A STUBBORN MOSS accumulation on the north (left) side of the second green at Port Townsend Golf Club bugged head pro/general manager Gabriel Tonan for a long time.
So Tonan decided to do something about it and organized a work party earlier this month.
“We’ve been trying to kill it off and I was getting really tired of looking at it,” Tonan said.
“So we grabbed the sod cutter and cut out all the moss, reshaped the left side of the green, flattened out the area on top and created a small tier that slopes down the back-left. We took the Kubota [tractor] with a bucket on it and moved and reshaped it.”
The green also has been aerated, and the under renovation section has been top-dressed, seeded and covered with a black tarp to retain heat and promote grass growth.
“I went a little overkill with the seed,” Tonan said.
“I probably put enough [seed] for three greens and plugged it with plugs which already had viable growth on them.”
Tonan is excited about what the rejuvenation project can do for the par-3 second hole.
“We’ve never been able to have a pin over on that side,” Tonan said.
“Even when it was healthy you couldn’t put pin back there because of the side slope and how the ball would funnel a good shot off the green.”
If the grass takes root and grows over the winter and spring, Tonan envisions the full green reopening for play in mid-summer next year.
“It’s going to be a little more challenging,” Tonan said of a tee shot that already includes a forced carry over the golf course pond.
“There’s more of a false front to that section of the green. And with the tier up there, getting a shot to get up there and stay up there will be difficult.
“I think it will be a good tournament pin location.”
A crew comprised of Tonan, Mike Thomas, Ronnie Harrell, Chris Holloway and Scott Nelson completed the job over a course of three days.
“Thank you to my crew for all the hard work,” Tonan said.
“They really went above and beyond to get this done.”
Tonan also mentioned that his course survived the brutal late August windstorm with little ill effect.
“We didn’t lose any trees from the playing portion of the course,” Tonan said.
“There were just limbs all over the place.”
Two tall poplar trees that ring the cart part near the second hole did fall across F Street and onto power lines during the storm.
“One of the trees is one of the biggest poplars I’ve ever seen,” Tonan said.
“But they were really far away from the green and fell the right way.”
Hilltop Open on tap
I spoke with Tonan as he was heading to Tacoma for the annual PGA Pacific Northwest Section Merchandise Show in Tacoma.
“My mission is finding some news shoes and clothing for men and women to sell in our pro shop,” Tonan said.
He also mentioned Port Townsend Golf Club’s annual Hilltop Open scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 7.
Play will begin at 10 a.m. and cost for the event is $40 per player and includes KP’s, LP, prizes and Judy Lundgren’s “world-famous lasagna,” following play up at the Hilltop Tavern.
“It’s amazing how good it is,” Tonan said.
Phone the course at 360-385-4547 or stop by to get in the game.
Courses aerated
It’s that time of year, when courses get out the aeration equipment and punch holes in greens and tee boxes.
Aerification (also known as aeration) relieves soil compaction, provides a method to improve the soil mixture around the highest part of a green’s roots and it reduces or prevents the accumulation of dead and living shoots, stems, and roots that develop between the zone of green vegetation and the soil surface.
The process is vital in keeping golf courses looking as they should.
Both Port Townsend and Cedars at Dungeness have been aerated in recent weeks.
Expect the same at other North Olympic Peninsula courses, if they haven’t underwent the process already.
Peninsula ladies
Sandy Granger checked in to say the Peninsula Lady Golfers brought their 2015 season to a close recently with a nine-hole scramble and an awards luncheon.
The group also elected it 2016 slate of officers.
They are: Sue Barber, president; Sherry Henderson, vice president; Granger returning as secretary/treasurer and Dolly Burnett and Ruth Thomson as co-captains.
“A big thanks to the outgoing officers president Cindy Schlaffman, vice president Linda Bruch, and captain Denise Clarke.
The ladies continue to golf on Wednesday mornings at 9:30 a.m. Guests are welcome to attend.
Teel holes out
Howard Teel of Port Angeles recently carded his first career hole-in-one.
Teel aced the 99-yard par-3 fourth hole at the Cedars at Dungeness on Tuesday, Oct. 20.
He used a 7-wood on the shot, which was witnessed by Randy Blackburn-Lappin of Port Angeles.
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Golf columnist Michael Carman can be reached at 360-417-3525, ext. 5152, or pdngolf@gmail.com.
