How to turn 1 spot of fusarium into 1000.
Step 1: Do not apply a preventative fungicide prior to verticutting greens despite there being a small amount of active fusarium present.Step 2: Verticut greens in 2 directions. Be sure to start on the...
View ArticlePesticide Tracking First Half of 2014
It has now been 6 months since I started tracking the cost and EIQ of pest control products at the Pender Harbour Golf Club. So far I am doing great with keeping with my set goals.Sustainability...
View ArticleWhere did all the clover go?
While out fertilizing the tees this morning I noticed something crazy. All the clover on the tees had disappeared. There has always been a good population of clover on the tees at Pender Harbour ever...
View Article"Grow What Grows"
A few years ago I noticed that what little bentgrass was still around on my greens was seeming to be taking back over.This got me thinking. Uh oh.At this time there was very little bentgrass left on my...
View ArticleIs the best solution always the best?
Often when we search for solutions to our pest problems we are presented with the best most effective solution. Obviously this is what we would expect, especially when coming from a consultant or...
View ArticleFertilizer Use 2014
It has been a while since my last post. In my defense I have been a bit busy. In September my wife and I welcomed our second son, Avery, into the world. I was also busy working towards my search and...
View ArticleEquipment Use and Labor Efficiency 2014
For the past few years I have been keeping very detailed records of most parts of my operation. The reason for these records are to analyze what we have done, and come up with solutions for...
View ArticleDigital Job Board, The Key to My Success in 2014
We all know that maintaining a golf course requires a lot of labor, and the cost of this labor makes up a big portion of our budgets. Last year I was coming off a very difficult year labor-wise and was...
View ArticleEIQ Tracking, My First Year.
Putting down an application of phosphite and primo in mid December 2014 before it gets dark!It has now been almost an entire year since I started tracking my pesticide use in a meaningful way. Last...
View ArticleMy new approach to approaches is working.....so far
Clear pattern of disease on approaches Jan 5 2015My approaches have always been hammered by fusarium during the cool, wet winter months. Last year I hypothesized that most of the damage caused by...
View ArticleMaking Digital Technology Work For You on the Golf Course
Digital technology is slowly creeping into a golf course maintenance operation near you whether you like it or not. As the younger more tech-savvy generation move up the ranks they bring with them new...
View ArticleDigital Job Board, Try Before You Buy
The Digital Job board has really been a popular topic with superintendents. I have helped dozens of supers sort their digital job boards out since writing my first post about them in December. For many...
View ArticleSharing Your Digital Job Board With Your Staff
The ability to securely share is perhaps one of the most powerful aspects of Google SheetsOne of the most obvious ways to present your digital job board to your staff is to project it from your office...
View ArticleConsistent and Confidential Data Collection Using a Google Form
A Form makes data inputeasy and consistentA few years ago I wrote a post about using google forms to keep data collection consistent. I was recently talking about data input and some of the issues...
View ArticleMulti-lingual Job Board
The job board that I created using google docs has been a very useful and powerful planning and organizational tool for me. In fact, I consider the ability to plan 2 weeks in advance the best part of...
View ArticleTracking the bentgrass spread or lack thereof
A mixed stand. It's hard to tell which way the population is shifting, if at all.I want to know if the bentgrass on my greens was in fact spreading or just there from the seed and on a gradual decline....
View ArticleElectro-mechanical to Decoder Hack
Single Station DecoderBack in 2007 we started an irrigation system upgrade on our golf course. The first step was to upgrade the control system so that we could add heads as we upgraded each hole. We...
View ArticleAugust syndrome, It could be worse!
You could be the Superintendent at the Augusta Country Club. Just a stone's throw from hallowed grounds of Augusta National Golf Club. It is hard to image what it would be like to have such a famous...
View ArticleControlling disease on tees and approaches without pesticides
This past winter I was inspired by research out of Oregon State University by Clint Mattox on alternate control methods for the control of Microdochium nivale. I wasn't ready to take the plunge on...
View ArticleOne mower, 2 jobs
One sweet mower, two sets of headsTwo years ago I put together a plan to replace our aging maintenance equipment with new leased modern equipment. At the time, we were spending almost as much as our...
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