The Wyndgate Golf Club Maintenance Department

Monday, January 9, 2017

The Wyndgate Maintenance Department

January brings in a new year and frigid temps. We're still a few months away from being able to get out on the golf course; however, we did install some drainage lines on our trouble greens to keep the water from sitting on the surface all winter. As we drove around the golf course last week, we did notice that the drainage lines were working and most of the greens were free of any standing water. We also applied a product on the greens that's used quite a bit on the east coast (where winter kill is rather extensive) to aid the turf in forming sugars, carbohydrates, proteins and amino acids. Without getting into a whole lot of boring information, these are important in building strong, healthy walls needed during hard winter months.

It looks as though we are going to have an up and down weather pattern throughout the month of January. This could mean a lot of snow or rain, depending on the temperature at that time. In the event that this type of pattern does come true, having the drainage installed in the greens will only benefit us as we move forward. Of course, we still have black sand to spread on the greens in case there is a significant amount of ice buildup. The black sand works well in melting down any ice layer that may form on the surface.

We hope that you are reading this blog from a location where you don't have to worry about WIND CHILL!

Thursday, September 8, 2016

This Day in History

Florida

September 8th, 1565

A Spanish expedition established the first permanent European settlement in North America at present-day St. Augustine, Florida

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Maintenance Employee of the Month

AUGUST 2016

MAINTENANCE EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH

Uriel Leon

It took Uriel until August to win the award for Employee of the Month, but his hard work throughout the season finally paid off. Uriel was in the running just about every month. His attention to detail on the bunkers as well as volunteering to perform tasks that most people don't really want to do, really put Uriel out ahead of everyone else. His passion for the beauty of the golf courses has been unwavering all season long. Thanks to Uriel for all of his hard work and congratulations to him for winning the award.

Once again, there were many people who worked hard during the month of August but only one person can win the award per month.

JULY 2016

MAINTENANCE EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH

Emilio Martinez

June is the hardest month to maintain here at the Wyndgate, however, July is the hardest month to work. The conditions are not favorable for the employees and attrition is certainly settling in. One employee did not let any of these factors interfere with his daily activities - in fact, he performed them without a hitch and to the highest level possible. Emilio has been here for a long time and I don't think we have ever heard him complain about anything. He does his job extremely well and has an unbelievable amount of pride in whatever he does. Phil, Wilson and myself were very proud to award Emilio as our July Employee of the Month!

Will Young and Uriel Leon were also considered for the award as they too performed their daily tasks at a high level. Several others who are not eligible for the award but put forth an effort worthy of winning it were - Charlie Early, JJ Leon, Chris Condeff, and Manuel Leon

June 2016

Maintenance Employee of the Month

Tyler Pattullio

The employee to don the month of June is none other than Tyler Pattullio. Tyler is a new recruit for the 2016 growing season and has demonstrated over and over his understanding in both equipment care, use and attention to detail. He has always wanted to work on different projects with out asking. He is constantly the employee who finds myself or Ron to say that he would enjoy staying and mowing rough into the evenings to help. He even stayed to mow tees until 11:30 at night during the Invitational to make sure all the tees, collars and approaches were finished for the next day. His strong work ethic and great attitude are what make him a good man and a great asset to The Wyndgate.

Others who were in the running for the month of June were Big Will Young, J.J. Leon, Alec Mihm and Kyle Campbell. Again all of our employees worked very hard this month with preparing the course for the Invitational. Ron and I appreciate all of our employees for their continuous hard work through the growing season.

MAY 2016

MAINTENANCE EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH

Justin Tignanelli

As many of you probably already know, the month of May at The Wyndgate is one of the more grueling months for the maintenance staff, due to our Men's Invitational preparation. To earn Employee of the Month during this period is hands down an achievement. Justin Tignanelli displayed a work ethic that was unmatched by anyone on our staff. He went above and beyond what he was asked to do, each and every day. Justin, on numerous occasions, volunteered to work extra hours, extra job assignments and even work extra days to keep us from getting behind on our tasks. We can't say enough how we appreciate not only the hard work but also the positive attitude that Justin brings with him everyday when he punches in. He truly earned this award and set the bar high for the month of June!

Like the previous months, most if not all, gave 100% of what they could. We are extremely grateful to have, not only Justin, but everyone in our maintenance department. Others who were in contention for May were: John Chambers, Will Young, Emilio Martinez, Arturo Hernandez, Alec Mihm, Tyler Pattullio, and Dalton Pecar. Employees who are exempt from winning the award because of department position or because they have already won, but deserve recognition are: JJ Leon, Manuel Leon, Martin Medrano, Charlie Early and Chris Condeff.

APRIL 2016

MAINTENANCE EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH

Chris Condeff

Although there were many worthy candidates for this months Employee of the Month, one person really stood out and excelled in everything that was asked of him. Voting was cast by Phil Hopper, Ron Betz and Alex Wilson - all of which voted for Chris. He demonstrated a work ethic that most of his peers really noticed and began to emulate. Chris not only did what was asked but he, like Martin the month before, performed tasks that were not asked of him to do. He excelled in ALL jobs that he performed to the level of long-term veterans. We in the maintenance department would like to congratulate Chris on winning the Employee of the Month for April and that we appreciate all the hard work that he did during that time.

We also would like to thank all of the employees for their hard work and dedication to the golf course. Other persons who were in the running were - Justin Tignanelli, Manuel Leon, John Chambers, Don Tencza and Uriel Leon.

MARCH 2016

MAINTENANCE EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH

Martin Medrano

Phil and I wanted to reward the hard work of our employees by incorporating an "employee of the month" award. This is the first year that we have tried it, but we think it will be beneficial to us and our staff.

Martin Medrano is our first recipient of the award and probably won't be his last. Martin showed great initiative and leadership for the day's that he worked. He did everything that was asked of him and even performed tasks that were not asked, which saved us time and ultimately money. His strong work ethic is nothing new to Phil and I, which makes it nice to see him as our first Employee of the Month.

Congratulations Martin!

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

They said what?

"It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it."

Ben Franklin

Friday, August 19, 2016

Turf Talk

As we begin the process of winding down another golf season, let us remember all that the month of July has to offer. Fruit crops are starting to present, what is sure to be a pleasant and bountiful harvest, as well as a full and algae free irrigation pond that seems to provide an endless amount of fresh water for irrigation - okay, maybe not the last part but at least we won't starve. One thing that we can count on during a typical growing season are the many stresses associated with golf course maintenance. These stresses have many different causes however, some can come from typical, everyday practices, making it ever more important to perform our tasks with a high level of detail.

Let's start with one of the more common causes of stress - localized dry spot. Dry spot is exactly that, an area of turf that does have an adequate amount of water. Broken sprinkler heads, power loss, no communication to the irrigation computer, human error, not enough run time, too much thatch are all causes of dry spot. Aside from unwanted brown spots on your greens, tees or fairways, these stresses are an eyesore and can turn into a bigger problem. Another stress that can be harmful is cutting turf at a shorter height than it's normally cut. When this happens, it's creating a stress on the plant that is untimely and unwanted. Over watering, too much traffic in an area or not having a good fertility and pesticide program in place are also some common misfortunes when it comes to turf stress. There are certainly many other forms of stress that can occur on the golf course but these are the ones that can happen on a daily basis.

When you factor in all of these plus the inconsistencies of the mid summer weather patterns - such as heat, excessive rain, lack of rain, etc. - you have the ingredients for something far worse - turf grass disease. For a turf grass disease to occur, three things need to happen simultaneously: a host, a pathogen and favorable environmental conditions. The host is the plant that is affected by the pathogen during high stress periods. Certain types of turf react differently to pathogens and environmental conditions. That is why disease patterns are very inconsistent and not in a straight line.

Since we probably will never be able to rid ourselves from any type of man made stress on golf course, it's imperative for us to help the plant stay strong by implementing an aggressive and proper nutrition program as well as a pesticide program that suits the particular turf grasses on our golf course. We can't control the weather but we can maintain a healthy plant at all phases of the growing season.

"If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else."

-Yogi Berra-

The month of June at The Wyndgate is arguably the most difficult time of the growing season for the maintenance department. I say difficult only because of all the preparation that leads us into the Men's Invitational (The Patriot). There's a lot of hard work and detail that goes into making the tournament a success but there is also the job of maintaining the golf course consistently so that the membership isn't blindsided by any sudden change in conditions, such as green speeds. We do this in steps that start in May - these steps include, lowering the height of cut a little bit at a time, topdressing and verti-cutting lightly on a bi-weekly basis, adjusting our fertility to correspond with the need for fast greens, and keeping the rough cut at an acceptable height without leaving a mess - remember that ALL of fertilizing is done in May so it tends to grow quite a bit during this time.

This is also the time that the irrigation system is in full operation and there needs to be caution on a nightly basis. We certainly don't want to irrigate too much and have everything soft and damp all the time, only to turn off all irrigation so that everything hardens up. We do the latter part of that anyway once the tournament begins, so again, it's something that we need to ease into. Too hard of a surface is a sign of compaction, which promotes shallow roots and potential disease problems. If the surface is too wet, diseases may also appear and in this scenario, become quite devastating.

One of the best weather events that a Superintendent can have is when "Mother Nature" gives us an all day rain. Nothing violent or so heavy that you need to spend a couple day's repairing bunkers, just a good soaker to wash some of the salts down through the soil profile. These salts can and do, affect the rate at which the water gets down into the soil, and as I mentioned earlier, we are trying to establish consistent putting green speeds and if we have water trapped in the upper portion of the root zone, things can get a little too soft. Fortunately for us, we have tendency to receive more rain in June as opposed to say, July or August, and because of this we can apply wetting agents to allow for that water to travel down into the lower levels of the greens profile. If we can accomplish this throughout the season, we will have less "dry spots" and the draw from our irrigation pond is a little less because we are staying ahead instead of playing catch-up. We want to establish a healthy plant during the early months of the season so when the weather turns hot and humid, the plant has a better chance at maintaining its healthy status.

I could bend your ear about all of the things that relate to turf health and the relationship between the importance of using wetting agents, but I would be here forever and you would last about 1 more paragraph before you fell asleep. Just as there is never one or two things to maintain a good, healthy body, there are many steps to proper turf health but you don't won't to go from "step A" to "step Z" without doing anything in between.

"Great things are done by a series of small things brought together"

-Vincent Van Gogh-

As the month of May approaches and the dust settles on a topsy turvy April, we are all reminded that the weather in Michigan can vacillate all too often. With that being said, the cultural practices we do on the golf course also go with how the weather patterns itself. For instance, spraying dandelion's when the forecast calls for rain, doesn't make much sense - but the dandelions don't seem to apply that logic to their growing cycle. Fertilizing the golf course with a granular product however, makes all the sense in the world - just as long as the soil temps are adequate enough for the plant to take in the nutrients...are you with me?

Figuring out the best time for applications without disrupting golf is our first step after determining the what action is needed. Making sure that the host pest is being taking care of with minimal damage to the plant, and/or applying a product to prevent any turf injury are things that we deal with on a daily basis. All of these things are calculated to ensure that the plant is at the healthiest level possible. The transition from April to May is probably the most difficult to adjust to because everything that Superintendents fight, are starting to wake up; dandelion's, broadleaf weeds, grubs, and let's not forget that the one thing that we are trying to establish (grow), is not quite ready to jump up out of bed and begin it's growing cycle. As Phil talked about in "Phil's - osphy, photosynthesis is what the "wake up" factor is all about. The longer the day's, the more sunlight that is taken in, and the whole process of the plant life begins. We aid its growth and recovery with nutrients and water through irrigation when not enough is supplied from the sky.

Wilson touched up on white grubs and the ill effects they have on the turf. As he stated, the grubs feed on the roots at a time when the plant is trying to come to life for the season. Treating any pest in a timely manner, whether we are talking about weeds, grubs or disease, is crucial to the health of the plant later on in the season. Any stress caused during the spring, can be problematic during the hot summer months.

This post isn't a complaint about what our profession consists of, it's a challenge that we face every day, and it's a challenge that we gladly accept. We are blessed with having our office on a beautiful piece of property, with the sun on our shoulders, and eating lunch before a lot of people are even out of bed.

"In order to carry a positive action we must develop here a positive vision."

- Dalai Lama-

Aerification is that dreaded word no golfer or Golf Pro likes to hear. To be truthful, we as Superintendents don't really like the idea of going out and punching holes in our greens, especially since we have spent countless hours just keeping them playable. The problem is though, the greens wouldn't be in very good shape without those unwanted practices. We'll talk more about the benefits later on even though you've probably heard them a million times.

I think the biggest problem, aside from the holes, is the timing of the aerification. I mean, at a private club, Monday's are the best time for us to do it, however, the holes are still there on Tuesday - even after a heavy topdress. During the golf season we will be using smaller tines, nevertheless, the recovery will still take a few day's. Anyone who golfs during that time will probably not be too thrilled about the putting surface, regardless of the hole size. The truth is, no matter what day of the week that we choose to do it, someone is going to be affected.

As mentioned earlier, the size of the tine that we will use during the summer is quite a bit smaller in diameter than what we use at the end of the year. The pros for that is, well it's a smaller hole and less disruption. It is easy to clean up and roll afterwards. The visual is not as shocking as the bigger tines are in the fall. We still get most of the benefits for the turf health as if we do with the bigger tines - the difference is that we are NOT taking out as much organic matter with the smaller tines. The biggest advantage for doing this during the growing season is that we are allowing the greens to breathe and stretch their legs a little bit while not disturbing the playing surface for a great length of time. Other advantages are infiltration, which allows water, either by rain or irrigation, to travel down to the root zone and beyond and thus keeping water off of the canopy. Infiltration rates are important for establishing a healthy turf plant. As you can see, small tine aerifying during the summer months have a great amount of advantages, although the benefits are not just limited to the ones that were mentioned - we figured that boredom has already set in so there was no reason to list them.

Because we are bias towards this process, our list of disadvantages may not reflect the ones that you see or feel as a bother. When we talked earlier in the blog, we said that the #1 reason for the dislike is probably the holes on the greens in relation to timing. We feel that we can rid some of the discord by hurrying up the healing process. There are a couple ways to do this but they obviously require plant growth, and plant growth equals slower greens. Achieving the aesthetic value of the greens is step 1 in the process - the holes are no longer visible. Step 2 is getting the green speeds back to the favorable level that the membership desires. After both of these are achieved, then the advantages really start to take effect and that really is our ultimate goal.

We hope that this gives you a better understanding of the principals involved here and that we are in no way out to get back at the golfers, remember that we enjoy golfing as well. If you ever have any questions about what we do or if you have comments about anything, feel free to contact us.