International Sportsman's Exposition

Deep Blue Poison Tung (Craven)
Hook: Tiemco 2488H #18-#22
Bead: 2mm silver tungsten

Thread: Ultrathread Blue Dun 70

Rib: Gunmetal Blue Ultrawire

Body: Tying thread

Head: Ice Dub, UV Gray

SPlatte Baetis

Email sgunkel@ggclub.com for material list and tying instructions.

Growing up in Colorado has given me the opportunity to enjoy all of its' outdoor beauty and I feel very fortunate to live the golf course life, it's a good one. Beyond the time it takes maintaining Kissing Camels, I enjoy the tranquil vibe of fishing for trout in moving waters. With less fishing pressure and stable flows, winter fly fishing can provide some of the best conditions of the year. Once the irrigation system is blown out and the golf course is covered with snow, my nights are largely consumed with tying flies to match the aquatic life of the local watersheds. This last Friday I had the opportunity to represent Anglers Covey at the ISE in the Fly Tying Theater. My presentation was about an hour long, in which time, I tied up a few local patterns such as the Black Beauty and Deep Blue Poison Tung to get warmed up. While these patterns are ridiculously easy to tie, they do an incredible job mimicking small aquatic midges found in the South Platte and the fish are very receptive to eating them. I finished the presentation demonstrating my own pattern tied to represent mayfly nymphs that have caught fish in our local rivers 12 months out of the year, Gunkel's SPlatte Baetis. I mainly tie this pattern to represent the spring and fall Blue Winged Olives, but have recently changed a few things and have an awesome Pale Morning Dun imitation that will slay this summer before and during the hatch. Like being on the golf course, fly fishing gives me a connection to nature that can't be duplicated. Fly tying, however, fills the void until the next time on the water. I'd like to personally thank Steve Gossage, and all the guys at Anglers Covey for the opportunity to show off my talents.

Audubon International

Today we received our first Certificate of Achievement from the Audubon International in Environmental Planning. Although the name of the club is botched a little bit, I'm proud to be part of the movement that Garden of the Gods Club/Kissing Camels is making towards environmental sustainability and look foreword to the continued support from our members. As we continue to work towards certification, special notice will be sent out to our owners and members as to inform you all of the projects and case studies to be performed in the field. I would like to send out a special thanks to Assistant Golf Course Superintendent, Steven Blais for all the hard work he has put into this project. Way to go, team!

58 Degrees in January

It's about this time of year when my thoughts of Christmas and celebration tend to turn towards Crown Hydration Injury, Desiccation, and Ice damage. Quite a mental swing to say the least. With the weather taking on a bit of a change, the golf course will be open this weekend for the first time since Thanksgiving. To combat this weather trend, the crew has been hand watering all of the exposed greens and tees this week to hydrate the crown (growing point), of the plant. Although the turf is in a dormant state, its requirements for water and gas exchange is still vital to the survival of each plant. For all our members and guests who winter in Colorado Springs, I would strongly encourage you to get out and water your lawns during these breaks in the weather. Because the ground is, and has been frozen, this application is not meant to be taken up systemically as the root system will not accept the water. Instead, a light syringing of the turf will suffice with the goal being to hydrate the crown of the plant. By doing this, you're dramatically increasing the avoidance of turf casualty from extreme dehydration. Although wind events haven't been as intense compared to recent years, the light breezes on the mesa further compound this drying out condition. I expect to see you all on the golf course this weekend, but if I don't, be sure to get out there and water the lawn.

SIMMS G4-Pro

Because Golf Course Maintenance is a full contact sport, much of our time is spent in the harsh Colorado elements. Without the proper equipment, weather conditions on the mesa can quickly lead to a miserable situation. Having tested it in rain/snow events, not to mention consistant wind events, I can honestly say that the G4-Pro is BOMBPROOF! This jacket features Windstopper technology, breathability, tons of practical pockets, and is totally waterproof. Beyond these features, this jacket offers waterproof zippered pockets to protect cell phones, cameras, and handheld irrigation/GPS devices from the weather. Coupled with a pair of Dry Joy rain pants, I can easily see this combo being uniform staples from October to late May and look forward to putting future SIMMS products to the test. The G4-Pro and other SIMMS gear is locally available at Anglers Covey, while all Foot Joy products are available in the Kissing Camels Pro Shop. Be sure to do your spring shopping early as to keep you and you golfing partners out on the golf course while everyone else is scrambling to the 19th hole.

RMRTA

This week, the golf course maintenance staff and I will be attending the Rocky Mountain Turfgrass Association's annual conference and trade show. Beyond getting the chance to catch up with other Superintendents and check out all the new equipment for the upcoming season, this week we will be attending the education seminars and gaining valuable credits from the Colorado Department of Agriculture towards our Qualified Supervisor Licenses. The trade show was busy as normal with all of the major vendors again in attendance. Some of the topics being discussed in this weeks seminars included managing organic matter in greens, bentgrass and fine fescue research updates, turfgrass fungicides, water management techniques, aquatic toxicology, and the USGA year in review. I was also lucky enough to get a seat to the Irrigation Design, Irrigation Auditing and Efficient Power Usage in Pump Stations workshop put on by Brian Keighin of Irrigation Technologies. Brian is a truly a master of his domain when it comes to irrigation system design and has been a pleasure to work with here at Kissing Camels Club. I would strongly encourage anyone interested in a new irrigation system design, irrigation audit, or GPS services to give him a call. He has been a vital part of the irrigation renovations on the golf course and we look foreword to his continued services and support.

Building Alterations

Despite our efforts to keep our pipes from freezing here at the shop, Mother Nature got one over on us today. Pictured above is a photograph taken of the men's bathroom at the Golf Maintenance building. Because of the recent cold weather, we have been maintaining a constant drip in our bathrooms to keep the water in the pipes moving. We had also installed electrical coils that wrap over the pipes to keep them warm and free from ice. After hearing the crash, we soon realized that these methods shouldn't be expected to work 100percent of the time with temperatures being this low. Seeing this destruction makes me glad we blew the irrigation system out two weeks ago. While some irrigation failures are inevitable in the spring, I would hate to have miles of irrigation pipe to go through and repair when the ground thaws out.

High of 13

With the weather out outside being so frightful, I thought is was about time to warm up in the shop and check in with our equipment managers. I'm having a hard time remembering the last time it was this cold for such an extended amount of time and with the windchill being 15degrees below 0, it's just not safe for the guys to be outdoors. The latest project in the equipment shop is modifying the rear rollers on the Toro 5410 to accommodate a 'roller scraper' or 'roller blade'. With the addition of this piece we are looking to reduce the amount of clippings the rollers collect while mowing the dew covered fairways. By having these scrapers in place, we are expecting a smoother cut, improved clipping dispersion, and better looking/playing fairways. We're also looking to save time mowing fairways by not having to manually clean the rollers during these important early morning hours. The more time these reels stay on the ground, the quicker we get out of play and move on to the next task. For 20 dollars in material, and few hours of labor, I feel the exercise will be well worth the expense. Now, on to the process........

As you can see, a hole in the frame will need to be drilled out to accommodate the bolt that will be holding the scraper in place. This is where a few measurements will be needed to make sure everything lines up correctly, you'll only get one shot at this one!!

This next picture shows the pre-made scraper in place just off the roller itself. This is just simply a strip of pre-cut steel that has been cut and welded to shape. Again, get those rulers out, men. Bada Bing.....

Bada Bang!!

Coat the scraper with a few applications of Toro red paint, give it a power-washing, and its done.

In the world of Golf Course Maintenance, like anything else, Superintendents tend to lean towards certain manufactures to provide them with the tools they need to do their jobs. For some, it might be the the equipment they were trained on as young golf course employees. For others, it's the confidence they have in the manufacturers rep that provides them with the most technical support. For me, it's knowing that Toro has some of the best golf course equipment on the planet and the fact that that the guys at LL Johnson do a phenomenal job standing behind their products. I'd like to give a big thanks to Equipment Manager, Ron O'Neil and Golf Course Mechanic, Brian Hoffman for all the quality work they do keeping the equipment fleet running at its highest levels.

Instrata

With a break in the weather, this gives us a perfect opportunity to get out and spray greens with their final application for the year. Pictured above is our Assistant Golf Course Superintendent, Steven Blais on his trusty Toro spray rig. As I said before, this final application will need to get us through the remainder of winter and all she brings with her. The fungicide choice of many, Instrata, combines the three active ingredients (ai) found in Banner MAXX, Medalion, and Daconil,(Chlorothalonil, Propiconazole, and Fludioxonil). Put down at a rate of 9.6 oz/m, this fungide will keep our greens disease free until spring. Comparing this picture from previous posts, you can really see how November's weather has affected the turfs color. Having been one of the coldest since I can remember, the turfgrass has entered into a deep state of dormancy and is shutting the door on 2009. While it is our hope to be open for play this weekend, the last snow storm has provided the golf course with some much needed reprieve from this year's traffic. To all our members and guests, Happy Thanksgiving and here's to a blessed holiday season!

Irrigation Blow Out

As we enter into the winter months, our attention must focus on shutting the golf course down for the blistery months ahead. Although most of our irrigation pipes are buried deep enough into the ground to escape the frost layer, Colorado weather has proven that this process should not be omitted. Unfortunately, water readily freezes in the pipes and heads and are susceptible to cracking and breaking, thus creating time-consuming and expensive repairs in the spring. Because we want to limit the amount of winter desiccation, this practice will continue to be aggresively pushed to the limits of our local weather patterns. By doing this, we are able to irrigate the turf longer into the year and keep the crown hydrated longer into the season.