Click Here to support Turfgrass research

Dear Friends in Golf and Turf,

The Golf Association of Michigan strongly supports your continued consideration of contributing to the MTF on behalf of the extraordinary work being accomplished at Michigan State University on behalf of the game of golf in Michigan.  This letter is to convey how important the interaction the Turf Team at MSU and all those who care about golf’s most important asset…turf. 

For those that may remember the GAM / MTF alliance began in 1978 when it was proposed by Mr. Robert Hall of Meadowbrook Country Club to have a $1 per member donation by the clubs to support turf research.  Many clubs in the state continue to provide funding to the MTF with variations of the per/member donations but all are done with one goal in common….to provide research funding that benefits the game of golf in Michigan.

The Michigan Turfgrass Foundation and Michigan State University have been working for the golf industry in Michigan and the world for nearly 60 years. Your financial support allows the MTF and MSU to do the research that makes the game of golf more enjoyable, reduce direct costs, increase awareness of the game and protect the environment.  The MSU Turf Team currently has 18 team members working to solve the next generation of turfgrass problems.  Here’s a look at just some of the ways the MTF and MSU have changed golf and golf course management for the better:

o   Partnership between the MTF and MSU resulted in the purchase of a cold temperature chamber that is being used to research ice damage to Poa annua putting greens.

o   Currently researching creeping bentgrass putting green renovation practices, including alternatives to methyl bromide sterilization.

o   Developed and recently released a new dollar spot resistant creeping bentgrass cultivar, Flagstick,   

o   We helped show that Poa annua does not die from high temperatures but rather from two diseases, anthracnose and summer patch, eliminating forever the idea that fairways simply “Burn out” in the heat of the season.

o   Developed multiple fungicide timing models that are used throughout the world to reduce and prevent turf diseases, reducing costs and allowing superintendents to keep great turf all season long.

o   Discovered a bacterium called Acidovorax avenae that causes etiolation and decline of creeping bentgrass.

o   Identified the cause of black layer on greens and methods to prevent and remove it.

o   Developed best management practices for controlling Japanese beetle and European chafer grubs.

o   Showed how plant growth regulators can be used for Poa annua seedhead suppression.

o   Developed Growing Degree Day timing models (www.gddtracker.net) for application timing resulting in significantly improved spring putting green playability and turf quality.

o   Developed pest identification websites: www.msuturfweeds.net, www.msuturfdiseases.net, and www.msuturfinsects.net

o   Changed the entire golf industry from using steel spikes to soft spikes, improving putting quality and reducing damage to greens.

o   Research demonstrated rolling greens increases green speed and reduces dollar spot disease.

o   Developed irrigation best management practices that reduced the regulatory pressure on golf courses.

o   Demonstrated that fertiliers, when applied properly, do not threaten groundwater and surface water quality.

o   Through funding from the MTF and the USGA, the size and distribution of sands, as well as the inclusion of silt and clay-sized particles, were studied to maximize the engineering and agronomic properties of both golf putting greens and athletic field root zones.

The MTF and MSU continue to work hard for you, your club and the golf industry in the state of Michigan. We can’t do it without your continued financial support, 50% of all MTF research dollars come from club donations through the Golf Association of Michigan. Please consider supporting turf research at MSU by contributing to your Michigan Turfgrass Foundation through the Golf Association of Michigan.

Click Here to support Turfgrass research

For convenience, the Michigan Turfgrass Foundation also offers invoicing options:

on-line or invoice mailings if preferred.

For information regarding payment options, please contact Carey Mitchelson at:

517-392-5003 or miturfgrass@gmail.com