Thursday, February 19, 2015

Bird Survey....What's out there?

A couple of weeks ago CCN had our first wildlife tour and it was fantastic.  Although the group had a good time, it's hard to move that many people around the really see what the course has to offer.  Just after the first wildlife tour wrapped up I had the Ornithologist go back out on the course and do a survey of his observations.  I wanted to see what a trained eye and ear would see and hear.  Click the link below to see how active the bird population is around you that most of the time you never notice.



Bird Observation Results

Monday, February 9, 2015

Wildlife tour is a hit

Today 18 people were fortunate enough to go on the first ever wildlife tour at the Country Club of Naples, and it was awesome!

Brian Beckner with Native Bird Boxes is a local ornithologist and was hired to give tour participants a peek at all the different birds and wildlife on the course. 
The tour started at the cart barn with a brief introduction and then headed out to see what they could find. 


I caught up with them as they were wrapping up at the Pollinator Garden. 

If you would like to attend a tour, watch for the notices in the Club's weekly info emails or call Diane at the front desk to put your name on the list. 



Want to know more about your landscape and how to prune it?



Thursday, February 5, 2015

Florida Golf Day...Spreading the word

Today is Florida Golf Day. As the President of the Florida Golf Course Superintendent's Association I am in Tallahassee meeting with legislators and governmental agency heads to lobby on golf's behalf. Have you ever wondered how big golf is in Florida?  Golf's economic engine generates $8.3 billion dollars directly, and over $11 billion indirectly, while providing 132,000 jobs across the state. 


The group of people I'm with today includes representatives from the World Golf Foundation, the PGA tour, the LPGA tour, the Florida Club Manager's Association, the World Golf Hall of Fame, the Florida State Golf Assiciation, the PGA  of America, and the Golf Course Superintendent's Association of America. Collectively we have formed a group called the Capital Golf Alliance to unify our voice and message. 

Here is a pic of myself and the VP of my Association, David Dore-Smith, from Copperleaf with our state Senator, Senator Richter. 

It has been a good day spreading the word about golf's positive role in the economy, as well as the environment. 




Tuesday, February 3, 2015

What's up with the 4th & 5th greens

Somewhere between the time my staff left on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, a disease called Fairy Ring popped up on a couple putting surfaces. My staff caught it early Saturday morning and treated it immediately.  The disease is not going to kill the grass. The disease creates a layer of water repellency in the soil.  What you are seeing is the result of a plant dehydration....the soil is too dry. 
Since today had the low temperature for this cool front and the next few days are projected to be warm, the putting surface blemishes should go away quickly.