Skokie CC Golf Course Management

During my search over several bogs, Icame acros a blog about Skokie CC. One of the things tha cought my atention was the organization of the blog. It provides information and diferent methods to prepare the golf course for the coming winter.

Aerification and top dressing were done in the fall. By early december the greens were cover and prepared for the cold weather.

The site provides updates with scheduled blogs about situations and upcoming situations about how the weather was going to impact the course.

In some post the superintendent and his crew took advantages of some warmer days and went out ice melting on the greens. shovels and hand tamper were used to crack the ice and remove it. He also explains the importance of these activities when it comes to turf health.

Other topics included the pets walker on the course during the winter. He explains some of the risk that they experience if their do not have their pets on a leash. In one case, a couple of dogs were at risk because they felt into the water on a pond and the ice was so thick that one of the dogs need it assistance to get out of the water. there may be at risk interfering with wild animals and they may suffer severe consequences.

the blog intrigued me because the information provided was up to the date. Even when the the topic of turf was the main topic it also provided the members with some advices for they own sake.

Profesor Lecture soils 921a

During this year we have been introduced to many topics in our soils class. Professor McNitt is the person responsible as he is the source of our information. Every class has a variety of information and challenges that make his class stand out from many others.

The information provided to us is developed later as a lab which it makes the student get a better understanding of the material covered in class. At lab 1 we determined bulk density, particle density and total porosity of diverse mixes and different types of soils. Getting involved with the material is always very interesting. I am one of the students that learn actually by interacting with the material.

As every lab is done the students must create a lab report. On these reports we must incorporate the information that we have learned in our own words. Another way to make sure that the student is getting the material discussed in class.

By making these kinds of assignments the students are getting ready to make a good performance during the internship. Who knows if the superintendent may ask some question about the type of soil on his course or even ask for some suggestions about the top dressing program that he is incorporating on the course.

Also we get an idea of the different strategies to manage sand based soils and native soils. This is important to students as future managers of turf because it is a topic which is easy to get confused.

Other topics discussed in class are drainage, bunker renovation, sand selection for the bunkers and greens as well, organic matter management and the importance of having a little amount on sand base greens.

I personally have enjoyed his lectures the best. The more complicated classes get, the more I realize the importance of the material discuss in class. I encourage my colleagues to realize the importance of these topics in our future.

Try to get as much knowledge as you can.

Impact of Verticut in Turfgrass Management

Every person managing turf understand the challenges of managing thatch requires. This layer of organic matter can build up quick, and it needs to be managed to promote healthy turf. For golf course managers it is even harder to manage because they have to be concerned with the members not liking surface disruption affecting playability.

Aerification is one of the must effective methods managing thatch, However thatch removal is not the primary practice. Aerification is beneficial to turf because lets air penetrate the root zone and also removes organic mater.

Even with the benefits of aerification, it can be the members worst enemy. This procedure requires the golfer to play against holes on the surface making aerification the golfers number one enemy.

There are other options for turf managers when it comes to thatch removal. Verticutting has similar benefits to turf in terms of thatch removal. A verticutter is an several of alignment knifes that penetrate the soil and harvest organic matter.

Verticutting is less disruptive as it is not a hole on the surface. This method is actually removing organic matter in a pattern with several directions and can be an effective practice. Another of the benefits of verticuting is that it promotes microbial activity leading to thatch breakdown. it will increase infiltration of water into the soil.

Effective organic matter removal is required. These are some procedures to control this bothersome problem for the turf managers. It is very important to know that verticutting does not substitute for aerification. The turf manager should be coscious of the steps required to achieve their goals. If the turf requires thatch control, do not hesitate to verticut. However keep in mind that aerification its still going to be required.

Pocono Associaton

The northeast PA. association of superintendents takes place at Mount Pocono. This association is an affiliate of the GCSSA. and provides monthly meetings guest speakers and the most important rules to follow.

The membership is required to attend the meetings and they split each member by categories of superintendents, assistants, and every single role the the applicant play in the industry.

The Pocono association provides motivation for young people interest in start in the industry. The student gets the benefit to attend the meetings and in some cases they provide them with a scholarship for student expenses at school.

It is important to attend the meetings because the superintendents are not too far from each other. This could be a benefit to each one of them if the superintendent is able to take every single good advice from each colleague to develop a smart and better performance at their course. I encourage every single reader that is trying to enter the turfgrass management program to apply for the association closer to their home course and attend the meetings.

You wont regred it.

Comunication for turfgrass managers

During all the time that I have spent working on various golf courses I have observed that one of the best qualities for a superintendent is going to be communication skills.

At Penn State Dr. Kaminski has implemented with an internship preparation class and communication class. During the internship preparation class we develop skills to make resumes, cover letters and express to our employers our goals that are required for the internship project at the end of our internship.

''Communication is key to success'' that is what not just Dr. Kaminski said but almost every single of our professors here at Penn State. I believe that developing skills not just to communicate to the workers but also to the members and to the greens committee is basically the main role of a superintendent in the industry.

Personally it is very important for me because my communications skills were not my strenght when I started at the program. I believe that as time passed, the most progress I have made the most progress. Hopefully when the time comes to apply for an Assistant position not only the Superintendent is going to evaluate my dedication but also my communicating skills.

My summer internship is going to take place at Glenmaura National Golf Club in Moosic PA. It is a 18 hole course and current host of the Nation Wide Tour. The course employs 25 maintenance workers. During the winter they are working on many proyects such as rock walls, green reconstruction ,and last but not least they are expanding the practice facilities. We also have numerous projects for this summer and I'm goin to be a part of them.

About me

Hi my name is Emanuel Santos. I am on the two year turf program at Penn State. I was born and raised in Puerto Rico. In 2006 I move to Pennsylvania with the ambition of getting some education but I was not sure what was my interest at the time. I started working on a golf course that same summer and to be honest I never thought that it was going to make me decide to go an study turf management.

The first superintendent that gave me the opportunity to work at his course was Greg Boring. He was at the course two years before me as a superintendent. On a daily basis I began to be a little curious and a lot of questions started to be asked by me. Greg guided me to gain knowledge about almost all of the cultural practices. By the time my second season was over as a seasonal employee he was hired on another golf course close to my home. At that time I was in my home town and it was impossible to have any communication with him.

February of 2008 I started working at Glenmaura National Golf Club in Moosic PA. Jeff Koch, the current superintendent hired me as the Spanish crew foreman. At the beginning I was involved in cultural practices and nothing else but wen he saw my aspiration of going to school and take turf as a mayor. Then he shared his knowledge with me and I was involved in bigger projects. My current goal is to graduate and obtain the knowledge to be able to perform better in the future.

That's all about me.