Course Update 12/31/20

 We had another short week due to the holiday, but continued working along the right side of Orchard 4.  Looks like one more day and we should have the first phase of tree work completed, which involves removing the trees and larger shrubs that are overhanging the rough.  The second phase is to remove and cleanup the smaller brush and debris with a hydraulic flail mower.  We anticipate that work beginning late January or early February.

The staff getting after it!

Most of the larger brush is growing near the stream approximately 20' from the edge of the rough.  We first have to clear a path to access it then drag the material up to the chipper.

Course Update 12/23/20

 The snowy, wet conditions prevented us from completing our planned tasks on the courses this week, so we began tree work in easily accessible areas.  The first area was near the clubhouse and bag drop where several River Birch trees were removed for safety reasons.  The trees were in decline from what we suspect was a compromised root system and were constantly losing branches during summer thunderstorms.  The second area we began working on is the right hazard on Orchard 4.  A lot of undesirable growth has occurred down the entire right side of the hole and is hanging out into play.  This creates weak turf from the constant shade along with penalizing golfers who get too close to the hazard line.  Our plan is to remove the larger trees and brush first then come back with a flail mower to clean up the small brush and any remaining debris.  There is a significant amount of work on this hole and we anticipate it taking a couple weeks to complete.

Removing Birch trees above the cart parking area behind the clubhouse

Removing Birch trees near bag drop

Grinding stumps

Cleaning up the right side of Orchard 4 starting at the green

Looking towards the tees on Orchard 4 showing dense vegetation that needs to be removed

Course Update 12/9/20

 Please be aware that the course restrooms have been winterized and will remain closed until the temperature consistently stays above 32 degrees in the spring.  The buildings are not insulated and we cannot risk the water lines freezing which would lead to broken pipes and significant structural damage.

Also be aware the staff has removed all tee markers, temporary signage, and ropes/stakes from the courses in preparation for refurbishing these items.  Every winter the staff cleans, straightens, repairs, and paints course accessories to have them looking their best next season.

Course Update 11/12/20

 We wrapped up a late season greens aerification earlier this week thanks to some extraordinarily nice weather.  As with previous aerations, we used a .25" diameter coring tine on a 1.5" forward x 1.5" lateral spacing that produced 72 holes per square foot.  We prefer this tine setup this time of year because the small holes don't affect putting as much as larger ones and they will heal faster.  Following aeration we cleaned the cores off the putting surface and applied 50 tons of topdressing sand.  Once dry the sand was then dragged and brushed to fill the holes and the greens were rolled to smooth out any imperfections created during the process.  The turf isn't growing as fast this time of year due to cooler temperatures and reduced sunlight, so it will take a couple weeks for the putting surfaces to fully recover and the sand to disappear into the canopy.

.25" diameter cores on a 1.5" x 1.5" spacing

Putting green after removing cores and blowing debris

Applying topdressing sand

Dragging/brushing the sand to fill the holes

Putting surface after dragging/brushing

Final step is to roll the greens to smooth out any imperfections

Course Update 10/31/20

 Our plan this week was to aerify and topdress approaches prior to aerifying greens next week.  That didn't work out so well given 1.73" of rain we received over 4 days.  On Monday we topdressed then core aerified Orchard 1-9 and Grove 9 approaches, knowing we could clean them up if the weather cooperated.  Unfortunately, that didn't happen and we have only been able to drag the plugs once due to how wet the ground is.  Normally we drag the plugs a couple times in different directions to separate the organic matter from the soil then blow off the debris.  We will finish cleaning up the approaches on Orchard and Grove 9 as soon as possible, then aerify and topdress the remaining holes as the weather allows.

So why are we only aerifying approaches?  Normally, approaches are aerified with greens using our smaller, light weight machine because of the undulations and areas that are too tight for the larger fairway aerifiers and tractors to maneuver around.  This year, we felt the approaches had become softer (spongy) than we'd like due to an increase in thatch (organic matter), and the small .25" diameter tines used on greens don't remove enough material.  The best way to reduce thatch is through aggressive core aerification and topdressing, so we're using a .5" diameter tine that removes more thatch and creates a larger hole that will accept more topdressing sand.  We'll re-evaluate the firmness of the approaches next spring, but this may be a process that we need to continue for several years to achieve better playing conditions.

Just a reminder that greens aerification is scheduled for next week, 11/2-11/6.  The rotation will be Lakes, Orchard, Grove with only 9 holes closed per day.  Please check with the Golf Shop for more details.

Orchard 9 approach topdressed, aerified and dragged once.  The sand looks a little heavy but will be worked into the turf canopy with additional dragging and rain events.

Orchard 9 approach after several rain events.  The ground is very wet, but most of the sand has been washed in.

Here you can see that most of the holes are filled with topdressing sand after the initial drag.

Course Update 9/25/20

Fairway aerification was completed earlier this week and besides a later start two days due to frost, the weather was perfect.  We used the same contractor as in previous years and the process went very smoothly since they're familiar with the property.  Because we only closed 9 holes per day the contractor didn't need their entire equipment fleet, but still used three tractors, two large aerifiers, and one recycling machine with a total value of $180,000.  They charge us $275 per acre to core aerify and recycle the plugs which comes out to $11,000 for our 40 acres of fairway.  The aerifiers were setup with 48 hollow tines that removed a 3/4" diameter core 4" deep, which created 24 holes per square foot.  That equates to 41,817,600 holes across all 40 acres of fairways.  That may seem like a lot of holes, but it only affected 5% of the total surface area.  The holes should be healed over in 7-10 days given our current weather conditions and hopefully we receive a little rain.

Aerification is an important and necessary practice in providing great playing conditions.  CLICK HERE to learn more about the process and why we do it.

The contractor uses two large aerifiers that each have a 98" working width for maximum productivity.

Once the plugs (cores) dry out enough they are broken up with two heavy steel drag mats that go over every fairway several times.  The goal is to separate the soil from the organic matter (thatch) so the soil can be worked back into the holes.

Once the fairways are dragged the contractor uses a recycling machine hooked to another tractor to pulverize the soil and thatch into finer pieces.

The debris on the surface of this fairway is thatch that was left after the recycling process.  Thatch is found in every turfgrass area and some thatch is needed to insulate and protect the plant.  Too much thatch is a problem and causes playing surfaces to be soft and spongy.  It also holds onto excess water which leads to more disease.

The final step in the process is for the maintenance staff to blow the thatch and any remaining debris off the fairways and then clean off irrigation heads, yardage markers and drains.  Here all five blowers are working together on Orchard #8 to clean off the lower fairway.

Here is the end result after aerifying, dragging, pulverizing, and blowing.

Frost Delays

This morning we experienced our first frost delay of the fall season after the temperature dropped to 34 degrees last night.  Frost is common this time of year and can even occur when the air temperature is above freezing, as was the case last night.  Frost will usually be evident at sunrise, as the air at ground level is warmed it becomes lighter and rises.  Colder, denser air will take the place of the warm air and can be 5-10 degrees cooler, thus creating frozen turf.  Frost usually "burns off" quickly in direct sunlight, but certain areas of the course are heavily shaded and take longer to thaw.  The maintenance staff monitors specific areas throughout the property on cool mornings to determine whether frost is present, and the decision to allow play is based on when those areas will be frost-free.

Click Here To Watch A Short Video From The USGA On Frost

The picture below is from two years ago on Orchard 1, but it's a good example of what happens when you walk on frozen turf.  You can clearly see the black footprints in the rough and fairway which indicate dying grass.  When out for your morning walk, please stay on the cart paths and sidewalks.  This also applies to your pets, as dogs can damage frozen turf the same way humans do.

Course Update 9/12/20

Aerification season is underway and all 29 greens were DryJected this week.  You may be wondering why we don't DryJect more often and stop pulling cores.  The answer is that DryJect is just another "tool" we use to help manage the organic matter (thatch) in the greens.  The process injects sand or other porous material to dilute the thatch, but does not actually remove anything like traditional core aerification does.  We've found that DryJecting heals considerably faster compared to core aerification and is the best process for this time of year, while still accomplishing our goal of diluting the thatch.  Later this fall we plan to pull cores to physically remove the thatch and topdress to fill the holes.  The healing process in late fall is relatively slow, but open holes during the winter helps water drain from the putting surface, limiting the amount of ice buildup and potential for winter injury.

Click Here To Learn More About DryJect And How It Works

Core aerification of fairways is next on the schedule beginning Monday 9/21 thru Wednesday 9/23, with 9 holes closed each day.  Stay tuned for more information...

Here is the DryJect machine in action.  A little root zone amendment remains on the putting surface around each injection hole, but 95% is in the rootzone where it is most beneficial.

Once the putting surfaces dry out, they are brushed to work the extra material into the turf canopy then rolled to smooth out any tire tracks.  Rolling also helps to firm up the surface.

Here's a profile of the rootzone showing the injection column and depth of penetration.  We were getting 5"-6" deep on most of the greens.  By using high pressure water to create channels in the rootzone, the DryJect process can break thru the layers created by years of regular core aerification, which allows for better drainage and deeper root growth.

Here's the finished product after brushing and rolling.  Regular mowing has resumed as of today and all greens have been rolled 2x.  The weather forecast calls for warm days, cool nights, and plenty of sun in the near future so the greens should be fully recovered in a few days.

Course Update 8/31/20

 Early last week we turned on the irrigation well that's located near the property line on the right side of Orchard 5 in the ornamental grass bed, only to discover it had a sizable leak.  It hasn't been needed in at least five years but the dry conditions and low lake level has us concerned we would run out of water if the weather pattern continued.  How quickly things changed given the four inches of rain that came at the end of last week and refilled the lake. The well is approximately 400 feet deep and will provide 100 gallons per minute of water, or 144,000 gallons per day.  That's around one third of the total water used for irrigating per night, but it will keep the lake level from getting critically low.

Here's the section of pipe cut out of the line along with the broken fittings that were leaking.  There were two old valves that didn't work and a dead-ended tee that didn't go anywhere in the section of pipe removed.

The good end of the existing line is being beveled to accept the new pipe and fittings.  We also installed a new gate valve on the well casing that will allow us to stop the flow of water if needed.

Down to fitting the last piece of pipe between the two black couplers then backfilling the hole.  We may not need the well this year, but it's reassuring to know it's been fixed properly and can help us in the future.

Course Update 8/29/20

 Thursday night we received 1.2" of rain, then an additional 2.87" of heavy rain came yesterday afternoon and throughout the night, bringing our total to 4.07" in the past 48 hours.  We were on track to have another below-average month of precipitation and needed some rain, but this is beyond excessive.  The storms washed out the bunkers both days, caused some tree damage, and left a lot of leaves and other debris for us to clean up.  It was also necessary to be Cart Path Only today, which last occurred 98 days ago on May 22.  That's the longest stretch I can remember going back to 2016.

Fortunately only a few trees came down in the storm, but there were a lot of branches and leaves that had to be cleaned up.

All the bunkers were washed out from the storm and a few will need to be pumped out.  We started repairing the greenside bunkers today and should be completed in a couple days.

The main irrigation lake below the Clubhouse had been drawn down a couple feet over the past several months, but it only took two days of rain to have it overflowing.

Course Update 7/31/20

The recent stretch of hot and dry weather has made it very difficult to keep the turf fully hydrated, and as a result we're seeing brown spots on the fairways.  Keep in mind the brown spots only indicate dry areas, not dead turf.  A natural defense mechanism for grass is to go semi-dormant which involves minimal top growth and a loss of green color.  The areas you're seeing brown out, normally occur when we have this kind of weather and will start to look better when the daytime high is below 85 degrees and there is more available soil moisture.  According to the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh we haven't had a stretch of 90 degree days this long since 2012.  With July ending today, we also recorded our third month in a row of below average rainfall.  We currently sit at 5.5" below our average rainfall for May, June & July combined.

We've relied much more on the irrigation systems this year as compared to the previous three years, and we're watering fairways, and everything else, every night it doesn't rain.  We then handwater or run heads during the day as needed to keep the hot spots moist.  A normal irrigation cycle is 10 minutes per head, but we've increased that lately up to 15 minutes in many areas.  Any longer and the water can't soak into the soil.  It will runoff and puddle in the low areas where it creates a higher chance of disease due to the excess moisture, and create soft, mushy turf where balls plug.  The run time may not sound like a lot, but each irrigation head puts out 40-60 gallons per minute depending on the nozzle set used.  Our irrigation system has good coverage of all the playing surfaces, but even the most modern system will never replace a steady natural rainfall.  Adding to the challenge is the fairways and rough are grown on mostly heavy clay, with very little topsoil.  Lakes fairways are especially bad with clay and rocks near the surface, that's why you'll see more dry areas on that course.  Aerification and topdressing have helped improve the growing conditions, but it's going to take several more years until we really see an improvement.

This is Lakes #3 approach.  It was constructed on a rock outcropping with minimal topsoil.  The shallow rock absorbs heat and dries out the soil, which leads to brown areas.  Our regular aerification and sand topdressing program are slowly improving this area.

This represents a typical dry area on a fairway.  If you look close you can see little green circles in the brown spots.  Those green circles are old aerification holes where the turf is healthier from deeper roots and better water penetration.

Ballmarks

The extended stretch of 90+ degrees and lack of rainfall has required us to water more frequently to keep the turf from wilting.  This has resulted in softer putting greens that are more prone to ballmarks.  A properly repaired ballmark will heal in just a few days, as compared to one that isn't repaired properly will usually take a couple weeks, if it heals at all.  The maintenance staff repairs what we can prior to mowing greens in the morning, but it is the golfer's responsibility to fix their ballmarks.

Click Here To Watch A Short Video From The USGA On Repairing Ballmarks

Here's a typical, unrepaired ballmark on a putting green.

Here's an improperly repaired ballmark.  The damaged center has been popped up and will remain in this condition for several weeks.

The ballmark in the first picture was repaired following the guidance in the USGA video.  The ballmark is in the center of the picture, but it's very difficult to distinguish since it was repaired properly.

Bees In The Bunkers

Some concerns have been expressed about the "bees" that invade our bunkers every year around this time. They are actually Sand Wasps (Bembix species) and surprisingly pose no threat to humans.  Keep in mind that our staff maintains the bunkers daily and we are constantly disturbing them.
NOT ONE STING!

Sand Wasp (Bembix species) burrowing in the sand

For a few weeks every summer we have visitors that take up residence in our sand traps. These fast fliers are officially known as the Bembix Sand Wasp. They dig numerous burrows in cool, moist sand (ie- bunkers) to lay their eggs. Juvenile wasps, known as larvae, emerge from the eggs where they remain in the sand and grow into adults. Adult females congregate together in large numbers when making nests to bait their prey. The higher populations of larvae in nesting sites attract flies, beetles, caterpillars and grasshoppers. These insects are captured by the female wasp and taken back to the burrows to be fed to the growing larvae.

The existence of these insects in the bunkers is a nuisance to golfers, but beneficial to the course as they help to control the population of flies and detrimental turf beetles by preying on them.

The greatest concern for golfers is that they will get stung by these wasps when entering a bunker to play a shot.  Studies have proven that this particular wasp is not aggressive and of no harm to humans.  Both male and female wasps will not sting humans unless they are stepped on or smashed between your hands.  When approached by a human the sand wasp will initially swarm, looking for food, and then go back to their burrows to protect their larvae.

Course Update 7/9/20

We vented greens and collars this week to allow for gas exchange and better water penetration in heat stressed areas, along with relieving surface compaction.  Venting is aerifying with small (.25") diameter solid tines that penetrate up to 3" deep.  The process involves mowing the green first, then venting, followed by rolling to smooth any imperfections on the putting surface.  We typically perform this process several times during the summer in addition to our traditional core aerifications in the spring and fall.  Most golfers don't even notice we did anything since the process causes very little surface disruption.

We use our regular greens aerifier outfitted with 60, .25" diameter solid tines spaced 1.5" apart.  This setup creates 72 holes per square foot, which sounds like a lot, but only affects 2.75% of the greens surface area.

This picture was taken prior to rolling so the holes look more pronounced.

The tool in this picture is a soil probe that removes a small core from the green that is checked for moisture content.  The probe is laying on a patch of Bentgrass on one of our greens.  The turf around the Bentgrass is Annual Bluegrass (Poa annua).  The greens were originally seeded and grown in with Bentgrass in the mid 90's, but the Poa eventually got a foothold and has become the dominant turf.  Poa does not like hot temperatures or high humidity, and needs a lot of TLC in this kind of weather.

Course Update 6/30/20

We recently applied a wetting agent to greens, tees, and fairways in preparation for the hot and dry weather this week.  Wetting agents, also known as surfactants, are a chemical compound that reduce the surface tension of water, allowing it to spread out and penetrate the turf and soil easier.  Wetting agents can be something as simple as dish soap, and are very safe for both people and the environment.  In fact, using wetting agents can reduce the amount of water needed during irrigation cycles because most of the water applied will be able to infiltrate the soil instead of puddling and becoming runoff.

In this type of weather you will also see the staff hand watering throughout the day, including running some irrigation heads if large areas need water, typically fairways and rough.  Hand watering is a slower process than running irrigation heads, but it allows us to better manage the water given to a specific area.  We are fully aware that watering during the day may be disruptive to your round, but please understand that we need to keep the turf alive for your future rounds.

Irrigation heads running on Grove 6

Hand watering Grove 7 green

Course Update 6/27/20

We've been sodding worn areas in the rough over the past couple of weeks to improve the aesthetics and playability of the courses.  The excessive rainfall the past two years has led to ruts and low spots from carts and mowing equipment, which only get worse unless repaired.  We're using leftover rough sod from the driving range tee project that is 100% Kentucky Bluegrass.  This turf is a better choice for the rough because of it's deep rooting, reduced water requirement, consistent texture, and great color.  It's a noticeable contrast to our existing rough which is a hodgepodge of Perennial Ryegrass, Creeping Bentgrass and Annual Bluegrass.

Worn areas in the intermediate rough marked for repair.

Worn areas repaired with Kentucky Bluegrass sod.

Area below Grove 8 fairway bunker continued to erode with every thunderstorm.  In bad storms the bunker sand would wash onto the fairway and was reducing turf quality.

The bunker edge was re-established with thin, flexible wood panels that would provide a smooth curve.  The next step was to build up the eroded area with screened topsoil to provide a stable base for the new sod.

Here's a better look at the re-established edge.  The new piece of sod was used as a guide to determine how much topsoil to add to achieve the final grade.

The finished product is a huge improvement!