Wildlife sightings this fall

Some of the wildlife sightings this past week have been our River Otter, Deer, Coyote, Hawk, Heron, Egret, Duck and even a Mountain Lion. One sighting I have not witnessed in the past week are the 50-60 Turkey that have been roaming the course early in the morning. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!




















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Location:Brae Ct,Folsom,United States

Pond maintenance is a never-ending battle and more often than not, it’s a losing battle.  Naturally, ponds want to "grow up" to be meadows.  Left on their own, they will continue to become grassland and wildflowers and then eventually woody plants and forest, a process that would take hundreds of years.

Our ponds are man-made.  Each one has a specific purpose either to the golf course or to the Empire Ranch housing community surrounding the course.  Ponds, on holes 3, 9 and 16 were constructed to be both water hazards and design elements of the golf hole. Other ponds, such as those on holes 6, 13, 14 and 18 were constructed for flood control from the surrounding neighborhoods and to function as a bio-filter for water exiting the golf course.  These "filter" ponds have seasonal flow and fluctuate in depth throughout the year.

 During rain events, urban runoff has been directed from the surrounding hills, streets and rooftops into our ponds. Water is "slowed" in these collection ponds and gradually released from the property to local surface waters.

One of Empire Ranch's most challenging water-bodies was the pond on number 18.  Specifically, seasonal water flow was stagnating because of the abundant "cattails."  In early January and February we had a chance to clear much of the cattail from the collection pond by manually removing them. We used a shrub/clump grubber (see picture below) wrapped around the cattail clump and then attached by chain to the backhoe.  The backhoe pulled the clump to the ponds edge and then it was picked up and placed into a Toro Workman by the backhoe. Each clump weighed 500-700 lbs.  As you can see in the before and after photos the pond has improved water quality and made number 18 a more attractive finishing hole.

Over time, the pond on 18 will increasingly grow more cattails because of an endless supply of seed coming from upstream. Our maintenance team however, now has a successful plan in place for maintaining our most challenging body of water.

Before

After

After  (looking from 18 bridge)

Stump/Clump Grubber                         

What is a Stimpmeter?

The Stimpmeter made its official debut into golf in 1936, but began its official use by the USGA in 1978.  It has been an invaluable tool to superintendents, but what do golfers really know about the Stimpmeter?

History

It was designed by golfer Edward Stimpson, Sr. in 1935.^[1] The Massachusetts state amateur champion, Stimpson was a spectator at that year's U.S. Open at Oakmont. After watching a putt by a top professional (Gene Sarazen) roll off a green, Stimpson was convinced the greens were unreasonably fast, but wondered how he could prove it. He developed a device, now known as the Stimpmeter, which is an angled track that releases a ball at a known velocity so that the distance it rolls on a green's surface can be measured. Although the original device was made of wood, in 1976 it was redesigned from aluminum by Frank Thomas of the United States Golf Association(USGA). It was first used by the USGA during the 1976 U.S. Open at Atlanta and made available to golf course superintendents in 1978. The official USGA stimpmeter (painted green) is not sold to the public.^[1]

Description

The device is an extruded aluminum bar, 36 inches (91 cm) long and 1.75 inches (4.4 cm) wide, with a 145° V-shaped groove extending along its entire length, supporting the ball at two points, ¹⁄₂ in (1.3 cm) apart. It is tapered at one end by removing metal from its underside to reduce the bounce of the ball as it rolls onto the green. It has a notch at a right angle to the length of the bar 30 inches (76 cm) from the lower tapered end where the ball is placed. The notch may be a hole completely through the bar or just a depression in it. The ball is pulled out of the notch by gravity when the device is slowly raised to an angle of about 20°, rolling onto the green at a repeatable velocity of 6.00 ft/s (1.83 m/s).^[2] The distance travelled by the ball in feet is the 'speed' of the putting green. Six distances, three in each of two opposite directions, should be averaged on a flat section of the putting green. The three balls in each direction must be within 8 inches (20 cm) of each other for USGA validation of the test.^[3][4]

Sloped greens

One problem on modern greens is finding a near level surface as required in the USGA handbook. Many greens cannot be correctly measured as you cannot find an area where the measured distance or green speed in opposing directions is less than a foot, particularly when they are very fast requiring a very long level surface. A. Douglas Brede was able to devise a formula to solve that problem. His formula:

(where S↑ is speed up the slope and S↓ is speed down the slope) eliminates the effect of the slope and provides a true green speed even on severely sloped greens.^[5]

Recommendations

The USGA stimpmetered putting greens across the country to produce the following recommendations:^[1]

• Slow greens: 4.5 feet
• Medium greens: 6.5 feet
• Fast greens: 8.5 feet

For the U.S. Open, they recommend:^[1]

• Slow greens: 6.5 feet
• Medium greens: 8.5 feet
• Fast greens: 10.5 feet

The greens at Oakmont Country Club (where the device was conceived) are some of the fastest in the world, with readings of 13–15 feet.

References

1. ^ ^a b c d Frank Thomas (October, 2001). "Equipment Extra: Eddie Stimpson's slant on putting". Golf Digest.
2. ^ Brian W. Holmes, "Dialogue concerning the Stimpmeter", The Physics Teacher 24/7 (1986) 401–404.
3. ^ USGA Stimpmeter Instruction Booklet
4. ^ Stimpmeter — Measure putting green speed
5. ^ A. Douglas Brede, Measuring green speed on sloped putting greensPDF (675KB)
6. ^ "Oakmont: Rock & roll (& roll & roll & roll) nightmare". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 2007-06-10. Retrieved 2007-06-10.

External links

• How to build your own Stimpmeter
• The Stimpmeter by the Rambling Man (with a picture)
• Up with the Stimpmeter by Stanley J. ZontekPDF (566 KB)
• The Birth of the Stimpmeter
• The Stimpmeter – A management tool by Patrick M. O'BrienPDF (457 KB)
• Making a lasting impression: Stimpmeter's importance can't be overstated by David Shefter, USGA
• The Stimpmeter by Frank Thomas, USGA
• Stimpmeter instructions: Greens speed measurement toolPDF (185 KB)
• Green speed physics by Authur P. WeberPDF (901 KB)
• Utilizing the Stimpmeter for its intended use by Michael MorrisPDF (256 KB)
• Speed limits: Using the Stimpmeter to your advantage by Daniel BinnsPDF (476 KB)
• A Better Stimpmeter And Calculator

"Click" on the link below to watch the video Mythbusters-The Stimpmeter, What Do Golfers Know?.

http://www.gcsaa.tv/view.php?id=405

If you are interested in a "hands-on experience" with the Stimpmeter, please give me a call and we can set up a time to Stimp a few greens at ERGC.