Just Finished Day Three of Overseeding

We have just finished the third day of overseeding and the prep of the golf course has been completed ... well enough that the seeding can start.  Getting the greens ready is always the biggest

Final Prep Work of 4's Green

project to get complete and as of this morning we have finished that process.  Later this morning we started the seeding of the greens we both ryegrass and Poa Triv.  The ryegrass has been placed onto every green including the practice and the Poa Triv is on only a few select greens (the ones that

Team Seeding One of Numerous Passes of Seed on 4's Green

currently have sand on them.  The reason we put down the sand to prevent and reduce the potential of the seed getting blow away if there happened to be a heavy windstorm.

Topdressing the Green to Prevent Seed Movement

Tomorrow we will start the seeding of the first (hole # 4) hole on the golf course and hopefully will be done soon.  Even though we are short-handed thanks to our summer members we were allowed to get a jump start on the process and thus we currently are only about a half of a day behind.

First Day is in the Books

Yesterday was the first day of overseeding and all and all it went pretty well.  Rain loomed in the air and the winds on several occasions tried to pick up but over the eight hours the team was working neither seemed to slow us down.  We were able to get quite of the front nine initially prepped and even started on the back nine.  If all goes well today we may have our first complete hole prepped today and ready for the seed.

Spraying the Bunkers to Prevent Seed Germination

Also, yesterday I noticed some homeowners driving their golf cart on the golf course.  I met up with them and explained the importance of not driving on the golf course and the potential damage it can cause.  We (meaning my team and I) are not here all day thus I ask that if you notice someone driving on the golf course please ask them not to ... nicely.

Prepping the Green

Tomorrow Overseeding Starts

As you can tell with the winds picking up and tomorrow's forecast for rain that it must be time to start the overseeding here at Avondale.  I am not sure how many more curves can be thrown at the maintenance department from lower staffing to weather, but rest assure that my team is ready for any challenge pitched at us.  We have our game plan in place and will do whatever it takes to ensure that we continue to produce the high quality product that our members have come to expect and well deserve.

Starting Next Week

As you can see (the members that are here and by the pictures) we are getting ready for the final prep work for overseeding the golf course. I have been asked numerous times by our members when we are closing for overseeding.  The golf course will be closed on the 5^th of October and will re-open November 4^th.  This will give our members an extra day (the 4^th of October) to enjoy the golf course.

The seeding process will take anywhere from 7 - 10 days depending on the weather and the mowing will start 6 to 7 days after that time.  We ask that once you see the water running please no longer drive your cart on the golf course.  Every year some does and we have to repair the damage so I am hoping this year that will not happen.  Some may have noticed the hibiscus being removed from behind the pro shop.  The plant was dying first from disease, and then by insects.

It was decided to completely remove it for this reason and also since the plant blocked the new fitness center's window -- not installed yet.

Bakersville

No ... you did not move to outside Bakersville.  Yesterday, while I was in meetings I had Ernie spread out the mulch that I always put in the flower beds to prep them for the upcoming flowers.  For 12 years I have been buying my mulch from CA Bio Mass and have never experienced any problem ... while until now.

The mulch obviously wasn't composed in the same manner that it has been in the past and has a wonderful aroma that will remind you of driving through Bakersville.  We tried covering by using lime which I guess is great for dead bodies but did not reduce the smell of the mulch.  I contacted the owner of the CA Bio Mass and he is bring a spray chemical that he says will work.  Hopefully, very soon we will have this under control.

Overseeding Rates

I have heard numerous questions on why we seed at the rates we do compared to those others in the Valley who may seed at lesser rates ... the big reason is cart traffic.

As you can see in this picture of the seedling (ryegrass) there is very little root structure thus as the cart traffic runs over this new seedling death can and does occur.  This can be a loss of up to 30% in some areas and is the main reason that in November you see the drive off areas look like they are thinning.  Thus where other golf courses in the Valley keep you on the cart path until Thanksgiving, here at Avondale where we do not have wall-to-wall cart paths we seed heavier.

Upcoming Overseeding

It is that time of year again and we are getting ready for the upcoming overseeding.  This year the course will close on the 5th of Oct instead of the 3rd, thus other than the scheduled event on Monday the members have the golf course for a couple of extra days.

There have been a couple of questions about the overseeding this year that I hope I can answer.  One of the questions was "why, did we start so early? and why are other golf courses green?"  We have started already the scalping process as we do every year at this time.  The reason we start this a little earlier than some other courses is to get a jump on the process since we are the only golf course in the Valley that doesn't utilize OT in the overseeding process.  To the question about if a course is green, most, to all other golf courses that close and overseed at the same time we do are doing the exact same thing and are in the exact same state we are; however, this does vary from course to course.  Thus, a greener golf course may have a later closing date than we do at Avondale.

If all goes well we should be able to have the course prepped & seeded on time thus giving us the maximum amount of days to grow in the new crop before opening in November.

It Has Been A While

It has been almost two weeks since I have written any thing on the blog.  There are a few reasons for that from many team members on vacation to the fact that little is happening but general maintenance of the golf course which is quite boring. 

Many of you in the summer may have seen me and Ernie on machines prepping the golf course this summer almost daily, especially over the past month or two.  Trying to keep the budgets in check we have had a reduced crew size again this summer along with having several team members go on vacation within the last couple of months to make our budget.  Overall, we have been keeping up it just takes us longer than normal to address members concerns ... but they are still getting addressed.

Overseeding is almost here and the seed has arrived.  We have started the prepping of the golf course as usual and starting on the 5th of October we will go in full swing.  This year we are using two less crew members for the process but with the team I have we will still get everything done ... it just may add a day or two in the beginning of the seeding process. But the good news is that Shaun and Brian said they would help us if needed to get the job done on time.  Now that is team effort!!

Even with these staff reductions now and for the upcoming season you can rest assure that we will still give our members the very best service and product we can.  We project that we will still get everything done as we always do but you will have to understand not as quickly as our members have come to expect.  But I still believe you will be quite pleased.

September Timelines

Timelines:

a.      Upcoming Week:

a)            Sept 5 – 12^th two team members on vacation.

b)            Sept 7^th cutting way back on watering.

b.      In Next Week After:

a)            Sept 12^th start lowering rough HOC to final 0.500.

b)            Sept 12^th starting piles on 5, 9 & 14 near road.

c)            Sept 12^th trimming of trees for sunlight for seed.

d)            Sept 12^th seed delivery.

e)            Sept 14^th pump & well PM.

c.       In Near Future:

a)            Sept 19^th heavy Primo greens (overseeding prep).

b)            Sept 22^nd start prepping the CH for overseed.

c)            Sept 22^nd Vector Control is treating fire ants.

d)            Sept 20 – 23^rd Primo fairways & tees (overseed prep).

e)            Sept 26^th spraying greens with Heritage, Cascade & X-Sodis (prep).

f)             During the Week Sept 26^th we will be removing everything from the golf course (rakes,  ball washers, tee markers, divot boxes, etc.) except cups & flags.

g)            Sept 27^th prepping nurseries, CGs & small PG for overseeding.

h)            Oct 1^st weekend no crew working.

i)              Oct 3 – 4^th NO crew … course open.

j)              Oct 5^th course closed … overseeding begins.

Tree Marking

Starting next week I will be marking the trees for the upcoming tree trimming about mid-September.  We trim only the trees that need to be trimmed to let sunlight reach the areas being overseeded.  Pines and eucalyptus trees will not be trimmed at this time, nor are there any plans to remove trees during September.

Suckers and low hanging branches are also being trimmed around the course.  Since this is the first time this summer there are several areas that require attention and will take about a week or two to complete.  So if you see an area that requires trimming please wait until we are done to see if we get that area.

Friday -- Course Opens

I always take life with a grain of salt. Plus a slice of lemon, and a shot of tequila.

Aerification when fairly well considering the issues we had ... a matter of fact we were able to finish completely yesterday.  So what does this mean?  Well it means the entire golf course is open and ready for play a day early.  Enjoy!!

Sand Hauler was the star of the show during aerification … many thanks go to Bob Dobek with JC Resorts for getting the sand hauler which made us able to open early even with the problems we had during this past aerification.  It is things like this that aid in these economic times.

Aerification Completed?

A clear conscience is the sign of a fuzzy memory.

Yes, we will finish aerification today barring any equipment failure.  I know you may have read in the weekly report from the GM that it was going to take only three days and another time we finished yesterday but both of those comments are errors.  Aerfication takes us at least nine days to completely finish and that is the reason we start the roughs the week before.  When we have to additionally aerify the greens the process can take longer. 

So why does the aerification take so long?  This is a very good question with a answer that many may not like ... but, due to manpower reductions the past couple of summers to staffing levels at a total of 15 (compared to three summers ago levels at 21 team members) and the fact that unlike almost ALL of the other golf course in the Valley we do not, and have not ever use overtime.  More staffing would decease the time needed by up to five days but in these times we have to work with what we have to work with.

So if you ever want to know exactly what is going on on the golf course from the horse's mouth (no funny comments there), unedited, non-political, with possible spelling errors, come read this blog ... it is the only thing written by me directly -- flaws and all.

What is the Black Mark Behind 4's Green?

You're never too old to learn something stupid.

On Monday, on the very first hole, one of our old triplexes (20 years old) had a massive hydraulic blowout right behind 4's green.  The good news is that it did not hit the green at all and we got charcoal on it quickly thus leaving the very noticeable black spot and trail.  This will go away soon and the area will recover.

A very big special thanks goes to Bob Dobek for loaning us the sand trailer for hauling topdressing sand.  If it weren't for this trailer we would have never finished the greens on time thus potentially inferring with play.  Thanks to the loan this never came to fruition and even with all the problem we had we still finished the greens on-time.  Hopefully, by tomorrow we will have finished the tees, approaches & fairways.

Day Three -- Aerification in August

When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that the Fire Department usually uses water.

Today has started better than the past two days and we are going to be back on schedule by the day's end.

The front nine fairways and tees aerification has been completed along with the practice area and we are preforming the clean up today for tomorrow's opening of the front nine.  On Thursday we will be finishing the back nine and it clean up for its opening on Friday.  The greens have quite a bit sand due

extra sand being used to ensure the levelness of the greens for the remainder of the summer.  Thursday, the remainder of the chemical and fertilizer applications will be completed and any final details will be taken care of on Friday when the front nine is back closed, and the back nine is open to get ready for the weekend.

Day Two of Aerification

Whenever I fill out an application, in the part that says, 'In case of emergency, notify:' I put 'DOCTOR.'

Well, today started better than yesterday, however, we were still down one aerifier.  By the time the parts finally got in to repair the broken aerifier we discovered that additionally required some welding.  All has been completed but it was too late to put into the field.  The good news is that we were able to finish the golf course greens with the exception of the large putting green which we will finish tomorrow.  This is okay because we also ran out of sand and had to borrow some from Desert Falls because I shipment did not show up and we will not receive it until tomorrow morning.

This all sounds kinda bad ... but it wasn't.  We shifted gears and started the things that are done normally on Wednesday (day three) and did them today, thus putting us in good position for tomorrow.  Day three will surely be a busy day getting everything caught back up and on Thursday we will open the front nine while we finish the back side.  On Friday, we will open the back nine while closing the the front to touch up anything that was missed and prep for Saturday's opening.