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.