Dr. Kevin Frank | Published on 10/21/2022
Michigan Golf Course Superintendents,
It’s been 10 years since the epic winterkill event ravaged golf courses throughout Michigan. Anyone that experienced it at their course likely will never forget it. Some courses had all 18 greens affected and greens didn’t truly return to normal conditions until the following year. Since then, there have sporadic kill events almost every year somewhere in Michigan, but we’ve luckily dodged a massive killing winter.
As part of the WinterTurf research project we are asking golf course superintendents to collect data on at least one green on your course during the winter.
I am writing to ask if you can help collect data on your course during this upcoming winter of 2022-2023. This project's success depends on high levels of participation from golf courses in cold climates throughout the world, so I am hoping you will be able to help. Currently we only have about a dozen courses in Michigan signed up so I’m hoping with your help we can double if not triple that number. Your support is critical not just to help us with monitoring conditions across the entire U.S. but to validate to the decision makers that chose to fund this grant that winterkill is an issue of importance to the industry that warrants funding.
Here's the direct link to the form you need to fill out to express your willingness to help out:
z.umn.edu/interest-survey
Thanks for your continued support, if you have any questions feel free to contact me.
Kevin W. Frank
Professor & Turf Extension Specialist
Michigan State University
Dept. Plant Soil & Microbial Sciences
1066 Bogue St. Room 584E
East Lansing, MI 48824-1325
(m) 517-290-0739
frankk@msu.edu