Course Update 11/29/18

It seems like winter may have arrived early with the cold, snowy weather the first part of this week.  Since we couldn't perform any turf-related maintenance activities, we continued cleaning up broken branches and removing damaged trees.  Most of our time was spent behind Grove 7 green pruning broken branches on some Oaks and Maples, along with removing 5 white pine trees that were severely damaged by the recent ice storm.

Please be aware that we had to close and winterize the restrooms on each nine due to the extended period of sub-freezing temperatures.  The walls and ceilings are not insulated and the buildings were not designed to stay open all year.  The restrooms will open in the spring once the temperature warms up so there's no chance of frozen pipes.

Course Update 11/21/18

The winter storm that hit us last Thursday and Friday left a considerable amount of damage that we're still cleaning up from.  The worst part of the storm was the freezing rain and subsequent ice accumulation on the trees that brought down a lot of limbs.  Damage was widespread due to many trees that still had leaves, along with the typical white pines that have soft, weak wood.  After getting around all three courses, most of the damaged trees will survive and only require selective pruning to remove the broken branches up in the canopy.  A few trees have been removed because the damage was too severe, and in several cases trees were removed for safety concerns due to their proximity to cart paths and other high traffic areas.

One of the trees that was severely damaged was the American Elm adjacent to the gold tee on Grove 1.  It's one of only a few American Elm trees remaining in this area and we have invested significant resources over the years trying to keep it healthy.  The main trunks are supported by heavy duty cables that connect opposite trunks to offset their weight, and still allow them to move naturally.  Unfortunately, one of the smaller trunks that wasn't cabled couldn't hold up to the extra weight of the ice and broke away from the tree.  A small amount of decomposed heartwood was observed in the crotch where the trunk attached, so we had a certified arborist look at the tree on Monday.  They said the decomposition was common for a tree of this size and age, and it should remain healthy with a little TLC this spring.

Pear trees are routinely damaged from ice storms and there was nothing left of this one.

American Elm on Grove 1 damaged by ice and snow.

Here's a close up of the damaged trunk.  Notice the darker decomposed wood higher up that doesn't offer any structural integrity.  Only the lighter colored, healthy wood towards the bottom kept the limb attached.  Once the limb is removed we will clean up the damaged area to prevent disease and insect infestation.

The staff started cutting up and sorting the branches to make it easier once the chipper arrived.

Course Update 11/15/18

Deep tine aerification of fairways was scheduled for this week but had to be postponed again due to wet conditions.  The fairways are too soft for carts or equipment, and we would cause more damage by trying to aerify.  The contractor is based out of western Ohio, so he can mobilize in a day or two if we feel conditions could allow the equipment on the turf.  I am optimistic that we will have warmer, and possibly drier weather after Thanksgiving to complete the process.

Course Update 11/8/18

With the courses still very wet from another week of rainy weather, most of our time was split between blowing leaves and winterizing the irrigation systems.  Every fall all the water has to be removed from the irrigation systems to prevent ice from forming and damaging critical irrigation components.  As water freezes it expands and ice is much stronger than plastic pipe.  I've even seen ice cause steel pipe to split open.  The first step in the process is to shut down the three pump stations, open all drain valves, and let gravity remove most of the water.  Once the water has drained out a large air compressor is connected to the irrigation systems and air is forced through the lines at a high volume, but low pressure.  Too much air pressure can damage pipe and irrigation heads the same way high water pressure does.  The staff will then split up into several teams and go to every satellite control box to systematically turn on approximately 1,300 irrigation heads to blow out any remaining water.  After all the heads are blown out we will go back to the areas that tend to hold water and run through those heads for a second time.  It usually takes 4 full days to winterize both irrigation systems.

In addition to the two irrigation systems on the golf courses, the maintenance staff is responsible for winterizing the restroom facility on each nine, along with miscellaneous landscape irrigation and a water line in the driving range building.

We rent a 900 cfm air compressor that connects to the irrigation systems through a 2" hose with special fittings.  We have to install a pressure regulator on the compressor's discharge line to lower the operating pressure from 150 psi down to 50 psi to prevent damaging the pvc pipe.

The mist coming out of the irrigation head is water vapor being pushed by the compressed air.

Course Update 11/1/18

It was another rainy week and brings our total rainfall in October to 4.33".  That's 1.66" above the monthly average and puts us just over 20" above normal year to date.  Even though it was wet, we were able to finish topdressing and aerifying Lakes tees, along with topdressing the remaining tees on Orchard.   We still need to finish topdressing the tees on Grove 6 and 7, and will complete that as soon as conditions allow.  In addition to tee aerification, we mowed Grove greens this week for the first time since being aerified, and continued mowing outer rough and blowing leaves.  It's been challenging to complete our list of regular maintenance activities this year, but we're making the best of it while not damaging the turf and creating more work later on.

On a recent frosty morning we started removing some of the River Birch trees along the sidewalk at bag drop.  We're removing the trees along the hillside covered by river rock because the trees have grown too large for that area.  They have girdling roots which slowly encircle the base of the tree, ultimately killing it, and the roots that have spread outward are cracking and buckling the cart path and sidewalk.  Once the trees are removed we will pick up and re-use the river rock in other parts of the landscape.  We will then transplant perennial grasses and a few other plants to fill in the space and spread mulch in the spring to finish the area.  Stay tuned for more pictures showing our progress.