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Brookhaven Golf Club

Course Conditions and Manager's Thoughts

5-4-08 The days are already buzzing by! It seems one melts into the next and the next. All the warm weather we were experiencing changed to wet and cold. It seems that I talk a lot about the weather here on this site. It's the weather that determines each days' itinerary. Sometimes my list has nothing in common at all with mother natures' intention for the day. We just change the plan accordingly. Most of our rebuilding of mowers and equipment is done, and none too soon, the mowing season has officially come. We are still expecting some Tee supplies, which should be in any day now. Things like a few trap rakes, club washers will all be out as soon as they come. Feeling pretty good about project day coming up, a good number of people have already signed up. If you would like to help with a little Spring clean up and just plain old fun, stop up this Saturday @ 8:00 a.m. with a rake or two, perhaps a paint brush, and please remember your gloves. We will get together at the clubhouse first to go over the different projects and then go from there. Don't forget, Brookhaven will provide a lunch for all who participate, should be a great time! If it's blisters your trying to avoid, then I would advise staying away from Edies' clean up crew! Bring your camera if you wish and perhaps we can get a few photos from the day up on the site. The redbud is blooming, the geese are back, fiddle head ferns are popping up everywhere, and Junior says it's safe to plant your peas, shouldn't be any more frost. And so it goes. That's it from Brookhavens' corner of the world. Good night!


4-24-08
Opening day has past at last. It's great to have people back on the course. Good to see all the familiar faces as well as the new ones. It is also good to see all the hard work pay off. Just a short entry to keep everybody up to date. It looks like our Spring project day will be on May 10th. Same thing as last year, bring rakes , paint brushes, pruners and whatever else you may think of. We will try to get a few select areas cleaned up, some painting over at the pump house and clubhouse, and maybe edge a sand trap or two. Look for a sign up sheet in the Pro Shop. It has been unbelievably dry and we have been using the irrigation all day, every day. It's quite satisfying watching the fairways turn so green in such a short time. Nothing like modern irrigation to brighten a greenkeepers day! We will be starting at 7:00 a.m. Saturday morning and for the rest of the summer till the frost comes around yet again next fall. It looks like some of the snow banks out back will last until May. I'll try and upload a photo of a sprinkler watering turf that was burning up right in front of a snow bank. Crazy stuff but fairly the norm for up here. Just remember folks when your driving your golf cart, if it looks soft and wet, it probably is! No sense in making ruts or getting stuck. They say we are expecting some rain, this will put everything into the grow mode for sure. I'm sure the peepers are looking forward to the rain, as am I. Hats off to the Brookhaven staff for their hard work in getting us going for the season. As always, thanks for checking in.


4-20-08 It just seems wherever you go winter is over with and summer is here. I know there are a few folks wondering why we aren't open yet. But we still have a few days to go before the greens and the course will be ready. For instance, # 10 fairway is still under water, 13 hill cart path still has enough snow on it that yesterday was the first time you could get by the snow and ice and reach the top of the hill. This is usual up here , but this year, the snow melt is a bit more persistent than the norm. By Wednesday we will have mowed the greens three times, which is usually adequate for alleviating the heel prints that are associated with soft spring greens. Heel prints are almost impossible to get out unless we top-dress with a ton of sand. I know other courses are open but these greens aren't quite there yet. We did experience a degree of snow mold this winter, but the greens, with a few warm Spring rains and the proper amount of fertilizer, should fill in quickly. I saw Junior out rototilling his garden so opening day must be close! Well, the food has been delivered, the beer is here, the Pro Shop is filled with merchandise, most of the preparation is done. We're just about as impatient as everybody else, but it won't be long. We bought a few geese deterrent decoys and for the most part they seem to be working, time will tell. I hope every one had a great winter, I just skied Gore Mountain the other day-probably my last for the year. Too bad we can't ski and golf at the same time. I might have to work on that! We'll see you on Wednesday! Thanks for checking in.


4-18-08 The sun has been hot and winter turned into Summer just like that. It looks like Wednesday April 23rd will be opening day @ 8 am.I wish it could be sooner, but our greens are still way to soft for any traffic what so ever. Lot's of Spring clean up and painting and last minute details. Everything seems to be a whirlwind but we are working hard here at Brookhaven to get things ready. I'll write more tommorrow, it's time for bed. We will see everybody soon!

4-13-08 Things are starting to progress nicely. The Sun has helped clear the course of it's winter blanket. A tremendous amount of snow has disappeared over just the past few days. Just a quick update on our early membership program. This was such a success that we were able to purchase a tractor and attachments for our maintenance needs. A picture should be in the photo portion of the website. This is a great example on how our membership helps meet one objective after another to help Brookhaven become the best it can be. Thanks to all who helped meet our goal this year! With about 80% of our greens uncovered, it seems that most of them came through fairly well. There are a couple that sustained some snow mold, but nothing we can't fix. This is one of Brookys' complexities. The same alpine environment that gives us us that character, also wrecks havoc each Spring with the extra two weeks winter seems to hang on. The new tractor I mentioned will be a great help in mowing our roughs and trim. Also part of this package, a stump grinder, and seed aerator for our tees. Stop by the shop for a look if you like, this is a special tractor. It's great to see the staff all working so hard to get ready for the new season. Please stop back in for an opening update. Spring has sprung and we will be playing golf before you know it! Stop up to the Pro Shop and check out Bens' preseason sale. Thanks for stopping by.



4-7-08 WOW! This snow just keeps hanging in there! I went into Saratoga today and was hard pressed to even find a snow bank. We have at least a foot of snow left and in some places, three. I was going to upload a few pics for everyone to see, but all there is, is snow! If I were to take a wild guess on opening, it would have to be the last week of this month. As they say, hard tellin' not knowin'. This is the first year ever that I've noticed the ponds have lost their ice before the ground has lost it's snow. But, it is all happening at once and suddenly everything has gotten real busy here at Brookhaven. These next few weeks will go by in a heartbeat and before you know it we will be watering ,mowing, raking, getting blisters and sunburn all in the same day. After a few treks around the course I've witnessed very few downed trees, and not much damage to the birches that usually get bent over once or twice each winter. I started working on the 17th tee area today. Rebuilding both the white and red tee is first on my project list this year. It's my hope this will improve this much deserving hole. The back nine should see some improvement as we have removed a significant amount of trees from both the tees and greens. I tried to be as judicious
with allowing as much light as I could, without disturbing the general ambiance of each golf hole. What a beautiful place to work. I'm not just saying this, I really mean it. Brookhaven is one of those really special places on this planet. People who have had that early morning round and seen nature wake up the course for the day, know what I am saying. I'm sure it has something to do with the Alpine environment, but it it's more than that. Come on up and see for your self. Better yet just close your eyes and listen. And so it goes.



4-3-08 Into April we go with still a ton of Snow! It is interesting when salesmen or even some of our golfers come up for a quick hello to see the look on their face when they see how much snow we still have. It seems to hang in there, that's for sure. Temps. should be in the 50's all week and that strong April sun should reveal how Old Man Winter treated our course this year. Thanks to all members who took advantage of the early payment incentive. We had such a great response, I was able to purchase a new tractor with some attachments. First a new mowing deck to help keep our rough under control. Also a stump grinder, and a new seeder/aerator that will help us keep up with our tees this summer. We had over 35,000 rounds here last year. In keeping up with the ever increasing amount of play this should help our tee conditions throughout the year. This is a perfect example of how much our membership makes a significant part of our success and improvement. We have been busy again this Spring in the clubhouse with improvements. I'm sure everyone will notice a difference right away. As the snow melts and bare patches of turf become available , the deer seem to congregate and feed on the first new sprigs that are emerging for the new season. They look to be quite hungry! It won't be long and we will have a new crop of fawns running and jumping all over trying out their new legs. I hope to get out onto the back nine today to take pictures of the tree work we have done so as to give everyone an idea what we have done this winter. I will be writing again soon to report on the condition of our greens as soon as they become visible. That's it from our corner of the world today. IT WON'T BE LONG FOLKS!


3-18-08

We have had a great response with members signing up early to take advantage of the 5% discount. This will extend to March 31st. This is a great way to save some extra cash and get Brookhaven off to a great start! A few folks have been asking if we will still be offering the Haven Pass, which consists of ten rounds of golf for 200.00 dollars. The answer is, of course! I apologize for not including this in our Spring letter, I must admit, my thoughts are still occupied with skiing and not so much on golf! That will change as they say in a New York minute. The great thing about the Haven Pass is that you can use this on the weekend also for a potential savings of fifty dollars! Nice! I purposefully didn't mention the Spring Membership meeting due to the amount of snow up here. It is almost impossible to get any amount of people into the clubhouse. We will schedule this in mid April, and info will be posted on this website when we have a better idea when we can get folks up here without everyone parking out in the road. If you are a member and you know of some one that is interested, please inform them about the 5% discount before March 31st. There isn't any better salesperson than members who already enjoy our course presently! Given the existing economy and price of goods and services, this will be a challenging year to be sure. With the help of our members spreading the word of how much they enjoy playing Brookhaven, hopefully we will meet our financial goals for 2008. In any event, spread the word folks! If you would like to pay your membership with a credit card, we will open the Pro Shop for the last week in March so that you can still take advantage of the early sign up discount. That would be starting on March 24th. And last but not least ,we will schedule a Project Day some time in late April or early May dependent on how soft the course is. This was a huge success last year and we were able to accomplish quite a bit. Just remember when your getting your swing back into shape, don't forget about those raking muscles too! Thanks for stopping in everyone. As soon as I can get out on the course we will be posting some new pictures on the website.


2-21/22-08
With at least a two foot cover of snow over the golf course, these past two days seemed to be the perfect opportunity to remove some of the large trees from around our back nine tees and greens. With the help of Walter Chandler and his experienced crew we were able to remove almost fifty trees. The entire left side of 14 Green was selectively pruned in order to allow much needed light for what has been a very shady green. The same was done on the right of the 15th green as well as the 15th, and 17th Tee areas. The shade from the hemlocks, spruce and white pine have hindered these areas from reaching their full potential for years. I must say this process would have taken my crew and I at least several years to accomplish. However, with the experience and the right equipment, and the right conditions , we hit this bulls-eye in dead center! The trees were removed to our brush piles back in the woods. There were quite a few logs left over that I'm sure will come handy for a couple of projects I have in mind. All in all, a win win situation. This whole process only took two days work! Good stuff to be sure! The membership letters should be reaching you soon and I am happy to say that other than our couples rate, all our prices will remain the same for the 2008 season. This in the context of our economy will be quite a undertaking to say the least. However, I am dedicated to keeping Brookhaven rates as conservative as I can, so that as many people can enjoy this wonderful golf course as possible. I run Brookhavens' operation with extreme conservatism, trying to put most of our hard earned capital back into the course rather than into a perfect clubhouse with a paved parking lot. These amenities will have their due also, but not until the course has reached it's full potential. Let's see, the bluebirds should be arriving in another two to three weeks, guess that means the season will be underway before we know it! Please stop up if you like, just to listen to the silence. Other than an occasional howl from a coyote, and a cry from the red tail hawk all you can hear is water gurgling its way through the valley. If you're a cross country skier, you might want to come up and check out our wonderfully groomed trails that wind throughout the course. A special thanks to our neighbor Steve Schriber for providing his dedicated grooming and care of the trails here at Brookhaven. Brookhaven truly is as beautiful in the winter as it is in the summer, come on up and see for yourself. As always, thanks for checking in.


2-20-08
It seems to me that this winter is just flying by! I hope all of you have had a good winters' rest and are ready to play some Golf!
As I sit to write this letter I am a bit worried that we have had as much rain this past month. Rain has a way of moving through the snow pack and accumilating on the green surface to create a thick ice pack. Though it is too early to tell, this is a situation that can make a greenkeeper very nervous. All will be revealed in another few weeks. We here at Brookhaven are anxious to get started, and should start making some progress as the snow melts. Untill then we will be busy in our maintenance shop working on equipment. As conditions permit we will be venturing out on the the course to take care of winters' fallen trees . We will also concentrate our effort up on the 15th and 17th tee area, and also the 14th and 15th greens to allow for more light and air to reach them. . Each year we plan our pace of improvement hopefully to make Brookhaven a more enjoyable playing experiance. I am excited more than ever about the 2008 golf season as we have both Ben Andrews and Carol Frasier coming back to serve your golfing and restraunt needs. We have many improvements on our list and hope to serve you the best that we are able. Not only just the best golf, but more importantly I think, is to have the best golfing experiance out there. In todays' busy life schedules and daily regieme, we hope to provide an atmosphere where you can enjoy great golf, great food, and of course great companionship. Thanks to all our members for a very successful 2007 season. We have come a long way in improving Brookhaven over the past years and promise to continue that effort. However, we couldn't do this without your help. Yes we probably have one of the most beautiful courses around, but the members effort and willingness to make our course a truly great place to be is what makes the differance. Thanks again for all of your support and we hope to see everyone soon.

Sincerely, Chris Baker







5-6-07
It was all we could do to get Brookhaven open by the 28th of April! Last year opening day was on the 14th. Course conditions were as wet as could be and still get the golfers out to play. We had a few mishaps with "wandering carts", but not too bad. The good news is that our Spring Clean Up Day was a huge success. We had a great turn out and folks came with rakes, tools and a lot of helping hands. We focused in on # 14 & # 15 for cutting lower branches and cleaning up all the debris left from the February ice storm. With the help of members chipping in, we acomplished more than I ever expected! A very, very special thanks to those who helped. We saw the fox and her baby kits out on thirteen tee the other day. Her babies look just like those crazy head covers people use for their clubs.! Don't anyone get any ideas~! Any way, we are busy trying to finish cleaning the remains of the winter storms, getting the new irrigation up and running, and just trying to keep up. This is the busiest time of the year! I hope to have the porta-johns out on the course this week, any sooner and the delivery truck would have left deep tire ruts. Thanks again for each and everyones help Saturday, it was great just to be a part of the process and watch everyone have a good time. Well, it's time for bed for this greenkeeper. Good night and I'll see you along the way.


4-21-07
After our 14 inch snowstorm I was just about giving up hope that we could even open up this year. This snowstorm hit us with vengence. Saratoga Springs ended up with just two inches and that was gone by the next day. It is amazing to run down to Saratoga and see green lawns and people walking in the park, and returning to Broohaven with snowbanks, icicles, and a cold north wind. But the snow is melting and we can see our greens again. They look great if I do say so myself. We are just finishing up our improvements to the Clubhouse and will be heading out onto the course to start our journey of maintenance for 2007. It is so wet we will have to be patient so as not to rut up all the soft areas. Just a short entry to keep all in touch, please stop up and take a look for yourself. With winter hanging in there longer than ever we sure do deserve these beautiful days!!! Look for an opening date by the middle of next week, by then I'll have a better idea of when we can open.


4-3-07
As I sit down at my computer to write tonight, it is with a great deal of gratitude . I have watched this course wake up from Winter over and over, and yet the process never ceases to amaze me. Nature, sometimes gentle, sometimes not so gently, wakes up each and every living thing to start another year. And with this, one by one are the golfers who come to visit and chat about how Old Man Winter treated Brooky this Winter. Each Spring all of a sudden you can hear the sounds and laughter over in the maintenance shop, preparing the mowers for the long season ahead. I am really in the best seat of the house, as I get to watch and be part of this process over and over , each and every year! We just had a great membership meeting last Saturday. The house was full with 63 very anxious golfers! It was great to see everyone. I hoped I was able to answer all of the questions everyone had, if not or perhaps there was something missed or overlooked, please call me at home or e-mail and I'll get back to you right away. I'm very pleased at how Ben Andrews was received by our membership. He is certainly a great asset to Brookhaven, and is willing to go to any length to meet your needs. I am looking forward with a great deal of enthusiasm , with my staffs' help, to make this the best year ever for Brookhavens' members and their guests! Thanks to all the members who took advantage of our early sign up discount. We have already purchased a brand new greensmower, and are looking into other equipment needs. This was made possible by your support. Good stuff to be sure! The bluebirds are back and the ice is almost gone from our ponds. Only a few greens have any snow left. I'm sure you can guess which ones they are. Frost is leaving the ground a little bit each day. It's amazing how these large rocks are pushed around in the soil by nothing more than just mere ice. We are busy with a lot of Spring clean up, thanks to the ice storm in February. Ben is hard at work finishing up the Pro Shop. If you haven't seen our improvements to the Pro Shop, please stop up. The guys have really been working hard and it's definitely shows. It looks to be about the middle of the month as far as opening the course. That can always change, as they say in a New York minute. I'll try to keep you informed of our opening date as soon as I determine when that will be. That's about it for our corner of the world tonight! Thanks for checking in.


P.S. These are my thoughts and ideas, usually written at the end of the day. Please excuse any typos, mispelled words, or grammatical errors. If I were to edit all my thoughts I would probably not be able to afford the time to keep in touch. My apologies to the public and especially to my ninth grade English teacher. Thanks, -- Chris

2-19-07 Have I got an announcement for you! Everyone knows how I am always boasting about how beautiful Brooky is. It seems that you now have a chance to see the Alpine Range for yourself this winter. You see, it turns out that, and I knew this for a long time, our neighbors are just as nice and wonderful as the scenery here at Brookhaven! Steve Schriber, our closest neighbor to the west has just finished grooming a network of Cross Country Skiing trails that meander throughout the entire Golf Course. If you think Brooky is beautiful in the summer, well you just have to see it this winter. Groomed with a special cross country skiing sled pulled by his snowmobile, these trails are nothing short of perfection. Off street parking, beautiful scenery, perfectly maintained trails, and possibly the chance to meet the all time great skiing champion himself out on the trail----Junior Towers. And oh, did I mention this is all free to our members and the public as well! Sounds as if this is the start of something that may continue for many years. Yep folks ,this is all good stuff!! Please stop up and take advantage of this opportunity to get some fresh air and experience Brookhaven this winter. The only thing we ask is that you please stay on the trails and please do not ski across the greens or tees. Don't forget your camera, and please spread the word! Thanks for checking in.


1-18-07 Winter finally came, but not just exactly how we wanted it! The big snow storm that was looming turned into a big ice storm that left most of Saratoga County without power for as much as three to four days. With the storm over and the sun out, I must say it's quite an impressive sight. Anywhere to a half to three quarter inch of ice clinging to just about everything. I can say that we didn't lose any significant trees, however, there are broken branches everywhere. Our wood chipper has been in the shop for an engine rebuild and is now ready to use, just in time. The temps have dropped dramatically, and the frost is hardened the ground enough to drive around the course without leaving ruts. Seems like a good time to get to work and try to clean up as much of this mess as I can. I'll see if I can get a few pictures for the site so all the snowbird golfers in Florida can see how much fun they're missing!
I can tell you it's nice to have an electrician on staff, especially when these type of things come up. Jim came down to the course and wired the clubhouse furnace up so that I could run it off of the generator. No frozen pipes makes me a happy guy! Thanks Jim! We went from basically the fifties to below zero in just a matter of four days. Over an inch and a half of rain left all sorts of puddles on the greens. Quite a potential problem if it froze in place. These low spots hold the water and then freeze which results in the ice damage you see in the Spring.I spent much of Monday with a squeegee pushing the water off and actually made good progress. Now if we can take care of the trees, we'll be in good shape. To give you an idea on how much ice there is, as of today, there isn't a birch on the course that isn't bent over all the way to the ground. Some of these will recover, and other will need to be removed. This is to bad as the birches tend to be a messy tree, but also give Brooky that Alpine character. We'll have to wait and see. Hope all is well with everyone, thanks for checking in.







1-12-07 It seems as if Winter may never come. Our Greens are just that; green! Usually covered with a foot or two of snow, you would never know that it's January. We have a number of male bluebirds flying about from one birdhouse to another. The deer are grazing on Kentucky bluegrass right in front of the clubhouse. They look up once in awhile with a puzzled look as if to say, where are all the golfers? I understand that all this might finally change with an upcoming storm at the end of this weekend. About time. You might wonder if this weather may have any significance on our greens and playing surfaces. The answer is not really. The greens are fine, still dormant, but healthy as can be for the middle of January. What they really need is a nice blanket of soft snow.

I am in the process of rethinking some of our membership rates. There are a number of different scenarios that I'm looking at to hopefully provide a plan for different people and when they have access to play and how to blend that in with our other programs. I may start with a weekday membership, and perhaps a weekend /holiday membership. There are other ideas I have including special cart packages for our members. I will be going over some of these ideas in the near future with Ben and Eddy. Please e-mail me with any suggestions and or ideas that you may have. My main objective is to make Brooky available for all to enjoy at a great price. I will keep everyone up to date with news as these things progress.
One unfortunate piece of news I have to report is that every Winter some idiot drives either a car , truck, and in this case a Jeep, out onto the course to spin around create damage. Two weekends ago someone drove out onto eleven, back onto the road ,then back out on number ten, over behind five green ,up onto six tee, and eventually up to six green, all the time spinning their tires to make a mess. I have never understood this mentality. I guess what really bothers me is it was obvious that this person knew the course. So it had to be either someone local or a golfer that has played Brooky before. The sheriff has been notified and I have the word out to the local forces. If anyone has any light they can shed on this I would definitely appreciate some help. Other than that, all else is good. And so it goes!



12-29-06 It being so close to the end of the year, it seems to be a good time to recap and review our 2006 golf season here at Brookhaven Golf Club. First and foremost, I would like to thank all our Members and Guests for choosing our course to play. Brookhaven is truly one of the most beautiful places I know! The first time you hit one of those great shots into a sunset or sunrise, you'll know you want to call this place home! A special thanks to all for the nice comments and show of appreciation. It was certainly a trying year to say the least. The 2006 golf season will go down as the wettest in history for sure. We were about 12 inches above normal, which made mowing the course, as they say, a real adventure! There were times when we could keep up and there were times that we couldn't. The positive aspect of this deluge of water is that we got a glimpse, if you will, of what Brooky would look like with wall to wall irrigation.
An early Spring rendered little, if any, ice damage for our greens. It was obvious that we were off to a good start. This was followed by meeting new members and familiar faces as one by one everyone came up to see how the Winter had treated Brooky. Lily and Darren Viejte became our new restauranteurs, and we're very glad they did! The food was incredible all year! They will be back next season with some new ideas and the same great food to be sure.
I think the Spring Project Day was a big hit. Everyone worked hard and a lot of work was accomplished in a short time. We will be putting a sign up sheet in the Pro Shop first thing this Spring. Thanks to all that helped, and if you couldn't make it, there's always next year! My expectations of finishing our new irrigation system by early summer was soon replaced by hope that I might be able to finish it at all. The enormity of the project really set in when the rain came and my crew and I had all we could do just to keep up with the mowing. I soon realized that our only hope was for a big push in the Fall when the mowing slowed down. I'd like to thank my crew for their hard work and dedication for this project. Their constant devotion to solve each and every problem as it arose and working in the rain showed me that these guys are Pros! Some of the tools and equipment that we used were built and or invented over in the maintenance shop! Well, the final figures are in. The last piece of pipe and irrigation head was installed on the #9 red tee on December 8th. This brought a total of six and a half miles of pipe, twenty six miles of communication and power wire (we touched every inch of it), over 88 fairway heads, 33 green heads, 28 valve boxes, 28 tee heads, over 150 isolation ball valves, over 7000 dollars of cast iron fittings, a lot of blood, sweat and yes, even some tears later ---- I can finally say WE'RE DONE!!! There are places that need final grading that I couldn't get to because of the frost, but this can be done in the Spring. The great thing about this project was the support we got from the Members. Many a day I would be working with my head stuck in a hole or yanking a rock out of the way and a person would say "You're getting there Chris". We know that this was a big inconvenience with wire and pipe sticking out of the ground everywhere, but not once did anyone ever complain throughout the year. We DID find a "few" golf balls in the trenches. The best thing about this is that the entire project is completely paid for. I know of a number of golf operations that finance these kind of projects in order to expedite them, only to get caught up in heavy interest rates later on. Assessing the membership for capital improvement is another method. I'm not a big fan of either of those. This project was funded by savings over the past six years and some of the logging we did on the south side of our property. It's ours and I'm proud of that. If we were to have subbed this labor for installation out, it would have been around 165,000 dollars easily. This combined with materials (about 90,000) adds up to about a quarter million dollars. Make no mistake about it, this is a state of the art system with a lot of built in features that should make it less costly and easier to maintain in the long run. But we're only half way there, so we will start to save and hope to do this again in a number of years. Over the years I have seen a number of variables and how they affect the overall budget. Usually it's the weather, or labor costs, cost of services, competition with other courses, and so on. This year I must admit, I witnessed a new one. FLIES! Around the middle of May, all of a sudden Alpine Meadows became inundated with large flies that were associated with the gypsy moth cycle. They were everywhere, and in less than a week, the golfers disappeared. This lasted about two and a half weeks and then they were gone as fast as they arrived. This nature phenomena came to us right in the middle of our prime income period. Crazy! The wet conditions also taxed our fungicide budget. I will say that in my thirty two years of maintenance I never witnessed a year such as this. The good news is that we survived it! Each year seems to bring something different and rest assured we will always do our very best to react and solve each situation. Well, October finished the year just as it had started. 19 out of 31 days with rain! It soon came time for the course to close and as the temperatures dropped and we did just that. One week later the golfing weather changed again and the temps were in the mid 40's to upper 50's. I know a lot of other courses reopened and resumed play. I chose not to do this only in that once the turf goes dormant I prefer to not allow traffic on the putting surfaces. This only creates damage that will be there in the Spring. The income that we would have received would not have been worth the damage we would have incurred. If these conditions present themselves again, meaning early winter late fall golfing conditions, I will try to provide temporary greens so that everyone may enjoy the course as long as feasible. We did deep tine aerate our back nine greens as soon as we closed, so the front nine would have been the only holes which could have been played. Too much traffic for too few greens. Hopefully the temporary greens for the late fall golf will be the best not only for the course but the golfers as well.

At this point in writing I would like to inform everyone that I had to make a difficult decision this Fall. I decided as Manager that it was in the best interest for Brookhaven to downsize my labor budget in order to make other things feasible. This Fall unfortunately I had to let our Pro, Jim Rossi, go. This is not a reflection on Jims' part at all, other than I just felt the position of Head Pro wasn't a vital part of Brookhavens' future. This may seem blunt, but we have a certain amount of income and it needs to be spent wisely. The argument could be made to raise fees and dues, however this is not an option that I care to entertain. My concept of Brookhaven, and golf course management in general, is that golfers should be able to enjoy a great golf course at a reasonable price. This is why I have kept the fees and dues as affordable as I possibly can. Knowing the maintenance end of the business as I do had enabled me to save enough money to afford a Pro. There are plenty enough ways to stretch the dollar, but you can only do it for so long. Not to invest in equipment or have a capital improvement plan in place is like shooting yourself in the foot. We do need to invest in our maintenance fleet to provide the best playing conditions possible. You are only as good as the equipment and tools you work with. The time to do this is now. This investment, coupled with our new irrigation system, would be a synergistic plan to bring the best playing conditions possible. I must say I was very happy the way Jim improved the Pro shop and his organization of tournaments and events. However you look at it, it wasn't an easy decision. I feel that Ben and Eddy can and will be able to meet all of your golfing needs. The only service, obviously, would be that lessons will no longer be available. Brookhaven has yet to develop a practice area, so I don't think being able to give lessons is vital to our success. Most of our equipment is past its' prime and is now costing more to maintain than they are worth. We spend a lot of money on equipment maintenance and that needs to be addressed. I wish Jim well in his future endeavors, and much appreciate his contributions over the past five years. . .
This letter is probably already too long, but there was quite alot of information I wanted to cover. Please feel free any time to e-mail me by using the contact us page, and I will get back to you as soon as I can. As always, thanks for stopping in, and Happy New Year!


12-19-06 Been so long since I've written an entry I almost forgot how. I apologize for my lack of writing however it has just been an incredibly busy and long Fall. I have a lot to talk about but at this time I just wanted to check in and wish everyone a Happy and safe Holiday Season! I'll stop back in soon to bring all up to date about our corner of the world here at Brookhaven.

8-20-06 Sunday How quickly things progress. The troubled greens responded well to the cooler nights and less humid conditions. They are not perfect by any means but they are much better than they were. The good news is that, although you might not be able to see it, the bent grass that was seeded is beginning to take hold. To get back to my point in my previous entry. For us to rid our greens of poa or annual bluegrass, as it is called, would be a large undertaking to say the least. With budgetary restrictions and all things considered, I think that at first our best bet is to let in some light to the putting surfaces of the shaded greens. Especially 13, 14, 15, 16 & 17. These greens lack not only sufficient light, but air movement as well. This is important as air flow will help keep disease pressure down. This removal of certain trees has to be done carefully and balanced so as to allow better growing conditions without losing the ambiance that Brooky is known for. This project will start this winter as this is the best time to remove trees without a great amount of damage to the course. I'm not going to turn into Paul Bunyon, however there are a certain amount of trees that that will have to go. I will keep you updated as time progresses.

I would like to thank everyone that participated in our Club Championship. We had a great turnout this year and there were some really exciting matches! Congratulations to all the division winners! I would like for a moment to explain the pin position on the final hole on Sunday. As far as setting up a course for competition, there are a myriad of things to consider. The 18th hole is usually used for a playoff, and should be set up as a more difficult hole. This is obviously done to determine the winner and should favor the person who is really playing their best game. I understand that front position is tough, but it wasn't set to make people frustrated, but to favor the golfer who understands the position and what it means. George Pulver, who built this course, taught countless lessons over the years. In his professional teachings he never stressed one swing over another, or putting or chipping, he stressed course management. It was extremely important with that pin position to stay under the hole, and to manage that hole accordingly one had to recognize this. This is why the pin was set there. On a course such as ours, course management can make all the difference between winning and losing, and that is what competition is all about.
I hope that everyone has had a chance to see our twin fawns; they are really tiny and cute as can be. Best place to see them is usually on the left of 11, or down in the flats of 12. Thanks for checking in, it's time for bed!


8-9-06 Wednesday It is not with great pleasure when I as a greenkeeper have to update this website with a report trying to explain the condition of our back nine greens here at Brookhaven. I normally look forward to writing and explaining things that might not be understood or even realized, however I thought I owe our members and the golfing public an explanation on the condition of our back nine putting surfaces. Three weeks ago there was a problem with getting water/irrigation to the back nine holes. This time period was only about three to four hours. In that small amount of time on one of the hottest days of the year we lost a significant amount of turf. Up to that point we were experiencing one of the best years ever at Brookhaven. With minimal winter kill this Spring and a diligent effort throughout the Spring and Summer we could possibly say the greens were the best ever! In one four hour period we lost everything we had been working on all year. The restoration process is as excruciatingly difficult as we are now working longer and harder than ever before only to maintain what is left. Seeding, hand watering, babysitting these playing surfaces almost night and day take the entire effort from our small crew only to fight this amazing heat and to come up with minimal results. Suffice it to say this is the wrong time to try and reseed our putting surfaces, but we can't afford not to! To give you an idea of the situation we are dealing with let's back up to the seventies when those back five greens were built, 12 thru 17. Greens need to have water to flow through them at a fast percolation rate in order to build a healthy root system. Heavy soil greens that are compacted don't produce a very healthy root system and therefore creates a weak plant that will wilt and die in extreme heat. That is why when you're playing golf at Brooky the water seams to be on all the time. These last greens that were built were made entirely out of topsoil. Had they been constructed with sand as the newer greens are, they would perc faster and produce a better putting surface. The fact that we have to water these greens in the extreme heat is not to get more water to the already soaked root system, but to reduce the surface temperature so that the plant will live to see another day. HOWEVER, while this watering helps the turf grass, it also disrupts the putting, concentration of golfers playing a hole wondering when in the heck is he going to turn off the water, and takes us away from all our other duties that need to be done each and every day. The problem lies in that being the wettest Spring and Summer in recorded history, plus our continual effort to cool them down during the afternoon, is that these greens are waterlogged. If we don't syringe they will burn up, if we do we are only making the problem worse by adding additional water to the soil profile. It would be like before you leave the house each day you put a gallon of water in a potted plant, by the end of the week the plant would be so soaked that it would wilt and start to die just because of the lack of oxygen in the soil. We can't stop watering to reduce the surface temps, but the constant attention has brought on the less than perfect putting conditions we are used to. (I'm using that term, less than perfect putting conditions, because after working myself and crew to the point of exhaustion, that is what our therapist told us was acceptable to say.) I know they are less than perfect and it hurts to have them in such good condition only to lose them in a New York moment. But it is what it is and we are seeding and fertilizing, and doing everything we possibly can to bring them back. Million dollar question: how long will it take? The good thing about the heat is that seed will germinate much faster, but it is harder to maintain the young seedlings in the mid to late day sun. Cool nights and mid seventy temps will help us the most. Mid nineties and hot humid nights will certainly spell doom for any chance of restoration. I hope to have things back to normal after our aerification process in late August. So how are other courses doing well when we are experiencing such trouble? One word--- Poa. Annual bluegrass loves the colder temps and will fill in empty spaces after any tragedy on any putting surface faster than bentgrass could ever possibly think of. Sounds great? It also won't tolerate heavy play (traffic), won't put up with heavy soil compaction, can't take the heat, and produces those wonderful seedheads mid May just when your greens are putting true. Well why not just convert to just bentgrass? It has a beautiful dark green color, putts truer and faster, tolerates heavy traffic, loves the heat, holds high shots better, and in some cases is cheaper to maintain. With greens that were built virtually out of topsoil instead of a particular sized sand, this conversion would take at least four to five years. Throw in a couple of hard winters, and it could even be more. Glens Falls Country Club, where my brother Tom worked for almost twelve years went through the bentgrass conversion program. It took them five years with a significant reduction of putting quality to accomplish their goal of bentgrass greens. I as a manager question the ability of public golfers to put up with or even accept this type of process. A great deal of our budget is from our public play, and I feel that this could be a very difficult time to not only afford this process but to even survive it. I haven't decided against it but am very leery about how we could afford it. OH OH, MY lovely wife just informed me that today is my day off and that I better get off this computer or else! I will update this article later as I feel it is one of my most important entries this season. Got to go!


7-15-06 Saturday This past week has been a bit frustrating for our maintenance staff. The walking mowers have been giving us a bit of trouble with the quality of cut. Machinery does break down from time to time, and that's what has been happening as of late. We are working to solve the problem and feel that we're almost back on track. Sometimes when you feel that your taking two steps back for every one you take forward, it just means you have to walk faster! We have a lot of time invested in the new mowers and I do feel they are the answer to our compacted greens.
Just a quick note on something that has come to my attention. There have been comments on a bit of inconsistency with the beer cart. I feel that compared to our last couple of years that we have improved a 100%. The cart is out every day and sometimes even in the pouring rain. The timing involved has to do with the fact the cart belongs to Brookhaven maintenance. It can be used for a beer cart after we're done using it for daily maintenance, especially when we need to send two or three out to water the course. These carts are expensive to say the least and we are working to get the Above Par Restaurant their own cart so that they can get to the course on their schedule and not ours. Thanks for understanding and for your continued support of the beverage cart. One last item, we have noticed lately that the golfers are placing their broken or used tees in a pile next to the tee markers. What are you thinking? This only creates a major time commitment for mowing tees as the operator has to clean up each individual pile in order to mow the tee. Please just throw them into the woods or the rough, as they will break down and decay in no time at all. I'm sure at a club that has 15 to 20 employees that they have people who can take care of this situation, however, we only have 5 and that does not leave us enough time to handle this task. Thanks in advance for your cooperation.
The course is as green as can be and the playing conditions are maybe the best ever. Please come on up to see for yourself how lucky we are to have such an enjoyable golf course! I would also like to thank my staff for putting out an outstanding effort to keep up with the mowing in all this rain. They have traded in all their sunglasses for goggles! Thanks for stopping in, and we'll see you on the course.

7-2-06 Sunday Well, well, well, almost two months without any entries. I wish I had more energy at the end of the day to write, but after a shower and a meal I'm off to bed! A lot has happened in the past two months and I'm not even going to try to bring everyone up to date, but I will try to give a better effort to stay on top of my entries. The amazing amount of rain has all area courses looking lush and beautiful, however none more so than Brookhaven. Most courses have complete irrigation systems and are usually lush and green. Brookhaven, or Brooky as we call her, usually starts to brown out here and there and take on what I like to call a "British Open" look! Having survived the wettest June ever on record we are greener than we could ever imagine. This is great because our golfers can get a preview, so to speak, of what this course could look like with our new irrigation system in full operation. The installation process is coming along at a slow pace. I underestimated the amount of time this would take given the maintenance required to present the course for play each day. Of course the rain has definitely affected our income, so hiring extra people to speed up the process is not a possibility. Keep in mind had we subcontracted this out, it would have been over 165,000.00 dollars on top of the 90,000.00 we invested in materials, to have it installed by someone else. It will take some time but we will prevail and get this system up and running. My deepest gratitude for everyone's patience regarding this matter and I promise you we are taking the time and effort to make sure this system will be the best it can be. That's it for now, I will try harder to keep everyone up to date. Until then, thanks for stopping in.

5-3-06 Wednesday The days seem to be flying by faster than the wind. Each day trying to react to the fury of variables Mother Nature gives. This past week was a blend of extreme temperature, dry winds, and some of the bluest skies I've ever seen. This tending of turf in April is tricky business. Between the extremely cold ground temps, and the hot afternoon sun, we have been keeping real busy just getting the water to the putting surfaces. If you have been up this past week, you might have noticed us watering the greens through-out the entire day. I know this disrupts the putting, however, this syringing is extremely important to keep the greens healthy. With the ground temps so low, the turfgrass plant cannot react fast enough for it to keep up with the hot sun and windy conditions. It will wilt and eventually die! Sound horrific, doesn't it? We have had to water the greens starting at eleven and repeat again and again right up to 5 o'clock or so. This syringing process is not as so much to give the plant water, as to cool it off. The color will come back; it sustains foot traffic better, and puts a whole lot better once they're cooled off. You can not obtain the same results by just watering heavy in the morning; the water has to be there as the surface temps get high. This entire process takes two men a considerable time. The point being it just seems a bit futile to work so hard with the old water system while the new pipe and existing construction is in plain view. The installation of the irrigation system will take some time, that is to be sure. We will be getting a pipe puller next week to start pulling the laterals out into the fairways and greens. I will try to keep everyone updated where we will be working so you may know what to expect when you get up to the course. Please try to understand that to maintain a golf course is a tremendous amount of work. Maintaining and installing irrigation at the same time will be a difficult challenge, so we just have to dip our heads and work it through. I try not to make time estimates, especially when you work with Mother Nature, but I expect to be fully operational at the end of this year with most of the system up and running by July. Let's see!
I would like to thank all our members, friends, and neighbors for contributing on Project Day! What an amazing effort put forth by some very caring (and fun) people! This day was just an amazing day shared with a bunch of great people. There were sand bunkers edged and filled with sand, the entire hill off of thirteen fairway/fourteen fairway was cleaned, raked, scoured for every leaf and pine needle in existence, and staining and painting, windows washed, and just a good time had by all! Darren & Lillie served up an exceptional Lunch that seemed more like Dinner! Afterwards Jim Rossi set up a scramble for everyone to play. Judging by the amount of enthusiasm and work accomplished feel this event is a keeper. We may even try this again in the fall, for those who couldn't attend this time. This much fun is hard to contain! In case you haven't seen the Pro Shop lately, you might want to stop in. Jim and his staff have done an outstanding job on arranging and stocking the Pro Shop. Come and visit with us while you sit on the new bench over by the shoe display. There's a lot of good stuff going on here at Brookhaven, a lot of people working hard and a lot of people having fun. It's a good life to be sure. Thanks for checking in.

4-28-06 Well it's early Friday morning before I go to work and I just had to share this with you. At 5:00 o'clock yesterday afternoon there were over 63 cars in the parking lot and it's not even May yet. Wow! We're receiving great comments on the course, what a difference a year can make. The only sad thing is I think skiing is all done, well almost. There's always Tuckerman's Ravine, it should open any day now. Keep in mind that on Saturday with the project day and all, we will not have time to mow the greens. Sorry, but we just don't have enough men to be in two places at once. Bring your big putter and have fun anyway! That's it for now!

4-25-06 Well it's official, our first project day will be Saturday April 29, starting at 7:00 A.M. to noon, Brookhaven will provide lunch, and then a nine hole scramble for those who participated. This is not just limited to members; this is open for our public golfers as well. As they say, many hands make light work. This is our first project day at Brookhaven and I just want people to enjoy themselves as they help us with our maintenance. It is a hell of a job and for a brief amount of time you'll be able to get a little insight on what we do every day of the year! Thanks for your input and help ahead of time. Still April, the wind blew hard today and even with breaks of sun it was still a cold day. The new greens mowers are working out well. We're still working out some blips in our new mowing system, but I think the results will speak for themselves. There is still a lot of grain and bumps in the greens but, they are starting to even out. After all it is still early and the poa annual bluegrass hasn't even begun to grow. The bentgrass variety is growing to beat the band, so that's why the greens at this point seem to be uneven. A few more warm rains and they will become as smooth as silk! I really believe this might be are best year ever as far as putting quality goes, let's keep our fingers crossed. 3-1/2 inches of rain this weekend, a total washout. The water rose so high, the 18th pond overflowed its banks and washed out into 18 fairway. This doesn't happen very often, that's a lot of water. Time to call it a night, they say there might be a frost tonight. And so it goes!

4-20-06 Think it's Thursday, not sure. The days are getting to be a blur! Well, today we dug up thirteen green to install some drainage textile. All went better than I could expect. Usually when installing drainage you're up to your knees in mud. Not today, blue skies and perfect conditions, it doesn't get any better. Today we installed subsurface drain to help alleviate some of the soaked/soggy conditions that tend to smother turf and only help algae grow. This drain looks like a sideways egg carton which creates a passage for excess water to drain out of the profile. Six guys in the sun for 8 hours, let's hope it works. It will. Spring is definitely spring'n, so you better get up here and take it all in. Sixty two cars in the parking lot at 4:30, just a year ago the wind was howling and opening day seemed like it would never come. I think we're in for a good one. See ya tomorrow.

4-18-06 What a day! Sunshine and blue skies! Just thought I'd mention that our project day will be scheduled for April 29th. The sign up sheet is in the Pro Shop. I think I saw some people already signed up. Thanks! The colors from the soft maples in the morning sunlight coming into blossom are incredible. Like something out of Adirondack Life magazine. Red hues light up the landscape everywhere you look. Just a note for this week, we will close the 13th green on Thursday April 20th to install a drain. There will be a temporary green available with the provisional two put rule. This green is shaped like many older greens, like a bowl. This shape tends to collect water with out run-off. This in turn makes for a soggy turfless green. We hope to have it up and running Friday. Check back and I'll let you know our progress. That's it for now!

4-14-06 It's hard to believe it has been two weeks since I've written anything. I apologize, but with the sun and fresh air all day, I'm usually in bed by eight! Getting old as they say. The course is open! I believe that the 14th is the earliest opening in Brookhaven's history. It was great to see the familiar faces out on the course today. The greens are still settling out from winters' frost heave. It will take a week or two before they start putting true, maybe a bit longer now that we're using the walking mowers instead of the heavy tri-plexes. One thing you may notice upon your return is that some of the greens have been "mowed out". Typically year after year the green edges tend to creep in and/or out due to mowing practices. We usually take advantage every Spring to try to get them back to their original layout because you can mow the surrounds shorter and not have to worry about sun scald. So, if some of the greens look bigger, they are. It may not be much but in many instances we can get another pin position or two. We're lucky to have such a great crew, both in the Pro shop and Maintenance. The amount of work that was done just in the last two weeks is incredible. It seems as if everyone has the right talent for the right job. Please be careful while driving the golf carts as the course is still extremely soft in areas. Basically, if it looks soft it probably is. No. 12 fairway is dry yet almost "spongy". Drainage work for this hole is on the project list, but not in the near future.
 

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