Wednesday, June 15, 2011

13 Fan

The trees around 13 have grown to create a perfect barrier to the pool so golf balls cannot make their way in. This same barrier has created a lack of air movement that is essential for the turf on the green to flourish. Since tree removal is not an option, we did the next best thing -ordered a fan. This particular model is the most efficient, moving air over 150' and well equipped with a quiet oscillating motion. Hopefully you don't even notice it, but if you do, this tool is serving a great purpose.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Temperatures to jump at

The weather has been perfect to grow healthy turf and these last few nights have really allowed us to be aggressive with our practices. Yesterday we groomed the greens and cut them twice. The groomer helps us eliminate some of the grain in the playing surfaces and stands the turf upright, allowing the mowers to get a good clean cut.

This morning we brought out the brush which our mechanic, Michael created last year using the old bunker rake. It is a very aggressive machine and the temperatures and plant health have to be perfect or it can do some damage. We brushed all of the greens and had 4 mowers cutting the upright turf behind him.

We followed the cut by spreading 5 tons of sand over the top and brushing that in as well. This brushing process stood up more turf and with the cool temperatures lingering around all morning we decided to cut again.

Instead of trashing our good greens mowers, we used a triplex to make the final cut through sand. We left the baskets off to redistribute any of the sand the mower picked up.

All in all, a very busy and successful morning that will have a tremendous impact on the weeks to come. This is what makes my career so enjoyable. You sweat through temperatures and water until the sun goes down and the next week you are switching gears and beating up the turf to give the best playing conditions possible. All while making sure you are prepped for the next hot stretch so you can do it all over again.