Verticutting Continues

Verticutting 7's Green

This morning the verticutting of the greens continues along with the Thatch Master on the hot spots around the golf course.  The goal is simple ... to remove the cool-season turf, but it takes time to slowly remove this unwanted turf.

Using the Modified Hula-Hoe

In addition, we will be modified hula-hoe the greenside bunker bottoms this morning. This process is less disruptive to the bunkers than the tilling but makes the top two inches more playable for the golfers.  Hopefully, we will finish this process in one day but if we don't we will finish the remaining bunkers tomorrow.

Virginio Hand Shovels Sand Back to Where it Belongs

Lip is Gone, Better Playability

Today we are also starting the lip wash down repair work.  Over time irrigation water comes over the lip and washes down the sand towards the center.  This repair is a very labor intensive process that until now we haven't had the crew size to tackle.  Today we started and hopefully in a week we will be completed with the project ... of course I choose a day to start this process when the temperatures will reach 110 degrees.  Yuck.

Ernie Blows 6's Fairway

As you can see by the picture above, almost everyday we have to blow debris from the fairways just so our members can find their golf ball.  The trees during the summer months just love to drop their leaves due to the excessive heat, and the eucalyptus trees shed their bark for two months adding the the debris removal.  I should note the until six years ago when I bought the first blower ever purchased at Avondale this process was never done ... now this has become the expectation of our members even as crew sizes have diminished.

Chipping Green Aerifications & Spot Fertilizing

Yesterday we finished the aerification of the chipping greens without a hitch, and over the next few days we will be leveling and removing excess sand.  The reason for preforming the aerification of the nurseries and chipping greens is two fold:  first, it will allow recovery time in case the turf on these greens is needed for repairs on the golf course when those greens are aerified; and second, it allows us to adjust and repair the aerfication equipment that has been sitting for almost a year.  There is nothing worse than losing a half to a full day during the course closure due to preventable equipment failure.

Chipping Green Day After Being Aerified

The repairs on the nozzle issues on 12's fairway has been completed.  Due to pressure issues and nozzles we found it simpler to replace and upgrade all the heads in question and use the parts from the old heads for other repairs needed around the golf course.

12's Fairway with New Heads

Today, we will be spot fertilizing the "hot spots" around the golf course.  These are areas where due to the increased temperatures transition has already occurred.  I should note that the recent cooler temperatures although loved by the golfers, have allowed the Poa Triv and ryegrass to get healthily again.  Sound good but it truly isn't.  Until these cool-season turfs die that bermudagrass will not fill back in ... simply put, two turfs cannot occupy the same area, thus the cool-season turf has to go.

Lighter Turf is the Bermudagrass (Not Desirable)

Better Bermudagrass Density on Some Greens

I am not very pleased on where a few of the greens are standing so far on the amount of healthy bermudagrass.  As you can see by the picture above it is wider spaced than I would like.  Solution may be the increasing of the verticutting to further remove more of the Poa Triv ... more to come.

Side Note -- Some of the Tree Planted Are Filling in Nicely

Verticutting Today

In an effort to promote the bermudagrass growth we will be continuing the twice per week verticutting of the greens today.  Some of the greens are doing quite well and the underlying bermuda is exactly where I would expect it to be while some are not where they should be ... most likely this is due to the fact we had to put down so much additional seed at the season's start thanks to the extremely hot weather that led to the Pythium outbreak at the end of Oct.

This verticutting process is more of a undertaking than most would realize.  As members, mostly you get to see the finished product and do not see what it takes to get there and why do we need so much time?  Well in verticutting the greens, first the greens are verticut; second another mower removes the bulk of the clippings from the green; third, two walking mowers mow the green, forth, one to two people blow the clipping surrounding the green and on the green itself.  As you can see this process requires 6 - 8 people just to do what normally three team members do daily.

God Bless Our Troops

Every time I see the American flag I am always reminded of those who have fallen to protect what the stars and bars stands for to Americans.  Today, Memorial Day, allows those who do not look at the flag that way to take time at least once a year to show their respect for our fallen troops as well as those that are in theaters of war far away that are in harm's way just by being there.

As most Americans sometimes we forget just how great it is to live in a Republic (not a democracy) such as America.  Where are voice can be heard even if many hate what you are saying, and the few can say what they like.  In a democracy the majority rules ... by in a Republic the few will always be heard - thus the words "the Republic for Which We Stand" holds power to us all.  If you can't tell I love the USA and even if I cringe with those who do not think the way I do, but I understand that it is their right as an American, and that is why so many have fallen to protect the flag and our Country.

To all of those fallen solders ... I ask that everyone please say a prayer, to all of those solder in the front and in the rear with the gear, please say another prayer, and lastly for the USA and our wonderful way of life ... please say one more prayer to preserve this way of life.

God Bless America and Our Wonderful Solder Defending Her!

Memorial Day Tomorrow

Tomorrow holds a very special place in my heart and I always take time to thank God and our troops that are in harm's way.  Most of my family has served their Country not because they were drafted but because they thought and still think that it is every Americans duty to serve their Country in some form. 

I myself served in the Air Force for 8 years, and currently have several cousins, a nephew, my own daughter and now my future son-in-law that are serving in the services.  Please take time to say a special prayer for our loved ones and those who serve to come back live and whole from wherever they are in this world.

God bless our troops and America!!

Bunkers ... Did GCM Destroy Them

15's Right Greenside Bunker

After Bringing the Sod Line Down to Make the Bunker Flat on the Bottom

I hear out there how I destroyed the bunkers when I started the reshaping process back in 2008 but I think there are times where we forget where we started and what the problems were that were being addressed.

1's Back Green Bunker -- One of Many with Tree Roots in It

During the Process to Just Cover the Roots

We had tree roots in the bunkers, old pipe and even found a stump in one of 11's greenside bunkers.

13's Right Green Bunker -- Note the 2 ft Lip

Simple Repair to this Bunker -- Mainly to the Left Side of Picture

The biggest complaint back when we addressed a solution to the Green & Golf Committee, and the Board at that time besides of course the sand quality was the "lips" and the daily wash outs bring silt and organic matter into the bunkers.

Just Some of the Pipe Found in the Bunkers (12's Green Bunker)

12's Back Left Greenside Bunker

Another Picture of the Same Bunker - Note the "Hump" in Back Left (Sand Pro's Exit Point)

Simple Repair of this Same Bunker on 12

 Since the day arrived 7 years ago the bunkers have been hated by our membership for numerous reasons ... so does it surprise me that they are still hated considering that so far we have only put $400 into them in the past 10 years ... no, I am not surprised at all.

17's Front Green Bunker -- So Hated That During My Interview it was Shown to Me

A Quick Fix to the Bunker on 17

When we started this approved project (and yes I am not a golf course designer) it was the first of many steps to address our issues that have been caused by years of play, sand pro (machine) usage and overall neglect.  Since the work was being done in-house with no additional funds the project was going to be done over several summers.  Thus in 2009 the project really began.

First Bunker Done Since This One had the Most Complaints in 2008

After the Reshaping Using Hines Aerial Design Picture

In 2010 we started to come in a fix the issues in the design from 2009 but in the summer major cutbacks were done in the interest of the survival of the golf club.  The summer of 2011 wasn't any better as we had our staffing levels at an all time low of 15 starting in May 2011 until November 2011.  During last summer we addressed a couple of the bunkers but extremely few.

11's Front Left Bunker in 2008

Another Angle of 11's Bunker

This summer, working hand-in-hand with a couple of our members we selected the worse of the worst to address ... and that still is our plan.

The bunkers aren't finished ... and yes, I did the best I could without funding and of course design classes.  My goal is simple ... give our members playable bunkers until we can re-design the bunkers correctly.

Aerification of 4's Nursery

Yup ... that is right, we have started aerification today.  Well at least on the nurseries and the small putting green near 3's tee.  Next week we will be doing the chipping greens.  You may ask why are we doing these greens now?  This is a good question:  The reason is because first we have to test out all the machines and get the topdressing rate correct for the course aerification; second, it allows these out of play greens time to heal in case we need sod from them for course green repairs; and lastly, my shop's sand bins are not large enough to handle all of the needed sand for aerification.

Working on Removal on 11's Green

Barraza, one of my long-term employees, finished the removal and re-sodding of the greens that got contaminated with Poa Annua.  Everything has been leveled and we will be rolling them once again today to aid in the smoothing.  Within another week and half at most they will be 100% playable again thus until then consider them GUR and move your ball without and penalty.

Leaves All Over 7's Fairway

The picture above is what we see every morning in the summer months.  The trees are great for shade but since they are not trees that enjoy the summers here in the Valley every morning they lose leaves for us to clean ... if we didn't clean these leaves you might not be able to find your ball in the morning in the middle of the fairway.  This is just one of the reasons that the summer months require much more maintenance than in the winter and put us behind everyday.

Hot Spots Forming

Looking Down 17's Fairway

As with the above normal temperatures continue to occur, the hot spots around the golf course continue grow.  Is this because we aren't watering enough?  No.  Presently we are pumping 1.2 million gallons a night in irrigation which is plenty for the bermudagrass and even the ryegrass, but during the heat of the day when the rye is stressing because it doesn't like these kind of temperatures, the rye starts to die thus forming these hot spots.  I should note in some cases extra stress is added due to worn out nozzles and poor irrigation patterns ... both of which we are fixing as we do every year as the irrigation system ages.

13's Approach Hot Spots -- Thatch Master has Already Prepped

Today, we are continuing to repair the greens where we removed the Poa Annua.  Most of the work except the grow in itself will be completed today.  Tomorrow we will start the aerification of the nurseries and the small putting green next to 3's tee.  This process not only test the machines to ensure they are ready but also will give these greens time to heal in case there becomes a next of sod or plugs after the course aerification.  Next week we will be doing the chipping greens.

Please remember the date change in the calender for the course aerification  --  June 18th to 21st the golf course will be completely closed.  Shaun is working on alternative golfing venues for our members to play so check with him when you get a chance.

Sod Repairs on 8's Green -- Still Require Leveling

Saving the Club Thousands of Dollars

My team never ceases to amaze me and yesterday was no exception.  First thing in the morning we discovered one of our irrigation clocks badly damaged ... which at the time seemed to be beyond repair.  Well, once my head irrigator got a hold of the clock he was able, with quite a bit of effort, to repair the case and get everything working again.  What a outstanding job considering that it seemed that the Club would be out $4,000 and now just the labor costs.

Mowing Clippings After This Morning's Verticutting

Today we have numerous things occurring all at one time.  First, all of the Poa Annua contamination has been sod cutted and hopefully by day's end will be completely repaired.  These areas as stated before are considered GUR.  Second, we are verticutting the greens as part of our twice per week Poa Triv removal process to transition from the Poa Triv to the bermudagrass.  Lastly, today we have the Golden State tournament happening and also for the next few days ... oh, I almost forgot ... we also have the ladies mini SG this morning too. 

Barraza Starts the Poa Infested Sod Removal

As we are working so hard on transition it becomes more and more difficult to produce at first the conditions our members and their guests have become so use to during the season ... the biggest difference is during October we close the golf course thus no one sees all of the issues that occur in changing turfs.  However, in the summer, we remain open thus all of our members get to experience this transition between the turfs (cool to warm season turf) and usually find it not enjoyable.  Trust me when I say that if the same thing occurred in the fall our members would not find that to be enjoyable either.

From a Little to a Lot

12's Irrigation Clock as We Found It

From a little to a lot ... this is what happened this weekend when a member's cart struck our irrigation clock for 12's fairway near the outside wall.  Damaging the case would have cost from $800 to $1,000 to repair; however, since none was notified about the clock being struck the cost went up to $3,500 to $5,000 to replace.  If we were notified we could have covered the electronics thus preventing them from exposure to the nightly irrigation ... but since that did not occur the entire clock requires replacement.

Sadly, this is not the first time a irrigation clock has been struck ... but this is the first time the damage was so great.  Two years ago 13's clock was struck but the electronis were not exposed ... total cost to the Club at that time was $800 to replace the cabinet since I found a used cabinet ... of course plus labor to repair.  We have had to do other cabinet repairs thanks to being struck with golf carts.

Looking at all of the Damage -- Even to the Lid

The simple fact is that if we get told about a clock being damaged we can prevent the costs from rising too high for repairs.  But so far out of the six clocks that have been struck since I have been working at Avondale, none has ever informed anyone of the accident.

Thus repairing these clocks cost funds that could otherwise be used to improvement Avondale or at the very least maintain what we have.

Today, as I was evaluating the condition of the lakes I noticed a group of the koi I released four years ago into the lake on 1.  These koi (some of the ones in the lake) are now 2.5 - 3 feet ... WOW.  When I raised them in 10's green lake they were only 8 inches long ... now look at them. 

4 Koi Swim Near the Lake's Edge

Just a side note on the koi ... we have been raising 40 koi in 10's green lake and another 30 in 13's lake.  Sometime this year we will be starting to catch them and re-releasing them into 18's lake.  They are finally big enough to survive living with our cat fish which will eat almost anything.

You may have noticed on 12's fairway hots spots that seem to be in a row.  Since 12 is the furthest away from the pump station and with the increased temperatures, the pressure and nozzle issues have led to these hot spots where the ryegrass has died.  The good news is the the bermudagrass is just fine and we will be replacing these among other nozzles around the golf course.

Hot Spot Formation Along 12

Today we will be also addressing the Poa Annua issue on a few of our greens that came from using contaminated sod.  My team member is going to be first sod cutting all of theses areas but leaving the sod in place until we get our replacement Tifdwarf.  These areas should be considered GUR until fully recovered ... thus if any of these areas interfere with your ball roll please move your ball to a location that is free of interference without any stroke penalty.

Poa Annua on the Backside of 8's Green

If all goes well we will be finished with this project by tomorrow and the areas will be recovered in time for the drill and fill along with the aerification.  Please excuse our maintenance so we can improve your golf course.

Lastly, you may have also noticed the absence of the collars around the greens.  This is because on Friday we completely removed them as we always do at this time of the year.  At first there will be some slight scalping but this will recover soon.

Slight Scalping on the Clean Up Due to Collar Removal

Greens Work Upcoming

The Light Colored Rectangles are the Poa Annua

Last summer we did some repair on a couple of greens such as 8 and 11 using sod that we got from our nursery on 4 ... unbeknown to us the bermudagrass will filled to the gills with Poa Annua.  About in January the Poa raised it's ugly head but since we were in the heart of the season and there wasn't any clean turf to pull from we couldn't do anything until now.  Starting on Monday (hopefully) we will be working this issues quickly to disrupt our members as little as possible.

The Reason We Verticut -- To Remove the Poa Triv
Light Color Grass is Our Current State of Bermuda on the Greens

I have also been asked why did we switch the aerification dates in June.  The main reason was to provide warmer weather and more time for verticutting which slowly removes the Poa Triv to allow a better recovery of the greens.  In addition, we added the drill and fill to June so our summer members would only have the greens disrupted twice instead of three times thus hopefully increasing their enjoyment.  Sadly, since we are not chemical treating the fairways and approaches this year's transition (is going to happen still) will take two to three times as long than the five weeks it took using chemicals ... but at first will look better.



Nozzling Issues on 12 as the Ryegrass Dies

We have been also facing nozzling issues as the age of our irrigation increases.  Being the furthest holes for the pump station these nozzling problems first start exhibiting on holes such as 11 to 14 and even on 16 and 17.  We will address these nozzle problems the best we can given to limited budget.

Working on the Fairway of 1

Today we have the Thatch Master out in the field addressing hot spots in an effort to remove the dead ryegrass thus allowing the bermudagrass to fill back in.  This process will last weeks since we are not chemically transitioning this year.  Do not worry, there is a sweeper right behind him cleaning the area and making it ready for play.

Seven Years

WOW ... it is hard to believe but yesterday was my seven year anniversary with Avondale Golf Club.  There have been a lot of changes over these years, some of my favorite members lost to passing, good and tough times, but overall what a fantastic ride.  I have enjoyed being the superintendent for you the member over the past years and look forward to many more to come.

By the way, we buttoned up the first half of the irrigation project on the big bed at the club house.

First Half Complete

First Time to Verticut Greens

We are for the first time this year verticutting the greens ... the first step in removing the Poa Triv and allow the bermudagrass to fill back in its place.  As the temperatures increase these cool season grasses such as ryegrass and Poa Triv start to die out since physiologically they are adapt to the higher temperatures.  But while they are still there bermudagrass (warm season turf) can't fill in since there is already a turf in the growing area ... thus it will remain weak until the old tenant (cool season grass) vacates.  One look at the bunkers that provide no competition show how quickly the bermudagrass will expand.

Here are the steps in verticutting the greens:

First the Green is Verticutted

Massive Amount of Clippings are Left Behind

Triplex Mower Removes Majority of the Clippings From the Verticutter

Two Walk Mowers Finish the Job and Mow the Greens

After the walk mowers finish the mowing the green is blown to remove any additional clipping left behind (not pictured).

Speaking of bunkers the work on the bunkers continues today as well.  With all of the general maintenance and avoiding play this process usually takes all week to complete.