The AR Drone 2.0 App-Controlled Quadricopter...

Frank Tichenor, Forest Hill Field Club, Bloomfield, NJ:

"One of our first flights with the AR Drone 2. It's a bit jumpy due to the wind and my novice piloting skills but you will get the idea. Yes, it's a lot of fun to play with but it's not a toy; it's a tool. For one we will be able make a nice fly over video of the course for a fraction of the cost of a helicopter rental. There are plenty of other uses also.

I am thinking that we can use this to study shade issues, traffic patterns, turf conditions, tree inspections, and probably a ton of things I have not thought of. Last but not least, while it's not the Goodyear blimp, I can see recording the final hole action in this year's Silver Putter. How will your nerves hold up on that downhill three footer to win 'The Putter' knowing there is a eye in the sky?"

Visit Frank's blog at fhfcgreendepartment.blogspot.com

Let's Shed Some Light on That...

Steven Harris, CGCS, Brier Creek Country Club, Raleigh, NC:

"The Champion greens have performed very well this winter, with one minor setback. The one thing that can cause Champion to struggle is lack of sunlight. While we were discussing our option of going to Champion for the greens renovation there were only two areas that gave us even the slightest cause for concern. The back of #14 and the left side of #4 were "iffy" as to whether we would need to remove or thin any trees.

The back of #14 has done well this winter, however in the last few weeks we have noticed some thinning along the left edge of #4 green. When we went out to observe the area in the morning we realized that the edge of the green only saw sunlight from 8:00-10:00 in the morning! Two hours is not enough time to keep the plant healthy, help dry out the tops and avoid thinning.

The answer to this issue is to thin the trees and underbrush near the edge of the green. We have gone ahead and moved the treeline back 15-20 feet in an attempt to gain more sunlight during the winter months when the angle of the sun is so low. By moving the treeline back some, we are also going to be able to improve the quality of the rough just off the left side of #4 green. Due to the fact that the trees were crowding so close to the edge of the green, the rough was very thin and stayed very wet throughout the year resulting in poor turf and playing conditions. With the increase in sunlight we plan to sod the area in the spring.

By promoting more sunlight in this area we are not only going to create a better green surface, but also improve the surrounding area as well. The area that has thinned will certainly recover in the spring once the warm air and sunny days return. We will take some extra measure to push the thin area and help it recover as fast as possible."

Visit Steve's blog at briercreekgcmaintenance.blogspot.com.

New Irrigation Installed on #16 Green...

Paul Carter, CGCS, Bear Trace at Harrison Bay, Harrison, TN:

"With the success of the half head irrigation installation on #5 green last year turning that green from possibly our worst green to one of our best we have been looking for the opportunity to do the same to several other greens. With the much needed break in the rainy weather we have been experiencing this winter we took Thursday and Friday to install new full circle and part circle irrigation heads around #16 green.

We replaced all the old full circle heads with new ones and positioned new part circle heads which will only water the greens surface. This will allow us to apply more needed water to the putting surface without "flooding" the surrounds and making them saturated and undesirable.

	New pipe and fittings were installed by Mitch and Willie.
All the swing joints, tees, and dead ends which were created during the installation were thrust blocked to hopefully eliminate any movement of the pipe which will cause leaks or blowouts.	Willie and Jonathan performing possibly the worst part of the job, the cleanup. You never can get the dirt to go back in the hole the way it came out.
Once all the dirt was picked up the surrounds were blown off and we were done.	Installation complete. Like we were never even there.

Thanks to the crew for a job very well done."

Visit Paul's blog at bthbgcm.blogspot.com.

Sprucing Things Up...

Chris Tritabaugh, Hazeltine National Golf Club, Chaska, MN:

"Earlier in the week I posted a video of the branding we are doing on our benches. Another course accessory has been getting spruced up this week. The yardage plates on tees were in need of some TLC. As you can see (below left), weather, irrigation and chemical applications take their toll on the appearance of the plates.

Keith sandblasted all of the markers to remove old paint and corrosion. Then he spray painted the markers before removing the paint from the raised portion of the plate. The result, as you can see to the right, is a very nice improvement.

Take a look at Keith's process in the video to the right."

Visit Chris's blog at hngcturfgrass.blogspot.com.

Golf Course Maintenance...

David Dore-Smith, Copperleaf Golf Club, Bonita Springs, FL:

"There is constant maintenance, improvements and enhancements carried out throughout the golf course on a daily basis.

Besides the routine course set up practices such as mowing the greens, raking bunkers and installing the cups, our staff remains busy with various improvements to the course including the addition of pine straw in high visible areas, edging grass from cart path edges, bunkers and sprinkler heads and trimming shrubs and trees.

Through the recent member survey and focus group meetings, there was mention of the abundance of the Native grasses throughout the course, in particularly around some of the landing areas and bunkers. The Green Committee, at their January meeting, discussed ways to maintain the integrity of the course but to also be fair for the varying levels of golfers at Copperleaf. It was decided to improve several areas throughout the course including holes 1, 2, 4,9 and 16.

The fairway bunker to the left of hole 2 received a welcome make-over as well.

Our staff have been hard at work over the past week "cleaning" these areas by trimming the various shrubs, grasses and trees to improve playability. These revised areas now look fresh and clean and not only allow a golfer to find their errant golf ball, but to also have a chance to advance it toward the green.

The entire maintenance department greatly appreciates all of the positive feedback received during the survey and focus groups and look forward to continuing to improve the golf course for all to enjoy."

Visit David's blog at www.copperleafgcm.com.

A solid foundation...

John Slade, Laurel Creek Country Club, Mt. Laurel, NJ:

"For several years, the USGA Green Section Turf Advisory Service has recommended the installation of fans on some of our greens that have more challenging growing conditions. With extreme weather conditions now becoming more the rule than the exception, we will be following the advice of the USGA and others, and installing fans at the two putting greens and #14 this spring.

In order to provide air movement across the entire putting surface, the fans are large...and heavy. Each fan weighs over 480 pounds. With that much weight mounted on a pole like a lollipop, a strong base is needed. This week we excavated the holes for the fan pads, digging to a depth of 5.5 feet, and poured 1,000 pounds of concrete for each fan location."

Visit John's blog at laurelcreeksuper.blogspot.com.

URGENT!!! DO NOT GO INTO THE BUNKERS!!!

Joel Kachmarek, Tacoma Country and Golf Club, Lakewood, WA:

"DO NOT ENTER THESE BUNKERS FOR ANY REASON! Specifically, the bunkers that look like they've been painted are those that are ready for bunker sand. The nice coloration in them is the color of the spray that we use to kill the grass liner.

The snow shovel is to protect the edge of the bunkers from getting hit by the spray. By the way, the spray consists of three components: water, glyphosate (round up), and a drift control adjuvant. The goal is to kill only the grass on the bunker floor and none that is along the bunker edge. The spray will not dry very well this time of year so it is VERY VERY important that you do not walk into the bunkers that have been sprayed. If you do, the chemical will undoubtedly be tracked around by the soles of your feet onto grass that we do not want to kill.

In order to have no mishaps, we will try to limit the number of bunkers that have been sprayed. Essentially, once we spray out a bunker, that means we intend on installing the new sand in it very soon... like within hours, or maybe a day. Meanwhile, we will rope it off with caution tape so you know this is one of those bunkers that must be stayed out of and NOT walked into for ANY REASON!!!!"

Visit Joel's blog at www.tacomaturf.com.

Look who is stylin' now!

The TurfNet Blog Makeover Department has been busy, busy, busy helping TurfNet members put their best feet forward with new blog themes and custom headers. Just this week, these blogs got a facelift courtesy of TurfNet:

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