State of the Golf Course!

 

Course Meetings with Bill Balish, Daniel Perkins, Jerry B, Don O' & John Armstrong

Minutes by Raylene McSally

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4/09/24

Attendees:

Bill Balash, Raylene McSally, Daniel Perkins, Gerry Blauvelt, Don Oldakowski, John Armstrong

 

Course/Brightview

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Brightview’s one year anniversary is 4/16/24. There is a remarkable improvement to the course in the short time they have been our management company.

Weed killing will begin next week.

The last pigment treatment will be 4/2/24.

The cutting of the fairways was held up because of a machine being down. The fairways got shaggy, when they were cut down there was good healthy grass beneath.

The fairways will be cut down tight for the club championship.

Brightview stopped overseeding the fairways, the pigment program w/fertilizer and wetting agent kept the grass from being weak over the cold winter.

Brightview staff did a nice job on the new tee markers.

Toro is rolling our equipment every day, we are in line to get new equipment.

 

 

Fairways, Greens and Tee boxes:

We couldn’t do anything about the weeds on the greens during the winter. However, there are a lot less weeds than in the past. Weeds outgrow grass in hot weather. Brightview will attack the weeds over the summer. April – Sept will be dedicated to removing weeds. If we go at them to hard we won’t have any greens, must do gradually, #14 is worst now, along with #7 & the putting green. Brightview will only cut a few times a week. Roots are still not deep enough because of the past overwatering.

Removing the weeds from around every green complex (collar) is most important so the weeds don’t get pulled onto the green.

The future plan for the fairways is to be sprayed weekly for weeds, herbicide will be added in the summer.

Aerification will begin in May.

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Water/Irrigation System

There was a problem with the irrigation/pump system causing an inability to water the golf course for several days. This caused some damage to the practice green.

Many vendors have been out to look at the irrigation system. MCI came out to look at the electronics. The supporting parts of the electronics are in disrepair.

Recommendations have been made to upgrade/repair the system. Anything we purchase now can be reused on a new system. We now have a clear vision of what we can do in the future.

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Miscellaneous

Is there any material available to make the transition from the concrete cart paths to gravel?

By the end of summer the red tees should be rated.

Bill has purchased some proximity markers, they may be used by the leagues.

We received approval for a grant of $150,000 to be used for the golf course. The District provides all the funds up front to complete the project(s). Once the State verifies the project(s) has been fully completed, the State will reimburse the District 75% ($112,500) of the funds.

Suggestions to use the grant money:

Bill submitted a proposal to re-grass all the tee boxes. The turf is the worst on the tee boxes. Greens are decent.

Bill submitted a request for $6K for landscaping to beautify the course.

A demonstration on the putting green of a wet-jet powered system which shoots water down about 10” into the green will be presented to Kent.

Bill would like to redo the bathrooms on the course consisting of new fixtures and new paint.

He would like to put in bottled water stations rather than the coolers.

Bill would like to redesign the pro-shop which would not be eligible under the grant. He will put a proposal in the 2026 budget. This should help sell more merchandise as it will be more inviting. We are currently limited in what we can display. If we are serious about selling we need to display it accordingly.

The old chemical room has been painted, it is no longer noticeable.

 

The next meeting is scheduled for 5/6/24 at 8AM. Each meeting will be held on the first Monday of the month at 8AM.

 

Respectfully submitted by Raylene McSally

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3/04/24

Attendees: Bill Balash, Raylene McSally, Daniel Perkins, Gerry Blauvelt

Unable to attend: Don Oldakowski, John Armstrong

 

Bunkers

Daniel discovered the overgrown area next to the green on #18 was an old neglected bunker. He has cleaned it up and made it so it’s easy to putt out of.

 

Fairways, Greens and Tee boxes:

Weeding and Aerification will be done on the following dates: May 8 & 9, June 3 & 4, July 15 & 16 and August 28 & 29. These dates may change if the weather doesn’t cooperate.

It is less expensive to purchase grass by the pallet so experimental grass will be planted on holes #4 & 5. Tahoma 31

Daniel is looking at planting some low cost ornament grass to make the course more pleasing to look at.

He is also looking to have the grass cut to fairway height around the practice area.

One of the grounds crew suggested we plant bushes to attract butterflies at the back of the netting at hole #1. This will help to beautify the area.

 

Divot Repair Sand

Bill has noticed there is a lot of sand placed in the divots in the fairways. This is much appreciated, it will help heal damage from divots.

 

Water/Filtration System

The course was unable to be watered two weeks ago as the second pump went down.

All the companies called to review the system indicate an entire new system is needed.

Brian Costner from Complete Electric reviewed our system and found the amperage settings were incorrect. The amperage should have been set at 120 but was at 170. He indicated we can keep going with our current pumps for quite some time. He is an expert in this field and indicates he can fix anything required to keep our pumps operational. He just replaced a fuse with a breaker which should help keep the system operational.

 

Miscellaneous

The Club Championship is 3/22 & 3/23. There will be lunch the first day. The second day will be heavy hors d’oeuvres in Building D & E. We are hoping for good participation. New tee markers will be out for the tournament.

The Course will close at 2PM Easter Sunday, 3/31/24. The last cart to go out will be at 10AM/

The 9 hole ladies league has a shotgun start at 8AM, the 18 hole ladies league will have a later start.

Bill suggested the leagues get their requests for booking building D & E in quickly, the room is fairly booked up for 2024. Beth and Gerry are coordinating dates so we don’t run into any conflicts.

Signage has been placed on all the club carts regarding caring for the course. We should all take pride in our course and help to keep it looking nice.

Placing the clearance rack on the porch of the pro-shop was a success, most of the merchandise has been sold.

Bill is working with Bermuda Sands to purchase close out merchandise at a reasonable price. He is trying to give the members value while providing a discount for members. He hopes to have new merchandise available in time for the Ladies 18 Hole league invitational.

 

The next meeting is scheduled for 4/1/24 at 8AM.

Respectfully submitted by Raylene McSally

 

2/05/24

Attendees:

Bill Balash, Raylene McSally, Daniel Perkins, Gerry Blauvelt, John Armstrong, Don Oldakowski

 

Course/Brightview

New drainage on the putting green has been put in. Please see the pictures of the muck at putting green along with the new drainage and drain.

The course is looking good, it is well manicured.

Bill is looking to add an additional tee box to the back of #5, it will mean relocating the large palm tree.

Previously there was another tee to the right of #4, Bill is looking to also make that tee box operational.

Brightview will go 50/50 with us on the cost to add these two tee boxes, it should cost us each approximately $400.

On Daniel’s own he has taken to building new tee markers at a cost of $150. They should be ready for the club championship.

 

Fairways, Greens and Tee boxes:

Brightview is forward thinking with updating the turf. They are proposing we use Tacoma 31 turf which is drought tolerant. It will be implemented with plugs. Many golf courses are going in this direction.

Currently top dressing is being done once a month, it should actually be done every two weeks.

Weeding is continuing.

This summer Daniel will take a sod cutter to some areas, grade it out and put the sod back to improve drainage.

Currently there is a pigment program being applied, this is the best the course has looked in a long time.

There are some areas being tilled, Rye and Bermuda grass will be put down in these areas. In the past this problem would have been seen but never addressed. Now, when an issue is noticed it is quickly addressed by Brightview.

Daniel is doing an experiment. He purchased a 2’ long drill which Bores down 12”-18” deep, takes the muck out and replaces it with sand improving drainage.

 

Bunkers

The bunkers are looking fantastic

Hand Raking is being done around the edges, there aren’t any ridges.

 

Water/Filtration System

We had an overload issue with the pumps. Watertronics came out to figure out why we had the overload. The pump was shut off to prevent it from being destroyed. The problem is with the conduit and wiring.

The pumps never get a chance to dry out. There are heaters built into the system to dry out the pumps when they are not in use but they were never wired from the panel so they are not currently operational. Wiring the heaters to get them working will be completed.

An estimate is being obtained for a new irrigation system.

An estimate is being obtained to replace the two pumps.

Irrigation heads are being addressed as needed.

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Miscellaneous

Bill is going to make a presentation to Kent to show we keep doing the same things and getting the same poor results. We need a different approach to the issues of the course.

Bill will send out an email to the membership announcing when events are being held. The next event is the CVO golf tournament.

 

White line – how has it been perceived?

The white line seems to be helping to keep carts away from sensitive areas. Bill is trying to refresh it weekly at a cost of about $18. It takes about 1 ½ cans of paint to refresh the lines.

Recently, someone moved a handicap sign, it was not Brightview. These signs are placed strategically and must remain where placed.

We still have a significant problem with ball marks on the greens. Please be sure to fix your own and one additional mark when you get to the green. An unrepaired ball mark takes 2 weeks to repair whereas a repaired ball mark only takes 48 hours.

Bill will redo a sign regarding raking bunkers, fixing ball marks and divots.

It was mentioned some of the placement of the handicap signs put handicapped people in a precarious position. Bill will review the placing of signs for the safety of the members.

 

The next meeting is scheduled for 3/4/24 at 8AM. Each meeting will be held on the first Monday of the month at 8AM.

 

Respectfully submitted by Raylene McSally

 

1/08/24

Attendees: Bill Balash, Daniel Perkins, Jerry Blauvelt, Don Oldakowski, John Armstrong, Raylene McSally.

 

Bill is changing the name of this group from “All Things Golf” to “State of the Golf Course”. He feels the focus of these meeting should be on the golf course although we will also cover other pertinent topics.

Daniel Perkins, Superintendent will also attend each meeting.

 

Course/Brightview

Bill is very impressed with Brightview. They are paying attention to our needs. They typically do not provide a spreadsheet of their future plans for the course but they have done so for us. Bill will distribute it to the group.

The maps for the layout of the sprinkler heads are inaccurate. Brightview has been using metal detectors to discover sprinkler heads which have been buried about a foot below ground. The sprinkler heads have been in the off position.

Kyle and VP of Brightview showed up for a meeting with Bill. They are enthusiastic about making the course more pleasing to the eye.

 

Fairways, Greens and Tee boxes:

The tee boxes are getting beat up. It was asked if sand boxes placed on the tee boxes would help. Daniel will look into the cost of providing boxes on each tee.

The Driving Range is subpar.

There is a low area on the practice area. Brightview is putting in a drain at their cost for labor and materials. This was not something that was included in their contract but they have volunteered to handle at no cost to Barefoot Bay.

Daniel advised he will not overseed in November again. It will now be done in October. Ernie tried to accommodate some tournaments being held in October by pushing overseeding into November. This stressed out the course and because it has been so cold the grass is not growing.

Tee boxes were overseeded twice.

The cuts on the greens are jagged because of the 3 reels on the mowers (triples) and a cleanup pass around the perimeter of the greens is being cut every 1 – 1 ½ weeks, due to the weather and growing conditions. Mowing cannot be done every because it will wear the grass causing bare spots. The weight of the triplex on the greens plus the turning of the tires can cause damage. This will improve as the weather improves. Until then the edges of the greens will be uneven.

On #13 the roots were only 1” deep, they are very deep now. The previous maintenance company had been overwatering causing the roots to stay close to the surface. In the summer you want to withhold water so the roots will grow deep seeking natural water.

Fairways are on the enhanced pigment program, which is granular fertilizer a wetting agent, pigment, fertilizer and fungicide so they stay green longer. This happens every two weeks. Also they are killing weeds in the fairway very slowly not aggressively as in the summer. This will minimize damage to the fairways.

 

Bunkers

The flushing of the bunker drains is currently being addressed.

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Divot Repair Sand

Barefoot Bay has been using bunker sand that costs approximately $1100 per truckload (we use about 2 dump trucks per year). We may be able to get green sand for about $1200. The green sand has fertilizer but no seed. Currently Daniel has been hand mixing some green sand. Daniel will check into the cost to upgrade our sand.

 

Water/Filtration System

We currently use water from the canal to irrigate the course. The irrigation head foot valve filters keep clogging up because they are sucking up debris from the water. This is damaging the foot valves.

 

Miscellaneous

It has been decided to keep the rakes out of the bunkers. Players need to be aware they are to place the rakes as close to the edge of the bunkers as possible. Sometimes rakes are in the middle of the fairway, nowhere near the bunker.

The calendar listing events being held during the year needs to be more robust. Communication of upcoming events needs to be addressed earlier than a few weeks prior to the event.

GHIN rating of tee boxes. GHIN has advised they will not rate tee boxes used by men for women or boxes used by women for men. For Barefoot Bay that means the blue markers will not be rated for women nor will the green or red markers be rated for men.

Bill posted information on how 9 hole rounds and incomplete rounds will be treated by GHIN. This is a new procedure effective 1/15/24

Bill is working with Kevin at FSGA on rating the red tees. Each tee box will now have 4 ratings, red, green, white and blue. This new rating will not cost Barefoot Bay any money. Courses of 750yds or more can now be rated.

Bill is thinking of putting in an additional tee box for a short course for beginners and juniors.

The yardage markers at each tee box are being dug out and repositioned. Over the years the grass and ground has grown over them.

Bill has put white lines out to indicate where carts may not trespass. Carts cause wear and tear and damage the delicate grass along the greens. He has also placed blue handicap signs on some of the holes to indicate where carts should not trespass.

John Armstrong praised Daniel on the condition of the course. It is certainly a vast improvement over what we had a little less than a year ago.

Bill mentioned Brightview is the largest golf course maintenance company in the Nation.

Bill held a Board of Trustees orientation for Elaine VanBerschot.

 

Projects/Proposals

There are lots of projects slated for the summer.

Daniel is a player so he views the course as to how it can be more playable for the members and guests. He wants to make sure it is playable, fun and fair.

Bill is proposing making the cart path on #9 a waste bunker to be more playable.

Bill is proposing expanding the width of the fairways so that there is only about a cart width of rough and the same around the bunkers. That will make approaches bigger and easier to play

Bill wants to make the course more fun to play as well as more pleasing to the eye.

Planting wildflowers on the hill at #6 and wild grasses between 1 & 9 will be aesthetically pleasing

Bill is thinking of starting nursery to grow grass for the greens. This would allow Brightview to use patches from the nursery to fill in bare or damaged spots on the greens. It was suggested to try to use the area behind the Bocce courts for the nursery.

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Questions/Answers

Sebastian purchased new golf carts with GPS tracking system to prevent carts from going in sensitive areas. Because we use personal carts this system will not work for us.

Change for next season: Would one color flag with small moving flag indicating front/middle/back pin position work for us? The group agreed this would work for our course and members.

 

The next meeting is scheduled for 2/5/24 at 8AM. Each meeting will be held on the first Monday of the month at 8AM.

 

Respectfully submitted by Raylene McSally

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All Things Golf!

Course Meetings with Ernie Cruz, Don O' & John Armstrong

Minutes by Raylene McSally

 

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9/29/23

 

Attendees: Ernie Cruz, Don Oldakowski, Raylene McSally and Daniel Perkins from Brightview

Unable to attend: John Armstrong and Jerry Blauvelt

 

Membership

Membership renewal, new memberships, trail fees and golf fees for non-members have increased for 2024. The applications will be available 10/1/23.

 

Leagues

League play is starting up this week. Ernie asked that we remind members not to drive close to the greens or up the throat.

Rules for carts were sent to the 9 hole ladies league. Ernie will send a general notice to all the leagues.

 

Fairways, Greens and Tee boxes:

We currently have a lot of standing water from the 4” of rain we received.

Ernie asked us to advise our members not to apply sun screen or bug spray at any short grass area but especially on the greens and tee boxes. The spray kills the grass causing brown spots.

The range is closed as we cannot retrieve the balls or mow the grass there. The driving nets are available for use.

 

Staffing

There are 3 new employees for both inside the Pro-Shop and outside. Please ask the members to introduce themselves and have patience with the new employees while they learn their jobs.

The use of the Ipad has been temporarily suspended while the new employees learn the various duties. With so much to learn and so many people to remember sometimes the outside staff may miss notifying the inside staff who is on the course. Members will need to check in inside the Pro-Shop for the foreseeable future. Once the staff is fully trained we may be able to return to outside check-in.

 

Miscellaneous

The next tournament is 10/21/23. Although it is being held on a Saturday it is being run by the Sunday Scramble group.

Water coolers are cleaned on a regular basis. They are all filled with tap water.

 

Course/Brightview

Overseeding will be done in November. In the past Tee boxes, Greens and Fairways have been overseeded. Brightview has recommended we not overseed the fairways. This will allow Daniel to aggressively attack the weeds during the season. The front side had a slicing technique done, the back side hasn’t had that done yet because of all the rain.

Daniel sprayed for weeds which left some bare areas, the slicing also left some bare areas.

When spraying the weeds all summer the fairways were affected. Daniel is still attacking the weeds but the product he will use will affect the weeds but not the goose grass. To kill the goose grass we would need a product that will also affect the Bermuda grass.

 

All Things Golf

9/29/23

Page 2.

 

If we get some cold weather (frost) the goose grass will die.

The greens will be spiked and lightly top dressed next week.

Extra fertilizer was used on#4 & #10, leftover fertilizer may also be used on the fairways on #4 & #10.

Daniel is aggressively fertilizing the greens every week using liquid fertilizer and once a month granular fertilizer is used.

Ernie has asked Daniel to redefine the edges of the fairways and greens to their original configuration.

The greens were mowed and rolled today (9/29).

There is a bulletin board on the patio where Daniel puts notes of what is happening on the course. Changes to the schedule will be done as needed and determined by Daniel.

Bunkers were a priority after all the rain, the sand washed down to the bottom and had to be repositioned so the bunkers don’t collapse. A couple of truckloads of sand for the bunkers have been ordered.

We will now see some detailing work such as edging, trimming etc.

When Brightview first started they had temporary employees and some day laborers. They now have experienced workers, no day laborers. Even though we now have experienced workers they still must learn the intricacies of our course. We should see improvement in their processes.

The course really has two seasons so the employees haven’t seen some of the issues that may appear during the upcoming months.

We will now see Daniel doing more technical processes rather than mowing.

Ernie is placing our annual order of mulch.

Pre-emergence application will be applied in the Fall.

The communication between Ernie and Brightview has been excellent, things are progressing smoothly.

 

Questions and Answers:

There is runoff from hole #6 onto the property owned by Banks. Can this be rectified?

Ernie and Daniel will check it out after the meeting.

There is a broken rake on hole #8. The handle has separated from the rake. There is a rake in need of repair on hole #7

Daniel is picking up new rakes today.

Bill said he was putting together an email regarding people driving too close to the greens, up the throat of the hole and too close on tee boxes. Will he be sending that out soon?

This will be addressed by Ernie.

Can we put a rope in front of the throats to the greens to prevent people from driving their carts up to the green.

Ernie will paint white lines which will indicate carts may not go beyond that point. Carts should be no closer than 30’ to the green. Carts may not drive between bunkers and the green.

Can we place the handicap markers around the green so people with handicap flags know where to go?

Yes. Ernie and Daniel will decide placement of the handicap markers.

 

The next meeting will be on 10/27/23 at 7:30AM

Respectfully submitted by Raylene McSally

 

 

 

7/31/23

 

Attendees: Ernie Cruz, Don Oldakowski, John Armstrong and Raylene McSally

Jerry Blauvelt was unable to attend

 

 

Fairways, Greens and Tee boxes:

On 7/25 weed control was applied to fairways, rough and tees. The rigger (white trucks) was used to spray the greens. Brightview is both stunting the weeds (spraying) and feeding the Bermuda grass underneath.

The middle of September will be the last application of pre-emergence in order to prepare for the over seeding in November. As the seasons change the type of weeds also changes. Spraying will be applied to the foliage which absorbs the killer, however anything not germinated will not be killed in this process.

On 8/8/23 pre-emergence will be applied. The course will close at 2PM. Round star will be applied to tee boxes, fairways and greens so the course needs to be closed. It only goes out about 18’ into the rough.

On 8/14/23 the back nine and putting green will be closed and on 8/15 the front nine and range will be closed for deep tine Aerification of the fairways. If we run into a problem we may need to add another day.

The tee boxes received Aerification twice, they do not need deep tine Aerification but they will be top dressed with sand.

Verti cutting will begin. Verti cutting pulls up the thatch beneath the grass. It will then be top dressed with sand.

The course will be beat up with deep tine cutting so we need to give it a good opportunity to revive.

Ernie asked Brightview to get the cost of a pallet of tiff eagle Bermuda grass. This will allow us to replace the patches marked on #7. Our greens are currently tiff dwarf. Bermuda grass has been improved over the years, patching with tiff eagle will improve the damaged areas on #7. Brightview has been working diligently to improve #13, it’s looking a lot better. They hope to do the same with #7.

The finer the cut of grass the more susceptible the grass is to damage.

The rough is cut once a week.

The greens are cut daily. During the summer months with diminished play Ernie may eliminate cutting the greens on Saturday. He is reviewing this possibility.

 

Brightview

The mechanic Brightview hired didn’t work out. They have just hired a replacement mechanic with over 30 yrs experience as mechanic. A golf course mechanic needs to know about sharpening and grinding blades as well as maintenance of the machinery.

 

Irrigation

The irrigation motor needs to be replaced at a cost of $8,000. The normal life span of a motor is approximately 6-10 years. This motor has been in use since 2015. The new motor will be installed Wednesday 8/3/23.

Budget

Ernie creates a budget of what he will need for the coming year. When unexpected expenses arise, such as the motor listed above, this comes out of his operating budget causing him to shift expenses to keep his budget balanced. He will have to shift expenses to fund the purchase of the sod for the greens.

 

Miscellaneous

We had a day when the water and ice coolers were not distributed on the course. This has been addressed and should not happen again.

 

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Questions and Answers:

There is inconsistent grass cutting of the rough. Players finding themselves in the rough are sometime playing out of grass that is quite deep in spots. Ernie has addressed this issue with Brightview, we should see improvement.

During their quarterly meeting Ernie and Kent drive down the fairways. The fairways are also inconsistently mowed. The issue with cutting in the fairways is due to the mower blades needing to be adjusted for height and sharpness. We are still missing some of the proper equipment for the job to be done correctly. The tow behind unit for the rough is not here yet, using smaller units to cut the rough takes longer and is not as good a job as using the larger tow behind unit. All the rough should be cut once a week. Since this meeting they have received some equipment but the large unit is on back order.

Ernie pointed out there are lots of weeds on green #10, out newest green. Although Brightview inherited this issue they need to address it and get it corrected.

Ernie drives around to view the scope of service being done according to the contract. He takes pictures of the property which he sends to the superintendent in an email addressing the issues. He gives them 10 days to begin to fix it. If it is not fixed Ernie will elevate it to the superintendent’s boss. If still not fixed it continues to get elevated until it reaches our attorney. We have not had to elevate anything to date. Brightview has been responsive when issues are pointed out.

 

There is grass growing in bunkers, it was observed in #1 & #3. There may be others.

Ernie will address this with Brightview.

 

It was mentioned there is a broken sprinkler on #18 tee box. Ernie has check out the sprinkler and it is operating as it should.

 

There is a general lack of respect for the course. People are driving too close to the green, driving between bunkers and the green, driving up the throat and driving through wet areas. What can we do? Can we institute any kind of penalty?

Fellow players should remind people to be respectful. If it continues any player witnessing infractions should call the pro-shop as it is happening and advise Ernie who will come out and speak to the offender. See something, say something!

 

Ernie will post what is happening with the course on the bulletin board. Things like weed spraying, verti cutting, Aerification etc will be posted. It should be noted that it may be necessary to adjust the schedule for weather or any problem that may crop up.

 

On #8 there are holes as you come off the green just before the stairs. Can this be fixed before someone falls and get hurt? Ernie rectified 7/28/23.

 

Sometimes the tee box markers are not replaced after mowing.

If they are just mowing the markers should be immediately replaced. If they will be top dressing the tee boxes the markers will remain off to the side until the top dressing is done. They will move the markers, cut the tee box, wait for the box to dry out and heat up from the sun before applying top dressing. The markers will remain off to the side until the top dressing is applied.

 

There has been heavy treatment for fire ants. They appear to be under control

 

Some cart paths still need crushed gravel applied, this should be addressed soon.

 

The bushes on #8 have been trimmed back.

 

 

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GHIN

Last month we discussed GHIN not having handicap rating for men from the green markers on outside courses. Ernie talked to them and they will not be able to show a handicap rating from tee markers traditionally used for ladies in the system for the men. They will also not be able to show a handicap for ladies from markers traditionally used for men. If you need a handicap from these tee markers it can be obtained from Golf Genius. Putting your score in from those markers can be done manually.

 

Respectfully submitted by Raylene McSally

 

6/30/23

Attendees: Ernie Cruz, Don Oldakowski, John Armstrong, Gerry Blauvelt, Raylene McSally

Daniel from Brightview was unable to attend today.

 

Greens:

The weeds are being attached which is both good and not so good. The Bermuda grass flourishing means the weeds are also growing. An application is being done every 7-10 days to treat the weeds. Some weed patches are so large there isn’t any Bermuda grass underneath or it is not healthy enough to grow quickly. A liquid to make the Bermuda grass grow is being applied but feeding the Bermuda grass also feeds the weeds.

Pre-emergence will be done in September or October. Some will be done now but the majority will be done in the fall.

A fungicide is also being applied. We’re applying more water than normal and with the deluge of rain we’ve been having we get fungus. Hopefully applying it early enough will prevent the fungus from getting so big the fungicide can’t get underneath the fungus to destroy it.

Please remind players to stay away from the collar of the greens, no one should be that close to the greens. Please use good judgment when getting close to the greens for those who absolutely need to get close to the green.

There are times when we need to let the grass grow longer. When this happens it must be cut in increments to avoid damage.

Greens are being rolled but not necessarily every week. It will be done in increments to avoid heavy compacting. The rolling is to smooth out the greens.

 

Aerification

The next Aerification in August will be done with the deep tines.

The final Aerification will be done in August. Fairways, greens and tee boxes will all be done.

A rolling Aerification machine was brought in to do some of the hard compacted soil now.

 

Sprinkler System

Sprinkler heads are being replaced. The wet areas around damaged sprinkler heads are being handled.

Wet areas are being handled, ie #3, heads are being replaced. Spending limits and district policies come into play. Driving carts over wet areas causes ruts and breaks heads. It may also break the swing joints directly under the head. Please remind players to be sure to stay away from wet areas to minimize damage to the sprinkler system as well as the course. Please also remind players to stay away from the sprinkler heads along the collar of the green. No one should be that close to the green with a cart.

 

Tee Markers

Men who play from the green tees are now upset because the green tee markers have been moved back with the addition of red tee markers. It really doesn’t matter where the tee markers are placed, it matters who you are playing against.

 

Leagues

Leagues should get together and discuss what the goals of the group are.

Does your league want to make up their own rules for the league or abide by USGA rules?

Ernie suggested a blind ballot the member can take home to fill out and drop it off in the box for tallying. Letting them take the ballot home to complete may eliminate peer pressure to vote in a certain manner.

 

Equipment

We have all the equipment as listed in the contract. It is not necessarily the equipment that will be dedicated to our course, some equipment is on order and will be swapped for the temporary equipment on site.

We finally have the equipment to start cutting the rough. Please have patience with the maintenance company. They are new to our course and they have new equipment. It takes time to learn the lay of the course and how to operate the new equipment efficiently and safely. We have steep banks around the course requiring expertise in operating the new equipment.

Since we had an abundance of rain the course is being managed in the fastest way possible. This means the flatter areas will be cut first leaving the more difficult areas for later.

 

Rakes

We have about 40 new rakes. Remind players not to drive over the rakes. If you see a rake that needs replacing please let a Barefoot Bay staff member know. Please do not advise a Brightview employee of the need for a new rake.

 

Bunkers

We have two truckloads of sand in the bins. With all the rain it has not been possible to spread the sand in the bunkers. The bunkers currently have a lot of sand but it has settled in the bottom of the bunkers. The sand needs to be distributed around the bunkers before new sand is added. The equipment is entering and exiting the bunkers in new patterns. Entry and exit is no longer from the same place every time. Entering and exiting at the same point allowed the sand from the bunker to be dragged onto the fairway and caused damage to the entry/exit point. Brightview is using a sand pro machine has a plow in front and rakes in the back. The machine is used in the flatter sections of the bunker with the edges being hand raked to minimize damage to the edges.

What should we do with the rakes? Should they be in the bunker, just outside the edge or should the head be left in the bunker with a bit of the handle sticking up for ease of picking it up? The league Presidents should send out a survey through golf genius and poll their members. Ernie will take pictures of 3 bunkers with the rakes in different positions. He will make up a ballot with the pictures so we can send them out in the survey.

 

Trees:

Brightview is not responsible to trim anything above 12’. Barefoot Bay doesn’t do any trimming. Any dead leaves or palm fronds are left to fall off on their own.

 

Brightview

Brightview has hired a full time mechanic, Nick, who is now on site. He is dedicated to Barefoot Bay. He takes care of the maintenance of the equipment and well as some maintenance on the course. He seems to be doing good job so far.

There is no requirement of how many employees are dedicated to our course. There is coverage on the weekend but it is a skeleton crew. They cut early and they are gone by 9:30AM, they cut both Saturday and Sunday.

We don’t have much play on Saturday so Ernie would like to see the course get a rest from cutting on Saturday.

 

Meeting

There will be a meeting after Brightview has been on site for 3 months. Toward the end of July, Kent and Ernie will meet with the superintendants boos to see how things are going. Any questions or concerns can be given to Ernie for him to discuss at the meeting. Kent will drop out after the first few meetings.

 

Routine

Ernie drives around the course to see that Brightview is handling maintenance in accordance with the contract. Ernie takes pictures but doesn’t necessarily do anything with them until he feels there is an issue. He then sends Brightview an email and the pictures if warranted and gives them a number of days to respond. If he doesn’t receive a response he then sends it to Kent who will address it and forward to the lawyers if necessary.

Quarterly Ernie will advise what he feels is going well and what needs improvement.

The playability of the course is important to Ernie, he periodically checks to see that the course is playing as it should.

 

Summer Special

There will be a summer eat and play all day special for $32. It will include green fees, cart and lunch. This special is not for members.

 

Budget

Ernie is allotted a modest budget to run the course during the year. Equipment or supplies beyond this budget must be approved by Kent. Any large expenditure will go before the Board for approval.

 

Reminders

Remind players to repair divots, rake traps and stay off the collar of the greens. Please do not drive golf carts up the throat of the greens, stay at least 10’ away from the green and throat.

Please do not drive over sprinkler heads with the area is wet and stay out of wet areas.

 

Miscellaneous

There is now a cooler behind the counter in the pro-shop to sell drinks.

 

Fire Ants

There is a noticeable decrease in the amount of fire ants since the treatment. If you notice a mound please let the starter know. The starters have a small amount of treatment they can apply as needed.

 

Questions:

1 Who is responsible for cart path maintenance?

Some of the cart paths need some work. #9 has a large drop off where the cart path ends, can we get some gravel to smooth it out?

Response: Ernie had some crushed stone/concrete delivered to fill in where needed.

 

2 The bushes on #8 at the cart path are loaded with bees, can we get them trimmed before someone gets stung?

Yes, Brightview has been ordered to trim the bushes back.

 

3 Tournament schedules are made up for a year in advance, can we have a copy posted so everyone knows what they are and when they’re scheduled to happen? Notification a couple of weeks in advance is not good enough, people plan events a month or more in advance.

Yes, there is a copy in the pro-shop, stop by and pick one up.

 

4 GHIN from tee boxes.

GHIN does not show the green tee boxes for men at other courses. They only show the Blue and White tee markers so the men who play from the green tee markers cannot look up a handicap from the green markers. The ladies cannot get a handicap from the Blue tee makers.

The score can be entered using the slope and rating for the course but a handicap cannot be obtained.

Ernie will check with GHIN.

 

We will move our meeting on the last Friday of the month at 7:30AM.

Our next meeting will be held on July 28th.

 

Respectfully submitted by Raylene McSally

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5/26/23
Attendees
Barefoot Bay:  Ernie Cruz, John Armstrong, Don Oldakowski, Raylene McSally.  Jerri Blauvelt was unable to attend.
Brightview:  Andrew Ninnemann, Todd Six, Wade Foster, Daniel Perkins.

The official start date for Brightview was 4/17/23.  They are progressing but do not currently have all the necessary equipment.  More equipment is being brought in each week.  Improving the course is a process, it will take time.  The current plan is 12 – 18 months.  Improvement has already begun.

Greens
Wade advised the greens are starting to pop.  A full course ratification and top dressing was completed.  They will be keeping a thin layer of sand (top dressing) on the greens for awhile.  This will keep the greens firm and help prevent algae and helps control weeds. The greens are old and in need of replacement.  They will do their best to keep them in the best shape possible.  We have a layer of hard pan between 4-6 inches under the greens which has formed over time .Our normal aeration tines only go 4” therefore we need this machine which has 6” tines to penetrate it and loosen it up. Fertilizer was applied on Wednesday 5/24/23 as well as an insecticide and nematode treatment.  We have had a significant amount of nematodes for years; nematodes damage the roots which causes damage to the greens.  They are now using a fungicide which has been proven effective for nematodes.
There is a plan in effect for the greens for the next year.
The cut lines delineating the green from the first cut has been confusing.  They are in the process of remedying this situation.  

John asked if the course is in better or worse shape than they thought.  The course is in worse shape but the recovery process has been better than anticipated.  The healthier they can make the turf will allow the turf to control the weeds on its own.

Spraying
Spraying for weeds was done in the fairways, tees and two passes of rough beyond the fairway. Eventually spraying will stretch out into more rough. A sidewinder will come in to cut the rough, it’s also good around the banks. Pre-emergence has been put down to keep new weeds from growing and to control existing weeds.  

Bulletin Board
We have a bulletin board that will contain the maintenance calendar so everyone knows what is actually happening per month.  Some adjustments may need to be made to accommodate weather.  The plan is not set in stone, some adjustments may need to be made.

Irrigation
Our irrigation system is antiquated.  There is currently some puddling around some of the sprinkler heads.  Brightview is working on the system, a list of replacement heads and parts is being compiled, we will purchase what is needed in bulk to keep costs down.
The pump house foundation has been fixed.  

Grants
Barefoot Bay is seeking grants to totally replace #13 and #7 Greens.  These two greens are a priority.  Ernie asked Todd to identify an alternate plan for the other greens.  We may need to remove the top 4” of soil on the other greens.  This was last done in 2012.  The only green we currently have that meets USGA specs is #10.

Bunkers
The bunkers are now being edges with new sand pro equipment.  The sides are being hand raked so the edges are not damaged.  They are working on getting the sprinkler head out of the bunker on #17.  Wade is our bunker expert.  
Raylene advised the condition of the rakes is poor.  There are rakes where the heads just spin and are missing teeth.  The handles are flaking paint.  They are in the process of assessing the condition of the rakes.  If a member finds a rake with a problem please report it to a member of the Pro-Shop staff, not Brightview.

Hazards
The red lines around the hazards are pretty much non-existent, players don’t know where to measure from.  Ernie advised they don’t line the hazards in the summer months.  The cost relative to the number of players is prohibitive.  In the event there isn’t a line to measure from the hazard itself is where to begin measuring.  

Ants
Treatment is being applied to address the ant problem. 

Carts
Carts cause wear and tear on the course.  People are driving too close to the greens.  Carts have been driven over sprinkler heads and through standing water causing damage and ruts.  If it becomes necessary handicap signs will be placed at appropriate distances from the greens.  
Brightview will rope off areas where we need to stay away from.

Notification
The various leagues have been keeping their members informed as to the progress of Brightview.  There are players who are not members of any of the Barefoot Bay leagues, it is necessary to inform these players also.  Ernie can reach out to the player base via Golf Genius.  

Brightview does not have 100% of their equipment here so notification will not go out until all the equipment is here and plans can be made. 

 

 

Kickoff meeting

May

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Met with Ernie and two ladies from the women’s golf group.

 3 pm Monday the 15th the course will be closed. They are bringing in a commercial truck to spray the entire course to kill the weed grass. Shortly thereafter they will apply fertilizer. The course is going to appear as if they killed it so hang in there gang. Greens have been heavily sanded because they combined the plugs with the sand so to have better mix of sand and organic matter. They discovered the greens are infected with nimeneodes. #13 green subsoil is heavily compacted and this will be the first to be redone but we will need to raise funds. The greens have not been rolled we do not have a roller but I believe it’s because they have been varying their mowing patterns so it appears so. Not done in the past.

Labor they are working on developing a team. Have brought in a new person to be a greenskeeper to work under Wade the Super. Wade is working with Todd Six Daniel Perkins and their agronomists on the recovery part of the operation. Outside team so to speak. We are behind on equipment but Ernie has addressed that with a email to all the people in charge. They assured us it should be coming next week (maybe two good size list) I believe we are moving in the right direction it will be a slow process. But have Patience next time we meet with Wade and the new guy.

Don O

Remember I’m no damn secretary 👩‍💼

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Please feel free to call (772) 663-0631, email ecruz@bbrd.org, or come by and see me if you have any

questions.

Ernie J. Cruz, PGA

Golf Operations Manager