Mike Coker and son Troy work on golf courses ... - Backed By Bayer

Bayer
WINTER
2006
YOUR TOTAL RESOURCE FOR COURSE MAINTENANCE
<strong>Mike</strong> <strong>Coker</strong>
<strong>and</strong> <strong>son</strong> <strong>Troy</strong>
<strong>work</strong> on golf
courses, but
play on
drag strips

CONTENTS
WINTER 2006
Features
10 Go, Greens Racer
This superintendent’s weekend hobby really moves him.
BY CURT HARLER
14 Making Palmer Proud
Senior PGA players praise Laurel Valley’s ‘speedy’ greens.
BY BARBARA MCCABE
16 Keeping it Green in Tennesee
Extensive renovations resulted in more user-friendly golf
course.
BY NANCY HOLBERT
20 The Natives Aren’t Restless
Patience is needed for native grasses, but it pays off in the long
run.
BY MARK LESLIE
10
23 Gather Revealing References
A thorough background check upfront can save employer
nightmares down the road.
BY PETER BLAIS
26 Creative Budgeting
Fuel prices are the wild card in ’06.
BY ANTHONY PIOPPI
26
20
2 Golf Advantage Winter 2006

Bayer
Golf Advantage
Golf Advantage is published by
BAYER ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
P.O. Box 12014
2 T.W. Alex<strong>and</strong>er Dr.
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
www.bayerprocentral.com
29
28 Golfing for Kids
Purple Cow winner raises awareness of autism.
BY CURT HARLER
5
Editorial Staff
Curt Harler Editor 440-238-4556
curt@curtharler.com
Jamie Gooch Managing Editor
Debbie Clayton Contributing Editor
Peter Blais Contributing Editor
Nancy Holbert Contributing Editor
Mark Leslie Contributing Editor
Barbara McCabe Contributing Editor
Anthony Pioppi Contributing Editor
32 Surviving the Summer of 2005
Pennsylvania superintendent uses a minimalist approach, to
great effect.
BY DEBBIE CLAYTON
34 Tartan: Made for Golf
The new fungicide from Bayer has been designed for the golf
course. Registration is pending.
BY DAVID SPAK
35 Pests We Love to Hate
Dollar spot:The Rodney Dangerfield of turfgrass diseases.
BY J.M. VARGAS JR.
Departments
4 Chip Shot
Changing for the better.
5 Far & Wide
Industry news <strong>and</strong> trends.
6 Outlooks
Golf industry outlooks by Bayer regional managers.
9 Talk Back
What makes for a successful relationship between management <strong>and</strong>
superintendent?
37 On The Road
Bayer Environmental Science news.
38 Hole of Merit
Enter to win a $500 gift card toward a party for your crew.
ON THE COVER: PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN BRAGG
Designers
Lisa Lehman Creative Director
Laura Watilo Blake Graphic Designer
Circulation Questions
Jessica Borgren 800-346-0085
jborgren@questex.com
PRODUCED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH:
Questex L<strong>and</strong>scape Group
600 Superior Ave. East
Suite 1100
Clevel<strong>and</strong>, OH 44114
800-669-1668
www.l<strong>and</strong>scapegroup.com
Bayer Environmental Science Staff
Josh Weeks Acting Director, Chipco Professional Products
josh.weeks@bayercropscience.com 919-549-2539
<strong>Mike</strong> Daly Director of Marketing 919-549-2550
michael.daly@bayercropscience.com
Rich Burns National Account Manager 919-549-2563
rich.burns@bayercropscience.com
<strong>Mike</strong> Ruizzo National Account Manager 919-549-2559
michael.ruizzo@bayercropscience.com
Scott Welge Business Manager, Fungicides/Golf Market Lead
scott.welge@bayercropscience.com 919-549-2105
Ben Cicora Business Manager, Herbicides 919-549-2558
ben.cicora@bayercropscience.com
Bryan Gooch Business Manager, Insecticides 919-549-2555
bryan.gooch@bayercropscience.com
Jim Davis Northern Regional Manager 201-307-3403
jim.davis1@bayercropscience.com
Brian Tepper Western Regional Manager 919-740-9348
brian.tepper@bayercropscience.com
David Ravel Southern Regional Manager 336-462-7429
david.ravel@bayercropscience.com
For information on Bayer products <strong>and</strong> programs,
visit www.bayerprocentral.com
Copyright 2006, Bayer Environmental Science
www.bayergolfadvantage.com Golf Advantage 3

CHIP SHOT
SCOTT WELGE / BUSINESS MANAGER
Changing for the Better
By not being
complacent,
striving instead
for superiority,
you can turn good
results into great
results.
For most golf course superintendents, 2005 was a year to remember
— <strong>and</strong> not necessarily for good rea<strong>son</strong>s. High heat <strong>and</strong> humidity
through much of the summer in many areas of the country
caused increased disease pressure <strong>and</strong> decreased turf quality.
As you develop programs <strong>and</strong> put plans into place for 2006, consider
what changes you might want to implement based on the occurrences last
year. Generally, I’m not one to promote publications, but I recently read a
good book that provides great insight into how to effect changes within an
organization.
From Good to Great, by Jim Collins, tells managers not to accept things the
way they are but to look toward how small changes can reap huge results. By
not being complacent, striving instead for superiority, you can turn good results
into great results.
Collins challenges the notion that people are your most important asset,
claiming instead that the right people are your best advantage. By surrounding
yourself with those you respect, instead of mediocre employees, you will be
ahead of the game right at the start.
This credo applies to all areas of your business, whether it’s dealing with
vendors, <strong>work</strong>ing with distributors or purchasing products <strong>and</strong> services from
basic manufacturers. Strive to raise the bar higher in all aspects of your company
<strong>and</strong> you’ll find success comes more easily.
Per<strong>son</strong>ally, I believe that Bayer Environmental Science already follows some
of the advice given by Collins in his book. With our Backed by Bayer program,
we provide our customers with more than just products that <strong>work</strong>. We
give you the confidence that you’ll succeed. Customers get the assurance that
comes from value-added programs, services <strong>and</strong> an ongoing commitment to
the industry.
Backed by Bayer provides:
Dedication.
Guaranteed satisfaction.
Superior solutions.
Added value.
Vision for the future.
Think about how you can make changes in your company during 2006.
You might find that a few small adjustments will go a long way toward positive
change! ✹
Scott Welge
Business Manager, Fungicides/Golf Market Lead
Bayer Environmental Science
919-549-2105
scott.welge@bayercropscience.com
4 Golf Advantage Winter 2006

FAR & WIDE
INDUSTRY NEWS
Irrigation Leader Calls for Conservation
Making the most of finite
water supplies is
crucial to the future of
the irrigation industry,
<strong>and</strong> the Irrigation Association (IA)
must continue to lead the way in
water management, according to the
IA’s newly elected president, Ken Mills.
He sees water management, certification
<strong>and</strong> education as key areas.
“The initiatives to assure our industry
manages the use of water for
irrigation for agriculture, l<strong>and</strong>scape
<strong>and</strong> golf irrigation will be critical to
the success of our industry going forward,”
Mills said. “The IA has been
very active in that effort in the last
few years. We need to continue this
leadership to assure the viability of
the industry, as well as to manage a
finite resource.”
The IA’s certification program,
which along with IA Education has
earned significant credibility in the
industry, provides professionals with
a way to differentiate themselves,
Mills said, adding that he would like
to see certification for all professional
groups in the industry.
Grassroots involvement through
affiliates is important to making sure
the industry is seen as acting responsibly
with natural resources <strong>and</strong> making
sure water is available for irrigation.
In addition to providing a voice in
Washington, the IA supports its affiliates
on local <strong>and</strong> state legislative issues.
“We can’t do it all on a national
basis,” Mills said. “Many of the issues
are local. Trying to do it from a national
base is nearly impossible.”
Reardon Named
to RISE Post
Karen Reardon was recently named director
of communications <strong>and</strong> public relations
for Washington-based Responsible
Industry for a Sound Environment
(RISE).
Reardon has 10 years of experience
<strong>work</strong>ing on behalf of crop protection
<strong>and</strong> pest management. She most recently
was the internal communications
leader for RISE sister organization
CropLife America.
She is now responsible for the development
of communications strategies
that promote <strong>and</strong> defend the interests
of RISE members.
“Karen knows <strong>and</strong> underst<strong>and</strong>s the
issues of our industry,” says Allen
James, president of RISE. “She brings
great value <strong>and</strong> skill to the job.”
Clevel<strong>and</strong> Named New Director
Neil Clevel<strong>and</strong> is the new director of
the U.S. Green Business for Bayer Environmental
Science. He will assume
the position April 1, 2006.
Dan Carrothers, previous director
of U.S. Green Business, resigned to
become chief operating officer of
Datacore, a company based in Kansas
City, Kan., that specializes in database
marketing <strong>and</strong> customer relationship
management (CRM) initiatives. He
was with Bayer in various positions
for nine years.
Josh Weeks, vice president, Professional
Products North America for
Bayer Environmental Science, has assumed
management of U.S. Green
Business on an interim basis through
March 31.
Carrothers’ new position will
allow him to continue his relationship
with the green industry on programs
such as Project Evergreen <strong>and</strong>
with companies such as Bayer.
“His leadership, energy, optimism
<strong>and</strong> passion for people have been a
big part of the consistent business
success Bayer has experienced,”
Weeks said.
Weeks will <strong>work</strong> closely with
Clevel<strong>and</strong>, who currently holds the
position of global portfolio manager
of Green Business, based at the global
headquarters for Bayer Environmental
Science in Lyon, France.
Previously, Clevel<strong>and</strong> was regional
sales manager for the lawn <strong>and</strong> l<strong>and</strong>scape
market <strong>and</strong> northern regional
sales manager, golf, for Bayer Environmental
Science. Before that, he
was area sales manager for Bayer
Corp. from 2001 through 2002 <strong>and</strong>
marketing br<strong>and</strong> manager from 1997
to 2001.
www.bayergolfadvantage.com Golf Advantage 5

OUTLOOKS
REGION BY REGION
One for the
Record Books
By Jim Davis
Northern Regional Manager/Golf
201-819-1071; jim.davis1@bayercropscience.com
The 2005 growing sea<strong>son</strong> will go down in
the record books as the year that presented
golf course superintendents with
numerous challenges. Here is a wrap-up of
things to look for throughout the northern region
at this time of year.
Northeast (Jim Santoro <strong>and</strong> Dave Sylvester): Mother
Nature played havoc with heavy annual bluegrass insect
populations this year <strong>and</strong> the insect pressure never
seemed to let up. Multiple
generations of insect
pests combined with
some of the hottest <strong>and</strong>
most humid weather
recorded in years created
numerous stress-related
challenges for
northern superintendents.
One of the most
proven programs that
benefited area golf
course superintendents
was the use of Chipco®
Jim Davis
Signature for anthracnose control. Signature-based
programs held up very well, despite the weather in
2005.
Bayer Environmental Science will soon launch Tartan,
registration pending, a new broad-spectrum
fungicide. This product looked outst<strong>and</strong>ing in field trials
conducted throughout the Northeast last summer.
In addition, Allectus insecticide now has state registrations,
giving superintendents additional choices in
managing two troublesome problems this year. Look to
Bayer to provide superior solutions to manage your
most troublesome disease <strong>and</strong> insect challenges.
Midwest (Scott Parker <strong>and</strong> Kerry Ander<strong>son</strong>): What an
interesting year we had here in the Midwest! Superintendents
experienced everything from severe ice damage
over the winter, to extreme heat in the summer, to
heavy thunderstorms <strong>and</strong> rainfall followed by 90° heat,
AK
CA
OR
WA
HI
NV
ID
AZ
UT
MT
WY
NM
WESTERN
REGION
CO
ND
SD
NE
TX
KS
OK
to major drought stress. Growing quality turfgrass in
2005 put superintendents to the test, both mentally <strong>and</strong>
physically. As always, the hard <strong>work</strong> <strong>and</strong> dedication of
these professionals proved evident on courses throughout
the region.
This year, Signature played an integral role in
many golf courses’ summer decline programs. It successfully
helped ward off summer stress <strong>and</strong> anthracnose.
Merit® also helped many superintendents sleep
better at night by sustaining excellent grub control.
When products may not have lasted as long as expected
due to the weather, Backed by Bayer shined brightest.
It is this message of total support to the end-users <strong>and</strong>
distributors that will be so vital in 2006 <strong>and</strong> beyond. We
are dedicated to st<strong>and</strong>ing behind all of our products
<strong>and</strong> recommendations <strong>and</strong> look forward to serving you
this coming year.
North Central (Kevin Fuchs, Sam Snyder <strong>and</strong> Scott
Waltz): In the North Central zone, superintendents welcomed
winter after a difficult year. Winter is a time to
evaluate what <strong>work</strong>ed well during the sea<strong>son</strong> <strong>and</strong> what
changes they need to make. Bayer Environmental Science
has several new, innovative solutions that will benefit
superintendents in the North Central zone. Here
are a few things to look forward to next spring:
• New Bayleton® fairy ring registration: superintendents
can treat fairy ring, dollar spot, summer patch,
anthracnose <strong>and</strong> more at the same time
• New fungicide called Tartan, registration pending,
which will be broad-spectrum <strong>and</strong> utilize multiple
modes of action to control diseases like dollar spot, anthracnose,
patch diseases <strong>and</strong> more.
Mid-Atlantic (Rick Fritz, Shaun Barry <strong>and</strong> John Wiblishauser):
Golf courses in the Mid-Atlantic area came
out of the winter last year to see signs of pink snow
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
IN
TN
AL
MI
KY
OH
GA
WV
SOUTHERN
REGION
NORTHERN
REGION
SC
FL
PA
VA
NC
MD
NY
ME
VT
NH
MA
CT
RI
NJ
DE
DC
6 Golf Advantage Winter 2006

mold. Most of the New Jersey, Pennsylvania <strong>and</strong> Baltimore
area had extended cool wet weather they experienced
into May.
During June, July <strong>and</strong> August, superintendents in
this area experienced a great deal of wet wilt, brown
patch, dollar spot <strong>and</strong> the worst Pythium they have
seen in 10 years. Something else that had their attention
was Hyperodes weevils. In New Jersey <strong>and</strong> Pennsylvania,
20 to 25 courses lost a great deal of turf. Superintendents
who went out in April with a pyrethroid,
followed with the high rate of Merit tanked mixed with
a pyrethoid in mid-May, <strong>and</strong> continued with
pyrethroid sprays once a month throughout the summer
controlled Hyperodes best.
One superintendent said, “if you can grow grass in
the Mid-Atlantic, you can grow grass anywhere.” Bayer
seemed to have a solid presence in 2005 with the
strongest product line, followed with “Backed by Bayer.”
Consider All
Options in 2006
By David Ravel
Southern Regional Manager/Golf
336-462-7429; david.ravel@bayercropscience.com
THIS year will
bring you more
choices than ever
before. As you begin
looking at these choices,
remember there is much
more to consider than
the sticker on the jug
<strong>and</strong> the product you
spray. Bayer continues to
invest in the future of
the industry through research
<strong>and</strong> development
Dave Ravel
of new products like Tartan fungicide <strong>and</strong> Top-
Choice® fertilizer. Backed by Bayer is not only a slogan,
but an investment in your industry. Here’s an update
from the Southern region.
Trey Warnock (S.C., western N.C., southeastern Ga.):
Now is the time to finalize your fungicide programs. If
you have bermudagrass greens, two to three applications
of Signature during transition will help improve
your turf quality throughout the spring <strong>and</strong> summer.
Brian MacCurrach (southeastern Fla.): Golf course
superintendents are in the height of their sea<strong>son</strong> in
southeast Florida. Ronstar® applications for spring
goosegrass control will begin in late February <strong>and</strong> early
March. Overseeded courses can begin to consider transitioning
back to bermudagrass with low rates of Revolver®,
ensuring healthy transition into the warmer
months.
<strong>Mike</strong> Willey (northwestern S.C., eastern N.C., southern
Va., southern W. Va.): Superintendents will be applying
their preemergence herbicides soon. The next decision
for many of them will be their fungicide programs for
the stresses of the late spring <strong>and</strong> early summer. We
have a full complement of fungicide solutions that meet
your needs <strong>and</strong> they will always be “Backed by Bayer.”
Joe Conoly (northern Fla., southern Ga.): Early crabgrass
<strong>and</strong> goosegrass will be germinating soon. Now is
the time to apply your Ronstar® herbicide. I recommend
using Ronstar on fertilizer on your large areas
<strong>and</strong> Ronstar G around greens <strong>and</strong> on those hard-toreach
areas.
Matt Bradley (southwest Fla.): If you have not yet
booked your Chipco® Choice, now is the time! Revolver
is also a very effective option for cleaning up unsightly
weeds or taking out any unwanted overseeding.
Stop by the Bayer Booth at GIS for more information.
Scott Harms (Tenn., Miss, Ala.): It is evident that you,
as golf course superintendents, underst<strong>and</strong> the message
behind “Backed by Bayer” <strong>and</strong> underst<strong>and</strong> what Bayer
brings to our industry. This is reflected by the product
decisions you made this fall on our early order programs.
We appreciate your business <strong>and</strong> value your
commitment to maintaining the highest quality practices
in the golf industry.
Laurence Mudge (Technical representative – Transition
Zone): February <strong>and</strong> March are key months for applying
preemergent herbicides for crabgrass <strong>and</strong>
goosegrass control. Ronstar® is an excellent, effective
product that controls these weeds, but does not affect
the root growth of your turf. This is important if your
turf is recovering from transition stress or nematode
damage.
Jeff Michel (Technical representative – Fla.): Applications
of Ronstar on fertilizer will help your turf receive
the nutrition it needs <strong>and</strong> stop goosegrass establishment
on your course. Ronstar® is not only an excellent
Winter 2006 Golf Advantage 7

REGIONAL OUTLOOK
preemergent herbicide, it also has no root pruning effects
that can reduce turf quality.
Staying One
Step Ahead
By Brian Tepper
Western Regional Manager/Golf
919-740-9348
brian.tepper@bayercropscience.com
Once again, the
new year offers
great opportunities,
as well as challenges.
The key is to
keep one step ahead of
trouble. Scouting,
knowledge of your
course history <strong>and</strong> good
preventative programs
are essential for a successful
year.Good
Brian Tepper
course conditions <strong>and</strong>
an increase in play will make for a great year!
Gordon Vosti (central Calif.): Winter rains recently
brought on a new crop of annual weeds. If you did not
get a preemergent down, now is the time to do so. For
Poa annua management in perennial rye fairways you
can still use Prograss for selective control. Begin Merit
applications now for sea<strong>son</strong>-long sucking insect control
on trees <strong>and</strong> shrubs.
Travis Klosterboer (southern Texas, La. <strong>and</strong> Ark.):
Soon after the first of the year, it seems there is a major
outbreak of Poa. These plants actually germinated some
months ago, however, they are becoming more visible
as they mature <strong>and</strong> begin to form seedheads. Fortunately
there are several new products, like Revolver®, that
do an excellent job for Poa control.
Gary Brooks (northern Texas. N.M., Okla. <strong>and</strong> Colo.):
Most superintendents in my area will have a shot at
cleaning up fairway weeds in February because bermuda
will be dormant <strong>and</strong> we can use a nonselective herbicide
like Roundup. However, remember to make sure
the grass is dormant. Hybrid bermudagrass greens up
more quickly than common <strong>and</strong> you may have areas
where it breaks dormancy. “If you can see green don’t
spray.”
Dan Dumler (Hawaii, Pacific Northwest, N.D. <strong>and</strong> S.D.):
Pacific Northwest superintendents will be dealing with
cold, rainy conditions, which bring on peak Fusarium
patch pressure, affecting all cool-sea<strong>son</strong> turf species.
East side, high elevation courses will be under multiple
feet of snow <strong>and</strong> closed for the sea<strong>son</strong>.
The toughest months for Hawaii superintendents
come during this period. Cool, wet conditions in the
winter are toughest on bermuda. Superintendents will
be battling weak, thin greens due to winter decline.
Goosegrass should be in check from a well-timed preemergent
application in the fall.
George Raymond (northern Calif. & Nevada): Programs
for seedhead suppression based on Proxy®/
Primo MAXX combinations will get underway in early
spring in northern California. Most preemergent applications
have been down for some time but consider additional
applications for longterm goosegrass control
with Ronstar® at this time. Scouting for cool sea<strong>son</strong>
diseases will begin <strong>and</strong> Signature-based early sea<strong>son</strong>
programs will be scheduled.
Jimmy John<strong>son</strong> (Neb., Kansas, Iowa, <strong>and</strong> Mo.): Most
golf course superintendents came off of a little better
year in 2005 with increased event <strong>and</strong> tournament activities.
Many superintendents in the Midwest experienced
much higher fairy ring pressure, <strong>and</strong> are looking
to make changes in programs for 2006 to minimize this
problem.
Stephen Kimball (southern Calif. <strong>and</strong> Ariz.): What a
difference a year makes. At this time last year we were
knee deep in flood damage <strong>and</strong> st<strong>and</strong>ing water thanks
to the record rainfall of 2005. Fortunately, our weather
pattern in the Southwest desert has resorted back to
normal in 2006. As a result, our golf courses look great
<strong>and</strong> we are enjoying a good level of play.
Chris Olsen (Field development representative — West
Coast): There is a tremendous range of growing conditions
in the West at this time of year. The low desert
areas experience warm sunny weather, bringing on Poa
problems. Overwintered grubs are becoming active <strong>and</strong>
attracting the attention of critters that feed on them. In
the north, snow mold is the big question. Did the fall
treatments hold? On the west side of the Cascades, it’s a
constant battle with Microdochium (Fusarium) patch
<strong>and</strong> possibly yellow patch as well. ✹
8 Golf Advantage Winter 2006

TALK BACK
QUESTION OF THE MONTH
We asked club owners <strong>and</strong> managers what makes for a successful
relationship between management <strong>and</strong> superintendent.
Here’s what they said:
Bob Howard
Saratoga National Golf
Club (club of the year)
Saratoga, N.Y.
“Good
communications
is one key. Everyone
has to be happy with
Jim Bonin
Muskego Lake Country Club
Muskego,Wis.
“It’s a matter
of trust — trusting
the superintendent’s
judgment based
Craig McMurphy,
CFO
Forest Ridge Golf Club
Broken Arrow, Okla.
“Keeping costs
in line with
budgets.
Keeping the grass
Larry Giustina
Tokatee Golf Club
Blue River, Ore.
“A big part is
knowing the
needs <strong>and</strong>
problems of
the plan <strong>and</strong> have the
on short-term
green. That’s always
one another. The
same goals.”
performance <strong>and</strong>
a struggle in
superintendent has
long-term experience.
Owners can’t
be involved on
Oklahoma. We’re
lucky to have a good
superintendent.”
to underst<strong>and</strong> the
owner’s goals <strong>and</strong>
objectives, <strong>and</strong> vice
a day-to-day basis.”
versa in order to keep
the course the way
the owner needs it
to satisfy the
customers.”
www.bayergolfadvantage.com Golf Advantage 9

PROFILE
OFF-COURSE PURSUITS
Go,
<strong>Troy</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Mike</strong> <strong>Coker</strong> are
a true father-<strong>son</strong> team.
PHOTOS BY JOHN BRAGG
10 Golf Advantage Winter 2006

Greens Racer
This superintendent’s weekend hobby really moves him
By Curt Harler
T
roy <strong>Coker</strong> is the fastest superintendent around.
And that means f-a-s-t. Weekends find him
zipping along at 180 mph.
Obviously, he’s not driving a modified
Workman.
<strong>Coker</strong> is the superintendent at Plum Creek Golf Club in
Carmel, Ind., <strong>and</strong> the driver of <strong>Coker</strong> Racing, LLC’s dragster.
The car is a B/Fuel Front Engine Dragster <strong>and</strong> does the
quarter mile in seven seconds, burning a 50/50 mix of nitromethane
<strong>and</strong> methanol.
Most dragsters built after 1972 have the engine placed
behind the driver for safety purposes.“I actually sit with my
legs over the rear end housing. The transmission
is between my legs,” <strong>Coker</strong> says. All
the while, he sees a 1,000-hp engine in his
face.
With current technology <strong>and</strong> safety improvements,
<strong>Coker</strong> notes that racers are
able to bring those pre-’72 days back by
building cars to have a period-correct look,
racing affordably (if there is such a thing) in
what is called Nostalgia Drag Racing.
His father, <strong>Mike</strong> <strong>Coker</strong>, is the crew chief when not <strong>work</strong>ing
his “other job” as mechanic at The Wolf Run Golf Club
in Zionsville, Ind. Dad turns the wrenches on the car.
Their dragster is called The Greenskeeper, <strong>and</strong> is painted
green <strong>and</strong> white. It displays the logos of all of their sponsors
— big names in the business, including Bayer Environmental
Science; some of golfdom’s best-known distributors;
Kenney Outdoor Solutions, the local Toro dealer; a vo-tech
school that teaches welding, HVAC, nursing <strong>and</strong> massage;
<strong>and</strong> local golf courses, including Plum Creek <strong>and</strong> River Glen
Country Club across the way.
“The car fits the golf industry, that’s for sure,”says <strong>Coker</strong>.
What a ride!
The car pulls roughly three 3 Gs at the hit of the throttle <strong>and</strong>
-2 Gs when <strong>Coker</strong> pulls the parachute a few seconds later.
“Words can’t really explain the feeling,” he says. “I guess
you could say it’s like being shot out of a cannon. During
the three minutes it takes to fire the car, do my burn out,
back it up, stage the car at the starting line, make the run
<strong>and</strong> get it slowed back down, the level of concentration is
extremely high.
“I’m definitely not thinking about dollar spot on the No.
12 green or any other golf course issues at that time,”he adds.
The car is built from all aftermarket parts. Performance
manufacturers take GM parts <strong>and</strong> make them stronger <strong>and</strong>
lighter that the original.“But you have to remember those parts
<strong>and</strong> these parts are intended for two
different rea<strong>son</strong>s: everyday driving vs.
hard-core racing,” <strong>Coker</strong> notes.
To save money, accumulate all the
parts, have the chassis built, recruit
sponsors <strong>and</strong> put the finishing
touches on the car took two-<strong>and</strong>-ahalf
years of nights <strong>and</strong> weekends in
the Plum Creek maintenance facility.With
their h<strong>and</strong>s-on experience, <strong>Coker</strong> <strong>and</strong> his father can
probably reassemble the whole car in four hours today.
The engine is a Dart Little “M,” which is copy of the
Chevy 350 block but made tougher with a 377-cu.-in. displacement.
The aluminum cylinder heads feature a special
roller rocker arm system.
The fuel tank holds just three gallons of fuel. Nitro costs
$30 per gallon. The car uses 2 gallons of fuel mixture on one
quarter-mile run.
All those parts <strong>work</strong>ing together make <strong>Coker</strong>’s car go
from a dead stop at the starting line to the finish line at the
end of the quarter mile in 7 seconds, at more than 180 mph.
The car will accelerate from 0 to 100 mph in about 3 seconds.
PHOTO BY CORY JANSSEN
www.bayergolfadvantage.com Golf Advantage 11

GREENS RACER
Getting started
Back in the 1960s, <strong>Mike</strong> <strong>Coker</strong> got involved in the racing field.
“I was a little guy <strong>and</strong> grew up around it,” says his <strong>son</strong>.
The younger <strong>Coker</strong> attended Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing
School in Gainesville, Fla. He also attended Hawley’s Indy
school, which consisted of two days of classroom instruction
<strong>and</strong> driving a rear-engine dragster that ran 8-second ETs
(elapsed times) at 145 mph.
Over time, <strong>Mike</strong> <strong>Coker</strong> drifted out of racing. But he earned
his living as a service manager at a GM dealership.
“About 33 years later, we decided to build another car,”
<strong>Troy</strong> <strong>Coker</strong> says. <strong>Mike</strong> found a job at Wolf Run, moving him
closer to his <strong>son</strong>, <strong>and</strong> the father-<strong>son</strong> team set out to burn up
the track.
Their first race was in September 2004. It was <strong>Coker</strong>’s first
time in the driver’s seat <strong>and</strong> they did pretty darn well for a rookie
team. <strong>Coker</strong> Racing qualified in the No. 5 spot in a field of 12.
This past September, they ran the same race again, qualifying
at No. 2 but getting eliminated in the semi-finals. That’s
not bad for a couple of guys who spend more time with mowers
than in their car.
“I’m definitely not thinking about
dollar spot on Number 12 green.”
– <strong>Troy</strong> <strong>Coker</strong>, on what goes through
his mind while in the driver’s seat
With all the costs involved from fuel <strong>and</strong> oil to hotel rooms
<strong>Coker</strong> Racing spends $500 to $1,000 per race, depending on
how far they travel.“I would say we spend somewhere around
$7,500 annually,” <strong>Coker</strong> says. They have a crew of two to four
people at each race,depending on their schedules.The team includes
Donny Canevit, a civil engineer from Fiatt, Ill.; Steve
Petty, a welding inspector from Canton, Ill.; Curt Gover, a
FedEx <strong>work</strong>er from Brownsburg, Ind.; <strong>and</strong> <strong>Coker</strong>’s girlfriend,
Sarah Selvy,a student who also <strong>work</strong>s at Plum Creek part-time.
“Dad <strong>and</strong> the crew do most of the maintenance on the car
at the races, <strong>and</strong> I take care of the logistics <strong>and</strong> the driving,”
<strong>Coker</strong> says.
The course
Naturally, golf is <strong>Coker</strong>’s life off the racetrack. Plum Creek is
an 18-hole, semi-private, upscale daily fee course. Designed
by Pete Dye, it was built in 1997.
The course has 35 acres of PennLinks bentgrass fairways,
4 acres of Penncross bentgrass tees, <strong>and</strong> 4 acres of A-4 greens.
It is a links-style course. “We have 55 acres of bluegrass primary
rough <strong>and</strong> 30 acres of native grass areas,” <strong>Coker</strong> says.
There are four sets of tees playing from 7,000 yards at the
“tips” to 5,300 yards at the “forward” set of tees. <strong>Coker</strong> has one
assistant superintendent <strong>and</strong> one equipment technician, plus
PHOTO BY JOHN BRAGG
two full-time employees for a total of five. During peak sea<strong>son</strong>,
he has a crew of 14 or 15 full-time sea<strong>son</strong>al people, two-part
time rough mowers <strong>and</strong> three part-time “weekend warriors.”
“I consider myself lucky that our ownership <strong>and</strong> management
allow me to turn our maintenance facility into a race shop
on nights <strong>and</strong> weekends,” <strong>Coker</strong> says. “They also allow me to
store my trailer <strong>and</strong> car at our shop in the parking lot, as well as
use my company truck to haul the trailer <strong>and</strong> car to the races.”
His father’s course, Wolf Run, opened in 1989. It is an extremely
difficult private club in Zionsville. In fact, Golf Digest
ranks it No. 3 in the state of Indiana <strong>and</strong> Golf Week pegged it
at No. 18 in America’s Best Modern Golf Courses.
Steve Smyers is the course architect, <strong>and</strong> he still is active at
the club. Wolf Run is a links type club a true golf club with 18
holes <strong>and</strong> a good practice area, but no country club amenities.
12 Golf Advantage Winter 2006

Down the track
The Greenskeeper grabs some serious competition somewhere
in the Midwest about six times a year. <strong>Coker</strong> Racing also runs
it a couple of times a month at the Indianapolis Raceway
Park. “To get some seat-time,” <strong>Coker</strong> explains.
His racing schedule will start again in April. However,
<strong>Coker</strong> is thinking about taking the car to Bakersfield, Calif.,
in March to race against some of the big names. That would
eat up a lot of vacation time, however — not to mention a
sizable amount of his racing budget.
“With our schedule in the golf course business, we don’t
get to get out as much as we would like to,” he says.
Look for The Greenskeeper at tracks around Indianapolis;
Bowling Green, Ky.; Cordova, Ill.; <strong>and</strong> other Midwest events.
If you’re quick, you just might see <strong>Coker</strong> flying by.
<strong>Coker</strong> Racing Sponsors
Bayer Environmental Science Scott Parker
Gr<strong>and</strong>ma – Wilma <strong>Coker</strong>
Homes by Dave Thomp<strong>son</strong>, Fishers, Ind.
Junior <strong>and</strong> Shirley Mibbs
Kenney Outdoor Solutions/Toro, Indianapolis
Midwest Technology Institute, Lincoln, Ill. Brian Huff
Plum Creek Golf Club, Carmel, Ind.
River Glen Country Club, Fishers, Ind.
Simplot Partners Scott Calvert
Syngenta Brian Winkel
Turf Specialties Corp. Ginny Smith
www.bayergolfadvantage.com Golf Advantage 13

OPERATIONS
PREPARATION AND STRATEGY
Making Palmer Proud
Senior PGA players praise Laurel Valley’s ‘speedy’ greens
By Barbara McCabe
ABOVE: Laurel Valley’s
12 th fairway was wet, but
<strong>work</strong>able Memorial Day
weekend for the 2005
Senior PGA Tournament.
Ahard rain pelted Laurel Valley
Golf Club the weekend of the
2005 Senior PGA Tournament,
sending superintendent Mark
Hollick, CGCS, <strong>and</strong> his crew scurrying
around the 7,107-yard layout to wick water
off the greens.
“We were using squeegees <strong>and</strong> water hogs
to get rid of the water,” says Hollick, describing
the rainstorm that drenched the Ligonier,
Pa., course on Saturday morning of Memorial
Day weekend.“We tried to keep play moving,
but it was coming down so fast, we couldn’t
keep up with it.”
When play resumed later in the day, the
mostly Poa annua greens, which Hollick <strong>and</strong>
his staff had honed to perfection in the weeks
preceding the tournament, retained their
speed in spite of the soaking. He received
many compliments from professionals competing
for the $2 million purse. “They raved
about the greens,” recounts Hollick.
Set in western Pennsylvania’s breathtaking
Laurel Highl<strong>and</strong>s, Laurel Valley Golf Club
spans 260 acres. The private golf club, nestled
between the Laurel <strong>and</strong> Chestnut Ridges of
the Allegheny Mountains, provides golf <strong>and</strong>
entertainment for its corporate members.
As home course to golf legend Arnold
Palmer, who grew up in nearby Latrobe, the
club has hosted a number of championship
events in its 45-year history. Palmer, who has
been affiliated with the club since its inception,
continues to improve <strong>and</strong> modify the course to
enhance its championship fervor.
“I’ve had the honor of walking the course
with Mr. Palmer — our touring pro,” says
Hollick, a Ligonier native who lives with his
family on the grounds of the golf club. “He’s
been our pro on a permanent basis ever since
the course was built. It’s great to talk shop
with Mr. Palmer.”
Preparing for the tournament
Preparations for the 66 th Senior PGA Championship
began more than a year earlier when
Hollick, the superintendent for 15 years,
began experimenting with plant growth regulators
on the Poa putting surfaces. With the
tournament scheduled for the end of May —
the middle of seedhead sea<strong>son</strong> — Hollick
wanted to get a h<strong>and</strong>le on seedhead control
14 Golf Advantage Winter 2006

well in advance of the tournament.
The previous spring,he treated two-thirds of
his greens with a tank mix of Proxy® <strong>and</strong> Primo
MAXX plant growth regulators. The remaining
third were treated with Embark plant growth
regulator. To find out which rate <strong>work</strong>ed best,
Hollick experimented with two rates of Proxy
<strong>and</strong> a 1/8th oz. rate of Primo. Embark was applied
at the rate of 3 oz. per 1,000 sq. ft. Two
applications — one on April 19 <strong>and</strong> the other
on May 12 — were made. A foliar treatment
was included with each application.
Two weeks after the first application, Hollick
discovered that while seedhead control
appeared to be similar on all the greens, the
color looked better on the greens treated
with the Proxy/Primo tank mix. Following
the second application, he noticed longer
control on the greens treated with the fiveounce
rate of Proxy.
“Proxy gave us a four- to six-week residual,”
he notes. “The applications overlapped
this time period, so no seedhead would be
given an opportunity to appear. With the
tournament coming up, that was important.”
Trying for even better timing in 2005, Hollick
treated all his greens on April 11 with the
Proxy/Primo tank mix, utilizing the 5-oz. rate
of Proxy <strong>and</strong> the 1/8 th -oz. rate of Primo. Four
weeks later — or about four weeks prior to the
tournament — Hollick made the second application.
One week before the tournament,
Hollick applied Primo alone at the rate of
1/8 th -oz. per 1,000 sq. ft.“We had already controlled
the seedhead at that point,”he explains.
“Now, we were looking to control growth.”
Honing the putting surfaces
Hollick believes it was this program that provided
the players with championship putting
surfaces in spite of the wet weather.
“They couldn’t believe the greens were
putting as well as they were as wet as they
were,” he says.“I would have to say that had a
lot to do with us spraying the seedhead with
the Proxy/Primo tank mix. The rest of it was
just routine mowing. The growth suppression
I got from using growth regulators kept me
from getting clipping yield, <strong>and</strong> we just continued
to hone the putting surfaces. With
every mowing, it got better <strong>and</strong> better. The
honing smoothes everything up.”
A letter the 52-year-old superintendent
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Scott Waltz,
Bayer Golf sales representative for western
Pennsylvnia, speaks with Mark Hollick on
the 13 th tee. The Laurel Valley course was
designed by Dick Wil<strong>son</strong>. Hollick <strong>and</strong> his
trusty assistant on the 18 th hole.
received from <strong>Mike</strong> Reid, who birdied the first
playoff hole — the par 5 18 th — to win the
Senior PGA Championship, is proof that Hollick’s
formula is <strong>work</strong>ing.“I can’t say enough in
praise of the terrific job you <strong>and</strong> your crew did
the week of the PGA Senior,” wrote a grateful
Reid after winning his first professional tournament
in 15 years. “Wow! The greens were
great. Even speedy after all the rain.”
www.bayergolfadvantage.com Golf Advantage 15

SOLUTIONS
PROFILE
Keeping it Green
in Tennessee
Extensive renovations resulted in more user-friendly golf course.
By Nancy Holbert
John Gardner, right,
<strong>work</strong>ed closely with his
assistant, Jeremy Ratte,
left, in fine-tuning his
overseeding program.
It pays to make changes — even six figure
ones. Just ask John Gardner, golf course
superintendent, at Bluegrass Yacht <strong>and</strong>
Country Club, Hender<strong>son</strong>ville, Tenn.
Designed by Robert Bruce Harris <strong>and</strong>
built on Old Hickory Lake in 1951, the 18-
hole par 72 course has undergone more than
$1 million in renovations over the past several
years. “Our management <strong>and</strong> membership
wanted to update the course to current
GCSAA st<strong>and</strong>ards <strong>and</strong> make it more userfriendly
but still maintain its original integrity,”
explains Gardner. “We undertook an extensive
renovation program that has resulted
in a course that appeals both to families out
for recreational play <strong>and</strong> the golfer looking for
increased challenge. The combination satisfies
our members’ wants <strong>and</strong> needs.”
A “short” course with a length of 6,641
yards <strong>and</strong> slope rating of 129 from the back
tees, Bluegrass consists of four par threes, four
par fives <strong>and</strong> 10 par fours. Surrounded by
water, greens space totals 110,000 sq. ft. <strong>and</strong>
tee locations are convenient, making it conducive
to walking.
“It’s also a good country club course,”
Gardner maintains.“Although the length isn’t
there, we have lots of trees <strong>and</strong> it’s tight.You’ll
have a different round every time you play if
you don’t hit the fairways.”
Gardner has complemented an extensive
greens renovation program with the use of
new herbicide technology involving chemical
transition to give members the quality of turf
<strong>and</strong> play they dem<strong>and</strong>. Since 1994, the original
clay pushup greens have been reconstructed
to USGA st<strong>and</strong>ards <strong>and</strong> all bunkers
have been renovated.
Additionally, SR 1020 bentgrass, installed
at USGA specs, has replaced the less heat-tolerant
Penncross, the variety previously used.
“The Penncross <strong>work</strong>ed for us but the increased
heat tolerance of SR 1020 bentgrass
makes it particularly suited to our environmental
conditions,” Gardner says.
Overseeding, chemical
transition keep course green
“Being in a transition zone, we can grow the
same varieties they grow all the way from
Florida to Wisconsin, we just can’t grow
them year-round <strong>and</strong> keep our turf lush so
we take steps including overseeding <strong>and</strong>
chemical transition to have a consistently
green course,” Gardner continues.
16 Golf Advantage Winter 2006

He typically overseeds perennial ryegrass
on bermudagrass fairways <strong>and</strong> aprons in the
fall, letting the ryegrass naturally transition
out the following June, July <strong>and</strong> August. Last
year, however, he decided to change his management
approach <strong>and</strong> followed a chemical
transition program with Revolver® herbicide
from Bayer Environmental Science. Revolver
provides postemergent control of cool sea<strong>son</strong>
grasses that appear in warm sea<strong>son</strong> turfgrasses,
including numerous cultivars of bermudagrass
<strong>and</strong> zoysiagrass. It is especially suited for
the removal of ryegrass <strong>and</strong> Poa annua from
bermudagrass during spring transition.
“I have to admit, we were skeptical at first—
we didn’t want to destroy our fairways,” Gardner
chuckles.“But wet,cooler springs <strong>and</strong> summers
the previous couple of years kept a lot of
the ryegrass from transitioning <strong>and</strong> the
bermudagrass was struggling <strong>and</strong> thin.” In addition,
Poa annua was raising its ugly head.
“Our members want to see wall-to-wall green
<strong>and</strong> we had the opportunity to accomplish it
with this new chemical technology so we decided
to give it a try,” he continues.
Herbicide accelerates transition
Gardner overseeded 275 to 325 lb. per acre of
perennial ryegrass on 30 acres of bermudagrass
fairways <strong>and</strong> aprons in the fall. He then
applied 0.4 ounces of Revolver per 1,000 sq.
ft. on 40 acres in early June. The results were
“outst<strong>and</strong>ing.” The ryegrass transitioned out
quickly, taking only about five weeks compared
to most of the summer with natural
transition, <strong>and</strong> the bermudagrass filled in <strong>and</strong>
thrived.
“The quick transition meant we had two
more months to push a thick, lush st<strong>and</strong>
which carried us later into the sea<strong>son</strong>,” Gardner
explains.
He notes that the effectiveness of the
application had a definite visual impact.
“We kept the product 20 yards away from
the green <strong>and</strong> you could see a difference in
the quality of the turf—the untreated area
didn’t look nearly as good as the fairways,”
he says.
Gardner adds that the Poa annua control
was also excellent. “Although we had some
Poa annua tracked across the fairways, our
greens were clean <strong>and</strong> we want to keep them
that way,” he says.“Our experience is that Revolver
is a highly effective tool that accelerates
spring transition <strong>and</strong> knocks out Poa annua
without harming desirable grasses.
“Tools <strong>and</strong> technology like this help us to
keep our course lush <strong>and</strong> healthy. Like I said,
we were skeptics at first,” he continues. “But
we’re believers now.”
Revolver ® made a
believer out of John
Gardner, golf course
superintendent, at
Bluegrass Yacht <strong>and</strong>
Country Club,
Hender<strong>son</strong>ville, Tenn.,
when it helped him
transition ryegrass
out of bermudagrass.
www.bayergolfadvantage.com Golf Advantage 17

STEWARDSHIP
THE ENVIRONMENT
The natives
aren’t restless
Patience is needed for native grasses, but it pays off in the long run
By Mark Leslie
Patience is the mantra — <strong>and</strong> savings
<strong>and</strong> increased wildlife are the
rewards — among the growing
number of golf course superintendents
who are exp<strong>and</strong>ing their acreage of native
grasses.
“Going to true low-maintenance native
prairie grasses requires patience,” says Ryan
Krings, superintendent at ArborLinks in Nebraska
City, Neb., adding that former superintendent
Dick Neumann,CGCS,once told him:
“Three years: sleep, creep <strong>and</strong> leap. He meant
it takes three years to establish native grasses.
Two years after seeding them, the club owners
will ask, ‘What is this weed patch?’ Normally
you seed a warm-sea<strong>son</strong> grass <strong>and</strong> it comes up
<strong>and</strong> you’re a hero. Not so with native grasses.”
While Krings’ testimony is regional to the
Midwest, Audubon International’s Joellen
Zeh, program director for the national
Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary System for
Golf Courses, says: “In almost any area if you
seed, say, a wildflower meadow, it will look
good the first year but not the next two or
three. Patience is imperative.”
But the rewards that patience provides are
long-lasting <strong>and</strong> ever-present.
Krings, whose ArborLinks is entering its
fourth sea<strong>son</strong> <strong>and</strong> whose native grasses are
now established, says: “We’re seeing a lot of
pheasants <strong>and</strong> meadowlark, a lot of nesting,
<strong>and</strong> much more wildlife in general. One or
two years after construction we started seeing
a lot more deer. There are many areas between
holes where they can run. Also, we see
more field mice, which means more hawks.
We saw three redtail hawks on different parts
of the golf course in one day.”
At Kansas State University’s Colbert Hills
Golf Course in Manhattan, Kan., Director of
Golf/General Manager Dave Gourlay, Jr.,
CGCS, says the environmental benefits of native
grasses on his course are huge. “We have
deer, squirrel, groundhogs, skunks, badgers
<strong>and</strong> coyotes. The bird population is unbelievable.
Ducks come in all the time, using the
property in their navigation.
“We’re like Motel 6,” he quips.
Ja<strong>son</strong> Funderburg, who is co-superintendent
along with Jeffre VerCautren at Rich
20 Golf Advantage Winter 2006

The first hole at
ArborLinks, which is
entering its fourth
sea<strong>son</strong>. The native
grasses shown here
are now established.
Harvest Links in Sugar Grove, Ill., says wildlife
ranging from raccoon <strong>and</strong> foxes to whitetail
deer have made the property their home.
“Perhaps the biggest byproduct — <strong>and</strong>,
for some, the key rea<strong>son</strong> to embrace native
grasses in the first place — is savings in cultural
practices, chemical applications, irrigation
<strong>and</strong>, most of all, labor,” he says.
Krings’ colleagues have approached him
with questions about establishing <strong>and</strong> managing
native areas.“Their budgets are getting cut
<strong>and</strong> they’re looking for ways to save,” he says.
“Everybody’s looking into it, mostly
because of budget concerns as well as
from the environmental st<strong>and</strong>point,” says
Funderburg. “Water issues are becoming
more prominent. And the biggest thing is
labor costs.”
“It’s 100% savings,” echoed Gourlay.
“We’ve had some overlap with watering, but
the maintenance <strong>and</strong> fertilizer is nothing. It’s
dramatic. We have continued to add native
areas every year.”
At ArborLinks, which is a cooperative venture
among Arnold Palmer Golf Course Design,
golf course builder L<strong>and</strong>scapes Unlimited
<strong>and</strong> the neighboring National Arbor Day
Foundation, Krings says 100 acres of native
grasses were seeded, including 15 acres of tall
grass prairie mix that grows 5 to 6 ft. high, 80
acres of short prairie mix which grows 2 to 3
ft. high, <strong>and</strong> 5 acres of wildflowers.
The tall grasses include Indian grass, big
bluestem, little bluestem, sideoats grama,
Virginia wild rye, switchgrass <strong>and</strong> Western
wheat grass. They were seeded where they
function as a shield, blocking out the road
in one spot, for instance.
The short mix includes hard fescue, buffalograss,
blue grama, sideoats grama <strong>and</strong> little
Dave Gourlay, Jr., CGCS,
says the environmental
benefits of native grasses
on his course are “huge.”
www.bayergolfadvantage.com Golf Advantage 21

STEWARDSHIP
Burning of the native
grasses at Colbert Hills is
done every March. The
job is completed in two
weekends.
bluestem. They fill many areas between holes
<strong>and</strong> are less intrusive. You can see over short
grass <strong>and</strong> hit a ball out of it.
Krings’s savings? “You mow it once a year
<strong>and</strong>, depending on the soils, you may have to
put a little fertilizer on it.”
At Colbert Hills, Gourlay oversees 1,100
acres, including 315 acres of golf course <strong>and</strong>
500 acres of native Konza prairie, whose
preservation was instrumental in golf course
architect Jeffrey Brauer’s design.
Gourlay’s savings? The annual cost of the
entire course is “embarrassingly low,”
Gourlay says, far less than the $700,000 to $1
million most superintendents guess. A mere
$325,000 a year is spent on maintenance,
minus water costs, to care for 27 holes of
golf, a 20-acre practice facility <strong>and</strong> half-acre
practice putting green.
Colbert Hills’ Konza prairie, along with
bluestem, native sunflowers <strong>and</strong> fescues that
Gourlay has seeded, needs only to be burned
every March, which is completed in two
weekends.
At Rich Harvest Farms, Funderburg
maintains 235 acres of golf course <strong>and</strong> 50
acres of native grasses, mostly tall <strong>and</strong> chewings
fescues.
Funderburg’s savings? “It’s a goodly
amount,” he says. “All we do is either burn it
down or mow it down once a year in the fall,
or spring, weather depending.”
According to research compiled by Pizzo
& Associates, Ltd., an ecological restoration
firm located in Lel<strong>and</strong>, Ill., the cost compari<strong>son</strong>
between maintained turfgrass <strong>and</strong> native
l<strong>and</strong>scape is huge, <strong>and</strong> grows larger after the
first four years of establishment. Pizzo & Associates
reports that the per-acre maintenance
cost of turf with a sprinkler system,
from seed, is $14,190 the first year, $4,890 the
second year, $4,110 the third year <strong>and</strong> $5,160
the fourth year.After that, the annual per-acre
cost grows to $6,129 by the 10 th year <strong>and</strong>
$8,043 by the 20 th year.
By compari<strong>son</strong>, the annual cost for
maintaining native l<strong>and</strong>scape, from seed
— be it prairie, savanna or wetl<strong>and</strong> — is
$5,330 the first year, $2,198 the second
year, $3,860 the third year <strong>and</strong> $2,884 the
fourth year. But thereafter, the costs merely
rise from $546 the fifth year to $633 the
10 th <strong>and</strong> $851 the 20 th .
The comparative costs are similar in the
case of existing turfgrass <strong>and</strong> overseeding an
area to native l<strong>and</strong>scape, the Pizzo report says.
Over the course of 20 years, the per-acre
maintenance cost of the existing turf is
$98,600 compared to the cost of native l<strong>and</strong>scape
which is $25,107.
With savings like that, it’s no wonder more
superintendents are investigating the native
grass option.
“Definitely there is an increase in the
amount [of turning maintained turf over
to native areas],” says Audubon International’s
Zeh. “As more golf courses go
through our certification process, we have
witnessed that. We are seeing an increase
of 22 acres per property being changed to
native habitat.”
To some, the savings is peripheral to the
environmental benefits. To others, the environmental
benefits are peripheral to the savings.
But to everyone, one of the results is obvious:
the beauty of native grass st<strong>and</strong>s.
As golf course architect Brauer says of Colbert
Hills: “Many holes play from elevated
tees that allow an impressive view of the
Konza prairie for several miles. It’s certainly as
beautiful as any forest.”
22 Golf Advantage Winter 2006

MANAGEMENT
HUMAN RESOURCES
Gather Revealing
References
A thorough background check upfront can
save employer nightmares down the road
By Peter Blais
Hiring employees is a critical job for
superintendents, particularly in a
business where the skills <strong>and</strong> dedication
of the <strong>work</strong>force is so important
to the quality of the final product.
Checking references is a major part of that
hiring process.
As Janice Norton, human resources director
for CourseCo, a multi-course operator in
Northern California, puts it: “You do not
want to hire someone who is going to kill all
your grass. Basically, we are checking for qualifications
when we contact references.”
Many courses have some type of background-
<strong>and</strong> reference-checking policy. This
includes verifying information provided by
job applicants, such as obtaining employment
history; verifying items like driving
records <strong>and</strong> Social Security numbers (certain
laws, particularly the Illegal Immigration Reform
<strong>and</strong> Immigrant Responsibility Act of
1996, make organizations liable for costly
fines if they hire <strong>work</strong>ers who are ineligible
for employment in the United States); <strong>and</strong>
communicating with former supervisors <strong>and</strong>
co-<strong>work</strong>ers to obtain verbal or written references
on job applicants.
Requiring the truth
Notifying job-seekers on application forms
that providing false information is potentially
grounds for dismissal, <strong>and</strong> requiring them
to sign <strong>and</strong> date those forms, is a fairly easy
way to encourage potential employees to provide
accurate information, according to the
Society for Human Resource Management
(SHRM) Staffing Research Report. However,
verifying that information <strong>and</strong> obtaining additional
insight regarding employees through
www.bayergolfadvantage.com Golf Advantage 23

MANAGEMENT
“You do not
want to hire
someone who
is going to kill
all your grass.”
— Norton
reference checks is an important, <strong>and</strong> occasionally
frustrating, part of the process.
Some companies <strong>and</strong> courses have st<strong>and</strong>ardized
questions to be asked by the per<strong>son</strong>
conducting a reference check. CourseCo’s
human-resources department, for instance,
has a list of 11 questions it provides the company’s
superintendents to ask references. Subjects
include the c<strong>and</strong>idate’s position <strong>and</strong>
main job responsibilities; primary strengths;
areas needing improvement; ability to get
along with management, co-<strong>work</strong>ers <strong>and</strong> customers;
attendance record; need for close supervision;
customer-service skills; communication
abilities; attitude toward <strong>work</strong>; rea<strong>son</strong>s
for leaving; <strong>and</strong> eligibility for rehire.
The PGA Tour Golf Course Properties
Tournament Players Clubs, which operates 26
golf facilities worldwide, likewise provides superintendents
with a full-page list of questions,
according to Director of Human Resources
Linda Altman. For consistency <strong>and</strong> to avoid
charges of discrimination,she also suggests superintendents
<strong>and</strong> general managers always try
to ask the same questions of all references provided
by applicants for the same position.
“I ask as many questions of references as
possible,”says Dave Davies, superintendent of
CourseCo’s Callippe Preserve Golf Club in
Union City, Calif. “I am interested in skills
people have, equipment they can operate, responsibilities
they’ve had. The problem is the
answers references can give are often limited
by law.When giving references, the only thing
we [at CourseCo] are allowed to do is confirm
that employees <strong>work</strong>ed here during a certain
period of time <strong>and</strong> whether they are eligible
for rehire.”
“We ask the questions, but do not expect
answers to all of them,”agrees Norton, adding
Three Keys to Smart Hiring
Human-resource specialists recommend the following
to superintendents conducting reference checks:
1. Avoid subjects like race <strong>and</strong> marital status, which could lead
to discrimination claims.
2. Document references <strong>and</strong> attempts to obtain references after
completion to rebut potential claims of negligent hiring practices.
3. Obtain written consent from job applicants to seek references.
that California law is generally more stringent
than other state <strong>and</strong> federal regulations.
The fear of defamation suits brought by
plaintiffs who believe they were denied jobs
because of an inappropriate reference from a
former employer is common nationwide,Altman
says. Even though 35 states have enacted
laws to shield employers from civil liability
<strong>and</strong> encourage references to talk c<strong>and</strong>idly (especially
regarding criminal behavior that
could plague the new employer), if a reference
is given with malice or includes speculation
about someone’s behavior without documentation
to back it up, the reference-giver
loses that legal protection, she says.
“Our policy at the PGA Tour headquarters
<strong>and</strong> with the TPC is to give a neutral reference,”Altman
says.“Basically, it is name, dates
<strong>work</strong>ed <strong>and</strong> position held.”
The neutral reference has become common
practice throughout much of Corporate
America. Paul B. Latshaw, superintendent at
Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio,
used to hire many retirees from Kodak <strong>and</strong>
Xerox, two major local employers, when he
was at Oak Hill Golf Club in Rochester, N.Y.
“You would try to get a reference on someone
who <strong>work</strong>ed there for 30 years <strong>and</strong> all the
company would tell you was they had either
been employed there or not. They could not
tell you whether the per<strong>son</strong> had been a good
or bad employee.”
In those cases, the actual face-to-face interview
between Latshaw <strong>and</strong> a potential employee
was a more meaningful way to determine
whether the applicant might be a good
fit at Oak Hill. “Many times, you just took a
chance <strong>and</strong> put the per<strong>son</strong> on a 90-day probation
period,” he says.
The inability to obtain more than “name,
rank <strong>and</strong> serial number” in terms of references
from many HR departments is the rea<strong>son</strong>
Altman encourages superintendents to
obtain references from other superintendents
<strong>and</strong> front-line co-<strong>work</strong>ers with whom a job
applicant has <strong>work</strong>ed.
“Technically, I’m just supposed to give the
length of service <strong>and</strong> whether I would rehire
that per<strong>son</strong> when someone calls me looking
for a reference,” says David Br<strong>and</strong>enburg,
head superintendent at Rolling Meadows
Golf Course in Theresa, Wis., noting that
most superintendents would prefer to help
24 Golf Advantage Winter 2006

one another out. “If it is a superintendent I
know, I might go further <strong>and</strong> talk a little more
in-depth about the applicant’s strengths <strong>and</strong>
weaknesses.”
Some superintendents will take an additional
step. “Usually the types of applicants
who are looking for references from a head
superintendent are people moving on to become
assistant superintendents or head superintendents
elsewhere,” Latshaw says.
“Those types of people you usually want to go
out of your way to promote. If they were on
your staff for a while, they should be deserving
of a reference. I’ll call the per<strong>son</strong> they are
applying with <strong>and</strong> offer to go through a per<strong>son</strong>’s
qualifications, tell him he is a good c<strong>and</strong>idate
<strong>and</strong> capable of doing the job.
“What is surprising to me is how many
clubs interview superintendent c<strong>and</strong>idates
<strong>and</strong> never check references. You would think
for a major position like that, they definitely
would,” he says.
Real-life references
If CourseCo’s Davies is unable to obtain a reference
from a job applicant’s former superintendent
or co-<strong>work</strong>er, he turns to another resource:
He often relies on information from
equipment <strong>and</strong> supply representatives who
travel from course to course <strong>and</strong> can provide
information about applicants who may <strong>work</strong>
at other facilities in their territory.
“Most superintendents <strong>work</strong> closely with
key employees, such as mechanics, spray techs
or irrigation people,” Davies says.“They have
occasion to talk to their Toro or John Deere
reps, for example, about those staff members.
Reps have been to those facilities, seen the
kind of shops they keep <strong>and</strong> operations they
run. They have probably heard the superintendent
express frustration or admiration for
particular people.”
CourseCo encourages its superintendents
in this sort of “looking outside the box” when
it comes to seeking references,Norton says.Trying
to get a per<strong>son</strong>al reference or a reference
from a former supervisor who no longer <strong>work</strong>s
at the applicant’s current place of employment
can be productive because those reference
sources are not tied to the limitations of a
course with a neutral-reference policy,she adds.
For assistant superintendent, mechanic,
irrigation <strong>and</strong> spray technician positions, preemployment
exams with specific questions
applying to those positions help weed out inappropriate
c<strong>and</strong>idates, Davies says. A 90-day
probationary period also shows whether a
new hire is up to the task.
Latshaw oversees the PGA Tour’s annual
Memorial Golf Tournament <strong>and</strong> generally
takes on four to five interns every year.
“I make it a policy to check references on
potential interns,” he says. “Before I even call
references, I try to screen resumes to make
sure they <strong>work</strong>ed in compatible organizations.
In this business, probably more so than
with a major corporation, there is a lot of net<strong>work</strong>ing.
Usually when you call for a reference
you know the superintendent you are calling
or are familiar with the club.”
As long as people continue to be a major
part of golf course operations, checking the
references of job applicants will continue to be
a key part of a successful course manager’s job.
“Superintendents are very dependent on
the staff they assemble every year,” Latshaw
concludes.“And every year a third of their staffs
are probably new. They need to really analyze
the type of c<strong>and</strong>idates they want, because the
staff can make or break a superintendent.”
CourseCo’s David Davies
notes that allowable
responses to questions
are often limited by law.
Davies is superintendent
of CourseCo’s Callippe
Preserve Golf Club.
CourseCo encourages its
superintendents to look
outside the box when
it comes to seeking
references.
www.bayergolfadvantage.com Golf Advantage 25

MANAGEMENT
BUDGETS AND FINANCE
Creative
Budgeting
Fuel prices are a wild card in ’06
By Anthony Pioppi
Putting together the 2006 maintenance
budget,a complicated <strong>and</strong> trying
process to begin with, has been
made even more so by the rise in fuel
costs.As sure as the newest member of the sea<strong>son</strong>al
staff will wreck a piece of equipment
come summer, those costs will eventually lead
to increased prices not just to fill up a fuel tank,
but also in fertilizers <strong>and</strong> delivery charges.
Avoiding as much of those increases as
possible is a priority for the upcoming year.
“What people have to do is get creative,”
says Paul Miller, longtime superintendent at
Nashawtuc Country Club in Concord, Mass.,
northwest of Boston.
Aware that oil prices were going to hit an
all-time high, Miller ordered his fertilizers
ahead of when price increases for next year
would take effect. He expects the cost to rise
10 percent for 2006. This year he watched as
the price of diesel rose by 51 percent <strong>and</strong> gas
increased by 42 percent.
Miller says he did a detailed accounting of
how much he used of each fertilizer, including
number of applications <strong>and</strong> amount of
each application. He put the data into a computer
program, which allowed him to extrapolate
his 2006 order.
The biggest key to Miller’s plans is having a
building big enough to hold a year’s worth of
product.“You have to be able to store it,”he says.
Miller cannot afford to be off on his purchases
<strong>and</strong> come up short, especially early in
the year. Nashawtuc has been host to a PGA
Senior Tour event for more than two decades.
Even with the cost hikes,however,Miller still
has some items on his wish list. There will be a
new pump house, <strong>and</strong> along with that, an environmental
center with a mix-<strong>and</strong>-rinse area.
There will also be a few new h<strong>and</strong> mowers.
Trend watching
For the Clevel<strong>and</strong> Metroparks district, the
biggest purchase for 2006 will be a cart barn for
the Big Met Golf Course, a direct result of increased
gas prices.Originally,Big Met was going
to have a gas cart fleet housed under a roof attached
to the clubhouse. Now the district will
be going with electric carts that require chargers,
thus the need for an enclosed building.
For more than 16 years, Ron Ciancutti has
held the position of purchasing manager for
Metroparks, <strong>and</strong> oversees an $80 million
budget. Along with seven golf courses, Ciancutti
is also in charge of six nature centers <strong>and</strong>
the Clevel<strong>and</strong> Zoo, among other entities.
According to Ciancutti, other gas-saving
purchases for next year will include a Ford
Focus hybrid, which runs on gas <strong>and</strong> electricity.
There are nearly 700 vehicles in the
Metroparks fleet, including golf course
equipment.
Ciancutti says he kept an eye on the fluctuating
oil market <strong>and</strong> made decisions based on
those trends. For instance, when it became obvious
Hurricane Katrina was going to disrupt
oil production in the Gulf of Mexico <strong>and</strong>
therefore cause a spike in prices, he had all his
facilities top off their holding tanks; a move
amounting to thous<strong>and</strong>s of gallons <strong>and</strong> saving
26 Golf Advantage Winter 2006

the division a substantial amount of money.
Ciancutti says by staying on top of longterm
trends, Metroparks was able to anticipate
the higher fuel costs. He says the fact the
United States is involved in a long-term war,
plus that the conflict is taking place in an oilproducing
country where the resulting battles
have led to the disruption of oil flow, factored
into decisions.
“You think this might affect fuel prices?”
he asks rhetorically. “I’ll bet the people who
were surprised (by spikes in fuel cost) are the
people who are surprised all day long.”
He says the Midwestern mentality of Clevel<strong>and</strong>ers
also played a part in being prepared.
“They don’t dip the biscuit deep in the
gravy,” he quips.
As far as a wish list, he allows the individual
situation at each golf course to dictate its needs.
“I’m not going to tell superintendents
what they need,” he says, adding he encourages
them to see what is out there.“They have
to tell me what they need by demoing <strong>and</strong>
trying it out.”
Onward <strong>and</strong> upward
At the Meadow Club in Fairfax, Calif., David
Sexton’s 2006 will be a little different. After a
six-year restoration project spearheaded by
architect <strong>Mike</strong> Devries, the golfing <strong>and</strong> maintenance
will be back to normal. Sexton’s staff
did most of the <strong>work</strong>, which included returning
nearly 60 bunkers taken out over the
years; filling in bunkers added to the Alister
MacKenzie design; <strong>and</strong> the removal of a good
number of trees.As a result, Sexton’s fuel budget
will be reduced this year because he was
responsible for all the equipment involved
with the project.
“We’re in good shape,” he says, adding he
expects his fertilizer costs to rise substantially.
Sexton says if belt-tightening were to
occur, he would have no choice but to make
cuts in his labor budget, which makes up
about 60 percent of his overall budget.
“If I had to squeeze, I would,” he says.
Purchases for 2006 will include a rough
mower, one walking greens mower <strong>and</strong> an
aerifier. The man who has long done backhoe
<strong>work</strong> for the course is retiring, so Meadow
Club is purchasing his machine.
Saving money
Nashawtuc’s Miller fears some daily fee
courses will have a difficult time dealing with
the increased fuel expenses. With the golfing
market flat at best, passing the cost onto the
consumer is out of the question in many
cases.
“You’re going to have to talk about discounting,”
Miller says.
Another choice for daily fee <strong>and</strong> private
courses may be to lower labor costs by a shift
in maintenance practices.
“Maybe going back to triplexing greens instead
of walk mowing; maybe cutting fairways
two times a week instead of three, <strong>and</strong> it
always goes back to height of cuts on greens,”
Miller says.
By raising the height of cut on the putting
surfaces, h<strong>and</strong><strong>work</strong>, such as syringing greens,
would be reduced if not altogether eliminated.
Disease pressure would also be lessened,
resulting in fewer pesticide applications.
Of course, the one item that would make
all superintendents happy in 2006 would be a
golf sea<strong>son</strong> where favorable weather is the
rule <strong>and</strong> play <strong>and</strong> revenue are up.
How tight is gas? The
mess behind the A-9
green at Clevel<strong>and</strong>’s
36-hole Seneca Golf
Course is one of a halfdozen
gas wells being
drilled around the course
this fall <strong>and</strong> winter. There
is a bit of irony in the
timing of the drilling
<strong>and</strong> what fuel is doing
to budgets. Maintenance
man Craig Gaebelein
mows the approach.
www.bayergolfadvantage.com Golf Advantage 27

PURPLE COW
IMAGE: TELLING YOUR STORY
Golfing for Kids
Purple Cow winner raises
awareness of autism
Greg Nicoll, superintentent
at Trump National
Golf Club, with his <strong>son</strong>s
Alec <strong>and</strong> Andrew.
By Curt Harler
The golf industry is one of the most
giving of all businesses. All it takes
is a spark to get people fired up
over a good cause. Greg Nicoll, superintendent
at Trump National Golf Club,
Bedminster, N.J., has proven to be a heckuva
spark: The flame he lit has raised hundreds of
thous<strong>and</strong>s of dollars for autistic kids.
Nicoll is this issue’s winner of the Purple
Cow award, which is presented by Bayer Environmental
Science to honor superintendents
who find innovative ways to communicate
the importance of their practices <strong>and</strong>
their profession.
For five years, Nicoll <strong>and</strong> his wife Dee’s <strong>son</strong>
Alec never spoke. They started him in a special
program at The Children’s Institute (TCI)
in Verona, N.J., a school for autistic children.
TCI is a non-profit school serving the educational
<strong>and</strong> therapeutic needs of children ages
3 to 21 with learning, language <strong>and</strong> social <strong>and</strong>
emotional challenges.
Students at TCI struggle with such challenges
every day. Teachers at TCI say the
closest adults can come to experiencing
autism is to imagine if their senses were all
turned around. Music becomes irritating
noise, soft textures feel sharp <strong>and</strong> painful to
the touch, the sweetness of chocolate cake
feels like you are crunching a mouthful of
s<strong>and</strong>, reading is too difficult because of all
the added sensory distractions <strong>and</strong> a caring
h<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> hug make you feel anxious <strong>and</strong>
uncomfortable rather than warm <strong>and</strong>
loved. All along, the child does not underst<strong>and</strong>
why he feels this way <strong>and</strong> cannot explain
it to others.
28 Golf Advantage Winter 2006

Alec responded well to the school’s program.
“The school unlocked him,” Nicoll
says.
Although close to 90 percent of TCI’s
tuition is provided by local school districts,
more than 10 percent of its budget —
$600,000 — must be raised through
fundraising efforts.
Nicoll approached TCI with an idea:
The TCI Golf <strong>and</strong> Tennis Invitational, a
full-day golf <strong>and</strong> tennis tournament at
some of New Jersey’s finest private clubs,
to support TCI’s programs. The idea
was politely accepted at first, with a
“that’s nice” attitude.
“People don’t realize that golf is
the No. 1 sport that gives to charity,”
Nicoll points out.
A slow start
The event’s first year was the big
test. Information about the event
was mailed to parents, <strong>and</strong> Nicoll
also spread the word to local
vendors. There was little initial
response, <strong>and</strong> school officials
worried that they would lose
money on the event.
Nicoll went a bit further
out on the limb. “I assured
them it would be a success. I
told them that outings always
seem to come together in the
end,”he says. But, he admits,
“I was a bit nervous.”
He has some close friends
who are superintendents.They became part of
one another’s daily lives with phone calls regarding
course conditioning <strong>and</strong> the weather.
“I mentioned to a few of them about the
event. They all knew Alec <strong>and</strong> about his condition.
Then the word just spread like wildfire,”
he says.
“I had guys calling me about the event.We
had tremendous support from our local vendors.
The first year, over half of the field was
involved in the golf industry.”
Greg attributes a large part of the credit
for the event’s initial success to the support
of Maplewood’s members. “It is because of
them the outing began,”he says.“They knew
how much the school meant to Dee <strong>and</strong> me,
<strong>and</strong> they made it <strong>work</strong> financially so the
Donald Trump writes in to
Bayer Golf Advantage to
express his appreciation
of Greg Nicoll’s fundraising
efforts.
The PURPLE COW
Bayer is proud to present the Purple Cow Award to superintendents
who find innovative <strong>and</strong> successful ways to communicate the importance
of their practices <strong>and</strong> their
profession to golfers <strong>and</strong> the
public. In each issue of Bayer
Golf Advantage,
we will pay tribute to one of these leaders
by featuring them in an article <strong>and</strong>
awarding them 50,000 Accolade points.
DO YOU KNOW A PURPLE COW?
TO NOMINATE DISTINGUISHED LEADERS
CONTACT US at bayergolfadvantage.com or at 800/450-0022.
www.bayergolfadvantage.com Golf Advantage 29

PURPLE COW
school could afford it. With that, the first
event was a home run, <strong>and</strong> it paved the way
for future events. I cannot thank them
enough.”
Many golf industry professionals helped Greg Nicoll, center in red, make
the tournament a success. From left to right: Jeff Wentworth, CGCS of Pelham
Country Club, New York; Pete Pedrazzi, Jr., Crestmont Country Club;
Greg; Dave Nicoll, Greg’s dad; <strong>and</strong> Tom Weinert, Plant Food Products.
A growing cause
“The number of people who want to help is
truly amazing,” he says, singling out Bayer
Northern Regional Manager Jim Davis, who
also has an autistic <strong>son</strong>. But there have been
dozens of others who chipped in with contributions
large <strong>and</strong> small.
“Word gets around. Superintendents are
a small fraternity with big mouths,” Nicoll
teases.
“We have had three events now <strong>and</strong> are
<strong>work</strong>ing on our fourth,” Nicoll says. For the
first two years, the Annual Tournament for
Autistic Children was held at the Maplewood
(N.J.) Country Club, which is Nicoll’s
Tending The Donald’s course
Opened in 2004, Trump National is on
Golf magazine’s Top 100 list. It plays
7,560 yards from the black tees, <strong>and</strong>
7,113 from the gold. From the black
tees, the course is rated 77.3 with a
slope of 147. It’s even a lengthy 6,067
from the ladies tees. A second 18-hole
course is under construction.
Designed by golf course architect
Tom Fazio, Trump National is rich in
history — the estate’s past is well
suited to meld the traditions of golf
<strong>and</strong> family.
The property traces back to the
Duyckinck family, a Dutch farming
family that lived on the Lamington
Farm property from the 1600s through
the early 1900s. They occupied the “old
Dutch House,” which is located to the
south of the clubhouse. (Miles of
equestrian trails, stables, cottages <strong>and</strong>
a 1930s Georgian manor house flesh
out the course.)
There are tales of two distinctly
restless spirits here. Some have heard
the sounds of riding boots in the stairwells,
far-off voices raised in anger <strong>and</strong>
papers frantically shuffled in the still of
the night. The lore <strong>and</strong> legend of these
spirits is most probably traced to John
Duyckinck, an alleged British sympathizer
who was exiled to the property
by George Washington in 1779.
Whether he was a Revolutionary War
hero or a British spy is still in question
to this day.
In the early 1930s the Cowperthwaite
family obtained the property
<strong>and</strong> kept it in the family for three generations.
It was sold to automobile
manufacturer John Z. DeLorean in
1981.
Today, the New Jersey course has
three sister courses under Trump Golf
Management, LLC: Trump National
Golf Club in Westchester, N.Y. (private
membership, golf <strong>and</strong> residential community,
designed by Jim Fazio); Trump
National Golf Club in Los Angeles (an
18 hole, upscale public course that
opened last spring <strong>and</strong> hosted the
2005 LPGA Office Depot Championship);
<strong>and</strong> the Trump International
Golf Club in Palm Beach County, Fla. (a
private membership course <strong>and</strong> site of
both the ADT Skills Challenge <strong>and</strong> the
LPGA sea<strong>son</strong>-ending ADT Championship).
Trump currently has about
$200 million in golf investments.
Having Donald Trump’s name carries
a certain expectation for unsurpassed
quality for the courses, says
Nicoll.
“Our maintenance program strives
for perfection at all angles,” Nicoll
says. However, there is no open wallet.
“That is a misconception,” he
stresses. “There is always a bottom
line, <strong>and</strong> we underst<strong>and</strong> that here at
Trump National.”
Yet they are growing. After completion
of the first 18 holes last September,
a pool <strong>and</strong> tennis facility have
been added. Cottages continue to be
built for members, <strong>and</strong> an equestrian
facility is also under way.
“Mr. Trump is a man with vision <strong>and</strong>
a man who loves to build,” Nicoll says.
The course hopes to have approval
on the next Master Plan shortly. It includes
another 18 holes of championship
golf, a new maintenance facility,
more cottages <strong>and</strong> the new ballroom
where future auctions will be held.
30 Golf Advantage Winter 2006

old home course. Last year <strong>and</strong> this coming
year, it will be held at Crestmont Country
Club in West Orange, N.J., close to the school.
Future events may move to Trump National
when its ballroom is completed.
“The event culminates with an awards
dinner <strong>and</strong> silent auction,” Nicoll says. “Each
year, it draws 90 to 100 participants.” Another
30 join the group in the evening for the
dinner <strong>and</strong> auction.
The event has become TCI’s major annual
fundraising effort <strong>and</strong> a popular, fun <strong>and</strong>
successful day for many, with proceeds used
to help provide programs for TCI students.
This fundraising effort has been crucial to
sustaining many of TCI’s unique programs,
like its horticulture, after-school, cultural
arts, social skills, technology <strong>and</strong> career education
programs.
Last year, the outing brought in $80,000 to
help the kids <strong>and</strong> their school.
Why it <strong>work</strong>s
“TCI is a wonderful group, helping children
with autism <strong>and</strong> their parents,” says Shaun
Barry, the area field sales representative for
Bayer Environmental Science. “They had no
idea of the potential possibilities of using a
golf tournament to help their cause.
“Greg, however, was well aware, <strong>and</strong> he
helped direct the group to commit to a golf
event,” Barry adds.“Greg understood the potential
if it was successful <strong>and</strong> the futility if it
failed. But Greg made things happen.”
Barry says Nicoll’s organizational skills,
creativity <strong>and</strong> tech savvy have helped the
event become a success each year. The prizes
<strong>and</strong> contests associated with the event appeal
to the range of guests, from novice to experienced
player. Barry also says Nicoll’s passion
for the event was contagious.
“He asked everyone to help <strong>and</strong> with the
sincerity in this man’s heart, it was impossible
to deny his request,” he says. “He was on
a mission <strong>and</strong> everyone felt the enthusiasm.
They couldn’t do enough to help the kids <strong>and</strong>
Greg.”
Thanks to Nicoll’s hard <strong>work</strong> <strong>and</strong> the help
of many in the golf industry, the tournament
continues to grow. People keep coming back.
Nicoll says the tournament really does not
take a lot of time.“The school’s development
office took the ball <strong>and</strong> ran with it. I was there
to guide them along,” he says.“Each year gets
easier because everyone knows what is going
on. The outing almost runs itself.”
“The tournament is a great success,” says
Barry. “When Nicoll said thanks last year to
everyone, there was not a dry eye in the
room. Everyone knew they were doing a
great thing for a great man who only wants
to help children.”
While Greg Nicoll <strong>and</strong> the TCI team enjoy
riding herd on a successful outing, they all express
amazement at how much excitement
comes from the participants.
“They love it,” Nicoll says. “It’s great. It’s
for a great cause <strong>and</strong> the people make the
event.” ✹
Mentors make the difference
Nicoll graduated from the University
of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Upon graduation, he took an internship
at the Westchester Country
Club in Rye, N.Y., under Joseph
Alonzi, CGCS.
“It was there where I learned
about course maintenance <strong>and</strong>
tournament preparation,” he says.
“I was fortunate to have a great
group of guys to <strong>work</strong> with, including
assistants Jeff Wentworth, Steve
Sweet <strong>and</strong> Barney Misiura. They
taught me so much, <strong>and</strong> I owe a
great deal of gratitude to them for
showing me so many things.”
From there, he went to Ridgewood
Country Club in Paramus,
N.J., as an assistant under John
Gasper, CGCS.
After a year at Ridgewood, the
assistant’s position opened back up
at Westchester.
“I was eager to get back,” he recalls.
“It was a place that had such a
buzz to it. It is gr<strong>and</strong> in scale, allowing
45 holes on over 500 acres of
property, a huge tennis program
<strong>and</strong> a beach club. In addition, it had
a stop on the PGA Tour, The Buick
Classic.”
Nicoll spent the next couple
years there. He <strong>and</strong> his wife, Dee
spent their newlywed years living at
the club above the offices for the
grounds department.
“Joe was not only my boss, but
was like a father figure in our
lives,” he recalls. “When you spend
that much time in a place, you develop
a close bond. He is truly a
mentor to me <strong>and</strong> I am lucky to
have had him teach me so much the
business - <strong>and</strong> more importantly,
about life.”
After Westchester, he took his
first superintendent’s job at
Maplewood, home of the golf tee.
The club was in transition <strong>and</strong>
started large capital programs to
renovate the golf course. Over the
next eight years, he <strong>work</strong>ed with
club members, General Manager
Michael Lusk <strong>and</strong> the staff to create
what Nicoll terms “something
extremely special, something to be
proud of.”
Nicoll received his certification in
July 2002. “I am very proud of
being a Certified Golf Course Superintendent.
For me, it means that I
have achieved the highest st<strong>and</strong>ard
of professional excellence. I consider
it an honor,” he says.
www.bayergolfadvantage.com Golf Advantage 31

SOLUTIONS
PEST MANAGEMENT
Surviving the
Summer of 2005
Pennsylvania superintendent uses a minimalist approach, to great effect
By Debbie Clayton
ABOVE: Talamore opened
in 1996 <strong>and</strong> averages
30,000 rounds of golf
each year.
It’s good to look good in a bad year. With
sizzling summer temperatures <strong>and</strong> skyhigh
humidity, Philadelphia area golf
courses suffered severely in 2005. But
even operating on a somewhat restricted
budget, Talamore Country Club, in the Pennsylvania
suburb of Ambler, came out smelling
like a rose despite the brutal weather.
“Speed thrills, but speed can also kill,”says
John Roedell, golf course superintendent at
the 350-member private club.“I’d rather have
a member complain to me about a slow green
than a dead green.”
Roedell operates under the philosophy
that less is more. When hot, humid weather
approaches, he backs off topdressing greens
<strong>and</strong> raises the height of cut from 1/8th inch
to 5/32 of an inch.“You want to appease your
members, but there’s a fine line between
keeping them happy <strong>and</strong> keeping the grass
healthy,” explains Roedell, a graduate of the
Rutgers University turfgrass program.
Opened in 1996, the Talamore course was
designed <strong>and</strong> built by Robert Levy. Levy owns
another Talamore course — the first course at
Pinehurst, N.C., designed by Rees Jones — as
well as another Pinehurst course, the Mid-
South Club, designed by Arnold Palmer. The
Pennsylvania course <strong>and</strong> 400-home luxury
community surrounding it were built on the
previous site of Oak Terrace Golf Club.
“Levy just loves golf,” says Roedell, who
was hired in 1996 because of his experience
constructing <strong>and</strong> growing in the Chesapeake
Bay Golf Club in Northeast, Md.“It’s refreshing
to <strong>work</strong> with him because he really underst<strong>and</strong>s
the business.”
Natural Carolina look
Talamore has a natural look with lots of fescue
areas, native grasses <strong>and</strong> plenty of trees planted
as a barrier between the course <strong>and</strong> nearby
houses.“People say it reminds them of something
from North Carolina, because we have
several bogs with lots of cattails,”adds Roedell.
Building on his previous success with golf
course construction, Roedell went to <strong>work</strong> as
soon as he came on board with various construction
projects <strong>and</strong> hasn’t stopped since. In
the past nine years, he’s built a new short game
area,a new practice facility,several new tees <strong>and</strong>
bunkers <strong>and</strong> reconstructed the driving range.
In keeping with his less-is-more philosophy,
Roedell runs a little lean on fertility on
32 Golf Advantage Winter 2006

his ryegrass/Poa annua fairways <strong>and</strong> bentgrass
greens <strong>and</strong> tees. But he keeps on a regular
schedule with his disease management
program on greens, spraying an average of
every seven to nine days during summer
months. His biggest problems are brown
patch, dollar spot, anthracnose <strong>and</strong> Pythium.
His fungicide rotation schedule includes
Compass for brown patch <strong>and</strong> Banol® for
Pythium.
“I can live with a little dollar spot, but I
can’t live with brown patch <strong>and</strong> Pythium,” he
says.“Compass is phenomenal for controlling
brown patch. As far as Pythium, I spray preventatively
on fairways <strong>and</strong> tees, but I don’t
spray fairways until I see a little activity. If the
weather looks ugly, I will hit my hot spots
with Banol.”
Charting enhanced turf quality
In 2004, Roedell participated in the Signature
Hole Trial program suggested by his Bayer
Environmental Science sales rep, John Wiblishauser.
The program allowed superintendents
to try Signature fungicide free of
charge on several greens throughout the
growing sea<strong>son</strong>. Participating superintendents
also received a journal to chart their results
<strong>and</strong> a digital camera to record the enhanced
turf quality promoted by Signature.
Roedell noted a definite improvement in
overall turf color <strong>and</strong> plant health on the
greens treated with Signature. “There was a
synergy effect,” he adds. “Those greens were
healthier, happier plants.”
The program turned the Talamore superintendent
into a believer. He regularly used
the product on greens during 2005. He credits
improved plant vigor for getting his greens
through the brutal summer weather with no
major problems.
For grub control, Roedell uses a tried-<strong>and</strong>true
product: Merit® insecticide. “I first tried
Merit in 1995,a year after it came out,”he notes.
“It was a pretty rough year, but wherever we’d
used Merit, it looked like we had painted the
fairways. Everyplace else got hammered.”
He has been using it faithfully ever since,
applying the product at recommended rates
on fairways <strong>and</strong> tees each May.
Roedell aerifies twice a year <strong>and</strong> lightly
topdresses greens every four to six weeks,
backing off when hot, humid weather approaches.
He fertilizes greens at six pounds
nitrogen per 1,000 square feet.
A Simple approach
“I like a dry, firm, lean golf course,” he explains.
“I don’t like to overwater, <strong>and</strong> I prefer
a natural look more than an overly manicured
look. In addition, I like to keep everything
in check, without getting super-aggressive.
It’s a simple approach. I believe in fixing
the bottom before the top.”
With so many golf courses in the Philadelphia
area, Roedell shares information quite a
bit with his fellow superintendents. He has
even been known to share products with
them from time to time.
“I love to talk to other turf professionals to
see what’s <strong>work</strong>ing <strong>and</strong> what’s not,”he says.“I
also review a lot of research over the winter,
look at trials during university field days <strong>and</strong>
read a lot of the industry publications.”
Roedell credits his distributor, Pocono
Turf Supply, for helping him out when he
needs products or supplies in a hurry. Tommy
Hunter, his Pocono rep, will make deliveries
on a Saturday or Sunday morning, if necessary.
“They are awesome,” Roedell affirms.
Future plans for Talamore include
drainage <strong>work</strong> throughout the course <strong>and</strong>
laser grading for all tees, as well as reconfiguring
<strong>and</strong> enlarging several of them. Roedell
also constantly overseeds bentgrass into areas
where Poa annua has tried to move in.
After surviving the summer of 2005 with
all his greens intact, Roedell plans to continue
with his simple approach.“If you keep the
grass healthy, everything else will follow,”says
Roedell. “Fungicides, insecticides <strong>and</strong> herbicides
all <strong>work</strong> better if the plant is healthy.”
John Roedell, right, golf
course superintendent
at Talamore Country Club
in Ambler, Pa., talks
with his Bayer sales rep,
John Wiblishauser,
about his disease
management program.
www.bayergolfadvantage.com Golf Advantage 33

SOLUTIONS
NEW PRODUCT
Tartan: Made for Golf
The new fungicide from Bayer has been designed for the golf course.
By David Spak
Technical Development
Manager - Fungicides,
Bayer Environmental
Science
Research conducted by Dr. Joe
Vargas at Michigan State University
during summer 2005 shows
Tartan used at the 2 oz. rate on
fairway-height turfgrass.
Bayer Environmental Science has developed
a unique fungicide designed
specifically for golf course
greens, fairways <strong>and</strong> tees. Tartan
fungicide is a multiple mode-of-action product
that helps manage turf health <strong>and</strong> turf
stresses.
Tartan offers broad-spectrum disease control
with a 21-day residual. Its active ingredients
provide both contact <strong>and</strong> systemic action,
offering effective preventative <strong>and</strong>
curative control. The new product controls
dollar spot, brown patch <strong>and</strong> many other
tough turf diseases.
In addition, Tartan contains formulation
technology called StressGard (patent pending),
discovered during the development of
Chipco® Signature fungicide. Signature has
become the foundation fungicide for stress
management programs on golf course greens
throughout the country.
StressGard positively affects plant physiology,
helping the turf plant more effectively
manage the stresses of golf course conditions.
Plants treated with StressGard develop greater
root mass <strong>and</strong> top growth under heat stress.
Consequently, Tartan helps keep golf course
turf in top playing condition during the time
it is under the most stress – summer months.
Multiple Modes of Action
The active ingredients contained in Tartan are
combined at a specific ratio, optimizing control
of key diseases common to golf course
greens, tees, fairways <strong>and</strong> roughs. The product
provides contact activity with long residual
outside the leaf, as well as systemic
(acropetal penetrant) action inside the leaf.
The result is long-lasting control of a broadspectrum
of diseases.
Its multiple modes of action make Tartan
an excellent tool for disease resistance management
without relying on tank mixtures.
The product will be available as an easy-h<strong>and</strong>ling,
flowable formulation in a 2.5 gallon
container.
EPA registration is anticipated for early
2006, with state registrations following soon
thereafter. ✹
Tartan
34 Golf Advantage Winter 2006
Untreated
Research conducted
at Washington State
University during the
summer of 2005
shows Tartan used at
the 1.2 oz. rate compared
to an untreated
check.

SOLUTIONS
PEST MANAGEMENT
Pests We Love
toHate
Dollar spot: The Rodney Dangerfield of turfgrass diseases
By J.M. Vargas Jr.
Dollar spot, caused by Rutstroemia
floccosum (formerly Sclerotinia
homoeocarpa), is one of the most
widespread of all the turfgrass
diseases. It was known for many years that the
dollar spot fungus was not in the genus Sclerotinia.
But its identity remained a mystery
because we traditionally identified fungi
based on the spores they produced.
Because the dollar spot fungus does not
produce any spores, positive identification
could not be made until the advent of DNA
technology. By using its genetic information,
the dollar spot fungus was determined
to be in the genus Rutstroemia. The floccosum
species name is derived from the fact
that it produces fluffy mycelium.
Although we refer to the pathogen that
causes the disease as R. floccosum, it is made
up of subgroups — similar to how creeping
bentgrass is one grass species, but has many
different cultivars. The dollar spot fungus’
subgroups are called vegetative compatibly
groups (VCGs). Some of these VCGs occur
in cool weather <strong>and</strong> others in warmer
weather. We even have a new one in the
www.bayergolfadvantage.com Golf Advantage 35

SOLUTIONS
Some tests have
shown up to
three months
control of dollar
spot can be
attained with
early-sea<strong>son</strong>
fungicide
applications.
Midwest that occurs in the cold weather of
October.
For this rea<strong>son</strong>, it has been difficult to
develop a prediction model for dollar spot
because of different VCGs that occur under
the various environmental conditions.
The occurrence
For many years, dollar spot was only a problem
in the parts of the world where coolsea<strong>son</strong>
grasses were grown. With the introduction
of some of the new creeping bentgrass
cultivars, like Crenshaw, <strong>and</strong> the new
ultra-dwarf bermudagrasses, dollar
spot has now become a problem
in the areas of the
world where warm-sea<strong>son</strong>
grasses are grown.
In spite of its
proliferation, it is
rarely considered
a major disease.
You might say it is
the Rodney Dangerfield
of turfgrass
diseases: It
doesn’t get the respect
it deserves.
Over the years, when
golf course superintendents
are surveyed about
what they consider to be their
most important turf disease, they invariably
say Pythium blight. In recent years, their
top choice has been crown-rotting anthracnose.
But when the question is asked in another
way — “Which disease do you spend
the most money controlling?” — the answer
is usually dollar spot. This makes it a very
important disease from an economic point
of view.
Cultural management
Dollar spot outbreaks occur under conditions
of high humidity or when large
amounts of guttation water (dew) are present
on the turf.
Whereas little can be done about the high
humidity, a good cultural practice to reduce
the severity of dollar spot is to remove the
guttation water as soon as possible each
morning. This can be done by wiping the
guttation water off with a pole, dragging a
hose over the turf, or turning the irrigation
water on for a few minutes.
Another good cultural control that is
often overlooked is having adequate nitrogen
fertility. Nitrogen can help manage the
disease by encouraging growth, which in
turn increases mowing off infected leaves.
Studies at Michigan State University have
shown rolling the greens three times a week
following the morning mowing has also
suppressed the amount of dollar spot. Further
research needs to be conducted to determine
the mechanism involved in this
phenomena, however. In the meantime, for
the practitioner, it is enough to know that he
or she can reduce the incidence of dollar
spot by rolling in the morning immediately
after mowing.
Chemical management
The dollar spot organism starts out in the
spring as a tiny stroma (a cluster of mycelium).
It is much easier to control at this stage,
when it is small <strong>and</strong> slow-growing, than later
in the sea<strong>son</strong> when it gains mass <strong>and</strong> grows
more rapidly.
Several universities have been involved in
early fungicide application to delay the development
of dollar spot. Some tests have
shown up to three months control of dollar
spot can be attained with early-sea<strong>son</strong> fungicide
applications. However, more research
needs to be done to better determine the
exact timing of the early fungicide applications.
The current findings suggest the application
should be made between 150- <strong>and</strong>
200-degree days using a base 50.
Looking toward the future
Dollar spot will continue to be an important
disease. It appears that it is becoming widespread
in more areas <strong>and</strong> on more turfgrass
species. In addition, the resistance of certain
strains of R. floccosum to some fungicide
classes continues to be a problem. The future
of controlling dollar spot, then, may rely on
developing resistant species <strong>and</strong>/or cultivars.
One thing is for sure: The Rodney Dangerfield
of turfgrass diseases is not going away
anytime soon. ✹
J.M. Vargas Jr. is a professor in Michigan State
University’s Department of Plant Pathology.
36 Golf Advantage Winter 2006

ON THE ROAD
BAYER NEWS
Sales Rep Focus:Wearing of the Green
Their dedication to the
green industry <strong>and</strong>
consistently outst<strong>and</strong>ing
performance earned two
Bayer Environmental Science golf
sales representatives the “Green
Jacket” Award at the company’s
recent annual meeting.
David Sylvester, who covers Long Isl<strong>and</strong>
<strong>and</strong> parts of Connecticut, New
York <strong>and</strong> Massachusetts, <strong>and</strong> Gordon
Vosti, who h<strong>and</strong>les sales in central California,
were recently honored with the
prestigious award. They were recognized
for excellence in achievement <strong>and</strong> creating
a positive image for the industry in
their local communities.
“Gordon’s extensive knowledge of the
golf, lawn care <strong>and</strong> l<strong>and</strong>scape industries
has helped Bayer grow tremendously in
California,”says Brian Tepper,western regional
manager for the Bayer golf sales
team. “He has been a sales rep for more
than 30 years <strong>and</strong> is considered one of the
most knowledgeable individuals <strong>work</strong>ing
on the West Coast in this industry today.”
According to Jim Davis, regional
manager for the northern golf sales
team, David Sylvester has been a terrific
resource for New York-area golf course
superintendents for the 20-plus years he
has been <strong>work</strong>ing in that area.
“Dave’s longevity is greater than
most of the products he represents,”says
Davis.“Products come <strong>and</strong> go, but Dave
is a staple in the Metropolitan New York
area <strong>and</strong> New Engl<strong>and</strong>. He consistently
goes the extra mile in providing service
to his customers <strong>and</strong> serving the associations
in his area.”
ABOVE: Gordon Vosti tries on his green jacket. LEFT: Dave Sylvester gets a little
help from Jim Davis in putting on his green jacket.
Bayer Employees on the Move
John (J.T.) Turner recently returned
to field sales as a lawn
<strong>and</strong> l<strong>and</strong>scape sales representative
for Bayer Environmental
Science, covering Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin
<strong>and</strong> Kentucky. Previously, he was
formulator account manager for Bayer.
From 1997 to 2002, Turner was a
turf, pest control <strong>and</strong> formulator sales
representative for Bayer Garden <strong>and</strong>
Professional Care, covering the northern
Midwest. He also covered the Midwest
as a manufacturer’s sales representative
from 1980 through 1997, <strong>work</strong>ing for
TUCO, Nor-Am <strong>and</strong> AgrEvo. He began
his sales career with TUCO, part of the
Upjohn Company, in 1980.
In addition, Ja<strong>son</strong> Kuhlemeier recently
joined the marketing team for
Bayer Environmental Science in Research
Triangle Park, N.C., as a marketing
specialist. He will coordinate regional
<strong>and</strong> field sales communications, assist
in programs management <strong>and</strong> <strong>work</strong>
with the marketing team to facilitate
strategic planning <strong>and</strong> execution.
Most recently, Kuhlemeier was a golf
field sales rep for Bayer, covering southern
California, Arizona, New Mexico
<strong>and</strong> Las Vegas. Before that, he <strong>work</strong>ed for
Aventis as a crop sales representative in
Iowa for three years. He also covered
Iowa as a sales rep for Rhone Poulenc.
www.bayergolfadvantage.com Golf Advantage 37

HOLE OF MERIT
CONTEST
Brasstown Valley Resort
YOUNG HARRIS, GA: Extreme bunker faces <strong>and</strong> “crossed fingers”
characterize this 18-hole, environmentally sensitive golf course in the
mountains of north Georgia. Designed by Denis Griffiths, the 11-yearold
course is routed around a 24-acre Native American burial ground.
Golf Course Superintendent Steve Gonyea has used Merit ® insecticide
for grub control in his challenging bunker complexes for the past
four years. “We get a phenomenal green-up each spring,” he says.
“Injury would be obvious on the south-facing slopes if we didn’t get
such good control.”
Gonyea plans to take his 14-member crew out for a nice restaurant
dinner with his $500 gift card. “I haven’t lost a crew member in seven
years,” he adds. “I’d like to reward them for their hard <strong>work</strong>.”
REMEMBER: Take a picture of the best-looking hole you’ve
treated with Merit <strong>and</strong> you’ll be eligible to win a $500 gift card
toward a party, clothing or equipment for your crew. Please
take vertical shots at a resolution of 300 dpi. Submissions for
the next issue are due by April 1, 2006.
SEND ENTRIES TO: Debbie Clayton at Tierney Communications,
200 S. Broad St., Philadelphia, PA 19102 or e-mail them to
dclayton@tierneyagency.com.
PHOTO COURTESY OF BRASSTOWN VALLEY RESORT