Maintenance Updates (1/27/23)

 Golf Course

The course is finally starting to green up following the cold weather almost 2 weeks ago. Turf growth is still slow and continued heavy traffic is keeping the turf tight. The one good thing from these conditions is the ball roll in the fairways. Tight turf adds more distance than any driver on the market 😁.

I took a picture of a green this week to illustrate why the greens are healthy but look brown or possibly unhealthy.

I thought it might be interesting to explain what I see when looking at the turf.

In the picture you can see there is a lot of green in the plant. I would say it makes up the majority of the leaf tissue as a whole.

What the picture shows me is the older leaf tissue that was present during the cold weather is at the tips and top of the turf canopy. Therefore, when we look at the greens, especially when looking from a distance, we see the tops of the turf and so it appears brown. When we look straight down on the turf as in this picture, the green is much more visible.

Due to the slow growth caused by cold weather, it often takes a bit of time before the turf grows high enough for the mowers to cut off the brown tips. This prolongs the time it takes for the turf to appear green again.

I often look at these types of indicators to determine plans of action as I am assessing how or why the turf looks a certain way. It would be easy to overreact and add excess fertility or unnecessary chemicals for something as simple as waiting for the turf to grow enough that we take off the old brown leaf tissue.

Something else I thought might be of interest is a project our Equipment Manager, David and Mechanic, Zefe are working on at the shop.

With turf growth slower and tractor usage reduced this time of year, David and Zefe are taking advantage of the time and replacing the fuel and water pump on one of our tractors.

As you can see from the pictures it is no small project. When I see our staff performing work like this it makes me very proud and reminds me just how dedicated they are to GE and their craft. Quite frankly, they are the best I have ever worked with.

There is often discussion, especially in Golf and Greens Committee meetings on how we want the rakes placed in the bunkers. We have 34 bunkers with 2 or 3 rakes per bunker (average). This means 68 to 102 rakes or more on the golf course. If our policy was to put the rakes in the turf around the bunkers, when we mowed roughs, staff would have to stop the mower and move every rake every time rough was mowed. For reference we mow roughs 1x/week this time of year and 2x/week in the summer. I believe having the rakes outside the bunkers would add a significant amount time to the task each time each time it is performed. I appreciate your understanding and assistance in keeping the rakes in the bunkers when you play so we can complete the rough mowing as efficiently as possible.

A photo is worth 1000 words, maybe 2000 of mine 😂 so here are some pictures I took this morning after a couple hours of play.

Incorrect placement

Correct placement

Rake in the bunker parallel to line of play, head facing back of green, not on steep entry/exit slope

Incorrect placement

Correct(ish) placement

Rake is inside bunker but is perpendicular to the line of play.

Correct Placement

Rake is in the bunker and parallel to the line of play with the head of the rake facing the green.

Common Grounds

As with most weeks, we are always removing and planting something…

Storm damaged tree was removed behind the maintenance facility

Memorial Tree was added along the sidewalk on #8, replacing the Royal Poinciana that was damaged during Hurricane Ian.

Facilities

Hard at it Hector has been working on many projects this week.

Putting together tables and chairs for the divot

Installing the foot rail on the bar for the divot

Hanging signs to remind everyone to wipe down equipment in the fitness center

Installing new time clock kiosks for employees to clock in and out of work

Installing new drawers in the kitchen

Putting together the mobile scoreboard TV stand for Golf Operations

And fixing broken pavers in the walkway at the clubhouse

Never a slow day here in GE maintenance and time flies when you are having fun

I look forward to seeing everyone on the course or in the facilities, and as always, if you have any questions, flag me down or shoot me an email. I always enjoy talking turf and facilities too!

Maintenance Update (1/20/23)

 Golf Course

It was a bit chilly to start the week off. Temperatures on Sunday and Monday dropped to 38 degrees. On Monday frost developed due to the clear skies, higher humidity and lack of wind. Here are some pictures of the frost on Monday morning.

True to Florida weather, it will be back in the mid 80’s over the weekend.

Common Grounds

Sylvestre posing for a picture while out applying insecticide to the Ficus for whitefly.

Gulf Coast Tree Experts out this week to trim palm trees

Making an area for a table at the tennis facility

Facilities

As usual, it has been another productive week.

Changing out broken clock at tennis

Replacing burnt out lightbulbs in chandelier in the restaurant 

You’ll have to trust me….I didn’t get an after photo.

Putting together new podium

Hanging TV’s in Divot

Hanging new digital bulletin boards

I look forward to seeing everyone on the course or in the facilities, and as always, if you have any questions, flag me down or shoot me an email. I always enjoy talking turf and facilities too!

Maintenance Updates (1/13/23)

Golf Course

Our weather has been dominated by blue skies and dry conditions. This type of weather has really helped keep the golf course green and disease free. We continue to help a few areas on greens with techniques like walk mowing (seen below on #8) reducing the mechanical stress while the grass fills in in some areas.

I have been asked about the fairway heights recently. Most questions are to see if we have reduced the height of cut (HOC). We have not, we have actually raised the HOC and increased the time between mowing. Some weeks we are mowing fairways as little as one time due to reduction in growth that naturally happens this time of year. When soil temperatures dip into the 50’s as they have at least twice in the last month our turf’s metabolism slows way down. The metabolism doesn’t go back up quickly as it goes down so turf growth stays slow for a while. We are expecting another very cold weekend where this process will be repeated. Therefore, we can expect slow growth and tight fairways to be the norm for much of the season. We will do everything we can thru fertility apps and mowing frequencies to keep as much turf vigor as the weather will allow.

Here are a few pictures from this week on the course. Even with the periodic cold snaps and increase in cart traffic the course looks pretty good.

Common Grounds

Newly added splash of color along the road by hole #3

Facilities

Big swap of furniture on the lanai and pool deck…really brightens these areas up.

 

Completed hanging blinds in aerobics room

I look forward to seeing everyone on the course or in the facilities, and as always, if you have any questions, flag me down or shoot me an email. I always enjoy talking turf and facilities too!