UA Turf Classic raises money for scholarships, research
Posted on Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Funds for turf-grass research and five partially funded scholarships for students studying horticulture at the University of Arkansas were raised Monday afternoon on the firm-and-fast track at Stonebridge Meadows Golf Club.
In its eighth year, the University of Arkansas Golf and Sports Turf Classic golf tournament raised close to $ 10, 000 for research and undergraduate scholarships, said Marilyn McCord of the UA Department of Horticulture.
The turf-grass industry - including seed and equipment companies, golfcourse superintendents and turf-grass and agriculture advocacy groups - was the primary patron of the event. Fifteen alumni of the horticulture department also participated in the tournament, McCord said.
Close to 30 students are part of the turf-grass management program in the department of horticulture, said Aaron Patton, and assistant professor and extension turf-grass specialist. The horticulture department is under the umbrella of the Dale Bumpers College of Agriculture, Food & Life Sciences.
Students with a horticulture degree can pursue myriad careers. Some aspire to be golf-course superintendents, charged with maintaining and improving playing conditions while minimizing the absorption of fertilizers and other forms of nutrients into the surface and ground water. Others will go into sports-field management or landscaping. Working in sales for a turf-management related business is also an option.
Patton, who earned his doctorate from Purdue University in December, is the newest addition to the horticulture department. Rather than teaching in the classroom, Patton said he spends most of his time working with county-extension agents and writing publications that help those agents answer the public's questions about how to best cultivate their yards.
He's also a resource for golf-course superintendents to reference. When a problem crops up on the course, such as the deterioration of bent-grass greens in the summer, dents can avail themselves of Patton's extensive knowl edge and expertise. In addition to his work with county-extension agents and golf-course superintendents, he con ducts applied research such as evaluating what fertilizers work best on certain grasses and plants. Patton said ques tions about horticulture can be answered by accessing the turf. uark. edu website. UA Turf Classic results from Stonebridge Meadows The Blessings 56 Stonebridge Meadows Golf Club 56 The Course at Eagle Mountain 57 Country Club of Little Rock 60 Ewing Irrigation 60 P & K Equipment Inc. 60 Ozarks Electric 61 Professional Turf Products 62 Arkansas Turn and Landscape 62 Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation 63 Bumper's College 64 AgHeritage Farm Credit Services 65 Pennington Seed Inc. 65 Estes 66 Individuals Team 68 Johnston Seed 68 Syngenta 69 Crossover Liquor 73 CLOSEST TO PIN No. 3 - Jamey McElroy No. 6 -Terry Richardson No. 13 - Cory Willett No. 17 - Jeff Chambless LONGEST DRIVE Todd Towery STRAIGHTEST DRIVE Justin Mayland
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