No frittering during frost

We all know how annoying frost delays can be to golfers, however you might not consider that they have the potential to be equally frustrating to the Grounds staff.  The team is eager to get out and get the course prepped for the day.  So what do we do when contending with frost?  

In an effort to make good use of the time, we have a number of "frost jobs" always lined up for these cold mornings.  As an example, there are several bunkers we can get to via cart path without concern for leaving tracks through the turf.  We often send a handful of guys out to get them raked, which will help speed up the bunker process once the frost has lifted, and prevent the staff from getting caught by play.  

Of course, this is also the time of year when we are dealing with leaves raining down around the clubhouse.  Getting this task addressed and checked off the list early will free up a team member to help on the course, as soon as we are able to safely get out there.

Frost also provides an opportunity to do housekeeping around the maintenance facility, and put together some loads of divot mix.

So whether it's pond bank pruning, cart path edging, or cleaning, suffice it to say that we definitely aren't sitting around twiddling our thumbs while waiting for the Sun to rise.

Frost Delays

This time of year, we often have to delay the first tee times of the day due to frost.  This brief video from the USGA explains why we must avoid both walking and driving on frosted turf:

USGA Frost Delays

While the video discusses the potential for damage to the short grass, even at rough height, cart traffic can severely injure the grass:

As always, our goal is to provide the best playing conditions for you.  Protecting the health of the turf is obviously important in achieving this, and your patience is appreciated.

Hardly a drought buster...

If you can remember back to the weekend of October 11 and 12, we were dealing with a tropical storm off the coast, whose impact lasted through Tuesday.  While this may have led to four straight "bad hair" days, the total precipitation of 0.28" from this event was underwhelming, and did little to help our current rain deficit.

This is becoming an eerily familiar and spooky fall weather pattern, after we recorded a record-setting 0.00" of rainfall in October, 2024.  This year, through October 20, we are doing just slightly better with a total of 0.65" for the month.

A look at the low water level on #7 tells a tale.  Fortunately, this is a time of year when we aren't losing nearly as much moisture as during the heat of the summer.  However, this definitely isn't enough precipitation to jump start any thin areas and help them to recover.

Banishing "Bird Baths"

Standing water on a green isn't good for playability or turf health.  In theory, if the water is able to freely flow off, we should never have bird baths on a putting surface.  However, over time a combination of bunker sand, topdressing sand, and organic matter accumulates on the perimeters of greens, which can act like a dam.  

In order to address this, we need to do some targeted aerification on the small areas which are preventing the water from leaving the green.

This clearly isn't a one and done procedure, but takes an on-going effort to prevent these areas from getting worse.  And in some extreme cases we will break out the sod cutter and shave these spots down slightly to alleviate the issue.

So if you happen upon some holes in the collars and surrounds, you now know why they are there.

Why mats?

With damp, dreary conditions last Thursday, we chose to move the practice tee hitting from grass to the mats for the day.  If some question whether this was necessary or not--and one person clearly did--a quick look at this picture may explain why we made the call:

We had aerified and overseeded the tees on Monday, and as you can see, whoever opted not to stay on the mats, caused as much damage from their feet as they did with their club.  

While we may not always get things right, there is generally a sound basis for the decisions the Pro Shop and Grounds staff make when it comes to protecting the golf course.

Reducing the Risk

Most everyone who has worked on a golf course for any length of time has had to deal with a dreaded four letter word:  Leak.  

While irrigation leaks aren't any fun, the other kind of leak--hydraulic--can cause long-lasting problems.  In an effort to minimize the risk of turf loss due to hydraulic leaks on the putting surfaces, we recently acquired a hybrid riding greensmower.  (This was another mower we had ordered in 2023.)

Unlike a traditional triplex mower (which uses hydraulics for steering, driving wheel motors, raising and lowering the cutting units, as well as turning the reels) the new machine has no hydraulics at all.  Is this mower 100% risk free?  No, it does have a small gasoline engine to power the generator.  Of course, so do the walking handmowers we use, and they are considered to be very low risk machines.   

As to the price of this machine, there's an old saying, "Whatever you think it costs, add a zero if it's built for golf."  So, yes, you could drive this nice looking mower, or you could drive a very well-appointed Audi A6 for the same price.

A good start to the week!

Just when we thought it might be 2026 (Knocking Down Nasty Natives, and Head-Scratching Supply Chain Issues) before we received the equipment ordered back in 2023, we were greeted by a truck carrying our two long-awaited mowers. 

Yes, 27 months to the day after ordering them, they finally arrived.  While neither of these are used for mowing the Native areas, they will help to free up our Ventrac for that job, as we will once again have a dedicated machine for trimming tee and green surrounds.