An Update on Elliott

This week I wanted to share an update on Elliott.  He is back home from St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital after six weeks of proton beam radiation on the remaining tumor in his pituitary gland.  He is doing very, very well and is so glad to be home, going back to school and playing on the golf team.

Sue was with Elliott the first three weeks of treatment in Memphis then I went down for a week while Sue came back to refresh and teach her crazy little sixth graders.  Sue returned for the final two weeks and we all drove home after his final treatment on May 6th.  Here is a picture of my last night there with Elliott out for dinner before Sue flew back the next day.

Forever thankful for the incredible people and teams at St. Jude.  We'll have follow up visits at Helen Devos and St. Jude for life but we are so blessed with the support of amazing people all over this world!

 

Bunker Rakes at The Club

Here at Traverse City Country Club, we place our bunker rakes inside the bunker and away from any sloped edges of the bunker.  Keeping the rake off of the slope helps the chances of a ball getting hung up on the rake creating some rule issues for the player.  We rake them Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday in season and twice a week in May.

Please do your part raking your tracks smooth and placing the rake back inside the bunker.  

Thank you!

The Auction is Live!

Here is the link to the GCSAA Rounds for Research auction I was talking about in my last blog post.  The auction ends May 1 at 10:00 pm.  The categories are set up by State so it's an easy was to shop.

Thanks for taking a look!

Steve

https://www.biddingforgood.com/auction/item/browse.action?auctionId=341698828&categoryId=341963603

Club Members, 

If you are like me and love to travel this great country and play different golf courses then stay tuned to the Rounds 4 Research auction coming April 25-May 1, 2022.  

The money raised goes towards the GCSAA Foundation which is focused on turfgrass research and scholarships.  To date there are 928 different courses in the auction and it grows everyday.  Here is the link to stay tuned into. 

https://www.biddingforgood.com/auction/auctionhome.action?auctionId=341698828

Thank you for your interest and hope you end up winning one of the auctions which supports the GCSAA Foundation.

Steve Hammon

ROUNDS 4 RESEARCH

2022 auction coming April 25-May 1. Preview now. 

Welcome to Rounds 4 Research, an innovative program aimed at generating resources to fund research and help ensure golf’s future. The premise is simple: Golf facilities can support the effort by donating rounds of golf for two or four or “stay and play” packages and other items that are auctioned online.

Whether you are an organization looking to solicit rounds or a golfer looking for the opportunity to support research while enjoying the sport you love, Rounds 4 Research provides a way for all aspects of the game to come together to ensure its future.

Why R4R matters

Rounds 4 Research allows GCSAA chapters and turfgrass foundations to participate as fundraising partners with the vast majority of proceeds going back to those organizations. In this way, these organizations can direct the proceeds to specific projects that will have the most significant impact in their local areas.

The Rounds 4 Research program is addressing a critical shortage of funding for ongoing, university-based agronomic research, education, advocacy programs and course operations. You can help foster sustainability with a donation or by bidding on rounds during the online auction.

WHAT IS THE GCSAA FOUNDATION ?

The GCSAA Foundation is the philanthropic organization of GCSAA.

The GCSAA Foundation secures funding and support to strengthen advocacy, education and research that advances the work of golf course management professionals. Founded in 1955 as the GCSAA Scholarship & Research Fund for the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, the Foundation serves as the association’s philanthropic organization. The Foundation relies upon the support of many individuals and organizations to fund programs to advance its mission.

The results from these activities, conducted by GCSAA, are used to position golf courses as properly managed landscapes that contribute to the greater good of their communities. Supporters of the Foundation know that they are fostering programs and initiatives that will benefit the game, its environment and communities for years to come.

Grounds Facility - Shop Floor Upgrades

                 Our shop floor renovations 2000 and 2022. 

Here was our shop floor after the cement had been cleaned and acidified back in 2000.

We had a local contractor assist us with the first floor project.

                                                  

We wore golf shoes with real spikes so we could apply the grit material on the fresh epoxy.  

The new floor in 2000!

                                       

This was the floor last week and it held up pretty well over time.  The piece of wood is covering the floor drain as we sent the drain lid out to be powder coated.  

We removed everything from the shop except our two grinders and one work bench. 

Another view of the floor and this is the area I wanted to add an employee walkway.

Their first step was to remove the old gray painted surface with a diamond blade disc machine.  The suction system was amazing and their wasn't any dust in the air.

This section has the old paint removed and prepped for the walkway.

The floor sample in the middle with paint samples for our work benches to be painted.

The base layer for the walkway.

The walkway and the entire floor before the seal coating application coming up on day three.

Before the seal coating.

Still before the seal coating application.

Finished!

Finished and yellow safety paint around the hoist.

Finished!

A great investment and it looks like a new car show room.

The close up.

The powder coated drain.

The walkway and next up is move in day tomorrow, Friday March 25, 2022.

Office Addition

We started on a long time overdue project in our grounds maintenance facility last month.  It is a new office for our equipment technician Mitch Hunt.  In the past it was just a desk in the corner of our shop and it certainly didn't have a professional look or feel to it.  

We decided to make the office about six feet smaller than we originally planned so we could create a nice employee area outside the lunch room for coffee, tea and just another space for our staff to call home.  We are all brain storming the best ideas for this little space.  The right side of the outside wall will be a bench for our part bins and possibly an irrigation work bench.

 

Cross Country Trail Update 2/25

With 2-3 inches of fresh snow on the ground, we are going to groom the cross country trails tomorrow, Friday, February 25th.  With a high of 32 both days this weekend, it looks like a great time to get out on the golf course and ski!  Be sure to enjoy the fire and s'mores on Saturday at the halfway house.