Beautiful June Conditions

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 targe 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.

Click here to see us installing the innovation zoysia target greens

Aerating and topdressing the target greens

Irrigation Work

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 is 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.

Click here for the Greater Cincinnati GCSAA link. Click on the agronomy tab.

Cup Changing Video

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. 

For more information on our cup changing process click here for a prior post.

Brad Piecuch

Grounds Superintendent

May Grounds Report

14 tee

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.

Brad Piecuch

Grounds Superintendent

 

Springing out of Winter

Saucer magnolia in full bloom. One of the first indicators for the arrival of spring.

In November of last year I started to get worried. The popular national weather outlets predicted that the Ohio Valley was likely to experience an exceptionally warm winter. Whenever I see extremely warm winter predictions, I know what's coming-so I start prepping. I fire up the snowblower, stockpile salt, stack firewood, and dig out all my winter gear. Because I know Old Man Winter's response: Hold my beer!

True to form this past La Nina winter ended up 4℉ below normal for the months of December (+2℉), January (-6.1℉), and February (+.1℉). We also experienced a decent amount of snowfall with almost all of January under a blanket of snow cover. Luckily, March has seen above normal temperatures; however, the cold winter has left us with some unexpected consequences.

Tree Work

On New Years Day I contacted the tree company and told them the temperatures looked perfect the following week to begin tree work (we look for below freezing daily high temperatures and cold low temperatures so the rough freezes up enough to support tree removal equipment). With predicted highs in the 20s and lows around zero everything was coming together, then the January 5th snow storm happened. After the storm dropped over 11" of snow on the course I knew we would have to hold off on tree work. But we were not expecting the snow depth to hang around the entire month. Once the calendar rolled over to February the snow was melting, but turning into a sheet of ice. Then the heavy rains hit, and then more snow. Needless to say, we were limited on how much of the tree work got accomplished this past winter; however, we were able to finish the in-house tree removals which consisted of around 20 trees.

One of the reasons we like to have tree work done before March is because the soils are typically wet and soft this time of year from the freezing, thawing, and rain. The week of March 10th we thought there was a dry enough window to accomplish the work by #18 fairway. In October a tree assessment was conducted and many of the pin oaks in that area had an abundant amount of dead limbs posing a safety concern, as well as, one particular pin oak requiring removal because of a large amount of decay at a bifurcated branch junction. After consulting the company foreman and monitoring the conditions we decided to move forward with tree work before more rain was expected that weekend.

Well, the ground was a bit softer than we anticipated. The company was able to finish the trimming and pin oak removal to the left of #18 fairway, but a decent amount of ruts and tracks were left behind. A couple of the trucks even needed to be pulled out. We have since smoothed out the ruts, seeded, and strawed the area; however, we will need to have it roped off until the seed germinates. The lightning struck tree to the left of #16 fairway is next up for removal, but at this point we have decided to hold off until the conditions improve. I'm not sure when that will be with our typically wet spring conditions, but I will keep you posted if/when a date materializes.

Tree company taking down a massive pin oak and trimming 7 other trees in that area with many dead branches

Fixing the disaster area

Smoothing out ruts with 20 yards of topsoil.

Seeded, strawed and roped off. It is wet after a recent rain event.

#14 Tee

As I wrote about in last November's blog post, #14 tee provided us with some issues (click here for the post). In short the issues were as follows:

• The old blue tee needed to be shaved down around 7"  to make it level with the old black tee.
• After the base soil was exposed it consisted of hard, blue clay that was plowed up from the pond construction.
• The late November rainfalls, along with the shade from the adjacent pin oak, and the low November sun angle kept the area extremely wet causing us to excavate the wet clay and fill with drier better quality soil.
• 10" of the clay soil was removed and another 10" of fill dirt added to firm up the base.
• During the end of the process another 1" rain storm occurred delaying work and washing out the newly installed base.

The construction work finally was completed right before Thanksgiving. In addition, the only local bentgrass sod producer (other places that sell bentgrass sod are located in Pittsburgh or Chicago which would have increased the cost considerably) had issues with the summer droughts that decimated many acres of bentgrass sod. The poor quality sod (that was discounted) for #14 tee had to sit longer than expected on the pallets due to the delay of construction. All this led to the tee top decomposing grass being laid in sloppy, wet conditions right before a cold snap that seemed to last through the entire winter. 

We replaced many of the worst pieces of sod with bentgrass sod from our nursery whenever conditions were favorable enough during the winter months.  The other tees (#4, #12, #17) that were completed earlier in November are much further along, look healthier, and are filling in. We expect these tees to be open by mid April. However, the #14 tee is just starting to grow after winter dormancy. We have topdressed with dry sand, seeded, and fertilized to try and push growth. Also, we are plugging bad areas with bentgrass to help fill in the worst spots. The tee is looking much better but still has some growing to do. Hopefully the warmer weather continues to help push it along. In the meantime we ask for your patience. The tee will heal in eventually, however, the date to open the tee is still in limbo.

#14 tee right after completion

#14 in mid December. We were starting to resod dead patches on the left side.

#14 tee in early March, breaking winter dormancy.

#14 tee late March

The grass is healing in.

Irrigation System

In the beginning of December we winterized the irrigation system. We pick this date because the tee leveling is completed in mid to late November and, depending on conditions, sometimes we need to water the sod. Usually it is warm enough in early December (average high is 50 degrees) to get the lines blown out with an air compressor. Last year was an anomaly, with very cold temperatures setting in the week of Thanksgiving. Noticing that the forecast models were predicting the cold snap we drained the system a week earlier, but the air compressor needs to be rented and could not get on property until December 2nd. The system draining gets rid of 90% of the water, but each individual head needed to be blown out to keep them from freezing. This is where we ran into a problem. While blowing them out 40 heads became cracked and blew off. 

Every March the system needs to be turned back on and pressurized back up to 110 psi. The pumps are checked, pump house components pressurized, computer software evaluated, and any leaks fixed. This year we also replaced the broken irrigation heads from the December winterization. Luckily, the heads were under warranty and were replaced at no cost to the club. I wanted to inform the membership just in case they saw some geysers coming up from the sprinkler heads while we were starting up the system.

Blowing out the irrigation system in December.

Verticutting Fairways

Verticuting of the fairways was implemented in 2021 with the purchase of a Weidenmann Triple V verticutting unit that has helped decrease the thatch layer and reduce compaction. Verticutting consists of vertical rotating blades, which penetrate the surface at a depth up to 1".  A significant amount of organic matter is brought up and picked up with a TC-125 John Deere sweeper. This procedure was completed in late February and early March and will continue to help with the health of the fairway turf; creating firmer conditions during the golf season.

Verticutting #1 fairway

Picking up debris on #7 with the TC-125 sweeper.

Dumping thatch.

Landscaping

Two areas around the club received a landscape upgrade. The first was next to the elevator area entrance. We lost an Alaskan cedar last fall, the boxwoods were dying, and the globe blue spruce bush had seen better days. Mr. Walsh had the idea of creating a "Short family garden" named after the Short family that owned this property for around 60 years. This looked to be a good location for that garden and we installed some of the plants named after Charles Wilkins Short (a famous botanist). Included are Solidago shortii (Short's Goldenrod), asters, sedges, and deutzia. We may look into adding a sign at a latter date.

In addition, the bed behind the pool needed to be replaced. The snowball spirea bushes were in decline and the junipers were getting overgrown. They were replaced with ornamental grasses (miscanthus 'Gracillimus'), Karen azaleas, and deutzia 'Yuki Cherry Blossom'.

Old Elevator entrance landscaping

Removing plants

Short Garden

David and Hector removing snowball spiraeas in the snow!

New pool landscaping.

 Driving Range

Some questions have emerged about the driving range rotation/policy. Here are the most frequently asked questions.

When will the driving range grass open for the season?

The practice tees will open on April 1st starting on the north tees, switching to the south tee in mid May and moving back to the north tees after Labor Day. After November 1st the grass on the practice tee is closed and it is mats only. 

Why can't we use the grass during warm days in the winter?

As the temperatures cool the healing time takes longer. In the winter, germination has ceased and the grass' growth has either shut down or slowed down considerably. Consequently, divots that are made after November 1st will not fully heal until growth begins again in April. Beating up the range in the winter will only lead to poor spring time conditions and will inevitably create poor practice tees for the following golf season.

Why are we still hitting on the mats when the grass is open?

The rotation of the practice tees is 5 days on the grass and 2 on the mats. We need to utilize the mats twice a week because the tees are under sized. Typically, an 18 hole course will have close to 2 acres of turf. Combining all the new WHCC practice tee areas we are still just under an acre. To keep the turf in decent shape, so there is still some green grass to hit off of, we need to use the mats twice a week and allow divots to heal (healing takes around 3 weeks during the warm summer months). One of the mat days is always on Mondays and the second day is rotated between Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday so golfers are always hitting off the grass on weekends during decent weather.

Remember to use the linear divot pattern on the practice tees. This pattern will heal faster than any other divot.

Other Jobs

The crew has been busy with other jobs as spring begins. Some of them include, raising drainage drains, installing the pond fountain, and picking up stump grindings. The blooming tulips are on the horizon and we are starting to fill in other areas with spring annuals. The bloom time is about 2 weeks behind schedule which should help for Easter color. 

We have begun mowing the fairways, tees, and greens. And the rough is starting to green up as of this writing. Moreover, the March winds and thunderstorms are providing an abundant amount of cleanup work in the form of sticks, gumballs, and catalpa tree cigars.  Also, the Bermuda grass fall time overseeding has produced good results with the Bermuda grass fairway patches hardly noticeable during the colder months. Hopefully, the warm weather pattern continues allowing turf to heal in before the start of the 2025 golf calendar.

Assistant Michael Westendorf installing the pond fountain.

Fountain installed

Wilfredo and Raymond raising up the catch basin behind #12 green.

The Bermuda grass overseeding. You can see the last pass we made with the land pride over seeder in the fall.

Ricardo picking up the stump grindings with the mini skid steer.

Brad Piecuch

Grounds Superintendent