Monday, September 20, 2010

SOCIAL

Halloween in September?


This past Friday marked the last Mix N' Mingle for 2010 and the last for our current Social Committee team led by Social and House Director Debbie Couch. As evident of these pictures, those in attendance had some crazy wild fun.
Debbie Couch in her grand finale as Social Director.
Run DMC we think

Georgia and Meri as part of the characters from the game clue.

The STAFF - always in the spirit of the club's social events

They say a picture is worth a 1,000 words. Which is great because we have nothing to say about this ballerina
Ready for kickoff
just clowning around.




Wednesday, September 15, 2010

GREENS

GREENS AERIFICATION



I can't tell you how many times I have heard a golfer say, "Just when the greens were good, you go and wreck them by punching them full of holes and cover them in sand"!
Aerification (or coring) is a very long and hard task that I for one would be happy if it was never required. But there are many reasons why aerification must be done. I can simply say it is for the health of the turf. But more specifically it does many things. It removes thatch which naturally builds up over time and if left to increase will eventually be thick enough the roots will be growing completely in the thatch and not in soil. This would result in the death of the turf when any weather extremes such as heat, drought or ice build up happened. Thatch will also harbour insects and increases the greens susceptibility to diseases. Aerification also helps to increase the oxygen levels in the soil. The roots of the grass need oxygen just as much as you or I. In addition to these, aerification also allows for better infiltration of water and fertilizer to the roots, it reduces compaction caused by equipment and foot traffic, and it helps to level out the playing surface from ball marks and hole changing. It will also remove layering in the soil, improve the grain on the surface, and it even firms the green which will help to improve the putting and the greens ability to better stand up to ball marks.




The first step in this process is not actually punching holes! The first thing we do is send a person out to use a squeegy knocking the dew off the turf. This help reduce the time it takes for the plugs to dry. Wet plugs tend to act like mud and are messy and hard to work with. This person also removes the flag and cup, then marks all irrigation heads for the tractor operator to easily see. Then we start punching holes. We have the option of using anywhere from 1/4 inch tines up to 5/8th inch. Small tines tend to heal quicker, but do not remove as much thatch. We have used 1/2 inch tines this time out. The forward speed of the tractor dictates the spacing of the holes. Once again it would be quicker for the process and for healing if we went with further spacing, but again, that would not remove as much thatch, So, spacing is set at 1 and a half inches.




Cores are shoveled off the green surface by hand. There are core harvester machines that would save this back breaking process, but every time I have used them they dig into the putting surface leaving mechanical damage that is slow to heal. So, plastic snow shovels it is!
(By the way, a special thank you to my staff for not telling me where to go when you were asked to do this task!!)


Once the cores are off the green surface, crews shovel them up into utility vehicles and haul them away. This material is stock piled for use in other projects as the soil itself is very usable.




Both fertilizer and Bent grass seed is applied to the green.




A layer of sand, or "top dressing" is put down. If too little sand is applied, we end up with open holes, requiring us to go back and add more sand. Too much sand requires manual removal and is obviously wasteful, so having a keen eye as it is being applied is critical. The sand is left to dry so it can be worked into the holes. On the days we punched clouds slowed this process. Having too much sun and high temperatures can cause the turf to go into heat stress and die. Thus, having the adequate balance between warm and dry but not too warm and sunny is always a concern. The application of sand is the single slowest process of this day. The hopper usually empties between two to three passes, then has to be driven back to the parking lot to fill up with sand again.



Once the sand has had a chance to dry a brush is pulled over the sand knocking it into the open holes. Usually three times over in slightly different directions will fill most holes.




We then send a triplex over the green with special brushes which will pick up debris left behind from the process.



A roller is now sent out to settle out any high spots caused from the tines being pulled up and out of the ground. This also firms up the entire surface.



Now we use a tool called a Level Lawn to push any excess sand around to fill any left over holes or to remove extra sand completely off the surface.



A new hole is cut.



Water is applied to reduce the stress to the grass by adding moisture to the dry warm sand and to bring the temperature down. And finally the course is back in play. As always we struggle with course maintenance procedures and access to the course for our members. Although aeration is a painfull process I hope the vast majority of members understand it is a neccesity.

New Bridge For Whitevale

Whitevale bridge replacement moving ahead
Those who remember "The Storm" of 2008 will be relieved to know that Pickering City Council has approved the installation of a new bridge for the town of Whitevale. The following is an article from durhamregion.com



Council approves company to complete environmental assessment, design


PICKERING -- Two years after a rain storm put the Whitevale bridge under water, the City is planning for a full replacement.

The Whitevale bridge in the centre of the hamlet, along with Whitevale Road and a lot of land, was under water from massive flash flooding in July, 2008.

Staff originally thought $60,000 in repairs would save the bridge problems but has since learned the entire bridge will have to be replaced.

"This is a very exciting project," said Ward 3 Regional Councillor Rick Johnson, pointing out the bridge is in an important heritage district in Pickering.

The City has decided to go with SRM Associates to undertake a class environmental assessment and detail design for the replacement, which will cost about $380,000. This phase of the project is eligible for federal gas tax funding.

The replacement will be a key project for the new council in the 2011 capital budget.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Whitevale Shines on the Road!

Once again Whitevale can be proud of its "Teams"!

Rattle Snake Point was the site of the annual George S. Lyon competition. This event has teams from across Southern Ontario made up of the top four finishers in their respective Club Championships.

Whitevale finished in 2nd place behind a team from Mississaugua Golf Club.

The players were Mark Brewer, Mark Burrell, Niilo Schonfeld and Alex Letros.

Wednesday the focus switched to Westview Golf Club. The event was the District Foursomes final.

Whitevale won the Championship. Congratulations to the Team of Sue Dickinson, Zona Pereira, Ann Griffin and Barb Rogers. Linda Briggs and Dee Steinwall also played in the earlier Qualifying events.

Club Championship Weekend














































Club Championship Weekend










2010 Club Champions

2010 Whitevale Golf Club Champions





2010 Mens Club Champion Mark Brewer



2010 Womens Champion Jacquelun Dunne


2010 Boys Champion Ryan Jolly

2010 Junior Girls Chamption Meagahn Bennett

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Club Championship

FINAL RESULTS

Men

Score

Championship Flight

72 Holes

1st

Mark Brewer

297

2nd

Mark Burrell

304

3rd

Alex Letros

305

4th

Niilo Schonfeld

307


WomenScore
Championship Flight
Champ Jacquie Dunne256
2nd GrossAngela Colm271
3rd GrossAnn Griffin

286

MENS DIVISION
A Flight
1st GrossJim Glover243
2nd GrossMike Karl247
1st NetAl Swartz213
2nd NetSteve Hewitt220
B Flight
1st GrossNello Mariani265
2nd GrossTom Fennell266
1st NetPaul Lacour222
2nd NetCraig Colquhoun227
C Flight
1st GrossJohn Scinocco279
2nd GrossPaul Martin282
1st NetTom Budgen223
2nd NetTom Kelly225
Weekday Men
1st GrossEd Hanna247
2nd GrossBrian Sambleson268
1st NetFrank Winter216
2nd NetTed Addie

224

WOMENS DIVISION
A Flight
1st GrossLucy Blais287
1st NetDonna Power244
B Flight
1st GrossMaureen Rutter327
C Flight
1st GrossPhyllis Burgan313
1st NetGeorgia Colquhoun252
JUNIOR DIVISION
JR Club Champ
Ryan Jolly259
Junior
1st GrossBrandon Wieser262
1st NetBrian McGilton216
Juvenile
1st GrossMatt Grape265
1st NetAndrew Berndt234
Bantam
1st GrossMark Wodz251
1st NetDaniel Brunato256
Girls
1st GrossMeghan Bennett280
1st NetAlisha Corringham247
Weekday Women
1st GrossSue Dickinson191
1st NetAndrea Kerr141

Monday, September 6, 2010

Club Championship

Championship Flight
Championship Flight
FirstLast Day 1Day 2Day 3Day 4Total
1MarkBrewer-0.17471145
2MarkBurrell1.17774151
3AlexLetros0.88073153
4PatrickJohnson3.27778155
5KevinDuda3.97580155
6ShaneBeggs3.07977156
7NiiloSchonfeld4.48076156
8ChrisO'Brien4.17979158
9OwenChandler4.27981160
10DaveWalker2.88278160
11CamHreljac2.48478162
12CraigBurrell3.68677163
13MikeMcGarragle4.38282164
14KarimCorringham1.78580165
15DavisGlenn6.58284166
16WadeBrackenbury8383166
17TimFiler4.08977 166
CUT LINE
18MikeBeninato5.48286168
19BobNebel5.98682168
20JimMcGilton6.98188169
21AdamHudson6.88584169
22BernieDocking8.68980169
23ClaytonSpahn7.98486170
24DeclanDunn5.68585170
25DavidSutton3.08684170
26RyanTrimble3.89080170
27JodyBevan8.28190171
28MikeLindsay6.08982171
29PatScanga6.68488172
30JeffSinovic5.28587172
31JohnTrimble4.28687173
32BernardVieira8786173
33PaulStephenson3.59187178
34FredCalvert9.49386179
35BarryCatterall3.49684180
36MarkDoyle12.59991190
37KevinAshe13.89798195