Course Update....Weather Once Again Dictates Progress & Not In A Positive Way

I am running out of adjectives to describe 2014 but one thing is for sure, 2014 will be remembered for a long time & not in a good way.  The struggles to the beginning of this golf season have been well documented and as the window of opportunity that Spring brings quickly washes away; I have come to the conclusion that 2014 is going to be a real battle.  The development of the new seedlings has been slow with the below average temperatures which could lead to underdevelopment of the new plant prior to the summer heat.  It can bring overwhelming thoughts at times as I try to adjust/adapt to the ever changing weather.  We have done all the right things and given the effort needed but this proves that Mother Nature dictates the success of things as the environment is a major component in the health of living plants.  All that being said, progress has been made and brighter days are ahead.



With the colder nights and chance for frost covers have been put back on recovering areas

On Wednesday, we pushed the envelope and got all the greens, tees, & fairways mowed getting things somewhat under control.  Also, with the colder weather, we covered the damaged areas on greens to protect these areas from the well below nightly temperatures.  These areas will remain covered until more moderate temperatures return.  All greens are open for play with the exception of 7,8,10,& 11.  The other greens will have partial covers but portions of the greens are open.



Flooding conditions in some areas while other areas were just fully saturated

Over the past 7 days we have received over 4 inches of rain with still more looking to fall from the skies today.  A lot of labor hours have been lost and numerous tasks not completed due to the overly wet, rainy weather.  None of the additional seeding of greens or fairways was able to get started & it has been a crap shoot with keeping up with mowing the fairways and rough.  Bunkers have been wounded severely from all the rain and we will need some dry conditions to get the course tamed once again.  The crew is ready to tackle the task at hand and hopefully it can start tomorrow if conditions allow.

Typical bunker conditions following heavy rain events

Flooded conditions

Saturated conditions limiting mowing of the rough

Tire tracking throughout the course limiting normal maintenance

The rain has had one positive affect.  The sod at the new range tee is beginning to root & we haven't needed to water it.  Hoooray!!!

Dodging the rain drops, a few crew members mowed the new sod for the first time at the New Range Tee

The new tee sign post have been installed this week and beginning next week all the new tee signs will be hung.  A little clean up of the crushed brick area surrounding the tee sign & bench and things will be looking good.

New tee sign at #1

Lastly, I wanted to point out something that we usually don't see in normal years.....Poa Seed Heads!!

The sea of white shows all the seed produced by Poa Annua on a green

Here is a closer look at all the seed production on a fairway

In normal years we apply a combination of growth regulators that suppress the production of seed.  Unfortunately, these products were not applied this year based on the fact that we had so much turf recovery & reestablishment to achieve after the ice damage from the terrible winter.

I will update you next week and hopefully it has some good news & weather to go along with.

Course Update and Week in Review

Summer has smacked us in the face these last 2 days and what a change it was as the temperatures nearly hit 90 degrees yesterday followed by a welcomed warm rain.  These are some key ingredients that we have been missing the past month as we deal with the recovery process.  The cover shuffle of taking off and putting on the covers has been a lot of extra time and effort but the warmer temperatures has allowed us to leave the covers off.  Based on the forecast, the covers will remain off until next week as it seems the warm weather may retreat a little later next week.

The positives from our recovery efforts are quite evident as you can see the seed germination that has taken place in the damaged areas.  While I would have much preferred better weather in April, I am pleased and optimistic considering the hand we have been dealt by Mother Nature.

Seed germination is the slit seeded lines

After evaluation earlier today, we will be opening up greens 3,4,5,13,&16. Greens 7,8,10, &11 will remain closed and be reevaluated next week.  There is still much needed recovery on all the damaged areas but the decision is being made to allow our beautiful course to be enjoyed while also limiting the risk of not achieving what we hope to be a full recovery prior to the summer heat.  Damaged areas are marked around the outer edges with white dots.  Please limit your foot traffic to only retrieving you golf ball and putting into a playable area.  If you are coming onto a green, please walk around these areas as again to limit the foot traffic.  Thank you in advance.

The white dots surround the damage area.  Please limit foot traffic to ball retrieval only!!

The addition of another front range tee was completed yesterday.  Kudos to the crew for pushing hard to get the job done before the rain.  I am proud to have these guys around me as it doesn't matter if it is recovery, renovation, or general maintenance........they always get it done.

Irrigation installation & leveling of the front range tee



Low mow bluegrass sod installed and testing coverage of the irrigation coverage

I would expect the sod to start rooting in the next 7-14 days and from there we will start to lower the height.  Once the sod is established and at 1 inch mowing height it will be opened and used for irons only.  Hopefully this will all take place in the next 3-4 weeks and we can begin to enjoy this welcomed addition to the practice area.

Augering the holes for the new tee sign posts

The tee signs should be installed within the next 2 weeks.  The new sign posts will be installed next week and then the new signs will be hung the following week.  It sure is nice to check things off the list of "things to do."

Dimple tine spiking the damaged areas on greens to incorporate more seed

Very little disturbance to the turf but very effective in seed to soil contact

While I am happy with the seed germination & recovery we have gotten so far with the horrible weather in April, I wanted to get more bentgrass seed into the damage areas now that the weather may be in our favor????  This whole recovery process has been frustrating to say the least but I have to believe May will speed up the process and get the course back to its normal playability and beauty. I will keep you posted next week with any and all progress made.



Idle Chatter With Course Updates

FROM THE GROUNDS

MAY 2013

Spring is quickly escaping us as we move into the end of May.  We have gotten a lot of work done and the course shows the progress that has been made even with the extra work that was put upon us with the flood.  For the most part we have achieved all the necessary duties during the timing that was necessary but for a few things.  Here are a few tidbits to either mark on your calendar or maybe even make you laugh a little.

Irrigation working properly on #10 Tee.

The irrigation system, “The Dragon” as I call it; has once again awakened for the season.  It took a lot of man hours but we finally have it operating properly.  My fingers are crossed that my old nemesis will maintain itself thus allowing me to maintain my sanity.

 

Solid tining provides benefits without the major disruption of pulling plugs.

The aerification process that I have used for the last few years is pretty membership friendly and it has all but been completed.  The only areas remaining to be aerified are the fairways.  Without the irrigation system operating properly, I had to delay fairway aerification to ensure the health of these 25 acres.  Now that the irrigation system is up to snuff….we will begin fairway aerification next week.  We will be solid tining the fairways so they should recover pretty quickly.

 

New #16 Tee.

I am happy to say the new #16 tee will open Friday May 24^th just in time for the Memorial Day weekend.  It’s kind of a funny thought but I think some people may be upset.  Numerous members have said they like the temporary tee box as they have hit the green more often.  From that stand point I find it hard to say sorry but some good things must come to an end.

 

Andrew performing flood clean up.

In case you haven’t noticed the new face on the course this spring I wanted to mention Andrew Narlow.  Andrew is the new Assistant and I am happy to say the he is off to a great start.  Andrew is a hard working and diligent young man that is going the help me a great deal.  He has quite a few things to learn about the operation here but I am sure he will give the effort necessary to succeed.

 

Thinking about the heat makes me think of snow.  O-H-I-O!

I hope everyone has had a great spring thus far and are looking forward to some normal weather before the heat and humidity set in for the summer.  I am really looking for to the 2013 and the great things it will bring to the club.  I feel the same way every year about this time; ask me that in August and you may get a different answer.  For future, frequent updates follow the blog or follow me on twitter @idycc

Respectfully,

Kurt Sams, CGCS