Black Friday...

Paul Chojnacky, Pasatiempo Golf Club, Santa Cruz, CA:

You will notice the greens are quite a different color when the golf course re-opens on Friday following the four-day closure to complete the fall aeration. Due to the late season punching, a new technique was used to promote a quick healing with the short days and long cool nights. In an effort to speed up recovery, we contracted with our sand company to create 'black' topdressing sand. It is the same sand we use on a regular basis, just dyed black. It is expected that the black sand will increase soil temperatures by 7-to-10 degrees F, offering a greater chance at a quick late season recovery.

View from a distance of the 13th green complex with the black sand.

The tees, fairways, approaches, and rough were all aerated and all punched areas (except rough) were topdressed with sand to enhance surface drainage and create firmer playing conditions along with smoothing out slight imperfections. Many weak areas of the rough were overseeded with improved varieties of grass seed which will help promote denser turf and better playing condition. It was a tremendous amount of work that the maintenance crew pulled off in four days filled with great weather.

Because November is a relatively late month for aerating, please be patient and understand it our goal to return to optimal conditioning as quickly as possible, but with cool nights and short days, the healing is expected to take several weeks."

Visit Paul's blog at pasatiempomaintenance.com

Sand-banding... Did it work?

Jason Hooper, Quilchena Golf & Country Club, Quilchena, BC:

"Rewind back to May of this year: TDS West was on-site to complete sand-banding on #9 and #18 approaches to help alleviate the excessive puddling in these two areas and maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of our slit drainage system. Sand-banding results in straight sand trenches that provide excellent drainage channels to help move water through the soil profile and into our slit-drainage system. For a full refresher on exactly what sand-banding is, please read this previous blog post.

Now fast-forward to six months after the process to determine just how effective the sand-banding was. Well, all I can say is that we are VERY impressed with the results! The proof that the sand-banding has worked is clear to see during and immediately following heavy rainfall. It rained throughout the night last night and I went out on the course today in the rain to take some profile samples of the sand-banding trenches to see how they were holding up. Here is what I discovered:

Okay, so now that we know that the sand-banding trenches are holding up well, just how effective has the sand-banding been for drainage? Well, as much as I'd like for you to simply take my word for it, here are some photos that show just how well it is proving to work:

#9 approach prior to sand-banding

#9 approach 6 months following sand-banding

FYI, both of the pics above of #9 approach were taken following comparable amounts of rainfall. Not too bad, eh?

Now, let's see how the sand-banding on #18 approach measures up to how well it's working on #9 approach. Again, as much as I'd love for you to simply take my word for it, I'll let the pics to the talking:

#18 approach prior to sand-banding

#18 approach 6 months following sand-banding

Yes, I am well aware of the two small spots on #18 approach that continue to puddle from rainfall. Those are two very low areas that need to be stripped and properly graded so they drain properly. We will be doing that in the coming weeks, along with some low spots on other fairways. Until then, they will continue to puddle.

So it is clear that the sand-banding has proven to be very effective. Not only are these two approaches no longer puddling, the overall turf health has greatly improved! This is not surprising, but still a great side benefit of sand-banding. Simply put, properly drained turf will always be healthier and will outperform poor draining turf.

What we are not sure of yet is how long we can expect to reap the rewards of this process. Although the concept has been around for decades, sand-banding in particular is a fairly new option for turf managers so very little data has been collected with regards to longevity of results. Another thing to consider is that EVERY golf course is different and EVERY golf course will experience different results. This is true with many aspects of golf course maintenance and is often overlooked and/or ignored. While the course down the street may find that sand-banding provides 5-7 years of results, we may only see effectiveness for 2-4 years or maybe 7+ years! It's difficult to say at this time just how long it will last, but one thing is for sure, IT WORKS!

Visit Jason's blog at qgolfclub.blogspot.com.

VENTRAC!

Chris McKernan, RiverCrest Golf Club and Preserve, Phoenixville, PA:

We gave our new multi-purpose Ventrac machine a trial run on some of the steep slopes to the left of 2 tee and right of 2 and18 fairway. I have to say, Wow, as this tractor handled the slopes with ease and confidence with the dual wheel kit.

The area just to the left of 2 tee would usually take two of our guys 4-5 hours to complete with string trimmers. I was able to finish this section and continue up to the Lejeune's house in just under an hour.

The Ventrac has the capability to attach over 20 different implements and will definitely increase our efficiency. Once the natives are cut we will attach the aerovator and punch holes in the 2 inch rough around the course."

Visit Chris's blog at rivercrestgolfclub.blogspot.com.

Hurricane Sandy Hits Indian Hills...

John Paquette, Indian Hills Country Club, Northport, NY:

"On October 29th & 30th IHCC and the rest of the Met area got pummeled by a huge tropical storm, the former Hurricane Sandy. For 30 hours our Sound-side course took a heavy beating from winds up to 94 mph (recorded at nearby Eatons Neck). The damage is substantial, but our staff has been on the job since early morning on the 31st. We were able to open 9 holes on November 9th, and hope to have the entire course back up by November 17th.

#12 after, lots of earth taken out to the Sound.	One of many uprooted trees, this maple landed on an irrigation satellite and the chipping green.
Assistant Superintendent, Phil, spent the last 13 days with a chainsaw attached to his arms.	17' drop from the tee surface to the beach below on #12.

Special thanks to all members of our Grounds Staff, all of whom worked tirelessly and continue to do so to get IHCC back open so you all can enjoy it again!"

Many more photos on John's blog at ihccgrass.blogspot.com.

Barred owl...

Paul Sabino, The Farms Country Club, Wallingford, CT:

"While supposedly common, this was our first sighting of a Barred Owl. It was sitting on a stump along the edge of #12 fairway, just inside the wood line. Pretty cool!"

Visit Paul's blog at farmsccsuperintendent.blogspot.com.

The Big Blowout...

John Slade, Laurel Creek Country Club, Mt. Laurel, NJ:

"One of the sure signs that things are winding down for the golf season is our annual irrigation system winterizing. Similar to a home lawn system, we use compressed air to purge the water from the piping, in order to avoid possible damage from system components freezing over the winter.

However, for the golf course, things are done on a much larger scale. With close to 20 miles of 2" pipe and five miles of larger main line pipe to empty, a very large compressor is rented. The course itself is blown out in two halves, where we hook the compressor to the pump station at #5 green, and the station near #9 tee. In addition to the golf course, we also winterize the club grounds irrigation system, the tennis courts, the cabana building, and the community entrance islands.

The mist from sprinklers on #5 as the system is blown out.

In years past, it always seemed to be the coldest day of the fall when we'd winterize the system. Often times the combination of air and water acts like a snow making machine, and having that mist blow on you all day isn't too fun. Fortunately, this past Monday's weather was a pleasant change, with temperatures close to 70."

Visit John's blog at laurelcreeksuper.blogspot.com.

'Water Zits', leaves, and eagles...

Paul Carter, CGCS, Bear Trace at Harrison Bay, Harrison, TN:

"You never know what you might find on a morning ride around the golf course. This was the scene in the middle of #2 fairway the other morning where a huge 'water zit' had popped up thanks to a leaking irrigation pipe. This was by far the largest one I had seen in a long time.

Hats off to the maintenance staff who have been working steadily and tirelessly to herd the leaves off of the golf course this fall. It seems like a never ending job once they start falling but the crew has done a great job, to which many people have commented with appreciation."



More photos on Paul's blog at bthbgcm.blogspot.com.

The Final, Final...

Chris Tritabaugh, Northland Country Club, Duluth, MN:

"Last June, for our daughter Olive's birthday, my sister Emily gave her a book by children's author Dallas Clayton. The book is titled, An Awesome Book and it is, an awesome book.

I have been a dreamer my entire life. I have never been afraid to dream big and believe that the impossible might just be possible. Dallas Clayton says he wrote the book for his son 'because he wanted to let him know that he should never stop dreaming'.

On the back of the book a message from the author reads:

"Writing this book changed my entire life. I think it is important. I think you are important. I hope you enjoy it. If you do enjoy it, please share it with others. I think sharing is important too." — Dallas Clayton

Dreams have been a big part of my life. They have helped lead me and guide me towards the wonderful life I am so fortunate to have today. This is my last post on this blog; a place in which I have shared a lot in the past six years. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have. As I say goodbye to this blog I want to share with you the words to An Awesome Book.

Dream big; it will never, ever let you down."

Chris is moving on from Northland to take over at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, MN. Visit his Northland blog at northlandgrounds.blogspot.com.