View from 7 green looking north

Thankfully, the weather forecast is looking pretty good for the next couple of weeks. I have a feeling there are many folks that have been waiting for some better weather to get out and play some golf. Looks like the wait is over. Come on out and enjoy a round.

Toro Workman in the shop for service and repair

This week, the greens have been mowed twice and rolled once. The grass growth has really slowed down, which is typical for this time of year with the short days and cooler temperatures. The bunkers were raked twice (except for those that are below the water table). We made some more progress on the cart path edging again this week. Traffic stakes were moved in order to vary traffic, which helps to minimize turf damage caused by maintenance equipment and golf carts. The power issue at the fuel island was resolved this week. We had been using a temporary solution in order to fuel equipment. A broken wire ended up being the cause of the problem. Peterson has the Toro Workman in the shop for servicing and repairs. Some of the items being addressed include: shift and brake cable replacement, corrosion removal, corrosion prevention, chassis cleaning, and brake system flush.

Buck on hole 13

This week on the course: the greens were mowed, cart path edging was continued, a few dangerous trees were removed, needles were blown off greens, branches and other tree debris were cleaned up, Ropes to control traffic were put up on holes 7 and 12. In the shop, Peterson has been working on replacing bearings and seals on the rough mower.

Steven cleaning up tree debris on hole 3

Tuesday, the annual Sandpines Christmas Party was held at Holiday Bowl. Its always fun to watch lousy bowlers (like me) and great bowlers (like Don Sloto) show their stuff. We enjoyed great company and food, which are the ingredients for a great party. Thanks Michael and Nancy for putting on a great party again this year.

Andrew rolls a beauty

Jerry mowing 8 green

If you were golfing at Sandpines on November 6th or 7th, you may have noticed a film crew out on the course. They were shooting video footage for some brand new Nike rain gear that has not been released yet. Most of the filming took place on the 7th hole. I was able to get some pictures of the filming process, but was asked by the producer not to post them until now. It is unclear whether or not the footage will be used in an actual television commercial. The main purpose of the shoot was to provide training materials for the Nike sales team to communicate the advantages of their new product. As I understand it, the product will hit the market sometime next year. If you see a commercial for Nike rain gear over the next year or so, take a close look and may just notice that it was filmed at Sandpines. There is more involved in the filming process than I would have imagined. It takes more people and time than I would have guessed. The pictures below give you an idea of what the filming process looked like.

Friday night, my wife and I hosted the annual Sandpines agronomy staff Christmas party. We look forward to the party every year. It gives me a chance to thank the agronomy staff for all their hard work throughout the year. It has become a tradition that I put together a slide show of pictures I have taken throughout the year and play them on a loop on our television. I think the guys really enjoy it. It also gives us a chance to show our spouses what we encounter out on the golf course. We also enjoy a potluck style meal with good food and drinks. The white elephant gift exchange always provides a lot of laughs, which we can usually thank Steven for. Below are a couple pictures from the party.

Three weeks ago I was contacted by Cameron Healey, the publisher for Golf Today Northwest. He asked if I would be interested in writing an article for the December edition of the digital publication. Cameron thought his readers might enjoy an article from a different perspective. I thought it would be a great opportunity to answer one of the most common questions I receive from golfers this time of year. Click on the link that follows to see what I came up with. What Do Golf Course Maintenance Staff do in the Off Season?. I used some screen shots to give you an idea what the article looks like below, but I encourage you to use the link above to check out Golf Today Northwest for yourself. The article I wrote can be found on page 44 and is continued on page 53.

Jim Kearns watching his well struck second shot on hole 12
during the Turkey Shoot Tournament held 11/25/12

The storm that came through prior to Thanksgiving brought damaging amounts of wind and rain to many throughout the northwest. Sandpines made it through relatively unscathed. The high winds sent a snag crashing down on hole 9, caused a couple of new leaning trees between holes 3 and 4, and a fair amount of needles and small branches throughout the course. We had the majority of tree debris that was in play cleaned up pretty quickly. Most of the work the storm created for the maintenance staff was created by the heavy rain. Almost every bunker washed out to some degree. Jerry and Steven had the unenviable task of prepping the bunkers following the storm. Repairing bunker washouts is hard work, and those two did a great job. By Thursday morning, we had the course in great playing condition.

Earlier that week, a couple of culverts located in the gravel path between 6 green and 7 tees were repaired. The two small sink holes in the back of 10 green were also repaired.

12 green soaking up some sun

The greens, collars, approaches, tees, and fairways were all mowed this week. The greens and approaches were also top dressed. In addition, we made some progress on cart path edging, sprinkler head edging, and golf cart repairs. Peterson has been busy in the shop performing various equipment maintenance and repairs.

View from 12 green

Hole 16 basking in the sun

The grass growth is starting to taper off a bit, but there was still enough growth to necessitate mowing of all turf areas this week. Most of our time this week was spent mowing. However, we were also able to hand aerate a few wet spots, edge some cart paths, edge sprinkler heads, edge tee yardage markers, fill some driving range tee divots, roll greens, fertilize approaches, and fertilize greens.

The golf course continues to be in great shape, and we are receiving compliments on course conditions daily. Thanks for all the great feedback, the agronomy staff really appreciates the recognition for all the hard work.

Steven mowing 18 green

On Thursday, the greens were walk mowed for the first time in quite awhile. The greens triplex mower was in the shop for repairs, so we broke out the walk mowers. Jerry, Steven, and Jim did a nice job mowing and got some good exercise in the process.

Sand Pro

Peterson received some kudos from the Agronomy staff for his work on the Sand Pro this week. The Sand Pro had been in need of some repairs for some time, but it just kept falling down the priority list. It made the list this week, and Steven and Bob both said that it has never run better or had more power. It was only running at about 60% until the repairs were made, which made bunker work challenging and inefficient.

Analyzing macroinvertebrates with Mr. Marohl

Last Thursday (11/8/12), I had the opportunity to go on a field trip with my son Dylan. Mr. Marohl's Stream Team class visited Knowles Creek. We started off by getting into chest waders at the Siuslaw Middle School. Then, we went to Archie Knowles Campground. The class was broken up into three groups. Each group was tasked with evaluating the creek in different locations. Each group took multiple samples in order to evaluate the water quality of the creek. Data collected included:  temperature of the creek, the oxygen content of the creek, the pH of the creek, and the macroinvertebrate population within the creek. Everyone seemed to have a great time with the hands on learning approach that field trips offer. The weather cooperated nicely, and the only rain we saw during the trip was as we were leaving.

The following information was obtained from Andy Marohl's Siuslaw Middle School homepage:

Stream Team is a class focused on watershed ecology and the importance of salmon to our area. The class learns about salmon, their life cycle, and how to keep their habitats healthy. They also learn about the importance of riparian zones, water, and the requirement it takes to maintain proper conditions for a dynamic and diverse ecosystem. Students study and monitor local streams and become the next generation of guardians of the watershed.

Hands on learning

We are hoping to host one of Mr. Marohl's classes for a field trip at Sandpines in the near future. First Green is a very successful program in Washington State in which local schools use golf courses as learning labs. I think it would be a great benefit if we could do something similar at Sandpines.

Panoramic shot of the 18th hole

I have been using my new camera the last couple of weeks. The picture above was my first attempt at taking a panoramic shot. I thought it came out pretty good, so I decided to share it.

We are now hitting on the mats at the driving range

We have been able to keep the driving range tee open to this point due to the warmer weather. Now that the weather is getting cooler, we need to switch over to the mats. By switching to hitting off mats now, the driving range tee should be in good shape when we open it up in the spring.

Hole 16

I am continuing to receive a number of compliments on the condition of the golf course. The course is looking and playing great. The weather is looking good for tomorrow, so get out and enjoy a round.

The video below was taken this morning. You never know what you might encounter on the golf course. I hope you enjoy it.

Peterson captured the video below while I was dragging dew off 7 fairway with my one man dew dragging creation.

18 fairway mowed with a black and white pattern

We had quite a productive week. The sunken area in the fairway on hole 4 was repaired. The eroded bunker face on hole 10 was stabilized. A sprinkler head near 14 approach was moved to create more uniform irrigation coverage. The cart path at the practice area was edged.  Additionally, the greens, collars, approaches, tees, and fairways were all mowed.

Aeration holes have grown in nicely

The recovery from the greens aeration is going really well. There are still a few areas here and there where aeration holes can be seen, but for the most part they are pretty much healed over. The greens are rolling pretty good considering greens aeration took place less than three weeks ago.

The weather has been good for growing grass, but it has also been good for Microdochium nivale, which is the fungal pathogen responsible for the Microdochium patch disease (aka Pink Snow Mold, aka Fusarium patch). If you look to the right of the golf ball in the picture above, you can see a small spot of Microdochium patch. Most of the greens have some Microdochium patch, with some being worse than others. There is not much you can do when the conditions are perfect for the disease. We treated for the disease before and after greens aeration. We will treat for it again when we get a break in the weather.

Eroded bunker edge on hole 10

The bunker edge on the left of hole 10 has been in need of stabilization for some time. The bunker edge has eroded over the years, bringing the bunker edge closer and closer to the green. Jerry came up with the idea to use stacked sod and create a wall to stabilize the edge. Sand was packed behind the sod wall and capped with aeration cores. The picture above is what the bunker looked like before the repair. The picture below is what the bunker looks after the sod wall was installed. Once the cores and seed are grown in, it should look really good.

Jerry tamping the seed and aeration cores

Hole 7

The greens are in the process of healing from aeration. They are looking better this week, and will be even better next week. We have been mowing them every other day, and we have been getting a fair amount of grass. The greens were rolled on Wednesday in order to help smooth them out.

The collars, approaches, tees, fairways, and rough were all mowed this week. Wet spots were hand aerated in any areas where puddling occurred.

I have been receiving a number of compliments on the condition of the golf course this week. Many people have commented on how quickly the fairways have healed from aeration following the recent granular fertilizer application.

Irrigation break on 14 fairway

Sunday, there was an irrigation break on 14 fairway. Usually, irrigation repairs consist of shutting a valve or two, digging up the break, repairing what is broken, waiting for the glue to cure, open up the valve, check for leaks, and replace sand and sod. On this particular irrigation break, the valves were not shutting down all the way. Since the break was at one of the lowest points in the irrigation system, a large part of the irrigation system had to be drained before the repair could be completed. The break occurred next to a concrete thrust block, so concrete had to be delicately removed from the pipe in order make the repair. Once the area to be repaired was cut out, the pipe did not line up very well, so an additional 12 feet of pipe had to be exposed. After the repair was made, there was quite a bit of sod work before the job was complete. Jerry endured the entire process by himself from start to finish. He did a great job, but I think its safe to say he has seen enough of hole 14 this week.

Jerry replacing sod on 14 fairway

View from the clubhouse putting green on 10/18/12

The greens aeration process was completed on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday of this week. The weather provided us a challenge, which we overcame with hard work and perseverance. Sunday and Monday were not good days for drying and dragging sand, so we washed the sand in the aeration holes with hoses on holes 1 through 13. The washing in method is not nearly as effective as dragging dry sand into the holes. It also takes a lot more time and effort. However, it allowed us to make the progress necessary to finish the greens aeration on time. Tuesday, the weather was perfect for drying sand and we were able to drag the sand into the aeration holes on greens 14 through 18. Also on Tuesday, greens 1 through 13 were double verticut without mower buckets in order to disperse the sand and even out the putting surfaces (washing the sand with hoses leaves the sand uneven). After verticutting, the greens were brushed to further work the sand into the holes and smooth the surfaces. Thursday, greens 1 through 13 were lightly top dressed and brushed in again.

Jerry washing sand into aeration holes on 10 green

John being camera shy after dragging 17 green

In addition to completing the greens aeration process, the tees, fairways, rough and surrounds were all mowed. The bunkers were also repaired after being completely washed out on Monday afternoon. The approach aeration was started, and is about half way done.

I would like to thank my staff for all of their hard work this week. All of the effort they put into the greens aeration process is greatly appreciated.

Practice green one week after being aerated

Practice green aeration

The practice greens were aerated earlier in the week, and everything went pretty well. Greens aeration for the rest of the golf course is scheduled to begin this Sunday following play. The course will also be closed on Monday and Tuesday to complete the process.

The following video is from Pace Turf, and it really does a nice job communicating the importance of greens aeration. I have included in my blog posts in the past prior to greens aeration, so you may recognize it. If you have not seen it before, I encourage you to check it out.

Another beautiful day at Sandpines

At the beginning of the week it did not look like we were going to get all the tees aerated. We had some equipment challenges again this week. Once again, the agronomy staff persevered, and the tee aeration was completed. In addition to completing the tee aeration, the greens, approaches, and green surrounds were fertilized. A big thanks to the agronomy staff for another productive week.

View from behind 12 green

Next week we will be preparing for the upcoming greens aeration, which will take place October 14th (after Florence Classic) 15th, and 16th. The greens are rolling great, and I am getting a lot of compliments about the condition of the golf course. Come out and play a round at Sandpines and enjoy the course and the fabulous weather.

Hole 16

It has been a productive week for the maintenance staff. The fairway aeration was completed. The driving range was aerated. The fairways and rough were fertilized. All turf areas were also mowed at their usual frequency for this time of year.

Jerry aerating 12 fairway with a drum style aerator

How did we finish the fairway aeration so quickly? We finished using a drum style aerator, which is not as effective as the powered aerator we typically use. The drum style aerator does not penetrate hard ground as well. Compacted areas and localized dry spots are not easily penetrated, and the powered aerator can punch through the hard ground. The drum style aerator tends to ride right over the top of  the hardest areas, or in other words, does not aerate those areas. The drum style aerator however is quite a bit faster.  The powered aerator we typically use required some repairs before it could be operational. In order to remain on schedule, and get all of our aeration finished this fall, it was necessary to use the drum style aerator while the powered aerator was being repaired. The powered aerator should be up and running for tee aeration, which is scheduled for completion next week.

Two deer next to 12 green

Hole 17 in the distance

The fairway aeration continued this week. There were some challenges, and we were not able to get as many fairways completed as we had hoped. Three more fairways were completed (3, 14, and 16). At this point, my goal of finishing the fairways by the end of next week seems pretty unlikely. We will keep plugging away until we finish.

Mr. February

Cooper (Jerry's dog) reached celebrity status this week. He is featured in 2013 Superintendent's Best Friend Calendar, which is put out by TurfNet and sponsored by BASF. Jerry is proud of his pooch and I have a feeling its going to be February year round at his house. Cooper's hobbies are eating, sleeping, and playing hide and seek with Jerry.

View from the clubhouse putting green

Our main focus this week was fairway aeration. We were able to get 6 fairways (1, 2, 4, 6, 13, and 15) completed this week, which is a pretty good start. The fairway aeration will continue next week, and should be completed sometime during the week of September 24th is all goes well.

Jerry aerating 13 fairway

We are using the majority of the cores from fairway aeration to improve outer lying areas on the golf course. Many of the cores are being stockpiled on the edges of holes, and will be spread out in the near future. If you happen to hit your ball in an area where there are cores, play it as ground under repair.

Stockpiled aeration cores will be spread in the near future

View from 16 approach

This week, we have been getting the golf course ready for the Sandpines Club Championship, which is being held this weekend. The greens were groomed in multiple directions, top dressed, and brushed.  The greens and approaches were also fertilized. The greens are rolling great for the tournament. To those playing, have fun and good luck!

Fairway aeration begins next week

Peterson has been working hard getting the aeration equipment ready for fairway aeration. The core harvesters were in need of quite a bit of work. Here is the list of work Peterson has performed so far on the core harvesters: hydraulic motors rebuilt, new chains, new sprockets, new rail boards fabricated, wear strips, all new bearings, re-machined rollers (Florence Welding), rebuilt shoes, fabricated adjuster brackets, and A-frames reinforced. He has put in a lot of  long hours to get it all accomplished, and it was all done in addition to the normal maintenance and repairs required to keep all the other equipment operational. Thanks Peterson, I really appreciate all the hard work.

11 green basking in the sun

The greens, tees, and fairways were fertilized this week. The greens were also spiked and rolled. Other tasks completed this week included: mowing all turf areas, changing hole locations, bunker preparation, bunker edge trimming, tee divot filling, equipment servicing and repair, brush clearing, hand aeration of wet spots, hand watering, and golf cart repairs.

I am continuing to receive numerous compliments on the condition of the golf course. Come play a round and check it out for yourself. There is a great labor day special going on right now. If you don't have a tee time yet, get one quick, they are going fast. I copied the following from the Sandpines Facebook page:

DONT MISS OUT ON OUR LABOR DAY SPECIAL!
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 3RD. 
PLAY 18 OR 36 HOLES FOR ONLY $49.00 WITH CART INCLUDED. YES THATS 36 HOLES FOR $49.00!!!! (OREGON and WASHINGTON RESIDENTS ONLY)
CALL 541-997-1940 FOR YOUR TEE TIME OR ONLINE AT SANDPINES.COM OR GOLFNOW.COM

Jerry mowing with the rotary cutter

Jerry has been making quick work of the brush and tall grass in the areas outside the primary rough. Last year was our first year using the rotary cutter on these areas, and some of the areas were really overgrown. With only a years worth of growth, the amount of brush to mow down this year is substantially less than last year.

Clinton mowing 8 green

On Monday, the greens were groomed and verticut. Tuesday, the greens were groomed and top dressed. These processes are performed to firm and smooth the putting surface. Another benefit is the removal of organic matter, which improves infiltration and reduces the incidence of disease outbreaks.

Jim mowing between holes 3 & 4

This week, we started mowing down the brush adjacent to the primary rough. It will be an ongoing process. It usually takes a few months to get to all the areas mowed down due to the nature of the work. Our focus remains "down the middle" from tee to green. Outer lying areas are way down the priority list.