Saturday, I was disappointed to see many unrepaired ball marks on some of the greens that I mowed. The number of these blemishes really varies over the year. Winter time is one of the worst periods since the fog and precipitation keep the greens soft and the cold temps reduce the healing ability of the turf. If you don't repair the ball mark right away, the turf will die and may lead to other problems like moss, algae, or snow mold. We will get to those problems in another post.

Back in 2007, I placed a flag on every unrepaired ball mark resulting in over 85 flags on one green. We actually ran out of flags, but this photo definitely makes the point. If there are this many bumps and bruises on the green, you can forget about the ball rolling smooth and consistent on the way to the hole. A bouncing ball is not always a result of the dreaded poa annua or a thatch problem. Sometimes it is caused by poor golfer etiquette and unrepaired ball marks.

Luckily, we have many members that will repair every mark they see. I truly do not believe that golfers intentionally skip their portion of course maintenance, they just forget or have never got into the habit in the first place. I occasionally will be paired up with a golfer that is oblivious to this task. They don't look for a mark when they get to the green, they don't own a ball mark repair tool, and in many cases, they don't think that they make ball marks because they don't hit the ball that far, high, or hard. When you point out a ball mark to an owner of this variety, they are honestly surprised to see it. After you provide them with a spare ball mark repair tool, this person will make up for lost time and repair multiple marks during the rest of the round.

Your playing partners may need a little encouragement to clean up after themselves by raking traps, filling divots, and fixing those ball marks. Don't be afraid to be that person that reminds them of their responsibility because they probably won't mind, they just forgot. If they do mind, then tell them on every hole, right before they putt, and their etiquette will improve just to shut you up.

This radar image is from last Monday when the club hosted the December meeting of the Sierra Nevada Golf Course Superintendents Association. As I am sure you all know, the blue is snow and it is extremely rare for that shade of precipitation to stretch all the way across the central valley. Even so, 26 brave members of our association came out to play golf in the cold after dusting the snow off of their vehicles. The staff and I enjoyed the few flakes that fell on Stockton early that morning and the local meteorologists were downright giddy of the strange weather. However, I would much rather drive 90 minutes and see some snow than have it fall on my head.

That's all for today as I head out to enjoy this wonderful island. I can't help myself and will probably post a few more comments rubbing in the fact that I'm here and you're not. Also, I have some heavy frost pics to share and I will update the course conditions now that the bermudagrass has been put to sleep for the rest of the winter. Stay warm Stockton.

In this instance, we needed to frame, pour, and finish a concrete basin to collect water near the storm drain. The original placements of the drains were less than perfect and the small plastic catch basins we had installed were subject to frequent clogging and became a maintenance nightmare. I have minimal experience working with concrete, but I knew that Teddy, a two year member of the crew, came to us from a small concrete company. All I had to do was paint the area for the concrete to be installed and walk away.

On top of Teddy's leadership, we also received some instructions from Jim Worrall, a member who is always willing to help and is an avid reader of this blog. The support network at a private club is pretty amazing if you're willing to accept some advice and constructive criticism. There is a lot of knowledge in our club and we frequently use it to our advantage. While I may get a little more advice than I sometimes need, the portion that is useful makes it very worthwhile and the rest still shows an interest in making the course the best it can be.

So, just like I tell the staff, keep sharing your suggestions because they won't hurt my feelings. The maintenance crew occasionally has to be put on the spot to share their thoughts on the maintenance of the course. I encourage them to take ownership of their work and if they feel there is a better way to get the job done, by all means let's investigate all of our options. After four years they are starting to warm up to the idea and now we have brand new members of the staff leading projects that show their individual expertise.

Starting in late October we decided on a major change to our maintenance program and the results have been spectacular. Good ball roll is not as simple as choosing the right height and mowing every day. We also must verticut to relieve thatch, topdress on a frequent basis, water properly, fertilize properly, roll the greens, and aerify. Consistency is the key to translating a good maintenance program into smooth, fast greens.

Another key component to good green speeds is the use of growth regulators. We have always used a product called Primo on our greens to reduce upright growth, improve density, conserve water, provide better color, along with other benefits. Growth regulators pay for themselves and in my opinion are the key to consistent quality greens. Our major change in October was switching from Primo to a product called Trimmit.

Trimmit is another growth regulator that limits the growth of poa annua slightly more than it limits the growth of bentgrass. We had been using Trimmit on two of our greens with low percentages of poa throughout the summer and started on all of the greens when the summer heat had passed. The use of this product at our course is slightly unorthodox due to the make up of the greens, nearly 50/50 poa/bent.

Since we have started we are getting stimpmeter readings of close to 12 each and every day. We also have decreased our mowing to 4 times a week with rolling on the other days. When summer rolls around we will probably back off the Trimmit and return to Primo to avoid any problems with our annual bluegrass. However, the use of Trimmit through the fall, winter, and spring will help to limit the increase of annual bluegrass and should result in a healthier stand of bentgrass. The long term possibility of returning to solid bentgrass is something to hope for, but is far from likely.