1. greenmasterofficial publication of cgsa ◗ leadership ◗ advocacy ◗ education
July/august 2013
Field of Streams
Wascana Country Club Hosts
the 2013 Fall Field Day
plus
◗Turf 2.0: The mobile apps that
keep your course strong
◗ The Budgeting Revolution:
A new way to look at finances
◗ Floods, Fairways and Forests:
A year in the life of an island golf course
◗ A Line in the Sand:
A journey to reclaim bunkers
plus
◗Turf 2.0: The mobile apps that
keep your course strong
◗ The Budgeting Revolution:
A new way to look at finances
◗ Floods, Fairways and Forests:
A year in the life of an island golf course
◗ A Line in the Sand:
A journey to reclaim bunkers
3. sponsors
JOHN MILLS
President
Superintendent
Northumberland Links Golf Club
PO Box 2, Pugwash, Nova Scotia B0K 1L0
T: 902-243-2119 F: 902-243-3213
jwmills@ns.sympatico.ca
CHRISTIAN PILON, MS
Vice President
Master Superintendent
Mount Bruno Country Club
665 Chemin des Vingts, QC J3V 4P6
T: 450-653-1265 F: 450-653-8393
cpilon_mbcc@bellnet.ca
KYLE KELLGREN
SecretaryTreasurer/SaskatchewanDirector
Superintendent
Jackfish Lodge Golf & Conference Centre
PO Box 10, Cochin, SK S0M 0L0
T: 306-386-2150 F: 306-386-2840
superintendent@jackfishlodge.com
TIM KUBASH, MS, AGS
Past President
Master Superintendent
Salmon Arm Golf Clujb
PO Box 1525, Salmon Arm, BC V1E 4P6
T: 250-832-8834 F: 250-832-6311
tkubash@salmonarmgolf.com
JAMES BEEBE
Alberta Director
Superintendent
Priddis Greens Golf & CC
1 Priddis Greens Drive
Priddis, AB T0L 1W0
T: 403-931-3391 F: 403-931-3219
jbeebe@priddisgreens.com
DARREN KALYNIUK
Manitoba Director
Superintendent
St. Boniface Golf & Country Club
100Youville Street
Winnipeg, MN R2H 2S1
T: 204-233-2497 F: 204-237-9794
darren@stbonifacegolfclub.com
JAMES FLETT, AGS
Ontario Director
Superintendent
Muskoka Lakes Golf & Country Club
PO Box 280, 1330 Ferndale Road
Port Carling, ON P0B 1J0
T: 705-765-3165 F: 705-765-6990
jflett@mlgcc.com
GREG AUSTIN
British Columbia Director
Superintendent
Revelstoke Golf Club
PO Box 9153 RP03
Revelstoke, BC V0E 3K0
T: 250-837-5000 F: 250-837-6123
gregaustin.rgc@gmail.com
KENDALL COSTAIN
Atlantic Director
Golf Operations Manager
Westfield Golf & Country Club
8 Golf Club Road
Grand Bay-Westfield, NB E5K 3C8
T: 506-757-2907
kendallcostain@hotmail.com
JOHN SCOTT
Quebec Director
Superintendent
Summerlea Golf and Country Club
1000 Route De Lotbiniere
Vaudreuil – Dorion, QC J7V 8P2
T: 450-455-0929 F: 450-455-8898
john.scott@summerlea.com
Canadian Golf Superintendents Association
Board of Directors 2013 – 2014
The following companies generously
support the canadian golf
superintendents association through
partnerships on specific events/programs:
CITCTS 2013
Basf
Bayer Environmental Science
Civitas
John Deere Golf
Rain Bird International
Syngenta Crop Protection Canada Inc.
additional events
Bayer Environmental Science – Fall Field Day
John Deere Golf – Fall Field Day, Equipment
Technician Award
Club Car – Environmental Award
The Toro Company – Future Superintendent
Award, Classic Reception/Fall Field Day,
Gordon Witteveen Award
485041_club.indd 1 6/30/10 3:13:01 PM
JULY/AUGUST 2013 | greenMaster 3
cover photo:
Wascana Golf Club in Regina, site of the CGSA’s Fall Field Day 2013.
Credit: Troy Fleece
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6. DEPARTMENTS
FROM THE EDITOR 5
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE 7
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S
MESSAGE 9
NEWS FROM THE GREEN 10
TALK BACK 39
MECHANIC’S CORNER 40
THE BACK NINE 42
contents ◗ July / august 2013
3122
42
IN THIS ISSUE
12 Redrawing the Bottom Line
16 Keeping You and Your Turf App-y
Mobile apps help you manage on the course
18 Employment Contracts
Fewer headaches for employer and employee
20 It Grows in the Family
22 Meeting Wascana
26 Oak Island Golf Resort
Recovery from a Ruinous 2011 Flood
31 Water Use of Various Turf
Species on Greens and Fairways
34 A Line in the Sand
36 Golf and the environment:
Water Management
6 greenMaster | www.golfsupers.com
7. viewpoint ◗ john mills
John Mills,
president
◗ As superintendents, we are called
upon to deal with adversity all too often.
Mother Nature is usually the culprit,
but sometimes adversity may stem
from vandalism or resource challenges.
However, when heavy mountain rains in
southern Alberta flooded the rivers in late
June and devastated many golf courses
it was definitely Mother Nature at her
angriest. For many in our industry, the
effects were life-altering. Some courses
may not reopen while others will be
closed for up to a year while renovating
to repair the damage.
I am always impressed and proud of the
way our industry pulls together to provide
support for fellow members in need. I
have heard many stories and examples of
this support during the flooding. These
examples of support are still coming,
as unaffected courses and industry
companies continue to lend personnel and
equipment to help those most affected by
the flooding.
Unfortunately this is not the only
example of the elements affecting golf
courses in a hugely negative way in recent
memory. A late winter, and with it late
snow and frost, caused many setbacks
and pushed back the opening of courses
around the country this year. Deepening
droughts across the U.S have hit our
colleagues to the south quite hard.
But every time harsh circumstances
test the resolve of golf course managers,
they ace that test, mostly due to the great
dedication they have to the job and the
generous and hardworking spirit of the
industry’s community.
Former CGSA President Neil Blayney
wrote this about overcoming adversity in a
2006 edition of GreenMaster,“…success (is)
directly related to the superintendent and
his/her ability to bring employees together
as a team, and in doing so, creating a
dedicated group of individuals working
toward a common goal.” There is no doubt
from the number of pictures and the
quality of words in emails, on social media
and other communications that the golf
course management teams in southern
Alberta, led by their superintendents, have
been working towards that common goal,
occupied day and night with restoring their
golf courses.
There is also a larger community
to rely on in the time of need for golf
course superintendents, one that the
CGSA provides for its members. This
larger community includes the resources
available from the Michigan State
University Libraries’ Turfgrass Information
File (TGIF) as well as resources offered
through the CGSA’s relationships with other
golf course management organizations
globally.
Government is another primary source
of relief and assistance during disaster
scenarios that hit all industries. The CGSA,
as a component of NAGA, is making
enquiries with the appropriate federal
agencies to ensure golf is included in
any relief programs established to assist
business. Probably the most important
aspect of your association involvement is
long-lasting contacts made through the
CGSA that can be called upon for a helping
hand, a piece of sage advice or a voice of
support.
Learning more about yourself, your
course and the community of colleagues
around you is a much-needed silver lining
in the face of adversity. Hardship has a way
of bringing people together, especially the
CGSA community, which is always there
and ready to help, but not always physically
visible. The hurdles that life lays down in
the front of us brings others in the industry
out to run the race together and in doing
so, makes us better off for knowing that we
are never alone in our struggles.
There are many moments that we
unite as a CGSA community. Sometimes
it is in adversity, but at other times it is
simply to share, build relationships and
discover. One such opportunity for this to
happen is the annual Fall Field Day, being
hosted in 2013 by Wascana Country Club
and Superintendent Mike Kupchanko
on September 23. I encourage all CGSA
members to consider registering for this
great event that brings together the
CGSA community for a couple of days
of education, fun and fellowship. In that
regard, I extend a special invitation to any
Alberta superintendent whose course has
been unable to open since the flooding in
June to have their Fall Field Day registration
provided compliments of the CGSA.
I also encourage you to view adversity,
something we have all faced or will all
face in our careers, as a time to gather
together and realize your own strength and
determination and the willingness of your
colleagues in the industry to lend a helping
hand or two. GM
“I am always impressed and proud of the way
our industry pulls together to provide support
for fellow members in need.”
John Mills, CGSA President
Dealing with Adversity
JULY/AUGUST 2013 | greenMaster 7
8. Register
Today!
www.ngcoa.ca/conf
Navigate New Tools • Sail to Profitability • Anchor your Success
British Columbia Fairmont Empress Hotel
November 21-23, 2013
The National Golf Course Owners Association Canada
Come join Canadian golf industry’s key leaders,
employers, and fellow superintendents for 3 days
of learning, networking, and fun!
9. JULY/AUGUST 2013 | greenMaster 9
viewpoint ◗ ken cousineau
◗ In his first message to the golf sector
after becoming the CGSA President, John
Mills spoke of the importance of a strong
national association and the value of
membership. He encouraged the golf
community and the current members
of the CGSA to recruit new members
to the Association, while asking current
members to continue their support. His
goal was to have 200 new members join
the Association in the next year.
That goal of 200 new members is
certainly attainable, but it will require
the CGSA community to contribute to
the process. That type of contribution
is obviously very important, since new
members are vital to growing the reach
and the influence of the Association.
Each new member also provides a new
perspective on the issues facing golf
course superintendents and how best to
address those issues.
Having a national association builds
a community of superintendents and
also offers a great many ways for you to
contribute and be part of that community.
Each opportunity adds value to the
experience of being a member and makes
the Association a more vibrant and vital
part of the overall golf community.
A great example of this is the CGSA
National Tournament Program. The main
purpose or objective in setting up the
program back in 1995 was to recognize
the superintendent members of the
Association that hosted prominent
tournaments at their facilities. Since the
tournaments are typically organized by
Golf Canada, the PGA of Canada or the
PGA Tour Canada, the presentation also
provides profile with respect to those
three organizations. That exposure
extends to the golfers and fans and
helps that aspect of the industry – the
customer – understand the value and the
commitment of the superintendent to the
game.
Another way to contribute to the
community is through participation.
There are several obvious and visible ways
to participate, such as being a volunteer
for service at the Board of Directors or
Committee level or being a speaker at the
conference or as part of a seminar. Other
ways that are as important, but probably
don’t have the same visibility, include
completing a survey or participating in
an event such as the Fall Field Day or the
conference and trade show.
Writing a magazine article for
GreenMaster Magazine is another great
way to assist the Association. An article
provides needed content. It also gives
you an opportunity to examine a task
or project in detail and to discuss it with
colleagues across the country through
the magazine. At the same time, it
provides an educational resource for
many superintendents that could be
facing the same or very similar situations.
As a superintendent or assistant, it would
also qualify you for consideration for the
Gordon Witteveen Award for “Best Article
of the Year”.
Participation in an event can also
take many forms. The CGSA Fall Field
Day can involve a major contribution by
both an individual superintendent and
the golf club. Inviting 144 of your peers
and golf industry personnel to your golf
course to participate in a tournament is
a significant contribution, which involves
the entire club. The members or regular
customers give up the golf course for
the day, the clubhouse is taken over and
the dining room, locker room and pro
shop staff are all making a contribution.
As participants in the tournament, the
Fall Field Day registrants and the tee and
event sponsors are all contributing to the
community.
These are just a few of the ways that
members contribute. As a community,
the benefits that result from these
contributions include collaboration
on industry issues affecting the
superintendent, representation of
the interests of the superintendent,
recognition of the contributions and
of the value of the superintendent
to the success of the facility and the
delivery of important information to you
from a reliable source to allow you to
make better decisions. The larger the
community, the more everyone benefits
because of the increased interaction and
the increased focus on the relevant issues.
As a result, the biggest contribution you
can make to the community probably
takes the least time and effort on your
part. Renew your membership in the
CGSA, recruit a new member, grow
our organization and reap the rewards
that come with a strong and vibrant
community. GM
ken cousineau, CAE
executive director
The Value of Community
“Each new member also provides a new perspective
on the issues facing golf course superintendents and how
best to address those issues.”
Ken Cousineau, CGSA Executive Director
10. NEWS FROM THE GREEN ◗ Marc Cousineau
◗ The Barrie Country Club and the Vernon
Golf and Country Club are both celebrating
their 100th anniversary this year after
humble beginnings.
The Barrie Country Club, the course of
CGSA member and superintendent Edward
Doda, was born as a nine-hole course and
has grown up over the years to become an
18-hole championship course and Barrie’s
only year-round private golf club.
Those members that have grown up
alongside the course don’t find it difficult to
explain the club’s success and longevity.
“It is an all-year-round venue where we
can gather as a family, host our celebrations,
or just have breakfast,”says long-time
member Anne Arksey.
“We feel very fortunate to have been part
of the Barrie Country Club for so many years.”
Vernon G&CC, and its GCSA member
superintendent Ray Popoff, are
commemorating the same milestone,
having been a mainstay in the Vernon
area of B.C since 1913. The semi-private,
18-hole championship course was moved
three times in its first 10 years of existence,
but finally found a permanent place to call
home in 1922, on the same grounds it is on
today.
“Rich in history and dedication from its
members over the years, the club would
not be what it is today without the hard
work and perseverance of the people,”says
Julie Knobloch, Vernon G&CC’s golf course
general manager.
“The people are what make the club.”
Bizarre theft at English
course shocks staff
◗ The staff at Crane Valley Golf Club in
Dorset, England, came to work in late May
to find their course looking a little bare
after 91 trees were stolen from the grounds
overnight.
The staff arrived early in the morning,
only to realize that every one of the course’s
91 leylandii trees had been dug up from its
roots and taken.
The extraordinary heist involved the
culprits breaking through the main gate
with bolt cutters and capturing the dozens
of seven-month-old trees, all standing
between five and seven feet tall.
The local police estimated that the value
of the stolen trees totaled less than $1500 in
what is maybe the most perplexing part of a
bizarre story.
A police spokesman said that this was the
second case of tree theft in the town in the
past month. Previously 50 trees were stolen
in a raid on a private address. However, local
media has said that police are not linking
the two crimes.
B.C golf course rebounds
from tough times
◗ A British Colombia golf course is back
Pair of Member Courses
Celebrate Century Mark
Golfers walk down the fairway at Barrie Country Club. The Club is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.
10 greenMaster | www.golfsupers.com
11. on its feet and ready to welcome golfers
after being closed for the past four years.
Saratoga Beach Golf Course used a
$300,000 cash injection and months’worth
of extensive facilities upgrades to once
again open its greens to visitors.
“Last fall we began working on getting
the greens, tees and fairways back into
prime condition and we did extensive
renovations to much of the infrastructure,”
says manager Keith‘Gibby’Gibson,
“including rebuilding the driving range and
renovating the clubhouse and maintenance
building.”
The course, situated between Comox
Valley and Campbell River, plays to 2,316
yards over 33 acres, including a full length
driving range. The course even has one
sand trap that players won’t mind stepping
into; there is 200 yards of sandy beach on
the property that golfers can enjoy before or
after a round of golf.
“Saratoga Beach Golf Course and Driving
Range is a great community asset and we
are excited that this 9-hole Par 33 Executive
style golf course will once again add to
the region’s robust outdoor recreational
activities,”says Gibson.
“Our goal is to provide affordable golf for
people of all ages and to be able keep the
golf course open 12-months of the year -
weather permitting of course!” GM
The 13th hole at Vernon Golf and Country Club, another course that is marking its 100th year in business.
above insets: Saratoga Beach golf course
opens its greens to visitors after a four-
year closure and extensive renovations.
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JULY/AUGUST 2013 | greenMaster 11
12. 12 greenMaster | www.golfsupers.com
feature ◗ MARC COUSINEAU
◗ Veteran superintendent Bill Fach spent
many hours in university learning about
agronomy and class after class studying the
complexities of turfgrass to prepare him for
his time on the golf course.
But after all these lessons, he still says the
most important time spent in university was
learning how to budget.
“When I was in university, we had a
course about budgeting for a project. My
project was running a golf course. So I put
down on paper what tasks I would need
to do to run a golf course, using people,
not money. Everyone thought it was the
stupidest course, but when I got out and
working, I thought that it was one of the
best courses I ever had at the university.”
Fach, the superintendent at Black Bear
Ridge in Belleville, Ontario, is not alone
in believing sound money management
is one, if not the most, important tool in
a golf course superintendent’s toolbox.
As management and golfers raises
expectations, while at the same time
lowering budgets, superintendents have
had to adapt. The result has been new and
innovative budgeting systems that make
financial planning more efficient. This
has led to the development of task-based
budgeting methods being heralded by
superintendents across Canada.
Fach compares this task-based approach
of budgeting to building a house.
“You’d have to dig the foundation first
and then fill the foundation and so on, so
you do a task every day to build the house,”
says Fach.
“I do the same thing for the golf course.
I take all the tasks we need to do on the
course and I assign each one of these tasks
a person and a certain number of hours to
do this task.”
Fach uses Microsoft Project Manager
to turn these tasks into dollar signs. By
inputting all the resources and costs needed
to complete the activity, such as wages, fuel
for vehicles and machines and any products
or tools used, he comes up with a price.
Fach uses this example to explain
the system; It takes one staff member,
paid $10.50 an hour, six hours to spray
greens with a chemical that costs $86 per
application. The employee has to spray
the greens eight times a year and uses two
litres of gas every time they spray, which
costs $2. After inputting all these numbers
into Project Manager, a superintendent can
figure out that the cost of spraying greens
for an entire year would be $1,288.
Greg Austin, the superintendent at
Revelstoke Golf Club in Revelstoke, B.C., has
a similar outlook on budgeting.
Every year, Austin looks to break down his
budget into tasks and assign costs to every
resource used for those tasks.
“Instead of just a broad scope of how
much money we’re going to spend in a
certain month, I look at what each activity is
going to cost right down to the amount of
fuel used and the depreciation on a specific
vehicle,”explains Austin.
While Austin uses a slightly different
system than Fach, Excel spreadsheets
instead of Project Manager, the approaches
are similar; something Austin says is all
about spending efficiently.
“The goal, ultimately, is to maximize
efficiency,”says Austin,“mainly because we
are a non-profit society and every dollar
has to be stretched and spent as wisely as
possible.”
Creating a detailed budget means having
pages of financial information available at
your fingertips. This information has several
benefits for superintendents. Jeff Stauffer,
the superintendent at Credit Valley G & CC
in Mississauga, Ontario, says showing a firm
grasp of financials and budgeting can go
a long way with club management and
members.
◗ continued ON page 14
Redrawing the
Bottom Line
Unélément
essentielàrevérifier
Superintendents are
starting to revolutionize
the way they budget
13. JULY/AUGUST 2013 | greenMaster 13
◗ Pendant qu’il était à l’université, M. Bill
Fach, surintendant chevronné, a consacré
de nombreuses heures à l’agronomie et
aux complexités des sciences du gazon
pour se préparer à son emploi futur sur
un parcours de golf. Mais parmi toutes
les matières au programme, celle qui a
compté le plus, selon lui, a été d’apprendre
à établir un budget.
« Pendant que j’étais à l’université, nous
avons appris à budgéter un projet. Le
mien portait sur la gestion d’un terrain de
golf. J’ai donc mis sur papier les tâches
qui devaient être accomplies par les
divers employés pour faire fonctionner
un parcours. Nous pensions tous qu’il
s’agissait d’un cours absolument stupide,
mais quand j’ai commencé à travailler, j’ai
réalisé qu’au contraire, il avait été l’un des
plus utiles de toutes mes années passées à
l’université. »
Maintenant surintendant du Black Bear
Ridge de Belleville (Ontario), M. Fach n’est
pas le seul à penser que la saine gestion
financière est l’un des outils les plus
précieux d’un surintendant de terrain de
golf, sinon le plus précieux de tous. La
direction et les golfeurs ont des attentes de
plus en plus élevées, alors que les budgets
diminuent. Les surintendants doivent donc
s’adapter. En conséquence, il faut mettre
en place des modes de budgétisation
innovateurs afin de rendre la planification
financière plus efficace. Ainsi, bon nombre
de surintendants au Canada utilisent
aujourd’hui des méthodes budgétaires
centrées sur les tâches.
M. Fach compare cette approche
budgétaire innovatrice à la construction
d’une maison. « Il faut tout d’abord creuser
et couler les fondations, et ensuite élever
la structure jour après jour, tâche après
tâche », déclare M. Fach. « Je fais la même
chose sur mon parcours. Je dresse la liste
des tâches à accomplir et je désigne un
responsable pour chacune de celles-ci, et
un certain nombre d’heures pour la mener
à bien. »
M. Fach utilise le système de gestion
de projet Project Manager de Microsoft
pour convertir chacune des tâches à
accomplir en dollars. En entrant toutes
les ressources et les coûts nécessaires à
l’accomplissement d’une tâche, tels les
salaires, le carburant pour les véhicules et
la machinerie, et tous les produits et outils
utilisés, il arrive à un prix.
Pour expliquer ce système, M. Fach
donne cet exemple : « Un membre du
personnel, payé 10,50$ de l’heure, prend
six heures pour vaporiser des substances
chimiques sur les verts, au coût de 86$ par
application. L’employé doit vaporiser la
surface huit fois par année et utiliser deux
litres de gaz pour chaque application, ce
qui coûte 2$. Après avoir entré toutes ces
données dans le logiciel Project Manager,
un surintendant peut déterminer que
l’arrosage des verts coûte 1288$ pour toute
l’année. »
M. Greg Austin, surintendant de
Revelstoke Golf Club de Revelstoke
(C.-B.), a un point de vue similaire sur la
budgétisation. Chaque année, M. Austin
ventile son budget par tâche et attribue
des coûts à chaque ressource utilisée
pour chacune de ces tâches. « Au lieu de
donner un chiffre global des sommes à
prévoir au cours d’un certain mois, je chiffre
le coût de chacune des activités, y compris
en ce qui a trait au carburant utilisé
et même à la dépréciation de chaque
véhicule », explique M. Austin.
Même si M. Austin utilise un système
quelque peu différent de celui utilisé par
M. Fach, à savoir les tableurs Excel au lieu de
Project Manager, la manière de procéder est
similaire.
◗ suite À la page 15
$86 $63$2
Une nouvelle manière
de préparer le budget
gagne du terrain
14. 14 greenMaster | www.golfsupers.com
◗ continued fROM page 12
“When you arm yourself with data and
historical information, you gain credibility
when you start to speak towards the viability
of meeting (the management’s) requests,”
says Stauffer.
“If the Finance Committee is asking for
something to be completed over and
above what we’ve done in the past, I can
reasonably tack a man-hour number to that
project and turn that into a dollar figure.”
“For example, I can calculate that to add
a double cut of the greens, four times a
week, equals so many man-hours based on
previous averages. From that I can easily
tell them how much money it will take to
incorporate that request.”
Golf course management and members
are paying closer attention to how
superintendents spend money, says Austin.
The approach to budgeting has changed
with these evolving attitudes.
“With reduction in revenues comes a
tightening of our budgets and expenses
and, with that, more accountability for how
we spend that money,”says Austin.
“Ideally what I’m trying to do is show
responsibility and that I’m not just spending
money and trying to find out later how
much I spent, but that I’m on top of my
expenses before I’ve spent them so that
everything is accounted for.”
Technology has quickened the pace of
change among golf course management
professionals. New systems, applications
and devices have shifted the way
superintendents track staff hours and
resources used on specific tasks. This up-to-
the-minute reporting has revolutionized the
way some superintendents budget.
“Technology is changing so rapidly and it
comes at a perfect time,”says Austin.
“It comes at a time where we need to be
more accountable for every expense and
tracking those costs can be done almost to
the minute by any one of my staff, wherever
they are, using their phones.”
Austin points to the mobile application
Turf Profit as being a great tool for golf
course managers. The app is used by staff
members on the course to input data about
a certain task, which is all maintained in the
course’s database. So Austin can be half-way
across the country and know exactly what is
happening at his course, minute-by-minute.
Knowledge of this rapidly-advancing
financial technology is becoming
increasingly attractive to employers seeking
to hire tech-savvy staff.
“My son and one of my assistant
superintendents used the Project Manager
system and when they went for job
interviews, the general managers of the
courses were impressed by how they could
control their budgets,”says Fach.
Even though money sense is becoming
more valuable by the day, superintendents
still need to be experts about the day to day
tasks of running a golf course in order to
build a task-oriented budget, says Fach.
“Every superintendent should know every
task they need to do for every day of the
year,”says Fach.
“If you asked me what I was going to do
on, say, August 10 and it was a Wednesday,
I could tell you exactly what I need to do
that day on the course because I know what
needs to be done on Wednesdays.”
Putting that knowledge into practice to
make a budget isn’t always easy, especially
when navigating around other factors
such as taxes. But Austin has some advice
for rookie superintendents who are sitting
down to do their first budgets.
“Reach out to a colleague or a mentor for
assistance or help,”says Austin.
“I think the key is to double check your
numbers and stay up-to-date on taxes, such
as what fertilizers are taxed and which ones
aren’t, to make sure pre-purchase numbers
are correct.”
Stauffer also encourages others to double
check their work and be confident in their
budgets.
“Carefully review the components of the
budget, make no assumptions and make
sure that you firmly believe you can stand
behind what is down on paper.”
As for Fach, he is making sure that
university students learn the same
important lesson he learned all those years
ago in school.
“I’ve gone to Guelph University about five
or six times,”he says,“and every time I go, I
tell them about Project Manager and how
useful and crucial budgeting is to being a
superintendent.” GM
Technology has quickened the pace of change among
golf course management professionals.
15. ◗ suite DE la page 13
En résumé, il s’agit d’utiliser les fonds de
manière efficace, selon M. Austin. « Nous
avons pour objectif de maximiser notre
efficacité parce que nous sommes une
société à but non lucratif et que chaque
dollar doit être utilisé au maximum et
dépensé judicieusement. »
La préparation d’un budget détaillé
met à votre portée de nombreuses
pages d’information financière. Cette
information présente de nombreux
avantages pour les surintendants. Selon
M. Jeff Stauffer, surintendant de Credit
Valley G & CC de Mississauga (Ontario),
une solide connaissance des finances et
des composantes du budget est très utile
lors des rencontres avec la direction et les
membres.
« Quand vous avez en main toutes les
données et l’historique, votre crédibilité
est renforcée dans vos pourparlers avec la
direction », déclare M. Stauffer. « Si le comité
des finances me demande d’entreprendre
une nouvelle initiative, je suis en mesure de
bien évaluer le nombre d’heures-personnes
qu’il me faudra et chiffrer le tout en dollars.
Par exemple, je peux calculer que si la coupe
des verts se fait deux fois plus souvent,
quatre fois par semaine, il me faudra ajouter
un certain nombre d’heures-personnes
d’après les moyennes antérieures. Ensuite,
je peux facilement évaluer les coûts pour
répondre à cette demande. »
Selon M. Austin, la direction et les
membres des terrains de golf portent
maintenant plus d’attention à la façon dont
l’argent est dépensé par les surintendants.
En conséquence, la manière d’établir le
budget s’est transformée. « La diminution
des recettes a entraîné des coupures de
budget et le resserrement des dépenses,
ainsi qu’une plus grande obligation de
rendre des comptes. En fait, je veux
démontrer que je suis responsable, que rien
n’est laissé au hasard, que je sais exactement
où je m’en vais et que tout est bien calculé
d’avance. »
La technologie a accéléré le rythme des
changements dans la gestion des terrains de
golf. Les nouvelles méthodes, applications
et manières de faire ont transformé la façon
de superviser les heures et les ressources
nécessaires pour exécuter des tâches
précises. Pour plusieurs surintendants, cette
possibilité de suivre de très près tout ce qui
se passe a révolutionné la manière d’établir
leur budget.
« La technologie se transforme très
rapidement et arrive en temps opportun »,
poursuit M. Austin. « En effet, ces nouvelles
façons de faire arrivent au moment même
où nous devons justifier dans les détails
toutes nos dépenses, et tous mes employés
peuvent maintenant suivre ces coûts à la
minute près, où qu’ils soient, à l’aide de leur
cellulaire. »
Selon M. Austin, l’application mobile
Turf Profit est un excellent outil pour les
gestionnaires de parcours de golf. À l’aide
de cette application, les membres du
personnel peuvent entrer les détails d’une
tâche et les sauvegarder dans la banque de
données du parcours. Ainsi, M. Austin peut
savoir exactement ce qui se passe sur son
parcours, à la minute près, même s’il est à
l’autre bout du pays.
Les employeurs s’intéressent de plus en
plus aux personnes qui connaissent ces
nouvelles technologies financières en pleine
évolution. « Au cours de leurs entretiens
d’embauche, mon fils et mon adjoint
ont beaucoup impressionné d’éventuels
employeurs grâce à leur connaissance du
logiciel Project Manager et à leurs méthodes
de contrôle du budget », poursuit M. Fach.
« La maîtrise des questions financières
devient de plus en plus précieuse tous les
jours. Cependant, les surintendants doivent
tout de même rester des experts de la
bonne gestion quotidienne d’un terrain de
golf pour être en mesure d’établir un budget
orienté sur les tâches à accomplir », précise
M. Fach. « Tous les surintendants devraient
savoir exactement ce qu’il faut faire tous les
jours. Par exemple, si vous me demandiez
ce que je vais faire le 10 août par exemple,
et que cette journée-là est un mercredi, je
pourrais vous le dire exactement, parce que
je sais ce qu’il faut faire le mercredi. »
Mettre en pratique les connaissances
acquises pour établir un budget n’est pas
toujours facile, particulièrement en raison
d’autres facteurs qui entrent en ligne de
compte, comme les taxes. Mais M. Austin
a quelques conseils à prodiguer aux jeunes
surintendants qui préparent leur premier
budget. « Adressez-vous à un collègue ou
à un mentor pour obtenir de l’aide », leur
dit-il. « Il est crucial de revérifier ses chiffres
et d’être à jour sur les questions entourant
les taxes, à savoir quels engrais sont taxés
ou non par exemple, et de s’assurer que les
numéros de préachat soient exacts. »
M. Stauffer encourage également tous
les surintendants à prendre le temps
nécessaire pour bien établir leur budget.
« Il faut en revoir minutieusement toutes
les composantes, ne rien laisser passer, et
s’assurer d’être en mesure de bien défendre
ce que vous avez mis sur papier. »
En ce qui concerne M. Fach, il voit à
ce que ses étudiants apprennent la même
leçon importante qu’il a apprise il y a bien
des années à l’université. « Je suis allé
à l’Université Guelph cinq ou six fois, et
chaque fois je leur parle du logiciel Project
Manager et de l’extrême utilité pour
les surintendants de savoir établir un
budget. » GM
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La technologie a accéléré le rythme des changements
dans la gestion des terrains de golf.
JULY/AUGUST 2013 | greenMaster 15
16. feature ◗ Bill Brown
16 greenMaster | www.golfsupers.com
◗ Technology and its uses have grown
exponentially in the last 10 years. I can
recall my years as an assistant golf course
superintendent when cutting edge was
email, weather stations on the internet
and the Nextel push-to-talk phones (which
doesn’t exist anymore). If you wanted any
kind of mobile computing power, you were
stuck with a large Blackberry that didn’t
do much more than check your email.
However, I have always been a tech guy,
and at the time, with my Blackberry and
Nextel push-to-talk phone, I considered
myself cutting edge, and I was.
In 2007, there began a major paradigm
shift in mobile computer power with the
release of the first iPhone. This phone
truly did change everything, as Apple
would say.
In 2009, I was asked in an interview with
a media company, where do I see things
going in mobile development? I told
them that I saw the world of application
development for devices, like iPhone and
Android, becoming big. I saw developers
harnessing the power of these devices
and giving us applications that would
truly change how we did things.
Fast-forward to today and there is no
doubt that statement was and is true.
So what apps are we using to manage
our courses? Well, I am going to talk
about a few applications that can be used
on iPhone, iPad and Android devices to
hopefully help create some efficiency in
your operation.
The first app, which I believe really gets
overlooked as a useful app, is Reminders
on the iPhone. Have you ever left your
clubhouse or shop with a goal, a simple
to-do, and have been pulled in 10
different directions before getting there,
forgetting to complete your to-do? Or
have you awoken at night only to think of
something you need to do upon arriving
at work in the morning? Reminders for
iPhone is a fantastic app to help with
that for one simple reason; it is smart
enough to remind you to do something
at a location. When entering a to-do in
Reminders, you simply ask it to “Remind
me at”and set a location. You can also
tell it to remind you when you leave a
location. Our day is built around to-dos
and this application is often overlooked
as one that can really help organize your
daily activities.
Having a GPS map of your course
was once a high-priced luxury. Now,
for pennies on the dollar, you can have
your golf course GPS-mapped and can
have that map right at your fingertips
on your smartphone or tablet. I used a
Keeping You and
Your Turf App-y
Mobile apps help you manage on the course
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iPhone Reminders ArcGIS
17. JULY/AUGUST 2013 | greenMaster 17
specific company, CourseVision, to have
my course mapped and an app called
ArcGIS to display that map on both my
iPhone and iPad. ArcGIS allowed me to
measure course features for spraying or
fertilizing and even the occasional project.
Having my irrigation system within the
map allowed me to use my iPhone and/
or iPad to find that buried valve box or
sprinkler head using the built in GPS on
these devices.
If you don’t have your course already
mapped and getting it completed
just isn’t in the plans for the future,
MeasureMap is the next best thing. This
application costs $1.99, but don’t let
the price tag fool you. MeasureMap is
a powerful GPS app that allows you to
measure distances and areas directly from
your phone or tablet. This app is packed
full of features, but one in particular, with
a little bit of sweat equity, can go a long
way. MeasureMap allows you to save
any feature you measure as a .kml file. To
put it simply, this is the file type used by
Google Maps to define GPS layers. If you
took the time to measure all the features
of your course and saved them as .kml
files, you would have a complete GPS map
of your property within Google Maps.
Using either of the map programs
above can really make your scouting
reports interactive. When scouting your
golf course, you can create maps of what
you are seeing, so instead of creating
notes and bullet points about where
you might have seen dollar spot, you
can display the dollar spot on the map
program right from your smartphone.
This can then be shared with other
employees via email or you can simply
print out the maps.
Tree management can be one of
the most political issues a golf course
superintendent has to deal with. So let’s
try to take the emotion and subjectivity
out of the next tree you need to prune or
take down with an app called SunSeeker.
This app was originally developed
to determine solar panel locations.
Many superintendents and arborists
are using it as a shade management
app. This app can provide you with
objective information on shade issues
in both 2D and 3D. Utilizing the 3D
augmentation feature allows you to use
your smartphone or tablet’s camera to see
the path of the sun for any given day of
the year. Standing on a green and using
this app will objectively tell you which
trees, or maybe just tree limbs, are causing
you shade issues on a particular green or
turf area.
There are endless amounts of
applications that could be used on
smartphones and tablets to assist golf
course superintendents and it’s hard
to pick just a few. In 2009, I started
iTurf Apps, which has become the top
technology resource for turf professionals.
Recently we have launched our own App
Store which provides the best applications
for turf managers to use. Our App Store
provides descriptions of apps so you
can understand how they fit into your
operation. We also have our own review
system, so if you have used one of the
apps we feature and want to provide
information on how you use it, send us
a review. The iTurf Apps App Store also
directly links to both the Apple App Store
and Android Market, so if you see an
app you would like, you can download it
directly from our site.
There is no doubt that using a tablet
or smartphone can add efficiencies to
your operation. Some applications can
bring a significant ROI to your operation
as well. It is great to see manufactures
in our industry beginning to turn to app
development and providing us additional
tools for our turf manger’s tool belt. GM
Bill Brown is the founder iTurf Apps.
He is nationally recognized for his use
of technology in the golf industry and
frequently gives speeches across the U.S with
the Golf Course Superintendent Association
of America. His use of technology as a
Certified Golf Course Superintendent has
also been covered in national media.
MeasureMap SunSeeker
“I saw developers harnessing the power of these
devices and giving us applications that would truly
change how we did things.”
Bill Brown, iTurfApps
18. ◗ One of the best reasons for starting
employment with a written contract is that
the parties can define the manner in which
it will end. This can occur without the
pressure of an actual dispute. The rules can
be set at the beginning.
To set the rules, a number of
considerations must be agreed upon.
All jurisdictions have some statutory
employment standards. In many provinces,
notice after three months of service
equates to one week for every completed
year, to a maximum of eight weeks. In
Ontario, an employee with more than five
years of service is also entitled to statutory
severance pay of one week per completed
year of service, to a maximum of 26 weeks.
The precondition is that the employer must
have at least 50 employees and a payroll of
at least $2.5 million annually.
Both these basic statutory standards
are minimums. They are included in the
amounts for reasonable notice that an
employee may expect under our common
law. These are the precedents coming
from judicial decisions. Generally, under
the common law, one wants to assert that
all contracts for senior employees, like
superintendents, should allow at least three
months of notice or pay in lieu. For every
completed year of service, one month of
notice is often regarded as reasonable.
These considerations form the bargaining
backdrop.
Other matters, like total years of service,
re-employability, seniority, special skills
and status of position, are relevant too. A
younger, lower-paid, highly skilled assistant
superintendent at a mid-sized club may
be expected to find work faster than a very
senior, highly-paid person at a top club.
Employers may like contracts for a set
term, like three or five years, because they
avoid notice pay. The contract just ends.
Usually, employees insist that decisions
about renewal be made well in advance
so the employee knows well ahead if he or
she needs to search for a new job. Be clear,
it is acceptable to be given working notice
that the contract will end.
There are three kinds of termination to
consider: just cause, no notice; no cause,
proper notice; and termination at the end
of a contract.
If there is cause at common law, no
notice is required. Some employers try
to define cause by using examples in the
contract. This creates problems for both
sides because there are always grey areas.
Some definition may make matters more
confusing. It is better to leave questions of
cause to be decided on the particular facts
under review. There are many example
cases to help. This more vague approach
makes sense because there are very
few cause terminations in this industry.
Detailing the subject is unwarranted.
Notice provisions for without cause
terminations need to be defined in case
the employer wants to end employment
during the contract, rather than at the
end. It is best to declare how much notice
should be given. Also, employees should
ask that the contract provide for benefits
coverage throughout the notice period.
In essence, without cause notice is like
continuing to work while the notice runs.
The employee should be treated the same.
Timing of a termination can be
significant. For the terminated employee,
finding another good job is the goal. That
is nearly impossible during the golf season.
All clubs fill their openings by March so that
preparation for the new season can go on
efficiently. Terminations are often executed
in November, when the clubs close.
Certainly, the five month winter period is
the best time to search for employment
in this industry and for employers to have
the most choices. Ideally, every contract
should set its end date for some time in
November. This approach protects the
interests of both parties.
Sometimes, a superintendent is
Employment
Contracts
Fewer headaches for
employer and employee
18 greenMaster | www.golfsupers.com
This article is the second in a
series to introduce a prototype
employment contract for
members to consider in the
future. The goal is to inform
all members of some of their
basic employment rights
to permit more informed
negotiations of future contracts.
Since employment laws are
provincially regulated, these
comments will not replace the
need for local legal assistance in
individual cases.
feature ◗ ROSS dunsmore
19. employed without a set term. In a contract
of indefinite duration, notice is determined
by common law rules unless defined in
the agreement. Which approach is better?
Usually, the more short-service employee
prefers precise notice while the long-
service employee likes the proposition that
the common law may dictate; one month
of service up to 24 months based on years
of service. Of course, if the parties seek
clarity, they define their terms. If they are
more comfortable with each other, the
common law works fine.
With all these considerations in mind,
the following language can be considered:
The employer may terminate the employee
without cause upon providing a minimum
of three months of working notice or
pay in lieu, thereof including benefits
continuation. Upon the completion of four
years of service, an additional month of
working notice or pay in lieu thereof shall
be added and one more month shall be
added thereafter upon the completion of
each year of service until the total is twelve
months of working notice or pay in lieu
thereof.
One last issue: an employer cannot
change the contract from indefinite,
undefined notice to a set term or limited
notice, unless the employee agrees. For
example, the 15-year employee with no
defined notice is entitled, in a non-cause
case in Ontario, to eight weeks statutory
notice and 15 weeks severance pay at a
bigger club and perhaps up to 15 months
under common law. If the employer
proposed a new term contract and a
six month notice period, the employee
can reject the proposal. If the employer
insists on implementing the change, the
employee may treat that action as a form of
wrongful termination and sue for common
law notice. In those circumstances, the
employee usually leaves. A duty to seek
other similar employment applies, but the
employee can ignore jobs which are lower
status or pay or far away. Because all these
issues are troublesome, parties often work
out some common ground. The key point
for the employee is that the discussion
is two-way. The employer is not able to
dictate fundamental changes without
employee agreement. GM
Ross Dunsmore specializes in change
management, reorganization and
amalgamation. He has worked with many
employers on procedures to avoid third party
intervention. His practice encompasses analysis
and resolution of work place disputes from
grievances and human rights complaints to
wrongful dismissals. His focus is economical
strategies to avoid expensive disputes.
JULY/AUGUST 2013 | greenMaster 19
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Employers may like contracts for a set term, like
three or five years, because they avoid notice pay.
The contract just ends.
20. 20 greenMaster | www.golfsupers.com
It Grows in the Family
Superintendent Jason Hooper’s family tree
has deep roots in the industry
◗ One of the most common questions
I receive after I tell someone what I do for
a living is, “How the heck did you decide
to become a golf course superintendent?”
My response is simple, “I didn’t have a
choice, it’s in my blood.”
Okay, the reality is, I did indeed have
a choice, but I can’t think of anything I’d
rather be doing for a living.
My dad and grandpa were both
superintendents, so I grew up on a golf
course, so to speak. I remember as a kid,
practically begging my dad to take me to
work with him on the weekend so I could
ride around the course with him on his
golf cart. Being from a family of eight kids,
we all had to take turns going to work
with dad, so I had to make the most of my
opportunities.
I remember setting out my work clothes
the night before and getting everything ready to go so I wouldn’t
wake the rest of the family as I quietly maneuvered around the
pitch-dark house in the wee hours of the morning. For me, it was
very similar to the excitement you feel as a kid on Christmas Eve. I
hardly slept those nights as I couldn’t wait for “me and dad”time.
The fun began right away on the drive to the golf course. My
dad and I always played a game I like to call, “Who’s This?”I’d be
quizzed along the entire drive, asked to try and name the band
that performed the song playing on the radio. It’s clear my
passion for classic rock came from being a regular contestant of
this game. Side note: If I was unable to name the band, my dad
feature ◗ Jason hooper
Jason Hooper and his father, both superintendents, stand by the historic well at Baldoon Golf Club, the course where Hooper’s
grandfather started his career, also as a superintendent.
Hooper’s children, Bella and Lincoln, on a ride-along at Quilchena Golf and
Country Club.
21. JULY/AUGUST 2013 | greenMaster 21
would help me out and 90 per cent of the time his answer was,
“C’mon Jason, you know this is ahh… umm… what’s his name.”
I was convinced that “What’s His Name”was one of the greatest
rock bands of all time and that they must have had an entire
catalogue of greatest hits albums.
I always wondered what it was that my dad really did, as we
drove around the property where he worked. He’d stop and chat
with golfers and introduce them to me. I remember him saying to
them, “Got my number one helper with me today,”or they’d beat
him to it and say, “I see you’ve got your assistant with you today.”
Now that I think about it, I wonder if these subliminal messages
also contributed to my chosen career!
We’d continue on our drive and often, without warning, he’d
stop the cart, get off and just stare at a spot on the ground.
Sometimes he’d even kneel down and pick up some grass or dirt
(which is what I called it back then, before I learned to call it soil)
and would smell it! I never knew why he would smell it, but he
looked like he really knew what he was doing, so I didn’t ask.
We’d carry on with our drive until we came upon someone
mowing grass. Again, he would stop, sip his coffee and simply
stare at the mower for a while and then we would continue on
our way again. I was beyond puzzled at this point. It was all a
mystery to me, which is why I was so fascinated by it.
There’s a lot of pressure that comes along with being a third-
generation superintendent. Both my dad and grandpa were
very successful, so I have big shoes to fill. When I came to the full
realization that this was what I wanted to do for a living, I knew I
had two great mentors to learn from.
I began working for my dad when I was in high school
and, before long, my grandpa joined the crew as a retired
superintendent/rough mowing specialist. I knew how lucky I
was to have them both at my fingertips to mentor me. I began
going to work even earlier for “coffee time”and staying extra
late to ask as many questions as I could. It was great to hear my
grandpa tell his “back in my day”stories about turf maintenance
and compare them to how we were currently doing things. There
were so many similarities, yet so many differences. What always
stood out to me was, although the equipment and techniques
had changed so much over the years, the overall goal and intent
of what had to be accomplished had not. What had changed,
and is still undoubtedly changing, are both golfer’s expectations
and demands, but that’s a whole other ball of wax that many have
already written about.
I never felt pressure from either my dad or grandpa to follow
in their footsteps and become a superintendent. In fact, when
I told them I was going to enroll in a turf education program to
ultimately become a superintendent, they both looked at me
like I was nuts! I could see right through it though; I knew that
they knew I was about to embark on one of the best career paths
imaginable.
I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to bring my kids,
Bella and Lincoln (aka Link, pun intended) to the golf course
to ride on the golf cart, see some wildlife up close and to get a
better sense of “what daddy does all day.”They even get to help
out sometimes by filling divots, repairing ball marks or, even
better, feeding our resident swan. Just like my grandpa and dad
never pressured me into become a superintendent, I won’t ever
pressure them to do so either, but I won’t talk them out of it.
However, Link may feel compelled to do so with his golf related
name.
The most important things my dad and grandpa have taught
me are that hard work and patience, along with the ability to
adapt and the willingness to continue to learn, is what makes
a good superintendent. I was very fortunate to learn these
important traits of becoming a successful turf manager during the
early stages of my career. More importantly, I was able to learn
these lessons from two of the best in the industry. GM
Jason Hooper is the superintendent at Quilchena Golf and Country
Club in Richmond, B.C. He is a third generation superintendent and
is driven to provide the best possible playing conditions to members at
Quilchena.
This article is eligible for the
GordonWitteveen Award
designation for the author.
“There’s a lot of pressure that comes along with being a third-
generation superintendent. Both my dad and grandpa were very
successful, so I have big shoes to fill.”
596118_Buffalo.indd 1 7/11/12 9:43:18 AM
22. 22 greenMaster | www.golfsupers.com
◗ Mike Kupchanko has been at
Wascana Country Club so long that he’s
seen just about everything it has to offer,
including a strange birthday present one
year, courtesy of the golf course’s bizarre
climate.
“It was around my birthday at the end
of July and it was 32 degrees Celsius out
one day and the next day it snowed!”says
Kupchanko.
The moody climate is one unique
feature of Wascana, the host course of
the CGSA’s 2013 Fall Field Day, but there
are several other elements that make the
location world-class.
One of them is the extraordinary
wetlands that line the holes. These
wetlands are home to all sorts of flora and
fauna that make a round at Wascana a
unique experience for all.
“We are right along the Wascana
Creek and there are a lot of wetlands
involved in the view as you play. You
see a lot of cattails and bulrushes, water
birds, muskrats, beavers and swans,”says
Kupchanko, who has spent almost 10
years at the course, seven of them as
superintendent.
Wascana has experienced almost
constant renovation during Kupchanko’s
decade at the course.
“Since I’ve started here… we’ve been
feature ◗ MARC cousineau
Meeting Wascana
From 100 years of history to captivating wildlife,
host of Fall Field Day 2013 delivers.
Wascana Country Club
offers great wetland
views and a challenging,
but fun course.
23. JULY/AUGUST 2013 | greenMaster 23
under partial renovation and it’s been a
bit of a cycle since I’ve come aboard,”says
Kupchanko.
“It’s very challenging, but it’s very
rewarding. You see the changes and you
see the benefits they have for the course.”
All these renovations can keep a
superintendent on their toes and that
is why Regina’s temperamental climate
come in handy. Kupchanko says he is
glad the Saskatchewan winters are long
and give enough time for staff to recharge
their batteries and arrive ready to keep the
course looking and growing great in the
springtime.
The ongoing projects are also helped
by the fact that Wascana has 20 holes in
total, which allows for golfers to put in a
full round of play while renovations are
happening, says Kupchanko.
The signature hole at Wascana is hole
11, according to Kupchanko. The hole
was renovated in the mid-90s and follows
the Wascana Creek, bending around the
green which is flanked by three bunkers.
Another prominent feature on the
course is the trees that Kupchanko says
“frame”many of the holes and provide a
spectacular view in the fall.
However, one of Wascana’s greatest
attributes is also one of Kupchanko’s
biggest worries.
He says that while the fall foliage looks
great, it can also result in leaf litter that
creates problems on the playing surface,
although after years of handling the
obstacle Kupchanko has come up with
some solutions that keep the disruptions
to a minimum.
◗ continued on page 24
Hole No. 11
credit:Troy Fleece
24. feature ◗ marc cousineau
24 greenMaster | www.golfsupers.com
Q&A
Marc Cousineau: What is your
favourite job to do on the course?
Mike Kupchanko: Cutting the
greens and walking greens
MC: Other than snow in July,
what are some of the strangest
weather events you’ve seen or
experienced on the course?
MK: We’ve had some crazy
lightning strikes on trees that
absolutely exploded them, with
shrapnel in the fairway, two
fairways away and two feet in the
ground.
MC: In a golf tournament,
playing against other
superintendents, how do you think
you would do?
MK: Oh, I would be on the
bottom end. I’m not a player, let’s
just put it that way. I only play
about five or six rounds a year.
MC: What’s your favourite thing
to do on your day off?
MK: If I get a day off, it’s
usually going to be at an archery
tournament with my sons. We’re a
huge archery family. We’re heavy
into archery and competition.
That’s one of the reasons I don’t
golf very much.
MC: What are your goals for the
course over the next couple of years?
MK: I’d say just to be a great
place of employment for our
staff. We just joined the Audubon
Society as well and we’re working
towards being certified with them.
◗ continued from page 23
Wascana has a long history, stretching
back to its founding in 1911. Kupchanko
says that this has resulted in another
unique feature of the course; greens that
bare the marks of several different eras of
design and golf course architecture.
“We have some original, hundred-
year-old greens and then we have some
greens from 2008,”says Kupchanko,“so it’s a
challenge to keep them all consistent.”
But for all the unique features, interesting
experiences and thrilling obstacles to
overcome, Kupchanko says that the best
part of the course is the people.
“The understanding membership is the
best thing about the course,”he says.
“They allow us to make the decisions
to put the golf course first and they are
very understanding with our cultural
programs.” GM
The 2012 grounds crew at Wascana Country Club. Absent: Second Assistant Rebecca Dola.
25. January/February 2013 | greenMaster 25
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Wascana Country Club
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Hole #7, Wascana Country Club
26. ◗ Initial observations after spring
melting were very promising, although
we did have some snow mold and ski-doo
damage present on the course. Although
water levels were rising, it wasn’t until
sometime around April 23 when the dyke
between Oak and Plum Lakes breached
and the flooding began. We were able
to control the flooding on hole 3, but
succumbed to the water levels on holes
4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 13. Water levels and water
table were so high that it even came up
the 15th fairway and flooded the rough.
All waste areas were lakes for the entire
summer, with only two drying enough to
allow for restoration. The back nine access
culvert was pumped daily until late July
through the use of a permanent sump
pump.
During and after temporary dyke
construction, staff pumped water for
approximately 121 days and we utilized
2400 man-hours keeping the water at bay.
This amounted to an additional $12,000
in fuel costs for 2011. In a normal year,
approximately 90 man-hours are utilized
pumping water. The flooding temporarily
delayed the course opening until May 13
with 12 holes in play all year. We closed the
course on October 7 for the season (146
days). In contrast, the course opened for
play in 2010 from April 23 to October 17
(176 days).
It wasn’t until June 16 when we started
seeing death of the grass plant under the
water. Seeding commenced on July 12
and was completed by August 30. Small
areas remain to complete in the spring. All
areas were seeded with either a Fults alkali
grass mixture or an elite Bluegrass mixture.
Growing conditions were excellent after
seeding. Our first mowing of the earliest
seeded areas took place on August 31 and
we continued mowing regularly up to mid-
October. We used a total of 2150 pounds
of Fults alkali seed and 2250 pounds of our
Bluegrass blend.
I am very pleased with our turf cover
heading into winter dormancy.
Rainfall for the golf season amounted
to 447 mm (17.88 inches) with significant
rainfall events (+25 mm) on 5 occasions.
In contrast, 614 mm (24.56 inches) of
precipitation fell in 2010 with significant
rainfall events (+25mm) on nine occasions.
The course was closed on only one
occasion (June 2) due to 100 mm of rainfall
over two days.
Temperatures over the course of the golf
season averaged 21.52 degrees C and we
Oak Island Golf Resort
Recovery from a
Ruinous 2011 Flood
The following is an excerpt
from a more detailed golf
course document provided for
the owners after each season.
It summarizes our 2011 Turf
Care records and is a precursor
to the next season’s budget
document. It just so happens
that in 2011, Manitoba
experienced a 300-year flood,
so only 12 holes were open for
play the entire season. After
the daunting clean up and
inter-seeding, all 18 holes
opened for play onApril 23,
2012. It is now 2013 and the
course has fully recovered
from the 2011 flood.
An aerial view of
Oak Island Golf Resort.
26 greenMaster | www.golfsupers.com
feature ◗ Jim Riopelle
27. reached or exceeded the 30-degree mark
on 12 separate occasions. There were a
total of 91 days of sunshine while we were
open for play.
Overall, it was a pretty good year for the
growth of turfgrass.
Our winter protection fungicide program
commenced on October 18 and was
completed on November 2. All fairways
were treated with a two-way fungicide
combination. The rough on seeded holes
were also sprayed. No fairways were left
unprotected against snow mold in 2011.
All tees complexes were treated with a
three-way fungicide combination (Instrata)
and snow fence installation was required.
We would have liked to have topdressed
all the tees, but ran out of time due to
snowfall and staff layoffs.
Greens and some surrounds were also
treated with a three-way fungicide (Trilogy)
with an added application of Heritage
fungicide in early October. Due to some
snow mold problems experienced at
the start of 2011, our fungicide program
was adjusted to add the early October
application. This ensures that we go into
winter clean before applying our final
fungicide.
An application of medium to heavy
topdressing was applied to greens not
protected by a cover and snow fences were
installed on selected, open greens. Covers
were utilized on greens 4, 5, 7, 9 and 10.
Naturalized Areas
Naturalized areas took a little bit of a
beating this year as we could not allocate
enough time to their care. Spraying for
weeds in 2012 will be required. We were
able to burn some of these areas this fall
with the dry conditions and will continue
our burn program in the spring. As per
Les Furber’s recommendation, we will
naturalize some of the rough on the right
of 11 and a small area on the left of 18.
I would still like to enhance these areas
with nesting boxes for purple martins and
other species of birds. This may aid in
keeping our mosquito population down
to acceptable levels and reduce our use of
pesticides for their control.
Staffing
Attracting quality staff is an issue for Oak
Island Golf Resort. Our close proximity
to the high paying oil industry makes it
difficult for us to compete. I will continue
to post advertisements at turf schools
and commence searching for retired or
semi-retired individuals to round out our
maintenance staffing needs.
Our core employees are very good,
although getting quite near retirement
age. Having replacements in place before
this happens is very important if we value
continuity at Oak Island Resort.
Green Complexes
We were pleased with the wintering of
greens, although there was some snow
mold present. As stated earlier, we
adjusted our fungicide program to take
this into consideration and should come
out disease-free in the spring. During the
golfing season, we apply approximately
1/10th lb. N/1000 per week along with
required macro and micronutrients. In
total we apply approximately 4 lbs. N/1000,
1 lb. P/1000, and 4 lbs. K/1000 for the year.
Once again in 2011, fungicides to control
disease on greens were used very sparingly.
Shaded greens (11, 12) on the course do
require a higher level of management
than do open greens or those that receive
morning sunlight and natural air drainage
(hole 3). We definitely should consider
thinning out the tree canopy around
11 and 12 greens to improve growing
conditions. This would involve selective
pruning and possible removal of some
trees in order to achieve the desired results.
If we choose to not perform this work, then
these greens are destined to fail over time.
Off-types (poa annua) will begin to out-
compete the A4 bentgrass. These annual
grasses are very susceptible to summer
stress, disease and wintering due to their
inherent physiological weaknesses.
Heights of cut range from a high of .180”
(4.5 mm) during fall and spring to a low
of .100”(2.5 mm) during peak golf season.
Oak Island greens are smooth and fast,
something the golfing public craves, and is
a major drawing card for our facility.
Control of organic matter content in our
greens is very important and is the main
reason for yearly aeration, vertical mowing
and topdressing during the spring and fall
of the year. We prefer to keep our organic
matter content below three per cent in
the upper two inches of the profile or we
will experience detrimental effects such
as increased disease, physiological oxygen
stress, summer root decline and softer
greens.
Due to the flooding this year, aeration
was performed only once with mini-tines.
Very little topdressing was applied because
we could not get a quality product to our
site. We will be very aggressive with our
aeration and topdressing program next
year to make up for lost time.
Although we planned on an increase
in our greens rolling program, conditions
and fewer employees this year made this
impossible. Our greens were rolled on 25
occasions or an average of 1.2 times per
week. Last season, they were rolled on 35
occasions or 1.7 times per week.
Next year, a high level of management
will be reinstated on our beautiful greens
for the enjoyment of guests to Oak Island
Golf Resort.
◗ continued on page 28
Oak Island experienced massive
flooding in the spring of 2011.
MosT of course rebounded and by
2012, all 18 holes are open for play.
2011 Season Rainfall and
Average Temperature
Month
Rainfall
(mm)
Average
Temperature
(ºC)
April 15 6.36
May 165 14.96
June 130 20.00
July 32 27.41
August 50 24.74
September 55 20.50
October 10 12.48
This article is eligible for the
GordonWitteveen Award
designation for the author.
JULY/August 2013 | greenMaster 27
28. 28 greenMaster | www.golfsupers.com
fairways
bunkers
ponds
◗ continued FROM page 27
Tee Complexes
Tees took a beating this year due to the
double rounds played on only 12 open
holes, but our divot mix program was there
to fill the voids.
Organic matter content on tees has
increased from .3 per cent to .5 per cent.
We would like to get this percentage up to
around 1.5 – 2 per cent.
Tees receive approximately the same
amount of N, P and K as do greens.
Our divot mix program (divot boxes and
regular filling by staff) works very well and
provides a constant seed bank and fresh
rootzone. Divot boxes are presently located
on par 3s and selected short par 4 tees.
Fairways
Fairways wintered beautifully, but the flood
came and destroyed a few of them. These
flooded fairways have recovered, but we
have a lot of work to bring them back to
their former glory. Fairways that did not get
flooded were gorgeous and very playable.
I have been very happy with the progress
of our fairways over the last three seasons.
They are definitely some of the best fairways
in Manitoba and probably would rank very
highly across the country.
We continue to spot spray for broadleaf
weeds rather than waste time and money
on blanket spraying of all fairways. Density
is always a key factor in keeping weed
populations down and our fairways are very
dense.
Our height of cut commenced at .650
inches (16.51 mm) and was later reduced
to .500 inches (12.7 mm). This is our regular
playing height throughout the golfing season
and produces a fantastic playing surface.
As of this writing, I have not received
soil sample results, but expect them to be
not much different than last year’s results.
We have taken additional samples from
flooded fairways as a precautionary measure
in case there are special requirements for
next season. We still have a requirement to
flush salts through our rootzone on specific
fairways during extended dry conditions.
Mother Nature usually provides us with
sufficient heavy rainfalls at times during the
year to aid with this flushing procedure.
Our fairway aeration program will change
slightly. We will no longer be pulling
cores to the surface due to our heavier soil
conditions and amount of time required to
complete this task. We will utilize deep-
tine aeration, utilizing our Verti-Drain,
and continue with our verticut program.
Organic matter content on fairways is
presently at 3.5 per cent.
RoughAreas
Rough areas on the course are maintained
at a height of 2.0 inches with one mower
taking on most of the responsibility. Treed
areas are mowed with our Toro 328D
and green and tee surrounds maintained
with our two Toro Sidewinders. During
the summer of 2011, we reduced our
Sidewinder operation to one mower
because we only had 12 holes open. We will
bring this back up to two mowers next year.
In general, our rough conditions are very
good throughout the course. Rough is
fertilized twice during the growing season
with controlled release Ag-grade products.
Inherently weak or highly trafficked areas
of rough receive additional applications of
fertilizer plus deep-tine aeration and slicing.
Bunkers
Very little edging or bunker maintenance
was performed during the 2011 season
other than general raking. We’ve got a lot
of edging and general bunker cleanup to
perform in 2012. There is also some bunker
work to complete on previously flooded
holes in the spring of 2012. Bunkers will be
assessed in the spring and a plan formatted
to complete necessary work. Our goal is
to provide four inches of compacted sand
above our sub-grade.
Our waste areas took a beating this
season due to the flooded conditions. We
just could not get access to them. We have
our work cut out for us in 2012 getting
them back into a playable condition. Les
Furber believes that we should define these
as hazards and I would tend to agree with
this assessment. Other than spraying for
unwanted weeds, it would be very costly for
us to maintain these like we do our bunkers.
We will kill the growth left over from the
flood and groom them back into shape,
but I would recommend we reduce our
maintenance inputs for waste areas.
Standing water and washout issues
remain with the traps on hole 14. We will
attempt to alleviate these problems with
the installation of new drainage tile covered
with a geo-textile material. During the 2010
season, we replaced tile in the greenside
trap on hole 4, utilizing this method with
very acceptable results.
Ponds
Although we had lakes everywhere this
year, we continued to utilize pond dye as
a photosynthesis inhibitor and utilized a
new biological product for algae growth.
The biological product worked well, but
required high temperatures for maximum
effectiveness. Deep ponds are very clean
while shallow ponds are a little dirty with
much more algae bloom and weed growth.
feature ◗ Jim Riopelle
29. JULY/AUGUST 2013 | greenMaster 29
We may use diquat (Reward) in the pond
on hole 12 to control duckweed and
watermeal. Duckweed is an important food
for wild waterfowl and fish, both directly
and as a source of food for small creatures
that are in turn eaten by the birds and fish.
As it grows, Duckweed absorbs nutrients
from the water. Thus, it has a useful role
in controlling the growth of algae, both
by removing nutrients and by shutting
out sunlight as the Duckweed covers the
water surface. Algae absorb oxygen and
as it decays, it further reduces oxygen
levels. Algae blooms can thus severely
affect aquatic life. By shading the water,
Duckweed also keeps it cool and allow for
more dissolved oxygen. And by covering
the water surface, it minimizes water loss
through evaporation. None of our other
products are effective against this weed.
We presently utilize a buffer zone of 30 feet
around water features where no fertilizer or
pesticides are used. This aids in reducing
weed and algae growth in our ponds.
Shallow ponds less than 6ft/2m in depth
tend to be very warm allowing for the entire
water column to be productive with weed
and algae growth. A minimum of 9ft/3m
is suggested for the depth of the basin. By
allowing for reasonable depths, it will help
minimize the impact of solar radiation and
the related heat on the pond. Both vertical
and horizontal circulation is important
in creating and maintaining a balanced
ecosystem.
I would like to see an aesthetic pond
fountain for our first hole. I have previously
had the opportunity to utilize pond fountains
at Club de Golf Outaouais and they perform
admirably. Three hp would be the minimum
I would recommend for aesthetic beauty and
movement of the water column.
Cart Paths
We did our best this year to keep paths
smooth, but it is a constant battle.
Additional edging was installed on holes
1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. It has great
aesthetics in comparison to ropes/stakes,
reduced man-hours for upkeep and retains
material within the confines of the path. The
entire path, from tee to green complex, was
completed on hole 5 and I am very pleased
with its aesthetics. This will keep carts
completely off this fairway as it recovers
from 2011 flood damage. Additional
material will be required next year on paths
that were flooded for an extended period
of time.
Forestry
We continually assess our tree canopy for
overall health and identify trees requiring
removal and/or hazard branch removal to
reduce the possibility of liability issues. Trees
requiring removal are either dead or pose a
significant risk to our guests.
Pruning of our tree canopy in close
proximity to tees and greens is a yearly
maintenance program to ensure safety
and improve sunlight penetration and air
movement.
We will continue to clean up downed
trees in the forested areas visible to our
guests for improved aesthetics and firewood
for the campground.
During the architect’s visit, it was
recommended that we initiate some tree
plantings in specific course locations. I am
hoping to start this process in 2012 and
have allocated funds in the forestry budget
for this purpose.
◗ continued on page 30
Shallow ponds less than 6ft
(2m) in depth tend to be very
warm, allowing for the entire
water column to be productive
with weed and algae growth.
A minimum of 9ft (3m) is
suggested for the depth of
the basin. By allowing for
reasonable depths, it will help
minimize the impact of solar
radiation and the related heat
on the pond.
Opposite page: The rough, bunkers and
ponds at Oak Island needed special
consideration after heavy flooding
this page: Fairways and greens that were
not flooded came out strong and very
playable, according to Riopelle.
30. Course Fixtures
We will continue to replace selected course
fixtures (ball washers, flag poles, greens
cups, hazard stakes, bunker rakes, etc.) on
a yearly basis. By replacing some fixtures
every year, we can keep costs down and
keep our fixtures in top condition.
Equipment
We will be entering the final year of
our equipment and cart lease, ending
on November 1, 2012. As per our lease
agreement, we do have an option to
purchase and we must notify the lease
company 60 days prior to this option
(August 31, 2012). Also, if we choose
the purchase option, we must pay the
purchase price and applicable taxes 30
days prior to the option date. If we do
not state our intentions by the specified
dates then our option to purchase
terminates. Our purchase option for the
entire equipment fleet is $70,358, plus
taxes. I recommend that we exercise our
purchase option and take the equity we
have built up. We will retain low-hour
equipment and trade the rest for new
units. If we do not return the equipment
at the end of the term, the lease would
be automatically renewed on a month to
month basis.
Our rental fleet of carts is also up
for renewal on the same date as our
equipment. Terms are the same as the
equipment lease and our purchase
option is $80,000 (20 per cent) plus taxes.
Once again, I recommend we exercise
this option, keep some of the “low unit”
carts and lease an entire new fleet. After
discussions with Dave, if we kept 15 carts,
we would no longer have a requirement
to bring in carts for our large tournaments
as our fleet would increase to 90.
It is important to note that another
option for us is to consider acquiring
slightly used equipment either from
online auctions or through Global Turf
Equipment (globalturfequipment.com).
GTE has a very extensive inventory of
rebuilt and used equipment at reasonable
prices. All equipment is refurbished
and you can view this process on their
website. It may save us money rather
than purchasing new. A lease option is
also available through GTE.
Most equipment is in relatively good
condition. Breakdowns and parts
replacement were more frequent in 2011
and this is normal as our fleet ages.
Operators are responsible for the
inspection, operation, greasing and
cleaning of assigned equipment, with
our Equipment Manager responsible for
service, reel adjustments and repairs.
Irrigation System
We continue to have issues with our
irrigation system and pumphouse each
and every year. The motor on pump 1 was
rewound at the start of 2010 and again
in 2011. Our variable speed drive control
also required repairs near the end of 2011.
Pump shaft bearings are water lubricated
and wearing quickly due to our water
quality. When they require replacement,
I would recommend oil-lubricated
bearings. They will last much longer than
our current water-lubricated bearings.
We have made progress on our
electrical issues, but still have problems
on hole 4 and other areas of the front
nine. We will solve these issues next
season. We now have a separate electrical
line that feeds the back nine, making
troubleshooting that much easier.
Debris out of Plum Lake continues
to be an issue and results in inefficient
operation of our Rainbird irrigation heads.
Plans are to install filters in the wet well
over the foot valves rather than in the lake.
Pump shafts may have to be shortened to
achieve desired results and, hopefully, we
will be able to utilize our existing filters.
We have been able to retrieve one of the
filters, but have yet to find the second
filter. Hopefully it is still attached to our
flexible pipe. In any case, with filters
on the footvalves we will not require
a discharge filter and will alleviate our
debris problem. This particular installation
method has been used at a couple of
Ontario courses with success.
Conclusion
We know that the 2011 season was
not very good financially due to major
flooding. We not only survived the storm,
we persevered because of owner and staff
commitment to bring our course back.
Even though we only had 12 holes open,
conditions were excellent on those holes.
Rather than throw in the towel, we pushed
forward, and that makes me very proud to
be a member of this team.
I am very enthusiastic about the
upcoming 2012 season. We will provide
our guests with excellent playing
conditions and David Belling will provide
our guests with personalized service that
will keep them coming back time and
again. GM
Situated between Oak and Plum Lakes,
Oak Island Resort offers a variety of amenities
such as a 400-site, fully-serviced campground,
marina, restaurant, store, real estate, and one
of Manitoba’s best golf courses. Designed
by Les Furber, one of Canada’s most prolific
golf course architects, Oak Island Golf Resort
exemplifies all the best Manitoba has to offer.
The A-4 bentgrass greens provide one of the
best putting surfaces available in the world
today. Combine this with a course that is
completely surrounded by beautiful prairie
wetlands and you have a perfect setting for
memorable round of golf. We are pleased to
report that as of the 2013 season, we are fully
recovered from the flood two years ago.
Jim Riopelle is the Superintendent at Oak
Island Golf Resort in Virden, Manitoba.
Perseverance, hard work and passion drove the recovery of Oak Island after
flooding washed away a third of the course.
30 greenMaster | www.golfsupers.com
feature ◗ Jim Riopelle
◗ continued FROM page 29
31. JULY/AUGUST 2013 | greenMaster 31
feature ◗ Trygve s. Aamlid, trond pettersen & agnar kvalbein, bioforsk turfgrass research group
Save irrigation water without sacrificing turf quality
Water Use ofVariousTurf
Species on Greens and Fairways
◗ Lack of irrigation water is the foremost
limitation to further expansion of golf
worldwide. In the Nordic countries, surface
water for irrigation is generally abundant in
Finland, Norway and most of Sweden, but
many Danish golf courses have to pay for
ground water and are only allowed to use
between 5-7000 m3
per season. Regardless
of country, limited capacity of water
distribution systems often limit irrigation
during dry periods and pumping of water
is usually a major item in energy, CO2 and
cost budgets for golf course maintenance.
Is it at all possible to use less water while
maintaining turf quality on golf course
greens and fairways?
The STERF project,‘Evaporative demands
and deficit irrigation on golf courses,’started
in 2009 and is now being wrapped up by
the publication of scientific papers and a
turfgrass irrigation handbook. This is the first
of two articles presenting the major findings
of the Scandinavian project to the Canadian
golf industry.
Turfgrass evapotranspiration
(ET) and crop coefficients
Evapotranspiration (ET) from surfaces with
100 per cent turf coverage is mainly due to
transpiration from turfgrass leaves, as soil
evaporation is negligible. The reference
ET rates (ET0) were formerly measured
by the evaporation from an open water
surfaces. Nowadays, ET0 is calculated from
irradiance, temperature, wind speed and
relative humidity recorded by automatic
weather stations. The average daily ET0 from
May to September in the Nordic countries
is usually in the range 2.5-3.0 mm, but
values between 4 and 5 mm often occur
on warm and sunny days in midsummer.
The crop coefficient (Kc) is defined as the
ratio between actual ET (ETa) from the turf
canopy and reference ET, Kc = ETa/ET0. For
cool-season grasses, this has often been
assumed to be a constant value in the range
of 0.8-1.0. However, our research showed
that this is an oversimplification
In order to measure the ETa from various
grasses, we installed metal cylinders into
four species/subspecies on a USGA-spec.
green and a golf course fairway situated
on a silt loam soil (64 per cent sand, 29 per
cent silt, 7 per cent clay). The green was
mowed three times per week to 5 mm for
fescue and 3 mm for the bent grasses, and
the fairway twice per week to 15 mm for all
species. The cylinders had a diameter of 10
cm and were 30 cm deep, corresponding to
the depth of the USGA root zone (Photo 1).
◗ continued on page 32
Cylinder installed for measurement of
actual ET on green (1A) and fairway (1B)
credit: trygve s. aamlid
1a
1B
Table 1
Green Fairway
Velvet bentgrass‘Legendary’ 77
Creeping bentgrass
‘Independence’
91
Colonial bentgrass‘Barking’ 98
Chewings fescue‘Center’
100 =
32 mm
100 =
21 mm
Kentucky bluegrass‘Limousine’ 109
Strong creeping red fescue
‘Celianna’
113
Perennial ryegrass‘Bargold’ 128
Table 1: Relative water consumption of
various turfgrass species/subspecies
over a seven day period assuming two
weekly irrigations to field capacity
on green and one weekly irrigation
to field capacity on fairway. Values
were calculated from the Kc functions
derived for various species and an
assumed daily ET0 of 3 mm per day.
32. 32 greenMaster | www.golfsupers.com
◗ continued from page 31
For this depth, soil physical analyses
showed a plant-available water holding
capacity of approximately 30 mm in the
green trial and approximately 40 mm in the
fairway trial.
During five periods without rainfall in
2009 and 2010, each period lasting between
5-14 days, the cylinders were pulled out
of their sleeves and weighed on a daily
basis to determine ETa. There were six
cylinders (replicates) per species, of which
three were irrigated to field capacity before
reinstallation into the sleeves, while the
remaining three were allowed to dry out.
Finding #1: Turfgrass water use
as a function of day number after
irrigation to field capacity
Figure 1 shows actual ET from chewings
fescue and creeping bent grass growing
on the USGA green during the first
observation period in 2009. The high
water consumption of turf that received
daily irrigation to field capacity surprised
us, but the pattern repeated itself during
the following periods, on greens as well as
fairways. In other words, if the turf has free
access to water, it will use it!
Based on data from all registration
periods, we described crop coefficients for
various species on greens and fairways as
hyperbolic functions of day number after
irrigation to field capacity (Figure 2). This
shows that Kc values in the range 0.8-1.0
were only valid at soil water contents
corresponding to days 3-4 after irrigation to
field capacity in the green trial and days 4-6
(depending on species) in the fairway trial.
On the condition that irrigation replenished
the total water holding capacity of the soil,
Kc values were always 2-3 times higher on
the first day after irrigation.
Finding #2: Water use on greens
depends on turfgrass density and
thus microclimate
Velvet bent grass was an exception to
the general pattern in that the water
use on the first day after irrigation to
field capacity was not as redundant as
in the other species. This may be due to
a more humid microclimate that limits
transpiration from extremely dense
turfgrass canopies (Photo 2).
Based on the Kc hyperbolic functions
(Figure 2) and an assumed daily ET0 of
3 mm, Table 1 shows the weekly water
consumption on golf greens decreased
in the following order: chewings fescue >
colonial bent grass > creeping bent grass
> velvet bent grass.
Many Scandinavian greenskeepers
using the traditional mixture of fescues
and colonial bent grass have been
surprised by this ranking as they have
seen their greens dominated by fescue
after dry periods and by bent grass after
wet periods.
There is, however, no conflict between
these observations and our finding that
pure fescue greens, with open canopies
cut at 5 mm and minimal amounts of
Higher density and finer leaves result
in more guttation droplets and a more
humid microenvironment over a velvet
bent grass canopy (2A) than over a
creeping bent grass canopy (2B)
credit: agnar kvalbein
2a
2B
a) Chewings fescue ‘Center’ b) Creeping bentgrass ‘Independence’
Date
Dailywateruse,mm
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
26.5. 27.5. 28.5. 29.5. 30.5. 31.5. 1.6. 2.6. 3.6.
Date
Dailywateruse,mm
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
26.5. 27.5. 28.5. 29.5. 30.5. 31.5. 1.6. 2.6. 3.6.
ETa for turf irrigated daily to field capacity ETa for non-irrigated turf ETo calculated from weather station
Figure 1:
feature ◗ Trygve s. Aamlid, trond pettersen & agnar kvalbein, bioforsk turfgrass research group
