2014 BC Women's Amateur Championship

Well folks, it has been a while since the last blog entry but I hope you can excuse us; we have been very busy having just recently hosted the 2014 BC Women's Amateur Championship! Preparation for this tournament began early this spring when the course opened. From planning our greens aeration's, topdressing, fertility programs and repairing the winter damaged areas, we aimed everything to have the course in the best shape as possible for this prestigious event.

From large scale repairs of fairway areas and bunker renovations, to small details including staining benches and string trimming, there is no one who could say we didn't have the course dialed in. Green's fertility was lean and mean, while the fairways were lush but firm. We received many compliments about the course from the competitors and members alike. The BCGA officials who last saw the course in late April could not believe the transformation that had taken place, going from a winter damaged course to a lush and vibrant one.

Our Turf Care Team worked extremely hard, so hard in fact I actually had to go out and tell them to slow down! They worked on their days off and did split shifts to make sure we got everything done on a daily basis without disturbing the competitors. Even Sam the dog was spotted mulching sticks at high speeds (pictured below). While it is a lot of work to bring the course to its full potential, it is both fun and rewarding to see everything so shined up and pristine. We had the greens running at over 11 feet on the stimp meter for the final round, by far the fastest and smoothest we have ever had them.

Morning shots, setting up for the Big Tournament

Some people may ask, "Why can't we have the course in this shape everyday?" Believe me, no one wants the course to be in perfect shape every day more than your Superintendent, it's our job! However, this just isn't possible to sustain on a daily basis. With financial limitations such as labour, and physical barriers such as trying to work during play, not to mention the detriment some of these practices can have on turf health, it's just not possible to do everything everyday. Things like rolling the greens, raking the bunkers and

The 1st Hole looking backwards

even cutting all the fairways are just not feasible when you have a limited crew of workers. We start early (5AM) to try and get as much work done as possible before golf starts (6:30AM), then work backwards around  the course to avoid seeing the same group of golfers twice. Many of these hi-intensity practices such as rolling and mowing at at low heights of cut are also very stressful to the turf itself. Continued practices like this can be done everyday, but as a result, we would have to manage our greens more intensely, costing more in fertilizer, fungicide and labour.

When hosting a major event it takes months of planning and intense labour to bring conditions to their peak. A tournament of this caliber showcases our course to the rest of the province and is a great source of marketing. A caddy of one of the competitor's told a member of the Club that this is the best conditioned course they have seen so far this year. Compliments like this can go a long way in boosting our Team's moral when they have worked so hard to prepair the course and is certainly something we strive to hear.

Final Hole of the Championship

The tournament went very well with no major issues all week... except for one irrigation head that stuck on the night before the final round on the 13th fairway! This caused some minor standing water, but we were out with squigee's moving the water away as much as we could. Our practice facilities have never seen so much use. These girls practice hard! To our surprise some began arriving daily at 5:30AM to begin practicing, then stayed after their round until dark. Dedication, to say the least. 

2014 BC Women's Amateur Championship - Turf Care Team

Once the event was over and we finished handwatering all the greens and replacing all of our course accessories, we were finally able to relax. After all is said and done it's all just another feather in our cap but will certainly be the benchmark that we will aim to bring the course conditions too again in the future. Thanks to all our Club's Staff and Volunteers who worked so hard for this event, it was a great success!