This Upcoming Weekend & Upcoming Time Lines

In celebration of Christmas holiday Dec 24th and 25th there will be no maintenance crews working; however, I will still come in to check for leaks in irrigation and if there are any frost delays.  Please before driving on the golf course look for me or my truck at the first tee.  If I am there on the 25th that is because there is frost on the golf course.

Have a pleasant and safe holiday season.

Timelines:

a.      Upcoming Week:

a)            Dec 24 & 25^th NO CREW.

b)            Dec 31^st – Jan 1^st set up ONLY.

b.      In Next Week After:

a)            Jan 2^nd foliar fertilizing the greens.

c.       In Near Future:

a)            Jan 9^th foliar fertilizing the greens.

b)            Jan 10^th foliar fertilizing the fairways.

                         c)            Jan 11^th lightly topdressing the greens … maybe?

d)            Jan 16^th foliar fertilizing the greens.

e)            Jan 17^th foliar fertilizing the fairways.

f)             Jan 19^th lightly topdressing the greens.

g)            Jan 20^th spraying the greens with X-Sodis & Cascade.

h)            Jan 21^st rolling greens (light).

i)              Jan 23^rd foliar fertilizing the greens.

j)              Jan 24^th heavy rolling the greens.

k)            Jan 25^th lightly topdressing the greens

l)              Jan 30^th foliar fertilizing the greens.

Christmas Nears & Hanukkah Has Started

These are the times to spend quality time with your families, survive to holiday feasting and enjoy the fact of birth and life.  I have four of my five daughters in my house right now and the noise and laughter is perfect to come home to everyday.  I love this time of year since they are getting fewer children in the home each year and already two of the kids are already gone.  Do not get me wrong once they are all gone my wife and I are moving and never telling the kids where we went ... just kidding.

To those who gave gifts to my team ... thank you so much.  It means the world to them and shows them the they are appreciated for their hard work ... and trust me, they work very hard to give the best that they can.

Well to everyone ... have a wonderful and joyous Merry Christmas or whichever holiday you and your family celebrates.  And God Bless our troops (including my daughter and nephew) who some of which will not get the pleasure of being with their families this holiday.

Project Photos

18's Cart Path Repair

Big Bed's Drainage Being Finished

Curbing Project Completed

Tilling & Fertilizer

It is that time again (just before January) that we go out and till the bunkers to get them ready for the events in Jan.  As always, we will be doing just the green side bunkers since most players enjoy firmer fairway bunkers.  I should note that this is normal maintenance and has nothing to do with the testing that is going to be proposed to the Green Committee.  The tilling process will take a few days to complete.

Tilling Lightly 8's Bunker

Additionally, since the fairways and tees are filling in quite nicely we are this morning addressing our nutrient starved roughs to aid in their thickening as well as their color.  We should have just enough fertilizer to complete the task or be very close to finishing.

8's Bunker After Tilling

City Codes as it Comes to Coots

9.68.010 Discharge of firearms within city— Prohibited.

No person shall fire or discharge any revolver or pistol of any description, or any shotgun or rifle which may be used for the explosion of cartridges or use or operate any air gun, bb gun, gas operated gun, spring gun, slingshot, bows and arrows or any other instrument projecting missiles, whether called by any of these names or by any other name, which instrument projects any missiles against or unto any property owned or occupied by any other person. (Ord. 67 § 1, 1975)

6.28.010 Dogs running at large.

No owner or keeper of a dog shall allow, permit or suffer the dog, whether licensed or unlicensed, to be or run at large in or upon any public place or premises, or in or upon any unenclosed private place or premises, or in or upon any enclosed private place or premises other than those of the owner or keeper except with the consent of the person in charge of the private place or premises, unless the dog is securely restrained by a substantial leash not exceeding six feet in length and is in charge and control of a person competent to keep the dog under effective control. (Ord. 874 § 1 (part), 1998)

Coots & Widgeons

Coots and widgeons have returned to Avondale and the past couple of years it seems to be worse than ever.  This is somewhat true since the coot population has dramatically increased from a few to about 100+, however, the widgeons have decreased from hundreds to around 50+.

Why do I bring this up ... well the fact is that the wigeons do far more damage to the turf, leave more feces behind and in general are worse than the coots.  But then why does everyone want the coots (mud hens) gone and not the widgeons?  The simple reason is because the widgeons are pretty and sleek, while the coots are ugly and clumsy.

What can be done?  First, stop feeding the ducks in general.  Everyday almost, someone is giving the ducks food, including the coots, which means they will stay where there is an easy source of food.  Lasers?  Currently we have members and homeowners every night harassing the coots ... they scramble around but do not leave.  Fake swans?  When the swan were on the lake the coots actually use to sit on top of them.  Other fake decoys?  Once again at first they may be leery but quickly get use to them.  Dogs, model planes, etc?  Just ask every course in town ... little success at first then nothing because the coots just move back into the water.  Plus both planes and dogs are very expensive.  Wires across the lakes, nets on the edges, etc.  These physical barriers may work of a bit but the wiry coots find their way around them ... ask Mission Hills CC, they have tried it all and still have coots.

Sadly, the only permanent solution is to kill the coots.  This requires a permit, permission to kill within City limits and of course a shotgun.

Short Week for the Holidays



The holidays are upon us and people are going home to spend time with there families ... the same holds true with the maintenance staff.  Along with a short hours couple of week (Christmas and New Year's) a couple of team members are taking time off to spend with their families including myself.  For me this will be the first time I will have time to go see my father since his heart attack in October during the overseed -- never said his timing was the best.

Bunker on 15 Before Reshaping (2009)

The good news is that even with a short crew during the holidays since the weather is much cooler the turf growth is much less, thus for the most part allowing us to keep somewhat caught up on maintenance. The big bed project, phase one the drainage has been finished all except some minor clean up. This project will be done by tomorrow as will the minor cart path repairs that we have been doing. 

Bunker on 15 After Reshaping (June 2009)

Starting next year we will start (pending approval) start looking at the bunkers to determine the next steps the Club wants to take.  Just looking back at the pictures from where we were in 2009 to today it is amazing just how far we come while utilizing so little money ... the total cost of the reshaping project was $400 to the Club.

Bunkers Once Again

As fellow superintendents tell me when the membership is concerned about the bunkers a well known hazard the rest of the golf course must be doing great ... well we must be doing great because the bunkers are back up in the forefront.  John (VP of JC), Bob (Director of Agronomy), Brandon, myself and members of the Board gathered to look at some options of what can be done to improve the quality of our bunkers.

During this testing we are going to analyze the sand profiles of six bunkers since they are mostly all the same type of sand; and then we are going to set up (pending Green Committee approval) several test bunkers. The test bunkers will be posted in the pro shop and the Green Committee will analyze the results.

Bunkers, Bunkers, Bunkers

It seems every year the good old bunkers come up as an issue ... especially after to edge them. 

11's Front Greenside Bunker Day After Edging

When we edge the bunkers the "lips" become more exposed and pronounced since the "runners" that aided in the smoothing of the edge have been removed.  There has always been lots of discussion about how much lip there should be? and do we exceed that number?

Entrance Side of the Same 11's Bunker (Same Day)

In the front (facing towards the green the lip can be any height, but as you can see by the picture above we try on the entrance of the bunker to keep it level with the turf so it will not interfere with the golfer's back swing thus reducing the chance of a penalty stroke for striking the bunker during the back swing.  Just after the bunkers are edged sadly this is difficult but they do smooth out fairly quickly.  Here at Avondale bunkers have been an issue since the first year after adding sand to them back in 1998 ... yes, I said 1998 because that was the last time sand was added to them with a couple of minor additions here and there.

11's Left Greenside Bunker in 2006

When I got here the picture above was the way the bunkers looked.  Not just a couple, but all of them.  A couple of years ago we addressed this major issue by adding blow sand and grassing them downwards to flatten the bottoms ... the first year, they were mostly loved by all, but then time came along, winds blew, and golfers swung until the sand was further depleted. 

We are looking into repairs and maybe going to address the worst of the worst but sadly it is going to take sand additions in the long run.  I should note that these sand additions do not stop after the first year, they continue every year after just to a much lesser extent.

Slight Frost Again This Morning

Damaged Caused by Mower in Oct. -- Already Re-Seeded & Waiting to Germinate

This morning we have pockets of light frost which could potentially turn into hard frost as the sun rises.  To be on the safe side we are slowly releasing the team into the field to perform maintenance until we confirm a frost delay or not.  Check with the Pro Shop for the updates and details.

Golf Cart Damage Leaving 6's Tee

Cart Damage Leaving 3's Tee

With all of the hard frosts in the mornings and with so many days in a row our flaws are showing quite nicely.  Later I will post some pictures on this post to show some differences in the flaws.  Some of the flaws are due to the pythium that hit the ryegrass in October and allowed the bermudagrass to grow through these spots; some of the areas are due to the damage caused by the machines maintaining the golf course during the 100+ degree temperatures; some of the areas are just typical to having Common bermudagrass vs hybrid such as 419 or 328 (the 328 is what is on most of the tees thus making them look better);

The Dark Green is a Patch of 419 Surrounded by Common Bermudagrass

some (quite a few) of the areas are due to cart traffic damage that killed the ryegrass but when the bermuda was still green were harder to see; and some of the areas are to lack of fertilization (this is why the fairways mostly look better).

Under Fertilized in Front of 4's Tee

Pythium Damage on 6's Fairway

As you can see there is no simple answer and that is why most superintendents in the Valley just call this time of year "December Gloom."  Some years like last one are mild thus the "gloom" effect is very minimal, while other years are colder thus exhibiting the issues.  The good news is that even with this almost always by Jan 10th all looks healed ... plus the ryegrass is tillering.  Growing grass is not laying carpet ... it is a natural system with all of the natural flaws.

Along Lake Edge Duck Damage From Eating Ryegrass

Changes to Schedule

Nothing changes a schedule in the Desert faster than rain.  It is such a rare event in the Valley that when it happens we have to change what we have planned to what will gives us the maximum benefit.  An example of this is today and yesterday the game plan was to foliar fertilized; however, with the rains in the afternoon and the potential for more today we switched from foliar to granular.  The reasons for the switch are because the foliar cold potentially be washed off the foliage thus giving the turf minimal to no effect, while the granular will get watered in better by the rain thus giving us a maximum effect.

Growing and maintaining turf is a ever changing science that no set schedule can be applied.  Those is set a schedule and do not deviate are throwing money away and producing a lesser quality of turf.

Buttoning Up Projects

Bougainvilleas on Second Tier

The second tier at the cart staging area came out great and over time these walls will fill in with cascading color.  Additionally, we have start some isolated cart path repairs such as on 9, with plans to work on 10 & 18.

9's Tee Cart Path Repair

10's Tee Cart Path Before Repair

Some may ask "Why are we doing repairs now?" ... this is a good question with a good answer.  The reason we do some of these repairs now instead of in the summer is because we have the time.  Between frost delays, slower growing turf and shrubs, and all of the other conditions that make maintaining turf in the winter much simpler than in the summer allows us time to address these minor problems.  Our only limitation is money ... not time or manpower.

No Frost Delay Today

Finally, there will be no delay thanks to frost today.  Well, I just had to change this since at sunrise the frost started raising its ugly head.

New Drain Installed on 8's Cart Path

We will be fertilizing the tees and fairways this morning to continue to promote the health of the ryegrass.  And later this afternoon we will re-seed some bad spots that now can be seen easily.  Additionally we are finishing a couple of projects such a curb repairs to 15 & 8, the second tier plantings, and next week the drainage of the big bed at the clubhouse.

The Second Tier Prior to Planting

Frost Again??

Yup ... we have frost again this morning.  Luckily this frost is not as hard as the frost we have been getting over the last couple of days.  Did you know that yesterday's freeze was only 2 degrees above the all time record set in 1953?  Well according to the Weather Channel it was that close.  I do not project a long delay today but as with everything we will know much more at sunrise.

Today's game plan includes finishing the foliar fertilization and topdressing the greens.  This fertilization along with tomorrow's granular fertilization will aid in improving the turf's health during these colder times.

Hard Frost Again

Ice Formed on the Grass

This morning the temperature when I got to work was 33 degrees thus as we thought we have another hard frost.  It is always hard to say how long the frost delay will be since the temperature always drops again at sunrise but my team will do everything it can to shorten the delay.  The two bad things about these frost delays is first we will have to be doing what are normal morning jobs all day within play, and second having two hard frosts in a row will "off-color" the golf course.

Hard Frost on 4

There is little we can do about the first thing if we want to maintain the golf course but for the off-coloring we will continue the heavy twice a week fertilizations which will aid in bringing back the color.

Hard Frost & Projects

One of 8's Curbing Repair

Yesterday, we finished removing the broken curbing along 8's green and re-poured and shaped the new curb back into it's place.  Today, was the coldest of the year so far -- 31 degrees on the golf course.  And of course, today was the first ladies member/guest day to boot.  Working with the ladies by skipping the mowing of the greens we were able to get everything else prepped with only a 30 minute delay.  This was pretty good considering at 8:30 we still had hard frost in numerous areas.

Start of the Install of the Drain in the Big Bed

With the frost delay we were able to start on the clubhouse's big bed project.  The first phase includes opening along the wall so we can waterproof that backside of it to prevent seepage.  Additionally. the two trees were removed and the stumps were ground.

Grinding the Stumps of the Removed Tree in the Big Bed

In addition to this drainage work we start installing the second tier's irrigation above where the animal's were to be able to finally finish the project we started almost two years ago.

Joesph Working on Irrigation on the Second Tier

Frost and Upcoming Jobs

Over the weekend we had our very first frost delay of about 30 minutes, but the upcoming week may yield even longer delays.  It is projected the on Wednesday the temperature will drop to 34 degrees in Palm Springs with may (historically speaking) put us here below freezing.  Not only will this lead to a longer delay but for sure start the "off-coloring" process or what I and my fellow superintendents call the start of December gloom.  The good news is that even with it seeming like forever it usually only last two to three weeks.

To aid in combating the off-coloring we will continue our twice a week fertilization program which including one foliar application and one granular application.  Theses heavy applications not only strengthen the ryegrass plants but reduce the December gloom effects.  The flowers on the other hand usually lose their blooms (depending on species) during this time.

Ribbons Around Trees

It is that time of year where the eucalyptus trees and pines get trimmed.  So I want to say first and foremost upfront that the red ribbons around the trees signify the tree is being trimmed -- not removed.  Secondly, we have limited tree trimming funds and are trimming the unsafe and the worst of the worst trees.  Other trees can be trimmed, however, unless marked, the cost of the trimming will be by the person wanting the trimming.

Wind Storm Yesterday & Clean Up

Broken Branch on 11

Yesterday's wind storm broke numerous large branches and even more smaller branches around the golf course.  We have cleaned the larger ones but hopefully by today's end we will have the course back to it's normal self.

Another Snapped Branch Next to 12's Green

The good news is that the tree trimmers are coming and this should reduce the weight on some of the larger trees.  We have finished putting out all of our DG and straightening the line along hole 8.  Our next project which is quite big will be to start improving and adding drainage to the big bed outside the clubhouse.  While that project is going on we will be working on the second tier above where the animals use to be located.

Along 8's Cart Part -- Finished

FROST WARNING

As you can feel the winds have picked up and a cold front is pushing its way through the Valley.  Morning temperatures are expected to be just above freezing (take what you see on the Weather Channel for Palm Springs and minus 5 degrees).

Damage to Turf in Year's Past

Please for the safety of our turf check with the pro shop before driving or walking on the golf course.

Even Walking on the Turf KILLS