Rounds 4 Research in Tennessee

Several years ago the Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Association created a program to help raise much needed funds to help support local research, education and provide scholarships.  In three years time the Carolinas GCSA raised over $350,000.00 through an online auction of donated rounds.  The popularity of the program was so successful that last year the Environmental Institute for Golf (GCSAA's philanthropic organization) launched the program nationwide so more state chapters and turfgrass foundations could benefit from this great program.

Today the Tennessee GCSA launched it's participation in the Rounds 4 Research program in Tennessee for the first year.  Donated golf rounds be auctioned on the Rounds 4 Research site from August 1-11, 2013 and winning bidders will have one year to play their round (usually defined as a round of 4 golfers).  The great thing about this program is that it gives golfers the possibility to play courses that they may not have ready access to, but most of all a minimum of 80% of the funds raised by the auction will be returned directly to the TGCSA for use to fund research at local universities, provide environmental education, and educational scholarships.

I am very excited about this opportunity and I hope that anyone reading our blog will keep this program in mind as we get closer to the auction date and bid on the donated rounds.

Greens verticutting in "Pollenville"

 This morning we did our first verticutting of the year.  This process removes large and laid over leaf blades to make the greens smoother and faster.  I tend to like the results that we get from verticutting our greens in circles.  This has worked really good for us in the past.

 Verticutting in circles, in my opinion, hits the grass blades in different and unique angles different than what we could achieve from straight line verticutting.  This process also means that we are continuously verticutting and not making even more tire turns on the surrounds.

 After the verticutting we mow the greens with our new Jacobsen Eclipse 322 greensmowers to remove the excess grass clippings from the putting surface.

 After we mowed the greens the topdressing sand goes down.  We use our Dakota 410 Turf Tender spin topdresser to lay down a light layer of sand on the green.  This sand helps to reduce the thatch layer, smooths out the putting surface, and helps the putting surface absorb incoming shots.  We have used green dyed kiln dried sand for many years which we and our proshop likes because we can topdress at any time and unless the golfers see us out topdressing they can't tell and the usual complaints about topdressing the greens all go away.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DISGUSTING!!!

 The lovely city that we live in, Chattanooga, Tennessee, is annually listed as one of the top three cities in the nation for allergies.  It is a great place if you are an allergy doctor but not if your profession puts you outside every day during the spring.  This is a picture of #13 green that I took the other morning after a light rain that morning washed all the pollen on the putting green surface down to the front of the green.

 Here is a lovely picture of the lake in front of #14 green.  I like to call this the "Pollen Tidal Wave".  It is amazing and disgusting to watch the plumes of pollen moving across the air and then get washed up on the shoreline.  And to think that this is what we are breathing into our lungs everyday. 

Spring Cleaning and Cleaning Out

The growing season is off and running for this year.  The greens have come out great and the new Jacobsen Eclipse 322 greensmowers are a tremendous hit with everyone.  The quality of cut is unlike anything that I have seen in my career.  The greens are smoother than they have ever been which our golfers are definitely noticing.  We are experimenting with heights of cut and frequency of clip to provide faster greens speeds.  I think it is going to be an exciting year at The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay.

The grass is not the only area at the golf course which is getting a new look for this year.  After several years of loosing blue bird eggs and hatchlings to the long arms of our resident raccoons our wonderful volunteer blue bird monitors from the Friends of Harrison Bay State Park have devised a plan to thwart their evil ways.  Following a predator deterrent model in the Tennessee Conservationist magazine, they made simple but affective wire tube extenders which prohibit the raccoon from reaching into the nest.  Hopefully this will eliminate the lose of the eggs and hatchlings from now on.

Two Weeks Since Eaglet Hatching

It has been two weeks since the eaglets at The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay hatched.  Watching the eaglets hatch and grow has been the highlight of my year so far and I am excited to continue to watch their growth and anticipate them fledging the nest.

Here is a great video (or at least I think it is great)  of a family dinner last week.  The eaglets are getting fed a steady diet of fish, turtle, and waterfowl about every thirty to forty minutes during the day.  Without the benefit of infrared cameras we don't know if they are getting any midnight snacks or not. 






I like this video because it shows off the huge "feet" these little eaglets have.  All the better to catch fish with later in life with.

Two Eaglets Have Arrived

We are thrilled and blessed to announce the hatching of two eaglets at The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay.  The first eaglet arrived on Wed. March 20, 2013 around 7:30 AM and the second arrived Thurs. March 21, 2013 around 7:30 PM.  Both eaglets appear to be strong, healthy, and thriving.  This is great news, especially considering the failure of the two eggs last year.

This is a video of the first eaglet hatching.  What a wonderful site.

Feeding time this afternoon.

I can not thank the United States Golf Association and the Friends of Harrison Bay State Park for their funding and support.  Without these great sponsors this project would not be possible.

Hope everyone is enjoying this awesome site.

Expected Hatch Date is Quickly Approaching

March 17th is quickly approaching.  What is so special about March 17th you might ask?  Well it is the expected date for the much anticipated hatching of the first egg Eloise laid on February 10th.  Hopefully a few days later little brother or sister will emerge from the second egg which was laid on February 13.

Both Elliott and Eloise have been very busy and attentive parents this year, with Eloise taking the brunt of the parental duties.  She has stayed on the nest through bitter cold temperatures, driving rain, and wind storms that have swayed the treetop enough to make some viewers feel ill.  After last years sad and disappointing failure of the two eggs laid we are praying for a happy and successful hatching and fledging of the two eaglets.

It has been great to see the attention the Harrison Bay Eagle Cam Project has received this year and we are very appreciative of all the articles, email and Facebook passes, and tweets that everyone has sent out.  It has been especially thrilling to see entities such as TurfNet, The Golf Channel, and USGA spread the word about the project, along with emails and tweets from organizations such as Audubon International and GCSAA. 

Here is a photo my mom sent me of some eagles having a "family reunion" in Homer, Alaska.  Don't know if we will ever have this many eagles at Harrison Bay but we can hope. 

 

 

 

 

 

Greens mowers and ice

We finally got out to use our new Jacobsen Eclipse 322 Electric greensmowers this morning and I have to say we are thoroughly impressed with their operation and the amazing quality of cut the 15 blade reels provide.  I am really excited about the quality of putting surface we will be able to provide our golfers thanks to these mowers.



Bill, Jonathan, and Eric have been working hard this winter to finish up the four year bunker renovation project of the greenside bunkers at Harrison Bay.  Our bunkers used to be our biggest complaint and one of our biggest budget expenses but that has all changed and we can provide now our golfers and guests with some very good bunkers to play out of.  The remaining three greenside bunkers will be completed in the next week or two. We are also going to work on improving the fairway bunkers which we have had some comments about by adding the sand we removed from the greenside bunkers to the fairway bunkers which will give them much needed sand and a firmer surface which is what you want in a fairway bunker sand.

We found an irrigation head stuck on on #4 green this morning and were surprised to see the layer of ice which had accumulated on the bunker face overnight.  Pretty funny to see the grass blades incased in an ice cocoon.