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August 21, 2012

Bridge Resurfacing...

Brandon Collins, Country Club at Woodmore, Mitchellville, MD:

"The main bridge to get to the the golf course has been in severe disrepair for quite some time. Besides being a bumpy ride for golfers, the rotten wood posed a safety concern for walkers. The Green Committee and I have been looking for solutions to this issue for years now. The construction of the bridge makes it impossible to simply remove or rotate the existing boards so some sort of covering was necessary. We have experimented with decking, plywood and even epoxies, all with little success.

"In a time when we are all trying our best to go 'green', the Club decided that Flexi-pave would be the perfect solution so our bridge problem..."

This past winter, I learned of a product called Flexi-pave that is perfect for this application and great for the environment. Flexi-pave is a material made up of 50% crumb rubber and 50% stone. The finished surface is porous, allowing water to rapidly move through the finished product, alleviating any storm water management concerns. The rubber in the material is made from recycled tires. In fact, our bridge overlay used 1659 recycled tires alone! In a time when we are all trying our best to go 'green', the Club decided that Flexi-pave would be the perfect solution so our bridge problem.

The photos below show the installation process.


Large gaps in the bridge were filled with stone.



The bridge was thoroughly cleaned.



The correct level for the Flexi-pave was marked in a chalk line across the bridge.



The material is staged in bags and mixed with a small concrete mixer. The two installers are pouring a urethane in a small sprayer that is applied to the bridge before the Flexi-pave. This acts to seal the bridge and bonds the material in place.



Flexi-pave is taken to the bridge and smoothed using concrete floats. You can also see the applied urethane on the wood base.



The finished product!


The re-surfacing was completed successfully in one day. The product needs 24-48 hours to cure depending on weather and then we will re-open for play. I am excited for everyone to see the new surface in person. On a final note, the installation of the Flexi-pave was merely stage 1 of a plan to re-vitalize the bridge. As you can see in the pictures, much of the rotten wood has been replaced over the last several days as well and as soon as this is complete, we will be painting the railings to all one color."

Visit Brandon's blog at ccwoodmoregcm.com.

More rain and the Member-Guest...

Patrick Daly, CGCS, Framingham (MA) Country Club:

"The course received another 0.5" last night bringing our total in the last 24 hours to 1.2" and our monthly total to 3.6" of rain. As I write this there is another shower moving thru and I expect we might get more later on.

We are out mowing right now, working our way around the front nine to the back nine. There is a lot of standing water on the back nine and I have a crew of 5 pushing the water off greens, tees, and fairways. That crew will move from there into bunkers to push sand back up the banks, pull rocks, and smooth out. In case you were wondering this is the 4th time we have had to fix bunkers after a rain event. We will try to cut fairways on the back nine later with triplex mowers (lightweight greens mowers set to mow at the fairway height of cut.)



Dori Pole bird deterrent.


You must keep carts in the rough and paths and follow directional signs keeping you out of wet areas. The greens are very soft and I would appreciate it if you would fix your ball marks.

Tomorrow starts the O'Reilly Member-Guest, the premier event at the club. Our goal is to present a good golf course for the members and their guests. Please have patience with us as we are out and about preparing the course.

Finally you might see two poles with banners flying on the back nine. This is our latest attempt to control the geese at the club. I first learned about the Dori Pole in a trade magazine and if you follow the link you can read about it. "

Visit Pat's blog at fccgrounds.blogspot.com.

Closing in on it...

Matt Crowther, CGCS, Mink Meadows Golf Club, Martha's Vineyard, MA:



How much grass seed can a flock of turkeys
eat in an hour?


"As we approach the end of summer the turf looks as haggard as the staff does at times. It is a grind starting at 5:30 AM all summer, and this time of year can get depressing as it is pitch black at 5:00 so no more getting a jump on the day. We are still trying by hosing in the dark but then the dew settles back down on the grass and we are all out on mowers and the golfers have started to fill the place. Just one of the late summer frustrations, like when the flock of turkeys finda an easy meal of the driving range tee divots. The cow birds are doing the same all over the tees. They must be gearing up for a lean fall or something.



Big guy, deep prints.

Then we have the deer doing their nightly romps through the place and we know the skunks are going to start digging for grubs soon all over the fairways and rough. Makes you think there is a conspiracy afoot.

Add to that the weak state I described in my "House of Cards" post and it is no wonder the staff gets cranky this time of year. Another couple of weeks and the temps will change, mostly at night, the turf will begin to push some roots down and begin to recover fully from the summer stress.

The greens continue to be solid and rooting depth there is great, so they will just continue to be good. They are in need of a good topdressing, however to alleviate some of the puffiness they are showing. We will be deep tine aerifying them the day after Labor Day so they will get what they need then. We may do tees in august this year simply because of staffing issues and the reduction we will have in September."

Visit Matt's blog at minkmeadows.blogspot.com.

Water Feature Rebuild...

Timothy Christians, Makray Memorial Golf Club, Barrington, IL:

"At Makray Memorial Golf Club we have many unique water features that add to the aesthetic ambiance of the golf course. As a way to improve the overall aesthetics of the golf course we are putting in an effort to rebuild these water features to their original beauty.

We have begun with the waterfall that feeds into the irrigation lake from a small pond adjacent to the #17 black tee. If you have frequented the golf course in the past you may not have even known this feature existed. We will be removing all the silt, checking the liner, rearranging the rocks and cleaning out all debris and weeds. We will also be planting fescue around the pond as well as building a small wall around the perimeter. This process has been very time consuming, however when all finished it will bring some definition back to the area surrounding the tees.

The small pond area has become infested with cattail and duckweed, as well as other aquatic weeds. We are hoping by removing the silt and creating a constant flow of water, we can prevent the emergence of any further weeds.

Above left, the process of removing the silt and debris from the pond bottom. We pumped all the water out of the feature prior to beginning the process. Above right, the finished product after all debris has been cleaned and the rocks have been put back in place. This image shows the outlet that leaves the pond and feeds the waterfall.

During the work on the waterfall we will also be improving some of the surrounding landscape. We will be making the perennial bed behind the black tee smaller and then planting a fescue blend around the pond and throughout the hillside."

Visit Tim's blog at makraygolfmaintenance.wordpress.com

FORE! It's more than just a number...

Dustin Riley, Oconomowoc (WI) Golf Club:

"Last September I was checking the golf course following a warm, dry day. During my return back to the maintenance building, I was hit in the chest by a golf ball. It was a tee ball from #1 tee. I was not visible to the golfer and cannot blame him for the hit. After 20+ years on a golf course, it was my first 'hit'. It caused a nice bruise, but also made me wonder 'what if' the ball had struck me 12" higher and in the face?

"It caused a nice bruise, but also made me wonder what if the ball had struck me 12" higher and in the face?"

Earlier this season, two OGC members were victims of an errant golf ball and both suffered head trauma. Every season, I learn of 'close calls' from the Grounds and Greens Staff. We train employees to be aware of approaching golfers and to vacate the work area to protect themselves and allow the members and guests to play through. Maintaining the Oconomowoc Golf Club is a wonderful and rewarding opportunity. However, preventing injury from a golf ball is a two-way responsibility. Thank you."

Visit Dustin's blog at ocongolfclubgrounds.blogspot.com.

Orion's Return...

Cory Janzen, Westmount Golf & Country Club, Kitchener, ON:



Lots of clippings on #10.

"The much needed rain and cooler temperatures have created an incredible surge in growth. We are behind in mowing the fast growing rough and there are clippings everywhere! We're doing our best to catch up and tidy up all the messy looking clippings. It's actually a good thing because it says to me that we are over the toughest part of the season. The nights are getting noticeably longer and cooler and the grass is loving it! Soon Orion will appear before dawn in the southeastern sky... this is my astronomical reminder that fall is coming... and that the summer stress season is behind us.

This nicer weather also means that we can now return to pushing a little more for green speed. Our maintenance practices were very defensive over the last month and these adjustments have paid off. The grass is very healthy and the height of cut can now be dropped a little and more frequent rolling resumed. As well, we will topdress and verticut all the greens in the next week as weather permits. This will help to maintain smooth, fast greens going forward.

It was a long, stressful summer but we are now well positioned to have a great late summer and fall."

Visit Cory's blog at westmountgreens.blogspot.com.

Back to School...

Justin Ruiz, CGCS MG, Indian Summer Golf & Country Club, Olympia, WA:

"It has been a few years since I was walking the Oregon State campus searching for different bugs, pulling weeds for a pressed weed collection and looking up at the different trees and reciting their Latin names.

I have been offered a once in a lifetime opportunity to go back to school and complete a Master's Degree in Soil Science through Washington State. They offer all the classes online and I will be doing the research here at Indian Summer.

Over the next few weeks you will begin to see plots set up on the back portion of the putting green. I will be sampling a food waste organic product for greens. We will see how the product affects soil microbiology and how that relates to turf health. It will be an interesting two year study that will hopefully help with golf's movement to renewable resources."

Visit Justin's blog at indiansummergolf.blogspot.com.


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