Been a While

As you can tell it has been a while since I have posted.  The season has picked up and I am getting very busy.  We have done many projects and we are getting a lot done.  I have also added the twitter updates onto the blog to keep people more informed on how we are doing on the course.  I will get a couple more posts up soon.  I have plenty of pictures of our projects and can't wait to share them.  Through the summer months it will be hard to have any kind of consistency but bear with me.

Thanks 

Justin

Green Committee Meeting

Saturday the 4th of April we had our monthly Green Committee Meeting.  We get together each month and talk about course conditions.  We address issues on the course that need attention or explain how we are managing certain areas of the course.

I write a report for the committee each month explaining what we have accomplished, what we are working on, and what is coming up on the schedule of things that need to be done.  It has been a successful outline for many years for me at each committee meeting I have been part of.

Here is our last meeting outline that i have created.

Green Committee Meeting

Presented to The Rim Green Committee

By

Certified Golf Course Superintendent

    Justin C. Ruiz, CGCS

April 04, 2009

 

Course Condition:

 

The Course is now greening up for the Spring.  Only the North facing slopes are slow to green up.

 

Projects Completed:

 

-                     Mulch on all walk-ups

-                     Lightning repair

-                     #13 bunker irrigation

-                     Painted tee markers

-                     Drainage #9

-                     Fairway aerification

-                     Cutworm control

-                     Light trap installation

 

Projects in Process:

 

-                     Tee aerification

-                     Pig damage repair

-                     Portable usage

-                     Creek Maintenance

-                     Drain leveling

 

Projects Planned:

 

-                     Greens aerification

-                     Dead tree removal #2, #7

-                     Wall to wall fertilizer application

 

Staff Update:

 

-                     New intern form Walla Walla, Washington, Andrew Fortin

-                     Joe Trombino, Assistant Superintendent received Top Assistant in Golfdom Magazine.

-                     New Orleans presentation

Fairway Aerification

This last week we aerified the fairways and approaches.  We used 5/8" O.D.tines and backfilled with mortar sand.  Last year we budgeted for USGA spec sand, but after doing some thinking I sent a sample of mortar sand to Hummel for testing and comparison of our soils.  The test came back positive and we were able to save over 7 dollars a ton.  When it takes about 1000 ton to complete the fairways it becomes a heafty savings. 

Our fairways have no soil whatsoever.  We have 2-3 inches of thatch and then decomposed granite.  Since no aerification practices were kept up over the past 10 years since the courses conception the fairways have just gotten worse.  With no cultivation practices in place it was a chore to get anything more than two inches in depth.  This year we moved it to two and a half inches but had several problems with the aerifiers breaking down.

When I first arrived on the property the fairways were so wet since all the turf was grown in the top 2".  The average drive would plug in the thatch layer and the main complaint was why can we never get roll.  The members would say they couldn't wait until winter when the course freezes to get better roll.  Heartbreaking comments when your passion is golf course management. 

With the aerification process now in place we are getting much better roll.  Our goal is to enhance the soil enough to get roots to go beyond the thatch layer.  The course has never been in better shape since the grow-in of the club.  Back when they had no thatch problem on the entire course. Now times have changed and we are trying to rescue a course from years of neglect.  It is pretty nice to know that you can make a difference just by following the basics of turf management.

Back to our operation on the fairways.  We aerified the fairways, intermediate cut and approaches.  We used two tractor aerifiers to punch holes and three vacuums to clean up the plugs left behind.  While the vacuums cleaned the fairway I had a blower crew following them to do the final touches before we spread the sand.  We used two Dakota topdressers towed behind tractors to spread about 2 tenths of an inch of sand over the surface and then dragged it into the holes.  No fertilizer was applied before aerification, but 3/4 N/M will be applied this next week

 over the entire course.

Once we dragged the fairways with the steel drag mat we needed to follow up with a tractor blower to take care of missed plugs and any heavy areas that were difficult to drag in.  The course aerification has turned out to be very successful despite the amount of breakdowns we had throughout the process.  Last year was our first go at the process and it took us two weeks with many breakdowns and in-adequate vacuums.  This year we rented a vacuum and got it done in four days.

I think we all know the importance of aerification and this is the first membership that can't wait for us to aerify the fairways.  They understand the fatal mistake of not being consistent in the past and they now have to pay for it with below average playing conditions form the abundance of thatch.  

Drainage Project #9

We were able to get the drainage installed on #9 fairway.  Last year we had some issues with heavy Monsoon rain.  The water collected in certain areas for over a week while the temperatures rose to 95 degrees.  The areas suffered turfloss because of the water heating up and basically cooking the grass in those areas.  

When I moved to Arizona from Oregon I noticed that there was a shift from trying to remove water from the course to managing the water applied to the course.  In Oregon we had elaborate drainage systems for every low area and could never add enough drainage each winter.  Once I arrived to Arizona I had to be analytical about the central control and how the water was applied to the course.  Having little rain all year the importance resides on the irrigation system.  When I finally came to the mountains in Payson to manage The Rim Golf Club I feel much more comfortable with the property since it is the closest to an Oregon climate.  The irrigation

 systems is still #1 priority, but we also must get water off the course from the monsoon season.

The Drainage we installed on #9 fairway is directly related to the damage we received last year from the standing water.  We sodded these areas last year soon after we had the problems.  Now with the down time of the cooler weather we were able to install some drainage in the previously sodded areas.

I have posted some pictures to show our process.  We first painted out the areas that we needed to trench.  Then we took a sod cutter and stripped away the sod for later replacement.  The trencher dug an 18-20 inch deep trench 51/2 inches wide.  We cleaned all the DG out and away from the trench and backfilled the trench with pea gravel 2".  We then layed a 4" perforated pipe in the trench and backfilled with pea gravel,  making a gravel envelope aroung the pipe about two inches above the pipe.  Then we layed out the bunker liner material in the trench to ensure drainage without contamination from the above sand.  The we leveled the trench with our old fairway plugs from last year that we composted.  I feel that we may have made a mistake back filling with the plugs because it was all basically thatch.  When we were trying to pack the plugs down we watered them and it was like a sponge.  I will keep everyone posted on this outcome since we may need to redo these after a short while.  After leveling the trench we put the sod back and cleaned the area.

The things that I have learned from this process was that drainage is still a simple process. Coming from Oregon I know that we never really over did the process.  Drainage is not rocket science and overthinking the process can become detrimental.  Since moving water from point A to point B with a grade of around 1% or more is half the battle. The second part is how you backfill the trench.  We have all read the books from Beard on The Best Management Practices and the book may be a 500 page book but it is full of common sense.  Keeping things simple is key to labor savings and functionality.   I am hoping when the monsoons come the drainage will do its job but until then I will remain skeptical. 

   

Cutworm Activity

We have had an interesting last two weeks with cutworm activity.  We began catching young cutworms in our pitfall traps the weekend before last.  We sprayed shortly after the positive ID.  We sprayed Tees, a ring around the greens and hot spots on south facing slopes in the rough.  The next day we had unbelievable control.  We had cutworms from all instar stages throughout the areas we sprayed from super tiny to decent in size.  We thought we were in the clear after our application last week.

This week we were still talking about the amazing control that we had.  We we

re fired up about the timing we had.  Then we started to notice some cutworms on the p

utting green.  We started to check all the greens.  Only a few greens were positve for cutworms.  I think our mistake was that i had our spray tech. spray a ring around the greens near the native and not next to the green.  The areas that are affected are near the edge of the greens.  These guys are super tiny but nonetheless are causing damage.

Yesterday the wind was too great for an application at night which I like to do since cutworms are nocturnal.  The spring here has wind each afternoon so we are going to have to spray this morning.  We are using a product with little odor so the members should not be bothered.  I am hoping a morning application will get good control later in the evening.

Yesterday we also added to our IPM program toolbox.  We added a black light trap.  This will help us monitor the peak flight of cutworm adults and Masked 

Chafer adults.  Both of these insects have been a problem in the past and we are still nursing thin areas from late damage from white grubs last year. 

 I am hoping this light trap will alert us early and we can provide the best control methods possible.

I will let you know how the application goes today.  We are getting our chemical delivered th

is morning for our morning application.  

Greens Mowing Training

Another Monday and another training session for the crew.  I am trying to push good habits for this upcoming season.  I have committed myself to having a training session each Monday since the course is closed.  Last week we explained bunker raking.  I have learned over the years of being a superintendent that you can never explain things enough.  Repitition is key.

The greens mowing training was a success.  I explained the proper way to transport the mowers.

  This is important since the walk mowers we use are expensive and precise.  A mower flopping around in the back of a trailer can not only damag

e the equipment but can also ruin the adjustment and compromise the hieght of cut.

The next procedures we went through is the process before we begin the mowing practice.  I asked the crew to stop the mower at the edge of the green and first walk the green to check for ball marks, Hi-Lo plugs and to also remove the flagstick from the hole.  We have had problems with the flagstick getting clipped from the greens mower because the employee would try to grab the flagstick as they were going by with the mower.  The edge of the mower catch the flagstick and shreds the fiberglass.

The last procedure I explained to our crew was the turning of the mower.  While the bunkers are close to the greens edge and we can't prevent turning on the collar, we can prevent turning on the collar on the rest of the green.  Turning just outside the collar in the rough is ideal for wear during the heat of the summer and when we are topdressing green.  The roller on the mower grinds away at the low cut grass.

The crew responded well to the training seminar and i think we are going to start out the season on the right foot.  Each job on the course is very important to add to our overall quality.  If everyone pitches in to make this course better we can accomplish a lot.

Top 100 Rankings

Hot off the press!  

The Rim Golf Club rankings have been updated by Golfweek.  Yesterday the rankings became official and we have moved up the list for the first time since 2002.  We definitely have had struggles over the past few years.  Last year was the first year we were able to use our newly developed Integrated Plant Management Program.  

Joe Trombino and I have worked hard over the past year to re-organized the way The Rim has been managed.  Even with the economy in shambles the course will still thrive only because of the maintence program in place.  Soon to come is a newly created Best Management Practice program for water conservation/use efficiancy.  This will help us target any in-efficiancies we may have in our water usage program and begin to save more water then we already have. 

Our plan is to give our membership the Top 50 course they deserve.  We have worked hard over the past two and half years I have been here to create the best management plan possible.  I think this is the first year that we are starting to see the fruits of our labor.  Last year was the firt year the course made it through the summer without devastating turf loss to disease and insects in a few years.  Next year will not be any diferent.

Here is the link for you guys to look at the rankings for this year.

http://top100.golfweek.com/GolfweeksBest/article.asp?ID=126

Training Days

The season at The Rim Golf Club is officially underway. We have begun a training program to ensure quality on the course. In the past it has been tough trying to get a handle on all the turnover through the summer months with seasonal employees that seem to not care about the work but more about the check. The training program will be done every Monday throughout the season to train our staff on the proper procedure of maintenance. Since we are closed on Monday this gives us ample time to thouroughly discuss a topic with hands on training.

Our first topic this year was the Bunker Maintenance training. We touched on many aspects of bunker maintenance. We also explained to our employees that these areas are the most labor intensive areas on the course. Even more so than greens. We use between three to four guys in the bunkers for five hours each morning hand raking the 75 bunkers on the course. We also have bunker on our range that need some maintenance through the season.

We rake the bunkers with sring leaf rakes. We drag the rake behind as we walk through the bunker trying to produce the straightest lines possible. We leave a gap fro

m the edge all the way around the bunker as to not pull sand from the edges and expose the liner underneath. Then we finish with the ring around the edges evenly spaced from the edge of the bunker. The employees are asked to take a look before leaving the bunker to make sure the bunker is smooth.

The training was signed off from each employee ensuring that they und

erstood that if the job was not completed the way that it was explained they would be written up. We have a three strike policy and if you can't figure out your job within three tries then

we have to let you go. It is a fair

process.

Overall the training will help us better serve our membership. We want only the best playing conditions for our members.

Justin C. Ruiz, CGCS