December 13, 2011

I caught these two off the cart path again...

December 2, 2011

I am proud to let you know that we have been re-certified by Audubon International as an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary. We are one of only 842 golf courses worldwide that have attained this honor. Certification is based upon improving wildlife habitat, reducing pesticide use, water conservation, water quality management, and community outreach. Re-certification is required every two years and it is awarded only to those courses that continue working to improve in these areas. 

November 22, 2011

I have strong doubts that the first Thanksgiving even remotely resembled the "history" I was told in second grade.  But considering that (when it comes to holidays) mainstream America's traditions tend to be over-eating, shopping, or getting drunk, I suppose it's a miracle that the concept of giving thanks even surfaces at all.  ~Ellen Orleans

Thanksgiving, man.  Not a good day to be my pants.  ~Kevin James

Got no check books, got no banks.  Still I'd like to express my thanks - I got the sun in the morning and the moon at night.  ~Irving Berlin

“Thanksgiving is the day when you turn to another family member and say, “How long has Mom been drinking like this?” My Mom, after six Bloody Marys looks at the turkey and goes, “Here, kitty, kitty.” –David Letterman

Thanksgiving is the holiday of peace, the celebration of work and the simple life... a true folk-festival that speaks the poetry of the turn of the seasons, the beauty of seedtime and harvest, the ripe product of the year - and the deep, deep connection of all these things with God.  ~Ray Stannard Baker

We wish you all a meaningful Thanksgiving day- Ken and the Greate Bay staff

November 3, 2011

We have just finished “de-compacting” the tees. We hired Clarkston Turf to verti-quake and verti-drain our tees. The verti- quake has rotating blades that vibrate. The blades sliced down into the soil profile to a depth of approximately 10”, shaking the soil to loosen it and to cause lateral and horizontal fracturing. The verti-drain followed. It is a heavy duty aerator that we fitted with ¾”solid tines, and went as deep as 12”, creating vertical channels to admit air and increase drainage.  Next our staff topdressed the tees with straight sand, just like we do on the greens, and dragged it in.

Continuing this program consistently over the years will produce results much like we have seen on the greens with the drill and fill– better turf health, stronger turf, less disease, deeper rooting, and firmer surfaces. I am pretty excited about it all!

The verti quake and verti drain on the 13 tee

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The verti- quake

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The verti drain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top dressing

Topdressed tee (not dragged)

Trivia question: We have 6 sets of tees, but how many actual tee boxes do we have on the course?

October 28, 2011

I was probably just as surprised as anyone else was this morning to see a thin layer of frost on my windshield. It seems too early to be this cold already....but then again it seemed too early to be 90 degrees last April too. The weather is changing.

Earlier today Bucky made a trip out to my office and we talked about possibilities of having frost delays these next few days. We talked about getting everyone out as soon as possible and to still have the course prepped. We are always trying.

If it does frost, we ask that you stay off the course, including the practice greens, until we clear the course for play. Traffic and frost don’t go well together. The frozen plant cells will crack like frozen balloons if pressure is applied to them. If enough cells are cracked, the plant dies. Damage may not show for days, and sometimes not for weeks. But it will. Trust me - I have seen it.

Bucky and I work really close together when we get frosts, and as soon as we can, with out wasting a minute, we will get you to your tee. Your patience is appreciated, and it pays off with keeping the course in great condition.

October 20, 2011

Leaves, leaves, and leaves.....We get more leaf fall than snow fall!

From here on in we will be dealing with the leaves from the thousands of trees on the course – blowing, raking, gathering, and mulching. Leaf clean up requires more labor hours per year than any other job we perform, except for mowing greens.

We have already begun to send out staff to blow off the greens, tees, and fairways on a daily basis, followed by the rough mowers fitted with leaf mulching kits. We send staff to rake the leaves, acorns, hickory nuts, etc from the bunkers. Sometimes the leaves fall faster than we can keep up, and on windy days, it’s almost impossible as they scurry in all directions to escape us!

October 7, 2011

As the weather cools, we have been doing some “re-hab” to the course. These past weeks we have aerated, fertilized, and overseeded the tees. We fertilized the fairways and are in the process of overseeding areas that have thinned a bit due to the elements and everyday wear and tear. We are sodding the few areas on collars that suffered from the summer’s heat. We are catching up on tree work and repairing cart paths too. Soon we will be overseeding  and aerating the rough.

For the greens department, it is the beginning of the 2012 season. The work we do now benefits the course this year, but it really pays off the next.

Note: The months of August and September have been the area’s wettest ever since weather records have been kept.