Growing up in the 1990s I can remember many of the losing seasons the Cincinnati Bengals endured. Since they rarely sold out, the only way to listen to the games were on the radio. After losing, Dave Lapham had the tough job of interviewing the players after another titanic struggle. After every seemingly inevitable loss, the locker room was full of dejected players who were sick and tired of the losing but showed up everyday despite getting pummeled by their opponents week after week after week. After this summer season I can fully understand their pain.
As I wrote about in the last blog post, July was a month for the record books. According to the Wilmington Ohio regional weather summery, CVG recorded more night time temperatures above 70 degrees in one month than ever recorded in their 100 year history. Western Hills, in particular, picked up more rain than many other tristate areas with rainfall over 150% relative to normal. Here at WHCC we picked up over 7" of rain for the month of July and early August. This combined with the high temperatures and humidity really took a beating on the golf course, especially the fairways.
In early August, as I was working in yet another heat wave monsoon, I had an encounter similar to Lieutenant Dan's Bubba Gump shrimp boat experience. As I was yelling at the storm, I came to the realization that I can't control what I can't control and Mother Nature is going to do whatever she wants. The only thing I can manage is how we react.
It was time to get down to the 4 basic principles of turfgrass management: fertilization, growing environment, mowing, and water management. Obviously water management had gotten completely out of our control, but the other principles we had some control over. We came up with a short and long term plan and began implementation: slit seeding, aeration, fertilizing, spraying, sodding, topdressing, increasing mowing heights and decreasing frequency of cut. The recovery was slow and some days we felt like every step we took forward the weather would push us two steps back. But much like the Shake and Blake offense of the 1990s we started to get some wins.
Luckily, the weather began to improve by the end of August which allowed us to get seed in the ground and germination in many of the mud pit fairway spots. After an organic fertilizer application, the areas slowly began to heal and as of this writing I believe we are about 80% recovered. Currently, just for good measure, Mother Nature has turned off the spigot completely and we are in the midst of a good ole fashion drought. However, at the dismay of the operating budget, now we are able to at least control the moisture. Currently we need to keep the fairways moist to keep pushing the seed into germination.
In addition, I contacted the USGA agronomist for a site visit and report. CLICK HERE FOR THE REPORT. In summary the weather was the biggest contributor to the turf loss this season; however, there are action items we need to continue to work on including fairway drainage, decreasing trees, and decreasing organic matter. In addition, a master plan should be considered to set priorities where investments are to be made. These are solutions for the long term, but hopefully Mother Nature will continue to help us in the short term to aid in the recovery process.
Yours truly (or Lt Dan) in the middle of a heat wave monsoon!
Chris Wheeler venting the beginning of #1 fairway.
Michael T. Westendorf slit seeding #9 fairway.
Sodding an area on #18 fairway
Sodding the bottom of #15 fairway
Plugging the dead area on #6 approach
Using green dyed sand mixed with bentgrass seed, milorganite, and peat moss to hide and heal the bad spots before the member/guest tournament
7 days after slit seeding the beginning of #9 fairway
Two weeks later.
One month later
An area on #18 in July that was scorched by a heavy rain event followed by sunshine and 90+ degree temperatures. The turf was boiled.
Area after sodding.
One month later
#4 hillside after the July conditions.
Slit seeding the area in mid August
#4 area in late July
In mid August
Same area in mid-September
#7 fairway in August
Same area in mid September
Aeration
September is aeration month and the grounds crew is in the thick of the aeration schedule. The greens were solid tine aerated and verticut on September 2nd. The deep tine fairway aeration scheduled for October 3rd has been postponed to November 3rd to let the fairways heal in longer before the procedure. The hollow tine tee aeration, topdressing, fertilizing, and overseeding was completed this past week. Next up will be aeration of the approaches and rough. We will be pulling cores on these locations to try and decrease organic matter. Also we will pull cores on some of the bad fairway spots to help with drainage and to decrease OM. Pulling cores is more inconvenient than solid tine aeration, but considering the conditions this past summer, we need to concentrate on more aggressive tactics to increase the health of the playing surfaces.
Aerating #12 green
Topdressing then verticutting the practice green.
Spotted Lanternfly
Recently, I have received many questions about a mysterious bug people are noticing on the grounds. The insect is called the spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula). It is an invasive insect native to Asia, first detected in the United States in Pennsylvania in 2014. It poses a serious threat to agriculture, particularly grapevines, fruit trees, and hardwoods- with their favorite host being the invasive tree of heaven. The insect feeds on the sap of plants weakening them and making them more susceptible to disease and other pests. As it feeds, it excretes a sticky substance called honey dew, which promotes the growth of sooty mold, further damaging the plants and affecting crop yield.
This pest spreads easily by laying egg masses on vehicles, outdoor equipment, and firewood, making containment difficult. States affected by the spotted lanternfly have urged residents to inspect and remove egg masses. Controlling its population is crucial to protecting local ecosystems and agriculture industries. Public awareness, monitoring efforts, and research into natural predators and biological controls are all vital in managing the spread of this destructive insect.
Spotted lanternfly was first detected in Cincinnati a couple years ago. Currently, Hamilton County is on the quarantine list and reporting sightings to the ODA is not required. Even though this is yet another new destructive pest it mainly affects certain trees and grapevines; the turfgrass can sit this one out! Spraying is recommended more for vineyards with this pest than golf courses. Click here for a BYGL article from Ohio State for more information!
Spotted lanternfly
As we move further into the fall season the grounds department will remain busy with aeration and eventually fall fertilization. This will be in addition to daily maintenance and course setup. Hopefully the grounds crew, and Bengals, will continue to rack up wins, improving the courses' recovery and Cincy's playoff chances.
Photo, courtesy of Josh Ward, of standing water after one of the summertime storms
The words of a very wise and famous man pretty much summed up the course conditions over the last month, "Boy that escalated quickly. I mean, that really got out of hand fast!" Yes, as the Ron Burgundy quote alludes to, the condition of the cool season turf on the golf course has really deteriorated fast. In the middle of June, high off the great spring season we had and adhering to the constant suggestion from my wife to be more optimistic, I wrote a blog post about the great early summer conditions. Sensing my optimism, Mother Nature then proceeded to pound us with the worst summer time weather for turf in recent memory. What happened? Here is a post mortem of the summer turf decline.
Since the end of June, the WHCC golf course has experienced over 20 days of 90+ degree heat. Cool-season turf, especially poa annua, really begins to struggle when soil temperatures consistently hit 90℉. Because of the abundant amount of shade due to the high number of trees the playing surfaces have a considerable amount of this cool-season turfgrass variety.
It rained-ALOT! WHCC received over 6" of rain for the month of July. And we went through an 8 day period from July 14th to July 21st where we experienced 3.48" of rain falling. This kept the turf consistently wet that was preceded and followed by heat waves of 90+ degree temperatures. Click here for the July Cincinnati weather data.
The saturated soils from pop up thunderstorms were quickly followed by the hot July sun. This led to sunscald and wet wilt (see below) that literally boiled many areas on the course. Especially low lying fairway locations.
Unlike the tees and greens that have a sand cap or sand base, the fairway soil is comprised of a typical Western Hills soil profile of limestone clay. This prohibits the water percolating through the root zone and keeps water at the surface for longer periods of time. This combined with the short cut turf covered the grass with water in many locations leading to "boiling" conditions once the sun appeared.
Transpirational cooling is being prohibited by hot night time temperatures. Usually the grass plant can recover a bit at night, but the abundant amount of moisture near the surface, from the hot and humid nighttime weather, prohibits the plant from transpiring to cool itself off. When this stressor continues for hours and then days turf begins to decline. Cincinnati actually set a record for the month with 23 nights at or above 70 degrees.
The consistent wet weather occurred at a time when our spray applications need to be applied at the correct intervals. It was a struggle to spray surfaces with the busy golf calendar and the unpredictable pop up storms. Eventually we had to become aggressive and apply fungicides with only small windows of dry time. This most certainly decreased the efficacy of the treatments allowing possible breakthroughs of summer time diseases that thrive in hot and moist conditions.
All these factors came together to produce dying turf on many playing surfaces. So far the fairways have taken the brunt of it, with more dead patches here than other areas. Ask any turfgrass professional in this area about the worst conditions to grow cool-season grass and I guarantee wet, hot, and humid will top the list. Hot and dry conditions are tough as well; however, moisture can be supplemented and the grass can go into a dormant state increasing survival chances. This is not the case in wet and hot situations. The turfgrass does not have any natural defenses and if stressed enough, for long enough, will die.
We are still in the midst of this hot and wet stretch and will not know the extent of the damage until cooler temperatures arrive. However, here is a list of solutions we have implemented or will begin to implement to help with recovery. Click here to read a USGA article on this seasons turf decline.
Raising mowing heights. This will help to decrease stress on the turf and allow more leaf surface to aid in transpiration and photosynthesis.
Venting low lying fairway areas with 1/4" solid tines. This will help open up the soil surfaces allowing oxygen to reach the roots.
Slit seeding dead fairway patches. This has taken place in some areas; however, the bulk of it will have to be accomplished when weather becomes more conducive for germination.
Adding drainage to low lying fairway locations. There is an abundant amount of drainage in many of these areas that we have installed over the years. Some locations (15 valley) may need more drainage added.
Judicious watering. This might sound a bit odd given the really wet conditions, but the turf's root system has shortened because of the abundant amount of moisture. A couple days of high ET rates and the top 2-3" of soil will be dry. Water is needed to keep the stressors down and the turf alive.
In the short term we will be more aggressive on cart limitations. Rough day and cart path day will have to become more common until the weather improves to limit damage to already stressed turf.
A quick drawing of how water flows into #15 valley. It is easy to see why this area has always been an issue during wet, hot weather.
Wilfredo slit seeding #15 valley. Hopefully we will get some germination
Topdressing, venting, fertilizing, and filling in divots at the south tee.
Slit seeding the south tee. In addition to the rough weather, the tremendous amount of play this tee received during July increased turf stress.
The tee a couple days after maintenance performed. It is starting to heal.
Wet Wilt
Wet wilt occurs when very high soil temperatures and low oxygen levels (because of the wet soil) cause the impairment of root function. This causes the roots of the turf (especially poa annua) to slow down water intake decreasing the transpirational cooling that the plant needs to survive. Hot and humid night time temperatures increases the severity of this condition. Hot nights (70 degrees and above) plus wet soil increases root respiration stress decreasing plant oxygen uptake. Thus, on hot days and hot nights with high evaporation rates the turf begins to overheat, wilt and die, despite having adequate moisture in the ground. This is the most common condition affecting the fairway turf this summer season.
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Wet wilt damage at the bottom of #15 valley.
Robotic Mower
A Husqvarna 535 AWD solar powered robotic mower has been installed to mow the north practice tee surrounds. This unit can mow up to an acre and is able to handle inclines of up to 70%. This is a test mower to figure out if robotic mowers (and eventually a robotic ball picker) can be utilized to maintain the driving range complex. These mowers come with significant benefits including lower prices than the riding mowers, decreased labor hours, zero gasoline emissions, and the ability to mow 24/7. So far this mower has worked well. The only issue we are having is the battery is unable to keep a full charge during long periods of cloudy weather. This is a problem more with solar power in general and will not affect any future mowers installed using electricity. Obviously, there will be some significant cost if electricity is run out to the driving range area, but we will continue to work with the green committee and vendors to see if this will one day be the solution to the driving range maintenance issues. In the meantime please be respectful when seeing this mower out doing its job. Although cheaper than the gas powered rough units, it is still a unit that will be expensive to replace if it is run over by a cart or continually hit with golf balls.
Robotic mower and charging station.
Bees in Bunkers
Over the last couple of years small wasps have begun to buzz around some sand bunkers. They are smaller than the usual suspect, the cicada killer wasp, but tend to look almost identical. These are sand wasps (Bicyrtes quadrifasciatus). Joe Boggs, Ohio State Extension entomologist, wrote an article about these wasps a couple years ago when he found them at White Oak Garden Center (click here for the article). They feed off of brown marmorated stink bugs and are also named stink bug hunters. Like cicada killers, they are solitary wasps that are not aggressive and rarely sting. They dig burrows into sandy soils, making bunkers a perfect environment. Chemical control is difficult because the wasps are scattered out into many different burrow colonies. Daily raking of the bunkers helps to keep the populations down, but the wasps are extremely difficult to fully eliminate. We have made some pesticide applications; however, they eventually resurface. Sand wasps are technically a beneficial insect, and are not a threat to stinging humans. We will continue to frequently rake the sand traps, and if this year is similar to the past, they will eventually move on. Click here for a USGA article on these wasps!
Finally, I ask everyone to please be respectful to grounds workers if you run into them during your round. The summertime heat is not only affecting the turf but the workers as well. Many of them are working 55+ hours a week in 90+ degree heat to try and keep the golf course playable. We start work at 5 am to try and stay away from play, but shotgun starts and the busy golf calendar make worker and golfer interactions inevitable. Please treat any inconvenient interaction with the hard working agronomy team with courtesy and respect, remembering the golden rule, "do to others what you would have them do to you." Here are some USGA videos on Etiquette towards maintenance personal.
I remain optimistic (gulp) that this monsoon heat wave will end soon. In the meantime the agronomy team will continue to battle the conditions to keep the course in the best shape possible. Fall can't get here soon enough!
June is usually the best month for the WHCC golf course and grounds. The early summer temperatures combined with the abundant amount of rainfall provides optimum conditions for the cool season grasses to thrive. Even though it has been on the wetter side the last couple weeks, the cooler temperatures have kept the disease pressure down. As we head into the hotter summer months our spray applications and irrigation cycles will increase to keep the turf healthy.
Innovation Zoysia
Innovation zoysia is a warm season turfgrass that developed
through extensive research and breeding programs. Warm season grasses include
Zoysia, Bermuda, St. Augustine, Paspalum, and Buffalo grasses and they thrive
in hot and humid conditions that are typically seen in the Southern United
States. The Innovation Zoysia cultivar combines the best traits of other Zoysia
types, resulting in a resilient and attractive solution. In general, Innovation
Zoysia grass has better cold and shade tolerance than other southern grasses; however,
it is limited by the warm season grasses’ inability to recover and survive
under extreme shady conditions during wet and cold winters. Its fine texture and deep green color provide an
aesthetically pleasing appearance, making it a popular choice for golf
courses and homeowners.
In addition to its visual appeal, Innovation Zoysia offers
significant practical benefits. It is highly drought tolerant, reducing the
need for frequent watering by up to 30%, compared to bentgrass and perennial
ryegrass. This grass also exhibits strong resistance to pests and diseases,
which helps to minimize the use of chemical treatments. Its horizontal growth
habit helps in divot recovery and its slow growth rate means it will stay in
place and not infiltrate other playing surfaces.
At WHCC, we installed Innovation Zoysia on the driving range
target greens after the recent renovations. The sod was purchased from Dr. Mike
Harrell at the Southeastern Turfgrass Research Center in Lexington, Kentucky.
The grass has held up superably in this sunny location- surviving the extreme
cold and hot conditions typically seen in the driving range floor. The only area that has struggled is the low lying red flag target green. This location is at the bottom of the driving range floor where water tends to flow heading to the drain below the washout pad. Since we had a colder winter, that target green was frozen most of the season. This killed off some of the Zoysia grass in the middle of the target green highlighting the importance of having good drainage when growing Zoysia grass.
There have
been many courses in the tri-state area that have transitioned their fairways
to Zoysia grass which has saved their facilities thousands of dollars in
reduced irrigation and chemical costs. Transitioning the fairways at WHCC to
Zoysia grass may be something to think about for the future; however, the
generous amount of shade that blankets the property will hinder its winter
survival and growth. If a significant tree reduction project ever takes place,
Innovation Zoysia grass may be the turfgrass choice for the future.
Fixing irrigation leaks is a never ending battle. Every year new leaks and irrigation issues pop up as soon as the water is turned on for the season. This year has been no exception with many leaks being fixed this spring. In addition the back flow valve in the pump house has been acting up and is leaking excessively. The drain out for the backflow valve is behind the pump house and it is currently running non stop. You may notice a wet area at the bottom of #12 cart path next to the drain. We are currently waiting for parts to fix this leak but it may be a couple weeks before this issue is resolved. There are signs around the wet area in #12 valley and hopefully we can get this fixed soon.
Assistant Superintendent Michael T. Westendorf fixing a leaking bell-end pipe behind #18 green.
Other Jobs
The fence lines along #11, #12, and #16 are in the process of being cut back. Every year the trees and shrubs' springtime growth encroaches on the adjacent cart paths. This project takes a couple weeks to accomplish.
The chipper that was purchased a couple years ago has helped in lessening the #2 dump footprint. We are able to keep debris chipped up allowing more space for future tree work and windstorm cleanup operations. Also, chipping up tree branches keeps the debris from entering the creek behind #2 dump. The purchase of the chipper has quickly paid for itself over the last two seasons.
This time of year snapping turtles tend to migrate out of #7 lake to either lay eggs or take a long walk. We end up having to retrieve the turtles and place them back in the lake. Once the hot summer months arrive they usually stay in the water.
2nd Assistant Chris Wheeler moving the snapping turtle.
Elias, Martinez, and Ricardo chipping up debris #2 dump
Cutting back the fence line #11
Landscaping
All the annuals have been installed. In my opinion, June is also the month where the WHCC grounds look their best. Here are some pictures of the early summer flowers and shrubs.
Zagreb yellow coreopsis, pink mini mauvette hydrangeas
Incrediball hydrangeas by the back patio pots consisting of pink dragon wing begonias, creeping jenny, and majesty palms.
Incrediball hydrangea
Lemon zest roses, double pink knockout roses by back of pro shop
Incrdiball hydrangeas, Karl Forster feather reed grass, euphorbia diamond frost, and supertunias-bubble gum and silverberry
Yellow happy returns daylilies, purple salvia, and roses around the fountain.
Greater Cincinnati GCSA
Over the past two seasons I have been blessed to be a board member on the Greater Cincinnati Golf Course Superintendents Association. One of our goals is to bring awareness of golf course agronomy teams and the work they accomplish. Currently, working Americans don't see turf as a viable career or know what the pathway looks like. This lack of awareness, along with other factors, has lead to a shortage in University programs, thus creating a shortage of educated turfgrass professionals. I have seen this first hand in my 20+ year career. When I first started the agronomy team was comprised of many turfgrass and horticulture students. Over the years that number dwindled. Recently we have had only a couple horticulture students and we haven't had a turfgrass intern in over 5 years! We have reached out to local Colleges and Universities, but the fact is there are only a small number of turfgrass students to pull from. This is leading to top-heavy agronomy organizations, Universities scaling back turfgrass funding, and the elimination of some turfgrass curriculums.
This should raise concerns for any golfer. With the rise in the popularity of golf, the expectations of pristine conditions, and the ever changing agronomic technologies, the industry needs future educated turfgrass professionals. Without skilled agronomy teams the golf industry's number one asset, the golf course, will be at risk of not having enough skilled employees to keep up with the increasing demand. But there is hope.
In 2023 GCGCSA president Dan Walter (superintendent at Heatherwoode Golf Club), in conjunction with the board, decided to merge our organization with the Greater Cincinnati Golf Association, allowing Todd Johnson and his team to take over the administration duties. This has resulted in raising our current membership to over 50 golf clubs. The local Cincinnati GCSA chapter puts on education events, funds turfgrass student scholarships through the GCGCSA scholarship tournament, and helps to educate the public on golf course agronomy. In addition, other organizations, such as the USGA, have recently started the Greenkeeper Apprenticeship Program to help train young adults entering this industry. Still more help is needed.
Below is a link to the Greater Cincinnati GCSA chapter. Consider donating to the scholarship tournament (Monday June 23rd at Ivy Hills Country Club), attending a meeting, becoming a Facebook friend, or reading some of the agronomy material posted on the website. As one of the famous commercials said from my Xennial youth, "knowledge is power!” The more people who are aware of agronomy teams and the science behind golf course maintenance, the better chance the turfgrass industry will continue to have the individuals to maintain the golf courses of the future.
It has been brought to my attention, surprisingly, that cup changing videos are actually popular on social media platforms. Who would have thought? So I included a video of assistant Michael Westendorf changing cups. Enjoy.
I'm happy to announce that the new #14 combined black and blue tee is open for play! In November we combined the old tees to form one big tee. This has added approximately 2,000 square feet of tee space.
The poor quality sod that was laid before Thanksgiving was a challenge to get healthy by this spring. During the winter months we resodded many of the worst patches and added plugs from #17 fairway to the bare areas. Once the warmer spring temperatures arrived, we began to topdress, overseed, and fertilize regularly to help push the bentgrass' growth. Once germination began, the tee quickly healed in and by the beginning of May it was ready for iron shots. We are trying to keep a rotation schedule on #14 tee to use up one side of the tee then switch to the other half. This will be similar to the south practice tee to allow one half to heal while the other side is in use. The increased tee space on #14 should help with the overall health of the tee top throughout the summer and fall seasons.
#14 tee in May before opening
#14 tee after the November renovation
Chris Wheeler spraying #14 tee
Ricardo and Jason adding drainage to a wet pocket in the rough by the side of the tee.
Rough is Rough
This time of year, usually brings different opinions about
the length of the rough. We do our best to battle the weather conditions and
meet expectations, but the fact is the rough grass is usually longer in the
spring. There are a couple of different reasons why this occurs every year and it
is important to touch on some of these basic agronomic factors.
In May and June, golf course rough tends to grow more
rapidly due to the ideal combination of temperature, moisture, and sunlight. As
spring fully arrives, soil temperatures warm up after the cold winter months,
stimulating root activity and shoot growth in many turfgrass species. This is
especially true for our rough cool-season grasses like Kentucky bluegrass,
ryegrass, and fescues, which thrive in the mild temperatures of late spring.
The lengthening daylight hours also increase photosynthesis, providing the
energy the plants need to push out new growth at a faster rate.
Another major factor is the increase in rainfall that often
accompanies spring. The natural rainfall causes the turfgrass in the rough to
rarely be water-stressed during this period. This, paired with spring
fertilization practices aimed at strengthening the turf for the season ahead,
leads to lush, thick growth. The rough, unlike the fairways or greens, is
maintained at a much higher mowing height so when growth conditions are ideal,
the grass quickly becomes denser and taller. In addition, the late fall and
early spring overseeding programs fill in bare areas typically seen in the fall
months leading to much thicker grass under the trees.
The purpose of the rough is to provide a challenge to
players by making it harder to hit clean, controlled shots from its longer
grass. But in late spring, the sudden surge in growth can occasionally make the
rough more penal than intended, requiring us to adjust mowing schedules to
maintain fair play. Sometimes this is difficult to accomplish during the springtime
monsoons that often saturate the turf to the point that mowing becomes
impossible. Without regular maintenance, the rough can become too thick or even
patchy, which can slow down play and frustrate golfers.
May and June are two of the busiest months for the grounds
crew as we work to balance healthy turf growth with good playing conditions.
This often leads to rough mowers out every day to knock down the quickly
growing turf. As is always the case, by mid to late summer the hot, dry
conditions paired with the abundant amount of tree roots will thin out the
rough to the point that overseeding practices will have to be accomplished
again this fall.
Poa Annua
Poa annua is a common turfgrass found on many golf courses,
particularly in temperate climates where cool-season grasses thrive. It is
especially prevalent on putting greens, where its fine texture and dense growth
can initially provide a smooth and uniform playing surface. Its ability to
establish quickly and crowd out other grasses makes it a dominant species in
areas with frequent mowing and high traffic, such as tees and greens. Also, it
grows well in shady areas, as well as wet low lying locations.
Poa annua has a tendency to produce seed heads throughout the
spring growing season, which can disrupt the smoothness of greens and affect
ball roll. To combat this we apply a product during the late fall and winter to
suppress seed head production on the greens. However, this product is not
applied on other turf surfaces and during the spring months the seed heads are
very noticeable. After using energy to form seed heads, Poa annua begins to
decline in appearance turning a yellow, brown color that is currently visible
on the golf course.
Despite its widespread use, Poa annua poses several challenges
for golf courses. It is highly susceptible to heat stress, drought, and fungal
diseases such as anthracnose and dollar spot, making it difficult to maintain
consistent turf quality in warmer months. Additionally, because of its shallow
root system, it requires more intensive irrigation and fertilization compared
to deeper-rooted grasses. Many golf courses attempt to transition away from Poa
annua to more resilient species like bentgrass or bermudagrass, but its
persistence and prolific seed production make complete eradication difficult.
As a result, managing Poa annua involves a careful balance of cultural
practices, chemical controls, and sometimes embracing it as a dominant turf
type. Eradicating trees to decrease shade, using certain PGRs, and increasing
drainage throughout the golf course are all tactics we continue to use to
decrease Poa annua proliferation; however, it is a grass that will continue
to be an issue on the WHCC playing surfaces unless a complete turf renovation
and tree reduction project is desired.
Kentucky blue grass and Poa annua going to seed behind #1 green.
Poa annua after bolting to seed. Notice the brown tint to the grass in the valley on #12. This is also a low, wet area where Poa annua thrives
Brown ring patch on #14 green collar. This mainly affects Poa annua. Normally this disease is more cosmetic and will go away with warmer temperatures. We have accomplished a curative spray application after it was noticed.
New Groundskeepers
Tim Ruhe is the new horticulturist hired this year to help us manage the ever expanding WHCC horticulture department. Tim has many years of experience in the Green Industry. Some of his past positions include working at Clovernook Country Club, Delhi Flower and Garden Center, and Great Parks of Hamilton County. Most recently he has been the Grounds Facility Caretaker of P&G Corporate Headquarters working under 4 different contractors (Viox 2014-2015, Emcor 2015-2019, Grasscor 2019-2020, and Omnia 360, 2020-2025). He was the 2017 Tradesmen Award recipient from Emcor, and has an associates degree in ornamental horticulture from Cincinnati State College. He currently resides in Fairfield with his wife Elaine and has two kids John and Faith. Tim has been busy this spring removing the spring tulip bulbs and planting the summer annuals. We are happy he is here to manage the horticulture department. Feel free to introduce yourself to Tim as he works around the clubhouse grounds this summer season.
We are always delighted to bring on retired veterans and police officers when they apply. One particular person hired this year is John Hetzel. John is a retired Sergeant for the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office. He is retired after 37 years of service and has taken on a part time rough mowing position here at WHCC. Be sure to thank John for his service if you see him mowing rough around the course this summer.
In addition, we have other school kids and part time workers entering the grounds department for the upcoming season. Kelly Monahan has been a big help with the hiring process as she has stepped into the new WHCC Human Resources Manger role. Every year is a challenge to find new grounds workers. This year has been no exception, but we are optimistic about this season's work force as we enter into the 2025 summer season.
Tim Ruhe- new WHCC Horticulturist
Roses in full bloom
Supertunia bubble gum and silverberry planted by the parking lot
Orange and yellow lantana by the fountain
Orange and yellow marigolds, Mexican petunias, lantana bandana, and birds of paradise plants by the front entrance.
Sonic bloom pearl weigela in bloom by the pool.
April 5th Storm
The storm that ripped through the area on April 5th caused a
considerable amount of cleanup damage. Three trees were blown over and a
tremendous amount of debris was blown onto the playing surfaces. It took a
couple of days to clean up. The stumps were ground up, picked up, and sodded
during the month of April. There is still some left over firewood located
beside the grounds building parallel to #18 cart path if anyone is interested.
Norway maple branch fell during storm
Norway spruce tree fell into the sweet gum tree by 18 fairway
Norway spruce knocked over
Moving forward, as the temperatures rise, the grounds crew will be replacing some mowing for watering. Also, we will be working with the green committee and SynaTek to begin the process of incorporating robotic mowers into the fleet. I will have more on the robots on a later post, but in the meantime, we are grateful for the recent cooler weather before the typical hot and humid Cincinnati summer takes control.
