Kiltie Days Recap

With a golf season thus far of up and down temperatures and frequent rainfall, we have to cross our fingers prior to any event and hope for full cooperation from Mother Nature. We certainly got our wish with Kiltie Days this past weekend! Aside from almost an inch of rain on Wednesday, the tournament weather conditions on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were mild and dry and about as good for golf as we could get. From all accounts I think it was one of the most successful Kiltie Days to date!

Prior to any major event such as Kiltie Days, or the Derby, there is a significant amount of course preparation involved. We schedule maintenance activities to peak at the same time as the event. Topdressing, plant protection (disease and insect management), growth regulation, and detailing programs (edging sprinkler heads, markers, and drains, edging cart paths, filling divots, removing runners/grass clumps in bunkers, removing sucker sprouts on trees, and more) are all addressed. And, of course, mowing of all primary play areas is performed each day and repeated often, as is the case for greens. Double mowing each morning, followed by greens rolling, and single mowing each evening (also often followed by rolling) is employed to provide the ball roll speed challenge that competitors enjoy, or at least think they enjoy!

 Quality mowing begins with sharp and well adjusted mowers. Here Mike (and his friend Gato) inspect a bedknife in the process of being sharpened

Rafa, and Miguel (in background on bunker rake machine), smooth and adjust depths of sand

Mowing and Rolling equipment head out for tournament evening tasks

In addition to these course maintenance activities, other items such as erecting the scoreboard, finishing up projects ( at this time #5 Mound & the Half Way House fence/landscape replacement) and other assorted tasks such building and setting the target "gong" for this year's Kiltie Days, add up to a very busy pre-tournament period. It's always a rather feverish and sometimes very challenging time for us, but when the tournament is underway and players are enjoying the competition, it's also a very rewarding feeling knowing that our efforts have made a significant contribution to the success of the event.

 

Mound project at #5 after hauling material and shaping

Mound seeded, drainage installed, & final prep for sod 

 Sod, seed, and mulch blanket in place

Resolving one of several drainage issues along haul road route

Mulch blanket installed post seeding along length of #5

After all work was complete we came in this morning to see this.

Do you suppose it was the rope, or the bright orange ribbons, or the different color sod that this cart driver was oblivious too???

This pix shows the damage a little better. Just thrills me to have to repair this!

 Apparently this rope is not visible enough either!

Fescue beginning to emerge above blanket. We intentionally seeded at a low rate to see if this tall rough area will be more playable than other such areas. Establishment will be slower but it may be a benefit long term.

A quick project at Half Way House. These overgrown shrubs and deteriorated fence needed to be changed.

New fence, enlarged stoop, new shrubs, more road space, much better! 

Beautiful day and nice crowd watch playoffs for this year's Kiltie Days Championship.

With a few weeks now before tournament preparations for our next "major", The Skokie Derby, begin, we'll keep plenty busy with routine mowing, trimming, raking, topdressing, plant protection,and more and we'll add a few projects or two such as drainage in a few places and re-grassing a portion of the bank at No. 9 pond.

I'll keep you posted of these activities.