Got your sunscreen....on the turf (turfscreen)

Yes, that is right, we sprayed the greens with sunscreen this week.  A new product came out last year that has the turf industry talking.

As the story goes, a golf course superintendent was putting sunscreen on himself while standing on a green and he spilled some.  That spot on the green was healthier, greener, and stood up to more heat stress during the next week.  So sunscreen has been manufactured in a jug now with a small amount of green pigment.  The sunscreen and pigment is being called turfscreen, and university research trials has shown the applied turf areas to hold up to intense sun and hi temperatures than non-treated areas.  It also has been proven that with the pigment the surface temperature of the treated turf is 5 degrees cooler than non treated turf right next to it.  Last summer I did a couple test areas on greens and when we were really dry and intense sun with temperatures around 105, that turf was healthy, required less water, and did stand up to the heat better.  The issue with the turf screen is the same as sunscreen, you must re-apply.  As we mow the greens daily we are also mowing off the sunscreen.  We will continue to analyze it and see if it is something advantageous to add our to agronomic plan at LGCC.

Here you can see the front right portion on the green is less greens color, no turfscreen applied

Same area - middle right with no turfscreen

Greens Spiking / Venting

It is that time of year again, when the temperature starts rising, greens are getting drier, firmer, faster, and we are putting more stress on our turf.  Like the last couple years, I will be spiking the greens June 1, July 1, and Aug 1.  These are very small needle tines, 1/4" diameter by 4" in length.  We put these small holes in the greens to allow oxygen to get down into the root system, allow water to infiltrate through the surface and turf canopy, allow carbon dioxide and other toxic gases to escape from our root system, and in general just open up the green surface to create a healthier plant.

After the spiking, we roll the entire the green and even though the holes are visible they do not effect the ball roll.  After the holes are not open and visible at the surface, there still will be small channels down through the matt layer and into the rootzone.

BJ

As most of you guys see me out on the golf course, I always have my trusty side kick with me.  My dog BJ.  Some people think she is running the show, but just like everybody else, she does have her responsibilities too.  She is responsible for keeping the geese of the golf course, or atleast in the ponds and off the turf.  She is also in charge of squirrel observation, rock chuck population control, and water testing.

 She is an 8 year old yellow lab that has been with me now for 7 years.  I got her out of the pound in Denver CO, and she has been with me on the golf course everyday since then.  Every morning at 4:30 AM she waits patiently by the front door, and as we approach the golf course she cant sit still in the back seat of my truck.  She is ready to ride shotgun every morning when I leave the shop to tour the golf course.  Her favorite thing might be receiving treats from members, as now there is a large handful of individuals that carry dog snacks in their golf bag.  It is interesting as she knows every one of those members and she will spot them from 100 yards away, run up and sit by their golf bag and just wait till they find a snack to give her.

She is always studying the health of our turf with me, assisting in training staff, and loves her time running the golf course as the sun is rising every morning.

She is super friendly and very approachable for anybody that would like to walk up to her.  She does have the characteristic lab smile, where she raises her up lip every time you approach her.  Some people get scarred thinking she is snarling at them, or showing her teeth, but that is just her way (most labs do it) of saying she likes you and hello with a smile.

  

Great Staff - Thank you

I want to take a minute and say thank you to my great staff.  As of mid May, we are now fully staffed with a total of 15 employees.  8 of these employees are full time, 2 are weekends only, and 5 are part time ranging from 20-30 hours a week mostly in the mornings.  Over half of these guys have been with the Country Club for several  years, a couple 8 years, 6 years, and several 3 years.  This time of the year is always very busy as we are training the new staff, and these returning guys are really the ones that hold everything together in these busy times.  I will say this current staff is outstanding and these guys really do make me look good.  I may be the one that comes up with the plan, but they are the ones carrying out the plan 7 days a week at 5AM, in the 105 degree heat.  I tell them everyday how much I appreciate them as they keep up with my high expectations, hectic pace, and tasks and challenges that I keep throwing at them.

As you pass these guys on the golf course, please tell them thank you and how much you appreciate the outstanding job they do day after day.

Great job Guys!!!

Patio Project

Over the past14 months we have been working on an expansion to the clubhouse patio.  Phase 1 is now almost complete and things are really looking good.  Thank you to all the members that speer headed this project, the donations and labor that have been involved, and support of the membership.

Take a picture tour here of what we had before and how we have gotten to where we are today.

This phase involved three tiers of seating, a 2 step waterfall coming off the right side and incorporated into the seating on the middle level. The lowest section has a pavestone walkway with grass around it and a future location for a scoreboard and bar area.  Out in front is a new grass driving range tee, and off to the side (out of picture) is a new chipping green practice bunker, and chipping green approach.

Pig Roast

For this past weekends event we did a pig roast in the ground.  This was the first time we had tried something like this, and it was a team effort between our Food and beverage staff and our Maintenance staff.

First the "pit" was dug about 4 ft deep and filled with scrap metal

 Then rocks were layered over the metal.

Then charcoal, mesquite briquettes, and a fire to top it off 

The fire burned for about 3 hours and heated up all the metal and rocks, which would then hold the heat in for the next 36 hours while the pig cooked. 

36 hours before meal time the hot coals were spread out and the pig was prepped.  This meant we were having the fire in the middle of the night and putting the pig in the hole at 4 AM.

On top of all the hot coals we placed  "trimmings", which included banana leaves and grass clippings.  You can see the heat of the coals below and the steam being created that will "roast" the pig.  The pig was wrapped in chicken wire, placed on top of a cedar board with handles and straps to pick it up after it was cooked.

More grass clipping and banana leaves on top. 

Then a canvas tarp over the trimmings and bury it all in soil to keep the heat and steam in for the next 36 hours. 

 36 hours later uncover the pig and start the feast.

 Hot rocks were also placed inside the pig to add more heat. 

LT Classic Tournament

This past weekend we hosted a three day tournament, The Land Title Classic.  I first have to say thank you and congratulations to the amazing job that our maintenance staff did.  If it wasn't for them we would of not been able to deliver the great golf course that we did.

A lot of things fell into place agronomically and we were able to produce a very high level of playing conditions with greens that were rolling around 13 ft all 3 days.  Mother nature helped us out with a little cooler weather and 0.4" of rain on Wednesday before the tournament.  Always a superintendents dream!  We were able to turn off irrigation as of last Tuesday and only handwater areas that really needed it for 6 straight days, greens were topdressed 5 days before the tournament, which always seems to be produce the smoothest and best putting greens.  Fertilizer was running out on the greens keeping them very lien, and like usual the height of cut was way down there.  All spring we have been gradually lowering the height of cut on tees, fairways and approaches, forcing them to increase density and allowing the ball to sit up on top of the turf canopy.  The week prior led to an extensive amount of detail work, course prep, and tournament set-up.  Then over the weekend the staff worked from 5 AM to about 9 AM each morning with mowing approaches, greens, rolling greens, raking bunkers, and several aspects of course set-up each morning.  Followed by an evening shift from 4 PM to dark consisting of mowing tees, approaches, rough, filling divots, and handwatering.  The staff really worked hard and took pride in the product they were able to deliver for the event and the pristine playing conditions they produced.

The comments from all out of town players was great to hear.  They couldn't believe the speed of the greens, the smoothness, and the trueness. It is a great feeling when you plan out all your agronomic strategies and work backwards from the event and then things fall into place.  There are so many factors that influence the putting quality of a green, like the height of cut, fertility level, moisture content, sand topdressing, grooming, and rolling.  Getting all of these factors to come out just right is such a good feeling to produce the playing conditions that we did.

Hole #4 

Hole #10

 Hole #11

 Hole #14

Hole #13 

Hole #17