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.



Rain Rain Go Away Come Back When We Need It

Add another 1.8 inches onto what has been an incredibly wet spring.  It hasn't been favorable for the golfer or the grounds crew but as diehards we keep on keeping on.  The storm last night brought some high winds which left quite a mess.  The day was spent cleaning greens, tees, & fairways & pumping water from the bunkers and the usual turf areas. 

Debris throughout the course is very time consuming to cleanup.

After 12 hours of pumping, the water receded on 15 fairway but water still had 8 tee surrounded and 11 fairway still was in need of a bridge to cross its river. 

#17 green shows the amount of water and damage that took place with yet another rain event.

#12 island green

All the rain this spring makes me think #11 fairway is a tributary to Butterfield Creek.

With the wet spring it seems #8 tee has been surrounded by water more often than not.

I am hopeful that the night time will be the right time for the water to exit to Butterfield Creek.

Horrible Weather Pattern Continues to Dampen Course

Today is basically another lost day due to poor weather.  We have experienced far to many of these types of days this year.  With no normal routine this spring it has been somewhat up and down at times with course conditions.  As soon as we catch up, we get behind because of the lost time on the course but I feel we have still been able to provide above par conditions no matter what the circumstances.  Today will be a day to catch up on some of the little things that have been put on the back burner.  Every year is different and this year is no exception.


First it was the flood to start the season that put us way behind schedule

Cleanup from the flood took a couple weeks and hours upon hours of labor to get us back on track with debris and silt deposit removal.




1 inch of rain last night just adds on to saturated conditions.

The rain lately hasn't come in the form of a flood thankfully but it has haulted our progress and more importantly it continues to limit the use of golf carts.