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.

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!

 



More criminal damage

This morning we were greeted with an interesting surprise. 

 

11 green was tore up around the cup along with a few choice words.  The flagsticks and flags from #10 and #11 were missing and a tee marker from #9 was gone.

 

I apologize for not being able to get rid of the writing - it just needs to grow out.  Usually, anything done to try to cover it up just makes the writing look worse and draws attention to it.  The words should be gone after the weekend.

 

There was also a few items thrown into the pool.

Findlay PD came out and took pictures and will file a report.  I am having the officer request more patrols in the area during the evening hours.  His thought is that more patrols will not help much,  therefore we will be looking into costs for motion detector lighting and a security camera system.

 

Landscaping

We are again updating some of the landscape beds around the property. 

 

The outdated plants in the landscape beds around 8 tee were removed.

We then added Oakleaf Hydrangea, 'Cityline Rio' Hydrangea, Blackeyed Susan and Creeping Myrtle.

The landscape bed near the cart staging area was planted with 'Alice' Oakleaf Hydrangea.

 

Around the clubhouse we removed damaged plants from this past winter, replanting with 'Autumn Brilliance' Serviceberry, 'Ann' Magnolia, and 'Green Gem' Boxwood.  We also replaced the Heritage River Birch near the second bridge on 8/9.

 

Landscape plants are not inexpensive, when time allows and funds can be used, we will continue to replace and update the landscaping, keeping the clubhouse area an oasis that is pleasing to the eye.

 

Grounds staff golf outing

As I alluded to in an earlier post, the Grounds staff is starting to shrink already for the season.  Before all the seasonal staff starts to leave for school, we wanted to show the staff our appreciation for their hard work this summer.  On Wednesday we completed our morning assignments and then got the chance to enjoy the course from a different perspective!

Jordan, Phil, Vinnie and Evan

Ethan, Adam, Dan and Jarred

Julian, Drew, Brandon and Tyler

Jason, Eric, Myself and Danny

Following the 18 hole scramble golf outing, we had a cookout at the shop. 

 

After the Ohio Junior Championship in June, the OGA sent us a large box of steaks to say "Thank You".  We finally got a chance to grill these.  But to feed 17 hungry guys takes a bit of food.  One of our very generous members at FCC sponsored our event and cookout.  He was very appreciative of the hard work the guys put in this year and wanted to acknowledge them.  We were able to treat the Grounds staff right.

We set up a buffet in the shop.

Had to get a picture of Wayne in here, he didn't play golf, but sure enjoyed the food.

 

I am extremely thankful and proud of the crew this year, they did an outstanding job.  While we didn't have any major storms or floods, maintaining a golf course is hard work no matter what you're doing.  The entire staff raised up to the challenge and gave the members a wonderful golf course this year.  Great job men and thank you!

 

United Way outing

Yesterday we were host to the United Way / Marathon outing.  We had over 500 golfers in a two day stretch making this event the biggest outing of the year.  Not only was it a success on our end but the fund raising efforts were also a success.  Over the past 13 years, they have raised over $1,000,000.  Below is a link to a video recap of the day. 

 

United Way Video Link

 FCC appreciates the opportunity to showcase the Club. 

 

Sunrise

Beautiful sunrise this morning, view the time lapse video below:

Sunrise video link

 

 

One of the many great things about this job.

 



Bird's eye view

Below is a link to our most recent video:

Bird's eye view video link

This gives a wonderful example of how beautiful this property is.  This clip is also posted on the FCC website.

It's that time of year already!

Donuts, we cherish them here.  We have 1 rule that stands above all (well most of the time) in the Grounds Department:  You have to bring in donuts if you lose a tool, get stuck, run out of gas or it's your last day for the summer.  We've had donuts many times already this summer, but today we got donuts because guys are leaving already.  A few guys are on their way to internships for the remainder of summer.

 

It's hard to get guys to smile at 5:30am, but donuts do the trick!



Outing

Today at the Club we held the Fresh Encounter outing.  Below is a video of the Proshop staff hard at work as the sun comes up.

Cart staging video link

Well done today!