Rip off the band-aid

We started a project today that has been long overdue and with that it brought me to the blog to talk about it.  I've done a terrible job using this forum as a place to communicate with members, guests, colleagues, or anyone who enjoys reading blogs.   I have a fear of writing and more importantly being judged for what I wrote.  English was my least favorite class in high school and I always struggled believing in myself.  While working on the project near the first green, the thought crossed my mind that this project needs to be a blog post.  That thought instantly froze my thinking when the fear of writing took over.  It's weird how the mind works.

I've been an avid listener of "The Finding Mastery" Podcast by Michael Gervais since in started. (If you don't listen to this podcast, you really should.)  I usually listen to it on my way to and from work and any other time I can find.  Gervais said something today that instantly brought me back to that moment in the morning when my fear of writing froze my thinking,
         
                             "For many, fear doesn't come from the fact that we are going to blow it.
                               It is that we are not going to live up to what we could be or what we 
                               we could do."

Boom.  That is it for me.  That's the fear or writing, I don't fear the failure of a bad grade, I fear the failure of it not being good enough.  The curbing on the golf course is similar to my fear of writing.  I hoped the curbing would go away or fix itself, so its time to rip both things off and go for it.  

Back to the curbing.  The original product was a man-made stone that had deteriorated to its current state over nearly two decades.  We have sourced a new product, Pacific black basalt from a local vendor, and we are confident the life span is much longer.

 After removing the sod and excavating the old curbing, we use the flat trough left by the old curbing to start installation of the basalt.  Starting in the middle allows us to gradually lower the end pieces to the grade of the cartpath.  Piece by piece they go in the ground and check for level along the way.  Back fill the void behind the curbing, place down some new sod and the finished product is as you see below.

The goal is to finish this project over the next two winters, it could take longer.  Hole by hole, piece by piece, just like my fear or writing, we will get it done and I will use this platform more frequently to share the happenings around the property.

Thank you for reading and until next time.  Have a great day.

Checking Items off the list

The end of February is in our sights as we try and finish up a list of winter projects.  Along with our larger projects, we also crossed off some smaller projects. This includes upgrading the sprinkler yardage markers on the course and cleaning up and re-staining the water coolers.  Most of the accessories around the course (benches, garbage cans, water coolers, rope stakes) are unique to Aldarra and I believe they present a great addition to the golf course

February started with two large projects at the top of the list; Rough Renovations and Native Edge Expansions.

Rough Renovations

The first application of rough fertilizer is applied in late February to mid-March, all at the mercy of Mother Nature.  My biggest concern is fertilizing to early if a wet Spring is in the cards, and then trying to stay on top of mowing the 27 acres of rough.  Before any fertilizer goes down we want to get any thin rough areas renovated (remove thatch), seeded, and topdressed (covered in sand).

This is a great practice for your home lawn as well if you are trying to remove moss.  In the rough we are using a sand that has 15 percent organic matter mixed into it to help hold in moisture and heat to help seed germination.  Members will often ask me when a good time is to seed their lawn.  Spring of Fall are best, but we put seed down year-round.  The most important thing to do is scratch the areas before putting seed down and cover the seed with soil or mulch to help germination.  Covering the seed also decreases the amount of seed birds can get too.

Native Edge Expansions

During construction of 

the golf course, irrigation was placed on the edges of each hole to help determine grass lines.  The native areas that surround each hole were not designed to receive irrigation.  Over the years, the grass lines have moved, but the irrigation heads have remained in the same place.  When a native line moves in, the coverage of that head is affected because the native grass that now surrounds the head is blocking part of the throw of water.  This winter I had a goal to reestablish, to the best of our ability, the original lines.  This should help the irrigation coverage during the summer months on the edges of the course. 

A marking flag is placed behind each sprinkler on the ryegrass/native line allowing the mower to ensure that the entire head is inside the primary rough line and give a little leeway as the season goes on for a small change.  Much of what is being mowed down has been scalped, resulting in discoloration.  In the upcoming months, many of these areas will need to be treated to remove any undesired species of turf, and new seed will also be added into these areas to help with the conversion.

Rough renovation is nearly complete, while native edge management will be ongoing throughout the season.

Weather Station - Updated Address

The weather station that connects to wunderground.com has a new station ID.  The last couple months there has been issues with the connection.  It is now connected to a different computer and hopefully this will eliminate any connection issues we have been having.  

The new station ID is KWAFALLC39.  Thank you for your patience and have a great day

Project Season - #12 Approach Expansion

Summer is behind us, aerification is complete and the wind is blowing leaves off the trees.  Once the leaves start to turn so does our mentality on the course.  Switching from daily maintenance to project season.  People often ask me, 'what do you do in the winter on a golf course?'  its not quite winter, but this is the exact kind of thing we do this time of year and throughout the winter.  

When Tom Fazio visited in the summer of 2016, we discussed ideas of how to improve the golf course.  An idea that was quickly agreed upon was opening up green entrances by widening the approach, helping balls release onto the green instead of hanging up in the rough.  The change to the 13th hole years ago, has made it much easier to get the ball on the green during the summer months when the course is firm and fast.

On Tuesday (October 17th) we started moving forward on this project by altering the entrance to the 12th green.  By widening the approach and using the slope on the left, more balls will release onto the green and also allow the use of the ground game from further back in the fairway.

The project starts with removing all of the ryegrass rough.  The soil is graded to the desired depth and slope, before bentgrass sod is laid down.

Any sand/soil that is added is compacted with the plate compactor seen in the above photo to minimize any settling.  Nearly 1000 feet of bentgrass was added to improve this area.  

Final details include rolling the area with a water roller and spending the time needed making sure all of the seams between each piece of sod are uniform and knit together.  It's fun to get all of the staff together on one project and complete something that we believe makes the course better.  

The plan is to complete additional approach expansions this fall and next spring.  As I mentioned before, we believe these small changes will make a huge improvement in the play-ability of the course for golfers of every skill level.

A Trip Unlike Any Other

Welcome to The Masters!

Mark Knowles, myself, Pete Trudeau, and John Freitas at the Main scoreboard on Tuesday April 4th, 2017

 I never thought those four words could sound so good, but they are even better than you expect.  My first memory of The Masters was Jose Maria Olazabal winning in 1994.  I don't specifically remember any shots of that golf tournament, but I do remember him putting on a green jacket.  I was 12 years old and new to the game of golf.  Little did I know from that memory of my childhood my life would be centered around golf and 23 years later I'd be writing a blog about my first experience at The Masters.  (No one in 1994 had ever heard of a blog)  I'm blessed by all of the things golf and the people associated with this game have taught me, both on and off the course, over that time.

Seeing Augusta National Golf Club for the first time was simply breathtaking, its better in person than I thought it ever could be.  Augusta National on TV is like watching the movie, seeing it in person is like reading the book.  We covered nearly 10 miles our first day, I can't remember enjoying 10 miles without swinging a golf club more than that first day.  If you make your first trip to The Masters, take in a practice day so you can focus on the golf course.

John Freitas and I at 16

I returned to work on Friday with more questions than I had answers to the wonder that is Augusta National Golf Club.  I was asked by a member mid-day Friday, "what did you learn at Augusta?" 
As my fiancée, Danica, will attest too, turf consumes much of my day and I think about it while watching TV.  That evening was no different, I was constantly trying to answer the question:

                                 'What did I learn at Augusta?' 

1. Its humbly perfect.  Everything is magnificent - not opulent or gaudy. 

It has a perfect feel of Southern Charm.  From entry to exit all of the amenities suit the property perfectly.  The volunteers at The Masters also deserve an acknowledgement, they make it that much better with their great attitude and Southern hospitality.

2. The layout is so different than I thought.

The 9th Tee - he piped this one

This is Hideki Matsuyama hitting driving on the 9th Tee.  In the left edge of the photos you can catch a glimpse of the 1st green surround.  Two tee is 20 yards behind me.  I've seen aerials and watched countless rounds on television on the years, but how it all fits together is so much different than I had envisioned.  My favorite part of the layout is Amen corner.  You have to go find amen corner, you can't stumble across it.  Its hidden in the corner of the property, as with everything else, its better than you thought when you see it in person.

11 Green  with 12 Green waiting in the background

 
3. Everything you use except for the golf course is just for that week.

The parking lot.  The entrance.  The concession stands.  The bathrooms.  The golf shop.  Its all permanent and just for that week. You've never seen so much staff working a concession stand each one telling you, "Welcome to The Masters" or "Y'all have a great day!"  They seem to have thought of everything to make your experience as enjoyable as possible.

4. Augusta National Golf Club is what it is and everything they do is to be themselves.  That should be a lesson to every golf course.  Be yourself, that's sustainability.

This is the one that will stick with me for the remainder of my career.  People question whether Augusta National is good for golf?  I have often wondered myself if that level of manicuring or perfection is good for the game.  I now know for certain it is good for the game because they are being themselves.  It helps that they can afford to do things other properties can not, but they could also afford to build more opulent structures and automated concession stands.  Instead they choose to build and do things that fit their personality and be great at those things.
Sustainability is a term used in golf, attempting to latch on to our changing landscape of environmental awareness and all the other challenges golf will face in the coming generations. 

I hope Augusta National never changes, it is a beacon for golf courses across the world to be yourself and from that you find sustainability.  The goal at Aldarra Golf Club is to provide the best conditions possible each day.  My crew understands this and they work to achieve this goal.  This goal is only possible if we focus on ourselves and do it our way.  Surely we can learn from other courses and use ideas to make us more efficient, but we have to do it our way with our own identify to achieve our goals.

If you've never been to Augusta in April, take a few friends, leave your phone in the car and soak it all in, it won't disappoint.







 

Anyone seen Spring?

The clock has rolled forward and here comes Spring.  It sure hasn't felt like Spring in the Pacific Northwest, but we are pressing on finishing up a few projects before Aerification.  

ROUGH RENOVATION

We recently completed renovating all the areas we killed with Prograss this Fall.  Prograss is used on Ryegrass, it selectively kills undesirable species(i.e Poa annua) that contaminate a pure stand, in our case, Ryegrass rough. 

The picture below depicts the destruction Prograss causes.  The extended cold weather this winter helped the Prograss kill the species we were targeting.  The area not effected was due to limitations of the sprayer, it can't drive on the steep slope on the right side of #17.

Dead areas are renovated and cleaned up by hand, before ryegrass seed is covered with a layer of sand.  

Fifteen hundred pounds of ryegrass has been spread throughout the course to help rough quality and the definition we like to see.  If you're thinking about ripping out moss in your home lawn and putting down seed, this is a great time to get it done.  Covering the seed with a mulch source is a great way to help germination.  The rough was also fertilized this week to help push growth before the season starts.  If Spring finally shows up, these areas should fill in great.

TREE PRUNING

 This picture is worth more than a thousand words.  Last October we rented a tow-able man lift for pruning Specimen trees throughout the property.  The top photo was taken the morning before we started last October.  The bottom picture is from February 28th at the completion of tree pruning on 12 tee.  The goal of this project is two pronged:
                     1. Highlight views when possible
                     2. Improve playability and turf conditions
The plan moving forward is to rent this lift once per year and stay ahead of the necessary pruning.

MALLARD DUCK NESTING TUBES

Golf courses are a great place for wildlife to thrive and we have to do our part when possible to help the wildlife.  You probably noticed the new grass tubes on your drive into the club.  These tubes are for Mallard ducks.  If we have success with these tubes we could add one or two more next year.  This project is part of our effort to obtain Audubon Certification for Aldarra Golf Club.  Additional bird houses will be placed throughout the property in the coming Months.

The 5 Best Photos of 2016 and an Honorable Mention

Technology has helped to make the world more mobile, and when your office is a golf course, this is a great thing.  While I am touring the course checking progress of daily tasks, I can fulfill the office portion of my day, emails, phone calls and communicating with staff from the seat of my cart.  Another benefit is I can easily that take a lot of pictures around the course without having to carry a clunky camera.  The scenery I get to capture every day is awesome and the beauty of Aldarra is easy to showcase.  The following 5 (+1 honorable mention) are my favorite photos of the year and a small explanation of why.

Teamwork 

The course wouldn't be what it is without the staff and I'm lucky to work with them.  This picture was taken in late March and Spring is in on its way and we are preparing the course for a beautiful day.  You can see the snow on the Cascade Mountains in the distance and the beauty of Aldarra in the foreground, but the best part here is guys working together to complete the days tasks.  I am grateful for their effort and commitment.

Nature

This is a mason bee, covered in pollen as he's been out all day pollinating plants around the property. This was taken about a foot away from the front of his house. I've never been a fan of bees, due to their ability to sting, but a joint project with Crown Bees, written about in this post, opened my eyes to bees as I had never seen them.  These creatures are amazing to watch and deserve more attention and understanding as a role in pollinate the world food supply.

 Paint the W!

The University of Washington Women's Golf Team won a National Championship in 2016 and we painted the mid-field logo from Husky Stadium on our first fairway to honor their victory.  Painting logos isn't something golf course managers usually do, we leave that to our Sports Turf counterparts so this was a lot of fun.  A big thanks to the Grounds department at the UW for loaning the stencil to complete this project.  A local painter helped us finish this project and it was much easier to do this with a paint sprayer than applying it with rollers.  The paint used was indoor latex paint and two weeks after application you could still see the outline.  Note, no turf was harmed in the painting of this logo.

Goats

The use of goats on a golf course isn't groundbreaking, but it was a great addition to our program for this year.  Two hundred and fifty goats, two Border Collies, one Komondor guard dog, and a great goat herder started the process of cleaning up the area fronting seven fairway.  We have since completed cleaning up what the goats started (blog post coming soon) and it turned out great.  The best part of this project and why this picture makes the list was the positive feedback from members and their guests.   So many benefits came from this project we have secured the goats for 2017!

What a Special Place



This picture captures so much of what makes this job so special.  We get to enjoy a time of the day that most people don't see, it is a reward to see the sun come up each morning before anyone else shows up.  I've captured many photos of Mt. Si in my time at Aldarra, but never with the silhouette of the clubhouse in the foreground.   

Honorable Mention - New Tools

We added some awesome technology to our spraying capabilities that will reduce costs, while improving efficiency.  We have yet to reach the full capability of this technology, but I am excited to find out where it can take us and how it will improve our operation.

I am excited for the year ahead.  We continue to review our areas for growth and build on our strengths as a team in preparation for 2017.