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
With the success of the old blog the new blog for Avondale Golf Course Maintenance will provide updated information for our membership.
Monday, June 30, 2014
Sunday, June 29, 2014
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.
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.
Friday, June 27, 2014
Aerification Continues
Aerifying 5's Fairway |
Felix is Pulling Plugs on 7, Second Pass |
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 |
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.
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Course Opens at 9:00 am
First Mowing of 4's Green |
Prepping the Small PG |
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
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.
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Day Two - Conclusion of the Day
The "Darker" Patterns are Last Year's Sod |
Topdressing 9's Green |
Look Out Towards 6's Green |
Final Green Topdressed - 1's Green |
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? |
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.
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.
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 |
First Mowing Then Aerification |
Monday, June 23, 2014
Day One Continued- End of Day Status
After Getting Units Working We Started Aerifying 4's Green |
This June we shifted the deep drill and fill to July which will allow the greens to recover quicker than before. Plus with having lower staffing levels than any other summer in the past, this made what we did possible today.
See the Patterns -- That Was Sod We Di Late in the Summer Last Summer - No 100 Days |
The best change we did this year was put our efforts into three time per week verticutting and select needle tining of the greens in advance. These practices will pay off for years to come, but were not received well. We will look to alter to find the win-win to the transition issues.
Finished the Aerification of 14 |
Started Aerifying 6's Green -- This Is the Healthiest I Have Gotten the Green Going Into Aerification |
Tomorrow, we will hit the ground running with working our plan and adjusting for whatever is thrown at us. The good news is that we got a nice jump today and even started our bi-weekly tilling of the greenside bunkers per Green Committee request.
The plan is to open the course again on Thursday at 9:00 am. I see no reason why that will change.
Day One - Aerification
This morning we start the first day of aerification. It always seems to be a challenge because you have to work the bugs out and figure what is working this year compared to what is not. More to come over the next couple of days.
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Fertilizations and Aerification
As I would expect, the team continues to rise to whatever is needed to complete any given tasks.
The aerification of the roughs has started and is progressing pretty much as planned with very little hiccups. With only on machine in the field it is slower than desired but still progressing on target. Part of the process of aerifying the roughs includes exposing the heads and valve boxes to decrease the chance of the aerifier running over them causing damage and added costs. That is a important and time consuming step that saves money and repair time.
Additionally, we have finished fertilizing the pass on the fairways and tees with the first fertilization of the summer. We apply the fertilizer at a lower rate this week and we will do the same next - spoon feeding. This conserves our resources while aiding the turf to recover. Additionally we are heavy fertilizing the greens this week too. This also aids in the recovery while filling in the turf thus smoothing out the greens.
The sad part of the greens fertilization is that is also slows down the green speed. To combat this effect we are double mowing the greens and after aerification we will be applying a growth regulator.
The aerification of the roughs has started and is progressing pretty much as planned with very little hiccups. With only on machine in the field it is slower than desired but still progressing on target. Part of the process of aerifying the roughs includes exposing the heads and valve boxes to decrease the chance of the aerifier running over them causing damage and added costs. That is a important and time consuming step that saves money and repair time.
Additionally, we have finished fertilizing the pass on the fairways and tees with the first fertilization of the summer. We apply the fertilizer at a lower rate this week and we will do the same next - spoon feeding. This conserves our resources while aiding the turf to recover. Additionally we are heavy fertilizing the greens this week too. This also aids in the recovery while filling in the turf thus smoothing out the greens.
The sad part of the greens fertilization is that is also slows down the green speed. To combat this effect we are double mowing the greens and after aerification we will be applying a growth regulator.
Sunday, June 15, 2014
Rough Aerification
Tomorrow the rough aerification begins as a second assignment. The challenges every aerification is to complete this task with the minimal interference to our members and the guests of Avondale. It is a big process that usually requires more than a week to complete since we do not stop the other services too. This year is going to be even more of a challenge thanks to the loss of key experienced employees and overall reductions, but as we have done all season so far we will keep rising to the challenges, and we will continue to do so.
We will continue to find the most successful way of completing our tasks to enhance the experience of our golfers. Some of this will be trial and error as we re-think our approach to the new realities. but the good news is that we have continued to work on those details such as edging bunkers, double cutting greens and cleaning the presentation around the clubhouse that have become the expectations of our members.
On Tuesday we will be fertilizing the fairways and tees thanks to a surprise rebate for one of our vendors. This along with spot fertilizations will continue the recovery of the transitional areas that appear this time of year.
We will continue to find the most successful way of completing our tasks to enhance the experience of our golfers. Some of this will be trial and error as we re-think our approach to the new realities. but the good news is that we have continued to work on those details such as edging bunkers, double cutting greens and cleaning the presentation around the clubhouse that have become the expectations of our members.
On Tuesday we will be fertilizing the fairways and tees thanks to a surprise rebate for one of our vendors. This along with spot fertilizations will continue the recovery of the transitional areas that appear this time of year.
Friday, June 13, 2014
Bunkers Tilled, 4's Green Topdressed
Yesterday we finished the tilling of the bunkers and this morning we will be addressing the smoothing. It usually takes a couple of days to smooth them back out but we will attempt to reduce the time window.
Additionally, yesterday we finished the topdressing of the new sod on 4. This area was mowed for the first time yesterday and will recovery quite quickly. The good news is that it has been laid with enough time to allow a 100 days plus of growth.
We will start today with the triplexing of the greens. I tested the machine yesterday and we should enjoy the quality of cut ... but as always we will tweak as needed.
Additionally, yesterday we finished the topdressing of the new sod on 4. This area was mowed for the first time yesterday and will recovery quite quickly. The good news is that it has been laid with enough time to allow a 100 days plus of growth.
We will start today with the triplexing of the greens. I tested the machine yesterday and we should enjoy the quality of cut ... but as always we will tweak as needed.
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Avondale's Greens During Transition
The "Green" Spots are Where We Recently Aerified 4's Green's Bad Area |
Some other golf course do not have the compaction issues that we have here at Avondale, thus it isn't as difficult to transition the greens. We sadly have "heavy" soils with 40 years of overturned organic matter ... so we face those compaction issues. The good news is that I know how to address those issues that use to kill Avondale's greens every summer before my arrival.
Back of 15's Green - Best It Has Looked Ever at this Time of Year |
12's Green - WOW, 100 days of Growth Last Year Has Positive Results This Year |
5's Fairway - Starting Transition |
12's Fairway |
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
4's Green Repair This Week
Wind Deposition Damage |
Removal of the Damaged Area |
Sodding Out the Damage |
Deep Watering |
Rolling the New Sod |
Friday, June 6, 2014
Fern, Topdressing and Hot Spot Recovery
Removal of the Ferns |
Additionally, this week we finally got time to attack the overgrowth on Country Club drive. By day's end this almost half a mile run will be completed including the corner of Frank Sinatra and El Dorado.
Topdressing 14's Green |
I should note that all of this fertilization to aid our greens in recovery will also greatly slow them down as well. These are necessary steps to fill in the greens quickly but we will address these issues too.
Speaking of recovery, 4's green is going to have some sod work performed on Tuesday the 11th. To minimize the impact to our members we will be having a back nine start and focus all of our efforts and much of the team to complete this task quickly. No decision as of yet has been made if a temp green is going to be used or not.
"Hot Spot" on 16 Filling in with Bermudagrass |
Thursday, June 5, 2014
Topdressing and More
Installing Extra Rock to Prevent Wash Outs |
Yesterday, we started spraying out the nutsedge. This has been a nine year process which has greatly reduced our sedge population from about 40+ acres in the beginning to now less than 1/4 acre. In most books about weeds, Purple Nutsedge is considered to be the world's worst weed and dominates numerous golf course and HOA's in the Valley.
Still working on transitional repairs on the greens which are a byproduct of the overseeding process due to the aggressive nature of that process. The good news is that it is better than in most years.
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Trees and Walk Up's
Back of 5's Green (Before) |
Removal of Weaker Turf |
The Walk Up on 5 |
Sod Repair |
Area Repaired Before Play Reached Us |
Monday, June 2, 2014
Last Year, This Year's Improvements
5's Approach on 7-31-2013 |
16's Approach on 7-31-2013 |
There is no stopping transition, you can delay it, prolong, but can't stop it. We are working an ever changing plan to address this transition to further increase the enjoyment of our members who stay here during the summer months.
Saturday, May 31, 2014
The Irrigation Computer
Irrigation Computer (Click on Picture for Large View) |
Additionally, anytime we change internals, change nozzles, or divide stations those adjustments are also inputted into the system. I have numerous training sessions, and attend numerous classes to learn the programming of this extreme system ... and I am still learning new things everyday.
Friday, May 30, 2014
The Heat is On
Newly Sodded Small CG |
Bermudagrass if Filling In the "Hot Spots" |
Thanks to Heat the Runners Have Started |
Watering in the Approach 1 |
The Golf Course in the Morning Hours (5-29-14) |
The View in the Morning Down 1 (5-29-14) |
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Projects for the Summer
Aerification of Large CG |
Sod Has Arrived at the Shop |
West Coast's Team Lays Sod on 1's Approach |
West Coast's Team Lays Sod on 5's Approach |
Our Team Lays Sod on Small CG |
Monday, May 26, 2014
Memorial Day 2014
As having family currently serving our great country and I myself serving for eight years, I take the significance of this holiday to heart. It is not about BBQ's, a day off relaxing, or even the golf game that you are going to play ... instead it is about our fallen men and women who paid the ultimate price so we can complain about two putting a given hole.
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