Wow, much has happened since the last post! Including a historic drought, a hurricane, another drought, and finally some monsoons. In between Mother Nature's inconsistency we managed to stay busy. Here is an update.
Hurricane Helene
In the previous post I mentioned that the only relief for the drought would have to come from a tropical disturbance. Hurricane Helene was that disturbance and it dropped over 4" of rainfall along with sustained 30 to 40 mph winds. When rating the destruction of storms, none can compare to the 2008 hurricane Ike that decimated the WHCC tree population and closed down the course for over a week so the crew could clean up the massive amount of debris.
The 2018 ice storm was another catastrophic event that snapped many trees in half due to the early freezing rain that occurred while leaves were still on the oak branches. Hurricane Helene was definitely not as bad as these two storms, but it probably made the top 5 in my 23 year tenure.
The high hurricane winds snapped 3 trees in half and produced an enormous amount of cleanup work. The crew spent 4, 8-10 hour days, cutting wood, cleaning up branches, blowing off surfaces, and chopping leaves. Even after the cleanup the storm was still leaving its mark when it was discovered that the large pin oak tree by #8 red tee had an enormous crack down its entire side, and the pin oak next to #18 green was rotting out in the center. Both of these trees had to be removed because of their immediate safety concerns.
After the storm, the drought conditions continued. Even though Helene left the course in a mess, without the much needed rainfall the already historic drought would have been epic. As for the grounds budget it seems we were either going to take a hit from the water bill or tree removal.
Hurricane Helene Damage Pictures
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| Helene brush piled at #2 dump |
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| Chipping up the debris |
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| Large crack noticed by #8 red tee. This pin oak needed to be removed |
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| Another view of the #8 pin oak crack. |
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| Removing #18 pin oak |
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| .A picture of #18 pin oak after the branch fell out. |
Aeration
Helene hit on a Friday night and when I talked to the aeration contractor that weekend I made the mistake of stating that the rainfall looks to be over by Sunday and the fairways should dry out nicely by the fairway aeration date the following Thursday, making for an almost perfect scenario-which almost never happens! Sensing my optimism, Mother Nature proceeded to park the remnants of Helene over the tri-state for the next 5 days creating some of the wettest conditions I have ever encountered. When I called later in the week about possibly postponing, it was brought to my attention that the next available date wouldn't be for at least a couple of months. Knowing that December tends to be a very wet month, and wanting to utilize the course closed day to get this accomplished, we decided to trudge forward. Luckily, that Wednesday was dry and sunny and it dried out just enough for us to get the deep-tine aeration completed. We did have to skip some wet areas, and some locations were torn up, but it was nice to check this important maintenance practice off the list for this year.
The aeration of the tees, south practice tee, and rough were completed in late September and October. Overseeding the Bermuda grass fairway patches also occurred during this period. It has germinated and is currently filling in. In addition, fall fertilization of the tees, greens, and rough is completed. On the horizon will be fertilization of the fairways and aeration of the north practice tees.
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| Aerating #1 rough |
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| Deep tine aerating #1 fairway |
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| overseeding Bermuda grass on #10. |
Tee Leveling
The topography of some of the WHCC tee boxes has been a topic of discussion lately. Tees become unlevel because of over use in the center and the subsequent filling of divots with too much sand. Overtime the tees begin to crown and become bumpy. Typically this occurs more on par 3 tees because of the amount of divots caused by the use of iron shots (
click here for more information on the reasons for tee leveling from the USGA). Once the tee becomes unlevel the only way to fix the issue is by stripping the entire surface and leveling out the soil underneath.
In conjunction with the green committee 4 tees were chosen for leveling this year based on golfer's input and budgetary constraints. For fairness, one of each tee color was chosen. The tees included, #12 green tee, #4 white/green tee, combining and leveling #14 blue/black tee, and #17 black tee. Golf Construction Associates was the contractor used for this project, and to keep the cost down, most of the labor was completed in house.
Tee leveling is a long and labor intensive process. It begins by stripping the sod and surrounding grass. Then mix is added and the tee reshaped. After the tee is level new sod is put back on. Finally, the process of topdressing, rolling, watering and mowing begins. If the tees are leveled in late summer/early fall the sod will root in much quicker; however, because of the golf schedule and the contractor's availability, we leveled in November and it will take the sod until the spring before the grass will be ready for iron shots.
In addition, the combining of #14 blue/black tee provided us with some issues. First, the lower (blue) tee needed to be shaved down 7" to make it level with the black tee. After accomplishing this the base soil was exposed and it consisted of hard, blue clay that was probably plowed up from the construction of #13/#14 pond. The hard panned clay was full of moisture from recent rainfalls and was not conducive to shaping. So we had to remove another 10" of the clay and replace with new fill dirt and add another layer of mix to facilitate turf health. All this was accomplished in between a couple 1" rainstorms, but as of this writing we have the bentgrass top sodded and we are waiting for it to dry out so the sod producer can cut and deliver the remaining fescue sod this Monday. Fingers crossed!
Moving forward, understand that we move tee markers to spread out wear patterns. This will help to keep tees level by forcing shots to be hit from different locations on the tees- not just in the same areas in the tee's center. Also, we will begin to increase some cultural practices, such as more frequent topdressing, as time allows to try and keep the tees level for as long as possible. In addition, the agronomy team will continue to work with the green committee to level the most problematic tees annually.
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| Digging drainage for #14 tee expansion |
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| Removing sod #4 white/green tee |
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| removing sod #14 black tee |
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| removing sod #17 black tee |
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| Putting excess sod on the fairway nursery |
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| Leveling #17 black tee |
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| Leveling #4 white/green tee |
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| Shaping #14 tee. Exposing the clay underneath, |
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| Tarping #14 tee before a rainstorm |
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| New soil #14 tee |
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| Moving the new topsoil |
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| Laying new sod on #12 tee |
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| Washout on #14 tee |
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| Half of the sod laid on #14 |
Winter Tree Work
We are in the process of selecting trees to be removed this winter. A tree assessment is accomplished in October every year and diseased/dying trees are located and scheduled for removal. Earlier this year, the USGA agronomist conducted a tree evaluation and recommended trees for removal based on turf health and playability (click here for the report). On page 29 of the report, Zach highlighted, in red, trees recommended for immediate removal. We plan on beginning to remove some of these trees. (namely 1.8 and 16.5 labeled on page 28 and 29). Both of these trees are negatively impacting greens. The nightly irrigation cycle needs to be increased by 70% around these locations in addition to daily hand watering. This is just one of the many issues that trees close to greens create and I invite everyone to read the USGA report for a more in-depth look at how trees impact turf. This will be a slow process to implement. We will only remove trees that the green committee agrees upon and that our tree budget allows. This report will give us a roadmap to follow to help turf health, improve playability, and allow labor to become more focused on other aspects of the golf course.
Miscellaneous Fall Projects
Also included in the USGA tree report were areas where new trees could be planted. We planted three new trees in one of these areas between #8/#9. This location became very open after the removal of the pin oak tree next to #8 red tee. The three trees chosen were a Kentucky coffee 'espresso', a little leaf linden, and a redpointe maple.
Steps were constructed next to #13 green tee to help golfers navigate that area after rainstorms. The summer annuals are getting pulled out and the spring time tulip bulbs are being planted in their place. And leaf removal is in full swing with 8 to 9 crew members blowing and chopping on a daily basis.
The greens have rolled well all year. With the cooler temperatures we will begin to put the greens to bed for the winter by raising the mowing heights, fertilizing, and spraying fungicides for winter protection. Please understand that green speed will start to decrease due to these practices, but these are necessary procedures to keep the bentgrass healthy through the colder months.
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| Planting the trees between 8/9 |
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| Constructing the stepping stones #13 green tee. |
Finally, I would like to thank Brad Chaffin for his six years of service as the green committee chairman. Mr. Chaffin's friendly demeanor, organizational skills, and leadership helped to improve the WHCC golf course and our maintenance practices. He oversaw many projects including implementing greens drainage on 4 greens, the rebuilding of the practice facilities, expansion of the putting green, leveling of #13 green, upgrading the grounds building, lighting up the champion overcup oak, and many more. Mr. Chaffin understood the importance of golf course maintenance for improving conditions and was instrumental in helping us implement procedures that have upgraded the course's playability and aesthetic value. In addition, his annual pizza party appreciation lunch for the grounds department has been much appreciated! The agronomy team is grateful for Mr. Chaffin's leadership and looks forward to working with the new administration; continuing to enhance the golf course grounds for environmental improvements and member enjoyment.
As we progress into early winter, the crew will be busy winterizing the irrigation system, rebuilding and grinding mowers, oil changes, tree work, staff recruitment for next season, and of course leaf cleanup. I will continue to update as the 2024 season comes to a close and hopefully the droughts and hurricanes are behind us!
Brad Piecuch
Grounds Superintendent
