Senior Assistant - David Bibler

The next time you are on the course and have the opportunity, please say hello and welcome David Bibler, our team's new Senior Assistant Superintendent.   David joins NCC from Greensboro CC in Greensboro, NC.  He has already helped make an impact over the last three weeks.   I am fortunate that he chose to join our team.  He will be a valuable asset to our operation.  David has previous experience at three other Donald Ross designed courses. 

Former NCC Intern Excels

Curtis Keller, former NCC Intern, is the host Superintendent at this week's PGA Senior Tour Legends event at Buffalo Ridge GC in Missouri.  It's always grand to see a former team member rise to the top of our profession.   Congrats Curtis.  Well done.

Men's Invitational

Based on all accounts and the positive comments, the 2016 NCC Men's Invitational was a resounding success.   With it being a short week to prepare the course due to the Memorial Day Holiday on Monday and rainfall two days during the week, the Golf Course Operations Staff did a tremendous job of getting the course into prime condition for the Friday and Saturday event.  Losing Wednesday as a work day due to an inch of rain, the staff worked from 5 am to 7 pm on Thursday and from 5 am right up until the 1:00 pm start time on Friday to get the job done.   The team below are the men who make it all  happen on the golf course for your enjoyment.   They are the silent heros that often go un-noticed yet there would not be a golf course without them.   You likely do not know them by name but please give them  a wave or a smile when you pass them on the course. 

Great conditions for the event

 

Winter Work

 

Once the golfers have sought the warmth of their living rooms or have headed south or west in search of warmer weather, there is still quite a bit of activity on the golf course. The Golf Course Operations staff works well into the fall and winter to finalize necessary tasks. These, behind the scene,  guys give a truly selfless effort working out in the cold to prepare the course.   These are just a few of the off season tasks that are accomplished.

  We are getting our new Border Collie "Bristol" acquainted with the property and chasing geese.

There are plenty of leaves to collect an dispose of.

The staff clears the parking lot of snow when necessary.

We have just "blown out" the irrigation system for the season.

Applying preventative fungicides is necessary to prevent winter diseases.

These photos show just how winter diseases can devastate a course.

                                          
 Rough mowing units are used to mulch the leaves

Ivan & Santos are preparing the winter planter boxes

 

Lorrie is planting the winter pots

Adding additional drainage is a winter routine

Our staff takes down diseased and unsafe trees

In-house tree removals

           Mario is repairing any irrigation system leaks

Todd is adding a layer of sand to the green's surfaces to protect the turf

Apolinar is topdressing the fairways with sand to help firm the fairways and protect the turf from winter temperatures

These are the guys that work before dawn and till dusk many days in snow, rain, heat and cold to give us the golfing conditions that NCC members and guests enjoy. 

 

Bristol - Border Collie

Please welcome Bristol, the newest member of our Golf Course Operations team.  Bristol is a finely trained  Border Collie that will replace Polly as our goose dog.  She is two and a half years old.  Her presence and contribution are quite important to our property.  She works and performs on specific voice command to harass geese to flee the property.  She will work mostly early in the mornings and later in the afternoons when there are less golfers on the course.  That is when there are more geese on property.   During the fall and winter months, she will be out on the course for longer periods.

 Left to roam the course uninhibited, geese leave a daily mess that is not only unsightly but also takes many employee man hours each day to remove in order to prepare the course for play.  Geese also damage the putting surfaces when they relieve themselves on the greens.

 

The Men Behind the Scenes

The photo below is of the staff members of the Golf Course Management Operation.  These men are the silent, behind the scene, heros of NCC who diligently go about their responsibilites every day  preparing and maintaining the golf course.  Rainfall, freezing temperatures, 100 degree heat and any other inclement weather conditions that Mother Natures challenges us with are just part of what awaits these men when they take to the course at daylight (or before) each morning. 

Rare is the golfer who realizes that prior to their 7:00 am tee off that the 34 men on our staff have already put in 70 man hours of work to begin preparing the course.  175 man hours of preparation will be accomplished on the holes ahead of play before the golfer finishes their round of play.  By the end of an 8 hour day, the men will have work almost 300 total hours to meet their tasks for the day.  During peak periods of extreme heat during summer, as many as 8 to 10 staff members will work an extra 4 or 5 hours of hand watering isolated and stressed turf areas.  Therefore on any given day, counting the hours our staff members do to help Adam with the range, the guys may a total of 400 man hours of work.  Premier golfing conditions do not happen by accident and when there are so many different tasks to do, it becomes even more challenging to provide great turf and yet minimize employee exposure to the golfers.
                                            
These are the men who prepare and maintain the golf course for you.

                                                      
The gentleman below is Gregario Pantoja.  Gregario has been a member of the NCC membership and Golf Course Operations staff for over 20 years.  This will be his last season at Northmoor.   As of late, his main responsibility has been to repair fairway divots.   If you knew more about Gregario, you would be as impressed with him as I am for what he brings to the club each day.  He has not missed a day of work in the 9 years I have been at Northmoor.   He will be retiring in October so if you see him on fairways, steadily repairing divots, please give him a wave and a smile or even a thank you.  It is men like him who make NCC a wonderful golfing venue.

                                                  
Some of you have inquired about Polly's health.  She is now 11 years old.  She has an enlarged heart which causes a fluid build-up in her lungs.  She has visits to the vet to have the fluid drained but she is still lively and enyoys giving the geese a scare.  She is excellent at her job.  When she isn't chasing geese she stays active by rolling her soccer ball.  She is a special member of our team. 

Polly and her ball video

                                                             

Fall Course Cleanup

When the cooler temperatures of fall descend upon us and golfing begins to slow, there is still plenty of work that still happens on the course. Leaf collection and removal is just one of the tasks that lasts all the way through November. It is necessary to remove the leaves. Leaves left in piles or in layers can cause damage to the turf over the winter when trapped under the snow. This is quite an accumulation of leaves that we have to remove from the property.

The staff works in freezing weather to clean the property of leaves and debris.

Daily blowing of the leaves on the fairways is performed until all leaves are gone.

Leaves around the clubhouse and golf shop areas are collected and removed

Below - We have 4 rough mowers that mulch the leaves in the roughs.

Hand Watering Around Bunkers

You may have noticed several of our employees hand watering the areas around the bunkers in the fairways and around the greens. They are watering only the turf without having water flood the bunkers. This, while labor intensive, has a two fold benefit. It gets much needed water to the turf and it prevents the sand from being wet. While we do have an automated irrigation system, those sprinklers turn 360 degrees which waters both the turf and the sand. Wet sand can minimize the quality of bunker playing conditions for the golfer.
Regulo Sanchez is watering the turf immediately bordering the bunkers.

Notice the edges of the bunkers are drying out and deteriorating due to lack of water

Dry bunker edges are less defined due to extended hear and lack of water

Course Restoration

Thanks to each of you who have made such positive comments about the course conditions and staff effort during the Member-Member this past weekend. I relayed your thanks to the staff.


After 4 inches of rain on last Friday night and Saturday morning, the course was flooded and many of the bunkers were flooded unplayable. Beginning at 5:00 AM on Saturday and Sunday, the staff pumped out bunkers, squeegeed fairways, redistributed the sand in the bunkers, and delivered the course for play for the Member-Member event. Many courses were closed both weekend days but our staff (see below) came through. They put in hundreds of man hours before and after play to prepare the course. They are a tremendous group of men.

The finished product - Ready for play Sunday morning

Great Guys

They are the men behind the scenes. They have a tremendous work ethic. They are as dependable as anyone could ask. They work in rain, snow, ice, and heat. They are the men who prepare your golf course for you. They don't get much recognition so if you have a chance, a simple hello, a smile, or a wave would be a great way to show them how much you appreciate their efforts. Without them, golf would not be the same at the club.

The staff was busy late into the evening on Friday and back again at daylight on Saturday morning restoring the course to a playable condition.
The bunkers on the white nine were flooded on Thursday after the 3 inch rainfall

Flooding on Friday morning - #4 White Fairway