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Golf Season is Nearly Here

As we recover from a late winter wind and snow event, it is hard to believe that this year is off to a tremendous start when you consider that last year brought with it some of the worst possible weather for Northwest golfers.

It is true, a misty, mid-40’s February day doesn’t spark the intensity to hit the links and fire up the old golf game.

But for those that do venture out of their heated abodes, open tee times and fantastic playing conditions await on both of our golf courses, just don’t wait too long.

We are only three and a half weeks away from our first major tournament of the season, Mountain Madness, the two-day, two-player, scramble and best ball Event scheduled for March 17 and 18.

If you are interested in participating, you can register online.

Gold Mountain’s yearly spring tournament is our unofficial start of our golf season.

It marks a time when our team members begin to welcome back our afternoon leagues, prepare for our annual Demo Day event, open up or facility to our local high schools as their seasons ramp up, and of course start our preparation for the 2018 Mountain West Conference Championship.

Gold Mountain has the honor of hosting this Division I college tournament April 19 through April 22, as the best players in the Mountain West test their skills for the top spot in their conference and attempt to qualify for the NCAA National Championship.

If you are interested in volunteering for this tournament, please contact the Golf Shop at 360.415.5432 for more details.

After every national tournament we host, one of the first things that we receive praise for is the amazing and dedicated army of volunteers that we produce.

We would love to have you on our team for the Mountain West Conference Championship!

Before I end my ramblings, please allow me to give my sincerest thank you to our recently retired Superintendent, Ed Faulk.

I’d like to think that I am pretty good at my job, but let’s be honest, you don’t come to play golf at Gold Mountain to see me.

You come to Gold Mountain because it is a facility that is always in great shape whether it has been an exceptionally wet and soggy season, or on those rare years where it never rains and we are near drought conditions.

Ed worked tirelessly for 34 years at Gold Mountain Golf Club, never questioning a crazy idea about tee times from me or complaining about a freak windstorm that brought down hundreds of trees (both have occurred).

Ed took exceptional pride in Gold Mountain and there are many of us here who are thankful for the opportunity to thrive in our careers because of the stability he created with both of our fantastic golf courses.

Thank you, Ed, we will all miss you!

 

John Sitton
Golf Operations Manager
Gold Mountain Golf Club

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Out with the Old and In with the New

It’s that time of year when everyone is saying, “Out with the old and in with the new!”

If you’re like me, you get excited about January because it is a time to clean out the old clutter, old thinking, and old bad habits to make room for new ideals, goals, and even products that will help you achieve them.

Maybe you’ve put away your golf clubs for a couple of months, but are now packing them up to head on vacation or are moving them around as you sort through the garage.

Either way, there are probably some old clubs, bags, carts, or shoes that you’ve still got hanging around from the past few years (or even decades)!

Wouldn’t it feel great to pass those on to someone or finally just give them one final “thanks for a great run,” and on to the new?

If you have golf gear in excellent condition that you’d like to donate to a junior program or give to a person who may not be able to afford them brand new, now is the time to donate.

Gold Mountain is a great place to donate your used gear and know that you are helping a new golfer experience the game of golf.

Make sure to join our e-club to stay up to date on when and where you can donate your used equipment and what perks we have for you.

Out with the old and stop in the Golf Shop for some of that new in 2018!

Suzanne Mehlert
Merchandiser, Gold Mountain Golf Club

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A Great Journey

Normally this time of year, I would talk about winter projects we are working on and what we are preparing and planning for the upcoming season.

Instead, we will look at the great 34-year career Ed Faulk, Superintendent, has had here at Gold Mountain Golf Club as he prepares for retirement in January 2018.

Ed was hired in March 1984, long before the Olympic Course was built.

He spent 13 years as the Assistant Superintendent on the Cascade Course and took over as the Superintendent of the property when the Olympic Course opened in 1996.

He will have held that title for nearly 22 years when he retires at the end of January 2018.

It is a testament to Ed’s knowledge, commitment, passion, and ability to have retained his title and position for such an extended period.

There are a number of highlights Ed has spoken of when reflecting on his career here at Gold Mountain, but there are a few that stand out more than others.

First, was the opportunity he was given to be the Superintendent.

When the position became available in 1996, the decision came down to two candidates; Ed and a well-established superintendent from within the gold community.

When Ed was awarded the position, he knew he would not let the City of Bremerton down and would work hard to always prove they made the right choice.

Second, Ed has reflected on what a special moment it was for him to open a championship golf course in the Olympic Course back in 1996.

Ed has hosted many national tournaments including NCAA regional qualifier and University of Washington Husky Invitationals, but the two that meant the most to Ed were the 2006 U.S. Amateur Pub Links Championship and the 2011 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship.

Ed has had a big impact on more than just the property at Gold Mountain Golf Club.

He has had a great impact on the people that he not only worked with but also the guests that visit his golf courses.

Ed is on a first name basis with so many of our regular guests and always takes the time to ask them about how they are doing, and he takes a personal interest in their lives.

Ed is also highly respected by all fellow Gold Mountain team members.

Daryl Matheny, General Manager, spoke recently about Ed and what he has meant personally and professionally to the club.

Daryl said some of the things he will miss when Ed retires are his work ethic, he is a jack of all trades, the way he always stepped up to make sure whatever needed to get done was accomplished, but most importantly the ownership Ed took in his work.

Daryl always felt Ed put out the best possible product and made sure whatever he was assigned was handled in a professional and meticulous manner.

Daryl also shared that his favorite memory at Gold Mountain with Ed was preparing for, and hosting, the 2006 Amateur Pub Links Championship.

Daryl said Ed had the course in perfect condition and the USGA was extremely pleased with the way the tournament went.

For me personally, Ed will be greatly missed.

He has been an incredible mentor in developing my skills and preparing me to take the next step in my career.

I will be forever grateful to Ed for giving me an opportunity to be his assistant.

He had done a great job of sharing his knowledge and experiences with me while allowing me the freedom to figure everything out my own way.

Ed has helped guide me in the right direction, but from a distance, which has allowed me to learn from my own experiences.

Gold Mountain Golf Club, as well as all the people who have worked with Ed, will truly miss him.

We wish him all the best as he enters this next chapter of his life.

Thank you Ed!

Patrick McKenzie
Assistant Superintendent
Gold Mountain Golf Club

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Winter Projects

It is starting to look a lot like winter here at Gold Mountain Golf Club.

Our maintenance staff is starting to move into winter projects due to frost delays and rainy weather, but have no fear, there are plenty of jobs to keep our team busy.

Our mechanics are ramping up to service our fleet of 127 golf carts, as well as sharpening and servicing our equipment for the spring.

Our equipment team spends countless hours servicing our equipment so we can provide a clean and professional look for the upcoming season.

We are grateful for their hard work to keep us going through the season.

As for our grounds maintenance staff, they are out and about on these cold winter days rebuilding our bunkers so our guests have as enjoyable of an experience one can have when they hit it into a bunker.

Between cleaning up edges, removing weeds and debris, to hauling in more sand for the proper playing depth our team continues to make Gold Mountain Golf Club one of the best championship courses in the region.

Also getting some TLC this time of year are our tee stones and benches, because we all need to rest after the eight strokes we may have taken on the last hole.

So, as you come out during the winter months just remember to dress warm and take in the beautiful views and hard work that goes into maintaining our facilities.

We can’t wait to see you all out at Gold Mountain!

Andrew Goodell
Equipment Manager

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Happy Holidays from Gold Mountain

Tis’ the season to celebrate the holidays, spend time with family and friends, and find joy in the beauty of the Pacific Northwest winter.

At Gold Mountain Golf Club, we’re keeping the golf course, restaurant, and Golf Shop ready for our guests to enjoy all of the season’s offerings.

When it comes to gift giving, the Golf Shop is stocked with quality gear and clothing that will definitely bring joy to any golfer!

Many items are even on sale right now with golf bags 20% off, Nike clothing and shoes 25% off, and University of Washington and Washington State University accessories 20% off.

Another great gift for the golfer in your life who likes to walk the course is a new Clickgear cart with a cart seat and cart mitt as perfect add-ons.

All you need to do is choose from all the great colors we have available!

Golf balls make great quick gifts for a distant relative, school teacher, or even an employee this holiday season.

We have everything from Titleist and Callaway, to the Volvik extreme colored golf balls.

Looking for something that is perfect for the golf course or a casual night out?

We have hundreds of quality and fashionable layering jackets and pullovers available for both men and women, perfect for anyone on your list.

Maybe you know someone that has been eyeing that special sand wedge all year?

In that case, gift certificates are a great way to help them get a personal fitting and order their dream club.

You can even order gift certificates online and have them mailed directly to you!

What many people don’t realize is that Gold Mountain Golf Club has countless items that a non-golfer would love too!

Rain jackets and hats are great gifts for family that take walks year-round.

Warm layering jackets and pullovers, beanies, and accessories are all ideal for off-course fun as well.

Come visit us at Gold Mountain Golf Club or shop online for all of your holiday needs this year.

Happy Holidays!
Suzanne Mehlert
Gold Mountain Merchandiser

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Contrary to Popular Belief

Aerification and topdressing are seen as negatives by most golfers but they are vital to maintaining healthy turf and creating the best possible playing conditions.

We will look at what it takes to achieve both of these practices as well as the benefits both provide to the turf.

Aerification can be a time-consuming practice, however, when done the right way we can achieve it with little to no interference with the golfers. We use two Toro Procore 648 machines to aerify our tees, approaches, and greens.

We aerify our tees and approaches once a year with half inch side eject hollow tines.

When aerifing our greens we use multiple sizes of tines depending on the time of year, weather, and what we are trying to accomplish.

In the fall, we use half inch side eject hollow tines as our goal is to remove organic matter from the profile and replace it with sand.

This also helps our greens drain well throughout the winter.

In the spring, we use either three eighths of an inch side eject hollow tines or quarter inch solid needle tines.

The benefit of the smaller tines in the spring is that they allow our greens to heal much quicker and therefore does not disrupt play for an extended period of time.

Throughout the golf season we will vent our greens every four to six weeks depending on weather and play with the quarter inch solid tines.

We follow this venting by rolling the disturbed greens so they are ready for play immediately.

It is necessary to vent the greens regularly to help promote a healthy turf and in return a better playing surface.

A few of the main reasons we aerify are to break up compaction, help with gas exchange, help with drainage, and remove organic matter and thatch from the profile.

Since purchasing our Procore aerifiers, we have noticed a significant improvement in the depth of our roots.

This is extremely important for many reasons, but mainly because now the plant can reach deeper for water.

This allows us to dry the greens out when we need them to be more firm.

Topdressing is often seen as a poor maintenance practice by golfers, as they feel as though it is not allowing them to play on the best possible putting surfaces.

However, this is a very common misconception.

Our fall aerification requires a heavier application of sand to help fill in the larger holes.

Whereas during the peak golf season we will apply a light dusting of sand to our greens every four weeks.

Following the sanding we brush the sand in, then brush mow, and use sand reels to clean everything up.

The benefits of topdressing are not just to fill in the areification holes but to provide a better playing surface for the duration of the year.

The sand will smooth out the playing surface allowing for a smoother roll and will help with consistent and desired green speeds.

So, next time you see our amazing maintenance team out venting or topdressing the greens, thank them for making your Gold Mountain Golf Club your favorite place to golf!

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How Did the Courses Handle the Weather?

As the standard “peak” golf season comes closer to an end on the Kitsap Peninsula, let’s look back at course conditions during this pas season.

This will include green speed, water usage, and overall playability of the Olympic Course and the Cascade Course.

Green speed is always a hot topic when talking about golf courses and there are various factors that affect the speed of a green.

When we watch major golf championships, we hear the commentators discussing the speed of the greens being 12.5 or 13+ on the stimpmeter (a device used to measure the speed of a green).

A USGA official uses a Stimpmeter to measure the speed of a green at Oakmont. Courtesy of PGA.com.

Keep in mind, those greens are being played by the best golfers in the world, and even they struggle with them!

From personal experience working at U.S. Open Championship, those speeds are far too fast for the average golfer.

However, those courses only keep those speeds up for the tournament they are hosting and then everything slows back down after said tournament.

We at Gold Mountain, try to keep our green speed right around a 10.5 on the stimpmeter, we have found this to be a player-friendly pace, while still challenging for our golfers.

Along with that, making sure all our greens are rolling consistently and smoothly is a top priority.

For big tournaments, and when requested for certain events, we can easily get green speeds up to a 12 on the stimpmeter, then our golfers will really be getting a taste of what the professionals experience week in and week out.

This golf season has seen a pretty remarkable drought of over 50 days in a row with no precipitation and over 70 days with moisture accumulations only reaching 0.10 inches.

We have a weather station at our maintenance shop that measures a number of different things, but one key measurement it gives us in our evapotranspiration (ETs), which is the amount of water lost by a plant every day.

The weather station then relays the ET information to our irrigation system, which then calibrates how long each sprinkler head on the course needs to run each night.

We also can go in and manually adjust run times for certain areas of each golf course.

Watering, however, is like walking a tight rope.

It we over water, the course becomes saturated and playing conditions are not optimized.

If we under water we can lose turf, and if not treated, those desiccated areas are likely to fill in the next season with weeds.

No irrigation system gives perfect coverage, only nature can take care of that; however, we are very fortunate that our irrigation system can keep up with our ever-changing climate.

Considering the record rainfall, snow, and ice we had this last winter, and then the record drought we are still having this summer, both courses are performing very well.

Gold Mountain Golf Club

We had several greens buried under ice for up to six weeks last winter and have had extremely good success recovering them back to championship conditions in a relatively brief period of time.

Then add on all the heat from this summer…needless to say we have invested a lot of time into trying to keep the course firm and fast by hand watering hot spots, or localized dry spots (LDS).

This allows us to not over water or under water in certain areas, while still providing a championship caliber product.

Overall, all areas of both courses are handling the crazy Pacific Northwest weather well.

Our fairways are very firm, allowing golf balls to bounce and roll out nicely, giving you those extra few yards off the tea.

Our greens are also firm, and provide a bit of a challenge with the way they receive and hold a ball on an approach shot.

Both the Cascade Course and the Olympic Course are in great shape and will continue to be in this condition, now we just wait for some much-needed rain to liven up the courses!

Ed Faulk
Gold Mountain Golf Club Superintendent

 

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Can it Really Be August Already?

It is hard to believe that we have already raced into the month of August, considering how long it took the weather to make it to spring!

Our guests and members have made it a priority to get in as much golf as possible to make up for the lost time earlier in the year.

Tee times will continue to be available to book 30 days in advance, so take advantage of the best golfing conditions in the Northwest and book your tee time online now.

Book your tee time directly on the website!

We have seen tremendous results with our online booking engine and automatic green fee discounts at check-in, and we will continue that practice throughout August.

When you reserve your tee time online, you can see exactly what we see in the Golf Shop, showing our guests tournaments, large groups, and how busy the course is in general.

This function helps our golfers decide the best possible tee time and day to play to fit their schedule.

As we move from the long days of summer to the crisper mornings of the early fall, keep a look out for our group specials on our website.

Foursome fun on the Olympic Course.

These specials have been enormously popular and we look forward to making them available to everyone again this year!

With the start of fall comes our annual Dave Williams Best Ball Tournament, Saturday, September 30 and Sunday, October 1.

This is one of the most enjoyable tournaments of the year and signup sheets will be available in the Golf Shop beginning this month.

Following the first round we will have College Football playing on our large projector so that our tournament players can cheer on their alma mater as they enjoy our complimentary post-round meal.

On Sunday, as everyone is watching the scoreboard to see who places in the money, our large screen projector will be displaying NFL Football (usually the Seahawks)!

And for those wishing to see how the PGA Tour is finishing up, our flat screens in the bar will be showing the 2017 Presidents Cup.

Finally, I would like to share exciting news as Gold Mountain will be hosting the Mountain West Conference Championship next April!

We are beginning the process of gathering tournament volunteers and captains for this fun event, so please keep your eye out for signup sheets or swing by the Golf Shop to inquire with myself or our General Manager, Daryl Matheny.

We would love to hear from you and get you on our team!

We can’t wait to see you at the course for the final stretch of summer!

All of us at Gold Mountain Golf Club want to thank you for coming out this year and making 2017 a great success after what can modestly be described as the most challenging winter and spring for golf.

John Sitton
Golf Operations Manager
Gold Mountain Golf Club

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Keep the Summer Activities Going

For most people August marks the end of the summer and the start of the school year, which means you may be thinking your fun summer activities are coming to an end.

But why not keep golf going as one of the top activities on your list?

Whether you are just playing for fun, hitting the course with your family, or looking to improve your game, golf is something that can be enjoyable for everyone!

With tournaments, leagues, clinics, and demo days, there are many opportunities to fit golf into your busy summer and fall plans.

Planning is always an important part of any activity and as the merchandiser and buyer for Gold Mountain, let me help you get ready for the season.

Essentials for the complete golf bag: a driver, fairway wood, hybrid, irons, wedges, putter, golf balls, tees, and a glove.

If you notice you are missing anything on that list, well you know where to find it…the Gold Mountain Golf Shop!

With the brutal winter we had, you may be looking to brush up on your golf game a little, there are group clinics or private lessons you can start off with to help you feel ready to hit the links.

If you are wanting to really kick it up a notch with your game take a look at our membership opportunities, and the amazing benefits that come along with being a member.

Outside of the basic necessities to fit your golf game, regardless of your skill level, we have some fun items in our Golf Shop to really enhance your experience on the course.

Try out the new soft feel or colored golf balls to help keep your eye on the ball.

Or upgrade to our golf bags that have a cooler pocket to keep your snacks and drinks fresh throughout your round.

And looking the part is always half the battle, so make sure to check out the latest gear all the top players are wearing each week.

We loved seeing everyone on the course all summer long and can’t wait to keep the moment going into the fall.

Suzanne Mehlert
Merchandiser & Buyer, Gold Mountain Golf Club

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A Beautiful Summer for Golf

Fellow Northwest Golfers!

It has been a beautiful summer in Kitsap County and Gold Mountain has flourished along with it.

Both the Cascade and Olympic courses are currently in great playing shape and there has never been a better time to come out and play some golf!

Interested in coming out to play?

Visit www.goldmountaingolf.com and book your tee time online, any day in July, and receive the following discounts on your green fee(s)!

Hole #17, Par 3

Before 8 AM: 30% off
8-11 AM: 5% off
11-1 PM: 25% off
1-3 PM: 35% off

As we roll into the latter half of summer, Gold Mountain will continue to bustle with various events.

We will be having multiple fitting days with the biggest brands in golf such as Srixon, Cleveland, Titleist, TaylorMade, and PING.

Interested in trying some of the newest equipment in preparation for a new purchase?

Make sure to call the Golf Shop at 360.415.5432 for more information on dates and to reserve your spot at the fittings.

Don’t forget our second annual Red, White and Blue Golf Tournament will be held on Friday, November 10, with a 10am shotgun.

Last year’s inaugural event was a big hit and benefits a great cause by supporting our military through the VFW Unmet Needs Program.

If you are interested, please contact Chris Keough at 360.434.8658 or at chriskeough@windermere.com.

That’s it for now, we will see you on the links!

Travis Cary
Assistant Golf Professional

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