March/April 1986 A PATCH GREEN o f ô V°nç * : P3 ! fïïfa ' /Ipnl l m V OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE MICHIGAN & BORDER CITIES GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS ASSOCIATION WHEN GOLF BALLS TALK. WE LIS TE N ! Great Laibes Minerals Co. Trap& Topdressing Sands CONTROLLED TO USGA SPECIFICATIONS GREAT LAKES' TOPDRESSING SAND IS AVAILABLE IN TRUCKLOAD QUANTITIES. ALSO AVAILABLE - TRAP AND SPECIALTY SANDS. 2855 COOLIDGE HWY. • TROY, MICHIGAN 48084 TELEPHONE: (313) 649-3700 2 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Kevin Dushane Golf Course Superintendent Bloomfield Hills Country Club Those of you who have attended turf conferences this winter such as the Michigan Turf Conference and the GCSAA Convention in San Francisco are most likely aware of what new turf technology is being offered by scientists and specialists in the golf course turf in­ dustry. New technology just doesn’t happen. Like most advancements in scientific technology it takes many Ears of research to develop new, improved products e seed varieties, fungicides and herbicides. Also, research is needed to inform the industry of the best methods to use these products. Maintenance practices such as topdressing, aerification and irrigation need many years of study to keep pace with the changing times, whether these changes be caused by social, economic or environmental demands. Like anything in today’s society, it requires a large amount of financial aid to obtain superior results. At the December Board meeting the executive committee voted to give $500 to the GCSAA Scholarship and Research Fund. The Board directed me to request the donation be channeled to the Research Fund. All it took was a phone call to Jerry Faubel, committee chairman of the GCSAA Research and Scholarship Fund, and inform him of our desire to place the money into research funding. By doing this we are not implying that we do not support scholarships (the MBCGCSA does have a $500 Scholarship available yearly to a worthy student), but we feel turf grass research is making huge gains for golf course turf advancement and we would like to keep that ball rolling, even though the amount given by us is a very small piece of the pie. There are many turfgrass research institutions in the country including, Michigan Turfgrass Foundation, GCSAA and the O.J. Noer Foundation, organizations that we have supported in the past. We have our annual Turf Research Benefit day and the money raised (from 8-10 thousand dollars) is directed to the MTF. And many of you know that the GCSAA, in conjunction with the USGA, are directing a portion of their research efforts toward developing grass varieties for golf courses that require less water. The O.J. Noer Foundation has also been dicussed as an organization to possibly donate money to. Most of the present Board members are not familiar with the O.J. Noer Founda­ tion and what it was about so it was decided to hold off any funding to this organization until more was known. Fortunately, this problem may be rectified in the near future; Frank Forier, a member of the O.J. Noer Foundation, nominated me for membership into the organization. So I should soon know more about what the O.J. Noer is committed to in turf research and this may possibly lead to a future donation. I would like to point out to the membership that no donations are made unless there are available funds in the MBCGCSA treasury. By the end of the fiscal year the treasurer is able to determine what funds are avilable and a decision is made by the Board of Directors as to who receives donations and how much is given. We in Michigan are fortunate to have Michigan State University at our fingertips as they are conducting some of the most up to date turfgrass studies in the country. With scientists the quality of Drs. Vargas, Rieke, Branham and Payne at MSU and the excellent research facilities at the Robert Hancock Center, our resources are plentiful. This is evident by the quality field days and turf conferences held each year in Lansing and the informative reports that are available to Michigan turf managers. In closing, I would like to stress the importance of turfgrass research to our profession. As golf course superintendents we must continue to support worthy institutions such as the Mtf, GCSAA and the O.J. Noer Foundation by volunteering our physical support as well as financial aid. Please continue to participate in our annual golf day and other fund raisers as turfgrass research institutions are a vital part of our profession. The money and personal involvement generated to­ wards research today will pay dividends in the yaers ahead with improved turfgrass quality and at the same time make the golf course superintendents more effective in their capacities as turf managers. Sincerely, Kevin Dushane A PATCH OF G R E E N Official Publication of the MICHIGAN & BORDER CITIES GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS ASSOCIATION y f > VG0LF COURSE) j SUPT ) ^-WMICAn PRESIDENT KEVIN DUSHANE Bloomfield H ills C.C. VICE PRESIDENT CHARLES GAIGE Lakelands Golf & C.C. SECRETARY/TREASURER TOM MASON Birmingham C.C. PAST PRESIDENT MIKE EDGERTON Meadowbrook C.C. DIRECTORS ED HEINEMAN Waters Edge C.C. 3 JON MADDERN City of Farmington H ills DAN UZELAC Dominion Golf Club KEN DeBUSSCHER Wabeek C.C. J1M TIMMERMAN Orchard Lake C.C. ROGER GILL Pine Lake C.C. EDITOR/PATCH OF GREEN TED WOEHRLE Oakland H ills C.C. (313) 644-3352 IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING BUYNG A SPRAYER C O N TA C T W EINGARTZ FIRST JOIN THE PROFESSIONALS WHOUSESDI— * TANK SIZES 50 TO 1,000 GALLONS * PUMPS 9.5 GPM TO 51 GPM AND UP TO 850 PSI * ALL SPRAYERS CAN BE SKID MOUNTED ON YOUR TRUCK, OR SEVERAL TRAILER OPTIONS * WE CUSTOMIZE TO MEET YOUR NEEDS For Information or Demonstration Call TOM BRADSHAW or DON DUPUIS WEINGARTZ Since 1945 “We Service Whet We Sell’' 46061 VAN DYKE (V3 MILE NORTH OF M-59) UTICA 731-7240 Michigan’s Largest Lawn & Outdoor Power Equipment Dealer MON 8 JO to 8 TUES-FRI 8 30 5 30 SAI 8 30 5 ARCHITECTURAL STYLES REPRINTED FROM NORTHERN OHIO TURF, VOL. 26, NO. 5, JUNE, 1985 GEOFFERYS. CORNISH G olf Course Architect Fiddlers Green Amherst, Massachusetts 01002 Today is obviously a very favorable period in the history of golf and golf courses. It is believed (but I don’t know if there are any true records) that there are presently more golf clubs in the Nation with waiting lists than ever before. Furthermore this year there are more new courses under construction in the U.S. since the energy shortage of 1973. I would like to speak on the subject of style. When an architect is creating his compositions - individual golf holes - he is trying to say something. When his work is with a resort or development, the client wants this message loud and clear, often extravagent. On the other extreme, the member-owned club wants the message to be subtle and gentle. This difference in expectations is entirely understandable and correct. Truly it is an example of the architectural axiom “Form follows function.” LESCO Greensmower designed by and for today’s turf professionals 18 H.P. twin-cylinder Kohler Magnum engine for added power and long life. Hydraulic power steering for easy maneuverability Independent reel controls for multiple mowing patterns Reversible hydraulics to allow backlapping of individual cutting units while on machine Center post steering for added safety and ease in climbing on and off either side of machine Rocker foot pedal for raising and lowering cutting units Automatic starting and stopping of reels One major way the golf architect has to state his message is by his design style. In a paper in Golf Course M anagement, Nov. 1984, the eminent attor­ ney and freelance writer Ron Whitten, of Topeka, Kansas, co-author with me of The G olf Course, suggested there is a new trend in course design and that styles are changing. We should be aware that the architect’s message comes over only through the efforts of the superinten­ dent. Also we must keep in mind something Donald Ross said: “The Lord made golf holes. Golf architects simply discover them.” In other words, Ross is saying that the greatest golf features are natural, not contrived. •Because golf architecture is intrinsically an art our CONTINUED PAGE 22 & STUMP REMOVAL 538-8630 WE OFFER: Trimming - with aerial bucket capability • Large tree removal • Modern, economical stump removal (quantity rate available) SPECIAL SPRING OFFER FOR GOLF COURSES • Hauling of fall & winter debris - includes loading. (25 yd. semi-loads) COMPLETELY INSURED (800) 321 5325 NATIONWIDE (S00) 362-7413 IN OHIO LESCO, Inc. • 20005 Lake Road, Rocky River, Ohio 44116 • (216) 333-9250 5 TREE CO M PAN Y EST. 1965 N O TE S FRO M TH E UNDERG RO UND by Harry Roote Congratulations are in order to two of our members for their golfing prowess. Clem Wolfrom won the low net title at the GCSAA Mid-Year Conference golf tournament held in Indianapolis, Indiana in Se- tember. Bob Pontius from Franklin Hills CC, won a recent left-handed Seniors Tournament. Recently there has been a rash of salary surveys that have been conducted on the national and local scene. Here’s one I thought we all would be interested in - Did you know that roughly 90% of all the people in the world make an average of $200.00 per year or less and of these 75% „make about $75.00 per year? Sure hope my greens chairman doesn’t hear about this survey. I read an interesting book about facts on plant life the other day and would like to share some of them with you. Tobacco has recently been shown to have nutritious value as well as smoking pleasure. Tobacco leaves contain many of the essential amino acids needed to sustain life and can be used as a source of food if necessary. So if you smokers ever find yourself marooned with just a pack of cigarettes, you’ll have to decide whether to smoke it or eat it. One rye-grass plant, grown as a scientific experiment, put out roots totaling 378 miles in a single four-month period. The typical tree or plant on golf course receives about 10% of its nutrition from the soil. The rest comes from the atmosphere. The dwarf willows of Greenland’s tundra are the smallest trees in the world. They are only two inches high. In a series of experiments performed by Dorothy Retallack in 1969, it was shown that music affects the growth of plants. Tests on corn, squash and several flowers showed that rock music stunted the growth of some plants and caused others to grow unusually tall at first and produce extremely small leaves. They required more water, yet grew shorter roots. Within several weeks all the marigolds in one experiment had died, but only a few feet away identical flowers listening to classical music were blooming. Makes one wonder about our children. The plant life of the oceans makes up about 85 % of all the greenery on the planet. I just viewed the giant Sequoia trees during the trip to San Francisco. It seems this tree waits 175 to 200 years before it first flowers - the most delayed sexual maturity in all nature. It will bear millions of seeds, 6 but each one is so small that it takes 3,000 of them to weigh one ounce. The sap of the giant Sequoia is non-resinous. The trees, once they have developed a heavy bark, are practically fireproof, which may account for their long life. Even if they are fire-damaged, the high tannin content of the sap has the same healing properties that tannic acid has on human flesh when burned. Plant life could not exist without lightning. Nitrogen is an essential food for all plants. The atmosphere is 80% nitrogen but in a form that is insoluble and unusable. It is the intense heat of lightning that forces the nitrogen to combine with oxygen in the air, forming nitrogen oxides that are soluble in water and fall to the earth in rain as dilute nitric acid. This reacts with minerals in the ground to become nitrates, on which the plants depend. The yellow evening primrose opens only at dusk and so swiftly that it can be seen and heard. The buds sound like popping soap bubbles as they burst. Bamboo may grow three feet in twenty-four hours. Once a black walnut log is ready for milling, it is examined carefully for figured grain. If any is seen, the wood instead is shaved into sheets leass than 1/32 of an inch thick. One beautiful log is said to have been sold in the veneer trade for $20,000 wholesale. I have one of these trees on my golf course. Hmmm! The tiny discs of chlorophyll in plant cells move about within those cell to adjust for different light and heat conditions. When sunlight is too strong, they can turn on edge. On a gray day, they may roll to turn broadside to make the most of available light. I didn’t know that. Speaking of facts here are a few more that I feel might prove entertaining: A manned rocket reaches the moon in less time than it took a stagecoach to travel the length of England. The first aerial photograph was made from a balloon during the American Civil War. Heavyweight boxing champ Gene Tunney lectured on Shakespeare at Yale University. The electric automobile self-starter, which was per­ fected in 1911 by Charles F. Kettering, made it possible for women to drive without the companion previously needed for cranking the engine. Shame on CONTINUED PAGE 20 UNIVERSITY SCORECARDS PROVE IT. BROWN PATCH CONTRO!» unfrwsr Vortan* B a y 'e to n 2 Rubigan- Caconi! 2 7 8 ? 4 F ‘ Untreated ®^8emgtass B Application 6/7-, / Frv B P. H. DerootfeP. Dept, of Agronomy, v 7 /8 *versity 0 f Maryland Si^5SS?«SttSSi. Applica«»« Inter*»* % Plot Infect««* -A*THRAi T'eatrnàn:i ^jRSAAf g-^J^efor, ~^£jf^s33 ^^goSO^ Uj^con,« 27f J ^ y c vora5 1 0 0 16555 TELEGRAPH RD. - TAYLOR C A l± 1 Mile South of Eureka OTTERBINE DAY OR NIGHT...SUMMER OR WINTER OTTERBINE" Aerators can help you keep unsightly algal growth and objectional odors under control naturally. The fact that OTTERBINES also create beauty — is just one of the many benefits of using our Spray Sculpture™ Floating Fountains. WE CREATE BEAUTY WHILE SOLVING PROBLEMS ainaiD MICHIGAN CALL 800/544-9219 31691 Dequindre Madison Hts., Ml 48071 20 22159 Telegraph 3400 Jefferson S.E. Southfield, Ml 48034 Grand Rapids, Ml 49508 -Solid or Coring Tines available -Maximum 16" depth -1/2 acre per hour production GOLF COURSES, PARKS & RECREATION, SCHOOLS PROVEN ON VER TI-DRAIN P.O. Box 367 Oxford, Ml 48051 (313) 628-4614 21 STYLES, COINIT. concepts go in circles. We trust these circles are in the form of an upward spiral. It would be a sad day if golf architecture became a science. Yet it is all to the good that turfgrass maintenance has become a science. •Until after the turn of the century golf in the U.S. was played under primitive conditions. But that changed largely due to the influence of the green- keepers of those days who did so much with so little to make golf so pleasureable a game. All in the Northern Ohio group realize I know what a major pioneer role your predecessors, including but not limited to, Colonel Morley played in this transition. •The principles of art, namely harmony, proportion, balance, rhythm and emphasis, are embodied in course design as in fact they are in course mainten- nance (e.g., mowing patterns at greens). Personally, I wish that turfgrass schools presented one course in the principles of art. •Contour mowing is becoming increasingly impor­ tant in course style. It enhances eye appeal and playing interest and by reducing fairway acreage allows more intensive maintenance of those areas. I should add that as one of the two recognized authorities on the history of golf architecture I credit Bill Burdick along with Sherwood Moore, formerly of Winged Foot in being the pioneers in this style of mowing. mowing. Contour mowing also makes it easier and less costly to bent fairways in the cool humid regions and Zoysia in the transitional zones. •Natural areas are also receiving attention on many courses. courses. Wild flowers are receving attention but as Dr. Hurdzan, golf architect of Columbus has pointed out, the results can be described as a “mixed bag.” •Bulbs, particularly daffodils, as contrasted to wild flowers, are often more successful and are seen on many courses in April and early May when the course is still drab. •Probably due to Pete Dye’s influence retaining walls and bulkheads are seen more often on golf courses in North America. Some authorities say these verge on “contrivance.” Yet they are functional in that they conserve space and minimize wave and rodent damage. •Stadium golf, also pioneered by Pete, is another feature of several new facilities. •Elaborate bunkering that creates accent is one means the golf architect has to express his message. •Robert Trent Jones and sons, Bob Jr. and Rees, have three different styles. Bob Jones, Sr., who has influenced golf architecture more than any person living or dead, has demonstrated several styles over his long and illustrous career. His new Celebrity course, to be opened soon near Tulsa, Oklahoma, is said to demonstrate still another style and message. •The frame of the Jones’, the Dye’s, the Fazio’s and the Packard’s is by no means fading. Still, there is a school of younger architects coming to the fore. Noteable among these are Bob Graves of California, Bill Robinson, my associate of many years, Brian Silva, my associate, Dan Maples, from a family long connected with course maintenance and two Ohio based architects Art Hills of Toledo and Dr. Mike Hurdzan, who is an associate of many years of Jack Kid well. •Finally, what makes the golf course outstanding? The four steps to an outstanding golf course are inspired design, sound specifications, painstaking construction and dedicated maintenance. In practice the last is the most important of all. The enduring greatness of a golf course and the message the architect has tried to put over lie in the dedicated hands of the superintendent. No wonder Northern Ohio (sic) has so many superb golf courses. FESER AWARD, CONT. Feser (pronounce fay-zer) was a pioneer golf course superintendent and charter member of GCSAA. He kept the Association’s magazine alive during the great depression and conceived the idea for the award later named in his honor. Ted Woehrle, this year’s recipient of the Leo Feser Award, is featured in the January issue of GCM. Ted’s article was one of many submitted to the GCM magazine in 1985 and the competition was tough. Winning the Leo Feser Award is quite an acheivement and the MBCGCSA congratulates Ted for this dis­ tinguished honor. " F o r L a n d 's Sake-'U se P e a t" M o xfo j® y m co . °«o«5*^eat COMPANY 1430 E. Drahner Rd. Oxford, Michigan 48051 PROCESSED PEAT C u s t o m M i x e s FRED LATTA • 313/628-5991 Tire W holesalers •)) Company, Inc. Phone: (313) 354-5644 19240 West Eight Mile Southfield. Ml 48075 ('A Mile West of Southfield Road) TRUCK - CAR, MOTORCYCLE, FARM, TRAILER, INDUSTRIAL TIRES &TUBES P irelli C arlisle LAWN & GARDEN EQUIPMENT TIRES 22 HAHN SPRAY-PRO 44, IT WORKS. ANDWORKS... AND WORKS... 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