Making progress

Here is the latest with the irrigation project. Mainline has been moving along nicely since Friday. By the end of Monday, they have trenched up to 12 green. Getting around the Water District's pump building behind the green could cause a bit of a slow down, but once they get into 13 tee, it should be smooth sailing through that hole. Fortunately, the trench is dry and we are through with groundwater, for now.

As for the laterals, by the end of the week, (which is Thursday, because of the holiday) they should be complete with #2 and #8. The high pressure gas line is causing some cautious digging through the course as the pipe line follows the frontage road throughout the course. They have to be extremely careful with this fragile utility line. The depth is not exactly known and hand digging is a must. If this line is damaged, it could do some serious damage to the golf course, river and highways, and not to mention the operators nearby. 

An Amazing Sight

The fertilizer yesterday required irrigation following the application. To my surprise and golfer's delight we were able to get #5 and #6 watered quickly. With the old system, we only had the capability to turn on up to 4 sprinklers per fairway due to the low flow.

This was the scene yesterday with the new system on the 6th hole. In about 10 minutes we had the fertilizer completely washed into the turf canopy. Our jaws just dropped when we saw how many of these heads were able to come on at once. we lost count after about 20 heads came on. Call us turf geeks or hydraulic geeks, but it's pretty cool.

Fertilizer Application

This week we have been finishing up with our second installment of our first application of fertilizer. Pictured here is Justin applying through a Lely spreader to hole #6. This fertilizer is one of my favorites. It is a quick release that provides great results. Very high in Nitrogen to get the turf into gear after hibernation from the wintertime. It also contains almost 4% Iron which gives the plant a deeper green color.

By applying this synthetic fertilizer it not only gets the turf actively growing, but it also helps reduce the amount of weeds throughout the course due to the dense turfgrass population. We apply this fertilizer to allmaintained areas except the greens.

Our second application or "summer application" contains a lot of organics due to the increased soil temperature to optimize its results.

First Official Round

I played my first official round Monday at River Valley Ranch in Carbondale. The Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) had its monthly meeting there and it was a great venue. The day began with speaker Jim Moore of the USGA Green Section. It was held via the internet, using a power point presentation and he was speaking through the computer from his office in Texas. The handy part were his updates of the final round of the US Open.
Anyway, he discussed the many ways Superintendents and golf courses could look to cut costs in this economic downturn. Many of his ideas were good, however each course is different and there can be a fine line when determining if doing something different is actually saving.
As for the golf course, Superintendent Steve Ehnes and his staff did a fantastic job with the golf course, the greens were in excellent shape and the weather sure helped.
I am looking forward to going to our August meeting at Pole Creek in Fraser, CO. Landscapes Unlimited installed a new irrigation system there last year.

The New Private Course

Bethpage Black, the first public golf course to host the US Open. I think we'll start to see some more changes in course selection for championships in the future. Public is the new private, the demand for public courses have never been higher. There is something to be said about letting anyone play the same course that Tiger, Phil and the world's best play for our nation's championship, at a great price too!

The USGA and the PGA are thinking outside the box to increase numbers to the game of golf. I applaud the USGA for making this step and they are not stopping just with Bethpage. They continue to seek out great public courses around the country that can open the game to those who think it is still a "gentleman's game".

Happy Father's Day

Well it looks like the US Open will go into Monday to determine a champion. Great day to get over to the club to hit some golf balls or play a round. All eighteen holes are open today. 

As for the irrigation project, the 5th hole is near completion. There was a lot less rock in the 5th hole than the 6th, maybe we just got lucky. Certainly the bigger rock was found while opening a trench for the mainline. However, while pulling 2 inch laterals they certainly came across plenty of two-three foot diameter rock than needed to be removed.

Next week they'll finish up with #5, then move to the 4th hole and onto 7 and 8 greens. If you notice the new irrigation heads on 5 and 6, they do not have the yardages on them. Don't worry they are on their way. Once the heads are installed our designer, Larry Rodgers orders all yardages for sprinkler heads between 50-300 yards from the middle of the green. Some of the old heads are still in the ground with markers on them. They will be removed throughout the summer, but the new accurate markers will be installed shortly, so please be patient.

Putting in laterals

Here are a few photos of installing the irrigation heads on #6. The green half is done and by the end of today, the entire hole should be complete.
As you see in the second picture, the heads are laid out to the location where they will be installed. Notice two heads next to each other around the green. One head is meant to water the green only and the other head is meant to water the rough off the green only. This design give us more control on where to put water when needed. When you have one plant that is mowed at an 1/8th of an inch and another plant that is mowed at 2.5 inches, there demand for water will be different. The old system required both areas to receive the same amount of water.

Fusing In The Rain

Pictured here are continuing efforts to get fusing done no matter what. It is imperative that no moisture at all is involved with the fusing process. The moisture can disrupt fusing the saddle to the pipe and not sealing correctly. This was the scene around noon yesterday on the 8th hole. Landscapes is trying not to lose ground as the weather continued to be nasty. Almost a half inch of rain fell throughout the day yesterday.

Today, skies look clearer, everyone is hoping for more sun. Landscapes had to halt the mainline process yesterday on #5 due to the extreme wet conditions. They will continue to finish #5 mainline.

#3 Is Done

Number three is done, not fully open yet, but we are getting close. Expect to use a mat on the tee box for a week come Friday. The second green will need some more time prior to opening. A comment was made recently about the variety of the bluegrass sod used for the area. As I mentioned before it came to us from Emerald Sod Farm in Commerce City, CO. The bluegrass blend consists of four different varieties that are proven highly successful on research test sites in the Rocky Mountain Region. These varieties provide a natural dark green color, drought tolerance, disease resistance, shade tolerance and density. However, no turfgrass is drought resistant but going forward we strive to find the best performance overall turfgrass.

Lessons

If you visit this site often, more than anything you probably love the game of golf. At a time where the game is considered flat, lessons are probably the most important aspect of the game. Yesterday, the Golf Staff here at Vail Golf Club very generously provided quick lessons yesterday to the entire Maintenance Staff. It was extremely helpful and enjoyed by everyone. I stood cautiously on the opposite side of the net to get a photo.

It was a great opportunity for both ends of the staff at Vail Golf Club to draw closer. The Golf Staff sees what maintenance does each day to prepare the course, this provided an excellent avenue for us to see exactly what the Golf Staff does at their best. All of us in Maintenance land were certainly impressed. Thank you to Jeanne, Drew, Chris and Andy.

More Rock

The rock continues on #6. The trench pictured here is along the left side of the hole. It has been a bit slower due to the amount and size of the rock. Pictured below is a rock taken from the 5th tee area. There have been a couple of more close to this size that have been removed. There have been others that have been hammered to fit pipe into the ground.
After Tuesday, Landscapes has made it half way through the hole and look to cross in front of the tee box today back towards the 5th hole. The tee box on #6 will be moved up to the front of the fairway today.

Staking Sprinkler Heads

Today Larry Rodgers came to Vail to mark locations for all sprinkler heads and valves. Holding in his hand is a GPS unit that he can upload each location of the heads and valves. Each color represents a certain item. Blue for part circle, pink for full circle, orange for smaller diameter heads, and white for quick coupler valve. Once the flagging is complete, LUI will replace them with "whiskers" that are mow-able and can still be located.
Spacing and uniformity is the most important part of the process. You will notice heads marked around the perimeter of the property and heads are located equilateral from each other.

Just Won't Quit

The cloudy, rainy, cold weather just won't leave us alone. Most of the course enjoys the moisture, but only so much. As for construction, golfing and growing conditions it's been a little difficult.

I have included some recent photos from today. Here is just some of the rock removed from the 6 inch mainline on the right side of #6. Below is the latest picture of #3. It is shaping up real nicely.

The latest on #3

Almost there, a bit short on sod on Saturday. New sod will be cut today to be delivered and installed tomorrow. The top part of the hole along the new cart path and the old cart path are all that remains to be installed. The sod is coming from Emerald Sod Farm in Commerce City, CO. 3" cut is being put down for all rough areas, tees and fairway sod is at 3/4".

This is a view from the cart path in front of the forward tee looking back. You will notice an erosion mat on the right side of the hole and soon to be on the left side. These areas are going to be native and grown in by seed.

The final completion date has been rescheduled to next Monday, June 15th due to the recent rains we have had. There remains a little more drainage work, but everything here is on the right track.

Opening these areas is uncertain right now. The sod must begin to root before any play or traffic of any kind is allowed. My biggest concern is the hillside between the holes. That must be safe enough to walk on before opening the second green. But everything should be open by Fathers Day Weekend.

Grassing On #3

Grassing on #3 is almost complete. The last truck of sod will be here on Tuesday to finish. The tees, slope to 2 green and the approach area are completed. The sod will need 10 days to 2 weeks to root and begin more growth before we can open them up for play. Especially the slope to the left of 2 green. This area needs to root so walkers climbing the hill can safely make it to the tee box without sliding.

A Great Story

My brother sent this story to me recently published in the Boston Globe. It is a fascinating story of a group of friends who experience humanity at its best on their way to play a few rounds of golf. Click here to read it.

The Next Step

"Once the mainline is done, how are the sprinkler heads and laterals to be installed?" has been and will be a frequent question asked. For a good reason too and let me describe this process to you. The mainline is anywhere from 6 -16 inches in diameter. With that size and open trench is necessary for installation. The lateral pipes are only 2 inches in diameter. You will see rolls of them near 6 and 12 green. Another advantage of HDPE is that it can flex and bend around greens, slopes and rock.





Here are a couple of pictures from my trip to Cherry Hills CC last fall. They have a very similar irrigation system to what we will have. The top picture is the plow that pulls pipe and communication wire from the mainline to each sprinkler head. The bottom picture is the end result. As you can see, this pipe is pulled in a circle around the green with a couple of heads installed as well. (Click on the pictures to make them larger) The pipe and wire is 12 inches below the surface so it does not interfere with any future maintenance practices such as aerification. The best part is the minimal clean up; a roller or tamp to put the turf back into place is all that is needed.
"What about the rock?" Well, yes this is the Rocky Mountains. If they get into a situation where pulling is not an option than an open trench will be required. Remember though, it is only a 2 inch pipe so the size of the trench will be significantly smaller than any of the mainline trenches. With any turf damages sod or seed will be used to rejuvenate the area.

Another note, 1.23 inches of rain for the month of June.

18 holes!

18 holes open today. We have a temporary green on #2 and temporary tee on #3 due to the renovation there. Grassing is scheduled to begin Friday, now that we are getting some dryer weather. Expect the 2nd green to be temporary up to 10 more days after grassing. The third tee should be ready about a week later. Of course all of this depends on what Mother Nature decides.

As for irrigation, mainline should be finished on #4 Thursday and move to #5. Cart traffic will be re-routed around the 4th green for the day. By the afternoon, expect a temporary tee on 5 tee box. Friday and Saturday morning we are looking at keeping #5 completely closed.

Recertification Day

Yesterday was a productive one even with the rain. An important day to say the least. Doug Zak of ISCO pipe, manufacturer of our HDPE was on site to train and re-certify members of the LUI crew. It was a very interesting process and quite educational. There are a few different ways to fuse pipe together, we learned about socket, electro and butt fusions. After fusing, a saw would be used to check the accuracy of the fusion. All of them were seamless, it was impossible to tell any difference between the two pieces of pipe. Studies show that a correct fusion is 20% stronger than the actual pipe itself. After each person fuses pipe, they write their name, date and location on the pipe and it is sent to be pressure tested. Tests are done at 800 psi, where our system only calls for 120 psi. These are important lessons for the future when it comes time for us to make adjustments to the system in the future.

After recently talking about "green" ways of doing things. This is the best and it is proven and quickly becoming the trend in golf course irrigation. First, with a seamless piping system there is no loss of water, no loss of pressure which equals less wear on pumps. Second, commonly used pvc contains glues and chloride which contain carcinogens. HDPE is 100% recyclable, all scraps are gathered and sent to be reused.

I am putting together a video about the fusion process and should be up soon.

Pumphouse Update

If you didn't catch it, the pump house made the cover of the Vail Daily yesterday. Pretty nice press! Thanks to Scott O'Connell (VRD Facilities Manager) and his efforts to get this off the ground. Melanie Wong of the Daily, wrote an excellent article about the building and I credit her to making light of this achievement in Vail. We have to start somewhere and the possibilities with this product are endless, especially right here in Vail. "Green" can be a term thrown around loosely these days, everyone likes to hear it, but you have to understand that most of the world is actually "green and being green". Every little bit helps getting to that ultimate goal. Through projects such as this, the VRD seeks qualities such as leadership, value, efficiency and enjoyment. Skeptics aside, this is a milestone not only for Vail, but for the Vail Recreation District. The VRD is comprised of a strong team of professionals that strive to put together the best recreational experiences for guests and locals of the Vail Valley. We have been doing it for years and will continue to do so. Click here to learn about the vast recreational opportunities the VRD offers.

First Round

I played my first round of golf today. It was a good day to be away from the course. Lots of rain fell and really limited the amount of work that was done on the course. As for maintenance, some mowing was done and some areas of clean up. Irrigation was able to finish with mainline install on #7 and move to #4, however calling it quits early due to heavy rain fall. Progress on #3 was slow as well, all areas are just about complete except for re-grassing. In the words of the on-site Superintendent, Tom Keefe, " You can't prep mud". We'll have another "go" in the morning.

Oh yeah, as for golf, I played Fox Hollow in Lakewood, part of a benefit tournament for the son of a fellow Superintendent and very good friend of mine. This 6 year is battling a brain tumor and putting up one heck of a fight. It was an inspiring day and not mention the fact that playing other courses always fuels my energy to contribute to a better golf course.