They nailed it!

There have got to be a dozen or more captions we could come up with for the picture below, but you can use your own imagination.

If you guessed that this is a group of frat boys in a kiddie car race, you need to try again.  In reality, this is how the lines are installed on the har-tru courts each spring.

The lines are nailed down, and given the thousands of nails required, this job would be a real back-breaker if you were hunched over, hammering all day.

It may not seem like this has much to do with turf.  However, when working on the golf course, we are often facing unique situations, which require a little outside of the box thinking.  It's good to see that we're not the only ones!

No Vacancy

What do snakes, spiders, ants, mice, and wasps have in common?  Unfortunately, all of these creatures seem to think that an irrigation controller makes a wonderful house.

With the front cover removed, you can see how this might be an appealing abode for some.

While it may be a great place for them to try and put down roots, they all have the potential to damage these computers.  Therefore, there are a number of deterrents people use to keep them pest free. 

With all of the wires entering the controllers from below, sealing the conduits with spray foam, or stuffing steel wool may discourage rodents and reptiles.  For the insects, we use something different--cow insecticide tags.

Since these are designed to be worn by cows, they are far from some heavy duty super killer.  But left in the enclosed controller, they are enough to keep us critter free.

The tag is hung with a zip tie, and we are good to go.

Installing these strips in our 29 irrigation controllers is a quick and inexpensive way to protect them from damage.  We hope all prospective occupants will quickly consider them to be a "Keep Out" sign.

Stay thirsty my friends

With all of the "beautiful spring weather" we've been experiencing lately, the newest amenity on the golf course couldn't come at a better time.  Okay, with 26 days of below average temperatures in March, and a slow start to April, you're definitely not seeing anything close to this when you look out the window:

However, we are fairly confident that there will eventually be four seasons in 2018, and at some point the temperature will rise.  This year, we have installed three new cooler chests on the golf course, which will be stocked with bottled water.  They are located at #2/12 tee, #8/15, and #14 tee.

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The way this year has started, chests filled with hot cocoa might have been more appropriate, but whenever the mercury finally does head north, we will be ready for you.

Goodbye, miserable March!

After a warm, but very wet February, March came in like a lion, and left like a Tyrannosaurus Rex--with more snow forecast for the beginning of April.  The term "nor'easter" was heard way too often, and we cut more grass in February than March.

As you can see below, we had 26 "red days" in March, which indicate below average daily high temperatures.  Combine that with the many days we were closed due to snow cover, along with another month of above average precipitation, and you end up with not a whole lot of good golfing weather.

While we are used to weather anomalies leading to a few days of unusually hot or cold weather, having entire months flip flop is pretty bizarre.  A remote sensor in #9 fairway shows that soil temperatures were higher throughout most of February than in March.

Is all of this weather chaos a big deal?  Well, a good bit of weed, disease, and insect activity can be correlated to soil temperatures, and growing degree days (basically, heat accumulation).  During the first 28 days of March, our growing degree count was closer to January than February.

When we accumulate more growing degree days in February than in March it has the potential to throw some of these pest prediction models out of whack.  Fortunately, in addition to growing degree days, we use multiple other sources of information to help us know what to expect and when. 

Some are predicting that the way things will even out this year, is with a nice long, hot, dry summer.  Oh joy!