EVENTS~

CALENDAR

MARCH19 Spotts Turf Institute and Grounds Oper-

ations Conference, Cal Poly, Pomona,CA.Contact Kent Kurtz, Dept.of Horticulture,Cal Poly University,Pomona, CA91768, (714)869-2219.

21 22 Sports Turf Conference and- Show, Joe Robbie Stadium,

Miami,FL. Contact Ed Birch (305) 928-0217or John Mascaro (305) 928-7477.

APRIL15 16 Southeastern Turfgrass Confer-

- ence, Georgia Coastal Plain Ex-periment Station, Tifton, GA.Contact: Univer-sity of Georgia,College ofAgriculture, CoastalPlain Station, Tifton, GA 31793, (912)386-3353.

MAY15 North Carolina Turf and Landscape

Field Day, Turf Field Center, Raleigh,NC. Contact R.H. White, NCSU, P.O. Box7620, Raleigh, NC 27695-7620, (919) 737-7615.

JUNE24 25 Annual Turfgrass Summerfest,

- Washington State UniversityPuyallup Research and Extension Center,Puyallup, WA. Contact Northwest TurfgrassAssociation, P.O. Box 1367, Olympia, WA98507, (206) 754-0825.

JULY29 Turfgrass Field Day, South Farm, Uni-

versity of Missouri, Columbia, MO.Con-tact Missouri Valley Turfgrass Association,344 Hearnes Center, University of Missouri,Columbia, MO65211, (314) 882-4087.

NOVEMBER19 2 0 Southern Groun.ds & Turf Mainte-

- nance Exposition and Confer-ence, MyrtleBeach Convention Center, MyrtleBeach, SC. Contact: South Carolina Board forTechical & Comprehensive Education, IIIExecutive Center Drive, Columbia, SC 29210,(803) 737-9355.

Send announcements on your events two months inadvance to editor, Golf & SportsTURF, P. 0. Box 8420,Van Nuys, CA 91409. Fax: (818) 781-8517.

THE FRONT OFFICE~

OPINION PAGE

A RENEWED COMMITMENT TO SERVICE

InFebruary, without fanfare or ceremony,Denne Goldstein typed the last words of hiscolumn in this issue, flipped off his computer,

shook everyone's hand, and left the office for thefinal time. He could barely speak, something un-usual for a man who never hesitates to voice hisopinions.

Personally, Denne was a friend and yet mygreatest critic. He gave me an opportunity to turnideas into a tangible, hopefully useful product, thismagazine. Not many people have the gumption toturn words into action. Denne did and put hismoney where his mouth was.

Working for Denne must have been like playing for Lombardi. He alwayswanted more out of his team and kept the pressure on. He thrives on pressureand expects others to do so as well.

In retrospect, that is the type of drive necessary to launch a magazine in theturf industry. There is no draft in the publishing business. You start off at thebottom and compete for the attention of every reader and advertiser. We havebeen bucking tradition for almost six years trying to expose the common bondsbetween the golf industry and the recreational turf industry. We do this everymonth, not once or twice a year like our competitors.

Denne's record speaks for itself. Five magazines in 13 years is a tremendousaccomplishment! Few people contribute so much in such a relatively short periodof time.

One of his final acts as publisher was to make sure that Golf & sportsTURFand its four sister publications would continue to serve their readers for years tocome. He was very selective about to whom he sold the company. More than oncehe walked away from an offer on the table.

Last year, he was approached by Adams Communications Company, a com-pany established on a long family tradition of strong management and qualityproducts and services. Steve Adams, owner of the company, wanted to create atrade magazine division to go along with a network of consumer magazines,television and radio stations, and outdoor advertising companies. Just beforeChristmas, after months of careful negotiations, the contract was signed.To make sure Gold Trade Publications receives the attention it deserves,

Adams assigned the job of publisher to his son, Mark. For the past three months,he has been working seven days a week, 14 hours a day, to provide a smoothtransition.

Golf & sportsTURF is in good hands. Mark and I are committed to you, thereader. We want to hear from you, share your ideas with others, make changesyou would like us to make, and serve your needs.

We will be attending shows across the country, visiting your facilitks,· andproducing the best magazine we can. In other words, we are going to get moreinvolved than ever before in order to serve you the best way we can.We invite you to write or call with your suggestions, your news, your events,

and comments. Golf & sportsTURF is your magazine. We simply put it togetherfor you.The changes here at Gold Trade Publications are positive ones. Let me assure

you that we are dedicated to serving your needs today and long into the future.

March, 1990 11

Osceola County Stadium & Sports Complex

Koehnke BlendsExperience AndInnovation AtAstros Spring

Training Center

12 Golf& SportsTURF

For30 years, Bud Koehnke held ontohis dream of making the majors.Since he was 17 years old, when a

minor league scout for the St. LouisBrowns signed the adolescent pitcher dur-ing a tryout camp in his home town ofAppleton, WI, Koehnke worked his waytoward the Big Leagues."I was a thrower, not a pitcher,"

Koehnke jokes today. After stints with theBrowns and the Cincinnati Reds in citiessuch as Pittsburgh, KS, Wellsville, NY,Ab-erdeen, SO, and Knoxville, TN, his playingcareer ended. "Four years in the minorsgave me some strong feelings about base-ball facilities," he adds. "I appreciate whatballplayers contend with and have beenfortunate to be able to do something aboutit."Had Koehnke remained a player, he

might not have been part of a major over-haul in spring baseball training facilities.His hard work for the Houston Astros atOsceola County Stadium in Kissimee, FL,has earned his facility the 1990 BaseballDiamond of the Year Award in the profes-

sional category, the closest thing baseballgroundskeepers have to the Hall of Fame.Koehnke, in conjunction with HOK

Sports Facilities Group in Kansas City, MO,designed and built the stadium field andfour practice diamonds in 1984. OsceolaCounty essentially upped the ante for com-munities trying to attract professional base-ball clubs and their tourist fans. The 60-acresite has enabled the Astros to consolidatespring training of both their Major andMinor League clubs, provided a home for asingle-A Florida League farm team, andserved as a base for fall instructionalleagues. The facility is dedicated year-roundto player development and meets all therequirements of professional baseball."Osceola started a trend in spring train-

ing facilities," states Rick deFlon, seniorvice president of HOK. "In 1983, when theAstros were in Coco [FL], half of theirspring training games were rained out.They started looking at other facilities inFlorida. Andy McPhail and AlRosen [ownerand general manager respectively] put to-gether specific ideas based on what theysaw and what they'd like if they could startfrom scratch. Osceola had been talking withthe Cubs."The Astros and Osceola got together

and brought in the newly-formed SportsFacilities Group of HOK to turn their ideasinto reality. DeFlon was assigned the chal-lenge of creating a prototype for futurespring training facilities. "It was one ofHOK's first big ventures in sports facilityarchitecture," he adds. It was also one ofthe first times a stadium architectural firmhad addressed a spring training project.Meanwhile, Koehnke was renovating

Tinker Field in nearby Orlando for theMinnesota Twins. Since leaving the playerranks, he had spent most of his career asRecreation Director for Appleton. Good-land Field in Appleton was a regular stopof the Class A Midwest League and one ofKoehnke's responsibilities. "I had Good-land Field, all the parks, an 18-hole golfcourse, and four swimming pools to lookafter," he recalls. "The people of Appletontake pride in their athletic facilities. My sonBrandon used to help prep the stadiumbefore games, just like I had done when Iwas a kid. It was sort of a family affair."Over the years, Koehnke met and built

relationships with many professional base-ball owners, managers, and players. "After26 years in Wisconsin, I decided it was timefor a change," he reveals. "All three of mychildren are athletes and I thought theywould have more of an opportunity in Flor-

ida. We pulled up stakes and moved therein 1980."Upon arriving in Orlando, Koehnke

called Calvin Griffith, owner of the Twins atthe time. Tinker Field had gone downhill.Griffith invited him to bring the field backto life.

"It was my first exposure toberrnudagrass and mole crickets," he ad-mits. Koehnke credits much of his successat Tinker to the assistance of Dr. WayneMixson, manager of the O.M.Scotts South-east Research and Development facility inApopka, FL. "Dr. Mixson was a tremendoushelp in building a fertility program, offeringadvice about overseeding, and making sug-gestions on how to control mole crickets,"adds Koehnke. I'He gave me time to con-centrate on other problems like the infielddirt, compaction, thatch, and the playabilityof the field."For example, if you're a pitcher, the

mound is your office," he states. "If thepitching rubber is off by four inches or thelanding area is too loose, the office iswrong. I've seen cases where the baseswere off by two feet and no one caught it.It's the groundskeeper's job to keep an eyeon those things."Inside of three years, Koehnke had Tin-

ker Field back to specs, had establishedschedules for all maintenance practices,and had added a number of extra tech-niques that impressed the Twins' manage-ment. Rosen became aware of theimprovement at Tinker Field underKoehnke.The Astros deal with Osceola gave the

team input on construction and controlover maintenance. Rosen wanted hisgrounds keeper involved early in the projectto work with the county, the contractors,and HOK. The new facility was going to beextremely busy once it opened. There waslittle room for mistakes, especially consid-ering that the new design would be underclose scrutiny by other teams.The good thing about Koehnke is he was

right for the time. Management felt mostcomfortable with "old school" grounds-keepers who came up through the ranksand were close to the game. Koehnke'sbackground fit that mold. Twenty years asa recreation director imparted other traitsto his personality which make him confi-dent in his ability to build budgets, managepeople, and negotiate with vendors.

Koehnke has the stern, focused expres-sion of a relief pitcher. If you don't knowhim, you feel like a batter facing him in thelate innings of a tight game. Rosen, a for-

mer player and pitching coach, liked hisresolve. DeFlon found it a bit unsettling.Both are pleased today with the productKoehnke has delivered to the Astros for thepast eight years.Actually, Koehnke is quite open-minded.

He is loyal to products that work for him,yet is willing to try new techniques. Hewelcomes suggestions from his crew andhis suppliers. When he tries somethingnew, he solicits comments from the playersand coaches on the results. In fact, he isconstantly experimenting with new equip-ment and chemicals.After all, if he was set in his ways, it's

doubtful that Osceola County Stadium &Sports Complex would be what it is today,a model for many new spring training facil-ities from Arizona to Florida. HOK hassince designed three more spring training

Stadium field at the Osceola Complex.

complexes in Florida with features commonto Osceola: nearby Baseball City for theRoyals, the White Sox complex in Sarasota,and a brand new facility in Homestead.From a design standpoint, the main fea-

tures are a pinwheel-like arrangement ofthe four practice fields with a clubhouse inthe center and an adjacent stadium. Osce-ola added an AstroTurf half-field last seasonwith the old material from the Astrodome.All natural fields have bullpens. Two four-station batting tunnels and an eight-pack,eight side-by-side pitching positions, aretucked in around the practice fields.The Tifway berrnudagrass fields are

nearly as fast as the AstroTurf the teamplays on at the Astrodome. Bounces androlls are true whether on the dirt or thegrass. All fields are lighted and fully-outfit-ted with warning tracks, fences, and score-boards.The trick is keeping all the fields and

grounds in shape more than ten months ayear. "That's the amazing part about thewhole thing," comments Scotts' Mixson."The fields take a beating almost year-

continued on page 14

March, 1990 13

Osceolacontinued from page 13

round with very little chance to rest andrecover. At the same time, the demand fora quality playing surface has increased. It'sreached a point where the worst field todaywould have been acceptable 25 years ago.""Baseball gets more like golf every

year," says Jim Griffith with Zaun,Koehnke's Toro salesman. "If a piece ofequipment goes down, they need a replace-ment by the next day. Many of the featureson greensmowers are becoming popular atspring training facilities. Since many com-plexes don't have mechanics like golfcourses, service becomes even more impor-tant."Koehnke and his experienced staff of six

operate on a tight schedule year-round. InNovember, when the training leagues end,they have barely two months to overseed,

Sand Pros are used on base paths and warningtracks.

rebuild the skinned areas, aerify, topdress,and get ready for spring training. That's thetime when Koehnke; Don Miers, stadiumoperations manager; and facility coordina-tor Michelle Link sit down and work outthe schedule for the coming season."Between the five fields, we had 979

events last year," Miers points out. The listof events includes the Senior Little League

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World Series, the Roy Hobbs World Seriesfor players over 35, NCAAtournaments, theNational Police Youth Tournament, soccer,high school football, flag football, and con-certs. The Astros also added a winter pro-gram of three games a week this past year."There's never a dull moment," adds Miers.

"Building the fields has been a big helpin maintaining them," says Koehnke. "Theonly major problem we had involved thePVC pipe for the irrigation system. We'vehad to replace nearly all of it. Everythingelse has worked out great!"All fields are constructed of sand and are

crowned on a line from home plate tocenter field. The drop from home to thecorner of left and right field is more thantwo feet. Koehnke went a step further forthe stadium field by installing a CambridgeSystem. This entails a network of sand-filledtrenches spaced 15 feet apart. Small perfo-rated drain tubing sits in the bottom of eachtrench. Water removed by the system ispumped into a man-made lake behind theoutfield fence."We keep the surface open throughout

the year by slicing four times and shallowaerifying twice every year," he explains. "Inthe winter we aerate the outfields down tonearly eight inches with an Aerway. Wehave base and mound tarps for the practicefields and a two-piece infield tarp for thestadium."The Toro irrigation system is fed by a

well on site. Each field has its own control-ler. A sixth clock controls the rest of theproperty. Alldirt areas are watered by hand."We may be switching over to reclaimedwater from Kissimmee," says Koehnke."That might add a new twist to our fertil-ization program."The soil on all fields is tested every year.

"We take two sets of samples and sendthem to different labs for comparison.Scotts also runs its own tests for us. Theyuse the results to adjust our program.t'JimBoesch is Osceola's representative fromScotts. He is one of nine tech reps thecompany added two years ago to serve thespecial needs of schools and sports fields."I test the soil in December and then meetwith Bud in January to put a programtogether for the coming year. By adjustingthe analysis of the fertilizers and using afew amendments we've gotten the pH downto normal and solved manganese and potas-sium deficiencies typical for central Flor-ida," he says.Koehnke applies all chemicals. "We use

fertilizer combination products as much aspossible," he states. "Our big problems are

mole crickets and bahiagrass invading thebermuda. If I could do one thing over again,it would be to have planted bermuda be-tween the fields instead of bahia. We aretrying a new selective herbicide from Scottsfor the bahia. The mole crickets seem to behaving more generations than the expertspredict. They start in late February andhang around into September. The lightsmust attract them. I alternate Orthene andMocap to avoid resistance. The Mocap mayalso be helping us with a nematode problemwe had on one field. Fortunately, we've hadhardly any problems with diseases."Fire ants have not been a problem be-

cause the fields and grounds are mowedfrequently. Infields are mowed daily at 5/8-inch with triplex greensmowers. The out-fields are mowed every other day at thesame height. At Griffith's suggestion,Koehnke is trying a Toro 223-0 five-gangout-front reel mower for the outfields inplace of tractor-drawn reel gangs."The 223 is very similar to a

greensmower," Griffith states. "By settingthe speed of the eight-bladed reels to fit theforward speed of the mower you get a tightcut like a greensmower with a variable-speed kit. You can see the difference whenyou mow as low as a half inch. You can also

Osceola is trying a Toro 223-D for the outfieldsand foul areas.

set the reels to recut the clippings. Youbasically have a five-gang greensmower."Koehnke wants to try a walk-behind

greensmower on the stadium infield. "Youneed to baby the area in front of the plate,"he advises. "We cover that area with TurfSaver mats during batting practice. Theylook like ping pong netting and you canleave them down except for games." Healso topdresses the infields with masonsand periodically in addition to spiking.In December, Koehnke overseeds the

infields with eight pounds per 1,000 squarefeet of perennial ryegrass from SunBeltSeed. The rate is slightly lighter for theoutfields. This past winter he experimented

on one practice infield with Kentucky blue-grass. "I'm very happy with the color," heremarks. "The rye has been hanging onlonger and longer. I'm hoping the blue-grass will burn out earlier than the rye. It'san alternative to increasing the rate on theryegrass to get density."Another key to baseball diamond man-

agement is keeping the turf and the dirtwhere they belong. Each day the moundsand batters' boxes are packed and covered.The basepaths are spiked and dragged witha Toro Sand Pro and moistened. If needed,infield mix is added and packed to theturns. Every two weeks the diamonds areedged to control encroachment and any lipsare raked out."We do all we can to keep clay off the

turf," states Koehnke. "The clay changesthe way the sand holds water and nutrients.It also can lead to compaction problems inthe areas most likely to get compacted. Onthe other hand, you need a certain amountof calcined clay on top of the dirt to holdmoisture to make sure the ball rolls insteadof bounces."The warning tracks and basepaths have

a twelve-inch foundation of local clay.Koehnke surfaces the hard, baked warning

continued on page 16

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Osceolacontinued from page 15

tracks with a red brick aggregate calledSportTrack from Florida Brick and Clay Co."The brick absorbs some moisture, re-sponds nicely to dragging, and makes theball roll instead of bounce," he states. "Italso provides a nice contrast with the turf."For extra contrast on the stadium warningtrack he uses a special red mix from BeamClay.The base paths are rototilled in Novem-

ber and amended with either Turface orTerragreen. Throughout the year thebase paths are spiked and dragged on adaily basis. To firm up the turns, Koehnkeworks in mound or home plate mix beforetopping the area with his normal base pathmix. Every two weeks the edges are recutto contain the bermuda.The bullpens and other practice pitching

areas are maintained exactly like the rest ofthe mounds. Koehnke is especially con-cerned that the minor league players havethe same quality of facilities as the majors."In some ways I'm closer to the farm systemplayers," he remarks. "Having been in theirshoes, I try to do everything possible to helptheir careers. They deserve every chancethey can get to show their stuff."Not only has the Osceola sports complex

been a model for many other major leaguespring training facilities, Koehnke has alsohelped train a number of visiting grounds-keepers. His favorite pupil was his son,Brandon, who was head groundskeeper forthe Atlanta Braves last year. "Brandon isgreat at coming up with new ideas," saysthe proud father. "He played professional

The Osceola grounds crew (I. to r. ) Kirk Jones, Mike Dellafano, Bud Koehnke, Matt Kutik, RickRaasch, Bob Heller, and Greg Kaufmann.

ball for a year and helped me here until hewent to Atlanta.""It's refreshing to have someone with a

lot of experience who is still receptive tonew ideas," says Boesch, the Scotts rep."But it's even more refreshing to have anexperienced groundskeeper be so willing toshare his knowledge. I've passed a lot ofBud's advice on to high schools, parks, andcolleges."Mixson credits Koehnke with causing

him to urge the ProTurf Division to createa group specifically to serve athletic fieldsand schools. "The interest in quality play-ing surfaces has come to the forefront,"says Mixson. "Croundskeepers need morethan products, they need service. But theyalso need to know more than turf manage-ment. That's where people like Bud andBrandon have been so much help.""Osceola is what it is today because the

owners and managers of the Astros want itto be the best," adds Koehnke. "Dr. JohnMcMullen [owner], BillWood [general man-ager], Fred Nelson [farm director], JimmyJohnson [field coordinator], and Don Miers[stadium general manager] always makesure the crew has what it needs. That kindof support makes my job rewarding andfun."The '90s will be a decade of change for

professional baseball.Two new MajorLeague teams, rising player salaries,planned improvements in the minor leaguesystem, and rapidly improving standardsfor baseball stadiums and training centerswill affect hundreds of groundskeepers, It'sreassuring that veterans like Koehnke notonly keep pace, but actually set it. ~

BONALLACK TO RECEIVEDONALD ROSS AWARD

Michael F. Bonallack, DBE, secretary ofthe Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St.Andrews since 1983 and one of Britain'sall-time amateur golf champions, has beenchosen to receive the 1991 Donald RossAward from the American Society of GolfCourse Architects. The organization pres-ents the award annually to an individualwho has acknowledged the importance ofgolf architecture to the game and who hasencouraged others to recognize great de-sign.According to Dan Maples, ASGCA pres-

ident, Bonallack was selected because hehas "consistently focused on the impor-tance of good golf course design to theenjoyment of the game by its millions ofplayers around the world, as well as to thesuccess of its major tournaments."The award will be presented to

Bonallack at a special Donald Ross banqueton April 23 in Broughton, England. Theevent is one of the highlights of theorganization's annual meeting, to be heldthis year in Britain.Among his numerous achievements are

Bonallack's five victories in the British Am-ateur Championship. He won the event in1961, 1965, 1968, 1969, and 1970. No oneelse in the history of the tournament hasever won it three years in a row. He wasalso English Amateur Champion in 1962-1963, 1965-1967, and 1968.Bonallack played on the Walker Cup

team in every match from 1959 to 1973 andcaptained the team in 1969 and 1971. Hewas also a member of every British WorldAmateur team from 1960 to 1972, andserved as captain three times.

In 1972 Bonallack received the BobbyJones Award for distinguished sportsman-ship. He also was chairman of the GolfFoundation from 1977 to 1983, chairmanof the Professional Golfers' Associationboard of management from 1976 to 1982,and president of the English Golf Union in1982.

specialist, has left Michigan State Univer-sity for a six-month sabbatical in Palmer-ston North, New Zealand. It is the firstsabbatical he has taken in 20 years.During the next six months, Rieke will

study and write at Massey University. Hewill also conduct research at the nearbyNew Zealand Institute of Turf Culture.Rieke plans to return to East Lansing,

MI, in early September to prepare for fallterm classes. In addition to sharing hisexperiences with students, he will report onhis trip at the 62nd Annual MichiganTurfgrass Conference in January 1992.

RIEKE HEADSDOWN UNDERDr. Paul Rieke, noted turfgrass soils

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The BEAM CLAY® Baseball Diamond of the Year Awards are sponsored byBEAM CLAY~ the Sports Turf Manager's Association, and Golf & sportsTURF Magazine

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March, 1991 17

Superintendent FieldsChallenges At Ole Miss

Someone once described a specialistas "A person who knows more andmore about less and less," but noth-

ing could be less true for today's multi-tal-ented turf managers. To excel, they requirea breadth of horticultural knowledge thatincludes irrigation, drainage, topdressing,fertility, mowing, aeration, and other cul-tural practices.In short, the modern successful turf

manager must be part scientist, part artist,and part magician, with a "big picture"perspective. Gary Morris, superintendent ofthe golf course and athletic fields at theUniversity of Mississippi in Oxford, MS, isall of these.The 37-year-<>ldMorris started his turf

management career in 1973 at InverraryCountry Club in Fort Lauderdale, FL, as alaborer, and eventually moved up to fore-man. He stayed there for almost four yearsbefore moving on to Coral Ridge CountryClub, also in Fort Lauderdale, where he wasthe head spray technician.After four years at Coral Ridge he went

to PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens,FL, where he was supervisor of the HaigCourse. He stayed with PGA for six yearsuntil he left to become superintendent ofEmerald Hills Country Club in HollywoodPark, FL. He worked on the course for

almost four years before taking the positionof head groundskeeper at Joe Robbie Sta-dium, home of the Miami Dolphins inMiami, FL."Working with the Dolphins was an

unforgettable experience," Morris recalls."So was working with Tom Mascaro [con-sultant to Joe Robbie Stadium and inventorof the Verti-Groove cultivator]. In my view,he's the backbone of the turf industry. He'sa legend."Morris left Joe Robbie Stadium after two

years to take his current position at theUniversity of Mississippi, affectionately la-beled "Ole Miss.""I was looking to get out of the big city,"

he explains. "When I came here to inter-view for the job, I sort of fell in love withOxford and the history of Ole Miss."The experience I gained in Florida in

golf course management and then workingwith athletic fields has helped me greatly atOle Miss," Morris adds.Morris accepted the position at the uni-

versity in November of 1990. He is respon-sible for the Ole Miss Golf Club IS-hole golfcourse, Swayze Stadium baseball field,Hemingway Stadium football field, a trackand its infield, and two practice fields. Hedirects a six-man golf course crew, a three-man football and track crew, and a two-man

Resodding greens lost to winterkill.

18 Golf & Sports TURF

Truckster pulls aerifier across golf greens dur-ing renovation.

baseball crew. What he found when hecame to the school was less than perfect."When I arrived here I was greatly con-

cerned with the turf-all the roots were interrible shape," Morris explains. "The ath-letic fields were in terrible shape. The base-ball field at Swayze Stadium wasn't as badas the rest of the facilities, but I guess that'sbecause it was a fairly new facility. The golfcourse needed a tremendous amount ofwork."Morris had soil tests performed on the

golf course and fields not long after hearrived, and spent the winter ponderingwhat he would do to each turf area in thespring. That winter was one of the coldestexperienced in the area in 20 years, andcaused much of the grass to become dor-mant. Like other superintendents in thearea, Morris reluctantly covered the greenson the university's course.

"It was kind of hard to plan, with ourlimited funds for the golf course, exactlywhat we would do come spring," Morrissays. "We had to playa lot of it by ear."Five greens were lost to winter kill that

year. Most of them were in shaded areas.However, Morris recalls, that wasn't theworst of it."We lost all 18 of our tees because of

low mowing late in the season last year thatwas done before I arrived," he explains."That was kind of funny-I'd never seenanything like it before. You could see where

the mower had cut off the very tops of thetees, and come spring they were all dead."Both the greens and tees had to be

rebuilt. Morris and his six-man crew facedseveral challenges.First, the soil tests performed when Mor-

ris arrived revealed that 95 percent of thegreens had a pH level of 5.5, and thesuperintendent wanted to raise the soil'spH. The greens had been constructed in theearly 1970s on 12 inches of topsoil, over aclay hardpan, and had become extremelycompacted. Drainage was inadequate. Andthen there was the problem of time: Thegolf season would be starting in a fewmonths."We didn't have time to remove the soil

profile, so we incorporated sand into it,"Morris says. "We regraded and reshapedthe greens and tees, installed drainage tile,and then sodded the greens with Tifdwarfand the tees with Tifway. I know a lot ofpeople don't like the idea of soddinggreens, but I had no choice. We had notime."All the greens were Verti-grooved twice,

in two different directions. Potash was in-corporated into them, and regular cultiva-tion and fertilization were implemented."I started out by liming the greens, and

.incorporated a lot of potash and magne-sium," Morris explains. "In this area in thespring, you don't want to start out with alot of high nitrogen fertilizers. For theseason, I began with milorganite andmoved up to a 3-15-30 fertilizer, alternatingwith a 0-20-20. Once in a while, to get somecolor, I would use some ammonium nitrate.Of course, in the fall I had to back off andwent back to milorganite and potash."According to Morris, the roots of the

greens had grown down three to fourinches within a few months. "By late June,we probably had the finest greens in north-ern Mississippi," he says.Those greens that did survive the winter

of 1990 will be renovated in the future. "Ihope to rebuild another five greens nextyear, and eventually install new drainageand Tifdwarf for all our greens," Morris;reveals. I

While drainage, soil fertility, and other I'

aspects of turf management are vital toboth golf courses and athletic fields, Morris I

believes there are fundamental differencesbetween golf course and sports field main-tenance practices and goals."On sports fields, you're really trying to

grow grass," he points out. "On golf I

courses, you have to pay attention to differ- !

ent surfaces and their conditions. :

Hemingway Field the day after vertigrooving,

"The training I got in Florida [at JoeRobbie Stadium] and as a golf course su-perintendent is starting to come together,because here I have a golf course andathletic fields, and I like that," Morris con-tinues. "I'm learning a lot about this area-it's a whole different ballgame owing grasshere than it is in Florida. One of the things

I do in my daily practice is look underneaththe grass, as well as on top of it. That'ssomething I've always believed in, but TomMascaro helped reinforce it. I'll never for-get that." Not content to focus solely on the"smaller" issue of greens rebuilding andrenovation, Morris and his crew tackled the

continued on page 20

soil treatment

Tough on Turf Problems~ Improves infiltration~ Improves percolationg Softens hard soil~ Improves aeration

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Call For More Information1-800-348-2608

~FOURSTAR~SERVICES, INC.2275 North State Road One, P.O. Box 463,

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Cirde 121 on Postage Free CardMarch, 1990 19

Slices removed by Verti-Groove on Hemingway Stadium.

Ole Misscontinued from page 19

larger issue of course irrigation. Originally,the course at Ole Miss had no fairwayirrigation, and a manual system for greensand tees. Morris envisioned somethingmore. "So I trained my superiors and toldthem exactly what we needed," he jokes.A complete automatic irrigation system

has been installed. Morris credits RobinShores of Liberty Pipe, which supplied allthe products required, including a LinksMaster Control System from Rain Bird, andcontractors Scott Cross and LannyShackleford, for much of the project's suc-cess. Morris recalls few problems duringinstallation."We did run into some trouble near

completion with elevation," he says. "Thepump was at one end and we had morepressure than we wanted at the low end, so

we installed pressure relief valves. Therewas also a little trouble at the end of theseason with rain. A lot of our ditch lineswashed out."The system will be fully operational for

the 1991 golf tournament season. Ofcourse, Morris has additional ideas for im-proving the course at Ole Miss."I feel like we can get this golf course

to be one of the finest in Mississippi if wecan come in and do some reshaping on thefairways, install some more drainage, widensome tees, and put in some fairway bun-kers," he says. "This course has a lot ofpotential. It's just been neglected. It has abeautiful fairway layout."Budget, as always, is a consideration,

and Morris describes his golf course budgetas "lower than average." He also hopes toboost it, but realizes that such increasescome from donations by alumni, and often

Core samples from green shows difference in root depth after aerifying (right) and withoutaerifying (left).

20 Golf & Sports TURF

take time."The football field budget is a little dif-

ferent, because football is a big attraction,"Morris observes.Although the golf course is the largest

turf area at the university under his care,Morris is also dedicated to improving foot-ball and baseball fields, practice fields, andtrack infield. Two practice fields were actu-ally rebuilt last spring."The football field had no root system,

no fertilization program to speak of," Mor-ris remembers. "It was neglected." As onthe golf courses' greens and tees, Morrisincorporated potash and began cultivationof the fields. "I do a lot of cultivation, simplybecause roots move through spaces in thesoil," Morris says. "If you don't have spacesin the soil, roots won't move through it, nomatter what you put on the grass."The fertilizers used on the fields are the

same as those used on the golf course.Morris says this enables him to buy various

One I8-hole golfcourse and fiveathletic fields

translate into manylong hours ofhard work.

fertilizers in bulk, which saves money. Hegenerally applies some type of fertilizer tothe fields every week, except during thecold winter months. He matches fertilizersto what he believes the fields need.The results have been dramatic, and

Morris is justifiably proud of the athleticfields at Ole Miss."I would say our football field could

match up with any in college, or even thepros," he says. "Our baseball stadium isprobably one of the finest in the nation atthe collegiate level."One 18-hole golf course and five athletic

fields translate into many long hours ofhard work for the superintendent and hiscrews, but Morris, one of today's multi-tal-ented turf managers, finds the challengeexhilarating. "We've got golf, baseball, foot-ball, track-we've got everything!" Morrisexclaims. "I'm on the move so much thatI'm never in one place very long. It keepsme pretty busy, but I sure am enjoying it."