First Annual Winter Classic Long Drive Competition

Fore! The first annual Winter Classic Long Drive Challenge went down last Thursday evening with some big hitters and big snowflakes attending the event. There were 22 competitors that were fired up and ready to hit the links. They just couldn't wait any longer!

It was a different style long drive competition; we had head to head elimination rounds to go through to the finals. This made it a little more interesting going up against somebody Mano-a-Mano.

Finals had the likes of Stephen Masters, Tyson Sauser, and Chad Fawcett to make it, just to name a few. Come podium time it was Richard (3rd Place), Cody Inkster (2nd) and all 5'10, 150 pounds of Erik Stromquist that threw down to take 1st and a brand new Nike 9.5° driver, courtesy of Nevada Bobs Golf shop in Lethbridge, Alberta. Thanks to everyone who came out and supported the event, we raised $170.00 dollars for breast cancer. We also cannot forget all the local businesses that donated prizes including; Panago Pizza, 360 Snow Skate, Tracks Pub, Movie Experts and Uptown Hair Designs.

Franz Unterberger

Water Conservation

How good would it be to cater to the transpiration rate of each species? In our first year Irrigation program with Ian Morrow, we designed a three hole course and put together the most water conservative irrigation systems that you could come up with in those holes. It included individually irrigating zones, separating your fairways from rough, approaches, greens and so on.This looks totally out of the norm right now and is a tough concept to grasp. Water restrictions will gear you towards a set up like this in the not so distant future.

 You will start to see more naturalization and less unneeded turf around your tees. More controlled watering within zone will be accomplished by a higher number of sprinklers with a smaller radius. As water restrictions grow tighter every year, you as a superintendent might have to look at zoning each individual micro climate. Having three to four rows of full circle rotors up the middle of your fairway and part circle rotors to the perimeter will keep the fairway and rough separate to accommodate different transpiration .

Back in the day superintendents didn't really have to be cautious with their watering practices, but times are changing.  We are entering into an environmental sensitive time that  will require us to adopt  styles like this for water conservation. It’s the way of the future and our industry, and we will be seeing more of it.

Franz Unterberger

Audubon International – Cooperative Sanctuary Program

A presentation by Travis Ekelund, Assistant Superintendent of Earl Grey Golf Club

On Monday March 21, Travis Ekelund, the Assistant Superintendent of Earl Grey Golf Club, came to speak to the Turfgrass students at Olds College. The topic was on Audubon International’s Cooperative Sanctuary Program and how the golf course became certified. He was joined by Valerie Hammond, who was employed to aid the golf course in this certification.

Ekelund’s talk focused on the steps a course must go through for this certification. A golf course must meet criteria in the following areas: Environmental planning, outreach and education, wildlife and habitat management, water conservation, chemical use reduction and safety, and water quality. Finally, they must complete a case study project in one of the six criteria.

While sharing his experiences, Ekelund focused on a few points. The first was that the overall process was not as difficult as he first imagined. Many of the management practices golf courses already employ are a part of the certification process. Audubon International mainly wants to make sure that managers are aware and moving forward in these areas and are documenting there progress. Another point was that the whole process is possible, practical, and enjoyable. Because of this program many improvements have been made to the course, improving the beauty and wildlife diversity of the property. Some of the highlights were an outreach program to a local school. The students of the Grade 4 class helped to color bird and bat houses for the course. For the case study project, the maintenance staff built a natural area called “Barron’s Bluff”. This beautiful and scenic area, formerly a waste area, is now dedicated to a former member who was an important champion for environmental awareness at the golf course.

The talk was educational and informative. Many courses are looking to become Audubon certified as pressure mounts from an increasingly environmentally savvy public. Ekelund’s experiences taught the students that Audubon certification is a reachable goal and can be beneficial to any golf course.

photos 

Dave Smith

Bunker and Tee Construction

In our 2^nd year Design and Construction class we have been designing and building bunkers and tees in the landscape pavilion. Our class worked on them the 10^th, 15^th and 17^th of March. The tees were shaped to 6 meters by 7 meters. We installed 4” drain tile which sloped 3% from front to back draining out the back of the tee. The finish grade was sloped 1% front to back. The bunkers were constructed on the irrigation side of the landscape pavilion. This was a great feature seeing that the drainage of the bunkers could actually be tested and the water returned to the wet well for reuse. 3 bunkers were constructed varying in sizes. They were all shaped by hand by the students in the class. Drainage was installed using 4” drain tile. Liner was laid and stapled down and bunker board was installed then staked in to hold it in place. Once that was done the drainage was tested. The work of the class had been done correctly and the bunkers drained promptly to the wet well. A lot was learned by our entire class and jobs well done.

photos

Andrew Leggett

Welcome

Hi all and welcome to the turf club blog. The purpose of this blog is to keep all Olds College Turfgrass alumni in touch with the current students, and the activities of the program. Feel free to share this link with anyone from your class that is still in the industry, as well as anyone that is interested in turfgrass.

Sincerely, Cam Champion