OGC Poll

Welcome to the Greens and Grounds Department Blog for Oconomowoc Golf Club. Our team intends to educate, inform, and update members about golf course maintenance procedures as well as post timely information throughout the year.
Showing posts with label Team. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Team. Show all posts

Thursday, May 30, 2019

End of May Updates

The Story of the Month was... Bucks Lost.  :.(   Foursomes  (Fivesomes) with Mr. Webbed Feet.  :) "That's All Folks". The course received just under 5" of rain in May which seemed as though it didn't stop raining.  Typically, June is a great month for golf as rain forecasts tend to be less in June, but the key word is "typically".  Luckily this course was built on a hilly/rocky base and the property overall drains great, thus allowing carts out on the course sooner and faster than most courses in the Greater Milwaukee Area.  I must admit though, I'm not used to players, I mean player, golfing starting at 6:25am and finishing around 7:30-8am.  That's speed golf!

Does a Hole in One in a 5-some count?  Mr. Webbed Feet sure thinks so!

Course Updates
This month we have been able to work on some key projects with one of them being the task of filling in tree stumps with soil, leveling and compacting, and squaring for sodding.  We were lucky this last week of May to get some sod and have begun sodding these tree stump areas.  We will look to finish these areas by next week and then keep them watered to establish them!


Another project our team worked on this Month was to figure out why a light pole wasn't working in the parking lot.  Smokey and I then planned to run a new power line to the pole by renting a trencher and placing conduit to ease any future digging if we'd have to run new lines out to the pole from the cart path by #1 tee.  We did hit a small plastic tube for some irrigation heads but were able to fix that quickly.  



May also was a great month to hold the Club's Opening Day's!  Luckily our team was working that morning prepping the bunkers for the Saturday shotgun and found two rocks in the bunkers.  I have been told since starting here in November that the bunkers have some rocks in them, but I am perplexed how to hit this shot...
I happened to hit my shot in the shop and my Blue Noodle stopped there.  Chuck, I need a lesson!

Thankfully, those "rocks", I may call them boulders, were on the faces of the bunkers on #4 and #10 respectively that morning.  Crazy!!!


May is another great time to start planting annual summer flowers, so Terrie and I went to select this year's plantings.  They should all turn out great if our wildlife doesn't decide to snack on them like they sometimes do!  Think they would obey the "cart signage" that we put out on the course???

Another issue we saw this month was there were certain plants and, in my mind, possibly some trees on the course that were directly impacted by the harsh Winter and early Spring seasons.  We have seen a few trees on the property not leaf out at all and may no longer product leaves on the branches.  We will give these bigger specimens some time this summer to see if they do in fact rebound in some way.   Another strange thing has happened on a certain type of bush called a "Burning Bush".  We have a few of these near the front Club Entrance and also which divide the parking lot to the range tee.   

I reached out to a well known arborist for his input on Burning Bushes and the feedback was that naturally, some species within the Burning Bush family are more tolerant to harsh winters than others.  The arborist believes that these bushes were greatly impacted by the winter and tough spring that we all experienced in 2019.  There are a few recommendations, which the Greens Committee has suggested to cut the "dead" looking bushes down to about 1-2' off of the ground and see if these bushes will "rebound" and grow again into the plants we all knew they looked like years ago.  Naturally, doing this will take time for these plants to fully mature like the bushes that were not affected.

Another item that happened in one of the rainstorms was a cedar tree between #7 green and #8 tee was largely affected by either lightning or straight line winds...


At this point we are looking at options for this area and deciding whether this should be removed, pruned more from the damaged areas, or left alone in its current state.  More to come here...


Lastly, the course has done a good job in keeping up with unpleasant weather patterns in May.  I was able to work on a few May cultural practices for the greens and look to continue some more in June.  We also are looking forward to our 4 high school team members starting in June to help us out in these main golfing months in June, July, and August.  Next week, we also should see some new landscaping by #10 tee.  A landscape company was contracted to do this work and with the May rains, there projects took a back seat and the course was pushed back in their timeline.  I have been really working on them to come in and get this area presentable and look forward to next week for that to happen.

Sequel to Last...  An oldie but goodie...I spent over 11 years growing up on the golf course caddying at Merrill Hills Country Club.  This forward from my Father In Law was one I just had to pass along.  I definitely never said any of these, but wish I could have to Mr. Lacy.  :)

Number :10
Golfer:    "I think I'm going to drown myself in the lake."
Caddy:    "Think you can keep your head down that long?"
 
Number : 9  
Golfer:    "I'd move heaven and earth to break 100 on this course."
Caddy:    "Try heaven, you've already moved most of the earth."
 
Number : 8
Golfer:    "Do you think my game is improving?
Caddy:    "Yes … you miss the ball much closer now."
 
Number : 7  
Golfer:    "Do you think I can get there with a 5 iron?"
Caddy:    "Eventually."
 
Number : 6    Golfer: 
Golfer:    "You've got to be the worst caddy in the world."
Caddy:    "I don't think so … that would be too much of a coincidence."
 
Number : 5
Golfer:    "Please stop checking your watch all the time. It's too much of a distraction."
Caddy:    "It's not a watch - it's a compass."
 
Number : 4  
Golfer:    "How do you like my game?"
Caddy:    "It's very good - personally, I prefer golf."
 
Number : 3   
Golfer:    "Do you think it's a sin to play on Sunday?
Caddy:    "The way you play, it's a sin on any day."
 
Number : 2   
Golfer:    "This is the worst course I've ever played on."
Caddy:    "This isn't the golf course.  We left that an hour ago."
 
And the Number   1   Best Caddy Comment:   
Golfer:    "That can't be my ball, it's too old."
Caddy:    "It's been a long time since we teed off, sir."
 
Bonus
An old favorite about the Golfer who has been slicing off the tee at every hole.  He finally gives up and asks his long suffering caddy:
Golfer:    "Can you see any obvious problems?"
Caddy:    "There's a piece of sh*t on the end of your club."
Golfer:     He picks his club up and cleans the club face.
Caddy:    "       . . . other end."

Friday, March 22, 2019

Eric Schmitt New Job

Oconomowoc Golf Club will be searching for a new lead Assistant Superintendent as Eric Schmitt was recently offered a head superintendent position at Bass Lake G.C near Antigo, WI.  Even though Eric and I didn't get to work alongside each other for too long (since end of November), I was looking forward to working with him this season at OGC.  I'm happy for Eric as this is something he wanted to become and feel he will do a great job up there.

We truly appreciate Eric's hardwork and dedication to the Club over the last few years and wish him all the best in his new role and position.  Thanks, Eric!

Thursday, February 28, 2019

February Update

Wow, February has come to a close and for many of us Wisconsin-ites it's time for a change.  The BUCKS are the #1 team in the NBA (that will not change).  March historically, for me, is the start of the season as temperatures and day length improves with more days filled with daylight and generally warmer temperatures.  Today, listening to the news, March rarely has days below zero as only 2 days since year 2000 have been recorded as below zero days.  Thank goodness! 

Ahead of what's coming for our Greens and Grounds Team.  March will be an important month for us to finish the approved sunshine enhancement program list and hopefully begin cleaning up the property from the winter season.  For trees, there maybe a few that we will not get to which will stay on a list to remove.  Overall, our team was making great progress in January with the removals and then the month we all want to forget came, February...   February was filled with some regular snow storms with 5-6"+ each time.  The team definitely got some wear and tear from the snow removal and shoveling around the Club and parking lots.  Then unfortunately the first week of February had a celebrity siting...  Elsa from the movie Frozen visited the state and gave us an ice storm which set us back on the course. 

Overall, the ice storm should have little effect to the course itself as I believe the turfgrasses will be able to withstand the ice impact that blanketed the 150 acre property.  Generally speaking, turf under ice has around a 60-90 day shelf life of survival.  The predominantly bentgrass course is closer to the 90 day life so with ice in early February, I hope we don't have ice towards the end of April (then I'll start worrying more).  What affected us the most was the inability to go out on the course to work on more tree removals and potentially start stump grinding the tree bases.  The ice on the course proved to be very dangerous and impossible to travel on the hilly terrain.  Unfortunately, with the abundant snow cover and ice still below the snow, it may be difficult for us to finish our goals for the tree removals and stump grinding.  In any event, we will figure out how to complete these two items with minimal impact to the members once we can in fact work back on the course.

This winter, the Greens and Grounds Department has been fortunate to upgrade some key equipment.  Each piece of equipment will be fully utilized.  Inside the turfgrass facility this past month, we have also been detailing the course accessories like those benches, ball washers, waste baskets, tee markers, cart signs, course plaques and more.  The team of Eric, Smokey, and Mike have been great!  As they say pictures are worth 1000 words...  Let's hope for a better March than February!

Turf vehicle for crew use

Heavy duty workman for course projects

Clipping trailer for clipping disposal - sorry no sweet aromas from #15 green anymore

5hp Pump to go onto Pumpstation Pumps by #13 pond

Flymo mower trims around bunker slopes

Refurbishing cart signs


Refurbishing Tee Markers



Thursday, January 31, 2019

Get to Know the Team - Mike Zarate


Mike “Chippy” Zarate
What is your title?  Assistant Mechanic In Training – Full Time Laborer
How long have you worked here?  3 years
Why did you get into working on a golf course?  Love working outside, did landscaping for 2 years.
What is your favorite Hole on the Course?  16, 12, 6
What is your favorite job task at OGC?  Mowing the Fairways
Do you play golf, If so, what is your golf handicap?  Love to golf, no idea
What are your hobbies?  Cars; Fishing; Gaming
Any favorite quotes?  Life can only be understood backward.  It’s why it must be lived forward.
What is your favorite meal?  Fish Fry
What is on your bucket list?  Drive a Supercar


Get to Know the Team - Eric Schmitt


Eric "P Sizzle" Schmitt
What is your title?  Assistant Golf Course Superintendent
How long have you worked at OGC?  3 years
What is your favorite Hole on the Course?  #12
Why did you get into working on a golf course?  I love the aesthetics of a golf course
What are your favorite job tasks at OGC?  Training team members
Do you play golf, what is your golf handicap?  once or twice, happy to break 100
What are your hobbies? working on my 53 Mercury, attending car shows, "saving the world" via gaming
Mentors in the Industry?   Jake Renner, Logan Spurlock, Dustin Riley  
What is your favorite meal?  Seafood and/or Steak
What is on your bucket list? Vacation in an Indonesian Island  

Get to Know the Team - Smokey "Todd" Aartsen


Todd “Smokey” Aartsen
What is your title?  Shop and Equipment Manager
How long have you worked at OGC?  14 years
What is your favorite Hole on the Course?  #13
Why did you get into working on a golf course?   Grew up on one
What are your favorite job tasks at OGC?  Wildlife management; Diving - #13 pond (repairing underwater intakes)
Do you play golf, what is your golf handicap?  Very little, N/A
What are your hobbies? Flying aircrafts; Diving; Hunting/Shooting
Favorite quote?  Extremely difficult gets done immediately, impossible one second later
What is your favorite meal?  Seafood
What is on your bucket list?   Fly a Jet


Get to Know the Team - Steve Houlihan

Steve “Houli” Houlihan
What is your title? Golf Course Superintendent
How long have you worked here?  2 months
Why did you get into working on a golf course?  4 Uncles WI Golf Superintendents; Caddied 11 years at Merrill Hills CC; Received Evans Scholarship; BS and MS at UW-Madison – Soil Sciences
What is your favorite Hole on the course? 8, 9, 12, 13, 18
What is your favorite job task working on the Course?   Growing up I loved mowing greens.  Now it’s seeing the end product each day from our Teams’ accomplishments!
Do you play golf, If so, what is your golf handicap?   Yes, it’s going up = 6.3
What are your hobbies?  Family time – biking, hiking, swimming; Golf and Basketball; Puzzles
Any favorite quotes?  If you can appreciate the value of simple things, then you can accomplish great things.  Success is the sum of small efforts repeated every day.
What is your favorite meal?    Chinese
What is on your bucket list?  Trip to Hawaii

Winter Update