A Superintendent's nightmare

You know what they say, "the worst thing about a golf course is that you have to leave it outside!" Well the second worst thing a Supt has to potentially go through  happened yesterday  (waking up to a course covered in disease is the first). I'm referring to the fast moving storm with very powerful winds ripping through the pristine golf course my team had prepared for this weekend's invitational event. Wednesday morning around 10 o'clock I was riding the course just so proud of my team for what they had accomplished this year with course and how impeccable it was that day, just perfect for the invitational. 

Well it's 5:12 a.m. and I've been at the course since 4:10 this morning with my staff trying like hell to clean up the wrath of the storm.  There is debris everywhere and we can't begin to clean it up with the blowers and machines until closer to 7, but by starting that late we won't be able to accomplish much before the shotgun start. Nonetheless we are going to give it a go and do what we can do. The only good news is that the 3/4 inch of rain we received seems to have been handled very well by the course I can't find any wet spots. Of course is completely pitch black right now but hey....I'm hopeful!

Ready to preach to the masses

All setup in the Capital building to spread the word on how golf is good for the environment. My partner is meeting with Senators this morning while I man the table and then later we'll switch. I'll be meeting later in the day with the House Natural Resourse Committee regarding water quality issues facing the State. 

Florida Golf Day

Today I'm in Tallahassee representing golf course superintendents at a reception in advance of tomorrow's Florida Golf Day legislator's office visits. Here's some things about Florida's golf that I bet you didn't know....

Florida’s direct golf economy is $7.5 billion a year, supporting 167,000 jobs with an annual wage income of $4.7 billion. http://bit.ly/1ngb70B #FGD14

 

Don’t miss FL Golf Day on Feb. 13 in Tallahassee at the State Capitol. http://bit.ly/1ngb70B #FGD14

 

Florida has the largest golf economy in the U.S. at$7.5 billion a year. http://bit.ly/1ngb70B #FGD14

 

Did you know Florida’s #golf economy supports nearly 167,000 jobs per year? http://bit.ly/1ngb70B#FGD14

 

Did you know golf’s economic impact in Florida is $7.5 billion a year? http://bit.ly/1ngb70B #FGD14

 

Did you know the #golf economy in Florida provides an annual wage income of $4.7 billion per year?http://bit.ly/1ngb70B #FGD14

 

Florida is home to 1,204 golf facilities, most in the U.S. http://bit.ly/1ngb70B #FGD14

 

Why is #golf more than a game to you? Let us know by using #FGD14. http://bit.ly/1ngb70B

Golf Industry Show

Today starts the week long Golf Industry Show presented by the Golf Course Superintendent Association of America. This conference is a combination of education and trade show for the world wide golf maintenance industry. This morning's class is on today's technology and how to apply to golf course management, specifically cloud based document construction and sharing. 

Fore......

Golfers in the mist. #14 at The Country Club of Naples this morning. I think those neon yellow balls are on sale in the golf shop. 

These are the type of days that make a Superintendent cringe because the cool temperatures and the 100% humidity mean disease pressure / potential is at its maximum. Fortunately, the maintenance department keeps the greens on a preventative program to decrease the putting surfaces' potential to have a disease outbreak. The Celebration is constantly bombarded with small outbreaks of disease but normally just out grows any damage. It is a rare occasion that a fungicide is applied to the Celebration. 

Cold weather

Despite the recent cold weather, the golf course is still holding up nicely. Part of the reason why the Celebration was chosen as the new grass was because if it's winter hardiness. We have had two frosts in the last 14 days and are still mowing grass. That's pretty amazing!

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.