Newcastle Experiments with Composts

"We did some trial work on compost and have been pretty happy with the results. We have found some of the batches vary in freshness so where and when you use it could be a concern. Overall though, using it in our divot mix has been great for speeding up germination and divot recovery. It is also showing significant promise in our high wear and droughty areas." - 

From Scott M. Phelps on the Newcastle Turf Maintenance Blog

Check out Cedar Grove for more info on their Compost Products

Magic in Marrakech

Stakeholder Coalition Develops Best Practice for Water Management in Marrakech

Marrakech, the Moroccan Imperial city, is strategically located close to the Atlas mountains. In the early days, the city was the gateway to the Sahara desert and over the years, Marrakech developed into a unique touristic destination. An interesting destination also for golf tourism, showing the many golf courses around Marrakech. With 24.000ha, high summer temperatures, a total population of 950.000 people and nineteen courses, water is a valuable asset. To protect the city’s environment, a public-private collaboration was initiated to collect all the wastewater from the city, treat the water and reuse it for instance for irrigation of the Palm groves of Marrakech and golf courses.

Image from Complete Morocco

Buffalograss Gaining Popularity on the Golf Course

There’s been much discussion lately on the subject of water conservation within the golf course industry, and for good reason. As water demands outweigh water supplies in many areas of the country, several courses are starting to feel the pinch and are looking for ways to cut back on irrigation needs.

Methods such as rainwater harvesting have shown huge potential for water conservation in golf course  management. Although rainwater harvesting is a great way to provide a free, steady, and sustainable supply of water, it’s only one side of the irrigation coin. Not only do we need to be able to supply a sustainable supply of water, but we need to consider using turfgrass species that don’t require much water to begin with.

How To: Golf Course Rainwater Harvesting Part 2

See Part 1 of this series here.
...Now that’s all nice to see annual totals, but if we want to invest in the infrastructure to use this resource of ours wisely then we are going to have to get specific. The best way to do this is to find out exactly how much of this water you are going to use.

Part 2: How can I tie it in to my current system or maintenance routines?

To answer this question let's break it down into three parts: collection, storage and delivery.

Collection Method

Here we evaluate the effectiveness of 4 things - Material, Delivery, Climate and Other:

Material of roof

• Is the roof constructed of standing seam metal, ethylene propylene diene monomer (EDPM), slate or tile? (different materials have different runoff coefficients i.e. metal is .95, concrete and asphalt is .9, tar and gravel is .8-.85)
• Is the roof or exterior building walls capable of withstanding load or attachment of a "delivery system" (see below)?

How To: Golf Course Rainwater Harvesting Part 1

For golf courses using municipal water sources (roughly 14% in USA) or a limited renewable source for irrigation, collecting roof rainwater may have considerable benefits. Harvested rainwater can later be used to supplement landscape applications in isolated areas, for young planted material, the growing of nursery stock, bunker surrounds and heavily stressed turfgrass. Whatever your intended use, when evaluating the possibility of collecting rainwater from a roof for the purpose of holding and applying there are 3 major things to consider:

1. How much can I collect? (Supply)
2. What is the impact on my maintenance routines? (Collection, Storage & Demand)
3. How do I deliver? What is my ROI?

I’ve provided some insight to this process using a few helpful resources, case studies and formulas. Enjoy!

Wildflower Establishment at Golf Course Grow In

In the West Texas Panhandle, Lubbock Texas, I had just completed a construction and grow in of a 265 acre golf Facility for Texas Tech University. Opening day was set for Sept 2003 and it went flawless with Bobby Knight and Tom Arnold there to kick off the festive party for the University. While during that winter it was discussed about adding wildflowers to the course and around the 3,500 trees that were planted on the course.

Water Conservation Ads from Denver Water

Denver Water aims to reduce overuse of the local water supply through educational campaigns. Check out these two hilarious videos and a story about the CommonGround Golf Course using recycled water.