Borrego Open Date Change

It has come to my attention that I have given poor information.  The Borrego Open is Sunday, October 9th.
The Bears play Monday night for the loyal fans who like to punish themselves on Sunday afternoon, this could be an appropriate alternative.
Baaaaaaaaa,

Past Borrego Champions

Turf.

The Borrego Open

Next saturday, teams will compete in a nine hole scramble, for what some consider, the pinnacle of golfing achievements. The Golden Borrego, is elation for those who have held her high, and disappointment for those who drive and ambition were not enough to hoist the beautiful creature high above their heads in victory. I have been fortunate to kiss her golden lips and taste the sweetness (a salty earthiness) of golf domination.
We will have a nine hole scramble at ten o clock with awards and lamb roast following, in the maintenance facility. We do the lambs on the grill and ask for pot luck style dishes. We will also host shop tours before the scramble, with equipment demonstrations.
If you are interested in participating, please let me know.
There will be a small conspicuous sign up in the proshop, as this is one of the more underground events at the club!
Any questions?
Turf

A glimmer of normal

Is what we have this morning. The course is very wet, but we are going to try and cut as much as we can. The cold weather has helped us out by slowing things down a bit. We are cart path only today, and hopefully high winds will change all that soon. The rain allowed us to focus on some other areas, namely flower beds and the front and back gates. Now the leaves are really going to start falling. Check out the briar ridge turfgrass Facebook page for some shots of fall color!
Apple cider and donuts,
Turf

PSM scramble

"Mr. Good Boss" is what he would call me. I miss him often, and his photo resides behind my desk, I guess you could say he still looks over me and my duties here. Palmer was a true gentleman, and I consider myself very fortunate to have worked with him. Palmer was instrumental in implementing the Audubon for golf courses program here at Briar. Tomorrow, we honor a great man, who did many more great things in our community. Please join us an play a round of golf in his memory.
Peace,
Turf

Turfgrass expo

Today is the Illinois Turfgrass Iexpo at the Midwest Golf House in Lemont. The I expo brings together research and turf managers for a day of education and networking. One of the topics this year is selective removal of bentgrass in roughs. Bentgrass can be a weed in certain situations, and here at Briar, we have a ton of it in our rough, one example is shown in the photo. It becomes more of a problem, for me anyhow, in our green banks. If you participated in the Big Par 3, you supported turfgrass research, and "thank you!"
We hope today will enlighten many turf managers!
Sincerely,
Erwin McKone, President
Illinois Turfgrass Foundation

Walk mowing again!

Today is the first post-aerification walk mowing of greens. The sand has worked into the turf and the holes are almost completely healed! The greens should be back to normal tomorrow, and definitely by the weekend. We will begin tee aerification on Monday, weather permitting. The skunks are still digging for grubs and we are treating these areas with a second application of grub control.
After a summer like this, I wonder how it is possible to have celebrated our fifteenth wedding anniversary yesterday, I can't possibly be much fun to live with. I bet I make up for it with quick wit and humor in the fall!
Blue skies,
Turf

What can you do with 26 tons of sand?

I can tell you what we did, we put it in 1,750,000 holes. Yesterdays aerification start (19 holes), went down as the smoothest I have seen here.....literally! The greens were in perfect condition, firm and the soil moisture was perfect. They should heal in quickly, which is why we choose to begin right after labor day. We have 8 to go this morning, I just hope today goes as well as yesterday, just not as long!
I know, you are all mad, it's ok,
Turf

Relief from a tough summer

We are busy filling holes now, doing everything we can to promote drainage and root zone modification. A high quality putting surface depends on everything you don't see. In order to work the root zone, we have to do it from our vantage point, which is thankfully, above ground. We will update the Facebook page with our progress.
Brooming sand,
Turf

Chilly start, snow clouds, and falling leaves

There is a bit of autumn in the air. Cottonwood trees are beginning to turn colors and fall to the ground. Aerifying and topdressing begins tomorrow. We hope to finish by Wednesday afternoon. The greens are actively growing and recuperation should be quick. I hope to report that the ball is rolling well with minimal impact by Saturday. We will also be topdressing fairways after we verticut them.
Enjoy,
Turf

Really????

So, it's labor day, heat indexes of 100+, and the skunks are going to start digging for grubs. Really??? Really really??
2011 is going to make a lot of superintendents ex-superintendents.
The skunks must have seen the stressed turf and assumed grubs were there, they didn't find any but that didn't stop them from tearing stuff up. I can't wait to see some of our stressed spots, to see the damage they did.
We did have some breakthrough of our chemical for grub control, and Bayer chemical is providing us with secondary control.
Ralph doesn't seem to think it's a big deal, you can tell by the big dumb look on his face.
Enjoy the Holiday weekend!
Turf

Home stretch

Labor day signifies the end of the season for us, cultural practices begin, and we take on a new sort of busy. Typically, we can relax a bit and enjoy the weekend, not this year. This is the warmest start to September in 58 years. This tough summer, is not goon down easy, we are out hand watering, and schools are letting out early due to heat! Crazy!!!
The photo shows that areas around trees continue to suffer.
Next week we will aerify greens, or "blow up" greens as some members like to say. I personally think that is an exaggeration, we college holes with sand, and in a week or two, they will be back to normal. We will aerify nine holes Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Hopefully the weather holds. The sooner we get them completed, the sooner they heal in. Waiting later in the year means longer healing and more poa annua!
Come on out this weekend!
Two man event on Sunday, sign up today, there are some individuals looking for partners. This is the best event according to some.
I have had enough heat,
Turf