Winter? Where?

The calendar says winter, but if you look outside in many parts of Colorado it's not! In my 25 years of living in the Vail Valley, this is the driest winter yet. As of January 15th the SWE (Snow Water Equivalent) is at 47% of normal for Vail Mountain. Many golf courses in Colorado, especially the front range and western slope continue to winter water to prevent desiccation. Although there is a lot of winter left, it's certainly starting to sound the alarms concerning water availability and drought for this summer.

Most recent SWE graph.

Walking Eagle Ranch Golf Club on January 15th, it didn't seem like winter.

This is what I usually see on Eagle Ranch GC this time of year.
The groomer hasn't left the shop this season!

Haven't even dusted off the Nordic skate ski's this season. Normally I have
about 30 days of skating in at this time.

2017 Year in Review - Tips and Tricks Video

This Tips and Tricks video I produced for TurfNet.com with Joel Kachmarek, superintendent of Tacoma Country and Golf Club received the most views for the year. Fabulous idea by Joel showing the use of a ski rack to help transport hoses on the golf course quickly and efficiently. View HERE 

So you think its been Raining??

This is some of the most interesting data I have seen recently concerning rainfall in Colorado this summer. Everyone seems to think its been raining everyday, when in fact that's not the case throughout the entire state. Take a look at those red numbers, pretty amazing! Eagle to Steamboat is just slightly over 1/3 of the summer average, where the southeastern portion of the state is well above average. This just goes to show how localized the weather patterns can be in Colorado. Hopefully, some of those red and yellow areas can catch up over the next couple months.

Great Visit to Dalton Ranch Golf Club

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit Dalton Ranch Golf Club in Durango, Colorado. Brett Shaffer, golf course superintendent, gave me a wonderful tour of the facility and we discussed some of the local agronomic issues along the way. At the time of my visit, the Durango area had been suffering from an extensive period of drought and high temperatures. Water management in this region is always at the top of the minds of all local superintendents. Even with difficult environmental conditions, I found Dalton Ranch to be in excellent condition.

Brett Shaffer, Golf Course Superintendent at Dalton Ranch GC with their new clubhouse in the background.

The Animas River runs through portions of the course and is the lifeblood for water in this area of Colorado.

Dalton Ranch was designed by Ken Dye and opened in 1993.

When this famous tree died at Dalton, it was turned into Mountain Lion art.

Snowpack.....You Just Never Know?

The latest snow-water equivalency graphs show that you just never know in Colorado. Vail Mountain SWE is down to just 15% of normal, while just on the other side of the hill, Copper Mountain is sitting at 116% of normal. This is vey unusual considering the proximity of these two areas. Hopefully the recent snowfall will help everyone add to these figures, before more runoff resumes.

WinField "Lunch and Learn" Salt Lake City, Utah

What a great time in Salt Lake City, Utah this week. I was there participating in the Winfield "Lunch and Learn" educational series as a presenter. What a fabulous group we had. Thanks to all the superintendents from Utah, Idaho, and Nevada that were in attendance. Also, a big thanks for the interaction during my presentation, that always makes a presentation extremely enjoyable. Special thanks to Roman Grigg and Rob Garcia from Winfield for the great hospitality. Can't wait to be back!

Salt Lake City, Utah was a great place for the first stop on the Winfield Tour Bus.

My Presentation was filled with, "Quick Hitters", sharing my 40+ of experiences!

Dr. Thom Nikolai, Michigan State University, lead the day off in his usual style.

Yours truly, thanking the folks from Winfield for their support of Chris Tritabaugh, his team, and the volunteers during the Ryder Cup!

Rob Garcia of WinField gave a great talk about adjuvants.

Salt Lake City, Utah.....an airport with a view.

Colorado Snowpack....

Presently the State of Colorado is relishing in some tremendous snowpack. This is nothing but great news from an environmental standpoint. Water for the western US is based largely on snowpack, so this could be the year that we finally replenish all those reservoirs. It's still early to celebrate, but you can't help but feel a little giddy about the map below...