Clearing Greens

Monday we begin another edition of greens clearing. I can't beleive it is almost March. Blowing and clearing the putting greens in Vail marks the beginning of the golf season in our books. Sometimes the local paper comes out for a picture. It's usually a fun time, however no one seems to ever want to help.
Three feet of snow cover for three months can begin to be detrimental to the turf grass. We remove snow to check for any ice build up, elk damage, rodent damage, and/or disease. Clearing the snow now gives us a head start on fixing any problems that may exist with the turf. Remedies may include another fungicide application to prevent further spread of mold or fusarium. A greenscover can also be used to increase soil temperatures to stimulate root and shoot growth.
Now this practice must be done with the help of the sun. Most of our success comes when we can completely clear the surface and expose all of the turf. The sun does help to melt that bottom layer to make the snow easier to clear. Cloudy and cooler days, we run the risk of turning that bottom layer into ice.
On another note, Go USA in the gold medal men's hockey game. Beat Canada!!!

Does Golf Need The Olympics?

Thirty years ago today, I was two years old for the greatest victory in American sports history . Mike Eruzione's game winning goal to beat the mighty Russians to advance the US amateurs to the gold medal game was a pivotal moment for not only the country but the sport as well. Then the 2004-05 lockout sent the sport of hockey into an abyss. Last night's US/Canada hockey certainly helps to revive the sport of ice hockey.
This gets me thinking of the game of golf. Today there are more golf course closures, the Tiger Woods debacle and the economy, how low can it go? The game needs something to bring it back to a better life.
Olympics? probably not. But it does need more exposure, it needs a new face. Golf has the TV contracts and plenty of media coverage. The door is open, wide open. There are no signs of Tiger returning to the game right now, especially after what we saw on Friday, we may not see Tiger until 2011.
In 2010, golf will have its spotlight on some of the grandest stages the game has to offer; Augusta, Pebble Beach, St. Andrews and the Ryder Cup. This is the time for faces to emerge to become new leaders and ignite the game once again. I look forward to seeing what golf has to offer in the future.

Torrey Pines

Simple, beautiful Torrey Pines Golf Course. Unfortunately I did not play the golf course, but the views were spectacular. By standing outside the golf shop and walking around the first and tenth tee I could observe a lot about the golf course, its golfers and the operation. Due to time constraints I was not able to meet any of the staff. They are recovering from the Buick just a couple of weeks ago.
This is one of the world's best public golf courses and it was certainly a treat to visit. Every golfer I passed by was excited to be there. I noticed a foursome leaving the ninth tee had a youthful bounce in their step as they headed to the tenth tee.
Next time I visit the San Diego area I will definitely plan to pack my clubs and arrange a tee time.
For more information on Torrey Pines click here.

Acclimating

Back to reality, and back from San Diego. Just to finish where I left off, Friday was a 6 hour class on best management practices for water conservation. Which is a funny title because the instructors preached efficiency should come before conservation. What they mean by this makes a lot of sense.

During drought periods, we hear the word conservation so frequently. This triggers the "number effect" which entitles a supplier to state a number in which they would like the user to reduce by, which then leads to a percentage of total water used or a volume amount of water. Thus areas such as the roughs and other non-essential or in some cases essential areas of the course begin to suffer.

In fact, first I should seek more efficient watering practices. If that is accomplished it means that I can define how much water grass plants and other landscaping needs throughout the golf course. For example, if a fairway is getting too much water, and then is corrected to the proper amount, the roughs can be left "as is" and I will be conserving water as a result. In most cases, if you seek to streamline your practices, it is inevitable that you will conserve in the end. Moving forward with a brand new irrigation system, I am much closer to an efficient system, through time we will see how much will be saved.

Vail Golf Club made a large stride to conserve water by replacing the entire irrigation system on the golf course. Now with a leak-proof piping system, new pumps, and top of the line irrigation heads and control system we have improved efficiency to its greatest amount possible.

Now I just need to acclimate to using the new system to increase its efficiency, then we can talk conservation.

And you thought I was poolside all week...

Getting to class

Just got to class, today's is a six hour seminar. Topic; Developing BMP's for Golf Course water conservation: approaches and resources.
A couple of professors from the University of Georgia. Should be a good one considering their recent drought in the southeast.
Another beautiful day in SD.

The Trade Show

There is no one I would rather see in San Diego than the Chicken! The trade show was a big success this year at the Golf Industry Show. Many, many industry affiliates were on hand to push their products to better Superintendents and anyone managing a golf course.

A few of the products that were researched over the past couple of days were seeders, cutting units, bed knives and reels, GPS units for golf carts, topdressing drag mats and even laser level machines for construction for tee boxes, athletic fields and tennis courts.

The trade show is also a great way to catch up with new and old friends in the business from around the country.

PTI

Today's class may have been the best I have ever attended at the GCSAA conferences. Today's seminar was formatted after ESPN's Pardon The Interruption, except today, PTI stood for Professional Turfgrass Intelligence.

Two of today's top turfgrass professors, Dr. Roch Gaussoin from the University of Nebraska and Dr. Frank Rossi from Cornell University as they battled through various golf management issues while accepting questions from the audience.

If you are not familiar with the TV show, two sports writers are given topics to discuss while under a clock. Today, each professor took five minutes per topic to preach their data or findings and give their views.

Some of the topics discussed were organic matter in greens, topdressing, aerification, fertility and fertilization applications, water management, mowing, rolling and other current events in the golf world. Superintendents were also polled frequently to gather a consensus of maintenance practices.

After an intermission they moved to the "Who am I?" segment which as you can see, provoked a few laughs. They imitated Tiger, Jack and even Johnny Miller (no love loss there).

During the 4 hour seminar, there were not a lot of new revealing facts that were presented, but it kept the wheels turning and gave me reasons to re-think, re-evaluate and return to the basics of turf management. I appreciate anything that keeps me on my toes.

Renovations

Well the day began with Remodel University. A class driven by the American Society of Golf Course Architects on ways to remodel your golf course. They ran the entire gamut in 4 hours, which was pretty good. After having done some renovation work recently in Vail, I was a bit ahead of the game, or at least I could follow what they were trying to preach.

They first discussed hiring a professional to make changes with your golf course. That professional would be a recognized and accomplished golf course architect. Next they discussed creating a plan. Any plan, from re-designing the practice tee to an entire golf course master plan.

At this point there was nothing knew for me because we are in the process of developing a master plan. The conversation turned to trends and how golf courses were moving forward with the economy. I wanted to slightly change the direction of the discussion so I asked, "Please prioritize Pace of Play in today's game and how it is relates to architecture and design". There was a pause, a deep breath and finally a response, "Number One".

The conversation continued for another 20 minutes throughout the room on how pivotal this aspect of the game has become and for any skilled player. It is nice to know that it is not a problem in just Vail, but increasing anywhere, at least in the public and resort golf life. The discussion touched on various options and design features for courses to improve speed of play. However length was by far the hottest option. For years there has been so much focus on length and longer golf courses. Have we gone too far? Are courses that are too challenging detrimental to the game? What is the appropriate length for women? seniors? juniors? Can a shorter course be challenging and fun for any level golfer? These were all great questions that were discussed and good ideas were presented.

The final chapter of the class focused on the preparation and scheduling of the renovation. These included, proper construction documents, clarifying specific products, amounts, quality and expectations. The bid process was next and an important part of being successful. Finding the right contractor, qualified to do the job right for the best price can be tricky. They explained various steps of going through this process successfully.

Last, scheduling and project management. The amount of responsibility to coordinate the project can be great at times. The architects stressed how important is was to have an experienced manager on-site at all times to ensure success.

Overall it was a good class and, hopefully on the brink of future renovations to Vail Golf Club, it will certainly help keep the tools a bit sharper in the chest.

San Diego!

I can't believe I have not snapped one photo yet, but believe me I will. So Justin, Mike and yours truly touched down in San Diego Sunday night. Completely missing the Super Bowl, thanks to some de-icing issues in Denver, but we arrived. How 'bout them Saints!

Alright, business at hand, the 2010 Golf Industry Show. This Conference is what I like to call all of the "important people in golf". Not entirely, but this show is comprised of Superintendents, Club Managers, Golf Architects, Golf Course Owners and Golf Course Builders.

Getting to the San Diego Convention Center and getting to know the lay of the land is important. There is a lot going on this week and they make pretty good use of the entire facility. The class rooms are spread throughout the center. Then there are common areas for shopping (GCSAA educational materials and clothing), networking, free educational seminars, turf student competitions, etc.

The exhibition hall is being constructed for the Trade Show, which is schedule to open on Wednesday and Thursday. The trade show is the "main event". You can find anything there from the top mowers in the world to the safest pesticide. It also has every irrigation innovation to the best footwear for a Superintendent. They have even had a booth in the past that performs free manicures, because if you have ever shaken the hand of a Super, you know why.

65 degrees and sunny, I'll be here all week.

Habitat

Who says that golf courses are harmful to the environment? For most of the winter the elk have been visiting the golf course almost every night. This picture was taken just a 30 minutes ago on the 8th hole. They should be around this area for most of the day. There aren't many safer places to be than the golf course.

These elk, similar to black bears, prefer to be left alone and can be scared easily. With activity such as car traffic, skiers and people snapping photos during the day, they just may hang out on the course until dusk.

As I mentioned before in a similar blog, most of the ground underneath the snow is frozen and they most likely will not cause much damage with their hooves. However, their urine is what is most lethal to the turfgrass. Today they trampled over the 7th green, but were not there long. They were close to the 8th green at one point, but then quickly moved away.

Over 5 winter seasons, this is by far the most elk activity I have noticed through the winter. I have seen some damage in the past, specifically to one green. Yet I have noticed very few of their tracks on or near the putting surfaces. Who knows what kind of mark they leave this winter.