Tag Archive for: golf

Vandals Cause Golf Club Closure

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Vandals Cause Golf Club Closure: A popular golf course heavily damaged by vandals in Skagit County is now temporarily closed while crews replace more than a dozen greens.

Roll by roll.

Green by green.

Vandals Cause Golf Club Closure

A transformation is underway at Swinomish Golf Links.

As soon as a row of new sod is put down, crews pull it into place.

They then trim each of the edges.

It’s a process they’ll have to repeat 16 times due to the extensive damage vandals caused at the course last month.

“7-10 days…we’re hopeful we can get all of the replacement and repairs done,” Dallas Widmark, Lodge General Manager for the Swinomish Casino and Lodge.

If that timeline seems quick, it is.

Employees made the difficult decision this week to temporarily close the course after vandals sprayed a grass-and-weed-killing compound called Glyphosate on 16 of the course’s greens last month and spelled out a swear word on the 11th hole.

Damages could climb to more than $400,000, Widmark told KOMO News. About one-third of that will likely be in lost revenue, he added.

“Historically, in this part of the state, this part of the country, your golf season is really Memorial Day through Labor Day. And the fact that it happened when it did and being closed essentially 1/3 of the summer… maybe more… it’s incredibly impactful,” Widmark said.

The clubhouse and the driving range will remain, Widmark said.

So golfers like Jeff Yoder can continue to take lessons.

“I was angry. Wondering why somebody would do that to the golf course. I don’t know what they’re trying to prove, but it just seemed to me like a stupid move,” Yoder said about the damage caused by the vandals. “It’s a good course. People that work here are good to work with.”

Some of the greens will require new drainage systems, Widmark said.

Crews will try to salvage what they can, he added.

The hope is to get the course back open in early July after the new greens have been watered and given time to settle, Widmark said.

“I really think we’re going to do everything we can to turn this into a positive,” Widmark told KOMO News.

It’s a setback Widmark wishes would have never happened.

But he and his crew are already making plans for a big reopening, that could include a free day of golf for the entire community, he said. Donations could be collected to give to various charities and fundraisers that host their golf tournaments at the course.

“The support that we have received from the community has been amazing,” Widmark said.

The course does have insurance, so that could cover some of the cost for repairs, Widmark said.

The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community is still offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest in the case.

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Toro At Blairgowrie Golf Club

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Toro At Blairgowrie Golf Club: Managing secretary Steven Morgan says every day is tournament day at Blairgowrie Golf Club, and for that reason the club has invested in a partnership agreement with Toro.

As the latest Toro machinery delivery arrives at the club in Perthshire in Scotland, Steven explains: “We decided to invest in Toro to ensure we constantly improve the playability of our courses. We believe that every day at Blairgowrie Golf Club is a tournament day and the time, effort and attention to detail when setting up the courses reflects this belief, as do the machinery choices we make.”

Toro At Blairgowrie Golf Club

Three Greensmaster 1000 pedestrian mowers, two Reelmaster 5410-D ride-on mowers, a Greensmaster TriFlex 3400 and a Multi Pro 5800-D sprayer join the fleet, which Steven calls “very good and very versatile”, and which the team of 16 say they “love, because it is easy to set, maintain and use, and leaves a fine finish to give great job satisfaction.”

The new additions join a fleet which already includes three Toro Groundsmaster 3500-D mowers and ProCore 648 aerator, and the performance of these machines is yet another reason as to why Blairgowrie continues to choose Toro. Steven says the ProCore in particular is “flawless”: “The design of the ProCore allows us to aerate any part of the course in a clean and tidy manner with ease no matter the terrain. We’ve had it for a long time, and it still performs flawlessly.”

Blairgowrie hosts a large number events and in 2018 sees the Scottish Amateur Championship, European Amateur Golf Tour and the PGA Lombard Pro Am arrive at the three course, 45-hole club.

Steven says: “We’ve a lot of golfers and competitors who expect the highest of standards. We knew that by choosing Toro and Reesink, we were ensuring a proactive relationship to consistently provide great course conditions while managing costs at all times.

“Plus, it was the right time to invest. We have recently spent a great deal of money on our greenkeeping sheds to allow us to maintain our assets much more professionally, making sure we get the best from them for longer.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Vandals Damage 16 Golf Greens

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Vandals Damage 16 Golf Greens: Within the next few days, test results should reveal the chemical that vandals used to damage 16 greens at a popular golf course in Skagit County.

A swear word was also spelled out in the grass on one of the holes at Swinomish Golf Links.

Vandals Damage 16 Golf Greens

Employees believe the vandal or vandals picked their targets here carefully. The greens closest to the clubhouse are covered by surveillance cameras and were not hit.

“It’s stupid. I don’t why people vandalize. It doesn’t make sense to me,” said golfer Walt Matye.

“Very disgusting. Just like graffiti and that, there’s no point. It doesn’t accomplish anything except make matters worse,” added his cousin, Marshall.

Sometime within the past week, the vandals trespassed on the 100-acre course overnight and sprayed some type of grass-killing chemical on most of the greens, investigators told KOMO News. A swear word was also left behind on hole 11.

“It had to be a very involved process. One that was thought out. And for them to have access to the course by either driving or bringing this stuff with them is something that was well planned out,” said Chairman Brian Cladoosby, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community.

Tests are now being performed on the damaged grass and soil to try to figure out what chemical the vandal or vandals used.

If the chemical damaged the soil, it’s possible the course may have to temporarily close until expensive repairs can be made, employees said.

A temporary closure would be a huge hit considering the time of year.

“These individuals knew what they were doing. They know golf. They know the peak season. They know that the majority of the income produced by golf courses in the northwest is right around Memorial Day to Labor Day,” Cladoosby said.

Right now, this course is still playable.

Employees have drastically reduced rates for players because of the damage left behind.

“It just takes a few people to ruin it for the majority of the people to have a good time,” said Marshall Matye. “I guess the only thing they think about is themselves.”

The course does have insurance, employees said. But it’s possible the damage could climb to more than $500,000, they added.

The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information that leads to an arrest in the case.

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OARS PS Used At Le Golf National

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OARS PS Used At Le Golf National: AQUA-AID EU’s OARS Penetrating Surfactant (OARS PS) has been extensively used at Le Golf National as the club in Paris gets ready for the 2018 HNA Open de France and the 2018 Ryder Cup.

Golf courses and estates manager, Alejandro Reyes, was appointed to his position in 2013 and was tasked with creating a Ryder Cup landscape using the 7,331 yards of The Albatros course, and extensive product testing was carried out to find the best programme possible.

OARS PS Used At Le Golf National

Following recommendations from those within the industry Alejandro was supplied by his local dealer Jacques Laborier of Celtic France and tested the OARS PS for himself and has been using it ever since as part of a programme that had the course in spectacular championship condition through 2017.

“I first heard about OARS PS in Spain, but I didn’t use it until I came to Le Golf National,” Alejandro said. “I’d had good feedback about OARS PS from different colleagues and had quite few telling me to test it because it was working very well for them.

“With OARS PS we saw a reduction in dry patches and what I really liked the most was that I had the feeling, and still have the feeling, that it works and the water moves better throughout the profile, and for me, that’s the key.

“We use it every other week all around the course. We have two kinds of tank mix with a pure foliar, so we have all the package we need to give to the plant. Then on the alternate weeks to that, we are spraying an irrigated mix where we are using bio stimulants that we are mixing with the OARS PS.

“We have very little issues with dry spot on the course now but if we do we’ll use OARS Pellets for hand watering to fix local dry spots.

“We’ve been testing many different products and 2017 was the last year for us to test anything, and it was a very good year for us when it came to maintaining the golf course. We were very happy with the condition, and how it was looking at the end of September was awesome. I have the confidence that we had found the winning formula and we need to stay with it, to maintain continuity of the condition of the course. We had a great 2017 HNA Open de France and really within this year it’s just about replicating those standards.”

OARS PS is a combination of the university researched, field proven and patented organic acid redistribution system, OARS, and multi-branched penetrant chemistry. OARS PS controls soil water repellency while providing uniform soil moisture for a longer period of time, providing a firm, fast surface.

The OARS pellets used at Le Golf National to combat localised dry spots work as a corrective approach and remove the build-up of organic acids that coat the surface of sand particles, which cause water repellence and localised dry spot conditions.

For AQUA-AID EU managing director Hans de Kort, having the opportunity to work with Alejandro alongside distributors Celtic France is a fantastic chance to see OARS PS in use.

“It is great to have professionals like Alejandro in the industry,” he said. “When it comes to products like surfactants you have to be able to judge it on its functionality, and Alejandro has done that with great success.

“We are very proud to support the green-keeping staff at Le Golf National in the lead up to this year’s golf events and like all golf fans we look forward to watching the 2018 Ryder Cup in September.”

Whilst Le Golf National, owned by the French Golf Federation, is no stranger to hosting major tournaments with 25 French Opens already played on the course since 1991, the scale of the Ryder Cup challenge is massive. The regular team of 30 increases to 80 for a French Open but for the Ryder Cup it will grow to 180 with the full support of Official Ryder Cup Supplier Ransomes Jacobson.

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Drainage Key For Golf Protection

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Drainage Key For Golf Protection: With the UK’s increasingly erratic weather having a detrimental impact on golf, Aggregates Industries’ has stated that effective drainage is now more important than ever before when it comes to the successful design and management of golf courses.

According to a recent report, golf is facing an increase in unplayable holes, winter course closures and disruption to professional tournaments due to increased rainfall, all of which are a growing concern for the sport.

Drainage Key For Golf Protection

Extreme weather including wetter winters are also causing waterlogging and disease to grass and greens, the report added. As a result, the Greater Glasgow area alone has seen a 20% reduction in playing time on golf courses over the last decade.

Steve Curley, general manager for Lytag at Aggregate Industries, a leading supplier of building materials, comments: “The UK has seen six of the seven wettest years on record since 2000 and record-breaking wet winters in 2014 and 2015 – which is clearly having a damaging impact on golf and a growing concern for golf courses up and down the country.

“For golf clubs looking to – literally – weather the storm, having an effective drainage system in place is now considered paramount for protecting a green and ensuring playability in all weather conditions.”

According to Aggregate Industries, core to a superior drainage system is the use of secondary aggregates such as Sportag®, an innovative lightweight solution made from Lytag featuring a unique rounded shape and material properties that makes it ideal for land drainage applications.

Reducing the risk of flooding, Sportag is able to transmit water up to 10 times faster than gravel, which means it is particularly suited to golf courses, including slit trenches, gravel banding and Shelton Systems as well as fairways where firm dry surfaces are critical. What’s more, the incredibly sustainable solution’s 40% void ratio helps aid longevity, improving aeration and allowing roots to penetrate further.

Proving its credentials during recent works at Woburn Golf Club, Sportag was installed within trenches 25mm wide, spaced 2m apart and at a depth of 300mm. A quick and simple installation process, the course was immediately available for use, damage to the course was minimal, therefore keeping disruption to a minimum.

Steve Curley adds: “Due to its super absorbent properties, Sportag has been proven to aid with effective drainage and high moisture retention as demonstrated in the recent case of Woburn Golf Club. For golf clubs looking to provide first class playing surfaces year round, this revolutionary solutions will not disappoint.”

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