Turf Times The newsletter from the Northern Michigan Turf Managers Association O«F‘ 99ers-«e Bi-Monthly Update July/August Volume 32, No. 3 President’s Message Wow, that was fast....you can kiss June and July goodbye! Today’s weather (July 25) is just perfect for me, 80 and sunny. The NMTMA has a golf outing sched­ uled for Tuesday, August 12 at the Hidden River Golf & Casting Club. The manage­ ment at Hidden River has given us a whopper of a deal. Golf, carts and a steak cook- out for $50.00. Can't make the morning golf? Join us for lunch and the Bob Vavrek education section after golf, it’s only $20.00. Register online at nmtma.org today. You can pay by credit card, mail a check or click the box that says 'pay at the event'. An email confirmation of your registration will follow within three days from Kay Patrick. Here is the agenda for the educational portion of the day; GCSAA has ap­ proved .10 education points. Review of Winter Injury What happened Covered vs. uncovered turf Desiccation or crown hydration Techniques for accelerating recovery Seed Head Suppression Primo/Proxy Embark Green Speed Issues Moss - fertility/irrigation/mowing height Basal rot anthracnose Rolling The NMTMA scholarship fund-raiser is scheduled for Monday, September 8 on the new Arthur Hills Course at Boyne Highlands. Joe Breighner and his staff are planning an outstanding event. Make sure to sign up early at nmtma.org, with the venue at Boyne, it’s sure to be sold out and don’t forget to bring your raffle prizes. The association’s chapter championship will be on Tuesday, October 7 at Red Hawk Golf Course. Besides golf we will be having the annual meeting and voting on new board members. If you are interested in join­ ing some of your fellow superintendents on the NMTMA board of directors please call Scott Pulaski at Treetops. Scott has offered to be the nominating committee chairman. Our board meetings are held once a month from November - April and usually run from 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. If you are interested or have questions, please call Scott or any current board member. This years MTF fund-raiser at the Grand Traverse Resort was a huge success. Although it rained very hard (Continued on page 2) (Continued from page 1) the last nine holes, everyone finished and had a great time. Thanks to Paul Galligan, Chuck Rocconi, Gene Davis, Nancy Ellis, Ron Sanborn and their staff for their hard work hosting this year’s event. Thank you to Deep Roots, Uniroyal, Lesco, J. Mollema, Tire Wholesalers, Valley Turf, Simplot Partners, Rhino Seed, Spartan Distributors, Syngenta, Tri Turf and Tri Turf Soils, Grigg Brothers, Turfgrass, John Deere Golf & Turf, Weingartz, EZ Go Carts and United Horticulture Supply. Without the constant support of these vendors, we would be paying much more than $ 125.00 for this special event. Thanks to those of you who played in the event or donated raffle prizes. We raised $4,641.58 for the Michi­ gan Turfgrass Foundation. One of the options that we built into the new NMTMA web site is the capability of sending out informa­ tional emails to the membership. Since the new database system was created, Kay, Dan and I have been sending out; state water issues updates, event registrations and reminders, state turf news, job referrals, member news as well as my president’s messages. This web based program is very easy to use, very cost efficient and more importantly it is current information. If you have not been getting emails from info@nmtma.org then send Kay your email address so you can get in the loop. We do not share member email address with anyone. The board has decided to continue moving towards emailed information in the future. Congratulations to The Grand Traverse Resort for hosting The Michigan Open, Treetops Resort for hosting the PGA Par Three Shoot-Out and Belvedere Golf Club for hosting the Michigan Amateur. You all made our profession look great during these premier events. Your dues statements will be sent out the first of August. Please read the letter enclosed with your statement explaining some membership changes. Stay tuned for information on our first mechanics meeting in years. Treetops Resort will be hosting this half day event scheduled for mid-October. Thanks for your time and keep it down the middle. Steve Hammon Mechanics Meeting Congratulations 10/14/2003 The NMTMA board members understand how important the Congratulations to Jim and mechanic is to every golf course operation. This will be a 1/2 Tammy VanAntwerp on the July day event. The first meeting will be a basic get together and 20th birth of their new son; shop tour at Treetops Resort. Let’s get our mechanics together for equipment discussions and a nice lunch. This meeting is sponsored by the NMTMA and will be free of charge. There Andrew James will be more information in the mail and on the website at pounds 12.9 ounces. nmtma.org. Page 2 On the Road with Bob Vavrek Updated 7-21-03 While most folks look to the sky for fireworks during the 4th of July holiday, many superintendents look to the sky for the emerging Japanese beetle adults. This pest has slowly, but steadily, marched west from New Jersey where it was introduced into the United States in 1916. Ten years ago there were more sightings of Elvis made in Wisconsin than sightings of beetles. Now damaging populations of adults and grubs are well established in the Lake Geneva area, in Madison, and turf injury has been documented as far north as Eau Claire. Beetles have been observed on a few courses as far west as the Twin Cities. The adults feed on more than 300 species of plants. Two favorites are Linden trees and Norway maples, which happen to be heavily planted, and the Norway maples overplanted, on many golf courses in the up­ per Midwest. In fact, don’t waste your money on a Bag-A-Bug trap to monitor the arrival of adults if you have a Little Leaf Linden on the course - this tree is a beetle buffet. The grubs cause the most headaches on the golf course. They feed on turf roots and can cause a consider­ able amount of damage when the population density exceeds 5 to 10 grubs per sq. ft. Irrigated turf can ac­ commodate more grubs than unirrigated turf. Skunks, raccoons and opossums cause even more damage when they rip apart sod at night to feed on grubs. Once they locate an abundant source of grubs they will return to feed night after night. The adults seen during July lay eggs in the soil that will hatch into tiny grubs in about two weeks. Ade­ quate soil moisture is required for the eggs to hatch. If the soil dries out the eggs will die. Consequently, the presence of abundant adults does not necessarily result in abundant grubs. Plenty of adults were seen on trees and fairways at courses in the Detroit area this second week of July. Use a cup changer to monitor the turf for grubs starting in early to mid August. Remember, healthy, irri­ gated turf can accommodate more grub feeding than sites without irrigation. A variety of insecticides are available to control a potentially damaging grub population. The key to success is to ensure the treatment reaches the target, so follow label recommendations carefully. Small grubs are always easier to kill than large grubs and early detection can spell the difference between successful control and failure. This is old news to those who have had to deal with devastated turf in the past. Superintendents unfamiliar with Japanese beetles can be taken by surprise when this pest migrates into new territory. One course in central Wisconsin discovered they had a massive infestation early last September when the rough mower slid down the bank of a steep mound taking a large strip of turf with it. Without roots the turf was little more than a throw rug on a waxed hardwood floor. No need to panic when beetles move into your area. Various universities have spent years studying the bi­ ology of Japanese beetles and ways to control this pest. Learn how to identify the grub and become famil­ iar with its life cycle. With this knowledge, and a sound monitoring program, you will have little trouble battling beetles. Source: Bob Vavrek, rvavrek@usga.org or 262-797-8743 Page 3 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —n The NMTMA appreciates the support from the following businesses... ‘IRRIGATION* ‘FERTILIZER, CHEMICAL & SEED* ‘EQUIPMENT, SERVICE & SUPPLIES* John Deere One Source Rhino Seed and Supply Great Lakes Turf Equipment One Source for All Your GolfNeeds Next Day Delivery Guaranteed! Quality Used Turf Equipment (800) 642-3706 / (231) 632-3337 (800) 790-1898 / (800) 677-1006 (248)640-1174 *SOD, SOIL, & CONSTRUCTION* Lesco, Inc. Spartan Distributors Mark Hensley Your Full Line Toro Distributor Tri Turf Soils, Inc. (800)321-5325 (800) 822-2216 “USGA Screened Soils ” (231) 943-7806/(888) 616-7806 Sweeney Seed Company Weingartz Golf & Turf It Pays To Plant The Best Distributor ofJohn Deere Equipment Great Lakes Golf Construction, Inc. (989) 773-5391 / (800) 344-2482 (616) 696-2913 / (248) 295-0105 Experts In Remodel & Repair (231) 582-6783 / (231) 582-5269 FAX Tri-Turf *GOLF CART SALES & SERVICE* “A Warehouse On Wheels ” Huggett Sod Farm, Inc. (231) 943-8343 / (800) 636-7039 Boylan Sales, Inc.—Yamaha Golf Cars Bent & Bluegrass Sod, Shade & Ornamental Trees Jim Atchison (989) 635-7482 Turfgrass, Inc. (269) 685-6828 / (269) 437-2602—Cell Serving Northern Michigan From Gaylord Beck Sod Farm, Inc. (989) 705-8180 / (866) 705-8180 Kodiak Equipment Company David Beck Golf Cars, Parts, Service, Rentals, Accessories (989) 864-35491 (800) 968-2325 Turf Chemicals, Inc. (888) 746-0800—Kalkaska / (866) 743-6817—Flint Russ Hancock Great Lakes Bentgrass (989) 725-7145 I (800) 733-7145 Finest Quality Sand Grown Sod (734)677-3618 United Horticultural Supply *TIRES & TUBES* Steve Pent *CONTRACT SERVICES* (989)277-4704 Tire Wholesalers Company Dan Cress Turf Services, Inc. *OTHER* (231) 775-6666 / (231) 775-8810 Matt Heiss (616) 842-4975 Holiday Inn Grayling (989) 348-7611 / (800) 292-9055 ..and we encourage you to support them Northern Michigan Turf Managers Association P.O. Box 80086 Lansing, Michigan 48908 Dr. James B. Beard International Sports Turf 6900 E. Kelenski Dr. NMTMA Executive Committee Cedar, MI 49621 Steve Hammon President Craig Hoffman Vice President Dan Hunt Treasurer Tom Reed, Sr. Executive Secretary s ! I! i it i i Hi 1 II H H H H i ii lihtlh.hnHnHU. IUiHltl niniiUiuiiiitiiliuiiiutiitnl