December update

 We have moved into the detail phase of the driving range project. The cart path and parking areas have been shaped and 4" of crushed limestone has been smoothed over the top. The driving range mat areas are framed and in the process of having the concrete base poured. In addition, the chipping green and practice tee bunkers are being edged and filling in with sand.

The three pin oak trees at the top of the chipping green area are casting a significant amount of shade over the bentgrass green and need to be removed. This has already caused a poor growing environment for the newly seeded area. We have been battling some disease pressure because of the lack of sunlight to evaporate the morning moisture causing prolonged leaf wetness on grass blades. The increased moisture presence is a catalyst for many turf diseases and one in particular that has already occurred is damping off disease. Also, the trees are causing a tremendous amount of late fall and winter shade. Shade in the fall and winter hinders the grass to recover from the long, hot summer. This causes the grass to be weak in the spring and it may not have enough time to recover before summer heat occurs once again. In addition, the winter shade causes the green to freeze for longer periods of time, consequently, causing it to be closed more often. When growing in a green we need to optimize the amount of time it receives sunlight so it can become thick, healthy and ready for play as soon as possible. Once these three pin oaks are removed mounding will take its place and viburnum shrubs will be planted to block any errant golf balls coming from hole 6. For more information on shade and turf click here or click here for a previous post on trees and turf.

sand added to practice tee bunker

form for driving range mats

crushed limestone cart path in new chipping area

3 pin oaks set to be removed

pin oaks casting shade on new chipping green for the majority of the day

Damping off disease on new chipping green

Phase two of the driving range project is already on deck. This will begin during the winter months with removing of trees above the north range tee. Also, the dump area will be cleaned out and the cart path reworked. I will continue to update as this phase begins.

Holes #4 and #8 are healing in since the golf preservation project. They do have some scalping that occurred, and we have been watering them daily, however, the growing season has quickly come to a close and we may have to wait until the spring for these areas to fully recover. 

Hole #13 is just starting to root in. We have rolled and mowed the green using the walking greens mowers, but the sod has to become more rooted and stable before we can begin to get our bigger roller and topdresser on the green.  Also, we are mowing the green at .200" and we are mowing the other greens at .130" during the growing season. They recommend lowering the height by .005" every week until the desired height is reached. So once the turf begins growing in the spring it will take 14 weeks before the turf is at the same height as the other greens. In addition, right now the green is extremely bumpy and will need a significant amount of topdressing before it will be smooth enough for play. Obviously, because of all these factors it may be until mid-summer before this green is rolling like the others. This green will be closed until mid spring- mid April or early May.

The crew has been busy getting the course ready for winter. The fertilization is almost complete, and the irrigation system has been blown out for the season. Leaf removal is ongoing, and it will take some time before the oak trees are done unloading their leaves. 

The winter tree and limb removal list has been created. Many of the trees that are being removed are dead or diseased trees. Again, we are having issues with oak trees, in particular, becoming infected with ganoderma root rot. Also, some of the black locust trees have some fungal growth issues and need to be cut down. Some pin oak trees under cart paths have significant dead limbs that need removed and some limbs blocking fairway shots will be addressed. In house tree work will address many of the smaller dead trees that have to be removed.

pin oak root removed from #11 farway

area of exposed pin oak roots in #11 fairway

The landscaping team, headed by Kyle Brater, is in the process of making a garden wall next to the new paver area by #1 tee. The verdin clock plaque has been installed on the pro shop wall, with landscape lighting to illuminate it at night. The landscaping around this area has been removed and we will be replacing it with new trees and shrubs that are the right size and add color interest to this busy intersection.

Garden wall installation. The New landscaping will follow.

As we enter the winter season, I think it is important to touch upon winter closures and course conditions. There are five main reasons why the course may be closed or delayed during winter months.  They are snow, frost, frozen ground, thawing ground, and very wet conditions. The first is fairly obvious- finding a white, or even colored golf ball, after a snowstorm is virtually impossible and trying to putt would be comical. Snow does provide insulation from low temperatures and winter winds; however, melting snow can refreeze and cause crown hydration injury. Frost and frozen ground can cause significant damage to the turf when walked or driven on. Thawing ground can cause root damage from foot traffic when the top layer of soil is thawed, and the lower layer is still frozen. Any traffic during this scenario will break/shear the roots in between the two layers and footprints will be visible for months before they heal. Wet ground is also very common this time of year from the freezing, thawing, heavy rainfall, low evapotranspiration rates, and the dormancy of the turf (prohibiting any water uptake). Walking on highly saturated soil will cause deep footprints that will create craters and unevenness especially prevalent on putting greens. The golf course will have to be closed at times during the winter to prevent negative turfgrass damage. For more information on winter play closures click on this informative article by the USGA.  or this USGA video or this USGA video on root shearing.

Brad Piecuch

Grounds Superintendent

 

Rounding Third and Heading for Home....

It has been a busy end of the season for the agronomy team. The majority of this year's projects are heading toward completion. The most recent renovation was accomplished by Golf Preservations. They have completed drainage work on #4 and #8 greens and the leveling work on #13 green. The new drainage will help dry out and firm up #4 and #8 soil based greens. These greens should be ready for play by Thanksgiving.

On #13 green, the company lifted up the bottom right side around 6" and brought the lower area to a 2% slope instead of a 5% slope. This will open that area up for putting and more cup locations. In addition, the back half of #13 green was leveled, drainage added to the entire putting surface, and the whole green softened to try and ease the slope toward the lake. I believe it is a big improvement and will help with approach shots and putting on this scenic green. Moving forward, #13 green will be closed until the beginning of next season to allow the sod to root in. In these colder, late fall and winter months this process will take much longer. It may be a week or two before we can begin to get equipment on this green for maintenance. Also, the bentgrass sod will need to knit back in and fill in the cracks left from cutting. We will raise the mowing height for the first couple of mows and slowly lower as we get closer to spring. Right now it is very patchy and bumpy and we ask that everyone stays off the playing surface until it is ready to be opened next spring. 

Drainage #4 green

Sod removed from #13 green. Flags delineate the outline of the putting green.

Sod removed on #13 green

Drainage installed #13

Drainage in #13 approach

Sod being placed back on after leveling

Finished project. Bottom of #13 green now at a 2% slope from left to right.

The driving range project is ongoing. Most of the earth moving for phase 1 has been completed. Drainage for the floor of the range is finished and target greens and surrounds have been seeded. It is hard to distinguish where the location of the target greens are at this point because they are being grown in at the same time as the surrounds. Once the grass matures enough to begin mowing at lower heights the greens will be mowed lowered and become noticeable. Right now the target greens are seeded with perennial rye; however, in June they will be sodded with innovation zoysia, which is a more durable summer time grass, that is more disease resistant and drought hardy than the current perennial ryegrass. The zoysia grass was scheduled to be installed this fall, but was pushed to the spring because of weather events that delayed the installation past the optimal time for warm season grass to become established before winter weather occurs.

The chipping green, approaches, and driving range tee were seeded in late September and are coming in very well. We have mowed all of these surfaces at least once and will probably mow them a couple more times before dormancy. The putting green expansion was seeded in early October and is growing at a much slower pace due to less daylight, colder temperatures, and a couple of heavy rainstorms that washed out the seed before germination. Nonetheless, we will be mowing the majority of this area in the next couple days. Hopefully, the grass continues to grow before winter.

Sod is being installed around the putting green surrounds and this area will start to take on its completed look. Much topsoil has been added to raise the bottom portion of this area to level it out so the tent that is used for events can be installed. Again it will take many months before the expanded portion of this green will be ready for putting.

Landscaping was added to the right side of #5 tee for safety reasons. These trees and shrubs will eventually become big and tall enough to shield errant golf shots from landing on the chipping and driving range complexes. The plants used were white pines, Allegany viburnums, and smoke bushes. In addition 6 repointe maples were added. Three were placed in the wooded area between 4 green and the driving range to replace some of the dying trees in that location. The three others were installed to the right of #4 valley to help block long drives from the range from going into #4 playing area.

Cart path installation will begin in the next week with a 2" base of crushed limestone being installed on the driving range parking and cart path areas. Some sod will be added to areas that have been consistently washing out and catch basins will be uncovered after recent rainstroms. Other detail work will continue to happen as we move toward winter.  

Redpointe maples planted to the right on #4 green

Planting landscaping for #5 tee

Growing in bentgrass for chipping green complex

Chris Wheeler mowing the new chipping green

Bentgrass growing in on the driving range tee

Target greens starting to germinate

A view of the project area

New sod installed on putting green surrounds

Fall maintenance is behind schedule. We have put in over 900 hours during the last couple of months on project work, forcing us to play catch up. Aeration of the fairways was completed in late October. The original aeration date was postponed because of rain and we were unable to find a suitable time to complete the core aeration process. However, we were able to squeeze in enough time for Whuerkamp enterprises to solid, deep-tine aerate. This had not been done before on the fairway surfaces and should help to open up the thatch layer and aid in deeper root development. We are currently in the process of core aerating the play rough areas and will be able to complete them in the next week. We were hoping to begin verticutting the fairways in early November but have not been able to start this process yet. We may only be able to verticut a couple fairways this fall, but time and weather will dictate how much of this process gets accomplished.

Fall ferritization of all playing surfaces is currently taking place. Fertilizer has been applied to the rough and tees. Next up will be fairways and green surrounds. Intermediate ryegrass has been innerseeded into some of the bermuda grass areas throughout the course. We were a month behind on seeding and hopefully we will still get good germination to cover up the unsightly winter dormancy bermuda grass look. 

Tulip bulbs have arrived and the horticulture team is working hard to get the summer annuals removed and begin planting the 5,000 tulip bulbs that adorn the property in the spring. The small crabapple tree located under the red oak by the fountain has been removed. The tree was planted too close to the red oak, and it was hit hard this season with apple scab disease. This will free up room for more annuals to be planted.

Removing crabapple tree

Aerating the play rough

Deep-tine aeration of the fairways

Intermediate ryegrass slit seeded into a bermuda grass patch on #15 fairway

Leaf drop and cleanup is starting to pick up pace as the colder temperatures begin to descend upon the area. We are working to try and get as much of the fall maintenance accomplished as possible but we may have to skip some practices. Frost is starting to become an issue and is taking away some much needed turf work during the morning hours. Overall, the agronomy team is excited about the changes that happened on the golf course during this last season. We will continue to maintain the course and driving range area so they are ready for play next season. Tree work is on the horizon and in the next month we will be working to get a tree and limb removal list together to be accomplished in the winter months. Also, a new building is going to be taking shape over to the right of #18 parking lot and this will give us more space in the grounds building for much needed storage next season. The majority of this work will be accomplished by outside contractors with seeding and landscaping of said area being done in house. I speak for the rest of the crew in saying we are ready for the project season to wind down a bit and look forward to a more normal late fall routine.

Brad Piecuch

Grounds Superintendent 

Project Update

 

Seed starting to germinate. Look closely at the new chipping green. You can see lime green bentgrass seedlings starting to grow!

The chipping green 1 week later!

The projects are moving along at a decent pace despite being delayed by a week because of rain. The areas around the chipping green and practice tee have been shaped, drainage connected, and irrigation has been installed for the entire project area.  The chipping green, approaches, range tee, and surrounds have all been seeded . The chipping green was seeded with S1 bentgrass, the approaches with declaration bentgrass, and the practice tee was seeded with a combination of both. All surrounds were seeded or sodded with turf type tall fescue. Also, a starter fertilizer, and a fungicide for damping-off disease were put down. Futtera matting has been placed over the rough areas surrounding the practice tee to hold the seed and soil in place until the turf becomes rooted enough to hold on to the hillside. 

Now the process of watering has begun. During the beginning part of the grow-in the shallow rooted seedlings will need light and frequent irrigation. As the turf matures, watering will change to deeper and less frequent. The maturation process of the seeded areas will be ongoing. Optimistically, we will be able to mow the turf a couple of times before winter sets in. A deep root system and a thick canopy will be needed before the green can begin to be prepped for constant golfer traffic. This process will take many months, and is very weather dependent, but hopefully by late spring it should be ready for play.  On the other hand, the sod must be watered heavily, daily so it does not dry out. Once the roots grow in the the existing soil we can cut back on watering.

Next up will be to continue to lay sod around the entire chipping green complex and start shaping, adding drainage, and seeding the target greens and driving range floor. The putting green has been seeded and we will be working on the surrounds in the next couple of weeks.

A wet construction area after a week of rainfall

12" catch basin installed in front of chipping green area

Russ Macke digging drainage lines for the new practice tee. The mound of dirt to the left is the old practice tee topsoil that was reused for the existing tee.

Leibold irrigation company installing the irrigation lines

Assistant Michael Westendorf dimpling in the S1 bentgass on new chipping green

Futtera matting installed to help with erosion on steep banks

Brush cleared out of old wooded area next to #5 tee. Much better view now from 4 green and 5 tee. Maybe a park bench and grill for this beautiful new site?

View of chipping green after sod installed and matting placed around tee

Putting green enlargement cavity

The next project is already on deck. Golf Preservations will be here to fix the slope on #13 green and install drainage on #4 and #8 greens on October 25th. The right side of #13 green will be raised up around 6" and new drain tile installed. This should help with drainage for the low turf area, and allow putting to occur on the front right portion of the green. Hopefully, this improves the playability of this problem green. 

Currently, #4 and #8 are the worst draining greens. There are many benefits to having a better drainage system installed, some of them are as follows:

• increase turf quality
• increase green speeds
• create firmer conditions
• decrease compaction
• increase root depths
• allows greens to be opened up quicker after a rain storm
• decreases disease presence. 

It will take a couple days for them to finish this project. The 2” tile will be placed around 15"-16" below the surface and will drain out to the lowest point of the greens. These holes will be closed for a short time to allow the sod to root back in. Updates will occur as we move closer to the project date.

Meanwhile, fall maintenance practices have been occurring on the rest of the golf course. The aeration of the greens was completed on September 7th and have healed in well. Most of the tees have been aerated. All of them should be completed by next week. On Thursday, October 7th fairway aeration will take place (weather permitting). The fairways and approaches will be aerated and the cores drug and mowed into the turf. This will be an all day project and the course will be closed that day. After this the play rough will be aerated and overseeded.

Topdressing #1 green after greens aeaification. 6 cu/ft /1,000 sqft of sand was used to fill in aeration holes

Aerating #9 green

Aeration plugs on #12 tee

The wear and tear on equipment and labor is becoming evident as the projects, daily operations, and fall maintenance progresses. Particularly, the utility vehicles and loaders/skid steers are being pushed to the limit. A pro gator recently succumbed to the added work load and needed a worn out clutch replaced from hauling sand, gravel, and topsoil back and forth from the job site. After ordering a new $1500 replacement clutch, and spending an 8 hour day fixing it, Jim Hessel, and his assistant, were able to get the vehicle back into operation. These fixes have been happening much more lately with the increased work load, and the hard working mechanics deserve a substantial amount of credit for keeping the equipment fleet up and running on a daily basis.

Clutch replacement on Pro Gator utility vehicle

Also, currently some of the thinned out rough areas are being overseeded with turf type tall fescue. Fall fertilization will occur once aeration is completed. I will continue to update the status of these projects as we push through the fall season. Hopefully, by November most of these fall maintenance practices will be accomplished and the crew can be ready to take on the next work load- leaf removal!

Brad Piecuch

Grounds Superintendent