Green Beautifu is Ontario Golf Superintendents Association P.O. BOX 203, ISLINGTON, ONT. M9A 4X2 SUMMER 1990 ONTARIO GOLF SUPERINTENDENTS ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR 1990 PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT PAST PRESIDENT GORDON NIMMO CGCS MARK HAGEN NEIL ACTON CGCS Sarnia Golf & Curling Club West Haven Golf & CC. Deer Creek Golf Club & Estates 500 Errol Rd. W. Box 144, Hyde Park 4121 Lawrence Ave. E., Ste. 207 Sarnia, Ontario N7V 1X7 London, Ontario NOM IZO Westhill, Ontario MIE 2S2 Phone: Bus. (519) 336-0667 Phone: Bus. (519) 641-2519 Phone: Bus. (416) 284-3703 (519) 332-1521 Res. (519) 471-1188 Res. (416) 427-7424 DIRECTORS Editor Golf & Meetings Membership ROD TRAINOR CGCS MARK SCHNEIDER ALEX LA BELLE Hamilton Golf and Country Club Limited Beach Grove Golf & CC. Carlton Golf & Yacht Club 232 Golf Links Road 14134 Riverside Dr. E. P.O. Box 162, R.R. #3 Ancaster, Ontario L9G 2N5 St. Clair Beach, Ont. N8N IB6 Manotick, Ontario K0A 2 NO Phone: Bus. (416) 648-1441 Phone: Bus. (519) 979-8134 Phone: Bus. (613) 692-4054 Fax. (416) 648-42 17 Res. (519) 979-8134 Res. (613) 826-3375 Res. (519) 631-4798 Golf G MTG. Roster Public Relations & Communications WAYNE RATH JOHN TAYLOR DAVE W GOURLAY (Jr.) Islington Golf Club Twenty Valley GC. Eagle Creek Golf Club Box 131 107 Ontario St. Ottawa, Ontario Islington, Ontario M9A 4X2 St. Catharines, Ontario Phone: Res. (416) 852-9609 Phone: Bus. (416) 231-0925 Phone: Bus. (416) 562-4333 Res. (416) 477-1148 Res. (416) 682-3516 Treasurer Secretary Newsletter ED FARNSWORTH BRUCE BURGER SIMON GEORGE Deerhurst Inn Golf & CC. Greystone Golf & CC. Oakville Golf Club R.R. #4 Milton, Ontario 1154 6th Line, Box 129 Huntsville, Ontario POA 1K0 Phone: Bus. (416) 567-1200 Oakville, Ontario L6T 4Z5 Phone: Bus. (705) 789-5543 Res. (519) 621-1138 Phone: Bus. (416) 844-5796 Res. (705) 789-8282 Res. (416) 659-3160 NEWSLETTER EDITOR ROD TRAINOR CGCS (416) 648-1441 FAX (416) 648-4217 OFFICE SECRETARY CINDI CHARTERS (416) 233-8388 PRESIDENT’S REPORT FROM THE EDITOR Here we are about halfway through the golf season and from most Posting has begun. You are now required, by law, to post your property reports, everyone is busy both with the amount of play and doing when you apply pesticides. The general concensus so far is that there hasn’t projects and course grooming. been much reaction. Most clubs have sent covering letters to their members Our spring field day was a great success. The Tournament played to try and explain. The tone of most of the letters has been that we are not doing anything different than we have done before and that all pesticide at Victoria Park Golf Course had superb playing conditions. The applications are made in the safest manner. A low key approach seems one and only other time I had played there was in 1975, the year to be the best. it opened. Carmen Decorso and his staff deserve congratulations Superintendents are generally complying with the legislation and putting for a fine job. Ron Craig and Turf Care graciously donated his rental up the signs. The extent to which posting is being done is subject to fleet of Yamaha golf carts and proceeds went to the GTI Building interpretation. Most Superintendents are posting the main entrance and Fund. Annette Anderson, Norm McCallum and the University of first tee. Some are following the regulation right to the letter in hopes of Guelph staff also deserve a big thanks for hosting us again at the stirring up their members enough so some complaints will be lodged. Government inspectors have been out and golf courses have been visited turf plots. This year's theme was sprayers and spreaders and again so take note. It is an impractical regulation but never the less it is law and thanks to the suppliers for their demonstrations. On a personal therefore some effort must be made to comply. With any luck we will at note, if anyone found a PGA LCG Concept 9 iron could you please least see some changes in the wording. please call me. On a different note I would like to welcome Simon George as the new I would just like to comment on our code of ethics and some editor of Green is Beautiful. This will be my last column as Simon now takes disturbing incidences that have been happening. Fifteen years ago over. I have enjoyed doing this newsletter very much even though it has when I graduated from University, I looked at joining the OGSA been very frustrating at times. It requires a lot of time and effort to locate and gather material and assemble this magazine. I thank all those who because it represented both professionalism of the industry and have submitted articles and encourage all those who haven’t to please the competitive camaraderie with other superintendents which consider writing something. The 1990's will see even more sweeping developed real friendships. Part of the unwritten benefits of the changes in our industry and the best way to keep up is to exchange Association was the ability to phone other course superintendents information and "Green is Beautiful" is a great way to do just that. to play their course. What seems to be happening in that respect for other superintendents is eroding. A quick phone call in advance to say that you will be visiting his place whether to play or consult, visiting on your own or asked by a member, is what our code of ethics is all about. It was developed before I joined the Association, CANADIAN I believe, to promote courtesy and friendliness amongst superintendents. If this is lost then this business could become IRRIGATION very cut throat as members are always asking for opinions. An off-the-wall remark by a visiting superintendent may be CONSULTANTS misinterpreted by a member and used against his superintendent. Finally, a note on our lifestyle. We take it for granted so much. JACK AUSTIN This spring my mechanic, Gary Frank, had a heart attack at the R.R.1, Gormley Ontario LOH 1G0 age of 43. Fortunately he will be alright after taking the summer Tel: (416) 841-7866 Fax:(416)841-7867 off. Also, Steve Holmes, Donalda Golf Club’s assistant superintendent at 25 is experiencing some blackouts and is under doctor's medication and cannot drive for 3 months. Sometimes we push ourselves too hard and we should know our limit. The long hours and high pressure to maintain tournament conditions year long can often give us burn out, physical exhaustion or P.O. Box 1148 strained family ties. Remember, life is too short; so take the time Woodstock, Ontario to rejuvenate yourself and reintroduce yourself to the family. N4S 8P6 Enjoy the summer. GOLF COURSE FERTILIZERS (CUSTOM FORMULATIONS) Gord Nimmo, CGCS Office: 519-456-2021 JOHN D. HILL Mobile: 416-460-2770 PRESIDENT Fax: 519-456-5002 Annette Anderson Turf Extension Specialist Plant Industry Branch Ministry of Agriculture and Food Douglas Wood Large Tree Soles Ltd. Hort. Science Dept. University of Guelph "We Buy, Sell, & Transplant Large Trees" Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1 (519) 853-2035 Telephone (519) 824-4120, Ext. 2597 PAUL HANOUSEK (416)455-3311 Fax:(519)853-2293 Evolution of the Modern Green caused by the installation of texturally different layers. A look at the engineering and inner workings of our games often unpredictable In other words, soil physics tells us that water will not move and sometimes precocious "dance floors". from a small hole or pore into a large pore unless there is enough free water to break the force of capillarity. In everyday life this By Dr. Michael J. Hurdzan principle is shown by a household sponge that can absorb free President American Society of Golf Course Architects water until saturated, and then for each additional drop of water The regal perfection expected in modern golf greens demands added to the top of the sponge, a free drop of water will run the fine art of compromise between the golfer and the golf course out the bottom. superintendent. If the sponge is thick, you can look at the edge of it and see The superintendent, armed with modern chemicals, that there is more water in the lower portion than in the top due maintenance equipment and caretaking procedures, continually to gravity. This is known as the "perched water table effect” - walks a tightwire between guaranteeing the best turfgrass saturated conditions at the bottom of the soil profile and near possible and the best playing conditions . . . while also coping optimum growing conditions at the top. with the idiosyncrasies of Mother Nature. Thus the top layer of USGA green is like a 12-inch thick sponge. Meanwhile the golf course architect enters into the equation When the green is saturated by irrigation or rain, the water is by trying to design greens that have the best possible chances allowed to drain down from the putting surface to an acceptable of thriving . . . indeed surviving . . . under heavy play and the soil moisture level. However, the materials that make up this elements. 12-inch thick "sponge” must be precisely selected by the Due to limited budgets, knowledge and equipment, early golf laboratory tests, and uniformly blended and installed for the greens were a far cry from the finely manicured putting surfaces system to function. This is one reason why an experienced golf we expect today. Extensive golf course research did not begin course architect is essential in greens construction where a small until after World War II; particularly in the area of green mistake can cause big problems. construction. Our household sponge example is a good way to explain what Almost all golf greens built before 1960 used native soils found happens to this excess water that gravity drains out of the USGA within a few yards of the construction site. top layer. Water will not move out of small pores into larger ones Often, these were structurally or texturally poor soils and until there is free water available that is not held by capillarity. frequently subsoils. Also, surface drainage systems were rare. The But once the soil profile or sponge becomes saturated, the water result were greens in which optimized turf growth was is free to move. Usually that is downward in response to gravity unobtainable, even under the most ideal conditions ... let alone if there is a place for it to go, or sideways to a place of less water. when subjected to environmental stress, compaction and large (This is how springs and artisan wells are created). Immediately numbers of golfers. However all golfers, especially today, expect below the top layer in the USGA green is a .5 to 2-4 inch layer perfect playing conditions no matter how or when the greens of sand, coarser in texture, and hence larger pores than the top were constructed. During the decade from 1910-1920 this lead layer. This is like another, thinner sponge but with bigger holes. to modest experimentation into special soil mixes for greens by It is as if you were to put a thick household sponge with small golf course architects like C.B. Macdonald, Donald Ross and EW. holes on top of a thin sponge with large holes, and then place Taylor. both on a layer of quarter-inch gravel. You would than have a Although there was much interest in soil modification for golf USGA green. green construction for over 50 years, credit must given to Dr. If you saturated this system and allowed it to drain down, you Marvin Ferguson, A.S.G.C.A. who began research in 1953, with would find that the surface of top layer is at an optimum soil his graduate student Raymond Kunze. Their studies culminated moisture level to grow turf; i.e., water being conserved and in the USGA method of greens construction in 1960. Drs. available to the plant from the perched water table with the layers Ferguson and Kunze, now at Michigan State University, knew the of fine pores determining the system’s performance key to growing good greens was a compaction-resistant growth characteristics. medium that could also produce an optimum soil water content. The critical elements, therefore, in USGA greens construction In simple terms, we all know that sands compact less than soils are; and that coarse sand holds less water against gravity than do • The top layer made with only laboratory selected materials that fine sands. The trick is to find that right combination of sands are uniformly blended together to produce the soil pore size that also permits optimum turfgrass growth. required. After years of research sponsored by the USGA Green Section, • The top layer installed over a uniform intermediate layer of Dr. Ferguson developed a system of three layers of distinctly coarser material that is also laboratory selected. Some different textural materials, of various prescribed thicknesses, that professional turfgrass experts would disagree, but despite became known as the USGA method of greens construction. To rumors to the contrary, this intermediate layer is essential and build such a green requires many specialized steps which makes spun fiber cloth is not an acceptable equal. them somewhat expensive compared to less sophisticated methods. Although the Ferguson system is a most highly • Both of these layers must lie uniformly over a laboratory researched and theoretically sound method of construction, few selected gravel layer that is drained. USGA greens are properly built. Donald Ross’ attempt at soil The only problem, from a practical standpoint, is that USGA modification for Scioto's greens built in 1916 - described in Part greens must be precisely engineered. They demand a finely tuned 1 of this series - was roughly similar to the USGA method and system that allows for little or no construction error. This costs probably influenced EW. Taylor's work. more because it requires additional construction steps and more The theoretical basis for the USGA green construction method hand labor than other less sophisticated methods. The sand- is to provide a compaction-resistant growing medium, composed organic matter for the top layer must be blended off-site in a of sand particles of specified size, and selected organic matter central mixing area which means handling 400 tons of material that drains down quickly to an optimum soil moisture level. The per green several times. The intermediate layer must be installed key to the effectiveness of the theory, and the construction step carefully either by hand or a small bulldozer which can grade that causes most concern, is a "perched water table effect” a perfectly uniform 2-4” layer of coarse sand over gravel. Finally, a hand-placed plastic liner must be placed between the top layer materials and the native soils if the native soils are high clay content or very fine. In theory, any USGA method constructed green anywhere Country Club in the world would perform consistently, similar to any other USGA method green. The cost to install USGA method greens for an 1 8-hole course is about 25 per cent higher, or from the Greens Grade $ 100,000-$ 1 50,000 more than for less sophisticated methods. In the Midwest, the cost of a contractor-installed USGA construction method green is $4.00 per square foot. Fertilizers Another notable contribution to the field of golf green construction was made by Dr. William Daniel of Purdue Gold Cup quality for great-looking University, who perfected Taylor's 1916 idea of a closed greens, tees & fairways. drainage system. This system recognizes the uniformity of capillary water in a uniform sand profile and strives to keep • Small Homogeneous greens always at a consistent soil moisture level by draining Granulation off only excess water by means of a controlled underdrain • Less Mower Pick-up system. This system also requires using laboratory-selected sands that • High Methylene Ureas are placed over a plastic liner to form a closed cell. A simple (W.I.N.) example would be to take a child’s wading pool and fill it with • Four Unique Formulations fine sand. Then fill it with water so that the sand is fully 18-4-10 90% Org. saturated. To obtain the desired soil moisture in upper portions 8-4-24 30% Org. of the sand profile, you would punch holes in the side of the pool to drain off excess water. Or better yet, you would install 18-0-18 80% Org. a drainage hole into the bottom of the pool and you would GREAT ON FAIRWAYS EVEN AT LOWER control the water in the pool by raising or lowering the outflow end of the hose. RATES WON’T SPECKLE LIKE BLENDS Thus, we come to the PURR-Wick system of greens construction which uses a series of water holding cells that have their optimum water levels maintained by a series of outflow Lebanon pipe. The cost in PURR-Wick construction is the hand labor TOTAL TURF CARE required to build the cells, placing and sealing the plastic liner, Skyway Lawn Equipment Ltd. building the central overflow pit, and installing the sand around 1067 Beach Boulevard, Hamlton, Ontario L8H 6Z9 1•800-283-8608 the cell barriers. Although comparable in cost to USGA green construction, many golf course architects feel the requirement for a uniform depth-of-sand profile inhibits some design expression. However, in areas of limited water availability, or in ecologically sensitive areas where ground water pollution is an important issue, PURR-Wick construction is a logical solution. This is also the basis R.R. #1 for athletic fields where it seems to be better adapted because Mt. Brydges, Ont. of the more level playing surface. NOL 1W0 The most common method of green construction today is known as the "alternate’’ or "improved" method. This system (519) 264-1214 uses an extensive tile drainage system, and gravel backfilled directly under a 75-80 per cent sand top layer that is 12-14 inches thick, with no intermediate layers or plastic liners. Instead of trying to make a universally consistent playing surface, as do the USGA or PURR-Wick methods, the "alternate" method only strives to provide consistent playing conditions over each WE CAN SUPPLY ALL OF particular golf course. The idea is to produce a compaction resistant growing medium with good internal drainage characteristics, but without regard to conserving excess water YOUR IRRIGATION NEEDS as the other methods. The "alternate" method costs less to • Suppliers of pipe, fittings & sprinklers build (usually $1 per square foot less) because it uses tested but locally available sand and organic matter sources; requires • Installing & upgrading of your total irrigation system very little hand labor; is prepared on-site to reduce handling • Prefabricated pump stations by Commercial Pump Services operations, and can be done with reasonably sized machines. Inc. In the Midwest, the contractor-installed price for the "alternate" method is about $3 per square foot. Our firm has CALL built more than 1,500 "alternate"method greens in the Midwest THE IRRIGATION HOTLINE and New England and each one has performed up to design expectations. Although this method is less well-researched and less precise 1-800-265-9786 than PURR-Wick or USGA, it does account for the vast majority of golf greens constructed today since most golf course architects are using this or a similar method. Based on bids submitted by golf course contractors, genetically adapted plant material. Plans are also made for the "alternate” method greens save a minimum of $100,000 per golf expected long-term maintenance regime by matching the course over USGA or PURR-Wick type construction. If irrigation system to the soils, providing for rapid machine construction budgets are not limited, then the more exact maintenance on most of the course and removing confounding methods are recommended. influences like dead-air pockets, excessively low areas, or Some years ago, Scotts Seed Company, Marysville, Ohio, confined traffic patterns. recognized that while universities were building USGA type test plots, other golf courses were being constructed with "alternate” type greens. Therefore, they decided to build an "alternate” method test plot so that their results would more closely parallel the conditions faced by golf course superintendents. More such REPART MANUFACTURING LTD. sensitivity to the real world by research facilities would be 1784 BONNYMEDE DRIVE appreciated. MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO But even with these high tech methods of golf green L5J 1E1 construction we still see bad greens. Who’s fault is it?: golf course architect, the golf course contractor, the superintendent, the golf professional pro, the membership, or Mother Nature? The answer is any or all of the above depending on each Office: (416) 823-2900 ROB DAVIS individual situation. Dead or dying turf can be caused by so Fax: (416) 278-5384 SALES MANAGER many compounding factors resulting from so many conflicting reasons that, as long as we have putting surfaces covered with live plant material, we will occasionally find bad greens. The goal is to reduce the probability of the situation whenever and wherever possible. This requires an understanding and appreciation for the complexity of the golf green and its management. Shemin Nurseries First the superintendent must be constantly compromising between doing what is best for the turf and what is best for HORTICULTURAL DISTRIBUTION CENTERS the golfer. The best conditions for the turf is a long height-of- Our Standard Is Exellence cut, infrequent and deep-watering, little fertilization, minimum amounts of other pesticides and chemicals, and continual aerification, topdressing, and spiking. This maintenance regime SPECIALIZING IN GOLF COURSE makes for strong healthy turfgrass plants that resist weeds, IRRIGATION insects and diseases and is able to survive adverse spells of WITH A COMPLETE INVENTORY OF IRRAGATION weather through cultural manipulation. ___________________ SUPPLIES____________________ However, golfers expect a short height-of-cut, generally soft soil conditions to hold pitch shots, and lush green carpets with RAINBIRD P.V.C PIPE & FITTINGS no surface imperfections caused by pests or maintenance SPRINKLERS VALVES equipment. Thus, the very conditions desired by the golfers CONTROLLERS TOOLS predisposes the turf to weeds, insects and diseases, and contributes to compaction. The only alternative for the superintendent is to substitute WHOLESALE DISTRIBUTORS FOR: management tools and techniques - such as chemicals, hand watering, topdressing and spiking - for the best cultural NURSERY STOCK SEED condition. The superintendent constantly is walking a tightwire TREES CHEMICALS between providing the best turf possible at the expense of more FERTILIZER 'RINGER' natural plant growth management. This is such a fine balance that the slightest additional stress put on the plant by climate or chemicals may cause the plant to die. Master Turf Distributor In addition, turfgrass researchers identify new disease strains or organisms each year that can cause loss of turf with no known control. The best recent example was the mysterious disease called "C-15 Decline” which wiped out the greens at Butler National before the Western Open. Since that time, the problem was identified as a bacterial organism that plugged up the water passages in the plant. Not only is this one of the first bacterial diseases identified to injure turf, it only occurred on Toronto MC-3S Bentgrass. MAXI Master Controller The intelligent golf course architect is sensitive to the concerns of both the golfer and the superintendent. And during the MASTER II COMPUTER CONTROL SYSTEM design and construction phases he tries to address both interests. The golf course architect specifies methods and Milton: 416-875-4545 1-800-263-4111 materials which attenmpt to expand the margin of tolerance of Toronto: 416-858-2299 Fax: 416-878-4696 turf desired by golfers, yet withstand most environmental or artificial stresses. R. R. #4 Millon, Ontario, L9T 2X8 He does this by insuring the best possible surface and (Fifth Line, South of Steeles) subsurface drainage of all turf areas: provides the most agronomically sound root-zone possible, and specifies the most TREAT YOUR GREENS............. AND YOUR BUDGET ! Hydraflo Liquid Soil wetting agent. A more efficient and economical method of preventing turf losses and due to excessively wet or dry conditions. NUTREX ‘PLUS' 18-0-10 (50% UF) with CHELATED IRON and SULPHUR MUTREX "PLUS" is a careful balance between slow-release • Encourages stronger, healthier turf by ensuring nitrogen and fully chelated iron together with sulphur. uniform and quick water movement through the soil. At recommended rates, MUTREX "PLUS" will produce only • Economical — superior new technology lets small amounts of controlled growth and yet with its you use less, less Often. Full season's treatment requires only 26 ounces. chelated iron and sulphur will maintain, throughout the • Reduces leaf wetness and dew related problems. summer, both the colour and the speed of closely mowed • Eliminates dry spots and improves drainage greens. A relatively large amount of potash is present of excessive water. in NUTREX "PLUS" to increase the ability of the grass • Improves performance of fertilizers and pesticides. to resist disease while the very low phosphorus levels discourage thatch formation. This is an ideal summer fertilizer. The balance between the slow-release nitrogen and the chelated iron insures that even at very low nitrogen application rates sufficient amounts of iron will be provided to the turf. NUTREX ... the growing edge! ORDER ONE CASE OF HYDRAFLO LIQUID AND WE’LL INCLUDE 20L OF NUTREX ’PLUS’ AT NO EXTRA CHARGE. ORDER NOW! - PHONE COLLECT (514) 4Z2-7480 ASK FOR VALE on CHARLIE! DISTRIBUTED IN CANADA BY since 1909 JACK VINCELLI INC. 5803 WESTMINSTER MONTREAL H4W 2J9 (514) 482-7480 suppliers for turf and landscape maintenance and construction Something is Killing Toronto's Trees: Can Parks Planners Turn Over a New Leaf? by Pat Ohlendorf-Moffat On the western edge of Queen's Park stands a tall, once dandelions but may also harm other broad-leafed plants like magnificent white oak. Older than the Parliament buildings to trees. Then there’s road salt: Metro transportation scatters its south, this tree was probably a seedling in the mid-I700s; 60,000 metric tonnes of it on streets such as University Avenue it survived the early 20th century pressures of industrialization, every winter. What’s good for grass and streets is terrible for which killed off the more sensitive pines, and even survived the trees, but Metro and city officials say that wherever they've construction of the University subway beneath its roots in the reduced spraying and salting, they've gotten complaints from 1960s. But now its prematurely balding crown is a collection of the public. (At least Toronto’s urban forest is largely spared one naked twigs where a full dark green canopy should be rustling. pollution threat: Here, nonacidic soils neutralize acid rain In midsummer, its leaves are brown and curling, their stunted somewhat.) size contrasting oddly with the tree's magnificent height. Yet the Trees on residential streets lead an even more precarious tree is not dying of old age: In the wild, this species attains truly existence than the Queen’s Park oak. They’re subject to venerable ages of 500 years or more. No, something is killing overpruning to make room for hydro wires, and their deeper this oak. roots are damaged whenever anybody creates a basement The ailing oak is not alone. Many of the city’s trees are in entrance or front yard parking. But the very worst urban stress trouble: here, thin crowns, there, discolored or stunted leaves, on trees is drought; city pavements, parking lots and patios, and, too often, young trees that are skeletal. Last year, almost combined with gutters and storm drains, withhold water from every Scots elm in the city suffered as leaf-eating beetles the soil and move it quickly into the lake and rivers. And lawns transformed their leaves into ghostly lace. By August, all the compete with trees for water - and win - but retaining moisture horse chestnut leaves had turned brown, and many maples were in the top inch of soil. "Urban trees are struggling with almost showing premature yellows, oranges and reds, which scientists desert conditions," says Jerry Zuchlinski, a private consultant say is a sure sign of distress. Evergreens, especially, were thin, who until last summer was City of Toronto parks and recreation often with browning lower branches. And experts have grown forestry coordinator (east division). "Because of the way we've worried. Says Willem Morsink, North York’s manager of arborist designed the city, where we might be getting 30 inches of rain services, "The trees are a barometer for our own health. If they per year, the trees are getting only about an inch of that." are dying from drought or pollution, we are also suffering from The most endangered trees are the ones on main roads, heat and respiratory problems.’’ either plonked into cement boxes or directly into the sidewalk The urban forest - composed of thousands upon thousands with only a few inches of soil exposed. Bill Granger, director of trees in ravines, parks and residential streets, back alleys and of urban design in North York and until recently the city’s empty lots - plays a critical role in the city’s environment. It arborist, says such trees are "on life support." His city’s crews takes in prodigious amounts of carbon dioxide (the main culprit regularly sink tubes into the hard earth to water and feed their in global warming) and gives off the oxygen on which animal charges. But says Granger, "Conditions are so harsh that their and human life depends. At no small cost to themselves, trees life span is only about 10 years” filter the city air of carbon monoxide, airborne lead, sulfur Air pollution, traffic fumes, earth compaction, physical dioxide, hydrocarbons and other chemicals. Because a mature damage to roots, herbicides, road salt, drought. . . It’s amazing tree pulls up hundreds of gallons of water each day through that city trees survive at all. Yet just as the ills of the city trees its roots and releases it in microscopic droplets through pores are caused by humans, so their healing lies in human hands. in its leaves, it produces moister air as well. Shelter and What holds great promise for the future of Toronto's urban forest windbreak in winter, in summer a tree can cast shade that could is a whole new way of understanding city trees now being reduce air conditioning bills by as much as 20 per cent. And advocated by a loosely connected group of environmentally a celebrated 1984 University of Delaware study found that, over sensitive urban planners, radicals within traditional parks a nine-year period, hospital patients with a view of trees out departments and forward-looking landscape architects. A U of their windows "had shorter postoperative stays" and took fewer T forestry professor, Erik Jorgensen, coined the term "urban painkillers - a finding that has since been incorporated into forestry" back in 1968, and now the concept has become a hospital design. As city life becomes increasingly hectic, the buzzword among planners in major cities throughout North ravines, parks and street trees become an ever more valuable America and Europe. antidote, reminding us of our natural roots. "The old way of looking at trees was as individual To diagnose what's plaguing Toronto’s urban forest, just look horticultural specimens," explains Bill Granger. In large part, it more closely at the Queen’s Park oak. University of Toronto was his contact with Michael Hough, a Toronto landscape botanist Tom Hutchinson studies the tree thoughtfully. "It architect and author (City Form and Natural Process and Out of Place: certainly looks like it’s got problems of the nutritional and air Restoring Identity to the Regional Landscape], that transformed Granger pollution type," he says. Trees like this skirting major streets bear into one of Metro’s most effective advocates of the new holistic the full brunt of traffic fumes: hydrocarbons, ground-level ozone, view. "Michael lifted my sights from individual trees to the whole nitrogen oxides and lead. "And," he adds, "I would guess the ecosystem: from the herbaceous plants on the forest floor, to root system is now in trouble." A tree’s roots are actually closer trees, to the animals and birds that are an integral part of the to the surface of the ground than most people realize - within forest. That was a quantum leap in my education." the top two feet of soil - and they’re seriously affected by what To grasp this concept demands the viewer put on new experts call "compaction": people and vehicles stamping the lenses. Then one does not see residential streets or a downtown earth down, hardening the soil and making it less permeable enlivened by decorative trees, but rather the whole city existing to water. That’s just the situation in this well-trodden park; worse, within a forest of connected ravines and river valleys, parks and the oak is encircled by four City of Toronto park benches sunk street trees. To parks managers trained in the 1950s and 1960s in asphalt. with that era’s emphasis on recreation, it can be an unsettling Moreover, to maintain Queen’s Park weed-free turf, the city concept. David McCluskey, an urban forest advocate in the must spray on herbicides several times a year, which kill Toronto planning department, elaborates: "In traditional parks maintenance there's a high degree of manicuring, achieved by extensive mowing and spraying. You go in, you plan, you maintain nature in a static fashion. The new view places an increasing importance on encouraging natural vegetation in the city.” Naturalization of parks and the introduction of native trees on city streets are high on the urban forester’s priority list. Under Bill Granger, North York parks crews have stopped mowing in broad areas of many city parks, allowing prairie grasses and native undergrowth shrubbery to return. Toronto parks has also started a native species greenhouse in High Park, growing seedlings of neglected red oak, black oak and hickory, which in 10 years will be hardy enough to plant on streets and parks. Such indigenous trees, points out Willem Morsink, are actually better suited to stressful urban conditions - and better equipped to to withstand city drought - than many of the European imports that now dominate. What alarms planners today is the relative lack of variety in Toronto's street trees. "Most North American cities had about 80 per cent elms, and when the Dutch elm disease swept through, they became devoid of trees,” says Jerry Zuchlinski. "You'd think that would have taught people a lesson, but rather than diversifying, they replaced the elms with maples.” In fact, Richard Ubbens, forestry program planning administrator at Toronto parks, reports "almost half the city streets are maples, the majority Norways and silver maples.” Another epidemic could wipe out this group. Ubbens recently completed a computer inventory of Toronto’s 90,000 street trees in order to manage the urban forest more rationally - to monitor their health, direct crews for pruning and pest control, and to distribute new species more widely. At least 20 species are now available for homeowners who request a city tree, says Ubbens. Meanwhile, as the High Park native seedling mature, they will be turning up in parks throughout the city. Natural regeneration is a vital force to urban foresters. One of Michael Hough’s favorite spots in Toronto is an abandoned oil refinery off Cherry Street that has literally gone to seed. On a late afternoon last summer, Hough and I walked through a meadow alive with grasses, wildflowers and several nearly mature cottonwoods and "weed trees” such as Manitoba maples that had taken root over the past 15 years. "These plants are ideally suited for this land,” said Hough. "There’s a place in the urban forest for these survivors, these historical remnants of meadow and marsh, and these hardy newcomers. One of the wonderful things about the urban forest, more intersting in some ways than a virgin forest, is its marvellous diversity.” Just the thing The urban forestry movement is, of course, part of the larger environmental movement: Repair the damage that has been done, allow nature to do its thing, and inflict no more for “teed-off” harm. Like many urban forest enthusiasts, Hough seeks alternatives to lawns (he’s creating a woodland garden in his backyard instead, which to a traditional parks maintenance man fairways would surely look like a sorry patch of weeds to be treated with Roundup posthaste). Lawns sap moisture and nutrients needed by trees, require chemicals to maintain, and symbolize When your fair­ ways need first BARON the old-think of man controlling nature by brute force. Another tenet of urban forestry is Kentucky Bluegrass integrated pest management: weaning management away from harmful herbicides, aid overseed with the best. NASSAU insecticides, fungicides and chemical fertilizers. Under Bill Granger’s guidance, North York Kentucky Bluegrass no longer uses any pesticides on its trees. Instead, crews monitor the 88,000 street trees Proven top closely, setting out sticky traps for insects such as gypsy moths, and either remove egg quality, long last­ ing Kentucky PALMER masses by hand or spray them with simple Pine Sol. "We deal with our streets in as organic Perennial Ryegrass a way as possible,” says Granger. The City of Toronto hasn't gone quite that far yet, but bluegrasses like in the last three years, under Zuchlinski, it cut pesticide usage by 80 per cent. Baron and Nassau. YORKTOWN II Some day soon, Granger envisions a sustainable urban forest: harvesting the trees, as Perennial Ryegrass is done in European cities, and selling useable wood to builders, furniture makers, sculptors, Quick germinat­ or just as firewood. In fact, over the last decade, neighbors on Eastbourne Avenue in Chaplin ing, fast growing WILMA Estates, led by Don Williams, an AY. Jackson Secondary School geography and environmental perennial rye­ Chewings Fescue studies teacher, have actually been using their trees - tapping the sugar and Norway maples grasses like Palmer or Repell REBEL II on their street and winding up with a sugaring-off block party in spring. Turf-type Tall Fescue But alas, even as some people admire and enjoy trees, others consider them a nuisance. the disease and insect fighter. Neighbors tell of citizens so eager for front yard parking that they stealthily poison a healthy REPELL street tree that the city will then be obliged to remove. "There’s a process residents can Tough, drought Perennial Ryegrass go through to get the authorities to remove city trees for renovation purposes,” explains resistant grasses acting Toronto Parks Commissioner Patricia O'Connell. "We oppose this vehemently but like Wilma Chew- about 25 per cent of the time we lose.” City forestry departments receive frequent calls ings Fescue or from homeowners complaining that their tree casts too much shade for lawns and flowers, Rebel II turf-type or that the fluttering seeds of maples are clogging their eaves troughs, or that their crabapple Tall Fescue. trees attract wasps. Then there's the drain problem. "Yes, roots do get into drains and back up sewage into Oseco basements,” says Richard Ubbens. "we’ve even had a report of tree roots emerging through the toilet, growing at a rate of two feet per day.” Ubbens maintains that the problem is cracked joints in clay pipes, easily remied by installing plastic, "root-proof” alternatives. "Still, it’s pretty hard to convince a guy that his problem is not the tree,” adds Ubbens, "when he’s clutching a fistful of roots.” P.O. Box 219 Brampton, Ontario L6V 2L2 Anti-tree sentiments aren’t the only obstacle in the greening of the urban forest. Telephone 416-846-5080 Advocates like Granger, Morsink, Ubbens, Zuchlinski and McCluskey are still a minority within planning and parks bureaucracies. Among Greater Toronto Area governments, only North York, Toronto, Oshawa and Oakville back the urban forest concept with programs and funds. And in Toronto, at least two urban foresters who were brought into the parks department three years ago to change the direction of forestry management have resigned, discouraged by lack of support. Acting Commissioner O'Connell denies retreating from such urban forestry goals as integrated pest management, the computerized tree inventory or native species nursery: "We have simply had personnel problems." Another disturbing development: Despite the growth of the The most advanced self-propelled urban forestry movement worldwide, no Toronto university or spray system available... college grants a specialist’s degree in urban forestry, which And now you can get the same precision, would create a cadre of professionals imbued with the new safety and economy with a new 35 h.p. ecological philosophy. In fact, the U of T’s urban forestry position vehicle, 300 gal. tank and fully loaded - launched by the gurui Erik Jorgensen himself - was cut in 1988. floatation of only 12 p.s.i. So Willem Morsink has taken matters into his own hands: this fall he'll launch an elective urban forestry course at Ryerson. Meanwhile there’s much the ordinary citizens can do, such as watering their street trees and not trimming lawns too close to the roots. Politicians, consultants and scientists can also help - by seeking alternatives to poisonous chemicals and road salt and by attacking the sources of urban air pollution, which in the end is probably even more harmful to humans than to trees. Last winter, the City of Toronto announced it would cut carbon dioxide emissions (the main cause of the greenhous effect) by 20 per cent by the year 2005. Discouraging the use of cars, thereby reducing noxious traffic fumes, is a major part of that effort. Gordon Bannerman Limited 41 Kelfield Street, So is reforestation. That’s the real point. One of the best Rexdale, Ontario M9W 5A3 ways to create a healthier city is to plant more trees. At last, Telephone 416-247-7875 some municipalities have begun to plant more street trees than they remove (2,500 versus 180 in North York, and 3000 versus 1,500 in Toronto last year). Meanwhile, a bewildering number of other tree-planting ventures are currently underway, including municipal Arbor Day, Boy Scout plantings, April’s Earth Week (which put in seedlings on the islands, at the waterfront and in the Don Valley) and the East York Outing Club. And in these efforts, nothing augurs better for the future Fast In. of Toronto’s urban forest than the commitment of the young. On a mild and sunny April morning, an odd sight distracts Fast Out. motorists travelling west of Leslie on Finch Avenue: A horde of teenagers, most in jeans and bright yellow oilcloth slickers, are Fast Forest. stationed with shovels and pails on a slope on the East Don We move trees. River. Waiting in four North York parks trucks at the bottom of Yours—or ours. the hill are 350 10-year-old native trees (black walnut, sugar We can supply almost any size and species you require, maple, autumn olive, mountain ash and high bush cranberry using our 60", 84" and our new 94" tree spades. shrubs), plus water, wood chips, gas barbecue and hot dogs. Large caliper tree moving with maximum success rates. This is no casual undertaking. Every spring since 1983, North Prompt reliable service: Golf courses, parks and Toronto Collegiate environmental science teacher Janice Palmer recreation areas, conservation authorities, schools, has brought her senior students here to help transform the once universities, and residential sites. conventionally mown and sprayed park into a naturalized wonderland. And every fall she troops back with a new group L FAST FOREST INC. to remulch the young trees, and paint a nontoxic rodent 270 Shoemaker Street, repellent on their trunks. Kitchener, Ontario While the students begin digging holes, Palmer, arborist Bill Tel: (519) 748-6610 FAX: (519) 748-6626 Granger and I stroll along the river to view the previous years' efforts. "The survival of our 3,500 native trees isn't a matter of Member: Landscape Ontario, Ontario Shade Tree Council, Ontario Parks luck," says Palmer. "Planting and caring for them has been hard Association, International Society of Arbortculture work, but well worth it." Granger adds, "There’s no way my staff (Continued on page 13) NEW MEMBER POSTINGS CLASSIFICATION Richard Fortier F Bruce Alexander Weatherson F Robert F. Ackerman F Dan O’Connor B Mark Piccolo F Norman (Brett) Jenkins B Steve Conners F V-Quip Inc. E If any member has an objection to the above persons joining the OGSA, the secretary must be notified in writing within 30 days. TURF 22 Spring Street Guelph, Ontario DRAIN N1E 1Z8 INC. (519) 763-3130 PETER BUCKLEY TECHNICAL SALES REPRESENTATIVES PROFESSIONAL TURF PRODUCTS GEOFFREY CORLETT CHIPMAN A Business Unit of C I L Inc TELEPHONE DAVID DECORSO MARK LUCKHARDT 400 JONES ROAD (416) 1 800 263-2136 (705) (519) (613) Supervisor, Construction Operations Supervisor, Drainage Systems STONEY CREEK, ONTARIO L8G 3Z1 1 800-263-8353 DRAINAGE • CONSTRUCTION • RENOVATION ECONOMICAL POLE FRAME BUILDINGS FOR ALL YOUR NEEDS . . . BUILDING SYSTEMS LTD. RURAL & COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS Call collect to Jack or Rick Brenzil for a FREE ESTIMATE . . . (416) 772-3551 (416) 388-6865 Over 30 Years Experience! Corrie Almack, PAg. ALMACK Er ASSOCIATES BOX 256. CARLISLE, ONTARIO LOR 1HO 416-689-6174 a division of c.j. McDonald co. ltd. 29 ADVANCE ROAD TORONTO, ONTARIO M8Z 2S6 STEINER TRACTORS . US BATTERIES A golfer wins or loses by his play BRUCE MCDONALD on the greens. R&R TURF PRODUCTS A golf course wins or loses by the (416) 236-1001 MELEX quality of the greens. With exclusive Nutrite Greens Fertilizers... A golfer may lose his game, but your course will always win. Nutralene™ The most advanced slow release nitrogen source for golf greens Greenskote Micro-Prills • We are proud to be supplying with Sulfurkote™ Slow Release Nitrogen, the Ontario and Quebec Golf Course and Sulphur Coated Potash. The smallest Industry with: particle size available in Canada Non calcareous, low PH Nutri-G Mini-Prills Hutcheson Silica: Slow Release Nitrogen from Topdressing Sand and Mixes Sulfurkote™, Nutralene™ and Milorganite™ Construction Sand and Mixes plus All Micro-nutrients High Organic Humus and Spagnum Peat Bunker Sands Vitorganic® 10-2-0 high organic content • Our products comply with Industry specifications and have Count on Nutrite for been met with overwhelming unequaled products, approval by agronomists, architects and total support. and superintendents. TRY US! 8 West Street South, Box 910 Call one of these Huntsville, Ontario POA 1K0 Nutrite Service Numbers, today Office: 705-789-4457 Mobile: 705-722-2141 Québec: 1-514-462-2555 Watts: 1-800-461-5521 Fax: 705-789-1049 Ontario: 1-519-669-5401 Maritimes: 1-418-689-4759 A PATCH OF GREEN FROM ESSEX - by S. G. Mills Spring in the Sun Parlor has been more like Spring in Upper Canada. Cool and somewhat wet. Great for turfgrass - not so great for golfers. All courses here are in great shape and ready for whatever "mom" has to throw at us for the duration. The duration is already considerably shorter but things always average out. The area newsline has Monty Anderson's Pointe West Golf Club in really good condition and this year part of the CPGA tour will be played there for the first time. The Windsor-Roseland Charity Classic raises over $50,000 annually for local charities and was the brainchild of Essex Professional, Don Harrison. The Tournament is a Pro-Am for two days and Pro only for the last two rounds. Roseland Golf Club has been the annual host until this year when the new Pointe West course was added to the event. Ken Nelson has the new Sutton Creek Golf Club at the grow stage and will open for limited member only play this Fall. Sutton is a Rob Heaslip design that will add substantially to the Essex-Kent golf scene. Our Michigan friends had the pleasure of hosting the Mazda Seniors at Dearborn Country Club, a Donald Ross course that was refurbished in the '60s by Robbie Robinson and the Kirkpatrick Brothers. Mark Schneider and yours truly attended the practice round. The course was in excellent condition. Wish we had some of the poa controls that are available across the border. The month of May marked the foundation of the Essex-Kent Greenkeepers Society. The impetus behind such an endeavor was the fact that many of the most Southern of our profession are so far removed from the central part of the province that they generally only attend the National Conference and the Ontario Symposium. This group has held its second meeting with excellent attendance at both functions. Westmount Golf Club - This Year’s Site of the President, Greenschairman, Superintendent, Club Manager Day Westmont Golf Club The Club is located within the cities of Kitchener and Waterloo. The course was designed by Stanley Thompson. Construction was started in 1929 and the course opened for play in 1931. The property is very undulating. Most of the holes were carved out of bush and swamp. The trees consisted mostly of maple, beech and ash. Many renovations have been carried out over the years: in 1957 Robbie Robinson designed 3 new holes to make room for a practice facility and in the early 60’s he also renovated some greens and trees. In the early 70 s some greens were renovated and in the early 80 s dangerous blind areas were removed from two of the holes. In 1986 The Club hired Tom McBroom to do a Master Plan for the Golf Course. Since that time renovations to the practice range, the putting green, the 17th tee and some bunker renovations have been completed. The present plan is to do some of the recommendations from the plan annually, i.e. this year we are renovating the 12th green, 12th tee and some more bunkers, the work will be carried out in the fall so play will be affected minimally. Over the years the club has hosted numerous golf tournaments including: Canadian Open, Canadian and Ontario Amateur Championships, Canadian Professional Golf Association Championship, Canadian and the Ladies Championships. This year the club is hosting the Ladies Professional Golf Association Tournament sponsored by du Maurier Ltd. from June 25 to July I. Hugh Kirkpatrick Golf Course Superintendent Something is Killing Toronto’s Trees: Continued from page 10 could do this on their own." As we approach a meadow flanked by a grove of black walnuts the students planted years ago, Granger and Palmer point out with pride the clumps of native wild rose, honeysuckle, dogwood, nannyberry and sumac that have returned since the crews stopped mowing: attracted by the new shelter and food sources, rabbits, finches, woodpeckers and deer have returned as well. The urban forest is greater than the sum of its trees. One of the tree planters, Miriam Holland, rests on her shovel to talk. Now a 23-year-old U of T student, shes’s one of a few ex-students who return each year. "Kids are really encouraged to know that they can do something that matters. Coming back every year, I enjoy seeing the continuing support for this project, and seeing the trees mature." Despite its problems, what greater promise could there be for the urban forest than people who enjoy seeing, and helping, it grow? 15 YEARS AGO TO-DAY by Barry Endicott The Board of Directors in 1975 was Paul Dermott (president), Allan Beeney (vice president), Carl Bennet (secretary), Cameron Cairncross, Dave Gourlay, Robert Hall, John Hutchinson, Whitey Jones, Helmot Kopp, Paul Scenna, Bob Heron (past president and editor). The CGSAA Turf Conference and Show was held in New Orleans. The RCGA Turf Conference Show was held at the Skyline Hotel in Toronto on March 18-20. The Canadian Golf Superintendents Association took over the administration and operation of the Turf Conference and Show with the co-operation of the Royal Canadian Golf Association. Graham Shouldice was promoted from assistant to Superintendent at London Highlands Golf Club. Willfred Wallace was the new Superintendent at Erie Downs, Doug Hoskins at the National, Blake McMaster at Brampton Golf Club, Dave Chapman at Victoria Park Golf Club and Ross Thurston at Cambridge Country Club. Bob Hall moved on from Toronto Ladies to Foreman of Parks and Recreation, Markham. John Stoughton at the Barrie Country Club hosted the Ontario Open. Paul Scenna prepared the ice for the British Consuls Curling Championship at the Preston Arena in Cambridge. Bill Hynd, St. Georges, hosted the Ladies Professional Golfers and Ed Ortleib, hosted the Canadian PG.A. Tournament. Bill Glashen, Niagara Parks Golf Course, Doug Brown, Erie Shores Golf Club, Dave Chapman. Cambridge G.C., Dick Ingram, Lido Golf Course, Steve Miller, Dundas Valley Golf Course, Allen Mills, South Muskoka Golf Course, Gordon Orr, Kleinburg Golf Club. Walter Hach, Connestoga Golf Club and A. Murphy Induismin Ltd. were new members. Art Price became a life member of the OGSA. George Drew, Richmond Hill Golf Club, died at the age of 65 on his golf course on October 31. George was 14 years assistant and Superintendent at Oshawa Golf Club, 14 years at London Hunt and 15 years at Richmond Golf Club. Jim Wyllie, Lambton Golf and Country Club was the president of the CGSA. Monthly meetings were held at North Halton, Al Beeney, Summit (spring dance), Cam Cairncross, Essex, Dave Moote, Westview, Keith Nesbit, Galt. Paul Scenna and Dalewood, Hugh Kirkpatrick. The Christmas Party was held at Chinguacousy, Henry Guertin. The second annual President-Green Chairman-Superintendent Tournament was held at the Weston Golf Club on August 1st. The Pro-Superintendent Tournament was held at the New Dundee Golf Club. The McClumpha Tournament was held at Chinguacousy Country Club. October 6th. The Horticulture Apprentice Program with a new Turf Management option at Humber College was finalized under the direction of Paul Dermott, Gord Witteveen, Dave Gourlay, Cam Cairncross, Bob Heron and Ted Hartwell. Interested students will be paid 75% of their salary plus expenses, while attending this course. Ontario Turf Equipment Co. Ltd. 50 Charterhouse Cr., • London, Ontario N6W 5V5 • Phone (519) 452-3540 Jacobsen Turf Products: A complete line of quality mowing & grooming equipment. Sales • Service • Parts Serving Ontario Since 1975 Meeting all the needs of today’s Turf Professional The Most Advanced Mower Ever Designed The Reelmaster® 223-D No other mower knows your fairways better Master your cutting quality with unsurpassed efficiency To accommodate varied turf conditions, Toro offers you Variable Reel Speed Control. This unique feature allows you to match the reel speed to your desired height of cut and mowing speed for optimal cutting efficiency. Trailing cutting units are free to float in all directions to ensure ground following over undulations and to minimize scalping. In the event of impact, each cutting unit incorporates a breakaway device to help lessen damage. TURF CARE 200 PONY DRIVE, NEWMARKET, ONTARIO L3Y 7B6 • TELEPHONE (416) 836-0988 • FAX: (416) 836-6442 UPCOMING EVENTS AUGUST 13, 1990 OTRF Golf Tournament SEPTEMBER 11, 1990 Spring Lakes Golf Club, Stouffville, Ont. SEPTEMBER 25, 26, 1990 GCSAA SEMINAR, GOLF COURSE Construction Techniques and Management Devils Pulpit Golf Course, Caledon, Ont. DECEMBER 9-12 CGSA CONFERENCE AND SHOW Montreal Convention Centre, Montreal, P.Q. Green is Beautiful Ontario Golf Superintendents Association