Business in the Sun (and a bit of fun)

With the ample snowfall we have received already this winter at NHCC, the annual Golf Course Superintendents of America educational conference and trade show could not have come at a better time this year. Our assistant, Keith Wetzel, and I were able to beat the snow out of New York last and spend last Monday thru Friday attending educational classes and a trade show in warm, sunny Orlando.  The conference and trade show seemed particularly beneficial this year given the amount of work we still had left from Hurricane Sandy last year and the cold, snowy weather we were able to escape for a few days this year.

The conference and trade show serves as a summit of sorts for golf course superintendents from around the world.  The conference consists of two main parts that we actively participate in- educational seminars and the trade show.  The educational seminars are led by professors from the top turf and business programs in the country and can range from topics as broad as social media and its place in our profession (ie- blogging!) to leadership/staff management topics to topics as specific as, "Strategies for Managing Poa Annua in Creeping Bentgrass." The classes that we participated in greatly help us as leaders, managers and scientists on the golf course.  They also serve as a tremendous vehicle for meeting superintendents from around the world, sharing and listening to new ideas and concepts.

Seminar involving plant/soil interaction

The real fun for me at these shows is the trade show- each year it reminds me of going to Toys R Us before Christmas as a kid!  There are rows and rows of products, supplies and equipment pertinent to golf course maintenance. If you do not go in with a plan you can be easily overwhelmed by all of the stuff that engulfs you.  Each year that I attend I make a list up of things I want to see that I believe would benefit our golf course.  Given another few inches of snow this morning and much more to possibly come Thursday, I figured I would share with you 3 things I focused on for this year.  

The first product I researched was a fan that could produce artificial wind to push air across a green similar to the one we implemented on one green this past year.  Air movement is just as vital to the success of the turf as sunlight and as noted this past year the barrier that is Port Washington Boulevard inhibits any air movement on one green.  In contrast to the one we used, the fan I looked at this year is darker in color and blends into the background much better, it is electrically powered making it much quieter in the absence of a generator as its power source and it is a mounted to a fixed pole that appears much less intrusive than the trailer mounted fan we utilized.  

Turf Fan

With the dramatic improvements that we have made in amending the top 2.5" of the greens surfaces over the past five years, we have begun researching equipment that will allow us to be less invasive on the surface of the greens but help the subsoil continue to drain by accelerating downward water movement. Thus, we looked at some machines capable of performing deep tine aeration, chiefly in the spring and fall.  Below is an example of such a machine.  It is tractor mounted and allows for a great deal of flexibility when it comes to deep tine aeration.  Such a machine could also be implemented on fairways, tees and approaches.  In a winter like the one we are experiencing right now, deep tine aeration prior to a winter freeze and snowfall can prove very beneficial in the spring, expediting snow melt and surface drainage. 

Deep Tine Aerator

Just as the technology that is used on the golf course to hit a golf ball, the golf club, constantly evolves, so has the equipment used to quantitatively measure the quality of course conditions.  Over the past few years, the firmness of a green has become just as much a hot button topic as it's speed.  And although benchmark numbers have not been established and openly talked about on television like green speed, equipment is now being developed to quantify firmness just like speed.  At the show, we purchased a device, the TruFirm, which measures the firmness of a surface.  

TruFirm in action

The mechanics by which this device operates are pretty simple. A lead ball attached to a poll is essentially dropped from a fixed point above the surface inside a protected sleeve and the depth at which the ball impacts and penetrates into the ground is measured.  The less impact, the firmer the surface.  A tool such as this will benefit us in the same way that moisture meters and the stimpmeter does, helping us find a happy medium between speed, firmness, health and ultimately, consistency. The TruFirm can also be used to evaluate bunker sands, fairway landing areas and approaches- areas we try to keep relatively firm.  

The conference and show again proved very beneficial for us this year.  It is extremely refreshing to be able to visit a sunny location in the middle of the winter, learn some new things and really take the time to look at and research equipment without the worries of the grass needing water or being fed on by some insects that never want to go away! And yes, I did get to play a round of golf, Sarasota National, a fantastic course worth playing if in the Sarasota area and enjoyed a bit of rest and relaxation.  Now if only the snow would melt because I'm refreshed and ready to go!