Weather Stats for March, Water Line Repair/Cart Path Repair, Ornamental Bed Rejuvenation and More

The very nice weather stats for March.

MONTHLY RECORDS

9TH WARMEST MARCH ON RECORD

TIED 2ND LEAST NUMBER OF OCCURRENCES OF MINIMUM TEMPERATURE LESS
THAN OR EQUAL TO 32 DEGREES

DAILY RECORDS

3/8...RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 63 PREVIOUSLY 62 IN 1974

3/15...RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 82 PREVIOUSLY 81 IN 2012

Temperature
                                    Observed      Normal Value    Departure from Normal  Last Year

High                                 62.5                   55.9                           6.6                            57.2
Low                                  43.6                   36.6                           7.0                            35.6
Average                            53.0                  46.3                            6.7                           46.4

Precipitation

Rainfall                             2.29"                3.32"                        -1.03"                       3.0"

Snowfall                              .3"                  2.3"                          -2.0"                          .6"



The short range grass tee is now open. Long range tee will be another week or so. Short range tee is built on sand which allows it to warm quicker and begin growing and repairing itself a little faster. Long range also sits in a hole and its definitely colder down here but it is looking good.

The staff repaired the water line for the water fountain on #14 yesterday. The leak was directly in the middle of the cart path. They cut the asphalt out and were able to locate the leak about 15" underground and made the repairs pretty quickly.

Tom and Jason down to the dirt.

Leaking metal line on the right side of the picture.

Skip touching up the new asphalt patch.

Russ packing and smoothing the newly laid asphalt.

At the top of hill of #7 about 50 yards from the green  significant bump that developed over the last year or so in the cart path. The boys cut out the asphalt and patched the area to make it smooth again. Also at the main road and 7 cart path, we have had the little path blocked off that goes up the right side of the hole. We are eliminating this cart road because of the wear and tear it creates at the beginning and up the right side of the fairway for at least 50 yards. Excessive cart traffic weakens the zoysia. We used the asphalt saw to cut a small walk path for our walking golfers to continue to use. We will be picking up the asphalt next week and will fill the area with soil and fescue sod next week. We will be placing Ornamental wood stakes with rope along the main road to block cart traffic from entering this area. We are requesting that carts use the left path and then cross the fairway. 

Russ tamping the new repair on hole 7.

Finished

The arrows point to the new path that will be for walkers only. Rope and stakes will be used to direct carts to the left path on #7 near the red tee. Excessive wear at the beginning of the fairway from cart traffic is the reason for the changes.

Becky has designed a new planting scheme for the Bubble Ornamental Bed. The existing bed was a bit overgrown and tired and was in need of some attention. I pulled the plant material out today, we will be tilling the area, adding soil, changing the shape of the bed, adjusting irrigation as needed, till in compost for the new bed and plant it all hopefully within the next week. Some of the perennials she planned are still growing in the greenhouse and will be delayed in their installation until they are mature enough to plant.

Plants removed and now empty.

You will notice some additional sod work was completed by the staff early this week. Areas repaired include the drive off near 8 green just short of the bunker. The left fairway bunker on #5 needed some replacement. There was an area to the ornamental planting as you come down the hill toward the first tee. Trees have been removed in this area but rough mowers and roughed up this spot pretty significantly over the last few years. This area had soil added and new sod. A few other spots were completed as well like the walk off area near 17. We used 480 yards of fescue sod in the last 2 weeks. 

Fairways and all tees were mowed early in the week. Yes it will be cold Friday night but I don't expect the temperatures will be cold enough to stop the green growth in our warm season grass.

Greens continue to heal but these cold temperatures have not done us any favors. I did roll a few balls on the putting green today and our ball roll is improving noticeably since we have been able to mow a couple of times this week. We mowed and rolled today and will roll the greens again in the morning if the frost stays away and greens aren't damp. Warmer temperatures next week with early week rain should continue to move them in the right direction.

Cart Club Rain Cover Repairs

As you know, the velcro straps that hold the rain covers in place on days where we do not have rain have aged to the point of not working. We found some commercial grade snaps which we hope will solve the issue. Fairly easy to work and they do seem to hold fast in place. I've attached a video which demonstrates how the snaps should be used. The strap must be pulled from the front to the back or it will not come off. We will get all carts completed by early next week. Eight carts were changed today.

https://youtu.be/PXU7inXccM4

Golf Cart Repairs

The staff spent part of Thursday morning removing 48 dead batteries from various golf carts that we had tested about a month ago.  The new batteries were placed in 12 carts.  Other batteries that we still good in some carts were moved around to insure that all carts are now operational. We have 240 batteries in our carts.  The carts were new in March of 08 so we've completed our 5th year and heading into the 6th.  We will test the remaining older batteries as various times during the season and will change them out as needed to reduce potential breakdowns on the course.  As the chargers for the carts continue to age, we will be monitoring them as well.  Carts that do not receive proper charging will breakdown as well.  The staff from Battery Outfitters who is a Master Distributor for Trojan Battery helped us with delivery of the new batteries and removal of the old batteries for recycling.  The staff cleaned the older terminals, replaced bad cables as needed and placed a little bit of petroleum jelly at each connection to help reduce corrosion.  Batteries for our carts is a significant preventative maintenance expense but it will allow us to get longer life out of our carts over the next few years before we trade them in for a new fleet in the next 3-4 years or so. Barrett and the pro shop staff has been cleaning carts from their winter storage and should have them in good shape for when the weather breaks this golf season. 

Cart Maintenenace 2013

The staff will be spending a few days going through all of the golf carts.  The following will be completed on each cart:

• A diagnostic meter is hooked up to a port in each cart which reads a number of functions from the computer in the cart.  Most importantly is the voltage of the 4-12 volt batteries.  If the total of all 4 batteries falls below 48 volts, the batteries are individually tested with a volt meter.  We are currently accumulating a list of batteries in need of replacement and will replace them before the season starts.   

•  Each cart is jacked up and wheels are removed to check brake pads.
• All roofs and brackets are checked to insure they nuts and bolts are tightened.
• Body parts are repaired that have been damaged from collisions.
• Rain covers for clubs are being checked to insure they are tight and the velcro straps are in place to hold the cover up.
• Chargers are also being checked to insure they are working properly which can affect the life of the batteries.  Distilled water is also being placed in batteries to prevent dry cells which can lead to battery failure as well.
• Carts are being test driven regarding any unusual noises or operation issues.