Drainage project

A sink hole developed near 2 green over the past few months.  This week we dug up the problem area and found 4 tiles that were broken and needed to be replaced.

A project like this is always bigger than it may appear - a small sink hole turned into a large drainage repair.  Wayne and Mat did a great job digging it up and fitting in a new pipe.  We attempted to finish this up on Friday afternoon but was called off the course at 2:00 due to the large storm that moved through.  This project will be buttoned up early next week.

Being "green"

Some of you have already read the article in Saturday's Courier about water usage on golf courses.  If you didn't catch it, here is the link:

Courier Article

I appreciate John's article.  While everyone may have their political views or agendas on the environment and water usage - nobody can dispute the facts and John did a great job reporting facts and not biased information.  Here are the facts for FCC to reiterate the article:

1. FCC is home to a variety of wildlife from the bottom of the food chain all the way to top.  This is a great example of a healthy environment that is thriving from the insects, squirrels, rabbits and birds up to the deer, foxes and hawks.

 

2.  An independent lab test has confirmed that the water coming out of the drain tiles is cleaner than the water being applied for irrigation.  FCC is a 150 acre filter for the Blanchard River.  Healthy turf is a natural filter, trapping sediment and using the nutrients suspended in the water.

 

3. We employ handwatering techniques and the latest technology in wetting agents to make small amounts of water go further.  There are more problems with overwatering vs. drier conditions.  Therefore, excessive amounts of water are not used.  Moderate amounts of water are applied via irrigation as needed to maintain plant health.  Without healthy turf, runoff and soil movement increases, making light amounts of irrigation not only necessary for playing conditions but also a good environmental practice if rain is not in adequate supply.

 

In the end, we all agree: Do what we can to make this a better place!

 



OSU Message, Fox

Below is a link to a YouTube video message by OSU.  It reinforces my decision to spike the greens yesterday and again today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=AcYNDNJzXIQ


I captured some great photos of one of our foxes:

Taking a nap in #1 greenside bunker

He had squirrel for lunch

He buried half of it for a later snack

 

Rain and the greens

In the past week, 3" of rain has fallen on the golf course.  This doesn't seem like a lot compared to other places around us, but it has definately made the golf course soft.  The first rain soaked right in and you never knew it rained an inch.  After that the ground started to get saturated.  The past few days the greens have been looking a little off - a little orange.  This is because they can't get enough oxygen.  With the lack of drainage in the greens, the extra water sits there until it can slowly drain through the clay.  With the higher soil temps, the roots and plants can not handle the lack of oxygen in the soil.  Therefore, we spiked the greens today to open up air channels and allow the soil to breathe.  We may do the same tomorrow to give the greens their best chance of making it through this wet spell.

 

This size of the holes

 

You will notice some areas of the greens seem orange.

#13 Drainage

Today we installed a drain in the low area between the approach bunkers on #13.  This area collected water and once the soil was saturated, it had no where to go.  This drain will take all of the excess water away and keep the area playable.