Iowa State University Turf Club students have been busy competing in various turf competitions. At the National Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA) Annual Meeting and Tradeshow in Phoenix the Iowa State team of Kylah Crooks, Thomas Gould, Alex Polnow, and Marcus O'Brien took first place in the Student Challenge 4-year division. This was the second year in a row for Iowa State to win the 4-year division. There were 31 teams in the competition.
Pictured above (left to right) are members of the 4-year winning team: Sarah Martin (STMA President), Thomas Gould, Kylah Crooks, Marcus O'Brien, and Alex Polnow.
Two weeks later at the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) Conference, Iowa State Turf Club finished 2nd place out of 63 teams in the GCSAA Turf Bowl. This conference was in San Diego, CA. The students also won the Collegiate Spirit Award, for answering a series of Tweets in the weeks before the conference.
Pictured above are members of the second place GCSAA Turf Bowl Team: (left to right) Alex Polnow, Jarrett Chapman, Thomas Gould, and Aaron Butler.
Pictured above are Iowa State Turf Club members with the Collegiate School Spirit Award at the GCSAA Turf Bowl.
These turf competitions consist of proper turfgrass identification, insect, disease and weed identification, turf management scenarios, soil problems, and mathematic problems related to turfgrass management. In addition to identification and short answer, the students must be able to identify equipment, assemble irrigation and complete an essay.
Well done Cyclones!
Adam Thoms Assistant Professor
Adam Thoms, Ph.D. - Assistant Professor specializing in Commercial Turfgrass Management, Iowa State University, Department of Horticulture, Ames, IA. Dr. Thoms received his B.S. from Iowa State University, and both his M.S. and Ph.D. in Plant Sciences and Plants, Soils, and Insec...