Dennis Lyle

It is going to be a very sad day when Dennis and Bonnie Lyle pack up and head west to BC. I have known Dennis for probably a dozen years and have worked with him on the grounds crew for 8 years. Dennis was always great to be around, play golf with and of course have a few refreshments after the game. Dennis was the single greatest Parkmaster operator that ever walked the face of the earth, I can remember the rough flying 8 feet in the air behind the machine as he motored around the course. We sure could use him and the Parkmaster out on the course now. Our best wishes go out to Dennis and Bonnie as they leave Airdrie but I am guessing that our team will be reunited for the closing tourney. Thanks Dennis!

Dennis, John and myself enjoying some ice-cold Rickard's Red on the deck after a hard day at the office.

The Thursday afternoon thunderstorm rolled in just after the 9am tournament got off the golf course.

Spring in Alberta

One thing about Alberta in June is that there is no lack of good (depending of course on your point of view) storms in the area.

This past Monday we had a doozy of a thundershower, the rain gauge registered almost an inch of rain in about 1/2 hour.

A fond farewell

This year we are bidding a fond farewell to Wally Hunter who has been on the maintenance staff for quite a few years. Wally has always been a very positive person and it has been a pleasure having him on the crew. He always had a smile on his face and was a lot of fun to golf with. We will be wishing him the best in his retirement from golf course work. As a member of the Woodside Turf Alumni, I am sure we will be seeing him at the safety meetings.

New Assistant

I am pleased to announce that Woodside has a new Assistant Superintendent and his name is Brent Lees. Brent has been on the grounds crew at Woodside since 2008 and has recently completed his second year in the turfgrass management program at olds College. Brent will be continuing his studies in the fall as he pursues a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in turfgrass management. Since day one Brent has been a positive influence here and does a tremendous job each and every day. I do know that he has a very bright future ahead of him in the golf course industry.

Great Blue Heron

10 Years

It's hard to believe that it was 10+ years ago when John MacKeeman took over as the golf course mechanic (or Turf Technician as he prefers) at Woodside. But I suppose that time flies when you are having fun. John really has been a tremendous asset to Woodside, he is extremely motivated and a jack of all trades. He does an excellent job keeping the equipment in tip-top condition and always helps out on the course when needed. There is no job too big or too small for John and I know that he will enjoy his new Ridgid cordless drill. Thanks John!

Spring fertilization

It's hard to believe that we had a foot of snow on the course just 3 weeks ago. Since then we have started the irrigation system up and have done just three repairs and today I fertilized the greens with a 12-3-12 analysis with an ammonium sulphate nitrogen which has some acidifying properties as our soil is slightly alkaline and a neutral pH is preferred. This fertlizer can cause some leaf burn so it was watered in with a good irrigation cycle. If you are fertilizing at home, any balanced analysis will do fine and some people like a higher phosphorus (middle number) analysis in the spring to help with root development.