A Superintendent Explained

This is the best summation of a golf course superintendent that I've ever seen!

Coast Live Oak Update

After our last treatment for spider mites in 2011, I thought we were seeing some improvement in the health of our Oak trees.  With a very dry winter things have not gotten better and in some cases have become worse.  We had another sample taken and along with the mites, the disease Coryneum was present.  

Siting the report,  "The fungus Coryneum is known to cause a twig canker of oak. Trees that are stressed by prolonged drought or other factors such as grade change, overly saturated conditions, soil compaction, sunscald, etc., are more prone to infection by this opportunistic pathogen."  Without the aforementioned stressors, Coryneum isn't typically a problem.  We are obviously experiencing drought, but what is often overlooked with median trees is compaction.  Parking lots have to meet certain compaction criteria before asphalt can be applied.  

Arborwell was back on site Tuesday and treated the trees with an insecticide for the mites, a fungicide for the disease, and a bio-stimulant to help aid in recovery.  We have also been watering the trees with a root injection nozzle.  It will be some time before we see any signs of recovery, but we can be assured that we have taken all the appropriate steps to cure the problem.  

Wheel of Death

The wheel of the death is what we have to aerate both fairways and rough.  This time of year with the rough actually being penetrable, we are taking the time to aerate it.  Not that long ago, it was a huge feat just to be able to aerate fairways and now a lot of golf courses are aerating there roughs.

The cores that are pulled will be left on the surface and chopped up continually as we mow the roughs.  We will aerate when when we have time and hopefully go through the roughs twice before the end of March gets here.  As with any aeration, I hope to alleviate compaction and have better water penetration through the summer months.  

Lit

Last Friday Rodolfo and I changed out all of the burnt out lights in the shop.  7 of them to be exact.  It has been something that was long over due and what a difference.  The darker picture was one taken with the flash on, but represents how dark it was compared to the other picture which is lit up really nice.  I've joked around with the guys by introducing myself to them now that I can see them.

Snow In The Horizon

It only happens once or twice a year, but yesterday's rain provided us with snow in the mountain tops.  Enjoy the pictures.

A Day At The Races

Pictured in the video are our Mechanics with Rodolfo on the left and Ernesto on the right.  While it may seem like they are playing they are actually adjusting the speed on our aerators for optimum performance.  Rodolfo attended a training class hosted by Toro last week where they explained the best settings to run the aerators at. They said at hole setting 2.0, you should travel 50 feet in 34 seconds.  One of our aerators completed the race in 31 seconds and the other completed its run in 29 seconds.  They have made the adjustment to make it in 34 seconds and we should definitely see an improvement in hole quality.  

New Golf Shop Blog

The Cinnabar Hills Golf Shop has started a blog for 2012 and you can find the link here.  You can currently get the latest on the Golf Shop tournament or the newly introduced Taylor Made RocketBallZ driver.  Follow them by email to get the latest blog updates.

Range Flood

I wish the picture of the driving range tee being flooded meant we received copious amounts of rain, but unfortunately not.  A 2" irrigation line broke sometime around 11pm and flooded out the entire range.  To be safe, we will be on the mats until Friday and back on the grass for the weekend.