Dubsdread

On Monday, my wife and I were fortunate to play one of this country's nicest courses.

While in Chicago for the weekend, we were guests of Joe Jemsek, owner, and played Cog Hill #4 Dubsdread, home of the BMW Championship. About 3 weeks ago, Tiger Woods won on these very grounds on his way to the Fed Ex Cup.

What a treat it was to play this golf course. We certainly struggled a bit. However, Superintendent Ken Lapp and his staff do a phenomenal job maintaining the course.

The course opened in 1964 and nicknamed Dubsdread, from the idea "dub" or poor golfer should beware and it serves as a warning to the challenges ahead. They weren't kidding. It was very difficult. Tiger Woods shot a low round of 62, I shot a 98.

In 2007, Cog Hill finished a renovation with Rees Jones to reposition bunkers and hazards, modify tees and re-build all 18 greens including the installation of the Sub-Air drainage system. The Jemsek family has something to be proud of with this golf course.

The weather was not too particularly favorable, but we played nonetheless. Tight fairways and dense rough demand precise shot-making. The greens are heavily guarded with bunkers and does not provide much room for rolling the ball onto the green. Large deciduous trees surround many of the holes, which made for interesting shots if you were to miss the fairway.

The greens are new bentgrass turf with a real true putting surface. The Sub-Air Drainage system was installed in all 18 greens, which a great tool for the right price. In a nutshell, Sub-Air removes excess moisture in the putting surface to provide a firmer and faster green. It is especially helpful when hosting tournaments through a rainy stretch when greens normally can get soggy and slow.

Wet Conditions

Since there are no golfers on the course because of the weather, why wouldn't you take advantage of the situation and aerify?
I would love to take advantage of the limited golf to do this, however the moisture will only set us back and it makes our goal that much more difficult to achieve when everything is wet.
First off, when soils are saturated, most times cores will not come out of the ground, or at the very least we acheive about half of the desired depth. Then, if they do come out of the ground and the cores are wet, it becomes very difficult to separate the soils from the thatch and plant matter. One of the goals during fairway aerification is to return as much soil back into the root zone and only remove the plant materials.
So we wait for another day. In the meantime, the GCM staff will continue with other projects on the course.

September in the Rockies

This picture was taken today, do I need say more? Reports say the weather is supposed to get better as the week progresses. There were a few brave golfers out today.

Tree Trimming

Due to the inclement weather today, we are postponing fairway aerification. To accomplish aerifcation correctly on fairways, conditions must be dry. Proper cleanup is a must in these areas and the moisture will disturb any goal we have to accomplish this correctly.

Instead of fairways we moved to roughs. These areas need very little clean up due to the wider spacing. This way we can remain productive and prepare for fairways and greens when the weather is right.

We are also able to accomplish a lot of tree trimming throughout the course. We have a team of 8 staff members, cutting, cleaning and hauling away tree debris. We are clearing low limbs to make golf shots under trees possible. We are also removing a lot of dead material within the trees as well. Clearing this material not only provides a better golf shot, it also allows for more air movement, and sun and water exposure to improve growth for turfgrass around and underneath trees.

The weather outside is...

... cold. Pay attention to the weather if you are planning to play this week. Not a great week to aerify fairways and we are postponing today's plan to punch 10 and 18 fairway. With the wet conditions we will be unable to achieve the goal of aerification. We will monitor the weather on a day-to-day basis and make decisions accordingly on aerification.
Instead, today we'll focus on tree trimming and native grass mowing. Mowing the natives is the second step to a better maintained native stand of plantings. In time, with the reduction of over-spray from irrigation, these areas will begin to thin out and actually be left to their natural environment. In the spring these cut plants will grow back stronger and be more competitive against weeds. Pesticide applications will be made to rid any unwanted or noxious weeds surrounding the golf course.
Not only will these areas look more aesthetically pleasing, they will become player friendly. Thinner grassy areas will make it easier to find golf balls, and you may even get a bit of roll out of them.

New System: Dry Course Part 1

(This is a multiple part blog about the future effects of the new irrigation system here in Vail.)

I guess when some people hear about a new irrigation system they expect green and lush fairways. Those people must not golf. The entire purpose of this project was to use water efficiently. So I made sure that the important aspects of an irrigation system were in place. Flow and pressure were a major upgrade, pipe size has doubled and flow has tripled. Spacing of sprinkler heads has been corrected and is consistent throughout the entire golf course. With these factors addressed now I can appropriately irrigate to what the turf actually needs.

Over the years of a weaker system, it is easy to over compensate many areas of the course to achieve that"Augusta Effect" so many golfers wish to have. Superintendents have spoiled golfers over the years giving them an illusion that some areas are greener than what actually may appear! By over compensating with water you can begin a cycle that can become hard to stray from. Water-hungry plants like poa annua can be very intrusive throughout the property and take away from other beneficial plants on the golf course. Over the next few seasons I will be learning how to accurately use the system to provide the right color green on the golf course. Over the next week, I will continue to blog about the differences of the old vs. new system and how the learning process has begun.

Fairway Aerification

Monday we begin aerification on the fairways. Weather permitting of course, which means if it rains or snows (I guess) we will not aerify that day and push it to the next dry day.
Aerification is a very important practice to maintain optimum conditions for a golf course. Some of the benefits of aerification are oxygen exchange and water penetration into the root zone to promote photosynthesis and plant health. It also allows us to relieve compaction and rid thatch that can build up at the surface. Excessive thatch creates a too-soft of a playing surface and it prevents nutrients and water getting to the root systems. Aerification also allows us to topdress with sand to dilute thatch, fill in divots and other imperfections in the fairway for a smoother roll.
The following is the schedule for fairways :
Monday, Sept. 21st: 10 & 18
Tuesday, Sept. 22nd: 11 & 16
Wednesday, Sept. 23rd: 12 & 17
Thursday, Sept. 24th: 13 & 14
Monday, Sept. 28th: 1 & 9
Tuesday, Sept 29th: 2, 7 & 8
Wednesday, Sept 30th: 6
Thursday, Oct 1st: 4 & 5
(#10 will play as the first hole during front nine aerification)

The process of aerification consists of hollow tine cores with a diameter of 5/8ths of an inch at about a 2" x 4" spacing throughout the entire fairway and intermediate cut. The cores are left to dry and then are broken up with pull-behind mats to separate the soil from thatch and plant tissue. The soil can return to the open holes while the plant material remains on the surface. Finally a blower is used to scatter debris into the rough areas. Some of that material is collected and removed off-site. It can take up to 5-6 hours to finish two fairways in one day.

A week of Shotguns

It has been a long week of shotgun tournaments. This picture was taken when everyone was heading back to the shop while golfers took to the course on Thursday morning. Kudos to the entire staff getting through all 18 in time to prep the course. It was a great week to showcase the golf course to those who do not normally play here much.

Commonground

This golf course is exactly what the game of golf needs right now. Formerly known as Mira Vista, Commonground should easily be at the top of many lists of places to play.

Commonground is owned and managed by the CGA and the CWGA. The Tom Doak design opened earlier this year in Aurora. Par 71 with wide open fairways, rolling hills and big greens. This walker-friendly course will make you enjoy playing the game each day.
There is also a 9 hole par 3 course that is similar to the main course. It is great for beginners and high handicappers or for anyone who wants to improve their short game.
Director of Maintenance Tracy Richard and Superintendent Bobby Martin have done a marvelous job turning this property into one of the most talked about golf courses in Colorado. One of my favorite aspects of the course is the amount of roll that a player can get on many shots. I was getting 200 yards from my 170 yard club. I also shot my low round of the year so far, 89.

Landscaping

Grand Traverse Landscaping LLC has been hired to overhaul many of our landscape areas around the course. They will be doing a lot of fall cleaning this year and begin to implement some new plantings for next season. I gave them run of the entrance bed at the clubhouse parking lot and they did a fantastic job. It has never looked better with over 100 different perennial plants to dress up the entrance.

Leaves Are Changing

It's getting to be that time of year. Golden hillsides are upon us with the aspen leaves changing over the next couple of weeks. Don't forget to have your camera with you while playing the course.

Etiquette; Behavior On The Course

In the spirit of the Championship this week, I figured this was appropriate... "The Spirit of the Game. Golf is played, for the most part, without the supervision of a referee or umpire. The game relies on the integrity of the individual to show consideration for other players and to abide by the Rules. All players should conduct themselves in a disciplined manner, demonstrating courtesy and sportsmanship at all times, irrespective of how competitive they may be. This is the spirit of the game of golf.

As winter nears...

I can't believe how many people have said to me recently how they are excited for the winter. Well living in a ski town I guess I can't complain, part of me agrees with them, but the weather is real good right now and I don't need a heavy coat just yet.
So I have been thinking of what I could possibly blog about over the winter time. Obviously we are not as busy, but if you would like I can discuss what it is like to drive a snow cat and groom Nordic trails, or maybe have our equipment manager, Kirk, break down a set of cutting units and describe in detail how to maintain them.
Well the two main areas that I will focus on over the winter with the blog are upcoming projects for 2010 and The Rules of Golf. So if you have any questions on either topic, please let me have them. The rules are coming from the latest 2008-09 USGA book. I am sure we will hear about some changes over the winter for the 2010 book and we can discuss them at that time.

Mini Golf

I stumbled upon this picture this morning as I went through some recent pictures. This is the Vail Miniature Golf Club located at the chipping green. Set up was done by assistant Professional Chris Johnson. Very well done and quite the challenge, not to mention a lot of fun! This was set up for the men's club last week following their shotgun tournament.

Aerway

This is one of my favorite pieces of equipment. It is an aerway, which puts slits in the ground and opens up pore space in the soil. It allows water and oxygen to enter the soil profile and access to the root zone to promote healthy turf. It causes very little impact to playability, especially when a mower follows it's path. You will notice the bricks on top of the spikes, which weighs down the machine for optimal depth.

September is a busy month for maintenance. It is critical that the course is healthy prior to the stress of the long winter.

Setting the Pace

Back to the pace of play issue, here is a clock that has been placed on the first tee box. This is the "pace setter". Sending golfers exactly at their allotted tee times has proven that a near 4 hour round is achievable.

The best example of this I can give to you is driving your car onto a highway. Now when you learn to drive in the city of Boston, it's pretty much every vehicle for themselves. Some people even call it a game, but it is a cluster trying to get onto the highway during peak traffic hours. There is a lot of congestion and frankly you really don't get anywhere quickly.

Then we go to the Mile High City where there are traffic lights at the on-ramp prior to entering the high way. To make this possible you need a longer on-ramp to put the traffic somewhere and that is why it would never work in Boston. Anyway, every 20 seconds or so another car or two is allowed to merge into the steady stream of traffic, thus preventing a large pile up at each entrance to the high way.

In our case at the golf course the snack bar and driving range is our "on-ramp", the clock is the "stop light" and the first tee is the "beginning of the road".

According to Bill Yates (see post on August 22nd), if the golfers are spaced out appropriately, then you can begin to research other areas of the course that slow down play.

Since instituting this new process, for the most part play has been flowing smooth through the course. There remain a few holes out there that need attention with design and maintenance, but we are evaluating that at this point and will address them appropriately.

Tee Aerification

This week we are aerifying tee boxes around the golf course. Pictured here is Justin operating the new John Deere tractor with the new Toro, 3 point hitch aerifier. The large floating tires on the tractor prevent rutting and this method has been proven to be much more productive, compared to walk-behind units. Most of all we are getting the best results. 

The versatility of the tractor allows us to achieve accurate spacing. Following Justin, one of our crew members will drag the cores to break up the soil from the thatch and turf plants. Most of the soil will fall back into the holes. 

Following the dragging, a blower cleans the remaining debris. Over the next few days we will be over seeding with Kentucky Bluegrass seed and lightly topdressing with sand.