Staff Profile: Bob Robinson

Bob Robinson was hired on to Juniper Hill Golf Course in June of 2005. But as many of you know, has been with the club a lot longer. He is apart of the men's association and the Central Kentucky Senior Golf Association. Bob and his wife play out here on a regular basis, as she is apart of teh women's association. Bob's primary duty on the golf course is mowing the tees. When needed, especially on the weekends, he mows greens. Bob has a lot of passion and desire for Juniper Hill Golf Course and takes a lot of pride in what he does, especially with the tees. He is always seeing new areas to put tees, the tee placement themselves for tournaments, etc. He has been a wonderful addition to the staff, as he is very dependable, hardly ever misses a day, and can be counted on to get a job done. Bob has and will always be an assest to this course.

Staff Profile: Victor Refalo

Victor Refalo, or Vic as we all call him, was hired on to Juniper Hill Golf Course in July of 1997. But as many of you know, has been with the club a lot longer. Vic was the very first JHGA Presidents back in 1961, and as been apart of the men's association ever since. Vic's primary duty on the golf course is mowing the greens, although he is usually not seen because he is the first out of the maintenance area and done before most of the golfers arrive. When needed, he has mowed tees, collars and approaches, some fairways, and as of this past summer, has stepped up and mowed a lot of green and tee banks. Vic has a lot of passion and desire for Juniper Hill Golf Course and takes a lot of pride in what he does as this golf course has become a second home to him. He has been a blessing to have of my staff, as he is very dependable, hardly ever misses a day, and can be counted on to get a job done, no matter the task. Vic has and will always be an assest to this course.

Staff Profile: Adam Curry

Born and raised in the City of Frankfort, Adam Curry has been with Juniper Hill Golf Course since August of 2003. He started out repairing the irrigation system, doing nightly watering cycles, and and filling in where needed. When I started in Feburary of 2008, Adam and I immediately began a great working realtionship and both had the same vision for Juniper Hill Golf Course. During the summer of 2009 Adam was given the title of Irrigaiton Technician even though it has become his baby since day one. With working on the irrigation system being a full time job, Adam wanted to learn more, so we squeezed in time to help him learn how to operate every piece of equipment we had and he has excelled at every turn. And during all of this (2003-2009), working a night time job. This proved to me how devoted Adam was to this golf course. In the spring of 2010, thru hard work and a passion for his job, Adam was given full time status thru teh City of Frankfort and I promoted him to Assistant Superintendent. Since then Adam has begun learning how to maintain the turf, learning all facets of the chemical side of golf course maintenance, and how to manage a crew. As I look at it, Adam will only keep succeding and is the greatest asset to Juniper Hill Golf Course.

1st Annual Greens Keeper Revenge

Last Friday we held our first annual 'Greens Keeper Revenge Scramble'. 22 teams showed up in support for Juniper Hill Golf Course and had a great time. All the money collected ($3027.00) went straight to the golf course to help continue the improvements that have been made over the past 3 years. PGA Professional Kirk Schooley happily donated the golf course in support of the cause. I personally would like to thank everyone that came out to support the golf course and I also would like to thank Bill Bell and his staff of helpers for putting this event together, as it has been a months in the making. To those who didn't play, I hope you can make it out next year and to those who couldn't play but still donated money, I thank you and we missed you on the course. I hope this will become an annual event because this golf course is a big part of City of Frankfort and it's community. Without you all, this course would not exist.

Aerification/Seeding Finished

Finally, finally, finally. Aerification and seeding of all the fairways and tees are offically done. Now we are irrigating them so we can get some germination for green grass on the tees and fairways to play off of for you winter golfers. It was a long process, the crew worked hard on it, and thanks for everyone to had patience during all of it. We now we can start working on some winter projects like adding some more irrigation, putting some drainage in, touching up the tees and fairways markers, and working on some equipment. On a different note, the new blog posts this winter will be dedicated to the grounds crew who worked all summer long and tried to give everyone the best playing conditions possible in one of the driest summers in history. You see them everyday on a machine, running the irrigation, etc. I will post a picture of them and a brief history so you can get to know my staff better, and know who is taking care of your course. I appreciate everyone's understanding and patience during our maintenance programs this season. So in turn, this will be my last post concerning the golf course until sometime next year. And as always, we'll see you on the course.

Aerification Finished

We offically finished up the aerification process yesterday with #16 & 18 fairways. We still have to seed and topdress #8 - 18 fairways and slit seed #8 - 18 tees. Due to waiting on the seed to arrive, it put us behind on being totally finished. I was hoping to get the tees done as we closed the holes down during aerification, but with the high demand of seed this fall from everyone, it put us behind. So hopefully we can come back in and do this without disrupting any play. Though I ask you to please be aware of anyone working in the fairways and let them get out of your way before you hit your ball. It is easier for us to finish out the path on the fairway rather than stopping mid way through it. As for the tees, we will try our best to accomodate the players and alternate the tee locations. We are overseeding the tees at a heavy rate this fall due to the stress of the season and the amount of play we got this summer. Again, I thank you all for the patience you showed during this process.

Aeration: A breath of fresh air for greens

Aeration: A breath of fresh air for your greens
9/28/2010
Aeration is a common practice on golf course greens, and although it has benefits, it can also disrupt golf play. In this video, Dr. Larry Stowell explains to golfers what aeration is, why it is conducted, and how it is almost always a worthwhile practice, despite its downsides.

Aerification Update

Aerification is going very well. We are on schedule with the process as the front side was finished today. We are also slit seeding the tees that we shut down the fairways for aerification. Due to waiting on more seed to be delivered, we have not seeded #8 and #9 tees and fairways. We will continue with the aerification process this week thru Thursday, and finish up on the following Monday. Hopefully the seed will come in and we can get caught up on those fairways and tees. This delay will cause a little disruption in play in order to catch up with the closed fairways but please bare with us. The pro shop will let you know what holes will be closed for the day along with postings of the closings throughout the clubhouse. This is a necessary maintenance practice that in the long run will help improve the soil conditions which will lead to better turf conditions. If anyone has any questions regarding this, please stop me at any time. And as always, we'll see you on the course.

Aerification Schedule:

September 20th, 2010
Front 9 closed!
#1 – 9 greens and tees will be aerified.

September 21st, 2010
Back 9 closed!
#10 – 18 greens and tees will be aerified.

September 22nd, 2010
Holes 1 – 4 will be closed for aerification.

September 23rd, 2010
Holes 5 – 7 will be closed for aerification.

September 28th, 2010
Holes 8 – 9 will be closed for aerification.

September 29th, 2010
Holes 11 – 12 will be closed for aerification.

September 30th, 2010
Holes 13 – 15 will be closed for aerification.

October 1st, 2010
Holes 16 – 18 will be closed for aerification.

September 24th and 27th are not being used due to scheduled events already on the calendar. Please have patienc during this important maintenance practice.

Governor's Open Weekend!

I just wanted to say that I wish everyone in the tournament the best of luck. The staff and I did what we could to maintain the turf and give the best conditions possible considering the type of season we are having. I hope everyone enjoys the food and entertainment each night, the Men's Association always puts together a wonderful weekend. Also, please take the time to thank the women of the Women's Assoication who volunteer during this weekend. They take time away from what they could be doing in order to make the Governor's Open that much more enjoyable. I hope all the golfers enjoys the course and the experience that Juniper Hill puts on for this awesome tournament.

#3 Green Growing in Nicely

Just wanted to keep everyone updated on the new #3 green and show you how well it is growing in. We will have to do some small reseeding this fall and some next spring on some thin areas, but overall, it is growing in wonderfully. I mowed it for the first time on Tuesday, which will help the bent grass to start creeping out rather than growing more vertically. The picture is from the following day. Hope everyone has enjoyed the cooler weather these past few days, though we would rather take some rain. The Governor's Open is this weekend, and the crew has been working hard to keep the turf alive and trying to finish up on some detail work. Hope you all can get out and support this great tournament and watch some of the great amatuer players from all over the Kentucky and the surrounding states. We'll see you on the course.

USGA Article

Summer Heat Wave Facts
By Patrick O’Brien and Chris Hartwiger, Agronomists, Southeast Region
August 11, 2010

The summer of 2010 will be long remembered for its impact on bentgrass putting greens in the Southeast Region.
This summer produced many historical records for heat in the Southeast Region, and the result has been a nightmare for many bentgrass putting greens. The sad news is that probably another month of high temperatures is still ahead of us before cooler temperatures arrive.

Weather data compiled from the Georgia Automated Environmental Monitoring Network (www.georgiaweather.net) at the Atlanta Athletic Club, near Duluth, GA, reveals information that testifies to the extreme heat in the Southeast Region this summer. Mr. Ken Magnum, Director of Golf Course and Grounds at the Atlanta Athletic Club, passed along this information to our office earlier this week.

From June 8th to August 8th, a total of 645 hours had temperatures above 90 degrees. The average number of hours above 90 degrees over the past 12 years has been about 233. This is an increase of about 275% from the average. Even after sunset on many days, temperatures remained above 90 degrees and provided no time for the soil to cool down.

Hours 90 Degrees or Higher -Last 60 Days:

8-Jun 8-Aug Total

2010 2010 645
2009 2009 139
2008 2008 213
2007 2007 238
2006 2006 571
2005 2005 84
2004 2004 66
2003 2003 8
2002 2002 231
2001 2001 8
2000 2000 248
1999 1999 347

This extended heat wave created an almost impossible situation at most golf courses, making it very difficult for superintendents to manage their bentgrass putting greens. Additionally, many golf courses were faced with operational budget cuts again this year. Fighting the heat with fewer fungicides, equipment, and labor at these courses further added to the challenge.

Last week, the Carolinas GCSA conducted a special 48-hour survey of superintendents managing bentgrass and found the following:

•A full 84 percent say their greens are “thinning” or “severely stressed” right now
•Nearly 30 percent have had to close greens or expect to do so soon because of heat stress
•Less than a third of superintendents say they are “optimistic” about nursing their greens through the end of summer
•95 percent describe this summer as “the worst” or “one of the worst” they have ever seen for managing bentgrass.

If your golf course has bentgrass putting greens that have declined, you are not alone. Superintendents are poised to do everything possible to restore the health of their bentgrass putting greens when temperatures cool down again this fall.

Summer Struggles

I was very pleased with the course conditions for the Juniper, even though we have been going thru one of the hottest two months in history. We have been struggling with the tees this year as had break through from our pre-emergent and resodding some of the bunkers. We are working very hard in trying to clean the tees up and overseed as much as we can. I have talked to other Superintendents in the area as well as in Louisville and we are all dealing with the same issues due to the heat. Everyone has their own struggles with crab grass and yellow nutsedge. I have sprayed the green banks with a herbicide to clean up the nutsedge and it seems to be working great. I went out and did one pass around all the greens 2 weeks ago and did another pass off of the previous one yesterday. We have also done two applications to clean the tees up from nutsedge. The crabgrass has been a different story. It is a weed that just won't go away this year. I sprayed for it once and it did more damage to the tees than I was hoping for. When you have heat like we have, you are playing a fine line between trying to keep the turf alive by watering so much and at the same time trying not to give disease the conditions it needs to surface, like wet wilt and brown patch. We are still fighting the good fight and hopefully fall is just around the corner. Congrats to the winners in the Juniper and we look forward to having you all again next year. We'll see you on the course.

Videos of #3 green

Just wanted to give you all a couple of videos of #3. The green itself has started growing. Still a little thin, but with a watchful eye, and a little fertilizer, we will be ready for spring time. Hope everyone is staying cool and hydrated during these past hot summer days.

We'll see you on the course!

The Heat is On, Roud 2!!

As many of you have noticed and felt, the heat has been overwhelming the past couple of weeks. Temperatures are reaching upper 90's with the heat index above 100 degrees. I received an article talking about the heat and the conditions it is causing from Golf Journal. Here is a piece from the article:

The U.S. Golf Association last week issued a special "turf-loss advisory" to courses in the Mid-Atlantic states, urgently advising greenkeepers to institute "defensive maintenance and management programs" until the weather crisis ends. Most of the danger is to greens planted in creeping bentgrass and annual bluegrass (also known as poa annua). "Physiologically, these are cool-season grasses that do very well when the air temperature is 60 to 75 degrees," said Clark Throssell, director of research for the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America. "They can cope with a few days of 90-degree weather every summer, but when that kind of heat lasts for days at a time, they have extreme difficulty."

A lot of courses are closing for a few days each week, and in Louisville, two courses are shutting down for 3 weeks just to let the course recover. Another part in the article is stating how some top courses are doing the same:

Huntingdon Valley Country Club outside Philadelphia, which dates from 1897, shut two of its three nines two weeks ago because of serious turf disease caused by the hot, wet weather. The Philadelphia area in July had 17 days of 90-degree-plus weather, six more than average, mixed with flooding thunderstorms of up to 4 inches. Members at the Golf Club at Cuscowilla, east of Atlanta, received letters this week that the club's highly regarded Ben Crenshaw-Bill Coore course would be closed for eight to 10 weeks so that the wilted greens can be completely replanted. The Ansley Golf Club broke similar news to members about the club's in-town Atlanta course. "The continued, excessive heat and humidity have put our greens into a critical situation and the possibility of saving many of them is remote," said a letter from the grounds-committee chairman. Even Winged Foot in Mamaroneck, N.Y., the site of five U.S. Opens, is having serious weather-related problems with its turf.

Juniper Hill is struggling just the same but we are doing what we can to keep the turf cool during these stressful times. Please bare with us as we are all in the same boat. Everyone who is playing during these high temperatures, please stay hydrated. Please be aware of where you drive you cart, the more you stay on the path (even in this weather with high temperatures) the better the turf will be.

Before and After

I just wanted to show everyone the before and after pictures of the new #3 green complex. We worked on it for about 2 weeks due to the weather slowing thing down, but even just that short of time, it's hard to visualize what it looked like. So here are the before and after shots. Thanks again for all the kind words and encouragement we got during this process. I was hoping it would be good for Govenor's Open, but like most of you have said, rather have it great for spring than rough. We'll see you on the course.

#3 Completed!

As of Monday afternoon, the new #3 green complex is completed. Sand is in the bunkers, the sod has been laid around the green, we seeded everything outside the sod line, and the green itself has been seeded. It is a great new look for Juniper Hill, and I think everyone will enjoy it. I was really hoping to have it available for play during the Governor's Open, but Mother Nature had other ideas. On the good side, it will give us the is fall to let the area mature and be ready for play come spring time. The pictures above show the finished product.

#3 nearly complete

For your new update on #3 green complex, all the bunker drainage has been added and the irrigation is in installed. The sand/peat mix was added on Monday and the shape of the green has taken form. We went ahead and took the bunker out that was next to the original green. By taking this bunker out, it will not interfer with the new design. We went back and redesigned the left bunkers, from 3 to 2, due to the maintenance aspect of the original look that we had last week. Louis Miller and his staff have done an excellent job on this project as well as our very own Assistant Superintendent/Irrigation Tech Adam Curry. Adam has been here at Juniper Hill for 5 years now, and knows the irrigation system better than anyone. He has put in all the irrigation pipe, heads, and quick copplers around the green. Hopefully in the next few days, with Mother Nature's blessings, we can get some sod in to start sodding the complex and seeding the green. We will be seeding some of the rough areas that are closer to the tee to save some expense on sod. I hope everyone has enjoyed watching this process, as I know I have and have been thankful to be apart of the project.

Update on #3

The pea gravel base has been added to the green, which will help with any draining from the green itself. Next will come the sand/peat mix, but with the rain last night and more moving in, it has slowed down this process. The mix is ready but with the equipment being used to haul the mix there could cause damage and ruts to the rest of the course and the green bank. Also, the left bunkers have been shaped in. This is a totally different look that I think everyone will like. As they are adding the mix to the green, they will also be putting in the drainage from the right bunker, connecting it to a catch basin on the right side of the green, then rapping it around the front of the green, attaching the green drain and the left bunkers, then flowing out into the rocks. Depending on Mother Nature the rest of the week, the final stage will be to seed the green and sod the surrounds. Hope everyone has enjoyed watching this project take shape.

#3 Green Moving Froward

#3 green is still moving forward. We just finished putting in the drain lines for the green, as you can see from the pictures above. Next will be putting in the left bunker, tying in the right bunker drain, around the front of the green and contecting the left bunker drain. Tomorrow, we should see the mix going in the green, lazer leveling and shaping out the green. We are almost home with it, as seeding and sodding will come by the end of the week. I hope everyone has enjoyed watching this process as Louis Miller and his staff from Golf Development have done a wonderful job in giving Juniper Hill a different look. You can keep up-to-date by playing golf and seeing the results yourself or by visiting this site. Thanks, and we'll see you on the course.

#3 getting closer

New #3 green complex is coming along nicely. As seen in the pictures above you can see the shape and layout of the green and well as the view from the tee and the location of the green. This has been a huge project for us and one that will greatly enhance the golf course, not only aesthetically but playability. I hope everyone is enjoying the new changes, as some of you will have to relearn how to play certain holes with new bunkers in locations where you previously where hitting your golf balls to stay away from the old bunkers. Hopefully we can continue this trend of improving the golf course in the upcoming years.

Thank you.

I just wanted to give a return 'Thank You' to everyone who has stopped me these past couple of weeks to say thank you to me on doing a good job. I knwo with the renovation going on, everyone is excited about it. I give a 'thank you' back and 'I appreciate it', and I really mean it. But I would like for everyone to know that it's not just me. I have a great crew that takes a lot of pride in not only what they do, but also the course itself. Adam, Tom, Don, Vic, Bob, Willie, and Wilbert are the heart of my crew and have been here working for 6+ years. We have a saying that is written on our board that says, " We are what we repeatedly do. Therefore, it is not an act but a habit." We truly live by this when it comes to the golf course. So please, stop the rest of the crew during your round of golf and say thank you to them so they know how much you appreciate what we do. Thank you.

Breaking Ground on #3

As many of you have noticed, we have started breaking ground on the new #3 green complex. If you notice from the pictures above, we have the before picture on the bottom and the during on top. We also finished #17 and #18 bunkers. These areas will be played as 'Ground Under Repair' until further notice. The heat this week has really taken a toll on the course. A few greens are struggling as well and tees and fairways. We are watering as much as we can when we can, but

there's nothing like a good mother nature rain. Hopefully with the break in temperatures and a chance of rain on Friday, things will start to come back around. I hope everyone survived the heat this week, coolers temp's for next week will hopefully bring all of you back to the course to see the new improvsments. As always, we'll see you on the course.

Renovation has Started

Renovation on #17 and #18 hast started this week. I appreciate everyone playing to the temperary greens so that we do not slow down the progress. As of right now, #17 is ready for sand and sod, while #18 is a bigger project that will entail more moving of the dirt. I hope everyone enjoys the new look that we are providing. Just like the previous renovations, we will have the area marked as Ground Under Repair. So if you hit your ball into the newly sodded area, please remove your ball out of the area, with a free drop, do not hit your ball in the GUR area. I appreciate all your support thru this and hopefully, weather permitting, we will be working on building a new #3 green complex next week. And as always, we'll see you on the course.

The Heat is On!!

This past week has shown it's summer head. Temperatures reaching the upper 90's with heat indexes in the low 100's. The course is holding on during these warms times thanks to our irrigation system and staff. I ask you to be understanding during these warm days while we try and irrigate the fairways. I know many of you don't like to see the water running while you're playing but we are doing our job to keep the turf cooled down and healthy. The poa annua in the fairways does not like the heat so it is struggling to stay alive. This is good and bad. Good in a way that we want the poa annua out of the fairways, bad in a way that it looks unpleasant and may cause unruly playing conditions. I like to again remind everyone, ESPECIALLY during these warmer days, to please keep your cart on the cart path around all greens. I understand that a lot of you have been playing here for years upon years and you use to just go where ever you please. That's a hard habit to break, but it needs to be broken. So please stay on the cart path around greens and if you have a handicap flag, keep 5 feet away from all greens. On another note, we will be beginning our next phase of bunker renovation next week along with building a new #3 green complex. #17, and #18 will have the flags out in front of the greens in order not to disrupt work so that they may finish sooner than later. If you have any questions regarding this, please feel free to stop me on the course. Thank you and we'll see you on the course.

Big 7 day stretch

Just wanted everyone to know that this upcoming 7 day stretch, Friday thru Tuesday, will be loaded with golf. On Friday, we have the Chamber of Commercescramble starting at 1:00. This is always a big scramble, and this year will be no exception. This Saturday and Sunday will be the City Championship hosted by our own PGA Professional Kirk Schooley. I have seen some different people out playing golf this week, so it seems that people are practicing for this event. On Monday and Tuesday, we have the Central Kentucky Senior Golf Association playing. The following Wednesday and Thursday are our normal women's and men's day. Like I said, this is a big 7 day stretch that we will do our best to maintain the course and keep it in the condition it needs to be in for play. So if you need to get a round of golf in before this all starts tomorrow, please get out there and play. To all the golfers coming in these 7 days, enjoy the course.

DryJecting Done!

Just wanted to say thank you for everyone who was patient and understanding thru today's DryJecting of our greens. The process went very well with no mechanical issues. Thank you all for allowing us to finish the back 9 with no interputions, this makes the process go faster. After a couple of mowings and some fertilizer, the greens will be healed sooner than you think. Again, thank you all during this necessary maintenance practice. We'll see you on the course.

Maintenance Update

Just wanted to remind everyone that on this upcoming Monday, we will be DryJecting our greens. The front 9 will be closed to around 11:30 am and then we will proceed to the back 9. The front 9 will open up at around 11:30 am. Please be patient with us as you may come across one of crew dragging a green. You may wait as this process only takes a few minutes, or you may hit short, and skip to the next hole. You may play the back 9, but if you see us working on the green that you are playing to, please hit short, pick up, and move to the next hole. This will help speed the process up due to having no interuptions. We hope that with no mechanical issues, we will finish the greens between 4:00 pm and 5:00 pm. Thank you for your understanding and patience thru this process as we continue to improve the conditions of the golf course.

Cart Rules

Looks like we had a tremendous weekend during this Memorial holiday, and I hope everyone had a chance to get out and play some. The course conditions are coming along nicely, things are taking shape, and if we could get a couple weeks of dry weather we could stay on top of rough and have more of a handle on it. But we are doing what we can. On a side note, I once again would like to let everyone know that you NEED to keep your carts on the path around EVERY green and tee and on ALL par 3's. If you have a handicap flag, that does not mean you can drive right up next to the tee and green. PLEASE keep our cart at least 5 feet away from those areas. I noticed today that someone with a handicap flag drove back to the white tee markers on #14 tee box. In order to do that you have to drive over the tee box itself. That is a problem, so please DO NOT drive your carts up to the edge of any green or tee. By following this rule, you are contributing to keeping the course in great shape for other golfers. By ignoring this rule, you are being disrespectful to the course and the game, and causing damage to the turf. Thank you.

The season begins!

With summer like weather starting to hit us, the golfers are coming out to enjoy the course. With 3 inches of rain this past Friday night, we will play check up to get the course back in shape and mowed out. On the maintenance side of things, we will be verticutting the greens on May 31st. Please have patience during this process and if you come upon a green that we are working on, either wait till we finish or move on to the next hole. I will be glad to give you an automatic par for that hole. If anyone has questions regarding this process, please stop me and ask, will be glad to talk to you about it. Also, the top tee on #6 is very close to opening. I want to seed it one more time and get in just a little more thicker before we open it. I appreciate all of you who have reframed from hitting from it. As many of you have know by now, I got a hole-in-one on #10 this past Tuesday and want to thanks everyone who congratulated me on that. It was my 1st one ever and I'm proud that it was on Juniper Hill Golf Course, my home away from home. That's it from now, so we'll see you on the course.

Updated maintenance schedule

The course is really starting to take shape now. The greens have healed nicely from the aerification and we are getting a consistent cut on the turf. We have scheduled the DryJect for our greens on June 7th. This has been a great system that allows us to push sand deeper into the soil profile. This will be the 4th time we have used this system and the the roots have increased by 4 inches since we started a aerification/dryject program. Within the next coupleof weeks, we will also make our first verticut on the greens to help with the thatch along with a light topdressing. This will most likely be a Monday project so we won't interfer with heavy play days. As for the rest of the maintenance programs, we are in a routine of mowing and getting our detail crew together and planned out to keep landscaping beds cleaned. If anyone has any questions about what's going on here at Juniper Hill, please stop me anytime on the course or if you see me in the pro shop. We'll see you on the course.

Rain, rain, and more rain... again.

This past weekend proved to be a 'stay inside and relax' weekend due to the amount of rain we received. Our rain gauge had 6". The course help up great considering, and by Monday, Juniper Hill was just very wet and sloppy. A little stream running down #17 was all that remained. Unlike some of my fellow superintendents, their course were underwater. Pictures posted showed just how lucky we were with the rain. Connemara Golf Course has one hole that has over 7 feet of water covering it. Cherry Blossom Golf Club has 3/4 of it's driving range under water and their ponds had risen up to 5 feet to the edge of some fairways. Eagle's Nest Golf Course spent an entire day on one green just to wash the mud off of it. Luckly, yes we were. My sympathies goes out to all dealing with the rain and hope for a speedy recovery. So for those who complain about being on cart path only for one day here, think about not being able to play for about 2 days at the place you call your home course and being on the path for the rest of the week.

Season is among us.

The course is coming along very well, getting greener, and the I am very pleased with how the greens have recovered from teh aerification. I wouldliek to let everyone know that I have erescheduled the DryJect from May 3rd to May 24th. This is due to the incoming rain that we are going to get during Derby weekend. I hope everyone can enjoy the weekend the best they can with 80% rain on Saturday and 90% rain on Sunday, my guess is there won't be a lot of people outside. But back to the golf course. I am very pleased with how the course is playing, we are doing our best to keep up with the rough, but most of the time, Mother Nature wins. I'm glad to see everyone out enjoying the weather and the course and hope I can maybe get a chance to play with the men and women one day. The season is among us and we'll see you on the course.

Aerfication finished/upcoming maintenance

Aerification is finally finished with success. I was very pleased with the results from it. I would like to remind everyone that on May 3rd, we will be DryJecting the greens. This process allows us to push sand deeper into the soil than what aerification does. Aerification gets us about 2-2.5" down while the DryJect system goes down as far as 6". With these two maintenance practices, we have greatly improved our soil in the top 5-6" in the past 3 years. This process will only take a day and you will be able to play on the greens that day. We will start off by closing the front side, just to give us a good start with no interuptions and by 12:00-1:00, it will open back up. At that time we will close the back nine until we are finished. If the process goes well the front could be opened sooner. But the season is upon us and things are starting to warm up, the grass is growing and greening up, and the golfers are coming out. I'm happy to see everyone back out enjoying the weather and the course. We look forward to seeing you out there.

Another aerification update

The front nine greens have been completed. Due to play and a scramble the following days, we weren't able to get to the back nine. This actually helped us concentrate on the front nine and get then healing and filled with sand better. The back nine greens will be aerified Monday, April 19th. The front nine will be open for play but the back nine will be closed. Thanks for you patience and understanding thru this necessary time.

Aerification Update

Well, things didn't go as planned with aerification this past Monday. Mechanical issues did not allow us to finish the front side greens. After working to get the issue solved, we will continue tomorrow, Thursday, April 15th, and finish the front 9 greens and the putting green. We have rescheduled the back 9 greens to Monday, April 19th. Thank you for your understanding thru this and we will have the greens back in great shape for the season. We look forward to seeing you at the course.

Aerification

Like so many things, the quality of a good putting green in more that skin deep. In fact, the condition of a green has a lot to do with what goes on below the surface. In order to keep grass growing at 3/16th-inch, you have to have deep, healthy roots. Good roots demand oxygen. In good soil, they get the oxygen from tiny pockets of air trapped between soil and sand particles. Over time, the traffic from golfers' feet (as well as heavy mowing equipment) tends to compact the soil which leads to the air pockets being crushed and the roots gasping for air. Aerification creates more air space in the soil and promotes deeper rooting, thus helping the grass plants stay healthy. Sand topdressing helps the soil retain air space and makes it easier for roots to grow downward. Aerification is merely a short-term disruption that has long-term benefits for the course and without those little holes, the greens would eventually die. The bottom line is that aerfication is a necessary practice. So on Monday, April 12th, the front nine will be closed and on Tuesday, April 13th, the back nine will be closed due to aerifying the greens. I appreciate everyone's understanding and patience thru these couple days.

If the weather warms up, they will come.

With the warm weather giving us a treat this week, golfers have come out in herds. We are trying our best to get everything mowed out and ready for the season. Please bear with us during the process of finishing up a few projects and teaching new employees the equipment and where to mow. I also want to remind everyone TO KEEP THEIR CARTS ON THE CART PATH WHEN AROUND GREENS AND TEES. We have made tremendous strides in improving the golf course and this is your way of helping maintain the areas around the greens and tees. If golfers see a carts parked or traveling within 10 feet of the green, then they will think they can do it, which leads to the group behind them thinking the same way and so on and so on. Next thing we have is worn grass laid over from cart damage, unsightly turf around the green, and golfers complaining about they don't have a good stand of grass around the greens to chip from. Hope everyone enjoys the warm weather and we'll see you on the course.

Ponds are finished!

Just wanted to let everyone know that #1 and #13 ponds are finished, fountains are in, and they will be in better shape this year (and for the next upcoming years). I appreciate everyones patience and for playing around us and to the temperary greens. This really helped us continue the job on an uninterrupted task. Enviornmentally safe chemicals have been applied to help keep control of algae growth. And the added bonus... you will be able to find your golf ball better in the ponds. :) Again, thank you for your understanding and patience thru this experience as we continue to get the course in shape for the upcoming season. And as always, we'll see you on the course.

#13 Pond

Well as all of you have noticed, we are working on #13 pond in cleaning it out. What is amazing is that this pond was worse then #1 pond. I appreciate everyone being patient with us during this process and playing the temperary green out in the fairway in order not to disrupt the work being done. Also, in front of #16 tee, we wil be working on extending the rock creek around to meet up with what we have on the right side of the tee. By cleaning these ponds, with our fountains and chemical treatments, it will help with algae and moss control. Again, I appreciate all of your support and patience thru this.

#1 Pond

We have been dredging the pond on #1 these past couple days and boy what a mess it has been. Hopefully we will finish it up on Friday, and fill it back up and put the fountain in it. Cleaning the pond will help us better control the algae and build up on the pond surface. We took out at least 3 feet of mud and muck. We will also be doing #13 pond next week, which that I think won't be as messy, easy clean up, etc. I do appreciate everyone playing around us these past few days. And as always, we look forward to seeing you on the course.

Etiquette and Respect

I found this today and thought it would be good to get it out so everyone could read it.
"Golf etiquette requires you to rake the sand before exiting a bunker. A sand trap or bunker should be left exactly as you found it, and the same goes for greens and fairways. Divots should always be replaced and ball marks repaired. If you respect the course, then you respect the game; and if you respect the game, chances are you'll play better, too."
I thought this was worded very well, as I have talked in numerous newsletters about golfers doing their part in helping to care for the course. Hope this finds you all doing well as I have a feeling spring is just right around the corner. We'll see you on the course.

Spring Tease

Well, last Sunday was just a sample of what is to come. Snow melted, the sun came out, and it got to around 60 degrees. Now it's Thursday, cold, and again... snow. We are trying to get a few things done during this winter season on the days when we can actually get out on the course. We just started adding a new irrigation line to #4 ladies tee and replacing some vavles that went bad on us last year. We went back and took a closer look at the trees and found a couple more that need to come out due to safety issues. Hopefully we can work out a schedule with Louis Miller and Golf Development to get his crew back in here to finish up #17 & #18 next month. After that it will be just a matter of raising some money to complete the new #3 green complex. Getting this done will able us to redo #6 bunkers and the front part of #6 green as well as expanding the back part of #15 green. I hope you all will come out in support and play in our "Keep it Green" event on April 3rd. This event will hopefully raise some money to help get #3 project going. Thanks to everyone for their continued support and we'll see you at the course.

More snow and rain

I don't think the weather can make up it's mind right now. We get snow, then rain, then snow, then rain. Of course now, it's both. But it's winter time and it gives us the opprotunity to stay home, be with family and relax before the summer gets busy. I hope all of you enjoyed a great Super Bowl, except for the halftime show. March Madness is upon us along with the SEC tournament. As for the golf course, it is winterizing with all the snow. It has giving us time to improve the maintenance facility in areas where we can organize and work better. Everyone please be safe out of the roads and we look forward to a spring that is just around the corner.

Rain, rain, and more rain.

I guess 'tis the season for rain. The snow has finally gone but now the rain. I hope everyone enjoyed the college football games, and now with the NFL coming to a head, everyone is gearing up for the Super Bowl. Before you know it, the season will be here and we will be off and running on the golf course. I'm looking forward to this season as we ry to put the finishing touches on the bunker renovation, and work forward to putting in a new #3 green complex. Getting #3 built will help redo the front of #6 green and expand the back of #15 green. So these are our goals for this year. I hope everyone is ready for another good year and enjoy the new changes we are making to the course. So stay dry, weather conditions calls for rain, rain, and more rain.

Winter snow finally arrives!

Well the snow finally arrived, after christmas, so I hope no one made a mad dash to the grocery store for milk and bread. The course is now covered in snow, irrigation and drainage projects are put on hold. But this has also gave us the time to service all the equipment in preparation for the upcoming season. On a side note, I hope everyone enjoyed the college bowl season and getting involved with the NFL playoffs as well as the conference play in college basketball season. To all the die hard golfers, the PGA started up their season and is in full swing. I hope everyone enjoys the break away from the course with this snow and spend time with their family. Spring will be here before we know it and we will be in full swing ourselves. Stay warm, and be safe.