President's Message It is 1996, the start of a new year, are you ready? Looking back at 1995, what did we really learn? Have you changed your management strategy to prevent some of last year’s problems from recurring? How many of us stayed on budget? Are you increasing some line items in your budget? I know I am. What will 1996 bring us? One thing I know is that there are numerous educational opportunities for all of us in the profession. The Michigan Turfgrass Conference program was very strong and with new President Harry Schuemann, a strong MTF Board, and one of the finest staff of Professors at MSU in the world, the future looks bright. The GCSAA National Conference offered a wide variety of seminars and talks. A little closer to home are three regional GCSAA Seminars along with our own round table meeting and numerous other educational work shops. The opportunities are many, so take the time and effort to attend. I am looking forward to a great 1996 for the WMGCSA. With the effort of the Board of Directors and the membership I'm sure we won't be disappointed. Look forward to seeing all of you soon. Paul Schippers President MTF and GCSAA Conferences Huge Success______________ Both the Michigan Turfgrass Con­ ference and the Golf Course Superin­ tendents International Conference were a huge success in 1996! Each confer­ ence set record attendance figures again and each had many fine educational opportunities as always. One of the highlights for each was that Dr. Paul Rieke from Michigan State University received credit for his contributions to our industry. Other highlights were the \leg$ç write me if i.v or if you are in doing interested OCT * /nr-! 'estera Views MICHIGAN S.E. ÔMffltëÜpids, MI 49546 W. Bruce M atthews Legacy Award Deadline Coming Up! to to belong Once again we are calling for applications for the W. Bruce Matthews Legacy Award. Begun in 1995, this new membership benefit makes it even more advan­ tageous the WMGCSA. If you have been a member for at least the last three years, and have a child or step­ child enrolled or accepted at an accredited institution of higher learning (non turf) then pay atten­ tion! A notice was recently mailed to all members detailing the cri­ teria and requirements of this award. We award one scholarship per year, based on independent judgement of an essay written by each student. Application dead­ line is April 15th. If you did not receive the notice on award de­ tails or have any questions con­ cerning the award please call the Com m ittee Chairm an Kathy Antaya at 616-895-1005. Good Luck to all those submitting an es­ say!! many fine guest speakers that were lined up for the two conferences. At the MTF the WMGCSA awarded their scholarship with details to follow in this issue. The International Conference will be held in Las Vegas next year and has recently sent out a call notice for pre­ sentations to be given by members at the conference. I encourage any mem­ bers that may be interested to take part. Deadline for presentations must be postmarked by March 18th, 1996. Questions can be answered by calling 800-832-4444. a article for us at: 1996 ROSTER BOOK will be going to print immediately. If you have any corrections or comments Please Contact Us! GÀ^M and The Spring Round Table Meetings Coming Up!!___________ The GAM and Spring Round Table meetings are soon to take place. There are many educational seminars to take part in this winter and spring. Below is just a brief list with contact num­ bers. • MSU Extension Green Team Seminar Grand Rapids March 1 616-336-3282 • GAM and WMGCSA 1996 Green Seminar Grand Rapids, Kent C.C. March 7 810-553-4200 • Mechanics Meeting March 11 616-343-2895 • WMGCS Spring Round Table Meeting March 14 ; • GCSAA Calibration Seminar 800-472-7878 March 19 • MSU Environmental Seminars: Various dates 517-359-0860 Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo C.C. Grand Rapids, Kent C.C. Grand Rapids, Blythfield C.C. Fate of Pesticides and Nutrients Pond Management Seminar School of Turfgrass Management WMGCSA 1996 Meeting Schedule March 14Round Table Meeting, Kent C.C. April 29 Kalamazoo C.C. May 21 Grand Haven G.C. June 11 Thoroughbred G.C. July* Polo Fields, Ann Arbor Joint with MBCGCS A August * Coffees at different sights Sept. * Golf Day, Gull Lake C.C. Oct.* Annual Meeting, Point O' Woods Nov. 1 Fall Party, Walnut Hills C.C. * Dates to be determined. MEMBER NOTICE... 1996 WMGCSA Scholarship Awarded_________________ On Tuesday, January 9 the Schol­ arship Committee interviewed four ex­ cellent students as candidates for the 1996 Turf Scholarship Award. The stu­ dents did a fine job in front of our "grill team"! Committee members took turns asking questions and then the applicant was given time to add a comment or ask questions of us. It's always interesting to hear what they have to say about our industry. Their enthusiasm is exciting and reminds us of how fresh-faced and eager we were (and still should be)! Our first interview ee, Ken Cascadden is currently enrolled at Ferris State University in the Ornamen­ tal Horticulture Technology program. Ken plans to graduate this spring, when he also will receive a B.B.A. degree from F.S.U. Additionally, he earned an A.A.S. in Legal Assisting in 1995. Ken has worked for Gary Bateman at Katke Golf Course since 1994. Gary hopes to have him return as the Assistant Super­ intendent this year. Ken is the first non- M.S.U. student to apply for our award. The second application came from Terrance Remus, a two-year Turfgrass Management student at Michigan State University. Terrance has worked at three golf courses; his west Michigan experience was at Walnut Hills Coun­ try Club under Kurt Theummel. There he was fortunate to be involved in tour­ nament prep work for the LPGA Oldsmobile Classic. His internship re­ quirements were fulfilled at Franklin Hills Country Club where he was ex­ posed to the huge variety of chores that are a golf course superintendent's re­ sponsibility. Terrance expects to gradu­ ate this spring. Our next candidate, Sally Johnston, had been a teacher since 1983. Because teaching can be a seasonal job, Sally began working summers at Briar Hill Golf Course in 1987. In 1994, after careful consideration, she enrolled in M.S.U.'s two-year Turfgrass Manage­ ment program. Crystal Downs Country Club was the site of her professional internship in 1995. Sally noted that one lesson she learned at Crystal was the importance of daily equipment upkeep. She noticed the staff took better care of clean, well maintained equipment. This translated into more efficient work time, less equipment abuse and machin­ ery that continued to run well and look good as it aged. Sally's graduation is Meeting Payment Policay - Be­ ginning in 1996, all meeting expenses will be on a CASH ONLY BASIS. There will be NO CHARGES AL­ LOWED. This will give us more con­ trol of all transactions and will elimi­ nate having the host club having to handle all the billings. Meeting Cancellation Policy - This is a reminder of a current policy. If you make reservations for a meeting and are unable to attend, and you do not cancel, you will be billed and expected to make a payment. scheduled for spring 1996. The final candidate is currently an Assistant Superintendent at Clearbrook Golf Club, under Mike Woodke. Tad Bystry has worked there since 1992 and plans to return this season after comple­ tion of the two-year Turfgrass Manage­ ment program. Tad's internship was served at Gull Lake View Golf Club, where he picked up some good tips on efficiency and broadened his knowledge of golf course maintenance procedures. Along with his supervisory experience, Tad can boast of a 3.7 GPA, the high­ est among our applicants. After their interview each candi­ date was individually judged on a num­ ber of factors, such as poise, attitude, goal setting and their understanding of Continued on page 3 1996 WMGCSA Scholarship Award, continued Ken Cascadden and Tad Bystry — our the golf course maintenance industry. We also try to determine if they are 1996 Scholarship Award winners! truly interested in a career as a Super­ intendent. When the final tally was done, two students came out on top. Unable to choose between them, we decided to give both an award. Due to the generous donation of $700 by United Horticultural Supply, a total of $1,700 was available for the award. This amount was evenly split between The awards were presented on January 17 at the Awards Luncheon during the 1996 Michigan Turfgrass Foundation Conference. The students received their checks and engraved plaques at that time. New this year, the award recipients will also get a one- year membership in the WMGCSA. A final note of thanks to the Schol­ arship Committee for freely giving their time and effort. It is through these ef­ forts that our association grows and be­ comes stronger. Thank you Kurt Theummel CGCS, Jeff Holmes CGCS, Mike Herbst CGCS and Craig Hoffman (1994 WMGCSA Scholarship Award recipient). Respectfully, Kathy Antaya Laying Some Serious Pipe I began working at Kent Country Club in the fall of 1986. Bob Hope was the Superintendent before me and he had warned me about the problems in "The Valley", when it rained. "The Val­ ley" is a natural drainage area that runs across the entire middle of the course from east to west. Whenever we experienced a sig­ nificant rainfall there would be a small river running across the course. Need­ less to say, such rain events caused nu­ merous disruptions to golf events, daily play and cart usage. There was also a maintenance headache. All types of debris would wash onto the course. Sticks, leaves, syringes, used sexual devices and even road gravel to name a few. The torrent of water would also cause erosion damage on pond banks, sand traps and even tear sod up in the fairways. The club had talked about resolv­ ing the problem, but no legitimate at­ tempts were made until 1988. In 1988 my Green Chairman, Brian Heaney, began negotiating seriously with the City. One major obstacle from our per­ spective was that the club had signed an agreement in 1948 concerning the storm water problem. In the language of the agreement it stated that the City could flow storm water across the course in "any amount". The City had stood behind the "in any amount" for forty years. Mr. Heaney, after six years of ne- Continued on page 4 Please patronize our advertisers as they have made this newsletter possible. 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(616) 842-4975 United Horticultural S upply...................(810) 852-2838 Valley T u rf................................................(616) 532-2885 W.F. Miller Co.......................................... (313) 349-4100 course graded. We were also able to repair half of the irrigation system be­ fore winter. The irrigation system was disrupted on ten fairways. Surface restoration will begin in the spring. Fairways and intermediates will be sodded and the rough areas hydroseeded. Hopefully, with some dry weather we should be finished by mid- May. The course can still flood, but it will only occur on a 10 year rain event. The storm water should remain in the pipe about 95% of all rain events. We can't wait!! Classified Ads______ Help Wanted - Inside Counter Sales/ Warehouse Manager of underground irrigation and golf course maintenance supplies. Salary plus Commission. Contact Jim Johnson. Parmenter and Andre 458-1546. BULK RATE U.S. POSTAGE PAID GRAND RAPIDS, Ml PERMIT NO. 582 Laying Some Serious Pipe, continued gotiating was able to convince the City that although they were entitled to dis­ charge storm water in any amount, they were not allowed to exceed the ease­ ment specified in the agreement. Heaney sited prior court cases to jus­ tify our case. The City, after years of untruths, deliberate delays and various stall tactics, agreed and offered to pay two thirds of the cost of installing a 5 foot pipe across the entire course. The total cost of the project would be $750,000 with Kent paying $250,000 over a ten year period. would be able to stay within the ease­ ment during the installation, but they did a marvelous job and we were pleas­ antly surprised. The first step in the installation pro­ cess was to remove the sod. This was accomplished by roto tilling and then removing the chopped up sod. The sod was taken off site and used for fill in a berm project. Next the topsoil was stripped and stockpiled at various points along the easement. Pipe was installed next. The crane operator was amazing and enjoyable to watch. Our crew would cut and mark the irrigation lines as they proceeded across the course. Sprinkler heads had been re­ moved and capped earlier. Pipe instal­ lation began on October 5 and was com­ pleted on November 7. Installation in­ cluded 2,300 feet of pipe and five man­ holes. Half of the affected area was fine graded before winter and half was After going through the bid process the City hired a contractor from Jenison, Geo Con, to do the work. The bid documents were very restrictive on the contractor’s movements to minimize course damage. An easement 50 feet wide was granted for the work area, with course access allowed from only two locations. I never thought they esternM iews SopBiin^Hodarts Associo” 3725 Cascade Rd., S.E. • Grand Rapids, Ml 49546 Pet e Cook i nghatn MSI) Main L ib r a r y ¿ 1 2 . D — E a s t L a n s in g MI 48824