Turf School Day Thirty-Seven

This morning we started with an agronomy class. We talked about green speed, what science and our instructor's experience has taught us. We discussed locations for hole locations and how to manage green speed.

We then had our last budgeting class. Today we had a review of our entire year of the class, it was a basic review for the final exam.

We ended our day talking about trees for our landscape plants class. We went over about 20 trees/shrubs.

Greetings from Afar

This weekend has been great...
Yesterday we went up to the USGA Museum and looked at the exhibits about the history of golf. The had clubs on display from the beginning of the game up to present day and had picture and video displays. It was an enjoyable experience.
When we got back from the museum the bYu game was on and it was exciting to watch the cougars beat up on the aztecs on the road, on national tv, in hd, and to see us play as a team.
After the game, I was able to go to a young single adult fireside with Elder Bednar and Elder Clayton, a president of the seventy. It was a unique meeting. Elder Bednar got up and told us it was not going to be a traditional fireside in which he got up and gave a talk that he would hope would be of benefit to all of us. Instead he got up and told us that the Spirit was here to teach all of us. He knew we all had questions, and he invited us to ask him any question we had. The meeting lasted about 2.5 hours. At the end of the meeting we were given the opportunity to shake their hands.
Today we had an irregular stake conference. Elder Clayton attended our meeting and the first hour was an inspired testimony meeting. The stake president called upon the new patriarch, the mission president and his wife, two missionaries, and his counselours to bear their testimonies. Elder Clayton then had the mission president and his wife talk about families and give advice about how to rear a successful family. Then Elder Clayton talked about trials and enduring to the end.
It was a great weekend to be in New Jersey!

Turf School Day Thirty-Six

This morning we had our golf course construction class. We talked about developing and implementing our master plans to improve and upgrade the golf course.

We then had our soils class and talked about foliar feeding vs. root feeding.

We ended the day with a discussion about green construction and what type of soil to use in the greens mix and how each different material affects the growth and performance of the creeping bentgrass.

Turf School Day Thirty-Five

This morning we had another agronomy class. We had a quiz about turf and shade followed by a lecture about plant growth regulators.



We then had our tree identification written and identificatin quizzes.



We ended the day with a class about ornamental grasses.

Turf School Day Thirty-Four

We started our day off with an irrigation class. Today's lesson was on irrigation installation of the whole course and the benefits of doing it in-house or hiring the job out to a contractor.

We then had our turfgrass insects and ornamental diseases classes. These classes started out very different, but now they are very similar. We learned about chinch bugs and green bugs that suck sap from the turf plant, then we learned about homoptera insects that suck sap from ornamental plants.



So far, my grades have been good. We have three more quizzes this week and that is a relief. I think our whole class is excited for this week to be over.

Turf School Day Thirty-Three

Turf School, will it ever end?
This morning we started our day off with a budgeting class. We talked about the budget as a planning tool and what we need to do to develop one and how to present it to management. We discussed the cover letter for the budget, and how it is the most important document we will write each year.
We then had another session of class presentations.
We ended the day talking about Nitrogen sources. We discussed slow release and quick release fertilizers and how to implement them into our fertility programs.

Turf School Day Thirty-Two

This morning we had an agronomy class in which we talked about trees and turfgrass. How they compete for nutrients, water and how the trees are detrimental to the turf health because it blocks sunlight.
We then had an irrigation class that covered pump house construction. We talked about getting permits, pump house size and design, and how to plan the building process.
We ended the day with a soils class. We furthered our discussion on Nitrogen fertilizers. Today we talked about deficiency symptoms, how much fertilizer to apply, and how to determine plant needs.

Turf School Day Thirty-One

Well today was Friday and Friday is always a great day. We had our golf course construction class in the morning. We talked about tree removal and placement and the importance of trees helping to push the golfers vision towards the golf green.

We then had our soils class and talked about salt affected soils and Nitrogen fertilizers.

We ended the day talking about golf course design history and principles. We discussed the different types of holes and various design strategies.

Turf School Day Thirty

This morning we had an agronomy quiz. After the quiz we talked about bentgrass greens renovations...again. It was the exact same lecture we had last week.


We then had a class about calibrating drop and broadcast spreaders.


We ended the day with a lab about insects. We had an assignment about nematodes and white grubs.





This afternoon I had an interview with a golf course in Lewiston. I think it went very well, and it seems like a good opportunity.

Turf School Day Twenty-Nine

This morning we had our irrigation class. We talked about irrigation uniformity by design. There are two ways of designing a system, a square layout and a triangular layout. In a square layout the sprinkler are laid out in a square, while in a triangular layout they are offset to form several triangles. The triangular layout is more efficient, but it is harder to design.

We then had our insect class and we talked about nematodes. Nematodes or 'todes are clear unsegmented microscopic worms that live in the soil. Some cause problems in plants and some do not. we talked about their damage and how to kill/control them.

We then had a class on diseases of ornamentals. We talked about rusts and mites. Rusts are diseases that live part of the year on two different plants. Without both plants they cannot complete their full life cycle.

Turf School Day Twenty-Eight

Well today was really not an interesting day. We had our landscape plants and ornamental grasses classes today. We reviewed our plant lists then went out and looked at trees in the Rutgers Gardens.

After lunch we had our soils class and we talked about salt affected soils and how to deal with salt problems.



Class seems to be dragging on at the moment. I have not heard annything back about the job at Ridgecrest, and I have an interview with a course in Lewiston, Idaho on Thursday. I am not too interested in moving to Lewiston, but we will see what happens.

Turf School Day Twenty-Seven

Today has been a great day. We woke up and it was warm outside, then the sun came up and it has been sunny and warm.

We started our last half of school today. Our first class after our break was a budgeting class. We talked about how to deal with problems. How it is important to gather as much information as possible about the problem, then make a list of possible solutions and their costs. Once information is gathered and solutions are thought out, the problem should be brought before the boss/owner of the golf course. The information about the problem is explained followed by possible solutions.

We then had our final examination in our case studies class. I finished my first class with a 100% on the final.

We ended our day talking about stress physiology. We had a lecture on irrigation timing and how much water is needed for a golf course in an entire year. We talked about how to calculate the amount of water needed and how often water needs to be applied.

Turf School Day Twenty-Six

Today was a short day and the last day before our mid-semester break. We had quizzes in our insects and disease classes. The teacher was excited to get out for an early weekend, just like we were so we flew through the lecture material and got out early.
I left for the airport a few hours early today so that I could walk around New York City. I walked for a few blocks, but it was cold and windy so I quickly headed for the train toward the airport.
I am excited for a few days off and conversations that have nothing to do with golf or golf courses.

Turf School Day Twenty-Five

Today we started our classes off with landscape plants. We discussed more evergreen trees and shrubs. At this point in the semester, I think the majority of our class is sick of learning about trees.

We then had another round of class presentations.

We ended the day talking about turf establishment again and discussed the use of sod. We talked about several questions that should be asked before making a large sod purchase to ensure you are getting a quality product.

Turf School Day Twenty-Four

This morning we had a class on turfgrass insects. We discussed "white grubs". White grubs are the larvae of several different species of beetles. The grubs are a creamy white color with a brown head. They can be identified by a raster pattern, which is the different patterns of hairs on their butt. They also have different shaped butt cracks.

We then had our class presentations about our summer experiences. I do not have to give mine until March 8th, so I have been enjoying listening to the other members of our class.

We ended the day with a quiz in turfgrass establishment. The quiz covered seeding rates, starter fertilizers, fertilizer costs, and seeding practices. The quiz was not too difficult, I think I got 34/35 points.

Turf School Day Twenty-Three

Today we had a mid-term quiz in our construction class. The quiz was at the end of the class and during the class period we talked about growing in and reshaping putting greens. We discussed methods of reshaping the green with out taking the characacter away from the original design of the green. the idea is you basically build up the entire green six inches and then lower the back of the green and raise the front of the green... the end result is a softened back to front slope.

In the afternoon we had our second round of case study presentations. It was very laid back just listening to our classmates give their short presentations.



I am glad it is the weekend, and am getting excited for my trip out to Utah to see my family.

Turf School Day Twenty-Two

Today was crazy! We had a "snow" day yesterday so today we had to make up several lectures worth of class in two periods. We had three quizzes this morning followed by three lectures about tree borers... class was boring, filled with a lot of information that was similar.

After lunch we had our soils class. Todays lecture was on the pH of soils. We talked about what factors affect pH and how we as turf managers can raise or lower the pH. This is important information, unfortunately it cannot be presented in a more exciting manner.



In other news, today was my interview at Ridgecrest Golf Course in Nampa, Idaho. I set the interview up last week, and I had discussed the idea of traveling out to Boise for a face to face interview. An hour after the first call, they called back and said I could do the interview over the phone. So today at 3:30 I gave my best attempt at answering questions the right way in order to get my next job. I think I did a good job and the interviewer thought I did as well. I hope it all works out and I should know by the end of next week.

Turf School Day Twenty-One

Today our class was cancelled due to the HUGE storm that was traveling across the U.S. When we woke up this morning, we were only supposed to have a delayed start. Then it all was cancelled due to abour .25" of ice on the ground. We went out for lunch at 12:00 and the roads were clear and the ice was melted. Basically it was a wasted day that we will have to make up later in the year.

It was a unproductive day!

Turf School Day Nineteen and Twenty

I purposely did not post yesterday, because we were going to have the exct same classes today. We had our "groundhog day" early.

We had our budgeting, professional development, and agronomy classes yesterday and today.

In our budgeting class we talked about chemical budgets and how to determine and schedule fungicide use. We discussed what goes into making our plans to spray and how we schedule based on one major event in the summer. For example, if we have a week long tournament, we will need to prepare for that event. We would start our schedule around preparing for that week.

In our professional development class we talked about setting goals and what qualifies us to become a superintendent.

Our agronomy class was 3 hours worth of bentgrass: velvet, colonial, and creeping. We also talked about bentgrass maintenance in hot climates. That class is SO exciting!