Greens Brushing with Woolly Mammoth Hair

This week at Cinnabar we brushed the greens, but we didn't really use the hair of a woolly mammoth.  Those in the industry may get the humor because there was a rumor that Merion Golf Club used brushes made with yak-hair to help prepare their surfaces for the 2013 U.S. Open.

We actually just used regular broom heads that you would find at any old hardware store attached to the  T.I.P. grooming unit.  The purpose of this was to help remove some of the grain by standing up the grass that was laying over and cut it off.  We then followed that up with a double cutting and of course, sand.

Infrastructure

With some large tournaments this week and no golf course projects scheduled, we performed some work on our shop infrastructure and a bridge.

Our mechanic Rodolfo wrapped up the electrical work on the lean-to so we can now see at 3 a.m. if need be  That is a project we have been wanting to do for some time now and I'm glad we had the time to complete it.   It is so much better with overhead lights vs. flashlights in the mouth.

The bridge we worked on is located on 4 Canyon near the green and the last span as you head towards the tee had dropped about an inch.  When we pulled the planks we discovered that the joist hangers had failed due to what looked to be an installation problem.  After finding 3" x 12" joist hangers and planks, my assistant Gregorio and a couple of staff members were able to replace the last 7' span of the bridge.

Why We Love Our Owls

Last week our birder, Lee Pauser, put up a camera to watch the owl box that has 7 owlets inside.  He grabbed some amazing photos of why we started this program two years back.  You'll see the hen bringing in either a gopher, mole or vole on three separate occasions.

Despite the help from the owls, my gopher guy's have caught 1,100 exactly year to date.  We are experiencing the worst rodent season by far.  Maybe it is time to get the gopher tunnel blaster!

My Miracle Maker

1st generation

We jokingly call our little red sprinklers our miracle workers because they work wonders on the golf course. With over 2,700 sprinklers on the course, you may wonder the need for such sprinklers, but they make all the difference in the world. 

It needs to be understood that no irrigation system is perfect.  We have an extremely good system, but there are multiple areas on the course that aren't spaced correctly or where the soil has a hard time taking water.  With these little "miracle" workers, we can set the sprinklers out for the entire day, shooting a finer mist than our larger irrigation sprinklers.  That water is put out so lightly that it doesn't run off and after a day or so of running we have complete saturation.  The results are green grass for two weeks before we have to put them back.  

2nd generation

I had a hard time finding our particular sprinkler since it is unmarked, but I finally came across something on Amazon (I think I saw my children for sale there too; they have everything).  The base is the same and the nozzle is actually better.  The link is here if you want some of your own miracles.  

Cinnabar Hills Turf Twister

This morning while making the rounds, I noticed something unusual on the 4th green of the Mountain course. From the cart path I saw a square the size of a golf flag that was off color compared to the rest of the green. Upon closer examination, I saw that it was actually an imprint of the flagstick and flag on the green.  

The morning prior, we applied wetting agent to the greens.  Wetting agents assist with both water penetration into the soil and retention once there.  When applied, they need to be followed by irrigation to be effective.  That night though the flagstick didn't make it back into the cup and where the flag was didn't receive any irrigation.  The rest of the green was looking like steamed broccoli (expected) while the area where the flagstick was had dew and looked like normal.  I don't expect anything other than interesting story to tell from this incident.