A visit to the Glen Abbey Golf Course

For the past couple of years, Glen Abbey Golf Course has been the host of the Canadian Open.  The superintendent Scott Bowman explained us what it means hosting this kind of event and being a superintendent.  It is a full-time work with plenty of surprises.

In 2004, (Scott was not the superintendent at that time) they lost seven greens after the winter damage.  The Canadian Open being held in July, they had to find a solution quick!  They did not sod the greens because in their opinions, it creates a black layer in the soil.  They had to bring back the old superintendent, Ryan Beauchamp (now working for Syngenta because of his expertise).  They really needed help.  The “Abbey” being a prestigious golf course (250$ for a round in the summer), they had to work fast.

This trip gave us the opportunity to learn about the different demands when you are the host of a big tournament as the Canadian Open.  When the tournament is on television, you have to think of all the cameras and equipment spaces needed.  And the space for all the people that are coming to see their favorite golfers playing.  I also learned about all the extra visits the association is doing to verify and making sure that everything is how it is supposed to be.  Quite interesting!

19th annual Ontario Turfgrass Symposium

The next event in Ontario for turfgrass managers to attend is the Ontario Turfgrass Symposium.  Held at the University of Guelph, at the Rozanski Hall, it is going to be on February 17th and 18th, 2009.  This year theme is “The Culture of Green.  The event is really for every branches of the turfgrass management.  There is seminars about sports turf, golf, sod growers, sod sessions and general sessions.

Most of the speakers are well known in the industry or professor at the University of Guelph (known in Canada to be the best university for turfgrass management).  Speakers are even flying from the University of Illinois.  This symposium allows people from different associations (GCSAA, CGSA and Ipm Council of Canada to gain more credits for their continuing education or their accrediation programs.

I personally attended the event last year while I was a student of the Turfgrass Management Short Course.  I really enjoyed the different seminars.  I went to one about Sarritor, still a new unknown product last year.  The speakers were from GreenLawn and Weedman.  I also attended seminars from Dr. Eric Lyons and Dr. Katerina Jordan (who were my teachers at the time). Both of them are Americans that are now teachers at the University of Guelph and researchers at the Guelph Turfgrass Institute.  I learned so much from their seminars.  The Ontario Turfgrass Symposium is the place to be in February if you are part of the turfgrass industry.

Valuing associations

ACSG, ASGQ, APPQ…?  Every branch of the turfgrass industry has got their own associations.  But what is an association?  As Ken Cousineau, executive director of the CGSA (Canadian Golf Superintendents Association) said in the GreenMaster September issue: “Most associations form out of a need for a group of like-minded individuals or companies to provide for themselves something that is currently not readily available from anywhere or anyone else.”  The first goal of the Canadian Golf Superintendents Association is to represent the interest of the members.

Why should you be part of it?  Because the association is helping you in different ways.  They are responsible for the Canadian International Turfgrass Conference and Trade Show.  Lucky we are, because this year, it is being held in Toronto.  If you are part of the association, you have access to rebate for the registration to the event and for your stay (hotel, cars…)  You are also invited to different lecture, so you are able to learn every year about the new products or the new ideas.  Beside these events, they are providing the members access to cheaper rate for life and health insurance.  There is an annual fee to get into the association, but the fee’s cost will benefit you in the end.

One sure thing, when i will be done with the turfgrass management diploma, I will be part of the QGSA (Quebec Golf Superintendents Association) and the CGSA.  Even if I do not plan on being a superintendent, I will still be for sure in the industry.

Doing more with less Symposium was a success

The Symposium held by the Guelph Turfgrass Management student on November 27th could not been have better!  The event took place at the prestigious Cutten Club in Guelph.  The event brought together professionals from the golf industry and students.  They all came to the event to listen to the four different speakers.

First up was Dr. Tom Hsiang, University of Guelph professor, who spoked about new ways control diseases and the research he has been doing over the past few years.  Then Ron Schiedel, Green Horizons’ president, discussed about his role as an entrepreneur in these difficult times.  Followed by a small presentation from the well known Marie Thorne, turf specialist, who presented the company Syngenta.  Final speaker was Keith Bartlett, St.Georges Golf and Country Club superintendent who talked about his preparation to the 2010 Canadian Open.  He also explained that we should always fix problems on the golf course right away and not do partial repairs. Then just before lunch, some of the students talked about how they see the golf industry’s future.

Events like this Symposium is the kind that will help us, students, to enlarge our contacts list.  In this industry you really need contacts to help you to go through the golf season.  When you will have a problem, you will be able to count on these people to help you; other superintendents, sales representatives or expert in this field.

Lambton Golf and Country Club closed?!?

Lambton Golf Course is one of the oldest club in the country.  It first opened in 1902.  So it was time to renovate!   The golf course is now closed and will stay closed until August 1st.  They have been doing major reparations since the fourth of August, 2009.  They had to do all kind of renovations for different reasons: players’ security and city requirements. Seven holes will be totally different and they decided to change their push-up greens for USGA greens at the same time.  Lucky students we are, we went there for a visit and our host was the assistant superintendent Chris Thompson.

One of the city requirements was about their water use, they were using too much water.  So they had to build a “réservoir”.  It cost nearly 2$millions just to take off soil.   They also modified some holes for security; some were too close to Scarlett Road or tees were too close to the greens.   All those changes to the golf course are to modify the course maintenance :

• Less pesticides use
• The bunkers will be hand done
• Watering and fertilization

I really enjoyed the visit of the golf course.  I learned a lot of new things.  I have never worked on a course and I had the chance to see the other side of it.  I still think we were really lucky to visit a course that is in the middle of major renovations.  And as an alumni of the Turfgrass Management Diploma, our host, Chris Thompson, was a good guide because he knew what would be interesting for us.

Turfgrass management students’ Symposium

Last August 5th, there was an article in the Globe and Mail: “New course construction another recession victim“.  This article talked about the difficulty in the idustry and the impressive drop of new golf course construction.  Architect John Fought ”believes the architecture business has contracted to something like 5 per cent of what it was only a few years ago”.  No more new course, only renovations on old course.  The golf business is not what it was before.  Less players on the field, golf has become an expensive sport!

We, as University of Guelph Turfgrass Management students, decided to organize a Symposium on this topic.  Turf in Tought Times: Doing More With Less.  It is going to be held at the Cutten Club Golf Course in Guelph on Friday, November 27th, 2009.  The Symposium’s goal is to bring turfgrass industry people and help them with the economic problems.  We invited some great speakers that will talk about different aspects of this industry: Keith Bartlett (St. George’s Golf & Country Club Superintendant & host to the 2010 RBC Canadian Open.), Ron Schiedel (Green Horizons co-owner) and Dr. Tom Hsiang (University of Guelph researchers)

I think that we were able to get some really good speakers.  And this kind of event is great to learn new ways to do daily things.  COMMUNICATION is the key!!!  Get tips from different industry people or golf superintendants, improve your networking and your contact list.  We are not competing with one the other, we are supposed to help each other to “save” the golf industry.

A new way to go green on turfgrass:Inspection

In 2004, Shebrooke had one of the worst euporean chafer infestations.  Just one year after the Cosmetic Pesticide Ban in Québec.  Ouch!  At least, landscapers were able to use Merit (pesticide registered against those white worms).  But still, lawn care workers were tense and exhausted.  Somebody had to find a solution.

A landscaper situated in the Eastern Townships area, Michel Grégoire, found a new way to reduce his pesticide applications.  As a Nutrite franchise lanscape company’s owner, he decided to invest on a “screening” team.  Every week, young inspectors on bicycles are going on homelawns and they look for turf pests (insects, weeds and diseases).  If there are pests, they do a report and the lawn is treated in the next 24 to 48 hours.  And this report is done electronically with a system of barcodes.  This new “project” was expensive but 95% of his problems were solved.  Time once spent on customer calls are now invested in new business, finding new customers.  Its creator, M. Grégoire, even received the Minister prize in the Innovative Horticultural Service category!

Wow!  This idea is great.  No need for large amount of unnecessary pesticide on home lawns, just the quantity needed.  And everything is done electronically with barcodes and scanners.  So no time is wasted.  I’m pretty sure that this is the industry’s future.  Trying to find simple solutions to problems.  Finding easier ways to do everyday things.  It relates to the Symposium, we are organizing on November 27th; Turf in tough times, doing more with less.  Watch my next blog!

After the pesticide ban comes the fertilizer ban

Over the last few years, we have had problems with blue-green algae.  Also known as Cyanobacteria, it is found on lakes and they produce cyanotoxins.  These toxins can be dangerous to people and animals if they stay in contact with it for a long period of time or if they drink the water.  So a lot of fertilizer companies decide to remove the phosphorus (P) from a lot of their fertilizers formulas.  Why? Because it supposedly was the responsible factor for the algae.  Later on, we learned that it was a set of different elements that caused the algae.  People living next to the watercourse also had to change their lifestyle to become more environmentally friendly.

Last spring, a Québec Eastern Township’s city prohibited the fertilizers’ use on home turfgrass (but not for garden or flowers!!)  Magog’s city is on the Memphremagog lake shore.  This big lake goes down to the United States.  And in order to protect it from algae, they prohibited all fertilizer’s use but not granular amendments and compost.  So landscapers from this area can only apply amendments with up to 2% in nitrogen(N) and phosphorus(P) and no restriction on potash(K) (!!!)

I am pretty sure that they did not think this through before they took their decision.  First of all, they allow fertilizer in garden.  Pretty sure that people will continue to put fertilizer on their lawn!  They are just gonna be more discrete.  Second of all, they did not prohibited a fertilizer quantity.  So people and landscapers just have to put more fertilizer to obtain the same ratio as before.  So in the end, the prohibition probably did not change a thing!!!

Ontario’s Cosmetic Pesticides Ban

In the last few months, everybody in the Turfgrass Industry has been talking about the Cosmetic Pesticide Ban.  It took effect April 22, 2009.  In the province of Québec, we have been dealing with this “problem” since April 3rd, 2003.  The Ontario Government defines the ban as “Pesticides cannot be used for cosmetic purposes on lawns, vegetable and ornamental gardens, patios, driveways, cemeteries, and in parks and school yards.”

Over the six last years, we have been dealing the best we can with the ban.  Landscapers dropped pesticide application part of their business because it was getting too complicated.  In Québec, to apply pesticides you have to get an application permit.  Landscapers have to pass an exam and has to pay a fee, it has to be renew every four years.  With this permit, they can apply a few pesticides (this list is getting shorter year after year).  Before they can apply, they have to check if the city that they want to apply in has special regulations.  Getting pretty complicated!!

I really do not blame these guys for dropping the pesticide application.  I think that the government did not take any advice from people in the industry.  Another thing is they thought of turfgrass as a cosmetic grass only, but it is more than that.  Sports’turf is more than just cosmetic, it is there to protect the young players from injuries.  It is also more economic  and better for the environment than asphalt!