The coldest air of the winter season this year is upon us. When air this cold settles in, calls and e-mails regarding potential winter damage start rolling into our office. The bottom line is that it is too early to tell what the impact this weather will have on the turf. Throughout the region, adequate hardening of the turfgrass plant should have occurred. Ice encasement is a concern in some northern parts of the region, but, again, the duration has been short. In the Mid-Atlantic Region, we generally see more problems with late winter/early spring cold blasts than we do during the heart of the winter. When the weather does moderate, scout your golf course for winter diseases like pink and gray snow mold, Waitea patch, and cool temperature brown patch.

The conference season is in full swing. Be sure to take advantage of the educational opportunities that are available. While pesticide certification credits, etc. are necessary, this should not be the only criteria used for attendance. There is a reason there are educational sessions at these conferences. It is to keep all of us up-to-date on happenings throughout the golf industry with new products, trends, and research. Continuing education is very important for all of us.

USGA Green Section regional meetings are approaching quickly. Our first meeting, which represents our first return to Virginia in a number of years, will be held at the Westhampton course of the Country Club of Virginia in Richmond on Tuesday, February 24 ^th . The meeting starts at 12:00 and admission is free. You can register online at http://www.usga.org/register/ . The conference code is: 22409.

Our second regional meeting will be held at Woodholme Country Club in Baltimore on Tuesday, March 10. The meeting starts at 9:00 and there will be a registration fee. Remember, Woodholme is famous for its Maryland crab cake lunch and spectacular desserts with hospitality that is second to none! Lunch is included in the meeting cost. Please contact our office at the number below to register for this meeting. We hope that you will attend one or both of these meetings.

Finally, invoices for Turf Advisory Service visits will be mailed very soon. The early payment discount has increased to $500.00for payment received before May 15 ^th , 2009 . Take advantage of the early payment discount to save some money and allow us to schedule our travels more efficiently.

The agronomists of the Mid-Atlantic Region are part of your agronomic support team. If you have a question or concern, give us a call or send an e-mail. You may contact the agronomists of the Mid-Atlantic Region, Stan Zontek ( szontek@usga.org ) or Darin Bevard ( dbevard@usga.org ) at 610/ 558-9066 or Keith Happ ( khapp@usga.org ) at 412/ 341-5922.