Wheeler: Committed to performance for over 100 years

by:

The effective use of water

by: Glenn Matthews
Course at Wente Vineyards

Anatomy of a successful capital improvement project

by: Roger Mulloy

Take Care of Drainage Sooner Rather than Later

by: John Mellett

Wearing two hats: Superintendent and head golf pro

by: Donnie Teeter

Collecting moisture readings on greens: One year later

by: Chris Tritabaugh

Irrigation Trends

by: Brian Burns

Water, it's on everybody's minds... Or should be

by: Matt Shaffer
Marion Golf Club

A proud past and prepared for the future
ASGCA enters it's 65th year!

by: by Rick Phelps, ASGCA, President



"The Lord made golf courses; architects simply discovered them." - Donald Ross

Going Dormant
The Stimpmeter

by: by Ryan Kreizenbeck

Soil Technologies Corp.: Transforming tough soils for over 25 years

by: Brian Welch

The “New Breed” of golf course superintendents

by: Eddy Grattini

Let’s follow their lead

by: Andy O'Haver

Beneficial for soil structure, plant health and growth

by: Brian Welch

Evolution of Aeration

by: Chris Tritabaugh

Should I Upgrade My Wash Rack?

by: Jeff Taylor

How is a Golf Course a Learning Lab?

by: thefirstgreen.org

Better Make it Last

by: Doug Tinkham

Where we were and where will go

by: Matt Shaffer

Bad economy, no money for equipment, what to do?

by: Glenn Matthews

Adjusting to the times

by: Scott J. Morrison

Economics and bunker renovations

by: Denis Griffiths

Renovate entire golf holes, not just features

by: John Mellett

Golf course turfgrass reduction: Environmentally and strategically sustainable
Large or small renovations can positively impact turfgrass reduction

by: Marc Whitney

Reinventing the bunker… again.

by: A.J. Lepley

The transition

by: Bryan Vice

Soil sampling, testing and amendment application

by: Doug Tinkham

Passionate professionals

by: Kevin J. Baldwin

What is Sustainability?

by: Ross Jett

Key to our success

by: Jim Alwine

Getting to the green: Improving golf cart efficiency

by: Scott Morrison

Proper maintenance starts with keeping your equipment clean

by: Paul L. Carter, CGCS

Living the Dream...

by: Jason VanBuskirk Superintendent at Stow Acres Country Club



“Year one was definitely interesting. Budgeting resources and managing personnel were the two biggest challenges. Having full support from the owner, Walter Lankau, made adjusting much easier, and it gave me a lot more confidence to do my job.”

Floating treatment wetlands: Time to upgrade this centuries-old technology

by: Rob Crook

SUPERthrive formula remains a mystery

by: A. J. Lepley

Going Native

by: Cameron Lloyd

Communication, Communication, Communication

by: Mike Hatch

Renovating golf course bunkers: 5 factors to consider

by: Kevin Norby

Turning around a hidden gem

by: Bryan Vice

Promoting the golf course industry and yourself

by: Paul L. Carter
The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay


“Self promotion is sometimes looked upon as “bragging” but the public needs to hear the good things that you, and our industry, are doing for the game of golf and the environment.”

Lateral spread and divot recovery of creeping bentgrass cultivars

by: Marcus Jones

Visualizing the final product

by: Chris Tritabaugh



“My feeling is that anything we can do to extend the length of time between irrigation cycles is a big plus. Extending our irrigation intervals not only allows us to manage bentgrass over Poa annua, it also gives us a huge advantage when it comes to managing disease without the use of fungicides.”

Compost Happens - Case Study, Q and A with Scott Wheeler of Gorge Vale

by: Scott Morrison

My Turning Point

by: Jeff Johnson



"My other goal was to find a way to improve the overall health and condition of our weakest grass, Poa annua. Basically an oxymoron right? I wanted to increase our bent population but have healthier Poa, a very confusing process to say the least. We were spending a great deal of funds on fertilizers and fungicides, and the one thought I kept coming back to was, why does the plant need all of these inputs to survive?"

iPhone Apps For Golf Course Superintendents

by: by Scott J Morrison at www.turfhugger.blogspot.com

Golf course master planning

by: Kevin Norby

Bermuda and fescue prove virtuous for the Golf Course

by: Russ Nicholson, CPAg Pennington Seed, Inc.



Dr. Brian Schwartz, breeder at The University of Georgia says, “The long history of bermuda use on golf courses offers numerous options of pesticides for use on this warm season species versus other warm season grasses found on golf courses.”

Hardscapes on the Golf Course

by: Barry Adams
Roseburg Country Club


“We can’t eliminate all the maintenance and expense of a landscape but we can reduce it through the use of quality materials, proper planning, and knowledge of the plants and materials available.”

New WSU Course Fits Academic Needs to a Tee

by: By Kathy Barnard
Palouse Ridge Golf Club

Salish Cliffs on target for Spring Opening
If it’s really true that good things come to those who wait, the golfing population of the Pacific Northwest is in for quite a treat when the new Salish Cliffs Golf Club (Shelton, WA) opens its fairways.

by:
Salish Cliffs Golf Club


Renowned architect Gene Bates discusses how the Squaxin Island Tribe’s new championship golf course Salish Cliffs Golf Club is on track for a celebrated opening, more than four years after breaking ground.

Diamond in the Rough

by: David Court CGCS

Keeping Motivated

by: Justin Ruiz, CGCS
The Rim Golf Club

Ponds and Lakes... A matter of Oxygen

by: John Van Kampen

From Sensors to Solid Metal Nozzles: Seven Steps to Saving Water on Golf Courses

by: Ed Underhill

Facility Growth and Success: Communication and Teamwork

by: Brian Roth CGCS
Oquirrh Hills Golf Course


“The revenues for the course have increased each year, with a 75 percent increase from 2006 to 2007, the first year with 18 holes. Revenue was up five percent in 2008, and a surprising eight percent for 2009. Working as a team, with efforts from all areas of the facility, the 2008 seasons’ numbers showed only a 10 percent deficit (revenue to budget).“

IS THIS THE RIGHT TIME TO SELL A GOLF PROPERTY?

by: By Hilda W. Allen

Teaching the Future

by: Sean McCue
The Country Club at Castle Pines


“The teaching process goes beyond the interns and filters down to the rest of the staff as well. I am a firm believer that the best way of learning is to actually get the hands on experience. It is for this reason that I love taking on many in house projects that provide numerous opportunities for learning.“

Taking Advantage of your Advantage

by: Chris Tritabaugh
Northland Country Club


“Not everyone’s advantages are the same as ours. What works for us may not work in a different location. However, I encourage all of my colleagues to seek out your advantages, take advantage of them and see how it can make your course better.“

A View from the Cart

by: Greg Shaffer
Elcona Country Club


“The American Medical Association has documented the therapeutic effects of petting an animal. Those of us superintendents that have dogs with us at work every day would probably find it hard to dispute this fact. I know I agree with it 100%. Even golfers as they finish their round could probably benefit from lower blood pressure, a decreased heart rate and a reduced stress level.“

Commitment to Sustainability

by: Glenn Matthews
The Course at Wente Vineyards


"Sustainability has become a cornerstone of our operating values and to support this idea the course began participation in the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses in 2008. Since then we have used the program to incorporate innovative management practices for The Course and highlight management practices we have used since its inception."

Should You Go Natural?

by: Doug Tinkham
The Shoals Golf Club


“We have found yearly mowing of the natural areas helps reduce native plant species as every year native plant populations are continuing to infiltrate natural areas.“

How Teamwork Leads to Success

by: Ethan Haveman
Oakland Hills Country Club


“This should be a good reminder to all Superintendents, remember that someone is always trying to learn from you by watching what you do and say, and how you handle situations. The people in positions below you are like a sponge, ready to soak up any and all information that you can give out“

Superintendents were green before green was in VOGUE!

by: Matt Shaffer
Merion Golf Club


"It is time that we get more innovative in our challenging economic and environmentally sensitive times, but there is no better group that is adaptive to challenges and changes than GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS!"

Successfully Discouraging a Seasonal Nuisance

by: by Mark Williams
Penn Oaks Golf Club


"A year ago we had up to 1,000 Canadian geese visiting our course, now I have about 5-6 that are a part of our seasonal wildlife at the end of the course."

Golf…Environmentally Friendly?

by: By Joel Blaker
Tahoe Mountain Club


“ Old Greenwood opened in the fall of 2004 and on September 14, 2005 we became the first Certified Gold Audubon Signature Sanctuary golf course in the state of California. “

Overseeding--darned if you do and darned if you don't

by: From the archives of the GCSAA



To call it a cosmetic practice would be accurate, but also simplistic. The economic viability of thousands of golf courses and the job security of those who manage them loom beneath the pretty, green surface.

Keeping it Green

by: by Mark Claburn
Tierra Verde Golf Club


“Over ten acres of ponds and 10,000 linear feet of shoreline were created to provide habitat and water sources for migratory waterfowl and the diverse, native population of wildlife found at the course as well as providing added challenge and beauty for the golfer “

Essex County Club: Host site of the 2010 Curtis Cup

by: By Eric Richardson
Essex County Club


“In 2010, the Curtis Cup should be a forum to show the world what New England has to offer. The Curtis Cup also offers an opportunity for people to discuss the very rich championship golf history that has and continues to be made in New England,... “

Renovation of a Lifetime

by: By Bret Proctor
Oak Tree Golf Club


Here was a chance to reach another milestone and I was hopeful that I would be rewarded for everything I have done in my career to this point

The Process of Improvement

by: Chris Tritabaugh
Northland Country Club, Duluth, MN


“The one thing I always knew I wanted to do as a Superintendent was to stand up for what I knew was right, establish myself as the expert, have a vision, and use that vision to guide the membership down a path of course improvement”

The 7 Winds of Change

by: Mandel Brockinton, CGCS
The Champions Course at Weeks Park - Wichita Falls, Texas


“I soon learned an Assistant Superintendent has no days off. I asked for one once, and Jim told me sure, and I could take the rest of the week off, and go ahead and take the rest of the month off. I remember saying back then, “No I just want one day!”. Jim looked at me and asked, “do you want to be a Superintendent?” Yes, I replied, and Jim said, OK, then first you must learn all I am teaching you, and you can’t do that taking days off.”

Who Made You?

by: by Dan Burkett, Superintendent
Bent Tree Country Club, Dallas, Texas


Who made you? This is not a question of theology or creation, but rather an introspective of what events and more importantly what people shaped you to the person...

A Diamond in the Rough

by: by Sean P. Monahan, Superintendent
Mt. Anthony Country Club, Bennington, Vermont


Somewhere on the links at a small country club in Bennington, Vermont, a diamond engagement ring was lost a few years ago and never found. When I first heard...

Life is an Occasion

by: Bob Wolverton, Superintendent
Bayonne Golf Club, Bayonne, New Jersey


As a golf course superintendent in the northeast, there’s nothing better to cure the winter dull drums than a trip to Augusta National for the Masters. Each year since being...

The Tool Every Golf Course Superintendent Should Have

by: Rich Gagnon, Superintendent, Board of Directors
Segregansett Country Club, Taunton, Massachusetts


Reading through my fellow Superintendents’ articles here in recent issues, I thought it would be great to let all of you know about this "tool" I have already let our GCSANE...

Never a Dull Moment

by: Amy Volk Flowers, Director of Golf Course Maintenance
Hunters Run Golf and Racquet Club, Boynton Beach, Florida


How exciting it is to be part of an 18 hole rebuild. Hunters Run Golf and Racquet Club is a 54-hole private golf club with resort-style living located in Boynton Beach, Florida. There...

Life is Good!

by: Jared Ray Bonar, Golf Course Superintendent
Cypress Lakes Golf Club, Cypress, Texas


Most of my life I have worked hard at whatever I did. I was always raised with good values and the believe that "if you are going to do something, do it right or don't do it at all."...

A Path with Heart

by: Jason Miller, Golf Course Superintendent
Aspen Glen Club, Carbondale, Colorado


Confucius said it best... "Find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life!" Sounds as simple as flipping through the pages of the Golf Course Trades, but finding the...

Reflections

by: Matt Shaffer, Superintendent
Merion Golf Club, Ardmore, Pennsylvania


As I enter my 39th year in the golf course industry, I can hardly believe it. I vividly remember picking iron ore rocks off Iron Masters Country Club in Roaring Spring PA, in the...

The Long and Winding Road

by: Russ C. Myers CGCS , Superintendent
Southern Hills Country Club, Tulsa, Oklahoma


"Put some water on the greens, please!!!" He implored with a smile. Tired from months of long days turning into nights watching irrigation cycles run, I could only muster up a trite...