{"id":13333,"date":"2022-03-23T12:49:12","date_gmt":"2022-03-23T16:49:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aquatrolscompany.com\/a-turf-problem-solver\/"},"modified":"2022-03-23T12:49:12","modified_gmt":"2022-03-23T16:49:12","slug":"a-turf-problem-solver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aquatrolscompany.com\/en-ca\/a-turf-problem-solver\/","title":{"rendered":"A Turf Problem Solver"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
By Pat Jones<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wisconsin Superintendent Patrick Reuteman didn\u2019t have huge problems to solve when he took over for an area legend. But he solved some nagging issues with help from the targeted use of Zipline\u00ae<\/sup>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Patrick Reuteman became\nsuperintendent at Milwaukee\u2019s grand old Westmoor Country Club under nearly\nideal circumstances. His boss quite happily stepped away from the job and\nhanded him the keys to an excellent golf course on his way out the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
You may know the story: Bryan\nBergner, one of Wisconsin\u2019s best-known superintendents, made a family-first\ndecision to dedicate himself to raising his son when his wife took on a\ndemanding new career. As a result, he and Reuteman were able to manage the\nhand-off without a hitch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTransitions are tough when\nthere\u2019s nothing wrong with the golf course,\u201d laughs Reuteman. \u201cIt\u2019s yours to\nscrew up at that point.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But, when you\u2019re a passionate\nturf pro, there are always a few things you want to make even better. Now in\nhis fifth season as Westmoor\u2019s superintendent, Reuteman has put his stamp on\nthe program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First, he wanted to go after\nthe ‘thatchiness’ in his approaches to offer something new for players. \u201cWe\nwanted to push the boundaries on approaches and roll-out areas. So for a couple\nof years, I just beat the heck out of them, mainly aerifying, vertical mowing\nand topdressing just to give them a similar structure to our greens and then\ndropping mowing heights from there. We have high and low handicap play and it\u2019s\nfun because it’s challenging for the good players and the high-handicappers can\nputt off it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
His club\u2019s average handicap\nis 16 so things like that are a win\/win. \u201cI want to make it fun and I love\ngetting their feedback.\u201d He claims to be a middling golfer himself but he plays\nwith members regularly. \u201cI think it\u2019s important to hear what they think and\nhopefully give them straight information about what we\u2019re doing,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Another challenge was\naddressing an old nemesis, localized dry spot. When Zipline\u00ae<\/sup><\/strong> came along he trialed it on the club\u2019s Little Links\nshort course. \u201cI like trying different products, so I did a trial. The greens\nare sand-capped and super dry and the Zipline did great.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\u2019s noticed it lasts a lot\nlonger and is looking at the product for his putting surfaces. In the meantime,\nhe\u2019s plugged it into the fairway program to \u201ccharge things up\u201d and try to get\nahead of the annual drought he assumes will eventually arrive in Milwaukee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf we\u2019re wet in the spring a\nlot of guys skip. I think it helps to still do that app and get ahead of\nthings. I\u2019ve found that helps with Zipline and that \u2018charging\u2019 app we do.\u201d He\u2019s\nslowly working the product into his program to build it into his budget to make\nZipline part of his regular fairway program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One last annoying problem he\nwanted to solve: a series of lightly used but unirrigated tee boxes that\ndemanded a lot of hand-watering attention. \u201cWe started putting Zipline on these\ntee boxes two years ago and used it religiously. And loved it. We reduced our\nhand-watering on those non-irrigated tees substantially.\u201d He digs the labor\nsavings and it\u2019s one less thing to worry about. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reuteman doesn\u2019t lack\nsupport. His old boss still stops in and he has a tight-knit group of Wisconsin\nsupers he turns to for ideas and, of course, Aquatrols\u2019 John Turner who helps\nwith water management. His goal is to do things right agronomically and provide\ngreat play for the members at Westmoor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe reality is there are\nstill expectations to keep things green along with firm and fast. I call it\n\u2018country club firm.\u2019 Zipline helps us with that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Pat Jones Wisconsin Superintendent Patrick Reuteman didn\u2019t have huge problems to solve when he took over for an area legend. But he solved some nagging issues with help from the targeted use of Zipline\u00ae.\u00a0\u00a0 Patrick Reuteman became superintendent at Milwaukee\u2019s grand old Westmoor Country Club under nearly ideal circumstances. His boss quite happily stepped […]<\/p>\n
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