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.