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Tennessee Turfgrass – Julie Holt, Content Director, TheTurfZone.com

Our industry has come together in the face of unprecedented challenges to protect our workers, courses, sports fields, jobs, and the people we serve. So many of you have made quick changes and adjustments to create safer environments and we are proud of the hustle and innovation of our Tennessee turfgrass professionals. Take a look at how we’ve adapted to keep our state’s turfgrass managers working and successful.

Ryan Storey, TTA Secretary/Treasurer, Sports Turf Manager at Vanderbilt University

What adjustments have you made to operations during this time?  We have cut out all overtime and people that can work remotely have been asked to do so until further notice.

What safety measures are you taking to protect yourself, your staff, and others who use your fields and facilities? We have to wear a face covering at all times when on campus unless we are in our private office. We have increased the number of hand sanitizer stations throughout campus. We have also purchased and distributed multiple style masks to all employees.

What advice/encouragement do you have for TTA members in this challenging time? Do whatever you can to remain essential. I am doing things a turf manager would not normally do (removed 364 bikes on campus, doing inventory of items students left behind, etc.). If a layoff is coming, I would hope they see value in an employee who is multi-faceted and can/will do tasks that may not be associated with everyday maintenance but are necessary to get through tough times.

Jim Brosnan, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Turfgrass Weed Science, The University of Tennessee

I certainly have been proud of what I’ve seen both from an advocacy standpoint in defining our work as essential to staffs taking a leadership role in implementing distancing procedures to facilitate operations remaining open.

The joint letter to Gov. Bill Lee’s office (below) that was spearheaded by TTA helped ensure maintenance operations, particularly on golf courses, were declared essential such that work could continue during the stay-at-home order. The association showed real leadership in submitting a single document signed by TTA, TGA, TGF, Tenn PGA, and TVSTMA. This is one reason that supporting an association like TTA is so important.

From a university standpoint, the first major change was obviously moving all classes online. UT mobilized this process fairly rapidly and while I’m sure there were a few bumps in the road, the process was successful from what I’ve heard/seen.

Like many of the other turfgrass operations in the state, we have been tasked with becoming more intentional with scheduling work at our research farm in order to keep social distancing a priority. This has taken a little while to get accustomed to but all of our turfgrass research programs are moving forward normally.

Probably the biggest hurdle the turfgrass program faced in light of COVID was how to handle our annual Field Day event in August. With UT facilities being closed to the public and restrictions in place (both on campus and in Knox County) on large gatherings, we needed to decide how to move forward in providing continuing education and networking opportunities for those in the turfgrass industry this year. We landed on the concept of TN Turf Tuesdays, a series of online webinars hosted on the first Tuesday of every month from May-October 2020. You can learn more about that initiative here: www.tennesseeturfgrassweeds.org/Pages/TurfTuesday.aspx.

This has been a fun endeavor for our team and something that we think we can build on for the future.

One thing that was communicated to me earlier this year is that regardless of how one feels about the COVID situation, it’s the biggest challenge that all of us will face in our careers. I think it’s important to recognize that! We may see continued maintenance as “doing what we’ve always done,” but getting those simple things done under such trying times are little victories that shouldn’t be taken for granted. We are not only navigating a rapidly changing landscape about what’s acceptable from a safety standpoint but also helping our teams navigate through stress/mental health challenges (both at work and in some cases at home) that are unprecedented.

Doug Ward, TTA President, Belle Meade Country Club

Many facilities are checking employee temperatures at the beginning of work shifts.

In most cases rakes have been removed from bunkers to eliminate possible contamination issues.

To prevent handling the flagstick many courses are using various methods to allow easy ball retrieval from the cup.

Coolers are not being on course / Ball washers have been taken in as well.

Chris Sykes, TTA Vice President, Director of Golf, Tellico Village

Tellico Village is a retirement community with 9,000 residents, with a large number of those residents being avid or sporadic golfers. When COVID-19 hit Tennessee, Tellico Village understood that the community’s entire population was considered “at risk.”

After assuming the role of Director of Golf in January of this year, Chris Sykes knew he would have to find the right balance between legislation and doing what’s best for his staff and the community. “We had to take a careful, cautious approach while weighing local, state and CDC guidelines,” Chris said. “No one had a pandemic playbook, but now we do.”

Like many other courses, Tellico Village implemented many new procedures: increased signage encouraging social distancing and handwashing; golf shop closed; single rider carts; removing touch points from the course which included pencils and scorecards; disinfecting carts between users; sanitizing range balls and baskets; removing rakes and ball washers and other changes.

Chris says the network of golf course professionals that he collaborated with to make these changes was essential to staying informed and prepared for changes that often came hourly. Getting hit with a pandemic within months of accepting an operations role has surely been trial-by-fire, but Chris says, “The industry really came together. It’s a great, tight network and we all learn from each other.”

As of early June, Tellico Village is slowly and thoughtfully returning to some pre-COVID practices, and with their phased approach, are prepared to make adjustments in any direction going forward. However, one thing hasn’t changed – golfers are going to golf. “We actually stayed very busy throughout this time, and overall our members were very positive about the changes we made. They were just so happy to be out here,” Chris shared.

Joint Letter to Governor Lee

March 24, 2020

Governor Bill Lee

State Capitol, 1st Floor | 600 Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. Blvd | Nashville, TN 37243

Dear Governor Lee,

On behalf of the Tennessee Turfgrass Association, which is represented in large body by the Golf Course, Sports Turf, Lawncare and Sod production businesses, thank you for your leadership in this challenging and unprecedented time as our State and nation work toward curbing the spread and severity of COVID-19. It is certainly our wish that through taking proactive measures of social distancing and the closure of non-essential businesses to mitigate the spread of this contagion we will ultimately create a safer environment for all citizens.

It is our concern, that if the closure of non-essential businesses occurs that the consideration of Turfgrass industry be exempt from this ruling, in that, as with all agricultural we are managing living crops that are critical to maintain to insure their survival and  long term well-being for public good.  Some points to that effect are as follows:

• The turfgrass industry has a large impact to the State economy ($5.6 billion in 2013). If basic maintenance is halted, it is our fear the value of all turf operations (golf courses, sports fields, lawns, etc.) would be severely compromised.
• Healthy turfgrass equates to a healthy environment – it is proven that turf filters runoff pollutants and plays an important role in cooling the environment during warmer months.
• Maintained turf, especially in public spaces, can promote an overall feeling of order in times of uncertainty. It also is likely to reduce violence, graffiti and litter in common areas.
• Spring is, above all, a critical time for turf professionals to manage their crop which will have a large bearing on the success or even the survivability of their operation.
• The turfgrass industry is, by nature, an outside operation with few close proximity situations with significantly less risks attached to it as compared to other businesses.

Our industry is in this together and fully support your office and Tennessee’s public officials as we unite to contain COVID-19. It is our hope you will endorse our request to continue in performing our essential functions of maintaining a viable and healthy environment through properly managed turfgrass for our communities of the State. We look forward to your reply and invite your office to contact us at any time to clarify any items above if there are questions. you.

Sincerely,

Doug Ward, President

Tennessee Turfgrass Association

Golf Course Superintendent, Belle Meade Country Club

Andrew Foster, President

Tennessee Golf Course Superintendents Association

Golf Course Superintendent, Windyke Country Club

John Wagnon, President

Tennessee Valley Sports Turf Managers Association

Franklin Parks & Recreation

Whit Turnbow, President

Tennessee Golf Foundation

Chad Anderson, Executive Director

Tennessee Golf Association

Clayton Hromadka, Executive Director

Tennessee PGA