Recent fertilitizer applications

Some of the members have commented to me about the odor on the course and asked what it is coming from.  I am spot treating areas on the course with a very, very high organic content fertilizer. The purpose of the treatment is to promote soil health via the nutrient and water retention properties of the high organic fertilizer. As you know and have seen, there are several areas on the course (#3 75 yards out, #4 at the beginning of the fairway, #5 down the ridge caps of the fairway, #7 fairway ridge caps, #13 beginning of the fairway, #14 left rough) that have struggled due to poor soil characteristics. These areas are either very rocky, very sandy or high in nematodes, all of which are helped drastically by applications of high organic fertilizer. 

I know the odor is an issue and it is a short term issue buffered by long term benefits that I think we can all see happening on the course. Rest assured that I am cognizant of the issue and have no plans of continuing the application of the material after we finish this round. It was intended that the material be applied to the course during the Christmas lull but the vendor had issues with delivery if the product.

It is true that some of the neighbors have mentioned it to me in the past but I have educated them as to what I am doing followed up by "but the course looks great though, right?" To which they all say yes and seem to be appreciative of the increase in home values the Club has given them free of charge.

Regardless, I apologize for any odor inconvenience on the course. I am fully aware that a good "experience"  is not only sight and sound, but smell. It should be noted that this is a practice that I have been doing since the renovation and is not something new. 

Weather Alert

Just wanted to give an update on the course due to the frigid mid-50 degree weather here recently.  Things couldn't be better...sorry couldn't resist for all of you up north freezing right now. The course is in amazing condition. Looking forward to seeing everyone after the holiday season. 

Time for the sand shuffle

Taking advantage of the lull in play right now, the golf maintenance team is doing our quarterly bunker maintenance called the "sand shuffle."  This procedure is where we check and adjust the sand depths in the bunkers. I want to maintain a consistent 3.5-4 inches of sand throughout the bunkers for maximum playability. Most if the time we have to add sand to the high use bunkers. In all of the bunkers a plate compactor is used to firm the sand to ensure there are no fried eggs left behind. 

#6 comfort station gets some needed repairs

Today I have a sanitation company out replacing the drain field for the septic system on the front nine comfort station. This was a project I wanted to do this summer but with all the rain and other projects going on it just didn't happen.  Now that we have a big drop in play due to the holidays it a perfect time to finish up the last project of 2013. The drain filed needed to be replaced due to age and tree root invasion. With any luck we won't have to worry about replacement for another 15 yrs. 

Safety First

As of December 1 of this year, Federal law requires all employees who come into contact with a hazardous chemical be trained on the new Safety Data Sheet system being used in the United States.  I work with our insurance Loss Prevention Corrdinator, Scott Bills, to do various types of training for the staff and today he is in to do our mandatory safety training. I've been working with Scott ever since I got here over 5 years ago to reduce potential liability wherever I can. 

The presentation was also in Spanish 

And we wrapped the whole thing up with a great cookout lunch...brauts and burgers from Chef Todd. I grill them up for the guys and we all enjoy a little comrodary. 

Hazardous material roundup

Better late than never

The last project before the maintenance staff is "done" for the season is to trim and clean up all of the landscape grasses. This is going to be a huge project since it has been 3 years since the last time the grasses have been trimmed. As I'm sure everyone has seen, the grass beds were full of old, dead material and not very attractive looking. The majority of the project is consisting of removing all of the dead material. As you can see in this picture below, there is a massive amount of material to trim.

 Once all of the material has been trimmed the grasses are completely covered with the trimmings.  All of this material would normally be spread around the base of the plants as a  mulch.  However, since it has been so long since the grasses have been trimmed and there is so much material, it all have to be removed and hauled off.

 

Once the trimming are cleaned off, the grass bed looks great.  In fact, if you look closely you can see that within a few days the plants have already grown a few inches.  Once we get the dead plant material removed it shouldn't take long before the beds are full of lush, green growth.