The Turf Guru

With the economy struggling and new tough laws banning pesticides it has left the turf industry in tough times. And with having to put on a symposium in our first year communications class it made sense to put on a symposium entitled turf in tough times: doing more with less. We started preparing for this in September put really got down to work in October.  Even with a class of thirty students this was a lot to take on as most of us had never had to do anything like this before. But with the help of our teachers we were able bring it all together and make it a success.

This past friday was the big day. About three months of work all came down to this day. We had invited guests, got our sponsors and had three industry leading speakers. It started off with coffee and networking at eight o’clock then at nine we had our first speaker Dr. Tom Hsiang discussing about the effects on diseases and alternative controls. Next up was Ron Schiedel the co-owner of Green Horizons sod farm after a short break we had one of our sponsors give a short presentation. Our final speaker was Keith Bartlett from St. George’s Golf and Country Club he discussed handling the Canadian Open with the current economic state. We ended it with beat the clock which was five of our students bringing forth new ideas relating to the turfgrass industry.

Overall we had positive feedback about this symposium. This was a great learning experience for all of us. Personally I gained a lot from this symposium the biggest thing for me was being able to come over  the nervousness of speaking in front of a large crowd. I believe our guests were able to take away some knowledgeable information and were also able to have a great lunch! I can’t wait to see next years symposium!!

When thinking of getting a new piece of equipment there is a lot more to consider then one might think at first thought. And these days when you are getting equipment you have such a big selection to choose from. It can get tough at times when looking for a certain type of machine for the best deal. After you finally pick out the machine you want and decided that you are going to go either new or used  the next decision is to buy or lease this piece of equipment. 

There are a lot of pro’s and con’s to both buying and leasing a piece of machinery. A nice perk of buying is that it’s yours and you can do whatever you with want. But then again when a newer model comes out  it is a lot more difficult to upgrade if you don’t have a leasing agreement. Also with leasing it improves cash loan, conserves credit loans and probably the biggest factor it conserves capital which is a really nice feature with the economy the way it is. However with buying you don’t have any long term money commitments. And you’ll most likely have the piece of machinery for awhile so you’ll develop a nice comfort level with it. 

It really all depends on the money your golf course has and what type of a machine you are going to get. Leasing is the way to go I believe because the pro’s out way the con’s. And with people not playing as much golf as they have in the past capitals are lower and where you can conserve money we need to. 

The internet and cell phones have have completely changed the world in the past decade. New technology has changed how we communicate between each other and revolutionized how we do business. Its effected every company in some way or another. In the past turf managers have stuck to themselves. They have not communicated between each other they’ve always been the guys been hind the scene. Now with this technology, a younger generation of turf managers and also with new laws leaving turf managers struggling to come up with answers communication between one another is going to be a big thing. 

Some of the biggest ways of communicating to other people these days are through facebook, twitter and blogging. Blogging on the internet has become a big thing among people of all ages. It allows you to voice your opinion, state problems you may have, or tell people solutions to problems. We have seen some superintendents blogging in recent years and this trend is only going to continue to become more popular and grow throughout the turf industry. This is because our generation has grown up with communicating to other people through the different internet applications. And now with my generation coming up into the industry and with new laws banning products that are allowed to be used communication between one another is going to be big.

Communication between one another in the industry is going to be a very positive thing. This is because we will learn different techniques from one another and become better turf mangers.  And also there is no getting around that the industry is in a tough time because of economic downturn and the government becoming stricter with pesticide laws. This is leaving our turf managers asking questions and by communicating to one another some of these questions will be answered.

The economic recession has effected all businesses including the turf industry. It has been a tough couple of years and with bill 64 being passed this year it didn’t make anything easier. It has left more than a few turf managers with a lot of questions. As we all know turf managers in the past have not communicated between each other all that much. In recent years this has changed and we need it to continue to change. Therefore our year 1  turf management students are putting on a symposium with the title Doing More With Less: Turf In Tough Times

This symposium is going to have speakers which are Keith Bartlett the superintendent at royal st. georges , Dr. Tom Hsaing who is a pathology expert at the university and Ron Schiedel co-owner of  green horizons sod farms. As you can tell these speakers are industry leaders and will be relating back to the title. The symposium will be taking place on Friday morning November 27, 2009 at the cutten club in Guelph. We have been working hard at getting the word out by making brochures, having a facebook group, writing blogs on it and by making a website. Also after the symposium there will be a lunch with great food.  

The symposium will be very informative. We strongly urge turf managers of all kinds to come out as we have speakers from all corners of  the industry. It will be a great way to help out turf managers and answer some of the questions they might have. Not only is this a great event for the turf managers but it’s also a great experience for us the students being able to go through the process of something like this on. Hope To See Ya’ll There!!

As time goes on and the city of Toronto gets bigger there are more and more permits and stakeholders when considering construction. This is proven at islington golf club located at the west end of Toronto. In Toronto now a days you have to get a permit just to cut down a tree and the quickest the permit can be approved is in six weeks. We had a class field trip there this past week. The superintendent and assistant superintendent really showed us how much work it is to make changes around the golf course and please everybody.

Throughout the morning tour they showed us changes that are going on and recent changes that have been done. They went through with us everyone that was involved in the changes and people that would have a vested interest in the final outcome of the project. It is almost crazy to think of how many people Robin the super. has to go through when he wants to make an improvement to the golf course. Robin brought us to the sixth green were they always had problems growing turf grass. This is because the green was surrounded by massive trees and the green wasn’t getting any sun. It took him four years just to convince the board they needed to get rid of the trees. After that he still has to get permission from the city to remove them which takes at least six weeks. And finally he has to convince the members that this will be for the best. Because the members might not want to remove them.

I come from a smaller course in a rural environment and things are done in a somewhat similar fashion. But once you make the board happy with your plans you can go out and do it. Personally I believe it is going a little far to make things even that much more difficult for golf courses in that area. Especially when the turf grass industry is already in tough times.

Oh a synthetic field, that requires no maintenance just have it installed and you’re good to go. That would be a sentence from an extremely ill informed individual. One of the biggest myths about artificial turf is that there is very little to no maintenance involved. But why maintain a so called maintenance free surface?  Well for a couple a reasons, playing performance, longevity,safety and aesthetics.  Though a synthetic field is very different from a natural field it involves just as much maintenance.  However the maintenance and equipment is quite different from that of a natural field.

One the biggest things in maintaining a synthetic field is brushing it. Why? Because the fibers will lean in particular direction or flatten with use and also keeping your infill level to ensure your field is consistent.  A synthetic field needs an irrigation system just like a natural field except for different reasons. A synthetic field needs an irrigation system to cool the high temperatures of the field, to lubricate the field and stabilize the infill.  Also synthetic fields need to be cleaned on a regular basis to make sure there no contaminants.  Leveling the infill should be done a regular basis to this done by removing debris, cleaning the area and brushing back into the field.  These are just a few of the areas of importance in maintaining synthetic fields.

I feel that it is important that people know that a lot of work goes into maintaining these fields.  If people are looking into getting or switching to synthetic turf they need realize that it is going to be just as much as a natural field.  And that it is a lot different then maintaining a natural field therefore someone that has never dealt with it before is going to have to be trained.

Artificial turf was first produced back in the 1960′s and was first called astroturf.  The original astroturf  is described today as carpeting over concrete. It has developed a lot over the years and has become quite popular. As synthetic playing fields become more popular more questions arise about them. A big question and an ongoing debate is player safety on these synthetic fields. The question of, are the players more prone to injury on synthetic playing fields rather then on a natural surface is a hot topic.

This is a debate that has been going on for few years.  With the old astroturf serious injuries and minor injuries to players were definitely higher then on natural turf.  As artificial turf has progressed over the years it has been developed to resembled natural turf in every way.  A study recently been done by the NFL states that on modern synthetic fields major injuries such as a concussion are slightly less likely however minor injuries such turf toe (hallux rigidus).   However 80% of NFL players feel synthetic fields are going to shorten there career. 

Players on modern synthetic fields are not going to be anymore prone to injury then they would be on natural fields in my opinion.  Natural fields have there own risks for injury.  If natural fields are not properly kept they are going to be ripped up and become dangerous for players. And you have to remember with any sport you are going to have injury no matter what surface you are playing on.

The number of synthetic turf fields is on the rise in North America. In the United States there are approximately 3500 synthetic fields with about 900 to 1000 new ones being installed every year. One of the biggest debates with these synthetic fields is, is it hazardous to our health to play on them? This is an issue because of lead chromate, which is used for the pigment and to prevent fading with some brands. And because of the crumb rubber that is used for fill on these fields. It is made from recycled tires, which contain heavy metals, petrochemicals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

In the spring of 2008 two synthetic fields in New Jersey were shut down because of extremely high lead ratings. This raised a few heads and started on going research on just how dangerous these fields are to our health. After this incident in New Jersey New York City had four of their fields tested for high levels of lead. These fields were about the same age and from the same company. The tests came back and the fields were fine. As of right now research shows that for these fields to be harmful towards your health is almost impossible.

Personally I believe that there is no need to worry about your health when playing on synthetic turf. Obviously there is material that is used to make these fields that could be harmful to you. However with the research that has been done it clearly shows there is nothing to worry about. It tells us that its most likely to have no increase of risks to our health.
(http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/eode/turf_report_05-08.pdf).

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