From the desk of GCM

GCSAA ties to surprising Women's Open run

You never know where a chance meeting or a casual introduction will take you.

Case in point is this past weekend's U.S. Women's Open at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo., an event that didn't actually conclude until this morning thanks to repeated weather delays. When it finally did end, there was a name with interesting ties to both GCSAA and GCM among the top finishers — Lizette Salas of Azusa, Calif., who finished tied for 15th with a four-round total of 6-over-par 290.

Salas is a newcomer to the professional women's golf scene. She graduated from USC this spring following a collegiate career that saw her earn All-America honors in four consecutive years, and had played a handful of LPGA Futures Tour events (earning two top-10 finishes) before going toe-to-toe with the best players in the world this weekend.

Deadline for LebanonTurf dog calendar nears

There's still time to enter your golf course canine companion in LebanonTurf’s 2012 Dog Days of Golf Calendar and Dog of the Year contest. If selected for the calendar, your dog will also have a chance to be crowned 2012 Dog of the Year, garnering a $3,000 prize for your affiliated chapter, a $500 prize for your local Humane Society and a $500 prize for you.

Entries are being accepted now through Aug. 1, 2011. Submit your entry online or email a high resolution photo and receive a free gift from LebanonTurf.

Get smart

Rain Bird, in honor of Smart Irrigation Month, will conduct weekly giveaways each Monday starting July 11. The prize: ESP-SMT Smart Control System.

"Smart Irrigation Month is designed to increase public awareness of the need to use water wisely," says Dave Johnson, director of corporate marketing for Rain Bird. "It's about practicing smart water use and helping people become more aware of the irrigation technology that makes it possible."

Each week, one ESP-SMT Smart Control System will be awarded to a Facebook fan. To enter the sweepstakes, "like" the company's page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RainBirdCorp), then complete a brief form with your contact information. Rain Bird will randomly select and notify the winner; the final winner will be drawn Aug. 1.

ESP-SMT uses accurate, weather-based control to save between 30 and 70 percent in water. During the installation and setup, users enter their zip code, sprinkler type, sun exposure, soil type and slope. The ESP-SMT combines the information with location-specific monthly historical weather data to create an optimum irrigation schedule. Each day the system uses temperature and rainfall data to determine how much water is needed to maintain the optimum level of moisture in the soil. It is designed for residential and light commercial applications.

"Wait and see" with injured trees

Michigan State University Extension is offering advice to superintendents who suspect that landscape trees have been injured by the herbicide Imprelis (aminocyclopyrachlor): Wait and see.

University Extension offices in several states, including Michigan, have received samples of conifers and woody ornamentals that have damage symptoms similar to those caused by synthetic auxin herbicides. These herbicides are growth regulators and may cause new growth to turn brown and die and needles, shoots and branch tips to become twisted and curled. At present, the exact cause of the damage has yet to be determined, and researchers are still investigating the problem.

Bert Cregg at Michigan State University Extension urges caution. In some cases, trees with this type of injury have recovered without drastic intervention (which may actually aggravate the situation). Cregg advises superintendents and others to make sure affected trees are lightly fertilized (avoid ammonium-based products) and well-watered but not water-logged, and then sit back and be patient because, he says "Trees can often overcome what appear to be devastating injuries and emerge relativley unscathed."

For more information and photos of the tree damage, visit the following sites:

http://news.msue.msu.edu/news/article/what_to_do_with_imprelis_affected_trees

http://news.msue.msu.edu/news/article/imprelis_herbicide_injury_to_evergreens

http://www.ppdl.purdue.edu/PPDL/hot11/6-10.html

http://universityofillinoisplantclinic.blogspot.com/2011/06/spruce-and-pine-damage-herbicide.html

http://www.osugarden.com/2011/06/imprelis-herbicide-may-injure.html

http://iaturf.blogspot.com/2011/06/imprelis-damage-on-trees.html

http://extension.psu.edu/greenindustry/giec/news/2011/heads-up-spruce-and-pine-injury