2011 Awards and Scholarship Recipients

Congratulations to all the 2011 Award and Scholarship Recipients.  If you would like to nominate someone in 2012 visit www.iowaturfgrass.org to find information and nomination forms from the Iowa Golf Course Superintendent, Iowa Sports Turf Managers, and Iowa Professional Lawn Care awards.   

Iowa Golf Course Superintendents Association

Distinguished Service Award - Ken Ellenson, CGCS, Amana Colonies Golf Course

Ken Ellenson, CGCS  (center) with Randy Robinson (left) and Brett Parcher (right).

Superintendent of the Year - Nick Cummins, Westwood Golf Course

Nick Cummins (right) with Randy Robinson (left).

Environmental Stewardship Award - Terry Hannah, Superintendent, Jester Park Golf Course

Terry Hannah (center) with 2010 recipient Rick Tegtmeier, CGCS (left), and Randy Robinson (right).

Charles Calhoun Writing Award - Jon Christenson, Superintendent, Monarch Bay Golf Club (not pictured)


Iowa Sports Turf Managers Association

Iowa Sports Turf Manager of the Year - Tim Van Loo, CSFM, Iowa State Athletics

Tim Van Loo with wife Amber, son Steven, and daughter Sam.

Iowa Baseball Field of the Year - Rick House, Sports Field Manager, Council Bluffs Recreation Complex

Rick House (center) with Tony Senio (left) and Zach Smith (right).

Golden Cleat Award Recipient - Bryan Wood, Owner, Commercial Turf & Tractor

Bryan Wood (right) with Tony Senio (left).

Iowa State University Scholarship Winners

Adam Grimm - A.E. Cott and Charles Hall Scholarships

Adam Grimm (right) with Greg Harkin (left).

Kevin Hansen - Iowa GCSA Legacy Scholarship and ISTMA Scholarship

Kevin Hansen (right) with Tony Senio (left).

Shane Lohman - Bob Clark Scholarship and Iowa GCSA Scholarship

Shane Lohman (right) with Randy Robinson (left).

Joe Parker - Bob Clark Scholarship and Kevin Reiter Memorial Scholarship

Joe Parker (right) with Randy Robinson (left)

2012 Iowa Turfgrass Conference & Tradeshow Recap

The 78th Iowa Turfgrass Conference and Tradeshow was held January 17-19 at the Downtown Des Moines Marriott Hotel. This annual event is solely dedicated to the turfgrass industry and brings together educators, industry partners, and professional turfgrass managers. In total, attendees were able to network with over 50 vendors and participate in countless educational seminars while networking with colleagues and catching up with friends.

This event continues to be a success and provide attendees with tips or techniques they can take back to their facility to improve their operation. Below are pictures from the 3 day event. Enjoy!



Marcus Jones
Assistant Scientist
Iowa State University

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE KIRKWOOD TURF STUDENTS

Nick Christians
January 25, 2012

Congratulations to Troy McQuillen and the Kirkwood (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) turf students for winning this years Turf Bowl contest at the Sports Turf Managers Association (STMS) meetings in Long Beach, California. This is a great accomplishment achieved through very hard work and dedication.

The following is a press release from Kirkwood on the contest.

Kirkwood Students Win National Turf Competition

Kirkwood students claimed a new piece of turf at a competition in Long Beach, California: Turf Bowl national champions. Students from the college’s Golf Course & Athletic Turfgrass Management program finished in first place at the 2011 Turf Bowl at the annual Sports Turf Managers Association annual conference earlier this month.

During the conference, students participated in the industry trades show, education sessions and panel discussions. One of the biggest draws is the student challenge Turf Bowl competition. It is comprised both two- and four-year colleges with turfgrass programs from around the country.

Seven Kirkwood students made up two teams that competed in the 12-team event. One team comprised of Luke Perkins (Iowa City, IA), Tim Sims (Galva, IL), Tyler Dean (West Branch, IA) and Tyler Timmerman (Genceo, IL) took first place in the two-year team competition. The other team, of just three students, included James Eaton (Muscatine, IA), Nick Dralle (Mason City, IA) and Levi Driesen (Hawarden, IA) placed sixth.

“I am very proud of the effort and dedication that the students put into the Turf Bowl competition this year,” said Troy McQuillen, Golf Course & Athletic Turfgrass Management faculty member. “These students are a great reflection for what the Golf Course and Athletic Turfgrass Program is all about.”

The first place Kirkwood team not only had the highest score in the two-year category, but also tied the four-year winning team, Purdue. Kirkwood’s winning team received a trophy and a $4000 check to the Turf Club to be used for tools and special projects for the classroom.

“We know that our students are well-prepared when they leave our program. Seeing them win the competition, and tie the best four-year school in the country … that’s something these students can be really proud of.”

The teams started studying for the competition in early October. They raised more than $6000 to fund the trip, with fundraisers like home lawn aerations, sod installations and renovation projects on high school baseball fields. The teams will travel to Daytona Beach, Florida next year to defend their title.

(Photo, L to R: James Eaton, Levi Dreisen, Tyler Timmerman, Luke Perkins, Tyler Dean, Tim Sims, Nick Dralle, Troy McQuillen.)

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Iowa’s lowest-cost college | Most credit programs in the state | Annual credit enrollment exceeds 25,000 | www.kirkwood.edu

For media information contact Jon Keimig at 319-398-5651 or call Kirkwood Marketing Services at 319-398-5493.

INTERNSHIP REPORT-ADAM GREGERSEN

Nick Christians
January 23, 2012

Here is a good internship report by undergraduate student Adam Gregersen on his experience with the Iowa State University Athletic Department. You can get the report to go full-screen by clicking on the lower right hand side of the document.

The recent rain and snow has given us some reprieve on the potential for winter damage, but the long range forecast is still for some mild weather during the critical weeks of winter. We'll keep you posted on the topdressing trial as the winter progresses.

Internship paper final

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Winter Weather Update and Topdressing Trial

Golfers are taking advantage of the uncharacteristically warm weather with a rare January round.

Temperatures dropped into the low 40’s over the weekend as a cold front moved across the state. Considering the weather we have experienced lately however, the “cooler” temperatures haven’t felt so bad. Many parts of the state broke records last week as daytime temperatures surged into the 50’s and 60’s. Temperatures during the month of January have been just over 10 degrees higher than normal. Golfers took advantage of the mild weather last week and dusted off their clubs for a rare January outing.

Overall, temperatures have been above average since last October and this has prevented the ground from completely freezing in many parts of the state. Precipitation totals were above average for the month of December thanks in part to 3 rain events. It appears that nearly all of the precipitation that occurred in December was able to soak into the ground. This was a very welcome development over northwestern Iowa where severe drought conditions are still present.

The threat of turf damage from dessication is certainly elevated with the open winter we have experienced thus far. Dr. Christians provided a nice historical perspective of turf dessication in his posts last week along with the benefits of late fall sand topdressing. We also took the opportunity to put out a couple sand topdressing trials last week to address this issue.

We applied sand topdressing to creeping bentgrass putting green turf exposed to northwest winds that had not received any topdressing for winter protection. Sand was applied at 1/16, 1/8, 1/4, and 1/2 inches. An untreated control was also included in the trial which received no sand topdressing.

Results from this trial should tell us if there are any benefits from mid-winter sand topdressing during “open” winters and how thick of a topdressing layer needs to be applied. Special thanks to Brian Abels, Golf Course Superintendent, Jewell Country Club, and James Legg, Golf Course Superintendent, Briarwood Club of Ankeny for letting us use their facilities for this work.

Pictures of the sand topdressing trial can be seen below. We will be evaluating the effects of this trial in the spring and will post results as they become available.

A wood frame with three layers of chicken wire was positioned over each plot.  The wire helps evenly distribute the topdressing sand across the plot.

Four thicknesses of sand topdressing are being evaluated in this trial for their effect on protection from winter dessication.  An untreated control was also included.

Overall view of winter topdressing trial.  Special thanks to Brian Abels, Golf Course Superintendent, Jewell Country Club, and James Legg, Golf Course Superintendent, Briarwood Club of Ankeny for letting us use their facilities for this work.

Marcus Jones
Assistant Scientist
Iowa State University

Still Time to Register for the 2012 Iowa Turfgrass Conference & Trade Show

There is still time left to register for the 78th annual Iowa Turfgrass Conference and Trade Show. The event will take place January 17-19 at the Downtown Des Moines Marriott Hotel. Information about the conference, exhibitor information, and registration forms can be found at http://www.iowaturfgrass.org/iticonference.htm.

Conference is a great way to network with peers and take advantage of educational opportunities. Whether you are just brushing up on fundamentals or learning about the newest trends and ideas relating to turfgrass science, there is something for everyone. A number of speakers from Iowa State University will be presenting in addition to a number of invited presenters including:

Zac Reicher, University of Nebraska
Ty McClellan, United States Golf Association
Derek Settle, Chicago District Golf Association
Kevin Norby, Herfort & Norby Golf Architects
Judd Duininck, Duininck Golf
Eric Hansen, The Preserve at Rathbun Lake
Allen Johnson, CSFM, Green Bay Packers
Amy Fouty, CSFM, Michigan State University
Jeremy Buhl, PBI/Gordon
Mark Howieson, Becker Underwood
Daniel Krohn, Becker Underwood
Troy McQuillen, Kirkwood Community College
Fred Whitford, Purdue University
Kevin Tracy, ASI Watercare
John Newton, CGCS, Veenker Memorial Golf Course
Jason Koester, CGCS, Grinnell College
Brad Thedens, City of Sioux Falls
Neric Smith, Indian Hills Community College
Steve Bush, CSFM, Bush Sports Turf

Preview the full conference program by clicking here. Complete conference information can be found at http://www.iowaturfgrass.org/iticonference.htm.

Marcus Jones
Assistant Scientist
Iowa State University

1987 ARTICLE ON WINTER PROTECTION OF GREENS

Nick Christians
January 6, 2012

Here is the 1987 Article on Topdressing to Protect Bentgrass Greens In Winter. It was published in GCM in September of 1987. It was based on 4 years of work.

This and other articles are available from the Golf Course Supt. Assoc. of America (GCSAA) at gcsaa.org.

1987sep66

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