Assistant's View: It Must Be The Start Of Summer In Vail

Well the water table is rising and we have high water on various areas of the course, it must be the start of summer in Vail.  Now that we’ve had about 10 days of good weather we are trying to get in to a rhythm of course maintenance.    

Due to the weather we are about two weeks behind schedule on fertilizing.  I began this week with a liquid application on greens.  I will continue the rest of the summer every two weeks with this application.  We do this “spoon feed” of liquid fertilizer to help keep the greens consistent.  Each application has small amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium key nutrients for healthy turf.  The tank mix also includes micronutrients and biostimulants which is also highly important in finely groomed turf.   We add about five different products to each tank to help create the healthiest greens we can.  The combination of these products help increase stress tolerance, build stronger deeper roots, aid in cell division, and aid with plant recovery from stress. 

Justin Gompf

Assistant Superintendent 

Waking Up The Sleeping Giant

 Well the Boston Bruins have woken up to make it a series in the Stanley Cup. But in relation to the golf course, groundwater has also woken up and is saturating some areas of the course. The main difference between this season and last, was the amount of snow along Vail Mountain. There is a significant amount of snow up top and it is going to take some time to run off.
We are managing areas with sandbags, pumps, digging ditches, and providing temporary bridges for access.
Currently we have the front nine closed but will have 18 open shortly. Cooler weather has moved into the valley and the river has dropped a bit from the other night. The temperatures have dropped recently and it will help with high water.

The 5th tee is nearing completion with the new netting. All of the posts are in the ground and the cables are in place. Thursday we will be removing the rest of the dirt from the posts and place mulch under the netting. The net is en route to Vail and will be installed ASAP. A little more clean up is needed in the area, but we are targeting to have the tee box open Friday.

Casual Water

 Here we go again. Nothing unusual actually, another typical spring. With over 500 inches of snow this year, the water will probaly stick around just a little longer this year. A few early morning golfers were amazed to see the amount of water near the first tee. We are managing golf just fine and there are no alterations to the course due to high water so far. Carts can slowly creep through the paths with water on them safely. Small access bridges have been provided to access dry land for walkers.

 Have you noticed all that water coming through the parking lot? More run off above the 18th hole is getting onto the utility path and running into the parking lot. No this is not a water break from the homes nearby.

 The 10th Annual Teva Mountain Games began this week. Each year on Saturday, kayakers and paddle boarders take to the Gore for time trials. This is a sport I need to try, paddle boarding. It looks like a lot of fun, but I probably won't make my first run on the Gore, I would need calmer waters.

Here is a competitor kneeling down on his paddle board to clear the new bridge on 17. The new bridge has slightly more clearance for recreation on the creek. There are a number of bridges these paddlers need to maneuver through during the race.