Keep your head up

That's the opposite of what you normally hear on a golf course, but keeping your head down won't help in this case.  I'm talking about sprinkler heads, not the thing that holds your brain.  Our sprinklers are not sinking, the ground surrounding them is rising.  The topdressing program certainly plays a part in creating this problem and thatch accumulation has the same effect.

The photo to the left is a good example of a sprinkler that needs to be raised. I placed a yellow ball on the sprinkler head and it is just barely visible. In the background, Jose Camacho, our irrigation technician is working on another low sprinkler head. This may just look like busy work or something as trivial as weedeating, but it is extremely important. Low heads mean low nozzles which spread water unequally. The result is green circles and brown donuts. We've also worked to replace all the nozzles in the fairways and have now turned our attention to the rough. This summer you will see these improvements, the change will be very clear.

You'll be seeing many raised sprinkler heads with a marking flag to warn the mowers.  The crew has already raised over 25 sprinklers this winter with many more to go.