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1994 Meeting Schedule

Cascace  H ills  B uilds  Spray  Pad

March  1 -----Cascade Hills C.C.. Roundtable

meeting

March 15 ... Kent  C.C.,  G.A.M and
WMGCS A meeting

April 18 ... . ..Blythefield C.C., meeting and 

golf

May 11.... . ..Grand Haven G.C., meeting and 

golf

June 13___ . .Arbor Hills, joint meeting with 

MBCGCS A and golf

July 12.... .  . Winters Creek G.C., meeting 

and golf

Aug. 9 ___ ..  .Forest Hills G.C., afternoon 

coffee

Aug.  1 0 ... .. .The Moors G.C., morning 

coffee

Aug.  1 1 ...

coffee

Sept.  12 ... ... Battle Creek G.C., Golf Day*

Late Sept..

Meeting  and golf*

*Date or sight still pending
Editors Note: Please write me if you 
have any corrections  or if you are 
interested in  doing  an  article for  us  at: 
Western  Views 
1447 Hope SE.
Grand Rapids,  MI.  49506

At Cascade Hills Country Club 

we recently constructed a mixing,loading, 
chemical containment structure. This 
brought our club into compliance with Act 
637. This act became affective one year 
from the date of October 29th 1992 when 
it was passed by the Michigan State 
Legislature. As you know this legislation 
was passed to help prevent the release of 
pesticide containing material into the 
environment during the mixing and 
loading operation.

When I talked to Tom 

McGuinness, editor for  Western Views, 
about contributing an article on rinse pads 
to the newsletter,  I thought about going 
through an itemized list of the process we 
followed to construct ours. After some 
thought I realized that this maybe helpful 
to some, but that there are many ways to 
come into compliance with Act 637 and 
every operation may not take the same 
route. I guess you would use the old 
saying of there is more then one way to 
catch a mole.( No offense to the animal 
rights activists intended.) I did have a few 
general thoughts on the project that I 
would like to share with you, however 
after constructing a rinse pad.

— The Michigan Department of 
Agriculture came up with a detailed set of 
rules pertaining to rinse pads but they left 
out the specific instructions on how to 
build a rinse pad.
—Fire marshals or chiefs in different 
municipalities have varied opinions of what 
is right concerning pad and building site 
locations.
— Building inspectors also have various 
opinions on the subject.
— Special Use Permits, if they pertain to 
your property are gained from your 
township planning commission. But before 
that you must have a public hearing and 
every property owner within 300 feet of 
your property is invited to attend. Any 
questions the planning commission or 
property owners have are addressed at the

See Sray Pad, page 4

Changes

□   The new  superintendent at 
Kalamazoo Country Club will be John 
Fulling from Berrien Hills C.C.
□   Congradulations to E J . Herrington 
on the birth of his daughter, Catharine 
Mary

G.A.M.  Meeting  Date 

Set

The West Michigan Golf Course 
Superintendent Association and the Golf 
Association of Michigan will hold their joint 
spring meeting at Kent Country Club on 
March 15th. All superintendents are 
encouraged to bring their assistants, club 
officials and/or owners. The program will be 
geared to inform all who attend on such 
issues as the Audubon Society, golf 
research in Michigan, and various other 
topics that relate to Michigan golf. The 
U.S.G.A, G.A.M., and M.S.U. will all have 
speakers in attendance. It should be an 
interesting program. Please support these 
organizations with your attendance. A 
continental breakfast and lunch will be 
served. The cost will be $25.00/person. A 
mailing will be sent to all members with 
details.

M echanic’s  Corner

Hello, my name is Mike 

Salkovich. I am the mechanic at Crystal 
Springs Country Club. I thought I would 
take the time to share a few ideas that 
seem to make my job a little easier.

You cati save set-up time by 
moving the mounting centers from the 
outside the cutting unit to inside. The 
reason behind this is to push outward on 
the cutting unit frame, keeping the 
bearings tight. A truer grind is accom­
plished and the need for a bar is allevi­
ated.

Secondly, if you maintain an 

older L F 100, you can triple bearing life 
by drilling and installing zerks int the 
bearing housing where the seal and 
bearing cup sets. It will allow for fresh 
grease to purge the old skank grease from 
the bearing that would otherwise just set 
there.( The factory design has now been 
changed)

That’s it for now. Until next 

time, keep the reel finger pitch to a 
minimum.

Mike Salkovich

When the new clubhouse was 
placed in  service, in August of 1992, at 
Silver Lake Country Club, the old practice 
green was left a quarter mile away. The 
original prints had indicated a sight for the 
new practice green hundreds of yards from 
the pro shop. It was to be approximately 
3500sq.ft.,  sand based, and seeded to 
bentgrass.

Fortunately, I was allowed to 
make some adjustments. Since we still 
have 16 of our original, 70 year old, poa- 
bent greens in play, I wanted a similar 
green for practice. The sod would come 
from one of the original greens due for 
demolition and from the old practice green. 
I took soil samples from these old greens 
and used them in an effort to make the 
new greens mix compatible with the sod. 
The company that would be mixing the 
soil agreed on 60% sand, 20% peat, and 
20% native soil (a sandy loam), amuch 
“heavier” greens mix than is normally 
usedtoday.

First, the sight was selected, 
taking into account convenience to the 
golfers, traffic patterns, drainage, sunlight, 
etc. The new sight would be directly in 
front of the pro shop, one of the highest 
traffic areas at the club. A bonus of a 
“heavier” soil would be less watering, thus 
less water thrown into this area.

Second, the size and shape were 
selected. The shape was basically oval.  It 
would be 5200 sq. ft. and elevated an 
average of two feet above the surrounds. 
The actual contours of the putting surface 
would consist of a few subtle humps as the 
whole green gently sloped in the direction 
of best drainage. (I would be relying on 
natural slope and elevation for drainage on 
this “heavy” soil). From this information 
we could estimate the amount of greens

mixneeded.

A soil shredder was brought 

on sight and mixed the soil, making 
enough for 12 inch layer of topsoil on 
the green and enough to topdress it 
several times afterwards.

Next the actual bulldozer 

work was done. Using native soil the 
general shape was formed, leaving a 
definite slope for drainage on this 
subgrade. This was allowed to settle. 
Next, the shredded topsoil mix was 
spread and shaped, with the final 
contours literally created on sight. This 
was allowed to settle for several weeks.
I  feel that this settling time was the key 
to achieving a consistent surface in the 
end. Next, the surface was regraded by a 
lightweight rake prior to sodding. The 
irrigation was installed and connected to 
the existing system.

We were fortunate to have 
sod on sight. It would be minutes from 
the time it was cut to when it would be 
gently laid on it’s new home. A special 
crew of experienced sod layers was 
hired to help in the cutting and laying of 
the sod.  As the pieces of sod were cut, 
they were numbered, so they could be 
laid out in the same order. Hopefully, 
this would eliminate the “patchwork” 
appearance sodded greens sometimes 
have. The surface of the new green had 
to be handgraded just prior to laying of 
the sod and each piece carefully set to 
get the surface absolutely smooth.  The 
bulkk of the sod came from the old 
twelfth green, making up about 80% of 
the new green. We used about half of 
the old practice green to fill out the 
edges on the new green. I was amazed 
at the difference in the two types of sod! 
See Green, page 4

January Meeting at 

An  Assistant’s  Per­

the Highlands

spective

Many thanks to Gary Peters 
and the club staff at the highlands for 
the lunch, which was outstanding once 
again. Participation by the members 
was excellent with about 60 people 
attending.

After lunch, Pat Meersman 

and Paul Skippers gave us a short talk 
on the new bylaw changes with the 
National Association. They reminded 
us that though the votes representing 
our association are generally voted as a 
block at the National, anyone can vote 
as an independent, or our delegates can 
split their votes. Our delegates indi­
cated their intention to vote for all the 
various bylaw changes being consid­
ered this year.

When the meeting was over, 
about 16 people took the chance to go 
bowling. Kevin Barton got lucky and 
bowled a 231. Not bad for a 135 
average bowler! Louie Krepp was the 
lucky winner of the strike pot. Bob 
Borgman had high series, easily 
topping the 600 m ark .

Imagine this: you are 

spraying number one fairway and 
notice that two of your staff seem 
to be in a daze. You finish spraying 
the fairway and head over in their 
direction. As you approach, their 
intensity seems to pick up but you 
notice they are doing exactly what 
you told them not to do.

I am sure this situation 

has arisen at everyone’s club. What 
do you do? I begin by asking what 
they are doing, and then follow up 
by inquiring why they did not ask 
me to explain further if they did not 
understand.

Their answers always 

seem to be the same, “We 
understood when you told us, but 
once we started the job, we found 
that we did not understand.”

Communication is the key 
to good productivity and empl oyee 
relations. We not only explain the 
job at our club, we also draw it, and

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physically show them what we mean.
This practice seems to alleviate most 
indecision with our staff. But there is still 
something that just requires a trained 
individual to supervise the operation. For 
this reason, most assistant superinten­
dents are extremely busy.

Superintendents are busy 

enough with putting out fires, controlling 
their operations, and evaluating programs 
for effectiveness and efficiency. They 
can’t be everywhere at once.
Thus they rely on their assistants to
See Assistant,  page  4

Roundtable Meeting 

Date  Set

A Roundtable Discussion will be 

held at Cascade Hills Country Club on 
March 1 st. A wide variety of topics will be 
discussed, with group involvement 
encouraged. A continental breakfast and 
lunch will be served. After lunch, guest 
speaker Greg Lyman, from M.S .U, will be 
updating us on rinse pads and other 
upcoming environmental concerns. Please 
join us and help support our continuing 
education. Don’t hesitate to bring up any 
questions or concerns of interest to you or 
your golf operation. Superintendents or 
golf course personnel attendance only 
please.

Lesco  500,  gas,  2300  hrs,  runs  well, 
rear  roller  cleaners,  spare  gang, 
best  offer, may  demo. 

874-5558

National,84 inch, with electric reel lift kit. 
1500  hours.  Asking  $2,500  (517)785- 
4683

Lely  Fertilizer  Spreader,  pull  behind.. 
Vertidrain,  pull  behind  unit.949-1420

WMGCSA  members,to place add, 
write  editor. Ad will be placed in next 
available  issue.

Spray Pad, com. 
hearing.

— This is a capital purchase and 

although a large benefit to the 
environment it will take money away 
from other capital improvements in 
your operation.
— Ben Darling with the M.D.A. and 
Greg Lymond with M.S.U. have been 
very helpful with the programs they 
have put on covering this topic.
— There are many suppliers that are 
up to date on the products they sell to 
help you comply with act 637.

In conclusion,  the project was 

not as difficult as it first appeared. It 
helped to have owners or members that 
realized that even though it was not a 
new tee box or greensmower, it was a 
requirement that would benefit future 
generations.

Al  Bathum,  Superintendent 
Cascade Hills Country Club

Green, corn.
The old twelfth green was primarily 
bentgrass while the old practice green was 
almost entirely annual bluegrass. (The soil 
beneath the old twelfth green was superior 
and that green had had no foot traffic for 
two years.)

After sodding, in mid-October, 

the new green was soaked and lightly 
rolled. Once the roots had started to take, 
in about two weeks, it was rolled with a 
heavier roller. We topdressed it once, 
heavily, with the same greens mix. The 
green banks were seeded, fertilized, and 
rolled at the end of October, then covered 
with an erosion mat. The seedlings were an 
inch or two tall by first snowfall.

Thefollowing spring, we 

topdressed twice and kept the cutting 
height higher till May. We returned cutting 
height gradually to normal and opened the 
green. You could hardly see the sod lines! 
Through 1993 ibis was one of my 
TIM
healthiest greens. 

Assistant cont.

communicate what is happening in 
the day-to-day maintenance of the 
course. As an assistant, I found that 
clear, concise communication is the 
key to a better work environment. If 
operations are conveyed clearly to the 
superintendent, decisions can be 
made correctly, thus saving time, 
effort and money.

On the other hand, superin­

tendents need to make sure their 
assistants understand their directions 
so that precise explanations can be 
conveyed to the staff. Saving in 
countless ways, making everyone’s 
job a little easier.

Kevin Henley,Assistant
Superintendent
Crystal Springs Country
Club

1447  Hope  S.E.
Grand  Rapids,  Ml  49506

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