Oregon State University Update

Rob Golembiewski
Turfgrass Specialist

Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things.  Denis Diderot

Greetings from the home of the Oregon State Beavers!  It is indeed a pleasure to write what I hope is one of many articles for the “NTA Newsletter”. For those that don’t know me, my name is Rob Golembiewski (pronounced Go lem bee s kee) and I am the new Turfgrass Professor at Oregon State University.  I have been here in Corvallis for 9 months now having just completed my first full year of teaching.  Since I haven’t had the opportunity to meet a lot of you, I thought it would be great to share with you what has occurred at OSU since my arrival and some of the exciting events coming up this summer. 

We had 25-30 students enrolled in the turf program this past year with six graduates joining the ranks of OSU Turf Alumni including:  Chad Kosel, Chris Robson, Jason Collins, Jeff Mason, Steve Purdy, and Russ Deboodt – congrats gentlemen and good luck in your future endeavors!  Some of you may be asking why I didn’t list the exact number of students in the program and the answer is quite simple – I don’t know.  Students interested in turf fall under one of three categories right now:  Turf & Landscape Management option, Turf Management option, or those who have not declared an option.  The Turf & Landscape Management option was separated a few years ago for various reasons into a Turf Management option and Environmental Landscape option.  I am currently working on bringing the two options back together again with the new curriculum for the Turf & Environmental Landscape option taking effect this fall. 

In December, I had an advisory committee meeting which consisted of a group of individuals representing both the golf course industry and landscape industry.  The meeting was designed to evaluate our undergraduate program and determine where we needed to go in the future so that we continue to produce graduates who are capable of being very successful as they enter the workforce.  A special thanks to Al Nielson, Dave Phipps, Dave Freitag, Dick Fluter, Chris Gaughan, Josh Lewis, Dean DeSantis, Matt Triplett, and Glen Fritts.

Along with providing guidance for the turf students, I am responsible for teaching Introduction to the Turf & Landscape Industry, Principles of Turf Maintenance, Turf Fertility, Golf Course Management, Irrigation & Drainage, and co-teaching a Career Explorations course. I did not teach all of the courses this past year due to the fact that many of the turf students took the courses early with Tom prior to his retirement (I would have too). 

In addition to my on-campus activities, I have made a big push to get out, make presentations, and visit with members from the golf course industry. My travels have taken me throughout Oregon and into Washington, Idaho, and Montana.  The hospitality has been phenomenal and I truly appreciate the positive response and support for the OSU program. 

With regards to research, Brian McDonald continues to serve as my research technician and does an extraordinary job.  We initiated two gray snow mold fungicide evaluation trials over in Bend this past fall which produced some interesting results (a detailed report will be provided in an upcoming issue of the NTA Newsletter). 

During the winter, a lot of thought was given regarding the direction of our research program in 2009.  Our first huge undertaking this spring was the construction of a new 12,000 sq.ft. Poa putting green at our turfgrass teaching/research facility located on the Lewis-Brown Farm.  Everything was performed in-house but not without the help and donations of many within the industry including:

Very special thanks to both Paul Backman and Scott Larson.  Paul was instrumental in securing donations from superintendents in Oregon and Washington while Scott donated countless hours assisting with the grading of the site as well as the installation and leveling of the sand.  This new green will be used to conduct anthracnose and fusarium research trials, mowing and rolling research, and growth regulator studies.

Along with the Poa research, we have decided to place an emphasis on environmental research. In March, I took on a new graduate student, Tod Blankenship, whose is a Certified Golf Course Superintendent from Wisconsin. Tod will be using some of the new technology available to superintendents to evaluate water use of 10 cool season turfgrasses as influenced by mowing height and fertility. Tod also is coordinating the daily operations at our turfgrass teaching/research facility this summer.  I look forward to having him more involved in teaching and sharing his experiences with students starting this fall. 

One other key addition to the turf program for the next year is a website coordinator who will be responsible for the development of a new interactive turf website that will be accessible via BeaverTurf.com this fall.  Thanks to all of you who took time to complete my survey and provide invaluable feedback regarding what content would be of most value on the website.

As for upcoming events this summer, please mark these dates on your calendar:

July 13th

WSU/OSU Turf Field Day at the R.L. Goss Research Facility in Puyallup – a great group of speakers is scheduled to present including yours truly J.

July 20th

OGCSA Foundation Golf Tournament at Waverly Country Club—please visit the OGCSA website to register your team.

 If you have any questions or if I can be of assistance to you this summer, please do not hesitate to contact me at 541.737.5449 or via email at golembir@hort.oregonstate.edu. 

 And last but not least, a little laughter which is good for the soul. 

 David Letterman’s Top Ten Reasons Why Golf is Better than Sex . . .

 #10 A below par performance is considered damn good

 #9 You can stop in the middle and have a cheeseburger and a couple of beers

 #8 It’s much easier to find the sweet spot

 #7 Foursomes are encouraged

 #6 You can still make money doing it as a senior

 #5 Three times a day is possible

 #4 Your partner doesn’t hire a lawyer if you play with someone else

 #3 If you live in Florida, you can do it almost every day

 #2 You don’t have to cuddle with your partner when you’re finished

 And the NUMBER ONE reason why golf is better than sex . . .

 #1 When your equipment gets old you can replace it.

  Best wishes for a productive summer and GO BEAVS!