Whatcha Been Doing Lately?

Whatcha been doing lately, I know there has not been a lot of golf ball chasing going on. At least the US Open is on to take up some of the time waiting for the rain to quit.

Well, luckily or not so lucky my men and woman have been out in the rain doing what they can on the golf course. Lightning has stayed away and the rain has been steady but not drowning except for today.

We were able to mow some rough on Tuesday and were able to get 3 mowers out yesterday before the heavy rains came. A little tracking but we figured it would get washed away by tropical storm Bill. We had to skip mowing greens on Wednesday and Friday. Were able to mow greens Thursday and I'm hoping tomorrow morning. Five greens were sprayed yesterday, especially a couple of our worst with algae including the practice and #11.  Most tees were cut and our tee and green surrounds got some sort of trimming in the last couple of days. We have not been able to mow fairways since a week ago Friday. Maybe Sunday or Monday if not dry by then. The staff has been going weed eater crazy trimming trees, structures, lakes, ornamental beds and etc. Becky has been still planting, mulching and pulling weeds while fighting off dive bombing mosquito's.

Yesterday afternoon, the crew switched to cart cleaning mode beginning the process of giving a nice refreshing to our carts. With the tropical storm zeroing in on us, Fridays work involved a big time congo line of clean up work. A full 8 hour session from 9 staff members with Skip leading the charge. The work included the following.

1. Spray the rubber floors with a product called Purple Power. Let it sit and then scrub with a brush. Power wash off. 70% of these were completed on Thursday.
2. Use 3000 grit sanding pads to the body of cart and start scrubbing. Smooths out imperfections and cleans.
3. Step 2 is a Meguiars Cleaner rubbed in.
4. Step 3 is a Meguiars Polisher to shine them up.
5. Then use a cleaner on the black plastic areas of the cart.
6. Plexiglass cleaner and tape remove for the windshields(Still need to do a bunch of these)

Guys got all the floorboards  cleaned, We have nearly 30 polished and plastic trim shined up. Will try to do more as we can.

1/2 and 1/2 cart. A little different from one side to the other side.

Aged carts dress up pretty well. 

A Refresher Of Science and Facts Regarding Trees and Golf Greens

https://youtu.be/cafVxkWt1GI

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

Quick Hitting Bee Video From This Morning

Took a quick video of the Bee hive today. Gives you a little inside look into the hive. A little more detail as we go over the next few weeks.

A New Take On Ball Mark Repair

Turf Republic is a news source and information company that turf professionals like myself use. Their take on ball mark repair with a little help from Actor Shia LeBeouf

Hope Your Morning Has Been Better Than Ours, Course Closed Today

Was trying to get short range cut before 6 start when I saw lightning getting close. Went to check radar. Not good!

Between 18 tee and 17 fairway large Pin Oak.

Main road looking toward #8.

#12/3 Log floom

Kayak course on #12/3

Draining on #1

Video Regarding Tee Aeration, Juvenile Red-tailed Hawks and Other Information

Rain put a damper on our tee aeration plans today. We will probably finish the work next week. Video discusses that work as well as the fairway turf situation, greens bunker edging and a couple of other areas. Photos below also add to discussion later of these subjects later in the video.

Our Red-Tailed Hawks picked up stakes and moved to the Sycamore near 5 White/Blue tee this year. I had kind of lost track of them this season until Ms. Herrin mentioned where they were located. If my eyes don't deceive me I think we have 2 juveniles about ready to take off on their 1st flights soon!

https://youtu.be/0kS6uzl8yzU

Bunker edging. Sand was deep enough along edge I had to use a spade shovel to reform the edge. Back 9 are complete as is  Holes 8-9. Hope to finish the rest of the front next week.

From time to time you will notice some black algae appearing on greens. This usually occurs because of climatic conditions, warm and humid conditions and sometimes and the end or past time for a fungicide application. The past 6 weeks have seen a weekly application of some type of required spraying product either it be a growth regulator, summer root disease management product and wetting agents to keep profile consistent in its moisture content.

This is from the 2nd green and the ugly reddish colored turf is poa annua which does not like Paclobutrazol, a growth regulator product we have been spraying every 30 days or so to help reduce the impacts of poa on our greens. My last application last week was 1/2 the rate of the month before.  As we get into summer, we cannot over stress the poa annua or it becomes poa deadua.  Too much poa annua dying quickly could contribute to yours truly's untimely demise. This type of condition does help bentgrass grow into the area and improve our total amount of bentgrass coverage. Losing 20-50 poa annua is something I do not want to see in my lifetime unless I was spraying Round Up and trying to kill it.