Blades of Glory

Another turf Symposium has come and gone with great success.  On Friday the nov 27 the event was held at the Cutten club which was decorated and accented to a degree not expected by the hosting class.  It was done up to have a feeling of formality aswell as comfort for a morning long event.  The speakers spoke with ease, the students answered questions with pleasure and all who attended had a very informative morning.

The highlight of the event seemed to be the speaking of Keith Bartlett who is the superintendent of St. Georges golf and country club, the home of the 2010 Canadian open.  However that is not to say the others didn’t speak with great interest.  Dr. Tom Hsiang spoke about less talked about  a topic of turf disease in a fun exciting manner that made it a pleasure to listen to.  The other main speaker was Ron Schiedel president/co-owner of green horizons sod farm.  Ron gave a great lecture of what it is like to be a entrepeneur in an industry going through change.

I would like to take this opportunity now to thank all those who took part in this event.  Without the people who made the effort to attend, the entire motivation of the turf class would be for nothing.   Thank you to the speakers who provided a very entertaining morning and a special thanks to the teachers of the communication class.  Owen Roberts and Anne& Andrew Douglas.  Without your leadership and guidance it would be fair to say the event wouldn’t have been the success it was.

Cutten Club Club House

If you don’t have it circled on your calendar, just a reminder the Turfgrass symposium is almost here.  The theme remains the same as “Doing more with less” and is schedule to begin the morning of November 27th.  This year promises to be one of the best as it touches on issues that are current and problematic to an industry in change.  Along with guest speakers and booths set up by various vendors, excitement is high as this event approaches. 

The event is happening at the Cutten club on college avenue right next to the campus football field.  With speakers like Ron Schiedel president of Green Horizons sod and Superintendent Keith Bartlett and others the event is looking very promising.  Keith Bartlett will be speaking about preparing a golf course for a PGA event, as his course St. Georges prepares for the 2010 Canadian open.  Information will be given out by vendor’s allowing this event to touch on elements of an industry going through change. 

If you’re not able to make it to the event keep posted on the student blogs as it will be commented on for weeks to come.  However if you do happen to have time available and enjoy coffee and muffins this event is for you.  It will be an afternoon of very informative news coming from people who are involved in it on a daily basis.   Any further questions or information you would like feel free to search for it or contact someone on the GTI website.

Guelph Turfgrass Institute

This past week I had the privilege of touring Turf Care headquarters.  Turf Care is the largest commercial turf equipment provider which made this tour all the more special.   While being entertained with a thrilling presentation I was shown all the areas and skill sets their employees have.  Ron Craig is the owner of Turf Care who established the company in 1971.   He established the company to cover areas from golf course lighting to directly used field equipment, while always having highly educated employees.

TYCROP

The reason Turf care continues to gain popularity is due to variety of services they can offer.   The company is structured around all the jobs being able to help one another.  It has made it easy for companies or golf courses to just hire one company to handle dozens of jobs.   Through acquisitions of companies like TYCROP, and partnerships with HADCO Turf Care now offer services to turf departments and their club house.

It is clear that Turf Care is a company that here is to stay.  They have successfully built this company with acquisitions and partnerships that will be needed for many more years.  It was a very good experience hearing everything that the staff had to say and see how just how enthusiastic they where.  Ron Craig’s goal when he founded the company was to be passionate about his field.  Not only has he achieved this personally, he passed it on to his staff who gave a very memorable tour.

This week the Turf management students had a real privilege of having Tim O’Connor PR professional come in a give a lesson on his journalistic experiences.   Turf students and professionals are not initially well-known for their people skills, but after a sit down with Tim it would hard to deny that this class isn’t better off now.   Tim spoke on the importance of good relationships which applies to not only your direct staff but people through a company or industry.

When Tim was first brought up to speak it was definitely fair to say are class did not know what to expect.  However, once Tim spoke it was clear right that this was a skill set that he was very knowledgable and passionate about.   In the Turfgrass field it is very easy for the people workers to forget about basic communication skills.   Being able to talk to people well will benefit you  whether it is to your employees or someone like a shareholder.

This was a very beneficial and impressionable experience.  After seeing someone with the passion for speaking and communicating like we have for Turfgrass, it was made clear how helpful this skill is.  This skill could lead you to impressing shareholders to allow you capital to do a project that was not originally planned in the annual budget.  Or it could go simply as far as helping with staff morale. I would like to thank Tim for his lesson and wish him the best on his future endeavors.

    When winter approaches it becomes part of an employee’s job on a golf course to blow out the irrigation lines.  This process can be long, loud and rather inconvenient to both employee and golfer.  However with all these facts working against it, nothing will override the fact of how vital it is to any irrigation system.  If you where to overlook this process it would cause freezing in your lines, and water freezing under pressure is never a worthwhile risk.

Blow out

     As many people know when water freezes it expands.  This would cause direct and immediate issues for any water left in an irrigation line.  This weekend while at RattleSnake Point GC I spent well over 25 hours participating in the 2 phase process.   First step is blowing the water strategically down fairways so as that you can isolate water movement.  Once you have done this you then have to go over it all again to make sure that no water has moved by and settled to risk freezing

   Any employee who was taken part in this process will tell you that achieving this is much harder than it sounds.  Water loves to slip by the air shooting through the lines and settling together.  Since the lines are not ment for pressure or freezing from the inside it is very common to see them crack longer than 50 yard stretches.  Extreme care must be given to this process.  It sounds like a simple thing to do when you think of other processes that occur on a golf course, but the risk of letting the water sit doesn’t out weigh the reward.

    Every year the turfgrass students at Guelph university hold a symposium to raise awareness within the industry.  This year the event will be held at the Cutten Club located next to university campus.  The event will be themed “Doing more with less”.  This theme was selected due to recent dips in the economy, and the ability to still put out the same final product.   The pesticide ban is also a front running issue that will draw a lot of attention.

Cutten Club site of 2009 Guelph turfgrass symposium

    The event is slotted to hold upwards of 150 people.  It will consist of booths to show vendors in the industry that offer solutions to the problems that the economy has brought on.  They also offer alternative methods to spraying pesticides so as that no change will be seen on golf courses.  Professor Eric Lyons and Keith Barlett; superintendent of St. Georges, site of the 2010 RBC Canadian Open; along with others will be speaking to give their opinions and suggestions on addressing an industry in tough times.

    This year offers to be one of the strongest symposium’s in years.  With the caliber of speakers and vendors to be on hand it offers something for everyone.  Whether you are in a sport’s turf profession, or even a sodding company this event will speak to you.  We hope to see as many people as possible and hope that everyone can take as much as we are from it.  On behalf of the turfgrass students we hope to see you there and are looking forward to helping an industry thrive in this time of struggle.

As any canadian would tell you, winter over the last couple of years aren’t up to par.  This year however, does not seem to be the case.  While at work this weekend at RattleSnake Point golf course, both days including monday were stalled by over two hours due to a frost delay.   The reason it is so frustrating is because risking it and walking on the grass can cause serious damage which rarely is worth it.

Anyone who worked this weekend would tell you that thanksgiving came in with a cold reception.  It marked the first frost of the season and was as strong as any seen in the last couple years.   The biggest problem currently with frost is that there is no solution to it.  It occurs naturally in the environment when temperatures drop so therefore very little can be done to prevent it.  Howevere applying water does help but if temperatures are to cold it can do the opposite.

The only thing that will help this issue is patience.   Explaining that to golfers is a whole other problem.  All that can be done going forward is ultimately keeping people informed about what frost is.    The more you keep people informed the more you will get desired results.  As i experienced personally this weekend, people do not know what frost is and will not hesitate to step on the grass and give it a second thought.

Renovations begin at Lambton first hole.

If you’ve ever wanted to change any ailing issues at a golf course, then a current tour of Lambton Golf and Country Club is for you.   What started as a simple couple hole alterations and the addition of a resevoir pond quickly turned into the biggest renovation in the site’s over 100 year existence.  The plan has nearly tripled in size since it was first drafted, largely due to the positive responses from the members.

Rees Jones (fourth from left) can be seen here showing some course designs.

The initial reactions of the course membership were somewhat hesitant due to the fact that the course could be closed for over a year to complete all the projects.  However, when lead architect Rees Jones was brought on, the situation suddenly became an opportunity to restore and improve a course that has been used since 1902.   Along with construction contractor TDI, Rees eventually convinced the membership that a full scale renovation was needed and results have been excellent.

The biggest thing to remember about renovations is that they are done for the golfer, not the golf course.  The renovations are a result of improvements seen through a golfer’s eye.  It’s great to see a golf course  taking those suggestions and making something of them.  After seeing maps of the course and seeing first hand the changes being made, it is safe to say that when all is said and done, only a great golf course will be left behind.

Have you ever wondered what those things flying by your face are that look like mosquito’s after hours at the gym?  They are Crane flies, known as leather jackets in a larvae stage, and have been flourishing in southern Ontario because of the mild winters we have been having.   When they originally came here from BC 5 years ago, they where more seen as a pest, but as their numbers grow more damage is being seen across the province.

There is still much to learn about these bugs, but what is known indicates that as their numbers increase, more turf damage is soon to follow.  The interesting thing is once the leatherjacket matures and becomes a Crane fly, they actually cause little to no damage.   Since crane flies lay their eggs in the turf, their immediate food source becomes grass roots.  They eat the roots that are closer to the surface and cause what looks like thinning in the grass.

Unless we start getting harsher and heavier frosts, we are likely going to have to tolerate these annoying flies.   Since they are not native to this part of the country it is also only going to be a count down until we find more issue surrounding them.  For now the only thing we can do is be patient.   Since the pesticide ban has limited many ways to kill them, we are mostly left with just waiting it out and letting them die naturally as more typical winter conditions move in.

One of many trial based products.

As advancements in pesticides are being made, it has become a natural trend for society to strive for the greenest and most earth friendly products possible.   Pesticide ban bill 64 has hit Ontario natives hardest, and caused several local companies to rise to this occasion.   They’re experimenting with many new greener and natural pesticides options.   Since after 3 years a complete transformation to compliant products is outlined, our attention is needed so that we can smoothly switch over and move ahead.

Such drastic changes have caused companies such as Ecoval and Plant Products to try and get these products perfected while some pesticide use is still allowed.  EcoClear is a new round up substitute created by Ecoval that works nearly as effectively and in quicker time.  The new characteristics of this product have nearly eliminated the risk of polluting ground water, which was the reason the ban was put into place.   The results have been positive thus far, and with more time and money these products could be nearly perfected.

Without pesticides, the ability to maintain grass is much more difficult to control.  The need for greener products is growing and our ability to create them with technology has never been better.  The sooner we can start correcting minor issues holding back production of these products, the sooner we can start looking forward.   Regulations have been changed and we need to adapt so as that we can get through this change with as little long last effects as possible.