First Rainfall of the Season

Nice to see some rain finally fall on the golf course. Although it wasn't much, 0.02", it did allow us to turn off the entire irrigation system for at least two nights!

Now On Twitter!

I've just set up a Twitter account. You can follow my posts about the course at http://www.twitter.com/SUGolfCourseSup

SVGTC Water Tank Progress

Construction of the water tank on hole #2 is substantially completed. Work that remains is connecting it to the water source (non-potable University Lake Water) and installing the electrical service for the pump station. The water service connection will impact Fremont Rd. and the red tees on #2 in the next two weeks. The timetable for the electrical connection is unknown, and dependent on PG&E. Our hope is that everything will be completed by mid-November.

This water tank is required to remove the Siebel Varsity Golf Training Complex (SVGTC) from the golf course's irrigation system. The course's irrigation system was never designed with enough capacity to handle an additional 30 acres of irrigated turfgrass. It is an extremely complicated juggling act to irrigate both properties in the current configuration. When it gets hot, daytime watering must be done which hampers golf players and is inefficient due to wind and evaporation. The tank will allow us to take water during the daytime hours from the Lake Water pipeline (at a low time of use.) We will then fill the tank during the day, and pump from it at night on a completely separate system from the golf course. Since the SVGTC is built on a six-inch sand cap soil material, this will allow us to irrigate lighter and more frequently, reducing the loss of water out of the bottom of the rootzone.

Below are some photos taken during construction of the tank (Click to Enlarge) :

Tee Aerification Underway

Tees before scraping - click to enlarge

This is the time of year when we do our fall preparation work on the golf course tees. We did a vertical mowing (verticut) on the tees last week. This helps reduce the thatch and minimize the lateral growth (runners.) We are aerating (plugging/punching) the tees this week . This helps reduce the thatch (sponginess.) We will follow the aeration with an overseeding with perennial rye grass and a shot of fertilizer. By mid-October, the tees should be looking really good and fully recovered from the work. Please excuse any inconvenience during the next few days!

Course Conditions, How to Fix a Ball Mark

The golf course is responding to the fertilizer that was applied last week. The turf is very green and lush with growth. This growth is necessary to provide a good playing surface going into winter. But the rapid growth is making the rough very difficult to play from, especially in the mornings. Mowing is taking place but the clippings are not dispersing well. Clippings are sticking to shoes and cart tires, often falling off on the putting surfaces and cart paths. Extra effort is being made to clean up the mess using blowers. We are trying to get around to clean things up, but it is impossible to follow every group. Please excuse the mess for the next week or so........

Here is a link on how to properly fix a ball mark using the Green-Save tools we provide:

http://www.greensave.com/How%20To%20Repair%20Graphic.pdf

Check Out This Hail Damage in Wichita, KS!

Check out this damage from baseball sized hail hitting the Auburn Hills GC in Wichita, KS!

Maybe the ball marks at Stanford are not too bad after all.........

Here is a link to the video:

http://www.golfcourseindustry.com/gci-video-whichita-course-hail-damage.aspx?List_id=29&email=kkwilliams%40stanford.edu&key=

Memorial for Jason Oliver 1985-2010

Jason Oliver 1985-2010

Please join us for a celebration of Jason's life on Tuesday, September 21, 2010 at 3:30pm at the Siebel Practice Facility. His remembrance celebration will be lead by Reverend Scotty McLennan, Dean of Religious Life.

Jason David Oliver, a resident of Palo Alto, California, died on August 20, 2010 in Palo Alto. He was 25 years of age. Jason was born on July 16, 1985 in Portland, Oregon and was the son of Bob and Linda Oliver. He was raised and educated in Portland and graduated from David Douglas High School in 2003. He went on to graduate from Oregon State University in 2007. Jason resided in Palo Alto, California where he worked as the Assistant Superintendant for Stanford University Golf Course. Jason is survived by his parents, Bob and Linda Oliver of Portland, brothers, Ryan and Christopher Oliver, as well as his fiancé, Lindsay Frankfurt.
Here is a link to Jason’s memorial:
http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Jason-Oliver&lc=7392&mid=4367169