Welcome Kora!

Kora is our newest edition to the golf course maintenance staff. Assistant Superintendent Justin Gompf recently became the proud owner of the newest "goose chaser" at Vail Golf Club. She is an Australian Shepherd and so far is excited about the snow. We look forward to her growing and learning about golf and nordic maintenance.
Over the last few seasons we have noticed a slight increase in the amount of Canada Geese that make Vail Golf Club a summer home. I don't need to explain what a nuisance these creatures cause through the summer months.
Our main goal with the geese is to deter them from playable areas on the golf course. We embrace all kinds of wildlife on the golf course that enhance its environment. The most proven way to maintain geese on golf courses are with trained herding dogs. Kora will be a welcomed addition to the golf course.

Needing snow

This seems to be the trend over the last 3 years, where the snow slowly comes to Vail. This year has been no different. More snow fell in Edwards last night than Vail, which makes us scratch our heads. As for recreation, 4 or less inches of snow on the ground, won't slow down anyone. There is still plenty to do other than golf. The other day I noticed a large football game going on at the athletic field along the 6th hole.
There is limited Nordic available on the golf course and most of the bike path to the East Vail. The trails have been marked and it helps when people follow directions and stay on the designated trails. There are many Nordic athletes preparing for the up-coming season and others who are looking to shake the cob-webs like those getting up on the hill for an hour or so these days.

USGA: Rules and Decisions

USGA: Rules and Decisions: "Consideration for Other Players


No Disturbance or Distraction
Players should always show consideration for other players on the course and should not disturb their play by moving, talking or making unnecessary noise.
Players should ensure that any electronic device taken onto the course does not distract other players.
On the teeing ground, a player should not tee his ball until it is his turn to play.
Players should not stand close to or directly behind the ball, or directly behind the hole, when a player is about to play.

On the Putting Green
On the putting green, players should not stand on another player's line of putt or, when he is making a stroke, cast a shadow over his line of putt.
Players should remain on or close to the putting green until all other players in the group have holed out.

Scoring
In stroke play, a player who is acting as a marker should, if necessary, on the way to the next tee, check the score with the player concerned and record it."

Tomorrow's topic is Pace of Play!

Safety

Safety is a form of golf etiquette and should not be taken lightly. With most golf courses; homes, vehicles and pedestrians or bikers should always be cared for properly. Remember the golfer is responsible for their shots and damage that may incur.

USGA: Rules and Decisions: "Safety

Players should ensure that no one is standing close by or in a position to be hit by the club, the ball or any stones, pebbles, twigs or the like when they make a stroke or practice swing.
Players should not play until the players in front are out of range.
Players should always alert green staff nearby or ahead when they are about to make a stroke that might endanger them.
If a player plays a ball in a direction where there is a danger of hitting someone, he should immediately shout a warning. The traditional word of warning in such situations is 'fore.'"

Fins Up!

So Vail Mountain is now open, there is just enough snow on the ground to get some Nordic skiing done on the golf course. I guess space is limited on the hill as well. The extended forecast is saying no snowfall of importance until December 1st.

Makes me wish the golf course was melted off enough to open again!

Oh well, our head pro Jeanne has the right idea as she heads to Mohegan Sun tomorrow in CT to watch the real "greatest experience on earth" Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band. As a Parrothead myself, of course I am jealous, but I'll be listening to the show. Enjoy it Jeanne and watch out for those land sharks! I want evidence for the blog!

Snowcover 2009

Well winter is here. As of Friday afternoon the golf course was completely covered in snow. About 5 inches fell by Saturday morning. We began with a little grooming with our snowmobile as we transition into our Nordic track. More snow is predicted by Sunday.

The snowcat does not come out until 2 feet are on the ground. That is enough of a cushion between the track and the turf with the tiller and grousers of the snowcat.

CLOSED for the 2009 season

The Golf Course is closed for the 2009 season. Faced with the very dry conditions, the turfgrass plants will weaken as the dryness continues. Heading into the winter with stress can damage the plant for the spring and start of the 2010 season. Thanks for a great year, see you in May.

And the winner is...

This year's edition of the Coal Bucket was a big success! The weather was great and twenty players turned out for the 41-year old tournament on Saturday.

Glenn Samuelson, fellow Golf Course Superintendent, is the latest name on the coal bucket. Glenn is the gross winner firing a 33 on the 8 hole course. Bob Essin was the net winner with a 34-27.
Pictured below (left to right) is the 2008 Champion Todd Hatami, Glenn Samuelson and Bob Essin.

Thanks to everyone for a memorable 2009 golf season.

Another Beautiful Day

A great day for being outside and playing in the Coal Bucket. Get to the golf course by noon to enter into the tournament. It's that easy. Enjoy the last few days of warmth in the valley. What else are you going to do today? Tivo or DVR the Breeders Cup or your college football game and watch them later.
Plus there are beverages and appetizers in the clubhouse following the tournament. Have a great end of the season.

Snowmold Trials

Dr. Ned Tisserat and Tamla Blunt from the Plant Diagnostic Clinic at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins continue their research with snowmold on golf courses. Vail Golf Club is one of the courses used for their research due to our high disease pressure. This widespread wintertime disease due to the duration of snow cover in the north can severely damage turfgrass if not treated correctly.

Vail Golf Club has a long standing relationship with the University and for numerous years has committed turfgrass plots on the 14th fairway for research. This year, for the first time, Dr. Tisserat and Ms. Blunt are using the 3 year old nursery green located on the 14 th hole. They will continue to use fairway turf on the 14th hole to continue with their years of research.

There are many different formulas and treatments applied within the given areas. Various chemical companies donate their products to be used for these trials. Vail Golf Club benefits from the information gathered each year to determine the best approach to combat snowmold.

Putting Your Mind To It

I knew I would figure it out sooner or later. I guess shorter days, frost and laying off the seasonal staff gives me the time to really expand on the blog. As you may have noticed I posted the irrigation as-builts of the first hole for you to view.
This is the new system on paper. You can click on it for a closer look.
Let me explain what you are viewing in a nutshell.
The "red line" signifies the mainline and the red symbols mark each lateral valve. The black lines identify the 2" lateral lines from the mainline. The full or part circles mark each sprinkler head. The part circles are adjustable heads located on the perimeter of the property or around the putting surfaces.
Each station or sprinkler head has two sets of numbers associated with them. The first set of numbers represents the decoder "address" (ex. 38522) for that station. For example, a 6 station decoder can operate up to 6 different irrigation heads. There is a five digit address for each station and that is how the central computer communicates with the sprinkler head.
The second set of numbers at each head represents that sprinkler head's "name". For example 1F-20 (1st hole fairway, station #20) which represents that valve-in head in the Rainbird computer programing. This is Rainbird's way of simplifying the process for irrigation managers to locate and name each station, instead of remembering a 5 digit number. There are 7 categories for naming irrigation heads. The seven categories for our system are greens, tees, fairways, approaches, greens surrounds, rough and miscellaneous.
By this time next year, Justin, Tony and I will have memorized about 80% of the "names" for all of the irrigation heads on the property. It just comes with the job.

A jump on things

I could not help but stop and take a photo of Golden Peak ski area on Vail Mountain this morning. This was taken approximately 500 yards west of the 5th and 6th holes on the golf course. A beautiful sight to see this time of year as Vail Resorts begins to open a portion of the mountain early for training.

A good portion of the snow has melted from the golf course. Shady areas are hanging on longer, but more sun is needed for playing the course.