Archived Blogs from 2010
Plastic Tee Trial
Starting Saturday August 14th the Club will initiate a trial use of plastic tees. The use of plastic tees at prominent golf courses is gaining popularity due to the fact that plastic tees last much longer than wooden tees. The tees will be available at the pro shop and the starters will be handing out a few tees to each player at the first tee. We would like to encourage all members to try these new plastic tees.
Facts about wood vs. plastic tees
- Priddis Greens uses more than 300,000 wooden tees / golf season
- Priddis Greens spends more than $5,000 / season on tees for members and guests
- Wood tees are often found broken and strewn all over tee surfaces. These broken tees look unsightly and cause damage to mower blades.
- Plastic tees are double the cost of wood tees, however may last 5 times longer.
- Plastic tees are bio degradable.
- There are numerous styles of plastic tees and management is researching the style that may be best for Priddis Greens.
- We chose the current style only because we were able to trade for with current wooden tee inventory.
- Many tour pros use plastic tees. Plastic tees have been used in more than 120 tour victories over the past 6 years.
Priddis Greens hopes the use of plastic style tees reduces costs and clutter on the golf course. Please only take a few tees for each round and not handfuls for your golf bag!
We encourage feedback from members
Golf Course Update August 3 , 2010
Golf Course Maintenance Day (Raven)
Before the last putt had fallen to determine the Club Champion, Turf Care staff had already changed directions from tournament preparation to focus on the one opportunity per season to aerate greens. Monday night August 1st the Raven golf course was closed at 3:00pm to start aerating greens and fairways.
Before the last putt had fallen to determine the Club Champion, Turf Care staff had already changed directions from tournament preparation to focus on the one opportunity per season to aerate greens. Monday night August 1st the Raven golf course was closed at 3:00pm to start aerating greens and fairways.
Greens
The process for putting green aeration is as follows:
- Fertilize the greens twice the week before aeration to encourage the holes to heal over quickly. *Careful not to fertilize too much as to slow green speeds down for club championships.
- Verticut the greens aggressively in two directions to remove thatch and reduce grain
- Mow the green to help remove debris form verticutting
- Heavy topdressing layer of kiln dried topdressing sand applied to every green – approximately 3,500lbs of sand / green
- Solid tine aerate the green
- Work the topdressing sand into the holes with blowers and hand brooms
- Roll the greens to smooth the surface from the equipment used during the aeration process
- Fertilize the greens with 5 different types of fertilizers determined by soil testing
- Water
*It is vital to the success of the project that weather and green surfaces remain dry. Unfortunately we were caught with heavy rain during a Monday night thunder storm. The rain shut our operation down that evening and caused a slow start Tuesday morning. It made for an extra long day Tuesday but we avoided more forecasted showers and the staff was able to get the job done
*Aeration methods (tine size and spacing) are predetermined by soil testing performed annually to monitor the aging process of the greens. We have been working toward eliminating core aeration and increasing our solid tine or venting programs with increased topdressing rates. While this program enhances playability immediately following greens aeration, recent soil test results show a regression in soil physical properties. We will be monitoring this closer than normal with increased soil testing
Fairway Aeration
All fairways on the Raven golf course were also aerated. The five fairways with the most thatch were core aerated and the remaining fairways were aerated with a deep solid tine aerator.
Tee Topdressing
All 18 holes on the Raven course had tees aerated while the golf course was closed.
**The pictures below show the work being performed**
Verticut Lines Following Two Directions Of Verticutting
Topdressing The Green With Kiln Dried Sand
Solid Tine Aerating The Green Following Topdressing
Blowing Sand Into Aeration Holes
Hand Broom Sand Into The Aeration Holes To Get It Perfect
Smoothing The Green Surface Following The Entire Process
Final Product Ready For Play
Fairway Aerator In Action
Sweeping Aeration Cores
Priddis Greens Staff Hauling Aeration Cores Away To Dump Site
Priddis Greens Staff Manually Finishing Clean Up Of Fairway Cores
Fairway After Clean Up Process
False Alarm - Giant Hogweed turns out to be Cow Parsnip
Last week we reported that a noxious weed that posed a threat to human health was identified at Priddis Greens. The club brought out an expert in the field of plant identification and concluded that the weed that is prevelant is not Hogweed but rather Cow Parsnip. Cow Parsnip is in the same family of weeds as Hogweed, however Cow Parsnip does not pose the same health risks associated with Hogweed.
Raven Aeration
Following club championship on the August long weekend both the Raven golf course greens and fairways will be aerated. The greens will be punched with a solid tine (no core pulled) and topdressed with sand. This process was used on the Hawk golf course in May and seemed to work well. This process should be less obtrusive than the standard aeration process of pulling cores and will also heal quicker, resulting in improved putting green quality.
The fairways will also be aerated during this course closure. Contractors are brought in to assist the Turf Care staff to complete the job in one day.
Golf Course Update – July 7th 2010
Over all conditions seam to be in good shape. The following comments highlight specific issues with different areas on the golf course.
Greens: Putting green quality has been good the last few weeks. Staff are double cutting greens at a lower height of cut than normal ( .110” -.120”) as well as rolling greens on a regular basis to achieve the desired green speeds. Extensive brushing to control grain is also being used almost daily. Staff are also using the stimp meter on all or close to all greens daily to ensure consistency in speed from green to green. Greens have seen very little water from sprinklers in order to keep them as firm and dry as possible to help achieve the targeted green speed and the firmness helps with wear and tear from ball marks and foot traffic.
Tees: All tees have been fertilized this past week and 18 holes worth of tees topdressed over the past two weeks. Topdressing helps firm the tees which helps with playability, it fills divots and helps dilute thatch. Staff also fill divots weekly with green sand. The remainder of the tees will be topdressed next week July 12-13-14th. The discolouration or brown patchs on 1 Hawk tee was caused from a freak incident that happened Sunday morning. After a power outage shut down the irrigation system an excessive accumulation/concentration of sulphuric acid was injected into the irrigation lines. When the system turned back ion the first areas to receive water 1Hawk tee and a few back nine Raven green surrounds received a dose of water that had a very low pH due to the sulphuric acid. These areas should grow out in the next week.
Fairways: Fairways are good with the exception of a few holes that are still recovering from winter injury (16 & 18 Hawk) We will continue to topdress / verti-cut, fertilize, spike etc.. until the fairways have filled in. Staff have been trying to manage the moisture content in fairways on the dry side so balls bounce and roll down the fairway. All fairway moisture levels are monitored closely with digital moisture probes then each fairway receives a customized irrigation program based on its own micro-climate. Fairway moisture levels must be increased when the golf course receives excessive golf cart traffic. It also becomes more difficult to manage the fairways on the dry side when a the golf course goes through periods of hot dry weather.
Rough: Still a little spotty from winter injury causing the odd poor lie. These areas should fill in with the good weather we are experiencing. The stake to stake cart path rule seems to be helping the condition of the rough. It is going to really pay off now that we are getting into hot and dry weather. We still need to spread the word to members to keep their cart on the fairways and out of the rough if possible.
Bunkers: Staff having been very busy in the bunkers in the past few weeks. All 36 holes have been edged, weeded and we are in the process of adding new sand to any bunkers that are deficient.
Ponds: With the warm weather comes pond scum, algae and aquatic weeds. Staff spend numerous hours a week in pods hand weeding to compliment the biological weed control program. No aquatic herbicides are used for environmental reasons.
Cart Paths: Repair work to broken asphalt cart paths were performed last week as well as widening of many paths besides tees or greens. The widening was performed to provide room for carts to pass each other with out rutting the turf during wet weather.
Trees: A crew of contract Arborists have been on site removing trees that pose a danger to the Fortis power lines. The trees will be removed or limbed, the branches chipped and the logs stacked.
Golf Course Update (June 11th / 2010)
Putting Greens
Due to an extended period of cold, cloudy wet weather, there has been an outbreak of a turfgrass fungus on a number of golf course putting surfaces. Fusarium Blight (turfgrass fungus) is a turf disease that is not normally a problem at Priddis Greens this time of year but is a disease that is often found on the west coast in the winter months. When we have been infected by Fusarium Blight in the past and it usually goes away with a few days of sunlight. However, we have started to see some turf loss in small circles almost exclusively on Poa Annua. We determined a fungicide application necessary on the following greens: Practice putting green, chipping green, old hawk greens and 11 Raven green. The fungicide application was made prior to play on Friday morning June 11th. We have posted that information on the IVR net important message page, Golf Shop door, and the starters have been directed to brief all golfers that an application of fungicide has been made. We don’t believe this disease will have a significant impact on playability. (attached are photos of Fusarium Blight on the practice putting green)
Golf Course Projects
Eleven Spruce trees were planted on the golf course this week. Six Spruce were planted on the left side of number 1 Hawk. These six trees were planted as a barrier to protect members vehicles in the parking lot. Five Spruce trees were also planted on the right hand side of number 6 Raven. These trees were planted as future protection for the inside of the dog leg as we have lost numerous Poplars in that area over the past few years.
Golf Course Playability and Cart Path Rule
Again with excessive precipitation, a lack of sunshine or heat to dry the golf course we are very wet. Unfortunately the golf course will likely remain paths only throughout a good part of the weekend. We will allow golf carts back on the fairways as soon as conditions improve and the risk of golf car damage is no longer prevalent.
The turf on fairways and rough will be somewhat longer than normal over the next few days because rough mowers that are normally scheduled to mow have been called of for risk of damage due to soft conditions.
The entire golf course was fertilized this week. With the moisture in the ground and some forecasted sunshine we hope the grass finally starts growing consistently, and weak areas start filling in.
1) Hawk Greens Aeration
· Hawk greens aeration will be performed on Tuesday May 25th.
· Soil test results are used to determine what type of aeration process is required. Our most recent soil test results look good in almost all categories therefore we plan on solid tine aerating with a topdressing. This process should be less invasive than a standard aeration where cores are pulled.
· The Hawk greens were fertilized this week to prepare them for the stress of aeration and to help the hole fill in quicker following aeration. The Hawk greens will look very healthy however putt slower than normal this weekend.
2) Nine Raven Bunker Addition Project
· Weather permitting the construction of the new bunker will commence Tuesday May 25th and should be completed Friday May 28th.
· The bunker will be a relatively small fairway bunker approximately 260 yds from the black tee, 245 yds from the silver tee, 188yds from the white tee and 176 yds from the red tee.
· During construction Raven #9 will have to play as a Par 3 for contractor and staff safety.
Construction Process:
1) Strip sod of working area
2) Haul approximately 200 Cubic Meters of fill for enhancing the grade and bunker visibility
3) Shape bunker feature
4) Install bunker drainage and tie into existing drain line
5) Add irrigation (2 small sprinklers)
6) Sod bunker perimeter and construction zone
7) Add bunker sand
3) EZ Hole Locator
We have initiated a new system for determining daily hole locations on the putting greens. The new system uses a computor software program that generates the daily locations using specific parameters that we have built into the program.
Why did we decide to use this new system?
- The old system was determined by Turf Care members each day and each different staff member would use their own judgement on a good hole location and because of habit would eventually go back to the same locations over and over again. This system lead to many member complaints about redundency and more importantly lead to weak turf conditions in certain areas of the green. The new EZ hole locator system ensures that all wear and tear is moved around each green and takes human error, habit and judgement out of the equation. The new system will also provide members with much greater variety than seen in the past.
How did we determine each specific hole location?
- Each and every hole location was predetermined and approved by myself and Sr. Assitant Superintendent Mark Begin. Using a basic set of parameters for each set of hole locations we went out and measured every hole location on every green prior to entering the measurements into the software program. The parameters were: 1) no hole shall be closer than 3 paces from the side of a green 2) No hole shall be closer than 4 paces from the front edge of a green. 3) Each hole location shall be relatively free of severe slopes in a three foot circumference around the hole. This last parameter was really tough because our greens are so severely sloped.
What are the benefits we expect to see from using this system?
- More consistant turf conditions on the putting greens because of better hole location distribution.
- Greater variety from day to day and week to week in hole locations.
- Greater member satisfaction
- Much greater efficiency for Turf care staff in terms of planning time and supervision.
- Quality hole location / pin sheets for members and guests. Ask the starters for the sheets.
- Over all improved golf experience for members
Observations of the new course set up system (EZ Hole Locator).
1) Hole locations are being spread around the greens more consistently and the turf is healthier**.
2) Some hole locations are making the golf course play tougher.
3) Members have commented that there is more variety in hole locations than ever before.
4) Staff are much more efficient with their time
5) Some members have commented favourably on the new pin sheets
6) Each green on the golf course has a different ratio of front, middle and back hole locations. In years past, staff used to rotate pins on a three day schedule from front, to middle to back. Specific greens will now have a blue pin more often and some greens may have a front pin more often.
How to read a pin sheet
+2 - Hole location is plus 2 yards from the center of the green.
17 - Hole location is 17 yards from the front edge of the green
7L - Hole location is 7 yards from the left edge of the green
Depth 31 – the depth of the green is 31 yards
Cart Path Rule - 90 degrees stake - stake
The horticulture crew are busy turning the beds this week in preparation for their first large shipment of annuals on Monday, May 24th. Beginning with the hardier, acclimatized annuals and working into June until just over 15,000 annuals are in the ground.
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