Month's End

Today is the last day of the month and the start of the overseeding prep work.  Just like yesterday we will be addressing any and all minor imperfections on the greens thanks to sodding and repairs done to get them back to perfect again.  When you are mowing at a cutting height of 0.100 or less which is the HOC (height of cut) we do on the greens even the slightest imperfection will exhibit itself.  By the way as a side note, green speed has returned to our greens and improves everyday.

Lower Branch Removal Along 1's Fairway

Additionally, we will be addressing all tree suckers and low hanging branches today and all of next week.  The reason for taking out these branches is two fold ... first it looks good and gives a better presentation; and second it allows the seed to be evenly dispersed under the trees.

Sanded Sodded Area on 13's Green

The list of items to get the golf course ready just to overseed is quite long, but everyday we will address another hot ticket item.  But remember that next week thanks to the holiday we will lose 136 working hours or basically 3.4 team members thus it will not be as productive as other weeks.  The good news is that the team, even in this incredible heat and unprecedented humidity has been turning out excellent work and high production.

Leveling Sod on Greens

We were hoping that the last aerification to the greens was going to level the newly sodded areas on the greens which it did somewhat, but not enough.  As the greens mower goes lower we are picking out imperfections in the level which can be seen by scalping, thus we are changing up our plan.  Today, on top of verticutting  the greens we are hand tossing, levelawning, then dragging smooth these sodded areas.  The greens that we are addressing in part are 10 - 13, and 15.  Do not worry the bermudagrass is doing fine just between the higher levels of thatch in the sod along with minor imperfections we are not able to get the quality of cut I desire ... but we will.

Red Marks a Tree on 5 for Trimming

Trees, trees, trees.  It is that time of year again where I marked numerous trees for trimming for overseeding prep.  And every year I do someone believes the that ribbons on the trees is for their removal ... this is not the case ... just trimming to allow sunlight to reach the turf.  This sunlight becomes more and more important as the days grow shorter to improve the growth of the overseed.

Upcoming Holiday Week

Labor Day ... it is almost already Labor Day and still there is tons left to do to get fully ready.  Next week we will be reduced staff due to the holiday and keeping the budget in line, so this week we are trying to get almost everything tightened up to give excellent conditions.

Early in the Morning on 10's Green

Also next week our seed is coming in for the season along with numerous tons of fertilizer.  We will be prepping the golf course and getting all of the pre-seed applications out over the next few upcoming weeks so when we shut down for overseeding we will be able to hit the ground running.

Newly Sodded Areas Contain More Thatch Thus Scalp Easier

I have also heard something about the green speed and will it always be this way for the remaining part of the summer ... the answer is NO (see below article).  Less than two weeks ago we finished up the aerification of the greens and last week was to removal of excess sand from that process.  During that time the units that mowed the greens have to be sharpened daily (both of them each day) and the process wears out the reels and bedknives.  After that process we start to get the units ready to give a quality cut and yesterday we tested that unit that is going to handle this issue.



Desert Sun Article From a Couple of Years Ago
Click Article to Enlarge

With the excess heat and humidity we have been faced with challenges that we normally don't have at this time of year.  It seems like our monsoon season is lasting three times as long as it normally does and giving both the team and our equipment added challenges this summer.  The good news is that we are for the most part keeping up while others in the Valley have been falling behind.  We will continue to address each and every issue that confronts us on our way to having the golf course ready but the simple truth is that keeping summer conditions consistent compared to the season is pretty darn difficult in the best of years ... even much more so in years like this one.

Another Beautiful Sunrise at Avondale

September is Around the Corner

WOW ... where has the summer gone.  With all of the things we needed to get done it seems like the summer was only 2 months long and now we are staring down on overseeding.  My seed delivery is coming in this week, maybe next, and the orders are being put together to get the the overseeding into swing.

Coming very soon we will slowly dry the golf course and start creating grass piles on 5, 9 and 14.  The reason for the grass piles on the golf course is that if the debris haul off is solely grass clippings (no branches) it is a quarter of the cost of the mixed waste stream.  These piles will start forming within the next two weeks and will be there for another two weeks.  These areas will be considered GUR.

Pump Station Back Up and Running

After well over a month of missing a pump station pump yesterday we finally got the new one installed.  After install we have allowed the station to run last night at reduced capacity to ensure it is fully operational and then this evening we will push it back up to full speed.  It will be nice to have everything working correctly again.

Finally getting a chance to work on detail as well this week.  With all of the projects and repairs of this summer we haven't been keeping the detail at the level I like it ... i.e. edging and weed eating.  Now we are working on those detail item again and hopefully soon will be 100% caught back up ... provided that this high humidity backs soon.

Thanks to the increased levels of temperature and humidity we have been heavily focusing on getting the the roughs mowed on a heavy rotation.  Some to most of the roughs thanks to taking only four days to get back to required a double mowing to produce a smooth product ... I haven't seen that level of growth since I have been in the Valley.

A Heads Up

We Will Be Lowering this Oleander to the Red Line

Yesterday I had an incident with another golf cart as I left the driving range tee.  The other cart was leaving the tee complex of 1 traveling its normal route to the fairway at the same time I was exiting the driving range tee.  Even though I have done this many times before and waited until I believed all carts had past the oleander along the tee blocked my view of another oncoming cart thus contact was made.  We are going to work on this area to prevent this kind of incident from accruing again but please when you exit the tee of 1 watch for oncoming carts ... for your safety too.  Thanks God in this case no one was hurt.

Repaired Section on the Back of 5

Repairs have been done on the back and edge of 5's green and this morning we will be working on 7 in the front edge sometime today.  Additionally, today we are starting the verticutting of the greens to continually improve their quality. 

Bad Front Edge of 7 -- Repairing Today

Notice the Slight Scalping from Thatch Development

The wet well pump has finally arrived and work will start on the installation of the new pump.  So you may see a crane out on the golf course near 6 a majority of the day.  This is a big process but very necessary for the upcoming overseed.

New Pump Ready for Install

Francisco Munoz & Enrique Cruz Repair the Filter While Station is Down

Rough and greens:  The hot and humid weather that seems to be lasting forever has promoted the development of thatch on the greens and of course substantial growth in the roughs.  The verticutting will help the thatch development but until the thatch gets back under control we will be experiencing some slight scalping on the greens ... an aesthetic problem, not a health or playability issue.  The roughs we are addressing as quickly as possible but in most cases we are having to double even triple cut them to get them smooth again.  We are almost there.

Bridge - Repaired, Primed and Ready for Final Paint

Catching Up on Details

The last couple of weeks have seen high temperatures and humidity and of course an abundance of turf growth.  The roughs just after aerification have been growing faster than what our equipment can handle, but don't worry, we are putting all hands on deck to get them back under control.  In most cases we have had to mow certain roughs at least twice if not three times just to get smooth again and after today a machete will no longer be needed to find your golf ball on the front nine ... just kidding about the machete.

Area of Needed Repair Back of 5's Green

Additionally, lately we have been combating weeds and insects.  On the insect front, the eye gnats have been off the hook bad ... but sadly so are the mosquitoes thus CV Vector Control has suspended their eye gnat program (and fire ant too) until the West Nile Virus gets back under control.  Weed outbreaks on the other hand are probably the I have seen in all of the years in the Valley.  We apply every February an preemergent to control the spring weeds and that normally gets us all the way to overseed ... but not this year.  The weather conditions this year have led to the premature breakdown of our protective barrier thus the excessive growth of the summer weeds.


DR Tee Expansion Sprigged

So my best advise to our summer members is to keep your balls on the fairways and greens ... the conditions there are quite nice.

HOA Removes Tamerisk Along Sweetwater

Paperwork

As with most things in life it is the paperwork that fills most of your time during the day ... thus I am busting out today and mowing the greens myself to see everything on the golf course.  I find that when I hop on the mower I see more than I normally do on a given day since my only focus is the golf course ... plus it is nice and quiet out there.  More to come later.

A Little Scalping

As we are getting the excess sand removed from the greens sometimes there is a little scalping.  We have the issue under control and soon we should see a quality cut again.  But there are a couple of repairs still needed on the edges of greens 5, 7 and 11.  These areas are small and will be fixed quickly but the good news is they do not effect play.

Over the next few weeks we will start getting the golf course ready for the upcoming overseed including some repairs in the surrounds which didn't fill in after transition.  Lots still to do but we will get there.

Front Nine Closed, Back Nine Open

The clean up efforts continue today from aerification but so far we have been progressing well.  The excess sand removal from the greens is an time consuming process since after each and every pass the machine must stop just to dump the baskets or risk scalping the turf due to excess weight.  And also due to the fact that after just two greens the greens unit has to be exchanged for another unit that is sharp.  The good news is that slowly this gets better.

Later today the team is getting a well deserved BBQ for all of their efforts lately.  With the extremely heat and humidity they still have pulled together to ensure that the golf course is ready and desirable for our summer members.

Aerification Wrap Up

Today we have opened the front nine for play after finishing the aerification yesterday.  Still pulling baskets of sand from the greens and addressing fairway clean up on the back nine to have it ready for tomorrow.  All in all things went quite smoothly all things considered.

We are finally finished fixing the main line break on 15 and will have the hole covered and sodded by the day's end.  Also we have finished the driving range tee expansion by adding the plugs pulled from the greens from aerification.  The sprigs have started to grow and along with these plug the area should fill in quickly.  Next week we are planning to roll the area smooth ... this expansion is not perfect but was the best we could do given our in-house equipment.

The finalizing of the bunkers has also been completed for this year and next summer we will address the issues again to finish them completely.  Today, we are softening the bottom of the greenside bunkers to have them playable for our members.  Additionally, we are starting on the back nine bunkers by weed eating the faces, edging and cleaning them up from the aerification process.  Tomorrow we will address the front nine while it is closed ... I should note that once the crew is removed from the field we will open the entire golf course if possible.

Aerification -- Day Three

The heat and humidity hasn't lifted this week so far which makes difficult tasks even more difficult.  But my team has stepped up to the challenge and worked at a pace that is impressive.  Today we are going to attack the aerification of the back nine fairways and tees, finish fertilizing the greens and continue to clean excess sand from the greens.  Still lots to do to get ready for tomorrow's front nine opening.

This August we are sticking to the calender and opening the front nine tomorrow and then opening the back nine on Friday, while closing the front nine for minor touch ups.  Saturday the entire golf course will be opened.

Aerification - Day Two

Team Aerifying 2's Green

Today after a great day yesterday we attacked the green's aerification in the morning.  We finished the greens by 10:00 am and started the difficult process of cleaning up excess sand.  In addition we have finished up the fairways and tees of the front nine and started on the back nine.  Tomorrow will be the big day of finalizing the aerification and getting the golf course ready for play on Thursday.


Desert Sunshine Works on Sweetwater

We also got time to repair the main line break on 15 and should soon have it all buttoned back up.  Lastly, the removal of the big Tamerisk along Sweetwater for the HOA started today as well.  This process is going to take a couple of weeks to complete.

Course Closed -- Day One of Aerification

Getting everything ready this morning to start the aerification of the golf course including the greens.  But as being a Monday the regular mowing and maintenance of the golf course still has to be completed in preparation to start the aerification process.  So much to do this morning so I will write more later.

Aerifying 7's Green

Pulling Off the Aerifers for 13's Green

So far with just a couple of minor hiccups things have been progressing well today for aerification.  We are even slightly ahead of schedule.

Big Hole in the Ground on 15

Yesterday the main line sprung a leak at the saddle but little could be done about it until the water could be shut down.  This morning we dug everything up and installed a temporary fix until Monday when the parts to repair can be ordered.  Caution should be observed around the hole since the sides can possibly cave in.

Friday, Friday, Friday

So where are we with the the projects and the maintenance that we started this week?  The bunker hump removals ... finished for this year; driving range tee ... done but may require sprigs again since the heat this week was too intense;  the curb egress points ... all finished as far as removal and concrete, but still having to work the sod to make a seamless entry point.  Hopefully, the curbing project will be done today but with the excessive heat and humidity I have been requiring my team to work at a slower pace and break often for their safety.

Under the Palms -- Nice and Green ... But

A Closer Look Revels This Green is Only Weeds

As far as as general maintenance the aerification of the roughs is completed on the front nine with only holes 11 - 14 remaining on the back nine for completion ... hopefully by day's end.  The trimming of the course bushes and along the fence lines has been completed from 1 to 12, and sometime after aerification we will complete the entire course.

Remember next week we will be closed for Monday to Wednesday then alternate the openings of the nine as final clean up is done.  By Saturday the 18th the entire golf course will be open for play but the two putt rule will be in effect for a bit longer.

3's Green with Fertilizer Burn

Opps ... some may ask "What happened to 3's green?"  Well yesterday we trained a new employee the fine art of fertilizing a green and how to water the fertilizer in when finished ... well on 3 he forgot to water the product in.  During the day golfers played the green and with the high temperatures, everywhere they step caused tip burn.  The good news is it is just surface damage and will be mowed off soon ... lesson learned.

I Wish I Was In Tijuana, Eating BBQ Iguana

This morning on the way into work I heard Mexican Radio by Wall of Voodoo which reminded me of simpler times in life when the biggest part of my day was listening to The Clash, Ramones, Sex Pistols, Devo and B-52's.  During those times we also were in bad economic times with gas lines, double digit inflation and Billy Carter representing America to the world by urinating in airports ... fun times.

During these times it just doesn't seem to be as light hearted as it was then ... maybe it is the lack of light hearted music pretending to be about social times and unrest ... heck, even the economy even sounded better with Reagan's trickle down theory to make the middle class have their share of the American pie.

I heard yesterday how some of the members think the conditions this year are far superior to last year at this time ... I understand why they see it that way ... but I see it differently.  I was raised around agriculture from working on a farm at the age of 10, to having a father who was a professor in forestry and horticulture, a mother who was a professor in ag economics, to my own numerous degrees in Turf, Soil, Water and Environmental science fields when I look at a problem, I see the long-term effects not the short-term gains.  Which by the way our fairways were in much better condition last year at this same time.

Yes ... our fairways looked in the eyes of our summer members, better than last year because the green from the ryegrass was still there.  They are also weaker this year because the ryegrass did not allow the expansion of the bermudagrass into these area thus not giving the 100+ days of recovery to improve the turf for next year. 

Thanks to three years of chemical transition we have improved the quality of both the summer and seasonal conditions.  As some of the longer time members will tell you summers in the past were quite terrible even so much so that the course had to be closed in Sept and they only played on temp greens.  Additionally, those same members will tell you about bare areas even in the season since there wasn't a bermudagrass base to overseed into.  This for now is not the case ... summers are better and the season's turf quality is nothing short of spectacular ... but bad turf management for short-term gains will takes those gains away ... not today, or even tomorrow, but in the long run.  Sadly, it took seven years to recover the golf course to its present level, if we backslide, how long will it take to just get back where we are today?  Do not worry we will not backslide overnight either.

I am an expert in this field and know what I am talking about.  I serve on the national research board for the superintendents to aid in improving our field worldwide.  But I wonder sometimes why when I can have people all around the world calling me for my expert advise why it seems that I can't make believers at my own golf course.  I work for the membership and will always do what they request ... just like a doctor giving Chemotherapy, I can tell you what is best in the long run ... it is up to the patient (or member) to decide the direction we will go.

Slowly Buttoning Up the Projects

Victor Torres Frames the Last ADA Point of Entry

Yesterday was a good day as far as the projects were concerned ... not so much as far as the weather (excessive heat & humidity).  We have buttoned up the bunker removal project which is now completed for the year, put up the roller bases (pop-up irrigation) on the grow in on the driving range tee and have only 2 more ADA access points remaining on 7 and 8 curb cut project.  Although not being done by the GCM department, the bridge going to 8's blue tee is almost complete and should be done by today.

Virginio Aguilar Does the Final Prep of 8's Walk Bridge

The rough aerification on Monday didn't progress very well but yesterday was slightly better.  Holes 16 - 18, DR and 9 have been been completed and today we will have two machines out in the field to try our best to complete the roughs by Friday.

Francisco Munoz Works on Aerification of the Practice Roughs

Happening around the golf course:  We have pulled the quite large dead aloe plant from the big bed at the clubhouse (mess to be cleaned later), finished the front nine wall trimmings (all of the homeowners plants that block our perimeter irrigation system) and started the back nine trimming, started trimming tree suckers on the front nine, and finished the edging of the tee/fairway plaques and course drains.

Lateral Line Broke Under the Concrete in Staging Area

Currently we have loaned our concrete saw to the other JC Resort properties to aid in a project they have going, but next week we will get this saw back so we can address the irrigation line leak under the concrete in the golf cart staging area.

From Larry Bohannan's Blog (Desert Sun)

Some courses have had a rough summer for conditioning

Posted: August 6th, 2012 | Author: Larry Bohannan | Filed under: Larry's Golf Blog | Tags: Bermuda, summer, temperatures, transition

One of the things that is true on every golf course in the Coachella Valley is that no matter how hard the course superintendents and his crew work, no courses is in as pristine shape in July or Augusta as it is in January or February.

With the rye grass from the summer having died out and the Bermuda grass of the summer subject to the harsh conditions and temperatures of the summer, you just can’t have a course that is as perfectly green in the summer as it is in the winter.

That’s not to say summer is a bad time for courses. In fact, many golfers actual prefer to play off the summertime Bermuda grass. And the ball off the tee tends to roll forever in the summer if you hit it right.

Still, there has been talk all summer this year about how many courses have experienced rough “transition” periods, meaning the transition from the lush wintertime rye to the summer Bermuda. A rough transition can translate into several things, from bare patches on the golf course where rye has died and Bermuda has not returned from dormancy, to brown spots on the course to greens that are crusty and grainy. If you get all three of those, well, you’ve got a golf course that isn’t in very good shape.

Some courses that are subject to a rough transition are courses that heavily seed their courses with rye for the winter. That’s a lot of grass that goes away as the summer temperatures hit, and sometimes the Bermuda just isn’t there in time to make up for the lost rye.

When a rough transition happens, its easy for player to complain about the conditions and look at the superintendent as the problem. But in a vast majority of cases, that’s just not true. It is tough to maintain a golf course in playing conditions that can include 120-degree days, higher humidity than usual in July and August and soil conditions that can vary wildly from course to course. In fact, it’s sometime borders on being a miracle that the courses are in playable conditions at all.

So if you see a bare patch or a brown spot on a course in the summer, or you think the greens are a little slow, don’t complain to the pro shop or yell at the superintendent. You need to remember it’s kind of a miracle the course is in such good shape.

Best Laid Plans

Yesterday we hoped that we would get a big jump on the aerification of the roughs ... but that never happened.  We only were able to get part of 9's rough by the day's end.  Hopefully, today we will get much further on the rough aerification process.  We will be starting on the practice, then going to finish 9, then 18 backwards.

Sprigs on the DR Tee -- Needs Topdressing

The good news is that we did get a big jump on the bunker project and the driving range tee.  We have finished 11 and started 2 as far as the bunker "hump" removal process.  If all goes well today that project will be finished.  The driving range tee project has for the most part been completed.  We harvested sprigs along 9 and 18, and with all hands of deck we got them spread out and water before the day's end yesterday.  Today, we will be lightly topdressing the DR tee sprigs and will be irrigating throughout the day for about a week or so.

ADA Access Installed -- Sod Work Required to Finish Project

The curbing removal project for the ADA access has been going a bit slower.  We finished a couple entrances yesterday and this morning we will be shifting the frames to other locations to start pouring the cement there as well.  We are saving the bended sections for last since they are going to be the most difficult to complete.  Still our goal is to finish before week's end on this project so all efforts can be focused on the upcoming aerification.

11's Front Bunker After Removing Side and Front Humps

2's Back Removed Bunker in Process of Removing Humps

Off of projects for a bit ... today we are verticutting the greens to continually promote the growth of the bermudagrass.

Chemically Treating Lakes

Rough Aerification

This afternoon we will be starting the last rough aerification for the year.  As with the other two aerifications of the roughs we will be mowing the aerification plugs using one of our rough units.  So far this process has seemed quite pleasing to our members.  Remember that next Monday to Wednesday we will be closing the entire golf course to address the greens, fairways and tees.  The calender has the plan that we are going to be adhering to next week.

Victor Torres Finishing Framing Section

This morning besides foliar fertilizing the greens we will be also addressing several projects.  We are in the process of finishing up the "tweaks" to the bunkers on 11, and will be starting and hopefully completing 2's newly removed bunker.  I also have a team that will be addressing the framing and pouring of cement on the ADA entrances along 7 and 8.  Our goal is to finish this project by week's end.  Lastly, we will after first assignments addressing the sprigging of the driving range tee expansion.  Please avoid this area after irrigation goes on to reduce the potential of footprints.

Still Working Projects

Yesterday we finished up the softening of the removed bunker behind 4's green and started work on the removed bunker behind 6's green.  Our plan is to finish that bunker today and maybe get started on the removed bunker in the right back of 2's green.  We will wait to see how the progress is going on 6 before that can be determined.

4's Back Removed Bunker After Softened

The driving tee expansion is for the most part level to the best of our abilities given our equipment we have.  Yesterday the raising of the irrigation heads and valve boxes began to reach the new level to the tee, and today hopefully we will finish the irrigation.  If all goes well today Monday we will sprig this area and begin the roller base irrigation to grow the turf back in time for overseeding.

8's ADA Cart Path Work

The ADA access curb removal along 8 and behind 7's green is almost complete.  Today we will finish all of the concrete removal and begin the framing for next week's concrete pouring.  We have roped these entrances off to protect our membership but still care should be observed around these regions until the concrete work has been completed.  Lastly, it was requested and approved to remove the citrus tree that has been dying next to 11's tee ... we are doing that today.

11's Tee Tree Slated for Removal

On the course we are topdressing and fertilizing the greens.  With these weekly topdressings the greens will continue to improve in their playability.

The Projects Continue

We are attacking three major projects today with the one goal for finishing them all by next week.  Currently we are working on 4 & 6's bunkers that were removed behind the greens as part of the design changes which leaves only 2's to complete.  Yesterday, we started the curb removal on 7 and 8 as part of the ADA access plan ... three sections have been started and the remainder will at least be started this week.  Concrete work will start next week.

The last project is the driving tee expansion.  For the most part we have completed this project with minor leveling remaining.  We will be addressing that leveling today along with the raising of the irrigation heads to meet the new level of the back of the tee.  Sprigging will start next Monday thus this area will be roped off to have the irrigation grow this area back in.

Today we are also verticutting the greens ... this will be finished well ahead of play.  Tomorrow, we will start the topdressing again on the greens.


Shaun Mingus Stands on the Bridge Inspecting the Work

Work on the bridge is making headway.  Virginio from the GCM is now working three days per week with the clubhouse to button up projects they have need in finishing.

Rain Yesterday

In the Valley rain is a rare event and yesterday we got plenty.  I can nightly irrigate for days and still never get the same effect as on rain event thanks to Mother Nature.  If you look closely you can almost see the grass growing thanks to this rain ... just kidding.

We finished aerification of the nurseries, small putting green and the chipping greens yesterday.  All went smoothly and will recovery quite quickly.  However, thanks to aerification of the nurseries we will have to suspend minor greens repair for a couple of days but soon the project will continue.

"Hump" Left Behind From Sand Pro Use

Team Removing the Hump and Softening

Speaking of projects we are going to wrap up the DR tee expansion project this upcoming week.  It is not exactly where we want it since it hasn't been laser leveled but any minor tweaks can be done next year.  For this year we will have to wrap everything up so I have enough time to allow the sprigs to grow before overseed.  Additionally, today we will be addressing a couple of the removed bunkers by softening some of their surrounds.  During this process consider them GUR. 

Curbing After Cuts Along 8

Today we finally got some time to address the curb removal along 8 to conform with ADA upcoming laws.  This is a big and messy project but hopefully we will be completed by next week at the latest.  These areas under work should also be considered GUR.

Adrian Has the Fun Task of Breaking Out the Concrete

We were going to topdressing the greens today but with the rain we decided to hold that off until Friday.  Tomorrow we will be verticutting the greens.