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About this blog

Ohio State graduate Peter Braun's 2014 internship at Mount Juliet Golf Club, Co.Kilkenny, Ireland

Entries in this blog

My Final Day at The Hills

My final day of work at The Hills for Brendan Allen is finished. I cleaned out my locker, said good bye to the guys, and am ready for my trip to Auckland through the west coast. Working at The Hills was a pleasure. There is a great bunch of guys on the crew and that only improved the experience for me. The closeness of everyone is really unique to find in such a large crew. That only makes work easier. I wish everyone the best to their future endeavors.    I cannot thank Brendan enough for tak
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

5

Cutting Cups and Picking Pin Placement

Changing cups is one of the most important jobs on a golf course. But why is this?  Wouldn't it be simpler to leave the cup placement the same all year? While it may seem like an easier solution and would free up man hours there is much more to it than that. Changing the pin placement has many benefits including: changing course play, reducing wear, and uses the designers plan.   Course Play: Golfer's Point of View  By changing the hole to a new spot on the green changes the way a course can
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

1

Out With the Hot, In With the Cold

Some of the hottest weather I have experienced in Ireland occurred these past two weeks, but the course has gotten through it. A change in the weather for the past few days has given the grass a rest from the heat, but there has been problems with the irrigation system causing areas to not get water. Hopefully the problem is found and corrected soon. A trusty irrigation system helps the irrigation tech sleep at night.     Last week I worked on edging some bunkers, worked a bit on the puttin
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

3

Going Down Under

Last Monday as I headed home from Ireland I did not know how crazy my next week and a half would be. As great as it was to be home for two days to see family I went to the dentist and had two root canals the next day. A great trip home. Then as I waited for my flight at JFK we boarded for 30 minutes before getting off and waiting another 4.5 hours at the airport for them to tell us that a leaking o-ring fix would be brought in from Newark, NJ and then it was taking too long so we got a new plane
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

2

Cricket World Cup

NZ is co-hosting the Cricket World Cup with neighbor country Australia. Saturday was the opening round of group play and I watched NZ beat by 98 runs Sri Lanka. Being the second most popular sport in the world this event is watched all over the world. Like most Americans the most popular sports world wide are not really known to us. We don't play them and have not taken time to see what sports are out there other than the ones we Americans excel at. Here is a quick break down of the sport cricke
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

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Intern/Volunteer Experience

TPC Sawgrass Players Championship Volunteer

Being called the 5th major tournament is one thing, but to play and look like one is much harder. TPC Sawgrass Stadium course was very well conditioned making for a fantastic finish. from eventual winner Ricky Fowler. The volunteer program at TPC Sawgrass is only 5 years old, but is so well run that Superintendents come from all over the world to be part of the amazing agronomy team for the tournament.  For the tournament over 70 volunteers came to help from places as close as Georgia
Intern/Volunteer Experience

Hobbiton: Magic in The Shire

New Zealand is home to the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogy movies. Peter Jackson sought out the best place for the movies and decided on New Zealand. He really enjoyed the Alexander sheep farm where he had a vision for The Shire, home of the hobbits, to be built and filmed. What a place it is! The tour took me around the Shire explaining parts of the filming, locating, and tour process. Below is some of the history and information I was told.  Located in Matamata, Hobbiton as it

BMW NZ Open: Day 5

The day before the cut day went very smoothly. Morning jobs are finishing quicker and quicker and in the evening nothing broke down. To speed up greens some were double cut in the morning, others just cut and all rolled. Since tomorrow is after the cut over all players are better so greens were cut in the night to get greens a little faster for tomorrow.    For the tournament 4:30 mornings are very dark till about 7 so cutting cups would be very hard. To combat this they are cut the night befo
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

1

Irish Open: Day 7 and Closing Remarks

What a week! I could not have asked for a better week to volunteer for the Irish Open. Great weather, good golf, and amazing people. I will surly miss the tournament and the people. I thank everyone who made this possible. Connor O'Driscoll and Simon O'Hara made it an enjoyable week and are some of the most kept together people I have met. Also, thanks to Aidan O'Hara and Robbie at Mt. Juliet for allowing me to take the time off to experience the wonders of a championship.   Connor, Pat, Mys
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

1

The Redwoods and Te Puia & Te Pō

Rotorua and the area is named the Bay of Plenty as it has many resources such as timber, water, and geothermal heat. Due to Earth's crust being much closer to molten magma at only 6km down and having water at 4km down lots of steam builds up. This creates pressure that needs to be released so a geyser was formed. This has brought up lots of sulphur and the area has a distinct smell like rotten eggs where the steam is released.    The Redwood forest has a few hikes ranging from a half hour to a
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

0

Pancake Rocks, National Kiwi Centre, Seal Colony

Today I headed to the National Kiwi Centre, the Pancake Rocks in Punakaiki, and a Seal colony. Not a bad day for it and an easy drive up the coast. Tonight I have stopped in Nelson and am spending the night at a backpackers.      The National Kiwi Centre is more than just Kiwi's. There are fish, frogs, a lake for catching crayfish, and the second most popular attraction, eels. The eels are in a large tank where they can swim around, eat, and relax. All of the 40 eels are females. I got to s
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

0

Millbrook Resort and Jack's Point

Millbrook Resort is laid out just down the road from The Hills and co-hosted the BMW NZ Open. Today I got a tour of the course from Superintendent James O'Malley. After working in the pro shop he eventually moved to the golf maintenance where he did his apprenticeship. Now he is the Superintendent of 27 holes and 500 acres of property. Millbrook is a large resort club catering to all types of people. To keep the properties and buildings in good condition there are hundreds of employees. Lunches,
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

2

Delta Sensory Gardens

On Saturday my landlady Catherine and her father took me to Delta Sensory Gardens. Located in the quaint town of Carlow Delta Sensory Gardens is a learning garden open to the public and has a center for adults with intellectual disabilities. Covering 2.5 acres the garden is broken up into 20 different areas, each exploring a different part of the senses. Highly maintained beds and flowers, unique sculptures and statues, and water sections are just a few area the gardens highlight. From the broch
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

0

Milford Sound: The 8th Wonder of the World

On Saturday Rob and I took a Jucy Cruise bus trip to Milford Sound. Taking us deep into the Fiordland National Park, which is the largest of the 14 national parks in NZ, we saw a unique rain forest only hours away from Queenstown. This is one of the most interesting places in NZ and the world. Hence that some have called it the 8th Wonder of the World.    Milford Sound is a fiord carved out by glaciers making for tall mountains and water some 330m (1082.68ft) deep. The real beauty of the sound
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

2

A Global Experience

The turf world is a global one. You can go all over the world to work on golf courses, athletic fields, landscape services, and much more. I can say that the past seven months have been some of the best in my life. Getting an international experience has been more than the work of a golf course. The golf course does take precedent, but getting a global experience means going out to experience the culture of the country you are in.   Programs like The Ohio Program (TOP) and TurfNet's make it ea
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

1

Irish National Heritage Park, Sod Work, Graiguenamanagh

Digging deeper into Irish history I visited the Irish National Heritage Park located in Ferrycarrig, Co. Wexford. Through the tour Catherine, Carlos, and I saw Ireland be born from the Middle Stone Age over 9,000 years ago to Vikings and Normans. The most interesting part was to see the improvement in the living quarters as time progressed. To see the way people used to live was amazing. Imagine a world where your next meal is all you think about. This makes the magnificent tombs made by them is
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

0

Grover's Visit Ireland: Day 7

Spending the night just outside Cork in Inniscarra at Knockawn Wood made for an easy journey in the morning to go to the Titanic Experience in COBH, Co. Cork. Dad was really excited to go on the tour. He loves history on ships and war. His favorite piece of history is of Ernest Shackleton, a polar explorer. Needless to say he was excited to see Titanic.   To get to COBH we took a 5 minute ferry ride from Cork. On the tour we were taken back in time to 1912 and the final resting spot of Titanic
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

0

A Sport Called Hurling

Ireland has a couple of sports that are unique to their country. One is hurling, a sport that is considered the fastest game on turf. For Americans we believe lacrosse to be the fastest sport, but when you see a game of hurling you can see that it is much faster. After watching my first hurling match yesterday between Kilkenny and Offaly, the first match broadcast on sky sports, I am hooked on the hurling.   Kilkenny vs Offaly at Nowlan Park   The game of hurling is played with 15 players.
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

0

A Ride on the Dunbrody

During the late 1840s Ireland was struck by potato blight causing the potato famine. The Irish were devastated as their main crop was being wiped out and hunger spread all over. Thus emigration to America, Canada, Australia amoung others gave the Irish a chance to start over. To get to these countries the Irish boarded ships bound for the promise land.     The Dunbrody, sailing from New Ross, was one of these ships. Originally built as a cargo ship in Quebec, she started taking passengers
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

1

Topdressing: A Key Cultural Practice

Topdressing is a common cultural practice done to golf courses throughout the year. The extent of topdressing varies widely between courses. Some are on extensive programs topdressing every 2-3 weeks on greens, once a month on fairways and tees. While others only topdress after aerification and this could be done once a year to greens only. The variation is due mainly to budget restrictions. If the money is not there then the job will not be done. No matter how much or how little topdressing is
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

0

Hiking the Tongariro Alpine Crossing

The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is a very popular 19km day walk in New Zealand as the scenery is amazing and many scenes and locations in Lord of the Rings were filmed here. However this is not the easiest and can be dangerous. As I found out today the crossing can be extremely windy at higher elevations making it cold as well. This hike can be done from either end to the other, but transport is needed in between. I was lucky to stay at a lodge with a shuttle so I got first class service to and fr
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

0

Taking to the Mountains

A full week of work was tiring, but fun. The cold weather has yet to leave. Days start cold, getting warmer during the days, but not very warm for the high. With the intense sun even on a mild day sun burn is a possibility. The only thing I can compare this to is windy days where it feels cool and in reality is not.    This week tees were completely core aerated, blown off, and topdressed. The process was done over 3 days. An update on the greens: they are coming back nicely. The cold weather
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

1

Holiday Weekend

Yesterday was the celebration of America's Independence, but I had to work and it rained almost all day. I heard back home the weather was great following some crazy storms in the past week. Still a lot of work was finished at Mt. Juliet this past week.    Core aeration and topdressing was done to a couple of tee boxes per hole. This is a necessary cultural practice to remove thatch, improve drainage, and increase air to the roots. At Mt. Juliet we use a Ryan aerator and on the tees a core cul
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

1

Belated Intoduction

2 months I have been in Ireland and I realize I have not introduced myself. Sorry, but here I go. I am Peter Braun Jr, a recent graduate of The Ohio State University. My story starts back in 2009. At the end of my Junior year of high school I had to start thinking about college. While I had grown up working in agriculture on dairy farms and raised animals at my family's house I knew I did not want to be a dairy farmer. After a simple internet search of sports and the outdoors I came across turfg
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

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