Stow Acres Turf

I am not sure about any of you, but the best business talks that I have are with my own father.  He truly is an inspiration to me when it comes to good business sense.  I know there are many books out there to read (he’s already read most of them), but there is just something about sitting down over dinner and a glass of wine and listening to him sort it all out.  This past Tuesday night, I had the pleasure of having one of those “talks” with him.

He just recently started a new job 8 months ago and he is excelling very quickly.  He has been in the machining industry for over 30 years.  His new title essentially makes him responsible for “trimming the fat” in the company.  Tegra Medical is a machining company that makes medical parts.  Well, the conversation started with me asking him how things are going with the new position.  As always, he quickly immersed me in his daily day.  But, this time was different.  This time he actually broke the philosophies of Machining 101.  It was neat though.  It didn’t just apply to machining.  These philosophies could apply to any industry.  The best part about it, he scribbled most of the ideas on a random, scrap piece of paper.

talks with dad

The talk lasted for a little over an hour.  We talked about inside the box thinking and outside the box thinking.  We discussed a simple plan of attack on how to measure people, results, and customer satisfaction.  We even discussed ways on how to lean manufacture golf course operations.  This one hour talk was more valuable than some of my college classes.  This talk provided valuable stuff on which to reflect as we try to regroup during the off-season.  Thanks dad!

-Jason VanBuskirk, Superintendent

Well, the Fall season doesn’t officially start for another couple of days, but it certainly feels like it has outside.  Greens aeration is completed!  All 39 greens have been aerated and are very close to being fully healed in.  The South course was aerated August 30th & 31st.  The greens responded very well to our organic recovery treatment and over-seeding.  The North course was attempted last week in the pouring rain.  Our staff gave it everything they had, and we were able to finally finish topdressing and fertilizing on Friday.  The North greens were seeded on Tuesday and they are making a strong, healthy comeback.

I would like to thank anyone that played this week for your patience while we got caught up on mowing.  The 4.5″ of rain last week definitely set us back causing fairways, tees, and rough to break through growth regulation.  It took us all of this week to get sprays out and staff mowing to get both golf courses maintained, cut, and clean.  The Fall season is always a tricky one with staff.  We employ many high school and college age people, and when Labor Day comes around, 40% of our staff returns to the classroom.  We had to scramble for a few weeks, but we are now operating at a reasonable pace.

We have a few small projects planned for this Fall; which include, green expansion, fairway and tee over-seeding, grass tee grow-in at the driving range, minor tree work/pruning, and minor bunker restoration.  The next 8 weeks are going to fly by, so we will be extremely busy until the snow falls.  We are extremely excited to be hosting the 2012 Massachusetts Four-Ball Championship in May next year; each and everyday this Fall will be geared toward making this tournament a success!  Thank you for your continued support this year!  See you on the course!

-Jason VanBuskirk, Superintendent

It has been an extremely long time since my last post.  I apologize.  The summer has been extremely busy, and to be honest, I just haven’t found the urge to write.  I know it defeats the purpose of having a blog, but I really hate when posts are limited to a paragraph that only state: “Keep carts on the paths today” or “Crew is doing a really great job on the course, place is playing great” type of statements.  There have been plenty of things happening that would certainly warrant a full page explanation or educational post, but I just can’t find the proper time to really get my thoughts out.  So, I decided to fill you in the day after a hurricane and the morning of greens aeration.  That doesn’t sound busy, right?

Yes, I know, I did just say the terrible phrase of greens aeration.  Aerating this time of year actually isn’t that terrible for any party involved.  In fact, the greens will heal in and return to normal playing conditions mush faster than normal fall aerations because it is much earlier in the season and the plant is growing a lot faster.  We will be aerating the South greens today and tomorrow, and the North greens September 6 and 7.  For a more detailed look at our aeration techniques please visit this past post: http://stowacresturf.com/2010/04/30/aeration-over-already/.

We were extremely fortunate here at Stow Acres Country Club this weekend.  The storm did not do too much damage to the courses.  It took down about 20 trees total, most were not in play.  It brought 5″ of rain and left tees, greens, and fairways littered.  Bunkers were washed out and full of water.  It took our crew of 14 people about 10 hours to restore both courses to playable conditions.  Bunkers, surrounds, and tree lines will receive attention all week as we approach Labor Day weekend.  I hope you were as fortunate in this storm, I know some were not.  My thoughts go out to those that saw catastrophic damage.  August has been a tricky month here at Stow Acres.  We have seen very crazy weather patterns, rain amounts slightly above average, warm/humid nights, micro-bursts, and now a tropical storm.  Here is to a steady Fall season.  See you on the course!

-Jason VanBuskirk, Superintendent