Purdue students continue to protect their “turf” among the rise of new competitors at the 18th Annual Collegiate Turf Bowl Competition hosted during the 2012 Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) International Golf Course Conference and Show in Las Vegas, NV.
The three and one-half hour competition this year challenged student’s knowledge of more practical concepts of turfgrass management including disease, insect, seed, equipment, weed, irrigation and turfgrass identification. The competition covers mathematics, plant physiology, plant growth and development, human resource and financial management. Purdue’s performance in the competition over the last ten years has helped to bring additional recognition to the university, college and department. The students placed 6th, 9th, 25th, and 50th out of 87 teams from across the nation. Agronomy student’s Tony Feitz, John Thackery, Joey Gerking, Zak Peterson, CJ Coy, Jon Conatser, Quin Stilwell, Chris Sandels, Jason Hazel, Lucas Braun, Peter Westfall, TJ Mueller, Chad Melton and Dane Alexander represented Purdue at the competition. Despite weekly practices, with two hour-long study sessions starting in September students fell shy of their goal of finishing first but were extremely excited about their strong finish. Purdue once again solidifies its reputation as one of the top schools in the nation.
Students are already looking forward to next year’s competition at the GCSAA Show in San Diego, CA and the STMA competition in Daytona Beach, Fl. They have set their sights on placing first and are committed to achieving that goal. The teams would like to acknowledge the financial support they received this year from the Agronomy Department and the Midwest Regional Turf Foundation. The teams would also like to thank Ryan Baldwin, CGCS, Greg Shaffer, Jon Trappe, Quincy Law, Tracy Tudor, and their advisor Dr. Cale Bigelow for contributing their time to help educate and prepare the students. Please congratulate the 20112 Turf Bowl Teams on their performance and hard work the next time you see them.