November Golf

Looks like the weather is going to give us one last hurrah.  The forecast is warm, Sunday am almost 50!  The high tomorrow is 60, wow one more chance to make some birdies.  I want to wish everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving Holiday.  We have much to be Thankful for in our house, especially group hugs. Remember, the leaf rule!
Go Blue,

Turf

The greatest game ever played

Golf is the closest game to the game we call life. You get bad breaks from good shots; you get good breaks from bad shots - but you have to play the ball where it lies.


- Bobby Jones
 
The golf course is almost ready for a wintery nap. Irrigation lines are all blown out, as well as the out buildings. Playing surfaces are protected against snow mold, a cold weather fungus which can injure fine turf. Tee markers, signs, stakes, and ball washers have been brought in out the winter elements. Although it seems a little sad, these comfortable autumn days are still enjoyable, you may have to walk a little more to keep the body warm, but the golf is still good.


The golf course, without all the amenities I mentioned, takes on a simple look. As a golf minimalist, I can’t stop myself from looking at all the things we don’t really need, to play golf. We love to clog up the landscape, addicted to nifty gadgets and placards with symbols that provide information. We sure go through some great effort to make a simple game complicated and expensive. Yes, I realize that my colleagues and I play a big role in this, but so does golfer demands. It all comes down to that overused and vague term…….value.

If golf is going to survive the next generation, we need to figure out its value, and that may mean, getting back to the basics; the true essence of the game which has held the attention and fascination of men and women for over a hundred years. This great game which is now viewed as boring and time consuming to the younger crowds, depends on them to survive and flourish. Golf not only affords us exercise and escape, but teaches valuable life lessons like perseverance, patience, forgiveness, and more importantly, redemption.

Those are my golf thoughts for today.

Go Blue,

Turf

Fall cleanup, winterization

The last week I have received many questions about the aerification of the fairways.  Without too much science and detail, I will try to explain the process.  We do a traditional aerification on the red nine (1-8) where we pull cores of soil out of the ground and mulch them up.  We like this approach because of the sandy soil on most of the red.  Pulling the soil up and placing on top helps us control thatch.  The rest of the course is treated with a modified slicing approach with a piece of equipment called an "aerway".  The aerway makes a slice about 4 inches long and shatters the soil below the ground.  The reason for the different approaches is the soil subsurface, because of the different soils, we change the management of these soils.  The heavy clay soils of the white and blue courses have been topdressed for several years now and we don't want to incorporate the clay into the sand, so a solid tine approach to aerification is appropriate.  
In addition to cleaning up broken branches, fallen trees, and a billion leaves,  we are closing down the irrigation system this week and have closed the course bathrooms.  We are getting ready for winter---yuck.
I have been banned from cheering for college football teams,
Turf

-- Sent from my Palm Pre