Gas leak in approaches

 

Unfortunately, we experienced another gas leak on the course last week. Luckily, it was mostly a dribble, with only a few larger patches.  

We have posted before about the inevitable occurrence of leaks when working with our machines. Hydraulic fluid, gas, and diesel are required for our operation and accidents happen, both human error and machine part failure. We work hard to mitigate the risk: teaching our staff about the damage these fluids can cause, training them to replace fuel caps, and refill only on paved surfaces. Nevertheless, when something like this happens it is very depressing.

Given most of the damage is small drops and small lines, we will monitor, but likely let the grass heal itself. Depending on the severity of the damage when leads occur, sometimes we may lay new sod to partially or entirely replace the damage. At other times we may let the healing occur naturally. We could sod these spots out as well, but the work to get such small pieces of sod to fit in nicely and play well is difficult. Also, with the stretch of very warm and very dry weather we are in, keeping the small pieces of new sod alive would be very difficult and require lots of man hours.

When you are out over the next few weeks you will see the damage. Just know that we are aware, and we do work hard to prevent these accidents from happening.

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

 

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

Transition zone

We grow grass in a unique area of the country called the transition zone. We also grow two distinct types of grass that like two distinct weather conditions. As we move into summer, the differences in grass types becomes apparent.

The transition zone stretches primarily from Maryland and Virgina westward through West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. It is the area that “transitions” from a warmer in the south to a cooler climate in the north, and turf varieties change from primarily warm season grasses to primarily cool season grasses. The unique, and difficult aspect of the transition zone is that neither warm nor cool season grass thrive. The winters are very cold and can be damaging to warm season turf, and the summers are very hot which can be damaging to cool season turf. So, no matter the weather, some turf is unhappy.

For Bretton Woods, this dichotomy plays out daily: our greens and rough are all cool season turf, and our fairways and tees are Bermuda grass, which is a warm season grass. During the spring, greens are beautiful, healthy and thriving and take very little effort. Temperatures are cool and the weather is perfect for the cool season turf. Instead, a lot of our focus is on encouraging growth of the Bermuda grass and promoting recovery from winter damage. Air and soil temperatures are rising, but still too low for the Bermuda grass to truly be growing vigorously.

Then we enter summer, like we are right now, and the whole management process flips on its head. Mother Nature takes care of growing the Bermuda grass and we work to control its growth so that it doesn’t grow too fast. And most of our focus shifts to the cool season turf, mainly the greens, which are predominantly annual bluegrass, which is one of the least heat tolerant turf species. Moisture and disease management are critical for the greens. Turf loss can occur in the span of one afternoon if the greens are too wet or too dry or an application of preventive fungicides is missed.

The upcoming stretch of days are forecast to be very warm- the warmest of the year so far, and a longer stretch of heat than we had at any time all last year. So, for the next few months, our main goal will be to protect the cool season turf. Then once again, when fall hits, we will “transition” back to working on the Bermuda grass and protecting it for the winter

 

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please remember to remove any bunker sand that may be stuck to your spikes before walking on the greens.

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

Upper soccer field closure

This past week we had extra work to complete on the soccer field. Unfortunately, some of the work that we did earlier in the spring did not last. It was unplanned work but necessary, nonetheless.

In March we do renovation work on the upper soccer field. We lay new sod, aerate, seed, and fertilize. March is a good time to lay new cool-season sod because there is generally plenty of rain and cool temperatures. Both conditions were present this spring and the sod we put down started off strong, as did the entire field, all the way through April, and into May.

However, as we progressed through May, more rain continued to fall, and the field could not dry out. Cloudy, damp weather would not allow any moisture to evaporate, and the upper field also drains very poorly naturally. This led to water sitting in low areas far too long. Even when we were able to open the field, the wet conditions persisted. The sod from March could not handle the water, the traffic from soccer players, or being mowed regularly. The sod that started strong, quickly deteriorated and the condition of the field worsened.

Unfortunately, we made the decision to close the field and repair the bad areas. Luckily, we have two soccer fields, so all use could be shifted to the lower field. In addition, the soccer fields are not the busiest area of our facility, so dropping to one field for a few weeks was not impossible.

Having to unexpectedly close any turf area that we manage because it is performing poorly is a difficult decision to make, but having the best conditions possible is the goal. Whether it is the golf course or in this case, the soccer field, sometimes the turf can suffer, and we must make the choices that can most quickly get the surface back to where everyone would like it to be.

 

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please remember to remove any bunker sand that may be stuck to your spikes before walking on the greens.

 

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

Ventrac

Believe it or not, there are still some manufacturing and shipping delays left over from COVID. One of those delays in particular affects new golf course maintenance equipment, so getting new machines can still take 12-18 months from date of order. So we must be creative when the need for a new machine arises.

Mowing at the pool and around the mini golf area is a necessary evil. Both are very rough ground, with lots of roots, ruts, and other obstacles, and especially at mini golf, sometimes rocks. This abuse can really wear a mower and its components out quickly. We don’t have a particularly large fleet of equipment, so when a mower finishes one location on the property, it usually heads to a different place to continue mowing.

Although we do still share equipment across our site, the pool and mini golf were two places that we wanted a dedicated mower. Issues had arisen from using our “golf course” mowers at the pool and mini golf and then the mower having a problem and not being available to go back on the course. And we wanted to keep the quality of cut on the golf course as high as possible and sharing with the pool and mini golf was impacting that quality. Our initial plan was to order another of the same mowers that we previously used- a Toro 3500-D Sidewinder- and make it the dedicated mower for the pool and mini golf. However, that mower was subject to the aforementioned 12-18 month lead time and no used models were available. As we started looking at other options, we settled on a versatile tractor style mower.

The Ventrac shown here with
the bush hog brush cutting attachment

Our new Ventrac is an 8 wheeled tractor that can operate several different attachments. In our case, we have the typical front deck mower, but we are also able to purchase a tough cut bush hog-type mower, as well as a trenching attachment- all for less than the Toro mower we were originally planning on buying. And the Ventrac was ready and delivered within 30 days of our order.

So far, the machine has done all that we have asked for and been a useful addition to our inventory. Sometimes it isn’t what you want, but what you can get and work with. That was definitely the case for us this year, but we made some adjustments and things are working great.

 

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please remember to remove any bunker sand that may be stuck to your spikes before walking on the greens.

 

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