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September 22, 2008
The
weather has been terrific. The golf course is in really nice shape and playing very well. The greens have enough speed in
them and we are as dry as we have been all year. In fact I played my first full round here last week and was very happy with
the course. I didn't play much during the start of the year due to my achilles rupture and I have been playing elsewhere
closer to home, but last week I played in the EMMA tournament and had a great time (we won). If you don't take advantage
of playing golf this time of year then you don't know what your missing.
We finished up our tee aerification
between tournaments. We also had our fist two frosts last week. This will slow down the growth and signifies the closing of
the growing season. There is some late season dollar spot working in some fairways, but I elected not to treat for it this
late in the year saving some money. The frost will also slow down the dollar spot. I hope to start slicing some fairways this
week. We last did this two falls ago and think this is a good way for us to attack some thatch. We will also be losing some
of our seasonal staff this week and next, so our mowing schedule will be reduced. Blowing leaves and the fairway slicing
become our prime projects for the next month.
September 15th, 2008
We are
slightly less than two weeks removed from greens aerification and we are pretty much healed. The holes are still visible,
but essentialy closed over. The regular mowers are back on the greens and we will be trying to get our speed back up for this
weeks events. The growth rate in general over the entire course is as pronounced as it has been all season. We are doing all
we can to keep up with it at this point. Cooler, drier weather is in store so that should help slow things down some. I would
think that the next few weeks will be the best time to play golf all season. The weather will be good and the course will
be in fine shape.
We were able to squeeze in some tee aerification last week and I hope to finish that off
this week between tournaments. We should also be starting some fairway cultivation soon. I'm leaning towards slicing the
fairways in two directions, attacking the thatch and slicing some runners. This is a good way to promote even more bent
in the fairways.
September 5th, 2008
The latest from the USGA, with an
emphasis on aerification.
USGA Green Section Northeast Regional
Update 
By Jim Skorulski, Senior Agronomist
September 05, 2008 Finally, the late summer weather has arrived and not a day too early for golf course managers
and golfers alike who have had just about enough of the heavy rain and oppressive humidity that has impacted much of the region
this summer. The moderate temperatures and lower humidity have cooled and dried the soil profiles and created ideal conditions
for new root development and the recovery of some very tired turf. Yes, it is dry, but night time temperatures in the 50’s
are tough to beat. Those fortunate ones who are core aerating were especially pleased with the September like conditions in
the mid to late August. Many more will be core cultivating in the very near future,and we can only hope the weather remains
as favorable.  | | | Core cultivation
practices are or will soon be underway on many Northeastern golf courses and is a sign that the worst of the season is behind
us. |
Core cultivation practices are never popular with golfers. The practice
is grudgingly accepted, but its need and importance are questioned and we are always in search of alternative methods that
will get the job done more quickly and with less disruption. Can we do it with smaller tines, can we schedule it later in
fall, can it be replaced with sand injection or some other forms of cultivation are common questions we hear. The majority
of golf courses that I visit can not yet afford to scale back their core cultivation practices and nothing illustrates that
better than the impacts of extended wet weather.
There is no better way to modify older soil-based
greens, reduce the impacts of layering, stimulate new root growth and create the firm surface conditions that are required
to maintain the ball roll that is demanded on a day to day basis. Arguments for skipping hollow tine core cultivation or moving
to other less invasive forms of cultivation will continue and some of those strategies will seemingly work fine for awhile.
Ultimately, a price will be paid for compromising on cultivation and topdressing and usually that occurs in a wet summer like
this one. As the old adage goes; You can pay me now or pay me later.
September 4th, 2008
We
have entered my favorite time of the year. The nights are cooler, the turf is rejuvinated, my staff is smaller, we are aerifying
and football starts tonight.
Greens aerification almost went off without a hitch. Tuesday we completed the back
nine greens without any problem. We are using 1/2" tines on standard 2" spacing. Wednesday we didn't get very
far on the front nine greens until we experienced a breakdown with our turf sweeper. After about 3 hours of shop time and
some creative engineering on our part we were back up and running before noon. We elected to complete 7 of the 10 greens we
needed to do and finish the remaining greens this morning. Back to the turf sweeper, it amazes that in this day and age
something can be so poorly designed. I'm not the brightest guy in the world, but no question in my mind what we had
to fix was a product of a poor or cheap design, the fix we came up with is significantly better. I'm expecting about 2 to 3 weeks of recovery on the greens. We put out our fertilizer prior to aerfication,
so they are already actively growing. Hopefully we can continue to push them to fill in as fast as possible. I know golfers
detest aerification, but it greatly improves our greens health for the future. Starting next week
we will start tackling our tee aerification and then begin fairways with some aerification or slicing or even both. Again
this does put a slight damper on playing conditions, but we can not skip out on the necessary cultivation for our turf. We sodded and seeded the upper 7th tee. We elected to purchase a small amount of sod to stabilize the banks
and surrounds. We seeded the the tee surface and remaining surrounds. I hope to get enough established going into winter and
finish the remaining grow in next spring. All in all a neat addition done very cheaply. I hope next year we can look to improve
or expand another women's tee.
August 26, 2008
Well
for the first time in months the golf course is finally playing the way I had hoped it would. We are finally firm and fast
after a season of wet and sloppy. The fairways are starting to "brown out" a little which is perfect. The
greens are running at 10'9" this morning, plenty fast for everyone, though I have been getting complaints
about the greens being to quick for some. The funny thing is we haven't really changed our approach to
the daily care. They probably would have been closer to this speed all summer if we had this type of weather. I'll say
it again, nothing robs speed more than moisture and humidity. Think about that when you are watching those PGA events
and the announcers talk about how they are going to need to apply water to the greens or things will get out of
control. They apply the water to slow them down, nature did it for us this year.
Reminder that we
will be aerifying greens next week, starting September 2nd and 3rd. Nine holes will be done each day, with the other nine
available for play. If it rains the process will be pushed back to the next day.
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| 4th green Wahconah |
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| 5th Wahconah |
August 19th, 2008
To get through
the Brown Jug weekend without any significant rain was unbelievable in a summer like this. I was nervous because earlier in
the week we couldn't have handled any more rain, but a week of dry weather was exactly what the golf course needed. In
fact by Sunday morning I needed to water a few of the greens to keep them safe. I think all in all it was a good tournament,
with good conditions and a fair yet challenging setup. The greens were running close to 11' (10' 8") on
Saturday morning and pretty much were at 11' on Sunday. To get to this required a significant amount of rolling and mowing.
We will have to back off on this, but we hope to maintain speeds into the 10' range going into the Wahconah Cup.
Reminder after Labor Day we begin course wide aerification, starting with the greens. We will transition to tees and finish
up throughout the fall with fairways.
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| Wahconah #8 |
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| Wahconah #3 |
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| Wahconah #15 |
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| Wahconah #12 |
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| Wahconah #11 |
August 12th, 2008
Little Brown Jug
Week:
The golf course is about as wet as it has been for some time. We had been dodging some large rain
events the past few weeks, with it raining enough to keep things wet, but not saturated. After yesterday and last night that
is no longer the case. Puddles have shown up all over the course. We have canceled carts for the day and have turned
our attention towards getting the course prepared for the Jug.
Contrary to popular belief we don't do a heck
of a lot more for the tournament than what we do on an everyday basis, but there are some differences. First is we try and
time all of our applications (fertility, fungidices, topdressings etc.) to peak at this time of the year. Our bunker work
and trim work also needs to peak at this time. We do try and speed the greens up for this event, if all goes well they
will run about a foot quicker than normal. We do this early enough (last week) for most of our members to get a taste
before the event. Now the heavy rain of the last few days slows them down, but when it dries out again the speed
will come back. We also increase our mowing schedule by mowing almost everyday this week and throughout the tournament. Somehow
I hope we can get through this weekend with some decent weather, but during this gloomy summer I'm not betting
on it.
Article on putting green maintenance and speed. It is a must read for those with questions.
August 6th, 2008
After a very
wet and difficult July, August has arrived and with it some of our biggest events including the Allied Championship, The Little
Brown Jug and we finish it off with the very enjoyable Wahconah Cup.
At the end of last month we experienced a
touch of Anthracnose on a few of our greens. This is a very common stress disease that will show up when the poa in the greens
experience any significant stress periods. The remedy for the situation includes increased fertility and also increased moisture
levels (no problem there). What this adds up to is slower than normal greens. We are past that period now and are moving forward
towards making the rest of the season as enjoyable as possible.
A few notes on green speeds. We usually aim for
a speed from 9.5' to 10' on a regular daily basis. With all the moisture this year we have really been closer to 9.5
most of the time. The 9.5' to 10' is a good range for everyday play for everyone. I'm sure the greens are not
fast enough for the better players, but they may be challenging for higher handicaps. This speed lets us use the majority
of our greens for cupping locations and also helps keep speed of play issues under control. For tournaments that warrant quicker
greens we try and oblige by getting them to between 10' and 10.5'. The Club Championship was closer to 10.5 before
a rain event knocked them back to 10'. For the record anything around or over 11' on these greens becomes a death
march. We can only use the safest of hole locations and the time it takes people to play increases dramatically. I take my
direction from the green chairmen and also the board. Working with a strict budget we try and keep things as enjoyable and
challenging as possible without slowing play. Hopefully with disease issues under control and some good events coming up my
goal is to get the greens closer to the 10' range for the next few weeks, if it ever stops raining we may get there. If
anyone has any questions on this I would suggest you contact me or my green chair so we can set the record straight. Thanks
to all and enjoy the dog days of August.
July 28th, 2008
The following
is the latest USGA green section newsletter for the Northeast. It contains a ton of information on problems on that many turf
managers are facing this season.
Worst Case Scenario
By David A. Oatis, Director & Jim Skorulski, Senior Agronomist
July 25, 2008
For most turf managers, the worst case scenario is when high temperatures are accompanied by prolonged rain
events. Saturated soils heat up increasing turfgrass stress and elevating disease pressure to extraordinary levels. The next
worst case scenario is a combination of high temperatures and very low humidity levels. While these make for comfortable conditions
for human outdoor activity, these conditions can put tremendous stress on the turf. For turf managers in the Northeast
Region, 2008 is turning out to be a roller coaster ride full of steep climbs, sharp drops, and hairpin turns. Many courses
in the New York Metropolitan and southern New England area are now struggling as a result of three days of above 90° temperatures
and low levels of humidity. The combination of high air and soil temperatures combined with moisture stress has weakened annual
bluegrass populations on greens throughout the region to a point where plenty are teetering on the edge. Under these conditions,
the plants are transpiring water far more quickly than their impaired root systems absorb, resulting in large areas of wilt
damage. Not surprisingly, Green Section phones have been ringing off the hook.  | | | High soil and air temperatures experienced on greens
over the weekend have created severe stress on annual bluegrass around the region. |
A
number of golf courses also are reporting extraordinarily high nematode populations. We have measured soil temperatures in
the 85- 90°F range (upper profile) and heat indexes well above 100˚ in pocketed environments. Summer patch has become
very active on greens and fairways. Throw in prolonged low mowing and poor grass growing environments, and the outcome is
predictable: a significant number of annual bluegrass plants are close to meeting their maker. So what can be done
at this late date in the game? Here is a brief checklist of things to consider over the next few weeks: - Manage
water as precisely as you can.
- Make sure everyone thoroughly understands the difference between hand watering and
syringing. Remember, syringing involves wetting the leaf tissue and not saturating the soil. The evaporation of water off
the leaf provides the short term cooling. If the water cannot evaporate, there will be no cooling.
- Raise the height
of cut slightly, switch to smooth rollers or skip mowing altogether if soils are saturated and soft. It is better to be conservative
to make it through these difficult weather periods.
- The value of good grass growing environments will become very
clear this season. Adequate sun and especially good air circulation produce healthier turf and reduce conditions favorable
for summer disease. Ambient air temperatures in pocketed environments will be higher and the turf will struggle. Make note
of all the problem areas and do not over look the value of fans to circulate the air if it is not occurring naturally.
- While
we have seen some bentgrass under stress in a few areas in the past couple of weeks, the ratio of stressed annual bluegrass
to stressed creeping bentgrass is about 10,000 to 1. This is when having more bentgrass pays big dividends.
- If the
greens look bad but play fine, think twice before you cultivate them aggressively. There are times when doing less is best
especially when the turf is already weak. Traditional spiking and venting with mini tines may be appropriate. Save the aggressive
cultivation for the better days ahead.
- Stay focused and go with the programs that you know work. This is not the
time for testing exotic tank mixes.
The summer of 08 may be one of those talked about for years to come. Sometimes,
you need a little luck to go along with good management to get through these difficult stretches, and do not hesitate to call
us if we can be of assistance. Source: David Oatis, doatis@usga.org, Jim Skorulski, jskorulski@usga.org, and Adam Moeller, amoeller@usga.org
July 25th, 2008
That was
a wild week of weather. First we had the storms last Friday that wiped out the clubhouse power and also one of the trees I
actually liked by the first tee. Then we get hammered mid week with torrential rain. In general we absorbed the blows
fairly well. With a good day today we should be fairly dry by Saturday. With all that rain comes some changes on our
part. Yesterday we skipped mowing greens for the first time since early May. At this point in the year the greens could
really use a break. We were able to spike and topdress early in the week so that should help. We will also be backing off, for
a few days, on the intensity of our greens management. By this I mean we probably will only single cut them for a few
days. Typically we either cut and roll, double cut or double cut and roll everyday. This allows us to mow at a slightly healthier
height of cut, yet gives us the speed we are looking for. With no tournaments for a few days, the greens absolutely drenched
and the greens also showing signs of stress it is an ideal time for them to take a much needed breather. We will ramp back
up once we head into the first week of August.
One of the things to note is that even with the heavy rains
this week we were still very productive. Wednesday morning we got the whole course mowed prior to the rainfall. Then we were
able to start and almost complete our course trim work. Then on Thursday we spent some more time in the pumphouse removing
and cleaning our second pump and also fixing our flow meter. We finished up course trim and also we were able to do some much
needed bunker edging (thanks Matt). I did send the crew home a little early on Thursday, but they had earned it. The point
is even with bad weather there is plenty for us to do.
The picture below is of the 8th green showing the soil
profile. I thought it would be interesting to share this picure because it shows some really good sand veins that are the
direct result of aerification and topdressing. The more channels we have like this, the better the greens will be able to
funnel water and air to the roots. The 8th is probably one of our better greens because it doesn't have much thatch and
it has a pretty good overall profile. The top 4" or so of the profile is a fairly heavily modified sandy/ thatch
soil. The bottom of the profile is the native heavy soil.
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| The 8th green soil profile |
July 21st, 2008
We are starting
to get the irrigation sytem issues back under control. Most of the problems have been with debris in the lines which leads
to stuck heads. With a dry week last week I irrigated fairways for the first time. This led to some stuck heads, but also
helped us flush more debris out of our lines.
We also spent some time last week working on the 7th tee. With drier
conditions we transported some top soil to the tee area. We have another day of this left and then some fine grading before
we order sod. Not sure when it will be ready, but hopefully sooner rather than later.
Green speeds have remained
fairly constant at 9'6" to as high as 10'6". They were pushing the 10.6 for the Friday of the club championship.
With rain and humidity creeping in they dropped a little as the weekend progressed. This is a still a good speed for us, as
it allows us to use the maximum number of hole locations.
I had one comment from he past weekend that I want to
address. A player remarked to me about a couple of lies he had that led to poor shots. One was in a divot near a green and
the other was just on the outside of a bunker where there was some turf/heavy sand accumulation. I understood his poor fortune
for landing in these spots, but there is something to be said for "the rub of the green." While we try to provide
perfect condtions it just isn't ever going to be a reality. Assesing your lie and how your ball is going to react is a
major part of the game.
July 14th, 2008
Sorry for
the delay in updates, but with the 4th of July holiday and three tournaments last week there just wasn't much time for
it. The golf course is doing well, as I think we are an fairly decent condition.
We have been working on some
less visible projects, but important ones. I have been putting out our grub control, taking care to try and hit all the areas
that we had damage last year. We have also put out our second fungicide application on fairways. I combined this with a growth
regulator and some phosphite. I spray fairways based mostly on 1 month intervals, eventhough we usually only get three weeks
of coverage out of a spray. Brown Patch and Dollar Spot started to show up during the 4th week. I stretch it this far only
based on our budget, if we could purchase one more spray we could stay fairly clean throughout the year.
I
have also been using some wetting agents in some fairways this season. These are designed to lessen the localized dry spots
that can occur. Localized dry spots are the result of water resistant soils. An example this year would be the upper 8th fairway
where we have several spots. The places I have used the wetting agents this year are the 1st fairway, 5th approach, 7th approach
and some parts of the 11th fairway. The results to me are fairly impressive, and the potential need to carry this program
further are evident, but again we are limted in our budget.
Our main focus the last few days has still been with
the irrigation system. After we pulled the intake out of the river, there was a compromise in the screen, this allowed a bunch
of debris to enter our lines. It also allowed some debris to accumulate around our pump impeller. With the showers today we
were able to remove our pump and dislodge some debris. I knew it was in there because our pump would only pull at 200 gal/min
versus the regular 400 gal/min. I'm still fighting stuck heads out on the course, but this will pass over time as we flush
the system.
July 2, 2008
Two days in
a row and no rain. As the soils dry you can almost see the grass blades thin out. As they thin out and the ground firms up
the ball roll inceases. This is what we are after when we talk about firm and fast, but mother nature often has her own ideas.
Yesterday we groomed, spiked, topdressed and brushed the greens. Usually for a day or two the greens slow down, but in the
long run this will gain us some speed. The grooming is a super light verticut, the spiking is a mini aerification that helps
increase air exchange, the topdressing is to firm the surface and improve ball roll and the brushing knocks the sand in while
standing up the turf. We pretty much have been doing this every two weeks this year and I think it has really paid dividends.
Our ball roll (not to be confused with speed) has improved and the ball marks (firmer surface) have also been lessened.
A couple of other things to mention. Last week we had a hydraulic leak in the first fairway. It happened to be me
on the mower and the leak was directly behind me. Two things that will aid in recovery are 1) It was very early in the mowing
so the oil wasn't that hot yet and 2) We use a biodegradable oil that breaks down much quicker aiding in recovery. We
have aerified, topdressed and seeded the area.
Often times we also run our aerifier out with solid tines to open
up holes in some compacted areas. These are usually high traffic areas around greens, tees and cart paths. We also solid tine
aerify our collars every two weeks. This helps keep the water and air moving down to the roots.
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| Hydraulic leak #1, just after seeding and topdressing |
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| Aerifying traffic area around 18 tee |
July 1st, 2008
I am hoping with
a new month we get some half way decent golf weather. My rain gauge took a beating and weather.com has Dalton for 11"
of rain for the month. I'm not sure if this is true, but it sure felt like it. While the rain makes the grass grow
it also makes it difficult to manage. I have had people say to me "anyone can grow grass with weather like this",
which is true, but how many people can manage it? Try mowing 75 acres of it and prepare it for play. Try getting the
rate of growth on greens to slow down enough to get reasonable green speeds. How about getting out all the appropriate plant
protectants? Some need to be watered in and some need 24-48 hours to dry. I don't want to sound as if complaining
because we really did need a good dose of growing weather to fill in but the amount of rain was an overkill.
We
have taken advantage of the wet weather to do some much needed work in the pumphouse. Our pump station is 16 years old and
is starting to show its age. I call the pumphouse my sattelite office. I spend quit a bit of time down there massaging
the pumps to make sure they run properly. It's a little bit of a love/hate relationship, it is one of the things that
can keep me up at night. So with all the rain our wet well has accumulated a good deal of silt and debris. We have spent
the last two days cleaning out the pit. In the spring we were really under the gun in getting our system going so we didn't
do a great job cleaning out the well. I knew all along that we would be doing it again and with all the rain
it seemed like the right time. I'm hoping we get everything running well for the remainder of the season.
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