#14 Teebox Handrail Renovation

This handrail renovation project was very similar to the project on #16. Each post hole was dug and spaced to fit each railing length. The railings were notched in, and the cross beams fit the same pattern as #16. The same measurements, tools, and wood were also used on this tee box as they were on #16. The improvement from juniper to cedar is much greater in aesthetics and quality. The members are very happy with this improvement.

#15 Tee Thatch Removal

Most tee boxes on the golf course are used daily. There is a back tee box on #15 that we do not use unless it is a tournament day. This tee box also allows us to test small tee projects. One experiment that we are interested in testing is a small thatch removal project. The tee box on #15 is a perfect location for this project because it is not used and it is maintained like every tee box on the golf course.
This project started by stripping off three rough cut passes surrounding the tee surface with a ryan 18" sod cutter. The entire short cut tee top was then stripped off revealing the excessive layers of thatch. The layers of thatch on each tee box is the motivation to experiment with this project. This 1" to 1.5" of exposed thatch was stripped off to the underlying sand profile using flat head and half-moon shovels. Once the thatch was removed, we applied pre-plant amendments and pieced the sod back together. This process can be seen in the pictures below. After about two weeks, the sod should root, and the lines that you can see in the pictures will completely fill in. If the results of the de-thatched tee box show that the grass is healthier because of this experiment, then we may apply this project to every tee box on the golf course. Until then, it is just an experiment.

Tee Aerification

A bit of a cold weather front hit the golf course, and the timing was great for our scheduled tee aerification. It is always nice to have a bit cooler temperatures when aerifying to avoid heat stress. The moisture levels however were a bit unfortunate. The tee box profiles were a bit too wet. Some of the aerification cores were not pulled by the aerifier because of this. That is the downfall to having excessive moisture during aerification. The cores that were pulled on the tees were removed by hand shovels. They were then thrown in carts, and hauled to the designated dump piles. Once the tees were cleaned off, Sand, fertilizer, and water were applied.

NCGA Event: A's vs. Yankees

What an incredible night at the ballpark. This was a great night to take a break from work, head out with the guys, and catch an entertaining baseball game. A special thanks to Gordon Vosti, Brad Witmer, Jeremy Briscoe, and Mike McCullough for providing all of us these amazing seats and an enjoyable night at the A's Stadium!

The Oakland A's had a tough challenge ahead of them as they faced the New York Yankees with CC Cebathia on the mound. Our Seats were in a skybox directly behind home plate, so we could see every at-bat perfectly. These were some of the best views I have ever experienced. The game started with the sun just over the left field line and ended well into the night. During the game, it was nice to catch up with all of the current and past NCGA SIT members. It was great to see that most of us were Oregon State University Alumni. Most of the guys were rooting for the A's to pull out the victory. There were no Yankee fans in our group, especially myself. With Red Sox in my blood, I was pulling for the A's heavily, and even had enough gusto to wear my Red Sox sweatshirt to the game. The Yankees ended up winning, but I had a great time overall. Here are some pictures of our amazing view.

#16 Tee Handrail Renovation

There are many areas on and around the golf course that vary in elevation. The cart paths and walk paths are frequently connected by bridges due to the undulating terrain. Each bridge on the Preserve is in need of a renovation due to the aging wood used in their construction. When the bridges and handrails were built, a unique wood was used from Mexico and the Southwest US. It is called Alligator Juniper. The bark looks like the skin on an alligator and the structure of the wood has a warped appearance. You can see it in Fig. 1-2.
Fig.1 Fig.2
It fits in with the rustic look of the golf course design. After years of weather exposure, the wood has continually shrunk and swelled. This has caused many of the unique bark pieces to chip and fall off. It has also led many of the pieces to rot. We are currently renovating each bridge and handrail one-by-one. The new wood that we are using comes from Idaho. It is called Idaho Cedar. On each Bridge there is usually a concrete foundation. The wood is then attached to the foundation by all-thread, 5/8x10'' lag bolts, and concrete screws depending on the location and the size of each wood piece. The hand rails are a bit different from the bridges. For each set of hand rails, we use a post hole digger to dig our holes and backfill with gravel and dirt. This serves as the foundation. Once each post is in the ground, we notch the side of each post and secure each piece of railing. The final touch is a support pattern that I like to call "peaks and valleys."Every post is connected by two railing wood pieces and two support pieces that shape like an "A" or a "V". This can be seen in Fig. 3-4.
Fig. 3 Fig. 4
The final handrail that you can see in Fig. 5 is located on the 16th tee.
Fig. 5
That is our most current renovation project. After the renovation is complete, we spray the finished bridge or handrail with a light amount of Ferrous Sulfate to turn the Cedar from its natural yellow color to a rustic gray. Compare Fig. 1-4 to Fig. 5-6 and you can see the difference.
Fig. 6

Toro Field Day

The Preserve hosted an event on the 17th fairway that was a great opportunity for all of the Superintendents and Assistants in Northern California to see what the Toro company's golf maintenance fleet had to offer. I unfortunately did not have my camera with me that day so there will not be any photos on this post.

The day started for me as a normal work day. I spent a couple of hours picking up aerification plugs on three approaches. I then went to the 17th fairway where they displayed all of Toro's new equipment. Many pieces of Toro equipment were demonstrated and explained. Once every piece was showcased, shuttle vans arrived to bring everybody back to the work trailers for a BBQ. After the BBQ, three foursomes went out onto the golf course to play 18 holes of golf. I was in one of the foursomes and played with Jason Green (Superintendent of San Jose CC) Bill Brookhart (CSE, Toro) and Michael Happe (CME, Toro). The event in total was a great success.

Planet Air & Double Verti-cutting

The greens were due for some relief as we rented/borrowed a planet air attachment from a neighbor golf course.









I had never seen a planted air, but really liked the results. This machine has the same sort of purpose as needle tines on an aerification unit. It makes slits in the soil instead of small holes with its rotating blades.


















The blades remind me of many butter knives puncturing the soil allowing water and air to enter the soil profile.


















Not only did we use the planet air for profile relief, but we double verticut our greens as well. This removed a lot of excess grass and potential thatch buildup.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

Wimbledon Grass Tennis Court

Every year during the Wimbledon Tennis Tournament, the Preserve converts the daily croquet court into a full size grass tennis court. In preparation for this event, we maintained the court like a golf putting green. The only difference is the height of cut. This court was cut at .200 inch instead of a height around .100 inch. The mower that we used is an older Jacobsen model.









We also aerified, double verticut, topdressed, and rolled this court previous to the Wimbledon tournament. One week prior to the event, we measured out and painted the lines that you would find on a regulation tennis court.



























The mowing lines were also burnt in to a 12/6 pattern for one week.









After the surface was prepared and firm enough for play, we set up the net and the tournament began.

World Cup Maintenance Crew Soccer

The month of June has brought much excitement to all of the guys on our maintenance crew with the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The anticipation will continue to grow through July. Many of the games are being broadcast live, early in the morning during work hours. With the inability to view the games during work, the guys will spend their entire lunch hour every day playing pickup soccer games. It is very competitive and a lot of fun.