NEWS FROM MY GOLF GREEN
12/26/98 - Christmas Update Not much news from the golf green (it has been dormant for a while now), but lots of web site information for you. This web site will be featured in the Feb issue of GOLF Magazine in an article on golf-relted web sites. Check it out. I've added some great new links to color pictures of turfgrass disease, pests and weeds. This came from a suggestion, that my putting green manual only has b&w photos that are a little hard to make it out, in the disease section. These links will provide you with good color photos of the various turf grass diseases and pests. I've also expanded the Gear and Links pages. Check out the Discussion Forum for questions/answers to your turf problems. 12/07/98 - Winter ???? Update Well my green has been dormant for a month now, and all of a sudden we have had several December days in the 70's, and the grass has begun to grow a little. I may have to re-apply my winterizing fungicide. You can really notice the "creep" of the bentgrass into the surrounding rye grass areas. The yellow line indicates where planting of bent stopped. Notice how much this grass has taken over the existing grass.  11/30/98 - New Classified Advertising Section - November At the request of several readers, I have added a classified ad section on the GEAR page. Here you can advertise used equipment that you want to sell or ask for equipment that you are looking to buy. Just send me your information and I will post it to the web site with your e-mail address. Just let me know when the item is sold so I can remove from the site. Caveat Emptor! I was informed that the Web Discussion Board was down, but it is back up and is starting to get active, so log on and get involved. 11/15/98 - Green and Web Page Update - November I have applied my winterizing anti-snow mold fungicide. I use a brand called Con-Syst. It works, but is very dangerous to apply. You need to wear old clothes and lots of protective gear. The label warns that if it gets in your eyes, you can forget about seeing anthing anymore ... YIKES! It looks like I got it down just in time, cause the frost is here. (see photo below)  11/05/98 - Green and Web Page Update - November Check out this Alfred Hitchcock scene. Millions of common Grackles attacking my lawn for Grubs! I could see them pulling big giant grubs out of the earth. Nice!  10/21/98 - Green and Web Page Update - October The cool season continues to slow down growth on my green. Not much golf left this year. I am only cutting my green once a week at this point, and have stopped irrigation. I'm still adding lots of links to the site, so let me know if you have any good ones. I've added a photos page that shows photos of backyard golf greens around the globe. Send me a .jpg or photos by mail if you would like to appear on this page. Also, I've added a Chat page for Golf Green talk, and am in the process of adding a Discussion Forum. 10/5/98 - New Web Site I finally have taken the big leap from a free web site to a fully functional business site and my own domain: www.putting-greens.com. The response that I have had to this topic over the last few months has been so phenomenal, that I will try to make this a resource web site, full of great information, links, supplies, chat, and yes, of course where you can buy my manual on the subject. 10/1/98 - Green Condition Update - Fall Now, the cool weather is coming into New England, and my green looks the best it has all season. Growth has really slowed down, but I have to keep an eye out for fungus. It is a great time to start planting your green. Pretty soon I will have to apply fungicide to prevent snow mold (ARGHHHH !!!) 9/19/98 - Backyard Golf Party The green was in great shape for my annual backyard golf party and tournament in which neighbors compete for prizes through 9 holes in my backyard. I triple cut and rolled the green and had a real slick surface. The best score anyone could manage was (+1). I usually can shoot a few under par, but this pin placement was very tricky. Then we played Skins Matches well past midnight under the lights. 
9/10/98 - Vendors and Suppliers I have been working on finding suppliers of golf green equipment, expecially lawn mowers. My hope is to add them to both the Manual and this Web Site as great sources of products and gear for the backyard golfer. Please let me know if you recommend any products, companies, or if you are a company that would like to be listed in our Links or Gear sections. Thanks! 9/01/98 - How Good is My Golf Green I'm often asked the question, "How good are the conditions on your green?" My answer is that, my green plays as well as any public golf course that I have played, and is better kept and cut shorter than some that I have played. It is probably not in the same condition as the best private courses that I've played. I can only cut it down to 3/16", so it is not as fast, but you can easily miss 3-4 foot putts on it ! Feel free to drop me a line with any questions that you might have, especially if you are thinking about this project and would like to talk to someone about the work involved. Leo Melanson
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