Monday, February 27th, 2012

The mixed bag of weather continues to keep us guessing. This week we had 1.28 inches of rain but we also had some pretty fair golfing conditions. I also took advantage of the fair days to get some sunny shots of the golf course. I edited this photo with my new tone mapping software, combining two separate exposures. My favorite part is the jet trails piercing the clouds.

We continued to work on drainage lows this week. The guys are getting rather proficient at this. They did a few on the ninth fairway this week including this one below the green. If you have been down there in wet conditions you know it's not a simple lob shot, this should firm it up nicely. We also fixed a few wet areas including the edge of the path on 17 just past the bunker!

We are continuing to work on various projects around the course. Steve Mathre once again used his resourcefulness to solve a reoccurring problem. The fenders on the Buffalo blower seem to have issues with solid objects and are made of plastic which isn't a good combination. So instead of removing them and dealing with all of the mud that would coat the blower Steve used an old conveyor belt from our core harvester to make a flexible fender that shouldn't crack so easily. I'm always giving Steve a hard time about saving old scraps, but he continues to show me up by utilizing them to create solutions. One of these days I will make a list of all his "fixes". He has saved us a lot of money over the years.

This year we will be taking on a larger role in maintaining the trail around the course. The crew is anxious to take on the responsibility and to help out the County in these times of limited resources. Right now we are adding chips to various areas, assuring  that the walkers and joggers have solid footing. Later on we will also be mowing the edges with our new/used rotary mower which should reduce the amount of costly community service labor significantly.

In between  working on drainage lows and all of the other chores, Zeferino has been diligently working on raising sprinkler heads. This is a never ending task as you can imagine. There are over 1200 sprinklers on the course and they eventually settle and need to be lifted so the pattern isn't disrupted. Some sprinklers around the greens and near bunkers actually need to be lifted two times a year with the accumulation of sand. Zeferion takes much pride in his work and it shows.

On Tuesday the weather was so rotten that we decided to give the equipment bay a much needed cleansing. We figured that since Steve is doing such a great job cleaning up all of the equipment we may as well take care of all the dust in the bay. Since our yard is still gravel, dust and dirt is a constant battle and by hosing it all out we should be able to enjoy a few good weeks of dust free conditions.

This week I will be in Vegas for the GCSAA Golf Industry Show and to receive the Presidents Award for Environmental Stewardship. I am looking forward to the many opportunities to network with my peers and meet and make new friends. The education that I have received over the years attending the GIS has been an invaluable resource for me, keeping up with the latest science and modern ways to maintain a golf course.  I always look forward to the equipment show to meet the vendors at a national level and discover new products on the market. I will have a full recap of the events in my next weeks update. As always, I am leaving the course in great hands and am confident Chris and the crew will keep the place in top shape.

Driving Range Divot Signs

I am still getting requests for copies of my driving range divot signs so I am going to supply everyone with links to the printer ready file. I have two versions that I am going to make public. First is the 12x12 and the other is a 12x18. The 12x18 can be printed at your local sign shop on a stock aluminum sign. The 12x12 may cost more for custom cutting.
There are two files for each sign. The first is a .jpg which is the everyday photo file, the second is a .eps file. You may not be able to open it, but your sign company will have the software to do so, and will actually favor using it versus the other.

12x12 Driving Range Divot Sign (.JPG)

12x12 Driving Range Divot Sign (.EPS)

12x18 Driving Range Divot Sign (.JPG)

12x18 Driving Range Divot Sign (.EPS)

Monday, February 20th, 2012

My blog began as a weekly report which I sent to Gordy (TGMS President) each week on the course conditions. It then evolved into a blog, which was a way to look back at previous reports and also able to include photos more easily. Superintendents have been utilizing blogs more now than ever, and it has proven to be an effective way to communicate to stakeholders, golfers, members, and peers.

I began posting in July of 2009 and have posted weekly ever since. Today, 197 posts later and over 40,000 page views, I am humbled at the amount of traffic that has come by the Stone Creek Blog. By internet standards, 40,000 is a drop in the bucket, but for something that was simply intended to be a weekly report, it amazes me. Thank you to all who find what we do at Stone Creek worth reading about.

Last week was another mixed bag of weather. Just when we felt like we were through the cold, an upper level low drops in over us and puts us back in the low 40's. We did however manage to mow the fairways once again and were also able to get the greens fertilized, first in almost two months. This week we will be applying Verde-Cal to the greens and tees. Depending on when you play, you may see some particles stick to your ball. Given the rain in this weeks forecast, it shouldn't be on the surface long.

After

Before

We continued to work on small projects throughout the course last week. There are still several catch basins and wet areas the guys wanted to fix so they took it upon there own to just simply "get it done". They added a catch basin along the path on eighteen to alleviate the wet area that seemed to be a cart magnet for so long. They also repaired two lows, one behind ten green and the other at the 200 yard mark in the eleventh fairway.

No sooner when Chris and I had just noticed that the disease issue pressure has been low, we begin to see microdochium patch pop up again on the putting green. It seems like clock work when the temps drop along with heavy moisture, we start seeing it pop up again. We are due for an application and will do our best to get it done between rain events. I like to see 24 hours of dry weather following the application for environmental safety and maximum effectiveness. If not, we can waste a lot of money and risk off target run off.

Finally, I just want to mention how great it is to see Dan Zinzer and Mike McLees spending time playing golf. Both Dan and Mike played such a vital role in developing Stone Creek and now that they have both retired from the County, they are finally able to spend their time doing what they love to do!