The Donald...

Dan Salois, Highland Meadows Golf Club, Swanton, OH:

"I apologize for not blogging much over the last couple of weeks. We have been suprisingly busy here in the maintenance department. Fairways have been punched, the sun has been shining (until today) and while golf rounds are high, my staff is pretty low. We have only a handful of guys left for the season, so you may spot me on a tractor now and again.

Also, one of my suppliers took me out of town for three days to visit a production facility, meet with other superintendents using their products, visit some top-notch golf courses, and network with peers from the Carolinas to Canada. It was an interesting and educational trip.

I won't bore you with all the 'turf nerd' stuff from the trip, but one of the facilities we toured was Trump National Golf Club. Overall, a spectacular facility built on the rolling estate of former automotive mogul John Delorean. The club (using Delorean's old mansion and outbuildings) and golf course were amazing. My favorite part of the trip had to be when we toured their maintenance facility, I found out that Donald Trump will put his name on everything, even spray equipment.

Gotta love the Donald. For better or worse, he keeps it interesting."

Visit Dan's blog at hmgcmaintenance.blogspot.com.

WHAT IS THIS WET STUFF FALLING FROM THE SKY?

Steve Wilson, CGCS, Meadowbrook Golf & Country Club, Prairie Village, KS:

"We finally received some much needed rain yesterday and last night. This fall has been absolutely gorgeous in terms of outdoor activities like playing golf and enjoying time at the park, but it has been extrememly dry.

"Before yesterday, we had not had any measurable rain here at the club in 46 days!"

Before yesterday, we had not had any measurable rain here at the club in 46 days! Luckily we got the 'soaker' we were needing with 1.35" received in our rain gauge. This amount was not nearly enough to fill our ponds all the way back up, but did provide the turf and trees the moisture it was so badly needing to "go to bed for the winter" happy and healthy.

For any of you who have not had the opportunity to play the course in the last few weeks, below is a picture of what our top pond has looked like recently before yesterday's rain.

Visit Steve's blog at meadowbrookccturfgrass.blogspot.com.

Bunkers are aging...

John Temme, Wakonda Club, Des Moines, IA:

"The bunkers at Wakonda Club are beginning to show their age. During the very wet summer of 2010 and also during Spring of 2011 we experienced heavy rains which highlighted the growing need for bunker repairs or a complete bunker renovation.

Over time bunker sand becomes contaminated with fine soil particles which restrict water perculation. An analogy would be to think of new, clean sand like a window screen - water would pass quickly through the large voids of this material. Think of dirty sand like a coffee filter - the very fine particles of soil are very restrictive thus water tends to pool in the bunker rather than releasing to the drainage underneath. A major source of this contamination is from the bunker's sub grade- especially when torrential rains send rushing water through the bunker carrying (and mixing) topsoil and clay with bunker sand.

There are several products/ methods available to improve bunker performance. Essentially the idea is to keep everything in it's place. A few years ago we applied a product called Klingstone in the left bunker next to old 9 green. We are happy with this product and this bunker performs well. This week we have begun a "trial run" at utilizing some relatively new bunker lining products from Sandtrapper. We will be utilizing these products in the left bunker on #13 and #16. Every golf course is different so we want to find out what works best at Wakonda and get feedback from our golfing members."

We started by removing the old sand as well as the old drain pipe and surrounding gravel.	In this bunker we experimented with the drainage by lining the trenches with Sandtrapper II. We utilized drain pipe wrapped with a fabric sock. The pipe is then covered with sand.
The sub grade is then covered with the Sandtrapper fabric.	The fabric is held down by 6 inch sod staples spaced 8 inches apart.
We then glued the staples to the fabric in an attempt to keep winter frost from pushing the staples out of the ground.	The end result - before sand. Notice we are also experimenting with two different Sandtrapper products.

The process has taken several days for a team of three people- we're learning as we go! For the bunker pictured above on #13 we used over 3,000 staples and 31 tubes of glue. We will be filling the bunker with sand tomorrow and are confident this bunker will perform much better in years to come.

Visit John's blog at wakondagrounds.blogspot.com

Bunker Rake Placement... Do it Right!!

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

"First of all, if you haven't watched the video I made on bunkers, here it is. Watch it again and pay close attention to where I talk about bunker rake placement.

Now watch this video on bunker rake placement.

Two very different perspectives. Let me just say those guys are wrong. Bunker rakes should be left inside the bunkers so that the maintenance staff doesn't have to move them every time the grass needs to be cut. The exception is during tournament play.

I understand the argument that rakes left outside the bunkers will result in fewer ruling violations but that's only because people haven't been taught that there is a better way to place them inside the bunker. Watch the second video again and take note of the rake that gets in the guy's way. Somebody placed it up on a slope in such a manner that it was destined to cause a problem. That rake was likely put there because someone walked out of the bunker on that steep face because he or she was too lazy to walk out the lower face like they should.

This issue is about education and etiquette. People need to walk in and out of bunkers where the face is NOT steep whenever possible. People also need to be responsible and place rakes in such a manner that the next person won't run into an issue. That might mean you leave it in the bottom of the bunker where it's flat, but I imagine in most situations you can place it like I've instructed in my video. This is really the most reasonable thing to do.

If you're at a course that asks for rakes to be placed outside the bunkers then by all means do that. If your playing here at Tacoma C&GC, please don't. Be a responsible golfer and place them in such a way as to not interfere with the person behind you. This usually happens naturally if you simply follow the rules of entering and exiting the bunkers."

Visit Joel's blog at www.tacomaturf.com