Let me start by wishing all the best to any golf course facility that was affected by the floods down south. I realize it may seem like a secondary concern when homes and businesses are severely damaged and there was loss of life but the golf industry is an important business in Alberta and many employees are now in a state of limbo. I've been through some minor flooding long ago and it will be some time before any sense of "normal" returns.
Aeration of Approaches
We have made the decision to core aerate the approaches (or aprons as they are called) and give them a pretty heavy topdressing. They are very thatchy and need to firm up both for the LPGA event and the long term. The type of walking mower and our desired height of cut demands a firm surface to reduce scalping, ridges and unhealthy turf. They look good but they need to be better and the only way to do it is by pulling a fairly large core. The holes will heal quickly as growing conditions are very good and they have been fertilized ahead of time to speed recovery. It shouldn't be much of an inconvenience.
ArboCare
The tree company will be back on Wednesday assuming it doesn't rain too much today. We need a boom truck to get at a list of hanging limbs that we identified last week. The elm behind the putting green will need climbing in order to get at the broken branch as there is no access for the truck.
Parking Lot
We have shovelled the debris that has piled up along the curbing and moved it into the open to aid the cleanup that will take place before 5:00 am tomorrow morning. I know its a mess but only for a day. In the next week or so the parking stall lines will be repainted as well.
6th Green
Without going into great detail we have decided to remove the weak bentgrass sod from the right side of the green and replace it with a bentgrass/poa mix sod from another golf course with similar greens turf as the Royal Mayfair. Guess which one. Hint: I see this superintendent every day. Aside from the poor condition of the existing turf the distinct color difference in comparison was too obvious. Hopefully we have better luck this time. We plan on resodding early Thursday morning. If the date changes we will let you know on twitter and through the Golf Shop.
Course Detail List
If you recall from my last blog we have developed a comprehensive "Details List". You will notice small projects proceeding now and throughout the remainder of the season. For example there is some sodding work proceeding on #10 rough and a few collars that will be adjusted by changing the turf type to make them consistent with other green sites (#4 left collar, #11 right collar).
All for now,
Wade
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Thursday, June 20, 2013
A Course Tour and LPGA Information
A Walking Assessment Of The Golf Course
As a turf manager I know that one gets a much clearer picture of course conditions when playing a round of golf than when driving the facililty in a cart. Even mowing greens or fairways gives me a better perspective of the grounds. However I did something on Wednesday that I have never done in my 23 years as a superintendent during the golf season. Eric and I needed to do a comprehensive course tour and I figured we'd be doing the usual "drive the course", review our progress to date and identify problems. Wrong. Eric suggested a walk through beginning at the back of the first tee all the way to the 18th green. At first I thought why not ride as usual? But with the showery weather and a very quiet course until the Men's League shotgun we did the tour. I have Eric to thank for nudging me forward. It shouldn't surprise anyone to learn that it was the best thing we could've done.
Out of the tour we have developed a very thorough list of important detail work that we can now concentrate on. This is something that has nagged at me since my arrival here at the Royal Mayfair. The major project work of the last 2 golf seasons and the final stages we are very close to finishing this year didn't allow us to really focus in on many small details that needed attention. Much of the work you probably wouldn't notice, and of course, some of it you will. The list is too long to go into here but I will inform you of anything that may cause you to sit up and take notice. 90% of the work will not affect play. Other work will result in small ground under repair areas. For example there will be some collar adjustments around a few greens that will involve some minor sod work and we are finally improving the right side of the 10th hole on the corner.
Eric and I were both very pleased with the overall condition of the golf course and I hope that you as members are as well. Perfection by definition is a goal that cannot be reached but it is extremely important that we make every effort to strive to attain perfection and that myself and the Turf Care Team are clear on the path we will take throughout the golf season.
I want to be clear that this list was developed to further improve the club for YOUR benefit. The LPGA event in August just happens to be a benefactor of the process. Be rest assured the goals and methods of care we have established for the Royal Mayfair will continue well into the future.
LPGA Information
A quick update to let you know that we plan on protecting the tee zones that will be used for the event. Around the 15th of July any teeing area that has been established for use during the tournament will be kept out of play (except for the Championship weekend). My past experiences have led me to believe we will need to use a covering material to keep golfers off. Something easy to move for our operators that doesn't interfere with light, air or water. I saw it used at Merion. Hopefully after the dust has settled I can contact their Turf Department and find out the exact product. Eric has a pretty good idea what it is but we'll find out for sure. The range tee will move to the Turf Hound mats permanently around the middle of July too. It will take that long for it to recover and be presentable for the best Women golfers in the world.
And without further ado as promised here are the tentative yardages and specific tees that will be used for the CN Womens Canadian Open:
If you see some sort of discrepency call the LPGA not me. I'm just the messenger.
This was very long blog post. Hope you found the time to read it all.
Wade
As a turf manager I know that one gets a much clearer picture of course conditions when playing a round of golf than when driving the facililty in a cart. Even mowing greens or fairways gives me a better perspective of the grounds. However I did something on Wednesday that I have never done in my 23 years as a superintendent during the golf season. Eric and I needed to do a comprehensive course tour and I figured we'd be doing the usual "drive the course", review our progress to date and identify problems. Wrong. Eric suggested a walk through beginning at the back of the first tee all the way to the 18th green. At first I thought why not ride as usual? But with the showery weather and a very quiet course until the Men's League shotgun we did the tour. I have Eric to thank for nudging me forward. It shouldn't surprise anyone to learn that it was the best thing we could've done.
Out of the tour we have developed a very thorough list of important detail work that we can now concentrate on. This is something that has nagged at me since my arrival here at the Royal Mayfair. The major project work of the last 2 golf seasons and the final stages we are very close to finishing this year didn't allow us to really focus in on many small details that needed attention. Much of the work you probably wouldn't notice, and of course, some of it you will. The list is too long to go into here but I will inform you of anything that may cause you to sit up and take notice. 90% of the work will not affect play. Other work will result in small ground under repair areas. For example there will be some collar adjustments around a few greens that will involve some minor sod work and we are finally improving the right side of the 10th hole on the corner.
Eric and I were both very pleased with the overall condition of the golf course and I hope that you as members are as well. Perfection by definition is a goal that cannot be reached but it is extremely important that we make every effort to strive to attain perfection and that myself and the Turf Care Team are clear on the path we will take throughout the golf season.
I want to be clear that this list was developed to further improve the club for YOUR benefit. The LPGA event in August just happens to be a benefactor of the process. Be rest assured the goals and methods of care we have established for the Royal Mayfair will continue well into the future.
LPGA Information
A quick update to let you know that we plan on protecting the tee zones that will be used for the event. Around the 15th of July any teeing area that has been established for use during the tournament will be kept out of play (except for the Championship weekend). My past experiences have led me to believe we will need to use a covering material to keep golfers off. Something easy to move for our operators that doesn't interfere with light, air or water. I saw it used at Merion. Hopefully after the dust has settled I can contact their Turf Department and find out the exact product. Eric has a pretty good idea what it is but we'll find out for sure. The range tee will move to the Turf Hound mats permanently around the middle of July too. It will take that long for it to recover and be presentable for the best Women golfers in the world.
And without further ado as promised here are the tentative yardages and specific tees that will be used for the CN Womens Canadian Open:
- 417 yds - back of blue tee
- 331 yds - back of gold tee
- 546 yds - back of gold tee
- 156 yds - back of white tee
- 434 yds - blue tee
- 346 yds - back of blue tee
- 412 yds - back of blue tee
- 175 yds - back of blue tee
- 405 yds - blue tee
- 378 yds - back of golds and the small round tee
- 191 yds - back of blue tee
- 411 yds - back of blue tee
- 397 yds - front of new gold tee
- 528 yds - back of gold tee
- 374 yds - back of white tee
- 143 yds - back of blue tee
- 397 yds - back of blue tee
- 402 yds - back of old gold tee
If you see some sort of discrepency call the LPGA not me. I'm just the messenger.
This was very long blog post. Hope you found the time to read it all.
Wade
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Course Update and Greens Work Tuesday/Wednesday
Greens Work
I'll begin with the greens. We are off schedule when it comes to our bi-weekly topdressing program on the greens. 3 weeks ago we topdressed fairly heavy and then we were dealing with Take-all Patch so we went easy on any aggressive cultural practices on the greens as part of the recovery program.
We couldn't start on the greens yesterday because of the Women's Open/CN Media golf event. By all accounts it went well but now we need to keep woking on the surface and are also venting the greens, something we typically do once a month beginning in June. This involves small pencil thin solid aeration tines that just open the surface to aid in air movement into the soil profile. We are NOT removing a core. It is NOT the conventional aeration that strikes fear in the hearts of golfers around the world. Which, by the way, should be embraced as it is a critical maintenance practice on most greens let alone almost all turf surfaces.
My apologies for the short notice but we will spread the work over 2 days to minimize the interference. The surface is rolled in the final step so you really have to look hard to see the work, aside from a little sand.
On The Course This Week:
I will post the yardages that will be used for the LPGA event if anyone is interested in my next blog. These are not set in stone but it gives me a general idea as to what area of the tees we need to protect beginning around the 15th of July. More on that in my next post as well.
All for now,
Wade
I'll begin with the greens. We are off schedule when it comes to our bi-weekly topdressing program on the greens. 3 weeks ago we topdressed fairly heavy and then we were dealing with Take-all Patch so we went easy on any aggressive cultural practices on the greens as part of the recovery program.
We couldn't start on the greens yesterday because of the Women's Open/CN Media golf event. By all accounts it went well but now we need to keep woking on the surface and are also venting the greens, something we typically do once a month beginning in June. This involves small pencil thin solid aeration tines that just open the surface to aid in air movement into the soil profile. We are NOT removing a core. It is NOT the conventional aeration that strikes fear in the hearts of golfers around the world. Which, by the way, should be embraced as it is a critical maintenance practice on most greens let alone almost all turf surfaces.
My apologies for the short notice but we will spread the work over 2 days to minimize the interference. The surface is rolled in the final step so you really have to look hard to see the work, aside from a little sand.
On The Course This Week:
- Tee House landscaping
- Rebuild the drinking fountain between the 11th green and the 12th tee
- Step installation and landscaping at the 11th tee
- Completion of remaining sod work beside the 1st tee, bunker to the right of #1 green and a couple of old 150 yard marker areas, etc.
- We missed a bunker trim due to the weather last week so we are on it today instead of Thursday
- Once the above work is finished we will begin installing the paving stone "side-outs" for the ballwasher stand and benches (starting next week in all likelihood)
I will post the yardages that will be used for the LPGA event if anyone is interested in my next blog. These are not set in stone but it gives me a general idea as to what area of the tees we need to protect beginning around the 15th of July. More on that in my next post as well.
All for now,
Wade
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Thunderstorm Update
Before the storm that just passed through Edmonton we had already received 27mm (~1.1 inches) of rain up until noon. When Men's League was cancelled at 2:45 I left as the course was closed for the remainder of the day. I could tell from the radar we were in for some nasty weather but I had no idea how bad until I ran into the storm on Calgary Trail.
Needless to say the course is flooded, as expected when faced with so much rain in a short period. I don't have any pictures to post but the Golf Shop has texted me some views of #9. At one point the green was completely covered in water which for one of the fastest draining greens on the property really says something. The open area in the rough short and left of the green is a lake.
This all leads up to Thursday. From past experience I think it is safe to say that play will be delayed tomorrow and the use of power carts will be halted for the day. Of course we will know more in the morning. Stay tuned but expect closures. For how long I don't know.
We've been through this plenty over the last 2 summers so we'll break out the pumps and begin the cleanup first thing. Lets hope this is it for the evening.
Wade
Needless to say the course is flooded, as expected when faced with so much rain in a short period. I don't have any pictures to post but the Golf Shop has texted me some views of #9. At one point the green was completely covered in water which for one of the fastest draining greens on the property really says something. The open area in the rough short and left of the green is a lake.
This all leads up to Thursday. From past experience I think it is safe to say that play will be delayed tomorrow and the use of power carts will be halted for the day. Of course we will know more in the morning. Stay tuned but expect closures. For how long I don't know.
We've been through this plenty over the last 2 summers so we'll break out the pumps and begin the cleanup first thing. Lets hope this is it for the evening.
Wade
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Finally Another Blog Post
May 18th. That was my last blog. I was mildly surprised when I noticed the date. Time flies and the days seem to blend into one long period of non stop project work and course maintenance. Since the 18th the weather has changed with plenty of moisture but cooler temperatures. We've almost completed the cart path tie in work, improved the tee and pin options on #16, installed the patio and cart paths at the Tee House and somehow managed to keep improving the look and quality of the golf course itself.
Recently we diagnosed and treated for Take-all Patch on the greens. The June newsletter went into more detail about the problem so I won't discuss it here other than to report that all is well. The Legacy Clock has been a issue as we all know but the company has advised us to try one more solution before they fly out here from Vancouver to fix it if we can't.
The next week will see the Turf Staff completing the remaining sod work, replacing some sod that did not make it, landscaping the Tee House Grounds, assisting Maureen and Val with flower work and installing the remaining steps at 11 tee. As for the golf course lets get back to the point form I like to use when describing the week ahead:
All for now,
Wade
Recently we diagnosed and treated for Take-all Patch on the greens. The June newsletter went into more detail about the problem so I won't discuss it here other than to report that all is well. The Legacy Clock has been a issue as we all know but the company has advised us to try one more solution before they fly out here from Vancouver to fix it if we can't.
The next week will see the Turf Staff completing the remaining sod work, replacing some sod that did not make it, landscaping the Tee House Grounds, assisting Maureen and Val with flower work and installing the remaining steps at 11 tee. As for the golf course lets get back to the point form I like to use when describing the week ahead:
- We have now expanded our turf growth regulator program to include tees and approaches. Our plan is begin treating fairways next season as well.
- We have made the transition to mowing tees and approaches with walk behind mowers. We will use the riding mowers occasionally when pressed for time, short on staff or when mowing on Saturdays due to the crossover. The change has led to a noticeable improvement on these playing surfaces.
- We will be aerating the new tees on 10, 13 and 18 to remove excess thatch that is inherent in these year old sodded areas.
- The afternoon cut (or roll) on greens will begin next week. That will be the main topic of the next blog posting as it requires some explanation as to the why and when.
- As mentioned in past blogs the fairways will see increased cultural work to improve their playing characteristics. Next week will see the first of several light sand topdressings followed by a solid tine aeration. The size of aeration hole will be smaller than the size we see in September and the sand will settle into the turf canopy quickly. Our goal as stated in the past is to extend the comprehensive cultural practices we use on greens and tees to the fairways as well. Over time the fairways will become firmer and drain more efficiently. I'm not sure how long it will take but we own 2 large area top dressers so maybe 2 or 3 days. Impact on play will be minimal.
- Greens and tees will be top dressed mid week. Approaches were topdressed this past Wednesday. Did you notice?
- The striping push mower we purchased has arrived and we will be mowing the driving range target greens. By "burning in" the cut on the target greens it's hoped they stand out in relation to the rest of the range.
- Continued planting at the numerous beds throughout the course. Maureen and Val have finally caught up and the course perennials are glowing right now. Great job ladies!!
- I'm sure I've missed something. If you as members have questions or concerns feel free to email me or call my cell. That information is available through various sources at the Club.
All for now,
Wade
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