We started off the week with some light frost on Sunday and heavy frost on Monday morning. The frost resulted in a change of plans for the Monday closure on the Bear.  We were scheduled to verticut and top dress the Bear greens during the closure, however due to the frost we had to push those cultural practices until later in the week.  We did not want to cause any damage to the greens while the temperatures were in the 30’s during the first part of the week.  We were able to get the greens verticut and top dressed on Wednesday.  The greens on both courses are looking good and rolling about 10 on average.  I am very pleased with the performance and health of both sets of greens given the challenges we have faced. 

Monday the 16th  Bobcat #1 

I am happy to report that our carts, grinders, and blowers that were ordered post Ian will be delivered over the next few weeks.  The Bobcat pump station is still on track for installation in mid-February.  Once installed our watering capabilities will be back to normal.  It will take some time to rehydrate some of the dryer areas of the golf courses.  There are areas that have received very little water and have become hydrophobic and repel water when it is applied.  To combat this issue, we are utilizing several wetting agents that will help break the surface tension in the soil and allow water to enter and remain in the soil profile. The GCM department is also looking into some alternative scheduling to maximize the w
ater we have available.  You may see watering occurring during the mornings before play and during the afternoon when the courses have less activity. We will continue to do everything we can to bring our courses back to the conditions our members expect.  We appreciate your support and patience while we continue our recovery efforts. 

This past week we discovered a leak on a 6" mainline that runs along #13 Bear Tee.  The pipe was sitting on a rock which caused the leak.

The pipe was exposed so that we could make the repair.  The bread is used to plug the pipe and prevent any water from flowing while the repair is made.  Once the repair is finished the bread is easily dissolved allowing the water to flow normally through the pipe. 

The irrigation system on the Bear is made of HDPE or high density polyethylene pipe.  In order to make the repair the pipe must be prepped with a scraper to remove any oxidation and then cleaned with alcohol wipes.  To weld the pipe back together requires the pipe to be completely contaminate free.  

An electro fusion machine is used to weld the coupling and pipe together.  For this 6" line the weld time was a little over 8 minutes. The pipe and fitting then have to cool for 30 minutes prior to re-pressurizing the pipe.

Once the weld is complete and the pipe has cooled off its as good as new.  

 

Romeo is all smiles with his new material handler.

 The material handler allows the GCM staff to move a large amount of material around the courses.  We use it mainly during our top-dressing applications. It will also be used to add sand to the bunkers.

Did you ever wonder what goes on during our summer closures?

Check out this short video from the first Bear Closure of the summer!

https://youtu.be/aCM4aGdDUHk 

 

This past week the GCM department had some tree work done on the Bear Course.  The palm tree trimming will allow more sunlight to reach holes 10, 16 and 18. The trimming also drastically improved the aesthetics on these holes.  

                    10 Bear Tee before trimming                                10 Bear Tee after trimming

Bobcat Monday Closure

 During the Bobcat closure this past Monday we Ninja tined greens to increase oxygen flow to the root system.  Click on the video below to see the entire process. 

Cold Weather Preparation

You may have noticed all the annual flower beds are covered in a blanket.  This material is to protect the plants from freezing temperatures.  Frost will severely damage or kill the annual flowers that prefer warmer temperatures.  The crews spent a good part of Friday morning installing the frost cloth.

 

Frosty Morning and Delayed Tee Times

It was a winter wonderland on the golf courses this morning.  Temperatures dipped as low as we've been in years and a heavy frost formed.  It's hard to believe in will be 84 degrees in a couple days here!!

 

Frost at The Forest

We had some patchy frost this morning which led to a delay in tee times for about an hour.  It was very light and little to no effects should be seen from it.  The pictures below were taken between holes 1 & 18 on the Bobcat.  

While your local weather station may have reported 39 degrees this morning, remember that their thermometers are mounted about 6' above the ground and the temperature at the canopy is actually lower.

 

Pine Straw Installation

 Today we have pine straw being spread on both golf courses.  The straw serves two purposes.  It acts as a weed barrier and has an outstanding presentation on the courses.

Palmetto Maintenance

In order to increase the playability of our golf courses, the golf course maintenance crews on the Bear and Bobcat spent about six weeks trimming, and in some places removing palmettos.  Below you can see the before, during and after of one of the beds on hole 14 of the Bobcat.

The process of removing the stumps in this one bed took these three workers almost a whole day.

 

Storm Clean-up

Mother Nature decided to throw the GCM department a curve ball this week.  Winds reached 40 mph on Tuesday morning.   

This was the view from #1 Bear first thing in the morning. 

 The Clean up effort accumulated a large pile of debris 

A large Carrotwood Tree was snapped in half by the high winds.

Beach Renourishment Program

 For the last couple of weeks Jake and the Bobcat Crew have been working on some Beach Renourishment on Bobcat 6 for Goliath, Henry and Ally, our resident alligators.  The gators have been complaining about their sunning area so we made them a nice new beach.  

I think this is Henry.  As you can see there is a golf ball that belongs to TFCC member Bob McKay, on his back.  I'm going to say that is a HAZARD and take my penalty and move on!!!

Monday Maintenance on the Bobcat

On Monday, the Bobcat Course had its morning closure.  During that time numerous tasks were completed.  Greens were vented with needle tines then rolled and mowed.  A soil amendment was made after that.

The needle tining, as shown above, is nothing more than a very light aeration.  It allows bad gases in the soil to escape and water to penetrate the canopy better.  In other words, it just makes everything we do more efficient and the greens healhier.

After aerating the greens they are then rolled.  There is practically no disruption to play after this process is completed.

 The last thing we do to prep the greens for the days play is mowing them as you see in the background here.

Tee Reopening on the Bear

The newly renovated tees on holes 6, 7, and 13 of the Bear reopened today.  The tees were leveled, enlarged and planted with Bimini bermudagrass.

 

Bear Monday Maintenance Closure

We had our morning closure on the Bear Course yesterday.  During that time we were able to get a couple of light cultural practices done.   Greens were lightly topdressed and a soil amendment was made, as well.  The sand will help smooth any imperfections and the soil amendment will feed the soil to help grow a healthy turf.

Here you can see the application of the sand topdressing.  After the sand dries it is lightly dragged into the canopy with a carpet like dragmat.

Jeff is making the soil amendment here.

 The last part of the process is watering everything in.

Premier Practice Facility Update

We have been very fortunate for the last six weeks to have had weather conducive to growing bermudagrass.  We have taken advantage of it and really got the new Practice Facility growing in nicely.  

Above you can see the new chipping green coming along nicely.

The TurfHound mats were reinstalled last week and are ready to go.

This picture was taken from just in front of the mats.

 A view from top of the mounding on the back of the chipping green looking out over the practice facility.  

New Landscape Lighting at the Premier Practice Facility

The landscape lighting under the oaks and royal palms at the practice tee and short game area was installed last week.  This is a really neat addition for the club the adds some ambiance for your night visits to the clubhouse.  Please excuse the quality of the pictures as they were taken with an iphone.  The lighting looks even better in person!!!!

 

Bobcat Bridge Restoration

This week we have taken to task restoring the bridges on the Bobcat course.  The bridges are first pressure cleaned then left to dry.  After they dry, a coat of sealant will be applied that will make them look even better.  

Here you can see Nas pressure cleaning the bridge on 15.  

This is a before picture.

 You can see how much better it looks already.

Greens Clean Up

 As everyone knows, we have had some weed pressure this summer on our greens.  The necessary steps are being taking now to get rid of the goosegrass.  We are chemically treating each plant with a herbicide to kill it.  This way is much less invasive right now than pulling.  

Initially, you will see some blue dots on the greens.  The blue is just a dye in order to track what has and has not been treated as to not over apply the herbicide. In the next couple of days these plants will turn black before melting completely out of sight.  The bermudagrass will creep over the dying plant as there will then be less competition for it.

                                            

Here you can see our spray tech, Bob, treating 14 Bear green.  The initial application on the Bear greens should be completed by Wednesday afternoon.

                           

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