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| Blower turbine helping to contain duck weed |
One challenge we were faced with this year was Duck Weed in our ponds. Duck weed, (lemna minor) is an aquatic plant that can double itself overnight. Over the course of a few days, a small problem can turn into a large one. In past years we have sprayed them with an aquatic herbicide successfully. However, this year with the hot weather and a late herbicide application, the duck weed went out of control!
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| Manually removing duck weed |
The only option left was to manually remove it from the ponds. This is a very labour intensive task. The first step was figuring out a way to contain the duck weed in one area of the pond to make removal more effective. We tried pool noodles, floatation systems, and finally had success with our blower/turbine. Blowing the duckweed to one side of the pond made it possible to remove with rakes and skimmers. Leaving on the shore to dry is an effective way to kill duckweed as it needs water to survive. We followed this with another aquatic herbicide application to kill off any remaining duck weed. Finally, it was gone!
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| Greens Aeration, 1/4 inch tines, 2.5" spacing |
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| Anthracnose on the 7th fairway (yellow and brown areas) |
We have been battling an Anthracnose outbreak on our fairways and in our rough all through the end of summer and into September. Anthracnose is a foliar disease on annual bluegrass where symptoms include elongated stems, chlorotic (yellow) leaf spots with small, black, spore-bearing structures (acervuli) in the center. It is caipble of causing wide spread damage when conditions in late summer are favorable. To fight this disease there are a number of fungicides registered for control. We have chosen a more envirnmentally friendly approach, applying fertilizer with high nitrogen to bring the plants through until fall when they can over come the disease naturally.
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| Antrhacnose symptoms up close |
As we transition into our fall season we will struggle to keep up with daily mowing and course services such as cleaning the washrooms and filling the sand and seed containers. Our staff has gone from a peak season of 7 full time staff and 5 part time staff to 4 full time staff and 2 part time staff. Many golf courses face this challenge in September as seasonal jobs are usually filled with university or high school students. Please have some patience and keep in mind that we are trying to get as much done as possible.
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| "Best Golf Course in Kamloops" |
We have some exciting news at the Kamloops Golf and Country Club. In case you haven't heard, we have been voted "Kamloops Best Golf Course" by the Kamloops This Week Reader's Choice Awards. This is a very humbling award to receive. Our Turf Care team has worked tirelessly this season and it seems as though the rest of Kamloops has appreciated our efforts.
Thank you to everyone who voted for our course and to our staff who have worked so hard this season. We had a great year this year, and we will certainly try to keep things "best in kamloops" right into winter.
Great work by you and the entire staff to make our course "The Best in Kamloops" it wouldn't be possible without the work you do. I have a question: I have seen a lot of ball marks on the greens lately and am wondering when we see an obviously older mark, is it too late to try to repair it? They look dry etc. Also a suggestion... what would be the cost of having sand & seed containers on all tee boxes. Our 4some always fills divots on the par 4's & 5's when we see them. I know your team tries to fill them but with lower staff levels perhaps this would help you out as well as keep all tee boxes looking good. Againd great job guys!
ReplyDeleteHi Dave,
DeleteThank you for kind words about the course. Our staff has worked very hard this year and I will certainly pass this along to them.
The ball marks on the greens are a result of post aeration softness. The aeration tines disrupt the surface, while combined with the water we apply to push the sand into the turf result in a softer surface. Following aeration we didn't irrigate them for a few days, in an effort to firm up the surface to prevent future ball marks. Unfortunately many of the existing ball marks became much more noticeable because of this. Our greens probably get the most play out of any course in Kamloops, making the problem that much more apparent. The best thing we can is repair ball marks when they happen, as I'm sure you do. Once they turn brown they will heal within a few days as long as they are even with the surface of the green.
We could get more divot mix boxes on the course, we have some extra ones already. The problem with this is that many people do not use them and the seed begins to germinate in the buckets as it sits there for a few days. The cost of the seed and compost mix is around a dollar a bucket, but this cost can really add up if a whole batch of mix begins to germinate and must be disposed of. Also, having buckets on every tee box would mean a lot more mixing for our staff on divot duty. We already struggle with time to complete these tasks, this used to be an all day job, but with budget cuts has become a half day job. The added cost of more seed and compost would also be tough to fit within our budget.
We really do appreciate it when members, such as yourself go, out of their way to make the course a better place. That sense of pride is something that is also instilled into our Turf Care Team. Maybe bringing 2 bottles with you would help you make it to the next fill station? That way we wouldn't have to have more divot mix buckets out, and the ones that are out would get fully used.
Thanks again Dave,
Travis