President's Message

By James Bade

April 2006

March Mini-Seminar Not So Mini

The March Mini Seminar was not so mini. A record-breaking crowd of over 170 people attended this year's March Mini-Seminar at Mendakota Country Club. It is exciting to see participation like that because it enables us to learn more and to keep in touch with one another. A big thank you goes to Bob McKinney for hosting such a large crowd; it was a great day.

Dr. Frank Rossi was the keynote speaker. I like him because he speaks with a passion from his convictions based on research. That in turn makes us think about how we do things. A big topic of the day was thatch management. Anybody selling their aerifiers or Gradens? Not me, but I am going to use them a bit differently to get the thatch out and the sand in.

He also stressed light, air movement and drainage for healthy greens. Nothing really surprising there, other than how little air movement it took to cool down a green. Plus, if you could lower your soil temperature in the evening, that could reap some benefits as well. He also presented interesting data in regards to potassium and how soil testing is done. How much K are you going to put down next year? And how is your pH?

And if your head wasn't spinning like a reel by then, he brought up his research on walking greens mowers. Another year of good research needs to be done but it was quite interesting to hear his thoughts on the quality of cut and the growth of grass in relation to different mowers.

Two words in the English dictionary that I like are enthusiasm and passion; certainly Dr. Rossi brings those to the table. Therefore, we think about what we do and how we do it, so we "improve the environment one green at a time." I did want to ask him what a Frank Rossi golf course would look like and what would one look like with the demands that we face.

Paul Diegnau did a great job of bringing in the Dept. of Labor to face some tough questions. I am glad we didn't shoot the messenger too badly because often times the Labor Dept. is just enforcing what the legislature dictates. To be really safe, hire only 18-year-olds and up. If that is not an option for you, 16-year-olds are okay if they have a drivers license. But don't let them drive rotary mowers or tractors. However, a committee is being formed to help make this issue a little more black and white in regards to what 16-17-year-olds can and can't do on the golf course. If you are interested, please contact Paul Diegnau.

To wrap up the day Casey Conlin, from Somerby Golf Club, shared his experience of overseeing the construction of Somerby. It is always interesting to hear the facts and statistics of such an operation. It took 30 rail cars carrying 3,000 tons of sand from Utah to fill the bunkers. And there are 2,200 sprinkler heads to keep track of. Wow! Just by coincidence the Scholarship Scramble is being held there this summer, Somerby is a must see…thank you Casey.
So far it looks like this spring should be much better than last year. So in the environment of "what have you done for me lately," I'll close with a line from the Music Man. "Never allow the demands of tomorrow to interfere with the pleasures and excitements of today."

--Living a day at a time with you,
James