Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/62071
he Industry is starting to change to a new breed of common sense thinkers in regards to what it takes to maintain our golf greens at a level that we only wished for in the past but seldom attained, and were in most cases unable to maintain once we did obtain that high level we were seeking. A golf course superintendent in upstate NY phoned me last night that his new green had a 20% loss of turf and the cause had been diagnosed as Pythium Root Dysfunction by the soils lab at Rutgers University. The superintendent then phoned Dr. Lane Tredway at North Carolina State University who is the industry s leading expert when it comes to this disease and Dr. Tredway recommended building up the nutrient and water holding of the green. The superintendent then phoned me with my thoughts on what would be the best way to achieve this increase in CEC [nutrient holding] and water retention. My recommendation was to aerify as deeply as possible and inject an 80/20 of sand and an inorganic amendment into the Aerification holes. The inorganic amendment would provide us with the nutrient and water holding we needed. He agreed and had already ordered the inorganic amendment [When using an inorganic amendment never use more than an 80/20 mix.] All it takes is a little research and a lot of common sense. Now was that so difficult? Could this situation have been avoided by using a different mix in this new green? The answer is yes. Three years into my research at ISTRC I found that the leading cause of turf failure in sand based greens was too high of an organic matter in the top 1 to 2 inches of the greens. This deposit of organic matter is a natural part of the aging process of the turf. Mother Nature is being very good to us by giving us this naturally produced material [Organic Matter] that provides us with water and nutrient holding, as well as being food for our microbes. All we had to do was learn how to manage it, which we are starting to do. However . All that many in the industry heard from my research was that Organic Matter was the cause of green failures and with this limited stupid thinking we as an industry started to back off of adding organic matter into our new green mixes, resulting in an insufficient amount of food and water being available to our plants. Dr. Tredway recommends that mixes contain at least 15% organic matter by volume and I could not agree more. When the USGA specifications for new green construction were written at Texas A & M under the guidance of DR. Marvin Ferguson in the early to mid fifties and published in 1960 they had a category called water or moisture holding, which has been largely ignored by many in our industry, and one that is of the upmost importance in today s world of new grasses and low mowing heights. Under the category of how to treat the symptoms of Pythium Root Dysfunction we find a list of chemicals with how and in what quantities to apply the chemicals. I am glad to say that this golf course superintendent in upstate NY is attacking the cause and not the symptoms. This superintendent is under attack from the members for something that is the result of things that were done before he arrived at the course this past January. I hope that the management team can hold off the membership until the greens turn around, as this superintendent is one of the really, really good ones in our industry. And... He has not lost his ability to think and use common sense. s my term as your President begins, I want to thank all WCTA members for supporting me in reaching the pinnacle of our association. I also would like to thank Dave Duncan for his tireless commitment in assisting the board with changes that were required in the new era of economics we are facing. We must also not forget our current past President Scott Mitchell aka Cut-out Mitchell who had the shortest term in WCTA past history, for his continued support and for modifying the association to reflect why does the WCTA exist at all. I would like to thank all of the members who let their names stand for elections to the Board for 2012. I wish to congratulate and thank the Board of 2012 for their commitment and time to this great association for the next year (See Facing Page). This year is already starting off as very difficult one for our association and the new WCTA board will be facing some very tough challenges in the coming weeks and months. To name a few: - 2013 Penticton Conference feasibility - Partnering with CGSA in 2014 for a Vancouver conference - Exploring the possibility of moving toward bi- Annual Trade Shows - How to attract more Industry and delegates to the Trade Show - Exploring new avenues of revenue generation - Hosting education only conferences - How to attract more membership - How to add value to membership - Hosting new events like a 2012 Sportsfield Field Day - Seeking and strengthening allied partnerships As well, and of perhaps utmost importance, is to ensure we are moving the association in the proper direction especially as pressures from beyond our control exert influence on the turf industry. These we cannot avoid but we re fortunate to have a strong structure in place that can advocate on behalf of our membership. As one of the first orders of business, if the WCTA board decides to partner with the CGSA in 2014 in Vancouver, I would suggest that we consider partnering with other BC based associations like BC Irrigation and the BC Recreation and Parks Association. My rationale is to create a large enough event where we can continue offering high quality speakers throughout the different education tracks while keeping suppliers happy by limiting it to just one trade show in BC with high attendance levels instead of multiple shows with low attendance levels. In the same spirit of cooperation that has already been pursued at great Continued On Facing Page