Goodbye Avondale

To everyone in the Avondale family I would like to wish a farewell.

It has been my extremely pleasure to call Avondale my "work" home for the past 9+ years.  Good luck with the future of the Club.

There will be no more postings on this blog.

Jeff Comer

This Monday, Last Day of the Month

Tomorrow is going to be a extremely busy day but that is normal for GCM in the summer months.  We have the oleander trimming crew starting up the trimming along El Dorado, and also finishing the aerification of the fairways of 12 and 14.

This week also will be used to be caught back up on those little details that are pushed to the side while we focus our efforts on aerification.  But this will be a tall order with the week being a short week due to the holidays, and then getting ready again to start the aerification of the roughs starting on the 7th. 

So busy ... oh yes, we are extremely busy to improve the golf course for today, tomorrow and for years to come.

Aerification Continues

Aerifying 5's Fairway

We have almost gotten there in the aerification process but still have a ways to go.  The tees and greens have been completed (with some minor touch up on the greens), and all but 5 & 9 on the front nine fairways has been completed.

Felix is Pulling Plugs on 7, Second Pass

We have also started on the back nine fairways but still have a few more left.  We are projecting we will have been completed by Monday at the latest since Friday is the big mow day too.  Next week however, is a short staff week thanks to the holiday but we are doing pretty darn well considering.

Additionally next week will be a major repair on the equipment week thank to the abuse the equipment thanks to aerification.  We have to get the pull behind aerifiers ready for the second round of rough aerification starting on July 7th.

Gabriel Drags the 6th Fairway

Currently, we have two plug draggers breaking up the cores, but this year we have to wait on placing the sweepers and blowers to "polish" afterwards since our staff is lower ... but never fear it is slated to be done on the conclusion.

This morning we started on hole 5, then heading 9, then to the back nine.  There is going to be a flurry of activity on the greens from spiking out some algal spots, to filling some missed holes.  We had some issues with our topdresser but not a big deal we will touch up here and there, pretty as we do every year.

Please remember that next week do to the holiday we will be short staffed, but all services will remain intact.

Course Opens at 9:00 am

First Mowing of 4's Green

Greens are finished and we have quite the jump on the tees, fairways and approaches.  This morning we will be working first to finish the tees so we can place the markers back on the and project that we should be finished by 9:00 am.  The fairways and approaches are a different issue but we will do our best to be out of the way of the members.

Prepping the Small PG

Please remember the aerification holes are considered GUR and free relief is given.  Please check with the pro shop about any other rules or concerns.

Day Three -- Last Closed Day

Well today is going to be a busy day cleaning up after the aerification and working hard to get as far as we can on the fairways, tees and approaches.  The third day always seems to be the busiest but when we also start getting things caught back up again.

Day Two - Conclusion of the Day

The "Darker" Patterns are Last Year's Sod

As we are going through the aerification process I have been noticing a darker pattern being exhibited on the greens where we sodded last year.  Not to worry the bermudagrass is quite healthy in these areas just not as mature as ours.  This will stabilize out over time.

Topdressing 9's Green

It would not be aerification without problems.  Today is no exception to that rule ... the loader we borrowed from Desert Falls broke down (for those keeping count that is two loaders), and the topdresser adjustment bar got stuck to a point it will required complete disassembly to repair.  The good news is we fixed the loader and finished the greens, and we figured a way to compensate for the adjustment bar issue until we have time to repair.

Look Out Towards 6's Green

We have applied the fertilizers to the greens (K-Mag (a potassium source), Gypsum (a calcium source), and 21-0-0 (a nitrogen source) to aid in expediting recovery.  Additionally, today we got a major jump on the aerification of the tees and the par 3's approaches which that part will be done by tomorrow.

Final Green Topdressed - 1's Green

Speaking of tomorrow our plan is to apply wetting agent, grub and fairy ring control, and salt removal.  We also will be mowing the greens for the first time after the aerification.  Spot plugging continues on greens 4 (finished), 5 (finished), 9 (finished), 1, Lg PG, 12 & 13, with the goal being done by Friday.

Could not be more proud of the team overcoming all of the aerification challenges and getting the job done ... even at 15 total team members with two of those on vacation ... leaving 13 team members ... very impressive.

How Much Ryegrass is Left?

A side note about transition:  You may ask "How much ryegrass is left in this heat?"  Well the picture above is glaring proof that we are still transitioning from ryegrass to bermudagrass, and why new "hot spots" will continue to pop up.  Two weeks ago we sprayed to remove some nutsedge (the world's worst weed) around 1's green.  The chemical used also takes out ryegrass and is used as a transitioning tool at high end golf courses including Avondale a few years ago. 

The approach and the green grass remaining is healthy bermudagrass, while the "dead" is the ryegrass.  The straight line between the two grasses is where the spray boom was turned on ... this chemical had no effect on the newly laid 328 bermudagrass in the approach of 1.  The good news is that this area will not fill in quicker and recover faster than the non sprayed areas ... plus it will be stronger for years to come.

Day Two Aerification

As we get ready to start the second day we start them off with a couple of challenges.  This is always expected and we rise to meet them as they come.  Thankfully, Desert Falls has been there to help and today is no exception.

Our goal is to finish the greens today and get a jump on the fairways, tee, and approaches.  More to come later in the day. 

Starting on the Third Green

We started on the third green and the fifth tee for the pull behind part.  If everything goes well we should be close to done by lunch of the greens.

First Mowing Then Aerification