February update

   We survived the Polar Vortex! We dropped down to -7 F at our weather station. This almost certainly will be the lowest temperature for the winter this year and it is above our threshold of -10 F for zone 6. However, it is close enough that we may have some damage on tender plants for this region such as southern magnolias, crape myrtles, azaleas, and butterfly bushes. Only time will tell.
 
   Despite the recent winter weather, the grounds department has remained busy with winter projects. Tree work is going along smoothly, with most of the dead/dying trees scheduled to be removed already cut down. Many of these dying trees were Austrian pines and Scots pines that have been infected with a fungal disease called diplodia tip blight. These two trees are the most susceptible hosts to this disease. The disease starts at the tips of the branches of these evergreens with the needles turning brown. It quickly spreads to the rest of the plant, especially during wet weather, and eventually kills the entire tree. There are now only a few of these pines left on the course and they all will eventually succumb to this disease. During the recent cold snap, three pin oak trees on the right side of 7 fwy were taken down (by Gregory Forrest Lester) as well as an ash tree on the right side of 1 fwy that had the emerald ash borer. The pin oaks on 7 fwy had much damage from the recent ice storm; one also had damage from a lighting strike, and two out of the three trees were starting to encroach into the fairway. The tree company also pruned low branches and dead limbs out of 10 pin oaks located throughout the course.

Pine tree with early onset of diplodia tip blight (photo from another course)

cutting down dying black locust tree

Internal decaying problem indicated by mushroom growth on the trunk

Pin oaks removed by 7 fwy left us with a lot of cleanup work

   Pruning of dead and low lying limbs has also taken place throughout this winter. Many of our white pine trees have a significant amount of dead stubs that we have been pruning out. Other projects that we have been working on include: widening of the cart path by 4 tee, attending turf seminars, course cleanup, making instant programs on the lynx irrigation system to help with watering efficiency, seasonal staff recruitment, and beginning to dormant seed areas of the rough.

white pines by #4 tee limbed up for foot traffic and better sunlight exposure for the turf by 3 cart path

cart path expanded by #4 tee. black top to be added when warmer

white pines on #7, stubs pruned out

Tri-state Green Industry Expo trade show

Tri- state Green Industry Expo seminar

Instant fairway program for dry spots on toro lynx

   As we enter the last leg of winter and into early spring, I think it is important to touch base on winter play and course conditions. There are four main reasons why the course may be closed or delayed during the winter months. They are frost, frozen ground, thawing ground, and very wet conditions. 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 the soil is thawed and the lower layer is still frozen. Any traffic during this scenario will break the roots in between the two layers. Wet ground is much more common this time of year from 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. For more information on winter play click on this informative article by the USGA .

Cart traffic damage from driving over frozen turf

Ball marks slow to heal during bentgrass winter dormancy

Brad Piecuch

Assistant Superintendent/Horticulturist

Winter is Back!

   We need to make a new adage for the month of January; in like a lamb and out like a lion! The end of December and the first part of January were well above normal causing us to mow greens, tees and fairways into January. The warm weather allowed us to get many other projects accomplished that would not be able to get done if the ground was frozen or snow covered. Some of these included drainage work in low wet areas, drainage work in bunkers that hold water, finishing leaf cleanup, and starting to take down dead trees and pruning low branches.

Mowing fairways on January 7th!

                                   

Tree pruning. Low branches on #1

  Since the second week of January winter has showed up and we have started on winter jobs. One of our main priorities in the winter months is to keep the parking lot free of snow and ice. Our equipment was given a good test last weekend with old man winter dumping around 6" of snow on the course. The new bobcat that was purchased in the fall was able to plow the deep snow with ease and helped us to be more efficient in our snow plowing operation. Other winter jobs that will be accomplished in the coming months will be pesticide record updates, working on equipment, doing landscape designs, the sanding and painting of some golf course accessories, staff recruitment, tree work (weather permitting), and the attendance of turf and horticulture seminars. I was fortunate enough to attend the Indiana Green Expo conference in Indianapolis and learned a lot of new turf and horticulture information as well as earning pesticide credits.

Snow plowing lot with bobcat

Indiana Green Expo turf seminar

 

Landscape design behind #11 green

                                                     

Cutting down dying oak tree

   The new snow might not be great to drive in, but it sure does change the landscape of the golf course into a winter wonderland!

             Winter Pictures of the Golf Course

  Brad Piecuch
Assistant Superintendent/Horticulturist

Early Winter Update

 Even though the calendar and thermometer are looking more like winter, fall is still hanging on. The oak trees are still holding on to many of their leaves (called marcescent foliage) and are slowly letting them go. This, coupled with the November ice storm cleanup, has gotten us behind on leaf removal. Now that the ice damage is cleared we are all hands, and mowers, on deck for leaf cleanup. There are many areas where the leaves are pilled up so high, and the ground is so wet, that we have to manually remove them instead of chopping them with the mowers. However, we are making progress and, weather permitting, we should have most of the areas cleaned up in the next couple of weeks. Also, the ice storm has left us with a lot of firewood and if anyone is interested, in free firewood, we have it stacked by the grounds building on #18 cart path.

Manual removal of a leaf pile

Oaks with marcescent foliage

Our new Bobcat helping us with debris/leaf removal

Free firewood 

 We were, also, able to get the irrigation system winterized earlier this month. Blowing out the system is a necessity for the winter so that we do not have any pipes that freeze and crack and leave us with a big problem when we need the water in the spring. This was accomplished with the help of Leibold irrigation who hooked up an air compressor to our pump station and we were then able to manually blow out each individual head on the course and winterize the pump station.

Blowing out irrigation heads

  On the equipment side, our head mechanic Jim Hessel and the assistant mechanics, are hard at work beginning to get the annual winter maintenance on all our equipment underway. There is a different degree of maintenance required for different units depending upon their usage. Some of this maintenance includes:

• The grinding/sharpening of all the walking and riding reel mowers
• Rebuilding the bearings and seals on all of the reel mowers
• Grinding of bednives to aid in the reel-to-bednife relationship to achieve optimal mowing results
• Pressure washing of all the grounds equipment
• Greasing of all the mowers
• Oil changes on all riding equipment

All of this winter mechanical maintenance takes the majority of the winter months to accomplish and is a crucial part in maintaining a quality golf course.

Walking greens mower on the Accu-Pro grinding machine

  Once the leaf removal is accomplished we will begin our winter projects such as tree pruning/removal, new landscape bed designs, bunker drainage work, snow removal on the parking lot as needed, and attending horticulture/turf seminars to keep up to date with education credits and the new technology/ideas of industry professionals.

On behalf of everyone on the Grounds Crew, we would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Brad Piecuch

Assistant Superintendent/Horticulturist

November Grounds Update

  Mother Nature has not been our friend in 2018! January started out with -12⁰ F and most of the month was well below freezing. We then had the coldest April in Cincinnati, followed by the hottest May on record. The summer was extremely wet, hot, and humid causing us to increase our spraying, significantly, to decrease disease presence on the turf. The fall started out dry with 90⁰ degree temperatures and now, in mid November, we have had a major ice storm that has done significant damage to many of the trees. Before this ice storm took center stage, we were in full swing with our fall operation. Some of those projects included:

- Late fall fertilization of greens, tees, and fairways

- Tree pruning of dead/lower limbs with the help of Steve at bucket truck services

- The removal of the summer annuals

- The planting of 5000 tulip bulbs

- Rolling and mowing of the new sod on 13 green

- Leaf cleanup (blowing/chopping of fallen leaves throughout the course)

  Unfortunately, we had to reschedule the aeration of the fairways until the spring because of the winter weather that has descended upon the city. In the short term, our focus will be solely on course cleanup so we can get the golf course open as soon as possible.  During December, we will be blowing out the irrigation system, starting the winter maintenance on all of our equipment,  beginning to take down dead/dying trees, and pruning out low limbs. Thank you for your patience as we deal with Mother Nature's latest curve ball, and I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

Rolling new sod on 13 green project

Planting Tulip bulbs

Leaf cleanup

Bucket truck Steve

                                                            Ice Storm Damage 

Brad Piecuch

Assistant Superintendent/Horticulturist

Fall Grounds Update

October was a busy month for the WHCC grounds crew. The month started out extremely warm and we were in full summer mode: watering, mowing, and spraying. By mid month the weather flipped and we went into more of a fall operation: cleaning up leaves and debris, aerating, and over seeding. We were able to finish the aeration and over seeding of all the tees and the short rough. We also got many projects completed. The #13 green project was a big undertaking and with the help of Russ Macke we laid 30 pallets of sod, put in drainage, leveled off the green, and reworked the irrigation heads around the approach. Also, with the left over bent grass we were able to install a new bent grass nursery. I think the finished project will make a big difference and will be enjoyed for years to come. Another project we completed was the installation of a new landscape bed behind #3 green. It has an Augusta like theme with dogwoods and azaleas that will make a beautiful backdrop in the Spring, and some hydrangeas will provide color during the summer months. We planted some memorial trees as well. The next big project on the horizon will be aeration of the fairways which should take place mid November (weather permitting). As the weather continues to turn colder our focus will shift to leaf cleanup and tree work. We will provide more updates on these projects in the weeks to come.

Brad Piecuch
Assistant Superintendent/Horticulturist

New landscape behind #3 green

Don Kruse memorial tree

Aeration of #9 tee

#13 green project