A Celebration of TEAM!

Monday we held the First Annual "Deep Tine" Open at Claremont CC. This tournament was put together by the Green Committee and meant to celebrate the efforts and accomplishments of the staff in the Turf Department.  A major thanks to Scott Stone for suggesting we hold the event and the idea for the name "Deep Tine Open". 



The staff prepared the golf course for themselves and their playing partners as if it were the biggest event of the year. A 10am back nine shotgun followed by a BBQ in the redwood grove made for a great day for those of us in the Turf Department and the members who joined us.

The winning foursome, with a score of 3 under par was : Don Dorward, Octavio Ramirez, Miguel Victor and Mike Newbould. Their names soon to be displayed on the prestigious trophy that will hang on the wall of the maintenance facility!
I must thank all of the members involved; Matt Heafey, Scott Stone, Rick Weible, Tim Carr, Ken Dorman, Ned Wood, Don Dorward, Hank Carlson, Bill Conn, Ken Meyersieck and Bill Caldwell. Also, a big thank you to all of the club staff involved; Eric Gregory, Jason Asbra, Juan Carlos, Chef Robert Gee and his staff, Rich Strauss, Jay McDaniel and Randy Gai. The help and support from all of you on this event meant so much to the staff in the turf department and without that support, this event does not happen.

I am very proud of the efforts made by the staff this year. For many, this was their first time on the golf course as players, not workers. The day was all about fun but at the same time, the staff got a taste of what it's like to see the course from the perspective of the golfer. We look forward to many years of the Deep Tine Open and many fond memories on the golf course. 

Josh Clevenger

Golf Course Superintendent

Fall Maintenance Update

Yes it's that time of year... Again. Aerification!

We have enjoyed some good conditions throughout the golf course this year and this is directly related to the cultural programs that we've put into place over the last two years. Of the cultural practices we employ on the golf course, the most important is proper aerification of the playing surfaces. This will begin Monday the 26th with the aerification and sanding of the putting green and the front nine greens. Tuesday the 27th, the back nine will be closed to play as we aerate and sand. All 18 holes will be open for play Wednesday.

The picture above depicts the effects of aerification in both the soil and to the grass plant itself. After a long growing season, the upper rootzone is compacted from all the mowing, rolling and foot traffic from golfers and maintenance staff and it is critical to relieve this compaction as we go into the winter months. The greens should be back in shape and healed up in 10 to 14 days and we look forward to some great playing conditions this fall and into the winter months. Thank you and we'll see you on the course.

Josh Clevenger

Golf Course Superintendent

MacKenzie Gathering

"The best golfing grasses vary in color. They may be red, brown, blue, dark green, light green, yellow and at times even white. A golf course that is consisted entirely of one shade of green would be merely ugly." - Alister MacKenzie

On the eve of the final day of the MacKenzie gathering, I must say that it's been an honor and privilege to be a part of such a special event. The staff in the Turf Department and I are proud of the work that has been accomplished leading up to and throughout the event. It's been a long stretch and it takes a lot of work to prepare the golf course to look and play as it has over the last few weeks. I must say that tournament preparation for me is the most rewarding of all the things we do as Golf Course Superintendents and I will be a bit sad to end the day tomorrow. I've had the opportunity to meet with and spend some time with some very special people who are all so passionate about one thing - Golf. Thanks to all involved and thanks for a great week.

Josh Clevenger
Golf Course Superintendent

Bunker Basics





Over the last few weeks I've noticed some poor bunker etiquette. The general idea when raking your bunker is to leave the sand close to, or in better condition than you found it.  The following pictures are all from the last week or so.

This bunker to the left was beautifully prepared by the staff in the turf department and it appears someone simply failed to rake their footprints leaving this for all the golfers that follow.

This picture tells quite a story. The golfer here apparently entered the bunker on the low side, played his or her shot and attempted to rake over their footprints while walking up the steepest point on the bunker face. While this is an improvement from the last photo as an attempt was at least made to rake the bunker, there are still footprints across the entire bunker and piles of sand where the golfer attempted to exit the bunker. Please remember to enter and exit the bunker on the low side. This creates much less work for you the golfer and helps to keep the integrity of the bunker faces and bunkers noses.

Here is one that is way too common... The sandy footprints tracked all over a green early in the morning. These footprints were on the green all day affecting the experience for each following member and guest. Please remember to tap your shoes off before walking across the green. The staff in the turf department cleans and mows or rolls each green daily by 9am and after that, it's up to the golfer to make sure the golf course is left as he/she found it.

Following these simple tips on etiquette can have a major impact on the golfing experience here at Claremont. While mainly up to the golfer to make sure the course is left as he found it, at times caddies may be made responsible for the bunker raking and fixing of ballmarks. Currently we are scheduling a training day for the caddies to review many of the practices that have an affect on the golf course and the golfer. Thanks and we'll see you on the course.

Josh Clevenger

Golf Course Superintendent

The Fine Art of Handwatering

I received the question yesterday: Why do you do all this handwatering? There are many different reasons why we handwater. The fact is that no irrigation system is perfect and to provide the consistent playing conditions that we strive for daily, we must do some amount of handwatering.

Miguel handwatering new sod at #9 Tee.

Our number one goal in the turf department is plant health. Our philosophy with regard to irrigation is deep and infrequent. For the course at Claremont this means a heavy or "deep" irrigation cycle every 7 to 10 days where we water the golf course to the equivalent of 1/4" to 1/2" of rain. In between these deep watering's, we supplement the areas that need extra water with area specific irrigation and handwatering.

The deep and infrequent program does many good things for plant health and for the playability of the golf course. First and foremost deep watering promotes deep rooting and in turf, it's all about the roots. With water comes oxygen and when we water deep enough we actually pull oxygen into the rootzone. As the water moves down through the soil profile, we allow the surface to "dry down" and in turn, the roots of the plant go down searching for that water. Deep Roots = Good Turf.



Micro sprinklers set up in the rough



A wise old superintendent once told me that if you are not handwatering, you're over watering. We could just turn on the irrigation every night, water enough to keep things green and go home at 2:30. This promotes a shallow root system and in turn, turf that will not hold up to the stresses that we put it through daily. The move for golf courses to use less water and promote firm and fast conditions is not just good for playability but good for the environment. Remember, a little brown grass is OK. Thanks and we'll see you on the course.

Josh Clevenger

Golf Course Superintendent



Busy, Busy, Busy!

As you can tell  from the lack of activity on the blog, we've had our hands full on the golf course over the past few weeks. What has historically been the quiet time here at Claremont (the weeks following the 4th of July) has also been the window for us in the turf department to do all those little pesky thing that make the members wonder "Why are they doing that?" Well, wonder no more.....

FAIRWAY TOPDRESSING & SLICING:

This is nothing new here at Claremont. What is new is the addition of a cultural practice called "Slicing". Slicing is a form of solid tine aeration that helps water to penetrate the soil, helps to allow air down into the root zone and give us some pore space to actually work the sand into.





Bulk Sand Truck In Action









Moises on the Fairway Slicer





Fairway after Sand & Slice - Prior to finish Dragging





GREENS AERATION & SANDING:

The greens were core aerated with a 3/8" hollow tine and sanded heavy on July 5th and 6th. Despite some difficult growing conditions going into and throughout the aerification process, the greens are healing nicely and in just a week we are seeing the holes close up. The greens should be back in great shape by this time next week. This is a new process for Claremont from a timing perspective only. Typically, greens aerification has only been performed in the spring and fall. A mid-season aeration of the greens will help us to properly manage them at a high level throughout the rest of the growing season and help us to provide the firm and fast conditions that we all have come to expect and enjoy.



#5 Green One week - Post Aeration - Few Holes Remaining



#5 Green One week - Post Aeration - No Noticeable Holes

















The number one goal for us in the Turf Department is a healthy stand of turf throughout the golf course. A large part of attaining that goal is the need to perform these all-important cultural practices. While at times, we will have to put up with less than perfect conditions around these practices, we are committed to the idea that a healthy stand of turf is one that will thrive and in the end, will require less inputs in the form of chemicals, water and fertilizer. Thanks to all for your understanding and we'll see you on the course!