Circle 105 on Inquiry Card Featuring

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Connie Rudolph CSFMnamed George Toma Golden Rake Award Recipient

George Toma one of STMAs Foundershas proven that starting from the ground up

- its possible to achieve your highest goalsmdashifyou love what you do and give it your all andthen some

The George Toma Golden Rake Award ispound f | Pi 1 issued annually to someone who is on the

quest to reach their highest goals and isdemonstrating that and then some spirit

t )^S along the way

The year 2000 recipient ConnieRudolph CSFM entered college seeking adegree in home economics with a businessminor Because she also loved being out-side and taking care of the grass she foundher summer jobs working on golf courseschanging cups and doing the trimmingFollowing graduation she started workingfor the City of St Paul on the golf courses asan assistant to the greenskeeper

When the groundskeepei position openedup at Midway Stadium in 1991 she applied

was selected and immediately started what has

become her long term commitment keeping

the field in the best possible conditions for all

types and levels of play While continually

upgrading her knowledge and expertise in the

field of sports turf management shes also

been instrumental in the formation and devel-

opment of the Minnesota Sports Turf Managers

Association serving as a board member and as

president Shes on the newsletter editorial

committee for the national STMA Shes spo-

ken at several regional turfgrass conferences

Shes taken the time to prepare for and suc-

cessfully achieve Certified Sports Field

Manager status And during this interval she

and her husband Randy are raising four

delightful children Mitchell 10 Molly 8 Henry

5 and Joey who was born July 1 1999

Talk about and then some

Airfieldtrade

The Airfieldtrade Sports Turf System is the first to offer drainagetechnology that doesnt rely on the French drain developed in thetimes of the Roman Empire Airfieldtrade suspends the entire play-ing surface over a layer of air Once water has moved through theroot-zone it drains away easily in the open-air void

Airfieldtrade produces substantially higher drainage rates thanconventional methods at a savings of 20 percent of total con-struction cost

The future of sports turf drainage is here today

Geoturf LLC1-888-287-9657

wwwgeoturfairfieldcom bull ml

Circle 106 on Inquiry Card

Tiftway Sports Inc with over 12years of experience in athleticfield construction and renova-tion For your Turnkey Athleticfield solution Please call Today

Tiftway Sports Inc912-567-2380Circle 107 on Inquiry Card

12 February 2001 sportsTURF bull httpwwwsportsturfonlinecom

Connie Rudolph CSFMnamed George Toma Golden Rake Award Recipient

George Toma one of STMAs Foundershas proven that starting from the ground up

- its possible to achieve your highest goalsmdashifyou love what you do and give it your all andthen some

The George Toma Golden Rake Award ispound f | Pi 1 issued annually to someone who is on the

quest to reach their highest goals and isdemonstrating that and then some spirit

t )^S along the way

The year 2000 recipient ConnieRudolph CSFM entered college seeking adegree in home economics with a businessminor Because she also loved being out-side and taking care of the grass she foundher summer jobs working on golf courseschanging cups and doing the trimmingFollowing graduation she started workingfor the City of St Paul on the golf courses asan assistant to the greenskeeper

When the groundskeepei position openedup at Midway Stadium in 1991 she applied

was selected and immediately started what has

become her long term commitment keeping

the field in the best possible conditions for all

types and levels of play While continually

upgrading her knowledge and expertise in the

field of sports turf management shes also

been instrumental in the formation and devel-

opment of the Minnesota Sports Turf Managers

Association serving as a board member and as

president Shes on the newsletter editorial

committee for the national STMA Shes spo-

ken at several regional turfgrass conferences

Shes taken the time to prepare for and suc-

cessfully achieve Certified Sports Field

Manager status And during this interval she

and her husband Randy are raising four

delightful children Mitchell 10 Molly 8 Henry

5 and Joey who was born July 1 1999

Talk about and then some

Airfieldtrade

The Airfieldtrade Sports Turf System is the first to offer drainagetechnology that doesnt rely on the French drain developed in thetimes of the Roman Empire Airfieldtrade suspends the entire play-ing surface over a layer of air Once water has moved through theroot-zone it drains away easily in the open-air void

Airfieldtrade produces substantially higher drainage rates thanconventional methods at a savings of 20 percent of total con-struction cost

The future of sports turf drainage is here today

Geoturf LLC1-888-287-9657

wwwgeoturfairfieldcom bull ml

Circle 106 on Inquiry Card

Tiftway Sports Inc with over 12years of experience in athleticfield construction and renova-tion For your Turnkey Athleticfield solution Please call Today

Tiftway Sports Inc912-567-2380Circle 107 on Inquiry Card

12 February 2001 sportsTURF bull httpwwwsportsturfonlinecom

Crew members resod a section of the outfield

filled with softball games dog showscar shows boxing matches fantasycamps company parties and even thefilming of commercials Two national

commercials were filmed at MidwayStadium one for Norelco shaversand one featuring Ken Griffey Jr forWheaties The Stadium and Saints

team also have been the subject ofsuch national television program-ming as 60 Minutes ESPN the TodayShow and a series on the FX channel

It takes nearly constant over-seeding aerating and topdressing tokeep the outfield in repair notesRudolph We also paint the fieldonce a week for football and chalkover the infield and the two cornersthat are on the agralime area Weveadopted a program of spot patchingwhen the field needs it and we can fitit in We take Lsquare-foot-chunksof sod about 8-inches deep from theouter edges of the field or from our20-by-40 foot-sod nursery behind theoutfield fence We overseed the sec-tions where the sod was removedwith our standard seed blend andthey usually fill in quickly To protectthe field from damage during con-certs and other special events we uselarge tarps for center stage andenforce strict rules for any traffic orequipment use on the turf

Circle 108 on Inquiry Card

sports TURF bull httpwwwsportsturfonlinecom

WHAT THE USERS SAYFr~m 1~10 your company is a 10Jm Simmons Facility Mgr BuckinghamLittle League Ft Myers FL

Great service the bestChie Baker Asst Baseball CoachFlonda State University Tallahassee FL

Experie~ce with Covermaster has beenoutst~ndlng appreciate specialattention

Ray Tanner Head Baseball CoachUnv of South Carolina Columbia SC

Excellent quality with competitive prices Jo~nso~ Bowie Associate AD DrexelUniversity Philadelphia PA

Covermaster takes extra step to meetcustomers exact needsGay Mayse Asst Gen Mgr WisconsinTImber Rattlers Appleton WI

Response time was great recommendedby gr~undsk~eper of St Louis Cardinals DaVidHopkins Alton American LegionBaseball Alton IL

Very good ~ighly recommended Dunham Wng~tFacilities SupvNortheast LOUISianaUniversi~Monmroe LA

Delivered in pertect condition bestproduct I looked atJ~hn Milardo Supt of Parks City ofMiddleton Middleton CT

February 2001 13

Our agralime is from a localsource Its a crushed limestonerather that a true dirt so we donthave to tarp it to retain playabilityWe water it a couple times a day forSaints games and monitor it closelyto match the conditions they preferAnother unique feature of the fieldis the lack of a need for an infieldtarp The field and skinned areasdrain well enough after a heavyrain that games usually can beplayed within an hour after therain has stopped The Saints havehad only eight rain outs in eightseasons of play

Rudolph is supplied with a timinglist for promotional events affectingthe field so shell have the opportuni-ty to make appropriate preparationsand plan for whatever follow up isneeded to retain the excellent fieldconditions players team manage-ment the city and the fans have cometo expect Some things take a lotmore planning than others

Besides stressing the turf events can bestressful to those responsible for cleaning up

She puts the Bill Murray moviemarathon nights in the fairly easyclass Once the game is wrapped forthe night fans move to the field withtheir blankets popcorn and drinksThe movies are projected against thecenter field fence and could run until5 or 6 am

The dog day afternoon events aretougher even though theyve beenmoved from the heat of summer toSeptember Rudolph says People

bring their dogs for all sorts of eventson the field from hide the shoe toraces to the doggy beauty salonThough the owners bring their owndoggy clean up tools and there arelots of volunteer helpers we alwaysend up dealing with some dead spotsand rapidly growing green spots wemust make disappear before the nextevent

Whatever the new promotionsslotted for Midway Stadium in 2001Rudolph will be ready for the chal-lenge and those Field of the Year con-ditions will once again provide thegreat setting that has won the heartof the City of St Paul

Bob Tracinski is the business com-munications manager for the JohnDeere Worldwide Commercial ampConsumer Equipment Division head-quartered in Raleigh NC He servesas public relations co-chair for thenational Sports Turf ManagersAssociation

AERA-vatorregThe multi-purpose tool versatile enough for sports fields

14 February 2001

Circle 109 on Inquiry Card

sports TURFbull hffpllwwwsportsfurfonlinecom

Colbond IncPO Box 1057Enka NC 28728Tel 828-665-5016Toll Free 800-365-7391Fax 828-665-5009

Pioneer Manufacturing Co4529 Industrial PkwyCleveland OH 44135Tel 216-671-5500Fax 800-877-1511Toll Free 800-877-1500e-mail dschataolcomwwwpioneer-mfgcom

FertilizerPest ControlSoil Amendments

SuppliesBasepathlnfield mixesBasesField Drying materialsPaintMarking materialsLine markersstripersStencils

SportsFields Inc901 Todds RdLexington KY 40509Tel 859-269-7633Fax 859-268-7703

EquipmentDrag matsSprayers amp spreaders

EquipmentDrag MatsLaser-guided equipment

FertilizersPest ControlSoil amendmentsSoil polymersabsorbantTurf colorants

FertilizerPest ControlSoil Amendments

Irrigation amp DrainageIrrigation amp Drainage Drainage amp erosion control supply

Irrigation control suppliesSprinkler headsTurf drainage systemsSeed amp SodSod

Sprinkler systems-portable

SuppliesBasepathinfield mixesCourt maintenance equipmentField drying materialsPaintmarking materialsLine markersstripersNetsPadding-backstopretainingwallStencilsSurfaceEquip-court amp playground

Pros Choice Sports Field ProductsPO Box 70Barrington IL 60011Tel 847-381-9015Toll Free 800-648-1166Fax 847-381-9016e-mail charlieselvikaildrLcomwwwproscholceicorn

SuppliesArtificial turfBasepathinfield mixesBasesCovers-turffieldGoals amp goal postsPaintmarking materialsNetsStencils

Tifsport Growers Association2420 S Milledge AveAthens GA 30605Phone 888-584-6598Fax 706-227-7159wwwtifsportcom

EquipmentBasepath groomersDrag mats

sports TURF bull httpwwwsportsturfonlinecom February 2001 17

Groundskeeper intt~~~~~m~J~~t~ld andFootball-Readyin3Months with Grass So Tough It Has the New Mower Grunting

by George P Tomo

I n last months sportsTURFGeorge Toma explained that followingthe Super Bowl last year he flew toHonolulu as he has done countlesstimes to prepare the fields for the ProBowl Last year however Toma stayedin Hawaii until November

Signing on as a groundskeepingpro with the University of Hawaii heagreed to supervise the grassing andgrow-in of a new football practice fieldand a new womens soccer field bothsprigged on a 4060 compost exsist-ing soil (clay silt) His assignment alsoincluded upgrading the bermudagrassfield at the Womens Softball Stadiumtraining the maintenance personneland getting their equipment up tospeed among other things

Ihad hoped to start the spriggingby mid-February Because ofdelays mostly due to wet weather

March 10 became our grassing dateAfter the surface was scarified to adepth of 2 or 3 inches five days ofsprigging got underway

For starters we had put downLescos 10-20-20 starter fertilizer at225 lbs per acre Whether seedingsodding or sprigging I also likeScotts STEP micro package applied atabout 100 lbs per acre These fertiliz-ers were worked into the soil andwatered for a couple of days alongwith 260 lbs per acre of 21-0-8 spikedwith Ronstar This provided about 25lbs active per acre which is lighterthan the label rate

The sprigging and hydromulchingwere sub-contracted to The KingsLandscape Co of Honolulu They pur-chased the Tif 419 stolens from MauiSod at a cost of slightly more than$30000 We got terrific high-qualitystolens great service and then someThe sprigs we needed were harvested

18 January 2001

An ideal backdrop for a worksite Photos courtesy Hal Dickey

on Maui each evening and flown overthe next morning on Aloha Airlinesfirst flight

The sprigs were distributed overthe football field by hand Then theywere pressed into the soil by a locallybuilt tow-behind disk As soon as eachsection was sprigged and disked itwas hydrocapped The tank on thehydromulch truck contained not onlynewsprint and tackifier but also halfof the 10-20-20 starter The other half2 12 lbs per 1000 square feet hadbeen spread a couple of days earlierAlso we used Gordons Launch a newbiostimulant mixture with a liquidmanure base added to the mulch solu-tion at the rate of one quart per 1000square feet My son Chip and I haveused Bov-A-Mura Gordons sprayablemanure product for years I really did-nt expect to see much difference fromthe cytokinins and the humic and ful-vic acids in the biostimulant

Biostimulant Check PlotsWe made four grow-in applications

of Launch on the football field start-ing at sprigging on March 10 then onApril 5 April 27 and May 19 In orderto compare turf coverage and rootdepths I included an untreated plot ateach end of the football field (also atthe soccer field starting a couple ofweeks later) I measured off 4-by-8-foot plots and drove a wooden stake ineach corner flush with the groundWith a tin can lid nailed to the top ofeach stake the plots were easy to findand cover with a sheet of plywoodeach time the biostimulant was beingsprayed This included the first timein the mulch at sprigging

Within a week the sprigs sprayedwith the Launch had runners twice aslong as those we didnt spray Aftertwo weeks the runners averaged 3inches long versus less than 1 inch forthe untreated sprigs By March 31the three-week-old runners were aver-aging 6 inches Three to 4 inches wereabout the most we had expected tosee so we were really impressed

sporfsTURFmiddot httpwwwsporsturfonlinecom

Toma inspects the developing turf

I estimated the turf coverage ofthe two untreated plots at about 35percent versus an incredible 80 per-

cent for the rest of the field My judg-ment was seconded by the architectsconsultant Logan Homacon well

acquainted with Tif 419 particularlyin golf course situations Looking atthe three week old field he saidAlmost anyone would guess that thisgrass is seven or eight weeks old

Game-Ready at 6 WeeksBy the end of the sixth week the

football field could have handled agame

Checking the root growth of theuntreated plots made me reallyrespect the biostimulant After 6weeks the grass had 6-inch rootsexcept in the check plots where theroots averaged only 1 12 inchesWithout the Launch this field couldhave been a disappointment or atleast a lot more of a challenge Thebaby grass had been pushed with fer-tilizer about as much as could besafely done It got two or three gran-ular feedings monthly supplying atotal of around three pounds of actu-al N per month

When the field was 8 weeks oldthe athletic directors and coaches

Seeding is BelievingThe Quick Slit Seeder follows the ground contours accurately and plants seeds ata constant depth in its own prepared mini seedbed This unit is also a cultural toolin that it acts as a grass root pruner by cutting or breaking the grass plant rootsFor the survival of the grass plant it must immediately put all of its resources intogrowing new roots resulting in stronger plants with better root structures

41 Kelfield Street Rexdale Ontario CanadaCON 1-800-325-4871 USA 1-800-665-2696

wwwsportsturfmagiccom

Circle 110 on Inquiry Card

sports TURF bull httpwwwsportsturfonlinecom

bull Quick germination in higher yields

bull Easy to calibrate

bull Minimum surface disturbance

bull Sowing varieties include (but not limited to)All types of seed Grain Pesticide ampFertilizer Prills Pelletized Lime Diazinon 5

bull Coverage Rates 41bs - 5001bs acre

bull Insure seedsoil contact while maintainingconstant seed depth

bull Save 25 of seed with accuratecalibration

February 2001 19

came out for a close-up look Headfootball coach June Jones said itlooked as smooth as a pool table andcommented that he had never seen

grass in better condition We dug sev-eral samples for them and came upwith 6 or 7 inches of roots each timeEarlier roots over 8 inches long were

found on grass plants growing overthe sand drains [4 in x 12 in sand-filled drainage grooves spaced 10 ftapart running lengthwise down thefootball field]

By the eleventh week the footballfield looked its best so far But it wastime to aerate We used theVertidrain one-inch tines punchingto a depth of 12 inches on four-inchcenters In my opinion the worstthing you can do to grass is mow itwith a dull mower and the nextworse is aeration After aerating wesprayed Gordons Focus a straightbiostimulant (no liquid manure likethere is in Launch) We made thefirst application on May 30th andapplied it again in mid-June Theupper field had to be playable byJune 19th for a football camp

Attractive Grass and ToughWithin four or five days everyone

who saw it was commenting on theterrific response of the 419 The grasscame back so dark green and thick it

Drive Home SuperbField Striping

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or call 1-888-907-3463t8IIregNATIONAL MOWER COMPANY~ 700 Raymond Avenue bull S1 Paul MN 55114- Fax (651) 646-2887 Email salesnationalmowercom

Circle 113 on Inquiry Card

20 February 2001 sports TURFbull hftplwwwsportsturfonlinecom