1998 Meeting Western Michigan Schedule GCSA June 29 Travis Point CC (Joint with Detroit) (Joint with Northern) White Caps Stadium Day Mullenhurst GC July * August 1 August * September 21 Golf Day Cascade H ills CC October 13 (Annual Meeting) Wuskowhan Players Club November 7 Fall Party Kent CC * Dates and/or sites tentative. President's Message: What's new? What isn't! You know, about two months ago we had snow on the ground, and now we haven't had but 1/4 inch of rain in the last three weeks. Part of this seems familiar and yet, oh, so new! It's been seven years since we've had a hot spring, and yet just last year we had a mini drought. Last year not much play or grass, and now... Holy Cow! Enough about the weather already, let's talk about the upcoming meeting schedule and what’s new! How about a Vendor/Member-sponsored meeting! In July, Brian Anderson is putting on a N ovartis/W M G C S A m eeting w ith Charles Scott as host. Every member is welcome of course, and the talk w ill be limited to one hour. I have high hopes for this meeting and ones like it in the future. By saving the vendors time getting information out and by saving members some costs to attend a meeting, we w ill all benefit. Also new is the Whitecaps tickets, etc., on August I through Valiev Turf. Again, all members are welcome. So call up Keith, get some tickets and take the crew or family out to the ball game! (Still working on the education portion of this one!) Y ou'll hear more o f the other meetings, but let's talk a second about what isn't new and it w ill come as no new news, lack of time! Or maybe better said, too much time on the job. Did you get the latest GCSAA salary survey? The average hours worked per week was 63 hours. Divide that into the average salary and you'll see only one thing... we should have been plumbers! But I'll take the heat of battle over winter. And that's not new to you either. P.S. Remember to carpool over to Travis Point on June 29 for the Joint Meeting. Sincerely, Doug Boyle C.G.C.S. President Spring Meetings Well Attended! «— q \ Editors Note: Please Write me if you have any^3rr\ciions or^ ^ ou are interested in doim^yqis^ntcle for us at: 3725 Cascade Rd.y S.E. Grand Rapids, MI 49546 The April and May Meetings were very w e ll attended even w ith the majority of Superintendents being fairly busy. Both golf courses were in great shape. We would like to thank Pat Fifer and his crew at Duck Lake and Paul Richter and his crew at Spring Lake for inviting us and putting out the effort needed to host a m eeting at their respective clubs. If you wish to host a meeting in 1999 or 2000, please contact a board member. We are always looking for meeting sights and it's a good chance to showcase your talents to your peers. * * * Sic * GCSAA board approves certification program changes The Fall 1997 meeting of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America's (GCSAA) Board of Directors has to the association's certification program. in changes resulted GCSAA's certification program, implemented in 1971, is designed to elevate professional standards, enhance individual performance and distinguish those who have demonstrated knowledge essential to the practice of golf course management. Certified Gold Course Superintendent (CGCS) designation indicated the highest standards o f professional excellence and must he retained through continual training and education. The follow ing recommendations were made by the certification committee and approved by the board: Effective immediately: Eligibility. Criteria must be met as it relates to the November 1996 change in G C S A A ’s Standing Rules for Membership for the director of golf, director o f g o lf course maintenance operations construction superintendent. Individuals holding these positions at the time of application must have three years of experience as a g o lf course superintendent prior to assuming their current position. The construction superintendent also must have primary responsibility for the grow- and in of the constructed golf course. Exam improprieties. If a candidate engages in any form o f im propriety during the certification process, the documents in question cannot be scored and the results cannot be accepted. Furthermore, the candidate must appeal to the certification committee for reentry to the GCSAA certification program. Effective July 1, 1998: CEUs and PDUs. Change the terminology of tested CEUs and untested CEUs to Continuing Education Units (CEUs) and Professional Development Units (PDUs). respectively. Phis was done to simplify and clarify to members continued, back page Follow-up on Acid Injection Submitted by Jon O 'Connon Superintendent, Gull Lake Country Club TOURNAMENT TURI*' LABORATORIES, INC'. DAVID W. YORK. Ph D. IRRIGATION WATER ANALYSIS REPORT After reading the article by John Mastenbrook in last month's Western Views, I though it might be helpful to add a few comments about the pH airway acid injection system. My first full year using the system was 1997, and I was quite pleased with the results. The main reason behind purchasing the system was to offset the high bicarbonate levels in my irrigation water source. Due to the high sand content of the greens' root zone, and prolonged periods without rain (nine weeks), a "scaling off" condition was occurring bicarbonate accumulation in the soil, resulting in low infiltration rates and weak color. After two weeks o f daily 15-minute water cycles, the greens im proved dramatically. Water was penetrating the surface and moving into the soil profile. What a relief! from Our system was purchased from Prime T u rf in South Chicago, and I believe Harry Schuemann and myself are in Southw est Michigan using it. I would be happy to show the system to anyone interested or answer any questions you may have. the on ly ones Accollili #A34> Gull Lake Country Club Dale: Aligns! IW5 Sample ID# Irrigation water ANA LY SIS Nitrogen: Nitrate Chloride Sulfate Sulfate-Sulfur Carbonate Bicarbonate Calcium Magnesium Sodium Potassium as K20 (Calc.) Boron UNIT mg/1 N03-N mg/1 Cl mg/1 S04 mg/1 S04-S mg/1 C03 mg/1 HC03 mg/1 Ca mg/1 Mg mg/1 Na mg/1 K mg/1 K20 mg/1 B Total Dis. Solids (Calc.) Hardness (Calc.) Hardness (Calc.) Alkalinity (Calc.) mg/l mg/1 CaC03 grains/gal CaC03 mg/1 CaC03 mmho/cm EC Electrical Conductivity Sodium Absorption Ratio (SAR) Adj. Sodium Absorption Ratio (SARa)0.3 Sodium, % of Cations Water pH Water pHc RPM <0.1 9 18 6 <1 198 37 22 6 1 1.2 0.020 230 183.1 10.7 162.4 0.36 0.2 6.6 7.10 7.72 Ibs/A-Ft m eq/l <0.01 0.25 0.38 0.38 <0.03 3.25 1.85 1.80 0.26 0.03 <0.3 24.3 48.5 16.2 <2.7 534.6 99.9 59.4 16.2 2.7 3.2 0.1 622.1 494.2 438.4 Superintendent goes home! Its often been said that you can never go home again. Well one of our former Board members, Jon O'Connor did get fairly close to his home in the state of New Jersey with his recent job move. Jon was hired by the Marriot people and w ill manage a 36 hole facility on the coast. We wish Jon luck and are somewhat sad to see him go. Thanks for the hard work in the Western and we w ill sec you at the national.Welcome New Members We would like to welcome the following people to our organization! Michael Robart Assistant Superintendent, Grand Haven G o lf Club Christopher Boyle Mechanic, W uskowhan Players Club Note from the Editor: Can you imagine losing a month out of a year? A year with only 11 months in it... How time would fly! Although, to get the same effect the next year, you would probably have to lose another month. And then you would have a year with only 10 months in it. If you had a choice, which month would you pick to lose? April or maybe May? And really, would you even want to lose a month? the weather man said that, the temperature should only top out in the high eighties. Well, needless to say, things have been pretty good at times at Cascade Hills this spring and there have been days when it's been a bit hectic. I'm sure all of you have had your hills to climb this spring. It's what many of us in this profession somehow enjoy, even if we complain about it. On occasion this spring, I could actually wish away a little time, maybe a day or two. Like the day the deep well guy said, "I think you might have a little problem here." Or the day or two after The bottom line is, that's why this newsletter is a month late also. If you have any complaints, send your address and we w ill pul it down as the next candidate for Newsletter Editor. Local Toro turf experts recognized M inneapolis (M ay 7, 1998) -- Spartan Distributors, Inc. was recognized recently as a preeminent distributor of Toro products. Spartan was the recipient of the Partners in Excellence, Gold Level o f Excellence award for outstanding service in all business categories: O verall, C om m ercial. Consumer, Irrigation and Parts. "Spartan D istributor's commitment and investment in the customer has consistently earned them high customer satisfaction ratings and makes them a standard bearer for quality," said Ken M elrose, chief executive o ffice r and office o f the president. The Toro Company. "We arc proud to recognize their achievements and to be their partner in excellence." Please patronize our advertisers as they have made this newsletter possible. Advertisers Benham Chemical................................(810) 474-7474 Boylan Sales......................................... (616) 685-6828 Century Raln/Legacy G olf................... 1-800-347-4272 Commercial Turf Equipment................ 1-800-231-5296 Ellis S ales.............................................. 1-800-962-4128 Haz-Start................................................ 1-800-727-2067 Kubota of Grand Rapids...................... (616) 364-7031 Lebanon Fertilizers...............................(810) 673-7146 Lesco..................................................... 1-800-321-5325 Mechanical Soil Technology................ 1-800-743-2419 Michigan Turf Equipment..................... (616) 554-3310 J. Mollema & Sons................................ 1 -800-234-4769 O.M. Scott..............................................(616) 361-2106 Parmenter & Andre (616) 458-1546 Peerless-Midwest...................... (219) 272-9050 Professional Lake Management 1-800-382-4434 Rhône-Poulenc......... 1 -800-334-9745 Spartan Distributors... (616) 887-7301 Standard Sand.......... (616) 842-5180 T.C.I............................. (517) 725-7145 Terra International Inc 1-800-412-1300 Turfgrass, Inc. 1-800-421-8873 Valley Turf (616) 532-2885 Van Manen O il...................................... 1 -800-654-4244 W.F. Miller Co......................................... 1-800-555-8189 * * * * * Certification program changes, continued is required for ce rtifica tio n what application or renewal of certification and to better reflect the description of the categories being awarded credit toward renewal. Audubon participation. Certified G olf Course Superintendents (CGCSs) w ill be awarded .5 PDUs for participation in the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Schools upon completion of an established checklist of activities that have been agreed to with the sponsoring school. Attestor visitation and procedures. To continue to strengthen the CìCSAA certification attesting process bv ensuring a valid, equitable attesting evaluation for every certification applicant, the current scoring o f "pass w ith recommendation." or "fa il" by each certifica tio n attestor w ill now be combined and tallied by CìCSAA to "pass," determine a final score. An 85 percent cumulative score w ill be required for passing. The committee also made plans for development of an attestor training video scheduled for production this spring. Plans are for the video to be distributed through G CSAA's more than 100 affiliated chapters with some form of documented training required to be an eligible attestor. The in order to further GCSAA focuses ce rtifica tio n its efforts on com m ittee reviewing and upgrading the certification program the professionalism and education of the golf course superintendent. The committee consists of: Ken Magnum, CGCS (chairman); R. Terry Buchcn, CGCS, MG; Mark Kienert, CGCS; Lee McLcmorc, CGCS; and .1. Mark Black, CGCS. Since 1926, GCSAA has been the leading professional association for the men and women who manage and maintain g o lf facilities in the United States and w orldw ide. From its headquarters in Lawrence, Kan., the association education information and representation to more than 18,000 individual members from more than 50 countries. G CSAA's mission is to serve its members, advance their profession and enrich the quality of golf and its environment. provides BULK RATE U.S. POSTAGE PAID GRAND RAPIDS, Ml PERMIT NO. 582 ESTERN M iEWS 3725 Cascade Rd., S.E. • Grand Rapids, Ml 49546 Pete Cookingham MbU Main Library W - 212 Y East l~