Most golf courses are relatively dry, with lots of early outdoor work going on. Anxious golfers are chomping on the bit to get out and play. Ah but as we all know, mother nature is fickle and let us not count our golf days before the turf even starts growing!!!

Speaking of the city of Champions, can anyone argue that the Red Sox have made the best off-season moves in the last 86 years and are poised to once again claim the World Series Championship title again in this millennium??? Not only that, we get to open the season against the evil empire in Boston’s venerable Fenway Park.

BASF team attends New England Regional Turf Conference
The end of the trade show/seminar season is in sight. Last week Rich, Kyle and I attended the New England Regional Turf Conference. I expected a very strong trade show turnout as a result of the Golf Industry Show being in San Diego this year.

Also, the weather was perfect for a March in New England trade show… 40’s
Bring on the spring weather, baby!

Superintendents sharing insights in our in-booth survey kiosk on how they’re using mobile and online technology for their jobs were all eligible to enter the giveaway.

Thank you again to all the golf course superintendents who visited our BASF booth and shared their insights. You’re helping us create solutions for you!

In the golf course market, there is concern over the health of the turf coming out of winter. Central & Southern Ohio is not used to having extended snow cover for a portion of January, all of February, and who knows how much of March.

There is pink snow mold under the snow in many areas right now. There is also the concern of poa annua desiccation coming out of winter due to multiple freezing & thawing events. Most golf courses in Central and Southern Ohio do not treat fairways in the fall for snow mold, and normally do not use a lot of snow mold chemistry on greens and tees.

Click here to download BASF Professional Turf & Ornamentals Snow Mold Program recommendations.

Northern Ohio & Michigan golf course supers normally do not let their guard down pertaining to snow mold fungicide applications that are applied in the fall for winter protection. In Central & Southern Ohio, historically 600-1,000 rounds of golf are played in the 1st quarter of the year. In 2010, this number will probably be zero rounds played during this time-frame. This is not huge revenue, but it is some early season cash flow that helps to get the season kicked off on a positive note.

7th Annual Ohio State University Spring Tee Off Conference & Sports Turf Conference-February 24-25, 2010

This conference was co-sponsored by BASF Professional Turf & Ornamentals, Helena, The Ohio Turfgrass Association, & The Ohio Lawn Care Association/Ohio Sports Turf. This was a 2-day conference for sports turf managers and a separate conference for the golf course superintendents.

There were golf course superintendents present from Northern KY, Wheeling, WV, Southern Ohio, Central Ohio, Western Ohio, Cleveland & Toledo. There were approx 75-100 golf course superintendents in attendance for the golf session and approx 75 sports turf managers in attendance for the conference pertaining to them. I spent as much time in both sessions as possible. Since BASF was one of the sponsors, we were allowed to have literature displayed for customers to have if they so desired. I was amazed with the amount of BASF literature that was given to customers and the amount of quality conversations I had with key customers. I accomplished more in 2 days with customers than I could have in several weeks of business travel.

Presentations were given by pretty much all OSU Faculty involving Disease Management for Turf, Insect Management Updates, PGR discussions, New Herbicide Options, USGA Update from Bob Brame, Pesticide Regulations Update for 2010, etc.

Having recently joined BASF Professional Turf & Ornamentals as its new business manager, my first weeks on the job have been a whirlwind of customer visits, new product updates and meeting turf pros like you across the industry.

Whether it’s talking with superintendents at the Golf Industry Show, visiting distribution partners all across the U.S., or chatting up a lawn care operator, it’s apparent that the economy and this rough weather remain on the minds of all involved in our business.

We’ve had snow in 49 out of 50 states and record low temperatures. Yikes. You know the disease is out there percolating with all this moisture, plus the freeze and thaw cycles we have seen.

Still, you can tell the real turf pros are licking their chops a bit about these prospects. The weather will turn and while you don’t want your turf to get eaten up by disease, the challenge is in your own precision to put together the right IPM strategy and keep the turf healthy for your customers.

The economy? Not where we want it yet, but things are beginning to turn and we’ll take it. The old axiom of slow and steady wins the race can apply here. It’s important to remember to keep things in perspective, work hard and control what you can control. Do that, and more often than not, you’ll do alright.

That’s why I’m excited to be part of the industry and why I think BASF can help. We’ve got a market-leading portfolio of products to keep your turf disease- and weed- free. We’ve got more innovations coming, and we are pleased to sponsor and take part in the upcoming Plant Health series in Golfdom magazine.

Plant Health is a much discussed issue for the turf industry and we have an important science-based message to share with turf pros. BASF products can help your turf during weather-related stresses and stretch your IPM budget dollars farther. More on that is coming this year.

Another facet of our innovation is how we are using social media. You as a visitor to this blog or as a follower on Twitter know BASF as a leader in this channel as well. More is on the way as well, so stay in touch and use these platforms as another way to engage us.

And I’d like to extend that offer directly to you. Let’s start a dialog: Tweet us, post to our blog, reach out and tell us what’s on your mind.

Let’s open the season and have a great year together.

Thank you,

Brian Lish
Business Manager
BASF Professional Turf & Ornamentals

Thank you for visiting the BASF Professional Turf & Ornamentals booth and our guest Coach Mike Ditka.

Follow the instructions below to obtain your free, digital photo today – images will be only available until March 31, 2010.

1.) Click here to view the digital photo album of Mike Ditka at the BASF booth Golf Industry Show.

2.) Scroll through the album to select your photo with Mike Ditka.

3.) Once selected, e-mail the photographer, Melissa, at mj@sandiegophoto.com to request your free, digital copy.

If you have questions, feel free to contact us by commenting below.

Richard Jensen, golf course superintendent of Crooked River Ranch Golf Course in Crooked River Ranch, Oregon, is the lucky winner of the BASF Professional Turf & Ornamentals 2010 Golf Industry Show Watchdog® Plant Disease Weather Station giveaway.

Thank you to all the golf course superintendents who visited our BASF booth. It was great seeing you at GIS in San Diego and we look forward to seeing you at next year’s show in Orlando. In the meantime, let us know how we can help you improve your turfgrass conditions.

Contact your BASF Professional Turf & Ornamentals sales rep for turf disease control information, tips and product information.

The BASF Professional Turf & Ornamentals team greatly appreciated seeing so many new and old faces at this year’s activities. A big “thank you” to our BASF booth visitors for taking time to learn about our products and people, as well as taking part in booth events.

GIS BASF Booth Highlights:

• 100 attendees started their morning off with BASF and a Starbucks coffee card.
• John Swoyer, golf course superintendent of New York state’s Shorewood Country Club, won iPod Touch from BASF GIS Survey Kiosk.
• 60 golf course superintendents met Thomas Nikolai, Ph.D., and received a signed copy of his “The Superintendent’s Guide to Green Speed Management” book.
• 18 golf course superintendents won more than $10,000 in combined cash prizes playing BASF Superintendent Thousandaire rounds.
• More than 350 attendees visited the BASF booth for photos, autographs and an audience Q&A with special guest Coach Mike Ditka.
• More than $5,200 in total funds were raised by BASF Media Thousandaire for Charity contestants Larry Aylward, Golfdom; Seth Jones, Golf Course Management; and Pat Jones, Golf Course Industry.

Leave a blog comment below, tweet @BASFTurf_us or send us an e-mail and tell us what you thought of the show and our BASF booth events.

If you’d like to learn more about BASF products, contact your BASF Professional Turf & Ornamentals sales specialist here.

This afternoon, turf media Pat Jones, Larry Aylward and Seth Jones answered trivia questions in the BASF Professional Turf & Ornamentals 2010 Golf Industry Show booth for the opportunity raise up to $2,000 for a charity of their choice!

Each editor was guaranteed a $1,000 donation from BASF, with the opportunity to earn additional funds for each correctly answered trivia question.

Turf Media Thousandiare for Charity contestants’ results:

• Pat Jones, Golf Course Industry, raised $1,900 for the Love-A-Stray no-kill animal shelter.
• Seth Jones, Golf Course Management, raised $1,800 for the LiveStrong Foundation.
• Larry Aylward, Golfdom, raised $1,500 for The Cleveland Foodbank.

Click here to read more about why our media contestants selected their charities.

It was a great game guys!
Thank you so much for being good sports and offering BASF Professional Turf & Ornamentals the opportunity to help meaningful causes.

Superintendents are already lining up in the BASF Professional Turf & Ornamentals Golf Industry Show booth 3039 for Mike Ditka’s appearance. So hurry over for the opportunity to meet the legendary NFL player and coach!

Event will end at 12 p.m.

Thank you to everyone who visited the BASF Professional Turf & Ornamentals team today at GIS. It was great interacting with golf course superintendents who participated in our booth activities.

This morning, Thomas Nikolai, Ph.D., generously donated his time and stopped by the booth to sign 60 of his books, which were given to a group of golf course superintendents. And astoundingly, this afternoon more than $6,000 in combined cash prizes were awarded to 12 lucky superintendents who played BASF Superintendent Thousandaire.

If you missed us, be sure to stop by our BASF booth 3039 tomorrow for Coach Ditka, more education and activities!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

• 9:00 a.m. - Show floor opens
• 10:00 a.m. - Meet Da Coach Mike Ditka, one of only two people ever to win a Super Bowl as a player, assistant coach and head coach.
• 2:00 p.m. - Watch a special edition of Superintendent Thousandaire featuring editors Larry Aylward, Golfdom; Seth Jones,
  Golf Course Management; and Pat Jones, Golf Course Industry.
• 3:30 p.m. - Watch Superintendent Thousandaire for your chance to win up to $1,000!
• All Day - Superintendents can enter to win a Spectrum® WatchDog Plant Disease Weather Station and fill out a quick survey for a chance to win an Apple iPod® Touch!

Get real-time updates on Twitter at @BASFTurf_us or search the hash tag #GIS10 to find related discussions.