Turf

Green Thumb. Ron Kuhns has worked at golf courses his entire adult life. He loves being outside and caring for his course and all that grows on it. effort was a new rainbird nimbus 2 irrigation system installed in 2002. The new system allowed them to install wall- to-wall turf, thicken up the rough and improve the overall quality of the course. unfortunately, the lease company's financial struggles meant corners had to be cut, and the course took another hit. For about five years, ron's crew had to deal with a lack of resources that led to severe thatch layer, pest infestations and various turf diseases, such as anthra- cnose, patch diseases and some snow mold. In addition, he's lost about 30 trees in the past year alone to tree diseases and harsh winter weather. "I've kind of been the poster child for we-catch-everything- in-the-vicinity because we've had to neglect the golf course for so long. My greens are not in the best condition." Sun Willows' new irrigation system became the crew's most important tool for keeping the course playable. When there are hardly any resources to work with, ron said, water is everything. He and his crew struggled to keep the course green and playable with what little they had, and they did the best they could with what was available to them. This lack of resources meant he had to get creative in order to get things done. unlike many of his colleagues, ron does not have a degree in turf management. everything he knows about turf care, he learned hands-on. all these factors com- bined to create a situation that demanded experimentation and finding alternate ways of doing things. For example, Sun Willows is a less expensive, municipal course, so they don't have certain neces- sary pieces of equipment, including a top-dresser. ron solved that problem by using a modified fertilizer spreader to top-dress his sand. "I do a lot of uncon- ventional things," he says. Fortunately, Sun Willows is now under new management, and ron is working on bringing it back again. "It's really fun to have couseco come in, and they're giving me the resources to do the work…. It's a great kind of busy. It's really fun to have what you need to get the job done." With the resources pro- vided by courseco, Inc., Sun Willows is improving by leaps and bounds, and ron loves it. Symbiosis ron and some of the superintendents from other golf courses in the area have formed "a nice little clique" as he called it, something he hadn't ever experienced before in his professional career. If one course needs to borrow a piece of equip- ment, one of the other courses is happy to loan it to them. They all help each other out, whether it's loaning equip- ment or combining manpower to get big jobs done faster. "We all work together when we aerify," ron said as an example. Four or five courses will combine equip- ment and manpower and work together until all the courses are done. "I never had that in Spokane, and I never had it at Meadow when I was first a superinten- dent. But it has become very beneficial, Pest Control. Ron and his crew have had to deal with many pests over the years, including ant infesta- tions and tree diseases that knocked out several of his trees in the past couple years. especially to me, the guy with the least equipment." This camaraderie and willingness to help each other out has made a big dif- ference in each of the courses. They are able to accomplish things they wouldn't otherwise be able to do, or would take considerably longer to finish. ron was having some problems with a few hydrophobic areas on his turf, and nothing he and his crew tried would work. One of the other superintendents loaned him some equipment and the group was able to slice all of ron's greens in about three hours, saving him and his crew untold hours and effort and sav- ing his turf from drying out. "That's one thing I really enjoy about this area," ron said. "[If] you need anything, these guys will come and help you." WT Winter 2012 13

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