Leak On 1 Fairway

The Leak

The Fix

Just a Few Recent Pics

Greens Speeds

The stimp meter...the worst invention ever created in my book.  The first thing I will mention is the fact that I will never lie about our green speeds.  Our greens are currently running slightly over 8.5 on the stimp.  They have been fluctuating from somewhere between 8 and 9.  While this isn't where I would like them to be, it is a very manageable speed for normal, everyday play.  I feel that this speed should definitely be acceptable considering the condition of the greens just five short months ago.  Currently, the first priority for our greens is health and the second is speed.  This is always a must when dealing with greens that have the amount of poa annua (annual bluegrass) that we have on our greens at Stillmeadow. Ultimately my goal for our greens and regular play is 10.  I can ensure you that based off the slope of the greens and a REAL stimp reading this should be fast enough for everyone.  I can also ensure that once the greens are healthy and covered with grass, I will always do the best I can to skate the line between health and speed.

Thanks for your patience,
Klint Ladd
Golf Course Superintendent

Forward Tee on #16

The forward teeing area on #16 is one that has many issues.  The first issue is that it is not level.  The second issue we have with this tee is one of turf quality.  After reviewing the problems with the teeing surface we have decided that this tee will be the first that receives attention from a renovation standpoint.  To be honest, this decision was made months ago and even though we have had every intention to address this tee sooner the course has had other plans for our staff.  Those plans being irrigation work.  While the body of irrigation work is still plentiful, we will try to fit the renovation of this tee into the scope of work as soon as possible.

Leak on #5

Randy took a break from managing the crew along with the 50 other things he does in a normal day to help with irrigation.  He finally caught the big one!

Another pic of the pipe and couplers we removed.  Notice the curve to the assembly and all the different couplers.

The Fix

The straight and clean looking finished product.  We will send water to it tomorrow.  Hope it works!



Take Your Best Shot

The irrigation system continues to throw punches and doesn't show any signs of letting up soon.  In the majority of the pipe leaks that we have encountered, a repair has been attempted in the past.  We plan to do the best we can to fix each issue so that a return trip will not be necessary for many years to come.  The following are photos of just one of the issues we came across this week.


The Leak

The Broken Pipe- Notice the crack across the top of the gray 3" pvc pipe.  We didn't like how the 2" pipe rested on top of the 3" pipe so we connected both pipes together in a level fashion.

The Fix- concrete has been applied to restrict movement in the pipe and couplers.