Golf State of the industry
In my opinion, the golf industry has reached a consolidation, reflective phase at this period in time, brought on by the worldwide economic crisis. We have had to accept that the boom period of new golf course growth in the 1980s and 90s is over, whilst good, well paid jobs are increasingly hard to find. Budgets are being trimmed and, in some cases, redundancies and pay cuts are being enforced.
Science and technology continues to improve to provide us with better machinery and materials to help us complete our tasks faster and better. Social media has revolutionised the industry, giving us the opportunity to share our experiences and seek swift, helpful advice amongst our peers.
Generally, I believe the growth of this industry has peaked now, both in Europe and North America, and I only hope we can sustain this peak throughout my career and beyond. However, I believe the next generation are going to have a much tougher struggle to experience the same long, successful careers that we are currently enjoying.
When you compare how Golf Course Superintendents are viewed in the USA to how we are looked after here, then I believe that we are undervalued for the work we do. Salaries of other industries, such as the financial and legal sectors, as well as managerial positions in the civil service, are terribly inflated. Obviously, compared to those working in the emergency services who do not earn anything like they deserve, then we cannot complain too much. Sports turf management is an underrated, highly skilled profession and we are frequently demanded to do all kinds of different work.
Attitudes amongst owners and customers are gradually improving towards us, but their demands to provide high quality playing surfaces continue to rise. We are constantly under pressure, as any mistake could cost us our job and there are many environmental issues working against us. Although we are now looked at as a very professional industry, the financial rewards we receive do not reflect this.
To raise the profile of our industry, I believe we need to try to improve communication with our customers. We have worked hard to educate ourselves; now we must educate our clientele. Once our customers understand the variety of our work and why each task we undertake is so important, we will receive more encouragement and less negative, ignorant criticism. We must increase our efforts in communicating with the golfing public via meetings, newsletters, emails, media etc.
16 I PC APRIL/MAY 2014
with our Buffalo Twin Turbine blower, followed by a single cut at 4mm with the Toro 3250D. We then apply a heavy topdressing of pure sand and brush it in with our brush attachments which are fitted to another Toro 3250D. Finally, I apply Headland C-Complex 4:3:4 fertiliser and irrigate for ten minutes. In this environment, the greens need a good deal of chemical control to cover a wide range of problems. Generally, our greens do not suffer too much from disease. We apply preventative fungicides every three months, rotating between using Heritage (azyoxystrobin) and Volare (fluopicolide and propamocarb) to treat Brown Patch (rhizactonia). Once the humidity of late summer kicks in with its heavy dewy mornings, we usually have an outbreak of Dollar Spot. An application of Banner Maxx (propiconazole), along with a high nitrogen liquid feed, soon puts a stop to that.
Chafer grubs and cutworm are the main insect pest problems we have. The difficult months for us are from May to October, so we blanket spray everything with a combination of Pyrinex (chloropyrifos) and Radex (cypermethrin) to control the cutworms. The Chafer grubs are resistant to that mixture, so we also have to apply two further applications of Kohinor (imiadacloprid) during the summer period. One of the major issues we have is
invasive weed grasses such as Kikuyu, Common Bermuda and Smooth Crabgrass. Cultural methods, such as completely digging out the plant and then returfing the infected area, are the only ways we have found to successfully control the Kikuyu and Bermuda. Using chemicals, such as Primo Maxx, Glyphosphate and Quinchlorac, can cause yellowing of the weed and stunt the growth for about three months at a time, but it is not a curative measure. The Smooth Crabgrass (Digitaria Ischaemum) invasion of the greens each summer is the biggest problem. This plant is a summer annual that begins to germinate in early spring and continues through the summer. Because of this long germination period, obtaining full season control can be difficult. Crabgrass flowers in summer and early autumn and dies with the first hard frost. The cycle repeats itself the following
spring with new germination. This annual weed grass was out-
competing our desirable bent grass in the greens and was leaving small dead patches once its lifecycle was complete. Rather than spend numerous man hours hand weeding, instead I did some research on the internet and found that, amongst other herbicides, Drive (quinchlorac) can control the problem. Quinchlorac, if not used at the correct dosage, can also kill bentgrass, so I was a little concerned about using the product on my greens. After doing some trials using various rates of quinchlorac on the chipping green, I eventually found a dosage that I was comfortable with. Last summer, I applied quinchlorac four
times on the greens at three weekly intervals during the crabgrass growing season. The results were very encouraging, as we had at least 50% less crabgrass coverage in this year and the bentgrass did not suffer any chemical damage at all, even in temperatures of 40O
C. I will repeat the
same process again this year and I expect to see a further improvement next summer. In addition to quinchlorac, we also apply
the pre-emergent herbicide Bensumec (bensulide) three times a year at four month intervals. I have been using this product now for six years and have found that it has a reasonable record in helping to reduce the spread of Poa Annua and Smooth Crabgrass in the greens, but it does not completely prevent germination. From early December to mid-March, all Bermuda grass areas become dormant which gives a yellowish/brown look to the course. Although it does not affect playability, this appearance is not desirable for my employers. Therefore, during the last two weeks of September, we overseed fairways and surrounds with Annual Ryegrass in order to have a green/yellow contrast between fairways and rough. The procedure I use is as follows: week
one, from Monday to Friday the front nine is closed whilst we carry out the work on holes 1 to 9. For week two, we reopen the completed front nine and close the back nine for five days. This means that we always have nine holes that remain open. With the aid of nature, and some
chemicals, I allow the roughs to turn dormant yellow so that we have the contrast
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156