Leo Feser Award

This was definitely a shocker.  I didn't expect anything like this.
-Justin
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Oct. 29, 2010
GCSAA certified golf course superintendent recognized for writing Facing Facebook, Talking Twitter

Ruiz wins GCSAA's Leo Feser Award
Justin Ruiz, CGCS, has been honored with the 2010 Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) Leo Feser Award for his article, "Facing Facebook, talking Twitter," which appeared in the June 2010 issue of Golf Course Management magazine.
Ruiz is the GCSAA certified golf course superintendent at The Rim Golf Club in Payson, Ariz. His article focused on the communication advantages with golfers/members/customers that social media can provide.
The Leo Feser Award is presented annually for the best superintendent-written article published in GCM, the association's monthly magazine. The award winner is selected by members of GCSAA's Strategic Communications Committee. Ruiz, a 12-year GCSAA member, will receive the award at the 2011 GCSAA Education Conference Feb. 8 during Celebrate GCSAA! presented in partnership with Syngenta. The conference (Feb. 7-11) will be held in conjunction with the Golf Industry Show (Feb. 9-10) in Orlando.
"Justin's article does a great job of simplifying social media and its relevance to our profession," said GCSAA President James R. Fitzroy, CGCS. "Through his writing he was able to help readers understand how helpful these new technologies can be to a golf facility's communication efforts."
As the Feser Award winner, Ruiz will receive an all-expenses paid trip to the GCSAA Education Conference and Golf Industry Show. Ruiz's name will also be engraved on a plaque that is on permanent display at GCSAA headquarters.
The Feser Award honors the late Leo Feser, a pioneer golf course superintendent and a charter member of GCSAA. Feser is credited with keeping the association's official publication alive during the Great Depression. For three years (1933-36), he wrote, edited, assembled and published each issue of The Greenkeepers' Report (as the association's magazine was called then) from his home in Wayzata, Minn. The award was first presented in 1956 and has been given annually since 1977.
Golf Course Management is the leading publication for golf course managers. It has a circulation of nearly 30,000 and is delivered to every golf facility in the United States.
GCSAA is a leading golf organization and has as its focus golf course management. Since 1926, GCSAA has been the top professional association for the men and women who manage golf courses in the United States and worldwide. From its headquarters in Lawrence, Kan., the association provides education, information and representation to more than 20,000 members in more than 72 countries. GCSAA's mission is to serve its members, advance their profession and enhance the enjoyment, growth and vitality of the game of golf. The association's philanthropic organization, The Environmental Institute for Golf, works to strengthen the compatibility of golf with the natural environment through research grants, support for education programs and outreach efforts.
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For more information contact:

Ed Hiscock, editor in chief, Golf Course Management, 800-472-7878

Poa Annua, Taking Over?

Poa annua is the number one talked about grass in America. Courses throughout the country experience Poa invasion at all levels. The Northwest golf courses are nearly all 100% Poa annua including greens. We are currently looking at about 30% contamination on the golf course and less than 1% contamination on the greens.

Poa has been slowly invading the golf course since the construction. Poa is a very efficient annual grass plant. A prolific seeding capability has generated a substantial seed bank over the years since construction. The turf was compromised by disease three and four years ago giving the Poa a great opportunity to germinate with less competition.  This has in turn given us enough of a population to become more noticeable each season.

We have used Trimmit, a plant growth regulator that regulates the Poa plant enough to give a slight advantage to the host turf, the idea being to potentially out compete the vulnerable Poa. We have tried increasing rates of this product, but have only succeeded in making an uneven playing surface in the spring from the patches of Poa being sunken into the surrounding turf. I have not seen the expected regression on the larger patches of Poa. Now, on the greens we are nearly 100% clean. I would have to say Trimmit has some impact on the smaller patches within the creeping bentgrass. We also use hand picking for the small plants in the spring. Trimmit has done a great job on the pinky sized plants on the greens and we have been successful in keeping the bentgrass clean.

The question becomes, what do we do or what can we do now? My opinion on this subject is more of a realistic approach rather than my normal optimistic approach. Depending on how aggressive our membership would like to tackle this issue, we will have continual spread of the Poa. Using chemical control becomes very expensive and results in less than satisfactory results when it comes to complete eradication of the Poa. We can try to manage seed head production in the spring to not get the puffy broccoli looking turf, but we would be kidding ourselves if we thought that we were making a dent in the Poa seed bank that has accumulated over the years. This would be a purely aesthetic approach for a great deal of money.  Growing up in the Poa capital (Pacific North West) and working on relatively new courses I have seen every kind of control exhausted on Poa and I have yet to see one successful in complete eradication. Some have wiped out a lot of grass, but then you are stuck with trying to beat the Poa from germinating and filling in the spots left from the old dead Poa. It is a very difficult task.

Folklore surrounding Poa is that it will die in the summer heat. This is a common misconception. There is no doubt Poa is a little less drought tolerant than other grasses due to the smaller root structure, but in our climate Poa will not die unless something out of the ordinary happens. There is no doubt Poa has a smaller root system then it's competition but it is a pretty resilient plant, it has started to take over in a pretty difficult growing media and is good at out competing the resident turf. Poa isn't as weak or quick to expire as some of the folklore explains.  (Joe Vargas, Proffesor MSU)

What I can say is, Poa control is very expensive and will only prolong the inevitable. Spending valuable resources on Poa may not be the best answer at this time. If you are not getting complete (100%) control on seed head production or simple eradication, Poa will always prevail. Being a logical thinker, I look at the hundreds of thousands if not millions of poa plants growing on the course, if I spend valuable resources to get 80% or even 90% control then we still realize that we have hundreds of thousands of plants still producing millions of seeds that season.

The seed head production will subside later in the spring and the playing surface is not bad at all. Pebble Beach and Cypress Point are both 100% Poa tee to green. I grew up playing and putting on Poa surfaces and the lie you get on a patch of Poa is like placing the ball on a tee. The greens on the other hand we will make adequate efforts to ensure that they stay as clean as possible since Poa patches on putting greens make putting bumpy and inconsistent.

Discussion will continue about Poa. It comes down to playability and presentation, which is more important, how aggressive do we want to get, and do we feel that some type of control is necessary? This issue will become increasingly more noticeable as the years continue..

If you have any questions, please contact me.

jruiz@therimgolfclub.org

Golf Industry Show, 2010

It was a great week in San Diego at the Golf Industry Show.  I have gone to the conference and show for a number of years now and I have always went for the great education opportunities offered.  This year with the new schedule coupled with the innovative superintendent presentation, I was unable to take as many classes as I usually do. 

The two days set aside for the trade show gave me more time to roam the floor and talk to the vendors and view the newest technology offered in our industry.  I was able to look at new products for controling fungi on the course.  I was able to learn about interesting products like fully biodegradeable grease and hydraulic fluid.  Products that can reduce our carbon footprint.

The theme of the show was sustainable golf course management.  That has been coined as the catch phrase for 2010.  I think the industry has gone the right direction in pushing environmental awareness. For our work that had been done on water conservation, I was invited to the Environmental Leaders in Golf award breakfast, where I was lucky enough to meet the leaders in conservation.  I was able to ask questions on how they have successfully conserved resources at their facilities. 

The innovative superintendent session was also a great place to learn real life issues that superintendents were dealing with and the solutions that they had come up with.  Being a presenter myself I was able to connect with these superintendents and get an understanding of their issues and how they dealt with them.

Overall the show was a week of filling my motivation bucket.  It is nice to be surrounded for a week, by superintendents that share the drive for conditioning, and the passion of being better at what they do.  When you can be in the company of people that share your passion for a week, it does nothing but stoke the fire that burns in my belly, to solve more problems, and top the previous year's accomplishments, with even better feats. 

If you have any question about my trip to the GCSAA Golf Industry Show please feel free to contact me.

Justin Ruiz, CGCS
justinr@therimgolfclub.org

Golf Course Industry Show

The Golf Industry Show happens once a year.  It rotates between three cities. New Orleans, San Diego and Orlando.  The Show consists of continuing education classes that help superintendents, assistants and in some cases greens chairmen keep abreast on new technology and way to better manage your golf course.  I have been lucky enough to go to the Show for the past 7 years as a golfcourse superintendent and I went once as a student from Oregon State. 

I have always made it a point to fit in as much education as possible.  I use the day of the trade show to not only get an idea of the new equipment available, but meet as many people as I can.  Networking as everyone knows can be a great way to get new ideas or brainstorm about current issues at your course.

I am a guest speaker for the innovative superintendent session for the work that we have done to save water over the past three years. The bulk of our water management savings came the first season I was here when we adjusted many heads and did massive re-programing of the central control computer to be more accurate in water application.

Last year I was a guest speaker for the same session.  I spoke on the creation of our IPM program and the usage of growing degree days to predict and anticipate insect developement.  There are not many courses in the nation that use this type of method when controlling pests.  Over the last three years we have had great success with the program.

Next week the GCSAA Conference and Show will be held in San Diego.  After the trip I will make sure to write an update on what I learned in San Diego.  My goal is to save even more water this year by using new techniques learned by this trip.

If anyone would like to learn more about the GCSAA Show or just have comments please feel free to contact me.

Justin Ruiz, CGCS
justinr@therimgolfclub.org