GCSAA Golf Industry Conference and Show

This week over 15,000 golf course superintendents, professors, students, owners and suppliers came together for the 2015 Golf Industry Show held in San Antonio, Texas. The week provided over 385 hours of available education, a 2-day trade show and many other opportunities for superintendents to strengthen their network and exchange ideas. 

I had the honor to serve the Florida Golf Course Superintendents as their voting delegate at the GCSAA Annual Meeting and Election.

The trade show offered many opportunities to learn about new products for golf course maintenance. 

Our closing ceremony was headlined by the very entertaining David Feherty. 

While in San Antonio Melani and I had to squeeze in time to visit the Alamo.

Chip Shots

A quick update on a few things happening on the grounds.

The calendar says that winter is almost over. I hope the calendar is right! The weather hasn't been very "Floridian" lately and we even dipped into the 30's Friday morning. This obviously causes the grass to slow down it's growth and recovery process. The entire golf course has handled the weather and golf traffic well this winter but I'd love some warm sunny days to get the grass to start growing after it's semi-slumber. 

The driving range tee has taken a beating this winter. A healthy membership means a lot of people using the club including the range. The plentiful divots indicate that you've all been practicing so I expect to see some really good golf out there! We are giving the tee a short break to aid recovery by setting the hitting area in front. Obviously, with the tees in front some of you may be able to hit balls over the bamboo onto the 18th hole. We ask if you find yourself you doing this that you club down to create a safer environment for those playing or working on #18.

   Driving Range Tee

You may have noticed piles of soil being added to the lake bank on #15. The bank has eroded several feet over many years recently exposing our irrigation mainline. We are in the process of restoring the bank in order to protect the irrigation system and prevent any "blow-outs." Once graded, we will sod this area.

   #15 Lake Bank Reclamation 

Recently, bollards were installed on the cartpath just west of Sun Boulevard heading towards the new bridge. These bollards are intended to discourage vehicles from driving up the path. Please use caution when traveling this path as it is commonly trafficked by golf carts, walkers and bicycles.

   Newly Installed Bollards

Contractor work on both sides of the Bayway continues as Duke energy continues to install new power lines on the north side and the bike path installation work continues on the south side. I will keep you posted of any developments. 

They're At It Again

This week contractors for Duke Energy resumed the installation of new power lines that will ultimately supply power to St. Pete Beach. A few months back this caused a disruption near #3 tee. Now that the work has resumed they are working on the north side of the Bayway and will be working alongside holes 1, 2 and 9. The project involves excavation and installation of in-ground vaults where power lines connect. While it appears that they may be working on Isla club property they are actually in the DOT right-of-way. However, they are sensitive to our concerns and will do their best to minimize disruption to our golf course and golfers. Unfortunately, in a few spots their work will require the removal of our ficus plants that make up the privacy hedge. They have assured me that within 30 days of the completion of their project they will come back and replace any damaged sod and plants that were removed during the construction even if they were in the right-of-way. Once the work is complete we should quickly forget they were ever here.

   Excavation to the right of number 1

Time to Feed the Grass

Due to fertilization, the golf course will be closed the afternoon of February 2nd. There will be an 8:00 shotgun that morning for anyone wanting to golf that day. 

Spring time is not too far off in the distance which means the grass is going to be looking for nutrients and weed seeds are going to germinate. This scheduled application combines a controlled release fertilizer with a pre-emergent herbicide. The fertilizer component is designed to release a small amount of nutrients systematically each week to provide the grass with a consistent food source over a longer period of time. Using controlled release fertilizer is also better for the environment my minimizing the amount of soluble nutrients prone to leaching or runoff. The pre-emergent herbicide component helps to minimize the number of weeds that germinate and grow on the golf course.

For the sake of efficiency and precision of this application an outside contractor will be here to apply the fertilizer Monday afternoon. This sometimes results in tire tracks left by the spreader truck. We will work to repair any tracks but if you happen to find your ball in one feel free to take relief without penalty. 

What's All That Construction?

Since the 1st of the year you may have noticed increased construction activity along the south side of the Bayway. This is a result of the effort to expand the Pinellas Bike Trail. During the current phase of construction the plan is to connect the trail by the East Bayway Toll to the traffic light on Isla Del Sol. The next phase of construction will take the path south from the traffic light towards Fort Desoto. 

The new bike path will slightly impact hole #3. The new bike path will be installed where the ficus hedge has provided us separation from the bayway. The hedge will be removed and the new path installed. While not completely avoidable, we worked with the city to minimize disruption to the golf course. The city has assured us that following construction of the path they will install ample landscaping to separate the golf course and provide privacy and safety. I know that it is not uncommon for balls to be hit in this area off the tee. I assure you the Grounds Department and the Green and Grounds Committee are discussing options to not only minimize disruption to the golf course and it's playability but to enhance the property of Isla Del Sol. We will keep you posted.

Tree Trimming

Today the Grounds department began our annual tree trimming project. We will spend the next month trimming palm trees as well as any other trees needing work. This is a big project requiring a lot of work and time. Please be patient as we progress.

We use a 60' lift to reach most of the trees. Obviously a machine of this size is very heavy. In fact it weighs over 26,000 pounds! To put that into perspective that is greater than 4 Cadillac Escalades! The machine has special turf tires intended to minimize damage to the grass. However, there will still be some resulting depressions from tire tracks. Our crew will do their best to repair any damage ASAP, but if you happen to find your ball in an area disturbed by the lift you may take a free drop at the nearest location providing relief no closer to the hole. 

2014 Year In Review

During the December Greens and Grounds Committee meeting we took the time to review some of the accomplishments of 2014 benefitting the grounds at Isla. Simply maintaining the grounds is a full-time job, but we always strive to go above and beyond to accomplish even more for our members. As we prepare to enter 2015 I felt that this would be an appropriate time to share with you some of the highlights from the past year.

- Constructed new wall on #5

- Installed new sod and landscaping at clubhouse

- Planted bamboo along the parking lot right of #1

- Desingned and installed a butterfly garden

- Expanded the forward tee boxes on #'s 1, 2, and 5. Built a new forward tee on #9

- Added a total on 3900 linear feet of drainage on #'s 5, 6, 12, 13, 14 and 16

- Scalped rough down to fairway height and continued maintenance of increased fairway acreage

- Re-grassed the bottom half of #8 fairway using plugs from the May greens aerification

- Renovated front bunker on #15 green

- Planted new palms on beach by gazebo 

- Renovated landscaping in front of sign at front entrance

- Added landscaping around driving range tee

I wish all of you a Happy New Year!

   You can catch a glimpse of the new wall on 5 looking back from the green.

   Butterfly enjoying the garden

   #3 green slope looking sharp mowed at fairway height