Maintenance shop water line repair

Sometimes we have work to do around the property that has nothing to do with the maintaining turfgrass. Last week, we finally wrapped up a repair of the drinking water line that supplies fresh water to our maintenance shop.

Working on a large, older property comes with its challenges. In this case, the drinking water line at the maintenance shop is as old as the facility itself. We have had many years of stable conditions, but this year we did have a leak develop. Unfortunately, the pipe is underneath our parking lot, so it requires removing asphalt to get started. Not only that, but the pipe is about 7 feet deep, making for quite the excavation to expose the problem.

Because of the depth of the pipe, it could have been leaking for some time before the water finally reached the surface. A contractor helped us with the excavation, and we had to deal with very saturated soil as we worked. Eventually we reached the pipe and found the leak. The actual repair was very easy. We recharged the line to make sure there were no more leaks before backfilling what had become a very large hole. Once we were in the clear, backfilling went smoothly. All that was left was asphalt repair which concluded last week.

The golf course needs attention every day, some days more than others. But we also must maintain multiple other areas and infrastructure around Bretton Woods. Even though it took more time than we wanted, it was nice to get this repair finished up.

 

 Starting in November, through February, we will reduce to 1 post per month. Thank you

 

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

If you drive your motorized cart into a bunker, please rake the tracks. Thank you

 

Also, as part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

Golf Cart tips

 

 

 

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Look ahead to fall

Fall has finally arrived, despite two days last week climbing to the upper 80’s! The cooler weather brings several changes to the golfer’s experience also. So here is a preview of what to expect.

Fall is arguably the best season of the year. Temperatures are comfortable during the day, and bring crispness in the evening, and leaves start to change color. The leaves also start to drop and that means lots of cleanup. Our blowers will be out daily, with the vacuum right behind. If we could condense our cleanup to one week a year and have every leaf drop at the same time we would gladly take it. Unfortunately, it will last until Thanksgiving. So please be patient as we work through the process- some additional noise from the machines, piles in the rough waiting to be picked up, and especially on blustery days, leaves scattered in every direction.

Before long those crisp nights will drop low enough to give us our first frost delay of the fall. Frost is a tricky and annoying evil of the season. Frost covered turf will be severely damaged or killed from traffic- golf and maintenance carts, our machines, and even foot traffic. We work diligently to allow golfers onto the course absolutely as soon as possible after a delay. But we must have time to prepare the course, even minimally, before it is too crowded. Sometimes this means that the frost has started to clear, but we have not opened the course yet because we are still doing some work. Please obey all signage and check in with the Proshop for updates. We will open as early as possible.

Lastly, fall is a great time for the Grounds department to start some projects. Drainage, bunker renovations, and new collar sod are the three main items we tackle at this point. The weather is great for growing grass, which means new sod can heal in quickly. But most of the established grass, especially the Bermuda grass, has slowed its growth enough that it no longer requires daily mowing and attention. Therefore, we have the time available for projects now also. There will be bunkers that are under construction or new turf that must be protected. We will reopen these areas as quickly as we can, but please be aware and careful when playing through our work.

Fall is the best season for golf because the course is in great shape and the weather is perfect. These reminders will help everyone enjoy this season.

 

Starting in November, through February, we will reduce to 1 post per month. Thank you

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

If you drive your motorized cart into a bunker, please rake the tracks. Thank you

Also, as part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

Golf Cart tips

 

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

First SDS application

Soil temperatures have reached the point where our first Spring Dead Spot (SDS) chemical application is due. We made our first spray today.

This application is critical to the overall health of the Bermuda grass- for next year. We have discussed this before, here and here. The prevention of the disease for the upcoming season starts the fall prior. Timing is very important, which is why we closely monitor the soil temperatures.

Just as important as when we make the application is what we do following the application. As soon as the hole is finished being sprayed, we must run the irrigation. The products must be watered down into the thatch and lower growing points of the plant to contact the fungus. This requires at least a 1/8” of an inch of water and up to ¼” as soon after as possible. Without this water, even with good timing, the application would lose significant efficacy.

We have been through a couple of good Bermuda grass seasons in the last few years. Part of that starts with our SDS program, and the first application is now in the books.

 

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please do not practice on the course. Taking extra shots leads to unnecessary divots and ball marks. Thank you

 

Also, as part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

Golf Cart tips

 

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Hydraulic leak in the rough

Every industry relies on machines in some capacity, and turf management is no different. Unfortunately, sometimes our machines break down or they leak fluids. Last week, our large area rough mower blew a hydraulic hose and sprayed hydraulic fluid in the rough in front of #16 red tee.

There are very few alternatives to using large machines on the golf course, especially for our operation. With unlimited manpower or money, it is probably possible to eliminate the threat of failures occurring. But failures do happen- components break, parts wear out, or in this case, a high-pressure hydraulic hose developed a hole in the side.

Nearly every type of fluid in our machines negatively impacts the turf and most are deadly in a very short period of time. The fluids- usually gas or oil- burn the foliage, coat the outer layer of the leaves and block photosynthesis, and are toxic once taken inside the plant. These factors combine to make prevention the only true way to protect f
rom these accidents. Once the spill occurs, the turf will need to be replaced or given ample time to recover.

The other side of this situation is minimizing the downtime of the machine.  A leak is extremely detrimental to the turf, but most often it also takes the machine out of commission. Depending on the exact issue, this could be hours or days. So, we also must focus our attention on trying to get the machine back in working order, so we don’t lose any more valuable operating time

 In this most recent case, a section of hydraulic hose failed. Luckily, failing hoses are not common, but we do operate multiple machines that each have several hoses, so problems are bound to arise. Several years ago, to mitigate these leaks, we purchased a hydraulic hose crimping machine. The tool takes new, bare hose, and presses and seals a new end fitting on, creating a new hydraulic hose to use. The crimping machine has been a very valuable tool for a couple of reasons. With this tool, when a leak is discovered, we can build and install a new hose within an hour or less. Previously, this would have required at least two days- ordering and delivery of the new hose from our equipment vendor.

But a second factor in the crimping tools importance is that during our routine inspections of machines, particularly all the hoses, we can replace any questionable hoses before leaks develop. In season, but especially during the winter, our equipment maintenance team inspects all hoses on every piece of equipment, rebuilding and replacing as needed. Sometimes, an entire network of hoses will be replaced on a machine each winter. Our costs consist of purchasing spools of hose and the required fittings, but the cost pales in comparison to what we would spend if we had to purchase OEM hoses for every replacement made.

Leaks are bound to happen. Minimizing the turf affected and getting the area back in shape quickly are two main goals. But putting the machine back into service is just as important. Handling the hose repair in-house makes that part even easier.

 

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please do not practice on the course. Taking extra shots leads to unnecessary divots and ball marks. Thank you

 

Also, as part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

Golf Cart tips

 

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org

Tournament prep

The opening rounds of the Match Play Championship were this past weekend, with the final rounds this upcoming weekend. What does the Grounds department do differently to prepare for some of the more prestigious tournaments at Bretton Woods? Luckily, we don’t have a tremendous amount of extra work needed to get the course in shape for the event.

We have a full schedule of tournaments at Bretton Woods. Some of the tournaments are more casual and fun, while a few of them are true competitions to decide the year’s best golfer. We want the course to play well year-round, but we do like the course to shine just a bit more for some events compared to others.

Weather still plays the biggest role, no matter what tournament it is, especially those events during the summer. Pushing too hard for a one- or two-day event can cause damage that lasts for weeks. We are very cognizant not to overdue our maintenance at the expense of the rest of the season’s worth of golf.

Our other mindset is that we don’t ever want the course to get too far away from championship quality. Our championship quality is relative- we are not a tour stop for any events- but we do like to maintain a baseline that is very solid. Then, working from that point allows us to make small changes to peak during the event, rather than needing several weeks to prepare. We also don’t want the course conditions to bounce back and forth drastically. We want the course to play a notch or two different than everyday play, instead of being a completely different track.

To raise the bar for the big tournaments, our biggest change is mowing frequency for the in-play surfaces. Greens will be mowed every day, which is usually the same outside of tournament preparation also, but during the summer we do occasionally mow every other day. But tees, approaches, collars, and fairways will all increase frequency from 2-3 times per week, up to 4-5 times per week. This keeps the surfaces looking and playing their best. This is what we mean by tweaks instead of extreme changes. We don’t suddenly do things that we haven’t done all season. We don’t change the mowing heights by 50% or alter how we mow. The course plays very similar to how it has all year, but just a little better.

Tournaments are an exciting time, and we want the course to play well. But maintaining the course at a high level throughout the season enables us to make small adjustments for the tournament and still improve the conditions.

 

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please do not practice on the course. Taking extra shots leads to unnecessary divots and ball marks. Thank you

Also, as part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

Golf Cart tips

 

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org