ACCESSING THE ARCHIVES to develop the curriculum .
Digging into the archives always results in at least one time-capsule-type article that is fun to look back on . In this case , it is a couple of articles from April 1996 that outlined this thing called the Internet . Bob Boufford , assistant professor of agronomy at Clark State Community College , wrote “ The Internet and the myriad applications available on it , particularly the World Wide Web , or ‘ Web ,’ are fast becoming the new communications media and will soon become as necessary as the fax machine .” Editor Jim Williams supplemented Boufford ’ s article with a column about trying to understand “ the difference between the Web , the Internet , America OnLine , CompuServe or many of the other amazing components of the system that links computers around the world .” He added that he “ didn ’ t have to do any wiring or installing , but once all the gizmos are up and running the rest is as easy as using a TV remote control .”
Dr . Gil Landry outlined the planning and construction of softball fields for the 1996 Summer Olympics in the May 1996 issue of SportsTurf . One of the Olympic softball projects involved the removal of a nine-hole golf course to develop eight Olympic-quality softball practice fields . The other entailed converting a Minor League Baseball field to the Olympic softball game site then back to a baseball field following the Olympics .
The June issue of SportsTurf delved into thatch management for warm-season turf ; plant growth regulators ; and SUNY Cobleskill ’ s Turf Equipment Program , which updated its equipment technology curriculum to offer an associate ’ s degree with a major in Turf and Grounds Care Equipment Technology .
For anyone who has been to Louisville for what is now the Equip Expo , the July 1996 issue of SportsTurf featured an interesting article about what it takes to maintain the Kentucky Exposition Center . The development and growth of the site to that point ( and since ) is intriguing .
In the August issue , mowing patterns were the lead story as three “ pattern masters ” shared their secrets
for mowing pattern success . They were Gary Vanden Berg , director of grounds , Milwaukee Brewers ; David Mellor , assistant director of grounds , Milwaukee Brewers ; and Mark Razum , head groundskeeper for the Colorado Rockies .
September focused on irrigation with information regarding Brown University ’ s sports field irrigation system . The issue also included a follow-up piece about the Olympic softball fields .
The October issue , meanwhile , delved heavily into STMA ’ s mission statement , “ To be a leader in the sports turf industry , to enhance , promote and improve professionalism
through excellence in communication , training , research , education and services .” The cover story shared how Gary Peterson , Iowa State University Cooperative Extension
commercial horticulture specialist , began an outreach program to focus on the STMA mission statement . The outreach program was a free service to sports field managers – especially at the high school level – to help improve field quality .
“ Many of the calls for help with sports fields came from small schools , often in rural areas ,” said Peterson . “ Generally , the person responsible for field care also was in charge of all the grounds , and maybe the exterior and interior of the buildings as well . Many of these people tackle the whole job themselves , with limited assistance .”
SportsTurf wrapped up 1996 with a look at grass tennis courts and a profile of Sonoran Clubhouse , a tennis complex whose grounds were constructed to meet USGA putting green specifications , including a herringbone-patterned drainage system 18 inches below the surface ; six inches of pea gravel ; 12 inches custom sand / peat moss blend ; and hybrid dwarf Tifgreen bermuda , PDI02 , mowed to 0.150 ( thousandths ) of an inch . SFM
All content for this section is pulled from the SportsTurf / SportsField Management archives , an ongoing cooperative project of EPG Media , SFMA and the Michigan State University Libraries . Public access to the archive from 1985 to the present ( less two months ) is available at https :// sturf . lib . msu . edu / index . html . sportsfieldmanagementonline . com December 2024 | SportsField Management
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