PGA National Resort & Spas acclaimed Champion Coursethe Jack Nicklaus-designed host of the PGA Tours Honda Classic and home of the famous Bear Traphas reopened after a major re-grassing with cutting-edge Celebration Bermuda, and renovation of the 14th hole.

Celebration Bermuda grass is now on fairways, green surrounds and tees of the Champion Course, making the popular layout even more eye-catching and playable. The new turf should be embraced by the worlds best golfers who annually play in The Honda Classicone of the top events in professional golfas well as the thousands of resort guests who play the course.

In addition to hosting seven Honda Classic tournaments, the Champion Course has been home to the 1983 Ryder Cup, 1987 PGA Championship, and 18 Senior PGA Championships, and this year will host the final stage of the Web.com Tours Q-school.

The Celebration Bermuda will provide us with major-like conditions, said Lukus Harvey, PGA National Resort & Spas Director of Agronomy. The Honda Classic field is perennially on par with golfs four majors, and now we have the turf to provide similar conditions. Our resort guests and club members will love it because it provides a better year-around product, including upgraded irrigation. The grass is so dense you wont get a bad lie.

With the new turf, The Champion Course will no longer require over-seeding during the off-season, allowing for faster, firmer conditions that golfers enjoy.

We can all use an extra 20 yards of roll, Harvey added.

Four of The Champions greensNos. 1, 9, 15 and 17have been expanded to their original size, creating more exciting pin locations for the event that kicks off the PGA Tours Florida Swing. The greens remain TifEagle, one of the worlds truest putting surfaces.

The Bear Trap Evolves

The Champion is well known as home to the legendary Bear Trap. The daunting 15th, 16th and 17th holes are considered one of the more challenging three-hole stretches in the game, with water prominently in play on each hole. USA Today called The Bear Trap one of the toughest stretches in golf.

As part of the renovation, Nicklaus moved the green on the 14th hole, which leads into the feared Bear Trap, 17 yards to the right, bringing water into play on the approach shot. The tee also was moved back 10 yards, and bunkers were built in front and behind the green to further strengthen the 465-yard hole.

See more here:
PGA National reopens Nicklaus-renovated Champion Course

Personally I cant muster much sympathy for the owners of 2 million homes even though that wont buy you a mansion anywhere in this city, as Miliband, owner of an NW5 house worth well over that, can himself testify. I doubt Labours plan will lose the votes of many Londoners who wouldnt already be voting Tory.

Still, Labour and the Lib-Dems reliance on this wheeze is testimony to politicians fundamental cowardice in dealing with the real problem: our completely broken system of local taxes.

Its right that there should be progressive taxation of homes, the main expression of most peoples wealth and one which is difficult to hide from the taxman. That is one original, theoretical principle of council tax, like the old system before it of local rates based on homes notional rentable values.

The problem is that council tax is still based on property values in 1991, the baseline year for when the tax was first introduced in 1993. The idea was to revalue properties every 10 years: it never happened. In September 2005 Labour postponed the exercise until after the next election, a move the minister responsible, David Miliband, cheerfully admitted was a vaulting, 180-degree, full U-turn. In 2010 the Tories followed suit, ruling out any revaluation in this Parliament.

This means illogicalities such as homes built since 1991 being given notional 1991 values. Much more serious, it locks us into a system incapable of registering the wild divergence of property values over the past two decades let alone of helping put a brake on soaring prices.

You can judge how big a cumulative tax cut the present system has handed the rich by considering that in 1990, the last year of the old system, the biggest London homes were paying rates of up to 10,000 a year (worth 21,700 today). Westminsters band H council tax this year? Just 1,353.48 (its nearer 3,000 in most boroughs.)

H is the highest of the eight council tax bands: politicians of all parties refusal to revisit the tax means that there can be no new bands added. They probably fret that higher property taxes might drive the rich away. Inexplicably, that isnt what New Yorks far higher, annually reassessed property taxes have done.

Instead, were offered a mansion tax. It isnt bold or radical. Its a sign of politicians impotence.

There was a symbolism to the Rockefeller Brothers Fund promising this week to phase out its holdings in fossil fuels: the family fortune was made by John D Rockefeller, founder of the oil company whose descendant is Exxon. The announcement was timed for yesterdays meeting of world leaders in New York to discuss climate change: more than 300,000 people marched in the city to demand action.

President Obama does now seem (fairly) serious about it though thats what people said when David Cameron cuddled huskies on the Svalbard ice in 2006. Since then, Cameron has junked even token environmental commitments, while the ice has shrunk: this week Cambridge Universitys professor of ocean physics said that the Arctic ice cap is in a death spiral. I dont want to get all apocalyptic like David Mitchell in his new novel, The Bone Clocks, with its nightmare vision of the 2040s post climate change. But time is running out.

See the original post:
Andrew Neather: A mansion tax isnt radical its impotent

MANGHAM, La. - Press Release Cattle producers drove as far as 100 miles to get the latest research-based information that included pharmaceutical best management practices, buying and retaining replacement heifers and pasture weed control at the second annual northeast Louisiana beef and forage field day at the Goldmine Plantation.

LSU AgCenter agent Keith Collins from Richland Parish, who helped coordinate the event, said the county agents job is to get the information to the people who need it, and the field day is a great way to do that.

Goldmine Plantation is just a great place to have a beef cattle field day, Collins said. Ive worked with them for a long time, so they let us do things that give producers practical, hands-on experience.

The attendees heard about factors influencing calving difficulties from Rayville veterinarian Lyle Bennett.

The breed of the bull and the breed of the cow are two of the top issues involved, he said. Calving time is another issue he discussed, maintaining that late fall is the best time to calve in Louisiana.

LSU AgCenter forage specialist Wink Alison opened the program with a talk on the impact of ryegrass planting methods on production.

Tillage can have the most impact, Alison said. You can plant ryegrass from straight onto a pasture through having a totally prepared seedbed. For early season production, the prepared seedbed is better.

Alison also discussed the importance of a heavier seeding rate early in the fall for better early production.

LSU AgCenter beef specialist Karl Harborth discussed the importance of proper bull selection to improve herds.

Weve found through research that it is typically best to breed a non-Brahman bull on Brahman cows, Harborth said. This normally gives the best chance for calving ease and lower birth weights.

Continued here:
Field Day Features Cattle Management, Weed Control

INVERNESS As the golf world salivates over the promise of a round or two on Cape Breton's latest signature course, its operators proudly report the last round of seeding has been completed.

The Par 3 No. 16 hole at Cabot Cliffs is shown. All 18 holes of the Inverness course have been seeded and will be available for golf in July. Photo submitted by Cabot Cliffs

Hole No. 7, which features a pond and an elevated fairway according to Golf Advisor, carries the distinction of being the final Cabot Cliffs hole to be seeded.

The focus now shifts to things like finalizing bunker edges throughout the fall as preparations continue to move toward a summer 2015 opening.

"What we will do is go from construction to growing in which we literally call grown-in when the grass comes in through the fall," said Ben Cowan-Dewar, managing partner for Cabot Links.

"It is sort of a slow transition and will be almost entirely transitioned in the next week or so to grow in and basically the other holes are being mowed and maintained."

Cowan-Dewar said an aggressive construction schedule, an exceptional construction crew and co-operation from Mother Nature allowed the course to get to this point.

And because construction is going well, he said all 18 holes of the new course will open for preview play in July.

"The idea of preview play is that the greens will probably be a little slower, we'll limit the number of rounds basically just to let that young turf grow in and then we'll have a grand opening in 2016."

Even though the number of rounds per day will be limited, he said people can still book to play the course from July through October.

Read more from the original source:
Final seeding on Cabot Cliffs; course to open in July

Fears developers are failing to keep promises to provide community services when building neighbourhoods have been raised by councillors.

Great Hollands North councillors Mary Temperton and Michael Gbadebo claim Jennetts Park developers are not carrying out their obligations.

During a meeting between Bracknell Forest Council and the Jennetts Park Consortium, which built the development in Peacock Farm, on Wednesday, September 3, it was concluded none of the outstanding developer contribution requirements had been met.

Health and safety fears close Jennett's Park playground three weeks after opening

Shop negotiations finally underway in Jennett's Park

Councillor says "enough is enough" over lack of playground and shops at Jennett's Park

Cllr Gbadebo said: The council outlined its disappointment with the speed at which everything is happening.

There have been a number of broken promises from the developers as well as a failure to develop certain things on time. We, as a council, need to do more we need to see some action.

When planning applications are approved by the council, developers are given a list of agreed contributions which they must provide.

These obligations range from providing community centres and schools to roads and recycling areas to ensure the council does not have to pay out for infrastructure to support new developments.

See the original post here:
Fears raised over Jennett's Park developers failing to keep promises

Bradley Roby (29) of the Denver Broncos breaks up a pass intended for Reggie Wayne (87) of the Indianapolis Colts in the fourth quarter. The Denver Broncos played the Indianapolis Colts at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo. on September 7, 2014. (AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post)

A striking visual confronted a national TV audience last Sunday night. The Broncos began their season playing on haggard-looking turf at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

The field played well, with minimal slippage, but it didn't look well.

"We have always placed a lot of pride in the 'playability' of our turf. The safety of players is our first priority. This was a cosmetic issue, but it doesn't meet our standards," said Andy Gorchov, general manager of Stadium Management.

A confluence of factors contributed to the field's less than forest green appearance: a heavy traffic event schedule leading up to the Broncos' opener, soggy weather and the seeding process used to replenish the turf.

Before the Colts game, the stadium hosted a Manchester United-AS Roma soccer match, which required the grass to be cut at a shorter length. Also played on the field: lacrosse games and the Rocky Mountain Showdown, matching the CU and CSU football teams. Combine that with two Broncos practices, one conducted in torrential rain, a scrimmage and a pair of preseason games, and the turf took a beating.

"It was a perfect storm. The (Desso) Grassmaster (blend) needs a window of time to reseed. And we haven't had that two-week window," Gorchov said. "In reality, this is one of those years where we expect the field to look better later in the season."

Why not resod the field's problem areas?

The Broncos use a seeding process that allows the turf to strengthen. Resodding, as seen in the 49ers' and Texans' fields recently, can create footing issues because of loose sod. Several Broncos said Mile High's turf had no issues. No consideration was given to painting the brown spots for appearance sake, since doing so can create long-term damage.

The Sports Turf Managers Association has voted the Broncos' field tops in the industry in the past.

Read more:
Broncos' turf at Sports Authority Field playing better than it looks

ROSCOE Kelly Myers Park is undergoing some big upgrades to the tune of just over $300,000 and Roscoe Township is expecting construction to wrap up in a couple weeks.

The township experienced some delays due to weather, waiting for grants to come through and waiting for state departments to approve different plans, said Tom Hawes, a supervisor with the township.

It took a little time, but we got past that, Hawes said. It wont be idyllic because we didnt get grass in early enough to accommodate spring sports.

He said the township had hoped to seed the fields by Aug. 1, but because of the delays in state approvals and the heavy rain in the last month the seeding will be done in about one to two weeks, wrapping up the project. He said the grass should be established by mid-summer so club teams and fall sports can use the fields.

Denny McKinney, who oversees about 40 softball teams for Stateline Youth Athletics, said he looks forward to using the new fields.

I think most people live in communities because of the schools and parks that are available and what they can do for our kids, McKinney said. I have to reach out and give lots of credit to the leadership because of what theyve done.

The Township Board of Supervisors has been putting aside funds for nearly a decade, Hawes said, so with those funds and some grants that finally came through, the township was able to begin construction on the park earlier this summer.

After construction is finished the park will have two renovated baseball fields, one football field and one soccer field and a kiddie baseball field to accommodate three club sports and Hononegah High School, said Jim Benkovich, a Roscoe Township supervisor.

The soccer and football fields will be equipped for practices, but the baseball and softball fields are receiving upgrades that will make them suitable for high school and upper level teams, Hawes said.

The fields take the place of the area that was reserved for the annual mud volleyball tournament for The Epilepsy Foundation, Benkovich said. The tournament was moved to Riverside Park in Roscoe to allow for an expanded playing area and more teams, he said.

See the original post here:
Work at Kelly Myers Park nearly complete

Broncos head coach John Fox says the team worked on its conditioning during practice this week. (John Leyba / The Denver Post)

ENGLEWOOD A striking visual confronted a national TV audience last Sunday night. The Broncos began their season playing on haggard-looking turf at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

The field played well, with minimal slippage, but it didn't look well.

"We have always placed a lot of pride in the 'playability' of our turf. The safety of players is our first priority. This was a cosmetic issue, but it doesn't meet our standards," said Andy Gorchov, general manager of Stadium Management.

A confluence of factors contributed to the field's less than forest green appearance: a heavy traffic event schedule leading up to the Broncos' opener, soggy weather and the seeding process used to replenish the turf.

Before the Colts game, the stadium hosted a Manchester United-AS Roma soccer match, which required the grass to be cut at a shorter length. Also played on the field: lacrosse games and the Rocky Mountain Showdown, matching the CU and CSU football teams. Combine that with two Broncos practices, one conducted in torrential rain, a scrimmage and a pair of preseason games, and the turf took a beating.

"It was a perfect storm. The (Desso) Grassmaster (blend) needs a window of time to reseed. And we haven't had that two-week window," Gorchov said. "In reality, this is one of those years where we expect the field to look better later in the season."

Why not resod the field's problem areas?

The Broncos use a seeding process that allows the turf to strengthen. Resodding, as seen in the 49ers' and Texans' fields recently, can create footing issues because of loose sod. Several Broncos said Mile High's turf had no issues. No consideration was given to painting the brown spots for appearance sake, since doing so can create long-term damage.

The Sports Turf Managers Association has voted the Broncos' field tops in the industry in the past.

Continue reading here:
Broncos' turf playing better than it looks

Lawn looking lackluster? Mid-August to early October is a sweet spot in the calendar year to sow fresh grass seed or replace an existing lawn throughout the state, according to Alec Kowalewski, turfgrass specialist for the Oregon State University Extension Service.

If you wait until November, you're too late the next best bet to establish a new lawn comes around the following April to May.

"The problem is that when you get later into the year, annual bluegrass takes over," Kowalewski said. "If your turfgrass seed germinates late in the fall, it will not out-compete annual bluegrass, a very problematic, profuse weed due to our wet climate."

Wondering which type of turfgrass is best? If you live in western Oregon and full sun embraces your lawn, Kowalewski recommends perennial ryegrass. If your lawn lies in the shade or you don't irrigate much, fine fescues are a great choice, he said. But Kowalewski advised picking tall fescues if you don't water much and your lawn gets full sun.

"Fescues are very drought-tolerant," Kowalewski said. "Tall fescue is the most drought-tolerant and fine fescue is both drought- and shade-tolerant."

For eastern Oregon homeowners who deal with a significant amount of snowfall, Kowalewski suggested Kentucky bluegrass. But remember, it needs irrigation. Science has not created a kind of turfgrass that stays green all year without any water yet.

"Tall fescue is the closest thing to it," Kowalewski said.

To establish a new lawn, decide first whether you are completely redoing your lawn or freshening up scruffy-looking patches of turfgrass (if you're tearing out your old lawn, read two ways to uproot grass).

If you're repairing an old lawn, first aerate it with a core-cultivating machine and seed the turfgrass into the existing lawn. It's a practice known as inter-seeding or renovation, Kowalewski said.

"The most important part is adding fertilizer while seeding," Kowalewski advised. "From now until the rainy season starts, you'll need to irrigate lightly every day to every other day to keep the grass moist. About one-tenth of an inch each time you water is adequate."

Continue reading here:
Low-maintenance lawn: Time to sow fresh grass seed

CALINGIRI farmer Steve Waters has proven that by making minor low-cost adjustments to his seeding techniques, he can improve water penetration in non-wetting soils, leading to better crop germination and prevention of rye grass spreading.

Between 2-20 per cent of some paddocks on Mr Waters farm are impacted by non- wetting soil, which in previous years influenced the spread of rye grass and impacted on his crop yields.

On our gravelly non-wetting hills, if you sow in the inter-row the crop takes a long time to germinate, but using the 2cm GPS, we can sow on the row and it seems to germinate straight away with the rest of the crop, he said.

Weve found if you sow in between the rows, you dont have much crop competition with the rye grass; the rye grass seems to germinate on the last years row.

We already had RTK GPS technology in the tractor, so this is a very low cost approach for us. And were seeing a 100 per cent improvement in the bad patches of non-wetting soils.

The Real Time Kinematic (RTK) GPS system used by Mr Waters, delivers equipment auto guidance accuracy to two-cm.

Mr Waters farms 1100 hectares, about 150km north-east of Perth with his partner Jamie King. He follows a seven-year rotation growing wheat, canola and barley, as well as pastures for sheep feed sown into the barley stubble.

The soil types on Mr Waters property range from sandy gravel hills (non-wetting) as well as loamy red and grey clay country.

He believes the incorporation of a knife-point seeding system might be the reasoning behind better water penetration in non-wetting soils.

Ive got a theory that it might be the knife point on the cultivator busting up a bit of clay from underneath, from the year before, and the water is following that clay band down, he said.

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More soil water for Waters