Audubon International

Audubon International is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to improving the environment. Westham Golf Club is currently a member and we are in the process of becoming a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary. The certification process starts with a Site Assessment and an Environmental Planning Form. Once we have a plan in place we then start working on these categories:

Environmental Planning

Wildlife and Habitat Management

Chemical Use Reduction and Safety

Water Conservation

Water Quality Management

Outreach and Education

We also have to do a Case Study. This study gets you to find a way to not only help the environment, but in most cases it helps the golf course financially as well. With our case study we decided to convert our bentgrass approaches to bermudagrass. In doing this, we have saved on fertilizer, chemicals, water and labor. This winter we will kill off what is left of the bentgrass and the bermuda will finish filling in this spring. Here is a picture of the approach on number one.

Here are some pictures taken by Kim Hatala of some of the things that we are working to protect.

Winter playing conditions

This is always a hot topic this time of year. We always hear "the greens are bumpy, the greens are slow." During the winter months, the bermudagrass is obviously dormant. The bentgrass greens basically go dormant as well. This time of year is almost as hard on greens as the summer. The big difference is, Chad, Luis and I are not dragging a hose around at 5:00 in the afternoon!

During the winter, all of the grass on the course basically stops growing. We may go out and mow greens once or twice a week, but all this is really doing is cleaning up the green. There isn't a tremendous amount of grass cut off of them this time of year.

So far this year the ground has been frozen more than thawed. When they do thaw and we have golf played on them, it doesn't take long for them to start foot printing. The thawing process makes them very soft and footprints form easily.

The biggest winter issue is there is very little or no healing taking place. Any thin area, any ballmark or any divot taken does not heal! I ask that everyone please be careful and be patient with any inconsistent conditions. The Masters is almost here! Azaleas, butterflies and prefect conditions will be here soon enough!

For some my more technical followers here is a link from the USGA. They go in a little more depth than me. Actually a lot more detail. http://www.usga.org/course_care/articles/other/winter_play/Politics-Religion-and-Winter-Play-on-Greens/

Virginia Turf Conference

Last week Chad and I were lucky enough to spend most of the week at the Virginia Turfgrass Conference. This is an annual event held in Fredericksburg, VA. There were three days of classes. We attended classes from budgeting and communication to fungicides for bentgrass and environmental golf design.

Everyone at the conference always enjoys the USGA Year in Review as well. This session tells a story of how golf courses faired throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. It also lets us know about the USGA tournaments are coming up this year. The US Open is going to be held just a short drive up 95 at Merion Golf Club.

We also attended the trade show which is a great place to see all of the latest chemicals, fertilizers and anything else that we will use in the coming year. This is also a great place for us to network and hopefully "borrow" some new ideas to bring back to use at Westham.

I hope everyone has a great week!