NICE VIEW



     






Here are some recent photos of the course, including the new tee sod on #6 and #7. I have also included a nice article from the USGA on how to use the practice tee and help preserve our turf.

Practice Like A Pro

By Ty McClellan, agronomist, Mid-Continent Region
July 13, 2011

Randomly scattered divots (on the left) remove up to 50% more turf than practicing in a linear pattern (on the right) where each new shot is placed directly behind the previous divot.

Late July is usually the time when there is a lack of turf coverage on practice range tees established with cool-season turfgrasses, such as creeping bentgrass or Kentucky bluegrass.  Heavy play removes divots faster than the turf can recover, and hot, dry summer conditions leave little opportunity for seedling establishment or regenerative growth of surrounding turf.  Poor turf coverage that comes in mid-summer generally indicates that the practice tee is simply undersized for the amount of play received, i.e. there is not enough time for turf to recover before tee stalls are returned to previous locations.  It also indicates that tee stall rotations need to be reviewed for efficiency and that synthetic turf options should be considered at the rear of the tee to provide the additional time needed for turf recovery.

With the exception of an efficient tee stall rotation, enlarging the tee(s) and adding synthetic turf are improvements typically left for the off-season when time and funds become available.  So, until then, what can be done?  The solution resides with golfers.  Since randomly scattering divots can quickly destroy a practice range tee, the better approach is to shrink one’s divots by removing them in a pattern just like the professionals.  More specifically, this includes placing each shot directly behind the previous divot.  This can easily be repeated for up to 10 shots resulting in much less turf being removed.

Let’s take a look at a practical example that was provided by Golf Course Superintendent Chris Pekarek at The Village Links of Glen Ellyn in Illinois.  Mr. Pekarek estimates more than 2 million shots are taken annually from the 1.25-acre Kentucky bluegrass practice tee and that 1.5 million of the shots result in turf removal.  Although divots come in all sizes, the average iron shot is believed to remove a divot 3 inches wide by 6.5 inches long for a total of 19.5 square inches.  After just 30 shots, or a small bucket of balls, 4.1 square feet of turf are removed, given a typical practice routine (30 shots x 19.5 in² = 585 in² / 144 in² = 4.1 ft²).  Therefore, after an entire season, 205,000 square feet of divots are removed from the tee. That's more than 4.6 acres of turf from their 1.25-acre surface.

If instead each shot is played directly behind the previous divot, subsequent divots are reduced to an average size of 3 inches wide by 3 inches long, or 9 square inches.  After 30 shots, this pattern removes only 2.1 square feet of turf. (As the first divot removes 19.5 square inches and the subsequent 9 divots remove 9 square inches each for a total of 81 square inches, a total of 100.5 square inches is removed for every 10 shots, which is typical for this linear pattern.  For 30 shots or a small bucket of balls, 3 x 100.5 = 301.5 in² / 144 in² = 2.1ft² are removed.)  If everyone adopted this method, the annual number of divots removed would be reduced from 205,000 square feet to just 105,000 square feet.  That’s nearly a 50% reduction in the amount of turf removed.

Implementing this simple divot pattern into your practice regime has significant season-long implications at your facility.  So, rather than voice a complaint about the turf during oppressive conditions in July and August, do the turf a favor and practice like a pro!

                                                              

#17 drainage project

Here are some photos of our recent drainage project on #17 fwy, to pick up a lot of runoff from the slope, including the Avocado grove behind #17. The drainage was inadequate and the pipe that was there was full of tree roots from the pine tree at the back of #18 tee.

New Tees on 6 & 7

Some photos of our new red tee on #6 and our progress on #7. We may turn the tee on #7 into 2 seperate pads, eliminating a small area between the white and red tees and having 2 oval tee areas. Let us know what you think through your greens committee representative.

WR Greens aerification

This year's punch went very well and the timing was great, with the greens very healthy. Our recovery should be swift. I have included a picture of #11 green the day after aerification/verticut/topdress and fertilization. I will post one again next week so we can see the progress. There are a couple of other pictures to highlight the great course conditions at WR.
I have also included a picture of our walk path renovation. Along with recycling sod from our tee renovation, we utilized the aerification plugs from the greens to cover the walk paths to #17. Next month, we will sod in walk paths on #6 and #7 from the new red tee on #6 and the tee on #7

WR NEW STUFF

Here are some pics of 2 projects completed this week. Patrick's awesome work on the walk bridge on #2, will be repeated at the blue tee in the weeks that follow next week's greens aerification. Great Job.

#2 Walk Bridge between fairways

We completed the first of our red tee renovations on #14, 15 and 17. All tees were enlarged and sodded with Tifway 419 bermudagrass. Great job Patrick, Chepe, Maynor and Ruben. They should be in play in 2 weeks. In the meantime, enjoy our proposed additional forward tees.



#14 Red



#17 Red



#15 Red



 

My trip to DC on National Golf Day

Below are a couple of news items from my recent trip to Washington D.C. I was part of the GCSAA's (golf course superintendent's association of America) Government Relations Committee that took part in the National Golf Day. I had the opportunity to spend time with the Senior Legislative Assistants in the offices of Senator's Boxer and Feinstein and Representative Gallegly, in an effort to educate them on the important role that golf courses play in many local economies. Enjoy.

GCSAA represents in Washington on National Golf Day

Golf is so much more than a game - it's an industry that contributes billions each year to local, state and national economics, and employs more than 2 million people nationwide. This is the story that was told on Capitol Hill on April 13, National Golf Day, by members of GCSAA's Board of Directors, Government Relations Committee and staff, as well as allied golf organizations CMAA, NGCOA and the PGA of America. For the initiative, which is part of the We Are Golf coalition, GCSAA educated lawmakers about the U.S. golf industry's economic, environmental and social contributions.

GCSAA's storyteller

As part of the GCSAA delegation, President Robert M. Randquist, CGCS; CEO Rhett Evans; and Jay Goughnour, Class A GCSAA member, joined other association leaders to represent the industry in meetings with Democratic and Republican leadership, the Congressional Golf Task Force as well as the Congressional Black Caucus, and shared quantifiable data that demonstrates the economic contributions golf makes.

In 2008, Goughnour bought Raccoon Valley Golf Course in his hometown of Jefferson, Iowa. He would continue to serve as the golf course superintendent, while his wife, Nikki, tended to the pro shop and office. But just months after purchasing the golf facility, Mother Nature unleashed her fury as water overflowed the banks of the adjacent Raccoon Creek. The Goughners would close their course for more than a month, losing $40,000 in revenue during the height of the golf season (accounting for just under 25 percent of annual revenues). Furthermore, the couple took out a loan for $60,000 to repair the damage.

Working diligently – while taking second jobs to cover the bills – the Goughnours slowly returned the course back to where it was with the intent on improving it. “It is the American dream to be a business owner,” Jay Goughnour said. "Then, through no fault of your own, it gets wiped away by a freak of nature. We are working hard to restore what we had and improve upon it. It would have been nice to be on the same footing as other small businesses to be eligible for government aid."

Also representing GCSAA at National Golf Day events were: Vice President Sandy G. Queen, CGCS; Past President James R. Fitzroy, CGCS; Directors Rafael Barajas, CGCS, and Peter J. Grass, CGCS; and members of the GCSAA Government Relations Committee (Patrick Finlen, CGCS, chairman; John O’Keefe, CGCS, vice chairman; Charles Wolsborn; Robert Ehrler, CGCS; David Coote; Robert Raley; Mark F. Jordan, CGCS; Joseph McCleary, CGCS; John Ekstrom; and Robert Nielsen, Jr., CGCS). Carrie Riordan, GCSAA’s senior director of member programs; Chava McKeel, GCSAA's senior manager of information and public policy; and Jeff Bollig, GCSAA’s senior director of communications.

A nonstop agenda
Additional NGD activities included a First Tee Congressional Breakfast featuring First Tee scholars, Jim Nantz, and representatives of allied golf. Additionally, We Are Golf's initiative was presented to members of Congress, their staffs and the media with a live session featuring PGA teaching pro Jim Estes and Ramon Padilla of the Salute Military Golf Association. GCSAA Class A members Teddy Blauvelt and Jon Lobenstine also participated in a display for members of Congress and their staffs of how golf courses are compatible with the environment.

The government relations committee held its annual meeting while in Washington, addressing a briefing on priority issues; as well as updates on GCSAA public policy concerning general permits for pesticide applications, H-2B rules, ADA accessibility guidelines, Endangered Species Act litigation and more. Members also discussed coordination strategies with chapter government relations committees and local resources regarding pesticide and fertilizer advocacy efforts. Michael O’Brien from Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment (RISE) provided members with an update on RISE’s consumer outreach campaign, Debug the Myth.

The We Are Golf coalition retained the Podesta Group, a Washington, D.C.-based government and public affairs firm, to coordinate the initiative’s unprecedented legislative efforts concerning small business, labor, tax and environmental goals. Its objective is to assist the coalition in getting the golf industry a seat at the table when important and relevant legislation is being developed. Visit We Are Golf.org for more information on the coalition and its strategic progress.

Thanks for your effort and a reminder on WR Cart traffic

I am revisiting an older post from 2010 as a refresher for our cart users. Generally, the cart usage has been good and I appreciate the compliance with our gate system and the replacing of downed rope. These 2 videos are designed to inspire us all to use our carts in a manner that causes as little disruption to the playing surfaces as possible. The carts should proceed directly to the fairway and stay in the fairway until they exit at the exit stakes. The second set of stakes at the entry point are to be driven through as we make our way directly to the fairway. Keeping the carts in the fairwway will require more walking, however this is a good thing as our bodies will be in better shape to hit the shot. There will be a substantial amount of rope placed on the course at our traditional wear areas. These are areas that we will be seeding in 2011 with bermudagrass as we attempt to improve the year round playing conditions at WR.
Please remember that we all can help in preserving the playing conditions and controlling traffic is one of the most effective programs.
The events portrayed in these videos are real. Only the actual people have been changed. Thanks to Patrick and Sergio for helping out.