April 17, 2015

On Thursday Dr. Albrect  Koppenhoffer came to lay out an area on the 7^th fairway where he will conduct field trials to determine the percentage of pesticide resistance on our population of annual Bluegrass Weevils (abw).  Dr. Koppenhoffer has come the last two years during the fall to collect abw adults from our course. Those samples were tested in the lab for resistance, and to our benefit, resistance at Greate Bay was found to be very low. With this preliminary data, he is now taking the testing out into the field – into the real world – where variables cannot be controlled. He will use the data he collects in the field to compare it with the lab data and along with the results he gains from field trials at other courses. From this study, which will be ongoing for a few more years, and maybe longer, we will receive up to date information on our levels of resistance, newer control methods, and expert advice. On the whole, and in the long run, the entire study will help the industry to better understand this small destructive insect, its habitat, life cycle, and how it can be best controlled while lessening the development of pesticide resistant populations.

April 3, 2015

Years ago, long before I came here, there was a water feature in front of the 12^th green. Water was circulated from the 12^th pond to the smaller finger of the pond in front of the green and spilled over a weir into the main body of water. It had been abandoned for quite some time; I believe it was maintained only for the LPGA up until the tournament returned to Seaview Country Club. Abandoned, it was a low area that the pond backed up into and since it was not moving water, became a mosquito breeding area. Although we did our best to keep it trimmed up, it slowly became an unsightly water hazard.

This spring we cleaned up the pond’s finger and rebuilt the rotted weir, and are restoring the circulation system. We are very happy how it is coming out, and are sure that it will improve the 12^th hole, both in appearance and playability.