First and foremost Happy Thanksgiving. We down in maintenance hope that everyone has a wonderful and safe holiday.
With Thanksgiving here so is the cooler weather and the frost delays. It is critical that before you drive on the golf course that you check in with the pro shop to find out the current conditions for the day. Remember that it takes weeks to months to recover from frost related damage.
Always remember to SCATTER.
Tree trimming is starting on December 13th and only the worse of the trees will be trimmed to keep us within budget. We have a three to four year rotation and thus a tree you might want trimmed may not be slated this year ... but that being said if it is no harm to the tree you may pay for the desired trimming.
Speaking of trees, this year we planted 17 trees and only lost 5 to death or disease. Additional trees will be planted started in Jan thanks to the contributions from members for the five year tree replacement program. The Green Committee has made adjustments to the tree program and if you would like the details I believe it will be posted soon.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Scatter & Traffic Wear
The golf course is open and there is still seed germinating thus it critical that you scatter when traveling hole to hole; and leaving the tee complex or entering the green area. Lately, we have been seeing heavy wear from cart traffic in the areas listed above ... we are moving the ropes daily; however, this is just a temp solution of a deep rooted problem. One look at the par 3's that get very little traffic you will see a much healthier turf.
In courses such as Avondale which doesn't have wall-to-wall cart path survival of the newly germinated ryegrass depends solely on our members to ability to scatter. Thus we are asking for the health of the turf that if you see an area with traffic wear please choose another path to enter or exit.
In courses such as Avondale which doesn't have wall-to-wall cart path survival of the newly germinated ryegrass depends solely on our members to ability to scatter. Thus we are asking for the health of the turf that if you see an area with traffic wear please choose another path to enter or exit.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
December in November
The cooler weather has come upon us earlier this year than in past years, and even today we had a slight frost in the low lying areas. So what does this mean ... well currently the ryegrass is still germinating and what has germinated is only at the first and second tiller so far. Early cold weather along with the the flush of bermudagrass that we experienced in October after the rains will lead to off-coloring and thinning of the turf especially in the fairways and tees.
The good news is that we have so far put down 1,200 lbs per acre in the fairways and are fertilizing heavy to combat this thinning effect. In addition, we will be performing foliar fertilizer applications starting next week. The best news is that here in the Valley these effects historically go away during the first part of January as the ryegrass begins to tiller.
The good news is that we have so far put down 1,200 lbs per acre in the fairways and are fertilizing heavy to combat this thinning effect. In addition, we will be performing foliar fertilizer applications starting next week. The best news is that here in the Valley these effects historically go away during the first part of January as the ryegrass begins to tiller.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Course Opening
Finally the golf course is open and everyone seems to be enjoying being able to get out and play. Conditions overall are pretty good and the greens are rolling smoothly. Speaking of greens; over the next couple of weeks we will be lightly topdressing and rolling to increase the speed and the playability.
Overseeding this year was the toughest I have seen since arriving to the Valley over 10 years ago. Although the weather was cooler than most years and air movement was nonexistent while the humidity and dew point were quite high thus leading to numerous outbreaks of Pythium. Additionally, we had later increased temperatures and heavy rains which brought the bermudagrass back stronger than ever ... thus a great opening; however, if we have a cold November or December will lead to browning of the turf base.
We are fertilizing heavy (now that the temperatures have dropped) and adding addition seed to the fairways to lessen the potential of the "browning" effect. This will help but will not stop it entirely. The good news is that historically in the Valley this is short lived.
Overseeding this year was the toughest I have seen since arriving to the Valley over 10 years ago. Although the weather was cooler than most years and air movement was nonexistent while the humidity and dew point were quite high thus leading to numerous outbreaks of Pythium. Additionally, we had later increased temperatures and heavy rains which brought the bermudagrass back stronger than ever ... thus a great opening; however, if we have a cold November or December will lead to browning of the turf base.
We are fertilizing heavy (now that the temperatures have dropped) and adding addition seed to the fairways to lessen the potential of the "browning" effect. This will help but will not stop it entirely. The good news is that historically in the Valley this is short lived.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Overseeding 2010
This year we got the seed down and the irrigation started in record time -- 6 days & 1 hour, without any overtime. The weather was great and the winds were low thus we did not have anything to slow us down. This is good news since this year we have seven days less to get the golf course ready than we did last year due to the later start date and one day sooner opening.
The team is getting ready for the transfer of power to JC Resorts coming on Nov 1st and starting tomorrow they are doing their applications and interviews. In addition, the new uniform company is coming out and by opening day you should see our staff back in uniform.
Flowers are coming in next week and will be planted upon their arrival. There will a couple new additions of color bowls at the entrance and JC Resorts is looking into long-term additions to our color pallet. The oleanders along El Dorado are slated for trim Nov 2nd and should be finished within a day. Numerous applications are slated for the upcoming weeks thus please DO NOT drive on the golf course early.
We have block off every entrance into the golf course and ask that you please do not go on to it until we open. Every year we have one or two people who ignore this and cause damage to the golf course which takes us additional weeks to repair. In addition, the dog park will be closed for the next three weeks.
The team is getting ready for the transfer of power to JC Resorts coming on Nov 1st and starting tomorrow they are doing their applications and interviews. In addition, the new uniform company is coming out and by opening day you should see our staff back in uniform.
Flowers are coming in next week and will be planted upon their arrival. There will a couple new additions of color bowls at the entrance and JC Resorts is looking into long-term additions to our color pallet. The oleanders along El Dorado are slated for trim Nov 2nd and should be finished within a day. Numerous applications are slated for the upcoming weeks thus please DO NOT drive on the golf course early.
We have block off every entrance into the golf course and ask that you please do not go on to it until we open. Every year we have one or two people who ignore this and cause damage to the golf course which takes us additional weeks to repair. In addition, the dog park will be closed for the next three weeks.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Dog Park Closure & Stuff
In the upcoming week we will be closing the dog park for scalping and seeding. The gate will be roped shut and will remain that way until the overseeding press is finished. In addition, if we get time we will be also scalping and overseeding the hills at the clubhouse. Since this area is a stand alone irrigation but still connected to main line we start its overseeding sooner to prevent pressure loss on the system.
Over the upcoming week we will continue the scalping process of the fairways, tees and roughs. We expect to be finished the rough scalping by Tuesday, and what we can scalp on the tees and fairways by Friday in time for the brownout tournament. The water is going to be cut back quite a bit on the greens this weekend so they will not be a pretty as they are now but will play just fine ... quick however.
The tree trimming is completely for overseed and the sump on 2 has finally been finished. There is some work occurring on # 8 but that to shall be finished this upcoming week. I heard a few people were saddened by the lost of a few trees ... as I was too. These trees were removed due to the fact that they died or posed safety concerns to our members. The good news is that we planted over twice as many as we lost.
Over the upcoming week we will continue the scalping process of the fairways, tees and roughs. We expect to be finished the rough scalping by Tuesday, and what we can scalp on the tees and fairways by Friday in time for the brownout tournament. The water is going to be cut back quite a bit on the greens this weekend so they will not be a pretty as they are now but will play just fine ... quick however.
The tree trimming is completely for overseed and the sump on 2 has finally been finished. There is some work occurring on # 8 but that to shall be finished this upcoming week. I heard a few people were saddened by the lost of a few trees ... as I was too. These trees were removed due to the fact that they died or posed safety concerns to our members. The good news is that we planted over twice as many as we lost.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Trimming, Tree Removal, Sumps & Drying
The tree trimming has started and should be completed in a couple of weeks. This trimming addresses only the shade issues and not the eucalyptus trees or pines. The trimming of pines and the eucalyptus trees will be done in December. In addition to the trimming we sadly had a couple of trees that required removal. These trees were located front and left of 1 & 3's tee; behind and right of 17's green; and left of 13's green near the wall. These trees all died or will be dead in couple of months. Speaking of trees, the ones we planted this summer (17 in all) are for the most part doing well; however, there are three of them not doing as well ... we suspect heat issues in the planting process.
The new wet well and drainage sumps along the fence of 2 will be finished by Friday. This will make that area more playable and drier this season. Until this area settles there will be 2 clean out ports above ground, and next summer we will fix this area correctly. The ruts caused by the equipment will be leveled before overseed and completely repaired next summer.
You may have noticed that we have started drying out the golf course -- but not completely. Most of the dry areas are in the roughs but over the upcoming week you will see more and more in the fairways & tees. Part of the reason we dry the golf course out slowly is to promote deeper roots on the bermudagrass so when it comes out of dormancy it is a stronger turf. Other reasons include better to scalp, easier to clean, etc. Overall, it will help us get ready for the upcoming overseed.
The new wet well and drainage sumps along the fence of 2 will be finished by Friday. This will make that area more playable and drier this season. Until this area settles there will be 2 clean out ports above ground, and next summer we will fix this area correctly. The ruts caused by the equipment will be leveled before overseed and completely repaired next summer.
You may have noticed that we have started drying out the golf course -- but not completely. Most of the dry areas are in the roughs but over the upcoming week you will see more and more in the fairways & tees. Part of the reason we dry the golf course out slowly is to promote deeper roots on the bermudagrass so when it comes out of dormancy it is a stronger turf. Other reasons include better to scalp, easier to clean, etc. Overall, it will help us get ready for the upcoming overseed.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Greens, Ants & Summer Plan
The greens recovered beautifully. On Wednesday we cut the greens after a couple of days of dragging and got a smooth cut. All of the members I ran into were completely happy about the greens and were amazed on just how quickly they recovered. As I explained to them, turf is a biotic system just like humans that if it gets scalped it takes a couple of days to heal from its injury. We still will be working on the greens over the next couple of weeks to have them perfect for overseeding.
Ants around the golf course have been treated by CV Vector Control yesterday. Vector control sent out their team and treated the entire golf course and a select few homes that called in problems. They told me that they did not find very many active mounds but treated all of the ones they did find. The best part is that they provide this service completely free to Avondale GC.
Summer Plan: I have been hearing from the Pro Shop that their are members who believe that this plan really is Jeff (me) running the golf course. Nothing could be further from the truth. The summer plan was developed in response to the Board's request to provide our summer members excellent golf course with a limited budget. This idea was given to the Green Committee to develop along with the Golf Committee, the GM (at the time), the head pro and the superintendent. After six months a plan was produced and given to the Board (which was the newly elected Board) for approval which they did approve.
So what is the plan's basics and what does it provide to the members:
1) The pro shop will be present seven days per week thus providing excellent service to our summer member and their guest ... since they are salary and their work week is still less than 40 hours this was at no additional costs to the Club.
2) There was no change to the start time of 6:30 am, however, between 6:30 to 7:00 am all groups playing had to be threesomes or more. This allowed the pro shop to have better control of the start times and the playing times.
3) Any mini-shotguns and play itself started off of the first tee. Once again this allowed the pro shop to have better control of where the play was and ensured our summer members to have a prepared golf course to play.
The summer plan has been a great success and has done exactly what it was intended to do ... that is provide a prepared golf course for the ALL of the summer members to play while allowing the maintenance to finish their preparation in a timely manner thus getting more done with less and saving the Club money.
Saying the course is ran by me because of the summer plan would be like saying the Garden Dining room is being ran by Andrew deciding the hours of being open ... the decision for the summer plan was a well thought out plan in concert with the Green & Golf Committees and the Board.
Ants around the golf course have been treated by CV Vector Control yesterday. Vector control sent out their team and treated the entire golf course and a select few homes that called in problems. They told me that they did not find very many active mounds but treated all of the ones they did find. The best part is that they provide this service completely free to Avondale GC.
Summer Plan: I have been hearing from the Pro Shop that their are members who believe that this plan really is Jeff (me) running the golf course. Nothing could be further from the truth. The summer plan was developed in response to the Board's request to provide our summer members excellent golf course with a limited budget. This idea was given to the Green Committee to develop along with the Golf Committee, the GM (at the time), the head pro and the superintendent. After six months a plan was produced and given to the Board (which was the newly elected Board) for approval which they did approve.
So what is the plan's basics and what does it provide to the members:
1) The pro shop will be present seven days per week thus providing excellent service to our summer member and their guest ... since they are salary and their work week is still less than 40 hours this was at no additional costs to the Club.
2) There was no change to the start time of 6:30 am, however, between 6:30 to 7:00 am all groups playing had to be threesomes or more. This allowed the pro shop to have better control of the start times and the playing times.
3) Any mini-shotguns and play itself started off of the first tee. Once again this allowed the pro shop to have better control of where the play was and ensured our summer members to have a prepared golf course to play.
The summer plan has been a great success and has done exactly what it was intended to do ... that is provide a prepared golf course for the ALL of the summer members to play while allowing the maintenance to finish their preparation in a timely manner thus getting more done with less and saving the Club money.
Saying the course is ran by me because of the summer plan would be like saying the Garden Dining room is being ran by Andrew deciding the hours of being open ... the decision for the summer plan was a well thought out plan in concert with the Green & Golf Committees and the Board.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
What Happened to the Greens?
You may have noticed last week that we were experiencing scalping on our greens and may wonder why.
Last week we started to lower the HOC (height of cut) from 1/8 inch to 1/10 inch and started to experience some scalping. Part of this was due to thatch found in the green thus we started verticutting (a way to remove thatch) three times last week and even double verticut on last Friday prior to mowing. In addition, to allow the green to heal from the scalping while we were aggressively verticutting we raised the HOC back to 1/8 of an inch.
Over the weekend I myself mowed the greens and discovered that not only did we have a thatch problem but we also had slight imperfections in the greens from not getting the greens completely smooth after aerification. These areas were scalping into the sand and causing issues that we needed to address immediately so we could lower the HOC as well as getting ready for the upcoming overseed.
On Saturday I lowered the amount of irrigation so on Monday we could drag the greens in a effort to smooth them out. On Monday, first we drug the greens with the coca mat, then mowed them followed by dragging them once again with our green drag brushes. Since Monday was a short day due to the Holiday that was all we did that day. On Tuesday, we first aggressively verticut the greens followed by dragging them once again with the green brush -- this time, however, we did not mow the greens. Later in the day Ernie and I went out and irrigated the greens heavily, and last night I upped the irrigation.
This morning we mowed the greens and we are no longer scalping. But that being said we will be topdressing, dragging and verticutting them to completely smooth them before overseeding to give us the perfect surface that we have come to expect.
First, I want to say the greens perfectly healthy and are growing in fine. Second, lowering the HOC in the second week after aerification is normal and if it wasn't for the pockets of sand and thatch we would have no issues. The problem was we did not smooth them as well as we have in the past and rush ourselves to give our summer members a better product quicker. This is the first year we have used solely 30-grade kiln dried sand and shortened our window of aerification. This did not work so well and will be addressed in the next Green Committee meeting.
The greens are fine and will quickly heal from the scalping that occurred last week. If you have any questions please contact me directly.
Last week we started to lower the HOC (height of cut) from 1/8 inch to 1/10 inch and started to experience some scalping. Part of this was due to thatch found in the green thus we started verticutting (a way to remove thatch) three times last week and even double verticut on last Friday prior to mowing. In addition, to allow the green to heal from the scalping while we were aggressively verticutting we raised the HOC back to 1/8 of an inch.
Over the weekend I myself mowed the greens and discovered that not only did we have a thatch problem but we also had slight imperfections in the greens from not getting the greens completely smooth after aerification. These areas were scalping into the sand and causing issues that we needed to address immediately so we could lower the HOC as well as getting ready for the upcoming overseed.
On Saturday I lowered the amount of irrigation so on Monday we could drag the greens in a effort to smooth them out. On Monday, first we drug the greens with the coca mat, then mowed them followed by dragging them once again with our green drag brushes. Since Monday was a short day due to the Holiday that was all we did that day. On Tuesday, we first aggressively verticut the greens followed by dragging them once again with the green brush -- this time, however, we did not mow the greens. Later in the day Ernie and I went out and irrigated the greens heavily, and last night I upped the irrigation.
This morning we mowed the greens and we are no longer scalping. But that being said we will be topdressing, dragging and verticutting them to completely smooth them before overseeding to give us the perfect surface that we have come to expect.
First, I want to say the greens perfectly healthy and are growing in fine. Second, lowering the HOC in the second week after aerification is normal and if it wasn't for the pockets of sand and thatch we would have no issues. The problem was we did not smooth them as well as we have in the past and rush ourselves to give our summer members a better product quicker. This is the first year we have used solely 30-grade kiln dried sand and shortened our window of aerification. This did not work so well and will be addressed in the next Green Committee meeting.
The greens are fine and will quickly heal from the scalping that occurred last week. If you have any questions please contact me directly.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Upcoming Events on the Course
Starting the 7th of Sept we will be creating grass piles for future removal on holes 5, 9 and 14. The reason we create these piles is due to the fact it is much cheaper to remove grass clippings alone that mixed debris. That being said, every year we have gardeners try to place their debris on our piles which not allowed.
In addition, starting the 7th the HOA's crew is going to be addressing the sump issue along the fence line of hole 2. For the saftey of their crew this hole will be closed during this process.
Sept 9th CV Vector Control will be coming out to treat the golf course for fire ants. If you are a homeowner in Avondale this is a great time to have them treat your yard as well for the most effective removal of these pests.
Starting Sept 13th we will be starting the annual tree trimming of certain trees to allow sunlight to reach the turf canopy. There will be a couple trees removed due to their failing health and most likely a couple more due to safety concerns.
In addition, starting the 7th the HOA's crew is going to be addressing the sump issue along the fence line of hole 2. For the saftey of their crew this hole will be closed during this process.
Sept 9th CV Vector Control will be coming out to treat the golf course for fire ants. If you are a homeowner in Avondale this is a great time to have them treat your yard as well for the most effective removal of these pests.
Starting Sept 13th we will be starting the annual tree trimming of certain trees to allow sunlight to reach the turf canopy. There will be a couple trees removed due to their failing health and most likely a couple more due to safety concerns.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Aerification & Tree Trimming
We have finished the aerification process for the year and the next week or two will be the sand removal process off the greens. This last aerification we used 75+ tons of 30-grade kiln dried sand to ensure all the holes are filled and to smooth the greens in prep for the upcoming overseed. Excess sand has to be removed by a combination of mowing and dragging which is the process that takes the longest to complete.
Tree trimming is coming up soon ... starting Sept 13th. This process allows the light to reach the turf thus allowing for a more successful overseeding. So when you see the the ribbons around the trees this only means that they are slated for trimming and not removal. Speaking of removal, over the aerification we had to remove the pepper tree near 11's green due to killer bees. We have tried several times to remove this hive without any long term success and since it posed a harm to our staff and members the tree had to be removed to keep the bees from returning. I should note that this time the hive weighed over 90 lbs and contained well over 50,000 bees.
It has also been brought to my attention that some homeowners believe we are not cleaning Country Club drive enough and more should be done. During the summer months we clean CC Drive twice per month and trim once. Due to our limited crew size and the amount of work needed on the golf course during the summer this is all we can do for now. The good news is that we are still cleaner than some in the Valley.
Tree trimming is coming up soon ... starting Sept 13th. This process allows the light to reach the turf thus allowing for a more successful overseeding. So when you see the the ribbons around the trees this only means that they are slated for trimming and not removal. Speaking of removal, over the aerification we had to remove the pepper tree near 11's green due to killer bees. We have tried several times to remove this hive without any long term success and since it posed a harm to our staff and members the tree had to be removed to keep the bees from returning. I should note that this time the hive weighed over 90 lbs and contained well over 50,000 bees.
It has also been brought to my attention that some homeowners believe we are not cleaning Country Club drive enough and more should be done. During the summer months we clean CC Drive twice per month and trim once. Due to our limited crew size and the amount of work needed on the golf course during the summer this is all we can do for now. The good news is that we are still cleaner than some in the Valley.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
JC Resort's Sand Hauler
Greens aerification is complete and with using JC Resort's sand hauler we were able to get the sand to the outlying greens quicker than ever with less sand loss. In year's past we have only been able to do three passes on a green before having to return to the shop to reload the topdresser ... but with using this piece of equipment we were able to finish a green entirely before returning to the shop.
Aerification is almost complete and we will be done with the tees & fairways tomorrow. Sand clean up on the greens will start tomorrow as well.
Aerification is almost complete and we will be done with the tees & fairways tomorrow. Sand clean up on the greens will start tomorrow as well.
Friday, August 13, 2010
August Aerification
Starting this Monday we will be preforming our last aerification of the season. During this time the golf course will be closed for three days and will not open until 9:00 am on Thursday, however, JC Resorts has offered their other properties for the members of Avondale to play at while we are closed. I hope that many of you take the opportunity to see how JC Resorts runs their facilities.
Lots of work has started around the course already getting ready for Sept which is when we start prepping the course for overseed. In addition, my team has been doing some landscape work around the clubhouse to clean up the presentation for our members upon their return (and for the ones still here).
Lots of work has started around the course already getting ready for Sept which is when we start prepping the course for overseed. In addition, my team has been doing some landscape work around the clubhouse to clean up the presentation for our members upon their return (and for the ones still here).
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
August Aerification
It is hard to believe that we are looking at the next aerification (the last of the year) already. Yesterday, we aerified the nurseries, small putting green and both the chipping greens, and next Monday we will be starting the rough aerification. Starting on the 16th of Aug. we will be closing the golf course for three days to aerify the greens, tees and fairways. This is always a big process and we encourage the members that are still here during the summer to come out and watch.
After Board approval the "animals" topiaries were removed from the clubhouse area. After Chuck repairs and paints the wall we will be planting the new wall cover which should greatly improve the overall look as you enter the staging area. In addition, the Board outsourced the bed replacement as you enter the parking lot at the clubhouse recently to tie in with the improvements that the HOA has been doing along the Avondale Drive.
The fairways have recovered nicely from the transition and now we are starting efforts to get them ready for overseed ... yes, I said overseed. Believe it or not we start in August the preparations to get ready for overseed which is just around the corner. The seed has already been ordered and will arrive in Sept.
After Board approval the "animals" topiaries were removed from the clubhouse area. After Chuck repairs and paints the wall we will be planting the new wall cover which should greatly improve the overall look as you enter the staging area. In addition, the Board outsourced the bed replacement as you enter the parking lot at the clubhouse recently to tie in with the improvements that the HOA has been doing along the Avondale Drive.
The fairways have recovered nicely from the transition and now we are starting efforts to get them ready for overseed ... yes, I said overseed. Believe it or not we start in August the preparations to get ready for overseed which is just around the corner. The seed has already been ordered and will arrive in Sept.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Hydraulic Leaks & Triplex Woes
Many of you may have noticed that last week we have a triplex leak on the clean up pass of 6's green surround. Well today another triplex sprung a leak this time on a green ... hole number 2. Fortunately, Ernie was the one mowing the green and he caught it quickly even though it was a small leak. We will be treating the leak today with charcoal and expect it to recover soon.
Speaking of triplexes we have been having several issues again this with our aging fleet. One triplex is down for repair for the hydraulic hose leak, another is down for the failure of the main hydraulic motor, one more is down now for leaking on the green and another is awaiting a hydraulic overhaul. If you are counting that is four triplexes with hydraulic problems.
Hopefully soon we will have these units back up and operational.
Speaking of triplexes we have been having several issues again this with our aging fleet. One triplex is down for repair for the hydraulic hose leak, another is down for the failure of the main hydraulic motor, one more is down now for leaking on the green and another is awaiting a hydraulic overhaul. If you are counting that is four triplexes with hydraulic problems.
Hopefully soon we will have these units back up and operational.
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