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THE FRONT OFFICE~

OPINION PAGE

EDUCATION NEVER ENDS

Fifteen years ago I left my newspaper jobin Tulsa, OK, moved to Ohio and beganmy career in the turf and landscape industry.

Before I had a chance to unpack, the publisher,Art Edwards, handed me a plane ticket and sentme to a conference at Purdue University in Indi-ana. All he said was, "Attend every session youcan, talk to showgoers and make sure you visiteach exhibitor and learn about his products."

Today, I'll bet I know at least 100 golf coursesuperintendents and sports turf managers whostarted their education at Purdue's Midwest TurfConference. For each state or regional confer-

ence I've attended the past decade-and-a-half, I've met hundreds more student-professionals and learned that education never ends. From Massachusettsto Mississippi, from Florida to Nebraska, from New Hampshire to Arizona,from New Jersey to Missouri, from Georgia to Califomia, the education processcontinues throughout their working lives (and even into retirement) for dedi-cated turf and landscape managers.

The important thing to remember is that it wasn't always this way. Golf coursesuperintendents in the '30s rarely left their courses. The only time they gottogether, even on a local level, was when early teachers such as O.J. Noer,Burton Musser, Fred Grau and Tom Mascaro put together traveling seminarswith distributors in cities across the country. If the superintendent couldn'ttravel, then these pioneers decided they would travel to him.

I wish that I could have attended one of the old-time traveling seminars byNoer and his team. Fred Grau says there were frequently just six or eightsuperintendents sitting around a table at a local restaurant. For two or threehours they would listen to Noer, Musser, and the others pour out their knowledge.Superintendents would ask specific questions and get answers on the spot.

I sense that many athletic field managers today feel like golf course superin-tendents did in the 1930s. They are more concerned about missing some-thing at work than gaining something away from work. They are unable totravel more than a few miles or take more than a few hours to attend educa-tion seminars and product exhibits. They are concerned that their manage-ment won't support travel outside of their city or state for the advancementof grounds or athletic field management at their facility.

Continuing education is never a waste of money for the individual or hisfacility. Newly acquired knowledge enriches everyone as it spreads from theturf manager to his staff. A few choice pieces of information gathered in oneor two days away from the office can save days or weeks of time in the future.People you meet at conferences provide an entirely new perspective into commonproblems. Suddenly puzzles that made no sense to you before can be solvedwith the help of new information on products and techniques.

I never got to see Noer and Musser in action, but I have benefited greatlyfrom the educational process they initiated. In each issue of sportsTURF Itry to pass on some of the important techniques and products learned frommeetings held each year across the country. But believe me, if you attendthese meetings yourself you will never miss another. They are too importantto you, to your staff and to your facility to miss.

Something tells me that astute managers of sports facilities know this, andwill support your involvement in continuing education-if you just ask.

12 sportsTURF

EVENTS~

CALENDAR

OCTOBER24th Annual TurfgrassEquipment, Irrigation

and Supplies Field Day, sponsored by theGCSA of New Jersey, Rutgers Stadiumand Golf Course, River Road, Piscataway,NJ. Contact: Dr. Henry Indyk, (201)932-9453.

4

9 12 Florida Turfgrass- Annual Conference

and Show, Curtis Hixon ConventionCenter, Tampa, FL. Contact: Florida Turf-grass Assoc. Inc., 302 S. Graham Ave.,Orlando, FL, (407) 898-6721.

NOVEMBEROklahoma Turfgrass Con-ference, Tulsa Convention

Center, Tulsa, OK. Contact: Dr. MichaelKenna, Dept. of Horticulture and Land-scape Architecture, 360 Agricultural Hall,Stillwater, OK 74078, (405) 624-5414.

8-11

13 15 Southern Turfgrass- Conference and Show,

Montgomery Civic Center, Montgomery,AL. Contact: Dr. Jeff Krans, (601)325-2311.

14 16 Penn State Golf Turf- Conference, Keller

Conference Center, Pennsylvania StateUniversity, University Park, PA. Contact:Dr. Joseph Duich, Dept. of Agronomy,405 Ag. Admin. Bldg., University Park,PA 16802, (814) 865-9853.

18 20 Green Team Conference- and Trade Show, Buena

Vista Palace, Walt Disney World, Orlando,FL. Sponsored by the ProfessionalGrounds Management Society and theAssociated Landscape Contractors ofAmerica. Contact: Allan Shulder, PGMS,12 Galloway Ave., Suite 1E, Cockeysville,MD 21030, (301) 667-1833.

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•

THE EXTRA POINT~

STMA NEWS

FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Inthe past several weeks I have hadthe opportunity to attend three out-door industry trade shows. The first-

was the Midwest Sports Turf Institute(STMA) at the College of DuPage. Thesecond was held at the College ofHoly Cross (STMA and PGMS) andthe third at Harper College (MidwestPark Executives).

At two of the three the educa-tional sessions held in conjunction with the event were well-attended but the traffic through the commercial exhibitswas extremely disappointing. Many exhibitors complainedabout the lack of interest and the small number of peoplevisiting their areas. Several commercial firms talked aboutnot returning next year.

What a shame! If many of these companies don't returnthere won't be an event. There definitely is a crisis loom-ing on the horizon.

In analyzing this dilemma it appears that there is a lackof concrete effort, support, and commitment on the partof the conferees who don't take their job or profession seri-ously. Once lunch is served at these events, many peo-ple jump in their cars and leave. Some consider the dayfree time and actually go home early at their employer'sexpense. They're not only cheating their employer, but alsothemselves by not sticking around to learn something.

How sad and unprofessional they are. The sports turfindustry has the potential to be the largest and most promi-nent in the green industry. The sports turf segment of theindustry is struggling to be recognized on the same sta-tus as allied groups, such as golf and lawn care. True, thesegroups have existed longer and are settled on strongerfoundations, but they were once where sports turf is today.

Could it be that these people are more interested inupgrading themselves and their profession, or are theymore conscious of education and its benefits? Possibly,but I would doubt this is true in the majority of cases.

Perhaps the wrong people are attending these meet-ings and trade shows. Perhaps the ones who make thepurchasing decisions are not the ones who are being sentby their employers. Perhaps the supervisory personnel aresending all the workers and laborers without attending them-selves.

Whatever the reason, this lack of commitment, atten-dance and enthusiasm is causing the support from ourcommercial colleagues to dwindle rapidly.

I know from personal experience when I was workingfor a commercial supplier, that calling on schools was bothdifficult and confusing because each district had some-one different in charge of athletic facilities. Many timesthe person responsible for the care and maintenance ofthe athletic fields was not in charge of purchasing. In someinstances, the person in charge was the coach, athleticdirector, business manager, principal, assistant superin-tendent, or custodian. Rarely was he the grounds manager(sports turf manager).

Many districts purchase their equipment, materials andsupplies from a local hardware store or garden center

because the school is expected to support local proprie-tors. The price in most cases is higher than the commer-cial supplier and there is no follow-up service by aprofessionally-trained turf specialist. Technical represen-tatives are an integral part of the sports turf industry, essentialin solving problems and assisting each of us in growingbetter and safer sports turf.

Commercial companies and their representatives arethe life blood and foundation of every industry associa-tion and organization. It is fact that no group can surviveand operate solely on membership dues. In order for anassociation to meet expenses for salaries, utilities, postage,rent and day-to-day operations, it must raise funds fromthe commercial segment of the industry. It is the mone-tary support from the sale of trade show booths, advertis-ing, and donations for drawings, lunches and hospitalityrooms that bring in the funds to continue the operationof your association.

What can you do? Begin to show a serious interest inthe products, equipment or materials that these vendorstook the time, effort and trouble to bring to the trade show.Talk with them about your operation as they may have aproduct or suggestion which will make your job easier orbetter. Show them your appreciation and thank them forsupporting your industry and organization. A few kind wordsor a positive attitude will go a long way towards a solidi-fied industry. Remember, these individuals must also makea living. Don't take them for granted.

If you are not the person who makes the purchasing deci-sion or-who schedules the maintenance at your school,park or sports facility, encourage your supervisor or pur-chasing aqent to accompany you to the next conferenceand trade show. Get these people involved in your indus-try and in your job because it's the only way you will getrecognition and possibly that new mower or product youwant.

Do it now! Don't wait! We currently have a crisis loom-ing on the horizon and an indentity problem that won't goaway. We can't afford not to get involved. Let's show yoursupport and professsionalism to our commercial compa-nies and vendors and make them feel just as vital and impor-tant as you are to our industry. For without them, thereis no industry.

CATCH THE ACTIONMark your calendarJanuary 13-15, 1989 - STMA Annual Meetir,g.

Dodgertown, Vero Beach, FLSTMA's Annual Meeting, Conference, Awards Banquet,

Trade Show and On-Site Demonstrations. An excitingexperience at one of the premier spring training sites - 27holes of golf, conference center, guest rooms. A once ina lifetime experience. Plan now! Contact: Melissa Merritt,STMA, (714) 981-9199.

14 sportsTURF

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Circle 112 on Postage Free Card

Valhalla Golf Club:Managing Bentgrass

The temperature hovered around 100degrees one late July afternoon inEastwood, KY, a suburb of Louisville.

It hadn't rained a drop in a record-setting32 days.

Superintendent Jon Scott and six mem-bers of his crew at Valhalla Golf Club werestalking the course with soil probes checkingmoisture levels anywhere the bentgrasstees, greens and fairways were slightly offcolor. If the soil core was dry, the spot washosed down every two hours with a com-bination of water and wetting agent.

Scott, his assistant Ted Willard and the

nexperience equal in beauty, strategic quality,and condition to the great courses of theworld." They named the course Valhalla(Norse for heaven for heroes) and commis-sioned Jack Nicklaus to design the coursebased upon his experience as a professionalgolfer who has played courses around theworld.

"I've always been intrigued by what wentinto the courses I played," states Nicklaus,"and I've generally tried to look at them froman architect's point of view. When I playeda hole that didn't seem right, I'd try to rede-sign it in my head. A golf course should be

crew had been putting in more than 70 hoursper week for over a month. A sense of hope-lessness was setting in. "As you watch theturf grow weaker," Scott recalls, "a part ofyourself also gets weaker, and it becomesvery hard to get up and come to work inthe morning. Yet, you do, trying to controlthe things you can - and ignoring thoseyou can't."

Their persistence paid off, however, andin retrospect Scott looks back on his firstyear at Valhalla with a sense of accomplish-ment. "We will be feeling the effects of thedrought for months to come, but the courseescaped most of the severe damage othercourses in the Ohio Valley suffered thissummer."

The private "golf-only" club had only beenopen two seasons after years of planningby the Gahm family, owners of Kitchen Kom-pact, a cabinet manufacturer in Louisville.They had spared no expense, in the wordsof Dwight Gahm, "To create a golfing

16 sporfsTURF

enjoyable and offer variety to every golfer,no matter what his level of skill or strength.My aim primarily is to test a golfer's accuracyby providing the richest possible mix of shotvalues - varied tests of precision."

Scott had been hired by the Gahms lastSeptember to make sure their dream wouldbe protected. The Gahms were aware thatmaintaining bentgrass in the transition zonewas a challenge. That is why they askedEd Etchells at Golf Turf Inc., the agronomicarm of Jack Nicklaus Golf Services, torecommend a superintendent for the course.Allan McCurrach, the regional agronomistfor Golf Turf, had worked with Scott atanother Nicklaus Signature course, "TheBear" at Grand Traverse Resort in Michi-gan. Both Valhalla and the Bear were builtby the same crew from Wadsworth GolfCourse Construction.

Scott understood what Nicklaus expectedfor courses that carried his name. He alsoknew that he couldn't let the Gahms down,

e Ohio Valleregardless of weather.

Although Scott had spent four yearsmanaging the "grow-in" at Grand Traverse,he had extensive experience with both cool-and warm-season turfgrasses. Assignmentsat golf courses in Florida, South Carolina,Virgina and Michigan over 16 years hadtaught him how heat and humidity could des-troy turf.

"This past summer made me feel like Iwas working in the desert," he remarks."Temperatures hung in the 90s and thehumidity dropped down to 20 percent forweeks. But then, we had three inches of

a great source of knowledge when you havea problem. The answers are out there if youjust ask."

Scott quickly discovered that managingturf was more complicated than administer-ing budgets or managing people. CountryClub Aventura north of Miami was buildinga second 18 and needed an assistantsuperintendent with construction experience.It was a break for Scott. "Bob Ulrey, thedirector of maintenance, was a greatagronomist and patient teacher. He, andSuperintendent Freddy Michaels, helped mewith turf management while I helped them

management systems in the world, the U.S.Air Force, as golf course superintendent atAndrews Air Force Base outside of Washing-ton, DC. "My first summer there I faced theworst drought the area had seen in years,"Scott adds. He came very close to losingthe course when water supplies started run-ning out. "We had to stop watering theryegrass fairways in August. We had justcut off the tees and had only a week's supplyof water for the greens when the rains finallycame."

After two years of dealing with the AirForce's complex procurement system and

rain and the humidity jumped up to 90 per-cent. We still aren't sure what the long-termeffects are going to be. I'll never forget thissummer."

Scott learned golf course maintenancethe hard way, by working his way up theladder after graduating from Michigan StateUniversity with a degree in park adminis-tration. "When I graduated in 1972, therejust weren't many park jobs open," he recalls.Fortunately, he had done a summer intern-ship with the Dade County, FL, ParksDepartment. They were building Key Bis-cayne Golf Club and had an opening fora superintendent.

"I didn't know beans about golf, but byworking closely with the architects (R. B.Von Hagge and Bruce Devlin), CountySuperintendent Maurie Ceascoigne, the irri-gation contractor and the maintenance crew,I received a crash course. It was then I real-ized that experienced superintendents,extension turf specialists and suppliers are

supervise the crew. I can't imagine anyonegetting a better education in warm-seasonturfgrasses than they gave me," Scottreflects.

After Aventura was completed, Scottmoved up the coast to Montclair CountryClub in Dumfries, VA, to help rebuild nineholes that had been wiped out in a hurri-cane. "It was a whole new ballgame in thetransition zone," states Scott. "The greenswere bentgrass and the irrigation systemswere electric instead of hydraulic. Systemicfungicides for Pythium hadn't been deve-loped yet either. It was back to school again."Shortly after he moved to Montclair, itbecame Club Corporation of America's firsteastern venture. "CCA taught me the bus-iness of golf course management. JimFaubion, CCA's top agronomist was a majorforce in my maturation as a golf coursesuperintendent. "

After three years with Club Corporation,Scott moved over to one of the biggest

five years of managing turf in the transitionzone, Scott returned to deep South, this timeat Sea Pines in Hilton Head, SC. While there,Scott heard about Golf Turf Inc. and got toknow Ed Etchells who was overseeing con-struction and maintenance of Kiawah IslandGolf Resort in Charleston, a course designedby Nicklaus. Little did he realize then thatEtchells would later playa major role in hiscareer.

All of Scott's experiences have taught himone basic thing, you can build the best golfcourse in the world, but if you don't makean equal commitment to maintenance afterconstruction, a lot of that money is wasted."The Gahms are firm believers in the gameof golf and fine golf courses," says Scott."When the drought hit, they gave Ted andme everything we needed to maintain opti-mum playing conditions."

Those conditions at Valhalla include highlygroomed bentgrass fairways, greens and

continued on page 18

September, 1988 17

"Ithink that duringthe drought and

severe temperaturesthe fertilization planhas been a major

factor in'rnaintainingquality turf. "

18 sportsTURF

Valhallacontinued from page 17

tees placed strategically in between a wind-ing tributary of the Ohio River and nativeforest. Nicklaus incorporated moundedroughs, elevated and undulating greens,island fairways and waterfalls into the 7,114yard course (from the Pro tees). The frontnine traverses a flood plain and the backnine meanders through a rolling, woodedridge.

The mounds are distributed throughoutthe stadium-style course to serve the galleryof a future PGA Tour event. "We haven'treceived a slope rating yet," says Scott, "butwere told the course is the toughest inLouisville."

Three different levels of rough frame thecontoured fairways of the front nine. A mix-ture of Kentucky bluegrass, perennialryegrass and fine fescue, the roughs rangefrom 1V4 inch to 16 inches tall. The effectof the tall rough is to simulate a Scottishlook, frame the hole and create a color con-trast between the short rough and the bentfairways. "The tall rough is mowed with aBushhog once in the spring and again inthe fall," says Scott. "It definitely helps save

The Gahms and Nicklaus made a deci-sion to plant bentgrass on greens, tees, andfairways, something not previously success-ful in the Louisville area. Penncross wasselected for the greens and tees. At the timethere was a severe shortage of certifiedPenncross so the fairways were sown withPennway. A policy of not allowing carts onthe fairways was established and a caddyprogram was initiated. Lightweight mowingwith triplex greensmowers with grass-catchers rounded out the program for reduc-ing stress on the bent.

When Scott arrived last fall, the coursehad already gone through one drought andthe young bentgrass was struggling. For-tunatelya mild fall and winter gave Scotttime to get the turf back on track.

He did this largely by launching a grow-in type nutritional program on the greensand tees using regular applications of IBDUsupplemented with alternating foliar spraysof Plant Marvel's 28-8-18 and 13-0-44 andPeters' 9-45-15. Scott had used the 9-45-15 with monoammonium phosphate atGrand Traverse to stimulate root growth ingreens suffering from black layer. Dr. PaulReike at Michigan State had told Scott that

Jon Scott and Allan MacCurrach check bent nursery.

manhours, fertilizer and pesticide appli-cations."

The fairways and greens are surroundedby an intermediate rough cut at 1V4 inchinside a 20-yard-wide strip of two-inch-tallrough. The golfer who hits the fairway isrewarded with dense bentgrass mowed at7/16 inch and a clear shot at the green.Members hitting from the pro tee on thespectacular seventh hole must not only driveover the river, they also have a 300-yard-long rock quarry to contend with.

The back nine winds through woods ona rolling mountain ridge. Instead of tall rough,the fairways are lined with mature shagbarkhickory, sycamore, oaks, maples and cedar.Valhalla's finishing hole is a dramatic end-ing for a challenging round of golf. Golferstee off from a hillside nearly 50 feet abovethe fairway which is bordered on one sideby a series of mounds and by a stair-stepwaterfall on the right. The final target is athree-tiered green above the waterfall.

phosphorus is frequently deficient in sandgreens and needs to be replaced. A recom-mendation by Tom Lubin, professor ofchemistry at Cypress College in Cypress,CA, to apply .25 pounds of phosphorus perapplication on a 14-day schedule producednew roots within days at both courses.

Between September 15 and December15 the Valhalla crew applied almost fivepounds of nitrogen, four pounds of phos-phorus and four pounds of potassium. "Bybalancing the N, P and K," says Scott, "thegreens gained density without producinga great deal of thatch, and still hardenedoff for the winter."

The fairways received almost as muchwith three pounds of nitrogen, two poundsof phosphorus and five pounds of potas-sium furnished primarily by Par-Ex blendsusing IBDU and potassium nitrate. By theend of the growing season the turf had reco-vered almost completely.

"I think that during the drought and the

severe temperatures this summer the fer-tilization plan has been a major factor inmaintaining quality turf," boasts Scott. "TheIBDU has been breaking down slowly dueto the hardness of the irrigation water andlack of rain, allowing us to keep color withoutproducing excessive growth. Urea wouldhave broken down much faster with theexcessive microbiological activity causedby high temperatures. High potassium fer-tilization has also made the bent moredrought and temperature tolerant while giv-ing it good resistance to disease."

The fertilization program is flexible basedupon factors such as color, clipping yield,root growth and temperature. Scott skippedone of three fertilizer applications this sum-mer. The greens and tees also receive atleast six ounces of iron (Ferromec) permonth during the growing season for colorand hardiness.

The crew spent the winter thinning treesand clearing underbrush to improve air cir-culation around some of the holes. "Thereis no doubt in my mind," says Scott, "thatthe biggest single problem with bentgrassgreens is air circulation, and it becomes verycritical in the South where heat and humidity

Dry creek bed at end of July.

gang up on poorly ventilated turf."When the trees leafed out in the spring,

another problem became apparent. Someof the mature trees were dieing. "You expectto lose some trees from construction injurythe first four to five years, but we have lostmore than the average new course," saidScott. "Many trees won't make it withoutnatural rainfall and we have had little of thatsince March." The Valhalla crew has beenwatering as many trees as possible with a300 gallon trailer tank and a root injector.

The bentgrass also required special treat-ment this past summer. "Irrigation systemsin this part of the country are designed tosupplement rainfall, not replace it," Scottpoints out. "Some older courses were los-ing a lot of turf, especially Poa annua ,because their irrigation systems couldn't putenough water down quickly to cool the turf.Since Valhalla is new and we have an excel-lent irrigation system, we've been able toguard the bent from too much heat stress.

Bentgrass has really held up well for us,but we don't have the rounds that muni anddaily fee courses get."

Valhalla's fairway program includes closeattention water needs. The three things Scottwatches are soil moisture, root depth andleaf wetness. "I've tried deep, infrequent irri-gation in the past with the idea that leaf wet-ness is kept to a minimum," Scott says. "Buthere, when we put down more than 114-inchevery three days the clay couldn't take allthe water and the turf would remain wet fartoo long after irrigation. This left an idealopening for brown patch and Pythium.

"So we switched to light, daily irrigation

with 0.8 inch of water. We eliminated runoffand the turf always dried by mid-morning.If it got hot we syringed the fairways about1:30 in the afternoon just enough to coolthe turf down." Scott can do this quicklybecause his pumps deliver up to 1,800 gpmand the Rain Bird Maxi III system lets himsyringe all 18 fairways in less than one hour.The system also enables all the bentgrassto be irrigated between 3 a.m. and 8 a.m.,greatly reducing leaf wetness time, a primefactor in disease prevention.

If the drought caused any particularincrease in costs for Valhalla, it was labor."I didn't want to take any chances," Scott

continued on page 20

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Circle 106 on Postage Free Card September, 1988 19

Valhallacontinued from page 19

states. "Blaming the weather for turf damageafter the fact just wasn't acceptable." To havemore control Scott wanted enough peopleto baby the turf through the rough period.That meant more crew members and lotsof overtime. The Gahms gave Scott thego-ahead.

"After pushing the bentgrass to get itestablished, it had built up a layer of thatch,"remarked Scott. The thatch, heavy clay andelevation changes in the fairways led to thedevelopment of dry spots.

Scott didn't want to overirrigate the fair-ways to correct the problem since he wastrying to keep leaf wetness to a minimum.He chose instead to treat the dry spots bydrenching them with water and wettingagent. From 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. a crew hoseddown dry spots every two hours until coresamples showed the soil was wet. On theend of the hoses he attached Niaiddrenchers. Water flowing through thedrenchers dissolves tablets of wetting agentin a proportioner thus reducing the surfacetension of the water and encouraging infiltra-

resistance," Scott points out. Starting in mid-May, the Valhalla crew applied a mixtureof Subdue, Aliette and Banol (each at a 1/3rate) every two to three weeks.

The fungicide program begins in April withhelminthosporium control and ends inNovember with a snow mold treatment. Inbetween Scott tries to stay on a 14-21 dayschedule for most diseases. "I usually com-bine a systemic with a contact for brownpatch and helminthosporium such asDaconil and Chipco 26019 or Cleary's 3336,"says Scott. "When the humidity jumped afterthe big rain brown patch became veryaggressive and contacts were necessaryto control it." For dollar spot and Fusariumblight he uses Rubigan and Bayleton. Heis treating algae in thin areas of greens withmaneb (Lescofore).

Scott is using two new tools to predictdisease outbreaks. The first is the computer-based Peste aster from Neogen. This sys-tem uses weather data and precise infor-mation about Pythium to compute the prob-ability of an outbreak. He is also using testkits for Pythium and brown patch from Agridi-agnostics. These kits measure the level of

help with nutsedge if we are going to growbentgrass and ryegrass in the South."

Scott tried growth regulators with somesuccess to discourage Poa annua at GrandTraverse. He plans regular late full spot treat-ments with Prograss for Poa.

Insecticides are used on a curative basiswith the exception of Oftanol for grub con-trol. "We will use two applications of Oftanolthis year owing to the unusually high maskedchafer population in this area," says Scott."We were using Diazinon as our main wormeradicator until it was cancelled. It is beyondmy comprehension why the homeowner andlawn maintenance companies can continueto use this product and the the golf coursesuperintendent cannot." The cancellationforced Scott to switch to Dursban for cura-tive control.

The drought of 88 was not Scott's first,nor will it be his last. He survived it beforein Miami in 1973, Washington, DC, in 1977and Traverse City in 1986. But now he knowswhat other Louisville superintendents meantwhen they said, "Welcome to the OhioValley."

"The stress is tremendous, and not just

tion. "It's such a low rate of wetting agentyou can re-treat spots without danger."

Near the end of the drought the reser-voir contained only enough water for twomore weeks of irrigation and they could nolonger pump water out of the stream run-ning through the course. Drawing city watercaused a pressure drop in the surround-ing area limiting withdrawals to between mid-night and 6 a.m. By using the evapotran-spiration budgeting feature on the Maxi,Scott had already leaned back the systemto 350,000 gallons per day. Even at this rate,had the rains not come when they did, itwould have cost more than $8,000 permonth to buy the water.

Valhalla also follows a preventative fun-gicide program for diseases. "Pat Sanders(turfgrass pathologist at Pennsylvania StateUniversity) recommended tank mixing threefungicides instead of switching from one fun-gicide to another to suppress Pythium-20 sportsTURF

fungal pathogens in samples of turf. If thelevels are low, a treatment can be skipped.When they jump, the superintendent cantreat quickly.

Scott believes the drought actuallyreduced his insect and ear1yweed problems.The bensulide he applied for crabgrass tothe greens, tees and fairways lasted nearlythree months, as did the Oftanol he usedfor grub control. However, August broughtout the pests in force and this called forrepeat applications.

He split the bensulide (Pre-San) applica-tion in the spring for the greens and tees,two treatments with five ounces, and a fiveounce repeat in August. The fairwaysreceived a ten ounce rate in the spring andanother five ounces in August. He treatedthe roughs with Team.

Nutsedge has him worried as the courseages, Scott admits. "Cool-season grassesare injured by nutsedge controls. We need

because of the drought," he concludes. "Thedemands of dealing with sophisticated irri-gation systems, highly structured pesticideapplications requiring almost apothecaryaccuracy, increasingly complex personnelproblems, and the goal of near-perfect turfquality are consuming more and moreenergy from the superintendent."

Scott believes more responsibility andhigher salaries need to be given to assis-tant superintendents to help lighten the load.He also has a high regard for the agronomicsupport from Golf Turf Inc. "They work withme, not against me," he adds. "You can'tdo it alone. You have to use every availa-ble resource to stay current. And, of courseyou have to have the support of the clubmanagement and a budget that allows youto keep equipment and chemicals up-to-date. With the right tools and support, wecan handle droughts or any other problemin the golf industry. That's our job." •