Course Update 12/31/21

 Earlier this month we took advantage of the above-average temperatures to perform a late-season deep-tine aerification and topdress of all 29 greens.  We originally planned to complete this process in November, but the nice weather allowed for an extended golf season so we delayed as long as we could.  In addition to aerifying greens this month, we completed the arduous task of leaf cleanup throughout the property and applied snow mold fungicides to prevent disease on all 53 acres of greens, tees, and fairways.  With some extra time around the holidays, the staff started cutting back overgrown vegetation along pond banks on Lakes and Orchard.  We plan to resume this work after the New Year along with starting tree removal in some key areas.

Greens were aerified with a 1/2" diameter solid tine 10" deep to relieve compaction and allow for better drainage of surface water during the winter.

The aerifier was setup at 2" lateral x 3" forward spacing to maximize the number of holes while not causing damage to the putting surfaces.

A heavy layer of sand was then applied to the greens following aerification which will be incorporated into the thatch layer over the winter.  Topdressing sand is crucial to having firm greens that drain well.

Standing behind the gold tee on Orchard #9 you can see how the overgrown vegetation along the pond prevented golfers from seeing the green and using the right half of the tee.

Orchard #9 with the vegetation removed.  It will be easier to maintain the pond edge now that the woody brush and thick weeds are gone.

Here's a similar scenario on Lakes #6 where the overgrown vegetation along the pond prevented golfers from using all the available tee surface.

A significant amount of vegetation had to be removed on Lakes #6.

Golfers now have an unobstructed view of Lakes #6.

November Precipitation

 We only received 1.16" of liquid precipitation in November from 8 rain and/or snow events and had 10 days of Cart Path Only restrictions.  The first 10 days of the month were relatively dry from only receiving .06" of rain.  Then the temperature turned colder and we experienced several small snow events over the remaining 20 days. Our historical average rainfall in November is 3.24" and we are currently 6.12" above our year-to-date average precipitation since January 1st.

Course Update 11/30/21

 We recently took delivery of a new piece of equipment that will make it easier to maintain our pond and creek banks.  Normally, the staff has to use string trimmers, brush cutters, and sometimes chainsaws to keep the weeds and brush knocked down around the ponds and creeks.  The new sickle-bar mower will do the same job as several staff members in half the time or less.

Cutting vegetation along the pond edge of Orchard #8 lower fairway

The 48" long sickle-bar mower slices through grass, brush & small trees up to 2" in diameter

The hydraulically controlled unit attaches to the front of an articulating tractor we use to mow rough around greens, tees & bunkers

Even though it's cold & snowy, we resumed mowing the outer rough this week along with cleaning up dead apple trees

October Precipitation

 We average 2.67" of rain in October, but received 4.25" this year from 13 rain events with 9 Cart Path Only days.  The first 3 weeks of the month started out relatively dry while only receiving 1.44" and we were hoping that weather trend would continue.  Unfortunately, that wasn't the case and ended up being very wet the remainder of the month.  We are currently 8.2" above our year-to-date average precipitation since January 1st.

Course Update 10/22/21

 We took advantage of the beautiful weather this week to aerify and topdress tees on all three courses.  The frost delay on Tuesday slowed our productivity, but the staff worked late and got us back on schedule.

Topdressing sand is applied first.  We used 80 tons (4 truck loads) to do all 3 courses.

After topdressing, the tees were aerified on a 2" x 2" square spacing using a 3/4" diameter solid tine.  Our goal was to create a lot of large holes for the sand to fill up.

The final step was brushing the sand to fill all the holes and level out any imperfections on the surface.  You can see the tight hole spacing in this picture.

This is the gold tee on Grove #1 after brushing the sand yesterday afternoon.

Here's the same tee after .52" of rain last night that helped wash in the topdressing sand.

Frost Delays

Frosted turf around Lakes 1 tees

 We experienced our first frost delay of the fall season this morning after the temperature dropped to 34 degrees last night.  Frost delays are very common this time of year and can still occur when the air temperature is above freezing.  Frost will usually be evident at sunrise, as the air at ground level is warmed it becomes lighter and rises.  Colder, denser air takes 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 property are heavily shaded and take longer to thaw, such as Orchard 1, Lakes 2, and Grove 2 & 3.  Our winter tree removal program has focused on these specific holes to allow for increased sunlight penetration, but we still have more work to do.  On cold mornings, the maintenance staff monitors these specific holes to determine whether frost is present.  The decision to allow play is then based on when those areas will be frost-free and the courses can be prepared for play.  Once the frost lifts, the maintenance staff requires a 30-60 minute head start to stay ahead of play depending on the maintenance activities that day.  Looking at weather records from last fall, our first frost delay occurred on September 19, so a full month earlier than this year.

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

September Precipitation

 We received 3.7" of rain this month from 7 rain events and had 4 days of Cart Path Only restrictions.  2.59" of rain fell in the first 9 days of the month followed by 12 days of no precipitation.  Our historical average rainfall in September is 3.28" and we are currently 6.62" above our year-to-date average precipitation since January 1st.  Let's hope the dry weather continues thru October!

Course Update 9/30/21

 Greens have healed from the DryJect aeration 3 weeks ago and fairways are slowly improving after being aerified 1 week ago.  The cool, dry weather and shorter days has slowed turf growth and allowed the maintenance staff to address some projects in addition to regular mowing tasks.  We try to have all our projects completed in October so we can focus on leaf cleanup and other late fall tasks in November.

Lakes #9 green this morning

Fairways one week post aerification

Grove #6 fairway this morning

The staff started sodding a few bare areas in fairways this week.  This is Grove #7 looking back at the tees.

August Precipitation

 We received 7.3" of rain in August from 15 rain events, but only had 6 days of Cart Path Only restrictions. 6.77" of rain fell during the last 3 weeks of the month and coincided with temperatures in the high 80's/low 90's.  Our historical average rainfall for August is 3.23" and we are currently 6.2" above our year-to-date average precipitation since January 1st.  August was the wettest month so far this year, and according to our records this was the wettest August since 2015.

Course Update 8/31/21

 We've received 3" of rain since Wednesday 8/25, with nearly 2" of heavy rain coming Sunday afternoon and evening.  Every bunker on property washed out and the strong winds brought down a lot of tree branches and debris.  The Lakes course seems to have gotten the worst of it and the staff has spent the past two days cleaning up debris.  Most of the bunkers are still flooded and we will begin repairs once the sand dries out, hopefully later this week.  The forecast calls for more rain tonight and tomorrow from the remnants of tropical storm Ida, and we could receive significant amounts depending on the storm track.  We were able to mow greens, tees, and some rough on Grove today, but fairways and approaches remain too wet to mow.  Mowing in wet conditions negatively affects the turf by creating compacted soils that limit oxygen and water movement for healthy roots, there's a greater chance for mowers to spread fungal spores outside of the wet areas, and the turf is more prone to mechanical damage (scalping) from the excess water in the plant causing cells to be swollen.  A little patience now to limit turf damage will have us back in good condition sooner than you think.

The amount of water draining near Lakes 5 green exceeded what the 36" pipe could handle. Debris collected above the pipe, in the bunker, and out in the approach.

Course Update 8/15/21

 So far this month we've received 2.7" of rain, but 2.58" of it fell over the past week.  That much rain combined with the hot, humid weather is stressing the turf and keeping many areas wet.  We were hoping to dry out this weekend but the overcast conditions aren't helping.  Worn areas are showing up in the high traffic areas around greens and tees, which isn't surprising considering how busy the Men's Invitational was.  The cooler temperatures forecast this coming week will help with turf recovery, and the maintenance staff has already implemented different methods of how and where we turn the mowers.  A little shot of fertilizer scheduled for later this month will also help the turf bounce back.  Golfers can also help by practicing the 90 Degree rule when driving to your ball from the cart path, following the cart directional signs, and keeping all four wheels of the cart on the path around greens and tees.

Course Update 7/31/21

 Greens were lightly topdressed again this week as part of our Men's Invitational prep to help firm up and smooth the putting surfaces.  We also pulled out our old spiker to create slits in the putting surface to break up any remaining black algae and help incorporate the sand into the thatch.  The spiker is a ground-driven attachment mounted on an old bunker rake that's been re-purposed specifically for this task.

Greens were topdressed first then spiked to create slits for the sand to work into the thatch.

Here's a closeup of one of the spiker blades.  There are 10 spikes per blade that penetrate up to 1" deep.  The blades are ground-driven which means they only rotate when in contact with the ground and the attachment has two sets of lead weights on top of it to get maximum penetration.

Here's a putting surface after topdressing and spiking.

After spiking the greens are dragged with a special coco fiber mat to get the sand off the surface and into the thatch where it's most beneficial.  The right half of the picture shows where the green has been dragged compared to the left half that has not been dragged yet.

We also addressed a couple areas on Lakes 5 fairway that needed to be sodded before the Men's Invitational.  This spot was caused by a sprayer malfunction that kept the booms going after the sprayer had stopped moving.

Here's the same area with sod harvested from our small nursery below Grove 1 tees.

Course Update 7/23/21

5.28" of rain has fallen so far this month and the first three weeks saw very humid, mostly overcast conditions.  Increased disease pressure and activity was discussed in the last post and this time it's about Silvery-Thread Moss and Black Algae.  Both are opportunistic organisms that thrive under warm, moist conditions, and can lead to turf loss if not managed correctly.  Fortunately, our weather pattern has changed to sunny, drier conditions that favor turf growth.  Cultural practices such as aerifying (solid & core), spiking, topdressing, and verticutting all discourage both organisms by creating a drier, less favorable growing environment.

Here's a spot of Silvery-Thread Moss growing on a putting green.  In addition to the cultural practices mentioned above, we apply a special herbicide weekly to suppress it's growth and stop it from spreading.

Here's some Black Algae growing on the soil surface of a putting green below the turf canopy.  It's commonly found where the turf is thin from prolonged shade or excess foot traffic in walk-on areas.  Similar to the moss, we utilize all the cultural practices mentioned above and a special fungicide applied weekly to break up the algal mat and promote turf growth.

Course Update 7/15/21

We've received 3.82" of rain from 9 weather events over the first 15 days this month.  Our historical average total precipitation for July is 3.90" so we're hoping for some dry weather the second half of the month.  The amount of rain has presented some challenges, but all the drainage projects, regular aerification, and sand topdressing are keeping the courses in good condition.  It's the high humidity and nighttime temperatures in the upper 60's/low 70's over the past two weeks that are really affecting the turf.  

Similar to how our skin feels sticky when it's humid, turf is affected the same way and grows best in drier conditions.  Humid weather prevents excess moisture from evaporating off the leaf blades and out of the soil, creating lush, soft conditions that frustrate golfers and turf managers.  When combined with warmer temperatures, the excess moisture creates a perfect environment for turf diseases which must be treated with fungicides.  Our most common summer disease is Dollar Spot and is easily identified by the light tan, circular spots that start out about the size of a silver dollar.  As the disease progresses, the spots will bleed into each other and form larger, irregular patches that can be several feet in diameter.  Dollar Spot is one of the easiest diseases to control and does not result in widespread turf loss if treated early.  During the summer, we spray fungicides preventively for Dollar Spot every 14 days on greens, 14-21 days on tees, and 21-28 days on fairways depending on weather conditions.  This week we had to spray fairways to control Dollar Spot after only 17 days since the last application due to the increased disease pressure caused by the wet weather.  Two different chemistries were applied for a quick knockdown of the disease combined with longer residual control provided by a systemic fungicide that is absorbed by the plant.  Several fertility products were also included in the spray to help the infected turf recover and produce new leaf tissue.  In case you're wondering, we maintain 40 acres of fairways and this one application cost $12,000.

Lakes #9 fairway.  Dollar Spot is easily identified by the tan colored spots and irregular shaped patches.

Grove #6 rough.  If your home lawn looks like this you may have active Dollar Spot.  We typically spray the rough several times per season to control Dollar Spot and Gray Leaf Spot.

June Precipitation

 We received 4.77" of rain in June from 10 rain events, but only had 5 days of Cart Path Only restrictions.  3.77" of rain fell from 6/7-6/15, and only .76" fell over the last 15 days of the month.  Our historical average rainfall for June is 4.15" and we are currently .75"above our year-to-date average precipitation since January 1st.

Course Update 6/12/21

 Since Monday afternoon we've had 4 weather events resulting in 2.64" of rain.  Thursday evening we received 1.11" of very heavy rain in about 30 minutes that washed out all 157 bunkers and left a significant amount of debris to cleanup.  Fortunately, our sand based greens drain very well and that allowed us to mow greens and change cups Friday morning, along with mowing rough in drier areas of the property.  The rest of the staff spent all day repairing the bunkers, cleaning up debris, and uncovering drain caps that were grown over.  A little breeze and a lot of sun would really help dry out the courses and we just may get that next week according to the forecast.

Greens have been very lush this week from all the rain, which translates to slow and soft putting surfaces.  They will naturally firm up and become faster as they dry out.

There was so much water moving thru the property from Thursday's rain it carried a 15 foot log and wedged it in the 30 inch drain pipe that goes under Lakes #5 approach. We have to use an excavator to remove the log and other debris from the inlet of the pipe.

This is typical for our bunkers during very heavy rain.

Lakes #9 fairway bunker with a 6-8 inch deep sand swell that washed down on Thursday.

Earlier in the week we re-sodded some rough areas with Kentucky Bluegrass from a local sod farm.

May Precipitation

 We received 4.97" of rain this month from 10 rain events, but only had 8 days of Cart Path Only restrictions.  2.99" of rain fell in the first 10 days of the month with an additional 1.98" coming in the last 6 days.  There was a 15 day stretch of hot, dry weather in the middle of the month that was rare for us this time of year.

Our historical average rainfall for May is 4.43" and we are currently .13" above our year-to-date average precipitation since January 1st.

Course Update 5/26/21

 All 29 greens were verticut, mowed, and topdressed today prior to the heavy rain forecasted for tonight.  Verticutting is a common practice in the spring to remove excess leaf tissue and Poa seedheads.  It also helps stand the grass blades up for a cleaner cut, which results in faster and smoother ball roll.  After the greens are verticut and the debris is blown off, the putting surfaces are mowed to cleanup the longer grass blades, then a light sand topdressing is applied.  Now that we're in season and mowing greens daily, only a small amount of sand is applied weekly.  We refer to this as a "Sugar Coating" and it has minimal effect on the mowers.  If a heavier amount of sand is applied it would dull the mowers after the first green and take longer to be incorporated into the turf canopy.  We normally apply heavy amounts of sand in the spring and fall in conjunction with aerification.  Frequently topdressing greens in season has become more common as the benefits of light applications of sand are better understood.  Firmer, smoother, and drier putting surfaces can be expected by golfers, while Superintendents are seeing healthier turf that requires less water and can withstand increased foot traffic and extreme weather events.

One of our older, riding greens mowers is fitted with special verticutting heads so any of our equipment operators can perform this important task. Most of the leaf tissue and seedheads removed during the process are collected by the grass baskets mounted in front of the verticut heads, but some debris is left on the putting surface and needs to be blown off before topdressing occurs.

Here's the putting surface immediately after verticutting where the individual rows created by the verticut blades are visible.

Lakes #8 green after lightly topdressing.

Here's a closeup of a topdressed green with a golf ball in the center of a small area brushed in by hand to give a better idea of the "Sugar Coating" reference.

Frost Delays 5/15/21

Frosted turf around Lakes 1 tees

 We've had frost delays the past 4 mornings due to nighttime temperatures in the low to mid 30's.  Frost delays are still common this time of year and can even occur when the air temperature is above freezing, as was the case the past 4 nights.  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, such as Orchard 1, Lakes 2, and Grove 2 & 3.  Our winter tree removal program has focused on these specific holes to allow for increased sunlight penetration, but we still have more work to do.  The maintenance staff monitors these specific holes on cold mornings to determine whether frost is present, and the decision to allow play is based on when those areas will be frost-free and the courses can be prepared for play.  The maintenance staff requires a 45-60 minute head start to stay ahead of play depending on the activities that day.  Looking at weather records from last year, our last frost delay occurred on 6/1.

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

Frost delays are a great time to mow outer rough that's not affected by the frost

Trimming back overgrown brush and low hanging trees along cart paths are a regular frost delay task

Mulching landscape beds around the clubhouse on frosty mornings greatly improves aesthetics

Course Update 4/30/21

 We've received 1.45" of rain since Wednesday evening and 1.30" of that fell yesterday.  We could only mow greens and tees today.  Fairways and approaches were too wet.  We also had our usual tasks of clearing plugged drain lids, repairing bunkers, and cleaning up other debris.  These are normal tasks anytime we get rainfall in excess of .75" from a single event.

So far this month we've received 2.91" of rain from 11 different storms, but only had 4 days of Cart Path Only restrictions.  Our historical average rainfall for April is 3.01" and we are currently .47" below our year-to-date average precipitation since January 1st.

This is typical of the bunkers after a large rain event.

Every time the rain causes wash outs it brings up soil and rocks that contaminate the sand.

Our bunker maintenance equipment have hydraulically operated blades specifically made for pushing sand.

Here's a bunker after fixing the washouts and raking.

Debris cleanup is another task we're always doing after large rain events. This is the creek on Orchard #2 that typically backs up before it goes under the cart path. You can tell how high the water got by where the debris is deposited.

The pond on Orchard #2 is the last body of water on property and collects all the runoff/drainage from the surrounding areas all the way back to Grove #8 tees, up to Orchard #8 tees, including the neighborhoods. It's not unusual for the low-lying areas around the pond to flood given the volume of water flowing into it, and we are able to open a flood valve built into the concrete dam to release more water and help the surrounding areas drain quicker.

On a positive note, the rain washed any remaining aerification debris off the fairways and watered in the granular fertilizer we applied to the greens on Wednesday.