Back To School

Second Assistant Superintendent, Tony Giroux, is heading back to school to further his turfgrass career. He has left the Vail Valley for Amherst, MA. While at the University of Massachusetts, Tony will be enrolled into an intense eight week program that will teach him the basics and beyond of golf and turfgrass management.

After spending four years here at Vail Golf Club he felt it was time to expand on that B.S. degree from Colby-Sawyer, NH. We could not be happier for his commitment and decision. Originally from Maine, he'll be able to take a break from studying and visit some family and friends. I am hoping a time or two, Tony will briefly let us know what he has been up to while in western Massachusetts.

Good Luck and hopefully we won't be seeing you in a hole like this for quite sometime!

Attack of the elk

With little snow fall so far this winter the elk will travel. During the early evening a herd of elk return to the valley floor for water and nest for the night. Fencing and light reflectors attempt at keeping them away from greens.
Elk urine and hoof prints can damage turf underfoot and we have seen this in the past. The only way to prevent the elk from roaming through the golf course and nordic trails are heavy snowfalls. Once we begin measuring snow in feet, we hope the elk will find "greener pastures".
We have not had too much trouble with them nesting come spring time. At this point they are doing more damage to the ski trails.

Helping Out

Today the VRD spent the day helping out the Salvation Army collecting funds outside Safeway in Vail. Two of our "bell ringers" pictured here (above) Jerrica Miller from Youth Services and (below) Heather Gilger, Gymnastics Director. You can drop by Safeway until 8pm tonight to make donations and meet your favorite VRD staff members.

Indefinite?

So I'm sure you have all been waiting for this post. What does indefinite mean with Tiger? Head to the blog to cast your vote on when you think Tiger will return to golf.
My vote? I think he'll be back for the Masters if not sooner.

Live from Copenhagen...

This just in from an undisclosed source. Have a great weekend.

The solution to pollution...

... is dilution. This phrase was first said when some Californians in the 60's found that the solution to ridding pollution was in the Pacific because it was so big! Recently this phase was used by Dr. Roch Gaussoin from the University of Nebraska, at the Rocky Mountain Regional Turfgrass Conference in Denver. In this case, He was referring to reducing organic matter build up in the root zone for putting greens. If you have been paying attention to this blog you know my passion for managing thatch and organic matter in putting surfaces.

Dr. Gaussoin's latest research is not earth-shattering but it is a simple reminder that sand topdressing greens consistently is the single most important practice that can be done to keep the best greens possible.

From May to October we apply light applications of sand to the putting greens every two weeks. We also core aerifiy at least twice a year to remove build up of organic matter and continue to dilute by filling the holes with sand.