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.

Spring Update

The weather is causing everyone to think it's mid June and the warm days have really got the grass hopping so there is lots to cut but I am going be sort of a wet blanket and make everyone look at the calendar.  The month of May is somewhat in the middle of the spring peak growth cycle for cool season grass (remember there are two growth cycle for cool season turf: spring and fall) so I like to take advantage and get some increased density and, hopefully, root growth by keeping grass at a healthy H.O.C.  The clock starts ticking on turf health once we begin cutting at summer height so I choose mid to late May as the time to lower the height for mowing the greens until early September .  Furthermore, with the deep tine holes and the holes from the aeration in April I want to allow the turf time to take advantage of the oxygenated root zone and grow some nice root mass.  More root mass means the turf is better at "getting" nutrients and water which translates into healthy turf which leads to a better playing surface.

One quick comment on some things on the course.

Dandelions Around Base of Tree
( Double Click on Pict)

It's a great time to see all the dandelions we have on the course.  Specifically, its a great time to see where they are and where they are not.  Mostly you will see dandelions in the rough or around trees, or inside unmaintained areas.  There are very few growing in tees, fairways, or even in the rough immediately adjacent to the fairways.  The only reason relates to the cultural inputs whether it be water, fertility, mowing, or aeration.  Basically, all those processes make the turf healthier so it can out compete the weeds.  We don't spray large swaths of the golf course but tend to focus on areas prone to knapweed, sweet clover, and high profile/high play areas.

Outta Water- UPDATE

No pictures since I still haven't found my camera and my family is on vacation and took their camera's with them but if you've golfed this week you probably noticed the water level in the reservoir.  We are down a good six feet from normal and are having only moderate success at getting more.  Turns out "permission" was no big deal.  For the month of August you can do "maintenance of works" without any special request so we went in and dismantled the infiltration gallery and removed the silt and sand that plugs the intake.  I don't think I've ever explained how we are "connected" to the river so here is a quick explanation.  There is no physical connection, instead there is a large jumble of boulders that separate the river from an external wet well made of perforated concrete barrels that contains a large pipe which supplies water to the internal wet well.  From there the river pumps draw water up to the reservoir.  During initial construction we established a grade based on the historical low water level in the river.  In theory as long as there was some water in the river there would be water in the well.  That is true but the part that the individual who was consulting for KGC during construction did think about was the rate at which that water would flow into the external wet well at low water.  The elevation we are pumping to, the size of the pipe,  and the volume required to keep up with the irrigation demands all contribute to establishing a range of psi and flow that the river pumps need to operate in.  Unfortunately, that range is greater than the passive flow of water into the wet well at low water and, as a result, we are unable to pump sufficient water to the reservoir - which is the whole problem.
Even though we've removed the "plug" there is still problems.  Because we are stirring up the intake some small debris is making its way into the river pump house and plugging the screens which leads to decreasing discharge psi and ultimately a fault which shuts down the pump house.  Another kick in the *ss today was the conformation that the dirty run off has worn the shafts on both river pumps.  I need to check on tolerances but last time we had this it was $15 000 rebuild.  All part of pumping from a river but we need to look at ways to lessen the problems and that may mean developing a well at the cost of any where from $40 000 to $60 000.  It just keeps coming........

"HOLE OF THE WEEK"....hmmm maybe people need more time.  In an effort to lead the way I've ask my staff to pull some knapweed on the bank below the driving range fence next to 5 fairway to show how to do it.  We're pulling 50 plants a day during our morning jobs and it is only adding 3 to 5 minutes to the morning job.  What if everyone only pulled 10 plants.......... imagine...... This may also not be what people are looking for to "help" but lets give is more time and see.

First Try at HOLE OF THE WEEK

This time out we'll make #5 the "Hole of the Week".   We'll start with some definitions:

Weed: A plant growing where it is not wanted.

Noxious weed (a.k.a invasive plant) : " typically non-native plants that have been introduced to British Columbia without the insect predators and plant pathogens that help keep them in check in their native habitats. For this reason and because of their aggressive growth, these alien plants can be highly destructive, competitive and difficult to control" (straight off BC gov web page go here for a good resource for identifying weeds and other good info)

Nuisance weed:  "Hundreds of nuisance weeds exist in all agriculture areas and, although they cause economic losses, they are generally so widespread that enforcement is impractical" (straight from website for Peace River Regional District). 

Part of the "Hole of the Week" task will be to address the some of weed we have out there that I can't always get to.  The prime suspects are the noxious weeds knapweed and toad flax:

Spotted Knapweed

Dalmatian Toad Flax

 And the nuisance weed Mullein:

Mullein

And the weed white sweet-clover

Clover in foreground

There is plenty of all these weeds throughout the course but on #5 they are concentrated on the left bank below the driving range fence and the left hill side at the 150 yard stake.  It would be nice to have each group pull one of each weed as they pass by and leave them all in a pile in the rough and we'll dispose of them accordingly.

One of the regular routines we haven't been able to get to everyday is filling in the divots on the tee's.  Another task for interested players would be to make use of the divot mix bucket each golf car has and fill divots on the tee's we are not getting.  Take a scoop of sand with you when to the tee and fill in yours or any freshies you might find (a late addition thanks to Chico and Spanky: all the broken tees!! Picking those up and putting them in the trash helps keep things clean).

Five tee is one of the few holes we have with flower beds but even then I don't always have a person to attended to the routine maintenance.  Pulling weeds (in this case the obvious grass and dandelions growing amongst the flowers) and removing spent blossoms will help in the upkeep of the beds.

There you have it.  Like I said not a very sexy work list but all still required tasks.  We'll see what comes of peoples response to my request for help. knapweed broucher 

Knapweed

Good news/ bad news, I don't have a lot to discuss. Mostly that means nothing tragic has happened and we are in "summer mode". Check out the work done by the staff members on the rock wall beside 17 cart path. If you find yourself having to look for balls over in that area (or by any rock wall, for that matter) do not climb on them since they are merely cosmetic, with limited structural properties and are not meant to be scaled like Fisher Peak. Other things going on include the appearance of knapweed throughout the property. Go to www.invasiveplantcouncilbc.ca/spotted-knapweed for more info.

Spotted-Knapweed by 12 Tee

There are numerous patches all over. We try to manage knapweed by treating known areas with a broad leaf herbicide early in the season as soon as the first knapweed plant is seen. If there is an area we missed or a new area where knapweed is able to mature we then pull the plants and put them plastic bags and take them to the landfill. If you are so inclined to pull some of the knapweed yourself please leave any plants in a high profile spot so we can dispose of the plants in the best way. You could let me know as well and when (and if) we have time we will pull the plants. At the very least, I will include the area on our weed map so we can treat the spot next spring.

River Watch: July30

(Last weeks post had the incorrect date on it. I changed it). So far so good. We are still pumping with both pumps at about 405GPM. Water is dropping so hopefully we get some rain up high and it bring the river up.