June Golf Course Trades online

Thank you for reading the June 2011 issue of The Golf Course Trades. In our cover story, we are introduced to Jason VanBuskirk, superintendent at Stow Acres Country Club in Stow, Mass. Jason became a superintendent at the tender age of 24, and he writes that the challenges set in before the excitement did. He realized right away that managing a huge 36-hole property was not going to be easy, especially since it was his first superintendent’s job.

This month’s Industry Insight article was provided by Rob Crook, managing partner with Floating Island Southeast. In Rob’s article, we learn that the Native Americans of South America built islands made of reeds to build their houses and farms on to avoid attack by an expanding Incan warrior empire. Primarily driven by the need to manage nutrients in the water, floating treatment wetlands these days are used for a variety of purposes and made from a wide variety of materials.

In our Supplier Insight article, A.J. Lepley writes about Vitamin Institute and a product called SUPERthrive. We are introduced to 99-year-old company founder John Thomson, who developed the SUPERthrive formula in 1939, and to this day is still actively involved in running the business. The product isn’t a fertilizer, but a vitamin and hormone regimen to be used in conjunction with standard fertilization procedures.

In our Company Spotlight, we learn more about Illinois-based Aqua Control, a company that’s been manufacturing water features since 1970. Their floating aerators and fountains are the result of extensive engineering to develop innovative new products with an emphasis on pumps that produce high volumes. Aqua Control has specially trained sales representatives at distributors from coast-to-coast, offering products ranging from ½ HP up to 40 HP with over 30 spray patterns.

This month’s Course Focus features Bear Trace at Harrison Bay in Harrison, Tenn., and The Valley Club in Hailey, Idaho. And on our Product Review page, you’ll find Otterbine Barebo Inc., a company that offers aerators and fountains to manage water quality, and Watersaver Co. Inc., a golf course pond and lake construction company that installs lake liners and supplies sediment- and evaporation-control products.