Nourish Your Turf With Nourishing your turf with NITROFORM® assures better root development and healthier turf by providing six important benefits ... 1 2 3 38% nitrogen. 4 5 Sustained, predictable release by soil bacteria to provide nitrogen when needed most by roots and vegetative parts .. <LJ .. n, ..,.-;;.-.. organic nitrogen carbon to enhance bacterial activity, even in sandy soils. Non-burning to turf, trees, or ornamentals uurll··U',\_ used as directed. Environmentally sound ... resists leaching, even in porous soils. 6 Fewer applications a year are required. For a complete information kit on nourishing and pro- tecting your turf, join the NOR-AM Turf Management program. Write to the Communications Department, NOR-AM Chemical Company, 3509 Silverside Road, P.O. Box 7495, Wilmington, DE 19803. NITROFORM® is available as BLUE CHlp® or GRAY CHlpTM for dry application, or as POWDER BLUE® or POWDER GRAY™ for liquid application. Always look for the NITROFORM® logo. It's your assurance of a high quality nitrogen. 'ttNOR·AM(~ NOR-AM CHEMICAL COMPANY 3509 Silverside Road, P. O. Box 7495 Wilmington, DE 19803 IMPORTANT: Please remember always to read and follow carefully all label directions when applying any chemical. Circle 107 on Postage Free Card
Transcript
Nourish Your Turf With
Nourishing your turfwith NITROFORM®assures betterroot developmentand healthierturf by providing
six important benefits ...
12
3
38% nitrogen.
45
Sustained, predictablerelease by soil bacteriato provide nitrogen whenneeded most by rootsand vegetative parts ..
<LJ .. n, ..,.-;;.-..organic nitrogencarbon to enhance
bacterial activity, even insandy soils.
Non-burning to turf,trees, or ornamentalsuurll··U',\_ used as directed.
For a complete information kit on nourishing and pro-tecting your turf, join the NOR-AM Turf Managementprogram. Write to the Communications Department,NOR-AM Chemical Company, 3509 Silverside Road, P.O.Box 7495, Wilmington, DE 19803.NITROFORM® is available as BLUE CHlp® or GRAY CHlpTMfor dry application, or as POWDER BLUE® or POWDERGRAY™ for liquid application.
Always look for the NITROFORM® logo. It's your assuranceof a high quality nitrogen.
'ttNOR·AM(~NOR-AM CHEMICAL COMPANY3509 Silverside Road, P. O. Box 7495Wilmington, DE 19803
IMPORTANT: Please remember always to read and follow carefully all label directions when applying any chemical.
Circle 107 on Postage Free Card
THE FRONT OFFICE~
OPINION PAGE
A SHOW FOR ALLSPORTS TURF MANAGERS
The big show for the American turf industryis right around the corner-the 59th AnnualInternational Golf Course Conference and
Show in Houston, TX, February 1-8. It's one of thetop 50 shows held in this country every year, with more
, than 12,000 people attending.Virtually every hotel within 30 miles of the George
R. Brown Convention Center will be filled with golfcourse superintendents, grounds managers and sup-pliers from across the U.S. and around the world.
The Golf Show is a shining symbol of how the golfcourse maintenance industry has grown in the past20 years. Nowhere else in this hemisphere can thesuperintendent and professional turf manager see the
assortment of equipment and supplies designed specifically for him. He can also takeadvantage of a wide array of seminars given by top experts from across the country.
The show makes two major statements. First of all, the industry has grown to a multi-billion dollar part of the U.S. economy. It is beginning to rival the television industry,the airlines industry, and even agriculture in its importance to the U.S. economy. Youcouldn't say that ten years ago.
But, to me, the show says the "greenskeeper" of the past has risen above the statusof a specialized maintenance person. Today he is recognized as a manager of a veryvaluable resource. His salary exceeds the national average because he is the productmanager of a business worth millions of dollars. Under his management the conditionand playability of golf courses has reached new heights. The chemicals and equip-ment he uses are also more expensive and effective. The Golf Show, the Golf CourseSuperintendents Association of America (GCSAA), the university system and manufac-turers have enabled progressive and ambitious superintendents to become professionalsrather than tradesmen.
That's terrific for the golf course superintendent-but what is the show doing for thepark superintendent, the grounds manager at schools and colleges and the stadiumfield manager? In many respects, these other important turf managers are where thesuperintendent was ten years ago. Why can't the Golf Show help them as it helpedsuperintendents?
The reason I ask is that all managers of high-use, recreational turf in England sharethe benefits of another show, the Institute of Groundsmanship's Exhibition held everySeptember in Windsor. This past year nearly 38,000 people attended this three-dayshow. On one day more than 16,000 grounds managers packed the show ground. Thosewho have attended this show have told me it caters to everyone in the turf and land-scape industry, from the mower operator to the head groundsman. Golf course su-perintendents from some of the greatest courses in the world attend the show religiouslyto compare notes with their peers and talk with manufacturers about new products.In their. hearts, they are groundsmen too.
I guess it boils down to how GCSAA members feel about their cousins in turf manage-ment. Now that hard work and recognition have placed them on a pedestal, do theyfeel a kinship with other managers of high-use, quality turf? If they do, are they willingto open up their show to other related organizations outside of golf? There apparentlyis some question by GCSAA board members as to whether the Sports Turf ManagersAssociation should be part of its show. Is this doubt felt by most GCSAA members?
Just as important, are other sports turf management organizations willing to workwith GCSAA? Does every organization have to have its own show? There are practicallimitations for the associations, their members and the exhibitors that have to be con-sidered with one, large industry show like the Institute of Groundsmanship. All partieswill have to give up something to gain something in return.
The principle behind this magazine is for all managers of sports turf to share theirknowledge. If one group makes strong advances, then it can and should help bringothers up to speed by sharing its expertise. I think the same principle should apply to shows.
Myrtle Beach Convention Center, MyrtleBeach, SC. Contact: South Carolina StateBoard for Technical and ComprehensiveEducation, 111 Executive Center Dr.,Columbia, SC, 29210, (803) 686-3737.
Fort Worden State Park, Port Townsend,WA. Contact: National Recreation andPark Association Pacific Region Office,1600 Sacramento Inn Way, Suite 217,Sacramento, CA 95815, (916) 646-9050.
23 25 Western Pennsylvania,- Conference & Trade
Show, Pittsburgh Expo Mart, Monroeville,PA. Contact: Randall Zidik, Rolling HillsCountry Club, 261 Center Church Rd.,McMurray, PA 15317, (412) 941-8552.
23 Grounds MaintenanceShort Course, Holiday
Inn, Greenville, SC. Contact: GeorgeHyams, South Carolina Landscape &Turfgrass Association, PO Box 12109,Charleston, SC 29412, (803) 762-1595.
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Reg -n- gControl:A Tale of Two
Golf Course IrrigationSystems
The greens on the east nine of Atlantis Golf Club are the only greens In southern Florida thatfollow USGA specifications exactly.14 sportsTURF
Low pressure heads at Canyon Country Club are IE
The early morning routines of growingnumber of golf course superintendentshave changed this past year. Like
most superintendents in the U.S., they wakeup before dawn, get dressed, grab a quickbreakfast and head for the course. As theydrive to work, they go over the work schedulefor the day in their heads.
A few items weigh heaviest on their minds.In the spring, it might be the persistenceof overseeded ryegrass in bermudagrass.In the summer, it may be the spread of turf-grass diseases. In the fall, it could be thecondition of the overseeded ryegrass as theyprepare their courses for winter golfers. Butduring every season superintendents starttheir day wondering whether or not the ir-rigation system malfunctioned during the'night due to a break, pump problem or powerfailure.
Before last year, Mark Henderson at At-lantis Golf Club in Atlantis, FL, and Rick Sail,at Canyon Country Club in Palm Springs,CA, had just one way to find out if the irri-gation system worked properly the night be-fore, by jumping in a turf vehicle and inspect-ing the course hole-by-hole. But, that has
prone to problems with drift and lower the pressure demand on the pump system.
changed. Today, Henderson and Sail cancheck the status of their irrigation systemsfrom their offices with the push of a button.A quick glance at a'computer screen or prin-tout tells them everything they need to knowin seconds.
If you asked Henderson a year ago if heexpected to become a "computer superin-tendent," he would probably have said no.Ironically, for Henderson and Sail it was otherimprovements in their irrigation systems thatled to the addition of computerized centralcontrollers.
Atlantis Golf Club is a 27-hole privatecourse built in the early '50s by the Kintzfamily as a centerpiece for its planned com-munity development called Atlantis. Locatedjust south of affluent West Palm Beach, theKintz family envisoned Atlantis as a com-munity of fine homes to serve affluent north-erners during the winter. Golf course ar-chitect William F. Mitchell carefully threadedthe first 18 holes through the slash pinecovering the coastal flatland in the '50s andreturned a decade later to add nine moreholes.
It wasn't long, however, before the fine,
sugar sand and four separate pump stationsstarted to wreak havoc on the quick cou-pler irrigation system with its galvanizedpipes. To regain control, in 1972, the courseinstalled one of the few electric valve sys-tems in southern Florida. Four heads weregrouped on each station. Each of the 14separate controllers had 23 stations. "Onthe same station, two heads would be elevat-ed and two would be in low spots," saysHenderson. "One area would be too drywhile the other area was always wet."Changing the start and run times was a hugetask, but it was still a major improvementover the old quick-coupler system.
Water was supplied on a piecemeal ba-sis by four pumps spread out across thecourse, three from wells and one from acanal. Each well had a line shaft turbinepump with a pressure reducing valve. On-ly one pump had an hydropneumatic tankto protect the old lines from pressure sur-ges. In addition, the wells were beginningto pump sand into the system. Neverthe-less, the decision was made to leave thepumps and the aging water mains alone.
Southern Florida is frequently referred to
as the lightning capital of the world. Lightningthat strikes the ground near a valve will senda surge of current through the wires to thecontroller, damaging both. Forthis reason,an estimated 97 percent of the golf coursesin southern Florida install hydraulic valvesand controllers. The small, pressurized tubesof water between the valves and controllersprotect the controllers from electricaldamage.
By the time Henderson joined Atlantisfrom Mayacoo Lakes Country Club, a Nick-laus course in West Palm Beach, the irri-gation system was out of control. "We hadto repair five or six leaks every day as theold pipes gave out," he recalls. "The sandwas also causing the rotary sprinkler headsto malfunction and we had to keep a closeeye on all four pump stations. We werespending more than $30,000 every year forirrigation system maintenance." Every daywas like sticking more fingers in more andmore holes in the dike.
Atlantis not only had a new superinten-dent, it had a new greens chairman. BobMaloney was a retired Air Force colonel and
continued on page 16
January, 1988 15
It was taking morethan 12 hours to
irrigate the course.That meantAtlantis
was paying peakrates for electricity
for the pumps.
Regaining Controlcontinued from page 15former vice president of RCA. The engineer,trained at West Point and Harvard, was ac-customed to developing solutions for com-plex problems. He had chosen Hendersonfor his six years experience with Nicklausand his turf management degree from LakeCity Community College. The two of themstarted to identify all the various problemswith the system.
"My main concerns were the pipes andwires on the old north and south nines andthe sprinkler heads," Henderson states. Notonly was high pressure from the pump sys-tem rupturing the pipes, the heads were get-ting stuck. It was taking more than 12 hoursto irrigate the course. That meant Atlantiswas paying peak hour rates for electricityfor the pumps.
The Tifdwarf greens and Ormond ber-mudagrass fairways on the east nine weresuffering from poor drainage since mucksoil had been brought in when the third ninewas added. "I thought some of the moistureproblems could be solved with single headcontrol, at least around the greens,"
The new pump station at Atlantis Is concealed In an attractive pump house nestled in a groveof trees. All pump components were hot·dlpped galvanized to resist corrosion.
Maloney called in golf course architect focus was on the pumps, pipes, wires, andand irrigation consultant Ted McAnlis of heads on all 27 holes and the greens onNorth Palm Beach to help construct an over- the east nine.all renovation plan that could be present- The first decision was to build one cen-ed to the private club's 380 members. The tral pumping station drawing from a lakemore McAnlis talked to Maloney and Hen- instead of wells. The old well pumps wouldderson, the more he realized that they need- be used for backup only. "There is a grow-ed more control than a hydraulic system ing concern in this area about salt watercould provide. Engineers from Rain Bird and intruding into the ground water," says McAn-Toro were called in as was USGA Green lis. Atlantis is only five miles from the At-Section regional agronomist John Foy about lantic Ocean. The course has an abundancethe greens on the east nine. Maloney and of surface water and a 23 acre lake thatHenderson started visiting other courses in could serve as an irrigation reservoir.the area to see their irrigation systems. All pipes, wires, heads and controllers
"Our goal was to utilize water to its max- would be replaced. To provide maximumimum capability and to get our irrigation control, nearly all heads would be valve-in-maintenance costs down to less than head. This favored staying with an electric$10,000 a year," said Maloney. The main system as opposed to an hydraulic. It also
made a strong case for going to a central-ized computer controller.
All the greens on the east nine would berebuilt to "exact" USGA Green Sectionspecifications. No course in Florida had everfollowed the USGA specs to the letter, saidFoy. That challenged the Atlantis team. Fur-thermore, drainage would be installed inproblem muck soil areas on fairways andtees on the east nine. The pipes on the eastnine would stay, but everything else wouldbe replaced. Altogether the tab for the projectwas nearly $1 million.
"The heads are the heart of an irrigationsystem as far as I'm concerned," Hender-son points out. "You build the system aroundthe heads." Henderson favored the Torogear-drive heads. That gave Chuck Wat-son from Hector Turf, the Toro Irrigation dis-tributor for southern Florida, the idea thatAtlantis could become the first course inFlorida to install the computerized Network8000. Henderson had seen the Rain BirdMaxi III central computer system operateand liked what it could do. Boynton Pump,
conffnuedon page 50This single AquaTurf pump station replaced four separate pumps that were previously locatedat different locations on the 27·hole course.
16 sportsTURF
"When you're hosting the U.S. Open, the qualityofyour greens is going to be evaluated by the bestgolfers in the world and a national television audience.That's why Iuse only Bunton mowers to maintain mygreens here at Shinnecock Hills:' says GolfCourseSuperintendent Peter Smith.
Since he discovered Bunton mowers, Smith haspurchased eight greensmowers and two teemowers.Here are some of his comments.On the tournament:
"Forthree years beforethe 1986 Open I mowedmygreens at 5/32" with 22" Bunton walk-behinds. For thetournament I mowed at 1/8'~The Bunton doesn't have afloating head so I get a true 1/8" cut once I set and lockin the height. With the new Bunton tournament knifeI can easily get down to 7/64" without digging intothe green:'On Buntonfeatures:
"The powered rotary brush is a great feature. Itstands the grass up before it's cut to control grain and
eliminate runners. I use grooved rollers for closer, moreaccurate cuts and verticut attachments for thatching:'
"The solid aluminum drive rollers on the Buntonmachines give me firmer greens without compaction.They cut straight, since both rollers are powered, andI've never had a problem with the engines:'On teemowers:
"My tees concern me as much as my greens.With Bunton Iget a striped, walk-behind look, plus theefficiencyofa 26" mower. After all, those TV camerasfocus on the tees almost as much as the greens. Theyhave to be in top condition:'
For at least eighteen more good reasons to useBunton, write or call for our new literature and thename ofyour Bunton distributor.
Top dressing levels existing turf onathletic fields while stimulating growthand improving soil conditions. Repeti-tive top dressing fills in the low spotsand also promotes the decompositionof thatch.
f1\ The adjustable metering gate\.:...J accu rately controls the flow of
top dressinq.
f2\ The high-speed. rotating brushV catches the top dressing from
the conveyor belt and drives itdown to the base of the turf.
f3\ A heavy-duty, composition.~ conveyor belt carries the top
dressing from the hopperthrough the metering gate to thebrush. Top dressing flowsevenly and accurately.
• Pin Hitch· makesattachment to tractoror turf truck easy andquick
• Ideal for sports turfapplication
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18 sportsTURF Circle 142 on Postage Free Card
INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONSELECT NEW OFFICERS
The Professional Grounds Management Society (PGMS)and the Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA) have an-nounced their new officers for 1988.
Elected to a second one-year term as president of PGMSwas Jeffrey Bourne, chief, bureau of parks, Howard County,MD. He has led the group into numerous joint ventures withother associations to increase the conference opportunitiesfor PGMS members. A prime example was the Green TeamExhibition with the Associated Landscape Contractors ofAmerica (ALCA) last fall outside of Washington, DC. Thetwo groups will cohost the second Green Team Exhibition inNashville, TN, this coming November.
Russell Studebaker, senior horticulturist for the Tulsa,OK, Parks Department, was elected first vice president ofPGMS. Both Studebaker and second vice president TedShull, grounds superintendent at Kettering Medical Centerin Kettering, OH, have won numerous awards for their work.The same applies for Thomas Smith, senior vice presidentof the Cemetery of Spring Grove in Cincinnati, OH, the newtreasurer.
New directors elected by PGMS members include RobertRubel, president of Rubel's Landscape Services in FortWorth, TX; Earl Wilson, vice president of Thornton-Wilson,Inc., of Maineville, OH; and Charles Wilson, groundskeepingsupervisor at California State University at Los Angeles, CA.Steve Chapman, grounds manager at Digital EquipmentCorp., in Salem, NH, was appointed by Bourne to fill a va-cancy on the board.
Steve Wightman, turf manager at Mile High Stadium inDenver, CO, completed his second year as president ofSTMA. Mark Hodnik, supervisor of grounds at CaliforniaPolytechnic Institute in Pomona, CA, has been elected pres-ident for 1988. David Frey, facilities supervisor at ClevelandStadium in Cleveland, OH, was elected first vice presidentand Dr. James Watson, vice president and chief agronomistfor The Toro Company in Minneapolis, MN, was elected se-cond vice president. Sam Monson, facility supervisor for theMinnesota Vikings in Eden Prairie, MN, was elected treasur-er and Twyla Hansen, grounds supervisor at Nebraska Wes-leyan University in Lincoln, NE, is the new secretary.
Steve Cockerham, director of the sports turf research cen-ter at the University of California at Riverside, CA, and MikeSchiller, director of parks for Glenview, IL, started newterms on the board of directors.
KALAMAZOO UPGRADESGOLF COURSE IRRIGATION
The Kalamazoo, MI, Municipal Golf Association will com-plete the conversion of all the city's municipal courses tostate-of-the-art irrigation this winter by updating Red ArrowGolf Course. The golf association board has been updatingthe city courses to reduce energy costs, conserve city waterand reduce labor and maintenance costs for the irrigationsystems.
The previous irrigation system at Red Arrow, a nine-holepar-3 executive course, used Kalamazoo city water. The newsystem will save operating funds since electric costs to runthe pumps will be lower than the cost of buying city water.
Red Arrow's system features a new Berkely pump systemdrawing water from the Kalamazoo River, Rain Bird RC Se-ries controllers and valves, 118 Hunter 1-40 pop-up headsand all new PVC pipe. The system, with single-row, 60-footspacing on the fairways and separate controls for the greens,was designed by Michael Lambeth, vice president of MapleHill Sprinkling, Inc., of Kalamazoo, the contractor for theproject. Century Rain Aid is providing all materials.
Low toxicityto wildlife.
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Convenient-to-use solublepowder. Compat-ible with mostinsecticides andfungicides-gentle on turf.
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