Winter project

We have been busy working on the installation of the new septic system because our old system was failing after 45 years of service? The septic field is complete and we are now installing the tanks. The new system will serve the club for many years to come.







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Change Of Seasons

After a long and stress filled season this is a sight that brings a sense of calm, at least temporarily.  We have completed winterizing the course irrigation system by draining all the water from the piping and then blowing any remaining water out through the sprinkler heads with compressed air.  For me this signifies the golf season has officially come to an end.

The level of urgency is certainly lower for the winter months but we do stay busy throughout the season.  Last week we finished the final chemical application to the greens and tees to protect them from the harsh winter weather. 

We are currently trimming the dead wood out of the Oak trees and have many other projects to complete before the snow flies.

Greens Are Progressing

We have seen continued growth on the new greens and are mowing every 2-3 days despite the cold weather.  All of the areas that came in thinner than the majority of the greens are filling in and the patches are continually getting smaller.  We went back and re-seeded the thin spots two weeks after the original seeding and it has helped tremendously.  In the photos you can see the younger seedlings filling in the voids.

Greens Update

The new greens are really filling in nicely. We are now mowing them every three days and may have to go to every other soon.



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Greens Update

Despite the recent cold temperatures and early morning frosts we are seeing the turf density improving on our newly seeded greens. We have dug out some of our old green covers and have borrowed some from Geneva National Golf Club. The covers act similar to a greenhouse and we are using them to speed up germination and establishment.



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Two weeks Old

It's been two weeks since we seeded the greens and they are coming along nicely. On Friday we cut the greens for the first time. Some greens are thicker than others but that is expected. On Monday we will interseed the thin areas to get them filled in quicker.



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What A Difference One Day Makes

The 18th green was seeded on Friday and the 15th green was seeded on Saturday.  Quite a bit of difference between the two greens in regard to germination with just a 24 hour difference.

 

We Have Germination

We seeded greens on Friday and  Saturday and on Tuesday morning we have seedlings pushing their way through the sand topdressing to soak up the life giving sunshine.

The Seeding Has Been Completed

We began seeding the greens on Friday morning, but as the day went on the wind picked up so we had to use a little ingenuity to block the wind so we could continue.  It's a good thing we kept going because we finished Saturday afternoon just minutes before it began to rain.  Our focus is now bringing the new seedlings to maturity and going into winter with strong and healthy plants.

Preparing The Seedbed

We are now filling the aerification holes with topdressing sand and getting a 1/4" layer of sand built up on the surface.  We should be ready to seed the greens on Thursday and Friday.  The weather forecast is for sunny and 90+ degree temperatures over the weekend so we will need to be watering the new seed often.

Out With The Old

It's now been three days since we finished fumigating the greens and they are now dead. On Monday the covers will be removed and on Tuesday we will begin bringing them back to life.




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Regrassing Greens Project Begins

On Monday we began our greens regrassing project with a deep tine aeration followed by conventional aeration.  We want to put as many holes as possible in the soil profile to improve gas penetration to achieve soil sterilization as deep as possible. In the picture you can see the aerator with the 3/4" x 10" tines and the resulting hole pattern.

Following the aeration the gas delivery tubes are placed on the green and then the green is covered with an impermeable plastic cover and the edges sealed so no gas can leak from under the cover. Once the green cover is sealed tight a computer controls the proper dose of methyl bromide gas that is pumped through the delivery tubes.  The covers will stay in place for a minimum of five days.

Recovery Begins

Now that the temperature is getting back to normal we are beginning to inter seed bentgrasses into the areas that we lost Annual Bluegrass (Poa annua). In the photo you can see the slits made by the seeder while sowing new seed into the old turf. The new bentgrasses can tolerate more weather and disease stress than the old grasses. We expect to see a lot less turf loss in the future.



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The Heat Refuses To Leave Us

The heat is continuing to raise havoc on the golf course with no relief in sight.  The long range forecast is for continued +90 degree temps and no rain is expected. Our irrigation system has allowed us to keep up with the daily evaporation which has been about 2.5/10ths per day. The greens, tees and fairways are still looking pretty good, but areas that do not receive irrigation have gone into summer dormancy.  Once we receive some rain our roughs will again come back to life.  Kentucky Bluegrass can survive about six weeks without water, but beyond that plants will begin to die. We have been moving portable sprinklers around in the rough just to moisten the roots and crown so it will survive. We are not trying to bring the rough out of dormancy, we are only keeping it alive.




Cart Stress To Already Stressed Turf


Dr. Derek Settle from the CDGA has commented on his observations from around the district in his weekly newsletter.  Take a look, there is some very good information included.

CDGA Newsletter

Hot Hot Hot = Stress

We have been hand watering Localized Dry Spots (LDS) on greens daily to help the turf survive this drought.  Despite all of the watering we have reached a point where we have to do more to relieve the stress our greens are experiencing.  Today (Friday) we did not mow greens and have raised the height of cut until we receive some relief from this stress.  By raising the height of cut we are leaving more leaf tissue for the plant to utilize its natural cooling defence mechanism "transpiration". When the heat stress  is over we will go back to the normal height of cut and resume topdressing, verti-cutting and other cultural practices that are on hold for now. In the meantime we will continue hand watering and syringing to keep the turf cool.  You may also see us out with the aerifier using small needle tines making extremely small holes so water and oxygen can penetrate the green surface and allow for toxic gasses to escape.

Thank you for your understanding during this heat stress period.

Mosquito Season

Mosquito season is upon us so when you are looking for protection, please consider lotions, wipes or pump bottles of insect repellent rather than an aerosol type product. If you prefer the aerosol type, DO NOT apply aerosol insect repellent while standing on greens, tees or fairways. The propellant in the can will burn grass blades.  Note the footprints in the photo.

Damage From Mosquito Spray

Red Tails Are Flying

When you are out on #6 listen and watch for the Red Tail Hawks. Mother and Juveniles can be heard communicating from opposite ends of the driving range. If your real lucky you might even see her teaching them how to hunt.





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Please Repair Your Ballmarks

In the photo each flag is marking an unfixed or improperly fixed ball mark. An unrepaired ball mark will give annual bluegrass (Poa annua) an opening to germinate and contaminate our bentgrass greens.  There is not a chemical control for Poa annua yet that doesn't also adversely affect the bentgrass.  Growth regulators help keep Poa annua invasion to a minimum but it does not provide total control.  Our staff is using all of the tools that are currently available to contol Poa annua, but we need everyones help to keep our greens free of Poa annua.

Back To Normal

We have had a very busy year already, completing green extensions, preparing the new #7 & #11 greens for opening, drainage, tree removal/trimming, and the normal work load.  I am happy to announce that we have completed all our projects and the course is ready to play with no interruptions.  No more temporary greens or closed holes!  We will not start any other projects until we close the greens on August 20th for our final chapter of the Master Plan, Gassing and Re-grassing. 

Greens Drainage

Draining the excess water from our greens is crucial to maintaining a healthy putting surface.  This week we were able to install drainage lines into three of our worst greens.  Most of our greens have no sub-surface drainage in them which makes them more difficult to manage.  Below are pictures of the process and a picture after everything was complete and put back into play.

Lightning Damage Last Week

Last week we had some severe storms roll through and lightning struck two trees on the course. We will need to remove the trees because they are split from top to bottom and are not safe.

Cottonwood #6

Willow #16 Tee

USGA Turf Advisory Visit

On Thursday May 3 many of our green committee members met with USGA agronomist Bob Vavrek to learn more about the inner-workings of the golf course.  Many topics were covered such as the importance of how root growth relates to the quality of the turf.  In the first picture you can see the results of many years of topdressing and aerification to the greens. It's difficult to see in the picture but the sand topdressing layer (light colored) has a very dense root mass, while the native soil (dark colored) only has roots in the sand column created by a deep aerification tine.  You can see the column of roots laying on top of the knife. The second picture is the two year old putting green #4 that was built properly and has a dense root system that extends 8 to 10 inches deep. A deep dense root system is vital to get through the dog days of July and August.

New Oak Trees

We planted some new Oak trees behind the 11th green to replace the Silver Maple trees that were removed last fall.  Silver Maples have a very short life of maybe 30 years compared to the Oaks, which could live for 200 + years.

18 Green Extension

We removed the sod for the green extension and used it to patch some bad spots in fairways. The cavity for the extension has been filled with new root zone mix and graded to the specifications of the master plan. We hope to have all of the new sod in place by the end of the week.



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Location:LGCC

One Year Ago Today

It was just one year ago today that we experienced some of that white stuff.  Hopefully, we are not going to see any more this year.  I was at a WGCSA meeting which included a round of golf in the afternoon, needless to say we didn't play golf.

Continuing Education

I just spent two full days in the classroom learning more about our computer controlled irrigation system. I felt I was already running the system efficiently, but there is always room for improvement. The focus of the class was on new software updates that help us program the system to reach peak efficiency.

We are seeing a trend in increasing government control in water usage, which started in California and is moving east. In response to that trend, I want to be prepared before Wisconsin takes steps in the same direction, or mandates are implemented by the EPA. I will be implementing much of the new programming tweaks into our irrigation control system immediately.



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Location:Reinders in Sussex, WI

Course Looks Like It's June

We have some of our staff here and preparing the golf course for a season that has started like I have never seen before. Today we started up the irrigation system so we can water sod that was installed last fall.



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Summer Has Arrived

It's been a wild week! We are having weather that feels like mid-June already. I have had to start a few of our staff members early so we can get the course cleaned up and start mowing. Today we mowed the greens, collers, and approaches. This is the earliest we have ever started mowing in the 32 years I've been here. There was no frost in the ground this year and the soil temperature is already approaching 60 degrees. I have more of the staff coming in on Monday so we can finish cleaning the course and keep up with the mowing.

Spring Approaching and Education

Winter is coming to an end and we are anxious to get out on the course and begin cleaning up.  As I am writing this we still have about two inches of snow, but the temperature is expected to climb to 55 degrees today, so this may be the last we see of accumulated snow for the year.  Once the snow is gone I will go out and scout for winter damage due to disease or desiccation. 

Last week I attended the GCSAA (Golf Course Superintendents Assn.) conference and show in Las Vegas.  Educational seminars are offered every day and the equipment display is open for two days.  It’s a great opportunity to view the equipment and speak with the engineers for any piece of equipment that is being considered for purchase.  It is also a great opportunity to visit with colleagues that I haven’t seen in a year or so.  While at the show I attended several seminars that provided information that relates directly to projects that we are undertaking here at LGCC.  Networking with others that have already completed projects that we are planning is invaluable.

What A Difference A Day Makes

Snow is falling again providing a blanket of protection before the cold weather hits.  Tomorrows forcast is for temperatures dropping into the single digits and high winds.  The new snow will help protect our greens from the harsh weather ahead.

Winter Work

By looking at the course you would never guess that we had a blanket of snow about 6 inches deep just a week ago.  The trend this winter has been very mild with very little snow cover.  We have been keeping a close eye on the new putting green surfaces watching for ice build up or desiccation.  If the need arises we will use our oldest spray unit to haul water out and spray the putting surfaces to keep them hydrated.  We will need to seriously consider purchasing green covers for the greens that get fumigated this fall.  A repeat of this year’s winter weather could set back the opening of the new greens if not protected by covers. 

Besides worrying about the winter weather, (or lack of) we have been painting tee markers, applying weather preservitive to wood benches, water coolers, etc. We have also done much of the necessary tree trimming and removed a couple hazardous trees.  Sunlight and air movement has long been an issue on #6 and #5 greens so we have been working on opening up the east-southeast areas to allow for more air movement and to maximize the morning sun.  In the picture below you can see the trees we removed along the property line and we also removed some very large trees in the woods behind the green.

Winter Injury

With all the warm weather we have been having I have heard many comment "this must be great for the golf course".  Quite the opposite is true.   Following is a recent blog post from Dr. Nick Christians from Iowa State University explaining winter injury.  Please read it, it is a very good article.

Nick Christians

January 2, 2012

While this mild winter has been great for holiday travel, it will probably not be good for golf course superintendents. Surprisingly, it is the hard winters that are generally good for the golf course. Snow cover and cold temperatures through mid to late winter protect the turf from desiccation and the golf course emerges in the spring in good condition. It is the open, mild winter with windy conditions like we are getting today that results in drying of the turf (especially bentgrass) and causes damage that can persist well into the spring and even to early summer.

The last few winters have been anything but mild. The white Christmas has been the standard for the last few years and heavy snow cover has been common in many areas of the Midwest. Winter desiccation has been rare and we tend to forget about it. Unless the weather changes soon, this will be one of those springs where severe desiccation is common. In my experience here in Iowa, it is the northwestern part of the state that gets the worst damage because that area lacks tree cover and is exposed to the northwest winds of winter.

So what can you do about it? Greens covers are part of the answer and those of you who covered your greens a few weeks ago should be fine. But, there are many uncovered golf courses in the state. Fairways and tees generally go uncovered and these areas can be badly damaged even on courses that cover greens. Winter watering can be useful if you can do it. When I worked in Colorado years ago, winter winds would kill bentgrass greens and tees if we did not get some water to them during mild winters. It was too cold to charge the irrigation system. The courses had water trucks and it was typical to spray water over the greens every couple of weeks to keep them hydrated.

Topdressing is another way of protecting greens. In the 80’s and 90’s we did some work on this. I will post some information from that work in the next few days. The last couple of weeks I have had some questions on whether it is too late to topdress in January and if it is not, how much topdressing should we apply. I don’t know the answer to those questions. If the mild weather continues, we will try to get a quick trial together at the research station to look at these issues. I’ll keep you informed about the work during the spring.

We have a forcast for 4" to 8" of snow for tomorrow, if it stays we will be in good shape.  If not, then we will be looking to purchase covers for the new greens on #4, #7, & #11.