The GTI Advisor 13(10)

Crane flies emerging.

Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs Advisory Reports

From the Editor

Cooler temperatures herald the imminent arrival of fall. It looks like we are in for a nice stretch of fall like weather which should help turf managers catch up on some of the work that has been put off due to the wet weather in southern Ontario throughout the summer.

CGSA Fall Field Day

I had the pleasure of participating the Canadian Golf Superintendents Fall Field Day at the Georgian Bay Club earlier this week. It was great to see everyone from across the country who gathered for this event. Georgian Bay Club Superintendent Bert McFadden and his staff did a great job getting the course in shape even after the remnants of Hurricane Ike dumped 2 inches of rain on the course the previous night. The steeply contoured bunkers held up very well with very little evidence of significant washouts. Bert was particularly impressive in both preparing the course for the event and then winning the low gross championship in a playoff over Bayview superintendent and GTI Advisory Board Chair Thom Charters. Thanks to staff at the Georgian Bay Club as well as the CGSA staff who helped organize a very successful event.

Galt G&CC Undergoing First Hole Renovation

The first year turf diploma students had the opportunity to visit Galt Golf & Country Club earlier this week to view the major renovation project taking place on the first hole. The work is the result of a municipal project to increase the water carrying capacity of the creek that runs up the left side of the fairway. Due to increased development upstream, the club has faced several incidents of flooding and washouts over the past few years. The stream running through the golf course has been rerouted and increased in size to both control flow and create a more natural aquatic environment for plants and fish. The club has taken advantage of the opportunity to make some alterations to the green site on the first hole as well as an adjacent par three hole. Perhaps the most controversial apsect of the renovation is the removal of the infamous ash tree that guarded the left side of the green.

In addition to viewing the renovation project, the students also were able to see a main line irrigation repair and meet the pair of border collies that patrol the club's fairways discouraging goose from loitering on the course. Thanks to Mark Piccolo, Mike Temple and Denis Porteous for taking the time to meet with the students and show them around the course.

European Evolution in Golf and the Environment

A significant announcement has been made by the non-profit body, Golf Environment Europe. With immediate effect, Golf Environment Europe (GEE) has become the Golf Environment Organisation (GEO).

The re-naming has arisen as a result of an in depth review. It is accompanied by a new brand and refreshed organisational structure. New vision, mission, aims and objectives have also been defined.

The review concluded that the organisation should evolve in line with the evolution of environmental awareness in golf, and the global environmental agenda.

Speaking on behalf of the organisation, Chairman Bjorn Nordberg made the following statement: “ The environmental movement in golf has come a long way in recent years, and we felt a responsibility to mirror that by re-considering our values and position. These changes set us up for the next phase of our development, and to deliver our fresh vision - that golf will achieve international recognition for enhancing environmental quality and human wellbeing. Whilst we essentially remain the same community of leaders, golf organisations, scientists and businesses, and are working on the same pioneering programmes, I am sure that going forward our new form is stronger, and more interesting to the diverse audiences with which we will be engaging. “We have been delighted by the response of our golf sector partners, who have fully endorsed the change and with whom we will work in this next phase of our collective efforts to improve the environmental sustainability of the sport.”

George O’Grady, Chief Executive of the European Tour, supports the move: “We are delighted to see this important organisation go from strength to strength. In GEO the golf industry has a very dynamic and credible environmental partner, with relevant ideas and programmes that have been embraced by the golfing community. Along with other golf bodies, The European Tour have supported GEO’s emergence and we look forward to collaborating in the future on projects which benefit golf and the environment.”

Peter Dawson, Chief Executive of The R&A added: “The R&A believes that GEO has a valuable role to play in encouraging the golf sector to improve its environmental performance. As an environmental NGO that specialises in golf it is in a position to challenge the industry where it sees fit, and also report positively on what it regards to be credible achievements. We are pleased that the organisation is working closely with our own Golf Course Committee.”

New GEO Advisory Council member, Gordon Shepherd of WWF International added: “I think this is a strong move. The world needs sectoral NGO’s such as GEO, which stimulate interest and action, drive up standards and which importantly understand and speak the language of the industry. GEO is now well set to make sure golf goes on to build a credible strategy, and delivers tangible successes - locally, nationally and internationally.”

The organisation is currently working on a sophisticated new web site through which a diverse range of audiences will be able to discover golf and environment, understand the technical issues, improve their performance, and through which golf facilities can become environmentally certified. This is due to go live in November 2008. In the meantime, find out more at the GEO temporary website www.golfenvironment.org

Climate Change Imposes New Challenges on Golf Courses

What are the consequences of a warmer, wetter and wilder climate for Scandinavian golf courses ? And what measures can the golf sector take to reduce carbon dioxide emissions ? These were the challenges discussed by 50 greenkeepers, turfgrass agronomists and researchers from Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland on a seminar held by the Scandinavian Turfgrass and Environment Research Foundation (STERF) at Bioforsk Landvik, Norway, 2-3 September 2008.

All presentations and a summary of the workshop discussions are available as pdf-files on the STERF website.

Out There on the Internet

Looking to get a little more of a workout while your mowing? Also a great way to reduce carbon emissions.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/09/the_cutting_edg.php

Turfgrass Industry Calendar