Saturday, April 9, 2011

What do you do when it rains and much, much more!

Remember this?  A partially frozen pond  with a hockey goal in it 12 days ago?
That's where the hockey goal wound up going on 4/8!
 
It's been a great week for us in the grounds department despite some of the rain we received which was about an 1.2" for this week so far.  I am asked frequently what it is we do during rain events and the best answer I can give in words is: "We work rain or shine".  How about some pictures to accompany that?
  Manuel Munoz cleans the practice green and cartpath
 Dennis West, Reynaldo Jimenez and Jose Escobar fill divots on the Driving Range
Bryan Stephen works on some used equipment we recently purchased
Feliciano takes care of the Atrium, Indoor pool and Falling waters

 Jr. cleans the walk paths in the Village of Bloomingdale parkland area
These are just a smattering of the tasks we perform year round regardless of weather.  Our rain days include string trimming, bunker care, ballmark repair, landscape work and equipment preventive maintenance among other things.  The point is there is never a lack of work.
 
Our Director of Sales and Marketing, Bob O'Connor shows his sustainability effort
"Sustainability" is a word that frequently is accompanied by 'green' or 'environmentally friendly'.  I would also set aside the phrase 'think globally, act locally'.  This picture is a good example of how Bob uses the same glass (replacing the old, red one if you know the history here) instead of a plastic bottle, styrofoam cup, aluminum can or some other packaging that may or may not wind up in a landfill.  Compound small efforts like this and large impacts can be realized.  How do you practice 'sustainability'?  We will post some of our efforts here on this blog in the following months.
 The line and circle show an irrigation pipe that burst
This is a good example in the above photo of how NOT to install an irrigation lateral.  The below photo will show the area after the breakage was excavated and examined.
 Notice how the section of the pipe on the right side of the break is sweeping up into the section on the left.  This violates two principles of irrigation system installation.  First: straight runs should NEVER have turns up or down, only left or right.  Second: Those turns should ALWAYS be braced with 'thrust blocks' or some mechanical method of preventing pipe expansion when the pressure arrives to the turn.  There were no thrust blocks in place on this turn.  As an additional note this pipe only had 6" to 8" of cover on top of the pipe where industry standard is a mimimum of 20", usually.  Sheesh!

 Dale Webb making the first chemical application of the year
This particular application was meant to achieve three goals.  The first goal is to prevent seedheads of annual grasses present on the putting surfaces from emerging.  A great deal of energy is required to produce seeds and preventing that means the energy that would be used for seedhead production would be redirected into improved rooting and shoot growth.  Second, the plant growth regulators used in this application will reduce unwanted flushes in growth as temperatures and fertility levels fluctuate.  Finally, there is a significant aesthetic and playability issue that is addressed in preventing the seedheads from emerging.  This means the greens look better and roll smoother without seeds present.
A good pic of my daughter Molly sleeps at the playground 
Our resident Director of Golf, Head Pro, Starter, Ranger, Cashier, Driving Range attendant, Cart lot attendant and all around swell guy Tom Denklau hard at work

We are hoping to have a very busy, fun weekend (maybe into the 80's!)here at Indian Lakes Resort.  Thanks for looking and reading.  I definitely welcome any feedback and remember to click the 'follow' tab so you can be updated automatically.
 
  

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