That Looks Familiar...

I took great interest in watching the Presidents Cup this year for a few reasons. First off, any time a great classic course is hosting a major event I like to see the course as much, if not more than the golf. Secondly, the ties formed between Claremont and Royal Melbourne at this years MacKenzie Cup (the team from Royal Melbourne won the Cup here at Claremont) had me even more interested. In the first few minutes of the TV coverage, I knew we were in for a treat as much of the talk was related to course conditions, the firmness and speed of the greens and the classic MacKenzie design. Perfect for a golf geek like me!

One thing I noticed right away was how the bunkers were maintained. As you can see in the picture above, the bunker faces at Royal Melbourne are packed and smooth raked while the bunker floor is raked as normal. This technique is very similar to what we have been doing here at Claremont for the last two years.

We maintain the bunkers in this fashion for a few reasons. The main reason we smooth rake the faces is to keep golf balls from plugging in a steep bunker face. I, and most golfers would say that a plugged lie in a bunker face is unfair and by smoothing and compacting the faces of the bunker, most of the time, the ball will roll to the bottom of the bunker. Of course, from time to time, a ball will plug in the bunker and all I can say to that is... Don't hit it in there! It IS a hazard. This method of raking bunkers, on most days, allows us to spend less time than usual working in the bunker and gives the staff more time to focus on other detail oriented work. During the golfing season, we rake the entire bunker only twice a week. The other five days, we rake out the bunker floor and do not touch the faces. The time it takes to prepare the bunkers is cut in half on those days when we are only raking the floor all while the look and playability continues to be great throughout the week.

During the winter months, weather dictates how and what we do in the bunkers. Following a large rain event, the priority will be to remove any standing water, repair wash outs and remove any bunker sand that has become contaminated with silt, soil or debris as result of the storm. Once all bunkers are repaired and if the forecast is for clear weather, we will rake the bunker floors and prepare them for play. Many times, if there is another storm on the way, we may forgo re-raking them as they will soon be damaged again. After a large storm, it can take days to repair and re-rake all of the bunkers so please bear with us as we will do all we can to get them back in shape. Thanks and we'll see you on the course!

Josh Clevenger

Golf Course Superintendent

Last One of the Year

Monday and Tuesday we performed a solid tine aeration to the greens. This was our last aerification of the year and an important one going into winter. The following is a detailed sequence of events that we use to accomplish our goal of aerification to the putting greens all while minimizing the disruption to play.

Step 1: The greens are verticut in two directions.This vertical mowing results in shallow lines into the turf canopy where grass and thatch has been cut and removed leaving space for sand to settle into.

Step 2: Greens are sanded then aerified with a 1/4" solid tine tine to a depth of 9". The machine used is called a vertidrain and one of it's many benefits is the "kick adjustment". This allows us to adjust the tines to kick while they are below the surface of the green resulting in fracturing of the soil and a break up of the hard pan layer that naturally develops after a typical core aeration program. The point here is, while the result to the surface is a small 1/4" hole, the process is very aggressive under ground opening up new pore space for water, air and roots.

Step 3: Once the sand is dry on the surface, the green is rolled taking out many of the imperfections and working the sand into the turf canopy. We then brush the green with a mechanical drag brush and roll again. 

The finished result was a smooth but sandy surface and all in all, a very succesful aeration. Thanks and we'll see you on the course.

Josh Clevenger

Golf Course Superintendent

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