Blah

The weather is turning cold and gray again. We received 17 inches of snow over the past two days and made for some great skiing. The weather this week has put a halt to greens clearing. We are hoping for some more sun on Friday.

Meanwhile we are continuing to groom the nordic track for the last week of the season. Yesterday we began plowing some of the paths on the course so we could get to the greens easier. We will also be plowing to the 7th tee area to pick up where we left off in the fall.

Pictured here is the latest total snowfall. With all of the sun yesterday, the new snow began melting right away. When the snow melts during the early spring, the snow tends to settle quickly. 17 inches can turn into only a couple of inches fast.

The second picture is our weather monitoring station for the National Weather Service. On the left is the measuring stick for total snowfall. In the middle, between the two stakes is a plate that measures each snowfall. It is similar to a cafeteria tray that we measure each snow fall from. One we take the measurement, we wipe it clean. On the right is the measuring can. This is used to measure the moisture from each snowfall. We swap out the can each day and let the snow melt to measure the moisture. In the summer it collects rain.

These items are checked each day at 7am, 365 days a year.

Preview Homestake Creek project

The April Water Wise Wednesday is put on by the US Forest Service and the Eagle River Watershed Council. This is more of a "hands-on" seminar as we'll take a hike up along Homestake Creek to preview sites for new campgrounds that are less invasive on the creek. Plan on a one hour hike. Click the link for more details.
Preview Homestake Creek project VailDaily.com

Preparation

While the weather turns to more snowfall, it is a great time to continue preventative maintenance on turf equipment. Here is one of our greensmowers a Toro 3250D. This triplex mower is 11 years old, but you wouldn't know it. Gutting the machine, replacing hydraulic lines, bearings and tires to increase the performance of the unit are important.
Kirk, our equipment manager does a fantastic job keeping this equipment prepared for the golf season. The cutting reels are sharp and set up at conservative height to begin the season.

As for course conditions, last night we had several inches fall, covering the cleared greens once again. At this point of the year, one full day of sunshine and any new snow will be gone by day's end. The greens that have been cleared are 2,3,4,15,16,17 & 18. Greens 5,6 & 14 are next, with the 1st green and the practice greens to follow. All of the greens along the frontage road, (aka "the sun belt") are melting away quicker and will be much easier to clear in the coming days. We can usually clear 3 or 4 of them a day by the end of the month.

Seeing More Of The Green

So far we have 7 of 20 greens cleared for the season. Things are looking great overall, some snowmold has developed with the early snowfall, but no ice damage. The weather has been warm lately and over the past week we have lost almost a foot of snow depth. More snow and cooler weather is in the forecast. Most likely we will continue clearing next week when the weather turns better.

Happy St. Patricks Day to you all.

5 Years Ago

Five years ago today, 26 turfgrass professionals and students joined me from the Rocky Mountain region in New Orleans to help local golf courses and superintendents rebound from the devastating hurricanes of Katrina and Rita.

Upon our arrival to the Crescent City, it was hard to imagine what life was like for the people of this area.  

Lives were turned upside down.

Peter Carew, Superintendent for the City of New Orleans braved the storm that his home city witnessed. He was determined to bring the two city golf courses back to life. Today, Carew is still in New Orleans. He recently opened the Joe Bartholomew Golf Course that had been shut down from the storms. The course was buried by almost 10 feet of water.

Providing the residents of New Orleans a place to forget about life for a while was the greatest feeling and the most eye-opening experience of my career. 

Today, I can only hope the people of Japan and all those affected by the horrific events can find their "golf course" sooner than later.



Text Book

The past two days have certainly been favorable to clear greens. The 15th and 16th are now clear and they look really good. However, we have found a couple of text book examples of snow mold. Looking at the mycelium in this picture is one for all turf geeks. There were a handful of them on the 16th green.

The forms of snowmold we are finding are not lethal to the plant. They may slow the development of the plant in spring, but with the snow removed, the healing process will begin. A light fungicide application is made to the greens to prevent the spread of the disease from future snow falls.

Rules of Golf - Seminars - Colorado Golf Association

For all you rules geeks out there, here is a seminar just for you. This highly educational program is perfect for competitive golfers. Click on the link for more information and to register.

Rules of Golf - Seminars - Colorado Golf Association

Keeping It Local

While we are still in tax season I wanted to mention a couple of organizations that I have been involved with professionally that benefit Vail Golf Club and the local community.

The first organization is the Eagle River Watershed Council. I have been active with this group for over a year now and have really enjoyed learning everything they do for the local watershed. Local golf courses have started to become more involved in this group lately with a Water Wise Wednesday presentation last year and currently we are looking at starting a golf/fish challenge fundraising event slated to happen this fall.
The mission of the Eagle River Watershed Council advocates for the health and conservation of the Upper Colorado and Eagle River basins through research, education, and projects. They provide a forum where everyone can gain a greater understanding of the Eagle River environment. Said another way, the mission is "Preserving our quality of life by protecting the Eagle and Colorado Rivers in Eagle County." Visit http://www.erwc.org/ to learn more about the educational outlets, yearly projects, fundraising events and opportunities.

The second group I am involved with is more focused on golf in particular. The Golf Foundation of Colorado is a philanthropic arm of the Rocky Mountain Golf Course Superintendents Association.

Started by Colorado golf course superintendents, the foundation unities people to support golf and enhance the environment where the game is played. Its purpose is to raise monies for the support of education and research in turfgrass and related golf course amenities, scholarships for individuals pursuing or interested in a career in golf course management or other academic fields, for charitable and philanthropic activities that support golf course management professionals and their families, and for other non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations. Click here to learn more about the Golf Foundation of Colorado.

4 Green

We were a bit skeptical about the weather this morning but it remained clear and sunny enough to clear another green. Today we attacked the 4th green. Again, lots of snow, no disease activity and no ice damage. Here is a short video on the process of clearing a green.

3 Green

Today we continued with clearing the 3rd green. Another beautiful day in Vail with no clouds and lots of sun.
This green had slightly more snow and of course is larger than the 2nd green. Pictured here is Stephanie Bibbens, our new second assistant. Her first day on the new job, welcome aboard.

Kirk, our equipment manager helped out especially when the blower went down just before lunch. After some minor repairs the blower was back in order and we had the green completely clear by 1.30pm.

The green looks great, pretty clean and little to no disease activity and no ice damage.