Monday, December 27th, 2010

Course Conditions
Last week I saw a special with Alaska Airlines to the Hawaiian Islands for $139! Anyone interested? Boy how tempting that is. What I would give for a little tropical weather right now.
The good news is the days have begun to get longer and spring will be here before we know it. In the mean time snow is once again in the forecast toward the end of the week. Like the rest of the forecasts, I'm sure it will never materialize and the "Tip Bowl" will go off without a hitch on Friday.
We will be a little short handed this week with Brian and Mike taking some much deserved time off. We will mainly be focusing on small projects and will probably mow the greens on Thursday to prepare for Friday's tournament. The weather may become a factor later and we will time the mowing accordingly.

Last week the crew got into the bunker on four and repaired the drainage. It is interesting as we dig up the drain lines on all of the backed up systems. We always seem to find issues that may have been prevented in the construction process. The bunker on number one was simply a grade issue along with a smashed pipe. This latest bunker on four revealed a trench that was dug much to deep and was back filled with loose soil resulting in a lot of sediment which plugged the line. The trench seemed to be fine until a certain point where it simply dove down way to deep. (You can see just beyond where the rake is crossing the trench.) What the guys ended up doing was filling the bottom of the trench with 3/4 minus to where the the natural grade should have been and from there they reassembled the piping. All seems to be working well now.

Our next project will be the bunker at the eleventh green. We are pretty sure it is just plugged and will need to have the sand removed and the drain line cleaned.
Another small project this week will be to clear some of the alders that are in the line sight off the 15th tee. We hope to be able to clear the tee shot for the fourteenth during the Tip Bowl.

This week Steve will continue to work on the cart path bollards. Last week Mark and Doug delivered the posts and Steve heated up the branding iron and put his touch on them. All they need now is some re bar set in the base and they will be ready to go.

Finally, as I make my last post of 2010, I hope all that have been following have found this to be an interesting and informative blog. What began as a weekly report to Total Golf Management Services in a Word document, evolved into a blog that has provided me with the means of not only communicating with the stake holders of Stone Creek Golf Club but also a wide range of peers and customers. Blogging for me has become a part of my routine as it has with many other superintendents across the country. If you have only been following Stone Creek I would recommend checking out some of the other superintendent blogs. It is interesting seeing what other courses are doing out there and it provides an interesting perspective and opportunity to see what is happening behind the scenes at their courses.

Best wishes to all and may golf prosper in 2011!

Monday, December 20th, 2010

Conditions

Lake A

Still raining but we were blessed to get a nice day here and there. We managed to reach flood stage in Lake A and around the 6th hole. Lake A was primarily designed as a water detainment structure and it has worked beautifully. Without it we would have a river across the fifteenth and the 13th fairways. This lake primarily receives its water off of the highway as well as the drainage from our driving range and parking lot. The lake stores the water and portions it out down stream in a steady but restricted flow. This week we reach the overflow pipes which doesn't happen often.

6th Green

We had to detour the carts on the walking path around the over flow on the 6th hole. This also only happens during high rain events. The drainage system simply becomes overwhelmed and the water has to flow over the turf. There was no damage from any of the flooding only a small inconvenience. 

I think we managed to have a little of everything last week including rain, hail, snow, sun and more rain. We had some pretty stiff winds which brought down quite a few large branches. The crew made quick work of it though and had the place spotless by the end of the week. The bunkers have also been a mess but the crew managed to get through most of them and have them ready for the weekend play.

4th Green

Mike fertilized the greens at the first sign of clear weather. We applied a tenth pound of nitrogen along with our Redox formula. This is our second full season on the Redox program and I could not be more pleased with the performance. We have also been adding simple iron sulfate to the mix this winter. We feel the amino acids in the Redox formula actually aids in chelating the iron. A chelated iron is much more available to the plant. This is why we are seeing such a nice dark lasting green color. It is much less expensive than purchasing already chelated products.  

This winter we have also decided to continue using Revolution, an Aquatrols product, on the greens. We used Revolution throughout the season to increase the efficacy or our irrigation. Research shows the Revolution allows the soil to become uniformly moist by helping it flow through the profile. That is exactly what we want it to do in the winter as well. By keeping the moisture flowing through the profile we will be able to maintain a firmer putting surface all winter. We only have to apply at a half rate to get the response we need.

Steve has been at it again. Last week Steve brought in all the handrails from the Event Center and sanded, primed and painted each one. He did a high quality job. While he was working on the rail for the air station he came up with the idea to pressurize the entire rail and install two ports for the air nozzles. Now we not only have two air nozzles that can be used simultaneously, we can safely remove one without shutting down the entire system. This is so much nicer than what we had before.

This will be my last post before Christmas so I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has chosen to play at Stone Creek this year and would like to wish you all a very wonderful Holiday.

The 12 Days of Christmas

This came out in the weekly USGA Green Section Record this week. I thought I would ad a few visual effects from my own photo library.



Golf Course Superintendent Version By Larry Gilhuly, director, Northwest Region

December 13, 2010

(Sung to the tune of “12 Days of Christmas”)

On the first day of Christmas my players gave to me
Unrealistic expectations green to tee.

On the second day of Christmas my players gave to me
Too many ball marks
with unrealistic expectations green to tee.

On the third day of Christmas my players gave to me
Three broken rakes,
Too many ball marks
with unrealistic expectations green to tee.

On the fourth day of Christmas my players gave to me
Four carts for four,
Three broken rakes,
Too many ball marks
with unrealistic expectations green to tee.

On the fifth day of Christmas my players gave to me
Five wet tire marks!
Four carts for four.
Three broken rakes.
Too many ball marks
with unrealistic expectations green to tee.

On the sixth day of Christmas my players gave to me
Six moved markers,
Five wet tire marks!
Four carts for four,
Three broken rakes,
Too many ball marks
with unrealistic expectations green to tee.

On the seventh day of Christmas my players gave to me
Seven unfixed divots,
Six moved markers,
Five wet tire marks!
Four carts for four.
Three broken rakes.
Too many ball marks
with unrealistic expectations green to tee.

On the eighth day of Christmas my players gave to me
Eight missed cart signs,
Seven unfixed divots,
Six moved markers,
Five wet tire marks!
Four carts for four,
Three broken rakes,
Too many ball marks
with unrealistic expectations green to tee.

On the ninth day of Christmas my players gave to me
Nine broken tees,
Eight missed cart signs,
Seven unfixed divots,
Six moved markers,
Five wet tire marks!
Four carts for four,
Three broken rakes,
Too many ball marks
with unrealistic expectations green to tee.

On the tenth day of Christmas my players gave to me
Ten unraked bunkers,
Nine broken tees,
Eight missed cart signs,
Seven unfixed divots,
Six moved markers,
Five wet tire marks!
Four carts for four,
Three broken rakes,
Too many ball marks
with unrealistic expectations green to tee.

On the eleventh day of Christmas my players gave to me
Eleven ropes stepped on,
Ten unraked bunkers,
Nine broken tees,
Eight missed cart signs,
Seven unfixed divots,
Six moved markers,
Five wet tire marks!
Four carts for four,
Three broken rakes,
Too many ball marks
with unrealistic expectations green to tee.

On the twelfth day of Christmas listen to my plea,
Please avoid ropes,
Rake the bunkers,
Clean broken tees,
Follow the cart signs,
Replace your divots,
Don’t move the markers,
Avoid all wet spots!
Ride carts together,
Report broken rakes,
Fix your ball marks
And your golf course will improve.

Pat Jones on Pesticides

I found this video on the turfhugger.com in an interview with Pat Jones. I always like hearing what Pat has to say and I think you will too.

Monday, December 13th, 2010

Have you ever wondered what a true Oregonian looks like? Look to the right, they are the ones  unloading their clubs and getting ready for a round of golf. These guys are true die hards.  I am certainly grateful for their patronage. This photo was taken last Friday in the midst of one of our many downpours. 

We have seen an abundance of rain this week but that hasn't slowed the crew down. There is always something to do to keep us busy. This week we tackled the big bunker in front of the first green. After digging up the drain line Zef found the pipe to be plugged and not at grade. The guys removed the pipe, cleaned it out, reset the grade and then refiled with fresh sand. I checked the site Saturday and bingo! Lake no more! 

Our goal is to continue repairing the bunkers that are holding water as fast as we can. Right now we are to wet to mow so this is what we are going to focus our time on. There are many drain lines with issues which should give us plenty to do. We are going to prioritize the green-sides and work from there. Four may be our next stop as well as twelve. Twelve is a little special in that a spring has sprung right in the middle and it continues to flow even after the rain stops.  (right) Our first step will be to intercept the spring so we can clean the drain below.

 

December is a good time to start going through all the equipment. Steve is grinding reels and servicing everything and Brian and Travis are pressure washing and detailing.

This week I am looking forward to my staffs annual breakfast and our first company Christmas party in our new event center. It will be great to see everyone and their families and be in the comfort of a nice warm building. (As I reflect on the past events in our equipment bay!) Fond memories but also a sign of a well run and prosperous facility.

Monday, December 6th, 2010

Another week and another mixed bag of weather. I think it rained so much last week that I had to scrub the moss out from behind my ear early this year! The sunny day on Friday seemed to make up for what ever weather related blues I was feeling even though I had to spend much of the day indoors at the Annual OGCSA Pesticide Seminar.

We had to make a change out on the course this week. The old snag that was between the 3rd and 11th cart path had to come down. Stone Creek prides itself on providing lots of natural habitat but this tree, which was pretty much dead when we finished the construction, finally rotted to a point that we couldn't risk the chance of it falling over and hurting someone. This old snag provided nesting habitat for many creatures including pollinator bees, wasps, wood peckers and many bird species over its time. I use this picture in presentations to show the benefit of preserving dead trees, showing up close how many holes were actually in the thing. I was literally the "Holiday Inn" for the birds.

I am so excited about Steve's latest project. All of our old cart path bollards had been rotting and were looking rather disheveled, Mark and Doug from the Parks Department cut up some round fence posts for us to use and Steve thought he could dress them up by putting our logo on the the top of them. Steve put his blacksmith hat on and went right to work and he built a "Stone Creek" brand just like one the cattle ranchers would use. He proceeded to build a coal fire in the bucket of the loader and went around to each bollard and laid a brand into the top of each one. What a huge difference it made. It really added a custom look to the course. Steve is not just a great equipment technician but an artist as well.  I love his creativity and his desire to make Stone Creek a better place. Great job Steve!

GCM

The second of my quarterly contributions to Golf Course Management magazine will be out in the December issue. This month I wrote about a special person I met this last summer while making a homeowner "well lawn" visit. She, an environmentalist and I, a golf course superintendent. You can imagine how our conversation began. Follow this link to get the rest of the story:

http://digitalgcm.gcsaa.org/DigitalAnywhere/viewer.aspx?id=18&pageId=38&refid=518482&s=undefined




Civil War 2010

Last year at this time I was attending the Syngenta Business Institute at Wake Forrest University and I had to watch the Civil War game from a hotel bar in Winston-Salem, North Carolina...at midnight! I certainly missed the great educational opportunity but it was great to be back in town for the game this year. There is something different about cheering for your team when you are not all the way across the country.

 

I woke up Saturday morning expecting to watch the game from my living room when Tracy told me that a friend on Facebook had a couple tickets to the game. I made a call and bingo, two tickets, club level and  FREE! I grabbed Henry and out the door we went. What a privilege to be there and witness such a great event.  I remember my days at OSU when the country never paid attention to the game. Today it's a nationally televised, prime time event complete with ESPN's Gameday! (I must say the Gameday bus was certainly painted the correct color) The State of Oregon should be proud of both programs. The results weren't exactly in favor of the Beavs but the Ducks now have a great opportunity to show the nation who number one is.  Don't blow it Ducks, an opportunity like this doesn't happen often. Take it to Auburn and the over rated SEC!

Sycamore Lane Therapeutic Riding Center

This has absolutely nothing to do with Stone Creek Golf Club but I just wanted to share it because my wife Tracy is part of this. The Sycamore Lane Therapeutic Riding Center is located in Oregon City and they use horses as means of therapy for handicapped children. Tracy volunteers at the farm and helps with the horses and the riding lessons. She is the one in the video walking along side of the horse during the lesson and wearing the black jacket.
If you ask me, this has been the best therapy for her hip since her surgery! I am so proud of her.
This link has multiple stories, click on the link with the horse