The Difference A Year Makes

I was looking at some photos from last year and came across a few we took in late March.  Below is a photo that shows the 15^th hole on March 24^th 2010.  We had cleared the 15^thgreen by this date last year, but as you can see the green surrounds are nearly completely clear of snow and the tees have only a few inches of snow cover left.  Tthe tees are in the foreground and the sides are starting to clear.  In fact most of the snow we had cleared around the green was nearly gone as well.

#15 March 24,  2010

 



#15 March 24, 2011



In the photo above you can see the difference a year makes.  The photo is of the #15 from the same location taken yesterday.   No turf can be seen.  The only commonality is the rock sticking out of the pond.   In fact one of the indicators I use for the first sign of spring are the bunkers on #15.  I also use the bunkers on #7, #10, and #5 greens.  These bunkers face directly into the sun and have less snow load than the rest of the golf course.  When we start to see these bunker faces starting to emerge, it usually means that the rest of the course will start to clear a few weeks later.  I am hoping this is not the case this year and we see a quicker melt. 

Looking Good

We are continuing to monitor the turf on our greens and to date everything looks great.  We recently inspected the 13^th and 18^th greens.  Both these greens have tarps on them and when we cut into the tarps the turf looked excellent.  No signs of disease or anoxia.  We also inspected the 7^th green which is un-tarped.  It looked excellent as well – no ice and no disease.



#18 Green after Cutting into Tarp - No Need to Sample



Clearing Snow Around Third Green

We began clearing the second and third greens surrounds yesterday.  The goal is to prevent runoff getting onto the green and creating ice or causing crown hydration when the greens begin to clear off.  There is plenty of snow to deal with.

   





3' 3" of Snow on #3 Green



Clearing the Parking Lot

Yesterday was a nice day with tremendous melting.  This provided us with some challenges in the parking lot.  The hard snow base gave way making for some soupy conditions and resulting in two delivery trucks getting stuck.  A short video of us cleaning the parking lot with the most efficient means available.

BCGSA Chapter Meeting - Creston

Yesterday I attended the BCGSA – Kootenay Chapter meeting at the Creston Golf Club.  This is a group of Superintendents from the East and West Kootenay regions and is comprised of about 90 Superintendents, turfgrass professionals and industry representatives.   Our chapter meets six times a year to discuss issues that face all golf turfgrass professionals in our region.  Our chapter also brings in guest speakers to enhance our education and assist us with continuing education credits (C.E.C’s) for our BC pesticide licenses. 

Guest Speaker David Wienecke

Conference and Trade Show

Just returned from the Canadian Golf Course Superintendent (CGSA)/Western Canadian Turfgrass Association (WCTA) Annual Conference and Trade-show.   After three days of education, networking, and trade show participation it is  back to work today.   Snow removal and grooming will be the first thing on the agenda as there has been another twenty cm of snow over the past 24 hours.

While traveling home, I reflected on some of the things I learned, some of the products that may be beneficial to Greywolf, and some of the lessons I learned by networking with my colleagues.

There were numerous educational opportunities over the past three days.  On several occasions I found I wanted to attend more than one session.   The CGSA and WCTA did an excellent job of providing a wide variety of educational opportunities and topics.

Off to Vancouver

Over the next three days I will be attending the Canadian Golf Course Superintendent’s Association (CGSA) Annual Conference and Trade-Show in Vancouver.   Many of you may think this is an opportunity to get out of the snow and the cold weather ( it was -32 ^oC on February 24^th and Panorama has received 21 cm of new snow in the past seven days).  I must admit this is a nice advantage of having the conference in Vancouver. 

But the main reason for attending the conference is the opportunities it holds for myself and my fellow turf managers.   These opportunities include continuing education, networking, and investigating new products.  Another opportunity for turf professionals is achieving points and credits for our pesticide applicator’s licenses and Integrated Pest Management programs.