Attention Turf Students, Now Accepting Applications...

Jeff Johnson, Minikahda Club, Minneapolis, MN:

"This is a first for me, posting an Internship opening on my blog, but what the heck, why not? Every year Turfgrass students have the opportunity to work on our staff and learn valuable experiences, experiences that will hopefully, add to their viability in the job market down the road. Our staff usually consists of 1-2 students from the United States as well as an International Trainee.

The Minikahda Club Grounds Department has been host to eight trainees in the past eleven years. Trainees have come from Scotland, South Africa, France, Germany (3) and this year we hosted a Trainee from China. This is actually this trainees second tour to The Minikahda Club. Hao Wang, aka Tony, first joined us in 2008 as a complete greenhorn, but we enjoyed Tony so much in 2008 and he enjoyed his experience as well so he came back to learn from us for a 2nd time.

International turfgrass students interested in an opportunity to learn here at The Minikahda Club or in the United States can contact Communicating for Agriculture, (www.caep.org) in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. They can assist you with placement as well as the application process. We really enjoy the experience the International trainees bring to our staff and it can become an excellent learning experience for both parties. With the friendships I have made I also see it as a great way to set up my future world golf tour ;)

Turf students interested in a internship, please read the details below..."

Visit Jeff's blog at minikahdagrounds.blogspot.com.

ESA Burn: Fail!

Tim Anderson, CGCS, Naperville Country Club, Naperville, IL:

"The first attempt at burning the ESAs (Environmentally Sensitive Areas) on Friday was unsuccessful. The ESAs are not far enough into their dormancy for them to burn effectively. The amount of smoke coming from the ESA in the top photo below shows there is too much moisture in them to burn the way we need them to.

We consult with a company called Pizzo and Associates for all of our management of these areas, and this company also performs the burn. We will continue to monitor these areas to decide when an appropriate time will be. After the rain this past weekend, it will most likely be spring before the ESAs will be ready."

Visit Tim's blog at napervilleccgrounds.blogspot.com.

Two bunkers from one, with improved definition...

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

"During the past week, the staff and I completed the renovation of the bunker to the right of hole 11. This bunker had been compromised with foreign material due to the summer rain events and a diminishing sand supply and was in need of an overhaul.

Sod was removed from the perimeter of the bunker to allow for new soil to be added to create a raised mound of turf between the green and bunker. The previous bunker was quite flat and allowed for a fairly easy golf shot back on to the green.

The existing sand was removed and the drainage lines cleaned and inspected to ensure that they are performing correctly. Riaan Potgieter, our Assistant Superintendent, had the idea to create two smaller bunkers rather than one larger one earlier in the year. This would allow golfers to see the depth of the bunkers from the tee and create a visually appealing greens complex. After discussions with Gordon Lewis, our golf course architect, the idea was approved.

The base of the bunker is then cleaned and smoothed to improve drainage and prevent native soil contamination.

New sand is then placed into the bunkers at a depth of 4 inches around the perimeter to approximately 6 inches toward the center. A vibratory plate is then used to compact the sand to prevent 'fried eggs' and ultimately firm up the hazard to provide a fair shot for golfers.

Finally, the sod is replaced around the perimeter of the bunkers, top-dressed to fill in any voids, fertilized and watered. The bunkers will remain as 'Ground Under Repair' for 2 weeks to allow the sod to establish and new sand to settle. Overall, the bunker renovation was very successful and now provides a true bunker shot back onto the green as well as an improved view from the tee for all players. I cant thank my staff enough, especially Ricardo Gomez, for their work on this project. There are several other bunkers throughout the course requiring renovation. These will completed regularly throughout the year."

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

New additions to the maintenance shop...

Rick Tegtmeier, CGCS, Des Moines Golf & Country Club, West Des Moines, IA:

"We have never had a dedicated room to do our mower grinding in, so this November we went to one of our cold storage areas and added a small addition. We then fixed it up very nice and moved our grinders in there. It will be a welcome addition to our facility. Not only does it free up some winter time space but the grinding noise will be kept to a minimum for us.

We now also have a paint booth/wash area. We purchased a much needed new hot water/high pressure washer. We mounted it up high to keep debris off of it and repainted the area. Here is the finished product.

The guys did everything in house on both projects and I am very proud of their work."

Visit Rick's blog at dmgcc.blogspot.com