Curlew hanging out near 18 tees

I thought I would include a picture of the curlew that have been hanging out at Sandpines for the last month. They stop by about this time each year. They have a distinctive long curved beak. They will be leaving soon, so if you want to catch a glimpse of them in person, now is the time.

Sandpines has received .08 inches of precipitation in the last 20 days. According to Jerry Waite, the assistant superintendent at Sandpines, this is definitely one of the driest stretches of spring weather he has witnessed. He has been at Sandpines since 1992, which is the year before the course opened.

With all the dry weather in the area its no surprise there have been a few brush fires around the Florence area. Last Sunday, there was a brush fire next to the tees on hole 8. It was sunny and about 85 degrees with a little east wind. Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue responded quickly, and they had the fire out in short order. I was able to help with our irrigation cart, which is equipped with a hose reel and about 125 feet of hose. I would like to thank those that helped put out the fire, especially since the group was largely made up of volunteers. They were outfitted in all their fire gear while digging a fire line in the heat. Nice job guys, I really appreciate your service to the community. The firemen suspected a discarded cigarette butt was likely the cause of the fire.

This tree had its lower limbs singed

Rhododendron blooming on hole 6

The rhododendrons are blooming in Florence. They are really beautiful this time of year. The greens are healing up nicely from aeration. The weather has been excellent for golf. The extended forecast is looking great as well. With warmer temperatures on the way in the valley, its a great time to play a round at Sandpines.

Close up of a rhododendron on hole 6

The greens, collars, approaches, tees, fairways, and rough were all mowed this week. Greens and approaches were also fertilized. The hole locations were changed. Bunkers were raked. Tee aeration and cleanup were performed on holes 1-10 and 12. Our goal was to finish tee aeration this week, but we had a few equipment issues that prevented us from completing the process. Greens were hand watered and minor adjustments and repairs were made to the irrigation system.

Jerry aerating 13 approach under lovely blue sky

The weather has been spectacular this week at Sandpines. It was really nice to have sunshine while performing aeration on greens and approaches. The agronomy staff did a fantastic job throughout the process. Thanks Jerry, John, Steven, Peterson, Bob, Andrew, Thaddeus, Cory, and Keith, I really appreciate your hard work and dedication. I would also like to thank Jerry and Aaron from the golf shop for their assistance with greens aeration, they were a big help. My son Dylan was also helpful and gave us a hand during greens aeration for a few hours.

I put a short video of the greens aeration process together below for your viewing pleasure.

You may have noticed a stump behind 9 green this week. I took the picture below on Wednesday morning. We really did not need more work this week, but I am sure you will agree this tree needed to be removed ASAP.

7 green

We had some great golfing weather this week. So far today, not so much. After today, the forecast is looking dry with plenty of sunshine. If you have been wanting to get a round in at Sandpines, I would encourage you to do so this weekend. There were still a few tee times remaining last time I checked. We will be begin aerating greens at 12 noon on Sunday following morning play. The course will be closed Monday and Tuesday to complete the process.

Chipping green that was aerated last week

The chipping green that was aerated last week is healing nicely. The other two practice greens were aerated this week, and are off to a good start. The rain we are receiving this morning will help them heal up as quickly as possible.

Chipping  green from a side view

I receive a number of questions this time of year about greens aeration. The video below is put out by the USGA. It does a good job explaining the importance of greens aeration. I thought I would change it up a bit this time for those that are used to seeing the video put out by Pace Turf that I usually include prior to greens aeration.

Chipping green being aerated with our new core collector attachment

It has been a busy week for the agronomy staff at Sandpines. The grass is growing pretty good at this point. All turf areas were mowed this week. The greens were rolled three times (spiked and rolled one of those times). Tee divots were filled. Greens and approaches were fertilized. Traffic control ropes were removed on holes 4 and 6. The practice chipping green was aerated in order to test out our new core collector. The other practice greens are scheduled to be aerated next week. Greens 1-18 will be aerated on April 21st (after morning play, beginning at 12 noon), 22nd, and 23rd. We are in the process of getting everything in order for the greens aeration so the process can go as smoothly as possible.

This would be a great time to get a round in prior to the greens aeration. The agronomy staff has been receiving numerous compliments on the condition of the golf course. Come on out and check it out for yourself.

I was hoping to see a few more people using the hitting strategy I mentioned in last weeks post. The divot patterns do not lie. Most people are using either the take it all method or the scatter method. To those are attempting to implement our preferred divot pattern, I thank you, and please continue to do so. I am including a link to an article from the USGA on the topic of driving range tee use. To check it out, click on the link below.

http://gsr.lib.msu.edu/article/mcclellan-practice-6-8-12.pdf

http://baileyranchgolfmaintenance.blogspot.com

The picture above was copied (stolen) from Bailey Ranch Golf Maintenance Blog, which is run by Chris Cook. This is what an ideal divot pattern would look when you finish hitting balls on the driving range tee.

6 green

We were able to get quite a bit accomplished during the nice weather at the beginning of the week. The grass growth has really picked up over the last week due to the longer days, warmer weather, and recent fertilizer applications. Greens, collars, approaches, fairways, surrounds, and rough were all mowed this week. Greens were mowed multiple times, and yielded a fair amount of clippings on each mowing. Tees and fairways were fertilized.

Driving range tee hitting strategy

The driving range tee was opened at the beginning of the week. I wanted to remind everyone of the hitting strategy we prefer while hitting balls on range. Please hit balls starting at the forward part of the designated hitting areas (indicated by paint lines). Once you have hit a ball, please place your next ball just behind the previous divot. This will displace the minimum amount of turf while practicing. Continue hitting balls in this fashion until you have reached the back of the designated hitting zone. Once you have reached the back boundary line, begin hitting at the forward portion of the designated hitting area again.  Leave 3-4 inches between the last divot line you made (as pictured above on the left). This method will maximize the amount of hitting space, while minimizing healing time. The scatter method (pictured above on the right side) takes up the maximum amount of hitting space which leads to using up the driving range tee turf much faster. The take it all method (in which all turf is removed from an area) uses less turf than our preferred method, but greatly increases recovery time. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

ProCore 648 preparations

We are gearing up for greens aeration, which is scheduled to take place April 21st, 22nd, and 23rd (If you have a tee time on April 21st, don't panic, we are starting at noon following morning play). Peterson is in the process of going through all the equipment we will be using in order to minimize the risk of a breakdown during the greens aeration process.

2 green basking in the sun

The fabulous weather continues. What a difference a year makes. March of 2012 yielded a record 18.46 inches of precipitation at Sandpines, or 4.32 inches more than we have had in all of 2013 so far. Hopefully, that record will never be broken. The 5 day forecast looks dry with plenty of sunshine.

The agronomy staff has been receiving a number of compliments on the condition of the golf course. This is a fantastic time to get out and enjoy a round at Sandpines. I have not played in awhile, but I am starting to get the itch. Hopefully, I will get a round in this weekend.

This is what it looks like when doves cry

It was another productive week for the agronomy staff. Greens, collars, approaches, tees, and rough were all mowed. Greens were also rolled and fertilized. Hole locations were changed multiple times. Bunkers were raked. Tee yardage markers were edged. The driving range tee was mowed and fertilized. Practice green surrounds were fertilized. Path edging was continued. The tree area between holes 3 and 13 was trimmed. Removal of blackberry bushes and Scotch broom was performed. Brush clearing between holes 3 and 4 was initiated, and will be ongoing as we have time. Peterson has been working on the front end of our John Deere 955 tractor, among other things.

4 green under beautiful blue sky