As Halloween has passed and the election season comes to a close, superintendents are in a race against time to make course preparations for winter while the days continue to get shorter and shorter. It's mid-November, but there is still plenty to do despite cooler conditions and fewer rounds of golf. In the northern half of the region, this includes late fall fertilizer applications to enhance turfgrass cold tolerance and speed green-up in the spring, fungicide applications to control snow mold, and winterizing the irrigation system. Superintendents in the southern half of the region are doing much the same, and those with zoysiagrass or bermudagrass fairways are, as always, educating course officials why it is best to restrict winter cart traffic when fairways are dormant.

As these important activities are completed, it is time to gather indoors to catch-up on the latest developments in the turfgrass industry by attending local and regional conferences. Appropriately, many have placed an emphasis at conferences this winter on education for golf facilities to best survive the downtrodden economy while also protecting the environment. As both issues continue to headline our everyday lives, I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone of conferences scheduled in the coming months.

The dates and locations are as follows:

Please vote 'Yes' to attend one or more of these outstanding educational events.

If you would like more information about a Turf Advisory Service visit, contact either of the Mid-Continent regional offices: Ty McClellan at tmcclellan@usga.org or (630) 340-5853 or Bud White at budwhite@usga.orgor (972) 662-1138.