Wow. I have never been so sick in my life as I was the past four days. Now I know why people are so anxious to receive the flu shot that I pass up every year. After at least 15 years without getting the seasonal flu, my lucky streak has now come to an end without a shred of doubt.

Over the next week, we will work on cleaning up the remnants of some old trees that don't stand as tall as they used to. Bert is only half way done with this monster and there are probably 15 more throughout the course. This is a long and slow process.

The small machine in the background is a homeowner variety stump grinder. We've ground a lot of stumps since I've been here and this little machine has made more sense in the long run. The larger type stump grinder can power through wood at a much faster rate, but comes with a host of draw backs.

First off, the price is over twice as much as the smaller version. We can rent this guy for a full week for a bargain price and have some flexibility in our schedule. The larger unit is also difficult to transport requiring its own trailer that is pulled by a truck. Finally, the small one is always in better condition than the one we used to rent due to the inexpensive teeth that come fresh every time we pick it up.

We will shave down these stumps to 12 to 15 inches below the soil line to provide some room for new grass to stretch its legs. However, this will not be the end of stumps on the course because there are easily 30 dead trees that need to be removed. This seems like a staggering number of trees but on holes with 200+, this is just a drop in the bucket. Most are small pines and cedars that didn't belong in Stockton in the first place.

In a future post we will dive into the tree program that we are currently planning. There is a tremendous amount of work to do in this portion of our landscape and the impact will remain for decades.

This post is a little late, but I wanted to share with you some of the other projects we involve ourselves in besides golf course maintenance. Stockton Golf and Country Club is just as busy inside the clubhouse as out and nearly every holiday includes a well organized and well attended social event.

This year’s Halloween celebration included a children’s party, a costume party and dance for the adults, and the second annual haunted house which was open to everyone. The maintenance department pitched in everywhere we could help. This year we contributed wood forms and sand bags to hold up 10 ft lengths of PVC pipe which were used to make walls with black plastic sheeting. We also haul in some dirt and leaves for the graveyard scene. The real work is done by the F&B staff who have surpassed expectations for two years in a row.

My favorite addition to the haunted house this year was the golf cart scene. Two golfers, well past their prime, had a little accident and this is what is looked like. If you see a twosome heading your way that resemble these guys, it may be best to let them play through.

The last three days, I've been in Raleigh, North Carolina visiting with the fine people from Bayer Environmental Science. The long trip from Sacramento to Raleigh gave me ample time to write a few articles on course updates among other topics. I planned to upload these posts during my return flight from Dallas to Sacramento. That's right, during the flight. American Airlines is currently offering wi-fi on some of their flights. Pretty sweet deal, isn't it? Not really.

When you go to log on to 'gogoinflight' you're welcomed by a sign up form that requires you to create an account and of course pay $9.95 for access to their wonderful Internet. They must not have raised enough money by charging $20 for your first checked bag. A young lady that I sat next to told me that the price was $15 on Saturday and it jumped up to $20 just four days later. Perhaps it has something to do with the weak dollar.

So, to wrap this up, I blame the lack of recent posting on the greedy folks at American Airlines. They tricked me into waiting for the ride home by promoting this amazing offer of Internet in the sky, only to stick me with a bill that was never mentioned in the many pamphlets found in the seat jacket in front of me. I decided to wait to update the Turf Page until today, but forgot to forward any of the posts to my work account. I would like to apologize on behalf of American Airlines and promise to update on a more frequent basis regardless of my travel plans.

I'm really not as bitter as all of this sounds, in fact I think it is hilarious. $20 per bag, that's funny.

Normally we conduct our light topdressings on greens with a Tycrop and Progator. However, the Progator has been broken down (nothing serious) for a week awaiting parts and time for repair. So yesterday, we opted for the manual topdress and I was quite pleased with the results. I normally avoid this method due to time restraints, but we finished in the same time as usual with the help of one more person.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the sand helps to smooth out inconsistencies in the green and actually speeds up ball roll. Light topdressings are roughly scheduled for every other week, much to the dismay of our mechanic who knows that sand on the greens results in dull blades that need sharpening. That is a small price to pay for smooth and firm greens.

The weather is still beautiful and the greens are rolling as good as ever. I hope you take advantage of this time of the year before the Stockton fog settles in.

As the saying goes, a dog is a superintendent's best friend. Our loyal companion has lived at the course for over 5 years. She was found by Billy James, the previous superintendent in a rain soaked parking lot in Stockton. Billy and his girlfriend spent over twenty minutes coaxing the confused pup into their car. She acted like she had been abused and was extremely skittish and emaciated. As you can tell from the picture, she now has plenty to eat.