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2002BOARD OF

DIRECTORS

PRESIDENTLuke Strojny, Poplar Creek G.c.Home: 630-830-7370, Office: 847-310-3618E-mail: lukes40@juno.com

VICE PRESIDENTKevin DeRoo, Bartlett Hills G.c.Home: 847-697-0595, Office: 630-483-4991E-mail: kdroo@juno.com

SECRETARY I TREASURERFred Behnke, Mount Prospect G.c.Home: 773-774-1486, Office: 847-632-9331E-mail: Fbehnke@juno.com

EXECUTIVE SECRETARYGeorge MinnisMAGCS P.O. Box 760, Batavia, IL 60510Office: 630-406-5356, Fax: 630-406-5456E-mail: geo@magcs.org

BOARDTim Anderson, Prestwick c.c.Home: 630-718-9601, Office: 815-469-5903E-mail: tjanderso@aol.com

Dave Braasch, Glen Erin G.c.Home: 608-373-7081, Office: 608-346-9009E-mail: junior12i@aol.com

Luke Cella, Tamarack G.c.Home: 630-208-0721, Office: 630-904-4000, x218E-mail: lukecella@att.net

Gary Hearn, Salt Creek G.c.Home: 630-350-2634, Office: 630-773-4790E-mail: scgaryhgc@aol.com

Michael Mumper, Park Ridge c.c.Home: 773-248-8683, Office: 847-823-8682E-mail: mumps55@aol.com

Phil Zeinert, Elgin c.c.Home: 815-748-5730, Office: 847-622-4823E-mail: Zeinert5@tbcnet.com

PRESIDENT EMERITUSBrian Bossert, Bryn Mawr c.c.Home: 847-492-1138, Office: 847-677-4112E-mail: briancgcs@aol.com

COMMERCIAL REPRESENTATIVEPaul Yerkes, LESCO Inc.Office: 630-904-5255E-mail: sls133@lesco.com

TURFGRASS ADVISORDr. Randy T. KaneUniversity of Illinois & CDGA630-257-2005

EDITORCathy Miles Ralston68 S. Waterford DriveRound Lake, IL 60073Phone & Fax: 847-740-0962E-mail: on_course@hotmail.com

CONTRIBUTING EDITORJohn GurkeE-mail: Boomding@aol.com

GRAPHIC ARTISTMark Karczewski

This publication is not copyrighted. We would like toshare our articles with any who would like to use them,but please give the author and On Course credit.

MARCH 2002Volume 55 No.l0

FRONT COVERMidwest Golf House in Lemont, IL, is home to the Chicago District Golf Association anda host of allied organizations, including MAGCS. March's monthly meeting takes placein Golf House's state-of-the-art auditorium. (Photo by Randy Kane)

2 ON COURSE WITH THE PRESIDENTMaking Our MoveLuke Strojny

5 DIRECTOR'S COLUMNRethinking Our NicheFred Behnke

8 SUPER -N- SITERandy Kane, Ph.D. & Lee Miller -N-Midwest Golf HouseShane Kissack

10 FEATURE ARTICLEImproving Your FairwaysWith TopdressingJonathan S. Jennings

21 ASK THE "EXPERT"The Language of StatisticsLuke Cella

30 THE BULL SHEETJohn Gurke

34 TRIBUTEThe Legacy of John Ebel, 1927-2002

37 EULOGYJohn EbelBrad Anderson

38 GCSAA ANNUAL MEETINGOrlando, 2002 - A Mickey MouseOperationJohn Gurke

41 THE VOICE OF EXPERIENCEBob Williams

41 ACCOMPLISHMENTSMike Bavier Receives 2001 CharlesBartlett AwardDudley Smith

41 INNOVATIONSGentlemen, Mark Your Valve Covers!Paul Sandall

43 MIDWEST PERSONALITIES

The Midwest Association of Golf Course Superintendents (MAGCS), founded December 24,1926, is a professional organization whose goals include preservation and dissemination ofscientific and practical knowledge pertaining to golf turf maintenance.

We endeavor to increase efficiency and economic performance while improving and enhancing theindividual and collective prestige of the members.

The MAGCS member is also an environmental steward. We strive to uphold and enhance oursurroundings by promoting flora and fauna in every facet in a manner that is beneficial to thegeneral public now and in the future.

www.magcs.org 1

ON COURSEWITH THE PRESIDENT

Luke Strojny, CGCS Poplar Creek G. C.

MakingOUf Move

The 2002 golfing season is almost here. The way the weather was going) I thought spring would arrivein January rather than March. Who would ever think that a sunny) 60-degree day in January couldhappen here in thegreat Midwest? Mother Nature brought us back to reality at the end ofJanuary with)in my eyes)a much-needed winter storm. Hopefully) the remainder of winter and the coming spring aresomewhat normal weather-wise.

Although I am writing this president'smessage before I leave for the GCSAA con-ference, I would like to once again thank allof those who make our hospitality roomsuch a great success. A special thank-yougoes out to all our commercial memberswho once again stepped up and contributedto this year's room. I know I have said itbefore, but if not for their generosity, ourroom would have to be held in a suite with

a couple bowls of chips and pretzels and maybe a keg or a couple cases ofbeer. Again, when you make this year's purchases, please remember thosewho give to the MAGCS through the hospitality room, through ourmonthly golf meetings and through an advertising presence in On Course.

Back in January, Brian Bossert, Don Ferreri and I met with RobertMarkionni, executive director of the CDGA, about MAGCS plans to moveour operations to Midwest Golf House. Beginning this spring, staff fromthe CDGA will begin to handle a portion of our operations. They will beresponsible for producing and distributing our mailings. To put members'minds at ease, George Minnis will continue to be our executive secretary,

responsible for event registration and data-base management. In the near future, theMAGCS will begin to set up our officethere. This will include changing ourphones so that during business hours, a liveperson will answer your call and be able toeither assist you immediately or direct yourcall to the appropriate Board member. Inany event, this month's meeting will beheld at the Midwest Golf House on March12; it will be a great opportunity to comesee the facility.

Midwest Golf House.

I will share with you some of my thoughts about the national confer-ence in my April message. I know you can't wait. ~~~

2 March 2002 On Course

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DIRECTOR'S COLUMNFred Behnke Mount Prospect G.C.

RethinkingOUf Niche

I)ve always thought that one of the best things about being a golf course superintendent is the fact thatcustomer relations isn)t really part of the gig. Sure) you need to be around) chat it up with the regulars)communicate effectively with boards and greens committees) etc.) but when push comes to shove andyou)re having one of those days when you don)t even want your dog around) you can get out and be ((onthe course.))

Late-night board meetings, 350 bosses, "expert" advice and televisionexpectations notwithstanding, "I'm going out to tag some trees."

I have even said, "This would be a great job if it wasn't for the golfers."

Last year my placeof employment tooka revenue hit thatcaught all of usa little by surprise;after five straightyears of ever-..'tncreas'tng revenues,we were unable tomeet our budgetaryexpectations ...Anyway, when thedust had cleared,we needed to assesswhat happened ...

Har de har har.

Last year my place of employment took a revenue hit that caught all ofus a little by surprise; after five straight years of ever-increasing revenues, wewere unable to meet our budgetary expectations. Some people (myselfincluded) thought these expectations were a little optimistic, but I came inunder budget by $200 (within 0.025% for those of you keeping score-I wasactually pretty smug about that). Anyway, when the dust had cleared, weneeded to assess what happened ...

Thirty-plus days without carts is a good place to start. Yeah, that was it,the weather was terrible. Shoot, every decent day foursomes were backed upthree-deep at the first tee. We just didn't have enough nice days, and we don'tcharge enough too. Yeah, that's right, resident rates are too low. Heck, everytime one of our senior residents tees it up, we lose money because we chargethem less than it costs us to produce a round. We don't have enough times forbig-money nonresidents. Right, when those people play, they pay top dollar,buy balls, lunch at the turn and keep the beverage cart rolling. We need tomake more space for them. Not to mention September 11 ...

We had it totally covered. By the time the litany of reasons (excuses) wasover, we deserved a bonus for doing as well as we did.

Then came the bombshell,

"Okay, so what did you do to enhance the golf experience when itbecame apparent that our revenue numbers would fall short of expectations?"

"Dh, me?" (Long, uncomfortable silence.)

"Well, that's not really my job." (Oh God) don)t say that!)

"I've never worried about the revenue end before." (Are you sure youwant to admit that?)

(continued on page 6)

www.magcs.org 5

Rethinking Our Nicl1c (continued from page 5)

"Isn't my team's extraordinaryeffort in providing exemplary playingconditions in spite of nearly insur-mountable weather obstaclesenough?" (Bette}) but too argumenta-tive and doesn)t your ((team)) includethe pro shop staff; grill personnel andanyone else the customer contacts whilevisiting the golf course?)

(You )re in a trick bag now) Fred.This is that thinking-outside-the-boxstuff you)ve been able to avoid up tillnow paradigm shifts and allthat think fast!)

(D 0 - b e - d 0 - be - d 0 -STO PTHAT --now concentrate.)

"Uh, well, to be honest, I hadn'tconsidered that my role could bemore proactive, in a direct sense, pastthe point of my traditional job guide-lines." (In other words-I didn)tknow you wanted me to do that-honest) but like cotton candy) full ofair) and in the end leaving youhungry for more.)

I'll spare you the rest of thispostmortem; suffice it to say that bythe time I crawled back to my hole, itwas with some schooling:

1) I had a newfound sense of beinga part of a greater whole (the mostimportant part, of course-myvanity is still intact at least).

2) I was added to the distributionlist for a motivational periodicalextolling the virtues of proactivecustomer relations.

Number two was received witha certain sense of disdain. The firstissue reached my hands well after theinitial shock of the "paradigm conver-sation" had worn off. Well past whenthe usual "I should've told them ... "(you know, those post-crisis pearls ofwisdom that surface a day late and adollar short) had come and gone.Anyway, the fear of being quizzedabout some obscure reference in thebooklet and not having read it led meto grudgingly read every stinkin'page. It was actually pretty interest-ing. Here are some anecdotes I foundmemorable.

6 March 2002 On Course

Years ago) a 10-year-old boyapproached the counter of a soda shopand climbed on a stool. ((What doesan ice cream sundae cost?)) he askedthe waitress.

((Fifty cents))) she answered.

The youngster reached deep inhis pockets and pulled out an assort-ment of change) counting it carefullyas the waitress grew impatient. She had((bigger)) customers to wait on.

((Well) how much would justplain ice cream be ?)) the boy asked.

The waitress responded withnoticeable irritation in her voice)((Thirty-five cents.))

Again) the boy slowly countedhis money. ((May I have some plain icecream in a dish then) please?)) He gavethe waitress the correct amount) andshe brought him the ice cream.

Later, the waitress returned toclear the bois dish and when she pickedit up she felt a lump in her throat.There on the counter the boy had lefttwo nickels and five pennies. She real-ized that he had had enough money forthe sundae) but sacrificed it so he couldleave her a tip.

The moral: Everyone in thisworld is important. We should alwaystreat others with courtesy) dignity andrespect.

Adapted from A Lifetime of SuccessPat Williams

Fleming H. Revell

Okay, so how does this littlehomily relate to golf course manage-ment, if at all, that's up to you todecide, but I am reminded that, inmany cases, the players we see chop-ping up our tracks have set aside theirtroubles for a brief period of time andmay be experiencing one of the highpoints of their week.

Plato said, ((Bekind) for everyoneyou meet isfighting a hard battle.))

It might be useful to rememberthat when you're in a hurry to fixsome crisis or just get home after a

long, hot day and you have to waitendlessly for some high-handicapperto go through his/her five-minutepre-shot routine before you canproceed. Give them a smile and anod, make them feel welcome at yourcourse.

Finally, (I promise):

Charles Steinmetz (1865-1923)was a pioneering genius in harnessingelectricity. After he retired) Steinmetz)sformer employers at General Electricoccasionally relied on his brilliance.

Such was the case when an intri-cate set of machines broke down.In-house experts could not find thecause of this malfunction so GE leaderscalled Steinmetz.

After testing various parts)Steinmetz finally pinpointed the prob-lem and marked the defective partwith a piece of chalk. Steinmetz thensubmitted a bill for $10)000.

Surprised at this unexpected highprice) GE honchos asked Steinmetz toresubmit an itemized statement. Hecomplied with a new invoice that readas follows:

INVOICEMaking one chalk mark: $1.00Knowing where to place it: $9.999.00Total $10)000.00

Adapted from The Little, BrownBook of Anecdotes

Clifton FadimanLittle) Brown and Co.

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H&'E also grows a variety of great bluegrass blendsods. Our new XL-2000, XL-lOa, and KY-33 aresecond to none for beauty and ease of maintenance.

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SUPER -N- SITEShane Kissack Riverside G. C.

Randy Kane, Ph.D. & Lee Miller -N-

MidwestGolfHouse

In February, Lee Miller joined CDGA staffas Interactive TurfllPM coordinatorand manager of turfgrass research.

Thanks to a mild fall, construction on the three-hole short course at Midwest Golf Housewas proceeding nicely as of late November, 2001. (See more photos at www.cdga.org.)

Midwest Golf House officially opened its doors in June of 2001. This state-of-the-art facility housesoffices for the Chicago District Golf Association) the CDGA Foundation) Chicago Women)s DistrictGolf Association) Greater Chicago Club Managers Association) Illinois Junior Golf Association)Illinois Turfgrass Foundation) First Tee and last but certainly not least) MAGCS) all under one roofMAGCS will have a part-time staffer in the facility later this yearj down the road MAGCS will storeits archives and have a full-time presence in the Golf House.

The Midwest Golf House property is 15 acres (theland was a gift from the Jemsek family) in Lemont andincludes an eight-acre, three-hole short course. Thiscourse will provide playing opportunities for beginners,juniors, the disabled and economically disadvantagedgolfers. The course, constructed by Wadsworth Golf Con-

8 March 2002 On Course

struction, is ready to have its greens, tees and fairwaysseeded this spring. Ultimately, it will provide an outdoorlaboratory for turf grass research with a 12,OOO-square-foot putting green that will host bentgrass variety trials,and fairways that will have bent and low-mow bluegrassvariety trials.

SCORECARD; PARENT YOUTH'1 l-llIydJ "ydJ'2 12SydJ 60ydJ'3 JlSydJ ISydJ'

The aforementioned Lee is thenewest addition to the CDGA andMidwest Golf House. On February 1,2002, Lee embarked on his new roleas CDGA's manager of turfgrass pro-grams. He will assist Randy with the

Green Section committeeman. Withthe addition of Lee Miller, Randy willhave a second pair of hands to assisthim with research work at the GolfHouse and with the Interactive Turf(IPM) Program. Hopefully, with

Interactive Turf (IPM) Program andfield research. Lee recently completedhis M.S. in plant pathology at theUniversity of Georgia, where heresearched fungicide resistance todollar spot under Dr. Lee Burpee.

Previously, Lee received hisundergraduate degree in turfmanagement from North Car-olina State. Over the years, hehas worked in a variety of capac-ities in the green industry,including internships at EastLake Club in Atlanta and atBASF in new product researchand development. This newNaperville resident is engagedto be married on November 16of this year.

Come meet Lee and seethe Midwest Golf House for yourselfon March 12. Cornell professor TomMaloney will present an educationalsession titled "How to Find and Hirethe Best Employees" followed bylunch across the street at Cog Hill.

"1~~

By now, we all shouldknow Randy, who has beenavailable to Chicago-areasuperintendents as a CDGAemployee since 1985. Prior tothat time, Randy was earIling -~_..-.----- .._ ....-._ .....-his undergraduate degree alongside Lee's help tackling the 2002 work-many other current MAGCS mem- load, he can post more than the fourbers in the turf program at Purdue; 18-hole scores he posted in 200l.he went on to complete his M.S. andPh.D. in plant pathology at Cornell.Randy is the CDGA's director of turf-grass programs as well as an activemember of MAGCS, serving on theEditorial and Education Committees.He is also an ITF advisor and a USGA

The building's interior containsa 100-seat auditorium (MAGCS willuse this room for the March meet-ing), a conference room/museum/library, a turf grass research lab, agreenhouse and office space for allthe golf organizations that callMidwest Golf House home. Midwest Golf House ComplexTwo key figures frequently THRE.,!.~:~~!~URSEfound lurking around the newfacility are Randy Kane, Ph.D.,and the new Interactive TurfProgram (IPM)/field researchassistant Lee Miller.

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www.magcs.org 9

FEATURE ARTICLEJonathan S. Jennings, CGCS Chicago Golf Club

Improving YourFairways WithTopdressing

History of TopdressingTopdressing is not something new to golf mainte-

nance. In 1875, Old Tom Morris began to top dressgreens with sand to make them firm and smooth. Withgolf developing in America, topdressing began as a processof composting the greens at the end of summer accompa-nied by seeding with South German bentgrass. Piper andOakley, in their book Turffor Golf Courses(1917), state,"In case sand or sandy soil can be secured cheaply and inabundance, it is an excellent plan to use it to topdress veryclayey fairways. Not only does the sand make a better sur-face for golf purposes, but also it helps the grass byabsorbing the rainfall much better and by preventing bak-ing in hot dry weather."

Why Do We Topdress?Thatch control, drainage, compaction correction

and smoothing surface irregularities are four of the pri-mary reasons for topdressing. What others say:"Topdressing is the practice by which a thin layer of soil isapplied to an established turf or new turfgrass planting."- A.J. Turgeon, Turfgrass Management) fourth edition,1996.

Dr. James B. Beard, in his publication Turf Man-agement for Golf Courses (1982), writes, "Topdressing isusually not practiced on fairway turfs due to the immensevolumes of material needed, the high labor demand andthe slowness of operation translated into an extremelyhigh cost relative to what can be accomplished." In hismost recent publication, Dr. Beard states, "Topdressingusually has not been practiced on fairway turfs in the past.However, situations do exist where topdressing is usedincreasingly for root zone improvement, smoothing andenhanced drainage to maximize playing time."

"No other practice but topdressing has such animmediate and positive impact on the health of the grass.As the topdressing particles filter down between the grassblades, the plants get a welcome reprieve from the pound-ing feet of golfers and the sheering action of the mowers."- Gordon Witteveen, Michael Bavier, Practical GolfCourseMaintenance (1998).

10 March 2002 On Course

Questions to Ask If You Are ConsideringFairway Topdressing

Are embedded balls a constant problem? After ahard rain, is the course closed, or are carts restricted for anextended period of time? Many times a golf course super-intendent will be placed in a situation where he/she has tomake the decision whether or not to let carts on thecourse for regular play or outings. Are mower tracks onfairways a problem?

If the answer is yes to one or more of the abovequestions, consider yourself a good candidate for fairwaytopdressing.

Try to apply 1" - 1.5" of sand per year for threeto four years for a total of 3 - 6" of sand over that periodof time. In many circumstances, topdressing can be greatlyreduced or terminated once a desirable level has beenreached. At that time, conventional aerification mayresume pulling the sandy plugs to the surface and separat-ing them from the thatch, allowing the sand to return tothe turf and removal of the thatch.

Factors to Address Before TopdressingFairways

Does your soil currently provide adequate drainage?Have the fairways received regular aerification to removethatch and incorporate soil back into the thatch? Fairwaysthat are thatchy will not drain well due to the thatchabsorbing water and holding it near the surface. A thatchy

(continued on page 12)