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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

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

2

A Few Pictures

Here are a few pictures I took on my phone over the past weeks. Never got around to posting them so here they are.      Coring of weak areas on collars that were seeded, sanded, sprayed with fungicide and fertilizer, and watered. No more triplex mowing on them, just walk mowers. Areas caused by walking greens mower turns and roller stopping.    Walk mowing of fairway weak areas. Feels strange to be using a walk mower on a fairway.    A hydraulic leak on a fairway from a mower. No da
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

Tournament Closing In

There is less than two months till the NZ Open comes to The Hills. We are putting in the final renovation work to the course that needs time to heal. Greens have been under going some cultural practices such as verticutting every week or two, topdressing, lots of rolling, sand/seed weak areas, and fertilizer and fungicide recently. With some attention the greens will get to championship quality, but the weather is something that cannot be controlled or predicted. For example this morning there w
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

0

Lake Hayes A&P 100th Show

A&P shows, or Agricultural and Pastoral Societies, showcase farming for all in NZ to see. These are similar to county or state fairs in the United States. Some can be large, others small, but all try to bring people back to their roots. The Lake Hayes A&P Show was founded in 1904 as the Lake County A&P Show. This is still the official name, but Lake Hayes is better known. 111 years later and Lake County is celebrating the 100th show. This A&P show is quite small and only one day.
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

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Moisture Meter

Today I got to use a moisture meter. A simple and effective tool to use. I was impressed at how accurate the reading was. Since I my first job on a golf course four years ago I have hand watered and syringed greens many times, but I always had to rely on just my eye sight and feel to put water where it is needed. Us golf guys know just how precise this needs to be. Too much water can have prolonged problems such as disease and too little water can kill. With a moisture meter this should never ha
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

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Top 10 Posts of 2014

Since I started blogging for TurfNet in May I have wrote 54 posts making this number 55. With the turn of the New Year coming up I thought it would be fun to look back at the top 10 most viewed posts form the year. All ten come from my time in Ireland so I will include a bonus post of the top post from New Zealand.    "Out With the Hot, In With the Cold" The heat cooled down, but the irrigation system was having some problems. I topdressed greens for the first time seeing how accurate sand
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

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A Twist on Aerial Photos

Aerial photos are taken from the sky, usually from a plane, but a perk to living in a valley is that the surrounding mountains have amazing views of the area below. Just by hiking some trails I can see almost all of the course from above. I used a Cannon Zoom Lens EF 75-300mm to get some "aerial" shots of the course.    Holes 1, 2, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14 & Driving Range   Holes 1, 2 & 10   Holes 1, 9, 12, 13, Driving Range   Holes 4,5,10, some of 6, 9, 12   Hole 8 (tee to le
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

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Being Paid to Swim

Usually swimming is for fun with family and friends, but at The Hills we go swimming to clean out ponds. Brendan has us go in to the ponds and get out the weeds from the surface and as much as we can from the bottom. This is great for hot days when you really want to go swimming. I look forward to doing this more often. This time it was me, Scott (one of my American roommates), Ben, Andrew, Dave, and Josh.    The Hills Swim Team         Photo Credit: Brendan Allen   This week fairway corin
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

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A Long 2 Weeks

The past two weeks have been crazy. The two month lease ran out and we moved on to our new agreement, but this meant that some perks went like the internet. Finally I have internet again so I can get back to blogging. Lots have gone on at the course and I took a little hike again. Eventually I will hike all over the trails here.   In the time I was away the course has greened up, the weather is getting better, and some final projects are finishing up. Brendan keeps stressing that certain proje
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

1

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

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

Short Week

Working on the crazy work schedule I had a short 3-day week. Short, but I definitely work hard. At The Hills there is a lodge for rent and currently a new green is being grown in to make a new par-3. This will be used for the renters as well as an extra green for course use. The surround to the green had yet to be put in place so we sodded, or turfed as NZ says, the area with fescue. After the sod was laid we filled in the seams with fescue seed, soil and wetting agent. A bunker is soon to be sa
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

0

When Cultures Clash

This past week was great. I had Monday off for a public holiday and then worked through the weekend. The Hills uses a unique working scheme that is fair to everyone. The work week is 5 days long and once every three weeks you work a weekend, but then get Monday and Tuesday off. Then a 3 day week before getting the weekend off. On average we work only 5 days a week. Pretty nice. This past week the other Americans arrived in from Michigan and winterizing their irrigation system. Both are doing Pen
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

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A Cold Week

My second week working at The Hills was a cold one. I did lots of mowing, greens and fairways. We also worked on seeding cart path edges. Some new cart paths were put in this past winter and the edges need to be filled up and seeded. The seed was a blend of 93%Fescue 7%Colonial Bent (Browntop Bent). The bunkers were also finished being fly mowed and trimmed. I also got to mow the clubhouse roof. It is a green roof with grass and tussocks on it. An interesting job to have to do. The weather has b
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

0

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

A Letter of Thanks

My time in Ireland is over. Tomorrow morning I fly home to New York for a few days before heading to New Zealand. Thanks to everyone who made this trip a memorable experience. I learned and saw many new things.   Ireland is a welcoming country with very friendly people. I must thank TurfNet and Jon Kiger for setting up the internship at Mt. Juliet and Aidan O'Hara for taking me on for the summer. Learning how Irish turf is managed was amazing and to see a course undergo ownership change was ey
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

0

How Quick Time Flies

It feels just like yesterday that I stepped foot on Irish soil prepared for the journey ahead. That was almost five months ago. I have less than a week left in Ireland and two days left at work. At every new journey I think time will turn just right, but it always goes too fast. My time at Mount Juliet has been great. In this final week I keep remembering my time here.      So far this week I have mowed greens, tees and fairways. I also helped spray greens and mowed some rough with the TurfC
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

1

National Ploughing Championships

Ploughing, or plowing for us Americans, has huge competitions all over Europe. The Ploughing Championships in Ireland is the largest outdoor agricultural exhibition and show attracting over 200,000 for 3-day event. Wow, 200,000 people attend an event for ploughing. I had to see this. Yesterday I went to Ratheniska, Stradbally, Co. Laois to see what the hype was about. 82,000 people visited yesterday and it was just announced that 124,500 people attend today bringing the 2-day total to 206,500! O
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

0

Fall Cultural Practices

Fall comes earlier in Ireland. Leaves are changing and falling, but temperatures are still warm and dry. Not that I'm complaining, but I associate fall with cool, crisp mornings and colorful leaves. On the golf course fall is a time for turf recovery. This is done through aerification. Fall aerification gets the grass ready for the winter months by opening up the root zone to allow air and water to reach the roots and encourage root growth. One of the drawbacks to school is that I have always mi
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

0

Change is Going to Happen

I've just realized that it has been over a month since my last post about working on the course. My parents visit took up 16 days with 8 days here and 8 days writing.  Then I went on a 3 day trip to the Uk and Croke Park. So I have had a busy month. One last note before I get to the course work. Yesterday I ran in the 1st ever endurance obstacle race in Ireland. The race was only a 5K but was tough. I had been training for the race since my parents left and I felt great. I ran the course in 20:2
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

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American Football Hits Ireland and UK Visit

Ransomes Jacobsen, Bernhard Grinders, and Croke Park Classic made for a great trip. The trip came together with some help from Mike O'Keeffe, Jon Kiger, Jonathan Templar, and Gina Putnam. In February at GIS in Orlando Mike and Jon made some contacts at Bernhard that said a visit is a must see and that Ransomes Jacobsen is close enough to see on the same trip. It was decided to schedule the trip around the MP Series test day at Ransomes. This also worked out to be the time of the Croke Park Class
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

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Grover's Visit Ireland: The Final Days

Tuesday, back to work at Mt. Juliet, so my parents went to Hook Lighthouse. Since they have left I too have visited the Hook Lighthouse. Hook is the oldest working lighthouse in Ireland and, at over 800 years old, one of the oldest in the world. By far one of the oldest pieces of history I have visited this summer.   The lighthouse stands at 35m (114.8 ft) tall along with 115 steps up. In the early years the lighthouse was run by Monks from the area. They would have brought the coal up the ste
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

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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

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Grover's Visit Ireland: Day 6

With plans for Sunday in Killarney we decided to find a B&B about half way. We found a nice B&B called Ballingowan House. The owners were really kind and the food great. The luck of the Irish must have been with us as we woke up to a rainbow outside the window. The first of three we would see. So we set out for the Muckross Traditional Farms in Killarney, Co. Kerry. Being as big into agriculture as we are we wanted to the older style of farming, but the working farms is dependent on the
Peter Braun

Peter Braun

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