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