Ice Removal

As the snow has melted back from the fairways several areas of ice formation have been created.  These areas generally occur in the lower lying areas in which poor surface drainage exists. Most of these areas have drainage systems in place which are frozen and no longer allow movement of free water.

Traditionally we have used compost to help melt theses ice areas in addition to mechanically breaking the ice with aerification equipment. This year we found another way to help with ice removal that appears to be less damaging to the turf (physically). While blowing off debris from the fairways it was discovered that the ice lifts from the forced air coming out of the blowers.  This method works best when a person is working with the blower to help lift the ice and make the wind force more effective. 

From Snow To Go

The golf course is once again open for play. This will mark the beginning of  the 2011  golfing season.  Although there still is snow located in many of the northern exposure areas on the golf course, the vast majority is quite playable.

The greens will also be back in play as the temporary winter greens will no longer be in use. This fact alone will bring many people back out to once again play our beautify golf course.  In addition the main play areas have been cleaned of Elk Duds and Pine needles, keep in mind that the Elk are out every night and leave us new opportunities to clean up after them every day.

Enjoy this break in the weather because it is hard to say how long it will last around here.

Never Thought Of It As Weird

I ran across this online and was surprised to see Golf Course Superintendent fell into this category.  Although I do have to admit over the years in conversations with people they are surprised to hear what I do for a living and they are even more surprised there is a degree for it.  So I guess maybe I shouldn't be surprised after all.

To read the online article click Here

Fun With Software

Now that we have gotten into a rhythm with regular snowfalls, I can spend the majority of my time working out the kinks of our new irrigation software. We began testing the new Toro Lynx irrigation control system this past fall in an extremely limited basis and I liked what I saw.

We are a beta site for this new software and I am extremely excited to see where this control system is now and where it will be going in the future. Compared to SitePro this is what irrigation control software should be. The inter-phase is much more user friend and now there is a commonality between actions that are executed from screen to screen.

On a daily basis I am running and creating new real world scenarios that will occur when I am actually watering with the software in season. These daily dry runs are allowing me to better understand and make recommendations for improvements in the software.

To see more information about this great new Lynx software visit Here

Bitter Cold

Over the last two days the temperatures have been extremely cold with the day time highs barely reaching zero. The nights have been beyond cold with temperatures falling as low -16 degrees.  These night time lows have set new historical records  here in Denver.

I have able to monitor what this bitter cold has done to the soil temperatures with the use of soil sensors that are out on the golf course. Currently we have six sensors located in green, tee and fairway areas.  These sensors are located at a depth of three and six inches.  In a two and half day period the soil temperatures dropped  eleven degrees.

This is just another example of how sensor technology can provide an incredible amount of useful information to help better manage golf courses. To find out more information about Toro Turf Guard click Here

Three Years Later

Today is the four year anniversary of the blog and it is hard to believe I have been at it for that long.  It continues to be an enjoyable process coming up with material that is both informative and relevant to what we are doing here at CCCP. 

I do have to admit that coming up with new material becomes harder with each passing day. In the last four years this blog has received more than 55,000 hits which I believe would not be possible unless I was providing quality information.  I would like to thank everyone who has visited in the last four years and I hope that I can continue to capture your interest in the future.