Syngenta Business Institute 2015

I had the pleasure last week of being 1 of 26 superintendents selected from across the country to attend the Syngenta Business Institute on the campus of Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, NC.  The Syngenta Business Institute is a 4 day intensive business development program designed to meet the ever changing requirements of golf course superintendents.  The program supplements and complements a superintendents existing knowledge base, allowing more productive and efficient golf course management.

Graylyn Conference Center at Wake

Through a partnership with the Wake Forest University School of Business, the program provides graduate school-level instruction in areas such as financial management, human resource management, negotiating, impact hiring and other leadership- and professional-development skills, and managing across generations and cultural divides.  To be considered for the program, superintendents had to submit a 250-word essay on why they believe they should be selected to attend. Approximately 25 superintendents were selected to attend and I was fortunate to be selected.

Financial Management

While I found ALL the education useful and impactful, one topic stood out for me, Managing Across Generations and Cultural Divides.  One of the great joys of my job is managing people and I have been relatively successful throughout the years.  However, I have found it difficult to manage "generation y" or more specifically what motivates them.  Through Managing Across Generations and Cultural Divides, I did learn some ideas that should no doubt make me more successful with this age group. 

Negotiating

On top of the graduate level coursework, getting to learn and gain perspective from some of the industry's best golf course superintendents was invaluable.  Throughout the week we all shared ideas and thoughts about the many things that challenge our facilities. 

Graduating Class of SBI 2015

I want to thank everyone at Syngenta for organizing what has become the premier and most sought after education event in our industry.  It was certainly a pleasure and honor to be a part of SBI 2015 and I will be a better superintendent because of it.

Reunion of fellow TurfNet Superintendents' of the Year
Chad Mark, Paul Carter, Anthony Williams, Fred Gehrisch

Pulling Santa for the 2015 Highlands Christmas Parade

Community service comes in many ways and for the second year in a row we have been asked to pull Santa in Highlands annual Christmas Parade.  Santa's "reindeer" comes as a 2014 Club Car 1550 4x4 decked out in red with Christmas lights and snowflakes.  If you have time, please come see us pulling Santa through the streets of Highlands on Saturday Dec 5th from 11am -12pm on Main Street.

Getting my cart ready for Santa.

On the trailer and ready to take to the staging area.

The reindeer is ready.

New Equipment

Exciting day this week as we received our two new Jacobsen trucksters.  These are the first new heavy duty vehicles we have bought in over ten years which is also a testament to the maintenance program of our old vehicles.

 

The new trucksters will help us with everything from hauling rock and sand to pulling trailers to shuttling crew and equipment throughout the course.  The new trucksters will replace our two oldest vehicles which are 16 years old.

Culvert Replacement #12

Finally, with one week of dry weather, we have been able to complete the replacement of the large culvert under #12 fairway.  While the replacement went relatively smooth, it was not without some issues.

Digging across #12 fairway.

Digging to bedrock.

 

Some irrigation will need to be rerouted.

The first issue was a previously unknown sewer junction and manhole that was found in the middle of the fairway.  After much research and discussion with the HOA, it was determined that this junction box was put in when the development was built and was never used.  As a result, we filled it in and covered it up.

Manhole and sewer junction in #12 fairway.

Installing a 30 inch drain culvert.

The other issue that came up was that the new pipe had an outside diameter about 8 inches larger than the old pipe.  With the pipe sitting on bedrock in a few locations, the new pipe sat at or near the surface.  To alleviate this problem, we will be adding addition fill dirt to those locations so that we get at least 10 inches of cover over the new pipe.

The new pipe was installed next to the old pipe so that water could continue flowing.

Covering the new pipe.



With this pipe now replaced, we will start replacing a second pipe on this hole as soon as the weather cooperates.  If you guessed, its raining right now.


Course Update 11-23-15

The start of the off-season has been a wet one since the Club closed, as it has rained every week since.  However, we have been able to accomplish a lot what we expected to do during this time.

The landscape improvements at the Tennis/Swim facility is going as planned.  The old crossties have been removed and the new stone wall is well under way.  With good weather, the stone wall should be done in about 3 weeks.  After the wall is done, we will be adding irrigation followed by plant material.


Crosstie wall at the tennis facility.



New stone wall the tennis facility.

The installation of new irrigation heads around the greens has been completed.  A total of 177 sprinklers were replaced in 8 days.

Wiring new sprinkler heads.

Proper installation requires a large hole.

Completed install.

In addition to aerifying greens, we also injected sand into the root zone by way of a DryJect machine.  This process helps to reduce organic matter and also firm up the greens.

DryJect machine.

DryJect machine requires a continuous amount of dry sand.

Perfect sand injection.

Due to the rain, we have been unable to proceed with drainage work.  As a result, we have focused on a project that we can do at this time and that is leveling several tees.  As I am writing, our staff is busy finishing leveling the white tee on #3 and will then go to the brown tee on #12.

Leveling #3 white tee.

Ireland Update and Blog Info

I would like to thank everyone who has asked how my Ireland trip went.  The truth is, it was amazing!  The golf courses were outstanding and the weather was uncharacteristically sunny.  During the whole week, we had not one single day of rain which I learned was not the norm.

Baltray

Fellow Superintendents

The Island Golf Club

On top of playing great golf, I was very fortunate to meet about 20 fellow golf course superintendents and industry representatives from throughout the country.  The opportunity to network and create lasting friendships will forever make me a better superintendent and a better person.  Lynn and I are forever grateful to TurfNet, Syngenta, and the members of HFCC for giving us this great opportunity.

Lynn & I at Royal County Down

The Ladies Club at Royal County Down

Enjoying traditional Irish music

The streets of Carlingford

As I stated in last month’s newsletter, we have a lot of other projects other than #12 that we will be doing in the off-season.  In an effort to keep everyone up to date with what is going on while you are away, you can go to my golf course maintenance blog at www.highlandsfalls.blogspot.com .  I always include a lot of pictures and a short description as to what we are doing.  In addition to my updates, the blog has links to the G&G chairman and my email, our course weather station so that you can see what the weather is doing at the club, and the webcam for the croquet courts.

HFCC maintenance blog

In an effort to make information on the golf course easier for you to receive, I have added a feature to the blog that will automatically send you an email when I write an update.  On the right side of the blog add your email to the box and every update of the blog will be emailed to you.  You won't have to remember the website anymore.

Landscape improvements at the swim and tennis facility

 

Removing sand from #12 fairway bunker

"Tough Times" - Aerating Greens

Despite rainy weather, we have begun the process of aerifying  the greens and croquet courts.  While the weather is not ideal, waiting for the best conditions could be timely matter. Sometimes you just have to take what Mother Nature gives you and move on.  Kudos to our staff as they have maintained a positive attitude while working in the rain.

Aerating #2 green.

Cleaning plugs on #6 green.

There are several reasons why it is important to aerify greens on a regular basis.  First and foremost is that it alleviates compaction and loosens the soil for better water infiltration and air exchange.  Secondly it helps the soil to "breath" allowing it to expel harmful gases caused by decomposition.  Additionally, aerification removes dead plant and excessive organic matter otherwise known as thatch.  Thatch can greatly reduce water infiltration and gas exchange while also providing a breeding ground for disease pathogens.

Scooping up plugs with the core harvester.

Aerifying is one of the most important practices we do to provide for the health of the greens.  We purposely wait until after the Club closes to aerify because we understand that the Fall is the best time to play golf in the mountains.  After we finish the aerification process, please be aware that with the Club officially closed for the season, we will no longer prepare the course for regular play as we will be changing our focus to winter projects and agronomic practices.

 

Benefits of aerification