Kevin....Where have you been??

I've had many inquiries of where have I been lately? The blog has been somewhat dormant and I apologize for that. I have been in the process of relocation. I have sold my house in Eagle, Colorado and have moved temporarily to Fort Collins, Colorado. I have been traveling and will continue to do so until I find the right place to land. I plan on traveling through Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. That's a pretty big list of states, but I'm in no hurry.

I will continue my working relationship with TurfNet, WinField, and Milorganite. I will also continue to work as an agronomist, consulting with golf courses. Being able to work remotely is one of the best things I have experienced, and basically I can live anywhere. 

So now as the dust settles on my move I hope to rekindle the blog and be more active. Sorry for the inactively, but stay tuned and thanks for your support!

WinField Educational Event...

Really excited to be part of the WinField educational team headed to Seattle, WA and Portland, OR. This looks like a fun trip with great education on tap. Last year I met many superintendents from the area and hope to do the same this year. Come and join us, it's free. Hope to see you there!

Special Trip to Bandon Dunes

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit Bandon Dunes to be part of the WinField "Lunch and Learn" educational team. All I can say is, "what a great experience"! Really fell in love with this property! We started the day with our educational seminar for the Bandon staff. Myself, Dr. Doug Soldat, University of Wisconsin, Gary Grigg, Grigg, and Rob Garcia, Winfield United all spoke on various golf course management topics. Roger Henderson, WinField United local sales representative, put on the event and did a wonderful job. It's the first time I have ever been in a conference room that used a wireless signal from my laptop to the projector. Who knows, maybe the days of all those cables will be over soon. It was a great morning of education and the Bandon staff was very interactive.

Dr. Doug Soldat, University of Wisconsin, talking Iron Management in turf.

The group then enjoyed a fabulous lunch prepared by the staff at the Bandon Dunes clubhouse facility. After the great lunch, we headed out on the course to get a private tour of the facility by Jeff Wilson, superintendent of the Bandon Dunes course. I met Jeff just over a year ago at the 2016 Ryder Cup, where we enjoyed the week together. So we piled in the truck and off we went.

Jeff Wilson, second from left explains their natural sand topdressing pile.

One of the first stops that Jeff wanted us to see was the topdressing pile. The greens construction at Bandon used the natural sand on site. With the native sand greens construction, they are also able to use on-site sand deposits for topdressing. The area above was designated to save as their topdressing sand. We were all amazed at the sheer size and volume of sand stash for future use. Let's just say they won't need to purchase any sand for a while. Pretty neat stuff, having your own deposit of topdressing sand on-site.

It was a big treat to spend some time with my Ryder Cup friend and Bandon Dunes course superintendent, Jeff Wilson.

Next up we stopped to look at and discuss the gorse issue at Bandon. Jeff had been chatting in the truck about gorse and educating us about what a difficult plant this truly is. When we stopped to check it out, we knew right away Jeff wasn't kidding about what a tough plant this is. Very invasive and difficult to control is a bad combination.

Gorse, as tough of a plant as there is! If you hit it in there, leave it!

After our Gorse education, we returned to the truck and concentrated the rest of our day on seeing the various golf courses. For myself, it was a golf course junkie's dream. The setting, topography, and great architects truly make this place special. I can't wait to return to Bandon and bring my clubs someday. I want to thank WinField United, Roger Henderson, the educational team, and the folks at Bandon Dunes for a spectacular visit! Enjoy a few of my favorite photos.

The Team checking out some of the greens contours.

As rugged as its gets!

Love this stuff...who said bunkers had to be manicured?

Spectacular Stuff!

Nothing to say here except...WOW!

The Punch Bowl, a 2.7 acre putting extravaganza!

Bandon Preserve, a Par 3, 13 hole course by Coore/Crenshaw.

What a way to end a spectacular trip!

WinField Lunch and Learn

The next WinField Lunch and Learn I will be presenting at will be held right here in my home state of Colorado. The agenda is outstanding. Really looking forward to presenting at this event. Also looking forward to learning about snow mold updates from Tim Klein, Syngenta and learning about what actually makes this worm extract so good for turfgrass systems from Tom Madison of Worm Tee. My usual speaking partners, Dr. Thom Nikolai, Michigan State University and Rob Garcia, WinField will also be in attendance. This is a great event and it's FREE. Mark your calendar!

2017 Solheim Cup - Takeaways

Attending the Solheim Cup and helping my good friend Rick Tegtmeier was certainly something I will always remember. The hospitality I received and the people I met were fantastic. I will no doubt have many takeaways from the event forever. In this video for TurfNet.com I selected a few of the many takeaways to highlight. It is just a small sampling from a milestone event for me. To view click HERE Enjoy!

WinField "Lunch and Learn" Dalton Ranch Golf Club, Durango, Colorado

I'm very pleased to be part of the educational team for the Winfield "Lunch and Learn" event at Dalton Ranch Golf Club in Durango, Colorado on July 12, 2017. Its been while since I've been to that part of Colorado and I'm really looking forward to visiting and presenting to many old friends. I'm also looking forward to meeting some of the new superintendents in that area. Can't wait, mark your calendar! Hope to see you there.

A Visit to Chambers Bay.....

Recently, while on a trip to Seattle for some speaking engagements, I had the pleasure to tour Chambers Bay. Chambers was the site of the 2015 US Open and is a stunning layout designed by Robert Trent Jones II. Eric Johnson is the Director of Agronomy at Chambers and gave Doug Soldat, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin and I the complete tour of this wonderful facility. I have visited many golf courses through the years and Chambers has to be one of the coolest properties I have ever stepped foot on. A special thanks to Eric for his time and the great "agronomy talk" along the way. Take a look at these photos and I think you will agree, this place is special!

"The Lone Fir" is definitely special.

Another "Lone Fir" shot.

An example of the dramatic bunkering at Chambers.

We beat the rain by a few minutes, but it did make for some great views.

How about that pot bunker?

There was some great "agronomic talk" between Eric Johnson, left, Dr. Doug Soldat, right and myself.

Big thanks to Eric Johnson, Director of Agronomy, Chambers Bay.

TurfNet "Tips and Tricks" Video...

Recently, while in the Seattle/Tacoma area, I had the opportunity to visit with Joel Kachmarek, Golf Course Superintendent at Tacoma Country and Golf Club in Lakewood, Washington. Joel is a very smart and progressive superintendent full of great ideas. One of those ideas, is the use of ski racks to attach watering hoses for easy dragging behind a vehicle. So good in fact, and despite some Seattle weather, I produced a TurfNet.com video for their "Tips and Tricks". Take a look...

TO VIEW CLICK here 

TurfNetTV - Latest Video is Live

My latest video for TurfNetTV is live on TurfNet.com. In this latest video, "Ross and Rossi" I chat with Frank Rossi. He and I do a little ranting together on spring conditions and what to expect going forward in 2017. I alway enjoy a little ranting with Frank and this video is no different. Enjoy!

To view click here

WinField Academy "Lunch and Learns" headed to Seattle Area

The WinField Academy Tour bus will make two stops in mid-May in the Seattle area. One in Lakewood, WA at Tacoma Golf and Country Club on May 16th and the another at Cablea's in Tulalip, WA on May 17th. I'm really excited to be involved with these educational events. A few years back, I spoke at the Washington Turf Conference and the turnout of 200+ superintendents to listen to my talk was fantastic. I had a great time at that conference and look forward to meeting some of those same superintendents again. The best thing of all it's free, thanks to WinField United for giving back to the industry.

The WinField Tour Bus Rolls On......

The Winfield Academy "Lunch and Learn" tour bus will be making a stop in Glenwood Springs, Colorado on April 19th at the Ironbridge Country Club. I'm very excited about this event being held virtually out my back door. Please join us for a great morning of education followed by lunch. After all, this event is FREE, hope to see you there! Thanks to Winfield for sponsoring this event and giving back to the industry.

To sign up, click here

WinField Academy "Lunch and Learn" Glenwood Springs, Colorado

The next stop on the WinField Academy "Lunch and Learn" tour bus will be Glenwood Springs, Colorado. I will be speaking along with others in the golf industry on April 19th at the Ironbridge Golf Club. Really excited about this event and looking forward to sharing my 45 years of golf course experience with many of my western Colorado friends. Most of all, this event is FREE. So mark your calendar, details to follow.

The Future of Golf Course Management?

You could say, "I've seen the future and the future is now"! We all know how technology is simply amazing. Just like in the real world, in the turf management world technology is moving so fast that it is difficult to keep up with. Just like a Smartphone or a Smart TV, the turf world now has "Smart Sprayers". These smart sprayers are a wonderful advancement for today's turfgrass management. The ability for nozzles on a spray boom to be controlled individually via GPS along with using satellite imagery to collect plant health data is truly amazing. Combining GPS sprayers and the plant health data will allow turf managers to spray only target areas and also apply a variable rate depending on that plant health data. Really impressive stuff! The savings from control products and fertilizers is estimate at 10-20%. You can see why this technology won't take long to pay for itself.

Photo shows material applied in the rough when not needed without GPS nozzle control.

The same photo showing non-targeted triangles. Adding these triangle areas together throughout an entire golf course can determine significant wasted material. 

WinField's GeoTech Tool is a big part of the future of turf management.

The other part of the future is "Smart Sprayers".

WinField "Lunch and Learn" Salt Lake City, Utah

What a great time in Salt Lake City, Utah this week. I was there participating in the Winfield "Lunch and Learn" educational series as a presenter. What a fabulous group we had. Thanks to all the superintendents from Utah, Idaho, and Nevada that were in attendance. Also, a big thanks for the interaction during my presentation, that always makes a presentation extremely enjoyable. Special thanks to Roman Grigg and Rob Garcia from Winfield for the great hospitality. Can't wait to be back!

Salt Lake City, Utah was a great place for the first stop on the Winfield Tour Bus.

My Presentation was filled with, "Quick Hitters", sharing my 40+ of experiences!

Dr. Thom Nikolai, Michigan State University, lead the day off in his usual style.

Yours truly, thanking the folks from Winfield for their support of Chris Tritabaugh, his team, and the volunteers during the Ryder Cup!

Rob Garcia of WinField gave a great talk about adjuvants.

Salt Lake City, Utah.....an airport with a view.

WinField Speaking Tour....

Next week I will be in Utah speaking at the WinField "Lunch and Learn" near Salt Lake City. This will be my first stop on my year long speaking tour. If you are a superintendent from Utah or the surrounding area, please come join us! This is a great half-day of education followed by lunch. Hope to see you there.

Involvement with WinField Solutions....

Proud to announce my involvement with WinField Solutions. WinField is one of the leading distributors of researched-based fertilizers and plant protectants in the United States. During my tenure as a golf course superintendent at the Country Club of the Rockies, I did business with WinField for many years. Their sales staff and service was always the best. I'm very excited to be working with this great company. I will be presenting golf course management topics at some of their "WinField Academies" and "Lunch and Learns". Looking forward to it!

Recent WinField Academy in Seattle, Washington.