Waste Bunkers...

David Dore-Smith, Copperleaf Golf Club, Bonita Springs, FL:

"Copperleaf's waste bunkers have always been a topic of discussion since the course opened in 2000. Originally created with crushed concrete, the material was changed many years ago to Coquina (Co-keen-a) to add a contrast between the green fairway grass and the natural orange color.

The Coquina is mined on the east coast of Florida, near Melbourne, and hauled over on large trucks. Without question, the appearance of the orange sand and shell is quite dramatic; however, from a playability point of view, there is much to be desired. With constant cart traffic, the sand is quickly compacted creating a hard, and difficult, surface to play from.

In recent efforts to 'soften' the material, a machine was borrowed from a neighboring course to break up the sand. This method worked for a brief period of time, however caused 'wash-boarding' on the surface and made it unpleasant for golf cart passengers and maintenance vehicles alike.

An improved solution was researched and piece of equipment was purchased that tows behind a maintenance vehicle. This new 'rake', a DR Power Rake, has been extremely successful in smoothing out the surface and providing improved playability.

Even after the Coquina paths have been raked with the DR Power Rake it does not take long for the material to be compacted due to the cart traffic.

The Green and Grounds Committee has developed a plan for the future to reduce the width of the Coquina areas, in particularly on holes 4, 5 and 18. These areas would then be classified as cart paths, thus providing relief for golfers. These ideas will be reviewed once the Long Range Plan has been provided by our Architect, Kipp Schulties, in March 2013."

Visit David's blog at www.copperleafgcm.com.

The Cottage Bar Story...

Kevin Komer, CGCS, Stowe Mountain Club, Stowe, VT:

"One of my duties during the winter of 2004/2005 was to monitor the logging operation for the clearing of the golf course. My task was to flag the boundaries of the property and to keep the logging moving forward. It was a very interesting time because I was able to see golf holes created from forest to finished product.

The timber was of low value for it's potential for lumber. Much of the property was logged in the 1970's leaving very young trees. Most of the trees were chipped up to be used in the bio-fuel industry. However, there were pockets of mature trees in areas such as gully's or steep slopes. These areas held 50-80 year old trees. The trees were most likely not taken during the initial logging due to the rough terrain. One of these areas is the gully or "seep" that you hit over on the tee shot for the 15th hole. In this seep there were very mature white ash and yellow birch.

Portable saw mill on the golf course.

Out of respect for the land, we chose to keep the trees for lumber and not let the logger take them. After some negotiating with the logger they agreed to drop them and place them out of the way for us to use. The motivation to keep the trees was focused on bringing the natural world inside. Using the lumber harvested from the property in the Cottage was one way of connecting things together.

?????After we secured the trees, I contacted a local portable sawmill operator. I found Woodchuck Milling out of Johnson, VT. Woodchuck Milling showed up on site and we set up shop on the 18th hole. ?After the trees were milled we needed to get the fresh cut lumber dried quickly or a fungus would set in and ruin the wood. The lumber was trucked to Steve's Kiln Drying in Wolcott, VT. After being dried, the lumber was trucked back and stored on-site for two years.

The Cottage Bar

The final home for this lumber was the bar in The Cottage restaurant. Local furniture maker Whit Hartt from Elmore, VT was chosen to build the bar with our wood. We are proud of Whit's work and the effort that went into creating this wonderful piece of furniture. Next time you are in the Cottage, take some time to enjoy the beautiful grain in the home grown wood from the golf course."

Visit Kevin's blog at smgcturf.blogspot.com.

Upside-down lids...

Owen Coulson, Vestavia Country Club, Birmingham, AL:

"If you happen to notice one of the lids to an underground valve box turned upside down, you may try to give us a hand and turn it over. Thanks for trying to lend a hand but this was done for a reason. Any time we close an irrigation valve on the course we turn the lids/tops upside down so that if another 'fire' breaks out somewhere else on the course that pulls us away from that area, we can easily go back and identify what has already been closed."

Visit Owen's blog at vccturfgrass.blogspot.com.

Project update, 3/10

Joel Kachmarek, Tacoma Country and Golf Club, Lakewood, WA:

"We just had another fantastic week on the renovation project. Not only did we backfill several traps with bunker sand, but we finished up sodding all the bunker floors. That was cause for celebration. We had a pizza party on Thursday to commemorate the accomplishment.

I cannot say enough about my staff. They are simply amazing and so are these numbers: since Nov 1, 2012, the staff installed over 320 pallets of sod. That is more than 160,000 square feet or enough sod to cover more than 2.5 football fields. Keep in mind that is only the sod we have purchased and brought in on pallets. They have also laid countless feet of sod that they harvested off of fairways so as to save all that precious, beautiful poa turf.

All that work is really paying off as we start to see the bunkers backfilled and completed. For example look at the one in the picture above. This monstrous bunker is so cool as it comes into play on both 7 and 16. It's neat also because it is very open around it and you get views of it from many points on the course. Truly a masterpiece."

Many more photos at Joel's blog: www.tacomaturf.com.

Course supplies refurbished and on the course...

Joe Wachter, CGCS, Glen Echo Country Club, St. Louis, MO:

"Part of our winter work involves painting, staining, coating and repairing our equipment that goes out on the golf course to assist you with playing your round of golf. With the arrival of March, time to get this spruced up equipment back out on the the course.

We use a product called VinylGuard which is a vinyl shrink wrap material that is applied with a heat gun and placed on the flag poles. It renews them and improves their overall look. We also replaced the ferrule that fits into the hole making a tighter fit and helping to keep the flag in the hole during windy days. A new flag stick costs about $ 17.00 each. New coating and ferrule about $8.00 which allows us to get 2-3x's the life of the pole (below).

The same VinylGuard material is placed on the bunker rakes (below). Fiberglass rakes look fine for a few years but then begin to fade and splinter which is not pleasant on the hands. We cover them with the vinylguard giving them a new look. This material costs about $ 3.50 per rake. Much cheaper than buying new rakes and will last for at least 4-5 years. They can then be recovered for another series of years. New rake handles cost about $ 15.00 each.

To the right is one of the marine varnished tee markers which were brushed and dipped a number of times to get this great looking finish. We should not have to renew these during the middle of the season like we have been doing in years past with a standard clean coat sealer."

Visit Joe's blog at geccgcm.blogspot.com.

Course Conditions 3/9/13...

Patrick O'Brien, CGCS, Hyde Park Golf & Country Club, Cincinnati, OH:

"The snow continues to melt across the golf course and grounds at Hyde Park. Unfortunately the soil conditions on all of the surfaces including the putting greens are saturated. Because the 90-year old soil greens are constructed of native soil and lack functioning drainage, the water takes a tremendous amount of time to move through the profile. The addition of frost in the ground, limits water movement even further.

Because the majority of the roots are located in the top 3 inches of the soil, golfer foot traffic will damage or even sever the roots off causing long-term damage into the season. Below, is a slide with a cross section of the profile of the greens showing the drainage rates as well as what is recommended.

Also, please note that the darker areas in the slide is the native soil that limits infiltration significantly. There is good chance that other courses may be open in the area, but please remember that soil conditions and performance of the greens vary from course to course based on construction methods, age, grass type, drainage etc.

With the warmer temperatures and wind drying the surfaces out we will evaluate course conditions Sunday morning for a POSSIBLE opening time. We appreciate your patience and we hope that the course will be playable very soon."

Visit Pat's blog at hydeparkgolfandcountryclub.blogspot.com.

New addition to our crew...

Frank Tichenor, Forest Hill Field Club, Bloomfield, NJ:

"I would like to be the first to welcome a new addition to our crew. His name is Jazz and he will be helping out on goose control with Rascal, whose heart is still willing but at times her body doesn't want to cooperate.

Jazz was doing time at the Montclair Animal Shelter when I bailed him out earlier in the week. Jazz seems pretty happy with his new living situation; an 18 hole golf course is much bigger playground than what he was dealing with.

Jazz is also a bit opinionated so if you want to check out Jazz's view of the golf world and the world in general, check out his Twitter page (@mutt_jazz)."

Visit Frank's blog at fhfcgreendepartment.blogspot.com.