On March 25 – 26, almost 200 golf industry professionals gathered at Carmel Country Club to attend the USGA Green Section Regional Meeting. The meeting was co-sponsored by the Carolinas Golf Course Superintendent Association who did a marvelous job administering the meeting. In addition to the full day of education, everyone enjoyed playing Carmel Country Club’s South Course. Thank you to all who attended. Below are two brief highlights of this meeting.
Tips for Submitting Samples to a Diagnostic Lab
Dr. Jimmy Kerns, plant pathologist at N.C. State University, gave an interesting presentation on diagnosing diseases and how to submit a sample to a diagnostic lab. He provided some important tips that can help aid in any lab’s diagnostic efforts. Remember these tips the next time you need to submit a sample to a diagnostic lab.
- Collect the sample from the edge of the affected area. Including all dead turf will not help with the diagnosis.
- Wrap the sample in aluminum foil.
- Label the samples, e.g., “10th green.”
- Pack in a box, ship overnight if possible. Also, don’t ship over a weekend.
- Pictures are helpful, but don’t send close ups. A good picture is taken from a distance and shows the disease in context.
Ike Grainger Award Recipients
Established in 1995 as part of the USGA’s Centennial Celebration, the Ike Grainger Award recognizes those volunteers who have given 25 years of service to the Association. Grainger served on the USGA Executive Committee and rose to become president from 1954-55. During his tenure, Grainger helped negotiate the first uniform code of Rules with the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews.
In 2013, two members of the Green Section Committee were presented with this distinguished award. Mr. Harold Burns is the golf course superintendent at The Country Club of Spartanburg in Spartanburg, S.C. Mr. Ken Mangum is the Director of Golf Courses and Grounds at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek, Ga. We thank these gentlemen for their service to the USGA.
Source: Chris Hartwiger (chartwiger@usga.org)
Information on the USGA’s Turf Advisory Service
Contact the Green Section Staff