FYI 9/20/19

9/20/19

Golf Maintenance FYI

·         The golf course continues to improve from the cultural practices completed last week. The greens still had some excessive sand on them over the weekend and Monday morning due to the aerification and topdressing performed last Tuesday. The greens were brushed and mowed Monday afternoon and showed significant signs of improvement.

·         The greens were sprayed with a fungicide on Wednesday that will prevent any disease pressure over the next month. With ‘feel like’ temperatures still in the low 100’s the stress index on our turf remains high. The greens were sprayed with a liquid fertilizer on Thursday to continue the spoon feeding of nutrients to the turf. Looking at the greens today, Thursday, it is impressive that they have recovered so quickly from the aerification and verticutting performed last week.

·         All bunkers were edged and weeded this week providing a crisp, defined edge. The Kipp Schulties bunker design receive many compliments from golfers. The Green and Grounds Committee will be reviewing the bunker sand in the coming months. Several bunkers are below the normal level of sand and several have contamination of native soil and gravel. These issues are predominantly from the effects of Hurricane Irma in 2017 when there was considerable erosion.

Hole 3 Greenside Bunker

·         All lake banks were manually string trimmed this week. Due to the high-water levels in the lakes our machinery cannot easily get close to the waters edge without causing ruts or possibly getting stuck.   

·         A new irrigation zone has been installed along the maintenance fence on Hole 3. The new sprinklers will be used to irrigate the Clusia that were installed last week and will also help with the historical wet areas in the rough as you exit 3 Fairway. Compliments to Luis Altuzar, our Irrigation Technician, for his tireless work.

·         We began work this week on lowering turf along cart path edges where rain and irrigation water collect. The sod is first cut and rolled back then the excess soil removed and leveled before putting the sod back in place. It is a tedious task however, the improvements in appearance from not having standing water each day is worth the effort. During this process, the excess soil is used to fill in sink holes along the rock walls caused by the excessive rain in the summer months.

Hole 3 Cart path – All areas are marked Ground Under Repair

·         It is exciting to see an Osprey utilizing the platform located near the bathroom on Hole 4. Hopefully this will be the season to have a successful nest and offspring.

Our Osprey enjoying the view from its perch on Hole 4

·         The roughs and fairways are responding well to last weeks fertilizer application and are growing up to their new heights. Roughs are now mowed at 1.75 inches and Fairways at 0.500 inches. These heights will help to provide improved definition on the golf course.

Hole 18 Fairway, Tuesday September 17, 2019

·         We have been experiencing issues with our equipment wash station over the past month. The system was installed 15 years ago and is now starting to show signs of wear. Considering that the machine was outside in the elements for all those years it is impressive that it has performed so well for this long. The Green and Grounds Committee will be reviewing this piece of equipment in the coming months.

                  

            Black water from the equipment wash station is quite disgusting

·         The clock project remains on time and as planned. The electrical wiring has been installed and the concrete foundation was poured on Wednesday. The small retaining wall be constructed by the end of next week with the pavers installed soon after that. The clock is expected to arrive the week of October 7 and will be installed the week of October 14.

Our members donated $37,125 to the project. All hourly labor, pavers, concrete and wiring is being charged back to the project. The clock comes with a 1 year warranty and maintenance program. It has a GPS time management system that will reset the time in the event of a power outage. More information can be found at www.verdin.com.

Compliments to David Forrey for his efforts on this project.

David Forrey connecting the wires in the foundation prior to the concrete. The foundation is over 6 feet deep.

FYI 9/13/19

9/13/19

Golf Maintenance FYI

·         It has been another busy week on the golf course as we enjoyed the 3-day closure to get some late summer cultural practices completed.

·         All greens were verticut, aerified, topdressed with sand, fertilized and brushed on Tuesday. They were then rolled 2 directions and brushed on Wednesday. Lastly, they were rolled 2 directions on Thursday followed by another verticut and brush on Thursday. Thankfully the weather cooperated and there were no issues with rain or lightning.

Aerified Greens using 1/2 inch tines

Picking up plugs

Cleaning off debris

Topdressing with sand

Fertilizing with organic fertilizer

Brushing the greens to incorporate the sand and fertilizer into the aerification holes

·         The entire golf course had granular fertilizer applied on Wednesday and Thursday to help with turf health and to aide in turf recovery from the summer cultural practices.

·         All Collars around the greens were verticut and all Collars and Greens Surrounds topdressed with sand on Wednesday. This practice helps smooth out the playing surface and encourages new growth.

Sand topdressing Approaches and Greens Collars

·         New St. Augustine sod was installed in a notorious washout area behind Hole 8 Back tee. It is a substantially improved appearance and the members in that area are very thankful.

·         New concrete curbing was added to the bathrooms on Holes 4 and 14 as well as new curbing on Holes 1 and 5 where golf carts continue to cut the corner impacting turf quality. Broken concrete pieces were also replaced on the cart path leading from Hole 13 to 14 to improve the overall look of this area.

Addition of concrete curbing to Hole 5 green complex - keep 4 wheels on the path now please!

·         Over 3000 native grasses were installed throughout the golf course this week in areas that were void of vegetation. It will not take long for these new plants to mature and provide additional color and beauty to the golf course.

·         Rough was not mowed this week as I am raising the height from 1.5 inches to 1.75 inches to improve definition between the fairways and roughs. It will be interesting to hear member response to the higher height of cut and to assess the turf appearance.

·         Additional Areca Palms, as well as 30 Clusia shrubs, were installed along the golf maintenance fence this week to improve the view for the residents in Cinnamon Ridge. 

·         It was an extremely productive week and I can’t thank my staff enough for their continued efforts and hard work.

·         We are watching the Tropics again this weekend with the possibility of feeling some of the effects of a Tropical Depression on Saturday. It has been surprisingly dry for the past 2 weeks so some additional rain to help activate the applied fertilizer and moisten some dry areas would be helpful.

·         Next week we will continue to detail the golf course with edging of bunkers, basins, weed-eating lake banks, lowering sod along cart paths to allow water to reach drains and fixing sink holes along rock walls.

FYI 9/6/19

9/6/19

Golf Maintenance FYI

·         There is no question that we are extremely fortunate that Hurricane Dorian slipped up the east coast this past week. Our thoughts and prayers are with those that the massive storm did effect.

·         I can’t thank my staff enough for their willingness to get the golf course ready for play for the past weekend and the Labor Day event. The course was in great shape and our members thoroughly enjoyed getting away from the Weather Channel updates and being outdoors. Great work by Traci, Jason, Chef Paul and Brian for communicating and coordinating everything. #teamwork

·         We are preparing for our 3-day closure this coming week that will involve verti-cutting and aerifying the greens on Tuesday. They will then be top-dressed with sand, fertilized and brushed to incorporate the sand and nutrients down into the soil profile. I am confident the greens will recover quickly.

·         The golf course will be fertilized with a complete fertilizer this week to strengthen the turf before the cooler weather and increased golfer traffic arrives.

·         During the closure there will be some new concrete curbing added along the cart paths in several locations including Hole 1 tee complex, Hole 5 green and the bathrooms on Holes 4 and 14. These areas are routinely run over with cart traffic and have a negative impact on the turfgrass and vegetation. The broken sidewalk from Hole 13 to 14 will also be repaired.

·         Several areas throughout the golf course are having additional plant material installed where there have been voids or dead plants removed. The new plants will provide an improved appearance and help reduce weed pressure.

·         Additional Palm trees will be installed this week along the golf maintenance western fence to provide an improved appearance for those residents in Cinnamon Ridge looking toward the east.

·         The ice machine at Hole 4 was repaired this week and is now operating perfectly. I have received many compliments for the upgrades to the beverage stations and the overall appearance of the bathrooms.

·         An irrigation issue was identified on Court 1 at the tennis facility. A new irrigation valve will be installed on Monday. The courts will have additional clay applied at the end of September to have them in great condition for the upcoming season.

·         Electrical work for the decorative clock was completed this week. The new clock is expected to arrive the first week of October.

·         Bonita Springs Utilities has confirmed that they will be refurbishing our fire hydrants throughout the property. They hope to begin in October and finish by the end of the year.

·         Estero Fire Department has confirmed that they will be replacing any missing reflectors used to identify the fire hydrants. They hope to have this completed by the end of the month.

·         David Forrey will be enjoying some time off next week visiting family in Minnesota. It is a much-deserved break for this outstanding employee.

FYI 8/30/19

8/30/19

Golf Maintenance FYI

·         This week has all been about watching the Tropics. Hurricane Dorian has been on the radar for the past 5 days and we have been watching it closely and making the necessary plans well ahead of time.

·         We learned many things from Hurricane Irma with probably the most important lesson being that these storms are extremely unpredictable.

Although meant as a joke, this model shows the unpredictable nature of Hurricanes

·         At present time there is no definitive path of the storm and so we are taking all precautions to ensure that the golf course and its assets are well protected. This includes providing enough time for our employees to prepare their own families and homes.

·         All turfgrass was treated with a growth regulator to prevent excessive growth. We are predicted to receive over 5 inches of rain over the next 4 days. This rain could cause difficulties in mowing the turf grass next week.

·         All basins have been inspected and cleared of debris. Basins prone to blockage have had a stake placed next to them so that the drain can be easily found and cleared to allow water to subside.

·         All equipment has been filled with fuel and our large fuel tanks filled with both diesel and regular gas.

·         All chainsaws have been inspected and tuned as well as spare blades and chains purchased.

·         All rakes will be removed from the course Saturday morning followed by all flagsticks at the end of day Saturday.

·         Sand has been purchased to use for members sandbags if needed.

·         All fairways were top-dressed with sand to help with drainage

·         Our staff have been fantastic this week in preparing the course and are here to help if needed.