Winter Setup

Now that it is December we have gone to our winter golf course setup. This includes restricting carts to the paths and the use of temporary greens for the next three months.

We do all that we can to protect the golf course durring the winter months so that less outsides stresses are put on the turf.  This is key to having the course come out of winter in better condition and giving it a head start for the next growing season.

During the winter months the turf is unable to recover from divots, ball marks and wear caused by foot and cart traffic. Once the turf begins thinning out from these stresses the opportunity for Poa Annua invasion is significantly increased. Currently we dedicate a lot of resources to mange the Poa populations and by us not taking these extra precautions we would not have the same efficacy of control.  

A Week Of First

It has been a busy week of firsts for the season. As usual everything hits at one time durring the transition out of winter into spring. We have been begun to get the golf course back in playable condition for the upcoming season.

This week we have changed cups, removed winter debris from bunkers, put out tee makers, fertilized greens, mowed selected fairways and even aerified many areas on the course.

Last spring we started with an earlier than usual aerification of selected areas and this year I have carried that process forward. With all of the renovation work that has taken place over the last several years, I feel there is a need for additional aerification to alleviate some of the compaction from the heavy equipment utilized.

By the end of next week weather permitting I am hoping to have all of the fairways aerified. This is a slow process because it is being done in a manor not to effect play. We will try to aerify one or two fairways a day and cleanup right behind so that it looks like we never did anything. This different approach works now since it is mid March and we are having limited play.

We will still be performing our normally scheduled aerification April 12th-15th to the main play areas. The bonus early aerification will go a long way to help with recovery from all of the construction traffic the course has been subjected to.

New Tee Setup

Over the course of the winter we have been making a sixth set of tee markers for the golf course. That's right I said sixth set. Our daily course setup almost requires the use of a chart as it is for specific tee marker locations, but this new addition will allow golfers of all abilities to better enjoy the golf course on a daily basis.

In the last several years there has been a demand for a more varied setup as far as yardage goes. The result of this demand has come in the form a of a "combo" tee setup. For example, a combination of different tee markers would be used to achieve a particular yardage. This has been done for the current men's and ladies tees for several years.

Currently there exist a 700 yard differential from the men's tees to the pro tees which is too long of a stretch for many of our members who are looking to play a slightly longer golf course. The solution to this problem would be the addition of another combo tee setup that would create only a 400 yard differential between the two. This new combination will now establish a 1 Pine tee that would play to 7061 yards and the new "Bear" tees will play to 7373 yards.

Course Setup

All of the golf course accessories have been put back out in preparation for the upcoming season. These items include; tee markers, ball washers, trash cans and bunker rakes. The accessories were pulled from the course last fall prior to winter, so that they could be refurbished for the upcoming season.

This coming Sunday the 15th is when the GHIN handicap system becomes active for Colorado and scores can once again be posted. This date has created a deadline for us to put the final touches on the course before posting begins.

The biggest challenge we have ahead of us is getting the bunkers ready for play. Throughout the winter the sand has shifted and become full of Elk droppings and each item needs to be dealt with accordingly. The Elk droppings and Pine needles must be blown out of the bunker before any of the sand can be moved.

The sand itself has shifted due to wind, snow melt and animal foot traffic on the steep face portions of them. Every spring the sand depths are checked so that there is a compacted two inch depth on the faces and four inches in the bottoms. This is done by measuring the existing depth throughout each bunker and making adjustment where necessary. Sometimes this involves just moving the sand internally in the bunker or when additional sand is needed it must be brought in.

Course supplies are back out

Bunker cleanup taking place

Wrapping Things Up

We have come to the point in the golfing season that the supplies are being removed from the course. Over the next several days’ items such as, tee markers, benches, ballwashers, bunker rakes and cart signage will be taken in.

These items will be refinished during the off season preparing them for next year. All of the tee markers and signage will be refinished, so they look like new at the start of year. The daily exposure to the effluent water quickly deteriorates the varnish and appearance of the wooden products.

Coming To an End

The golfing season is quickly coming to an end and things on the golf course are beginning to reflect that as well. With the unseasonably warm weather we have been experiencing for the last several weeks, the turf has remained active well beyond what is normal for around here. It appears that this week will be the final mowing of the year for most of the playing surfaces. This is a good two weeks later than normal for the final mowing.

Also today marks the final day for daily pinsheets due to the fact that GHIN handicap posting ends as of today.

Where Are The Yardage Markers?

For those of you who have played in the last week you have probably noticed something missing with the new sprinkler heads. All of the newly installed heads in the fairway do not have yardage numbers on them.

The yardages will be shot from each of the new heads and will be labeled on all that fall within the 75yd to 250 yd range. This will not occur until all of the new heads are installed throughout the course. Once all of the heads are labeled the existing yardage markers, will be removed in efforts to help remove some of the clutter found in the fairways.

Thinning Out

In efforts to keep improving the overall playability of the golf course, some additional Scrub Oak trimming has been done. The clusters of Oak on the left side of hole #18 have been thinned out, so that a poorly placed tee shot can be found. In addition to the Oak being thinned out, the underbrush was also removed. This area will now closer resemble the clusters of oak found on the third hole.



Previously if a ball was hit into the dense clumps of Scrub oak you could barely find the ball, which has led to pace of play issues. Now you will be able to quickly identify if your ball is in play or not and decide what your next shot option will be. This minor change will help significantly with both pace of play issues as well as an overall improvement of playability of the finishing hole.

Behind The Scenes

The Cliffhanger is nearly over and the amount of work that has taken place without anyone knowing is amazing. Each of the last two days my staff has been working split shifts so we are not interfering with play.

Each morning starts out with the entire course being mowed before play. This includes; greens, tees, approaches, fairways, cups changed, bunkers raked and all hand watering. In order to accomplish all of these tasks before play we have been starting at 5:00am and complete the prep of the course by 8:30am well ahead of play.

The second half of the split is not nearly as packed full of activity, but many important tasks that affect the playability of the course are done. This would include mowing of greens again, ballmark repairs, divots filled, additional hand watering and general cleanup and small detail work.

Without my hard working, dedicated staff it would not be possible to achieve the high quality condition found on the golf course on a daily basis. I would like to thank them all for there additional efforts that make this tournament special for both the members and their guests alike.

Worn Down

As the summer progresses so does that amount of wear and tear that the golf course receives. We are now into our busiest months as far as play goes with round totals nearing 4000 players per month. That is a lot of golf going through a golf course that was not designed with that amount of play in mind.

The above picture shows the exit point from #9 fairway to the cart path. This area is the single most trafficked area on the golf course. This type of wear is the reason that the carts are limited on this hole to three days a week. Great efforts are made to give this area a chance at survival, such as additional fertility and aerification to the rough leading to the cart path.

The green committee at our last meeting looked at this area and how traffic and pace of play could be improved. After much discussion the concept of re-installing the old cart path finger that was at the northeastern end of the fairway was given consideration. This path was removed fifteen years ago, because the exit point was not properly managed and created a large dead area extending into the fairway. We as a committee will be pursuing this idea at the next several meetings.

Stay tuned.

Spottiness

If you look at the approaches throughout the course you will see many areas with spots of discolored turf. These areas are beginning to show signs of significant drought stress due to a reduction in water applied.

Localized Dry Spots

This is part of the overall shift in course maintenance that now emphasizes playability over lush green conditions.

The approach areas have been modified over several years of intense aerification and topdressing that allows them to better handle the current conditions they are under. In many ways the approaches are now maintained as an extension of the greens surface in order to achieve the necessary firmness required.

Pretty in Pink

The Ladies Member Guest had their practice round yesterday and they were surprised with a new look to the golf course. They were greeted with the flags on the greens in hot pink with the clubs logo on them. These flags will be used for special occasions such as the Member Guest and The Rally For The Cure.

Play It Where You Find It

Playing the course each and every day can become monotonous when a similar tee setup occurs. We are fortunate to have on average five different tees to utilize on each and every hole. This can be a burden from a maintenance standpoint, but from the playability side there are opportunities to vary how the course plays on a daily basis.

Over the years as new men’s and ladies tee have been built, some of the former tees have not been utilized in the fullest capacity. With as much play as the golf course receives it will better protect and spread out the traffic on the tees if every setup option is used.

New tee combinations have evolved for both the men and women in the form of a “Combo tee” setup. This has been done to either pick up additional length or shorten the hole, both of which have improved the playability for both groups using these types of tee setups. Both the Green and Golf Committees are looking into other “Combo Tee” setups to provide more variety on the length of the course without have to build any additional tees.

Over the last week we have begun to move both men’s and women’s tees forward or back from the normal tee locations. On the men’s side of this there is several old one Pine tees that are rarely used and allow us to occasionally add additional length to the two pine tee setup. This is also being done with the ladies tees as well, by moving some of the five pines from the newly constructed tees back to the old four pines. Keep in mind this will not be done every day, but it will be done occasionally so that the setup becomes more interesting and fun to play. The movement from the normal tees will not have an impact to you normal handicap, due to the fact that this variation is not statistically significant in your long term handicap calculations.

Getting Sharp

At the start of the week we have finally reached full staff for the summer, as a result we are now able to begin some of the additional detail work on the golf course. Some of the work includes edging all of the bunkers, sprinkler heads, drain inlets and cart paths. Throughout the summer these areas will be edged every two weeks, so that a crisp look can be maintained. Doing this type of detail works takes up a lot of manpower, but the end result is worth the time and effort.
Path Edging Crew
Finished Product
Sprinkler Head
Drain Inlet

Have You Ever Wandered ?

While you are out enjoying your round of golf have you ever noticed paint dots located on the outside edge of the greens? Did you ever wonder why they were there?

Paint Dots (Blue) Marking The Outside Greens Edge

The paint is used to mark the outside edge of the green, so that the operator can clearly see the edge of the green when mowing the cleanup pass. A greens edge tends to shift in over time if the outside edge is not properly identified and maintained. The best example of this can be found with #18 green how nearly eight feet of green surface was lost due to shrinkage. Last fall the green was restored to the original size now creating several pin location that have been lost for many years.

Native Mowing Changes

In efforts to help make the course more playable and help with pace of play a couple of mowing changes have taken place. Some of the in play native areas on holes #9 and #10 have been altered.

On #9 the large native area on the right hand side of the hole has been and will be mowed at regular rough height all year. This area has been problematic over the years due to the fact the “native” area has large populations of Bluegrass and Ryegrass mixed in. Additionally the area receives a lot of water from over throw of sprinklers making it impossible to find your ball and unplayable most of the time.
Mowing changes on #10 are not as significant, but they will also help with allowing you to find you ball in areas that were previously overgrown.

Pin Sheets

Today we begin the use of daily pin sheets for the rest of the season. The pin sheets were introduced last season with very positive comments. These sheets have replaced the old pindicators that were the smaller flags located on the flagstick. The use of these sheets has been helpful by providing the player with exact yardage number to the hole location, so that a better club choice can be made.

First Cut

Today we began to put the course back together from last week’s aerification. In the last several days the course has more closely resembled a war zone with sand, compost and holes everywhere than something that golf is played on.

First Triplex Mowing Stripes on The Fairways


The first mowing after aerification took place today on the tees, fairways and rough. The fairways in particular will be the slowest of the areas to recover due to the nutrient release characteristics of the compost, which tends to be slow and long lasting. It is for this reason that we will mow the fairways without baskets that catch clippings for the first several times. By doing so will allow the compost to work its way into the turf canopy and begin to inoculate the microbial populations and enrich the soil.

Cart Traffic Repair

Numerous areas on the golf course receive an overwhelmingly high amount of cart traffic due to limited exit and entry points. These areas are managed differently that the rest of the course to handle the abuse they take on a daily basis. Even with these efforts to manage these areas well still will end up re-sodding several of them each year.

Some of the additional maintenance practices that take place to these areas are higher fertility, additional aerification and daily cart traffic flow management.

A Newly Sodded Cart Path Exit Point

Many of the high flow traffic areas receive nearly twice the amount of fertilizer and aerification than the other rough areas on the golf course. The reason we do this is to give the grass an advantage in repairing itself by providing it additional food and relief from compaction caused by cart traffic. A large portion of our daily course setup is dedicated to managing cart flow with the use of ropes and directional signs. In the peak of summer when play is exceeding 200 rounds per day we move some of the ropes and signs twice in one day. Needles to say it is an uphill battle we are fighting, but I believe we are staying ahead of the curve.

#18 Green is Open

The green is now open after the renovation work that took place in the fall of last year. Both the bunker and newly sodded portions of the green are well enough established to handle daily play. One of the final steps that took place to the new sod was a final rolling to smooth out any imperfections and tie in perfectly with the existing green surface. The new sod will be mowed at a slightly higher height of cut than the rest of the green, and will be slowly lowered as the sod continues to mature.
Rolling of the Newly Laid Sod