Leading The Pack

Yesterday was officially the beginning of the end. The most important part of maintaining this golf course is properly preparing it for the long winter's nap. Vail Golf Club will be one of the first golf courses in the country to arrive at winter, so here is what we are doing.
We applied our greens and approaches with Iprodione and Cholorthalonil fungicides to prepare for the winter stress. They are both contact fungicides which will assist keeping the plant clean as we approach periods of moisture in the fall. Over time, we have seen the best results with early applications.
Our second application in approximately 30 days, will consist of  a systemic and contact fungicide. The systemic brand will help protect the plant from the inside before the plant shuts down for the winter. After aerification, about the middle of October, a final application will be made per usual for greens and approaches to prepare for the long winter.
Different products will be used on the fairways and tees. Those applications will come in October.

Golf For Rivers

Monday, September 26, the Eagle River Watershed Council will be hosting their first ever benefit golf tournament. Join us for a great day at Adam's Mountain Country Club in Eagle for an 11am shotgun start. The Cocktails as well as fishing and golf contests follow the round. Many prizes will be given out to participants as well as a hole in one contest for a chance at $10,000.
The cost for the event is $275 per person or $1100 per foursome. The day promises to be a fun event at one of Colorado's top private facilities.
To sign up call 970-827-5406 or click here to sign up online.

The Eagle River Watershed Council advocates for the health and conservation of the Upper Colorado and Eagle River basins through research, education, and projects. We provide a forum where everyone can gain a greater understanding of the Eagle River environment. Said another way, our mission is "Preserving our quality of life by protecting the Eagle and Colorado Rivers in Eagle County."

Golf Course Industry : The cold facts about snow mold

It is always hard to think of the winter for any golfer or superintendent in August, but in the mountains you always have to be prepared. I came across this article the other day and we believe that there is a lot of truth to what they find in this article. This might be more of an article for turf managers, but highly important for golfers to understand.
Click here for Golf Course Industry article.

US Pro Cycling - Vail Time Trial

Not every day do you have the best cyclists in the world racing by your golf course. Vail certainly embraced the time trials yesterday and proved to be an excellent host. This stage was a 10 mile individual race up hill. The winner finished just under 26 minutes. Here are a couple of videos.

Intern's View: Sand Trap Improvements

As some of you may have noticed, we have begun the process of improving the bunkers. We begin by taking deep pockets of sand in the bunker and transferring it to the shallow portions of the bunker. We then go through the process of wetting it down, compacting it, adding new sand, and finally raking it out so it is aesthetically pleasing and fully playable. If you come across the staff working in a bunker it may be treated as ground under repair.


I would like to take a moment and explain that this is only a temporary fix. The master plan outlines new sand traps throughout the course. Many factors play a part in this decision. Some of those factors being the size of the bunker, the location, and the drainage of the bunker for example. Bunkers are much more than holes in the ground filled with sand. When constructed properly they can be a work of art designed to enhance playability. Hit em' straight and enjoy the new bunkers.

Mike Martic - 2011 Vail Golf Club Intern
Rutgers University

The Balancing Act

What you are seeing here are earthworm castings in the 5th fairway. You probably have noticed these tiny patches of soil on fairways, 2,4,5 & 6.
If you remember your biology classes in school, you remember that earthworms are good for the soil and plant growth.They benefit the soil by providing simple aeration as they feed on organic matter. Organic matter is typically found close to the surface in the thatch or mat layer. When the worm processes the soil, it leaves behind these castings of soil. This is where they can be detrimental to a golf course.
These castings can impede ball roll and playability. They can also create problems to mowers when the soil cakes on and disrupts their operation.
Managing these holes is certainly a balancing act. There is so much rock beneath these fairways that the root structure is limited in depth. These fairways require light and frequent irrigation as well as carefully timed fertilizer applications. We also use growth regulator chemistry to promote lateral growth and increase density.

When conditions become dry on the course these castings can become more noticeable. Balancing irrigation is certainly a challenge. Often times these areas require hand watering to efficiently irrigate where it is absolutely necessary. Pictured here are two staff members watering drier areas on the course. When hand watering, the staff will probe the soil to determine if the soil needs moisture or not. The new irrigation system has certainly helped decrease hand watering, but if you are not hand watering, you are over watering.

How do you prevent earthworm castings and why don't you see them on the greens? Studies have shown that earthworms are very sensitive to sandy soils. The soil profile in greens mostly consist of sand and some organic matter. The sand is abrasive and is uncomfortable as they move through the profile. Greens typically have less organic matter to feed on compared to a fairway.

Sunday Morning

For those of you playing Sunday morning, please give yourself some extra time to get to the course. Vail is hosting a women's half marathon that goes past the golf course. For more details click here.

Fixing Ballmarks

Truman says, "Fix your ballmarks to help keep the greens rolling at their best."
A ballmark tool should include long prongs to get into the soil profile. Push in or turn slightly to help smooth out the area. DO NOT lift up the roots as it can cause damage and death to the plant.
Finally use your putter or foot to smooth out the blemish.
Thank you!

Assistant's View: Noxious Weeds

I’m not sure what looks better, the Gore Range in the background or the Canada Thistle curling over dead!  Noxious weeds are non-native plants disturbing the native ecosystem.  It’s more obvious that some are weeds while others disguise themselves as flowers.  These non-native plants have made their way here by many different modes of transportation traveling as far away as other continents.  

Noxious weeds thrive because they have no natural controls in their new habitat.  They also produce an abundance of seeds that can last as long 50 years or more in the soil.  Grass seed, when stored properly, only last for a few years.  Some noxious weeds create shade and can make it difficult for the native plants to survive others can consume massive amounts of water depleting a water supply.   You may have noticed in the last few weeks the native areas on the course have been getting sprayed with a three way herbicide to help control these weeds such as thistles, oxeye daisies, common mullein, bindweeds and more.  We will continue to spray as much as we can to help control the weeds. Click here for a great website to help you with noxious weeds in Colorado.

Justin Gompf, Vail GC Assistant Superintendent

Frosty

This past weekend we had our first frost of the late season. I always laugh each year when people are surprised to see the frost during the second week of August, but this happens every year.
The days are getting shorter and the night time temperatures are beginning to get cooler and into the 30's. The day time temperatures are still great and can reach into the high 70's. We still have two more great months of golf weather in Vail. 

The early morning tee times begin to go away with frost and it is important that traffic is kept off the turf. Especially this time of year, frost damage can be lethal to the plant and there is no more time for recovery before winter. Please allow time for the day to develop and allow plants to thaw before maintenance and golfing to occur. We adjust tee times through the season to reflect frost delays, however it is not a an exact science where extra time should be allowed if necessary.

Live from the PGA Championship

I asked Kasey Kauff, a good friend and current Superintendent of the Highlands Course at the Atlanta Athletic Club, to put something together for the blog as he is preparing for the PGA Championship next week. He submitted a short video about the golf course. It is excellent. Enjoy.

Vail Athletic Field Repairs

The Vail Athletic Field is getting plenty of attention for maintenance these days. The rainy days mixed with lacrosse in July was the recipe for disaster for turf. Today we began preparing for sod through the middle of the field. Three areas were cut and the old turf and thatch was removed. 

The grades were measured to pitch the field for proper surface drainage.

Kramer is back, you may recognize this man and machine. He leveled out the new tees on 3,4 and 8. First these areas are being tilled up to mix in the remaining organic matter and sand. The mixture will provide a better medium for root growth. Here you see the box blade that is used to bring the area to the proper grade and prepare for sod.