Nothing Makes Me Happier Than a Big Dump...

Take that to mean whatever you want but specifically today it's a reference to the snow!  Overnight and for most of the day we've had 30 cm of good, dense snow.  As I've said before, the stretch of cold weather up until now is good news with respect to tarps (not a lot of soil activity with things frozen this deep so not much opportunity for anoxia via CO2 build up) but not the best for greens without tarps since any liquid moisture on the green the surface will become ice.  However, the amount of snow we now have is good and offers some protection if the "Pineapple Express" comes through in January.

With things being obviously slower in the winter I sometimes go to a book where I enter ideas or items I want to investigate further.  Some entries are impractical and mean nothing now but others keep surfacing.  I've never really understood the idea of "Twitter" but I spent sometime looking into how other golf superintendents use it as a tool and I think I get it....sort of.  I created an account and began following a few guys I know as well as some professional associations and the information available definitely runs a broad spectrum.  One good use as it may relate to players at KGC during the regular season would be supplying relevant information about the course in a quick fashion.  Think frost delay, for example.  Instead of having to call the golf shop to see if there is frost you would, if you're following my Twitter feed, receive a text providing information about the delay as soon as I know there is going to be one.

At this point I am going to hover around the perimeter of the "twittersphere" and observe and by the time spring rolls around I hope to have a idea of how to effectively use it.  If you're already subscribed Twitter you can click the "Follow" button just below the archived posts on this page.  If you're not on Twitter and have no interest in Twitter but still want to "Follow" my feed (and assuming you have a cell phone) go HERE and follow the instructions ( basically you type 21212 in the "To:" window and then type "follow KGCtweets" for the message part and press send.  You would then receive a text of anything I post on Twitter).

For me, most of social media tends to come across as a bit narcissistic.  But assuming I keep the tweets relevant to the goings on at KGC, I hope Twitter will really just be another way to keep members/players informed.

Hey! Ding-Dong! Read This.

Don't take offense to the title of this post since it is really meant as a message to my future self but feel free to read on.  I've spent the last 4 or 5 work days compiling information and trying to look for trends or ideas that allow me to be more exacting in budgeting.  Although I can go back over ten years with respect to how many hours we spend performing all the maintenance on the the course, I only really began tracking fuel and equipment cost within the last 4 years so any conclusion I arrive at obviously require more than a bit of "extrapolation/interpretation".  That being said there is still some useful info.

Hours spend working on the course (not including me or the mechanic) are entered daily by staff into a spreadsheet.  Of the total hours entered 56% can be attributed to 7 routine tasks: daily set-up of the course, bunkers, mowing fwys, mowing G's, rolling G's, mowing tees and collars, and mowing rough.  In the following chart the big piece of pie represents the seven jobs while the rest of the pieces show how the remaining 44% of the staffs time is divided up.

 All the goofy little labels in the legend at the bottom of the chart are some of the job categories staff use when assigning hours they work.  When I am trying to glean information, any information, I focus on the categories that make up the large piece of the pie.  Here's what I've learned:

• Fairways:  We have 2 machines and in 2010 we ran both about 46% of the time and one machine 54%.  On average, staff spent 5 hours/day mowing. In 2013 we ran 2 machines 27% of the time and one machine 63% and spent 4.5 hours/day mowing.  The obvious trend here is less mowing which translates into less money spend on staffing and fuel (with less operating time it should mean less repairs but that's not necessarily true because of the mowers age) 
• Tees and Collars:  In 2010 staff spent an average of 4.43 hours per day mowing T&C for a total of 237 hours.  In 2013 it took an average of 2.95 hours per day for a total of 192 hours over the entire season.  Again, a declining trend.  Instead of mowing both tees and collars 3 days a week we only mow collars 3 times and tees 2 times which saved slightly on both fuel and staffing
• Rough:  In 2010 the average hours per day spent mowing rough was 5.43 while in 2013 the average was 3.98.  Unfortunately, a slight labour savings (and maybe repair costs) was offset by the increased fuel costs (we used the bigger machine more this year and it cost more to run) and the fact we mowed rough 20 more days in 2013 than 2010.  The more days mowed relates to the amount of grass this year and also to the extra cut we brought in this year to lower the rough around the greens.  Although the trend was for less hours mowing per day the cost of rough mowing actually is on the rise.
• Greens Rolling:  Greens were rolled 50% more this year than in past years.  In general, with respect to the greens we did nothing different compared to last year but there were fewer speed complaints so from an anecdotal stand point rolling may have had a benefit on playing conditions.  Obviously, the trend here is increasing in labour, fuel, and maintenance.
• Greens: Not much change here over the past 4 years with a slight increase in costs due to labour.  Long ago we began making use of the triplex as a cost savings measure with the greens being mowed about 50% of the time with triplex and 50% with walkers.  In the future the only savings here would be to go to 100% triplex.  However, we would have to take a close look since we only have one triplex mower and going that route would require purchasing a second mower.  That initial capital cost may take some time to be offset by labour savings.
• Bunkers: The total hours spent raking bunkers in 2010 was 902 and on average staff spent 2.5 hours/day raking all the bunkers.  We use to hand rake with 3 people and 25% of the time 1 guy would just touch up bunkers.  In 2013 we still hand rake and spend 2.3 hours per day for a total of 519 hours but now 67% of the time one guy does all the raking.  For the past couple years now we've only hand raked half the bunkers each day and touched up the rest.  Bunkers are expensive and aside from free labour or completely eliminating the bunkers I don't see any practical way to save more money.
• Daily Set Up: This is another job that has seen only a slight increase in cost and most of that is labour related.  The importance of this job is to not only create variety in how the course plays but also to distribute wear which is extremely important.  This is another job where I don't see any practical way to save money.

Who cares how long each job takes and how much it costs?  Mostly me, I guess, but as things remain competitive in the golf market we are going to have to keep trying different ways of doing things.  I think its a Jimmy Pattison quote that says something like there isn't a business that can't find a 3 to 5% efficiency (or something like that) but, and I mentioned this during the September Special Meeting, I am starting to think that the efficiencies are getting harder to find and any we are able to exploit may yield less than desirable results.

My Vote for an Eleven Month Calendar...

November, Ugh!  I lamented about this month last year and nothings changed.  It's not like I can go away and come back and completely miss it either since I have to be here to "manage" any situation that may develop.  But even in that regard I feel slightly neutered because I am really at the mercy of the weather.

All but two of the greens (#14 and #11) have lost their snow cover and the front nine fairways are basically without snow.  I decided to spray the exposed greens one more time since they did see a fair amount of moisture (8mm rain, 12 cm snow that melted, 3 cm snow that melted, 11 mm rain) as well as being exposed to mild temperatures and sun light -- all factors which act to affect fungicide efficacy.  As usual, I left areas untreated to see if the spray was warranted but I'll have to wait until spring to see.

The last couple days have seen lows of -18 Celsius and high of only -12.  Obviously with those temperatures combined with moisture at the beginning of the week the ground is setting up like concrete.  Not a bad thing disease wise but not a good thing if we get any rain since we would be guaranteed ice.  I've talked about winter damage to turf before but if you are interested you could go HERE for a quick read / refresher.

Cold temperatures are keeping me inside compiling numbers, reviewing, and planning.  The planning part is kind of a drag since next year will be status quo but the looking back at staff hours and fuel usage is interesting and lets me know if any of my goofy ideas worked out and where I can still make changes.  I keep threatening to talk about KGC's "maintenance metrics" so maybe if things stay the same I'll do that next time out.

Keeps me out of the bar....

I suspect my contemporaries would probably shake their head and call me an idiot if I were to tell them about my last two days.  I really thought the snow would melt but it is starting to add up and more (hopefully) in store for the weekend.  I ended up blowing the snow off #7 green and the front half of #6 and put down what Enkamat we had before it got any more "winterish" than it already is.  Like I said before, it's not a big deal but still working an hour or two in the dusk/dark on Friday p.m. might have been easier than the 7 hours of blowing snow/moving tarps/rolling out the Enkamat/re-tarping the greens.  But at least I know it can be done and how long it may take for future reference.....sounds sort of like a justification, no?

Almost 90% of #7 was covered with Enkamat and just a small portion of the front of #6 (for more of an experiment than anything else).

#6 Green with Enkamat and Tarp

Go here for a short explanation of tarps.  For the most part the things referenced in that post are still true.  When we messed around with the Enkamat last year I saw some things that made we want to use it again for this winter.  It seems when we remove the tarps in the spring the turf is sort of squished (not very technical but a good visual).  The Enkamat under the tarp not only appeared to act as a cushion from the weight of the snow pack but also an insulation between the turf leaf blades and ice that formed on top of the tarp.  The result is what you see in the pictures of #7 from March 2013 post (go here).  My hope is by placing the Enkamat under the semi-permeable tarp on #6 it will give this green a bit of help through the winter and maybe a better start next spring.

Mixed Feelings.....

Looking Toward 3 Tee

I am really happy with the 30 cm of snow at my place and the alleged 40 cm at the base of the ski hill but not too sure how I feel about the 12 cm at the course.  If it stays that would be mostly OK.  However, if it leaves that much snow melting will force my hand with respect to the applying my "panic spray".  I guess, based on the last post, my faith regarding all the sprays up to now will be really tested since unfrozen ground under snow for 5 months is pretty good breeding ground for disease if there is any type of surface moisture.

Like I mentioned before, we only have to put down the Enkamat on #7 which means I may have to blow it if the snow does stay.  Not a real big deal.  If you're wondering about the bears; they are still out....

My size 10/bears foot/my hand

Counting Down to Winter

We've pretty much completed all the preparations for winter.  Last week saw the last fairway get its treatment and up to now the weather has been cooperating.  The funny thing about spraying fairways is timing.  It is not possible to treat the areas we spray in a timely fashion because of size and weather (as I referenced in the last post) so we are somewhat forced to be done by the end of October.  Although it's nice to be done the trade off can be the length the treatments are left exposed.  We use a product with three different fungicides mixed together.  The mode of action for 2 of the 3 occurs within the plant (i.e. has to be taken up by the plant) while the third chemical is a contact.  Because of this mixture we obviously have to spray before the plant goes dormant.  It could happen that if you spray too early and the fall is unusually mild the efficacy of the spray declines (if you're a "techno geek"go here for extra info).  With respect to the greens the timing is just as important but even more so since disease pressure is higher due to density, species, health, and the low HOC.  The longer I do this the more trusting I become of the chemical even when the weather is less than perfect.  I will always keep a spray handy as a back up and if I don't need it I know it will be used the following season.

The forecast for the next couple days is for sort of rain/snow so we put out all the tarps on Friday (last years post, here, covers all the basics if you itching for more info).  My plan was to purchase a new impermeable for #7 as well as more of the Enkamat to be used under both #7 and #15 tarps but weak numbers for September put the brakes on purchasing.  I did get two roll of Enkamat to use on #7 but had to stick with the ripped up tarp.  We didn't roll out the Enkamat mostly because of time constraints but I am pretty sure we'll have time since there is a history of the first snow fall usually melting.  With no Enkamat available for #15 we'll go with what we've always done (a single impermeable tarp) and hope for the best.  One more point about #15 green.  It is kind of unique because of the large hill along the right side of the green.  During spring melt and even ill timed rain events during the winter water will run on the green from the hill.  We cut one edge of the tarp into the hillside to prevent moisture from running under the tarp and creating an ice layer directly in the surface.  We've done this for years and seldom has ice of any amount developed on the green surface.

The slope is huge PITA when we blow snow because we have to blow the snow in one direction and because of the size of the green we usually end up blowing 1/2 the snow twice, if you follow me.  I am getting ahead of myself so I'll wrap up with a video of the cutting the beetle tree down on the right of 9 green.

Getting my Ducks in a Row

Fall is always has an aura of panic associated with it for me.  We really are fighting the calendar and losing one or two days to breakdowns, bad weather, or even late season play could have repercussions the following spring.  This year the course closed Thanksgiving weekend (Oct.14); last year we closed a week after Thanksgiving weekend (Oct.14, strangely enough).  Last year staff was laid off early and the fall work was completed by myself and the mechanic.  Looking back I can't believe how lucky we were.  This year I budgeted to keep some staff on week past closing and combined with the good weather we are ahead of normal...a good place to be.

All the greens were aerated with the deep tine aerator ( go here for past information) as usual but this time wasn't as nice as past times since most of the greens have at least 50% less root mass compared to other years so the turf was pulled up more than usual.  I sort have a theory on why there is less root mass and I'll cover that later.

With the exception of #6 fairway, all the fairways were sprayed this week.  Frosty morning meant I couldn't start spraying until noon but having staff to clean leaves and needles ahead of sprayer meant I could easily put down two tanks a day.  That may not seem like much but you have to calculate mixing, applying, travel time, and clean up as part of those days so it can take up to 1.5 hours/tank depending mostly on travel time.  The greens need one more and may get another treatment depending on weather and then they will have their sprays.

All that is left is putting out the tarps and getting up the elk "fences".  Actually I am too late with respect to the elk......

Elk Tracks on #4 Green

Apologies and Brief Review

Obviously there has been no posts for months.  Other aspects have cut into the commitment it takes to update information about the "goings on" at KGC.  I'll quickly blow through what happened over the past few weeks.

The last post about the pine beetle was really the only big news or out of the ordinary news during the latter part of the season.  We found a couple more trees but their removal won't have a very big impact.  We sort of experimented with transplanting some small trees (tamaracks) this year and those appeared to have survived.  Bolstered a little bit by that very small victory we prepared some more small trees this fall for transplant next spring. 

The river worked out.  We had to do our usual grunt work making weirs and dams but really only around 70 man hours and one day with a backhoe and a vacuum truck kept at least one pump working (and the horrible wet weather in September helped out - irrigation wise, that is).  A big percentage of that 70 hours was spent cleaning out the sand from inside the wet well.  I believe the wear caused by the sand is our bigger problem in the long run and we need to find ways to mitigate it.

This was one of those years where my 9 old could have grown grass for you to play on.  We had a hard time keeping up with all the grass.  What makes that interesting is when you compare conditions to last year.  In 2012 the wet June carried us for a long time until about early August which was when the cracks started to show and the turf began burning out and things started looking haggard.  This year the weather helped conditions stay great all year.   Unfortunately, I know I will have an opportunity to lament about our 1980 irrigation system in the future but suffice to say that when there is no burned out areas between sprinklers improperly spaced at 110 feet (versus the specified maximum spacing of 90 feet) you know the weather is having an immensely positive impact on growing grass. 

With respect to the beetle infected trees we fell them once play was done and a work bee was organized to help clean up the branches.  Luckily we had the regular group of 25 or so members (who appear to make up the backbone of these events!) show up an clean all the debris left from falling the trees.  I am depending more on these types of work bees since they really help out and save money.  Keep next spring open!

There is more but I have all winter to cover other topics assuming there isn't a ton of powder days.

KGC's Version of a Pink Ribbon Campaign......

...... mostly named that because that is the colour of the flagging tape we have.  I've marked trees on the left of 6 fairway just past the mounds, left of the red tee on #7, and directly next to the right side of 9 green.

Pitch Tubes on Ponderosa Left 6 Fwy

These are all Ponderosa pines and all have been attacked by (probably) the Western Pine Beetle but who knows.  The only real way to distinguish which beetle is doing the attacking is to look at larvae or the beetle gallery below the bark.

Beetle Gallery of Mountain Pine Beetle

Beetle Gallery of Western Pine Beetle

The end result is the same as all infected trees need to be cut down and removed.  We've already had to deal with beetle kill this year as covered in the June 28th post.  There will be lots of problems with removal of these trees including the volume of material produced by their removal, deciding how and which way to fall the infected trees, and what sort of impact a possible Western Pine Beetle infestation will have on the front nine layout which pretty much depends on Ponderosa pines.

Other things coming out of the wood work now that we are over half way include knapweed which is in full bloom all over the course.

Knapweed Left 5 Fwy

I've covered this pesky weed before (go here ) and not much has changed regarding it.  If you see it pull and we'll pick it up (hot spots are mostly on the back with the left of 14 fairway and the left of 17 fairway the worst).  I know that if we can treat these areas early in the spring with broadleaf herbicide we get pretty good control but its a case of getting the time and since I am the only guy with a applicators license I either have to do the application and be directly at the treated location if someone else is doing the application.  Either situation is not always an option when we are starting up.  

The river .... lets talk about it later I am already pretty bummed out.

The Summer Blahs

If I could carry the energy and drive I have in the mornings for an entire day I would always be on top of things.  As it is, by the time afternoon rolls around my ambitions seemed to have been tempered a bit so hence the reason for few posts over the past couple weeks. I guess things are also running even keel which is always good news. 

What to note as of late? As it turns out things haven’t dried out like I thought and we are only a couple of week away from having to back the water off because of the cooler nights and shorter days.  The river is dropping but not a topic of conversation for a few weeks yet.  Maybe the only thing to discuss may be the little black bugs on the greens.  BTA or Black Turfgrass  Ataenius is what your seeing.

BTA 

Go here for detailed info if you are so inclined but if you don’t just realize that, as a general rule, BTA are not a big deal and unless there is a bug population around 40-50 per square foot there is no real need to treat for them.  That being said don’t be afraid to squish them with your putter!