2 green basking in the sun

The fabulous weather continues. What a difference a year makes. March of 2012 yielded a record 18.46 inches of precipitation at Sandpines, or 4.32 inches more than we have had in all of 2013 so far. Hopefully, that record will never be broken. The 5 day forecast looks dry with plenty of sunshine.

The agronomy staff has been receiving a number of compliments on the condition of the golf course. This is a fantastic time to get out and enjoy a round at Sandpines. I have not played in awhile, but I am starting to get the itch. Hopefully, I will get a round in this weekend.

This is what it looks like when doves cry

It was another productive week for the agronomy staff. Greens, collars, approaches, tees, and rough were all mowed. Greens were also rolled and fertilized. Hole locations were changed multiple times. Bunkers were raked. Tee yardage markers were edged. The driving range tee was mowed and fertilized. Practice green surrounds were fertilized. Path edging was continued. The tree area between holes 3 and 13 was trimmed. Removal of blackberry bushes and Scotch broom was performed. Brush clearing between holes 3 and 4 was initiated, and will be ongoing as we have time. Peterson has been working on the front end of our John Deere 955 tractor, among other things.

4 green under beautiful blue sky

16 green

Greens were top dressed and brushed on Monday. The sand from top dressing was washed in nicely with precipitation on Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning. There was a little wind mixed with the rain, so tree debris had to be blown off some of the greens after the wind let up on Wednesday morning. Greens, tees, collars, approaches, and surrounds were all mowed this week. Greens were also groomed this morning. Greens were spiked and rolled on Thursday. The grass surrounding the bunkers was trimmed. Greens were fertilized this morning. Path edging was continued. Repairs to the rough mower were completed. Repairs to golf carts were performed.

Dr. Peterson

I just could not pass up the photo opportunity above. When I asked Peterson what he was doing in the picture above, he told me he was checking for proper opening and closing of fuel injector rails. He was listening intently to make sure the sound frequencies were adequate. Luckily, they were fine, and no further diagnosis was necessary.

One of many bunkers not being raked by players lately

Unfortunately, the scenario above is becoming a very common sight in many bunkers throughout the golf course. It is very frustrating to see the lack of effort some folks are making when it comes to raking out their tracks. I am sure there are also players taking the time to rake out their footprints properly, but they are being overshadowed by the players who are making no effort whatsoever. Please take the time to rake bunkers properly when you are in them. It only takes about 30 seconds to perform a good rake job. I think this would be a good time to point out that the agronomy staff does not rake bunkers everyday. We typically rake the bunkers two to four times per week depending on the amount of play we receive. We focus our efforts in the following order of priority: greens, collars, approaches, tees, fairways, bunkers, and rough. That means we need every player to rake out their tracks in order to keep the bunkers in descent playing condition.

9 green

We had a nice run of days without measurable precipitation. Eight days in a row. This morning, we broke the dry streak, but we only received 0.08". This afternoon has been sunny with blue sky thus far. Believe it or not, we have actually had a few dry spots pop up here and there, which is unusual in March. You can come out and take advantage of the conditions this Sunday and participate in our St. Patrick's Day tournament. Call the golf shop to signup and get more details (541) 997-1940.

11 green

We took advantage of the great weather this week, and got quite a bit of mowing done. The greens, collars, approaches, and fairways were all mowed. The surrounds and rough were spot mowed. The greens were also groomed and rolled twice. Hole locations were changed multiple times. Bunkers were raked. The low lying limbs on the stand of trees between hole 3 and hole 13 were removed. Cart path edging was continued.

View from behind 18 green

We have had quite a mix of weather this week. Monday and Thursday were gorgeous with bright blue sky and brilliant sunshine. Tuesday and Wednesday were dreadful and yielded almost an inch and a half of rain.  Today is another spectacular bright blue sky and brilliant sunshine kind of day. The forecast for the next few days looks fantastic with plenty of sunshine. The greens are rolling true, and this weather has me itching to play some golf.

 17 green lightly groomed, and awaiting top dressing

Jerry top dressing 12 green

15 green after 2  days of rain and a fresh mow

Monday was the perfect day to top dress the greens. First, the greens were mowed and lightly groomed. Then, they were top dressed. Next, the sand was brushed in with a GreensGroomer brush. Brushing in the sand provided a nice putting surface right after the top dressing. The rain that followed the next two days incorporated the sand down into the turf canopy so well, that you could not even tell the greens were top dressed.

Thinning trees between holes 3 and 13

The stand of trees between holes 3 and 13 provides a challenge for players who hit their balls there. We have been thinning trees out of this area in an effort to make your escape shots a little easier. The trees provide protection from stray golf balls for players and maintenance workers alike on both holes. The trick is to make the area more playable without reducing the buffer between the two holes. We still need to get the pole saw in this area and take out some of the lower limbs. Hopefully, next time you hit your ball in this stand of trees, it will be a little easier to get out.

Jerry and Steven preparing 12 green for play

It was a productive week for the maintenance staff. The greens were mowed, top dressed, rolled, and fertilized.  The approaches were top dressed and fertilized. Tees were mowed and tee divots were filled. Tree work was performed on the stand of trees between holes 3 and 13, and also to the right of 6 green. Path edging was continued. Tee and green surrounds were spot mowed. Hole locations were changed a few times. Bunkers were raked

Bright blue sky above hole 9

We are starting to get a bit more grass in the mower buckets than we have seen over the last couple of months. Don't get me wrong, we have not reached the growing season yet, but hopefully we are close to being done with frost delays.

Jerry mowing the clubhouse practice green, while Jim mows 18 green

The greens were walk mowed this morning. The greens were also rolled twice this week. Bunkers were raked a couple times, and a few washouts were repaired. The collars and approaches were both mowed earlier in the week. Hole locations were changed a few times. Cart path edging was continued. T divots were filled. Multiple hydraulic lines were replaced on the Kubota tractor. Height and cut adjustments were made as needed to greens mower reels. Sprinkler head edging was continued. Ball washer fluid is being changed this afternoon. Repairs were made to the golf cart fleet, which is an on going process.