Grove 3 Fairway

There was approximately 3,500 square feet of bentgrass sod installed at the beginning of the fairway last week.  We knew there would be extra sod after the new tees were recently sodded, and felt this was the best place to use it.  The new sod for Grove 3 tees is scheduled to be installed the week of 10/16, and the remaining sod will be laid in the thin areas on the fairway.  The plan is to sod the worst areas on the fairway, while we incorporate more seed and topdressing sand into the smaller areas.

New bentgrass sod at the beginning of Grove 3 fairway

Understanding Frost Delays

Frost is common this time of year and can even 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 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 course 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.  An easy way to tell if frost is present is by running your hand across the grass.  If the dew wipes away it's safe to walk on the turf.

Click here to watch a short video about frost from the USGA.

October Awareness

All month long you'll see pink flags, sticks and cups throughout the course in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness.

Construction Update

The tee renovation is progressing nicely and the contractor is nearing completion of Grove #2 tees.  Sod installation is scheduled for Wednesday, 10/4 and Thursday, 10/5, and will finish the tees on Lakes #6, Orchard #9, Grove #2 and #9.

Work also started on Grove #3 gold tee this weekend to make room for stockpiling soil and sand.  All the tees on #3 are being renovated to some degree, and work will start on the gold tee and move forward.  Tree removal is also necessary on #3 due to their close proximity to the tees.  We found tree roots within the top 3 inches under the teeing surface of the gold tee, which explains why the turf decline was so severe.  Besides competition with the roots, the size of the trees block out much-needed sunlight and airflow, which is why the tees and surrounds are always wet.

Large rocks near the surface of Grove #9 blue tee.

Rocks from under Grove #9 blue tee.  Tough to produce good turf on top of rocks!

Leveling Grove #2 blue tee and moving the irrigation head so it's not on the tee surface.

Grove #2 blue tee ready for sand mix.

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Course Update -- Bunkers

Quick Course Fact...There are 157 bunkers on property, which equates to 3.5 acres of sand and 3.75 miles of bunker edge.

It takes a considerable amount of time to properly maintain them all, and this year we've devoted many more resources to that effort.  A landscape company has been coming in once per week for the past 15 weeks to edge, pull weeds, and move sand from low areas back up to the slopes and faces.  A member of the grounds staff has assisted them each week, and their combined time totals 560 man hours thus far.  The greenside bunkers on all three nines have been edged, along with all the fairway bunkers on Orchard.  The crew is almost finished with Lakes fairway bunkers and will turn to Grove to finish out the season.  Work in the greenside bunkers went relatively quick as they only required minimal edging.  The fairway bunkers have been a different story.  Some of the fairway bunkers were so overgrown the crew ended up cutting back 12" to find the native soil edge.  Once all the organic material is removed the crew can start moving sand around.  Going forward, the bunkers only require bi-weekly trimming of the grass surround, pulling weeds as they emerge, and regular raking.

Edging a fairway bunker on Lakes #7

Course Update -- Fairways

Despite all the repair work done to the fairways, the areas damaged by Pythium blight earlier this summer are healing slower than anticipated.  The problem comes from the excessive amount of thatch in the fairways, which retains too much moisture and does not provide the ideal conditions for seed germination.  Going forward, the aerification program started this fall will reduce thatch levels over time and the grass will be healthier.  Please refer to an earlier post about aerification and why it is necessary.  Additionally, we're working with our regional support team to implement the best solution to restore the fairways to optimal playing conditions as quickly as possible.

Construction Update

The contractor is currently re-shaping and leveling the blue and white tees on Orchard 9.  He anticipates having them ready for sod this week.  Next on the list is Grove 2 and 3.  With projects like this we need to have a large number of areas prepped so when the sod crew is here they can install everything in two days.

Aerification Update

Regular core aerification is essential in maintaining healthy turf that can withstand the wear and tear of a long golf season and the extreme weather events that go with it.  For our location, that means pulling a core twice per year, typically early spring and sometime in the fall.  This year, we experimented with a newer process called DryJect that uses high pressure water to inject sand directly into the rootzone.   The process was very successful in that it created firmer greens and the healing time was only a few days compared to a couple weeks.  It worked so well the management team decided to have the service done again this fall, but we needed to combine it with core aerification that removes some of the old sand and thatch.  We originally planned to have the contractor here last Tuesday/Wednesday after Labor Day, but the weather did not cooperate and the service was postponed.  Since the weather wasn't conducive to DryJecting, we went ahead and core aerified the greens using 1/4" mini tines and then lightly topdressed.  The plan was always to core aerify immediately after DryJecting, but we didn't want to wait given the uncertainty of the weather this time of year.  Orchard and Grove greens were completed last Thursday and as of this morning the holes were barely visible.  The advantage of using a smaller tine is the healing time is greatly reduced, but we're still removing a good amount of old sand mix and thatch by creating 72 holes per square foot with our current machine setup.  Lakes greens are being aerified and topdressed today, and will heal quickly with a little rain and warm temps.  We still plan to DryJect the greens this fall and we're working with the contractor to identify some dates that are less disruptive to the membership.  More info to come...

As for fairways and tees, they too require core aerification twice per year and we're starting on that cycle this fall.  Orchard fairways have been completed, and a contractor is aerifying Lakes today and Grove fairways tomorrow.  Fairway aerification is a much bigger task since we have 40 acres between the three courses.  Tees encompass 6 acres and the maintenance staff will aerify those during periods of slow play.

Remember to check with the Golf Shop regarding course status and any maintenance activities scheduled for that day.


Click on the link below for more information about aerification and why it is necessary.

http://www.usga.org/videos/2013/03/27/usga-course-care-video--why-aerate--2257797353001.html

Early June 2016 Update !!!

I know some time has past since the last update but the season is in full swing !!!  Some things that have been completed on the course since the last update include....Regular mowing of the course; mulching of flower beds, getting the irrigation system up and running, planting of seasonal flowers and minor cultural practices to the greens including light topdressing, grooming and verti-cutting to name a few.

The early summer also brings on certain projects that are done only once every year or every two years such as our Audubon International Certification.  As you may or may not know, Treesdale Golf & Country Club is Audubon Certified and has been for many years.  Being certified is not a one and done deal; it is an ONGOING process!!! This year we were required to have a site visit by an approved third party reviewer.  The review was conducted by Sandy Feather who is an extension educator for The Pennsylvania State University.  Her areas of expertise include Integrated Pest Management, Organic Land Care, Arboriculture and Plant Identification & Usage.  She was on property Monday June 6th to conduct the review.  She was impressed with the size of the property and the amount of native areas that are around Treesdale.  We passed our recertification process but we have areas to improve on.  Some of these areas you will be seeing this year and in years to come.  Signs will be proudly hung in given areas to advertise that we are an official Audubon International Certified Golf Course.  Current project and future project lists will be displayed for members to view and inquire about.  We are always looking for ways to become a better steward for the environment.  Remember, becoming a certified Audubon International golf course is an ongoing process and never ends.  The members should be proud that we are such and help to promote Audubon International.  For more information about them and to make a donation please visit their site at https://www.auduboninternational.org/acspgolf

CEDAR WAXWING @ TREESDALE