Category Archives: Sports Turf

Growing golf – hope springs eternal

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Depending on whom you ask, the official arrival of spring begins either on March 1 (meteorological spring), March 21 (astronomical spring) or Monday to kick off the start of Masters week (golfers’ spring).

There is no tradition like the Masters Golf Tournament and if you are in the golf business you know what I mean. The membership at Augusta National Golf Club hosts the greatest event in all of sport, in my humble opinion. They do some unique things such as referring to ticket holders as “patrons,” price the concessions so inexpensive that the first time you visit The Masters as a patron you have to ask are you sure the price is right? A classic Coke cost $1.50 and a pimento cheese or ham sandwich costs only $1.50. Parking is FREE, and the grounds are manicured to perfection, leaving no stone unturned, no blade of grass out of place. It is a very spiritual place.

During yesterday’s Chairman’s Press Conference, Billy Payne, Masters Chairman, was asked about a rule in golf. He simply deferred answering the question by stating Augusta National is just a golf club that happens to host a well-known tournament, it wouldn’t be prudent to make golf policy decisions. In their own way, in an unassuming way, Augusta National and their leadership knows they are more than “just a golf club hosting a well-known tournament.” They are the most powerful golf body in the world. What Augusta National does, it is likely others will follow.

One of the tenets of the PGA of America is to grow the game of golf. As a PGA member for over 10 years I can tell you growing the game is the future of golf. While we, as PGA professionals, have always had strong initiatives to grow the game, the PGA of America, in my opinion, has fallen short.

What Payne announced Monday and re-iterated yesterday in his Chairman’s press conference was that if Augusta National wants to grow the game of golf and do it in an exciting way, they can do it. It was announced in partnership with the USGA and the PGA of America, Augusta National created a competition for junior golfers to introduce and inspire a new generation of golfers. The competition is the National Championship of the Drive, Pitch and Putt competition with the finals at Augusta National Golf Club on the Sunday before tournament week.

There have been a lot of growing the game initiatives, and they have been pretty successful, but if I know Augusta National like I think I do, this new competition is going to inspire, introduce and invigorate a new generation of golfers. Well done, Chairman Payne, well done!

World Cup on artificial turf?

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soccer on grassIn a press release from the World Cup last week, artificial turf took the spotlight away from natural grass in a sport that has been pro-natural grass made up of players that strongly prefer a natural surface an artificial one.

Although second generation artificial fields have distinct advantages over their ‘astro’ predecessors, many soccer players feel the ball doesn’t roll and bounce as they’ve come to expect it to on natural grass, which changes the game in a negative way. Also, there is a lot of sliding in soccer games and artificial fields don’t ‘give’ as much in that regard, which can be annoying to players trying to maintain a consistent style of play.

Abby Wambach, whose name is likely familiar and strongly associated with soccer in most of our minds, stepped into the spotlight to give her opinions on why she thinks playing the 2015 World Cup on artificial turf would be detrimental to the game. It’s worth a read.

Want to avoid nutrient runoff?

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Some interesting results have been compiled at the GCSAA TV website discussing an ongoing research project at the University of Minnesota.  Dr. Brian Horgan at UMN has been involved in some great environmental concern-based research, and this study is one  I’ve heard about a few times and even had the pleasure of seeing the plots one time while visiting UMN.

The main take-home message from this research is that yes, excessive P inputs in your turf do lead to higher rates of runoff, however, properly fertilized turf will actually prevent erosion and nutrient runoff from the surface of your turf.  And unfertilized turf is actually more susceptible to nutrient runoff.  I’ll let Brian do the talking: http://www.gcsaa.tv/view.php?id=179

Interactive Turfgrass Morphology Tool

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For those who don’t know what morphology means, it is essentially the different parts of the turfgrass plant and those parts are how we distinguish one grass species from another. Parts like the inflorescence (flower head), leaf blade, root, collar, crown, sheath, auricle, vernation (veins in the leaf) usually have some sort of identifying characteristic that tells us, say, annual ryegrass from tall fescue—long, clasping auricles on the annual ryegrass, or a wider leaf blade on the tall fescue.

As I was surfing this morning, I found a cool website with a neat tool for learning more about turfgrass morphology that was put together by Drs. David Gardner and Karl Danneberger, both from Ohio State University. There are other nice parts of the website, I would recommend spending time there brushing up before the season starts again.

And, of course, if you have any questions about anything, please feel free to contact me.

 

 

Are we over-applying nutrients in turf?

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I came across an interesting article this morning on the turf diseases website that confirms something I’ve been a proponent of for many years.

In many areas of agriculture and horticulture, there is a tendency to apply whatever nutrients we think the plants need and not pay any attention to soil testing. It’s something I like to call ‘nutrient paranoia.’ Turf managers (and others) seem to think, for some reason, “the soil reports must be lying, because when I put down that extra two pounds of K last year, I thought I saw some sort of response.”

When you apply a surplus of nutrients, you could be having an antagonistic effect on other nutrients within the system. Think of applying nutrients as trying to achieve a balance of nutrients in soil, not just applying what you think should be there or what worked in the past.

Check out this link and see what researchers found when more potassium (K) was added to their putting greens before winter and the subsequent infections of snow mold.

Soil testing is a very important part of growing plants properly and should not be merely glanced at, then shoved aside so you can continue to do what you’ve done every year. Don’t spend money where it isn’t needed! If your soil report comes back telling you there are adequate levels of P and K in your soil, then you don’t need to apply them.

Humates in turf

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by Andrew Hoiberg, Ph.D., Calcium Products research & development manager

We’ve been getting a lot of questions at trade shows about the benefits of humate additions to turfgrass systems. Following is a rundown of what humates are and how they can benefit plants.

Humates or humic substances are fully decomposed remains of plant or animal organic matter. They are the most chemically active compounds in soils with large cation and anion exchange capacities, far exceeding clays. In general, they are very long lasting in soil, but the more intensively a site is managed, the faster they breakdown. This is one reason to add humic substances to your soil: to replace humus depletion in agricultural and horticultural soils.

Most humic products are derived from a mineral called leonardite, whose origins are not entirely understood. It is either an oxidized form of lignite or an accumulation of humic acids leached from topsoil by alkaline water into deeper strata of soil. Leonardite was discovered in North Dakota in 1919 by Leonard Dave, a University of North Dakota faculty member. It is also found in Utah and New Mexico. Leonardite is normally found very close to the surface near lignite deposits.

There are a few terms often thrown around when discussing humic substances; let’s take a look at them to try and clear up any confusion. Leonardite contains three types of organic substances:

  1. Fulvic acid – the fraction that is soluble in water under all pH conditions
  2. Humin – the fraction not soluble in water at any pH value
  3. Humic acid – the fraction not soluble in water under acidic conditions but is soluble at higher pH values

So, how do humates help plants? Again, the mechanisms for how these substances work in plants and soil are poorly understood, but research is being conducted worldwide (including some work funded by Calcium Products) in an attempt to help us understand the how and why. It is assumed, however, that the chelating properties of these substances are most likely responsible for enhanced nutrient uptake and retention in soils, as are their large cation exchange capacity values.

Humates have shown the following benefits in turfgrass situations:

  • Improved germination
  • Improved seedling vigor
  • Enhanced nutrient uptake (N, P, K, Mg, Cu, Mn)
  • Increased microbial actibity
  • Increased root mass

It is important to note that much of the research done on turf has shown that humic substances, particularly leonardite, realize the greatest benefits when applied to sandy soils low in organic matter and CEC. Also, incorporation of these products into the soil further improved the beneficial aspects of humic substances. This means sand-based turf systems (sand-based putting greens, sand-based and sand-capped athletic fields and any turf system intensively topdressed with sand) can benefit from applications of humic substances. It would also be wise to time your applications with your aerification practices to help incorporate the product into the soil.

Calcium Product’s HumaCal, combines the benefits of humates, calcium and sulfur. The ingredients are combined through our proprietary manufacturing process before pelletizing to give you the benefits of easy application and immediate action in the soil.

Talk to your dealer about HumaCal and start on the road to healthy soil today!

What are the two types of gypsum; which to choose?

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When choosing gypsum it has to be a calcium sulfate di-hydrate (CaSO4*2H2O). This form of gypsum is by far the most soluble form available.

Let’s take a second to review the two major forms of gypsum in the marketplace today in lawn care. The first form is what I mentioned above, calcium sulfate di-hydrate (CaSO4*2H20) and the second form is simply calcium sulfate (anhydrite) (CaSO4). You’re probably thinking, ‘what’s the big deal, gypsum is gypsum and after all it’s only a commodity.’ But there actually is a huge difference. One is very fast acting and extremely water-soluble; the other is not. The di-hydrate form is what you need to look for. This type of gypsum is already infused with two extra molecules of water making it easier to break down.  This makes the nutrients available to the plant as soon as it dissolves into solution; with some brands that’s only a matter of minutes. The anhydrite form does not have any water associated with it and therefore is very hard to break down into solution, sometimes taking years to begin working.

Now that we know the two major forms of gypsum on the market today; now you should know how to figure out which type is which. The info can be found on the back of most bags. The following is what you want to see:

Analysis:
Ca…………..21%
S…………….17%

Calcium sulfate di-hydrate (CaSO4*2H20)……92%
Derived from naturally mined calcium sulfate di-hydrate.

Don’t let the levels of calcium on labels fool you. The anhydrite forms will contain upwards of 30% calcium, but they are not soluble and do not break down fast enough to be effective. If the calcium is not available to the plant, it doesn’t matter how much calcium or sulfur is in the gypsum.

Do you know where your lime and gypsum come from?

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There are a lot of companies that claim to have the best  product on the market but can those companies stand behind that product 100% without being the manufacturer?

We can say without a doubt our products are the best. Calcium Products, Inc., takes pride in the fact that our products are milled, formulated, bagged and distributed, by us, to all points across the U.S.  and Canada. In addition to the Calcium Products bags, look for our product next year in a new line of products for homeowners, Pure Elements. If you want to make sure you are getting the best, look for the name Calcium Products or Pure Elements on the bag.

Calcium Products has the purest, cleanest, fastest-acting, most efficient limestone and gypsum on the  market today. If anyone tells you their product is better, ask them where they source their materials.

Your turf doesn’t have to suffer in the drought!

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Chances are good that you are one of the 57% in the midst of the drought affecting the USA. While it may be too late to keep your turf from going dormant, it is never too late to prepare for the future. I’ll try to not get too scientific but wanted to share some documented results in plant survival and drought tolerance.

We have known for a long time at Calcium Products the benefits of gypsum in protecting against droughts and localized dry spots. The most important thing to remember when the weather becomes hot and dry is that it’s normal for your turf to go into survival mode known as dormancy. It is a natural reaction to a lack of water. Your turf is not dying, just shutting down to protect itself. If it stays in dormancy for an extended amount of time before you have to worry about the turf dying out.

One of the best ways to protect your turf is to apply SuperCal SO4 pelletized gypsum, manufactured by Calcium Products, Inc. One of the more important benefits of applying SuperCal SO4 is that it helps create structure to your soil. Without proper structure in your soil, a drought will lead to hardening of the soils as they dry out, localized dry spots, cracking of the soils and crusting of the top layer of soil.

By applying SuperCal SO4 you will see these benefits to your turf:

  • Reduced soil hardening
  • Reduction of crusting and cracking
  • Increased water retention
  • Flocculation of clay soils
  • Increased rooting
  • Reduction in the need for irrigation to maintain lushness of turf
  • Increase protection against pest and disease pressures
  • Unlock the nutrients in your soil for plant uptake

Now is the time to prepare for the future! Treat your turf, your plants and your garden to SuperCal SO4 and see results you can be proud of. Set the standard in your neighborhood!

GCSAA members – the unseen heroes of many a golf course!

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Golf Course superintendents’ work is often seen, but they are rarely seen or their work realized. It is not an uncommon practice for the maintenance staff at a golf facility to be up working well before the sun comes up.

As a PGA member since 1999, I certainly appreciate the hard work and dedication it takes to be in the golf industry, but I know it takes even more hard work and dedication to be in charge of the grounds and maintenance. More times than not, GCSAA members and their colleagues do not get the accolades they deserve. I consider golf course superintendents the unsung heros of the golf industry.

Next time you see your golf course superintendent keep in mind, their jobs are often 24/7 shifts. It takes time, patience, flexibility, and supreme organization to manage 100 acres or more of managed turf, not to mention their staff and their families.

Yes, it is true; superintendents do mow grass, rake bunkers and pick up trash but consider this:

 

YOUR GCSAA MEMBER IS ALSO:

An ambassador for your facility

An environmental steward

A mentor to their staff

An agronomist for the facility

A communicator to the membership

Facility manager for the ground department

Human resources director for their area

OSHA director

Financial planner managing the facility’s largest portion of the budget

Material scheduler and planner

Landscape and golf course architect

A certified, licensed applicator

An artist

A mechanic

An irrigation technician

Meteorologist

Public speaker

An educator

A political activist

ALL IN A SINGLE DAY’S WORK!

The next time you head out the golf course, be sure to spend a couple of minutes getting to know the golf course superintendent and thank him for all the hard work and commitment they provide for your golfing enjoyment!