Where I am:

Where I wish I was:

Although I do love the University of Guelph (UoG) campus, I say it bitter sweetly that I wish I was working instead. The campus here is remarkable with amazing limestone architectural structures where students interact, learn, eat and sleep. As well, the Arboretum, a hidden gem, boasting with biodiversity is a popular getaway from what can be stressful days at school. What I find the most enjoyable is simply walking through campus. The landscape throughout campus is of its own element – the tall, gnarly thornless honey locust’s that border the varsity red themed interlock brick meandering its way throughout campus of which students trample day in and day out. The horticulturist responsible for the University campus has done an exceptional job in maintaining the landscape with which we are ever so lucky to saunter about.

I could go on forever regarding the campus I have grown to love – it’s tough not to love and I will have to post some of my own pictures in the future. Here is a link to an article recently published about John Reinhart – the horticulturist at UoG.

Although I am 18 days late, happy New Year to those who follow my blog and Twitter account. I always say it, but I will say it again: I am going to blog more. Rather than simply saying I will blog more, perhaps I should make a realistic timeline and set myself up to achieve something rather than being lazy and focusing on the more important aspects in my life. I consider blogging important and I have always had a passion for writing (blogs, research papers, scripts); however sometimes it gets put on the backburner for far too long.

Essentially, I would like to blog up to once a week with updates on my progress with my winter semester and turf related topics when possible. I finish this semester at the end of April, upon which I will be beginning work again. Once work begins, I would like to be blogging up to a few times a week with numerous updates with the on goings of Mississaugua Golf and Country Club with regards to our Course and Grounds team.

This semester in a nutshell: I am in five classes which include; General Chemistry II, Biological Concepts of Health, Introduction to Molecular and Cellular Biology, Agri-food System Trends and Issues, and finally Plants and Human Use. I am much more intrigued by these classes than my previous ones and here’s hoping for far superior marks than last semesters.

Tick tock

I can’t believe it’s been just over five months since my last blog post. Where does the time go? It feels like yesterday that it was that cold, wet spring when many golf courses in southern Ontario were frantically trying to drain their extremely saturated properties. Upon mentioning that, the fall seems to be paralleled to that of the spring. It has been cold and rainy the last few weeks – although Thanksgiving weekend was beautiful.

Since my last post, I finished my first season at Mississaugua Golf and Country Club in early September and ventured my way back into school – waking up at 7:30am versus 4:00am feels like a luxury. This summer was a surreal experience, one that I will remember for the rest of my life. I acquired many valuable skills and excelled with previously obtained skills.

Being back in school is great and is keeping me extremely busy, but I do miss working. Going back to school was a big decision I had to make, but I believe it will be well worth it come graduation day – anticipated graduation spring of 2014.

With the free time that I do have – calculus, economics, chemistry and biology take up most of that time – but I do plan on blogging more frequently. That’s all for now, back to the books…

Sun setting over hole 18 at MGCC mid-summer

The heat is on

Wet is an understatement when it comes to describing what the spring was like here in southern Ontario. The weather has made a turn and the sun has been shining for about a week now. We are starting to see some heat stress on weak areas on the greens and collars – especially after we dragged, cut, verticut, topdressed, and cut the greens the other day. With the heat and stressed greens due to the cultural work, we needed to get some syringing in.

It was a great day today; fairway spraying was finished, greens and approaches were cut, and the surrounds were taking in some much needed nutrition.

I hate to say it, but there is some rain in the forecast and we could use it!

New journey

Well, it’s been a while. My only excuse is that I’ve been too busy to write, which is true – due to the fact that I am working long, but good, hours. Along with these long hours, my commute home takes over an hour, so it leaves me with only a few spare hours in the evening to socialize with my roommates (my two best friends) and to make phone calls to family and friends before hitting the lights at around 10:00pm. Oh, and of course I make time for the Stanley Cup playoffs. (Go Canucks!) Rather than turning this into a rather lengthy post, I will keep it relatively short and hopefully this could turn into a consistent trend with updates about my new job at Mississaugua Golf and Country Club (MGCC).

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School finished in early April and I will be graduating on the Dean’s list which I am proud of. I took one day off after school to move out of Guelph and into Toronto before starting work.

Work started off quick – aerification on the greens took place, many new staff were starting and training became a daily trend, and fertilizer and chemical applications were underway.

The Environmental Coordinator (Spray Technician), Phil Song, acquired a new position as an assistant superintendent after 10 exceptional years at MGCC – he will be greatly missed. Starting in mid-May our new Environmental Coordinator, Ernie Bendzak, will take over, but for the time being I will be filling in with our green and fairway applications. I am extremely excited to meet Ernie and can’t wait to have another turf graduate on our course and grounds team at MGCC – it will be a great summer. Ernie brings a lot of experience to our team and he will be a great asset in the years to come – welcome to the team Ernie!

18 hole design

Quick update.

My 18-hole design is well underway. Here is a picture of it in as a rough draft.

Two weeks notice

In two weeks I will have completed my Associate’s Diploma in Turfgrass Management!

Busy couple weeks coming up with major assignments on the brink of being due and three exams to prepare for. I’m looking forward to finishing and getting back to work.

Golf course design

I am currently in the process of designing an 18-hole Championship golf course as part of my Golf Course Design class. Here is a quick visual of one of the holes I have completed so far. I will eventually be rendering it to enhance the design.

Scholarships

I would like to thank the Canadian Golf Superintendent’s Association (CGSA) and the Western Canada Turfgrass Association (WCTA) for their continual support of turfgrass management students. I recently received a scholarship from each organization and I am thankful that they are willing to help future turfgrass managers by supporting them to help them weave their way through school. Tuition is not cheap as you all know, so it is extremely beneficial to apply for the scholarships to try and reduce the costs.

In order to qualify for the scholarships, you must not only be enrolled in a turfgrass management program, but you must also be a member of the organization – in my case, students who were members of the WCTA were given preference over those without a membership, but I think it is crucial to become a member of as many organizations as possible.

It was until this past fall that I became a member of the CGSA and WCTA. At first it was because it was required to apply for a scholarship, but soon realized that I should have applied as soon as I knew about the organization. Ever since I have been a member I receive daily emails with job postings, monthly magazines and we have access to their websites which contains rich amounts of resourceful information regarding turf management.

So, again, a big thank you goes out to the CGSA and the WCTA for their continued support in turfgrass management students.

www.golfsupers.com

www.wctaturf.com

I figured the Rocky Mountains would have been rockier than this

Although many of you may not value the meaning of the title of this blog, it is a famous line from my favourite comedy of all time – Dumb and Dumber. The two characters in the movie are trekking across the United States from Rhode Island to Colorado and ended up making a wrong turn. Thinking that they were close to Colorado and obviously the Rockies, Harry Dunn (played by Jeff Daniels), wakes up and says “I figured the Rocky Mountains would’ve been rockier than this.”

I start off this blog with that quote because, although I was planning on heading across Canada again to work in Vancouver, I will not be making the trip. I was offered a job opportunity at Mississaugua Golf and Country Club (MGCC) with the former superintendent at Capilano Golf and Country Club (CGCC), Adam Zubek, and it was an offer I decided to take.

www.msu.edu

My position at MGCC is going to be fairly similar to the one I was offered at CGCC, focusing on integrated pest management, chemical and fertilizer applications, irrigation, record keeping, and cultural practices. I am extremely excited to be working there and am eager to finish school to start work.

It is going to be a big change from working in Vancouver because of the drastic differences in climate and I am anxious to see what disease pressure I will experience in Southern Ontario. Although I have worked in Ontario for three years prior to Capilano, I was not in school for turf  and was not as exposed to diseases and the information behind situations that related to it as I am now. Now that I have learned about diseases, I am looking forward to experiencing what the hot and humid weather will bring, or what sort of programs we can execute to prevent any pathogens from taking their course – pun unintended.

I have some great news coming in and will discuss that in my next blog.

2011 CGSA TORO Future Superintendent of the Year Award

www.ots.open.uoguelph.ca

The Canadian Golf Superintendent’s Association (CGSA) and TORO have teamed up to create such an amazing award for students who are pursuing a career as a golf course superintendent. One student from my class will be selected to compete against two other students from the other two institutions that have a turf management program. Once the three students have been finalized, they will be interviewed and selected by a panel in Calgary, Alberta. The winner will win an all expenses paid trip to Scotland for six weeks in a training and work experience program; a trip to TORO headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota; and an all expenses paid trip to the CGSA Canadian International Turfgrass Conference and Trade Show in Calgary in 2012.

I am applying for this award and have some stiff competition amongst my peers in my program. I love them all, but this would be an award that could really help propel me into the industry and it is a perfect opportunity for me to make a name for myself and to represent our country.

www.imaginations.ca