1. Golf Course Management Obj. 18-22

2. Golf Course Industry Scope and Development A.Golf Industry Scope 1. There are more than 16,350 golf courses in the U.S. 2. There are more than 25,000 golf courses worldwide. 3. There are more than 175,000 workers directly working on golf courses in U.S. 4. Golf courses in U.S. make up more than 1.6 million acres of land or 8% of the total U.S. turf area.

3. Golf Course Industry Scope and Development 5. Golf course management has an annual U.S. economic impact of $18 billion. 6. 100 universities and colleges in North America provide formal training in turfgrass management. 7. The golf industry is the core reason for attracting manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors of turf-related products.

4. Golf Course Industry Scope and Development B. Golf Industry Development 1. U.S. golf course development is on the increase. 2. One new golf course opens in U.S. on average each day.

5. Directed and Related Golf Course Careers A.Direct Careers 1.Golf course superintendent – supervisor and leader of golf course management crew. About 85% have formal training in turfgrass science or related fields. 2.Golf course management crew – 3 to several dozen people with special training to maintain a golf course. 3.Golf course assistant superintendent – serves as superintendent when superintendent is absent.

6. Directed and Related Golf Course Careers 4. Irrigation technician – trained specialist responsible for maintaining golf courses irrigation systems. 5. Pesticide technician – trained specialist responsible for golf course pest management. 6. Golf course mechanic – trained specialist responsible for repairing and maintaining turf and golfing equipment.

7. Directed and Related Golf Course Careers B. Related Golf Course Careers 1. Golf course architect – people who design golf courses. A new golf course starts with a golf course design. 2. Golf course builder – people who build or renovate golf courses 3. Golfing writers – people who write professional articles for magazines, newsletters, etc. 4. Golfing sales representatives – people who sale products to golf courses including fertilizers, pesticides, equipment, and irrigation supplies.

8. Parts of a golf course A.Parts of a golf course 1.Apron – the front area between a green and the fairway. 2.Bunker – a hazard consisting of a depression area of bare ground usually covered with sand 3.Collar – the zone surrounding the green ranging from two feet to several feet wide 4.Fairway – the area between the tee and green with a mowing height of ¼ to 1 inch

9. Parts of a golf course 5. hazard – any bunker or water hazard; roads, cart paths, and trees are not hazards 6. practice green – the green area of a golf course used for practice putting and usually placed near the clubhouse 7. putting green – the area to putt the ball into the hole 8. rough – the area that surrounds the putting green, fairway, and tees and provides the background which the game is played; they are covered with turfgrasses 9. tee – the area to start a hole; a tee is mowed at 3/8 to ¾ inches depending on type of turfgrass used

10. Preferred Turf 1. Creeping bentgrass cultivars – only putting green turfgrasses used in the northern and transition zones. 2. Hybrid bermudagrass cultivars – only putting green turfgrass in southern regions 3. Creeping bentgrass, Kentucky bluegrass – suitable turfgrasses for tees in cool regions

11. Parts of a golf course 4. Bermudagrass, zoysiagrass – suitable turfgrasses for tees in warm regions 5. Bentgrass, annual bluegrass, Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, fine fescues – suitable turfgrasses for cool season fairways 6. Bermuda grass, zoysia grass, seashore paspalum – suitable turfgrasses for warm season fairways 7. All cool season and warm season turfgrasses suitable for lawns are suitable as golf course rough turfgrasses.

12. Mowing, fertilizing, irrigating, cultivating and regulating golf courses A.Mowing Golf Courses 1. Mowing is the most common practice to prepare the playing surface. 2. Mowing a green is the most critical step in preparing the putting surface and it requires training and experience. 3. Straight cutting lines, proper overlaps, proper turns, and uniform mowing patterns are essential for all mowing practices on golf courses.

13. Mowing, fertilizing, irrigating, cultivating and regulating golf courses 4. A walk-behind or rider reel mower is used to mow greens at a mowing height range of 3/16 to 1/10 of an inch. 5. Proper setting of the mower is critical for the mowing quality. 6. Due to the required playing surface, clippings are removed from putting greens. 7. Frequently emptying mower baskets of clippings will reduce the impact to the soil and the potential of scalping.

14. Mowing, fertilizing, irrigating, cultivating and regulating golf courses 8. A mowing cleanup pass at the edge is critical to have a neat appearance. 9. Greens, tees, and fairways are commonly mowed on a daily basis. 10. If it is necessary, the putting greens are mowed twice a day. 11. Allowing dew to evaporate before mowing reduces disease potential such as dollar spot and results in a better cut.

15. Mowing, fertilizing, irrigating, cultivating and regulating golf courses 12. Safely operating mowing equipment is essential for all operators. 13. Proper training is required for new employees without mowing experience on golf courses. 14. The sharpness and proper maintenance of mowing equipment is needed. 15. Thorough clean up of mowing or other equipment after mowing is a basic work ethic.

16. Mowing, fertilizing, irrigating, cultivating and regulating golf courses B. Fertilizing golf courses 1. Plants require 15 essential elements to grow. 2. A shortage of any of these 16 elements will cause nutrient deficiency in a plant. 3. Among the 16 essential elements, 13 of them come from soils. 4. Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are required by plants in the greatest quantities and these three often become deficient. So these three elements are added to a lawn as fertilizers. 5. A soil test is high recommended for golf courses on a regular basis such as once every three to four months.

17. Mowing, fertilizing, irrigating, cultivating and regulating golf courses 6. For a creeping bentgrass green, an annual fertilization of 4 to 6 lb N/1,000 sq. ft. is recommended. 7. For a creeping bermuda grass green, an annual fertilization of 4 to 10 lb N/1,000 sq. ft. is recommended. 8. For a tee or a fairway, an annual fertilization of 2 to 5 lb N/1,000 sq. ft. is recommended. 9. For a rough, an annual fertilization of 1 to 3 lb N/1,000 sq. ft. is recommended. 10. If the tee, fairway, or rough, is planted in bermuda grass, add one to two pounds for season.

18. Mowing, fertilizing, irrigating, cultivating and regulating golf courses 11. Never apply more than 1 lb N/1,000 sq. ft. at one single application. 12. “Spoon-feeding” is highly recommended for all golf course areas. 13. All organic fertilizers (except urea) are slow release fertilizers. 14. All inorganic fertilizers are quick release fertilizers. 15. Cool-season turfgrasses are fertilized in the spring and fall. 16. Warm-season turfgrasses are fertilized in the summer.

19. Mowing, fertilizing, irrigating, cultivating and regulating golf courses 17. Recycling clippings can save as much as 50% of the required fertilizers. 18. Excessive fertilizer application can cause fertilizer burn and a negative impact on the environment. 19. Based on many scientific research results, the impact of fertilizers and pesticides on the environment is minimal with proper fertilization and pesticide application to a turf area. 20. It is safe to use fertilizers and pesticides if the label instructions are followed. 21. Fertigation – practice used to fertilize a golf course when irrigating

20. Irrigating golf courses 1.Irrigating Greens a. type of irrigation system – underground sprinklers b. irrigating – by irrigation systems and hand watering c. the highest irrigating frequency – daily d. the highest syringing frequency – several times a day by hand or the system e. impact – the quality of irrigation is influenced by many factors, such as irrigation frequency and intensity. Infrequent and deep irrigation is highly recommended. Frequent and light irrigation causes shallow root systems and surface moisture for diseases.

21. Irrigating golf courses f. Proper time of irrigation – early morning g. Degree of irrigation required – high h. Degree of training and decision making required – high i. The most challenging part – reducing the negative impacts to a minimum

22. Irrigating golf courses 2. Irrigating tees and fairways a. type of irrigation system – underground sprinklers b. irrigating – the irrigation system c. the highest irrigating frequency – weekly d. proper time of irrigation – early morning e. degree of irrigation required – low f. degree of training and decision making required – medium g. the most challenging part – to reduce the negative impacts to minimum h. only some high maintenance golf courses have an irrigation system for roughs

23. Irrigating golf courses Aeration – a practice used to improve soil conditions by removing soil cores or slicing the soil without destroying the lawn. Methods include coring, slicing, hydro-jet, vertical cutting, and de-thatching such as solid tine & deep drill 1. coring – method of turf cultivation in which soil cores are removed by hollow tines 2. de-thatching – any method used to reduce the thatch layer of a lawn 3. hydro-jet – a method using high pressure (5,000 psi) water injection into the turf to looses soil compaction without producing soil cores and destruction of the playability.

24. Irrigating golf courses Soil compaction – a problem on golf courses due to the intensive traffic of 20,000 to 50,000 golfers on a course per year. Traffic control is a common practice on golf courses. Biostimulants – plant growth promoters extracted from other living organisms containing one or more types of plant hormones Plant Growth Regulators (PGR) – chemicals that can either reduce or promote the growth of turfgrasses, improve turf quality, or suppress weeds. Color agents – used to draw lines or make marks on golf courses for tournaments. Iron liquid fertilizer between 2 to 4 oz. per 1,000 sq. ft. is also often used to improve turfgrass color within rows.