Penn State Turf Students Headed to the Ryder Cup

Medinah Country Club’s Director of Grounds and Penn State alum Curtis Tyrrell has invited 20 Penn State Turfgrass Students to help prepare the course for the 2012 Ryder Cup. Students within the Golf Course Turfgrass Management Program (the 2-year program) will fly to Chicago in September where they will assist Tyrrell and his full time crew ready the course for the biennial golf match between teams from Europe and the United States.

Arrangements for this once in a lifetime opportunity for the students at Penn State has been in the works for several years and was made possible due to the hard work of Tyrrell and several commercial sponsors. According to John Kaminski, Director of the Golf Course Turfgrass Management Program, “This is going to be a chance for the students to be a part of golfing history and wouldn’t have been possible without the support of Medinah Country Club and industry sponsors.” Sponsoring the students are Toro/Reinders, Syngenta, Pearl Valley Organix, Chicagoland Turf, JW Turf/John Deere Golf, Wadsworth Golf, Bayer Crop Science, and Nadler Golf Cars.

"Medinah Country Club is proud to host the Penn State students as part of our volunteer team for the 2012 Ryder Cup Matches, “ Tyrell says. “This experience will provide these future turf managers insight into major tournament preparations and operations, which is something that will be useful for them throughout their careers. We are grateful for our sponsorship participation in making this unique opportunity a reality."

In addition to the existing students making the trip to Chicago, Kaminski has reserved spots for two students entering the program in the fall. These spots will be randomly selected from those students accepted into the program in 2012. “In addition to the diverse classes, the 6-month advanced internship, and the hands-on training provided to the students, opportunities like this help to prepare students for a leadership position in the turfgrass industry,” said Kaminski.

Penn State’s Golf Course Turfgrass Management Program is an accelerated training program for those wanting a career in the golf course industry. Since 1957, Penn State has graduated over 1500 students. Graduates can be found at top golf courses around the country and around the world.

For more information on the Golf Course Turfgrass Management Program visit www.turf.psu.edu/certificate.

Duff Shaw Classic Set for December 12th

Duff Shaw Classic set for December 12 at North Ranch Country Club.

The Golf Course Superintendents Association of Southern California (GCSASC) will hold its 20th Annual Duff Shaw Classic December 12, 2011at North Ranch Country Club in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Duff Shaw Classic is the fundraiser for the association’s benevolent fund that has raised nearly $900,000 to benefit GCSASC members and fellow industry professionals in times of need.

The Duff Shaw Classic started as a fundraising event to benefit the family of GCSASC member Duff Shaw (Penn State 2-Year Turf Alum, class of 1986) who succumbed to his battle with cancer.  With the support of the GCSASC, his daughter Erin is able to attend Tulane University this year without the burden of tuition.  Sadly, Erin also lost her mother to cancer this past year.

The Duff Shaw Classic has continued to support the GCSASC fundraising efforts for its benevolent fund the past 20 years, supporting its members in times of need. In addition to the golf tournament, which begins at 7:30 a.m., Dec. 12, and the live auction that follows play, the Duff Shaw Classic will also include a 20th anniversary gala/holiday party, Dec. 11 at the Hyatt Westlake Hotel in Thousand Oaks, Calif., beginning at 5:30 p.m.

The goal of this year’s event is to raise $100,000 to reach $1 million in total donations over the 20 years of the benevolent fund.

Sponsorships and other donations are available for the event. Contact the GCSASC at 310-528-0723 or cyndy@cmnsupt.com for more information.

Musser Turf Foundation Launches Website

Original Press Release

The Musser International Turfgrass Foundation has launched a website, www.musserfoundation.org, to make information about the group’s mission and graduate student award program easily available to all interested parties.

Frank Dobie, the general manager/superintendent of The Sharon Golf Club (of Ohio) and president of the Musser Foundation Board, said the site will make it easier for turf doctoral candidates and others in the industry to find out more about the organization and the process of applying for the prestigious Musser Award of Excellence. “We’re pleased that we’re now able to effectively spread the word about the foundation to more potential applicants, supporters and those with an interest in the history of turfgrass research,” said Dobie.

In addition to information on the mission, history and application process, the site also includes a list of previous Award of Excellence recipients dating back to 1989. Many of the past recipients are now leading agronomic researchers and educators at universities and other institutions around North America.

The foundation has also recently created a Facebook page (Musser International Turfgrass Research Foundation) and a Twitter feed (@musserturfgrass) to allow individuals to keep up to date on the group’s activities.
The Musser International Turfgrass Foundation is dedicated to fostering turfgrass management as a learned profession. Named in memory of turfgrass scientist H. Burton Musser, the foundation acknowledges and rewards those individuals who have demonstrated excellence in the doctoral phase of their turfgrass science education and research.

Dean Graves talks about Chevy Chase Club

Dean Graves, graduate of the Golf Course Turfgrass Management Program, talks about the history and tradition of the Chevy Chase Club near Washington, D.C. Dean is among the most respected superintendents in the country and plays a large roll in the training of future golf course superintendents. Dean is currently mentoring Mitch McPhilomy on his 6-month internship as part of the 2-Year Program. Dean is also the father of 2010 graduate Nick Graves.

Internship Visits: Round #6

It's hard to believe that we are at Round #6 of internship visits for the students. One thing that I have learned from past visits is that it's best to group the student by geographic region so that visits are easier in terms of travel. While I did my best to do this in 2011, I feel that I am going to end up with about 3 more trips on average than what I would consider manageable  typical. In any case, with what looks to be a much larger starting class this fall, I am definitely going to have to make a few adjustments in our placements. Either way, all of the internships thus far have been extremely successful which I feel is a testament to the students' hard work and preparation during the selection process.

Visit #10: Shane Lee @ Baltusrol Golf Club

Shane is one of our international students and has been around golf course maintenance for many years as his father is a superintendent in Singapore. In deciding on a location, Shane chose Baltusrol because he felt he would learn a great deal of information about the management of cool season turfgrass (he interned as part of the Ohio Program for a year at TPC Sawgrass prior to coming to Penn State) and he knew that the internship program had a reputation for working the students hard. Shane toured me around the Lower Course and showed me many of the projects that they worked on this year to clean up around the major bunker renovation that occurred last year. Visiting Baltusrol is always a great experience for me personally as Mark Kuhns usually gives me the opportunity to give a seminar to all of the interns (more below).

Visit #11: Joe Leverson @ Liberty National

The day started with a 6AM visit to Liberty National where I toured the course with Joe. Joe is relatively new to the turfgrass industry, but already has a strong background of hands-on experience having first worked for Jeff Corcoran at Oak Hill and now for Greg James (2-Year class of '86) at Liberty. Although the course is only 6 years old, several of the greens and a few fairways were rebuilt in a tweaking to prepare for future hosting of the FedEx Cup series. I was amazed at how quickly they have established the greens this spring in preparation for a mid-season opening of the few holes that were rebuilt. Joe was one of three interns and doing a great job learning everything from the basics to getting a chance to participate in the renovation and grow-in of several new holes. Only being my second time to the course, I can say that I love the scenic nature of the course, but I am not sure that I want to put my sloppy golf game out there. It looks TOUGH!

View photos from Round #6 of the internship visits below.


Internship Seminar at Baltusrol 
As I mentioned above, one of the great things that Mark Kuhns does for his interns is brings in outside speakers to meet with the students. We often get caught up with our own students and the competition between Penn State and all of the other schools can be fun, but getting to meet the diverse group of students from all over the country is even better. For today's presentation, we talked about managing dollar spot, PGR use on golf courses and the importance of professionalism for young people in the industry. The students (from Guelph, Purdue, UMASS, URI, Miss State, Penn State, and Rutgers...I hope I didn't leave anyone out) asked a lot of great questions and I genuinely enjoyed meeting all of them.

Internship Visit: Round #5

After an exhausting week at the U.S. Open, I had a couple of days back on campus to catch up on research activities and the daunting task of clearing out built up email (can't we find another form of communication that is better than email?). The time at home quickly flew by and I was off again to the Philadelphia region to visit a couple of golf courses that were having some trouble on their greens and to visit my students at Bidermann and Merion.

Visit #8: Mark Swankowski @ Bidermann Golf Club

Having retired from his first career, Mark is what I would call a non-traditional student. I am truly amazed at his commitment and passion for the industry. Working at Bidermann under the direction of Jon Urbanski is a great experience for any intern because of the limited number of intern positions available and the structured internship program that he runs. At the club, Mark has been involved in everything from general maintenance to water management and will get the opportunity to run the crew during one of their tournaments towards the end of the year. Despite the fact that he doesn't "need" to be there working, his commitment to the course is one out of true passion for being outdoors and working in an environment that he loves.

Visit #9: Samuel Hess @ Merion Golf Club

Merion seems to get one of our students every year. Although the internship is not right for everyone, the right person can excel in the well-structured internship program run by Matt Shaffer (2-Year Alum) and his crew. Many people think that working at a club like Merion means that you will be raking bunkers, string trimming, and doing other remedial jobs. To the contrary, Matt gets his interns involved in all aspects of the maintenance program and is fortunate to have 36 holes which allows them to do just about everything during the summer. The only downside of the program (which is only a negative if the wrong person decides to work there) is that they have up to 10 interns which means you have to work hard to stand out. I personally love the competition invoked in this system, but I also pre-screen my students to make sure it will be a right fit for them.

View photos from Round #5 of the internship visits below.

Dr. Fidanza Promoted to Full Professor

Dr. Mike Fidanza was recently promoted to the rank of Professor, and is located at the Penn State Berks Campus, in Reading, PA. He received his undergraduate and graduate degrees at Penn State, and his Ph.D. at the University of Maryland. "Dr. Mike" was in research and development for a major plant protection company from 1995 to 2000, and has been at Penn State Berks since 2000 where he holds a research and teaching appointment. Dr. Mike is honored to be part of Penn State's turfgrass science team, and conducts a broad range of research in turf ecology, integrated pest management, evaluation of pesticide application technology, and development of sustainable turf management practices. Dr. Mike enjoys time with the family, which includes 5 children (2 sets of twins) and 2 yellow labrador retrievers.