Recent events

Today was a day back to normalcy for the Grounds staff.  The recent week was busy with preparations for the Men's invite and the Ohio Junior Championship.  Then the events came and went, now we get back into more routine schedules and small projects.

I consider the Men's invite, as do most private clubs, as the one week of the summer where we want to showcase our golf course and therefore schedule maintenance to peak during that weekend.  Every detail is attended to prior to the event.  Judging by the remarks from the members and their guests, we hit our mark.  Despite the wet conditions, the course was in fine shape and a gem the members could be proud of.

I have to thank my staff publicly for their efforts.  They performed great leading up to and during the event.  Putting extra hours in when needed and tending to every detail.  I am very appreciative of the pride they are taking in their duties.  Its a good feeling to find two employees edging tee plaques with a scissors without being told - just to give that extra touch.  Well done!

With the closing of the Men's Invite, we led right into the Ohio Junior Championship.  One of these special events is work in itself, two back to back is even more so.  Add in the wet conditions and we had some challenging situations.  During the Championship we had multiple rain delays, and many times that the squeegees came out.  With the first round being cut short due to storms we had to cram the end of the first round and the entire second round into the day on Wednesday.  This required a full shotgun start at 7:30 am to give them enough time to finish the tournament.  To prepare the entire course for play by 7:30 meant a 4:30 start time for the crew.  Again, thank you guys for your hard work and getting it done.

Those of you who attended the annual meeting may remember that Grounds staff member Wayne Bartchlett was recognized for his 42 years of service.  I had made the comment that no one beats Wayne to work, he is here early opening the building and drinking his coffee.  I got to work at 3:45 am on Wednesday morning thinking I would beat Wayne there.  Well - I didn't, the building was open, lights were on and Wayne was drinking his coffee.

We aren't exactly set up for maintenance in the dark.  Tuesday night I took a trip to Lowes and purchased enough flashlights for everyone, including the OGA Officials.  Two Officials came in at 4:30 to help us out.  When play was suspended on Tuesday, the players had to mark their ball.  These markers had to be lifted to allow for mowing and then placed back down.  The OGA was very helpful in doing this for us, allowing for the greens to get mowed and rolled.

In the end the event was concluded at 9:00pm on Wednesday.  The players, parents and OGA were very appreciative of FCC and everyone's hard work - all departments.

 

Vandalism

During the night on Friday/Saturday we had a little damage from a few kids walking through the property.  This is nothing new, it happens a few times a month, but last night was a little more aggressive then most.  We typically have one or two tee markers stolen every 2-3 weeks or our rope and stake is cut into pieces.  This is the first time I saw this much "horsing around" here.

 

Bunker rakes were scattered, pictures were drawn in the bunkers (I can't show those pictures), range flags ended up on 13 green, 13 green's pin ended up on 14.

Tee markers were placed inside cups.

Tee markers were also shoved in mud.  We had 15 tee markers removed and scattered over 5 holes.

4 tee markers were stolen or broken.

If you know of two young men that wear size 10/11 shoes (I have there shoe prints) that were cruising through the property last night - traveling from 9 tee all the way through hole 15, let me know.  I have a large ditch/hazard that they can weedwhip for the next 4 months.



Quick tree removal

On Thursday we had to remove a tree between holes 4 and 15 due to the conditions being unsafe. 

 

Large limbs started to fall from the tree with the recent winds.

The ground conditions were firm enough that we could take heavy equipment out.

One of those things we didn't have planned to accomplish just before the Invite but had to get done.

Preparing for a Major - what does it take?

With the final round of the U.S. Open played yesterday and with the excitement of a Major on every one's mind, I thought I would highlight some of the work that goes on behind the scenes.

Anytime a course has to prepare for an event, especially a Major, planning is done years in advance, infrastructure is updated, staff is trained, volunteers are recruited and equipment is purchased.  During the year of a Major the daily grounds staff numbers around 40-50.  During the week of the tournament, volunteers are brought in and that number goes above 100.  All these workers need equipment to run as well.  Extra mowers and carts are brought in to manicure the course for the worlds elite.

Course conditions are molded to peak during the time of the tournament.  Green speeds run high, fairways and tees are cut daily; and greens are mowed four times a day.  Conditions such as this can only be maintained for a brief while, going back to normal after the tournament.

Below are two links that describe briefly what has to be done and how tournament prep is different from daily play at your local Club.

Link to article

Link to video

During the summer of 2005 I had the privilege of volunteering for the PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club in NJ.  I was able to spend the entire week there, working not only during the practice rounds but also all four days of the tournament.  Those of you who have attended a Major know there is nothing like it, the atmosphere is electric.  Being able to prepare the course for that event is even more exciting.

The morning meetings started at 4:30 a.m.  Daily announcement were given, then off to work.  Our tasks were the same everyday, giving consistency to the product.  Our morning work was complete by 8:30 a.m.  We then had the day to ourselves to watch golf and nap.  We were back to work at 4:00 p.m and finishing up at 11:00.

This is a look at the morning job board.  Because I was there all week, I was given the job of mowing greens.

They had a huge fleet of equipment to handle the work load.

The three Mechanics loaded up all the equipment every morning and night, making sure everything was in working order and everyone had what they needed.  Staff from local equipment vendors were brought in to help repair machinery at a moments notice if needed.

A new utility vehicle was purchased and equipped with anything a mechanic might possibly need to repair a machine out in the field - complete with welder and halogen lights for repairs during the night.

This was one of the two greens I mowed for the Championship, quite rewarding watching the best players in the world putting over the lines you mowed a few hours before.

We even had a chance to say hello to the players, Tiger was giving us a hard time while we were raking bunkers during the practice round - something about the rough being to tall.

 

Flood repair

The course's frequent flooding causes the Grounds staff to spend time on repairs when needed .  This week we added rip-rap to the area underneath the bridge by 8 green/9tee.  The soil in this area was washing out a little bit every time we flooded.

To keep our equipment in good condition, we decided to load the stone by hand.

The stone was then placed under the bridge by hand, adding some stability to the area.

 

Fairways on the mend

My last post described the process of verticutting fairways.  We finished all 18 fairways this week and the weather was perfect for this practice.  Verticutting that aggressively takes a toll on the turf and the cloudy, cool weather was a big reason why we verticut when we did.  If the temperatures were higher, we would have seen more stress.  You will notice some stress on the fairways where material was removed, they will be healed in by late next week.

As shown previously, a lot of material was pulled up.

A few strands of turf, such as the one seen here on 16, were as long as 6".  On a fairway cut under .5" you can envision the fairway as one giant combover.  These are the plants that we are trying to slice back to normal length, creating a better playing surface for the player.

Verticutting fairways

Today we started verticutting fairways.  Depending on weather, we will finish the process over the next two days.  Verticutting is the task of slicing the turf with the blades in a vertical position vs. the normal horizontal position when mowing.  This vertical mowing creates channels that cuts the longer blades of the grass that tend to lean over creating a tighter cut on the fairway.

 

The verticutting also pulls the turf up allow us to mow the longer strands off.

To end the process, the fairways are mowed two times in different directions.

 

Lunch with BVC

On Friday the Grounds crew had lunch with all the clients at Blanchard Valley Center that helped with our flower planting.  The FCC crew was able to thank them for their hard work and get to spend the lunch hour with them.

Eric grilled hotdogs for everyone, they all came hungry.  Jeff (near the grill) came wearing his FCC hat.

We were able to pack ourselves into the lunch room, 16 from our crew and 12 from BVC.  Out guys had a great time talking to the clients and relaxing from the daily tasks.

Alex was able to join us.  He did a great job on the potted plants.

All the clients left with a small token of our appreciation - a FCC logo golf ball, they were thrilled.

Happy Birthday Bill!

Sod project on 8

Here is a short little clip of our recent sod project on 8

Front island landscaping

Today we spent a few hours updating the landscaping on the front entrance island.  As stated earlier, we try to update a few landscape beds every year, this was definitely one on our short list.

The bushes we have are old and dated, we are trying to change the landscaping to give it a fresher more modern feel.

While the landscape beds along the sides of the front entrance are also of the same look, we only had the funds to update the island at this point.

 

Once the bushes were ripped out the ground was leveled and the rocks were put in place.

The crew then planted a few ornamental grasses and layed a fresh layer of mulch.

 

The updated landscaping looks great.

The only problem now is that the old and dated sign now looks exactly that - old and dated.  We have slated to replace the front sign next spring - part of our 2015 capital budget.

Donated Bench

A bench was donated in honor of Cheryl Garrett Wenner a few weeks back.  A group of FCC members got together to donate the bench.  It was placed in the landscape bed near the tennis courts where Cheryl spent her time.  The generous members also donated the plants that we added around the bench.

Spectators can now enjoy a tennis match while enjoying the flowers around them.

 

Thank You to all the members that donated and made this place a more picturesque area in honor of a loved one.



Herb garden

Not many members know this: the Grounds staff grows and maintains a herb garden here on FCC property.  It is located along the West side of the clubhouse and supplies Chef with a few herbs that he uses on a regular basis.  According to him, it saves FCC quite a bit of money.

8 different plots are laid out, the kitchen staff can pick the herb they need at any time.

We grow: Sage, Chives, Thyme, Basil, Parsley, Oregano and Mint.

 

We also grow Tomatoes and flowers for cutting that the kitchen will also use.