Why Is Our Course So Dry In Spots?

A big pat of the reason we have so many dry spots on the course is our lack of proper irrigation coverage on the course.  The other major problem is we have had a major irrigation leak every week for quite a few weeks in a row.  When this happens certain parts of the course do not get any water until we can fix the problem, which as of late has been extensive.  So next time you think we are not watering the course enough, there is probably a good reason why a certain part of the course is drier than others.  The pics above show a main line break next to the 11th green.  This fix is still ongoing as we ran into numerous issues down 4' in the ground with the old piping.  As mentioned before, other things on the course are not getting done as we attend to these 2 to 3 day fixes on the old irrigation system.

Irrigation Leaks, We lose More Than Just Water!

We will typically have around 2 dozen irrigation leaks in a season here at Bellevue.  The combination of very poor installation techniques as well as 40 some year old pipe makes for problems all season long.  Some leaks or breaks are minor and some are sever such as this one that happened today right in the middle of the 12th fairway.  Such as the title says, when we have a leak or break we lose a lot more that just the water leaking out of the pipe, we lose valuable labor hours.  A leak like this 4" main line leak ties myself and my 2 assistants up for the entire day when we could be working on something else to better your golf course.  Frustrating as it may be, this repair needs to be made and it needs to be done right to allow the pipe to function properly in the future.  The big problem with the leak pictured above is we have to drain the whole upper half of the irrigation system which is a lot of water lost that we have to pay for.  So in the whole scheme of things, we are losing labor and money tied up in water costs, not to mention the supplies needed to make the repair.

Mike O'Neill, GCS

Proper Way To Replace/ Repair Divots.

Replacing a divot is a common practice in a round of golf for a conscientious, courteous golfer.  Many golfers have good intentions with the methods they use to replace their divot but often times their method is not the best way to allow the turf to fill back in and heal up the quickest.  I see it all the time, someone puts divot mix in the divot and then proceeds to put the taken chunk of grass back on top of the divot mix, this is a sure way to kill the divot because the sand mix holds no moisture for the divot to heal properly.  Bottom line is, find the divot you have taken and replace your divot first, and then step on the divot to ensure it doesn't get mowed up or blown away.  If the divot is in many pieces or is very thin, it is best to just use the divot mix provided in the carts or bottles.  After the divot is replaced, it is ok to fill in any voids with the divot mix provided to allow the area to be playable as soon as possible.  Also, the divot mix should be stepped on and smoothed out with your foot to fill in the entire divot, not left in a pile. 

It should also be mentioned that the divot mix is intended for the short cut areas only, (tees and fairways) it is not the correct material to put in any rough areas.  

Mike O'Neill, GCS

Golf Course Vandalism!

An unfortunate event occurred Tuesday night/Wednesday morning on the golf course, vandals decided to drive their car on the golf course causing some obvious damage.  Number 16 and 18 greens were driven on with the intent rip up the playing surface. Thankfully, only superficial damage occurred to the greens.  Tees that were rutted and driven on include 7,15 and 18.  Fairways 16 and 18 were rutted up as well.  My staff has already taken the steps this morning to promote the recovery process of the playing surfaces.  The greens were aerated with very small aerating tines and triple rolled to smooth out for play and will continue to be rolled and modified to smooth out to the original condition.  There is going to be a period of time here where it will be bumpy through these areas.  Please try to avoid playing on these areas as they need a rest to heal up quickly.  Thank you for you cooperation as we get through this unfortunate turn of events.

Mike O'Neill, GCS

A New And Much Improved Pond.

The pond on hole #8 was recently dug out with the use of two different excavators.  This pond, as everyone knows, has been a major eye sore for a very long time.  The pond had silted over to the point that the fountain aerator could barely operate in the middle of the pond, not to mention the terrible smell!  We rented a few excavators and hired a truck to haul the material out for us.  The end result after removing roughly 400 yards of material, is a pond that not only looks and smells a whole lot better but a pond that will function properly.  The area will remain marked as a "Ground Under Repair" until the surrounding area heals up to be playable.


Mike O'Neill, GCS

Dry Weather Makes for A lot More Work for the Grounds Staff.

The recent dry weather makes our job very difficult on the golf course.  Our irrigation system is lacking to say the least, so for us to deliver the beautiful golf course everyone expects, we have to perform a lot of extra labor to provide that.  You can see in the picture above, the sprinklers do not cover many areas so we run a portable sprinkler to deliver the water to where we are lacking on the course.  Many times we are running the sprinklers on the main playing surfaces like the fairways and tees.  We have many tees on the course that have no irrigation at all from the system.  In addition to the lack of water deliver from our system, we have a golf course that is predominantly sitting on ledge and shallow bedrock, so we apply an extensive amount of water just to keep the turf growing on the rock underneath.

The problem and the trick to watering the golf course is to apply just enough water so the turf is still firm and playable but not too dry that turf is lost.  The problem occurs when too much water is applied, sacrificing playability and allowing disease pressure to increase.  Please understand when you see a browned out spot out there on the fairways or tees, it is a result of us trying to provide the best possible playing conditions without having any standing water on the course, as you can imagine, this is an extreme juggling act with the irrigation system and mother nature!

Mike O'Neill GCS

Seeding the Expanded Fairway on 18

We have recently borrowed a slit-seeder to renovate our expanded area on 18 fairway.  The area was sprigged last fall and we are continuing the process to get the fairway to fill in and be playable in the near future.  Currently the area is labeled "Ground Under Repair" so please move your ball to the nearest playable surface.
Mike O'Neill  GCS