How Greens are Mowed at Cinnabar

This past Monday we took the height of the greens cut from .105" to .090". While that is only 15 thousandths of an inch, speeds have picked up slightly and the greens look really tight. While I have talked about greens height before, I've never explained the machines that make it all possible.

Monday through Thursday we cut greens with a walking greens mower called the Toro Flex 21 which is pictured to the right. On the weekends when we are 1/2 crew, we use a riding triplex machine called the GreensMaster 3250 (above). Both units have a floating cutting unit which enables us to go over the many mounds Cinnabar is notorious for without scalping them.

Aside from the floating heads, each cutting unit utilizes 14 blades to cut the grass (pictured left). Traditionally, or at least in the last couple of decades, technology only allowed us 11 blades per cutting unit. The quality of cut is analogical to more blades on your home razor blade; A cleaner, smoother cut with less irritation.

It wouldn't be fair if I didn't mention that it takes a great mechanic to maintain these high precision machines and Cinnabar Hills has one of the best in Rodolfo Hernandez.

Crumb Rubber

If you have walked around the backside of the clubhouse and practiced your putting on the bar putter than you have seen the crumb rubber that we have put out. Crumb rubber is one of the answers to solve the world's problem of what to do with old tires and possibly our answer to solving some traffic issues we have.

Annually the country generates close to 300 million tires per year and approximately 30 million come from California. Stockpiling of these tires has become a major issue particularly when they catch fire and send out toxic fumes. Shredding the tires into crumb rubber has become a great way to recycle the tires. 10-15% of the tires generated in the United States are currently being shredded for crumb rubber.

Crumb rubber has multiple uses and can be commonly seen on running tracks, playgrounds, horse tracks, and golf courses. For our use, it provides a cushion against heavy traffic areas. When you walk over an area of grass repeatedly, the crown of the plant (area of plant directly above soil) takes a beating and the grass eventually dies. When the crumb rubber is put down, all the force applied from your foot goes to the rubber, thus protecting the plant.

Another way we can use it is by mixing it in to our soil before planting sod or seed. This serves the purpose of helping with heavy traffic, but also increases porosity in the soil which allows for better air and water movement.

House Cleaning

When summer gets started, we don't get the chance as often as I would like to get our house in order. Today we are hosting the San Jose Sharks and 200 of their guests so now is a great time to do some cleaning. The guys shown in the picture are washing and waxing all of the equipment. With all the sun that beats down on the equipment, waxing really adds to the longevity of the paint job.

We have other guys cleaning out all the dirt from inside the shop and more guys working on our trees and weeds in the Maintenance parking lot.

For me, I get to blog and get started on the 2011 budget. I just received my 2011 planners and I have already got most of the year planned out in theory. Looks like it is shaping up to be another busy year. If you need an appointment to see me next year, call now as time is limited already!

Missing Sand and Seed Boxes

Just kidding; we have actually taken all of them off of the course. While most people who take the time to read this blog may actually fill their divots on the tee, most others don't. You may say that even if only 30% of the divots are filled than that is 30% less work needed. Unfortunately that isn't true because it is the transport time from hole to hole that takes a lot of the time up. Once our guys are on the tee it is pretty easy from there. There is also the benefit of our guys filling the divots properly and increasing the amount of time before a tee becomes crowned. If after some time with out the boxes you have some feeback to provide, we would be glad to hear it. If you still want to fill your tee divot take your sand and seed bottle from the cart and thank you for your continued help.

Blaze Your Own Trail

The picture on the left depicts a common occurrence on the golf course and that is everybody exiting or entering the same spot. Every golf course superintendent deals with it and you wouldn't believe how much time and energy is involved to keep traffic spots maintained.

Around the greens and tees we will continually aerate to help alleviate compaction. We'll also put out sand and seed after we aerate. The sand serves the purpose of providing a better draining soil, but more importantly a soil that can withstand more traffic. The seeds purpose is to replace the grass that has passed due to traffic. We will also apply fertilizer to keep the grass we do have growing.

In the fairways and rough, the cup cutters will change entries and exits daily to help move the compaction around. There are a couple schools of thoughts on this subject. 1) Just leave the entry/ exit in the same spot and only worry about one dead spot or 2) Try and scatter the traffic around to avoid any dead spots. I am quickly coming to the conclusion that one dead spot is better because every year around this time we have multiple dead spots due to traffic.

If I had to put a dollar amount to it, I'd say we spend 5,000-10,000 per year maintaining these areas. A lot of money for an area that is typically a non golfing surface.

So I ask you kindly, the next time you are out playing, blaze your own trail. This country didn't prosper from a group of followers.