2013: What a year it's been...

2013 has presented some challenges for the Turf Care Department and the team has been working hard to maintain optimum playing conditions.  Some areas of the golf course have struggled through the summer months and we have a plan to address these areas.  Of most concern are the tees, fairways and high-traffic areas.  What are we doing to help these areas along?  Here is a breakdown of what to expect during our late-summer aeration and throughout the fall and winter months:

• TEES

• Tees will be core-aerated, aggressively verticut, heavily overseeded and fertilized during aeration week.  We will not be topdressing them as we want to ensure proper moisture levels at the surface as the new seed germinates and matures.  Topdressing with sand will dry the surface.  Expect the tees to be somewhat moist and soft as we keep moisture levels where they need to be for proper seed establishment.

• Tees will also be routinely aerated with solid tines (no cores) and oveseeded throughout the fall and winter months.  Yes, seed will germinate in our mild and wet winter climate so we are not wasting money and resources by applying seed throughout the winter months.  This is also why seed remains in our divot mix all winter long.

• FAIRWAYS

• Fairways will be solid deep-tine aerated (no cores), verticut and slit-seeded during aeration week.  The slit-seeding will likely not be completed during aeration week, but we will complete it in the 2 weeks following aeration.  They received a foliar fertilizer application last week and another one will be applied the week following aeration to promote a quick recovery and to help the new seed establish.  Much like the tees, expect the fairways to be a bit on the moist and soft side as we keep moisture levels where they need to be for proper seed establishment.

• High-traffic areas on fairways will receive extra attention throughout the fall and winter months with supplemental aeration, slit-seeding and fertilizer applications as necessary.

• HIGH-TRAFFIC AREAS (ROUGH)

• High-traffic areas in the rough will be solid-tine aerated (no cores), overseeded and fertilized.  High-traffic areas include walk-on/walk-off at tees and greens, fairway enter and exit points in the rough and general turf areas of the golf course that receive excessive traffic.

• Like tees, high-traffic areas will be routinely aerated with solid tines (no cores) and oveseeded throughout the fall and winter months.

Bunkers remain a concern and I will be preparing a detailed plan outlining the work required for the refurbishment and remediation of our bunkers.  For the short term, we are budgeting to add a significant amount of new sand to the bunkers next spring.  With the summer coming to an end and the rainy season approaching, it is not wise to add new sand to the bunkers at this time of year as our typical west coast winters would “age” the new sand very quickly due to the lack of proper drainage in many of our bunkers.

We are confident that the aforementioned plans will provide the excellent playing conditions that our members and guests have become accustomed to here at Quilchena.  We anticipate a speedy recovery from aeration and lots of additional turf recovery throughout the fall and winter months.

CGSA GreenMaster Article - July/August 2013

I was fortunate enough to be asked this spring to write an article for the Canadian Golf Superintendents Association.  I finally found some time recently to do so and my article was just published In the most recent GreenMaster publication.  I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

It Grows in the Family

 Superintendent Jason Hooper's family tree has deep roots in the industry

JASON HOOPER AND HIS FATHER, BOTH SUPERINTENDENTS, STAND BY THE HISTORIC WELL AT BALDOON GOLF CLUB, THE COURSE WHERE HOOPER'S GRANDFATHER STARTED HIS CAREER, ALSO AS A SUPERINTENDENT

One of the most common questions I receive after I tell someone what I do for a living is, “How the heck did you decide to become a golf course superintendent?”  My response is simple, “I didn’t have a choice, it’s in my blood.”

Okay, the reality is, I did indeed have a choice, but I can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing for a living.  My dad and grandpa were both superintendents, so I grew up on a golf course, so to speak.  I remember as a kid, practically begging my dad to take me to work with him on the weekend so I could ride around the course with him on his golf cart.  Being from a family of eight kids, we all had to take turns going to work with dad, so I had to make the most of my opportunities.

I remember setting out my work clothes the night before and getting everything ready to go so I wouldn’t wake the rest of the family as I quietly maneuvered around the pitch-dark house in the wee hours of the morning.  For me, it was very similar to the excitement you feel as a kid on Christmas Eve.  I hardly slept those nights as I couldn’t wait for “me and dad” time.   

The fun began right away on the drive to the golf course.  My dad and I always played a game I like to call, “Who’s This?”  I’d be quizzed along the entire drive, asked to try and name the band that performed the song playing on the radio.  It’s clear my passion for classic rock came from being a regular contestant of this game.  Side note: If I was unable to name the band, my dad would help me out and 90 per cent of the time his answer was, “C’mon Jason, you know this is ahh… umm… what’s his name.”  I was convinced that “What’s His Name” was one of the greatest rock bands of all time and that they must have had an entire catalogue of greatest hits albums.

I always wondered what it was that my dad really did, as we drove around the property where he worked.  He’d stop and chat with golfers and introduce them to me. I remember him saying to them, “Got my number one helper with me today,” or they’d beat him to it and say, “I see you’ve got your assistant with you today.”  Now that I think about it, I wonder if these subliminal messages also contributed to my chosen career!

We’d continue on our drive and often, without warning, he’d stop the cart, get off and just stare at a spot on the ground.  Sometimes he’d even kneel down and pick up some grass or dirt (which is what I called it back then, before I learned to call it soil) and would smell it!  I never knew why he would smell it, but he looked like he really knew what he was doing, so I didn’t ask.  We’d carry on with our drive until we came upon someone mowing grass.  Again, he would stop, sip his coffee and simply stare at the mower for a while and then we would continue on our way again. I was beyond puzzled at this point. It was all a mystery to me, which is why I was so fascinated by it.

There’s a lot of pressure that comes along with being a third-generation superintendent.  Both my dad and grandpa were very successful, so I have big shoes to fill.  When I came to the full realization that this was what I wanted to do for a living, I knew I had two great mentors to learn from.   

I began working for my dad when I was in high school and, before long, my grandpa joined the crew as a retired superintendent/rough mowing specialist. I knew how lucky I was to have them both at my fingertips to mentor me. I began going to work even earlier for “coffee time” and staying extra late to ask as many questions as I could.  It was great to hear my grandpa tell his “back in my day” stories about turf maintenance and compare them to how we were currently doing things.  There were so many similarities, yet so many differences.  What always stood out to me was, although the equipment and techniques had changed so much over the years, the overall goal and intent of what had to be accomplished had not.  What had changed, and is still undoubtedly changing, are both golfer’s expectations and demands, but that’s a whole other ball of wax that many have already written about.

I never felt pressure from either my dad or grandpa to follow in their footsteps and become a superintendent.  In fact, when I told them I was going to enroll in a turf education program to ultimately become a superintendent, they both looked at me like I was nuts!  I could see right through it though; I knew that they knew I was about to embark on one of the best career paths imaginable.

I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to bring my kids, Bella and Lincoln (aka Link, pun intended) to the golf course to ride on the golf cart, see some wildlife up close and to get a better sense of “what daddy does all day.”  They even get to help out sometimes by filling divots, repairing ball marks or, even better, feeding our resident swan.  Just like my grandpa and dad never pressured me into become a superintendent, I won’t ever pressure them to do so either, but I won’t talk them out of it.  However, Link may feel compelled to do so with his golf related name.

 HOOPER'S CHILDREN, BELLA AND LINCOLN, ON A RIDE-ALONG AT QUILCHENA GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB

The most important things my dad and grandpa have taught me are that hard work and patience, along with the ability to adapt and the willingness to continue to learn, is what makes a good superintendent.  I was very fortunate to learn these important traits of becoming a successful turf manager during the early stages of my career.  More importantly, I was able to learn these lessons from two of the best in the industry.