Winter Tee Placement

We have set the tee markers for the winter. Please only hit from where the tees are placed.

While we have had warm weather recently it is not enough to have divots heal completely. Therefore we place the tees on either the front or back edge of a tee that is not widely used for easy repair in the Spring. Otherwise, the wear on these tees would be spread throughout the tee in the winter causing a longer recover period in the Spring.

Course Update-Monday, December 7, 2015

This week we will be mowing fairways, approaches, collars and greens. We also hope to complete leaf removal. Our staff consistents of myself, Assistant Superintendents Carey Bailey and Matt Smith plus Mechanic Tim Urbanski. Depending on weather/frost these tasks should be completed by the end of the week in time for what looks to be nice weather this weekend.

Interesting Reading for a Cool and Wet Winter Day

Couple of links I thought were interesting from the USGA:

The Right Tree in the Right Location

Does Golf Course Aeration Affect Putting

Organic Matter in Greens

Every few years we take samples of the top 4" of greens #5, #10 and #14 and send them to a laboratory for analysis of their physical properties. Examples of items measured are Infiltration Rate, Air Porosity, Water Porosity, Bulk Density, Water Holding and Organic Matter. Plus particle size distribution and textural analysis. The results let us take a look at how well our cultural practices are doing which includes aerification, topdressing and verticutting. It's our goal to use as much quantitative analysis as possible to determine when and how to do what some may consider invasive practices to the putting surface. Of course the art of knowing when and how to do these practices using the quantitative date is just as important.

Overall the physical analysis of these samples is very good. But, the organic matter in the top 2 inches is higher than we would like and for the most part is increasing each year. What this mean is there is greater water holding capacity at the surface meaning less water, nutrients and air getting deeper into the rootzone. For the golfer, it equates to less firm conditions. 

Topdressing, deep verticutting and aerification are three practices used to remove this organic matter. Applying sand to the green's surface helps to disperse the organic matter. Deep verticutting, not what we do but generally with a machine called a Graden (Graden Verticutter) is extremely useful in physically removing organic matter. Core aerification where the organic matter is physically removed (as we do twice a year) is also very effective in achieving results.

While these practices may seem to negatively affect the putting surface, they are much needed for the overall health and playability of these surfaces.

Weekly Schedule for October 26-November 1, 2015

Weather and unforeseen conditions can/will change the schedule.

-Apply final fungicide application to greens, tees and fairways
-Sod tee surrounds on #7 and #8
-Sod thin areas on #11 approach
-Leaf clean-up

Please note, this will be the last weekly schedule for the season. Will continue to update the blog as we do projects and when other noteworthy items come up. The bulk of our staff will be leaving at the end of this week to return to their homes in Mexico.

Fall 2015 Aerification

For this year's greens aerification we had a different approach than normal. We topdressed the greens first, then aerified the greens. The reasoning to do it this way is that the greens become soft after aerification and the tires from the machine which spreads the sand causes ruts. 

We are pleased with the results and actually found that the holes are easier to fill this way with sand.

Monday was a tough day to aerify due to a long frost delay than mechanical issues with one of our aerifiers and the topdresser. The topdresser was able to be repaired in a few hours but we are still waiting on parts for the aerifier. Even so, all greens were finished on Tuesday afternoon along with tees on four holes. The goal now is to finish tees by the end of this week.

Weekly Schedule for October 19-25, 2015

Weather and unforeseen conditions can/will change the schedule.

-Green and tee aerification Monday and Tuesday. Contact golf shop on Wednesday for course availability.