Garden - Pool

The pool is set to open this weekend and many of the flowers in the pool area are already open. The gigantic vine Hydrangea is in full bloom and the perennial garden is looking healthy.

Test Drive

This new to the market Jacobsen mower is all electric. It runs quietly, having no engine or hydraulics.

It has been used on golf courses and runs on a full charge for about three acres of cutting. This includes transporting the vehicle around hilly golf courses. Jacobsen is curious to see if we can cut our 4.5 acres on a single charge since we have no transporting between holes or hills. Today's test will let us know.

Equipment

Brian Healy is the equipment technician at the Dedham Country and Polo Club. He is also a valuable resource for the grounds department. Routine maintenance on our equipment is done in-house, but with anything that requires specialized skill - we call in Brian. Below he is repairing the electric shut off valves on our sprayer. That same day he repaired a voltage regulator on a mower and next week he will be grinding and sharpening the cutting reels for the mowers. Longwood is fortunate to have a professional from another club treating our equipment like it his own.

Grass Ready For Play?

The grass courts were scheduled to open this morning, but we had some heavy thunderstorms last night that may delay opening until Sunday. Pictures include mowing of the terrace courts and Tim wearing his Bruins shirt in honor of their losing in the playoffs after having a 3-0 lead over the Flyers.

Kevin Dodge

Longwood Cricket Club office manager Kevin Dodge playing drums and singing with his band "Fresh Garbage."

Net Posts

None of the grass court net posts are in fixed footings, so each year new net post holes are made with sledge hammers and pipes. In these pictures, Nate and Tim are making the initial post holes. Then Neil and Alex are using a wider second pipe to finish off the hole and then a PVC sleeve is inserted to keep the hole from caving in throughout the season. Knocking the pipes in straight is not as easy as it looks and there is much discussion among the crew on who does it the straightest.

Not having permanent net post footings is old fashioned and requires a lot of set-up work in the spring, but it is worth it. It gives us lots of flexibility on where we place the courts each year and we maintain the traditional look of the net posts.

Grass Court Layout

Some videos and a picture of grass court layout. In the first video Tim and Nate are measuring the court diagonal - getting the court square. The little PVC tubes are put in for very line on the grass courts so the court dimensions are there for the entire season.

Pictures From Around The Club, 5/10/10

Insects

One of the major insects we deal with here at Longwood is the annual bluegrass weevil. We have had great success controlling them and their ability to eat our grass courts. Much of the success can be attributed to updates from the UMass turf/entomology department. Check out this weeks update by clicking on the title to this blog entry.

May 6, 2010 Pictures

The Borg's

Longwood tennis pro Magnus was lucky this past weekend. He got to meet Mr. and Mrs. Bjorn Borg and have his package of official "Bjorn Borg Underwear" signed by both! Of secondary importance Magnus got to hit with Mats Wilander and attend the Champions Cup matches and attend the after-match party.