July 28 Judge Tom Journell came by the course and was feeling great and played few holes with his friend Cliff Nelson from the racing commission. Unfortunately, as many of y’all know he died August 8, 2016. He was a very brilliant and humble gentleman who loved his wife, children, and grandchildren very much.Tom would have certainly agreed with Paul on this verse below. 

Philippians 3:20. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

The days are getting a little shorter and Fall is right around the corner. We have had a very busy July and August. Thus the reason for a delayed updated post. I try to extend information on Twitter and Insragram daily in which our new webmaster will disseminate it through Facebook. We added a new flow meter to the players club pump station a couple of weeks ago. Thanks Mid-Ohio for getting that done! 
 Chuck and I went over to Eaton,Ohio later that morning for Judge’s  funeral and stopped for lunch. 

We have also been busier than normal but Chuck and I did make it to his funeral, along with my Dad who met us there! 

Beautiful sunrise this morning for the tournament on Foxfire and the irrigation leak we had last night on 12 fairway was repaired by 8:30 this morning with a new quick coupler and the system was recharged. Thank you Luis, Chuck, & Rodolfo. Rodolfo and Luis have been doing an excellent job helping repair the equipment while Jim is quickly recovering from his surgery. He will return soon. ​Rodolfo added an egg to the radiator on the Massey range tractor to stop the radiator leak! There are no more radiators for this 1987 model in the country. ​

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We got six eggs and the range tractor is still holding up 4 weeks later answer added and egg to the John Deere tee mower radiator and it is now back in operation. 

Last Friday 8/26/2016 Brad inspected the greens we selectively sprayed plant protectants with Sympony from Harrells, which is a moisture retention product to assist in the infiltration of the Flutolanil on the basidimycetes or commonly know as Fairy Ring. I explained the science behind this 2-3 posts ago ergo I’ll list the numbers and a photo of 6 Players to remind everyone what it looks like. We applied protectants to #6/10/17 Foxfire and #6,8,9,10, Nursery Green. 

Now the I Beam on the bridge to one Players will be repaired this Fall thank you Brooks for assembling temporary bridge-we will attempt to complete this tie in for utilization with in the next two weeks so stay tuned for updates. If you can pick me up a transit that would be wonderful to have for complete ting this project correctly as well as some of the bunker projects. Here is a glimpse of the under side of one of the I-Beams- it’s still usable for regular traffic just not heavy equipment like loaders etc. 

Next, and most importantly everyone has been asking when are we going to “fix the bunkers?” We are currently restorating and remodeling #2 Foxfire, #1 Players,#6 & # 7 greenside. What does this mean? Exactly what the verbiage states some areas of the bunkers that were originally intended to be spectacle areas and are useless for playability will be blended out with dirt and sodded. You will see red or blue paint designating the remodeling. These bunkers need to stay “ground under repair”  until we have all the resources to blend in these areas with dirt and sod the same day!  Logistically, with 12 staff members we will be blessed to complete theses holes by the end of next week. Several steps must be taken to assure that the sand  is dispersed properly and has the correct resistance penatromimally. That may be a new word, but there is a proper resistance and depth the sand must have to create proper consistemcy and playability. Also, we are repairing any drainage as necessary.  I will ensure the correct penatrometer measurements based on my experience, but there is a device we may purchase for several hundred dollars that gives a reading that correlates to a scale the USGA came up with. Basically, we don’t want a fried egg lay in the bunker or plug on the face. That’s all that fancy jargon is talking about. I am adding a link to my you tube account so you may watch how I am checking the traps throuout the process. Darden Testing Playability

#18 Players is restorated but needs to packed several more times with a vibratory plate tamp. You will see irrigation flags in theses bunkers please do not move them nor remove them. They are marking the depth for the sand. 

Six Players Green Side example of remodeling a section and measuring area for sod. Six and seven Players above one day apart and the dump truck got stuck and we utilized the backhoe to pull him in to dump the sand.  I will blend in the areas with paint to eliminate future opportunity cost, yet keep the integrity of the design for playability and slope ratings. Ergo, remember for the next two weeks take a free drop from these few holes. OnTo, Foxfire #5 green side bunker will be coverted to a grass knoll bunker the spectacle bunker on 10 Foxfire behind the green will be upgraded to a newer style landscape bed since the severity of the topographical gradient is beyond restoring or renovating.  We will remodel with some low maintenance colorful grass plants designed with 3 big rocks as foundational functionality to triangulate the cord grass, fountain grass or viburnum.  ​Below plate tamping # Players Green side. ​Darden Plate Tamp #1 Players Next video is # 2 Foxfire dispersing sand and explaining the “process”#2 Foxfire Sand Dispersal

Finally, this summer many neighboring and high end courses have been ravaged with horrible diseases so we have been proactively vigilant utilizing best managment practices and staying on a schedule stretching applications as far apart as possible and much of this has been done by utilizing nutrients already present in the soil through a process called “mining” in which we drop the physical hydraulic conductivity of the water when applying plant protectants for fairways and greens using an acid buffer, iron, primo a synergistic growth regulator that enhances the efficacy of the iron, acid, and fungistats to last longer. We also add a phosphite from Harrells every 2weeks on our greens schedule to help prevent Pythium Blight. Our next greens nutrient application is this Tuesday and our next Tee and Fairway application for the Foxfire course will applied tomorrow on Monday. Thank you all for your prayers and support and stay tuned for updates! Thank you to my team members for your hard work and dedication. I’ll leave with a few more photos from the last few weeks. Have a blessed Sunday! 

​Daltons last day will be memorable for him. I believe he woke up when he hit the water. Got the call- ‘Hey Darden””Yes ” I said. “My right wheel went in the lake!” Ok, I said go get it. He said “I can’t I tried and it’s too heavy.” Can’t be if it’s just the tire. He said, “well I can’t lift it.” I said, huh so is the tire still hooked up to the  mower? Yes sir!’

mowers fine Daltons finenist has to college now & take a rowing class

Darden & Jose cold August Morning 58 was the low!

Sunrise Moon Set

swampy. shows up after the rain rivmmmromice aatse

Brad Soraying Okayers

Jim Hollen pre surgery

Swampy volunteer member trimming cart path edges

Linda Hollen Jim’s wife helping in shop