Intern's View

As an intern you are pulled in many directions. Finding your niche can be difficult. At the Vail Golf Club I was given the opportunity to be in charge for the week. I must say, it was an unbelievable experience. As well as a humbling experience.


With the club championship two days away the weather decided that it did not want to cooperate. Almost an inch of rain fell in the day leading up to the championship, including the first day of the tournament. To watch the crew work in pouring rain for hours was inspiring. They came together as a team and I there leader for that brief time. It is an experience i'll never forget. "Attitude reflects leadership", and for that short time I was the captain of the team. I am proud to say the course was in fantastic condition. Not only for the club championship, but also for the 18 hole shotgun the Friday of that week. I am thankful that the crew respected and worked extremely hard for me. I am greatful for the opportunity that was allotted to me. Hopefully one day I can do the same for my intern.

Mike Martic

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

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.

Interns

Andrew Evans completed an internship for the 2010 season and he did a fantastic job. He graduated Iowa State University in December and has a bright future ahead of him in turf management.

I was forwarded this blog post from Dr. Nick Christians at the University about his experiences here in Vail. There are some gret pictures to... Click here to view the post.

Superintendent for the Day

Each season I give the opportunity to the turf interns on my staff to be "Superintendent for the Day". Over the years, the interns have really embraced this day, which gives them a little taste of what to expect if they wish to continue down this path.

Throughout the season, each intern is involved with all day-to-day maintenance responsibilities. Everything from mowing greens, fairways, setting the course, bunker raking and edging, to trimming, clean up detail and hand watering. Interns will also learn to calibrate fertilizers and pesticides for various applications. We also incorporate them into other jobs around the course such as drainage projects, tree trimming, pond maintenance and good old shop clean up.

After a couple of months learning the ropes around the course, we give them a week to schedule the staff for daily maintenance. The Thursday of that week, they are solely responsible for the day. Of course if there is something over their head, myself, Justin or Tony will step in to assist.

So this week, Dustin Wester of Hawkeye Community College will take a crack at running the staff today. He has been doing a great job all summer and we feel he is up for the challenge. So if you have any complaints, don't come to me!