Tee it forward...please!

Unless you have been away visiting another planet recently, you know that we have been promoting the Tee it Forward program that has been around the golf industry for several years now.  The basis of this program is to get golfers to play from the correct set of tee markers, shoot a better score and enjoy the wonderful game of golf.  Another benefit is a shorter round of golf so that you can spend more time doing whatever you like to do away from the golf course, and in some instances I don't really want to know what that is.

The first step that we took was to create a new set of forward tees, very similar to what Jason Clouston had at Olds Golf Club.  In most cases these tees were either in a fairway or a flat spot in the rough, mowed down to tee height (1/2 inch).  These silver tees at Woodside immediately shortened the course by over 1,000 yards and were a welcomed addition for the novice golfers, once-a-year tournament players and the higher handicappers.  The tees are not gender specific and it warmed my heart to see both males and females playing from the silver tees.  By the way, the tee marker color does not refer to the hair color of the people that should be playing these tees, most people color their hair anyways.  My personal preference is Just for Men - bleach blonde.

The next step that we have decided to take was to evaluate the layout of each hole and determine an ideal distance for the silver tees.  This was done with the help of some input from some of the golfers at Woodside and over the course of the past several weeks we started constructing some new forward tee boxes on the holes that needed them the most.  Prior to the bona fide arrival of winter on November 16 and the ground freezing up, we were able to rough-shape new tees on hole 2, 5, 9 and 13.  

We have developed an excellent method of tee construction that both minimizes costs and uses up all the material that we accumulate over the course of a season.  This includes twigs/ branches, sod, bunker edging debris and even some dead trees.  As part of our reduce, reuse, recycle program we have not hauled any material off the golf course for over a decade now.  Our landfills really don't need more material and we are quite proud of the fact that it is all buried back into Mother Earth.  I guess you could say that it goes full circle.  Everything begins in the soil and ends back in the same place.

Step 1 in my tee construction system is to locate a suitable area close to sprinklers but not over any irrigation pipes or wires, clear the snow away and mark the four corners of the finished tee with hazard stakes.

The dimensions of the new tees will be very close to being 30 feet wide by 45 feet long.  I would explain why I chose these distances but I can't give away all my secrets.  

Step 2 is to strip off the sod with the Bobcat and the bucket that has the big, nasty teeth on it.  This portion of the project does take some talent to remove the sod and leave the soil.

The reason that I include this step is that the pieces of sod are difficult to work with later on in the project.

Step 3 involves more Bobcat work and the topsoil is stripped off and piled to the side of the tee box.  We generally dig down one foot and leave a bit of a ramp where the dump truck will be coming in and out.

Step 4 is a relatively relaxing one as you get to listen to some tunes as you are hauling debris into the tee.  For this tee on #13 I hauled eight loads (32 cubic yards) of material in.

It looks like a lot of material but the Bobcat will compact it considerably. 

Once the debris is packed down the sod is set into some of the low areas and then the soil is laid back on over top and then it is leveled and packed some more.

Finally we have the base of a new tee box that will require some more packing in the spring after the ground both thaws out and dries enough to get the equipment back onto it.

We will purchase some screened loam and some sod to finish the project and the tee will be open  a couple of weeks after the sod has rooted.  We did add a few tree plugs (back, left of the picture) from the fall planting (24 spruce trees) that will be incorporated into the tee box.  This will be the new silver tee on the 13 hole at a distance of 315 yards out from the green.

Time to reminisce

I was just going through some old pictures for the Olds College tour on September 25 and I came across some pictures of the bridge moving event quite a few years ago.

The forklift and truck coming down the edge of the 16th fairway in January, 1998 and that was one cold day!

 

 

There was no better time to do the relocation as the ground was frozen solid.

 

The flatbed backing into place just before the bridge was pulled across the frozen pond.

 

And there it is relocated from the gulley between holes 4 and 5 to where it is now.

Sunrise

Another nice sunrise on June 17, looking over the 16th green.

Baby ducks

There were five ducks nests on the course that we knew of, and probably just as many that were hidden in the long grass of the no-mow zones.  

Another nice sunrise

Another nice sunrise, looking down the 10th hole, on May 21, 2013.

Cormorants

The Double-crested cormorants found in Alberta are all black with some color near their bills.  They eat mainly fish and eels and spend time along the pond edges drying their wings.

Ducks Unlimited

Here is a good shot of a pair of Northern shovellers in the pond on hole 7.

Irrigation repairs

Most of the irrigation repairs are done on dry ground but from time to time we need to venture into the ponds to make a repair.  In this picture John prepares to do some diving to repair a  water line that feeds the self-cleaning lake valve.

American widgeons

Another spring visitor on the golf course is the American widgeon.  I think the Turf blog is starting to resemble Ducks Unlimited.

Buffleheads

Every spring we get a visit from the Bufflehead ducks.  They are the smallest ducks that stop by the golf course on their migration north.

They normally stay around the golf course for a day or so but this spring we got to see them for a week or two.

May storm

So far it has been a very good start to the 2013 golf season at Woodside.  Lots of sunshine, some wind and warm temperatures took care of the April snow and we transitioned into the nightly irrigation cycles.  Within about three weeks our water supply was running low and the rains arrived just in time.  Normally 30 mm is a good amount and the golf course pond system can handle that amount without any problems.  On Thursday May 23 we received just under 30mm, then on Friday the 24th another 45 mm came down and it was still raining on the 25th when the pictures were taken.

 

 

If I could only bottle some of this up and get it back in July and August.

 

Hooded mergansers

This is the first time that I have seen the Hooded Mergansers at the golf course.  Their relatives, the Common Mergansers, are however quite common in the golf course waterways.  The male has a distinctive crest that rises when he is aroused, let's just leave it at that...

These ducks are infrequently encountered in Alberta and are sought after by most bird-watchers.

Common Goldeneye

Another early season visitor to the golf course is the Common Goldeneye.  Apparently they are called whistlers as the wind whistles through their wings as they fly, I can attest to that.

 

 

There are more golf course pictures on the Skydrive https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=a323ef5c3cec7c2d&id=A323EF5C3CEC7C2D%21664&action=Share

 

Dig a hole and fill it in...

It's always an exciting day when a hydro vac truck arrives at the golf course in the spring.  Some might ask why you would bring a large truck onto the course in the spring when the ground is naturally soft and it had been snowing all day.  

The simple answer is that we had no choice about it.  A valve that controls the water to a bathroom had malfunctioned and a stem needed to be replaced.

The truck operators did an excellent job digging the 5'x5'x10' deep hole, but the weight of the material made it difficult to get the truck off the course, and well, we have some ruts to repair.

A great job done by John Mac and Brent to engineer the project.

Fungicide trials

Every winter we do some fungicide trials out on the course to compare the treated areas with those that have no protection going into winter.  This last winter was one of the longest and it produced some great results.

 

There is a look at the treated area on the 10th fairway.  The fungicide that was used here was Instrata at the label rate.

 

 

The treated area on the 12th apron produced the same results.

 

 

Early season aeration

Before the course opens for the 2013 season we decided to sneak in a hollow tine aeration on the tees, collars and aprons.  These areas are very difficult to aerate when the course is open and we don't have the luxury of closing a nine or a maintenance morning. 

 

We set the ProCore aerator to a depth of just 1.5 inches in order to bring up some thatch along with a small amount of soil. 

 

 

We go over the plugs several times with an old drag mat and then blow the thatch off, leaving the soil on the tees.

 

 

With regular aeration, topdressing programs and good cultural practices, the 20 year old tees have very little thatch.

 

 

The other benefits to an early aeration are a quicker recovery from any winter damage and a lack of poa seeds that can be moved into the rootzone by the aerator tines.

 

 

 

 

 

Mergansers

The Common Mergansers returned to the area this past week.  They were spotted in the pond between the 17th and 18th holes that has an air diffuser system that prevents the water from freezing over in the winter.  This is a great spot for some early season bird-watching.

 

The male is predominantly white with a green head and can be seen from quite a distance.

 

 

The female has rust colored plumage on her head with a grey body.  Both photos were taken with my new Canon SX50 at full zoom.

 

 

 

The back 9

Preparations for the upcoming golf season continued on the back 9 following the weekly staff meeting that was catered by Amit Arora and some awesome pizza.  I think the pizza gave us a little spring to our step and we were able to get the covers off in just 3.5 hours (0.43 acres per hour).

In this picture Mike, Brent, Colin and Terry are rolling up a cover that will be stored away until next October.  Don Cox is in the background and was favouring his ankle after a slip on some ice, but still hung in there until we got the covers off.

A look at the 11th green that has some excellent spring color and it will be ready for play on April 10.

Opening day preparations

The outdoor portion of the 2013 golf season preparations began today with the removal of the covers on the front 9 greens and the practice green.

The greens at Woodside GC are primarily creeping bentgrass and that is part of the reason that they made it through a very long winter that started in mid-October.

Terry Pachal, in his shiny new blue jacket, is back at it this spring after doing some ski instructing at C.O.P. over the winter.  John MacKeeman and Colin Hillson are in the background hauling the cover to the trailer. 

A look at the 3rd green right after the cover was removed.  The turf has over-wintered extremely well.