Pictures from this Week

Thursday, March 22, 2012 Irrigation, Projects, Putting Greens

It has been a productive start to our week.  The weather has been all over the board but we were able to dodge a few bullets and get everything accomplished.  Aeration is complete and the irrigation install between holes 10 and 12 will wrap up between today and tomorrow.  Multiple soil amendments will go down between today and tomorrow on greens, tees, and approaches.  The driving range tees have all been fertilized and are growing very well.  You should continue to see topressing being applied to these tees.  The course care walk around or "divot party" was a huge success and multiple winter projects were finished.  The greens will be bumpy and sandy for about two weeks but core aeration is a vital agronomic practice for the long term health of the putting greens.  The golf course is really greening up and we are excited for the Spring season. 

We have finally turned the corner on this tee on #12.  The problematic soils have been adjusted to allow for good growing conditions.

Adjusting the pH problems created by the acid sulfate soils under this tee has paid off.  The tees are greening up well.

Once the greens have been aerated, cleaned, aeration holes back filled with sand and blown off soil amendments are applied based on soil testing.

We are careful to trench around the drip lines of our trees to protect vital roots.  This leads to more trenching, pipe and wire but also aides in tree health and survival.  The irrigation between 10 and 12 will greatly benefit the turf that will be installed in this area.

These three gentlemen helped me install the irrigation.  400 feet of pipe and 7 heads later, the project is completed.  Edgar, who is training to become our irrigation tech doesn't really need direction anymore.  He could have done 95% of this project on his own.  Irrigation management is key to our operation and so is Edgar.

Each new sprinkler head receives a power wire, while the yellow common wire goes to each head.  The green satellite boxes communicate with the central computer and turn heads on and off.

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Another Great Monday

Monday, February 06, 2012 Irrigation, Projects

Today was almost like a real winter day on the golf course.  We had a heavy frost this morning which kept our staff inside for some necessary painting and equipment maintenance.  We have not had much indoor time this year and the work is starting to pile up.  The staff paints on/off posts, hazards stakes and other amenities while staining benches.  A few staff members helped John, our Equipment Manager, install new reels into the fairway cutting units.  Ruben started grinding stumps immediately as frost does not impede this work.
Once the frost lifted the staff began work in the first fairway bunker on 12, applying a pre-emergent herbicide, bringing up the irrigation system and cleaning up behind Arborscapes.  Arborscapes is here again crown cleaning the Willow Oak trees around the clubhouse.  This week looks bad for golf but good for work so we are going to take full advantage.
The irrigation system will be running as we are watering in the pre-emergent herbicide.  This is a necessary evil in the process of preventing goosegrass and crabgrass.  Bringing the irrigation system on-line went off with minimal hiccups this morning and no leaks.  Each of the new irrigation heads that we have installed worked perfectly.  We still have 7 more to install.
The pre-emergent herbicide application is going out about three weeks early due to unseasonably warm temperatures.  Monitoring soil temperatures and phonological indicators such as forsythia bloom tell us that conditions will be conducive for weed germination earlier this year.  This winter has been very unusual but has allowed our team to get a lot of work done.  Tomorrow looks to be a decent day for golf once the frost lifts but this weekend might be better spent on the indoor tennis courts.

Kevin and Ryan applying the pre-emergent herbicide.  One great feature about this sprayer is that it has a training seat so Kevin can ride shotgun and train Ryan on the finer details of spraying.

You should plan on seeing water running this week as this product has to be watered in to reach the soil.  Pre-emergent herbicides prevent weed germination.

Ruben is beginning the slow process of grinding all of the stumps on the golf course.

Our team is finishing the renovation of this bunker on #12.

Arborscapes is finishing up the trees in the parking lot and behind the building today and next Monday.

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Very Busy, Very Productive Monday

Monday, January 30, 2012 Irrigation, Projects, Tree Work

We packed as much into today as possible.  Arborscapes began "crown cleaning" all of the trees in the parking lot and behind the clubhouse.  Crown cleaning is the process of removing weak or dead wood from the canopy of the tree to promote a healthier, safer tree.  Arborscapes also manages the fertility and pest population for our trees and treats accordingly.  Chuck, Greg, Gerson, and Ruben removed 5 difficult trees and cleaned up the limbs that Arborscapes removed.  Edgar, Ergidio and I installed close to 250 feet of irrigation including 3 heads.  That project will be buttoned up tomorrow.  Bobby, Kevin, Ryan, Reynol, Jorge and I applied a post emergent herbicide around all of the green complexes and about half of the fairways and tees.  The rest of that application will finish up tomorrow as well.  You should notice some green tracker dye around the greens that we use to mark our spray pattern.  If you haven't seen a weather forecast lately, Tuesday and Wednesday look great for golf.  Get out and play or at least practice.  We will be mowing and rolling in anticipation of a busy tee sheet.   Handicapped flags should be OK on most holes.

Arborscapes' team of certified arborists removed dead and decaying wood from the canopies of the trees in the parking lot.  Our staff cleans up the wood to save time and money.

Chuck removing large dead pine tree from behind #7 Green

Laying pipe between #12 and #13.  Do you notice the large piles of rock to the left of the trench?

Edgar working hard to trench in the rest of the irrigation between 12 and 13.  This Mini-Excavator was rented due to all of the rock in this area.

Jorge and Reynol hold this board and walk around the green to prevent any chemical from being applied to the putting green surface.  Bobby and Ryan then sprayed a post emergent herbicide with these special back pack applicators while Kevin and I tied in the rest of the green complexes, tees and fairways with the big sprayers.

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Irrigation installation at #12

Thursday, January 26, 2012 Irrigation

The second of our three irrigation projects this winter is well under way.  We are working between 12 and 13 in the newly sprigged area.  The area is full of rock spoils left behind by the quarry mining operation.  This has made trenching difficult but not impossible.  Another difficulty has been that the signal wire we need is in a different place than the pipe that we planned on tapping for water.  Once again, not impossible, just more time consuming.  The signal wire that we needed was closer to #10 fairway while the pipe we going to tap into was directly in front of the silver tee on #12.  All in all, the last day and a half have been productive and this project will be buttoned up next week.  We are bringing in a different tool on Monday to help with the trenching due to the rock and weather permitting, the work should be completed on Tuesday.

The area in the lower part of the picture is where we are accessing a pipe to provide water to the new irrigation components.  You may notice all of the rock in the lower left hand corner.  The pile of dirt about 90 feet away is where we have to access the signal wire.

A tee and a slip coupling allow us to tap into the existing pipe and provide water to the new irrigation components.

This pipe and wire, located 90 feet from our other pipe, is where we were able to make a connection to a spare signal wire.  This signal wire will control the new irrigation heads between 12 and 13.

The sod was lifted and a trench dug to bring the wire across #12.  You can also see where we tapped into the existing pipe at the bottom of the picture.

Once the wire is in place, the trench is back filled with soil.

A power tamper is used to tamp down the soil in the trench and prevent a sunken trench line.  Once the trench line is level, sod will be replaced.

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They don't get much better than Today

Tuesday, January 24, 2012 Irrigation

The weather was perfect today for any time of year, let alone January.  Our team took the opportunity to clean up leaves, mow greens, rake bunkers, and install two new irrigation components.  A sprinkler head and a quick coupler valve were installed between 12 tee, 13 green, and 14 tee.  This area is set to be renovated this year and the addition of these two irrigation components will allow us to better manage the area.  A quick coupler valve is a component that allows for an easy hose hookup to tap into the irrigation system.  Additional irrigation components will be installed between 12 and 13 and between 10 and 12 over the next month.  This will allow for a better grow in of turf during the renovation of these areas.

You may notice some green dye around some of the greens.  The greens were treated with a fungicide and a growth regulator yesterday and the dye is used as a tracker to show us where we have sprayed.  During the growing season, the dye is not visible in the collars but with the TifSport in dormancy, the dye is very visible.  You will continue to see more dye as we begin treating for the winter weeds directly around the greens.  These weeds are difficult to control in the growing season because herbicides used on the TifSport may trans-locate through the soil and kill the bentgrass putting greens.  When the TifSport is fully dormant we can spray a herbicide that does not move in the soil and do a great job of cleaning up the winter weeds.

Here are a few pictures of today's irrigation install.

Bobby and Edgar install the 2.5 inch pipe that will provide water to the new sprinkler head and quick coupler valve.

The pipe at the bottom of the picture was already in the ground.  We used a tee and a slip coupling to tap into the current system for the new irrigation components.  Landscapes Unlimited did us a real favor when they installed the irrigation and left extra wire in the ground.  This allows us to install new sprinkler heads with individual head control. 

This is the new sprinkler head and quick coupler.  The project will be buttoned up tomorrow once some concrete thrust blocks set up.  The thrust block help prevent leaks and keep the pipe from moving under pressure.

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