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.