TrrrfTrmr Update Vol.\ No. 1 The newsletter from the Northwest Michigan Turf Managers Association 0^3 NMTMA and GAM A short wrapup of the 1989 golf season meeting March 13 By James Latham, Director The Northern Michigan Turf Great Lakes Region, USGA Green Section Managers Association and the Golf A recap of the 1989 golf turf season is difficult because it was so varied - from sheer disaster to dis­ Association of Michigan will open the appointment to downright delightful, depending upon where you were at the time. It was a year of 1990 program and meeting season on opportunity for many because of an apparent return to the usual Midwestern climactic patterns and March 13th at Hidden Valley Resort in for others Decause Mother Nature suddenly eradicated Poa Annua in places few superintendents Gaylord. would dare to try. At some time during the winter, golf courses from Michigan to Montana experienced classic winter- Date: March 13,1990 kill of Poa Annua and perennial ryegrass. This phenomenon can be expected locally in almost any Place: Hidden Valley Resort. year, but seldom has it been so extensive. The greater Chicago area, for example, missed the experi­ Approximately 4 miles east of I-75 on ence by less than 60 miles, but the six states to the north, east and west were extensively blessed (?) M-32. The meeting will be held at with this cheap Poa Annua control process. Hidden Valley's Main Club House. It seemed to work this way: Program: • The soil was frozen. • There was a thaw and the meltwater was retained at the turf surface (even Dr. Paul Rieke, MSU with sand greens) in depressions, on gentle slopes or even flat spots where Poa Jim Latham, USGA Annua dominated in the past. Brad Wilkins, Mich. DNR • The temperature dropped suddenly to well below freezing. Tom Drenth, attorney speaking on • Ice formed in the saturated crown tissue of the bunch grasses and destroyed Employment and Workplace issues cell structure. And a film of the 1989 U. S. Open To make matters even worse for some superintendents, the thin green cover materials did not pre­ vent damage. The only escapes in the epicenters of winterkill were greens (etc.) which retained Program Time: 9:45 a.m. -2:30p.m. snowcover or those with thick, excelsior mats. Registration: 9:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. Comments by superintendents who used covers: Program Cost: $16.00 payable at • The thin covers may have aggravated the situation by broadening the day/ the door, including lunch. night temperature spread. IMPORTANT: You must make reservations • The thick covers probably kept the green surfaces from thawing. for the lunch. Call Kim Olson or leave a • Medium thickness covers on top of a rather heavy, late topdressing apparent­ ly gave enough insulation to prevent surface thaw or refreezing. message to make your reservation. This situation was compounded by very poor growing conditions in early spring which defied at­ (616) 887-0515. tempts to reseed. Even Poa Annua seed germination was minimal. The superintendents who perser- vered with multiple reseeding operations now have bentgrass in quantity where it has not been in a long time. By initiating maintenance operations which keep it competitive, they can use Poa Annua suppressants to their best advantage. Otherwise, the spring miseries will return to plaque them Send announcements to: again and again. Substantial losses of perennial ryegrass occurred in South Dakota and Wisconsin underlining their Michael Morris unreliability as a primary golf turf species in this latitude. They apparently need backup by Ken­ P.O. Box 1575 tucky bluegrass, fine fescues or some type of more winter hardy grass. Frankfort, Ml 49635 There are, of course, exceptions to these loss patterns, but they were rare at the courses visisted dur­ ing Turf Advisory Service tours this year. In some instances, I simply confirmed the superintendent's statements that it was impossible to predict the episode and that normal maintenance operations could not prevent this kind of winterkill. It became evident that agronomics must play a larger role IMPORTANT! in golf turf management so that bentgrass can become more competitive to help Poa Annua controls become more effective. Now that we have the means to suppress Poa Annua agressiveness, it is Please check the information possible to reestablish bentgrass and/or Kentucky bluegrass in key areas, but it is imperative that on your mailing label. Send they compete or the cycle will begin again. any immediate or future Some other strange events took place this season. The sudden appearance of mini-fairy rings on the greens at a couple of courses was one. At about the same time, similar rings elsewhere disappeared changes to Tom Reed, 3733 after a couple of years in residence. Why? How? Apollo Dr., Traverse City, Ml The black layer syndrome hasn't gone away either. The sporadic rainfall pattern had a great deal to 49684. All newsletters will be do with this - probably. Soil oxygen is stillill the key to prevention and cure. Internal drainage and the elimination of spongy organic layers by aeration and topdressing are necessities. And remember mailed bulk rate: Correct that black layers aren't new. O.J. Noer commented on black odorous soil profiles in greens over 50 addresses are necessary for years ago. They were just harder to see at the time. delivery, no forwarding. (Continued on Back Page) "Represent your organization with class. Nice sport clothes are required for all golf outings - no blue jeans, t-shirts and the like. Sweaters or jackets with ties are recommended for all dinners and meet­ ings. Good golf etiquette, fairness and sportsmanship are expected at all golfing events." A short wrapup of the 1989 golf season POSITIONS AVAILABLE: (Continued from Front Page) Supplying the anaerobic organisms with oxygen by applying potassium nitrate or similar materials will help to reduce immediate damage, but that is simply treating a contributing factor and not the Assistant Superintendent, irrigation ex­ cause. The cause of black layer in sand, clay, or stratified profiles is usually an excess of water. perience preferred, and Golf Course The non-capillary (drainage) pores or air spaces are filled with water. Buried thatch becomes a sat­ urated sponge. Layers of anything restrict the downward flow of water which pulls air into the soil Mechanic. Send resume with letter of after it. And let's not forget that plant roots need oxygen too. application to: Mike Meindertsma, It seems that more clubs are accepting their greens Stimpmeter readings of 8 to 9 feet. A high per­ 1990 U.S. 31 North, Suite #5, Traverse centage of the membership are enjoying that speed. Tnere is also the realization that juicing the City, Ml 49684. (616) 938-9384. surfaces up to 11 feet from 9 for a member-guest event destroys the home course advantage. In oth­ er words, maybe speed-need is the figment of the imagination of would-be Tour-sites and not the will of the bill-payers. Golf Course Superintendent needed. There are, of course, clubs in which the majority of the members want tournament class greens at Written inquiries only to: Tom Baxter, all times and are willing to pay for them. That's fine with me as long as they realize that fast greens Cadillac Country Club, R.O. Box 367, are, necessarily firm and that fast, firm, greens should be accompanies by fast, firm, fairways and the level of management they require, me bottom line is a golf course that equates 18 very large Cadillac, Ml 49601. greens, mown at several heights of cut, but with the same general maintenance procedures through­ out. That includes vertical mowing or brushing to minimize the tee toward green grain which comes from cart use on fairways. This applies to both bentgrass and bluegrass. Banning golf carts from the fairways usually destroys the intermediate roughts, so unless these vehicles are limited to roadways, be prepared for higher maintenance costs or lower quality playing conditions. Golf carts are like taxes- we do not like them but we do like the revenues they generate. Speaking of golf cart traffic, have you noticed the damage being done by the concentrated traffic of Advertisers! maintenance equipment? Some of the wear is in non-play areas, but certainly not all of it. The traffic problem continues to mount on practice tees, where few golf operations have adequate There is still some space. Even fewer can do anything about it except recycle the available area they have. This brings ryegrass to the forefront even though it is no more than temporary turf that will be destroyed in a short time. The best results have been attained by "using up" strips of turf across the width of the advertising space tees before moving play to another strip. The damaged strip is then double aerated and the cores broken up, followed by heavy (15-20 lbs. per 1,000 sq. ft.) seeding and topdressing or just mixing available in all the seed with the soil from the cores. Rolling and fertilizing finish the job. Fungicide treated seed minimize the danger of damping off until a systemic fungicide can be applied- at about the time of of our publications! the first mowing. If you want to turn green with envy, just see the creation at St. Andrew's Golf Course in Chicago, Make your under the care of jonn Lapp. Acres of bentgrass and rygrass/bluegrass plus a 30-mat slab for night use. Real greens for targets and real sand in the bunkers. Or look at the Hinsdale Golf Club's band­ box practice area which provides such a variety of shots you won't miss using a driver. Bob Mai- reservation soon. busch is rightly proud of this unique installation. There are other fine practice ranges throughout the Great Lakes Region but these are tops on their size classes. A closing thought: if we are to keep bureaucratic regulations off our back, we must make them un­ necessary. The way to do this is to stay ahead of the game through safe storage and application of "TTumfe for your chemicals, employee training and protection and a close look at our own operation as if we were an inspector wno nad never seen the place before and not issued enough citations recently. support of tHe NOTE: Keep your eyes open for the new Northern Michigan Turf Managers Association's publi­ cations. You can expect a Turf Times Update, like this, monthly during our meeting sea­ son, and in April you will receive your first Turf Times Quarterly newsletter. The 1990 Membership Directory will be mailed in April. J Northern Michigan Turf Managers Association BULK RATE CJO Mike Morris, P.O. Box 1575 U.S. POSTAGE Frankfort, Ml 49635 PAID FRANKFORT, Ml 49635 PERMIT NO. 25 BEARD coLiKîkv