Tee aerification

Today was an excellent day to squeeze in tee aerification.  We typically don't schedule this in advance because we can knock it out on a Monday and the course is still playable while we are performing the work.

All the tees were done today - mowed, pulled cores, dragged, cleaned off, verticut and blown clean.

Divot repair

A few weeks ago, I posted a link to a video on Handwatering, produced by the USGA.  They have many other helpful videos that explain the "why" and "how" of course maintenance.  One of the videos is on divot repair.  See the link below:

Divot Repair Video Link

There are two reasons why filling your divots are important: 1. It aids in the recovery of the fairway, and 2. It provides a reasonable surface for the golfer playing behind you.  If not filled properly, one or both of these will be impeded.

We have a great membership that is willing to care for the golf course.  We go through a lot of sand and many divots get filled, but sometimes just filling it isn't enough, it has to be done correctly.

When a divot is not repaired or filled, an uneven playing surface is created leaving the chance for a bad lie in the middle of the fairway.

 

But if the divot is not filled properly, the effect can almost be worse.

Not only are you creating a chance for a bad lie you are also creating mounds of sand that will most likely get leveled out by the next mowing.  When that sand goes through the reels of the mower, it acts as sand paper on the metal.  When cutting grass with scissors like precision, anything that is abrasive will produce undesired results and cause more time in the shop sharpening.

All of the divots pictured were ones that were on the course yesterday, I did not stage them (other than placing the ball next to it).  As you see, this one has twice as much sand as needed.

A properly filled divot is one that fills the void and then flattened to provide an even playing surface and one that will not cause harm to the equipment.  We appreciate all that the members do to help keep YOUR club in great shape.

Heavy Rains

3.7" of rain fell on the course yesterday and into last night.  Most of the rain came in heavy showers causing a lot of it to runoff.  This allowed the course to remain fairly playable other than the bunkers.  If we had more of a soaking rain, carts would have been restricted due to saturation, but again, most the rain ran off the property and down the drain.  We started repairing bunkers today, but most of the bunker work will have to wait until tomorrow, our day was spent on picking up debris from the storm.

Bunkers were still draining early this morning.

Most of the bunkers are washed out to some degree.

Landscape beds washed out from heavy rains.

A few fairways had to be squeegeed off.

We also had a significant number of branches down.  Most of the day was spent picking up debris.

 

Handwatering greens

I have attached a link to an informative video on handwatering, produced by the USGA.  While this season is almost behind us and it wasn't an overly hot summer, we still had plenty of days were watering was a priority. 

Handwatering Video Link

Handwatering is almost a daily occurrence for us, supplying light amounts of water to certain areas that need it just to get through one more day.  As the video states - we would rather apply too little water vs. applying too much and supplement the nightly irrigation with handwatering the dry areas.

Great picture

One of the staff members on the Grounds crew took this picture with his new fancy phone, I thought it was a great picture.

Divot bottle replacements

We have a great contingent of members that fill their divots, and the divots of many others, as they stroll through the fairways.  Many divot bottle users often run out of sand before their round is complete.  We were asked to supply a refilling station to keep those bottles full.

A container was purchased and place behind the 15th hole snack shack.

You will find plenty of replacement bottles if needed on your way past.  Thanks for the help in keeping your golf course in great condition.