Welcome Home!

Welcome home

I was lucky enough to spend my new years and 10 sunny days after that in Florida. A good friend of mine moved to Windemere last May. It seemed like a good opportunity to get down there to visit his family’s new home. The fact that it was in Florida didn’t hurt at all! We did a lot of the typical tourist things when we were down there, with lots of stories to share. Of course, the one that I will share here is golf related. 

My buddy and I managed to sneak away one morning and ventured off to take in the World Golf Hall of Fame. I am sure that a lot of you have been there and for those that have not, I highly recommend it. The exhibits were really well put together. The main exhibits were Bob Hope and Nancy Lopez. There was also a large area dedicated to Bobby Jones. They showed a history of the game and its development. There were lots of old clubs, balls, and information on how the clubs were made. They had a green there that you could putt on with the old equipment, and for added realism the green was shaggy. Later on in the tour we came upon a green that was supposedly a U.S. Open green. There was a gentleman there from the Hall of Fame that was boasting how fast the green was. Of course, I needed to know how fast they were! So, I asked, “What are they rolling at?” He did not answer me. Instead, he proceeded to get out a stimp metre to show me. He rolled one ball out, paced it off and said, “5 paces that’s 15 feet.” You are probably wondering what my response was to this. It is one of those moments where I had so many comments that it was hard to pick just one. First off, the green was very small and there was not a flat area on the green. He rolled the ball only one direction, which is not accurate. I could go out to any one of our ridged greens and get a ball to roll 15. So, I simply said, “Okay, roll the ball the other direction and divide by two.” He looked at me and laughed, “Ah! Superintendent? Yeah, it only rolls about 9 on the way back.” So really it was a 12. By far it would be the fastest green that I have ever putted on. But, I have to point out that it was artificial. There is no stress on achieving the 12 feet. What is my point? There are two different golf greens one showing the slow greens of yesteryear and the other showing what is expected in the modern era, but they don’t show how this is achievable. A small display of how far turf equipment has come would go really far on showing people how this is achievable. I believe I could go on and on about this topic. But, it is probably best if I drop it here!

Let’s get back to the Parkway. The first thing is that the weather has been absolutely sporadic. My first day back, it was almost 10 degrees. Matt picked us up in Detroit and I am afraid to tell you that on our way back there was a golf course that was open. Last year at this time we were buried in snow. We couldn’t get out to clean up the trees that we cut down in the fall. This year it has not froze up enough to get out there to get the trees we cut down this year. Although this weekend has proved a good chance to get out and get the majority of them cleaned up. The tree project has been on going since I arrived. One of my future blogs is going to be dedicated to what has happened from the day I arrived until now with the trees on the property.

Next week, I am off the Niagara Falls for the annual provincial turf conference.  It is a chance to reacquaint myself  with colleagues. I will attend seminars about what is new and exciting in the industry. There is a tradeshow that shows all the new fancy dancy products out there. It is always a good time to reflect on the past season and get ideas to prepare for the upcoming season. When I get back, the first thing on the list is to get my 2011 IPM (Integrated Pest Management) done and submitted to the Ontario government.  This is a painful week of paperwork. Then it will be all systems go to get ready for the 2012 season. Every piece of equipment in our fleet needs to be examined thoroughly and all repairs need to be addressed. Last year we worked on equipment from January 2^nd right in to May. So, yes, I am a month behind already. Last year I dealt with a lot of equipment that I had never worked on before, so let’s hope it goes smoother this year. 

This past weekend I came in to clean up trees and was very discouraged at what I saw.  The golf course has turned into the local dog park! On Saturday, 35 people and at least that many dogs visited the golf course. I know it is a beautiful place to walk and let your dog roam free, get exercise and use our greens, tees and fairways as their toilet. It is understandable to use the course for recreation, but visitors need to stay on the paths. What I saw were two ladies with a dog on the third green. Then a man playing fetch with a dog on the third tee. There were tracks everywhere. We have no trespassing signs up.  I looked up trespassing and found a great common rule that was suggested – if it grows don’t go. I would like to ask of you to please educate anyone you know that uses the golf course in the winter. The grass is in a state of dormancy and cannot repair itself.  The shorter grasses are more susceptible to damage, and will not have a chance to heal until April or most likely May. 

Of course if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me at kendalllindsay@hotmail.com

Cheers Kendall