All is quiet in Chautauqua as the snow continues to fall. The thaw just before New Years was nice to get rid of a lot of snow, but still not enough to be able to see large amounts of bare ground.
Mid January here in the CGC maintenance world means finishing up golf cart winter maintenance and repair and Bill and Dan making the transition back to the main shop to begin work on the equipment. Off season care on golf carts is very repetitive and monotonous and by the time they get through roughly 160 golf carts (rentals, ranger, maintenance, etc), they are anxious to start something new.
Off season maintenance of our equipment has become a little easier in the last couple of years thanks in large part to our policy shift toward buying new equipment instead of used. We have fewer major repairs to do on our mowers since they are considerably newer and Father Time hasn't taken his toll on them yet. We still have several older pieces, and always will, but we are slowly making progress.
What does this mean to you as members and golfers? It means a well maintained golf course. There are fewer breakdowns and unsightly hydraulic leaks which lead to a better kept maintenance schedule.
I hope everyone is having a wonderful offseason.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Monday, January 3, 2011
2010 Year in Review
The 2010 season had a great beginning with a March snow melt and a "first mowing" date of March 31st. This is 2 weeks earlier than we have been able to mow in the nine years I have been at Chautauqua Golf Club. This allowed us to get an early jump on course cleanup and our mowing schedule. The good late season weather from 2009 that allowed for a great leaf cleanup paid off in lessening the amount of work needed this spring.
The early start meant we were able to get an early start on our projects as well. The new blue tee on #15 Lake Course was shaped, irrigated and sodded in time for the NJCAA Championship as was the paving of some cart paths.
Bunker renovation and drainage continued to be a part of our focus and we tackled several with the cooperation of Dennis Dixon of Chautauqua Institution's buildings and Grounds division who lent us the use of their small excavator for several weeks during the season. Thank you, Denny! We were able to drain and/or renovate six bunkers during the season and sand added to several others as well.
Trees were pruned on several holes where they were restricting fair tee shots and the same company, Great Lakes Tree Service, ground several stumps throughout the course.
The woods between #7,8,& 9 Lake Course were thinned. The crew chipped away (no pun intended) at the project for several weeks and the area not only looks better, but will allow more air movement across the area and promote healthier turf on those greens.
After the early good weather, the season turned nasty from a turf health standpoint. Hot, humid weather with little to no rain dominated mid season making sustained turf growth very difficult. With the exception of some pythium (see an earlier post)disease loss in #5 Lake Course fairway, we managed to survive this period relatively good with little turf loss in non-rough areas.
We were also able to continue our trend toward buying new equipment opposed to older used equipment. Buying new has increased our productivity by keeping the equipment on the course instead of in the repair bay of the shop, a trend we intend to continue. This season's purchases included a new rough mower, a bunker rake, and a leaf blower. This fall also brought the news that we were approved to install a newer, larger, and more efficient irrigation pump station in 2011.
The season ended just as it started, with great weather for the respective season. This past November was one of the best in recent memory and several golfers took advantage.
Thank you to everyone for a great and enjoyable 2010 golf season and I look forward to another great season in 2011.
The early start meant we were able to get an early start on our projects as well. The new blue tee on #15 Lake Course was shaped, irrigated and sodded in time for the NJCAA Championship as was the paving of some cart paths.
Bunker renovation and drainage continued to be a part of our focus and we tackled several with the cooperation of Dennis Dixon of Chautauqua Institution's buildings and Grounds division who lent us the use of their small excavator for several weeks during the season. Thank you, Denny! We were able to drain and/or renovate six bunkers during the season and sand added to several others as well.
Trees were pruned on several holes where they were restricting fair tee shots and the same company, Great Lakes Tree Service, ground several stumps throughout the course.
The woods between #7,8,& 9 Lake Course were thinned. The crew chipped away (no pun intended) at the project for several weeks and the area not only looks better, but will allow more air movement across the area and promote healthier turf on those greens.
After the early good weather, the season turned nasty from a turf health standpoint. Hot, humid weather with little to no rain dominated mid season making sustained turf growth very difficult. With the exception of some pythium (see an earlier post)disease loss in #5 Lake Course fairway, we managed to survive this period relatively good with little turf loss in non-rough areas.
We were also able to continue our trend toward buying new equipment opposed to older used equipment. Buying new has increased our productivity by keeping the equipment on the course instead of in the repair bay of the shop, a trend we intend to continue. This season's purchases included a new rough mower, a bunker rake, and a leaf blower. This fall also brought the news that we were approved to install a newer, larger, and more efficient irrigation pump station in 2011.
The season ended just as it started, with great weather for the respective season. This past November was one of the best in recent memory and several golfers took advantage.
Thank you to everyone for a great and enjoyable 2010 golf season and I look forward to another great season in 2011.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Monday, December 6, 2010
She's catching up!!!!
Last week I made the comment of wondering how much snow we will get when Mother Nature decides to catch up.
Well.......she's catching up very quickly at this point. We are in the middle of a lake effect snow band and pretty hefty winds are making life "fun" right now.
On a side note, I have added a poll to the right in hopes of getting an idea of who is visiting us. Please take a moment to click on the option that best describes the reason you are visiting. Thank you.
Well.......she's catching up very quickly at this point. We are in the middle of a lake effect snow band and pretty hefty winds are making life "fun" right now.
On a side note, I have added a poll to the right in hopes of getting an idea of who is visiting us. Please take a moment to click on the option that best describes the reason you are visiting. Thank you.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Good News!!!
We have been officially approved for an new irrigation pumping station to replace our current inefficient, unreliable and undersized pumps. We will begin with the site work asap and the new pumps will arrive in early April ready to do their thing.
The old pumps were installed well before we had all 36 holes and the fully irrigated Learning Center and operating at 600 gpm. At this capacity, it would take 12 hours or better if a heavy irrigating. The new pumps will provide 1200 gpm and will almost cut this time in half, the limiting factor being the pipe in the ground and not the pumps.
The new pumps are variable frequency drive (VFD) vertical turbine versus our current setup of centrifugal pumps. The advantage here is twofold. 1) The vertical turbines will never lose prime like the centrifugal, and 2) vertical turbines are more energy efficient that centrifugals to begin with, but are even more so with the VFD controls. What this means is that even though we have doubled the output of the station, we will have a very small increase in electrical requirements during the summer, if any. The VFDs are also much easier on the piping in the ground and will lead to many fewer leaks of the course of the season. Keep in mind that we will always have leaks, but they will be minimized with the VFD.
I am certainly excited about this approval and look forward to being able to better control the water from here on out.
The old pumps were installed well before we had all 36 holes and the fully irrigated Learning Center and operating at 600 gpm. At this capacity, it would take 12 hours or better if a heavy irrigating. The new pumps will provide 1200 gpm and will almost cut this time in half, the limiting factor being the pipe in the ground and not the pumps.
The new pumps are variable frequency drive (VFD) vertical turbine versus our current setup of centrifugal pumps. The advantage here is twofold. 1) The vertical turbines will never lose prime like the centrifugal, and 2) vertical turbines are more energy efficient that centrifugals to begin with, but are even more so with the VFD controls. What this means is that even though we have doubled the output of the station, we will have a very small increase in electrical requirements during the summer, if any. The VFDs are also much easier on the piping in the ground and will lead to many fewer leaks of the course of the season. Keep in mind that we will always have leaks, but they will be minimized with the VFD.
I am certainly excited about this approval and look forward to being able to better control the water from here on out.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
As I sit here listening to the 26 mph wind pounding rain off the side of the building, I am reminded of the unusual weather patterns we have experienced this year.
We started the season by mowing greens in March for the first time since I came here in 2002 and now we have been relatively snow free up to this point. Normally we seem to have a foot of snow on the ground and expect it to remain until the first of April. Of course, we have seasonal averages for a reason and I wonder how much snow we will get once Mother Nature decides to catch up.
I will be posting a "Year in Review" within the next week. I am working off memory so if I leave anything out, please feel free to remind me and I will make the appropriate corrections.
I hope everyone had a safe and happy Thanksgiving!
We started the season by mowing greens in March for the first time since I came here in 2002 and now we have been relatively snow free up to this point. Normally we seem to have a foot of snow on the ground and expect it to remain until the first of April. Of course, we have seasonal averages for a reason and I wonder how much snow we will get once Mother Nature decides to catch up.
I will be posting a "Year in Review" within the next week. I am working off memory so if I leave anything out, please feel free to remind me and I will make the appropriate corrections.
I hope everyone had a safe and happy Thanksgiving!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Wow, the last month flew by quickly.
We have been working on year end details.....leaf clean up, bringing in and inspecting ball washers, tee signs, tee markers, etc.
Leaf clean up is finally on the down hill side with just the oak and silver maple leaves yet to fall. This week's two hard frosts have really helped bringing them to the ground and will make next spring's clean up a little easier.
The irrigation pumps have been winterized and the irrigation lines have been blown out with compressed air to prevent potential damage from winter freezing.
It is also time to apply our winter snow mold fungicides. There has been a large change to winter fungicide programs in the northern half of the US this season. The EPA has put a "stop sell" on the "go to" inexpensive fungicide for snow mold control, PCNB. There has been talk of this product being taken off the market for a couple years so this is not much of a surprise. The biggest impact on us is in the budget and in my personal sanity this winter. PCNB was, by far, the least expensive solution to snow mold and has been very reliable as well. We are following recommendations from a couple different university research studies, most notably Cornell and the University of Wisconsin and using a combination of 3 different products. According to the research, this combination should provide control as good or better than the PCNB , but I am always nervous when entering into the unknown. I guess we will find out in April.
So far, greens and tees have been treated and it looks like we will have some good weather at the beginning of next week to do fairways and finish cleaning up the leaves.
We have been working on year end details.....leaf clean up, bringing in and inspecting ball washers, tee signs, tee markers, etc.
Leaf clean up is finally on the down hill side with just the oak and silver maple leaves yet to fall. This week's two hard frosts have really helped bringing them to the ground and will make next spring's clean up a little easier.
The irrigation pumps have been winterized and the irrigation lines have been blown out with compressed air to prevent potential damage from winter freezing.
It is also time to apply our winter snow mold fungicides. There has been a large change to winter fungicide programs in the northern half of the US this season. The EPA has put a "stop sell" on the "go to" inexpensive fungicide for snow mold control, PCNB. There has been talk of this product being taken off the market for a couple years so this is not much of a surprise. The biggest impact on us is in the budget and in my personal sanity this winter. PCNB was, by far, the least expensive solution to snow mold and has been very reliable as well. We are following recommendations from a couple different university research studies, most notably Cornell and the University of Wisconsin and using a combination of 3 different products. According to the research, this combination should provide control as good or better than the PCNB , but I am always nervous when entering into the unknown. I guess we will find out in April.
So far, greens and tees have been treated and it looks like we will have some good weather at the beginning of next week to do fairways and finish cleaning up the leaves.
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