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

Posted on 04/11/2012 by Brian Milam

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!

Too early to apply?

Posted on 03/23/2012 by Brian Milam

WOW, what a treat! Most of America is enjoying a very warm, early spring! I know everyone is itching to get outdoors and kick off the season. While it is still too early in most parts north of the Mason-Dixon line to begin your early spring fertilizations, it is never too early to begin spreading SuperCal SO4.

One of the great characteristics of organic, all-natural products is not having to depend on mother nature for an application schedule. Take our SuperCal SO4, for example. It is a naturally mined, organic material that works beautifully with any fertility program. You can apply it any time throughout the year. You don’t have to wait for the frost to be out of the ground, you don’t have to wait for the ground temperature to hit a magical degree in order for the product to work. Our SuperCal SO4 can be applied, left alone and forgotten. As soon as the spring thaw begins or that first April shower (March this year?) hits, the SuperCal SO4 pellet will melt and the calcium and sulfur will begin to work.

Another benefit of SuperCal SO4 being a safe, all natural organic product is that it will not burn or damage your turf no matter how much you apply or when you apply. If you are working to create the best soil structure possible for growing the best turf of the season, now is the time to apply SuperCal SO4.

For more info, check out this PDF on SO4.

Not just a Calcium Products company…

Posted on 02/06/2012 by Brian Milam

With my job and I am very fortunate to travel all across this great country of ours. I have an opportunity to meet people from all walks of life and introduce them to Calcium Products, Inc. Typically, I give them my 30 second elevator speech about who Calcium Products are and then depending on who I am talking with I will expand into a more detailed account of our company.

Most people can figure out what we do simply by looking at our company name, but we are so much more than that. While calcium certainly plays a huge role in our base ingredients for manufacturing we actually blend 9 of the 16 essential plant nutrients in our base calcium products. You could make a very strong case however we blend 12 out of 16 if you include Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen.

If you are going to be growing anything, whether it is corn or beans to flowers and turf, all plant life needs to have some percentage of all 16 nutrients to survive. Three of the 16 essentials are provided from air and water; carbon (C), hydrogen (h) and oxygen (O), the remaining 13 are taken up from the soil; nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), sulphur (S), magnesium (Mg), boron (B), chlorine (Cl), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), zinc (Zn).

If 81% of the essential nutrients are taken up from the soil, wouldn’t a grower need to have the properly conditioned soil to grow in? Our answer at Calcium Products is yes!

You see, at Calcium Products we strive to create the most ideal soil environment to feed the world, inspire outdoor recreation and develop products that are vital to the stewardship of land and water resources.

Here is a look at our products and the nutrients we supply to the growers of the world:

SuperCal SO4– 21% calcium (Ca), 17% sulphur (S) {in our gypsum, we actually have 2 extra water molecules attached to the crystalline structure of the gypsum, therefore you can include hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) to the nutrient mix.}

SuperCal 98G– 36% calcium (Ca), <0.5% magnesium (Mg)

Triplicity– 13% carbon (C), 37% calcium (Ca), 0.5% sulphur (S), 0.3% magnesium (Mg)

HumaCal– 18% calcium (Ca), 5% sulphur (S) {also contains 30% humate materials}

SuperCal 15K– 15% potassium (K2O), 1% calcium (Ca), 9% sulphur (S)

MicroHume– 5% calcium (Ca), 8% sulphur (S), 2% boron (B), 1% copper (Cu), 2% manganese (Mn), 3% zinc (Zn)

Sulphur Plus– 2% potassium (K2O), 1% calcium (Ca), 9% sulphur (S)

Whether you’re a farmer or a gardener, a turf professional or a homeowner, you need products that can supply the nutrients that your plant needs to survive. So the next time you are looking for a full line of products, remember Calcium Products isn’t just a calcium company!

On the Tee Segment

Posted on 02/03/2012 by Brian Milam

So what do Spring Valley Golf Course in Livermore, IA and Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, CA have in common? Recently, I had an opportunity to spend some time with our good friends at the Iowa Sports Connection and talk golf. If you follow the PGA Tour, you know that last week Torrey Pines hosted the Farmer’s Insurance Open. What was more amazing than Kyle Stanley’s epic collapse on the 18th fairway was the conditioning of the golf course. Thanks to SuperCal SO4, the players were treated to the best conditions in the history of the tournament.

Listen to my segment from “On the Tee” radio show below:

“On the Tee” Interview

Is your turf protected for the winter?

Posted on 12/14/2011 by Brian Milam

It’s not too late to winterize your turf and protect it from the harmful effects of the winter climate. If your turf is not properly prepared for the harsh winter climates it is going to struggle to re-establish this Spring when it comes out of dormancy.

Did you know that gypsum is the perfect winterizer. If you are not applying gypsum to your lawn before the first day of winter you are really placing undo harm to the turf. Gypsum creates a great enviroment for your turf to go into dormancy. It creates soil structure that allows space for the roots, increases the water holding capacity of the soil so the turf doesn’t go thirsty and it provides an area for maximum oxygen intake for the plant. While all these are great reason to apply gypsum to your turf, the most important reason to apply gypsum before the first day of winter is because of it amazing ability to provide protection against the copius amounts of salt and winter de-icers we apply to our sidewalks, driveways and parking lots. These are the products that not only keep us safe but “burn” the turf in the spring.

If the excess sodium levels are removed from the rootzone, your turf has an excellent chance of survival in the spring. When gypsum is applied the calcium in the gypsum preps the soil for the turf to survive and the sulfur bonds to the sodium from the salts and de-icers products and flushes the sodium out of the root zone into the sub-soil where it cannot be harmful to the plant.

Give gypsum a try, your turf will thank you for it and your neighbors will wonder why your turf appearance is better than theirs in April and May.

Frost delays expected around the midwest!

Posted on 10/19/2011 by Brian Milam

Temperatures around the midwest are predicted to drop near freezing over the next couple of days. While some areas have already had their first frost, this looks to be the first regional freeze.

Here is a forecast for selected cities in the midwest, courtesy of accuweather.com.

Minneapolis, MN Madison, WI

Des Moines, IA Sioux City, IA

Fargo, ND Stevens Point, WI

I have also linked a video from Pace Turf regarding the cold hard facts of Frost Delay on Golf Courses: Frost Delays on Golf Courses:The Cold, Hard Facts

Fairy Rings and the Open Championship

Posted on 07/18/2011 by Brian Milam

If you are a golfer, undoubtably you noticed on the greens at Royal St. George's that there were a lot of fairy rings. Below is an exerpt from the Open Championship, A guide to the enviromental management of the links, that refers to fairy rings on the course.

Fairy Rings

"Observant spectators at The Open may spot rings and arcs of darker coloured grass to some greens and fairways at Royal St George

Choosing your Top-Dressing Mix Wisely

Posted on 05/18/2011 by Brian Milam

If you were to poll 10 GSCAA superintendents about why they top-dress their playing surfaces, more than likely you will have a majority respond with,

A picture is worth 1,000 words

Posted on 05/02/2011 by Brian Milam

This is a photograph of the 9th green at the Humboldt Country Club in Humboldt, IA. This picuture was taken in the spring. The damage that you can see on the left is winterkill. As you can see there is a clear line that is disecting the collar and green. On the right the green was treated with HydroSave pelletized gypsum. The left side was untreated. While this is not a controlled scientific test, conclusions can be drawn based on the picture that shows when HydroSave is applied it may reduce or eliminate winterkill on turf.

Some of the benefits that would promote healthy turf:

Improved Soil Structure
Reduction of compaction layers
Increased water infiltration
Added Calcium that promotes a stronger, healthier plant cell wall
Deeper rooting of the turf

NATRATURF…WHERE SCIENCE MEETS THE SOIL

Do You Know Your Superintendent?

Posted on 04/25/2011 by Brian Milam

Make a point this golf season to get to know your golf course superintendent, not only will you be surprised to find out what they do for your enjoyment but they will appreciate being recognized. GCSAA members play such a vital role in the evolution of a golf facility but most of the time they go unnoticed unless there is a problem or a maintenance practice that you may not agree with or even understand.

So what role does your superintendent play at your facility?

A Golf course superintendent is a person who professionally manages the labor, time, materials and financial resources needed to care for the turfgrass and landscaped grounds on a golf course. Golf course superintendents have also been referred to as greens keepers and turf managers. Golf course superintendents are concerned with the environmental health of the golf course, the sporting needs of the players and the financial sustainability of the golf club or country club for which they work. Golf course superintendents communicate the status of the grounds and maintenance resources to members of the club

Calcium Products Turf & Ornamental division

The green solutions to your golf course, park & field isssues!

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