Connec­ ticut Cup which it will keep in dis­ play for a full year. The team from Aspetuck Valley, Frank Lamphier, John Stevens, Dave Welch, and BUI Sammis, cap­ tured the net prize. The full field was treated first class from the greetings of Golf Pro Tony Amaral, to the well-conditioned course by John Streeter, CGCS, to the fine spread of food put out by manager Luis Arlia. Another successful tournament was had. Congratulations to all winners! - 5 - J. c