Monday, August 30th, 2010

Conditions

Today was the day that we were scheduled to aerate the greens. Unfortunately I forgot to send the memo to Mother Nature. We felt the weather was to risky from what we were seeing in the forecast on Sunday and had to make a call so we could start filling Monday tee times. They are calling for all day rain showers so with that we would never be able to get the sand to dry and fill in the holes. Wednesday is just calling for clouds. Since we are moving it to this Wednesday I believe we will be able to get the Wednesday Men's club to play Monday instead.
We were able to aerate the chipping green on Monday with a new set-up on the aerator. We will be using the quad tine set up but with a mix of different size tines. Of the sixty tines we will have fifteen 1/2 inch tines spaced evenly across the width amongst the shorter and narrower 3/8th's inch tines. This will give us a deeper and a little wider hole on a 3 x 3 inch spacing but also with the normal 3/8's inch shallower tine's in between on a 1.25 x 1.25 inch spacing. We feel this will help us mix up the aerification layer that can develop near the bottom reach of the tines and may keep us from having to use the 5/8's inch tines each year. From what we have observed on the chipper so far, the healing process is the same as we have always seen with the quad tine setup but with the benefit of the deeper penetration. In this photo you can see the mix of larger plugs with the smaller ones. There is quite a difference underground but hardly noticeable on the surface.

Event Center

Jason and Rick have been working on the patio revision and I think it has turned out nicely. The stone work really sets the front of the building off. After they finish and have the pillars done, the new event center will be looking great!

Golf and Wildlife

Osprey at Stone Creek Golf Club

The Osprey have found some good hunting in our lakes this summer with the water clarity so good. Wednesday Mike and I were driving by the "Charlie" lake and we heard the Osprey calling out. We looked up and behold, there it was with a huge bass in it's clutches. Luckily I had my camera and was able to snap a few pictures.

Great Horned Owl's by Jim Ramey, Crosswater Golf Club

I sent a copy to my friend Jim Ramey, Superintendent at Crosswater. We trade wildlife photos and he replied with this one of a pair of Great Horned Owls. Pretty awesome! Golf courses sure make great wildlife habitat don't they!

Remembering Jason Oliver

It is with great sorrow that I report the passing of Jason Oliver. Jason was a friend and graduate from the turf program at Oregon State University in 2007. He was one of those students that stood out in my mind as the kid that had the world by the tail and was going to make a great name for himself.
Jason had been working for Stanford University as an assistant superintendent where he was responsible for managing the practice facility for the Cardinal Golf Team. Prior to Stanford, Jason interned at prestigious clubs such as Pronghorn Golf Club, The Olympic Club and Cornerstone Golf Club.
My fondest memory is delivering a used greens mower to David Douglas High School where Jason had built a putting green within the walls of the school. I couldn't help but be impressed with his attitude, determination and devotion. At eighteen he knew exactly what he wanted to be and went forward with gusto. We will all miss Jason and his infectious smile.

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

Conditions

August 15th

August 23rd

Not much change other than the cool down from last weekend. We managed to get the moisture back in the greens and the areas that were wilted have now recovered as shown in the photos to the right. We have been very successful in using a moisture meter to track our progress in wetting the profile. It is important especially this time of year to avoid over watering. If we can manage the right amount of water without over application, the turf stands to recover much more quickly. Also, with the addition of Aquatrol's wetting agent Revolution as part of our soil moisture management system, our moisture levels are much more uniform and we are able to re-wet our profile much quicker after dry conditions.

This week we are looking at one or two days in the 90's and then another cool down. Perfect weather conditions if you ask me.

Day two of the Ladies Club Championship is this week and we are planning on using the "B" green on number fourteen. It was brought to my attention that the small alders were blocking their view of the green so last week we cleared the trees in question and they will have a clear shot.

This week we are checking all the equipment and preparing for aerifying the greens next Monday. Today we did a trial run on the chipper and it looks great. I have no doubt we should expect great weather. Completing the job early will certainly set us up for a fantastic fall season.